#so it looks like Ive got another collection started | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starsinthesky5 · 2 months

Text

you belong with me IV part 1 || joe burrow x reader

description: you and joe attend your sister's wedding together and relish the blissfulness that a new relationship brings

a/n: whew this one is longggg. and this is after splitting it up so the original version was going to be even longer 😭 anyway, hope you all enjoy it ;) this also features a flashback requested by @joeys-babe! ilysm girly💕 also, there may be a few faint fearless album references here and there (told you that these two reminded me of that album's love songs)

part 2 will be out next week!

word count: 19 k

warnings: smut, language, slight angst?

you belong with me masterlist (parts 1-3 located here)

—————————————————————

January 3rd

You finished applying the last bit of lip gloss to your lips before stepping back from the mirror, straightening out the strappy-silky blush pink dress that hugged your body in all the best ways possible and the high slit showing just enough leg. Your hair was curled and clipped back with two pieces hanging in the front and your gold jewelry glistened in the warm light of the bathroom, specifically the ring on your left hand which was a permanent & constant reminder of the person in your life that meant the most to you.

“Y/N, you look amazing,” your sister said from behind you, interrupting your daze.

You turned around, your sister standing behind you in her robe, her hair done up in her ‘wedding look’, with two glasses of champagne in her hand.

“Thanks, Kay,” you smiled as you walked over to her, grabbing the champagne glass she was offering you and taking a good sip to hopefully take the edge off and cool down your brain that was operating at 100 miles per hour because of the fact that it was Wedding Day.

“I see you went with gold jewelry per my suggestion,” she gloated as she looked at your earrings, your necklace, the bracelets on your wrist, her eyes stopping at the ring on your left hand (which was the only ring you were wearing).

“Hm, that’s new,” she said as she grabbed your hand and pulled it up to her face. You froze as she examined the ring, the ring Joe had given to you in December.

“Yeah. I, um, got it at an antique shop a few weeks ago,” you lied as you took another sip of champagne.

“Really? It looks so authentic. I’ve never seen such real-looking fake diamonds and jewels,” she said as she studied the ring.

Before she could ask any other questions and you blabbed about who the ring was actually from, you quickly changed the topic. “Shouldn’t you be getting your makeup done right now?” you asked as you looked over at the clock.

“She’s almost done with Veronica and then I’ll go out,” she smiled as she let go of your hand and reached up to tuck in a flyaway hair on the top of your head.

“Thanks,” you nodded as you started to take another sip of your champagne.

“Of course,” she nodded. “I have to make sure you look perfect for Joe,”.

You nearly choked on your drink, your eyes widening in shock as your brain registered what your sister was suggesting.

You hadn’t told your family about the two of you yet, you were practically a secret. You wanted to tell everyone, but the two of you also wanted to enjoy this for a little bit without it being out in the world. But you were also playing a risky game, one tiny slip-up from you and your sister would be cracking the case she had been trying to break open for years.

“W- What?” you coughed.

“Relax, Y/N,” she said while rubbing your arm. “I was just messing with you,”.

“R- Right,” you coughed again.

“But you did bring him as your date, no surprise there though,” she smirked, your eyes rolling at her relentless attitude. “Just like how he brought you with him to that Christmas party last month. You sure you don’t have anything to tell me,” she warily asked you.

“Nope,” you voiced, remaining calm and collected so that you wouldn’t give it away.

“God, when are you going to make a move? You guys aren’t getting any younger,” she asked, playfully shoving your shoulder.

Little did she know, you already did. You already made a lot of moves.

“Kay, we’re just friends. I’ve told you that many many many times,” you lied, attempting to hide the growing blush on your cheeks by walking out of the bathroom, Kaylee following you back into the bridal suite.

“Actions speak louder than words,” she teased as she walked over to the now-empty makeup station and sat down on the comfy chair.

You shook your head while turning around and walking over to the dining table, walking past the other bridesmaids who were trying on different shoes to pair with their dresses.

“I can’t believe Joe Burrow is here,” you overheard your sister's friend Veronica say to the other girls.

Your heart skipped a beat when you overheard his name being mentioned, your face heating up at the nature of the conversation.

“Shhh, he’s Y/N’s date,” her other friend Lacy said as she glanced over at you.

“So? From what I’ve heard they’re just good friends and if she’s not going to go for it, then who’s stopping me?” Veronica laughed. “I mean, have you seen Joe? Give me 5 minutes with him alone and he’ll be stuck to my side,”.

“Yeah, but that’s still her best friend and she brought him as her date. Besides, don’t you ever see the stuff online about how none of his girls seem to stick around? And then don’t you see the stuff online about how people think Y/N and him have something going on which is why he doesn’t really have a girlfriend,” Lacy attempted to whisper but was doing terribly.

“Who cares? If she really likes him, she’s doing a terrible job at showing it because as far as I see, he’s still on the market,” Veronica said with a grin.

You rolled your eyes again because of how childish it all sounded. You wanted to say something to them, defending your relationship and getting them to back off but how could you defend a relationship that people didn’t even know was a relationship yet? You felt like a teenager, hiding her first boyfriend from her family and friends and sneaking around like you had something scandalous to hide.

“Whatever,” you whispered as you placed your champagne glass down on the dining table. You reached for a chocolate cupcake but were interrupted by a knock at the front door, nobody noticed but you.

“I got it,” you said aloud to everyone, nobody listening as your sister was wrapped up in a conversation with the makeup artist, and the other girls were busy trying on their shoes and talking about your boyfriend. “Okay,” you sighed as you walked over to the door of the suite.

You opened the door, your eyes staring at the shoes of the person standing in front of you, slowly moving up their body as you met their face.

“You look gorgeous,” Joe said, a cheeky grin on his face as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, his eyes moving from your toned legs, to your perfect hips, and up to your beautiful face.

“Joe,” you gasped as you stepped out into the hallway with him, closing the door behind you. “What’re you doing up here,” you asked him as you took in how handsome he looked in his suit, the urge to pull him into one of the rooms by his tie incredibly strong.

“I came to see my stunning girlfriend,” he smiled as he backed you up to the wall.

You blushed when you felt his hand brush against your waist, “If Kaylee catches us out here-,”.

“We’ll be fine,” he said as he grabbed your hand, toying with the ring on your finger. “I just wanted to see you for a few minutes before the ceremony,”.

“Oh yeah?” you beamed as you ran your hands up his suit jacket to his broad shoulders.

“How’s it going in there? You guys at each other's throats yet?” he asked, knowing how you felt about some of your sister's friends.

“Well, Veronica was going on about how she apparently needs 5 minutes alone with you to get you stuck to her side,” you said, rolling your eyes as Joe’s mouth dropped.

“No way,” he said.

“Yes, way. Future Mrs. Burrow is probably in there talking about baby names right now,” you teased, Joe clearly not liking the joke as he wasn’t laughing like you were.

“Please, the real future Mrs. Burrow is standing right in front of me,” he said, giving your waist a gentle squeeze as he gazed deeply into your eyes. You felt your heartbeat pick up, his touch sending shivers throughout your body much like the words that came out of his mouth.

“It doesn’t bother me. She’ll figure it out at some point,” you smiled confidently.

“As much as I hate other girls talking about me like that and how much I’d love for you to shut them up, I like that we’re just enjoying this for now without having it out in front of everyone,” Joe nodded, referring to enjoying each other’s company without having everyone know you were officially a couple.

“Me too,” you smiled. “By the way, you look amazing,” you said as you gave him another once-over. “I need to see you in more suits,”.

“No, you look amazing. This dress is reallyyyy doing something to me,” he said as he moved his hands to your lower back, feeling the strappy design that was exposing a little too much of your bare back for his liking. “You look stunning with it on,”.

“If you play your cards right tonight, I might even let you take it off,” you teased as you threaded your fingers through his hair, your head leaning against the wall.

“I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior then,” he mumbled as he slowly leaned in for a kiss, you moved your head off the wall and crashed your lips against his, his hands pulling your body closer to his as you meet for a fiery kiss. His touch sent electric jolts throughout your body as his hand went from your back to your ass.

“If we were alone right now,” he said between kisses.

“I know,” you panted as you pulled him back to your lips, your arms looping around his neck and pulling him closer.

The feeling of his lips against yours was sending you into a frenzy, not a single coherent thought in your mind as you melted under his electrifying touch. You felt his lips move down, pressing kisses from your chin down to your neck and his hands sliding across the silky fabric of your dress.

“Joe,” you whispered as you grabbed his hair and moved him back to your lips.

“Mm, I can’t get enough of you,” he said between kisses.

A few heated seconds later, you heard the doorknob make a few clicking noises before hearing the door slowly open.

“Fuck,” Joe whispered as he quickly pulled away from you and backed up so that you both had enough space between you.

“Stay cool,” you mouthed as you saw your sister walk out from the corner of your eye.

“Hey, lovebirds. I’m not interrupting anything right?” she teased.

“Uhh….,” you nervously stalled as you tried to come up with an excuse as to why Joe was up here.

“No, not interrupting at all. I just wanted to check our reception seats with Y/N. I think we’re sitting with your parents so I wanted to make sure she was cool with that,” Joe said, saving you both from being caught with a somewhat believable lie.

“Ah, I see,” she nods, not fully believing him as her eyes darted back and forth from him to you. She noticed that you looked a little shaken up—which you were since she almost caught you both in the act—and that you were anxiously fidgeting with the ring on your left finger. She also noticed that your lipgloss looked smudged and his lips looked more pink than usual.

“Well, I just came to grab Y/N. The girls need your opinion about their shoes real quick since you’re Maid of Honor and apparently your opinion holds more weight,” she said as she turned to face you, not bothering to grill you about how this looked.

“Right,” you nodded as you glanced over at Joe.

“Go ahead. I’ll see you down there,” Joe said to you with a feverish look, his hand touching your exposed back, sending shivers throughout your body before he said bye to your sister and turned around.

“See you in a bit,” you said as you turned back to look at him, your mind fixated on the heated look he gave you as he turned around again before he walked back down the hall to the elevator.

You look back at your sister, noticing her skeptical facial expression. “What?” you laughed as you crossed your arms.

“Ohh, nothing,” she smiled as she grabbed your hand and pulled you back into the room.

After the Wedding Ceremony

“I got you your favorite,” Joe said as he handed you a peach mojito and sat back down next to you with his drink.

“Thank you,” you said to him, squeezing his thigh underneath the table as you took a sip of the fruity beverage. The wedding ceremony had concluded a few hours ago and it was nothing short of magical and fairytale-like. You and Joe were currently seated at the table with your parents, having a few drinks and catching up while your sister and her husband were making their rounds around the party.

“So Joe, how’s football going? Think we’ll see another AFC title this year?” your dad asked him.

“Dad,” you said, sending him daggers with your eyes. “I told you, no football talk tonight. Let Joe have a rest day,”.

“It’s Okay, Y/N,” Joe laughed, grabbing your hand underneath the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I hope so. We’re taking it day by day still but I feel good about everything but I know it won’t be easy,” he said to your dad.

“Well, just know that we’re proud of you and you’re doing great,” your mom chimed in.

“I’ll double down on that,” your dad added.

“Thanks, guys,” Joe smiled.

Your parents had seen Joe’s football journey since the beginning just like you had. They were practically a second set of parents for him given how close you two were and his relationship with them was something Joe held incredibly close to his heart, something he wouldn’t ever want to replace.

“Y/N, you really outdid yourself with these flowers,” your mom pointed out. “You better keep the contact of whichever florist you found because this looks amazing,”.

“Actually,” you said, looking over at Joe. “You should be thanking Joe. The original florist canceled at the last minute a few weeks ago and he actually pulled a few strings and got one of the best florists money can buy to come through. Even picked out most of the flowers himself,”.

“Well that was sweet,” your dad smiled as he took a sip of his champagne.

“Very,” your mom added. “But did we expect any less from him? He has an excellent track record of coming to Y/N’s rescue whenever she needs to be saved. He’s always been so good to her,”.

“Okayyyy, that’s enough of that. I can just feel his ego getting bigger by the second,” you laughed as you poked his shoulder.

“Someone’s just mad that I have exceptional taste in flowers,” he said as he turned his head and leaned in closer.

You raised your eyebrow, “You wish. I would’ve done just fine without your help,” you scoffed as you leaned in closer, your eyes navigating down to his plump pink lips. God, you wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now.

“Okay, let’s not get into a fistfight at your sister's wedding now,” your mom said as she got up with your dad. “We’re going to go make some rounds around the room. Try not to murder each other while we’re gone,” she smiled.

“No promises,” Joe joked as he watched them walk away, his head turning back to look at you, watching as you were laughing to yourself.

“And what’re you laughing about?” he asked.

“They thought we were going to fight, that’s funny,” you giggled. “More like kiss the hell out of you but I guess they couldn’t catch onto that,”.

He leaned in closer and you could feel his heated gaze on you as you started fidgeting with your ring again. “You know, we didn’t get to finish what we started in the hallway earlier,” he whispered into your ear. You felt his hand creep through the slit of your dress and to your bare thigh, your cheeks heating up again as you could practically hear your heartbeat.

“Joe, we’re in a hall filled with people,” you whispered, moving his hand out from under your dress.

“So?” he said looking around. “Everyone’s doing their own thing, nobody’s looking at us,” he said as he moved his hand back to your thigh.

“I’m not going to kiss you in a room filled with people who think we’re just friends,” you laughed. “I’ll have every single female in this room out for my blood,”.

“Who said anything about kissing?” he whispered as you felt his hand creep up your thigh, inching closer to your heat. Your breath hitched as you felt his fingers ghost over your core through your lace panties, your body jerking when you felt his fingers against your folds. “Joe,” you whispered.

“What, Baby?” he whispered in your ear.

You turned your head to meet his eyes, opening your mouth to say something but before you could, someone interrupted you.

“Y/N! There you are,” you could recognize that fake tone of voice anywhere. Veronica.

You turned your head to face her, watching as she sat down across from you and Joe, the fakest smile plastered on her face and a glass of champagne in her hand. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” she smiled.

"Were you looking for me or looking for my boyfriend?" you thought to yourself.

“Hey, Veronica,” you forcefully smiled and nodded at her.

“And you must be Joe,” she said, turning her head towards Joe and batting her eyelashes.

“Nice to meet you,” Joe smiled, his finger sliding your panties to the side causing you to bump your leg against the table at the sudden movement. You looked over at Joe who was looking straight ahead at Veronica, a smug look on his face as she was introducing herself to him.

You gasped lightly when you felt Joe’s fingers sneak up to your clit, his thumb toying with the sensitive bud which made your body jerk again, your hand gripping the table as he entered two fingers into your soaking core.

“Mmph,” you quietly moaned into your hand as you placed your elbow on the table and covered your mouth.

“So Joe, Is it true what they say about professional athletes’ taste in ice cream?” she smirked at him, clearly using ice cream as a relationship and sexual innuendo. Your eyes widened at her boldness and at the fact that Joe was pumping his fingers in and out of you with zero shame. He started to rub circles around your clit with his thumb, your leg twitching as you started to feel restless.

"This Bitch.." you thought to yourself as you squirmed in your seat.

“Uhh, what do they say?” Joe asked her as he glanced over at you, your pleasure rapidly building up as you were struggling to stifle your moans.

“Hm,” you lightly inhaled as you sat back again and tried to act normal, but it was not working very well.

“Y/N, are you alright?” Veronica asked as she looked over at you, the suspicion on her face evident.

“Yeah, uh, I’m fine,” you winced as you felt his fingers pick up the pace, your arousal begging to be released, your eyes looking over at Joe a few times who was still looking ahead with a smirk on his face. Just a few more pumps and you’d reach your pleasure, you wanted him to stop because if you got caught this would be incredibly hard to explain, but you needed him to keep going.

“Oookay..Anyway,” she said as she looked back over at Joe. “That they don’t stick to one flavor so they can try every kind without feeling the need to have the same boring one for the rest of their lives?”.

“Hmph,” you moaned into your hand as you covered your mouth again, the urge to slap Veronica across the face almost as strong as the urge to come undone right now. You felt your belly flutter at the gentle shock of pleasure vibrating throughout your body once Joe had hit your sweet spot, your hands gripping the tablecloth incredibly tightly as you were just seconds away from feeling pure bliss.

“Uhhh,” Joe nervously laughed as he gave your core a few more pumps, feeling your walls start to tighten around them. You were so incredibly close, but then he slipped his fingers out of your core, leaving you stranded on the edge. You felt everything go still as you let out a shaky breath when you looked over at him, your eyes widening at what he had just done.

“I see you’ve tried a few flavors before but none of them seem to have stuck with you, it seems like you got bored. Hm, have you thought about trying strawberry?” she winked, clearly referring to herself and her obnoxious red hair.

“No actually, I haven’t. I’m not a big strawberry ice cream kinda guy.” Joe laughed again, sliding his wet fingers across your bare thigh and giving your twitching leg a few loving squeezes. “Is it good?”.

Was Joe just painfully oblivious to what she was actually talking about or was he doing this on purpose? Whatever it was, you couldn’t sit there for another second and listen as the ache between your thighs was getting stronger and the incredibly needy comments Veronica was passing were making you sick to your stomach.

“Uhh, excuse me,” you said as you quickly got up from your seat.

“You Okay?” Joe innocently smiled at you as if he didn’t know what was wrong.

“Yeah, I just feel sick all of a sudden. Might be from the shrimp I had earlier, I’m going to take a breather,” you lied as you looked over at Veronica, wanting to wipe the grin off her face as she was practically making googly eyes at Joe.

You quickly walked away before Joe could say anything else, your stomach doing backflips as your brain started to register what had happened underneath that table. He actually just did that in front of Veronica, in front of everyone.

“I should go check on her,” Joe said as he glanced back at your figure that was getting further and further away.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Veronica chirped as she watched Joe get up from his seat, a scoff following as she watched Joe ignore her and walk away.

Meanwhile, you hand wandered out of the Reception hall and were leaning against the bathroom door, staring off into space before you felt a familiar pair of lips press a kiss on your shoulder.

“Absolutely not!” you clamored as you turned around to face Joe.

“What?” he innocently chuckled.

“You know exactly what,” you huffed, crossing your arms and sending him a look that he would easily understand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that my boyfriend just fingered me under the fucking table, didn’t even finish me off, and then proceeded to blatantly flirt with the same girl that was talking about making a move on you earlier right in front of me,” you grumbled.

“I’ve never seen you Jealous before,” he smiled. “It’s kinda hot,”.

Your mouth dropped open, “Are you serious right now?”. You were a little mad about the Veronica thing but it didn’t really bother you because you knew that Joe wouldn’t ever look at another girl the way he looks at you, and to be completely honest with yourself you were more mad that he did that under the table and didn’t let you finish.

You scoffed and started to walk down the hall, glancing back to see if Joe was following you, which he was. He walked a little faster and grabbed your hand, pulling you back towards him in one strong pull.

“Okay, Okay. I’m sorry for feeding into her terrible attempt at flirting with me,” he said, his eyes filled with adoration as he squeezed your hand.

You continued to stare at him, not responding to his apology on purpose before you felt him pull you into his chest, his mouth inches from your ear. “Let me make it up to you,” his hot breath made your core throb again.

“How?” you whispered to him.

“Let me finish what I started under that table,” he whispered into your ear again. “We both know that’s the real reason you’re mad,”

You looked back into his infatuated eyes, a smile creeping onto your face as you looked behind him and then behind you to make sure nobody was around. The ache between your thighs was still there, calling his name just like how your heart was. You couldn’t stay mad at him, not when he looked at you like this.

“Deal,” you whispered as you grabbed his hand, urgently pulling him down the hall.

“Where are we going?”.

You stopped once you got to the bedroom suites, slowing down your pace as you walked past each room before reaching yours. “My room,” you smiled at him, pulling out your keycard and unlocking the door.

“Thank God for wedding venues with bedrooms,” Joe mumbled to himself as you dragged him inside, quickly closing the door and backing him up against it as you got straight to business. Your hands tangled in his hair as you met for a passionate kiss, your lips then trailing down to his neck where you absentmindedly nipped his skin while kissing it.

“We have to be quick,” you panted as you pulled away from him.

He nodded before pulling you into the bathroom, quickly helping you onto the countertop before unbuckling his belt and pulling his pants and boxers down in one swift motion. He moved his hands under your dress, sliding your drenched panties to the side before thrusting into you, a throaty moan coming from your lips at the sudden intrusion.

You’d never get sick of this feeling. Ever since you and Joe got a taste of what this felt like with each other, neither of you could resist sneaking away for a few moments and feeling this way again and again. It didn’t matter where you were, it didn’t matter when it was, but it always started & ended with you both feeling like horny college kids. Call it making up for lost time if you will?

“Joe,” you whimpered as you grabbed onto his shoulders, his thrusts picking up as the sounds coming from your lips got louder.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he smiled as he dropped his head to your shoulder, your hands finding themselves in his hair.

“Fuck, harder,” you moaned into his ear, his merciless pace doing wonders for you. He smiles, moves his head back to yours, and captures your lips in a sloppy kiss as he quickened his pace, rapidly thrusting into your slick core which meshed with both your moans and created a familiar harmonious melody that echoed throughout the room.

He moved deeper and deeper inside your core with each well-placed thrust, your cushiony walls beginning to tighten around him as you moaned against his lips. “Joe, right there,” his lips glossy and swollen from being attached to yours for too long. He used his hand to spread your legs apart a little more, the increased space allowing him to hit an angle that he hadn’t before.

“J- Joe,” you struggled to moan as you dropped your head on his shoulder.

“Remember, you’re the only girl I want,” he moaned as he peppered kisses around your jaw. “Okay?”.

“…Yeah,” you moaned as you felt him hit your sweet spot. “I’m the only girl you want,” you whimpered as you threw your head back against the mirror, the band in your belly tightening as he picked up the pace.

“I’m close,” you whined as you felt yourself clamp down on his thick cock.

He moved his hand underneath your dress again, his fingers coated with your arousal as he began to rub circles around your clit. “Joe, oh my g- god,” you moaned as you felt the band snap, your walls convulsing around him as your body started to shake from the intense feeling.

“Hang on,” he panted as he picked up his pace again, his hand gripping your waist, his cock twitching inside of your core as he felt himself getting closer to his pleasure.

A few moments later, you felt him still inside of you as his cum coated your walls, his head dropped to your shoulder again as he bit down on your skin to prevent himself from being too loud, his high washing over him as you were recovering from yours.

“Shit,” you panted as you rubbed his neck, Joe gently thrusting into you before tapering off.

“If you ever think that I’d want anyone else, you’re crazy,” Joe smiled against your shoulder before tilting his head and pressing kisses to your flushed cheeks. “I don’t give a damn if I have to taste the same flavor of ice cream for the rest of my life,”.

“My kind of ice cream is incredibly delicious,” he said with another kiss on your cheek. “Sweet,” he said with another kiss, this time to your neck. “Kind and gentle,” he said as he kissed your shoulder. “Is 2 in 1 because she’s the love of my life and best friend all in one,” he said with a kiss to your chest. “And far from boring,” he ended with a passionate kiss to your lips, the kiss so intense that it sent you back towards the mirror again.

“So you do know that she wasn’t talking about ice cream?” you rasped, your voice tired from screaming his name as you felt your heart flutter at his softness and kind words towards you.

“Obviously,” he laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “She wasn’t exactly subtle about it,”.

“Then why were you playing along?”.

“Because I knew it’d make you a little jealous,” he winked.

“Asshole,” you playfully grumbled as you lightly slapped his chest.

“I may be an asshole but you still love me,” he said as he raised an eyebrow.

“Unfortunately, that’s something that’ll never change,” you sighed.

“Unfortunately?” he asked. “You say it like it’s a bad thing,”.

“It’s definitely not a bad thing” you grin. “It’s just I love you too much to care about the fact that you did that to me under the table at my sister's wedding, in a room filled with people, and then we proceeded to sneak off mid-party to hook up in the bathroom. If I was with any other guy, I would never even entertain these thoughts. We’re so scandalous,” you said as you wiggled your eyebrows which made him laugh.

“You know I'm not a bad girl, but I seem to be doing bad things with you. I should care, but I don’t,” you blushed.

“And that’s exactly why you're far from boring; you always seem to surprise me,” he said as he pressed a kiss to your jaw.

“Love you,” you lazily smiled as you grabbed his face to kiss him again.

“Love you too,” he smiled against your lips.

A few minutes later, you were both cleaned up and fixing yourselves in the mirror before heading back to the reception. “I hope they didn’t notice we were gone,” you laughed as you fixed a few stray pieces of your hair.

“I doubt it. They were probably too wrapped up in the party to realize,” he smiled as he fixed his tie. “You ready?” he asked after he was done.

“Mhm,” you nodded, leaning in for one final kiss before getting ready to head back.

Joe opened your door and stepped out into the hall, you followed him out and closed the door behind you, laughing at a joke he made about how you guys went from sneaking out of weddings to raid the bar to make stronger cocktails to now sneaking out of weddings to have hook up in your room. You were about to reach for his hand before you heard a shriek come from down the hall, your heart stopping when you realized who it was.

“Busted!” the familiar voice screamed.

“Oh, fuck,” you froze as you realized who it was, being able to recognize that voice anywhere.

Kaylee.

You and Joe both looked at each other before looking at Kaylee who was speed walking down the hall to you, both your cheeks turning red as you were caught red-handed.

“Kaylee,” you forcefully smiled.

“I knew it. I knew it. And you said you were just friends…Ha…Funny,” she laughed.

“Uhh, Kaylee are you okay?” Joe asked her, his palms getting sweaty as he quickly glanced over at you.

“I’m great, Joe. Are you okay? You got a little something on your neck,” she said, pointing out the tiny purple bruise on his neck.

“Fuck,” you mumbled under your breath.

“Oh, and Y/N, did you bump into something?” She said as she moved her hand to the mark on your shoulder, leaning in to look at it closely. “Oh wait, that looks like a bite mark?”.

“Shit,” Joe mouthed as he looked into your eyes, both of you frozen and having no idea how to play this off.

“We were just…,” you started to say but not being able to come up with anything.

“We were just taking a breather,” Joe interrupted.

“Uh huh,” your sister nodded. “So that explains the flushed cheeks, obvious hickey, bite mark on your shoulder, and the fact that Joe’s lips are covered with lipgloss,” your sister said looking at you. “Not to mention whatever I interrupted in the hallway outside the bridal suite earlier was clearly the first part of whatever happened in that room,” she smirked as she pointed behind you.

You quietly stared at your sister, your mind completely blank as you had no idea how to lie to her because she quite literally had caught you both in the act.

“I…” you trailed off before you felt Joe lightly bump into your shoulder, making you look up at him. One thing about you and Joe was that you could tell each other a thousand words by just looking into each other’s eyes. He didn’t need to say anything but you knew exactly what he was saying to you; his soft gaze calming your nerves, the warmth in his eyes showing that he genuinely cared about you, the adorable crinkles in the corner of his eyes coming out, and his gentle and steady eye contact reassuring you that everything was perfectly fine.

You nodded your head once you got the message he was trying to convey and looked back at your sister. “We’re dating,” you blurted out.

Kaylee stayed quiet for a few moments and looked back and forth between you two, “Well obviously,” she laughed.

“What?” you deadpanned, your heart-stopping.

“Y/N, I’m your sister. I know when something’s up with you,” she grinned. “I had a feeling something was going on after that Christmas party you went to together. You started acting weird after that and the phone call we had the night before the party was strange so then I put 2 and 2 together. There was a high chance that I could’ve been wrong but I had a gut feeling,”.

“Damn,” you whispered to yourself. Were you really that bad at hiding it or was Joe’s effect on you just that noticeable?

“But I’m really happy for you both,” she said. “I always knew you two were meant to be but I was called delusional every time by Y/N over here,” she laughed as she looked at Joe. “Besides, I see the way you look at her, Joe. The eyes never lie,”.

“Only took us about 9 years but here we are,” Joe said, pulling you closer to him and kissing your forehead. The blissful looks on both of your faces right now matched how you felt with each other.

“This is the best wedding gift you could possibly give me. My baby sister is finally with her Prince Charming,” she cooed as she gently punched your shoulder.

“Yeah,” you said. “I guess I am,” you smiled up at Joe.

“You know, the wedding setup is still here and I bet my wedding dress fits you,” your sister teased. “You guys can pull a fast one on everyone. I won’t snitch. You can even use that ring on your left hand, Y/N. By the way, Joe, nice taste in jewels,”.

“How did you..,” you questioned since you thought she believed your lie about the ring being from an antique shop.

“I had a hunch,” she winked at you and Joe. “That ring screams expensive,”.

“What were you going to do if you didn’t catch us together like this? Because we weren’t planning on telling anyone for a little longer but it sounds like you were on the case for a while now,” you wondered.

“Hmm, I probably would’ve encouraged Veronica to steal Joe for a dance to get you to rile you up and get a reaction out of you. No way you’d let her be alone with him,” she giggled.

“I would’ve killed you if you did that,” you scowled, feeling Joe laugh above you at your adorable defensiveness.

“Okay, Okay,” she laughed while throwing her hands up. “Note to self, steer Veronica away from Joe if I want to live to see my honeymoon,” she giggled.

“Mhm,” you nodded.

“I should get back to the party considering I am the lady of the hour but I want details later. All of them,” she pointed at you both.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Joe saluted before she opened her arms and lept onto you both, pulling you in for a tight hug.

“Ahh, I can’t believe you two finally did it,” she hooted as squeezed you both. “This is the best thing ever!”.

You looked up at Joe with a heartfelt smile, one that said everything without saying anything just like the looks in both your eyes. Your sister released you both from the hug a few seconds later and said “Make sure to cover those up before you go back in,” while pointing at your shoulder and his neck.

You covered your face with your hands out of embarrassment and let out a soft whine as she walked away, “Remember, no babies out of wedlock! Wrap it before you tap it,” she laughed.

“Oh my god,” you said, your face reddening as you looked over at Joe who was laughing to himself about how comical this situation was.

“If you had told me a few years ago that your sister would be warning us to have protected sex to not have a child out of marriage, I would’ve laughed in your face and walked out the door,” he smiled.

“That makes two of us. God, I cannot believe she saw that,” you smiled as let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding before looking back up at Joe, his cheeks a little red and his eyes glistening. “You look happy, though,” you said, rubbing his shoulder.

“That’s because I am happy,” he hummed before he leaned down to press a sweet kiss to your lips. “I love you,”.

“And I love you,” you smiled at him before pecking his lips again.

“I guess we should probably tell your parents now that your sister knows,” Joe said as he grabbed your hand and slowly started leading you back to the reception hall.

“I guess so,” you sighed. “Be prepared for my Mom to hound you with questions about your intentions though. She loves you to death but you’re the boyfriend now and not just the best friend. There’s some pressure on you,”.

“Oh, I’m prepared. I know what my intentions are and I'm not afraid to voice them,” he winked at you, another chill running down your spine as you could practically feel the tenderness and reassurance in his voice.

A few minutes later, you’re back inside the hall and sitting at the table again with your parents who thankfully hadn’t noticed your absence. They were talking to Joe about needing some help with moving some furniture out of the house and given the gentleman Joe was, he happily said yes.

You cleared your throat a few moments later and sat up, squeezing Joe’s thigh under the table to get his attention. He looked over at you and met your eyes, your eyes once again telling him everything without needing to say anything. He gave you a small nod before you turned around to your parents.

“So, Mom, Dad,” you said, looking at both of them. “I have something to tell you both,”.

“Go ahead, sweetie,” your mom smiled as she placed her drink down.

You took a deep breath, “I’m seeing someone,” you smiled, feeling Joe grab your hand under the table.

“Really?” your parents asked, both of their eyes lighting up.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I have been for about a month now,”.

“Do we know him?” your dad asked, putting his elbow on the table and grabbing his drink.

“Yeah actually,” you laughed as you saw Joe blush from the corner of your eye. “You know him pretty well,”.

“Are you going to tell us his name?” your Dad laughed at your vagueness.

“Honey, I think she wants us to play the guessing game,” your Mom chuckled. “Am I right, Y/N?”.

You bit your lip and nodded your head, Joe’s fingers softly rubbing your hand as he tried hard to remain quiet.

“You always loved to play the guessing game as a child, I should’ve seen this coming,” your Dad shook his head.

“Okay then, what does he do? Does he have a stable job?” your mom asked.

“He’s involved in sports, it’s very stable and it pays very well,” you said, glancing around and not meeting her eyes because this could make it so obvious.

“Okay,” your dad nodded. “How is he? Describe him,”.

“Well, he is the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. He’s really kind, super smart, genuine, caring, and has a great sense of humor. He’s also a big nerd but never likes to admit it because he has this cool guy attitude on the surface,” you say as you feel Joe bump your leg with his leg under the table, making you look over at him and see him give you a look that makes you want to explode into a cloud of pink dust.

“He’s really athletic too. One of the absolute best at what he does,” you bragged as you looked back at your parents.

“Is he an athlete or something?” your mom asked as she took a sip of her water.

“Mhm,” you nodded.

“What sport?” your dad asked. “This guy might be giving Joe a run for his money,” he laughed as he looked at your mom.

You pursed your lips to hide your smile, watching as Joe laughed along with them from the corner of your eye.

“If I told you the sport it would give it away,” you said matter-of-factly.

“Okay, well keep going then. You seem to be in a secretive mood tonight,” your mom said.

“Okay, he never fails to make me feel like the most important girl on the planet, never fails to tell me how beautiful and special I am, and never fails to tell me and show me how much he loves me. He cares a lot about me and I feel at home whenever I’m with him, and I haven’t felt that way with any guy before. And whenever we’re around each other I can’t help but fall even more in love with him,” you blushed.

“Love?” your mom said as she raised an eyebrow. “It’s only been a month though?”.

“It’s only been a month since we’ve been dating but I’ve known him for about 9 years,” you smiled as you leaned back against your chair and looked over at Joe.

“9 years? So she met him in college?” your dad said as he looked at your mom.

“Y/N, why didn’t you bring him to the wedding? No offense Joe, you know we love you, but you should’ve told this mystery man to come. I’m sure we could’ve added an extra invitation,” your Mom said.

Joe was about to say something before you grabbed his hand, “Actually,” you said while picking his hand up from under the table and pressing a kiss to it in front of your parents. “I did bring him with me,”.

Your parents went silent as they looked at you both and then at each other, “Oh. Ohhhh,” your Mom said as she looked back at you with realization, her eyes softening once she put the puzzle together in her head. “You two,” she said, choking up a little and placing her hand over her heart. “Oh my god,” she said as she looked over at your Dad.

“Well, would you look at that? It’s about damn time,” he cheered as leaned back and crossed his arms, a huge smile on his face. “I knew this would happen at some point,”.

“Did everyone see it this entire time except for us?” you shook your head as you looked at Joe.

“I guess so,” he grinned as he placed his arm around your shoulder and brought you in closer.

You looked over at your Mom who was using a tissue to soak up a few tears in her eyes, “Mom, are you crying?” you pouted.

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “You have no idea how happy this makes me,”.

“That makes two of us,” Joe said, looking down at you with what looked like real-life heart eyes.

“I mean you two have been such good friends since college and seeing you both like this,” she said as she felt more tears coming. “I’m just so happy for you both. I couldn’t ask for a better man for my Y/N,”.

“Ditto. You two are excellent for each other, it all makes perfect sense,” your Dad nodded with a fervent smile.

“Thanks, Mom and Dad,” you smiled as you dropped your head against Joe’s shoulder, feeling him press two kisses to your forehead before feeling him rest his head against yours.

“You have to tell us everything. How did this happen?” your Dad asked as reached for a glass of water to hand your Mom.

“It’s quite the story,” Joe smiled as he placed his hand in your hand and started to tell them how this all came to be, your heart growing from all the love you were feeling around you, a majority of it coming off of the man next to you.

A week later

“You ready?” Joe asked as he turned the key to the golf cart.

“Absolutely,” you grinned as you crossed your legs and leaned back. “I still can’t believe you bought a golf cart,”.

“Well, this neighborhood is pretty big and there’s a lot of trails and paths around so I thought this would be the right investment,” he smiled at you as he backed out of the driveway. “And also because once you move in we can do nightly drives instead of nightly walks so we don’t get tired halfway through and you beg me for a piggyback ride home,”.

“Hey, don’t act like you don’t enjoy it just as much as I do,” you pointed at him. “But anyway, I can’t wait to move in with you. One more month and I’m all yours,” you bit your lip while rubbing his thigh.

“You’re already all mine,” he said, leaning in for a quick peck before beginning the drive.

“That I am,” you smiled as you turned your head back to the road, watching as the sun set over the beautiful Ohio River where you and Joe were driving down to as his house sat right by the water.

“I’m getting major Deja Vu,” he said as he turned onto the grassy path that led down to the river. “Do you remember when we stole that neighbor's golf cart when we went on that beach trip during spring break back at Ohio State?”.

“You mean the beach trip from hell?” you giggled. “Oooh yeah, I remember,” you nodded.

Flashback to Spring Break - Ohio State

“Joe, what if someone sees?” you whisper yelled at him while he was trying to grab the keys to your neighbor’s golf cart from the patio table, your eyes darting back and forth from the door to Joe.

“Almost..got it…,” he whispered as he grabbed the keys from the table, then carefully sneaked past the windows and made it to the ledge. “Let’s go,” he said as he hopped down from the patio.

“Fuck, we’re going to get in so much trouble,” you laughed as you slid into the golf cart, Joe doing the same and then turning on the cart.

“I honestly could care less. Anything to get me the hell out of this house for even 10 minutes will suffice,” he said as he quickly backed out of the driveway and started driving towards the beach.

“Are you alright?” you asked him, rubbing his shoulder as you noticed his exhausted body language.

“Could be better,” he sighed as he turned onto the beach, driving you both alongside the ocean.

“You wanna talk about it? You know I’m always here,” you said.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, your heartbeat picking up because he wasn’t saying anything and you were getting worried because he was usually quick to confide in you.

“Joe,” you said, gently squeezing his thigh.

“It’s Audrey,” he sighed.

You went silent at the name. Audrey was Joe’s girlfriend, or situationship as everyone liked to call it.

“What happened now?” you asked, pulling the hood of your sweatshirt up as you tried to block the cool ocean breeze out.

Joe turned the cart to face the water before putting it in park, giving you both some time to talk while enjoying the view of the ocean.

“Just everything,” he sighed as he placed his arm around the back of your seat. “Nothing I do is good enough for her. No matter how hard I try to make things work, she always does something that ruins it,”.

You felt your heart drop at his words, you wished you could do something to make him feel better but you couldn’t. You promised yourself that you’d never put yourself on the field in Joe’s love life. You’d watch from the sidelines, cheering him on with whichever girl captured his heart, even though silently you wished that the girl was you.

It was enraging watching as Audrey played with Joe’s feelings, always dragging him along even though she clearly didn’t treat him the way he treated her. He knew that he deserved better but each time he tried to pull away, she’d always bring him back and give him hope that things would be different but they never were.

“I mean, just this morning I woke up early to make her breakfast but she decided to go out and get an acai bowl or something and then got mad that I was making you breakfast when she got back,” he shook his head.

“Are you serious?” you laughed. “Why is she always so petty about everything,”.

“I wish I had an answer. It’s just exhausting being around her. We have moments where things feel normal but they’re very very short moments,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Have you tried talking to her about it?” you asked.

“I did…Just before the trip. I told her that I wanted things to work and she agreed, I also told her where I stood and how this trip was a kind of ‘make it or break it’ for us,” he said.

“What’d she say? you bit your lip while playing with the bracelets on your wrist.

“She said she understood and gave me the impression that things would be different this weekend. But ever since we’ve been here she’s been on me for literally everything. It was the breakfast thing this morning, then it was her getting mad that we went out for ice cream yesterday without her even though we didn’t even ask the others if they wanted to come so it’s not like we specifically left her out, and then it was her getting mad that we all wanted to go to the pier last night but she wanted to stay in and watch TV,”

“Who stays inside and watches TV while you’re at the fucking beach?” you grimaced.

“Then it was her getting upset that you were even on the trip in the first place even though I literally told her you were coming,” he shrugged, his eyes quickly darting to you as he realized how bad that sounded. “Sorry about that. I know she isn’t exactly the nicest to you,”.

“No offense taken. I get a vibe from her that tells me everything I need to know,” you sighed.

“You know what? That’s another thing. She knows you’re my best friend but still treats you like shit for absolutely no reason. It’s like she doesn’t care about anything important in my life,” he ranted.

Important. You were important to Joe.

You looked at him for a few seconds before dropping your head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around you as if it were a reflex. “I’m sorry,” you said to him. “I know it’s hard and you deserve so much more,”.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one that has the worst taste in girls,” he softly chuckled as he rubbed your shoulder, his phone vibrating on the dash which diverted his attention.

He leaned forward to see who it was, “Speaking of…,” he said as he grabbed his phone.

“It’s like she’s listening to our conversations,” you joked. “You sure she didn’t bug you?”.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if she did,” he laughed as he opened up the texts.

You watched as Joe’s smile dropped as his eyes skimmed her lengthy text message.

“What’d she say?” you asked.

“Basically asking where I went and why didn’t I tell her I was going somewhere. Then accusing me of sneaking off with you since she doesn’t know where you went either,” he said.

“Well, she’s not wrong about that part,” you shrugged.

“Then she said this isn’t working, I’m not trying hard enough, and that she’s been miserable since she’s been here,” he said as he turned off his phone.

“Damn, no text back?” you said while looking out to the open waters.

“Nope. I’m done with this bullshit. If she thinks I’m not doing enough then she needs to wake the hell up,” he said as he pulled you in closer. “I’ve tried to do fun stuff with her since we’ve been here but she doesn’t want to do anything other than sit and be mad at me for no reason. I’ve been trying for months. A relationship is a two-way street and I’m not going to work on it if she isn’t going to try. It’s draining and I can’t do it,”.

“You deserve better, Joe,” you say, tilting your head to look at him. “You’re such an amazing guy and have so much to offer and if Audrey can’t see that, then she isn’t the one,”.

“I know,” he sighed. “It just sucks when you spend time on someone who you thought was your person,”.

You looked out at the ocean again, “Did you know that 80% of the ocean is unexplored?”.

“Yeah..” he confusingly said, wondering what this had to do with what you were just talking about.

“Well, the unexplored parts of the ocean probably have new species, new ecosystems, and things we haven’t seen before. In love, there are so many things to explore just like in those unknown parts of the ocean. So many chances to find a deeper connection, to find out things about yourself and other people, to do new things and see new places, and so many chances to find your person. There are endless possibilities. You’ll find your person, I know she’s out there. It might take some exploring and some waiting, but you’ll find her one day,” you said, feeling a visceral ache in your heart because you wanted to be his person so badly. “And she’ll be the one who showers you with all the love you deserve and the same love you give to others,”.

“You know, you should really do a Ted-Talk episode one day,” he laughed, squeezing your shoulder gently. Your words meant the world to him, especially since he had a secret crush on you, and hearing you talk to him about finding his person just made him think of you. He wanted you to be his person, he wanted to explore these things with you.

“I think I just might,” you grinned.

“Thanks for that though. You always know how to make me feel better, I don’t know how you do it, but you always say the right things every time,” he said, shaking your shoulder and looking down at you.

Before you could say something, you heard a piercing shriek come from behind you. Both of you jumped in your seat and turned around and saw Audrey speed-walking towards you both with a fearful look on her face. “Joe!” she screamed. “Why the hell are you out here with her?”.

“Uh oh,” you said as you turned back around, watching Joe quickly switch the cart from park to drive. “What are you doing?”.

“Getting us the hell out of here,” he nodded as he turned the steering wheel and floored the cart.

He told you to hang on as he tried to get away from her as fast as he could, which was pretty fast because you were practically zooming down the beach and Audrey’s figure quickly faded into the background.

“Oh my god,” you screamed as you hit a bump on the sand that nearly caused you two to spin out, the adrenaline rush keeping you from making him stop the cart.

“Hold on,” Joe yelled as he quickly made a turn onto one of the streets that led down to the main road, your hands clutching onto his arm as you pulled yourself closer to him.

“Joeeee, slow down,” you laughed as you tightly held onto his body, the force of the cart & wind giving you whiplash.

End of flashback

“I can’t believe she snitched on us for stealing the cart because we drove off,” you laughed.

“I remember seeing steam practically coming off of her face when she was walking towards us. Scary sight,” he said, bumping into your shoulder as he drove you two along the path.

“The latter half of the trip after she left was pretty enjoyable though,” you said as you propped your feet up on the dash of the cart.

“Very. I still can’t believe you threw up in my hat after we rode the slingshot,” he chuckled as he placed his arm around your shoulder.

“Please don’t remind me of that ever again. That was so embarrassing,” you said as remembered the grotesque memory and hid your face in his chest.

Joe pressed a kiss to your head before changing the subject, “Okay, I won’t make you relive that but we should really go back there this off-season. Just the two of us though,”.

“I’d love to, we made some pretty great memories on that trip together,” you said as you pressed yourself closer to him.

“This time, make sure to not eat a soft pretzel and funnel cake before getting on the slingshot,” he warned you.

“You got it,” you saluted. “I can’t believe this is my first off-season with you,” the river trail getting closer to you both as you continued talking.

“What do you mean? I usually spent a lot of time with you in previous off-seasons,” he said.

“I know, but I mean this is my first one as your girlfriend,” you say, playfully poking his shoulder. “I get to do a lot more with you now,” you beamed.

“Oh yeah?” he smirked. “Like what?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows, his words laced with mischief.

“Ohhh I don’t know, maybe watch some movies, teach you how to cook some more, swim in the pool, amongst other things,” you tease.

“What are the other things?” he said as you made it down to the trail, now driving alongside the river.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out when the time comes,” you winked.

“Such a tease,” he shook his head before slowing down once you reached the rocks that you two would sit on by the water when you came down here.

Joe switched off the golf cart before hopping out and helping you out, then carefully led you down to the rocks–making sure you didn’t almost fall like how you did the first time–and then sat you down on a rock he deemed stable and secure and then plopped down on a rock next to you.

“This is nice,” he said, letting out a relaxed sigh as he watched the sunset.

“What is?” you laughed as you looked over at him.

“Doing stuff like this with you. Everything just feels so easy with us…like I don’t have to jump through hoops to make this work,” he said, looking over at you and seeing how the cool January breeze made your nose red. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy and at peace in my life,”.

“I’m glad you’re happy, Joe,” you grinned as you pulled your sweatshirt sleeves out to cover your chilled hands. “You deserve it,”.

“Are you cold?” he asked as he sat up.

“A l- little,” you mumbled as you felt a chill run up your spine.

“Here,” Joe said as he opened up his legs and scooched back. “Come sit with me,” he said, pointing at the space between his legs.

You smiled and got up, carefully moving over to where he was, and sat down between his legs. His arms instantly wrapped around your waist as he pulled you back into his chest, his body warmth quickly heating you up.

“Mmm, you’re so warm,” you hummed as you rested your head against his shoulder and turned your head to press a kiss to his fragrant neck; the smell of his gentle cologne filling your nostrils.

“Are you happy?” Joe asked as he continued to stare out at the water, his grip on you tightening.

You were quiet for a few seconds before speaking up, “Of course I’m happy, this is all I’ve ever wanted. You’ve all I’ve ever wanted. And now I have it and it’s even better than imagined. It quite literally can’t get better than this,” you smiled up at him.

“I’m glad. It’s not just me who deserves it, we deserve it,” he beamed as he leaned down to kiss you.

After holding the kiss for a few seconds, you both pull away and look ahead at the slowing descending sun, the sky getting darker as the moments go by. “You excited for the first playoff game tomorrow?” you asked him as you placed your hand on top of his.

“Excited, prepared, a little nervous,” he sighed as he laced his fingers with yours.

“You’re going to do great, I have full confidence in you and the guys,” you told him. “You’ve been playing really really well recently and I know that tomorrow's game is going to be good,”.

“I hope so,” he nodded before looking down at you, an idea coming into his head. “Hey, you should come down to the sidelines before the game so I can see you,”.

“What? In front of everyone?” you asked as you felt a little nervous at the thought of being down there in front of everyone, usually a spot that was reserved for the family of the players.

“Yeah, why not? You’re my girlfriend and girlfriends get to come to the sidelines along with other immediate family if they want to,” he smiled. “Besides, only a matter of time before the fans figure out that we’re together which would confirm their already established theories,” he giggled. “And I need my good luck kiss,” he sneaked in.

You let out a soft laugh, “Okay, I’ll be there,”. You always supported Joe when it came to football, even if it was from a distance; but now it was time for you to be front and center.

“Wear some of your peach lip gloss too,” he mumbled as he kissed your cheek.

“That’s your favorite I assume?” you asked.

“Mhmmm,” he hummed as he kissed your cheek again. “Although, watermelon might give it a run for its money. We may have to test it out some more,”.

“Deal,” you grinned. “Just promise me you’ll win the game,”.

“I promise,” he nodded. “I’m going to win the game and then I’m going to take you out for dinner after,” he added.

“Won’t you be tired though?” you furrow your brows.

“Probably, but that’s fine. If anything we can just bring it back to the house and stuff our faces with delicious food while sitting on the couch in our jammies and watching the latest episode of Love Island so you don’t miss it,” he smiled.

“I like youu,” you grinned like a little kid at his tempting words.

“Guess what?” he asked you.

“What?”.

“I like you too,” he whispered into your ear as he found himself remembering a similar moment like this from a few years ago.

Flashback to LSU – 2019 (in the same flashback period as the 2019 LSU flashback from part 1 & post-breakup with your ex jake)

Today was the day.

Today was the day Joe was going to tell you how he felt about you.

You had flown in early yesterday morning and had surprised him last night at his game and were staying in Baton Rouge for 3 more days. Joe made it his mission to come clean about his feelings within these 3 days, hopefully today so that he could get it over with. He just couldn’t keep it in anymore. He thought about you every single day and being away from you killed him, especially because he had absolutely 0 idea what was going on in your life (or who was in it) when he wasn’t physically with you. You could only talk about so much over Facetime, 90% of the time not talking about your relationships since neither of you liked to travel into that territory with each other because of how you felt about each other even though you both were incredibly curious about that subject.

He needed to tell you how he felt before it was too late (preferably before another guy came along), even if you didn’t feel the same way. Those feelings he’d been keeping to himself for years were eating away at him and he could only hold on to them for so much longer. You told him yesterday that you and your now ex-boyfriend Jake had broken up but you weren’t dwelling on it because you hadn’t been together for that long and you were too excited to see Joe to feel bad about the breakup. Joe still felt a bit weird about coming to you with his feelings as you just got out of a relationship but he also just couldn’t keep it in anymore, he was basically a ticking time bomb. He was going to tell you this time, no matter what it took.

This morning Joe brought you and his parents to one of his favorite breakfast spots downtown. You were busy having a conversation with his Mom and Dad about your Thanksgiving plans since it was only a few weeks away while Joe was sitting next to you in the booth picking away at a thumbnail as he couldn’t be more uninterested in the conversation. The only person he wanted to talk to was you, and the only thing he wanted to talk about was his feelings.

“Ooo, Jimmy look at that,” Robin said as she pointed across the street through the window at your booth. She was pointing over at what looked like a local artist selling paintings of the LSU football team as well as some custom merchandise.

“We should go check it out. I think we have room for a few more paintings around the house,” Jimmy smiled as he got up from the booth and helped Robin up. Both of them excitedly rush to the door and make their way across the street without saying a word to you and Joe, causing you both to laugh.

“I don’t even know how many paintings or wall pieces they have up in the house anymore. It’s like every time I go back a new one spawns out of nowhere,” Joe shook his head.

“You’re their golden baby,” you said while rubbing his shoulder. “Embrace it,” you said softly as you placed your chin on it, your lips just inches from his face.

“I think if I embrace it even more than I already have, I’m going to explode,” he joked as he felt his heart pounding because of how close you were to him.

“Hey, maybe in 15-20 years we can open a Burrow Museum? Get all of the paintings in there, your awards from High School, your eventual Natty and Heisman that you’ll be getting in about 3 months, your future Super Bowl trophies, rings, and MVP awards,” you smiled when you moved away, noticing how his cheeks turned redder while you continued talking.

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves about the awards and championships,” Joe said while running his hands through his hair. “I’m not even sure if I’ll be getting any of that stuff,”.

“Please,” you scoffed. “I beg to differ,”.

“Anywayy,” Joe changed the subject before you went on another rant about how you thought he was the best college football player in the league and was going to become the top NFL prospect in the next few months. He appreciated when you praised him like this, it meant the world to him especially since it was coming from you, but he also didn’t want to look too far ahead into a future he had no control of.

He turned a bit more in his seat to face you, taking note of how adorable you looked wearing one of his LSU football shirts which was a few sizes too big on you, your hair in a messy bun, and your beautiful natural face on display. “How are you doing about the whole Jake thing? I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about it and just wanted to know if you were doing okay with it,”.

You paused for a few seconds, both of you inching into territory that you usually avoided. “I’m fine,” you reassured him. “I kinda saw it coming and came to terms with it a while ago. And you were right, he’s 100% Mr. Lovebombing,”.

“Y/N, I wasn’t being serious when I said that,” Joe said, his smile dropping a bit because he knew how awful it felt to feel that way in a relationship.

“No, you were right though. One second he was all over me and telling me how I’m his world, the next he was doing anything and everything to dodge having a conversation with me and refused to see me,” you rolled your eyes. “I’m glad I’m done with that BS,”. You honestly weren’t that affected by the breakup as you’d been through much worse many times before. You were too busy looking forward to seeing Joe after 5 long months to think about Jake.

You both remained silent, Joe not knowing how to go about this since if he confessed his feelings after you said that, it would seem weird and almost selfish. “But enough about me and my sad dating life, what about you? Any girls I should be warned about?” you painfully laughed, not wanting to hear him say ‘yes, there is a girl’.

He cleared his throat while glancing around the room before meeting your eyes, his palms getting sweaty because he knew that this conversation could lead to him telling you how he truly felt about you. “Uhh, not really. I’ve just been focused on football,” he nodded.

“That’s great,” you smiled, mentally doing a little dance because he didn’t have any other girl in his life but then stopping once you realized how weird that could have sounded. “Uh, I mean. That’s good because you’re focusing on football, not because you don’t have a girlfriend. That sucks,” you blabbed as you scrambled to make it sound better.

“It’s okay,” he laughed. “I know what you mean,”.

“Here we go, Joe. Just tell her. It’s the perfect opportunity. It’s not weird or wrong for you to tell her how you feel, and you know how much she appreciates honesty,” Joe thought to himself.

It honestly was the perfect opportunity, his parents weren’t around, and you reassured him that you weren’t bothered by your breakup so it wasn’t like he was pushing you, and it wasn’t out of the blue since you were talking about things related to that subject.

He just had to say it; those 3 words he’d been eager to say since he met you all those years ago. It couldn’t be that difficult to say it, could it?

“We really have the worst luck when it comes to dating. I mean, why is every person we end up dating such an asshole?” you complained while taking a sip of your orange juice. “Like hello? Universe? What did we do to you?”.

“Y/N, I have something to tell you,” Joe said while looking over at you, his tone of voice and the look in his eyes changing from playful to serious all of a sudden.

You placed your glass down, “What is it? Is everything alright?” you asked as you placed your hand on his that was resting on the table.

“Everything’s fine,” he laughed. “It’s more than fine. It’s just I-,”.

“We’re back!” Robin interrupted as she placed a few bags on the table, your hand quickly moving away from Joe’s.

“Y/N, we got you a few sweatshirts we thought you might like,” Jimmy smiled as he pulled them out of the bag while Robin pulled out some of the artwork they picked up to show you.

“Are you serious,” Joe thought to himself as he watched you get distracted by his parents, all of you once again in a conversation while he just sat there and watched.

“It’s okay, Joe. Just tell her once you're back at your apartment, you have time. Mom and Dad won’t be there,” He thought to himself as he watched your face light up when you saw the artwork that had Joe front in center, your eyes then meeting his with a proud smile.

A few hours later – Joe’s LSU apartment

“Your apartment is so comfy,” you giggled as you sat down on the couch across from Joe.

“So it’s not giving Man Cave or Bachelor Pad vibes?” Joe said while pulling your feet into his lap.

“Nope. It’s giving I have a best friend who has excellent taste in decor and she doesn’t mind ordering nice stuff for my apartment,” you winked.

“I’m a lucky guy,” Joe said, squeezing your foot.

“That you are,” you replied, leaning your head back against the couch cushion and closing your eyes. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else,”.

Joe looked at you for a few quiet moments, his heartbeat picking up once again as he found himself thinking about his feelings towards you. This was the perfect moment to tell you how he felt, it was just the two of you. No distractions, interruptions, or oblivious parents in the way.

“Hey, can I talk to you about something for a second,” Joe said, breaking the silence and causing you to open your eyes and look up.

“Yeah, of course,” you smiled at him as you moved a few strands of hair out from your face.

“Okay, come on Joe. Just tell her,” Joe’s subconscious said to him. “It’s just 3 words.

I. Like. You.

Just say it,”.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but just before he could open his mouth you both were interrupted by a knock on the front door.

You turned your head back to look at the door, “I got it,” you said, glancing over at Joe before getting up from the couch. You unlocked the door and opened it, the person standing on the doorstep making your face light up, but Joe’s face drop.

“Ahh, there’s my favorite Ohio-an. Damn, I missed you Girl,” Ja’marr said as he stepped inside Joe’s apartment and pulled you in for a hug.

“Are you kidding me? Why does everyone keep interrupting us?” Joe thought to himself while rolling his eyes.

“Missed you too, Ja’marr,” you laughed as you gave him a gentle squeeze before pulling away. “How’s Claire?”.

“You mean Samantha?” Joe said as he stood up, a little upset because he interrupted you two, prompting both of you to look back at him because of his bitter tone. Joe was a little more than a little pissed off right now. This was the best chance to tell you how he felt since you were fully alone this time, but the universe (or Ja’marr) clearly had other plans. “Or was it Laila?” he huffed out. “I can’t remember. Might be because Ja’marr over here can’t ever keep it in his pants and feels the need to-,”.

“Aye, what’s your deal,” Ja’marr scoffed.

“My deal is that you just-,” Joe started to say as he stepped closer before you interrupted him.

“Okay! I’m not in the mood to deal with two caveman football players right now,” you reprimanded them. “Ja’marr, let’s go over to the kitchen and get some drinks. Joe, go take a breather or something,” you said, sending him an intense look.

“I just-,”.

“Joe,” you said, sending him another look that he easily understood before he let out a loud sigh and walked past you and Ja’marr to the porch outside his apartment.

“What’s his problem?” Ja’marr shrugged as he followed you into the kitchen.

“Don’t ask me. He’s your best friend,” you laughed as you opened up Joe’s fridge.

“Uhh, he was your best friend first,” Ja’marr pointed out.

“Hm, touché,” you smiled while pulling out 3 cans of soda.

Meanwhile, Joe was standing outside the apartment, his heart getting more and more tired from having to wait to tell you how he felt. It’s like every time he opened his mouth to say something, the universe sent something to stop him.

Was it the universe that was trying to stop him? But why would the universe be doing that?

“What the fuck,” Joe sighed as he leaned against the wall and dropped his head. “Why is this so hard,”.

“No, don’t give up Joe. The universe isn’t doing anything, you just have bad timing. You’ll find time to talk to her. You still have the rest of the day. Just breathe,” his subconscious said.

So that’s what he did. He took a deep breath, walked back inside, apologized for his attitude, and went about the rest of the afternoon like he didn’t have something poking away at him until Ja’marr left.

Now, you were finally alone again. You were in his bathroom freshening up and Joe was sitting on his bed, anxiously playing with his wristbands and waiting for you to come out so you could talk. He heard the door open and immediately looked up and saw you stepping out from the steamy bathroom in just a plain white towel, your wet hair falling against your shoulders.

“Sorry, I left my clothes on your nightstand,” you blushed as you walked over to the nightstand next to his bed.

“Y- You’re good,” Joe gulped, his heart skipping a beat or two while watching you walk around his bedroom in just a towel.

“I’m almost done and then you can go shower,” you gave him a thumbs up before going back into the bathroom and closing the door again. Joe nodded and then let out the breath he was holding in and cracked his neck, relieving some built-up tension you were creating for him.

“She’s driving me insane in the best way possible,” Joe thought to himself. You were the only girl who could get him to feel like this, and that should be enough to validate his feelings for you.

A few minutes later, you came back out in a white short skirt and black tank top, both of which were showing off a little too much skin for Joe’s liking but also making him even more attracted to you than he already was.

“How do I look?” you asked as you gave him a twirl.

“You look..great,” he smiled (deep down wanting to say that you looked incredibly sexy) as you walked over to your suitcase and pulled out a pair of black-heeled boots. “But don’t you think it’s a little…”.

“Skimpy?” you chuckled.

“I mean, I guess,” he said while scratching his neck. “It’s just that a lot of dudes around here have wandering eyes and well…”.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll just pretend you’re my boyfriend,” you stuck your tongue out and teased, his heart stopping for a second because of the word ‘boyfriend’. “Their eyes will be focused on your fists instead of my ass if I call your name,”.

“That’s…probably true,” he shrugged while he watched you zip your boots up. Nobody wanted to mess with the LSU star quarterback, and surely nobody wanted to mess with his girl.

“Nice song choice by the way,” you pointed out, humming along to ‘Be My Baby’ by The Ronettes.

Joe didn’t even realize what song had come on because he was too lost in thought to pay attention to what was going on around him. The fact that the song was about an instant love connection and the girl pining for a particular man was ironic considering it mirrored his situation except the roles were reversed and he was pining for the girl.

“Our playlist as usual,” he winked, you sent him a warm smile in return. "It's nice to actually listen to it with you here,".

"It doesn't hit the same when we're listening to it alone, does it?" you asked.

"Nope, not even close," he shook his head.

“Check out my new boots,” you said while giving him another twirl, this one was a little unbalanced given that the boots were new and the heel was a little bigger than normal for you.

“Woah, be careful,” Joe warned as he noticed you almost losing your balance.

“I’m fineeee,” you twirled again, this time moving closer to Joe who was sitting on the bed. “Shit,” you yelped as the heel got caught in the carpet which caused you to trip, your body crashing down on Joe’s, sending him back against the bed and lying flat with you on top of him.

“Oops,” you giggled as you lifted your face from Joe’s neck, his arms holding you in place as they were wrapped around your back, your chest pushed up against his, and your legs almost straddling him.

“See what happens when you wear heels too big?” Joe laughed as he tried to stay calm over the fact that you were on top of him right now. “I thought you would’ve known better considering what happened on your 21st birthday,”.

“Crashed right into the waiter holding a platter filled with shots of Tequila,” you shook your head at the embarrassing memory and looked down on Joe his eyes stuck on your face as if he was lost in thought–which he was.

Once again, Joe was thinking about what he had been wanting to tell you all day. The feeling was only getting stronger as the moments passed by with you, and it was driving him insane.

“What?” you laughed as you moved his hair out of his eyes, noticing the look in his eyes.

He didn’t say anything and just continued to stare into your eyes, his breathing getting deeper and his heartbeat getting louder. You looked absolutely gorgeous right now and all he wanted to do was kiss your pretty pink lips and forget about everything else around him, but he couldn’t do that until he said those three words to you.

“Joe, what’s wrong?” you said again, this time a little more seriously.

“Y/N, I-,” he started to say before his phone interrupted you both.

“I swear to god,” Joe thought to himself as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, his face going from cheery to irritated.

“Who is it?” you asked.

“Justin and Ja’marr. They said they’re hitting up the bar with some friends and asked if we wanted to come with them,” he sighed.

“But what about dinner? I know you were excited to take me to that new Mexican place,” you pouted.

“We can go with them if you want. I know you missed seeing everyone and I don’t want to keep you from them. We can grab dinner tomorrow,” he nodded.

“Are you sure?” you asked as you slowly got off of him and sat down on the bed next to him once he got up.

“Yeah,” he smiled at you. “I’m just going to take a quick shower and then we can head out,”.

“Okay,” you said while absentmindedly rubbing his hand which sent electric jolts throughout his body.

He looked down at your hands, you quickly move it away once you realize what you were doing. “S- Sorry,” you blushed, your cheeks heating up as your stomach did a backflip.

“It’s alright,” Joe smiled, placing his hand on yours and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Joe got up from the bed and grabbed a few things before going into the bathroom, stopping at the sink mirror and staring at himself for a few heartbeats. “Why can’t I just say it,” he whispered to himself.

Were these constant interruptions really from the Universe? It was starting to feel like they were and it was a sign telling him not to tell you, almost like a cue that he should let it happen naturally.

“Naturally?” Joe whispered to himself.

“Don’t force it, Joe. If you keep getting interrupted, this might be a sign that you shouldn’t force things between the two of you. This could screw things up with her but if you let everything fall into place on its own you might save this from crashing and burning,” his subconscious mind said.

Maybe his subconscious mind was right. Maybe he just needed the world to give him the green light. These interruptions were the yellow lights warning him that if he told you how he felt, he might be facing a red light. If you didn’t feel the same way about him your friendship could be ruined and he didn’t ever want that to happen, so waiting might be the best way to go. If you were to bring it up, then he would tell you. But until then, he decided to not mention it again even if it was killing him internally.

Joe never would have thought a girl could ever drive him so insane. You had the keys to him, the only person who could access his heart and the most intimate parts of him. So much of him depended on you; his happiness, his sanity, his mood. When you smiled, he smiled. When you shined, he shined for you. Your laughter was the best sound he had ever heard and he wanted to hear it for the rest of his life. Every time you talked, he couldn’t focus because all he thought about was how you two should be together. When he sat and watched you break down, he wanted to hold you and tell you that he was never going to leave you like the others did. When you would jump and fall, he wanted you to fall into him. He was all in for you, and he needed you to know it. But maybe the Universe was trying to prevent him from ruining what you two already had.

Joe looked at himself in the mirror before letting out another exhausted sigh and dropping his face, “What are you doing to me, Y/N,” he whispered to himself before heading into the shower.

A little later, Joe was freshly showered and had a clear mind for the first time all day and was lacing his shoelaces while you were laser-focused on the episode of SpongeBob that was playing on his TV, almost like you were caught in a trance.

He got up from the bed and grabbed his wallet and phone, slipping both into his pocket before looking over at you. “Y/N, we’re gonna be late,” he softly laughed.

“Shhh, it’s the hash-slinging slasher episode,” you said as you waved him off.

Joe should have known better to put an episode of SpongeBob on in front of you. You would practically stay glued to the TV until the episode ended, maybe not even getting up after that because you would stay seated for the next episode. This was something you both had in common, no matter how old you two got SpongeBob would be a staple for the two of you. He always admired how you shared some of the same childish interests as him, no other girl being able to match his personality unlike you.

Joe turned around and grabbed the TV remote, switched the TV off, and then walked in front of the screen and saw your upset face.

“Hey,” you grumbled, crossing your arms like a little child in annoyance.

“We can finish it later, I promise,” he said, extending his hand out for you to grab and stand up. You stared at him for a few moments, not budging from your seat.

“You know I never break my promises,” Joe lightheartedly added, giving you a charming smile that warms your heart. It was true, he never broke any of the promises he made you. Wether it was sweet and silly like promising to buy you ice cream and call you after his games or serious like promising to never lose the connection you two had once he moved down to Louisiana for football; he always kept them.

“You do have an excellent track record of living up to your word,” you smiled as you placed your hand in his.

“And I intend to keep it going,” he said as he pulled you up from the bed.

About 20 minutes later, you made it to the bar and were walking towards the entrance. The loud music vibrated throughout the entire block and the strobe lights peeked through onto the street. “College bars are something else,” you laughed as you looked over at Joe, who was once again seemingly lost in thought.

“Hey, you alright?” you asked him as you stopped walking, Joe not noticing until a few seconds later and then backtracking to you.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he nodded, his tone and demeanor not reassuring you that he was.

“Joe, I know you too well to know when something is bugging you. You’ve been lost in a trance at least 4 times today and that’s way more than usual for you,” you said.

“She noticed? She noticed me lost in thought because I was thinking about her?” he thought to himself.

“Are you bored? Am I boring you?” you giggled.

“No, No. God, No,” he quickly shut that thought down.

“Then what is it?” you questioned.

“It’s nothing,” he brushed off, his secretiveness not sitting well with you.

“Wait. You’ve been wanting to talk to me about something all day but we kept getting interrupted,” you said as you looked up at him.

“Yeah..” he slowly nodded, his heartbeat picking up again because of where this was going.

“That’s what’s bothering you, Obviously,” you realized as you smacked your head. “And I kept forgetting that you needed to talk,”.

“It’s not a big deal Y/N,” he nervously laughed as he glanced around and refused to meet your eyes.

“Uhh, yes it is,” you said, moving your head so that his eyes met yours. “We always talk about important things with each other and I don’t want that to stop because of silly interruptions. So before we go with the others and end up getting super trashed and wasted, we should talk. What was it? What did you want to talk about all day?” you said while staring deeply into his eyes which looked like they were hiding something.

Joe paused for a few seconds, his brain freezing just like his face. This was it. This was his chance to tell you what he had been feeling for years. He could finally tell you how much he liked you which was way more than the normal amount. You were it for him, and now he finally got you alone to tell you.

“This is it, Joe. This is what you’ve been waiting for. Tell her how much you like her and get your girl,” his mind was saying. “This is the universe letting it happen naturally. She brought it up this time, not you,”.

“I-.....” he opened up his mouth, nothing coming out.

“What is it?” you nervously chuckled while brushing your fingers over his hand.

He paused for a few seconds, his heartbreaking before the words came out of his mouth.

This time instead of his mind and subconscious, his heart spoke up. “It’s not the time,”.

“Never mind,” he forcefully smiled. “It’s not important,”.

End of flashback

It was so hard for him to say it to you back then but now it was like a reflex, he almost had a hard time stopping himself from saying it.

“I love our life,” you giggled as you felt Joe smother you with kisses.

“And I love you,” he smiled against your cheek. “More than anything in the world,”.

“Even more than you love Pumpkin Pie?”.

“Even more than I love Pumpkin Pie, my Looney Tunes sweatshirt, my gray jeans, and Football,” he said while giving you a loving squeeze.

“Wow, that’s a lot of love,” you raised your eyebrows. All 4 of those are things Joe couldn’t live without.

“You sound surprised,” Joe laughed. “You’ve had me down bad for you since the first time I saw you,”.

“Shut up,” you laughed as you turned your head to kiss his cheeks which were turning a little pink because of the cold weather. “You should probably be getting ready to go to the team hotel,” you said as you looked down at your watch.

“Mmmm,” he whined as he pulled you closer.

“I know, I know. But they’re going to send out a search party if you don’t make report time,” you giggled as you gently got out of his embrace and stood up, reaching out and pulling him up. “And I should probably head back to my place and get some sleep for tomorrow,”.

Joe looked up at you like you had two heads, the look on his face matching how he felt. “Back to your place? Just stay here,”.

“At your house? Alone?” you questioned. You hadn’t stayed over at Joe’s place alone before, and truth be told it felt a little weird being there all by yourself even though you were literally moving in with him next month.

“Correction, our house. And yeah, you’re moving in next month so why not?” he said as he reached out for your hand, helping you up the rocks and back to the trail where the golf cart was parked. It was weird for him to refer to his house as your house as well, the thought not registering in your brain yet.

“It’s so weird to hear that,” you laughed.

“Why? Am I that terrible to live with,” Joe said as he slid into the driver's seat.

“The worst,” you grumbled, sliding into the seat next to him with a cheeky grin on your face.

“Ha Ha, very funny,” he said in the most monotone voice possible.

“I’m just messing with you,” you said while running your fingers along his arm. “It’s just weird because I would have never expected to hear those words..our house,” you said. “It’s like a fairytale,” you said as you looked at the growing smile on Joe’s face, the smile that would take you to another planet.

“Things change pretty quickly, don’t they?” he said as he glanced at you.

“Very quickly,” you said as you leaned your head against his shoulder as he turned on the golf cart and started driving you both back up to the house. “But I'm also very glad they did,”.

“Me too,” he grinned. Joe was truly the happiest he’d ever been in his life at this moment, and it was all because of you.

A Half-Hour Later

“Did you get everything you need?” you asked Joe as you spun around on the kitchen barstool you were seated on.

“Yeah, but I’m still going to come by tomorrow morning so I don’t have a ton to take with me right now,” he smiled as he placed his duffle bag down.

“You’re not going straight to the stadium?” you asked as you took a bite of the brownies you had made earlier.

“Nah. I’m gonna come by and then we can drive over together,” he smiled while walking over and grabbing a brownie from the pan.

“Hmm, I don’t think you’re supposed to be eating that right now,” you said, grabbing his wrist.

“One brownie won’t hurt,” Joe said, transferring the brownie to his other hand and taking a bite.

“Sweet treats can wait until after the game tomorrow,” you shook your head.

“Oh, trust me. I’ll be getting a sweet treat then too,” he winked at you before moving over to grab his water bottle from the counter.

“Focus, Joe. Focus,” you laughed as you placed your elbows on the kitchen island and your face in your hands, intensely staring at your boyfriend's muscular arms and then his dirty blonde curls that were being controlled by his backward cap.

“What’re you looking at?” Joe asked as he caught your gaze on him.

“Just admiring you, like usual,” you smiled.

“Admiring anything in particular?” he asked, placing his elbows down and mirroring your position.

“Hmm, just your deliciously impressive biceps and your easily pullable hair,” you said as you gave him a heated look.

“I should get going before this ends up going somewhere else,” he said as he stood up straight.

“Probably a good idea,” you grinned as you slid off the barstool and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a container of some pumpkin bites you made with the brownies earlier.

“I thought you said no sweet treats?” he said while examining the continents of the container.

“Well, there’s always a loophole for everything,” you shrugged. “These are healthy pumpkin energy bites. All the goodness of normal pumpkin bites but with healthier add-ins and ingredients,”.

“You made these just for me?” he grinned as he took the box over to his duffle bag, then carefully placed it inside.

“Mhmmm,” you skip over to him and say. “You can eat them tonight or tomorrow morning. Up to you,”.

“Thank youu,” he said, grabbing your wrist and quickly pulling you into him causing you to bump your head against his chest.

“Mm, Hi,” you quietly laughed as you loop your arms around his neck and look up at him, his arms settling around your lower back with his hands firmly placed on your butt.

“Hi,” he grinned while nuzzling his nose against yours before leaning in to kiss you, both of you relishing the taste of the chocolate from the brownies on each other’s lips. The kiss quickly became more intense as his hands started sliding up and down your body and the heat between you two increased from how close your bodies were to each other.

“Okay,” you panted while pulling away from the kiss, a dazed smile on your face.

“Focus. We need to focus,” he cutely nodded.

“I gotta get you out of here,” you laughed while stuffing your face into his neck.

“I’ll get myself out of here. No need to lift a finger,” he smiled while pressing a kiss to your head. “You just stay here and be Queen of the house,”.

“Bow to my throne you worthless peasant,” you teased in a silly voice.

“Damn, it’s already going to your head,” he raised his eyebrows.

“I’ll have a crown and a butler by the time you’re back tomorrow morning,” you winked.

“Okay,” he laughed. “But seriously, act like the Queen. Make yourself at home, this is all yours just as much as it is mine. You can go in any room, sit anywhere, re-arrange my things, do whatever. It’s all yours,”.

“So you don’t care if I sit naked in your office and re-watch hours of game tape of you looking sexy as hell while throwing a football?” you joked while wiggling your eyebrows.

“Nope,” he smiled. “Well, I do care about the naked in my office part. Maybe sit in there fully clothed and then we can do the naked bit after the game if you really want to,” he whispered in your ear.

“You’re crazy,” you giggled as you looked lovingly into his starry blue eyes.

“Crazy about you,” he said before sealing the statement with a kiss.

After a few more minutes of kissing and teasing each other, you were standing at the doorstep of the Garage and watching Joe put his stuff into the car. “Remember, call me if you need anything,” he said while opening the driver’s side door.

“I will,” you smiled.

“Okay,” he sighed as he quickly jogged over to you. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I love you,” he said before pressing a final kiss to your lips.

“I love you, my perfect boyfriend,” you said while pecking his lips and ruffling his hair.

You watched as he got into the car and backed out of the garage, then gave you a quick wave before closing it and driving off. You turned around and closed the door behind you, letting out a deep breath as you looked around the quiet house, a smile forming on your face once you realized that this was your house now too. You loved this house, you loved your life, and you loved Joe, you just loved everything. There was so much love inside of you for the first time in a long time, and Joe was the one who brought it out.

An hour later

You took a quick shower in Joe’s bathroom (now your’s as well) and were now inside the massive closet, searching for another comfy sweatshirt of his to steal. “Hmm, this one should do,” you giggled as you pulled out another one of his many Bengals hoodies and slipped it on, his scent still lingering on the fabric. “Mmm,” you hummed as you brought the collar to your nose.

You were about to walk out of the closet before something caught your eye in the corner, your curiosity spiking as you walked closer to the little stand that he used to keep his cufflinks for his suits, but that wasn’t what caught your eye. What caught your eye were the photos taped to the wall above the stand.

There were 3 photobooth film strips taped to the wall, all of which were of you and Joe.

“He’s such a teenage girl,” you giggled to yourself as you ran your fingers along the strips. The first one was from when you both went and saw Avengers Infinity War at the movie theater on opening night together back during your Ohio State days–both of you were raging Marvel nerds. The second one was from the Bengals pre-season party from last year–another event he brought you to before you were dating. Both of the photo strips were tied to sweet and flavorful memories until your eyes went to the third photo strip.

This one was from LSU.

Flashback to 2019 – LSU

“..He told me he loved me, and I thought he m- meant it,” you cried into Joe’s chest. “ Am- Am I not enough?” your voice cracked as the tears fell harder.

“Y/N you are enough, don’t ever say that,” Joe said as he rubbed your back, pulling you in tighter as you were both sitting on the curb of the parking lot.

“Then why did he go to her? Why did he feel the need to-,” you sobbed, your eyes burning from the amount of tears that were pouring out from your eyes. “As soon as I leave, he goes to her,”.

You were currently visiting Joe at LSU during your Spring Break and he had brought you to Snappy’s Arcade tonight which was one of his favorite places to go around town. You spent some time playing air hockey and skeeball, shooting some hoops, playing all the old classic arcade games, and even winning a few prizes along the way. You both hit the photo booth per Joe’s request as well, making countless silly poses and memories that would last a lifetime not only in picture form but also in your hearts. You always had the most fun when you were with Joe, all of your worries instantly disappearing once you heard his adorable laughter and saw his comforting smile. Everything was going great until you looked at your phone which was blowing up with messages from your friends, messages you wished you had never read.

“It’s like he was planning it. The second I’m 14 hours away he pretends like he doesn’t have a girlfriend, washes everything we’d built over the past year down the drain, and goes and does that with her? Knowing how hard it took me to open up to him in the first place because of what happened last time,” you sputtered. “And it’s even more fucked up because he knew how excited I was to come down here and see you,”.

“Y/N…,” Joe said, his heart hurting as you cried harder into his chest.

“It’s not enough. It’s never enough,” you interrupted, your body shaking as a result of the plethora of emotions you were feeling. “I’m never enough, not for anyone,”.

Joe felt his heart sink seeing you like this, especially because of a guy. You didn’t deserve to feel like this; unwanted, unloved, not enough. He wanted to mend your broken heart by telling you how extraordinary you were and how you had someone in your life who loved you beyond words and could give you the same love you gave others, but he just couldn’t get himself to tell you the second part—not now. But he could tell you the first.

“Hey, look at me,” he said as he cupped your cheek and lifted your head to meet his soft eyes. “You’re so much more than you think you are. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you’re not enough. You’re one of the most loving and special people I’ve ever known and you deserve to be treated the same way you treat others, with limitless love. If Ryan can’t do that for you, then screw him,” Joe said as he rubbed your back again to calm you down.

“Y/N, you deserve the world and more. You’re going to find someone that can give it to you, I promise,” Joe said as he gazed deeply into your red eyes, telling you the same thing you told him a few years ago on that beach. He wanted to be the one that gave you the world, so badly.

“You’re literally anyone’s dream girl. You’re kind, funny, selfless, beautiful, and can hold a conversation about anything from which flavor of Gatorade is the best to a conversation about Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epistemology. You’re nerdy as hell but you're also the most football-involved girl I know, which shocked me when we first met considering most girls I know just like football for the eye candy. Anyway, you’ve got the looks, you’ve got the brain, you’ve got the personality, but most importantly you’ve got what’s in there.” he said as he pointed to your heart. “You have so much love inside of you. So much love to offer and show the world. You have it all. You’re more than enough,” he said.

You looked into his deep blue eyes and could tell his words were genuine, he meant everything he said to you. His eyes always had a way of telling you things he couldn’t say with his mouth, and right now they were telling you many things. “Thank you,” you said as you stuffed your head back into his chest. “I swear you always know exactly what to say to me when I’m upset about something. It’s like you’re incapable of saying the wrong things, I don’t know what I’d do without you,”.

“You won’t have to worry about that. I’m always going to be in your corner,” he smiled as he moved you closer to him, both of you sitting on the curb in silence and just enjoying each other's warmth; his gentle touch soothing your worries.

“Fruit Punch is the best by the way,” you spoke up a few moments later as you looked up at him.

“Hm?” he asked, a little confused by what you were talking about.

“Gatorade. Fruit Punch is the best,” you giggled.

“You’re insane. It’s obviously Lemon-Lime,” he shook his head as you laughed underneath him, the smile he loved to see coming back onto your face as your tears dried up.

End of flashback

You smiled at the end of the bittersweet memory, the one that would normally leave a sour taste in your mouth but didn’t because of Joe. He told you that you’d find someone who could give you the world, and he promised you this.

One thing about Joe, he always kept his promises.

The person who could give you the world was under your nose the entire time and you had no idea. He was the one that wiped your tears every time you cried, he was the one that made you laugh until your stomach hurt, he was the one that always thought about you, he was the one that truly loved you. He promised you that you’d find that person who could give you the world, and you did.

Joe was the one that could give you the world.

—To be continued—

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow fic #joeburrow #joe burrow imagine #nfl imagine

209 notes · View notes

pearlessance · 2 months

Text

Feelin' Empty? - Idle Threats [iv]

Series Summary — Joel has watch duty with Jackson’s twenty-year old, smart-mouthed brat and gets more than he bargained for.

Chapter Summary — Joel reminds you to heed his warnings.

Pairing — Joel Miller/Reader

Warnings — Explicit sexual content MDNI, brat taming, age gap (32yrs), mean!Joel, religious imagery and symbolism, catholic guilt, jealousy, light angst, spanking, edging

SERIES MASTERLIST

[cross posted to AO3]

Joel waits several minutes before leaving the bathroom. He cleans himself up, tries to collect his thoughts, tries to swallow down the bitter taste you left behind.

And when he emerges back into the front of the bar, it isn’t Kelly’s smiling face that grabs his attention. It’s you, of course it’s fucking you, because you’ve picked up your things from the bar and moved instead to a booth.

You’re not alone, either. Abel sits at your side, grinning down at you with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Joel doesn’t know Abel well. He knows he works in the armory, that he keeps stock of all the weapons and ammunition that pass through Jackson. He doesn’t know about the knife wedged in Joel’s boot right now, though.

He pushes the thought from his mind. His jaw clenches, and he takes in a slow breath, and then he’s forcing himself to return to the bar. Tara’s refilled his glass, and Joel has never been more thankful.

“I was starting to worry,” Kelly says as Joel sits on the barstool at her side. “You feeling okay?”

Other than the fact that he just had a religious experience with a girl half his age only to find her nearly sitting in the lap of another man moments later? Yeah. Fine. “Peachy,” he answers, taking a long sip of his whiskey.

Abel’s older than you by several years. Younger than Joel, but far from age-appropriate. He’s gotta be in his mid forties, but Joel can’t deny that he’s handsome. Tall and built and rugged, with a thick black beard he keeps trimmed up like some sort of pretty boy. Beneath the cream colored cowboy hat he wears, Joel can see matching dark curls poking out of the sides. And he’s got those bright blue eyes, too, which are currently swallowing you up with no remorse.

Joel grinds his teeth. Takes another sip of whiskey. He hears Kelly say something. A question, maybe, but he doesn’t hear it. “What was that?”

“I was just asking if you two have history.”

It takes him a little off guard. Is he so obvious? He must be, though. Because Kelly’s sunshiny smile falls as she looks over at you, and Joel begins to feel a little bad for her. Because this date is going nowhere, and he thinks she knows it, but she’s still trying. “Not really,” he answers. “We were on patrol together a couple of times.”

She nods slowly, mulling his answer over like there’s a secret hidden between his words. Joel supposes there is. “Did something happen?”

Christ. Was she this nosy with everyone in Jackson, or just with Joel? He doesn’t want to answer. So he doesn’t. Finishes off his whiskey and nods to Tara for another.

This is too much. And Joel suddenly realizes the solution to all of his problems right now; Kelly, Abel, you—is just to simply get the fuck out of here.

But he can’t leave you alone like this. It’s not safe. He knows exactly what sort of thoughts are running through Abel’s mind right now, knows exactly what he’s thinking when he licks his lips and smirks down at you. Joel can hear him faintly, saying, “You’ve got such a pretty smile, darlin’.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Kelly suddenly says. She laughs but there’s no joy in it, no amusement at all. She rises to her feet with a heavy sigh. “I’m gonna go, Joel.”

It’s only with her words he remembers why he came here, remembers that he was supposed to try on this date with Kelly to distract himself from you and has, catastrophically, failed. He thinks about asking her to sit back down, but then realizes he can pay closer attention to you without her chattering in his ear, so Joel apologizes instead. “Kelly, look, I’m…I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m…cut out for this kinda thing.”

She nods slowly, looks over to you one last time. “I get it,” she says, reminding him of your conversation in the bathroom.

I get it, but I don’t understand. It hurts just as bad in his memory. Cuts just as deep.

When he looks up at her, a storm cloud has replaced all that carefree sunshine on her face and rainwater lines her lashes. His eyes soften, and Joel wishes he would’ve ended this the moment he stepped through the door to save everyone a little bit of pain. “Kelly…”

She shakes her head, clearing any remaining sadness away. “Really, Joel, it’s fine. I’m not blind, alright? You can’t hide something like that.”

His brows furrow. “Like what?”

Kelly gathers her jacket with one hand and waves the other between you and him. “That,” she says as if it’s obvious, like the magnetic energy pulling him to you is some physical, tangible thing. “Whatever it is, it’s not exactly subtle. And, Joel, that girl’s trouble but she doesn’t deserve any more hurt. Neither of you do. So, whatever it is, just make sure it’s real.” She turns to leave, but at the door she turns her head back to him, watery eyes making their grand return. And then she says, “Nothing’s promised anymore. Take the good where you can get it.”

Joel tosses his whiskey back in one gulp. He presses his fingers into his temple, trying to alleviate the ache, grateful for the soft hum the alcohol has created in his bones. He hears the ring of your sweet laughter and his eyes follow the sound.

He watches through hooded eyes as Abel pulls you to the other end of the bar where there’s a small, open space near the jukebox. He takes your hand in his, the very hand that you licked clean moments ago, and raises it above your head. Abel’s spinning you in a circle, and there’s a carefree smile on your face, and it makes Joel feel hollow. Like the part inside of him that you’ve carved out for yourself has been vacated, demolished. It makes him feel empty.

You look happy. And that’s the part that kills him.

Joel wants that for you. Wants you to be happy and safe and satisfied and loved. And it can’t be him that gives those things to you, can it? It would put a target on your back for cruelty, and Joel has to protect you from that. You say you don’t care what the people of Jackson have to say about you, but he does. Joel knows himself. Knows that if he ever overheard someone talking bad about you and it was his fault? There would be more than just an argument with his little brother as punishment.

There would be blood, and loss, and death. And Joel doesn’t want that. He only wants you—sweet and soft and innocent and bratty and perfect. He doesn’t want to taint you with bloodstained hands, doesn’t want to tarnish you any further than he already has.

But then you glance over at him from around Abel’s shoulder as he sways you to the soft blues song that plays. He’s got one hand wrapped in yours and the other on your back, a respectful distance above your ass. Far more respectful than Joel has ever been to you.

And there’s that look in your eyes again, the one that makes him feel warm, comforted, safe. It grows and grows the longer you stare at him until it’s engulfed every cell in his body, thawing him from the inside out. And when you look away as Abel whispers something in your ear, that warmth in his chest remains. Muted, but ever-present.

Joel is a selfish man. He’s come to terms with it. He knows from experience that if it ever came between choosing the few and choosing the many, he’d let the world burn if it meant keeping his people safe. The ones he loves, the ones he’s chosen. He’s not ignorant to the fact that you have, inescapably, found your way into that category of people he’d sacrifice the world for.

But he doesn’t want to be selfish with you. He doesn’t want to, even though he already has been. Because the selfish thing he’s doing now will hurt you later on, just as Tommy said. No matter what, even if things go perfectly to plan, someone will suffer for what the two of you have done. And Joel really, really doesn’t want it to be you.

If there was a way to guarantee that he would be the only one left bleeding at the end of this calamity, Joel would be snatching you out of Abel’s hands and taking you home before the song was over. He’d damn himself without a second thought, without a single regret because Kelly is right; nothing is promised anymore. And Joel wants to hold onto that warmth for as long as he can, wants to hold onto you for as long as he can.

Even if it’s selfish. Even if it’s sinful. Even if it hurts.

But he doesn’t want to make a scene, doesn’t want to embarrass you. Which leaves him stuck, sitting at the bar, sipping whiskey to fill the void you left behind, watching Abel play all his tricks to attempt to woo you. Joel even watches some of them work.

Abel’s funny. Or at least, you find him so. Joel knows because every couple of minutes you’re giggling or snorting or grinning with a shake of your head. He queues up music on the jukebox and the two of you dance to Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad by Def Leppard and Joel thinks about chewing on glass.

You’re glancing over to the bar every few minutes, but Abel is completely unaware of Joel’s hard stare. He understands, though, how easy it is to succumb to your witchery. How being in your presence makes everything else—people, problems, morals—fade into the background. Joel wonders if he gets that same lovesick look on his face that Abel currently wears.

It’s painful to watch. Every second of it makes Joel feel like he’s splintering apart. But he forces himself to stay put—to keep a close eye on you. To keep you safe. Because he can see the thoughts as they flit through Abel’s head, can see him appreciating the curve of your neck, the softness of your lips, the arch of your nose. Joel can relate because he’s been there—enthralled, captivated, hypnotized. And he knows Abel will do anything to take you home with him, to make you his. But that’s not going to happen because Joel will never allow it.

So he watches the two of you dance until the sun sets below the horizon. He watches Abel push your hair behind your ear, watches your cheeks turn crimson when he compliments you, watches him pluck his cowboy hat from his head and place it onto yours. And it makes him sick—makes his knuckles go white, makes him grind his teeth, makes him sweat.

But Joel has never, ever, been as angry as he is when you lay your head against Abel’s chest and he presses a kiss into your hair. Because holding your hand and touching your spine over your jean jacket with the other is one thing—but kissing you? No.

Fuck. No.

It sends him into a blind rage. Joel realizes it’s been simmering since the moment he left the bathroom, that watching the two of you become real cozy in front of the jukebox only served to stoke the flames of fury beneath his skin.

He’s going to kill him.

Joel grabs a half empty beer bottle by the neck and smashes it against the bar top.

The commotion grabs all the attention in the room, including yours, but Joel doesn’t notice. He only sees Abel and his hands on you and his lips against your head and the smiles he’s stealing from you, smiles that should belong to Joel.

His ears are ringing. Fuck the people of Jackson and the bullshit they’ll have to say. Fuck watching you when he should be holding you. Fuck your age difference and the notion that it’s wrong and fuck the wrath of God. But more than anything, fuck Abel.

He doesn’t take more than two steps before someone pushes him back. A solid force standing between Joel and his vengeance. He shoves and shoves but it doesn’t move, and he thinks about raising the glass bottle in his hand to whatever stands in his fucking way—until Tommy’s voice cuts through the red fog in his mind.

“Joel,” he says. “ Joel. Joel, take a walk. Talk a fucking walk. Right now.”

His brother stands in front of him, one hand wrapped around Joel’s wrist, the other shoving his chest, pushing Joel backward.

On the other side of Tommy, Abel stands with his shoulders squared and his fists clenched at his sides. He’s pulled you behind him protectively, completely oblivious that Joel is no threat when it comes to you.

In fact, Joel realizes that maybe you’re the true threat in the room. Making him feel these things, tempting him toward sin. The true forbidden fruit, the snake in the grass. And it’s only now Joel realizes it’s far too late for him.

Tommy pushes him out of the bar. The winter air stings Joel’s face, his hands—ice cold compared to the boiling temperatures within. “Go home, Joel,” his brother says, leaving no room for argument. “Don’t be stupid.” There’s something in his eyes. A warning, maybe. Joel listens, leaving you alone in the bar with Abel and Tommy and Tara and whoever the fuck else.

Because Joel is lucid enough to know Abel won’t hurt you. He’s also lucid enough to know that if he did, there would be nothing strong enough to keep Joel from ripping him apart.

So, he appeases his brother.

He walks the streets of Jackson but he doesn’t go home. He can’t go home, not now. He’d only lie in his bed and convince himself to come find you. And Joel’s tired, so fucking tired of beating himself up for this.

It’s too late. Too fucking late. He’s already sunk his teeth in deep, already cracked the bones and sucked out the marrow, already given into his lust, his gluttony, already listened to the hissing from your forked tongue and let himself believe it. The poison will set in later down the line, he knows. But later isn’t now and forbidden or not, Joel Miller is starving and you’re fucking delicious.

There’s a big willow tree on the side of the street opposite your house. Joel stands beneath the weeping branches, comparing the sway of the limbs to his grip on his sanity. He leans against the wide trunk and waits.

And waits.

He sees you less than twenty minutes later. You’ve got your jacket pulled tight across your chest and your steps are hurried as you skip up the stairs and try to fight off the midnight chill. The moonlight reflects in your hair, and Joel thinks you look like some sort of angel. His desire for you is incessant; a gnawing against his psyche, a want that’s both unholy and divine.

Joel watches you fumble with the key, wondering if you intentionally forgot to lock your front door that night. It wouldn’t surprise him anymore—you bratty, venomous little thing.

He waits until you disappear inside before he pushes away from the tree and crosses the street. Joel’s careful as he steps up the creaky stairs. And, much to his relief and satisfaction, the door has been, once again, left unlocked.

It’s dark on the other side, nothing to illuminate the space but the soft glow of the lamp in your bedroom. He follows it like a moth to a flame, but Joel stops when he notices his coat hanging over the back of the couch.

He only just now remembers he left it at the bar in his haze of fury, and can’t tell if it makes him feel tender or irritated, seeing the dark brown canvas hanging there so casually, looking far from out of place. On the one hand, he loves that you thought of him, loves that you saw it, and felt entitled to claim it as yours for the time being. Even though you danced with another man all night, even though he knows Abel likely begged to walk you home, it was a piece of Joel that you decided to take. And the realization brings him a deep satisfaction, knowing you chose him.

But bringing it home means you assumed Joel would show up here at some point. And he can’t help but feel a little played. Like this has been your plan all along; to provoke him to anger, to incite a reaction from him. And the worst part is that it worked—Joel did just what was expected. But he doesn’t regret it for a single second, still feels the residual wrath in the palms of his hands and he wants so badly to give you a spoonful of your own medicine.

You want to be bratty, to taunt him? Fine. But you need to understand that your actions are not without consequence.

When he pushes open your bedroom door, Joel ignores the gasp of surprise you let out. Your hand goes to your chest in an attempt to slow your racing heart, and his hand finds a home around your neck. He pushes you against the wall, and expects you to fight back or shove him or shout out curses or something— but all you do is rest your hand against his wrist. His touch is bruising but yours is affectionate and, just like that, Joel’s lost all control yet again.

His knees go weak at the sultry look in your eyes, at the smirk playing at your pretty mouth, at the deviance you exude. “Tommy told me to stay away from you,” you say.

Joel realizes his brother is now playing both sides, trying to drive from the back seat. But Joel’s already driven over the cliff, now in a complete free fall. It’s too late. Too late. And he thinks it might’ve been from the moment he first saw you. “S’that right?”

“Said I’ll be the reason you get kicked out of Jackson if I’m not careful,” you continue. “You should go, Joel. It’s not smart for you to be here. Go back to Kelly.”

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he says. And he means it—there’s no getting rid of him now. Not anymore.

“Maria won’t let you stay. Not if you kill someone.” He’s not talking about Jackson or Maria, and he thinks you know it, but he can see your hesitance beneath all that sinful seduction and decides the conversation can wait until tomorrow.

“You did that shit on purpose.” It’s a statement, and the wicked gleam in your eyes all but confirms his suspicions.

“Yeah. And what’re you gonna do about it, huh?” Your tongue darts out to wet your lips, and a breathy sigh escapes him at the sight.

“I oughta spank you till your ass is red,” Joel says, noting the way your pupils dilate at the threat. And it is a threat—one he swears to make good on. “Always being so disrespectful.”

“Abel’s nice, Joel. Says he’s good at making girls come, that he’s been practicing longer than I’ve been alive. Said he’ll make me feel good, that he’ll be real gentle with me. And you and I both know just how much I like older men. ”

The image you create has Joel’s fingers tightening around your throat. “Gentle?” It’s laughable. “That what you want, little girl? Want me to be gentle with you?” He tilts your face up with his thumb beneath your chin, presses his body against yours. Your hand goes to his belt buckle as it digs into your belly, and your legs fall apart on instinct as he wedges his knee between them.

You seat yourself right over his denim-clad thigh, hips rolling already, desperate for friction, for relief.

He chuckles darkly and says, “Yeah…didn’t think so.” Joel presses into you harder, because he knows just how bad it hurts. Knows just how that longing feels, knows how bad it aches. He grabs a fistful of your dress and hikes it up over your hips. He wants to see the mess you make, and he’s rewarded with the embarrassed whimper you let out in response. “Filthy little thing,” he says. “Don’t want it gentle at all, huh?”

At the sight of you grinding against his thigh, Joel forgets what he came here to do. Forgets he’s supposed to be giving you a taste of your own medicine, supposed to be showing you just how difficult it was to watch you flirt with another man. Because he thinks you look so pretty like this, he doesn’t have the strength to stop you. Joel wants to watch you fall apart just as much as you need to, wants to touch you till you shake, wants to lick your clean afterward, wants to make you feel so good no other man will ever compare.

But you’re not quite there yet, he knows. He can feel you’re not quite relaxed, not quite as pliable as he wants you to be. But he knows how much you like hearing his disgusting words, and so he lays it on thick. “Dirty fuckin’ girl. Lettin’ me fuck you with my fingers in public and that still ain’t enough for you, hm? You want more, always wantin’ more. Beggin’ me all the time.”

He’s surprised when it doesn’t work as well as he hopes. You’re moaning in his ear—breathy, needy little sounds that make his hard cock seek you out behind his zipper—your hips move restlessly, creating more and more friction, and there’s a telling dark spot beginning to form on his jeans. But something is off.

Joel can’t quite put his finger on it, but there’s something. And he begins to spiral, heart racing behind his ribcage. Because what if you’re finally coming to your senses, finally realizing he has nothing to offer you? What if the whole thing was just some fantasy to you? Maybe you’ve gotten your fill of him, gotten your rocks off enough times to be satisfied. What if he’s here, willing to sacrifice everything just to be close to you, while you’re slowly growing tired of him?

But then he tears his eyes away from his knee and sees the downright evil look in your eye as you let out a dramatic moan and say, “Oh, Abel!”

And he’s had it. Absolutely fucking had it.

Joel steps back, fists his hand in your hair, and pulls you towards the bed. You’re giggling and he’s seething as he sits on the edge of the mattress and takes you over his knee. “Fuckin’ brat,” he says. “Tired of your attitude. Think you know everything. Think everything’s a goddamn joke.”

You spread your arms straight out above you, fingertips disappearing beneath the pillows. And you're sitting on your knees, ass arched beautifully, and Joel’s mouth waters when he pulls your dress up to expose a pair of royal blue panties, ones he hadn’t been able to properly appreciate in the dimly lit bathroom. “What are you gonna do, Joel? You’re gonna spank me? Really?” You scoff in disbelief. “All bark and no bite. Why don’t you— Joel!”

The sound of his harsh slap reverberates through his head, sharp and delicious. He feels his muscles relax almost instantly—almost as if he needs this more than you. “I told you, baby,” he says with a slight tilt of his head. “I don’t make idle threats.”

“Joel! You can’t—you—! What the fuck?”

He smacks your ass again, harder this time. Your whole body tenses and a soft little whimper leaves you, one that sends shivers down his spine. “Watch your fuckin’ mouth,” he warns.

There’s already a hand-shaped mark blossoming across your smooth skin, and Joel rubs the tender flesh to soothe. Your hands are fisted in the sheets, shoulders shaking with each desperate inhale. “Joel,” you cry.

“Wasn’t it just five seconds ago you were moanin’ some other man’s name?” He brings his hand down against your ass again, a stinging slap that has you shoving your face into the pillow. “C’mon, now,” he says. “Where’s he at, baby? Thought he was gonna make you feel good.”

“I’m sorry,” you say, words muffled through both the sheets and your giggles. “I was just kidding!”

“Nah. I don’t think you were.” When he strikes again, it’s lighter this time, on the opposite cheek. Your skin is reddening beautifully, and Joel licks his lips as he watches the damp spot in your panties become more and more prominent as the seconds tick by. “How’s that feel? Hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Yes! God, Joel—I said I was sorry!” You sprawl out further in front of him, spine bending, thighs clamped tightly together. He knows you're enjoying this, can see it in your face, but Joel doesn’t think you’re quite getting it and he needs you to understand.

He brings his hand down again, so hard this time his palm tingles. Your legs cross at the ankles and your muscles go rigid. He holds you in his lap with one hand and uses the other to stroke your hair out of your face. “Imagine how I feel, baby. Imagine how much it hurts to see him makin’ you laugh, makin’ you go all red. How much it hurts to see him kiss you.”

“Then you should’ve taken me away from him,” you say quietly. And it forces Joel to pause—to see through his frustration for just a moment. Because you’re right. He should have. He wanted to.

“You know I can’t do that, sweet girl,” he says, thumb stroking gently over your reddened flesh. “Can’t let you get away with bein’ bratty, either. Think five is enough?”

Joel laughs when you press your face into the mattress and let out a dramatic groan.

“Gonna make you count with me, baby,” he says. “Can you do that for me?”

When you lift your head and look up at him, Joel gets that zealous feeling again, twisting up his insides—warm and intense and heavenly. It makes him want to lean over and kiss your cheek, your forehead, makes him want to hold you so close the concept of disconnect becomes foreign. You nod slowly in answer, and he wonders if you can feel it, too.

He watches your face this time as he brings his hand down sharply against your ass. The cutest crease forms between your brows, and your knuckles turn white as you clutch the sheets. He caresses the supple flesh, squeezing softly as he waits.

You let out a long breath. “One,” you choke out, and Joel feels pride swell in his chest. Already you’re following his direction. All it took was a little discipline.

“Good girl,” he praises. “Bein’ so good for me, baby. Sittin’ so pretty.” Joel’s attention leaves your flushed face as you begin to squirm. And it’s only then he realizes just how much this is affecting you—the seam of your panties is soaked. The fabric has gone from blue to almost black, wet material clinging to every dip and curve of your pussy, leaving nothing to the imagination. And Joel moans at the sight—he can’t help it. “Oh, little girl…look at that,” he whispers, voice thick with admiration. “Now you’re finally gettin’ it.”

This time when his palm connects, it’s right in the center of your ass, lower than before—and Joel can almost see your clit pulsing. “Two,” you whimper, eyes squeezed tight to try and fight your oncoming tears. When you catch your breath, you begin pleading almost immediately. “Please, please, touch me. I need you.”

He clicks his tongue. “Shh, baby, I know,” he says. “I know it’s hard, wantin’ something so bad…having it so close…” He slides his middle finger over your panties, right through your slit. It’s featherlight and teasing and torturous. You tilt your hips back to meet his soft touch, but he only pulls away, leaving you trembling in his lap. “And then it gets taken away from you,” he continues. “Leavin’ you all needy and cold and hungry. ”

Joel strikes your ass with his tingling palm, grinning to himself in satisfaction at the art he’s made of your skin. “Joel,” you cry, shoulders shaking with every deep, ragged breath. “Joel, please.”

“See? Knew you’d forget his name. Happened so quick, darlin,’” he mocks. He snakes his hand beneath your dress, tracing the curve of your spine, stroking in reverence. “S’posed to be countin’ for me.”

Your voice is breathy and broken as you say, “Three, Joel I need it, oh my god.” This time the tears do come, sliding slowly down your flushed cheek. Joel reaches over and swipes it away. He runs his knuckles softly over your jaw, ignoring the rocking of your hips.

“Shh. S’alright, little girl. I’m here, nothin’ to cry about,” he coos. And then he takes your arm in his hand, pulling you up off the mattress. “C’mere, baby. I’ve got ya.” When you lean back on your heels, knees pressing against the side of his thigh, Joel kisses the tip of your nose with his lips stretched into an amused grin.

You reach for him, hands finding the coarse hair of his beard, pulling his face to yours, crushing your mouth to his. You taste like heaven, and Joel lets you take control for a single moment. Lets you bite his bottom lip, lets you lick into his mouth, lets you run your hands through his hair and tug the curls at the nape of his neck. But the moment you reach for his cock, Joel grips the back of your neck and pulls you quickly away. “ Please,” you whimper, and you sound so fucking pretty begging for him that his resolves wavers.

But then he remembers the way it sounded when you said Abel’s name and Joel’s jaw feathers. “Arms up, sweetheart. Still got two more to go.”

A whine leaves you in protest, but you do as he asks. Joel helps you take off your dress, tosses it to the floor in the pile where he left his faith, and runs his rough fingertips down your bare chest.

“You’re so pretty baby,” he says truthfully, thumbs ghosting across your nipples. “You know how pretty you are?”

No answer comes in the form of words, but you clue him in on just how desperate for him you are when he sees your head fall back at the light touch. Your lips part with a ragged breath that turns into a moan when he leans forward and takes one nipple into his mouth.

He swirls his tongue, flicking it over the hardened peak. He pinches the other gently between his thumb and forefinger, massaging the delicate flesh of your breasts. And when he pulls away, pushing you back down against the mattress, Joel can’t hold back the grunt that leaves him at the pressure your body creates over his cock. He’s so hard it hurts. And he knows the cure, longs for it, but he has to finish this. He has to make sure you remember what happens when you disrespect him, when you entertain another man.

Joel hooks his fingers in your panties and slowly pulls them down. A low, throaty groan leaves him as he sees the mess you’ve made. It’s pornographic and dirty and obscene and Joel has never, ever wanted something so bad in his life. “Fuck. This all for me, little girl?”

“Yes,” you say, breathless. “It’s yours, Joel, all for you.”

He pulls your panties further down your thighs, cock throbbing as he watches strands of your slick snap as they disconnect. Your pussy is glistening, and Joel wants to feel it, wants to taste it. But he resists, knowing it’ll be worth it in the end. “I know it is, baby,” he mutters.

This time when he brings his palm down against your ass, the sound is sharper, louder than before without the fabric between you. Now it’s just his hand and your flushed skin, and it isn’t until now that Joel realizes just how badly he needs to touch you.

Your hips lift up towards his hand, looking for relief that won’t come. “Four,” you sigh.

“Good girl,” he says. “One more, yeah?”

Through panting breaths you ask, “And then you’ll touch me. Right, Joel? Right?”

The words are so innocent and hopeless that he can’t hold back his dark laughter. You’re being so good for him right now, and Joel knows you don’t deserve any more punishment than this…but the opportunity to tease you is just too sweet to resist. And Joel has already established that, when it comes to you, he’s got no restraint. “What’s wrong? Hm?” He slides his middle and index finger through your pussy, chuckling at the blissful moan you give in response, down to your clit where he circles once, twice—and then back up, gathering your wetness on the pads of his fingers. He spreads you open and traces your entrance, careful not to push inside. “Feelin’ empty, little girl? S’that it?”

You’re nodding frantically, eyes transfixed as he lifts his fingers covered in your slick to his mouth and sucks them clean with a groan. “God, Joel, I can’t take it anymore,” you say.

But he knows better. If he can sit there and watch you dance with another man for hours, you can handle a little desperation. “Good. Now you know how I feel. One more baby,” he says. “Then I promise I’ll touch you, just like you said. Yeah?”

“Yes, yes, please. One more.”

He makes it the worst one yet. When he slaps your ass the sound reverberates through his ears, and Joel knows it hurts because his palm stings and he starts to feel a little bit guilty. Because the relief it brings him to have finished, to have made you suffer in the same way he has, is incredible. So much so that he wants to do it again—wants you to act out, to be bratty, just so you’ll end up over his knee with his handprints on you again. And that’s wrong, isn’t it? It has to be. It’s fucked up, wanting to punish a little girl for his own satisfaction.

But then your shoulders drop, and delight shines in your eyes, and Joel knows you enjoyed it as much as he did. So, even if it is fucked up and wrong and immoral, it’s something he shares with you and, somehow, it makes it all worth it. “Five,” you whisper. And you immediately go to sit up, to crawl into his lap, but Joel stops you.

“Stay still, baby. You just lay right there, I’m gonna take care of you, ‘kay? Just like I promised. Don’t gotta lift a finger, pretty girl.”

Joel shifts from underneath you. He stands up, admires the way you look sprawled out over the sheets with your pussy dripping and your ass marked in the exact shape of his hands. You’re so beautiful it pains him, so flawless it hurts. Joel has to remind himself to breathe as he unbuttons his flannel and tosses it aside.

By the time he’s unbuttoning his jeans, you’re getting desperate again—needy little thing. He watches you squirm, watches you press your thighs together and arch back towards him.

Once he’s got his jeans off, he climbs over you, takes his aching cock in his hand, and presses a kiss between your shoulder blades. “My perfect little girl,” Joel murmurs against your skin. He slides the head of his cock through your slit, coating himself in your slick, smirking as you whine for more. “This what you want? Yeah?”

“Yes, yes, God, give it to me, I need it, I’ll be so good,” you beg as he circles your clit.

And what is he supposed to do but give in to you? You’re always good when he’s got you alone like this. “I know you will be, baby. Say please.”

“Please, please, please — ohh.”

You feel like damnation as he eases inside. Your long moan sounds like a psalm, his fingertips on your ribs are like keys to the gates of heaven. It feels so fucking good to be inside of you that Joel feels like a thief. A brigand, a predator, a vulture. Because in the back of his head, he knows the truth, knows you can never really be his, knows that the age difference between the two of you means that you’re not meant for him. And he’s stealing, taking from whoever it is you should belong to…but he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to stop.

He moves slowly, pushing in deep until there’s no spot inside of you left untouched. And when he pulls out, his cock is wet with your slick, and Joel shivers at the sight. “Oh, God, Joel, it feels so good.”

“I know, baby,” he says. He leans back, straightening his spine so he can watch himself disappear inside of you. The dark hair between his hips has been made darker by your wetness, and the muscles in his thighs flex with each slow, meaningful thrust.

There’s something different tonight. Something even more holy than any other time he’s been this close to you. His heart aches behind his sternum and pressure builds in his throat. The feeling chokes him, runs through his veins as naturally as blood. And though it’s never felt quite like this, Joel knows this feeling. Knows, too, that it terrifies him.

But he doesn’t want to ruin the moment. Doesn’t want to take himself out of the sacred time he has with you. So, he leans into the feeling, letting it take over all those thoughts of sin and doubt, all those thoughts of guilt and shame. He pushes them away and loses himself in you instead, picking up his pace, fucking you hard. “Feels real good, hm? You know he’d never make you feel like this, sweetheart. Just me, ain’t that right?”

“Yes! Yes, mmhm, just you, just you.” He can feel you clench around his cock, squeezing your walls tighter with each cruel thrust. His name sounds so pretty in your mouth, Joel thinks.

Already he’s fighting release, fighting to hold himself back. “Fuck, baby. That’s right, just me.” He snakes his hand beneath you, fingers finding your sensitive clit a moment later. He swipes his hand back and forth quickly, delighting in the way you begin to shake. “Don’t want nothin’ fuckin’ gentle. Wanna be fucked just like this, hm? Fucked like the little slut I know you are. You fuckin’ love this cock, don’t you baby? Hm? Say it, sweetheart.”

“I love it, I love it, I love it, ” you say, and Joel’s heart pounds a little faster in his chest. “Don’t stop, don’t stop, God,” you cry out. And he knows you’re right there, can feel it in your trembling limbs. Joel grabs your ass with his free hand, raised skin hot to the touch, and spreads you open for a clearer view.

The sight of his cock stretching you open nearly does him in. But he resists, because he wants to come with you, wants you to drown him. “Give it to me,” he says, thrusting in deeper, stroking your clit faster. “Give it to me, baby. C’mon. There you go, thaaat’s it. Good girl, that’s a good fuckin’ girl. Shit, pretty little pussy’s soakin’ me. Gonna come inside, hm? How’s that sound, sweetheart? Want me to fill you up?”

There’s a moment of hesitation, but then you’re nodding and you look back at him with hazy eyes and say through your moans, “Yes, I wanna feel it. Please come inside me, Joel, please.”

He doesn’t last another second. His orgasm hits him so hard his vision blackens and he sees nothing but bursts of light, hears nothing but your sweet sounds, feels nothing but admiration and devotion and worship. For you, all for you.

Everything for you.

He fucks you through it, doesn’t stop until he’s completely spent, even though you've finished and come down and your knuckles are white around the sheets, too sensitive to care about anything else but the steady movement inside of you. He gives you every last drop, makes fucking sure of it. And when his muscles go slack, he presses his sweaty forehead to your spine and tries to catch his breath. He breathes you in deep, holding you in his lungs, in his heart.

And he doesn't want to move, but then you let out a sated little giggle and say, “Joel, you’re squishing me.”

He laughs quietly, presses a kiss to your shoulder, and slowly pulls out of you with a groan. He crawls to the other side of the bed, pulls the comforter back, and helps you crawl underneath it. And when he nestles in beside you, he’s a little startled when it’s a natural reaction to pull you close. He wraps his arms around your waist, hooks your thigh over his hip, leans into your hands as you thread your fingers through his hair and scratch lightly at his scalp.

It’s intimate and closer than he’s been to anyone in a very, very long time. But he doesn’t hate it. And he doesn’t hate it when you pepper kisses over his face, either. And he really doesn’t hate it when you arch your back, tits pressing against his chest, and smile like there’s nothing in the world that makes you happier than being here with him, just like this.

He knows you are, but he has to ask. “You okay? It wasn’t too much, was it?”

You shake your head. “No, not at all. I…” You stop, chewing on your bottom lip. “I, uhm…”

“What is it?”

You look away from him, suddenly very interested in the shadows you make on the ceiling by rubbing your cold feet over his legs. “In the morning, I’ll have to go talk to Robin,” you admit. “She…she makes this tea, something you can drink to prevent unwanted…uhm,”

Joel thinks it's real cute, the way you’re struggling over your words. But he decides to grant you a little ease. Thinks you deserve it. “You don’t have to do that. I had a vasectomy before the outbreak,” he says. And when a crease forms between your brows, the question written plainly on your face, he explains, “It’s a procedure that, uh…makes it so I can’t…you know. Do that. Shootin’ blanks.”

It’s only then he realizes the gravity of the situation. Realizes that you didn’t know, because the two of you have never had this conversation, and you were ready and willing and begging to risk everything, to risk being tied to him forever, all for a single moment of bliss, of sweet relief.

“Oh. How convenient,” you say.

“That’s somethin’ you were worried about?” He begins to wonder if you’ve ever felt pressured by him to do things you didn’t want all in the name of pleasing him. Realizes that never once has he asked for your permission. He’s always just…told you what to do. Bossed you around. And there’s a power imbalance here because of his age, isn’t there? His mouth runs dry, his blood runs cold. “You can say no, baby. At any time, with anything. You know that, right?”

You nod, and he feels the panic bleed from his chest as you explain, “I know. I wanted it, too. And I wasn’t worried. I trust you, Joel.”

That fucks him up. Blows through all the defenses he’s put up, all the walls he’s built to keep you out, to keep you at arm's length.

I trust you.

God, he’s fucking done for.

You let out a long breath. He feels at ease the moment you nestle your head in the junction of his shoulder, muscles relaxing as the tension subsides. “I don’t want to see you with her,” you whisper against his throat.

“You won’t,” he says quickly. “I never should’ve gone in the first place.” It’s the truth, and Joel means it. There’s no one for him but you and he knows by now that there never will be.

“So…I’ll only be with you, and you’ll only be with me, and we’ll keep it quiet for a while. That way everyone’s happy.”

“Yeah,” he says. But it’s not enough. Just seconds after the words leave your mouth, there’s a pull within him for more. He wants to parade you around Jackson, to hold your hand and kiss you over dinner at The Tipsy Bison and dance with you so every man in the commune knows who you belong to.

But he can’t. He can’t.

It’s not enough, but it has to be.

Joel can tell there’s another question on the tip of your tongue. He gives you time to work through it, to form the words in whatever way makes you most comfortable. But the longer you stay silent, the deeper that crease between your brows becomes. You swallow thickly, open your mouth, close it again. And Joel feels his heart shatter in his chest because he knows. He knows because he feels it, too. And the words crack in your mouth as you say, “Joel…Joel, I—”

“I know,” he says, because he can’t hear you say it. He can’t. It’s too much. It’ll rip him apart. But he gets it, he understands. He presses his lips to yours, kissing you deeply, hoping you can sense his piety. When he pulls away, your eyes are wide and glassy and you look just as frightened as he feels. “S’okay, baby. I know. Get some sleep.”

Joel holds you a little tighter.

[part three] [part five]

#joel miller #ao3 fanfic #ellie williams #joel miller smut #idle threats #pearlessance #jackson era joel #joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfic #joel tlou #tommy tlou #jealousy #brat taming #the feedback on this here has been insane i love u all so much #joel miller fanfiction #fanfic #smut

172 notes · View notes

httpiastri · 3 months

Note

first of all CONGRATS ON 3K!! 💗😫 I've loved your Pepe work and I'm so checking out your other works 😭💗

saw the 3k celly and I couldn't resist myself 👉👈

how do we feel about a small Pepe blurb with the touch starved prompt: "one just casually sitting down on the other's lap and they start internally freaking the hell out" ??

furthermore,, could it be the reader being the one that is touch starved and Pepe just casually grabs em and sits them on his lap and is the reader the one freaking out?? 🤭

🍈 – send me a driver and a prompt from this list of hugging prompts, these touch starved prompts, or these kiss prompts, and i will write a short blurb for you!!

author's note: thank you so much!! and im glad you like them aaa 🥺 i loved this idea !!!! but lol i thought a blurb was 500 words, not 100-200. still doesnt explain why this is 1.2k. 😶 i had time over on my flight so this (and the paul "blurb" ive got scheduled for later) was the result. hope u enjoy :)

3k celly !!

(college!)pepe marti x reader

there are a lot of fun ways to spend a free saturday evening.

but being squeezed into a room with a bunch of drunk students, with music so loud you can barely think? not one of them.

you had been about to refuse your friend's suggestion to tag along, as you always do, before she had uttered the magic words. pepe will be there.

you were already planning outfits in your mind when the words left her mouth, suddenly feeling like no piece of clothing you own is enough to impress him. how could any piece of clothing ever be good enough for someone like him?

disappointment, though no surprise, fills you when your friend leaves you the second you enter the apartment of some guy in her physics class, to search for that other guy she's been crushing on for weeks now. so, here you are, in the living room belonging to some student you don't know, being pushed around by students you also don't know, with some song that you've never heard blasting from the speakers.

thankfully, even in a crowded apartment like this one, it isn't hard to find pepe. the sound of his sweet, intoxicating laughter can be heard from miles away.

he's sitting on a couch in the corner of the room, red solo cup in one hand and phone in the other. he's showing something on his phone to his best friend christian who's sitting next to him, his giggles sending a wave of relief through your body.

pepe's eyes light up when they meet yours, a sliver of surprise in his smile as you make your way over to him. he says your name like it's what he was made to do, like no other words have ever fallen from his lips. "i almost didn't believe your friend when she told me you'd join her tonight," he tells you. "i'm surprised."

"i'm full of surprises," you answer, tilting your head to the side slightly.

"of course you are. like that dress, very surprising." that statement isn't very surprising in itself; your friend, ever the fashionista, noticed your stress over your choice of outfit for the night instantly, lending you one of her favorite dresses with the words you'll look adorable, he won't be able to stay away. but the fact that pepe has noticed you enough to at least in some way collect an idea of the types of clothes you would and wouldn't wear is surprising to send a shiver down your spine. "you look great."

you can't control the redness that threatens to spread across your cheeks at that, but your gaze shifts to the ground to at least lessen some of your flusteredness. pepe doesn't miss the gentle smile that makes its way onto your lips, though. christian understands this as his cue to leave, jumping out of his seat and bolting away in just a second. pepe taps the now free spot on the couch, and you slip down next to him without another thought.

"did you get to the kitchen already?" he asks, gaze burning into the side of your face as you pretend like fixing the hem of your dress is something you actually need to do and not just a way to occupy yourself. "or do you want me to go get you something to drink?"

you shake your head, eyes flickering over to him again. "i'm alright for now, but thank you."

he nods over his cup, bringing it up to his lips to take a sip. the action has the muscles of his arm contracting and… has he always been this muscular, or is it just the light of the apartment? either way, he makes it look so casual – he probably doesn't know he's the object of your current mental assessment – as if the feeling of his jeans against your bare knee isn't distracting enough. "i'm glad you came," he says after he's lowered the cup. "the party was bound to be boring without you."

there it is again; that relief you felt earlier. a sliver of a confirmation that this thing that's been going on between you two these last few weeks isn't just one-sided. unless he's just toying with you, as you've heard certain men like to do, which doesn't exactly help soothe your worries.

but pepe isn't like that, you have to remind yourself. that's one of the reasons you fell for him in the first place; he's gentle in a way you can't credit a lot of men to being, like a mild breeze instead of a full-blown storm.

someone turns the music up even more, something you would've assumed was impossible a minute ago, as if to say you're thinking too much. fewer thoughts, please.

you take a deep breath, eyes meeting his. "i'm glad you're here, too."

"what?"

you let out a short laugh at the way his face contorts as he tries to hear what you're saying over the loud music. "i said," you start, voice growing louder. "i'm glad you're here, too."

pepe nods, though you're not sure if he actually understood or if he's just faking it, before saying something you have no chance of catching. you raise your eyebrows, tilting your head slightly and jokingly bringing a hand up to the back of your ear to hear him better. you did not expect him to lean forward, nor the warm huff of air that meets your ear when he speaks into it. "it's a little too loud, isn't it?"

you nod when he leans back to look at you, the corners of your lips tugging upward at the sight of his own smile. you shrug, trying to figure out a way to solve the issue; you came here to talk to him, not to just sit next to him all quietly because you can't hear each other. you gaze around the apartment, only to find a pair of speakers placed in about every corner of it, which brings back that disappointing feeling from when your friend left you just minutes ago.

but pepe has other plans. before you can interject, his hands find your hips and lift you up to straddle his thighs sideways. it's a swift motion, and he makes it seem like you weigh about five grams, leaving you pretty completely speechless. "i figured we'd hear each other better like this," he says, one hand reaching over to grab his cup again from where he must've placed it on a table nearby just moments ago, while his other hand stays planted on your hip. when you don't say anything, his eyes rake over your face, a hint of guilt in his expression. "sorry, is this okay?"

you take a deep breath, pushing the butterflies in your stomach away for just a moment and gathering the courage to nod. "yeah," you say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "i just… wasn't expecting that."

the chuckle he lets out vibrates through your body, too. "well, get used to it." that damn smile of his appears again, the one you just can't stop yourself from mimicking. "i like having you close."

as his hand slips past your hip and around your waist, you allow yourself to lean into him a little, impressed by the way you find yourself enjoying your new seat very much.

impressed by the way it feels like this seat was made just for you.

158 notes · View notes

bubbles-for-all-of-us · 10 months

Text

Northern attitude

Previous chapter

a/n I welcome you to the second part for more Sugar and Ghost. Did I have a right to form attachment to these two in two chapters? No. But here I am. Enjoy.

summary: mission gone bad, feels a little like enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort sort of goodness.

warnings: blood, wounds, needles, death, hospitals, IV's, vomiting, trauma... I think that's all...

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Keep the chest compressions going", the female voice filled the space that now seemed as buzzing as the actual hospital room. Not that any of them truly had been in the midst of it all. But army hospitals, especially while on the move, could and did get chaotic at times. "You'll need another shot of adrenaline", a calm and collected tone instructed. Gaz looked into Soap's eyes, who has been ramming at your heart for some time now. The two males nodded at one another. "Coming in 3 2 1", Gaz called out as they switched for only a heartbeat or two. Soap's hand left your chest, while Gaz aimed the needle right toward your left shoulder.

Simon felt as if he was in a daze. In one of his nightmares, maybe. Yeah, maybe that's what it was. One of his nightmares where he was aware that he was in his mind traps. Yet he didn't recall what had happened after he started shaking your body. Who pulled you out of his arms? Who pushed him to the side?

"Go back to stimulating the heart, Johnny. Hum, while you're at it", Ghost knew that voice now that his brain had granted him a moment of clarity. Eleanor Price's wife was a medic and a woman not ready to give up on her adoptive daughter. Desperate and ready to do anything. Make the four basic medical knowledge-baring males do everything they can so her baby girl will come back home. Come home, but not in a casket. Simon had no clue who even dialed her number. The phone was used for emergencies only. They were strictly advised not to use it until it was a life-or-death situation. The call had to be directed straight to the base. Eleanor wasn't at the base. But somehow, that made Simon calmer. He was happier that it was her and not some careless idiot in charge.

"You need to start the drip", another desperate order filled the space. "I can't, El,", Price said, running a hand through his face in frustration. "John, for fuck sake, you've done it before. Put it in her hand, the palm; don't go full vein, but do it damit", that was the first time Simon caught onto her voice, quivering. For a split second, her cool doctor mask had slipped, making Price clench his jaw so tight that his voice was barely a groan. "Eleanor", he breathed. "Keep humming, Soap," she barked at the man now responsible for pumping your heart, ignoring her husband. And Soap did. His humming grew louder. I got a pocket—a pocket full of sunshine echoing from the walls, accompanied by his thick Scottish accent—now that he too was under lots of stress.

Gaz ran back into the main room with the pouch full of liquid. "Got it", he said breathlessly. "Good, you see that there are two different colored liquids?", Gaz nodded too overstimulated to realize that Eleanor could not see him. "There is", Price said for him. "Good, bend it. It needs to mix, then start the drip, or so help me, God, I will never forgive you, John".

Maybe not a nightmare. Maybe a bad movie. One Ghost hoped he would forget eventually. He just sat there. While everything buzzed around him. For the very first time, he felt helpless. That was a lie. He had only felt helpless that night. The night when all of the people he loved got slaughtered. The night he was forced to lock the last bits of his humanity away. To promise himself that no one would ever get close to him. He would not make friends. He would never fall in love. But here he was. Your blood was still all over him. Simon's hands were tinted. Permanently tinted. It felt almost like an out-of-body experience. He knew this was happening, but a part of him kept on screaming that this was not real and couldn't be. That fate wouldn't be so cruel. Yes, Ghost wasn't a good man, but selfishly, he was sure that after all that he had been through, his debts had to be paid off by now.

Ghost didn't know why, but his brain took him back to the base. The room you two shared. Did he hate it at first? Yes. But you brought peace. You brought life. His room was bland and colorless. Now, with your posters and books, plants, and fucking throw blankets, it felt like living there was intensional. Like you, and only you had to return there. And that was important to Simon. He cared about it. Cared about you even if his snarling demeanor wouldn't let it show.

There were nights when he would find you passed out with your book in your hands. The hardcover digging into your neck. It was not enough to hurt, but it sure had to be uncomfortable. Simon had stood there for a solid ten minutes, the first time it had happened, just watching your slumbering frame. He turned around and went about his nightly routine. He had gone and laid down in his bed. But only a handful of moments later, he was out, crossing the white line. He had gently pulled the book from your skin, using your pen to mark the page you were on. Pulling the blanket over your shoulders because the base got rather cold at night. He told himself that he couldn't allow a soldier on his team to get sick because manpower was crucial, but deep down, he knew that any other lad could be freezing his balls off for all he cared. It was you. You were the main factor in this equation. There was something even back then that didn't sit well with him when it came to you not being well.

"It's bleeding, Eleanor", John's desperate voice filled Ghost's mind, and it was like his systems had been restarted. His eyes darted toward the table. Onto John's slumped shoulders as he fidgeted with the needle. Simon jumped up. He rounded the table to push John's hand off as he reached for the tape, repositioning the very tip of the needle before securing it in place. "You need to keep it stable", Eleanor's voice rang out. "Simon just did it", John breathed out. The room stilled for a moment. They were running out of things they could do to keep you alive. To keep you with them. Ghost held onto your hand. He hoped that everyone would take it as just him making sure that your skin wasn't puffing up, indicating that the incision was done incorrectly. And none of the men, sweaty and mentally exhausted, would have said anything. But Eleanor did.

"Simon, you're okay, sweetheart?", It was so soft. Too soft. She should be yelling. Simon was responsible for what had happened here. Maybe even more, because he should have ripped all the doors that separated him from you. Should not have followed everyone into the safe house. "She will fight; you know it; you stay strong for her. She needs you", Ghost bit onto his cheeks, feeling the taste of iron filling his mouth. He had met Eleanor a couple of times. The woman was an angel. How John had landed her was beyond him, but she was exactly what you had been for the team. A breath of fresh air. Some days when everyone was off duty, she would ring up everyone, inviting them for a barbecue at her and Price's shared home. "Positive", Ghost breathed out, yanking the wall of steel back up. He couldn't let himself feel it. Not here. Not now.

"Her chest", Soap's two words were enough to shift the focus back to the table. His big eyes looked between the rest of his team and the women on the living room table. "Soap", Eleanor's voice carried both worry and hope. "It's moving, she's...", Johnny's voice died down, only to be overshadowed by Eleanor's once more, "Count her pulse for me; tell me if it's steady enough". No one breathed for a moment, as if afraid to chase it away. As if they inhaled too much oxygen themselves, there would not be enough for you. A minute passed. Two. Three.

"Yeah", Johnny breathed, "It's steady. Weak but... but...", a sob slipped past his lips, followed by a cry from Eleanor. Gaz sank to his knees, his chest heavy, as he tried to catch his breath. John moved past them all, rushing towards the side door. But the distance between him and the room wasn't big enough for the rest of them to not hear him heaving. "Fucking hell, Bonnie, you just took ten years of my life", Soap carefully ran his hand over your leg, his head falling back as the quiet tears continued to flow. "Keep a watch on her for me, boys", Eleanor sniffled from the other side. Simon leaned over. His face pressed into your side as he tried to keep his tears at bay. Not even for a moment letting go of your hand.

That was three weeks ago. They had managed to keep you alive for two days in that house. Two days. Finally, transportation from the base was provided to get all of them out of there. The doctors had told them straight to the face that what they had been doing was God's work. They were the reason you were still breathing. But even under the unfaltering gaze of the base doctors, Ghost still couldn't shake the feeling of you slipping away.

Simon was down in the medical wing every day. Some days, he stood for hours in the corner of the room. Some days, he pulled himself a chair and sat by your side. It was the nights that were the hardest, though. Because now all Ghost saw was you. All he felt was a lack of your presence. If he did manage to slip into a restless sleep, he would be up in no time. Sweaty and panting. He would reach for his hoodie as he moved through the quiet hallways to get to you.

"Debrief starts at five", Soap's head popped into the hospital room. Making Ghost stutter on the last words that he was reading as he slowly lowered one of your books to his lap. Most of his mornings looked the same. Quick shower. Breakfast if he was up for it. Your hospital room. Training. Back to your hospital room. Days when he had to be in meetings or debriefs were the ones he hated the most. That meant he had to be away from you for longer than he was willing. "Copy", he said sternly, eager to at least finish the page he was on. And even more so, hoping that Soap would go away. Simon had nothing against the guy. Out of everyone, he liked Johnny the most. The two had a similar sense of humor, and working together never felt like a never-ending nightmare. Just the Scot talked a lot. At times, it was fun, and Simon's ever-running brain benefited from it. But there were times, like now, when he wished that the man would get the message and go his own way. "Ain't my place to say this, but...", the door cracked open a bit more, "I'm sure that she loves that you're here", Simon was so glad that his back was turned to Soap because he was sure that he would be able to see his face falter. Fingers grinning at the book just a bit tighter. "Copy, Soap, you can go", Ghost's tone was more than unamused. He didn't want to break in front of any of them. The safe house had already been a dead giveaway of how Simon felt when it came to you. And he didn't want anyone to know anything else. "And she...", Soap started once more, but Ghost just lifted his hand up, making all sounds die down. "Copy", Simon said thickly through his teeth. He knew that it was selfish to push everyone away like that. You two were also friends. Close ones at that. Simon knew that Soap loved you. He had a front-row ticket to watch that after the mission went south. But he just couldn't. Couldn't do it now. When the door quietly kicked shut, Simon let out a sigh, his eyes darting towards the clock on the wall. He had to go, even if he didn't want to.

"I'll be back", he muttered softly, placing the book on the little table by your bed. "Will finish reading that book for you later", Ghost reached his hand out, softly running his fingers over your forehead, lingering touches stretching out for longer than they should. "You sleep well, Sugar", he breathed out, leaning in to place a kiss on the side of your head and stilling right beside you as he let himself listen to the sound of your breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. And he was pulling away, running a hand through his face before he walked out of the room.

Ghost barely said a word in the debrief. When Kate asked for his input, the man shrugged his shoulders and said, "You read my report; you know my thoughts". Was the upper management getting fed up with him at this point? Most definitely. Yet no one managed to put the lack of everyone's involvement against them. Most of the base had been rather quiet when they wheeled you through the corridors, almost lifeless. And yes, the key thing was not to get emotionally attached. Teammates came and went, but everyone knew just as well how tight everyone in this group was. Or came to realize that with the four men following the doctors in one quick stride.

"Ghost", Price's voice yanked Simon back to the meeting room. An almost empty meeting room at that. "A word alone in my office", the captain said, only waiting for a head nod before walking away. Simon followed suit. He knew there was no other option. "Eleanor said you didn't call her back", John mused, reaching for the lighter as he puffed out smoke. Ghost's face stayed blank as he muttered, "I didn't see the call". That was a lie. He did. And there was more than one. Simon just couldn't pick up. The same way he couldn't watch the way Price's wife had sobbed in her husband's chest when they had just returned. The guilt was too much. The sight of her sobbing only made Simon think that it was over. An hour. Maybe two. And your body will be in the bag. Stored away in the cold room.

"Simon", John snapped his hand in front of Ghost's eyes, making the male blink a couple of times. "Is that all, sir?", his voice was grim. Even Simon was struggling to recognize himself. John frowned, "Don't you sir me, boy", a warning finger was jabbed into Simon's chest. A moment of silence. A deep exhale. "Her vitals are getting better. She will pull through", Price said softly, clapping Ghost's shoulders, but the man simply shook his head and said, "You don't know that". And it's like that's all Price needed to realize where the stem of all of this denial was rooted. "I called the shots there. It's on me, not you", the captain said firmly, that same warning finger now pointing directly at his chest. Neither of them said anything else afterward. They just stood there. Eyes burning into each other.

Price's eyes narrowed for a moment before he muttered, "Do you like her? My, Sug, do you like her?", the question threw Simon off the hilt. He didn't expect it here. Now. It wasn't supposed to be discussed here. Like that. And my Sug... Fucking hell. It was his captain's daughter Simon was falling for. Biological or not, she was still a daughter. And for the first time, did he realize how much shit this could bring you both? Maybe it was one-sided even. But the way you held onto him. Your touch. Simon had never been touched so tenderly in his life. And what's more, for the very first time, he didn't want to pull away. "Because if you play...", Price's tone shifted completely as he spoke his words, and Ghost cut him off quickly, "Positive. I do... I like her". John simply nodded at his words, making Simom mimic his movements. The older male scratched his chin before waving Simon away, and he didn't waste a minute before turning away. He'll deal with the potential consequences later on.

Simon was almost out the door when a voice stopped him. "Simon", Price called out once more, making the soldier turn back, "I expect you to mow my lawn in the summer". A strange, warm sensation filled Simon's chest as he looked at the man in front of him, smiling as he puffed out another cloud of smoke. Ghost lets himself linger for a heartbeat more before he closes the door, heading towards the medical wing once more.

"I also overwatered your succulent", Simon said quietly as he looked out of the window in your room. The rest of the team had slowly turned the little, awfully sterol-looking room into a somewhat comfortable place. Or at least a place that screamed less about the inevitable outcome they all feared the most. A plush blanket. Some of your books. A night lamp in the shape of a duck. That was a gift from Soap. Was it slightly questionable? Yes. But everyone dealt with this in their own way, so if bringing you a light-up duck made Soap happy in some way, so will it be.

"I bought you a new one, but... still felt like you should know", Simon continued. He was doing this a lot. Way too much. Maybe? Ghost wasn't sure what was normal or not at this stage. Yet he couldn't help but feel that you would be sitting there with an eyebrow lifted at the number of words he was sharing. One thing everyone knew was that Ghost didn't speak unless it was necessary. Some called it arrogance. Others said that that was just his cold demeanor. The truth was, no one truly stopped to listen or cared for Simon for most of his life. So he got used to it. But talking to you, at least now, made him feel lighter. Besides the reading he did here, Simon also went over meetings with you. A part of him didn't want you to feel left out. Not that your unconscious body cared, but... if you could hear him. He wanted you to feel involved. Then there were an endless amount of stories about how and who had pissed him off that day.

"I...", Ghost's voice dies down as he turns back to face you. You looked like a doll laid neatly on the sheets. They have moved the IV out today. Nothing more but a heart monitor left running. Eleanor had no doubt been here while he was in the debrief because your hair had been brushed. Simon let out a sigh as he pulled a chair for himself, quickly shrugging off his gloves.

"You know, you caught my attention the moment I saw you", his hand hovered above yours for a moment. He didn't trust himself to touch you. What if he harmed you in some way? What if he triggered a negative reaction? "Fucking hell, did you keep us on your toes", Ghost shook his head, "I took it for granted. I'd do anything to see you striding past the main entrance once again". Simon let his head fall over your stomach. Oddly enough, that was the only time that his head seemed to work these days. Taking a deep breath, Simon let the feeling of your body slowly ground him. You're here. With him. He can hear your heart beating. Your body is no longer cold. You even have some of your color back. He can...

A sudden rustling of the sheets makes every single muscle in Simon's body seize. For a moment, he can't even hear his own heart as he stays as still as he can. One heartbeat. Another. Nothing. Devastation rushes through him. He had gotten so sensitive to the sounds in this room. A gentle hand caresses his scalp, and Simon jerks away.

Blinking rapidly, only to find your half-hooded eyes open. Looking right back at him. "No", Simon muttered, fully convinced that his lack of sleep had finally gotten the best of him. He doesn't move away, but he digs the back of his palm into his eyes. "Simon...", and it's barely a whisper. So weak still, but it's there, and... Simon's shoulders quiver. There's no sound. Not a single hick-up, but you know.

Every single part of your body feels as if it's on fire. The room is dim, but gods, it's still too bright for your sensitive eyes. Yet you can't take your eyes away from the man drowning in his own emotions right next to you. You carefully reach out for him, muscles soar from the lack of movement. Brushing your fingers through his hair. Scratching his scalp. You have no idea how long you've been out, but you've heard him talking. Soothing the anxiety of being trapped in nothing but darkness.

"Si", You breathe out once more, trying to tug at his wrist softly. Wanting nothing more than to see his eyes once again. Simon gives in instantly, the tears soaking his mask. You try to wipe some of them away, but his fingers wrap around your frail wrist. For a second, you are convinced that he will push you away, but he does quite the opposite. With both of his palms, Simon presses your hand into his cheek. Leaning into your touch.

"You died... I held you," he says through heavy breaths, pulling at your heart, "You... the blood". You shake your head slowly. "Look at me", you say softly, coughing slightly. At the feeling of your dry throat, Simon is out of the chair, lifting the water jug to pour you a glass before carefully cradling your head as he helps you take a couple of sips. That's enough to chase some of the big emotions away. Enough to give time for Ghost to pull the iron mask back on, but his eyes still glisten.

"I'm here, aren't I?", you whispered, "That pink rug was too appealing to give up", you joke slightly, and it's enough to make Ghost let out somewhat of a chuckle. "You don't have to die to buy a rug for our room", Simon says, head turning to look at the monitor as if waiting to see something that would still prove to him that this wasn't happening. "You look like shit, LT. Losing sleep over a girl doesn't look good on you", you mutter, and Simon lets out a dry huff. "Because I'm a decent bloke, I won't comment on how you look", you let out a gasp in return, and that nearly sent him flying off his chair because the man is on such high alert that anything rings danger bells in his head now. "I'm okay, just trying to be dramatic with you", you say, squeezing his hand softly, trying to get him to calm down once more. Silence falls. Not an uncomfortable one. One that fully captures the shared amount of words running through both of your minds.

"I heard you, you know? Kind of pissed that you think that Jack deserved to get his heart broken," Simon snorts, running his fingers through his hair. His shoulders droop. All of the adrenaline that's been keeping him upright is finally wearing off. Leaving him feeling heavy and weak. "Should I get the others? Price would...", Ghost breathed, turning to get up, but you grabbed onto his hand quickly. "I just want you right now", you muttered straight away, realizing how dumb and desperate that sounded, "If you don't mind".

Simon scoffed, "Sugar, I sat here for three weeks begging for all the holy things that you would pull through", You bit your lip at his words. You knew that he did. You felt him. Heard him. Smelled him. He had been your lifeline all this time. "If I could, I would pull rank to get myself off duty so I could sit here till you fully recover", Ghost says, rolling his eyes, now doubtful at everyone who has been up his ass for not attending every single meeting. You smile at him weakly, feeling the little bits of your energy slowly giving out. Yet you still muster what's left of it to move your head up so you could run your fingers beneath Simon's eyes, where the darkest tired bags screamed about the lack of sleep he was getting.

"Get in bed," You tap the side next to you softly. You have no idea how you both will fit here, but you can't watch him practically fall asleep by your side. He had already spent way too many nights in that tiny plastic chair. "Shouldn't we at least go on a date first?", Simon jokes, making your cheeks grow crimson, and you're convinced that they are a dead giveaway of how you are feeling. "Oh, fuck you...", you huff, trying to frown, but the smile that tugged at your lips was too strong. "Lay with me, so you could sleep. So we both could sleep", you say once more, not letting go of his hand. With the size of this man, the bed will get crampy. But you didn't care. You needed to feel him close. To just know that he was with you. Fully. As if reading your mind, Simon got up, climbing into the bed from your good side. Making sure your uninjured shoulder was pressed against him.

"Is this okay?", he said after a moment of you two moving around to find a comfortable position for the two of you. "You can wrap your hands around me; you don't have to lay there like a log", you chuckled, tugging at his sleeve and urging him to cling onto you the way you were clinging to him. Ghost chuckled softly, leaning in to kiss your head. Your hand instantly moves up to cradle the side of his masked face. The feeling of the soft material soothing to your senses. "I fucking missed you", Ghost breathed after a moment of silence. Fingers running up and down your back. You slowly peeled your eyes open, fighting the tiredness just for a heartbeat longer. Meeting his soft eyes as looked down at you. "I missed you too, Simon. Been missing you since the moment I saw you", you smiled softly, turning to press a loving kiss on his chest, right over his heart, before you lay your head back, listening to the steady drumming.

#simon riley imagine #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon riley cod #simon ghost riley imagine #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley #ghost cod x reader #ghost x reader #cod x reader #cod x you #cod imagine

353 notes · View notes

hsangel64 · 4 months

Text

bandmates pt. 7 !

pairings: bassist!ellie williams x fem!reader

summary: it’s been a couple of weeks and you and ellie were officially together but ellie has been acting suspicious and it feels like you're together only behind closed doors.

warnings: angst angst angst (sorry !!), cussing, slight smut, use of y/n

a/n: i am trying my best to be back and write, ive been in the process of moving and i just got in the mindset to write!! I had a plan for this and then stopped writing this for a while so this series will have more than just a couple of chapters left, i'm not sure yet!! anyways good to be back hope you enjoy!!

you and ellie were doing fine, great even! but only in your guys' room. you have been so happy the past few weeks, but it was starting to feel a little off. you didn't think much of it but that still didn't stop that small anxious pit in your stomach from forming. you liked ellie so much and was so happy this was finally reality that you didn't see the red flags ahead of time.

"do we really have to go to this stupid get together?" ellie whined and you giggled.

"yes unfortunately we do, speaking of which we need to get up really soon to get ready." ellie groaned and turned away from you and got out of bed. she walked over to her closet while pouting and grabbed some clothes considering we were only in underwear....

you sat up and grabbed an outfit from your closet. ellie came up from behind you and kissed your cheek and made her way down to your neck. you giggled and squished her face in your neck, you tried to push her away, but she fought against your small weak nudges.

"ellie we can't, we have to go dina and jesse really want us there to meet these people."

"we could be late." she said in that sultry voice she puts on. you felt a shiver down your spine and so badly wanted to fall for it but you knew how much this meant to dina and didn't want to let her down.

"no els we gotta go i don't want to let dina down." you laughed as she kept kissing you neck and reaching down you back. she turned you around and kissed your lips, you melted into her mouth and couldn't resist the urge to just go for yet another round of the day, but you fought back and slowly pulled away. you gave her that look a sad puppy dog would give and she groaned and then smiled at you.

"ugh fine, only because you're cute and i love you." you let out a small gasp, ellie hadn't said i love you yet. a small smile made it to your face and she smiled back.

"i love you too." you smiled at each other and kissed again, you both went on and got ready for the get together.

----

you two were sitting on the couch together next to dina and jesse at someone's house you didn't know, you just wanted to be home with ellie. the air felt super awkward and ellie felt a little distant. you didn't think much of that until you all introduced yourselves.

"this is ellie and y/n!" dina introduced us to everyone else and they all collectively said hello.

"how did you all meet?" one of the girls asked and ellie answered.

"y/n and i have been friends since before we could remember and met dina and jesse in high school band class. we all became really good friends and formed our band, coastal."

"that's really cool, you guys all seem so close is it just dina and jesse together? some girl asked while making flirty eyes with ellie.

"yeah it is, me and y/n are best friends and i wouldn't have it any other way." your face shifted and you gently whipped your head towards ellie in a questioning way, she was already looking at the girl with that same flirty look and you turned away and excused yourself to the bathroom. dina noticed your change in behavior and decided to follow after you. you quickly made your way to the bathroom before dina could make it in and you closed the door in front of her face.

"babes are you okay? what happened?" you tuned her questions out and your mind drifted. you could tell something was wrong, you knew it felt weird that you two weren't going on dates or that she acted different outside of the dorm. you saw all the red flags but was too oblivious to see what was going on. your eyes slowly filled with tears and you didn't even realize you were crying until you snapped back into reality and heard dina bang on the door.

"hey, are you okay what's going on??" you turned and opened the door, dina gasped and pushed her way into the room seeing your state.

'what's going on, talk to me." she held your face and wiped your tears, you felt so overwhelmed with emotions and couldn't make out the words so you said.

"ellie is an asshole." she looked at you saddened and nodded her head saying i know, she grabbed you and pulled you into her. you silently cried into the crook of her neck and just felt so angry. you were mad at yourself for thinking this was going to work. you didn't want to cry anymore about it so you gently pulled away and turned to the faucet and wiped your face down of the mascara streaks. dina helped you pull yourself together and you both made your way back into the living room. everyone was preoccupied with mario kart on the tv and didn't even notice you two coming back. you sat down on the couch next to jesse and dina occupied the spot next to ellie. she turned over and looked at you and nodded her head asking if you were okay. you looked away and dina pushed her head towards the tv and diverted her attention away from you.

for the rest of the time you guys were there you sat on the couch with your back against the cushion and your head slouched. dina tried her best to stop ellie from talking to you and left you alone till you guys left.

----

when you guys were getting ready to leave you all said your goodbyes and you saw ellie and that girl exchange numbers, you felt sick to your stomach and didn't want to face her in the car. you turned away and walked out of the house without anyone, you guys weren't to far from the dorm so you just decided to walk on your own.

as you walked you made it to the gas station right by the school so you stopped for a slushy. you walked in and grabbed the biggest size, you needed this. you also grabbed some ice cream and made your way out. you sat on the curb for a little and pulled out your phone to a million notifications.

40 texts from ellie, 20 missed calls from dina, it all felt too much. so you texted dina and said you were fine and just decided to walk home. dina proceeded to cuss you out in your texts and raved about how dangerous that was for you to walk alone by yourself. you rolled your eyes and got up from the curb and walked to rest of the way towards the campus.

you found your way back and checked their locations to see they were home so you just knocked on the door. ellie answered and quickly let you in. you made your way to your shared room and grabbed some clothes.

"hey what happened back there?" she quietly asked and you rolled your eyes. you made your way to the shower but not before ellie squeezed her way through the door.

"bee what's wrong?" she grabbed your arm and you felt sick, you pushed her away and started to take your makeup off before your shower. she put her hand back on you and you pushed her away again getting frustrated now.

"why do you keep pushing me away, what happened back there?" you pushed her away hard and felt that tickle in your throat. you grumbled and said wouldn't you like to know under your breath, but it wasn't very quiet, so she heard.

"what do you mean? i would like to know. what's up with you?"

"i don't know ellie you tell me."

"I don't know y/n that's why i'm asking." you rolled your eyes starting to get more frustrated with her.

"maybe it was the fact that you just called me your friend and not your girlfriend?? i guess i missed something but i thought us having sex all the time and calling each other girlfriends meant just friends."

"i just called you best friend it isn't a big deal i'm sorry." she didn't sound sorry.

"it's a big deal to me ellie."

"well, i'm sorry." she shrugged and you scoffed at her nonchalant movement.

“i really don’t want to deal with this can you please leave i want to shower.” she didn’t pick up a fight and left. you sighed and wiped your face from any left over tears. you made your way into the shower and let the warm water help you forget about your thoughts for just one second.

————

a/n: i’m sorry this was short !! it was more of a filler before we get into some good angst and drama!! chapter 8 and possibly 9 will be out tomorrow!!

taglist:

@gold-dustwomxn @lil-elliesgf @hopelesssheaven @elliestears @cjrights

#ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #ellie williams #the last of us #ellie williams fic #ellie williams x reader #ellie x fem reader #ellie williams angst #ellie x y/n #ellie x you #ellie x reader #ellie willams x reader

112 notes · View notes

starrayblogs · 9 months

Text

Not So Rock-Hearted || Floyd (Trolls) x Reader

a/n: a little something before christmas :3 likes and reblogs are appreciated, have a fun read!! ALSO my asks are open to questions about this fic c:

another a/n: tags~ @brights-place

✩ previous chapter

iv. There You Go

“Aww, do you have to go?” Viva pouts, holding onto your hands. You chuckle.

“Yes, Viva, I have to.” You reply, rocking her hands in yours a bit. “I’m not the only one leaving either, you’re going too.”

“Ugh, I know- It’s just that it’s gonna feel like forever until we see each other again.” She turns away, pulling her hands away to cross them. You lean your body to put yourself in her field of vision, smiling. She makes eye contact with you, and her frown eases, a giggle bubbling from her throat.

“We’ll see each other next week.” You lean back, before your entire body jumps a bit from Poppy surprising you from behind.

“And we’ll be doing the second Trolls Kingdom Secret Holiday Gift Swap!” She says, fists to her face with a wide grin.

“What’s that?” Viva and Branch’s brothers collectively ask.

“Oh, I’m so excited! Okay, so, basically, I send an invitation to all the Troll tribes with the name of someone inside the letter. Then, whoever you got is the troll you have to give a gift to!” Poppy exclaims, proceeding to grab Branch after the explanation.

“And we’ll be delivering the letters three days prior.” He says, looking to everyone else before back to Poppy.

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Poppy. And telling Barb about it so we don’t get flooded again.” You follow up the last part with a chuckle.

“You’ve gift swapped before?” Floyd speaks up, and you let out an exaggerated ‘phew’.

“Yeah, it happened… a few days after the World Tour, actually.” You look to Poppy for confirmation, who nods her head. “And I’ve never even met the troll I got, so I was kind of panicking until Poppy pitched in an idea.”

“You’re welcome!” She says, and you chuckle. “I’m so excited to see who you’ll get this time.”

“Please let it be Barb, that way I know what to give this time.” You joke, leaning onto your motorcycle behind you.

“Well, we’ll just have to see whose name lands in your hands!” Poppy sings with a cheeky grin.

“Right…” You smile back, getting a weird feeling in your gut about her grin.

“Well, I’m so pumped for this gift swap thing!” Clay quite literally pumps a fist in the air. “But we better get going before it gets too late.” He says, rolling his hands before reeling it behind him.

“Right! Well, it’s been a fun weekend, you guys. I can’t wait to see you for the holiday!” Viva waves bye to everyone as JD calls Rhonda, who is a sentient car (to your surprise).

Your head tilts as you feel yourself already starting to miss Viva, even after spending almost your entire weekend by her side. She meets your eyes and runs up to give you a tight hug, which you return just as tight. “See you again, Veev.” You tell her softly when she pulls away.

“I can’t wait to spend holidays together again, amiga.” She says quietly to you, and you giggle.

“Get home safely, okay?” You let go of each other and watch as she walks away.

“Of course, get back safe too!” Viva replies, waving by the car door before making her way inside.

You watch Branch and Floyd huddle around the car door to say goodbye to the rest of their brothers. The sun is setting when Rhonda drives them away, JD saying a quick ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can!’ to Floyd and Branch.

You hum, turning your back and getting on your bike. “Are you sure it’s safe to drive back at night all alone?” A gentle voice approaches you, making you look up just as you are about to turn the key.

You turn to Floyd, who looks at you with furrowed brows. You smirk, leaning on top of your fuel tank. “Worried about me, Cotton Candy?”

His eyes flutter for a moment before stammering a reply. “Well, yes, I am. What if you get hurt? I wouldn’t want that to happen.” He says.

You perk up a little from the tank, your eyes widening as your smirk is wiped away. “Ah, well… You don’t- you don’t have to worry, I’ll travel safely.” You reply, stuttering over your words a bit.

He lets out a smile as he sighs. “Good…”

His relief about you getting back safely makes your chest feel light.

“Make sure to have your lights on when it gets dark, alright?” He walks closer to you, holding one of the handles on your bike and causing you to sit up straight. Your cheeks are warm again. “I wanna see you for that gift swap, you know?” He looks at you with that gaze again—that gaze he held with you when he performed with his brothers.

There’s so much care in his eye, accompanied by that sweet smile on his lips. He doesn’t break contact as he waits for your reply.

“Right… I… I wanna see you too, so I’ll be sure to get home in one piece…” You utter softly, not even sure if you are loud enough for him to hear. He chuckles, pulling his hand away from the handle.

He says goodbye, following with your name leaving his lips in a way that makes you melt a bit inside. “Have a goodnight.”

“You too, Cotton Candy…” You manage to give him a reply, before watching him give a small wave and turn his back as he walks back further in Pop Village.

When he’s further away, you feel a smile spread across your face as you laugh to yourself quietly. You catch yourself and quickly cough, turning the key to turn on the bike. “Okay, cool.” You tell yourself, beginning to turn the vehicle around. “Stay cool! He’s just…” You shrug your shoulders as you begin to drive outside Pop Village.

He’s just a regular troll! Sure, he’s cute, and his voice is as pleasant as whatever those classical trolls play, and- You groan, picking up the speed as you ride through the night.

“Oh my gosh, Barb is going to tease the hell out of me.” You realize. You throw your head back quickly and groan louder before quickly facing the road again. “This is not cool.” You glance at yourself in the mirror. “This isn’t ‘rock’.” You tell yourself, glancing back up again.

You inhale deeply and lean closer to the bike, kicking up the speed again. You can’t let yourself get attached, not this easily. You’re not risking it with a world as cruel as this, taking things away no matter how much they mean to you. Keep it cool. You look at yourself one last time in the mirror. “Hard as rock.” You tell yourself, before looking ahead with a frown.

You woke up the next day. You came back home quietly, heading straight to your home while everyone was already in theirs. You slap your hands to your eyes as you collectively cringe and smile about your thoughts last night.

When you bring yourself to a stop with a long exhale, you sit up from bed. You get ready for the day before riding your bike to Barb’s Fortress, calling out to her to show that you’re back.

You hear her voice exclaim your name and feel her hand ruffle your hair from behind you. “What’s up!? How was your little vacay in Pop Village?” She says, leading you to the lounge area.

“It was great.” You reply, chuckling as you think back to it briefly. “Thank you for letting me spend time with Viva.” You follow up, taking a seat with her on the (rather roughed up) couch.

“Hey, no problem.” Barb reassures. “That’s what best friends are for, right?” She smiles softly, her hand on your shoulder. You huff out a laugh and nod your head.

“Yeah…” You say, patting her hand on your shoulder before she pulls away. Then you remember what Poppy said. “Oh, yeah, we should be expecting invitations from Poppy for the Holiday Gift Swap in a few days. So, we probably shouldn’t get flooded like last time.”

“Oh my gosh, again?” Barb says in a breathy voice. “I hope I get someone I know this time.”

“Honestly, I hoped I would get you.” You chuckle, punching her in the shoulder.

“Ohoho, that would be awesome.” She laughs, nodding her head in agreement. “Anyway, what happened on your trip back to Pop Village? Anything interesting?” She asks, turning herself on the couch to face you with crossed legs.

“Oh, you know. Poppy decided to hold a small get-together reunion type-of-thing,” you explain, rotating your wrist. “Actually, it wasn’t just me and Viva catching up. You remember those trolls on stage when we arrived at Vacay Island?”

“Oh yeah, the dark green one-”

“JD.”

“And the other green one-”

“Clay.”

“And there was the purple one-”

“Bruce.”

“And the pink o-”

“Floyd.” You say his name faster than you said the name of the other brothers, catching Barb off guard and widening her eyes a bit.

“Alright, they were there too?” Barb follows up slowly.

“Yeah, and they’re Branch’s brothers. Then we kinda all got to hang out together. But when we left the party, me and Viva caught up a bit more by ourselves.” Barb hums.

“What happened at the party? Were there nachos? If there were, please tell me you brought back some.”

“No, there was menudo- which you should still totally try.” You chuckle. “Anyway, they convinced me to perform a rock song for them.” You recall, smirking a little.

“Aw yeah, rock rep!” Barb pumps a fist in the air before turning back to you. “And then?”

“Then Brozone, that’s the band of Branch and his bros, did a song too. Floyd’s a real performer, you know.”

“Oh?”

You let that compliment slip out a little too nonchalantly. Your smile turns to a laugh, which turns to a cough, which turns to a forced smirk. “Y-yeah! He caught my eye, ya know? Just with how, you know… he kinda looks like us, but less rugged, yeah…” You try to explain coolly.

Barb squints her eyes, raises her brow, and leans forward toward you, quietly staring for close to a minute. “You think he’s cute, don’t you?” She blurts.

You begin to cough violently, feeling your cheeks warm up as you try to cover up your violent reaction with a laugh. “Wha- ha, Of course not! I think he’s interesting!” You correct her.

“Right… You think he’s cute.” Barb leans back, raising her hand with a smirk. “No judgment, by the way.” She says before crossing her arms.

You hide your face in your hands and groan, dragging them down your face. You glare at her smug face with your flushed face before sighing, shoulders slumping too. “Okay, maybe I think he’s cute.”

“Knew it.”

“But! I don’t… I…” Barb’s smirk falls as her face shows concern, her hand unfurling to reach out to you.

“What? What’s wrong?” She asks.

“I don’t want to get too close. What if something happens?” You say quietly, hugging your arms.

“Like what? Nothing’s going to happen, I mean- those bergen things don’t eat you anymore, and all trolls are united. What’s got you scared?” She places a hand on yours. “Doesn’t mean that we’re hard rock doesn't mean you gotta act that way.” She says, chuckling a bit. “I mean, you’ve seen my dad.”

You sigh. “I know, it’s just… It’s what I’m used to. You know that.” You look up to her slowly, meeting her eyes with your furrowed brows.

Barb nods her head slightly. “I know… But I’m telling you that it’s okay now. You’ve got this, there’s nothing to worry about.”

You hum, inhaling deeply as you fix your posture and feel her hand pull away. “Okay… Okay.” You reply to her, but say it to reassure yourself at the same time. You two sit in comfortable silence before Barb speaks up again.

“You know, I think you two would actually look cute together.”

“Barb!” You groan, slapping your hands back on your face and sinking into the couch. You were right when you said Barb would tease you about him.

✩ next chapter

#✩ starraywrites #trolls band together #trolls floyd x reader #x reader #not so rock-hearted

234 notes · View notes

pupyuj · 4 months

Text

INTRODUCING ; league of losers!

moon (y/n) - the most infamous member of ive, you! a bit of a troublemaker (a title that you take pride in), you’ve had your fair share of scandals over a few years. enough for the public to look at you with watchful and judging eyes, but nothing too horrible that you’d lose your job. the world knows moon (y/n) as a loud-mouth who can back up all her big talk—you’re not one to mess with, that’s for sure. even after all the mess, everybody knows it’s only a matter of time until everything truly boils over for you, and they might be right…

ahn yujin - confident, handsome, and alluring; does ahn yujin even need an introduction? having been an idol for years now, yujin knows her way around the industry! and if it weren’t for her eight-year experience of being ive’s leader, a certain troublemaker would’ve found herself forever stuck in boiling water! yujin finds herself scolding you most days, but she loves you too much to actually be mad at you. (one would say that the leader loves you more than she should.) she always looks so strong, but perhaps all this pressure is finally starting to take a toll on her…

jang wonyoung - the ever-so-popular jang wonyoung remains as the hottest topic among all the hot topics out there! when people got tired of scrutinizing her for every little thing she did, they started to press her on for her future activities and her plans for… well, romance. learning only the best from you, wonyoung’s response to these types of comments about her personal life is, “mind your own business”. but people are going to be involved when the truth comes out about her and a certain short-tempered idol from another girl group…

kim jiwon - jiwon, ive’s precious little weirdo, was the first to try something new outside of the group! meaning she indulged in a few solo projects whether it was osts or albums. the public loves her, and a few rumours about her collecting admirers have been something akin to that of a form of entertainment to her fans and even her members! jiwon has never shown any signs of returning the affection of her admirers, however, and would rather wait until that person comes along instead of searching for them…

naoi rei - perhaps ive was just a group full of headliners for articles because even the soft-spoken cutie, rei, has gotten herself into a world of rumours before! but she’s having difficulty getting her current mess in control. the mess being a dating rumour with another female idol that has been continuously spotted with her a lot. sometimes, rei doesn’t even know if she should keep it hidden or just embrace it; she is in love after all…

kim gaeul - nothing much is known about ive’s reliable eldest gaeul. she’s quiet, she knows how to mind her own business, and she absolutely has no patience for those who want to attack her girls, especially you. people see her as a bit of an interesting mystery! she can be super funny (one of her hobbies is learning random tagalog slang for goodness sake!) and the next second she’s the world’s hardest puzzle to solve. what they don’t know is there’s only one girl in the world who can read gaeul like an open book, and gaeul loves her like no other…

lee hyunseo - even after eight years as an idol, hyunseo is still seen and treated as ive’s baby! she’s the same sweet and bubbly kid everyone met years ago, and she only became even more of an angel as the years went on, earning her the affection of pretty much the entirely of south korea. through thick and thin, hyunseo has endured it all with her favourite human beings, but this time, she might not be able to handle the weight of the biggest mess her group's ever gotten in...

MASTERLIST.

104 notes · View notes

angel-kyo · 8 months

Text

Pay it no mind

Part XIII

In which reader confesses their feelings to Gojo, but it seems these are not returned (maybe?).

Warnings: reader is on the receiving end of rejection (kinda), and the fact that I'm obsessed with unrequited love is a warning itself. There is a mention of a small accidental cut on reader's hand and broken glass.

Previous: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII

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

“Are you sure you don’t want me to heal it?” Shoko was covering a cut on your hand. “I’ll get it right this time.” She had disinfected and treated the small cut, and now she had secured the bandage tightly around your palm.

Shoko had found you fumbling around in the infirmary for something to cover your cut with. She was still just starting to dive in the possibilities of her healing technique, but when she held your hand with such care, you had no doubt: She will make a great doctor.

“Are you sure you don’t just want another test subject for your technique?”

She smiled. “I have plenty of those,” but her smile faltered as she saw your eyes fixed on your injured hand, “so don’t make it a habit of showing up hurt. I don't need more practice, okay?”

When your eyes flickered back to her, you saw her gaze was softer.

The cut in your hand was not deep, and it was not the work of a curse of any sort; in fact, the reason was pretty mundane: a crystal-made object had broken in your room, and you had hurt yourself accidentally when trying to pick the pieces up. That was what you had told Shoko, and that was what you were going to tell anyone who asked.

Although that was a summarized version of the truth. Something had been broken, yes, but that had been Gojo’s fault, or so it seemed, but you were not sure. In his words, it was an accident.

You wanted to believe him. He was not the type to break things when upset after all. However, it felt as if your friendship was breaking apart as well, and that, you did not know how to mend.

***

Satoru had been odd around you for the last couple of weeks, and he had been particularly upset after you showed up a few minutes late to his birthday lunch, as if he himself did not show up late everywhere, every time. Then he stopped by your room to invite you to the arcade with him and Suguru as if everything had been perfectly normal.

“What’s this?” He was trying to peek into the paper bag sitting on your desk while you were looking for a sweater that was warm enough. “Late birthday present?”

“Why do you think everything is a present for you? I already gave you one for your birthday”, was your response as you finally pulled the sweater you had been looking for from your closet. “Don’t touch it, it’s frail.”

That made him arch an eyebrow.

You narrowed your eyes in his direction as a warning. Satoru was nosy, always had been. When he was a kid and you refused to tell him something, he would sulk until you gave in. Telling him you knew something he did not know was an easy way to tease him, and he had not changed much.

You stood next to him and took the contents out of the bag, taking off the wrapping that was meant to protect it, and held it up to him. A pretty crystal figure you had gotten during your last outing. The item could be considered a collectible of an anime you liked, but it was nicely shaped, and it had been the way it looked in the light what had caught your eye at the store where you got it.

Satoru was not a fan of that same anime, but even he recognized it was a pretty thing. He was about to grab it when you said “A bit pricey too, but Haruki helped me buy it.”

You did not notice how his smile dropped.

“So I guess it technically belongs to both of us, but he said I could keep it.”

It had been a most generous gesture. When Haruki had seen how much you wanted to take the figure home, he was more than willing to pitch in a little despite your protests. You assured him you would pay him back as soon as you could, but he said it was fine; he liked that franchise too, so it was not a loss to him.

Satoru’s hands were redirected to his pockets. “That was nice of him.”

You nodded and put the figure on your desk, admiring it. “Looks good, doesn’t it?”

He hummed in response, and you said “Well, we should get going if…”

“I thought you didn’t like it when people bought you stuff.” Gojo’s gaze was fixed on the figure you had just put on your desk.

He was recalling the gifts he had presented to you through the years. More than one had been “overpriced”, “too much”, or “too lavish” for your taste. You had always been too ready to decline anything from him, but you had no issues with accepting someone else’s help?

“And I do not,” you tried to decipher his expression, “but I paid for it too, and it’s different.” You were going to pay Haruki back, no matter what he had said.

“Because it’s him?” Satoru’s eyes focused on you.

“Huh?”

“Is it different because it’s him and you just do whatever he says?” His tone was calm, so much that it reminded you of the way Suguru sometimes reverted with the snarkiest remark while sounding completely disinterested.

It’s rubbing off on him.

“What do you mean I do whatever he says?”

Satoru knew he should bite his tongue before saying anything that could backfire, but he did not.

“If he says you will like something, you try it; if he tells you to accept something, you take it; and if he asks you to stay with him for a little longer, you’ll do it even if it means you’ll ditch your friend on his birthday.”

All right, he had said it.

“I said I was sorry for being late. How many times do you want me to apologize for it?” You understood why he could have been upset; you really did. But why was he fixating on it so much?

Sure, you and Haruki shared a lot of interests, so his recommendations were often good. And he had been so intent on helping you buy that figure that refusing him would have been rude, and yes, you had been with him that day you were late for Satoru’s lunch, but that had not the reason, and the main event was going to be his birthday dinner anyway (because yes, Satoru insisted on having a birthday breakfast, a birthday lunch and a birthday dinner). You could take the blame for making it late one time, but he was taking it out of proportion.

He sat down on the chair at your desk. “I thought you were not going to come.” Satoru sounded deflated.

Still…

“Satoru, I wouldn’t…”

“If you had to choose, who do you like better…” You thought he was looking at the crystal-made you had gotten, but he was actually looking at the small, framed picture behind it that portrayed two kids. Satoru tried to remember if it was from four or five years ago.

Before high school, you had never attended the same school. Satoru’s family did not allow it, but he was able to sneak out a handful of times when you invited him to your school festivals.

Maybe their last year of elementary school or the first of junior high?

He remembered how you pulled him around all day, introducing him to your friends and showing him around your school.

“Don’t you have to be with your friends?” he had asked referring to your classmates, who seemed to be expecting you join them on a walk around the stalls.

You looked at them and declined with a smile. “No, they are fine without me. Besides, I like you better.”

And when a friend of yours offered to take a picture of you with the camera she had borrowed, you pulled him closer to you and smiled brightly. If he focused, he could hear the shutter sound of the camera.

“Why would you ask me that?” You tried to look at his eyes behind his glasses. You thought he should know the answer, but it was not a fair question, so you settled for just stating the facts. “Both of you are my friends.”

That single phrase seemed to have slapped Satoru on the face and he turned his head to look at you.

“True, but you are not just any friend. And you know it, don’t you, Satoru?”

No, Ikeda. You were wrong.

“You can’t be serious,” he muttered.

“Would you be able to pick between me and Suguru?” You were not meaning to irritate him, but that should give him some perspective. Whenever he was not with you, he was with Suguru. It was evident he cared deeply for him.

He frowned. “It’s not the same. You like him too.”

“Because I gave him a chance. You never gave one to Haruki.”

Satoru shook his head, standing up. “And that makes us the same to you?”

You opened your mouth, but no words came out.

Of course not. You are like no other.

Could you really tell him that? It did not matter, he did not give you the time.

“Fine... I really don’t get you sometimes.”

“You don’t get me?” you scoffed. “You are unrecognizable. Why are you so pissed out all the time these days.”

He sighed, took off his glasses and put them on your desk. “Just…”

You were right. He had been uneasy since that chat with Ikeda (not that he had told you about it), but he had gone there because of you. He did not need that guy trying to get in his head, telling him he liked you, or that he was a coward. He did not need any of that.

What a terrible idea that was.

If he had not gone there, maybe he would not feel as confused, as if he needed to scream something but not knowing what it was.

Now you were looking at him with a question in your eyes, but he was not sure he could answer.

“Just...you should head out, okay?” he finally said.

“This is my room.”

“I mean, Suguru will be waiting for us.” He scratched the back of his neck.

You knew he meant ‘I don’t want to fight you now.’

“Fine.” You turned on your heels and walked out with Satoru following you but left him behind quickly.

Always a fast walker when they are upset, Satoru thought.

He was about to close the door of your room when he membered he was forgetting something.

There, his sunglasses were sitting on top of your desk. He rushed to the side of your desk and grabbed them, and maybe it was the swift motion of his arm, or he might have bumped the side of your desk lightly, but as he was running back for the door, a shattering noise reached him, and next thing he knew, he was looking at a bunch of crystal pieces on the floor.

Shit.

Satoru’s heart rate picked up as if he were about to fight a curse as he walked out and closed the door slowly. How was he going to tell you?

His hand was still on the doorknob when he heard your voice. “Satoru?”

You were coming back for him after realizing he was not following behind. “What are you doing?” You looked at him. Why was he holding your doorknob and looking at the floor?

He turned to look at you, but he did not move his hand. “I will replace it.”

“Replace it?”

“I’m sorry.” He turned the doorknob and the door swung open.

You passed him by to enter your dorm. “What are you talk-?”, you did not finish the question when you saw the mess next to your desk. Your crouched down in front of it. It had shattered entirely; you picked up the base, the only piece somewhat still recognizable.

“You are going to get hurt. Let me…” Satoru was crouching next to you.

“Are you hurt?” You moved away from him.

“[name]…”

“How?” Satoru thought he saw tears forming in your eyes. He avoided your gaze.

“It was an accident. I came back for my...”

“Are you hurt?” You were not looking at him anymore but at the million pieces scattered in front of you.

“No.”

He saw you bite your lip and nod from the corner of his eye. “Then… You should go. I’ll clean this up.”

“I’ll help you.”

“No.”

“I can pay for it.”

“That doesn’t make it okay to have broken it.” You wiped away a stray tear. Was it anger or sadness?

“It wasn’t on purpose.” Satoru defended.

“Wasn’t it?”

He frowned. “Of course not.”

“Okay. Then let me clean it up. Please tell Geto I’ll join you next time.”

Satoru did not feel like you believed him, but still, he stood up. “I really am sorry.”

He saw you nod and headed out.

He only left because he knew you. You were probably too angry to talk to him now. He would beg for forgiveness later and try to make it up to you. Perhaps he could ask Ikeda where you had gotten the item, but he really did not want to talk to him again.

Even if you could just take the money for it, would that make things right between you and him?

Boy, what a mess.

***

“He snapped at you too?” Shoko grinned at Suguru.

Geto just rolled his eyes and sat by her side.

“He is in a bad mood.” The dark-haired boy shrugged. “Is there any way you can ask [name] to hurry? I'm starving.”

“I doubt it.” She sighed and looked wistfully at the food in front of them and then at Gojo, who had left the table for the third time to wash his hands. He was fidgety when he waited, especially when he waited for you.

She was not going to call you. She had tried that, but your phone had probably died. Maybe if she prayed silently, her wish would reach you.

Hurry up, [name]. Annoying birthday boy won't let us eat until you are here.

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

Note: Sorry for not updating sooner (sigh...what a week). It might happen again but as always, thank you for reading!

Next: Part XIV

@mavs-stuff @witchbybirth @crookedlyaddictedone-blog @tqd4455 @maybe-a-bi-witch @mo0nforme @maliakealoha @zacatecanaaaa @blushhpeachh @astriarose @missesgojosatoru @ba-ks @sukunasleftkneecap @songbirdlully @cole-silas @heijihattorisgf @chokesonspit @hersheyzzz @smolbeanzzz @luciledreamz @avidreadee123 @moonmalice @ratscandaler @sadmonke @allie-jay

#gojo satoru #gojo x reader #jjk #jjk fanfic #jujutsu kaisen #gojo x y/n #jjk drabbles #gojo x you #jjk gojo #gojo fanfic #gojou satoru x reader #satoru gojo #satoru gojo x you #satoru gojo x y/n #pay it no mind

233 notes · View notes

juyeonszn · 9 months

Text

JE NE SAIS QUOI

PAIRING jacob bae x f!reader

WORD COUNT 7.33k

GENRES smut ﹒fluff ﹒itty bitty angst

WARNINGS 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, mature language, strangers to ?? to lovers, volleyball team captain!jacob (ohhhh ive been waiting for this one..), lots of 97 liner cameos, jacob is an honorary tbz frat member but isn’t actually a member lol, reader is down bad for him, mentions of alcohol, volleyball terms that i learned from haikyuu 😭, an annoying ex girlfriend, AURKAY here we go: bathroom sex, wall sex, bathroom sink counter sex, and mirror sex all in one, doggy style and also missionary? i guess?, NO FOREPLAY BUT FUCK IT WE FALL LIKE SOLDIERS FOR REAL, marking-ish, unprotected sex, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, and everyone’s favorite! creampie!, a cutesy ending

SUMMARY jacob thought the concept of fraternities was stupid. so stupid that despite every single one of his friends being in one, he still refused to join. however, after meeting you at one of the tbz parties, he’s starting to think maybe they’re not that horrible.

MORE HELLAURRRR ok i know this is 45 mins overdue but i barely finished this last night and i worked at 5 am this morning so 😭 ANYWAYYY this fic is actually my favorite so far… idk i just have this natural writing affinity when it comes to jacob which u can tell by the length…. if u enjoyed pls reblog! and don’t forget to check out the other fics in the series!

PERM TAGLIST @winterchimez @maessseongs @itsbeeble @zzoguri @deoboyznet @cloverdaisies @vernyangel @ericlvr

TAGLIST @millksea

SERIES MASTERLIST

“And there’s another point for the IST U Bears. Wow these boys are on fire tonight.”

The announcer’s voice booms throughout the gymnasium, intertwining with the cheers of the crowd. They all sound like the buzzing of a bee in Jacob’s ears, but that’s a good thing. It pricks at his skin, lighting it on fire and getting his morale going.

The team just needed one more point and they would win this set, sending them on their way to the championship game. This would be the first time in IST history that their boys’ volleyball team would make it this far, and that was all thanks to Jacob becoming captain for his senior year.

Their coach calls for a quick time out, giving Jacob a moment of reprieve before his final serve of the game. He wipes away the sweat on his forehead, shaking the front of his jersey to air it out and cool him down a little. The team’s manager passes him a water bottle. He loves the adrenaline rush that courses through his veins when he’s on the court. It’s unlike any other feeling he’s ever felt in his life.

“Alright, Bae. You’ve got this, right?” Jacob’s coach gives him a pointed look.

“Of course, Coach. There’s no way in hell that we’re losing this game tonight.” He gives him a firm nod, lips curled into a confident smile. There wasn’t a chance that Jacob Bae would go down without a fight. He was securing that championship seat whether anyone liked it or not.

The team heads back out and a referee hands Jacob the volleyball. He blows a raspberry, twirling the ball on his fingertips while waiting for the whistle. As soon as he hears it, he takes a couple steps back. A breeze cuts through his hair when he runs, executing his infamous jump serve with practiced ease. The ball flies past the players of the other team, hitting the court just in front of the line.

His teammates are yelling and throttling his body around before he even realizes that they’ve won. Some of them are riling up the crowd, others are on their knees crying tears of joy. He was anticipating this outcome, but for some reason he’s still shell shocked. Everything around him is static and white noise.

“Holy shit, Jacob. I can’t believe you did that,” Kim Mingyu, the team’s star middle blocker, slaps him on the back. He’s also drenched in sweat, patting his face with a towel.

“You and me both, to be completely honest.” Jacob laughs a bit, collecting his things so he can head to the locker room.

He’s slightly grateful that tonight’s game ended a little early, giving him enough time to get ready before the Tau Beta Zeta party. He wasn’t even that big of a party person. He only went to provide moral support for his friends who happened to all be in the fraternity. Most people would even go as far as assuming he was also in it considering how often he was spotted at that house, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He actually thought fraternities were dumb. In his eyes, they held no purpose.

A bunch of guys living together under the guise of brotherhood when in reality they spent most of their time partying was just stupid. You could do that without the fancy titles or the expected respect from fellow students. He loved his friends, truly, but he didn’t understand the hype.

Jacob showers quickly and changes into a hoodie and some baggy jeans. He ruffles his hair in front of a mirror, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder. As he’s preparing to leave, someone calls out to him.

“Yo, Cobie! Are you going to the TBZ party?”

He spins around to find the source, learning it belongs to Jeong Jaehyun. The setter nods, pulling his hood over his head. “Like I always do. Why?”

“I heard through the grapevine that Haeun was going with some friends. I just thought I’d warn you,” he squeezes the shoulder that isn’t hoisting his backpack. “I figured you’d want to take things chill this next week with the championship game on Friday.”

Jacob hums in response and Jaehyun takes that as his cue to be on his way. Of course this would be his luck. Just as he thinks life is getting easier for him, something has to come and throw a curveball at him. This something happened to be his ex-girlfriend, who’d done nothing but terrorize Jacob while they were together. Imagine the most toxic, vile person in the world, then dress her in Jimmy Choo sandals and a designer handbag. That was Haeun.

The only logical reason for her to attend the TBZ party was because his friends were still trying to rack up their numbers. He wouldn’t put it past them if that meant acquiring any and every student on campus. After tonight they would find out who won the stupid competition between them and the KAT sorority, hopefully putting a pin in their godforsaken rivalry once and for all. The winner determined if he was even going to the big end of semester party or not.

Jacob sighs, heading out so he can help out his friends in any way he can. Now that he’s been cursed with the knowledge that he might run into his ex, he’s half tempted to just ditch the whole thing. (He won’t, but the idea is flirting with him.) They’ve been broken up for well over a year now, but somehow she always manages to worm her way back and make him miserable. Quite frankly, he’s tired of it.

When Jacob arrives at the Tau Beta Zeta house, his friends are all over the place. Sangyeon is typing away on his phone, pacing back and forth in the living room. The action from the calm and collected fraternity president makes him kind of nervous. He escapes into the kitchen where Sunwoo and Eric are putting away all of the alcohol. Kevin and Chanhee are complaining about God knows what to each other, and he can faintly hear Hyunjae and Haknyeon upstairs. His juniors start clapping and hollering as soon as they see him enter.

“Woah woah woah, we’ve got a celebrity on our hands guys.” Eric jokes, dapping up the older male.

“Congrats, Cobie,” Sunwoo joins in, fist bumping his senior and handing him a beer bottle. “Do you think you’re gonna win next week?”

“I sure hope so,” Jacob snorts, uncapping the bottle with the opener on the fridge. “I didn’t bring us all this way for nothing.”

Nothing super eventful happens after that, just the guys setting up for the party. They’re projecting that this is the one that secures their victory for the competition. Jacob really couldn’t care less, sitting himself on the couch and scrolling through his phone as he nurses his beer. They all maneuver around him, setting up speakers here, lights there. It’s all pointless in his eyes.

When the party has finally started and the house is packed with partygoers, Jacob hasn’t budged from his spot. The only reason he has a fresh beer is because Eric grabbed one for him in passing. This was what he subjected himself to for hours on end every Friday night. His ass cemented to one of the sofas in the living room and his phone being his main source of entertainment.

It’s as you’re exiting the kitchen with your friends that you notice him. You laugh into your drink at the boredom written all over his face. His extremely handsome face. His hair falls into his eyes and slightly obstructs his vision, but that just accelerates the beating of your heart. You don’t know what it is, but there’s something about him that makes you want to learn his name and everything there is about him.

“Y/N, have you found a nice boy to give you a fun time before hell week?” Haeun asks you, running perfectly manicured fingernails through her hair. “That’s the whole point of being here, isn’t it?”

You didn’t want to tag along, honestly. You were content with staying in tonight and studying for your A&PII exam. You only agreed to get Haeun off your back, because you were well aware of how annoying she could get when she didn’t get what she wanted. She gave the KAT sorority president a run for her money sometimes.

“Uh, no. I’ll just see where the night takes me,” you shrug, keeping a poker face so she doesn’t see who you’re already ogling.

Knowing her, she would make it difficult for you. She would torture you and tease you relentlessly because that was just who she was. Haeun wasn’t satisfied unless she felt good about herself. You didn’t know why you were still friends with her. Maybe it was because she was one of the first people who sought you out after your transfer to IST. Maybe it was because you were afraid of being blacklisted by practically every other student if you dropped her. Her power was insane.

“Boring,” she drags out the vowels, rolling her eyes. “I’m gonna see if Cha Eunwoo is here yet.”

You watch as she disappears into the sardine-packed house, looking for the senior. Your other friend, Minjee, just sighs once the dictator is out of earshot— which isn’t even that far considering how loud the music is. She turns to you with a weak smile.

“Don’t let her ruin anything for you. Just go enjoy yourself before she does.”

You don’t need to be told a second time, chugging the contents of your red solo cup for some liquid courage. Your mission was simple; be ten times more fun than the party itself. That would surely catch Couch Boy’s attention. It wasn’t like the Tau Beta Zeta guys didn’t put all their effort into throwing the craziest parties at the school, but clearly this dude wasn’t for it.

Your feet carry you over to the living room, your teeth chewing on your lip nervously. You’d never hit on someone before, let alone at a party. The scariest part was the potential rejection in front of hundreds of your peers. But it was okay! You could do this. You think.

“Hi.”

The word leaves your mouth without your brain even registering it, eyes wide like you’d just done something wrong. He looks up from his phone, mirroring your expression. His tongue darts out to swipe across his bottom lip and then he’s scooting over to make room for you.

“Hi,” he says after a few seconds.

“I’m Y/n,” you extend your hand awkwardly, but he takes it, shaking it with a firm grip that has you crossing your legs. “I— uh— this is kinda weird, but um— I saw you from over there and thought you were cute.”

You swallow thickly, tucking some hair behind your ear. How did Haeun do this on the regular? He smiles at your fumbling and oh God, you think you might pass out from how attractive he is. You don’t have much alcohol in your system and you’re starting to regret how sober you are.

“I’m Jacob,” he rests an arm on the back of the couch. “Thanks for coming up to me. I would’ve missed your pretty face otherwise.”

Is he flirting with you? Holy shit, he’s flirting with you.

“Do you come to Tau Beta Zeta parties often?” You ask to continue the conversation. He nods.

“I practically live here,” Jacob laughs, eyes crinkling at the corners. “How about you, Y/N? What are you studying?”

Oh, so he was one of the members. You wouldn’t have guessed with how disinterested he seemed at his own party. It takes you a moment to realize he’s shifted the focus onto you, scanning your features for a response. You purse your lips.

“Not really. I’m more of a homebody. I’m only here to let loose before finals. I actually just transferred to IST U this semester for the exceptional Pre-Med department. I’m still sorta navigating my way around and meeting people.”

So that’s why he’s never seen you on campus. You’re completely new to the school and you’re in a completely different department than he is. Nonetheless, you’re really cute and Jacob hasn’t put himself out there since breaking up with Haeun. He’s been so concentrated on maintaining his grades and putting in the work for volleyball, he hasn’t even had the time to. But now that finals and the championship game are all next week, he supposes he can allot some just this once…

“How are you liking it here so far?” He asks you genuinely. It winds you a little. You’ve never had someone actually care about what you had to say or show interest in you. Even at your old school, no one batted an eye at you. You doubt anyone knew you transferred.

“The campus itself is beautiful. It’s a lot bigger than my previous one. And so far, everyone’s been nothing but kind to me. I wish I would’ve gone with my gut and came here straight out of high school.” You pick at a thread on your skirt.

“We all live and we all learn, that’s a part of life,” Jacob shrugs, nudging your leg with his foot. “Would you like to grab another drink with me?”

“Yeah, that would be great, actually.” You both stand from the couch.

Since sitting with him, the party has grown in size. Fellow students filled every available corner of the house, nearly standing body to body in order to fit everyone in the building. The amount of attendees should be a fire hazard, honestly. Jacob laces your fingers together so he doesn’t lose you in the mass of people blocking the path to the kitchen. There’s a game of Rage Cage going on where there’s usually a round of beer pong and it looks like this one guy is about to die with how many empty cups are in front of him.

“What are you drinking?” Jacob turns to you once you’ve reached the alcohol table. You shake your head.

“Surprise me.”

“You’re playing Russian Roulette here, Y/N,” his lips curl up into a devious smile that most people would run away from, especially when it’s on the face of a stranger. “You’re really trusting me with your life right now.”

Luckily, you’ve always been into that type of thing. Nice guys who looked like they could give you an unforgettable night. And in the short period you’ve known Jacob, he appeared to be just that. All you can do is nip at your lower lip, the fleet of a smile gracing his sight.

He passes you a cup and gestures for you to taste his concoction. It burns the course of your throat, but doesn’t remind you of straight battery acid. You give him a thumbs up of approval and he cheers, fist bumping the air. You giggle at his reaction. Perhaps stepping out of your comfort zone was the best decision you’ve made all night. He knocks his own cup against yours and takes a swig, wincing.

“I might’ve made mine just a bit stronger than usual,” his voice is hoarse and you can’t help but laugh a little harder. “I put all of my expertise into yours.”

“It’s good to know you’re a gentleman and you’re not trying to get me drunk on purpose,” you tease, sipping at the beverage gingerly. “However, that does mean you’ll need to be flashier in your attempts to woo me. I have very high standards.”

Jacob’s smile widens, his teeth peeking from behind his lips. The expression makes you lightheaded. It should be a crime to look as good as he does, without even trying either. “I don’t know… All I’m hearing is that you want me to woo you…”

He’s caught you red-handed, but it isn’t like you were doing much to conceal that fact. You’d like to think you were being very obvious with your intentions on purpose. You glance up at him from the rim of your cup, your lower back leaning on the counter. “Maybe I do… Are you opposed to that, Jacob?”

He takes a step closer to you, and then another until he has you caged between him and the kitchen counter. Really, he couldn’t give any less of a fuck about the clusters of people nearby. When Jacob Bae had a goal in mind, he made damn sure to work for it. His volleyball career could attest to that. His drink slides across the surface, spilling a little on the back of his hand. He leans down to your ear. “Not at all. But I don’t think you’ll be able to handle what happens when I succeed.”

You feel your cheeks warm, your throat drying, and it’s not because of the effects from the alcohol you’ve just consumed. You’ve known this guy, what, thirty minutes max? And he was already figuring out exactly what it took to get your gears grinding? What a quick fucking leaner. He knows he’s won, too, if the way you’ve gone cotton-mouthed is anything to go by. The ghost of a grin brushes the shell of your ear and it requires the entirety of your strength not to pounce on this stranger in the middle of this goddamn party.

“Everybody who isn’t Tau Beta Zeta, get the fuck out! Someone called the cops!”

A record scratch-like halt puts a pin in the moment, forcing Jacob to step away from you with a groan. This would be just your luck, wouldn’t it? You found a ‘nice boy to give you a fun time before hell week’ and then this stupid party gets raided. It’s annoying, actually. Aggravating, even. Your lips unconsciously form pout out of disappointment and Jacob feels a piece of himself die along with it.

“Shit, you gotta get out of here before they show up and start dragging people out,” he runs a hand through his hair with a hiss.

If it had been a minute earlier, you would’ve fallen to your knees by now. Unfortunately, that was not the case. You needed to find Haeun and Minjee. You do a quick 180° in hopes of spotting either of them.

“Yeah, I need to find my—” You interrupt yourself when you see the former of the two stomping towards you with an indistinguishable look in her eye. “—Friends…”

“Let’s go, Y/N,” her tone is snappy and she glances over at Jacob for a brief moment. You don’t have time to realize what’s happening until her petite fingers are wrapping around your wrist, hauling you out of the kitchen. A yelp escapes your lips as you turn to wave to your… whatever he is to you now.

Initially, you assumed she was just ticked off by the whole cop call thing. At least, that made sense if she’d gotten anywhere with that Cha Eunwoo guy she had been talking about all day leading up to the party. But then Minjee’s driving you back your apartment and she’s whipping around in the passenger seat to give you the nastiest glare you’ve ever been on the receiving end of.

“What the hell is your problem?” She looks two seconds away from bursting a vein in her forehead.

“Wh— huh?” You’re thoroughly confused. What the fuck did you do to her?

“Why were you talking to Jacob Bae? You do know that’s my ex, right?” Her gaze has softened, but could still very much kill you if she wanted to. The wrath of Lee Haeun was more terrifying than that of any horror movie villain to ever exist.

No.

No no no no. The world stops on its axis and it’s like you’ve been told your favorite song was written about a used tissue. You don’t hear anything else she says, feeling like you just had ear muffs placed over your head. This isn’t fair. The universe officially hated you. You were number one on the list of people who deserved the worst possible fate, your name underlined twice with red ink and a star beside it.

You really didn’t have it in you to care about what Haeun thought. If this was the reason you were finally given to stop talking to her, then so be it. What you were worried about was Jacob hating you. He clearly saw that you were friends. Why would he want to pursue anything with one of his ex’s friends? Any sane person would avoid that situation if they could.

Despite not knowing that it was Jacob specifically, you knew the details of their breakup and why things ended so messily. It made sense that she was an authoritarian even in her relationships. That was just in her nature. If she didn’t control every aspect of her life, she would lose her mind. Normally you wouldn’t have batted an eye at that, not nearly enough energy in you to deal with that level of bossiness. But it was starting to bleed into your personal life. And that was a line you weren’t so willing to let her cross.

You could only pray that this was fixable.

Finals week passes by in a breeze, and before he knows it, Jacob is on the court for the championship game. There’s a different aura to him than there usually is when it comes to his volleyball games. He feels ten times more determined. (He would never admit to anyone that it’s because he’s hoping he’ll see you at the end of semester party tonight.)

He actually really enjoyed your presence and your personality. The rate at which his heart beat around you was something he hadn’t felt in a while and it was nice. He liked those little butterflies that came with the start of something new. He liked the jitters and the giggles and everything in between. It reminded him that there was still youth, there was still excitement in his life.

Sure, it was kind of weird that you were friends with his ex-girlfriend. The same ex-girlfriend that he couldn’t stand being in the same room as for more than five minutes at a time. But from your reaction to her dragging you away, Jacob thinks that you didn’t know about him and Haeun. If you did, you wouldn’t have gone up to him in the first place. Unless you knew and just didn’t care, then he didn’t care either. It’s not like he ever plans to allow Haeun to resurface and sink her nails back into him. That’s one mistake he’ll never make again.

Before he knows it, he’s swapping back into the game. He rolls his neck and pops his fingers, getting into position to receive this next serve. Even with this fire lit underneath him, both teams are neck and neck. With every point that IST scored, the opposing team would just catch back up without breaking a sweat. If Jacob wasn’t captain and wasn’t used to being so calm and collected during matches, he’d probably start getting as pissed as Kim Mingyu looks right now.

The referee blows his whistle and the ball is over the net. Jeon Jungkook, the team’s libero, dives for it, the volleyball bouncing off the back of his hand and back up into the air. It’s currently the fourth set and IST has two under their belt. They needed to win this one lest they wanted to go into the fifth. Everyone is on edge, but won’t stop at nothing that isn’t victory. Jacob shifts to set the ball to Jaehyun, who swings his arm back and spikes it to the other side of the court.

One of their players receives it with ease, and they’re back to square one. There’s that back and forth of both teams setting and spiking, only for the other to receive and send it back over. Jacob feels like this game is never gonna end, especially with how agile their libero is and how in tune he is with their setter. But then he makes eye contact with Lee Seokmin, an opposite hitter who’s proven time and time again that he’ll go wherever Jacob needs him to, do whatever Jacob wants him to. And that’s exactly what he does.

Mingyu bumps the ball towards the net and just when they think Jacob’s going to set it, he swaps places with Seokmin. The hitter gets beneath the volleyball and pushes it off the tip of his fingers, watching as Jacob perfectly times his jump to smack it with the palm of his hand. It’s something the two had only ever practiced a handful of times, but knew it would come in handy when everything was right. The entire interaction is flawless, and the captain’s spike lands, scoring that final point that IST needed to win the set and the game.

Just like the previous game, Jacob doesn’t even register the roaring cheers from everyone around him until they’re throwing him and Seokmin up like they themselves were volleyballs. The team is going insane, hyping up the crowd and running around the court like children. A sense of pride swells in Jacob’s chest, a crinkly-eyed smile nestling on his face like the fondness of a father.

They continue the joy-train all the way into the locker room. Jacob showers and throws on some gray cargo pants, pairing them with a black half-zip jacket. Most of the team was going to the end of semester party tonight, treating it as a post-celebratory reward for their big win. It was still so surreal for the captain. All of the pressure that had been riding on him the entire season, the strive for being someone bigger than himself. He’s grateful it paid off.

Meanwhile, you were damn near ripping your hair out, nerves eating away at the edges of your stomach like you were with the skin around your nails. After a taxing week of final exams and the anxiety of wanting to see Jacob Bae again to clear any bad air, you found yourself at the TBZ end of semester party along with Haeun and Minjee. You were thankful that your life was intact, Haeun’s irritation simmering into something a lot more bearable.

Though just a smidge pissed off that you didn’t do your research, she wasn’t as mad about the whole break of girl-code incident. She got off of your back a little too easily, though, so you were still waiting for another strike. You couldn’t help but feel as if she was planning another form of action.

You’d been at this party for at least an hour, and the attendance was double that of last week’s. They weren’t kidding when they said this was the party of all parties at IST University. You were starting to think that maybe Jacob really was going to avoid you like you were the Black Plague or equivalent. Why else would he not be at one of his own parties? Wasn’t it, like, a requirement for fraternity members to make an appearance at the things they hosted?

Being friends with Haeun really screwed everything up for you. Not only did you have to sleep with one eye open, but also keep your distance from just about every male on campus out of fear that she fucked with them, too. Why did it have to be Jacob Bae? Why couldn’t it have been someone more douchey, more up her alley? He was way too sweet, way too cute for someone of her kind. He deserved someone that could hand him the world. (Not that you were insinuating that it was you, but even you knew you were a better person than Lee Haeun.)

And as if a higher being truly existed, your prayers are answered in the form of Jacob Bae walking through the front door. A gaggle of partygoers surround him and the group of guys he’s with, including some of the fraternity brothers. You faintly hear whoops and hollers over the near deafening music, everyone patting them on their backs. Most of the attention is on Jacob and his gorgeous smile, though.

“IST U’s pride and joy! National volleyball champion, Jacob-fucking-Bae,” Lee Hyunjae wolf-whistles, shaking him around like he was maraca.

Jacob laughs, looking down at the floor to shy away from all of the eyes on him. He’s glad everybody is pleased with his accomplishment, but really all he wants to do is find you. He’s still not 100% sure you’re even here, but he has high hopes that maybe you were into him as much as he was with you. Now that he’s free of both volleyball and schoolwork for a while, he can take his time getting to know you better.

You psych yourself up to go over to him once his audience has parted and gone back to whatever it was they were doing prior to his arrival. A grimace consumes your features as you knock back the cup of jungle juice in your hand, blowing a raspberry. Minjee gives you a smile of encouragement, like she knows exactly what you’re about to do.

However, someone beats you to it. You watch with bated breath as Haeun flips her hair over her shoulder, her heels clicking on the wooden floor all the way up to Jacob. The sight of another girl talking to the guy you’re interested in has never made you as ill as it does right now, her glossy lips pouted and her hands clasped behind her back.

“Heard about the big win, Jakey,” she smiles almost evilly, calling him by a nickname that he hasn’t been called in months. “Wanna claim your prize?”

Jacob knows what she’s doing. It’s obvious. Haeun saw the two of you together last week and now she’s pretending that she gives a shit just so she can feel like she’s the one in control. He’s seen this scene too many times to fall for it. He pokes his cheek with his tongue, hands shoving into the front pocket of his jacket.

“Don’t you have someone else that you can bother, tonight? I’m spoken for.” He shrugs, stepping around her. Okay, so perhaps you’d only had one conversation together. That was enough for him. He doesn’t have to search far or wide for you, a grin replacing his deadpan once he sees your face. “Hi.”

“H-Hi,” your voice comes out unsteady. “I— uh— wh— well, I kinda thought you were avoiding me.”

His eyebrows quirks up. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m friends with your tyrant of an ex-girlfriend and I’m a horrible person for still wanting you,” you begin to ramble, playing with a strand of your hair. “And then you weren’t here.”

Jacob laughs, pushing your hand down and tucking the same piece behind your ear. “I don’t really care that you’re friends with Haeun. Honestly, no one’s ever *really friends with her. It’s hard to stand a person who’s that insufferable. And I’m on the volleyball team. Tonight was the championship game, which is why I was late.”

“So you don’t hate me and want me to die?”

“I could never.” He shakes his head, taking one of your hands into his.

“If that’s the case, then can you show me how to properly enjoy a frat party?” You trace patterns on his palm.

“I’ll be so real with you, Y/N, even *I don’t know how to do that,” he snorts. “I’m not a Tau Beta Zeta member, so I guess that explains it.”

“Woah what?” You gape at him. “This entire time I thought you were…”

“Nah, I’m just friends with all of the guys here. I might as well be, but I’m not. Frats are stupid to me,” Jacob leads you out of the living room and into the kitchen to get himself a drink. “Though, I don’t think they’re that bad anymore.”

As he’s reaching for an empty cup, a thought crosses your mind. It’s bold, but you don’t have the willpower to force it away. “You know, you didn’t get to show me what would happen if you succeeded in sweeping me off of my feet.”

He pauses what he’s doing, turning to glance at you over his shoulder with dark eyes. Are you saying what he thinks you’re saying?

“And something’s telling me you were extremely successful.”

*Fuck the drink, Jacob thinks to himself, dropping the cup in favor of whisking you away. He pulls you into the nearest empty room, which happens to be the downstairs bathroom. From one second to the next, you’re pinned to the door, both of your wrists firm in his grip. He’s so close that his nose nudges yours, lips only a hair’s breadth from your own.

“Should’ve known you were dangerous from the get go,” he breathes, the distance between you driving you crazy. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

A gasp escapes you, your eyelids fluttering shut. This was pure insanity. Before you can complain about the lack of contact, Jacob’s mouth is on yours, lips moving against yours so skillfully and so roughly. He takes your wrists into one hand, holding them above your head while the other slips beneath your top. His fingertips burn into your skin and you don’t hold back the whine that sneaks out from your chest.

You pull back for air, sighing when his kiss travels down your neck and focuses on your collarbone. It’s not enough, you need to feel him everywhere. Your pulse is racing and you’re sure he can feel it when he leaves a trail of nibbles and kisses along your jawline. They travel south, paving their path on what’s visible of your jugular and sternum.

There’s a haste of fingers roaming and lips exploring. This was uncharted territory for, seeing as you hadn’t been in a situation like this since moving schools. If there was anyone you wanted to get down and dirty with in the bathroom of a frat party, it was Jacob Bae. His free hand wanders under your skirt, a knuckle running along your clothed, but damp, slit. You both hiss.

“Already so wet for me?” He asks you smugly, the curve of his smile carved into the space where your ear meets your neck. You don’t have the patience to power through any teasing.

“Need you so bad, Jacob,” you don’t like the pitchiness of your voice, or how you’re pretty much begging right now. “Wanna skip the foreplay.”

Jacob grins almost wickedly, kissing the tip of your nose. “So ready and so eager for me. Your wish is my command, sweetheart.”

He doesn’t waste any time getting you out of your clothes, starting with your top and then shoving your skirt past your thighs. You kick it off and move to help him. His jacket comes off in one fluid motion, giving you the perfect display of his muscular back and toned abdomen. All of years of volleyball came to fruition in the form of his godlike sculpted body.

You drag a nail through the valley of his abs, unbuttoning his cargoes and palming him through his underwear. He curses under his breath, forehead falling to your shoulder. You may very well be the death of him, he decides. When he’s finally had enough, he swats your hand away, removing the briefs so he can give you what you so graciously asked for. He pumps his length a couple times before guiding the tip to your entrance.

Jacob hooks one of your legs around his waist, pushing your panties to the side so he can slip into you carefully. You don’t even stop the moan that breaches your vocal cords, back arching off of the door and your chest pushing into his. The stretch burns slightly, but not nearly enough to interrupt the pleasure coursing throughout your body. There’s a fire in the pit of your stomach that he fans the flames of the deeper he sinks into you, lips imprinted into the skin of your neck.

His fingers burn the skin of your thigh where he holds it up, slowly pressing his cock into cunt and sliding out as soon as he bottoms out. You’re dizzy, so dizzy that stars have begun to form behind your eyelids and he’s only just started. He rocks into you at a meticulous pace, the blunt nails of his other hand digging into your hip to keep himself composed.

He wants to take his time with you first. He wants you to feel every ridge and vein of his cock as your walls squeeze him in. He wants the feeling of the two of you connected to be engraved into your brain, a memory that nothing could erase even if it tried. Your head knocks against the door when you crane it to give him more access to the column of your throat, whining when he sucks marks into the surface.

“F-Fuck, Jacob,” you whimper. “Feel— god— feel so, so stuffed.”

You practically hiccup your words, overstimulated with everything that’s going on at once. It’s too much. The way he nips at your skin. The way he groans every time you clench around him. The way he’s *buried into you like you were the only source of warmth he’ll ever get. It’s too much, but it feels fucking fantastic.

“Yeah, baby? Am I fucking you good? Giving it to you like no one else can?” He exerts himself, his lips slipping on the thin sheen of sweat coating your bodies. All you can do is moan again, bucking your hips into his to minimize the gap between you as much as physically possible.

His cock is just the right balance of girth and length, filling you up and hitting the spots you need him to. Your sanity falls through the cracks with every click of his hips into yours. He *is fucking you good. He *is giving it to you like no one else can. It didn’t even take him long to figure out what you liked, using that knowledge to his advantage so he could ravage you.

You’re too lost in the pleasure to notice the coil in your stomach curling to the point of snapping. With each ram of his dick in your pussy, he winds you up more and more until it breaks in half. You see nothing but white for a few seconds, spots of various colors bleeding into it. A sound so far away from you bursts out from its home in the back of your throat. Your orgasm coaxes out his, painting your walls with milky ropes and a moan of his own.

The two of you pant breathlessly, lips brushing as you attempt to calm down. Jacob pinches your side, kissing you once before pulling out and letting go of your hip. “Do you have the energy to give me one more? I don’t think I’m finished with you just yet.”

You let out a guttural groan, nodding and colliding your mouths in another desperate kiss. Your fingers run through the strands of his hair, tugging at the nape of his neck as he transfers you to sink. He spins you around, bending you over the counter and pecking your shoulder as he eases his cock back into the velvet of your pussy.

You’re both still sensitive, sighing at the feeling of a second intrusion. He grips your hip and presses down on your lower back just as he speeds up the pacing of his thrusts. Instinctively, you hike up a knee onto the counter, wanting him even deeper and even harder than previously. Heat pools in that same spot at the base of your abdomen, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

“Look in the mirror, sweetheart,” he grunts, throwing his head back and tightening his grasp on your waist. “Want you to watch me fuck you stupid.”

You wail, eyes heavy lidded as you witness Jacob plowing into you from behind. It hurts, the fact that you can’t even convey into sounds how amazing it feels. They’re all trapped in your chest and throat, begging to be set free. You wish they could bounce off of the walls, reverberating in your ears. Your cheeks are wet from the tears that have spilled over. You look like a mess with your makeup smeared and your face puffy. Anyone who saw you after this would know exactly what went down in this bathroom.

Jacob doesn’t slow his assault, instead hovering over and trapping you beneath his broad frame. He drills into you deeper, harder, faster— and oh god you don’t want him to stop. You think he’s making good on his word, fucking you so insanely stupid that not a single thought occupies your mind. All there is, is Jacob Bae and the deliciousness of his cock wedging itself further into your cunt like he wants to live there.

“You’re taking me so well, baby. So so well,” he coos, your back curving into his chest.

Your elbows might give out from supporting your weight and now Jacob’s too, especially with how empty your head is. You don’t really have the consciousness to keep yourself up. It’s at the point where the mirror has started to fog, a blurry image of him abusing your pussy in your line of sight.

He knows you’re on the brink of an orgasm, your walls spasming slightly in warning. He pulls out enough to flip you onto your back, pushing in and resuming where he left off. His thumb sneaks down to your clit, rubbing in precise circles with precise pressure. Despite there being no mirror covered in steam in the shape of your bodies in front of you, your vision is still hazy. You can barely see the expressions Jacob makes, his brows knitting together and lower lip between his teeth.

You pull him down to connect your mouths, whining into him as he continues to fuck into you like there wasn’t a whole party still going on on the side of the door. Your knees are folded to your chest, allowing his cock to kiss all the way inside of you. “I’m— fuck— so close, Cobie.”

“C’mon, baby, you can cum for me,” he goads, applying more pressure to the shape he’s drawing on your clit.

One particularly timed thrust and the bumping of his pelvic bone on the sensitive bundle of nerves tips you off of your peak. Your climax washes over you, tidal waves of pleasure cresting at full force. You moan loudly, the rippling of your walls triggering Jacob’s own release.

He pulls out gently, for the final time. His chest rises and falls rapidly, in sync with yours. You’re both exhausted, spent from going at it like jackrabbits— as if you’d never get the chance to do it again. You meet eyes and then burst into laughter, your hands coming up to cup his cheeks.

“That was… Wow…” You breathe, moving some of his hair from obstructing his eyesight.

“I always follow through with my promises, you know,” he wraps his arms around your waist. “So, what do I get now that I’ve wooed you?”

You press the hints of a kiss to his lips. “An exclusive all-access pass to me, my phone number, and the rights to ask me out on a date whenever you please.”

Jacob smiles that crinkle eye smile of his, knowing full well that he plans on cashing all three of those right now. He may have not been the biggest fan of fraternities or their parties, but he sure as hell loved them at this moment in time.

He thinks he was a winner in more ways than one that night.

#deoboyznet #the boyz #the boyz x reader #the boyz smut #tbz #tbz x reader #tbz smut #the boyz jacob #tbz jacob #jacob bae x reader #jacob bae smut #jacob x reader #jacob smut #juyeonszn #blackoutorbackout🍻

381 notes · View notes