#they have a truck that she definitely did not just take from some random guy and claim as his own | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

survivalist-anon · 13 days

Text

Log 4: They're everywhere

The day has been good so far since Jeff had left. I've been caught up on paperwork, organizing the archives and I've helped make some of the wildlife's lunches for the evening. It finally feels like a normal day.

"Daaaaaaaaamn, check it out! That's the fifth one this month.", Ronnie (one of our surveillance experts and wildlife photographers) was checking last night footage.

"You dumbass, that's the same one from last Thursday.", Jonas was watching with him.

"No he ain't, This guys definitely new, see he's got a huge fuzzy pelt on him. The other two have little pelts ", he pointed at the screen.

I come out of the filing room, curious as to what they were talking about. "ugh, what's going on? Anything interesting in the cameras?". I was hoping they were talking about bears or something.

"Hey Lorey, come and see!", he motions for me to come closer to the computer.

As I walk to the computer, watching the footage intently. Ronnie skips a few minutes in as the usual creatures that pop up are obviously of no surprise to us. Than, something in the foreground appears. Three armored individuals. I couldn't believe it.

"you mean to tell me they're in the reserve too? Just walking around?", I rewind the image to get a better look. They're covered in random little charms and ends. The leader had a strange, more anthropomorphic helmet, the other two had similar shaped helmet with markings on them. It was like they're on a hike, walking around.

"Holy sheeze, is THAT what you saw?", Jonas asked nudging my shoulder.

Ronnie turns to Jona and I, "oh it's not just them, check this guy out. Caught him several weeks ago.". Ronnie than shows footage another one, this one had brought with him what looked like to be roadkill, and started chowing down on the carcass, it aesthetically closer to that big black and gold one...but it looked more monstrous, with bigger horns, and messed looking legs. This one was horrific to look at.

Jonas's usual silly antics stopped right there and then when she started to realize the encounter could have gone a lot worse. "Ugh...did...it look like that?", asking in a more candid tone.

"Yeah.... almost.", what shocked me to see was that it was now completely possible to encounter these....Marines...."...do you guys know of these folks?", I had Ronnie the business card Benedict handed to me.

With a squint and an unsurprised sigh, he puts a guard down and continues going through the footage from last night. "Oh yeah I know them, they're just a bunch of Bigfoot enthusiasts that got bored and decided to go for much more bigger fish. Only I heard from my cousin in Chicago that these guys are crazy dangerous. Some of them got claws, got like super strength and shit. Check it out.", he took out his phone to show us socal media footage of a red colored marine, again spikes all over and an even worse attitude.

The footage shows a bunch of teenagers following it through an alleyway, probably to find out where it's going. The marine turned around and charged at one of the teens. The phone dropped and all there was left was the sound of screaming and blood spattering. Kid didn't even scream more than 3 seconds before it got obliterated.

Ronnie then puts the phone away, "the dark web is having a field day. Turns out people get PAID to video tape the dangerous ones. It's like a snuff film or something."

I was mortified, these monsters can't be real....can they? I remember the footage of the three feral looking ones. "Ronnie, are their any examples of...I don't know....not homicidal ones? ".

He thought for a little and then remembered another viral video, "Oh! This one from Philadelphia, he's like a superhero or something. They call him "Big Blue". Check it out.", taking his phone out again, he shows a 60 second click of a robbery in progress, as the culprits bust out and get into the get away truck, some tall blue armored one comes charging in, lifting 3 ton truck! I can see that the robers where shooting him in the face but nothing looked like it wasn't doing anything. As the police come in, do their part, the click cuts to a reporter interviewing the marine.

"Big Blue! You've once again saved the city and stopped a robbery! Witnesses saw that you've shot several times in the face no less, are you ok sir? *Shoves his microphone up the the marine's mouth", the blue marine looked at the reporter and the camera, he seemed rather shy about answering. He than answered the reporter in a very strange form of Latin, it almost sounds like butchered Italian. He than nodded his head, pat the reporter's head and stormed off.

"....Ok, wise words that will forever remain a mystery! I'm Harold Storm! And you're watching Channel 5 Action News!". The video ends.

"That is so cool! Why do we have the crazy ones though?", Jonas rewinded the video again to see Big Blue again.

"that's because we live in Oregon, the crazies come here because the feds here don't really care actually.", I sit down on the chair next to Ronnie, and take notes on the differences between the two types of Marines on the wildlife footage. I honestly couldn't believe that there was such a distinct difference between them. "I think we better contact the annoying Bigfoot people. They probably have more information on these guys than we do, but we have the equipment to check them.".

Ronnie shoots me a look, "are you saying that we should dedicate a little bit of our time to hunting down these big metal dudes?".

I shoot back a grin, "no, I say we study them. We know nothing about them, there seems to be a clear distinction between the good ones and the bad ones and I think we need to pull our sources. These aren't some invasive species or some weird cryptid that only appears once in a blue moon l, only to be found out it was a hoax. It seems these guys are very real and so is the risks of encountering the wrong one.". I rewind back to the footage of the three fur cladded ones. Something about them emanated some interesting thoughts on me, in considering all that has been happening to me as of late, could one of them have been the proverbial knight in shining armor? I'm starting to get curious.

After a few hours, the rest of us clock out from the center and leave the night shift to their evil biddings so to speak. As with every Friday night, the reserve always goes to a local bar down in downtown. It wasn't the fanciest place but it was the only place with the best booze and was the only place that made cocktails.

"so, you know the guy who gave you that card? I mean the town is pretty small so it ain't going to be that hard to find him.", Jonas asked with zeal.

"oh trust me, you can definitely tell who it is.", I push open the door to the bar, ready for a relatively nice night of drinking.

As me in the afternoon staff walk in, the first thing we notice is all the angry stares that the men are giving at one small group and the corner of the bar.... At least I would consider them small if it wasn't for their size. But there they were, the group of four, extremely well built men. Not too dissimilar to the guy I saw back at the hardware store.

All of them seem to just minding their business, again not acknowledging a single soul in the bar. However another thing I noticed was the amount of women swooned at the sight of them. However, wasn't able to smell that strong hormonal odor anymore, probably because the place is well ventilated enough for that.

I look to my left and I see Jonas with her mouth agape, absolutely stunned at seeing the guys. I look to my right and I see Clara and Shelly (our receptionist and hotline receiver, in case of any wild animal attacks) absolutely drooling over them.

As for me, the smell may have not been as pungent as it was at the hardware store, but it definitely was in the air. "Guys, ugh, we need to find a table soon... preferably as far away from those guys".

Ronnie looked at the men, than looked at me, "why are they dangerous?", than he started to notice the rest of the girls in the group.

Jonas was practically in lala-land, "Oh maaaan, those are some fiiiiiine looking guys.".

"ooooh, y'all's right! I think I'm love.", Clara declared.

"Oh no none yah don't, I'ma bag me a man!", Shelly may have not been the youngest of us, but she's been after a husband for 20 years now, and she isn't giving up. She struts confidently to the table.

As for the four sitting in the corner booth, they begin to notice Shelly heading their direction. One of them noticeably smelling his clothes, the look of mortified realization hits him like a ton of bricks. I could see that he was whispering something to one of them group members and he too starts to realize the same thing.

"Howdy boys, have you guys fallen from heaven because I see four of the Lord's loveliest of angels.", Shelly may not have been lucky, but in the past she has been successful at getting a man's attention.

All four of them were stunned, yet not surprised, they weren't prepared for something like this to happen.

"ugh ... pardon me and my brother miss, but may we assist you in anything?", one with a yellow cap with a unrecognizable construction logo speaks first.

Shelly boldly skoots in to sit with one of them. "Oh you can assist with anything.", she begins to caress the man's impossibly huge bicep.

Meanwhile the man just looked down at her with curious confusion. Something about his interaction felt you're really disconnected. It was two people interacting, it was a person and an animal interacting.

"Shelly you absolute legend!", Jonas egging her on.

"Ooh get'em Shelly!", Clara wasn't helping either.

"More like an absolute mad lass, I've never seen her act this bold before.", I was more concerned if she was going to hurt herself. These guys were all big enough to domestically abuse animals bigger than elephants let alone gently shove a woman away.

"Uhm, Shelly! I'm so sorry about my friend here, we had a few drinks before coming here and she's not taking to tequila shots very well. Shelly say sorry and goodbye to very nice man.", as soon as I finished that thought, the smell came back. Now with four times the strength. Everything was fading, I had no control of what I was doing. I began to practically crawl on the table...all I could see was a pink haze.

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

"Brothers, I am afraid our night has ended. We need to take these women to the local hospital.", one with a mustache and a gnarled scar across his forehead had signaled to the other three to mobilize.

As fasting as efficiently one can see, all four prepared to leave. Picking Shelly and Lorence up, paying the tab with a small pouch.

The bar tender motioned for the busboy to quickly get the pouch before any of the patrons see it.

"Hey wait! Where are you guys taking them?", Jonas tried following the four strangers, hardly believing how big they were.

"Please do not worry, we are taking your friends to the hospital, where they will be taken care.", the mustached man turns around assuring Jonas, and inevitably trying to avoid unsolicited kisses from Lorence.

"Ah wait?! Nah ugh, we're coming with you.", Clara followed them to their vehicle, which in this case an industrial transport truck. "Oh dang ya know what I ain't disappearing into the night like those girls from Forensic Files. She than decided to go back into the bar.

Ronnie ran after them as fast they could but they already started their truck. Taking Lorey and Shelly with them.

"FUCK! Get back here!", he takes his phone out to call the police, but just as he was about press the call button. The sound of howling wolves echoed endlessly throughout the night sky. "...what the hell....", he glaces to where the howls sounded the loudest. The noise of braking branches and wrestling bushes was an unmistakable sign that something big was chasing the truck.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the truck, the driver, an imperial fist named Moors, comfortably drives to town to drop both women off at the hospital.

"How are they?", he shouted from the driver seat in high gothic

One of the men is managing Lorey relatively well, just tightly restraining her in his arms. "This one is doing fine! Practically sleeping, Cahrilo how is yours?"

Cahrilo, the youngest by a hundred years and a neophyte in comparison to his veteran brothers, is having a bit more trouble handling the 40 year old retired police officer gone receptionist. "She's strong for her age!", he tries not to hurt her while getting a better hold of her. She showers him in kisses. "Can someone help?"

The other two, Bilhard and Urtus, were sitting in their chairs watching Cahrilo struggle, laughing hard.

Urtus wiped a tear from his eye from laughing so hard, "It seems we have learned our lesson, we must tell the apothecary to make a stronger suppressor. These mortal women are ravenous!"

Just as the trio were laughing, loud banging could be heard from the walls of the transport truck.

The laughter stops, Bilhard stands up to check the outer side cameras of the truck. "What in the name of the throne?". He sees an unidentified marine clinging on to the side of the truck, ripping the haul. As Bilhard was witnessing this from the camera, Urtus and Cahrilo were seeing it as it was happening in front of them.

Bilhard faintly growled in frustration, now was not the right time for a fight. "By throne what's going on?!", suddenly the truck was hit again, this time from the left by something trying to push truck off the road.

As the passengers were trying to keep their footing, the mystery marine had successfully tore through the side.

Revealing to be a Space Wolf, with a more animalistic helmet. He growled furiously at the Imperial Fists.

"By Dorn!? Why are you attacking us Space Wolf?! Have you been touched by chaos?", as Bilhard was shouting at the transgression, Urtus may have realized what they had done.

"WHICH ONE IS IT!?", he shouted to the wolf.

The space wolf was staring at him the hardest. Now he's gotten his answer. "savage..." Urtus leaves the dazed Lorey in a seat next to him, "..if you harm this mortal, our agreement is void!"., his other brother, stunned at what he had just done.

The wolf picks her up gently in his arms, content with her safety. Lorey, still dazed is now currently becoming more delirious, as the pleasant aphrodisiac effects of the hormones have now become akin to breathing in toxic inhalants. He leaves a threatening glance at Urtus, now having having earned his ire. He leaves through the hole he had entered, and runs with the rest of his pack into the night.

Bilhard turns to Urtus, "YOU FOOL! THAT SPACE WOLF COULD HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED BY CHAOS AND YOU JUST LET HIM TAKE A HUMAN GIRL?!"

Urtus was calm, but he should have known something like this would happen. "Brother, he may have had eyes on the girl before we even perceived her existence, we were the ones that have cross a rather difficult line. You know how territorial another Astartes can be of their chosen mate. You of all people should know better.", Urtus sat back down.

Bilhard, tired from what can be perceived as a failed mission. Walks up to the driver. "To the hospital. Now.", goes back to sit back down.

Moors had been keeping an eye on the road, but a ear to the back. "You boys know this is going to have to be reporting to the chaplain right?"

The three of them had a collective groan.

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

Meanwhile, the late night had gone from loud, undefined chatter and drumming of metal to soft croaking of tree frogs, the crunching of leaves under heavy foot prints and the quite whispers of unrecognizable voices. Lorey had now time to take in fresh air for the past hour, but something in her had taken much of her strength as if she had drunk heavily. She looks up at whom every was holding her, but her heavy eyelids could only preview the dark sky, the bright crescent moon, and a dark shape gently cradling her. Everything from that point on, had went dark. Diving into a deep sleep.

End of log 4

@kit-williams

#space marine #space marine husbandry #warhammer 40k #imperial fists #space wolves #Ultramarine #world eater #word bearers

24 notes · View notes

justlydiasworld · 2 years

Note

i know the 80s weren’t the most welcoming to gay ppl but can i pls request robin and reader getting dragged to a kissing booth, maybe their friends setting them up together. Like robin is hesitant to do anything cuz she doesn’t know if reader is straight or not (spoiler, she’s not) thank uuuuu!!

Just The Two Of Us

Pairing: F!Reader x Robin Buckley

Pairing: Nancy Wheeler x Johnathon Byer

Summary: Robin and a couple of friends head to mall to hang out. Poor baby didn’t know she would be dragged into a kissing booth with you. She’s hesitant since she doesn’t know if you’re straight or not.

Warning(s): None- that I know of.

Authors note: This will turn into a one shot for this fanfic. I love this idea and I can’t wait to write it out. Thank you for requesting,and again my inbox is open.

Summer heat was not the best at Hawkins. The sticky air and the ice cream turning into water. It was definitely not the best. But your group of friends had an idea, not original but it still works. “So we’re all heading to the mall?” You asked with confusion. They were planning on ice skating as a group or heading to a carnival tonight but they just stuck with something simple.

“Yeah we’re going to the mall at 4.” Nancy smirked a smile on her face, putting her arms on Jonathan. Eddie kicked some rocks on the ground and his hands were in his pockets,smiling. “We-Well I’m fine with it. How about you y/n?” The freckled girl asked you with such warmth. Not even the hot weather made that kind of warmth that Robin did to you.

You nodded slowly and she just smiled with all of her teeth. It was adorable. SHE was adorable. Maybe you can’t say it out loud but you wish you could. You haven’t told anyone but Nancy that you also liked girls and guys. She accepted you even though you told her you were bisexual. Something that eased your mind was when Robin came out to you and Steve after the whole incident. You felt almost relieved that somebody else in Hawkins also likes girls.

“Let’s goo! We’re hitting the road!” Eddie screamed on top of his lungs. He opened the door to his truck and sat down. The others just filling in from the back. “Hey, me and Nancy will be right behind you guys. We’re taking my car.” Johnathon said while he scrunches his brows because of the sun hitting his face. “Alright!” Steve yelled back even louder since Eddie started the truck.

So it was just you and Robin sitting extremely close to each other and Eddie and Steve singing to some random songs on the radio. You have no clue what to say to the brunette,rather your mouth did it for you. You saw how her face tilted towards the sun and how it made her glow. Her freckles becoming the most noticeable thing under the sun- truly she was breathtaking. “You’re so,breathtaking Robin.” You mouth dropped slightly and head tilted to get a better view of her face. You were dazed, caught up in a trance almost.

“I-uh- you mean that? As a friend way? Or?” Robin asked with flushed cheeks. She looked at you with her big blue eyes. “Ah,yeah. As friends..” you mumbled the last part, you head looking down on your lap with a frown. Yeah,as friends. Robin didn’t understand why you were so upset, she just genuinely wanted to know. I guess you did mean it in a friend way. Poor Robin wanted to hear something differently.

Eddie and Steve heard everything behind them and both of them only smirk. Mischievous grin that painted their faces, you didn’t know what they had in plan. But for now, you were dancing on the palms of their hands. As soon Eddie parked his truck in front of the mall, he took the keys out of it and got out.

All of you guys end up meeting up at the same place at the right time. The smell of different food mixing in the air and the laughter of kids made it seem so much better and livelier than the sticky heat outside. Steve and the others huddled up in a bunch excluding both you and Robin out of it. It was funny to look at but you were confused for the most part. So was the brunette. “Psst, you know what they’re up to?” Robin whispered near your ear. “No clue Rob. You know anything?” You whispered back with a soothing tone. “Nope,but I bet it’s something stupid. Especially if that dingus (Steve) is in charge of whatever’s going on.”

The both of you guys end up laughing, until a song plays in the mall. “Just The Two Of Us” by Grover Washington. This song was a song that almost everybody in Hawkins enjoyed,definitely a hit. Robin started doing a little dance while she lip syncs the song, moving her hips a bit and having her hands all over the place. “I wanna spend some time with you..” she lip synced while smiling at you. You joined in on the fun and dance along with her in front of everyone,” just the two of us.” You chuckled and stopped because the music stopped and played a different song instead,that was quick.

“Robin you dance? Didn’t know that.” Eddie raised a brow and crossed his arm towards his chest. Nancy pinched his arm a bit and nodded her head towards the,kissing booth? Steve had a sudden realization and cleared his throat. “Ahem, me and Eddie will go and buy some food and hang out for a second. You guys don’t mind right?” You shook your head for a second but you thought it was a group hangout day. “Save me some food dingus!” Robin yelled at him as they walk towards a cafe. “Ah, yeah me and Nancy are actually going to shop for Will and Mike. You know how boys are, growing out of their old clothes and needing new ones.” Johnathon smiled and looked at Nancy. “Ye-yeah, you guys should go into that booth right over there! We’ll meet back in 20 minutes. Promise.” Nancy turned around with Johnathon.

She winked at you before she left and now it was only you and Robin. You turned around and see how flushed her cheeks gotten. She had a day spent with you! All for herself! “I’m sorry you had to be stuck with me Rob. I-I know you probably wanted to hang out with ste-“ Robin cut you off and reassured you,” no!no! It’s,it’s fine. I like spending time with you. A lot actually.”

As Robin finished talking, you took a look at her lips. Plumped, smooth, maybe a bit sweet too. The brunette took that as a sign but she was shocked to see you glare at her lips. By the time Robin could say anything, you dragged her arm. You sat down on the cushioned seat. There was a huge red sign above you that said “KISS ME.” And a huge kiss beside the letters.

As you sat down, the tall freckled girl turned into a sweet red color. Her blue eyes widen. “You-you really wanna-“ She muttered out but of course you wanted to kiss then pretty girl. The way she smiled at you, the way she was there for you every time, this was your shot. Robin wanted confirmation that you also liked girls, and maybe this was the confirmation that she needed. Boy did she have the biggest smile ever.

Robin got nervous and rambled all over again. You aren’t mad at her for that but you were just too impatient at the moment. You wanted everyone to know that you liked this precious girl in fort f you. Even if it means to ruin your reputation. You were still in the mall and crowds of people were hanging around in different areas.

“So uh ye-“ Robin chuckled but as soon as she met your (e/c) eyes, you grabbed her chin with care. Pressing your soft lips with hers. You felt every part of her lips on yours and it felt like heaven. Her plumped lip felt like soft pillows but smelt just like the cherry cola lip balm you bought her at this exact store. You let go of Robin but all she does is whine. “I wanted more than just that..” she mumbled underneath her breath. You looked around, and met her blue eyes once again. “I mean it’s just the two of us.” You gave her a smirk and that made Robin go feral.

#robin buckley #stranger things #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x you #robin x y/n #robin x reader #stranger things fic #robin buckley imagine #jancy endgame #jancy supremacy #stranger things jancy #robin angst #robin buckley one shot

150 notes · View notes

iceeericeee · 8 months

Text

Driving Myself Home

Pairing: Drew and Nick (kinda blind date au, except neither of them are attracted to each other romantically)

Notes: This story is with my OCs and is just to explain how they know each other. I was listening to this song and I thought ‘oh this is DEFINITELY how they became friends’. Also this is all written in 1st pov (Drew). I cut out some of the repeating lyrics too. OKAY ON TO THE STORY

(story under the cut BTW)

My friend set me up on a date today And I forced myself to go But the best part of the date today Was driving myself home I rolled down all the windows And I played a song I know Oh the best part of the date today Was driving myself home

“I can’t BELIEVE Adrielle set me up on another date with another guy. When will she get the idea that I’m fine by myself?” I grumble to myself, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. “Let’s just get this over with. At least I might get some free food out of it. Hopefully he’s not too much of a dick and at least pays for dinner.”

It's not as if he didn't try His shoes were clean he wore a tie And paid for my martini with a smile And the conversation never stopped I didn't even check my watch And a view over LA is always nice

I pulled to the place my friend had set up our date at. It turned out to be a small, but fancy, rooftop restaurant. ‘Not bad, Adrielle.’ As I entered, the waiter noticed me and asked “Do you have a reservation?” “Oh, yes! It should be under the name Nick?” She scanned the list for a bit before saying “Of course! Right this way.” I followed her up the stairs and onto the roof, where there were about a dozen other couples sitting at tables, dining by candlelight. ‘Oh, so this place is fancy fancy.’ “Here you are, ma’am.” I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the table we had stopped at and saw Nick. Or at least, I hoped it was Nick and not some random person. He stood up from his seat and said “You must be Drew! I’m Nick, it’s nice to finally meet you.” ‘Okay, not some random person then, phew.’ “Yup! That would be me, eheh.” I awkwardly laughed. I sat down, and Nick followed suit. “What can I get you two to drink?” The waiter asked, whipping out a notepad. “I’ll have a Martini, please, and whatever the lady would like.” ‘Wow, a Martini? That’s new.’ I thought to myself. “I’ll also have a Martini, thank you.” “Okay, I’ll be back with that shortly.” As the waiter walked off, Nick tried to start a conversation. “So, uhm, what do you like to do in your free time?” ‘Shoot, what do I do in my free time?’ “Oh, well, I- uhh- I… like to play the drums?” I mentally facepalm myself the second I say that. ‘Really? Drums? Of all the hobbies you have, and you choose to say drums? What an idiot.’ However, he unexpectedly lights up. “Really? No way, that’s awesome! I play the banjo, and sometimes the keyboard.” ‘Nevermind, I take back what I said earlier. I’m actually a genius.’ “Oh my gosh, seriously? That’s so cool!” “I know right? I’m actually- well, I’m- okay, promise you won’t laugh or anything?” Confused, I nod, indicating him to go on. “Well, I’m thinking of starting a band, but so far it’s just me and Charlie, and she only plays the guitar.”

It's not as if I didn't try I wore my favourite dress and I Showed up on time unusually for me But he shops in IKEA and I think that his idea Of my life is just a girl with silly dreams

“Well,” I start, “if you ever need someone to keep the beat in your band, I’ll be there.” He gives me a small smile. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to remember that.” The time passed, and soon enough, we had had dinner and he had paid the check. He walked me to my truck, and said, “This was fun, I had a really great time, Drew.” “So did I. I’m glad we got to meet each other.” There was an awkward silence, then I said, “Well, thank you for a lovely evening, but I should get going, I guess.”

And maybe if I step inside his eyes I'll see myself and I will be surprised Like who the hell is she to drive away When she could have stayed the night instead In my king size bed

“Oh! Right.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Umm, maybe we could, I don’t know, meet up again sometime? Just, not somewhere this fancy, if that’s alright with you?” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god, it wasn’t just me! Yeah, we can definitely meet up again.” “Okay, great! Well, see you then, I guess.” “Bye Nick! Stay safe!” As he waved goodbye, I headed to my old pickup and get in. It was only when I started it up did I realize all of the weird things I did during the date. Not to mention the end, god that was so awkward.

Well, my friend set me up on a date today And I forced myself to go But the best part of the date today Was driving myself home I rolled down all the windows And I played a song I know Oh the best part of the date today Was driving myself home

‘Well, no point in overthinking about the date. It was fun, but I don’t really see him as boyfriend material. More like, friend material?’ I put a CD into the slot in the stereo, rolled down the windows, and started the drive back home. It wasn’t until I had almost gone to bed that Adrielle asked me how the date went and I had told her it went alright. She was about to ask what I meant by ‘alright’ when my phone buzzed with a text. I checked it, and it was from Nick. ‘Hey! Just wanted to let you know that even though I had fun tonight, I can’t really see us working as a couple. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear.’ Smiling from ear to ear, I quickly answer back. ‘NO NO NO, you’re okay! I was actually feeling the same way, lol.’ Putting down my phone again, I look at Adrielle, and she has a stupid grin on her face. “So? What was your favorite part?” she asked.

Oh the best part of the date today Was driving myself home

#AAAAHHH FIRST STORY IVE EVER POSTED ON HERE LETS GOOOOO #i really hope you guys liked it #My OC’s #Drew #Nick #Adrielle #Charlie #Song: ‘driving myself home’ by Rose Betts #My writing

4 notes · View notes

incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes · 1 year

Note

22. Because I Liked a Boy by Sabrina Carpenter

Similarly, I think this one was from last year as well, but I think I got two requests for 22 last year so let’s do it again! Last time it was Talking to Strangers by Maisie Peters which you can find here.

I did make a gg edit to this song on my IG here that maybe I’ll remake once we have the fancast set up.

You know when you clean your room and you come across random stuff and then you get distracted by it and suddenly it’s been hours and you have no idea when you gave up the task of cleaning, but you definitely did?

Yeah, that’s how Cammie’s friends found her in Zach’s room- now her and Zach’s room a few hours into the unpacking venture.

“Cam?” Liz asked. They could see her if they looked over the stacks of boxes. She was sitting on the floor, staring at something in her lap. When she didn’t answer, the three made their way into the room.

“Whatcha got there?” Macey asked, sitting beside her. Bex and Liz remained standing in between two stacks of boxes.

Cammie kept looking at the pages in her lap. They were open as if she had been reading whatever it was. Bex and Liz exchanged a glance, considering taking drastic measures to get through to her. And drastically they meant either physical force or summoning Zachary.

“Earth to Cammie,” Bex finally tried, as a last-ditch effort.

Cammie was still quiet for another moment before she let out a sigh. “It’s my report. From when I was dating Josh.”

The girls made similar confused faces at the revelation. “You still have that?” Macey asked.

“I would have thought it went up in flames with the academy,” Bex remarked.

Cammie shook her head. “I still have all of them. Or my mom does. At least I thought she did, but” she let her thumb flip some of the pages in her lap. “Here it is.”

“So,” Liz started, gently. “What’s wrong?”

Cammie sighed. “Just... realizing in retrospect this was the catalyst for everything that happened these past few years.” She closed all the pages back together and plopped them into her lap for emphasis. “Who knew cuddling on trampolines could be so reckless,” she added, scoffing at her younger self.

“Cammie,” Macey started. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“It’s not like you knew,” Bex added. “None of us knew or could have known. And we helped you so if you’re guilty of anything then so are we.”

“Oh no,” a voice from the doorway sounded. Four heads turned to meet Zachary, leaning against the frame. “What are you all guilty of now?”

Cammie smiled at him. “Nothing new. I promise.”

“Good,” he said, coming to join them. “Now, what’s going on in here? I know unpacking is boring, but it feels like somebody died in here.” He crouched in front of Cammie in the confined space and raised an eyebrow. “Is that one of your reports?”

The girls all rolled their eyes, but Zach paid no mind. Cammie nodded. “Yeah. First semester, sophomore year.”

“Ah, yes. Jimmy,” that time Zach chuckled as the girls slapped their hands to their foreheads at his comment. “Why is that such a bummer? Besides the fact that it’s not about me?”

Bex groaned. “Seriously, Goode, just get out. Girl talk.”

“Baxter, you can’t tell me to get out in a room I paid for,” Zach reminded her.

“We saw a movie once,” Cammie said, ignoring their banter and bringing the attention back to her. “I said I wanted thin mints and he said he knew a guy. The movie was some cheesy romcom. We joked about the trope where the guy shows up at the girl's window with a boombox. Stars in his eyes. I asked if he’d do that for me. He said yes. We listened to the black-eyed peas in his truck after.”

Her four companions were quiet following her words. Cammie couldn’t blame them, but she hadn’t been speaking for their benefit anyway.

“You never told us about that. At least not those details,” Liz said, eventually.

“Yeah, well,” Cammie exhaled. “I had to keep some things for myself. In hindsight I should have kept it all to myself.”

“Gallagher girl,” Zach speaking finally got her attention. She knew he wouldn’t continue until she looked up at him, so she did. “None of what happened was your fault.”

“It’s not about fault,” she explained. “I feel so deeply into something that I thought was so innocent. But nothing ever is. And because I did that, everything else happened. It might not have been my fault, but I was still the cause.” She could see the frowns on all their faces. The distinction wasn’t enough for them. “I’m not catastrophizing,” she added. She must have been reading Liz’s thoughts the way the other girl averted her gaze at Cammie’s words. “But you can’t deny that everything derailed after that point.”

“You were just kids,” Macey defended. “You were both trying to get through your own shit in your own way. Together.”

“Exactly, Cam,” Bex chimed in. “It’s not fair that you doing normal teenage things resulted in...” she trailed off, not sure how to best phrase the thought to be helpful.

“Death threats?” Cammie did it for her.

Zach lifted the pages off Cammie’s lap. He flipped through them with his thumb, similar to how Cammie had earlier and too quickly to read any of the words. “You both wanted an escape from the roles you thought you were assigned. We all know what that’s like,” he said, not looking at her now.

Cammie was looking at him intently. Zach was the only person in the room now that wasn’t present for the events from that semester. But he was still right, somehow.

“You thought you needed someone to tell you, that you didn’t have a choice,” he went on. “But you did. And, hopefully, you still think you made the right one,” he looked up at her then.

Cammie smiled, seeing through to what he was actually saying to her. “I did,” she reassured him. “It’s just,” she sighed, running a hand through her hair. “All of this for what?” She looked to the side and her friends saw her other reports were sitting in a box next to her. “When everything went down, we’d already broken up!” She took the report back from Zach’s hands and threw it onto the floor away from them in an exasperated fashion. Her head hit the wall she was leaning against with a slight thud. “All because I liked a boy.”

The room fell silent once more. She didn’t say it like she was sad or angry or looking to be consoled. It was just a statement. After a moment, Zach stood up and retrieved the report. He placed it in the box with the others and closed it.

“It just sounds insane,” she spoke up again. “That all of this could come from... that. The most inconsequential semester of my life.” That earned a few snorts of amusement from her friends.

“Ouch,” Bex said.

“I know,” Zach added. “I’d hate to be Jimmy right now.”

Cammie groaned and put her head in her hands. “That’s not what I meant!” she said, voice coming out muffled. Her friends just laughed.

“Come on,” Zach said, prodding her. “No more existential dread. You’ve got to unpack.” She let Zach pull her to her feet. “We can get back into it, Lizzie can tell us all about the butterfly effect, it’ll be great.”

Liz’s face lit up at that and the other girls fought the urge to groan as she launched into something they had heard many, many times. But they always listened because that’s what friends did.

While Bex and Macey were invested in a new addition to Liz’s lecture, Zach took Cammie to the side. “For the record Gallagher girl,” he whispered to her. “I’m honored that even though I’m not your first love, I’ll always be your favorite.”

Cammie rolled her eyes as he winked at her. She should have known he’d read too far into the inconsequential comment. “Oh, shut up,” she said, pressing her lips to his.

#gallgher girls #gallagher girls series #gg spotify wrapped #gg fanfic

13 notes · View notes

canonicallyobserving911 · 2 years

Text

Evan “Buck” Buckley: Taylor Kelly was the “Random Girl” in a bar

The analysis included in this post is based solely on the characters, their story lines and the scenes as shown in CANON. When the narrative is followed it is easier for viewers to understand why things happen the way that they do on screen. The writers of 9-1-1 are notorious for doing callbacks to previous seasons to illustrate the process of a main character’s growth or the lack thereof. Recurring characters are just that, recurring. They recur for a specified length of time until they are no longer beneficial to the main character’s arc. Then they are gone.

Let’s be clear, Buck went from having sex with multiple random women in season 1 to having sex with a single random woman in season 5. One of his hookups in 1x1 “Pilot” told him “You’re cute and you’re very good at whatever it was we just did but let’s not ruin everything by actually getting to know each other.” His relationship with Taylor was definitely related to his Buck 1.0 days because they never took the time to actually get to know each other either. He didn’t know her and she definitely didn’t know him. They also didn’t trust each other so how could they have ever uttered the words “I love you” and “Good, love you too” in 5x9 “Past is Prologue”?

In 1x1 he admitted to Bobby that he was a self-diagnosed “sex addict” after he was fired for having sex in the ladder truck with a woman he met on a call. He used sex as a coping mechanism while he was Buck 1.0 and he subconsciously continued with that type of mind set throughout his relationships with Abby, Ali and even Taylor. It’s clear he had the wrong understanding of how love works and that was due to his trifling parents. Buck experienced a lot of childhood related trauma and after 4x4 “9-1-1 What’s Your Grievance?” and 4x5 “Buck Begins” the audience learned the reason why he’s like that. He was emotionally, physically and mentally ignored by his parents which contributed to his reckless behavior regarding relationships.

At the start of 5A, he still had abandonment issues because the people he loved kept leaving him; Maddie, Chimney, Jee-Yun, Eddie and Chris and after two previous relationships, Buck still hadn’t learned that loving someone does not equal abandonment. All of the people that left didn’t leave because of him, they left because of their situations and while they were gone, they still loved him. So, what did he do after they left? He clung to Taylor and she clung right back. After he kissed Lucy in 5x11 “Outside Looking In” and finally fessed up to it in 5x13 “Fear-O-Phobia”, his main concern was if Taylor would stay or leave. The thing is Buck was still operating like he did in season 1 with Abby because when they were at the airport he said, “I’m going to be right here when you come back, ok.” She responded with “Take care of yourself” which meant she wasn’t planning to come back. When Taylor left the apartment after he told her about the kiss, he thought she was gone for good but when she came back he said “Hey, you’re back? Are you back?” She was back but it wasn’t because she wanted to be which was similar to the response Abby gave him in 3x18 “What’s Next?” when she came back and didn’t apologize for abandoning him.

When Taylor said, “I don’t care that you kissed some random girl in a bar”, she was actually talking about herself because she was the random girl in the bar in 2x8 “Bucktually” who not only kissed him but she also had sex with him in that bar.

That’s why she didn’t care because she remembered that’s how her and Buck’s whatever they had started. She didn’t care about him then and by the end of 5B she still didn’t care about him or his feelings. Keep in mind their random hookup happened after they originally met in 2x6 “Dosed” when he first learned he couldn’t trust her due to the story she wanted to air that would have embarrassed the 118. Prior to her buying him a drink, he told Chimney he didn’t want to be that guy anymore and he told Bobby the same thing after he hooked up with Taylor. He went to apologize to her to let her know that wasn’t all he wanted from her but the issue was she hadn’t changed her mind about him. She reminded him that she bought him a drink and that she wasn’t upset about their hookup inside of that dirty bar bathroom. She wanted a second hookup with Buck so she suggested they have sex in the news van.

It didn’t go too far because her phone buzzed which alerted her that there was a breaking news story, so she told him she had to go and then left him embarrassed in the parking lot with his pants unzipped and unbuckled.

When he invited her to dinner in 4x8 “Breaking Point”, she misunderstood the invitation because she said “When you invited me over, I thought it would be the two of us. Maybe some dinner and maybe some sex” which means she never intended to get to know him outside of having sex with him and her motives were still the same, she wanted to hookup with him again and not work towards anything substantial, real or trustworthy. She embarrassed him again in front of Veronica and Albert when she said Buck has a problem with “strong women”, she called him “needy” and that he couldn’t stand it when people didn’t like him. Does that sound like the conversation of someone who wants to get to know you? NO!!!!

Actually she had already made up her mind about him and she was the one who was still sending mixed messages especially after all of the times she friend zoned him in 4x8 “Breaking Point” and 4x12 “Treasure Hunt”.

In 4x14 “Survivors”, once again she was the same girl who randomly kissed him and ran after he was traumatized from witnessing Eddie being shot.

Fast forward to 5A and consider how unhappy Buck looked every time he was trapped in his loft with Taylor. He was perplexed because he couldn’t believe a relationship was supposed to be that difficult. He considered what Thomas told him in 2x8 about “making it” but he obviously didn’t understand how relationships take work. He believed suffering through a relationship with Taylor was making it when it was actually the opposite.

In 5x18 “Starting Over”, it started to click for Buck in the firetruck when Ravi (thank God for Ravi) said, “Isn’t that what we all want in a partner, knowing that they have your back?”. But the final puzzle piece didn’t click into place for him until he was talking to Maddie about a Rom Com movie (possibly “50 first Dates”). He said, “Is that really love? Shouldn’t it be when you’re at your worst or they’re at their worst, you have every reason to give up and you still decide you want to try again?” Abby was at her worst with him in season 1 but she didn’t want to try again even after she abandoned him and found a fiancée. He was at his worst after the ladder truck crushed his leg with Ali but she abandoned him and didn’t want to keep trying let alone try again. Finally both he and Taylor were at their worst together because she kept putting her job before him and he wasn’t getting what he needed from her; therefore he finally realized he was the one who didn’t want to keep trying.

The lack of trust between them was the thing that ultimately broke them up because trust is the foundation of Buck’s job and his life. Firefighters must blindly trust one another when they are running into burning buildings and scaling cliffs to save victims.

He realized he never trusted her and that he never would be able to trust her, so he finally decided to end it. When she said, “I’m sorry you’re still upset about the story.”, she was confirming his decision to end it because she proved in that moment, she still didn’t know him. She was the one who didn’t want to complicate things by getting to know him beyond what they could do in the bedroom. If she truly knew Buck, she would have known that breaking his trust was the ultimate betrayal and she wouldn’t have continued putting her job before him. She assumed he would get over her embarrassing him yet again like he did in 2x8 and 4x8 which led to his realization of how she kept doing the same thing over and over again expecting for him to stay with her. When she said, “You knew who I was when you started dating me”, that was the nail in the coffin because he hoped she would have changed for him, but she didn’t. He replied, “I guess I thought I could learn to live with it” causing him to finally remember that he trusts those he works with every day but he couldn’t fathom the idea of being in a relationship with someone he couldn’t trust.

Buck had to be the one to end it with Taylor instead of her ending it with him because he wouldn’t have learned anything from it if he hadn’t. It would have been like Abby and Ali were abandoning him all over again but at a 3.0 level. Even if Taylor had gotten a job in another state, in Buck’s eyes, she still would have been abandoning him. Taylor never changed she was still the same “fun reporter girl” who only wanted to have hookups with Buck but never wanted to be in love. Therefore he would never have been better or learned from his past mistakes if he stayed with her.

Make no mistake, 9-1-1 is writing a Love Story but it is not a love story for Buck & Taylor!

Buck and Taylor’s relationship was not some “Gone with the Wind” or “Romeo & Juliet” love affair. It was actually very toxic and they were both at fault for allowing it to continue as long as it did. It shouldn’t have taken them one year to figure out they weren’t right for each other. Quid pro quo is never the way to go in any type of relationship and that’s how it ended up being between the two of them in 5x14 “Dumb Luck”. It had become transactional/conditional (you do this for me and I’ll do this for you) not unconditional. Love is unconditional and that’s what they would never have with each other because you have to know someone to love them.

He realized in 5x18 that doing the same thing over and over again wasn’t working for him and since she never changed, even after he asked her to move in, there was no way it could continue. After he told Eddie, “Taylor and I are still avoiding each other. I know we have to talk but I still feel so angry. I feel like whatever I say, it’s just going to be mean”. Eddie said, “You can’t put if off forever. If you keep that anger and resentment bottled up, eventually you snap”. He told the 118 he thought things would “magically work themselves out” but that wasn’t realistic. He had to end it and he realized avoiding the issue wouldn’t resolve anything. Ultimately the break-up was somewhat amicable but it would have been a lot more effective for him if he had told her in 4x14 that he wasn’t in a good place to be in a relationship and it would have been better if they just remained cordial with one another. That would have kept boundaries in place for them and he would have been able to recognize any conflicts of interest. They were both trying but it wasn’t working; therefore they were both at fault for not ending it with each other.

Buck wants a partner who trusts, loves, takes care of him and wants to build a family with him and the truth is; he already found all of that in Eddie. They started building their self-made family on a foundation of trust in 2x1 “Under Pressure” and in 2x2 “7.1” after Eddie showed Buck a picture of Christopher and they’ve continued to build it over the past four years. He had no issues running to help Eddie and Christopher in 5x13 and he stuck around to take care of both of them through the end of 5x14. He has already filled the role of co-parent and life partner inside of the Diaz household; therefore the love story that’s being told is theirs-Buck & Eddie’s. Will 9-1-1 continue to tell their story in season 6? Only TPTB know the answer to that question.

37 notes · View notes

the-type-a · 2 years

Text

Here’s a cute Part 2 to this little HC from @ragamuffin-bites !!

—

The second the trio walked into the local Starbucks they spotted their friends. DJ and Courtney were sitting on the countertop where the drinks were supposed to be put after being made. They were laughing with each other.

Noah was standing behind them, obviously pissed. Bridgette was sure he would have already shoved both of them off, but DJ was really buff, and Courtney was strangely strong.

“Please get them out of here, and never bring them back.”

DJ jumped down and held his hand out to Courtney as she got down, “Ouch, all I wanted was a cake pop.” He said in defense.

“You asked for 10 of them!” Noah shouted as he pointed a finger toward the door.

DJ followed Bridgette out the door that Geoff was holding. He was mumbling something nobody could really comprehend, but at least he was gone Noah thought. He turned to look at the brunette.

“Is my iced chai tea—”

“OUT!” Noah had had enough of the group. Not only did he have to deal with them on campus, but now at work? He would gladly take a strike on his work record for kicking them out.

“Come on, Princess.” Duncan said as he grabbed her elbow, tugging her along. Courtney huffed but let herself be escorted out of the shop.

Once they were inside Geoff’s truck Bridgette turned to look at them. Courtney was sitting in the middle, DJ to the right of her, and Duncan to the left. She looked at her two friends, eyes bloodshot red, goofy grins on their face, but overall, safe.

“How are you guys feeling?”

“Thirsty.” DJ said with a sigh as he looked out the window.

“I feel like I could melt into this seat.” Courtney said afterward. She slowly slumped herself into the seat. Duncan had to pull her up right before she literally had a chance to slip onto the car floor.

“Maybe we should all spend the night at Geoff’s. Just to keep an eye on you.” Bridgette said as she eyed her friends.

In any other circumstance this would be hilarious, but DJ and Courtney ate all of Geoff’s edibles. Although they were both newbies to this, DJ was a lot bigger than Courtney. So it was surely going to affect him a lot differently. While he was seemingly chill about the situation, Courtney was clearly still in a vulnerable state.

“Yeah, I got those two extra rooms and there clean!” Geoff interjected as he pulled into his driveway.

“You listened to me!” Courtney shouted with excitement. Everyone but Geoff flinched at the sudden pitch of her voice.

“Yeah! It was kinda embarrassing after you flipped out the first time.” His personality left no room for him to quiet down an obviously excited friend, even if it was about a clean room.

It took 15 minutes to get everyone settled back into the home. Geoff had unlocked the spare rooms, and offered Duncan the pull out couch. Bridgette would obviously be bunking with him upstairs.

Once Duncan made sure DJ was fine, he checked on Courtney. He normally wouldn’t care, but it was obvious Geoff and Bridgette were busy. Also, he was the only one on the first floor with them; Duncan definitely did not want to be held responsible if the two wandered off.

Out of courtesy to the high maintenance princess, he knocked first. Once he heard he was okay to come in, he did and found her curled under the covers.

“You holding up alright, Princess?” Duncan wasn’t sure why his voice sounded so… soft? He made his way toward her and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Shouldn’t you be off with some random girl right about now?” Courtney said with her eyes shut. She felt like the whole room was spinning and was desperately trying to regain some dignity from the night.

“You’re more important.”

It was a comment that took them both by surprise. Courtney opened her eyes and looked at him, those teal blue eyes had never looked so inviting.

“I knew it. You’re actually… nice.”

Duncan laughed as he nudged her leg under the covers. He was sure she wouldn’t remember this conversation as she was clearly insane right now, “Don’t start.”

Courtney laughed with him, and patted a spot next to herself. Duncan eyed her suspiciously before Courtney rolled her eyes and pulled him down herself.

“I’m sure that couch is horrible for your back. Just don’t try anything funny.”

Duncan was shocked at how quickly she made herself comfortable. There she was, completely snuggled up against him. He had to admit, she was incredibly beautiful whenever she wasn’t trying to rip his head off. Sure, it was hot when she acted like that, but this was different.

“What makes you think I’ll abide by that request?” He heard himself whisper as he got himself just as comfortable as her.

“Because you’re a nice person.”

Duncan didn’t even try to fight with her on it. It wasn’t like anyone would believe her if she tried to mention it; so what was the harm, right? He instinctively wrapped his arm around her as she laid on his chest.

“Thanks, Dunkie.” He heard Courtney say as her breathing slowed down. Duncan refused to move from the spot as he kept rubbing her back until he too fell asleep.

#duncney #td courtney #td duncan #td geoff #td bridgette #td dj #total drama courtney #total drama duncan #total drama geoff #total drama bridgette #total drama dj #the killer bass #killer bass 5 #kb5 #small drabble

19 notes · View notes

lovecolibri · 1 year

Note

SaL anon here bestie and still feeling bitchy if you feel like indulging. So I've had a couple of issues this week and the first i'll get to came as a bit of a combination of reading @canonicallyobserving911 latest post and seeing the LS promo with Owen and Andrea (incidentally we've had like 3 trailers and a whole ass preview scene from LS this week alone, WTF is OG's promo dept doing??). I thought the parents-taking-over-the-wedding clip was funny, but made me think when was the last time we

had fun stories/episodes in 911 OG?? And I don't mean one liners or ridiculous emergencies or people making a joke out of one characters actions that actually carry pretty serious implications (glares at jokes getting made about BOTH Buck's cheating and sperm donor arc). I mean episodes that were fun because we know the characters, we know that of course this is how they'd react, and it's ridiculous but real because we all have a side of us that's ridiculous at times. Where did all the fun episodes go?? I tried to think of the last example and I guess you could count the Eddie and Chim with the cursed bracelet thing (which was almost immediately undermined by the fact Chim knowingly bought a murder house 🙄). But I can't think of the last time the show was really and truly being fun.

Second on my things-I'm-pissed-about list is the return of Ravi. Not because I'm upset Ravi is back, I'm thrilled actually, but seriously KR?? After completely sidelining his character in 5b in favor of trying to make L a thing, after literally cutting him out of the HenRen vow renewal photo, after not even mentioning once during 6a where he was but making sure we had a whole damn scene devoted to explain L's absence, suddenly we're supposed to be excited you’re promoting him in the BTS?? I just can't be grateful that it took 1.5 seasons of negative feedback for KR to give people something they want. I hope they have no budget for effects that episode because it all went to pay Anirudh to bother with this show again after his character got so disrespected. Anyway that's my bitchy thoughts for these last few days, enjoy!!

Hello my friend! You have definitely caught me in a salty mood because my family is occasionally infuriating 🙃 I am SO with you and everyone about how LS has gotten all kinds of promos, and official stills from set released by Tim, meanwhile, OG is continuing to languish with barely anything and who knows if what we DO get from the official releases is actually something we’ll get to see.

I also agree with the lack of truly fun episodes. Cursed was trying to be Jinx but where Jinx was all about the firefam and their dynamics, and a fun montage of them doing their jobs, Cursed wasted all it’s time showing us every aspect of some random starlet’s life with barely any firefam (and while Eddie talking to Bobby and Athena was great a) that story didn’t line up with literally anything we’ve ever seen or been told about Isobel and b) it didn’t have Eddie’s continual investigative partner Buck involved). Plus, it didn’t even have a good resolution like Jinx did which gave us a brilliant scene with Eddie talking someone down and into doing the right thing. Cursed spent the whole episode setting up a “the assistant colluded with that guy to cause accidents to her boss to make her believe she was cursed” and then just...didn’t do that and instead had the assistant just skimming money and the guy having some randomly flimsy reason to come after her. But like, who cares? In Jinx we care about the guy (Brian, right?) insofar as he is directly putting the firefam and people in danger by doing things wrong while trying to “help”, eventually making a good-faith call about something that wasn’t actually what he thought it was, and then ultimately stealing the truck from the firefam when they needed to get to a fire where their help was needed. We don’t care about Brian as much as we care about how his actions affect the 118 and their ability to do their jobs. Cursed has nothing to do with the firefam except that they keep getting the calls. We get a little bit from Eddie but it’s never focused on enough to be called the central story. The central story in Jinx is the firefam. The central story in Cursed, even up to the end which SHOULD have been focused on Eddie and Chris (and fucking BUCK because the tsunami came up), is Felisa who the audience doesn’t know or care about. Yes the episode had some laughs, but just like everything in s6, is lacking heart, depth, and focus on characters we actually know and love.

Same with What’s Your Fantasy which was SO wildly all over the place in tone from cute sisters talking female empowerment-turned emergency situation, to murder fantasies, to sex fantasies overlaying a conversation about a child’s crush, to a huge, misogynistic, terrorist plan running throughout the episode. Again, a few cute surface level scenes, but mostly just filler with no consistent tone or through-line for any of the characters. Even back in season 5, FOMO had some funny moments, but again didn’t devote enough focus to main characters and instead spent too much time on some random emergency character having a whole arc, and the episode had a whole tragic ending. Honestly I can’t think if a single other “fun” episode in the whole of season 5, which people can say was the “point” but given that almost nothing got any (on screen) resolution (or any that wasn’t immediately undercut/forgotten) it doesn’t feel like there was a point. Previous seasons did so much better balancing tone throughout episodes, and being able to cut the heaver episodes by moving towards lighter arcs, and then back again. An ebb and flow across the whole season vs a whole oppressive season followed by episodes packed with wildly different stories that tonally do not fit together and leaves the viewers with whiplash. I’m still sooooo frustrated with how the sperm donor (and the cheating) storyline has been turned into a big joke. Especially because we KNOW the potential that was there for a meaty, and emotional storyline and Oliver has consistently delivered GOLD on that kind of stuff. And instead we got masturbation jokes, and jokes about being accosted at work and literally every other mishandled aspect of the arc. 😤😤😤😤

As for your second thing, I’m right there with you in regards to Ravi. Like, they couldn’t be bothered to let Bobby or Buck or literally anyone drop a single line about how their probie had grown and was lent out to the academy for a few months?! Especially after the audience was begging for more of him and irritated that he got sidelined and lost out on screentime and storylines so KR could force L into every little thing. The show KNEW going in to s6 how the fans and the general audience felt about L, and about Ravi, and it definitely feels vindictive and petty on KR’s part to allow no mention of him, even after every single episode had the audience asking where he was, BEGGING for any line about what happened to him, and saying how weird it was that he disappeared without anyone saying anything. For the only mention of him to come not even in the show itself but in an interview after the whole first half of the season was over is such a slap in the face. I hope Anirudh got every single thing he wanted out of coming back (I also hope someone had to grovel at least a little bit) and I hope that the very loud chorus of “FINALLY” from the audience when he’s back will stick in KR’s craw because of how universally beloved he is compared to every other random recurring and one-off episode character she’s tried to force into focus so she didn’t have to actually deal with the main characters of the show. My only worry is that she’ll try to do something to his character out of spite because I absolutely wouldn’t put it past her. For now I’m going to hold on to the joy at Ravi/Anirudh coming back, and excitement at seeing what he’s up to.

Thanks for giving me somewhere to focus my other frustrations today! And in a few days we’ll have some Yehaw wee-woos to flail about. And since we still have some time before our OG team comes back, I’m always here to dig into the salt mine!

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #i'm glad i was too tired to answer this last night because i needed this break from my family today

4 notes · View notes

thispabulum-blog · 2 years

Text

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

What's the Tea? Tuesday

It's been a while, eh?

I'll see if I can get things caught up here. It's definitely gonna be a long one, but I'll skip by as much boring stuff as I can. Lots of memes about how fucking hot it is/was, because I am definitely not thriving in this heat.

June was a long month!

First up was going to visit Cuddlebug's mom - who I'm gonna call Mama Bug. The drive there was actually less stressful than I expected.

As someone who uses a LOT of public bathrooms, I can honestly say that unless it's a truck stop, Buc-ee's, RaceTrac, or QT, I'd rather take my chances on a fast food place than a gas station any day. Random gas station bathrooms are horrifying more often than not - if they even have one/will let you use it - and almost always single-occupancy. Fast food places get cleaned more often, and are cookie-cutter mandated by corporate or whatever, so there's almost always at least three stalls. Just a travel tip, I guess. Also it's never a bad idea to take your own tp and/or wipes, just in case.

Anyway. The ride was nice, I mostly relaxed, I even got to play some of my own music in the car and sing really loud to help de-jitter. I don't know that Cuddlebug likes my music, but he generally doesn't complain about my music (unless he feels like it's appropriating his culture), so we're good. I also got him to listen to one of my favorite podcasts, How Did This Get Made? (I picked the episode about the movie Geostorm), which he enjoyed.

About 30 minutes away from his mom's house, the air conditioner in the car stopped working. We figured it was probably just overheated from blasting for 5+ hours or whatever.

Spoiler: It was not. This comes back.

Once we got close, Google Maps took us on a weird route that involved driving through a very fancy neighborhood (where I was delighted to see several deer hanging out in people's yards! Man, rich people get everything...), and then suggested we drive through a gate that was very clearly labeled FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLE USE ONLY and zip-tied shut. Thanks, Google.

We also had a disagreement about what constitutes "suburban" vs. "urban". Cuddlebug thinks anything that's not explicitly Downtown is "suburban", because I guess he enjoys being wrong about things.

I got to meet Mama Bug, ofc (and her boyfriend). She's very nice, and infinitely more relaxed than Dr. Strangelove's mom. Also her cooking is 1000% better. Remind me at some point that I need that panna cotta recipe.

They did talk about the Bible a little bit, which was weird for me, but other than that it was nice. The bed in the guest room was made up elaborately with literally fifteen pillows (and a Bible on the nightstand, naturally).

We had a nice, Christian vacation, by all official accounts.

After the old folks retired for the evening, we settled in to watch a movie. He picked one out while I was in the bathroom, and he was trying to tell me about it.

Cuddlebug: This movie has that guy in it, Sean...something.

Me: Sean Penn?

CB: No, Sean...idk. The new James Bond.

Me: I didn't know they had picked a new James Bond.

CB: Not new new, he's the one who's been James Bond for a while.

Me: Daniel Craig?

CB: This guy's name is NOT Daniel Craig.

*Googles*

CB: Huh, Daniel Craig.

*pulls up movie*

Me: ...that's Jeremy Renner.

Sigh.

Anyway, we watched Wind River, which was super good, if very depressing.

Later in the week he said he wanted to watch a movie, and I asked if he was in the mood for something funny or something heavy, and he said "heavy", so we went with The Devil all the Time - which I felt made us 'even' in the category of "depressing rural crime movie involving two MCU actors and revenge murder".

There was also the small quirk that we're used to watching movies together on the big sectional sofa at his house, where we go through different variations of lying on each other and cuddling for the duration. However, this couch was the type with two recliners and a section between, and as a result we were separated. After the movie was over I told him that it was the longest we've ever gone without touching each other and I hated every minute of it.

Despite it being 100°+ outside, Mama Bug kept the house at a balmy 77°, and there was no fan (ceiling or otherwise) in the room where we slept. Consequently, I went to bed at 1 am, woke up at 4 am, and spent the next 3 hours trying to get back to sleep. It was...unpleasant.

There were also two different clocks in the house that chimed regularly, and they both chimed at different times and neither were correct. So that was fun.

Those were my only big complaints.

The next day I got to show Mama Bug all of my art, including a nice watercolor painting of some flowers that I made specifically for her - which she framed the next day and hung up in the sitting room so people would see it as soon as they walked in, within a foot of a framed picture of Cuddlebug. Very cute.

She spent most of the day super busy preparing for the big dinner party the next night.

Mama Bug: Did he tell you what your job is at the dinner party?

Me: He did not.

MB: You're in charge of reconnaissance. So once everyone else leaves -

Me: We can talk shit about them.

MB: So he did tell you!

Me: No, that's just what I would do, anyway.

We got along pretty well. She teaches at a boys' school and only has a son, so I got very "OMG a girl, finally!" vibes from her. She kept wanting to talk about clothes and shoes, and she was very happy to lend me a sewing kit when I needed to fix a dress - and then she walked into the room while I was sitting on the bed in my underwear, sewing, to ask me which of the (again, FIFTEEN) pillows we had ended up using. They're super playfully-antagonistic, giving each other shit all the time. She's very down-to-earth, and perhaps a bit more progressive than I was expecting.

That evening we went over to visit some of Cuddlebug's friends for dinner and board games.

What a great idea! Let's leave the house at the hottest part of the day, driving into the sun for half an hour, while the a/c in the car has stopped working. Yay.

We spent the first 10 - 15 minutes that we were there just trying to cool off enough to be social, and the rest of the time with a fan pointed at us.

He vowed to stop on the way home and buy me a fan, but failed to take into account that for some reason, every single store in the entire metropolitan area closes at 11 pm. His friends were nice enough to let us borrow their fan for the evening, and I did manage to get some sleep. Cuddlebug woke up early the next morning and his first errand was to go buy a fan, then to get his hair cut.

Everyone was gone when I woke up, so I got to try to make bacon and eggs for myself in a kitchen I'd never used (I would have just had cereal, but she specifically bought groceries for us so that we could have stuff to eat while we were there, so I felt obligated).

Incidentally, and I did NOT mention this to anyone, I left the gas stove burner on for several hours before I happened to notice the wavy lines in the shadow that the stove was casting on the counter and turned it off. Sorry I almost blew up the house.

Then the dinner party! I got dressed up and Cuddlebug told me I looked like a princess, which was amazing. There were more people there than I was led to believe there would be, probably 8 or so. I did put my ear plugs in after a while.

I ate eggplant parm for the first time and surprisingly really enjoyed it! I also had pâté for possibly the first time, and wow! Good things happening! (I would eat a lot of leftover pâté and crackers in the next couple of days.)

There was a weird situation in which we were conscripted into prayer, which resulted in a lot of incredulous facial expressions back and forth, and frantic texts to each other and our group chat.

Later I had the best carrot cake I've ever eaten, which was a wonderful experience.

Luckily Cuddlebug was not particularly concerned with sticking around for the entire shindig once dessert had been finished. We were sitting at the dining room table, and this boy, I swear...he turns to his mother and says:

CB: We're probably gonna head to the bedroom after this.

His poor mother's eyes nearly popped out of her head. That could not have been the best way to word that. He basically said to her "Nice party; we're gonna go bang".

Which we didn't! We just wanted to turn the fan on and lie down and not be in the middle of the weirdness of the party. He passed out almost immediately, because he's a very good napper.

After he woke up it was time for Late Night Car Repair, brought to you by the two people in the goddamn world who know the least about car repair.

Idk why he decided that it would be a good idea to try to address the issue himself, but the fact that it took 5 minutes and a screwdriver for us to figure out how to open the hood of the car should give you an indication of how well the whole thing went.

30 minutes later:

Cuddlebug: So, love, here's what we're going to do (and by "we" I mean "me"). We're going to return the $31 DIY kit to Wal-Mart, and we're gonna pay someone $10 to put freon in the car.

Took him a while, but he got there.

Some days we win, and some days we learn. That was a learning day.

The next day it was determined that the air compressor was broken, and they applied some kind of temporary fix that would hopefully last until we got home.

Predictable Spoiler: It did not. At all. Even a little.

But the night that we were messing with the car, we were lying in bed cuddling and we were apparently both thinking the same thing, because he thoughtfully said something about how it was nice to do stuff like that with me, because with his parents it would have been a huge argument from the first time the hood wouldn't open, and I thanked him for not yelling at me like my dad absolutely would have.

It seems we took our childhood trauma in opposite directions: I'm bothered by everything and he's super chill. It's a nice balance, as long as we're able to communicate when those things don't mesh.

There was one day, and I can't recall exactly where it fits in the timeline, where we had An Incident. We were unclear about when a thing was supposed to be happening, and he was very insistent that he was correct and I was wrong. He called his friend to settle it for us, and I was indeed wrong [in the long run, it turned out we were BOTH wrong, but we didn't know that yet], but he went a little too hard on teasing me about my wrongness. It upset me and I spent some time in the other room painting and listening to a podcast, leaving him on the couch by himself.

The good news is, though, when I had calmed down enough, I went to go lie on top of him - we talked it out, and he was super apologetic and asked what he/we could do differently going forward. He's a brat - with increasing intensity when he's happy/excited - but he'll always fuck off if he knows he's actually upsetting me, and I'm working on being able to articulate that in the moment instead of just shutting down.

The one thing I had said I wanted while we were in town was some really good tacos, but because of the a/c being out in the car, I didn't want to be in the car any more than necessary. So the day we were set to leave, he got up early and went to get tacos for both of us and brought them back so we could have lunch first. A good boy, all around.

Also, FUCK those were good tacos. I'd go back just for that.

The drive home was...an experience.

The a/c didn't work at all. We stopped every hour or so for bathroom breaks and cooling off, and refilling my water bottle with ice. We had the fan that he bought for the bedroom plugged into an adapter (which he bought for this purpose) so it would run in the car, where I held it on my lap and it blew hot air around in a way that was sort of helpful. We listened to podcasts and I took turns pointing the fan at each of us. The first stop we made, I went into the bathroom and every item of clothing I was wearing was completely soaked through, to the point that I said fuck it and took off my bra and stuffed it into my purse.

We made it home in decent time, 70% alive, and me with a very bad headache. It was without a doubt the worst car ride of my life that didn't involve a Bathroom Incident - but we made it through without being mean to each other, which is a bonus (and a shock for me, as I tend to get very cranky when I'm overheated).

The next few days were pretty chill, in between one road trip and the next.

One day he was on his way home from work, and asked me if I could help him get stuff out of the car. I met him outside, where he handed me a 2-liter bottle of Dr Pepper.

And then a second. And a third.

I looked at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation, and he says "Oh, can you hold more?"

So he hands me a fourth. And then a fifth.

And then I'm standing there in the street holding six 2-liter bottles (which I wasn't aware I could do), and I received 0 explanation. I guess they were on sale.

Cuddlebug tells me I'm so smart all the time. But it's almost always for dumb, simple shit. And it's not that he's mocking me, it's that he's A Bachelor and it has never occurred to him to do things.

Example: He has a bathrobe that he wears when he's chilling or whatever, and he would always just toss it on the bed or his desk chair whenever he wasn't using it. One day I kind of absently hung it on the hat rack on his bedroom door and he didn't say anything about it, but I noticed he started hanging it up there after that. Same with his backpack, which he normally throws on the shoe pile next to his door, and while we were cleaning up his bedroom one day I hung it on the doorknob and it just blew his damn mind.

It's this very zen approach that he has, where as long as something is "good enough" he'll never question it, but he does get excited about new ideas.

I got him a power strip because I was tired of having to unplug his lamp to plug in the phone charger. And a phone-holder that clips to his air vent in the car so it's not sliding around and falling under his seat when he brakes too hard. And new pillows. He's frugal, but I like to encourage him to raise his standard of living a little bit in ways that I think are impactful (especially if they positively affect me).

Random convos I noted:

Me: Have you ever been in a fight?

CB: Define "fight".

Me: That sounds like a "no".

CB: Like someone hit me and I fell down.

Me: If you didn't do anything, that's not really a fight, that's just getting beaten up.

CB: I didn't get beat up! He hit me once and I fell down and he ran away.

Me: That's still not a fight.

Also

CB: What are you watching?

Me: Sonic the Hedgehog.

CB: *very concerned* Baby, are you okay?? Do you need me to entertain you??

Hey, man. It's a very cute movie.

And then it was time for Trip #2: Wedding Boogaloo.

His best friend (the Groom) and he (the Best Man) had come up with a plan where, because Bride & Groom had to drive through our area anyway, they'd pick us up and we'd all go together and share a hotel room for the week. Apparently I'm the only one who thought it was a weird arrangement, but alright.

They ended up getting in a car wreck the day they were supposed to come get us (they're both fine), so they didn't leave until the next day, and we got to enjoy a big fancy rental car for our trip.

When we were loading into the car, I asked which sides they wanted us on. Bride looked at Cuddlebug and was like "...you should sit behind Groom." And then she put in ear plugs.

I don't blame her; he is The Loudest Boy, and when the two men get together they're very rowdy. We had a good 6 or 7 hours to go.

The hotel we stayed at was fancy, but the rooms were super basic. We had a mini-fridge but no microwave. The bathroom door kept sticking, to the extent that each of us got trapped in it at least once. The fitted sheets would NOT stay on the beds. The tv broke on our last day there and we had to be pretty assertive about getting it switched out. The staff were all nice and willing to help out when needed, but it didn't seem like they had a lot to work with.

Our first full day there, the power went out as we were heading out for lunch - not just at the hotel but that whole side of town. Luckily they have a backup generator so the elevators still worked, because we were up on the 5th floor.

When we got back around 6:30 pm, it was still out. Summer is truly the worst season.

I don't remember what led to this conversation, but

CB: something something you have blue eyes -

Me: Excuse me?

CB: Wait, what color are your eyes? *looks* Okay so your eyes are green. When did you change them? Did you used to have blue eyes?

Me: Yeah, until I was 5 or 6.

CB: Wait, are you memeing?

Me: ...no?

Apparently it's not common knowledge that most Caucasian babies are born with blue eyes.

I'll take this next part out if he decides he's not comfortable with me sharing, but I thought it was funny.

I got to learn some things since meeting this best friend of his, Groom. They were friends in high school - back when Cuddlebug was a goody-goody hetero introvert - and always made the kinds of excessively-gay joking comments and noises to each other that straight guys seem to consider a solid foundation for friendship.

So when Cuddlebug was in college and ended up dating this cute frat guy, he was telling Groom about it over the phone, and it took a considerable amount of time for him to understand that Cuddlebug wasn't just fucking with him.

And it's nice that Groom, being the stand-up guy that he is, is still 100% comfortable with them making the same kinds of comments to each other constantly.

Random things:

No one is less concerned about germs than Cuddlebug, whom I watched eat pretzel sticks directly off a hotel bedspread.

There was a day where I asked him to proofread a document for me, and he took it so seriously that I wanted to smush his little face. He even suggested a few places I could add commas, which was hot as fuck. I fucking love commas.

We did end up in one situation where I was getting ready and trying to figure something out and Cuddlebug was trying to get me to do it differently and I was able to say to him "You are making this unnecessarily stressful for me", so I feel like I'm getting better at communicating.

He has started being super quiet in the morning if he wakes up before me, to try not to wake me up because I'm such a light sleeper. It doesn't always work completely, but I can usually get back to sleep. It's very considerate and very cute, and I appreciate it immensely.

We got to have one nice rainy day, where we went to Bride's brother's house and ate ice cream cake and hung out in the hot tub.

Oh we also had a fun experience where someone was in the bathroom, so I asked if there was another, and was told there was one downstairs. They failed to mention that there was no toilet paper in that bathroom. So we got a questionable relationship milestone: Cuddlebug got to bring me tp while I was in the bathroom.

Then The Wedding.

It was pouring down rain to an absurd degree for a lot of the day, including the part where we were bringing in things from the car to set up the hall for the reception.

We helped with that, then scorfed some emergency McD's and went to get ourselves ready, and I was having a really swell time!

Cuddlebug was obsessed with every part of my outfit; he loved my hair and my makeup and my dress and my petticoat and my shoes - and he looked damn cute himself. I was feeling adorable and loved and great! We even took some pictures together.

Because we really only knew the Bride and Groom, we were both being anti-social and playing on our phones - me taking pictures and catching Pokemon, and him researching stats on same-sex relationships to help a friend win an argument against her homophobic cousin (in between Best Man duties). Cake was being eaten, everything was great.

Except I was intermittently thinking about the wedding I went to almost exactly a year prior with Dr. Strangelove, where I was wearing the same outfit and everything (my summertime non-white formalwear selection is limited).

I asked Cuddlebug if he'd dance with me on a slow song, and he said no, even when I pouted. I was more upset than I thought I'd be, and I couldn't really pinpoint why. I started to freak out and I couldn't talk to him because I was trying so hard not to cry - which I didn't want to do because we were at the table at the front of the room facing everyone. I had to go to the bathroom where I could sob unobserved and sort through my feelings.

What I landed on was that "dancing at weddings" was one of those rare circumstances in which Dr. Strangelove would look at me with this really powerful expression of absolute adoration, and it was incredibly special to me.

I wasn't that upset that Cuddlebug wouldn't dance with me - I don't care that much about dancing - and if it were under any other circumstances I probably would have shrugged it off. But in that moment I was having to face the fact that in 8 years, there were maybe a dozen times that Dr. Strangelove looked at me that way, that way that made me feel adored and special and worthy.

And Cuddlebug looks at me that way every. goddamn. day.

I eventually gathered my faculties enough to text him from the bathroom.

Me: I'm sorry, I'm freaking out. I'm gonna need a bit.

CB: It's no worries love and thank you very much for telling me. I went to the room and will be back in an hour.

Me: Okay. I'm not mad at you. I'll try to explain when I'm not actively crying.

CB: Ok love. I'm not mad at you either and can give you all the space you need.

He's a cute boy, and his ability to communicate openly is such a blessing. Super supportive.

I joined him in the hotel room, where he helped me take my fancy shoes off and then let me cry on him until I could explain what was going on, and then he loved on me and we cuddled until I felt better, and then we watched Whiplash.

As an aside - and I mention this not (strictly) for boyfriend-praising purposes but because it's interesting to me on an emotional level - around this point in our trip I was thinking about how I felt very happy and very dumb, for the stupid reason that I think my boyfriend is super hot.

Stick with me here.

It's like those stories you hear about girls who date guys and they're like "Idk kissing is just kinda gross and weird; that's how it is, ofc everyone feels that way because mashing your mouth up against a guy is not a fun thing to do" and then one day they kiss a girl and they're like "ohhhhh wait..." (Except he's still a boy.)

It's definitely one of those demisexual-adjacent things, where the more I've gotten to know him and care about him, the hotter I find him. But truly, the amount and intensity with which I ogle him is ridiculous. Not that I don't think I should find him so attractive, but just that I'm surprised by it because I've never felt it to this extent with someone I'm dating.

Stupid sexy boyfriend.

Usually the drive home from somewhere seems shorter than the ride there, but this one seemed longer - I think because I was just impatient to get back home, and because we spent most of the time talking instead of zoning out listening to music.

Finally we returned home! I went back to my house, yada yada yada I moved into my new house (with Meeko Neko!) later that week. The last couple of weeks have mostly been getting unpacked/organized/cleaned, and trying not to melt - sitting in my room with the blackout curtains drawn and multiple fans pointed at me, misting myself with a water bottle like I'm a small frog. We've got probably another month and a half before it starts to cool off, and Meeko Neko is content to keep the house between 78° and 80°.

Cuddlebug spent a couple nights at the new place with me, which was nice. I now have two blankets on the bed, so I can have a lighter one to myself and he can wrap himself up in the big duvet like a cozy little boyfriend-burrito and I don't have to try to wrestle it away from him in the morning when I'm cold.

Aside from thermostatic disagreements, Meeko Neko has been nice and fun, taking me out for the ethnic food I've missed in the too-white area I was living in, cuddling, feeding me vegan food, and helping with house stuff. We went to the movies the other night and saw The Black Phone, which was SO GOOD. I finally have a roommate I can watch spooky movies with!!!

I'm low on funds and I need to do more cleaning and organizing before I feel comfortable having anyone new over, so that's about it for now.

In other news, I'm going to be cutting back the blog to just Tues/Wed/Thur so I can spend more time job-hunting and working on other projects. Tuesday and Wednesday will stay the same, and Thursday will absorb anything that may have been content for Monday and Friday.

Hope you enjoyed this absurdly long recap!

#Spotify #dating #okcupid #poly #relationships

0 notes

mayansmcsblog · 3 years

Text

Her world or mine

I have no idea when i wrote this but i found it in my drafts half done so i finished it and- yh that's about it😅

This was meant to be based upon the song her world or mine but i got off track so its only loosely based upon it.

word count: 3640

Enjoy!

He hasn't used the truck for weeks, he had no reason to anymore, being in it only brought back memories of you. The long drives, the short drives too. The way you would hold his hand while he was driving or how you would remind him to pay attention to the road when he looked in your direction for too long. All the memories were fresh within his mind- almost as if it was yesterday.

Even now, he was only sitting in it, he had to do the beer run and obviously that couldn't be done on a bike, he had to take the truck, but all he could think about was how you used to sit in the passenger seat beside him. He could see it in his mind so vividly, if he didn’t know you had moved on he would swear you were sitting with him.

Looking at the dash his gaze caught the Polaroid photo that was still in its place next to the radio. Your face accompanied a smile whilst his had his usual ‘tough’ man expression, but if you looked close enough, you would be able to see a small smile placed upon his lips. You took it at one of the infamous Mayans parties, he remembered how it took you around 10 minutes to ‘convince’ him to take it, he wanted to take it from the moment you suggested it but he wondered how far you would go to get him to do it

“Please” you had been begging him for the last 5 minutes in attempt to get him to take a photo with you but to no avail

“No” you two were sitting on the bench outside the clubhouse, people surrounding the both of you, everyone was involved on their own conversations so neither of you paid any mind to them. Of course he was still aware of his surroundings but was more relaxed than usual

“But come on” you begged

“No y/n” he kept his face as straight as he could but you could slowly see a shadow of a smirk forming upon his lips

“Why?”

“No face no case” he shrugged with a slight smirk on his face, clearly that was a lie. Not even 20 minus prior you had taken a photo of all of the club members standing outside of the clubhouse per bishop’s request so he could frame it and hang it somewhere within the clubhouse to show off the members.

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“Why are you so adamant? “He questioned

“Because”

“Because what?” standing up he motioned for you to do so as well,

“Just because”

“Come on follow me”

Standing up you took this hand as led you away from the party,

“Where are we going?”

“To take this god damn photo”

Recalling that night he felt a pain inevitably run across his chest, sure you two were only friends when it was taken but that night was the foundation for building the relationship you two once shared.

Why had he been so stupid to let you go?

He knew he would have to drive past your place to get to the brewery, it was inevitable really. There was no other way unless he was going to drive an extra 30 minutes, which he didn't have time for.

when he reached the turn in to your street he slowed down a little, looking at your house from a distance he could see a car he didn’t recognize in the driveway. As he got closer he could see two people on the porch, he immediately recognized you accompanied by some guy.

Of course you had someone else.

-----

Sitting on the couch you couldn't help but let your mind drift back to him, you missed his smile, you missed the way he would have a running commentary while watching anything on the TV, you missed how he would hold you after a long day, you missed everything about him.

“You’re thinking about him again, aren't you?”

You did nothing but hum in response

Your brother had elected to stay with you for a few weeks while he was on a business trip for some type of expansion for the company he worked for. Originally it was a good idea, it kept you mind off Ez, but the more time your brother was here, the more he talked about his wife back home and how he couldn't wait to get back to her just made you think about how you don't have someone in your life to look forward to anymore, you no longer had someone you could tell everything to, someone who would stay by your side, someone you knew would be waiting for you when you were away from home. As much as you loved your brother, you were thankful he was leaving tomorrow

“Im gonna go get a drink” standing up you heard your brother mumble something in response but you elected ignored him and heading to the kitchen.

As you approached the fridge you spotted the picture of you and Ezekiel stuck on the door. You were pretty sure it was Coco who had taken when him, you, Ez and Angel went over the border for a day because none of you had anything to do and for some reason Mexico was the first thing that was suggested. You had been meaning to get rid of it but couldn't bring yourself to. Alot of memories were collected between the four of you, some of them you were just not ready to let go of yet.

By now he was probably already in another relationship so why were you still holding on?

Grabbing a bottle of water you headed outside and sat on the porch steps. You knew there was a party at the clubhouse tonight, Angel had invited you to come, but you knew Ez would be there.

Did you really want to see a girl all over him while you're still here alone? Because that would definitely happen

Maybe he wouldn't be there? Or maybe he would be too busy doing stuff to even realize you were there

You were too wrapped up in your own mind to even realize your brother had stepped outside till you heard a creak from the wood behind you

“Y/n?”

“Yeah”

“you okay?" He asked sitting beside you

“yep"

You two sat in silence for a few moments before he started talking once again

“I love you ye? Don’t let that boy ruin you. He lost you by his own fault. You did nothing” he rambled on about how you should have been treated better and how Ez lost the best thing he could ever have. But you knew he was wrong.

Ezekiel always treated you like a queen, your brother met him one time and barely spoke to him for longer than five minutes. As far as you were concerned you brother didn't know anything about him

While he was rambling you were looking into the distance, mainly just looking at the sky but you could have sworn you saw his truck drive past, but maybe you were just seeing things right? His truck wasn't the only one, there were probably millions of them.

The party was in full swing, people were everywhere, the room full of patches from all over. mass amounts of people from charters were visiting in celebration of a new deal with the sons, leaving Ez to tend the bar along with some hang rounds.

Wiping down the bar he couldn't help but think about you for the billionth time today. He knew you two broke things off but it didn't mean you had to leave everyone from the club behind as well as him.

"Bro what the hell is wrong with you?" Angel questioned

"Nothing" shrugging his shoulders he dropped the bar rag and turned to get angel a beer from the fridge behind him

"Stop lyin man, what's going on in that head?" Angel knew his own brother better then to believe 'nothing' was going on with him, something was always going on up in Ez's brain, even if he didn't admit it

"I dunno man, I just think it's weird how y/n left us you know?" Ez shrugged again, handing angel a beer

"She didn't leave us. She’s distancing herself. Got a lot of family shit going on right now" he explained, you kept Angel in the loop with everything, after all he was your best friend even before Ez and you got together, if Ez wouldn't tell you something- Angel would.

"Just think it’s weird" Ez repeated, messing with the bar rag once again

"Ya well she’s coming tonight”

Before Ez could respond coco stood next to Angel

"Who’s comin?"

The brothers looked at each other for a moment before angel came up with an idea

"Just some random bird for our boy scout to bed"

"My man," Coco chuckled "finally gonna get your dick wet huh?"

----

You knew this was a bad idea, you knew he would be here.

Was he going to be with another girl? Actually stupid question, of course he would be

Opening your phone you sent angel a text

‘I'm like five minutes out but i swear to God if you abandon me tonight i will hit you so hard that you can't remember anything for a week’

At least he would walk in with you so you weren’t alone right?

---

Angel stood up abruptly in the middle of a conversation he was having

"Where the fuck you going?" Coco questioned, lighting a cigarette from the chair he was sitting in

"Meet a friend"

"A friend huh?"

"Yeah...maybe you'll like her" Angel replied before grabbing his beer and retreating towards the door.

---

Walking through the gate you saw the front of the club littered with patches. Some of them were from different charters. Weird, angel never mentioned other charters visiting, by the look of the outside, you could only imagine the clubhouse itself is packed with people.

Scanning the crowd you spotted the person in question walking towards you

“Hey stupid face”

“good evening stupid head”

“that's basically the same thing i just said”

"oh shut up i couldn't think of insult fast enough”

Pulling you into a hug you couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed. Angel was always like an older brother to you, an annoying one at that but still a brother.

It had been weeks since you saw him, being back in his company made you feel safe again, almost like a sense of home

He placed a kiss on your temple “We missed you here”

“Yeah, I know” letting him go you looked around, mainly to see if any of the other guys were in sight but also to see if coco was around, expecting to be attacked as per usual.

Angel took notice of you scanning the crowd “He's inside”

“Hmm? Sorry I got no idea what you're on about”

Pulling you into his side he wrapped an arm around your shoulders “sure ya don't”

Walking inside you scanned the crowd once again, thankfully coco was nowhere to be seen for the moment and most of the guys were spread out around the room. Bishop and Taza were playing pool, Gilly and Creeper were sitting at the table in a conversation whilst hank sat opposite them looking at something on his phone, Ez was tending the bar like usual but this time he was accompanied by some hang rounds.

At least there isn't girls hanging off him yet

“C'mon let’s get a drink huh” angel lightly shoved you towards the bar playfully.

“No”

“No?” his eyebrows raised playfully

“No and if you try to make me go over there with you i promise i will embarrass you” you laughed

“Fine”

After he got the drinks you both sat at a table in the corner for a while talking, the majority of the topics were about what had been happening while you were distanced from everyone.

Eventually Coco spotted you two and joined in the conversation. you sat talking to the two of them while everyone else was up to their own things, you didn't mind, the both of them combined made for some very interesting storys, the conversation could never die. After around 10 minutes, Angel had left you two alone saying he “wasn't bout to listen to this shit ''- which was super ironic considering the topic of conversation was about modifications for a new bike coco had brought a few days ago

“How does your bike handle anyway? I heard they are bottom heavy and hard to manoeuvre sometimes” you questioned. overtime Ez had taught you some things about bikes, mainly when he was just rambling about random things not thinking you were really paying attention to what he was saying

“It’s alright i guess, sometimes it slips when I lean too far on corners, other times it tends to not wanna go the way I need to but other than that it handles pretty well, arms hurt like a bitch after long ride though” he explained

Nodding your head you understood where he was coming from, having your arms at that angle for hours must have taken its toll

“Ay '' he nodded his head towards someone behind you, Turning your head you saw it was Ez walking through the door with Angel, seemingly engrossed in some type of conversation they were having.

Despite spotting him earlier you only scanned over his appearance but now you actually took a good look at him, he looked different, not much but still different from before. His hair was in the same style but it little more grown out then usual, his facial hair had grown out a little too. His eyes had bangs underneath them and his face looked drained.

All in all he looked like shit.

“You know he’s not the same without you right?” bringing your attention back to coco you couldn't help but feel like you were to blame, maybe if you fought harder of him you two would have never split.

“You two spoke since?” he questioned

“Nope...I got a few drunk calls saying he was sorry but other than that. No” you shook your head.

After you two first broke up he called you around a week later rambling about something but since he was slurring his words- you could barely understand anything he was saying. You got about 2 voicemails of him saying he was sorry and how he fucked up but- you never spoke to him, never texted him back when he would ask you if you were coming to one of the parties.

“The amount of times we've had to stop him from drunk calling you is unreal”

Playing with the label on the beer bottle in front of you, you thought about what coco said- clearly Ez had attempted to talk to you at some point, but why? The whole breakup was because he needed “space” to deal with some things so why was he trying to talk to you?

“He wanted space, I gave it to him” you shrugged, slowly peeling off the label

“Didn’t mean you had to leave us too” looking up from the bottle you saw coco was now avoiding your gaze

“Yeah...I know” maybe it was wrong of you to drop everyone, but being around them would have only brought back memories of you and Ez. At the time it seemed like a good idea to distance yourself from all of the guys, but now, despite only being here for a hour, you could tell how much you really missed being around them.

“You know he’s walking over here right?” Dropping your head onto the table you let out a sigh causing coco to laugh “I’ll leave you two alone huh?” lifting your head up you looked at him with a facial expression as if to say ‘don’t leave me’ but he did anyway

“Y/n” his voice was low, almost as if he didn’t believe he was saying your name again

“Ezekiel”

“Can we talk?”

“We are talking” sitting up straight you turned in your seat to look at him. He looked even worse up close- the bags under his eyes were alot darker then they seemed from a distance, they made it appear like he hadn’t slept for days, you couldn’t help but notice he had a bruise slowly forming on top of his right eyebrow.

“What happened there?”

He looked confused for a moment till you pointed to his eyebrow

“Oh I erm…got into a fight.....with a wall” his eyes were trained onto the floor, almost like he was ashamed.

You hummed in response not sure how to respond without laughing

“So how have you been?” he questions

“Good i guess..how about you?”

“Alright I suppose”

What followed was nothing but silence between the both of you, neither of you knowing what to say. The sounds of other people talking and rock music became almost deafening as the two of you stayed silent

“Well this got really awkward fast” you spoke up causing Ez to laugh a little

“Yeah..yeah it did” he nodded

After a few more moments you stood from your chair “I'm just gonna-”

“Yeah go, i get it go ahead” he finished your sentence for you.

Nodding you quickly made your way outside, the yard was almost empty by now, people had either left for the night or had moved inside.

You spotted Angel sitting on the front steps fiddling with one of the rings on his hand while looking at something in the distance. You sat beside him in silence, neither of you even attempting to make conversation but simply just being trapped within your own minds.

When you and Ez broke up you knew things would change, you knew the two of you probably wouldn't be able to have the same conversations you would before, but you never expected them being so awkward.

Maybe it was just because the wound was still pretty fresh, after all it had only been just over a month

After a few minutes you heard the door behind you open as someone stepped out, seconds later a figure sat next to you, looking over you saw it was coco

“What we doin? havin a lil moment to yourselves” he asked lighting up a cigarette and offering the both of you one

“Yep” Angel responded, taking one and lighting it before looking somewhere in the distance once again. All three of you sat for a few minutes just looking at seemingly nothing in particular.

Maybe it won't be like this forever? At some point there has got to be a time where you can come to the club without feeling awkward because ez’s here.

You heard the clubhouse door open once more behind you and once again, you didn't turn around, but coco did

"Ay man sit" you heard him say as he snapped his fingers at space left beside him to whoever stepped out from the door. It didn't take long for whoever it was to sit down.

Much like he did with you and Angel, Coco offered the person a cigarette which they must of silently declined from the lack of verbal exchange.

There has to be a point when you and the club can all hang out together like before....there has to be a stage where you and Ez can talk like normal people without it being awkward….right?

Seemingly out of no were Coco spoke up, nodding his head towards two stacked benches on the opposite side of the yard "You think i could clear those in one attempt?"

Angel was the first to respond "Absolutely fucking not" he paused for a moment- looking where the benches were stacked "but I'd love to see you try"

"I bet $50 you fail and fall face first" someone spoke up, looking to your left you finally realized who stepped out earlier ..Ezekiel

"Bet, ill prove you wrong" coco stood, taking off his kutte and placing it on the stair rail "you two wanna place any bets?" Coco looked at you and Angel

"Nope, I'm good" you shook your head

"I bet $50 that you don't clear it" Angel responded

"You have no faith pretty boy" coco responded, shaking his head as he started to walk over to the benches

"This is going to end in a hospital trip" you stated making both Angel and Ez laugh

All three of you watched as coco seemed to examine the height of the two benches, planning the distance he would have to run to gain enough speed to propel himself over them and how he would land the jump

"You think he's gonna snap his nose again?" Ezekiel questioned

"Definitely" both you and Angel replied

All three of you watched as coco began to run towards the benches, from your angle it looked as if he could clear it....you were wrong.

Seconds later coco was laying face first in the dirt, one leg was on the floor while the other was stuck in a piece of wood on the bench that had broke underneath his weight

"I think i broke my nose" you heard coco exclaimed causing all three of you to laugh. The few people who were still outside drew their attention to the scene and started laughing too when they realized what happened.

"Ill go get some paper towels" you said, still laughing.

Maybe this was a sign nothing had changed between the four of you, that you could all still hang out and do stupid stuff like before

Maybe nothing has to change

-------------

An| hope you enjoyed this fic. Honestly have no idea why or when i started writing this but 🤷🏼‍♀️ . *sorry for any spelling or grammar errors or any parts that don't make sense. only scanned it before posting it*

ALSO- i swear part two to the prank war is coming! Its just talking awhile for me to find a way to describe to things going on as well as being busy with other stuff.

303 notes · View notes

prismadog · 2 years

Text

Homestuck Headcanons Part 7

Almost to the last of the headcanons. There's one more post after this and then the Master Post.

Guardians’ Past/HCs

Due to years of Lil’ Cal’s influence and just being in the presence of evil incarnate, Bro suffers from insomnia and nightmares. The nightmares usually feature future Sburb events and Dave dying. This is one reason, as effed up as it is, that he “trains” Dave so hard.

Alpha John and Alpha Jade had a similar upbringing to Nanna and Grandpa, though, unlike those two, John and Jade stayed in touch even after Jade went into hiding.

Maybe Alpha Jade was the one to raise Alpha Dave and Alpha Rose. She found these two babies on one of her adventures and raised them on Hell Murder Island. And then, when they were old enough, they went off into the world to find their own adventure. Later, when Rose starts to write books and Dave starts making movies, they would take on the names "Strider" and "Lalonde" as a sort of penname so's to keep their private lives private. Alpha Jade would be proud of her albino babies. (god, I am getting so tired of having to type the word "alpha")

If Alpha Jade raised Alpha Dave and Alpha Rose, then she most definitely told Alpha John about them. Alpha John would be so happy/proud to have a niece and nephew and he would make sure to give them all the love (alongside giving his son all the love too) even though he couldn't really meet them due to them living on the island. Dad Crocker would know of them and care for them as well.

If Alpha Jade did raise them then after they left home, one of the first adventures the kids would go on would be to visit their Uncle John in Washington. They would get to know him as well as his son, Dad Crocker.

Dadbert (and by extention Dad Crocker) has the first name "Harry", named so because their respective parent (Nanna/Pop Pop) liked Harry Anderson's Wise Guy book.

Pre-Sburb

Mom Lalonde just wants to be BFFs with Rose, fangirling over the occult and wizards and whatnot, but every attempt at bonding ends up in being a silent passive-aggressive dispute.

Also, that room in the lab is definitely Mom Lalonde’s. She loves all those cutesy things and being surrounded by her mutant kitties.

If the Beta Guardians were friends and got together for holidays/birthdays/special occasions, Grandpa Harley would give guns as gifts to the other children, Bro would give out shitty anime swords, and Mom Lalonde would give everyone mutant kitties. Dad Egbert would be relatively okay with the kitties but would immediately get rid of the weapons.

Alongside the above headcanon, Bro and Grandpa Harley would get into heated arguments about which was better - guns or swords. Dad or Mom would have to play peacemaker.

Unlike Dirk, Bro can’t draw very well. He can draw some things, mostly patterns for his smuppets / puppets but other than that, he’s not good at art and he’s not interested in learning how.

Bro Strider definitely owns a shitty single-cab truck that’s full of smuppets, puppets, and random trash. However, there is one clean spot on the passenger side where Lil’ Cal, and sometimes Dave sits. (should he actually take Dave anywhere)

There is the rare occasion where Bro will break free of Lil’ Cal’s influence. When this happens, he regrets everything he’s done in raising Dave and he drinks himself into a stupor. He goes to Dave and bawls his eyes out and begs his forgiveness. He doesn’t remember much, if anything, by the morning and he returns to his usual cold, asshole, abusive self. One time, he almost gave Dave up so he could have a real childhood but Lil’ Cal got in the way and set him back on track.

A really young Dave accidentally called Bro “daddy” once. Bro secretly loved it but knew he couldn’t let it continue because he knew what would happen in the future. He didn’t want Dave getting attached only to have his heart break when his big brother eventually died - because he was definitely going to die.

#homestuck #homestuck fandom #homestuck headcanons #bro strider #alpha john #alpha jade #alpha dave #alpha rose #dadbert #mom lalonde #grandpa harley #dave strider

45 notes · View notes

calif0rnia-lovers · 3 years

Text

Lover of Mine #5.5 | Angel Reyes.

Series Masterlist | join my gc for updates since tags are acting weird

title: For Better, or For Worse.

rating: 💙 💔

As long as you're feeling the same, I'll follow you into the flames

sum: angel fears once it's out, his secret will be the final push you need to leave. instead of confessing, he sticks out the couple's retreat to give himself a few more days with you. he makes himself a promise: he'll tell you once you two return to santo padre. but a ghost from his past pushes angel's agenda forward a few days.

words: the standard for this series....long af (that's why I break it into sections so you know where to come back to when you take a break...but seriously, please take breaks on these long ass chapters)

Ez Reyes is a smart man. There is no denying it. However, Ez never thought he would struggle to tie a tie.

He is currently outside of his father’s truck. Kneeling before his nephew, Ez concentrates as he works through the instructions he Youtube’d earlier. A usually chatty Jeyson has been silent. He slept the entire hour's drive to school. When his Uncle woke him, Jeyson shot Ez a glare that reminded him of you.

Jeyson was fine the entire weekend that you were gone, but the moment he woke up this Monday to find you had not returned his entire mood changed. He has fought Ez tooth and nail the entire morning.

Ez glances up from the tie to Jeyson. “Hey, you sure you wanna go to school today?”

“I have to go to school” Jeyson mumbles.

“Yeah, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to take a break.” Ez offers Jeyson a smile. “If you’re not having a good day, it’s okay to stay home.”

“I don’t want to stay home with you.”

“That’s okay,” Ez chuckles. “What about Izzy?”

“I don’t want to stay home with her either.” Jeyson releases a huff before glancing down at his now fixed tie. He bends down to pick up his backpack. Slipping it onto his shoulder, Jeyson steps around his Uncle. “I want my mom to come home.”

Tommy’s gaze remains on the sleeve of his blue Stockton uniform. His fingers tug at the loose string resting against his wrist. He ignores the smirk on his older brother’s face. The passing of time has muddled the bruises on Tommy’s skin. The mixture of black and yellow stood out on the parts of him he's allowed to remain visible. No matter how he sits, the pain in his ribs is inescapable. Sleep has fallen to the way-side, the inability to get comfortable meaning he only gets it once he’s passed out from exhaustion.

“You didn’t tell me she was hot. Now I know why you were sticking up for her the other day--”

“I didn’t notice. I’m more worried about her getting me out of here.”

“Uh-huh.” Leo’s eyes roll as he watches his brother’s eyes pass over the crowded visiting center. “I’m just saying—”

“What’d you find?” Tommy’s fingers massage his temple, the irritation in his voice amplified by his brother’s antics. Lack of sleep and around-the-clock oversight and antics from Rogers has cut his fuse short. “If you didn’t find anything, you could've saved yourself a trip up here—and I could be asleep.”

“She’s not married—unless she has a habit of leaving her rings at home.”

“What? On the table?”

Leo shakes his head. “No. A jewelry box in the bedroom.”

“What about the kid?” “He has to be about eight, or nine? Name’s Jeyson. You were right, he’s definitely Angel’s. Wish I could show you the picture. He couldn’t deny that kid if he tried.”

“Yeah.” Tommy nods impatiently, motioning for him to continue. “What else?”

“Kid goes to some boujee ass prep school up north. Gilman something? Embroidered blazers, ties, the whole nine. His mom’s paying a pretty penny too, apparently, it's the best in the state. He’s into the typical shit kids are into. Star Wars, Spider-Man. Plays the piano, apparently, he’s actually really fucking good. Awards and all. His mom’s got him pretty busy. A lot of after-school activities. Looks like she and Angel rotate transportation...She must not be around right now tho.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Apart from the fact you’re still not transported to a new unit?” Leo scoffs. “The kid was with someone else when I was scouting. A girl and a kid with a prospect patch.”

“Mayans?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe his little brother...last I heard he was hemmed up here. Haven’t seen him around tho.”

“Maybe he got out?”

Tommy dismisses Leo’s suggestion. “Most cop killers don’t walk free. What else?”

“He’s not doing a good job of keeping his nephew safe. I talked to the kid.”

Tommy’s eyes open. “You did what?”

“He walked right off with me.” Leo quietly explains. He mistakes his brother’s silence as a cue to move forward with his story. “His uncle was so into his date he didn’t even notice the kid walk off with me--”

The sight of Tommy’s hand running down his face tapers the rest of Leo’s statement.

His voice comes out low, through his clenched teeth. “I didn’t tell you to touch the kid.”

“I didn’t touch the kid,” Leo’s eyes rolled. “I got him a funnel cake—” “I don’t give a fuck—” the slamming of Tommy’s fist against the table brings the room to a brief silence. The eyes that he has attracted linger on Tommy as his glare nearly burns a hole through his brother. Rogers shrugs off the wall nearby. He takes a step of warning in Tommy’s direction. “—what you did, Leo—it was stupid.”

“How else was I supposed to get him to talk to me?”

Tommy’s response comes out slowly. Each passing word increases his irritation.

“You didn’t need him to talk to you because I didn’t ask you to talk to him. Buying him a funnel cake, or whatever the fuck your grand plan was allowed the kid to see your face. He can open up his mouth and ID you—”

“ID me,” Leo snorts, dismissing Tommy’s claim. “Relax, Tommy. He’s not a state witness, he’s a kid—“

“Yeah, and according to you and his 'boujee ass prep school,' he’s a smart ass fucking kid, Leo.” Tommy lets out a long sigh. “The last thing I need is the kid opening his mouth to his mom about some random guy approaching him.”

“Don’t worry, I played it cool. Told him I was a friend of his dad. Maybe, if you had told me exactly why I went there I wouldn’t—”

It was something Tommy had explained to his brother during their last visit. The less you know, the better.

“I already told you,” Tommy rubs at his temple, the sudden throbbing causing his jaw to clench. “I needed to double-check something.”

“And that’s what I did.” Leo sighs. “What I want to know is, why the fuck you called me all the way down here to check pictures in some house.”

Tommy studies his brother for a moment. He shifts forward, his elbows settling against the table.

“You wanna know why I didn’t tell you? You don’t think, Leo. I ask you to do one thing—one fucking thing—and you almost fuck it up. If I wanted you to think I wouldn’t have told you exactly what to do.” Leo’s jaw tightens as his brother continues. “You trying to think leads to you doing dumb shit like kidnapping her fucking son—”

“I didn’t kidnap him,” Leo mumbles.

Tommy’s fingers massage his clenched fist. “You’re lucky I can’t reach across this fucking table right now.”

Leo’s gaze drops from his brothers. The look that lies in Tommy’s eyes is one he’s seen before—at least not directed at him. It’s the look that accompanied the acts that earned Tommy his nickname. Leo’s gaze nervously shifts towards Rogers who is still watching Tommy from his post.

“What do you want with her? Thinking she’s gonna give you a shot? Criminal is her type, and she’s definitely yours.”

“It’s not her I need. It’s Angel.” Tommy starts, his jaw tightening as his gaze remains on Leo. “And if you want Angel, you need her.”

“If she’s as good as you say, what do you need Angel for? You’ve been talking about her like she might actually get you off.”

Leo steals a brave glance at his brother. He watches as Tommy looks up from his tattooed knuckles.

“No matter how hard you pray, people like me and you don't come out on the right side of the law. No matter how fucking good she is, she can't get me out of this. This shit is stacked too high against me." Tommy’s gaze shifts to the clock overhead. “Did you find the necklace?”

Leo nods as Tommy stands.

“Good, go ahead and do what I asked.” Tommy pauses, his voice lowering as his gaze meets his brothers. “Nothing else, Leonardo. The time I'm looking at right now, I’ll fucking kill you right here if you pull some shit like that again.”

At some point Monday night, Angel abandoned his spot on the sofa to crawl into bed with you. His intention may have been to take one side of the bed, but to no surprise, he has failed.

You came to this revelation at two o’clock in the morning when you tried to roll over but found it to be impossible. You have been stuck on your back ever since. You attempted to fall back asleep but have not been able to.

Cheek pressed against your chest, arm wrapped around your waist, Angel hasn’t moved. He doesn’t move when your alarm goes off at 7:30 or when the knock comes on the door at 8:00.

The sleep Angel lost, the past two days over Tommy seems to have piled onto him. He only wakes when your fingers brush through his hair, the warmth of your touch lingering against his cheek.

“You have to get up and eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” Angel mumbles. The sunlight peeking through the curtains prompts him to burrow his face against your neck. “I’m tired.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” you smile softly. “But, I’m hungry, and I can’t get our food with you laying on top of me.”

Your words are met with a huff before Angel rolls over. Resting on his back, he watches the fan spin as you get out of bed.

His first instinct is to check his phone. He pushes himself up, his body protesting with the sudden movement, once he realizes his cellphone is not where he left it.

“Where’s my phone?”

His palms pressed against his eyes as he pushes away the enticing thought of laying back down for a few more hours of sleep.

“It kept going off,” you look up from the plate in your hand. “Ezekiel kept texting you.”

“What did he want?”

Angel watches you shrug. “I don’t know. I put it in the drawer. I tried to wake you up, but you were literally dead.”

Angel releases a sigh of relief before reaching over to open the bedside drawer. Facedown, his phone has several notifications. He ignores the rest, focusing on those from his younger brother.

2:30 a.m. 📲 : You still up?

2:35 a.m. 📲 : Talked to Bishop. Found out what the shipment was

3:00 a.m. 📲 : Pretty sure I found something else

3:02 a.m. 📲 : Don’t know if this is the guy. If it is we might have a problem

3:03 a.m. 📲: Found this in the paper

3:04 a.m. 📲 : Check it out and call me back.

The last incoming message was a photo, the front page of the Daily Imperial Gazette. Angel scans the article as you climb back into bed. A few phrases stick as he reads, “Man charged in Santo Padre murder…” “Thomas Flores, 30, has been charged…” “...obtained representation from Lorente & Rothman…” “...Friday, Flores was denied bond…”

“I have to tell you something.”

Angel instinctively hits the power button on his phone. Glancing up, he realizes you haven’t even bothered to look up at him. Your focus is on the half-eaten croissant in your hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” you explain as you take another bite of your croissant. “The case Samuel gave me—the one Aiden is helping me with—it’s for this guy. His name’s Tommy Flores. He has some pretty...intense charges, so you’re probably going to hear people talking about it soon. We had court Friday, and the judge...he’s pretty tough. He denied any form of a bond, he didn’t even bother trying to set a ridiculously high one.”

You glance up to find Angel’s eyes on you. His unreadable expression causes your brow to furrow. You mistake the look in his eyes as uncertainty.

“I honestly don’t think it’s anything you have to worry about.” Offering him a smile, you lightly roll your eyes. “But I’m going to have to start working late when we get back, so I need to know that what happened Friday won’t happen again.”

You wait for Angel’s response, but it doesn’t come.

“If I take over morning drop-offs, can I count on you to pick Jeyson up after school?” You continue. “Or, do I have to ask Isabela to do it...Angel?”

Angel blinks as your fingers snap.

“Are you listening to me?” The irritation he finds as his focus shifts to you causes him to nod.

Angel nods a second time as he takes in the look of skepticism on your face.

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

“So, you’re good with picking Jeyson up from school?” You clarify. “Every day of the week?”

Angel unlocks his phone, nodding for the third time. “Yeah. I’ll pick him up.”

“And if you can’t,” you reach forward. You catch Angel's chin forcing him to look at you. “You call and let me know the moment you find out?”

Nodding, Angel drops his eyes the second your gaze meets his. “I gotta call Ez.”

Despite his admission, your hand doesn’t drop preventing him from getting up. For a moment, Angel thinks you’ll let it go. For once, you will ignore the feeling you get each time you notice a change in him. It is something no one else in his life can seem to do. It is something you’ve been able to do your entire life. It is something Angel wishes you couldn’t do.

“What’s wrong?”

Angel shakes his head as you release him. He keeps his eyes trained on the plate in your lap avoiding your gaze as your touch brushes through his hair. It's a habit. Angel knows the moment he meets your gaze he’ll tell you whatever is on his mind. It’s impossible not to do when he knows you can read him best that way. He picks up what’s left of your croissant and takes a bite.

You sit your plate aside before closing the distance between the two of you. Angel’s eyes lift to meet yours as you settle on his lap. The warmth of your palms finds his cheeks as you take his face in your hands.

“I’ve known you nearly my entire life, Angel. I know you don’t believe it, but I can tell when you’re lying to me. Just like I can tell when you’re upset and anxious. And when you’re going to annoy me.” The soft smile on your lips brings a weak one to his. “There’s no point in trying to act like I don’t. What’s wrong?”

“You were right about Friday night. I wasn’t with Samuel. I wasn’t even in Santo Padre.” Angel lets out a deep breath. His voice low as your fingers toys with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Ez and I were in Mexico. I left when you were in court. I knew we weren’t going to make it back in time, but I didn’t want to have to tell you because I knew you’d be pissed.”

“What happened to your hand?”

He watches you lift it. Your finger traces the bandage.

“Cut it on a shovel.”

Your gaze lifts to find his focus on the path your finger traces.

“...okay.”

Angel shook his head. “It’s not okay—I fucked up. Forreal this time—“

"What? On Friday?” You let out a deep breath. “Angel, I know I freaked out. Missing the recital—yeah, it was fucked up—but it is not the worse thing you’ve done.”

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve that.” Your eyes watch him release a tired laugh, his gaze down. "You defend me, even when you shouldn’t.”

It is true. Defending Angel has been second nature your entire life. Often you do it in response to others. But also in response to him. When you were teenagers, you learned a valuable lesson about him. Angel is his worst critic. He’ll talk himself down harsher than anyone, even those who hate him.

“It’s because I love you.” Your arms wrap around his neck pulling him into a hug. “Just because we fight and say stupid things to each other doesn’t mean that I don’t love you, Angel. If I haven’t been able to stop doing that our entire time together, I don’t know why you think a fight in a therapy session is going to be the final straw. Me not talking to you is just the easiest way for me not to say something I’ll regret later.”

Angel’s grip tightens around you as your lips press against his skin.

“At this point, there isn’t anything you can do or say that’s going to make me stop loving you.” The reassurance in your voice lifts his gaze to yours. “Okay?”

Your lips press against his in a soft kiss. You leave a second against his forehead before getting up.

“I have to take a shower,” you announce as Angel’s arm wraps around your waist guiding your body back towards his. Your fingers drift into his hair as his head rests against you. “There’s more food you should eat before we go out.”

The two of you stay that way for nearly a minute. Angel releases you as the sound of your ringing phone fills the air.

Silence from Angel Reyes is a bad sign. Such a rarity, it wrings your stomach into knots. It has been hours since you woke to find him sleeping against you. Angel has said just as little as he did in the morning. When you stepped out of the shower, you found him fully dressed and brushing his teeth.

You glance over your shoulder to find he’s standing where you last left him. Arms crossed over his chest Angel rests against the wall as far from the line as possible. With his sunglasses on, you can’t tell where he’s looking. The corner of his lips turns up into a small smile as you come to a stop before him.

“Who knew smoothies took forever to make,” he sighs as your arms wrap around his waist.

Resting your cheek against Angel's chest, you tighten your grip. You listen to the steady rhythm of his heart as his lips press against your hair.

“I want you to come somewhere with me tonight.”

“No,” Angel chuckles. You tip your head back, pouting as his gaze drops to yours.

He shakes his head as your weight shifts to your toes.

“Please,” you ask, your lips pressing a kiss against his.

“Last time I did that, you ripped me to shreds,” he laughs. “I haven’t even had time to recover from that.”

“It’ll be fun,” you promise. The second kiss you leave morphs Angel's smile into a grin. You leave a third, this one against his cheek. “I promise.”

Angel releases a long breath as you take a step back, a grin on your face.

“It better be,” he shakes his head as you quickly press a final kiss against his lips before turning to retrieve your order.

As you reach the corner, your cell phone vibrates in your back pocket. You don’t bother checking who it is. Aiden has called you three times. You had sent him a text message in response to his first three calls. Telling him to ask Isabela for help on whatever he needed.

The moment the call goes to voicemail, the vibration picks back up.

You force yourself to take a breath as Angel leads you outside.

“Hi, Aiden--”

“I know this week is supposed to be for you and Angel,” Aiden's voice comes out in a rushed whisper. “But, I need your help.”

“Where are you?” You ask as you take a sip of your smoothie. “And, why are you whispering?”

“I’m at the courthouse,” Aiden sighs. “I’ve been here all morning, and they’re giving me the run-around.”

“About what?”

“The Warden called the office this morning. You weren’t there, so I answered your desk phone. He didn’t give me many details, just that Flores was detained last night. They couldn't get him to say anything—to no surprise—but one of the guards said he was involved in an altercation with another inmate. Apparently, Tommy messed him up pretty bad—like...transported to the local hospital bad.”

Angel glances over at you as you slip out of his grip. You take a seat at the table he stops alongside.

In the short time, you’ve worked with Aiden, you’ve learned one thing. The moment he thinks there is something to panic about, Aiden will panic. So, if you sound stressed it kicks off his panicking.

Resting your face in your hand, you speak quietly. “So, he wasn't transferred on Friday as I'd requested? If he was he couldn't have gotten in a fight.”

“I know. Apparently this isn't the first one he's been in. The Warden said he looks like he’s been roughed up in the past few days. I’ve been here since first thing this morning—”

“Let me guess.” You rest back against your seat. “They told you there’s nothing they can do, with the prison being at full capacity they don’t have a cell for him?”

A brief silence falls over the receiver. Aiden’s brow furrows.

“Yeah—how'd you know?”

“That’s because it’s bullshit,” you pinch the bridge of your nose. “Judge Miller was hoping you’d leave and not press the issue.”

“Shit,” Aiden mumbles. “Shit, should I call Samuel—”

“God no. Aiden, I’ll tell you what to do, and say, just relax.”

“I lied to you.”

Angel glances down at you as your lips press against his knuckles. “About what?”

“About wanting to wait to get married.”

Your admission leaves Angel quiet. He opens his mouth to speak, but it closes as you place a second kiss against his skin.

You tilt your head back to find his eyes focused on the water.

“I was talking to Izzy the other day—not about getting married—but about you and...I mean...we’re trying to have another kid.” You backtrack as his gaze drifts to you. “That’s not the only reason, but I don’t want to spend another seven years playing house with you, Angel. I have tried so hard to find reasons why we should just leave each other in the past, but it’s impossible. I can’t help thinking that we’ve wasted so much time trying to fight it we should just get married.”

If he is excited by your words, Angel doesn’t show it. If he’s anxious by your words Angel doesn’t show it. The only response he gives is the furrowing of his brow as his pace slows before coming to a complete stop.

“I thought you’d be...a little happier,” you admit. The butterflies in your stomach seem to double in size as Angel's gaze focuses on your interlaced fingers.

“Right now?” Angel gently squeezes your hand, the smile slowly spreading across his lips causing you to shake your head. “A fancy place like this I’m pretty sure we could find someone to do it tonight.”

“Preferably with your son there,” you giggle as his lips press against your forehead.

“Just so you know,” Angel mumbles as he leaves a kiss against your lips. “You can’t take it back.”

“It’d be pointless,” you admit, your eyes focused on the incoming tide. “Regardless of what I say, you’re impossible to escape.”

“Like you said, it must be fate,” he teases as you step back towards the security of the shore.

“I didn’t say fate. I said I was tired of trying to outrun you.”

Angel’s eyes roll. “Okay.”

Pushing against his chest, you cause him to stumble backward making it impossible for him to avoid the incoming tide.

“Fuck—”

Angel’s scream is drowned out by the sound of your laughter. He tries to escape the chilled water but realizes it’s pointless as a second wave rolls through.

“Is it cold?” You ask the grin on your face prompting him to take a step in your direction. “Because it looked like it was cold.” The look on his face causes your laughter to return.

“You’re about to find out how cold it is.” The promise in his voice causes you to take a step back.

You catch sight of Angel’s smile before you take off running.

Between the giggles that leave you breathless and the sand between your feet, you don’t get very far before Angel’s arms wrap around you.

“I’m sorry, okay. Let me go, please?” Angel’s grip loosens as you turn to face him. “I really am sorry.”

A gasp escapes your lips as your feet leave the ground. Blood rushes to your head as Angel tosses you over your shoulder. It only takes a second for you to realize he’s turned and is carrying you back towards the water.

“Angel Ignacio Reyes put me down now!”

“Be careful what you wish for, baby girl,” Angel chuckles as he carries you into the water.

It doesn’t matter that you’re both fully clothed Angel carries you out until the water is waist-deep. He comes to a stop. Shifting you in his arms, he grins as your arms instantly wrap around his neck.

“You think this is far enough?” He asks as you take in your surroundings.

“I hate you,” you giggle as you meet his playful gaze.

“I could go further out,” he takes a step forward.

“Just do it.”

Judging by the mischievous grin on his lips, you expect him to drop you in. For whatever reason, Angel spares you a dunking. Instead, he carefully lowers you to your feet.

The chill of the water causes your grip to tighten around him. He waits until you’re standing to let go of you.

You can’t suppress the smile that finds your lips as he kisses you.

“You’re lucky you buttered me up beforehand,” he chuckles as you step around him.

He follows you back to shore watching as you glance down the beach, back towards the lights of the hotel. Your pace slows as you start in the direction of the hotel.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Despite the nod of reassurance, you force yourself to take another breath. You shake your head slightly, a tiny smile finding your lips. It takes a third breath for the feeling to pass. “I just—got lightheaded for a second.”

“Uh-huh. Funny how you get ‘lightheaded’ the second I take my shirt off. I don’t know why you still try and play this game at this point.”

Your eyes open in time to allow you the moment you need to react. Catching the shirt tossed your way, you watch Angel unzip his jeans.

"Angel put your shirt back on–I’m serious.” The warning in your voice stretches the smile on Angel’s lips. Your eyes leave him, long enough to drift back to the glow of the hotel’s lanterns still visible. The laughter and music cause you to step in his direction. “You are not getting naked on the beach! Are you trying to get us kicked out of here—”

“I wasn’t planning on going in naked,” Angel laughs. It is an admission of truth, but the sight of your panicked gaze causes a mischievous grin to take over his features. “But, I’m down to if you are—“

“No—"

“You know what?” Angel nods as he tugs his foot out of his jeans. “Your plan is better.”

“Angel—“

There’s no point throwing in a protest. Angel has fully stripped down to his briefs.

You step forward as he moves to push them down.

“I am serious, Angel. Do not do it.”

He rolls his neck before letting out a loud, and exaggerated, “fine.”

“But the only way that’s coming back on,” he nods towards the shirt in your hands before taking a step back. “You gotta join me.”

“I’m not doing this.”

Angel shoots you a look of skepticism as he takes another step towards the water.

“You’re already wet,” he chuckles. “Might as well get in.”

You remain where you are as Angel turns and makes his way into the water.

He waits until he’s waist-deep to start swimming out. He disappears out of sight as you drop his shirt to the ground. Stepping out of your flip-flops, you roll your eyes as you watch him resurface under the moonlight.

“Hurry up!” Even with the distance between the two of you, you can see Angel’s grin in your mind perfectly.

Despite your initial protest, you stay in the water for nearly an hour. Angel stands alongside you. His right-hand rests against your spine, his left interlaced with yours as your float. He watches you, his eyes admiring the moonlight against your skin as you focus on the stars above.

“I can’t remember the last time I looked at these,” you admit.

He smiles as your eyes drift shut. “Mom used to freak every time she caught us sneaking onto the roof to look at them.”

“That’s because you fell off one time. Nearly gave her a heart attack.”

“Wouldn’t have been the first time.”

You bite back a smile as Angel’s lips lightly brush against yours. They drift to the bridge of your nose as you release a soft giggle.

“Speaking of mom’s, yours came by last week.” Angel watches as the smile on your face slowly fades. “You were at work. I was taking Jeyson to school. She said she’s been calling you.”

“I wouldn’t know,” you admit. “She’s blocked.”

“I was thinking...since we’re heading back a day early, we should stop by your mom’s on the way back–”

“No.”

Angel releases a deep breath. He wasn’t naive to think you would jump at the idea. But, since seeing her, Angel couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.

“I know ya’ll don’t get along, but my mom’s not here to see Jeyson grow up. I think he should be able to know the grandparents he has left.”

“I get that, but I’m not doing it.”

Your eyes remain closed as you concentrate on the waves gently pushing against your skin.

Angel doesn’t say anything else on the subject. He knows your response will stay the same. It has for the past nine years. He also doesn’t say anything else because he knows he’s the reason you won’t budge.

The hatred your mother has for Angel may be misplaced, but she is too stubborn to admit it. She has always blamed Angel for many of your actions, starting when you were kids. Anytime you didn’t go through with what she had planned for you, Angel was to blame. You missed curfew in high school Angel was to blame. You skipped school on your birthday Angel was to blame. You didn’t attend the college she spent her entire life preparing you for Angel was to blame. You got pregnant out of wedlock Angel was to blame.

It had all came to a head at your baby shower. Angel wasn’t there, but it was the first time he’d ever seen his mother truly angry. Sure, Marisol had gotten mad at Angel countless times. But seeing how mad Marisol was as she recounted the fight she had witnessed between you and your mother, Angel was shocked.

He never asked what words were exchanged, and he didn’t have to. All he knew was that from that moment forward, everyone avoided the subject of your mother.

“I get what you’re saying, Angel,” you sigh. “But, if my mom truly wanted to get to know Jeyson she would apologize. I can’t bring our son around someone that has said the things she’s said about you. If she can say them about you, she can say them about him because Jeyson is your son.”

“Shit, I really look as bad as I feel?”

The smile on Tommy’s face grows as you look up. The heat covering your skin seems to rise as you start to speak.

“No—” You wince. “I’m sorry for staring—it’s rude.”

“It’s all good,” Tommy chuckles as he watches your eyes leave his.

He watches as you bite your lip. Whatever is on your mind, you don’t share it. Instead, your eyes linger on the bruise beneath his right eye. You’ve seen enough damage on Angel to know how bad it must have looked a few days prior.

“Hey, relax.” Tommy shifts forward in his seat, the sound of his shackles dragging across the table causing your attention to refocus. He meets your gaze. “The Doc cleared me—gave me my two Advil and sent me back to my cell. I think it’s safe to say I’m not gonna die.”

Despite the smile on his face, your head still shakes.

“Yeah, but I still feel bad that it happened. I was supposed to double-check the clearance of your paperwork.”

“Trust me, it’s not your fault,” Tommy chuckles. He watches your eyes drop to his freshly bruised knuckles. “It’s mine. The funny thing about this place is, you always run into people from your past. My mom used to said I never knew when to stop talking. I might have said the wrong thing at the wrong time.”

You watch as Tommy’s eyes briefly drift over your shoulder to where Rogers sits in the corner. His smile returns as his gaze drifts back to you.

“So, I take it you had fun.” He notes your raised brow before backtracking. “The Warden said he called your office and your boyfriend answered, said you were out of town.”

Your eyes roll. “Hey, go easy on my boyfriend. He’s the one who went to the courthouse. From what I hear, he slammed Judge Miller hard because your paperwork has been approved.”

You take in Tommy’s skepticism. You slide the signed form across the table, allowing him a better view.

“Signed by the Warden as well,” you point out. “Thanks to Aiden as soon as we’re done here, you’re being moved out of the unit.”

“No shit?” Tommy chuckles. He nods in approval as he scans the form. “I’ll be sure to thank Aiden when I see him. Guess you were right. He’s got some balls after all...Look, I know I’m not the easiest client….so um….Thanks for pushing for this. Making sure everything was straight. Most people would’ve just left me where I was.”

“Yeah, well I can’t have you die before I get fully paid.”

The laugh Tommy releases brings a smile to your lips. He settles back against his chair as you pick up your pen.

"I need you to understand that this new assignment may not be your favorite," you explain. "You're being moved to a new unit, but I can't get you moved again. That means, you can't do anything else, Tommy. Do you understand me?"

Tommy nods. He looks up as your hand finds his.

"This," your lift his hand forcing him to take in his swollen knuckles. "The shit you pulled. You're lucky they didn't throw you in AdSeg. That's 23 hours in your cell. No phone calls, no visits. Nothing. The only reason they didn't throw you in there is because they messed up, and didn't want Aiden to draw a motion against the judge. I don't care what you have to do, but you better learn to walk away from a fight. Now."

"I know." Tommy sighs as you let him go.

“Then do it. My job is already hard enough as it is. I can't have you trying to kill someone while you're already here for murder. Plus, the judge is pissed because of the paperwork Aiden had to file. That's not good for either of us. So, that means I need your help.”

His brow raises, the corners of his lips turning up into a smirk. “I thought I was supposed to be the one asking for help.”

“True, but help is a two-way street.”

Tommy hesitates for a moment. His eyes drop to his knuckles as he lets off a light shrug.

“What do you need?”

“For you to tell me why you were meeting with Alexander Maddox the night you were arrested.”

Tommy’s smile fades quicker than it came. His jaw tightens as he shakes his head.

You sit forward resting your elbows on the table.

“Tommy, if it’s about the MC.” Tommy’s eyes lift for a brief second. Long enough for you to catch a glimpse of the shock in his eyes. You lower your voice. “I know you’re with the Horsemen—”

Tommy shakes his head. “Look—I get you got a job to do, but—there’s just shit with the MC I can’t talk about—”

“I know how this stuff works—”

“Got a lot of personal experience with an MC?” Tommy asks.

His question causes you to release a deep breath.

“If you don’t want to tell me anything, fine. But when it comes down to it, Tommy. People will cut you off to save themselves.” The irritation in your voice lifts his gaze. “That shipment you were carrying, was not a dime bag. Your brothers will let you go down for this. Hard. They will let you rot in here for the rest of your fucking life if it means avoiding a R.I.C.O. case.”

Tommy’s brow furrows. “What’s a R.I.C.O.?”

His question throws you off. The pure confusion on his face causes you to backtrack.

“You seriously don’t know what that is?”

“I mean—I’ve heard of it...how do you know what it is?”

“It’s what you pay me for,” you remind him.

“Then I guess I’m paying you to explain it to me.”

The moment you step outside of the elevator, you come face to face with a wide-eyed Isabela.

“Is your phone dead?” She asks the irritation in her voice causing your brow to arch.

“Off—I had a client meeting with Tommy. I thought I told you—”

Isabela ignores your response, her eyes focused in the direction of your office. “Yeah, whatever. I’ve been calling you for the last freaking hour—”

“Sorry—ow.” You wince as Isabela catches your arm. She pulls you to a stop. “What?”

She releases her grip, but she sidesteps. Blocking your path, Isabela places both hands on your shoulders. She ignores the look of confusion on your face, her gaze studying yours.

“How are you?”

Her question causes you to hesitate. “...Fine...why?”

Isabela takes another moment to study your eyes as if she doesn’t fully believe you before nodding.

“Just so you know,” she sighs as she takes a step back. “I did not let her in. Aiden did. He didn’t know any better—bless his heart—”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your mother.” Isabela winces at the look on your face. “She’s in your office. Promise me you won’t make a scene.”

“It’s never me you have to worry about,” you mumble.

When you enter your office, you find your mother is not where Aiden asked her to sit and wait for you.

She is standing behind your desk studying a photo that she holds in her hands.

“Put it back.”

She jumps at the sound of your voice, her body turning so that she faces you.

“Put it back, please.”

Her eyes return to the photo of Angel seated on his bike. A grinning Jeyson is seated in front of him, clinging to the handlebars.

“He looks so much like his father.”

You cross the room. Taking the photo, you place it back in its original resting place before dropping your purse onto your desk.

“What do you want?” You ask as you watch step around your desk.

“Is that a way to greet your mother?”

“According to the last time we spoke, I don’t have one.” You recollect as you take a seat. “It’s been...nearly nine years, so my memory might be a little hazy, but I’m pretty sure that’s what you told me.” Your brow furrows as she moves to take the seat across from you. “There’s no need for you to sit. This conversation won’t last long. I have a meeting in a few minutes. What do you want?”

Your mother’s jaw tightens as she remains standing. Her eyes roll as she speaks. “I take it he didn’t pass along my message.”

“He did pass along your message, actually,” you admit. “Believe it or not, Angel said I should call you and listen to what you had to say. I just chose to do what I’ve done for the past nine years—ignore it. If you’re not going to answer my question, mom, then you can leave.”

“Your father and I want to see our grandson—”

“No.”

She expects more, but your attention has already moved on to the papers you’ve dropped onto your desk.

“See, I told you the conversation wouldn’t last long.”

“Y/N,” your mother objects. “It’s been nearly nine years.”

Your fingers interlaced as you force yourself to take a deep breath. You surprise even yourself as your voice comes out quiet and calm.

“I told you before. I do not want you near my son, and I meant it. I don’t care what excuse you’ve come here to give today. I’m not changing my mind. Your only hope is to speak with his father, and hope he’s more forgiving than I am.”

Aiden stops in the doorway, his eyes widening as he reads the room. He takes a step back but pauses as you give him a warm smile.

“Hi, Aiden! Please tell me you haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“No,” Aiden clears his throat. His eyes briefly pass to your mother whose gaze remains on you. “I haven’t.”

“Good. Can you order two of whatever you’re having? I’ll pay. We have to go ahead and look over this case.”

Aiden nods as you add, “great. Can you also escort my mother downstairs? She’s ready to leave.”

“I’m sorry for ruining your retreat.”

Aiden’s apology breaks your concentration.

Seated on the floor of your office, Aiden has his back pressed against your desk. His usually polished appearance is disheveled. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, the top buttons of his shirt undone. His tie and jacket are discarded on the back of your chair.

His apology is one he has been working himself up to share for the last three hours. Each time he thought of sharing it, he’s backed out. At this point, he’s run out of pointless conversation and has reached the bottom of your takeout container that he took over.

“What are you talking about?”

Aiden’s eyes remain on the chopsticks in his hand.

“Isabela told me not to call you about Tommy,” he clears his throat. He steals a glance in your direction. “She said it should wait until you got back—but as usual—I panicked and called you. Now you’re back early--”

“Aiden, you didn’t ruin my retreat,” you sigh. Your palms rub against your tired eyes. “It was rocky was to begin with.”

The admission silences the office. Aiden nods before opening his mouth.

“So,” you smile as you lightly bump his shoulder with yours. “Please, don’t worry about it. Angel was probably happy you called so he could leave.”

Your gaze returns to the slow-paced printer. Upon learning you were coming home early, Aiden had sent you a text message.

📲: I have some stuff to show you about Tommy.

And by “some stuff” Aiden meant a board. He had stolen one of Samuel’s whiteboards from the conference room. The entire surface is covered in your notes and information from Tommy’s files.

“I can’t believe you did all this while I was gone,” you stare at the board. “Your girlfriend might think you’re spending too much time on me.”

Aiden’s smile is sheepish. “If I had one, I wouldn’t have had time to do this.”

“Well, remind me to find you one because this is amazing.” The tease causes Aiden’s smile to grow. “I’m serious, Aiden. I can’t believe you thought you couldn’t be any help.”

“I didn’t really do anything,” he shrugs, his gaze focused on the paper in his hand. “They’re all your notes, I just organized them.”

His eyes widen, a grin finding his lips as your arms wrap around his neck.

“Call it whatever you want,” you smile. “But I still get to say thank you.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he rubs the back of his neck before glancing over at you. “We’re a team….speaking of...I found this.”

The picture he lifts is not new. It is one you’ve seen before. Your brow furrows as you take in the pregnant woman on display.

“I already know who that is,” you admit. “It’s the girlfriend of—”

“Alexander Maddox.” Aiden nods. “Right. I kept going back to your notes. You had one question. Why was Tommy meeting with Maddox in the first place?”

Your head shakes the confusion on your face prompting the rolling of Aiden’s eyes.

“How is this the answer?”

“You were asking the wrong question.” A mischievous grin slides onto his face as Aiden realizes you’re still not following his train of thought. “I can’t believe I figured something out before you—”

“Oh my goodness, Aiden—”

“When he was arrested, Tommy was carrying a shipment--”

“Yeah, something he shouldn’t have been doing by himself.”

Aiden’s brow arches. “You got a history of drug trafficking I don’t know about?”

“You’d be surprised what you pick up on this job.”

Aiden shakes his head as you motion for him to continue.

“While I was working, I kept thinking back to our conversation at the courthouse,” Aiden continues. “You said Tommy’s smart—"

“He uses people to get what he wants.”

“Exactly,” Aiden grins. He lifts the picture in his hand. “Why would Maddox meet up with someone from a rival club, in the middle of the night, with his pregnant girlfriend in tow if he was threatened by them?”

Aiden doesn’t bother answering the question. Instead, he waits for you to make the connection. The smile on his face remains as your eyes widen.

“Because he was there to make a deal.”

“Exactly!” Despite the smile on your face, Aiden’s face dampens. “...but that’s as far as I got. I don’t really know what made Tommy kill him—”

“Of course you do, Aiden.” Despite your reassurance and the confidence in your voice, Aiden’s expression hasn’t changed. “Your brain just needs a second to catch up. Maddox didn’t keep up his end of the deal. He probably tried to screw Tommy over. Not realizing that Tommy would kill him, girlfriend in tow.”

"Well, now we know why Tommy's been tight-lipped about that night. Probably doesn't want it to get out that he was skimming from the club's business."

The hug you give him brings the same response as before.

“I should help you out more often.” Aiden chuckles as you give him a squeeze.

“Careful,” you tease. “Angel’s not too fond of sharing.”

“Speaking of Angel…” Aiden’s gaze meets yours. “I know you asked me not to say anything to him about Samuel—”

“It’s okay.”

Aiden nods, but he continues. His rambling brings a soft smile to your lips.

“Yeah, but I just...I didn’t want you to think I was okay with what Samuel did.” His words come out quietly as he shakes his head. “The way he talked to you...it wasn’t right. You work harder than anyone here—including him—and for Samuel to do that was fucked up. I didn’t say anything in the meeting, and I should have. So, I just...I told Angel when he asked about it.”

“He would have found out eventually,” you laugh softly. “Besides, now Angel likes you.”

“For real?” The smile on Aiden’s face stretches into a grin as you nod.

A silence falls over the office as Aiden’s head rests against the desk. His brow furrows as your eyes fall to your hands. There is a final question on his mind. One he’s tried to find a way to raise since he started flipping through your notes on Saturday morning.

“Are you pregnant?”

The question lifts your gaze.

Aiden reaches into the pocket of his shirt. Your eyes widen as you take in the white card he produces. It is a card you spent the entire morning trying to find. The scheduled appointment one you have yet to share with Angel.

“It was in the notebook you turned over for me and Samuel to review,” Aiden explains as he passes the card over. “Don’t worry. I saw it before he did...I figured he was the last person you wanted to know.”

Your eyes focus on the date. A week and a half away. The initial scheduling may have been premature, but you couldn’t shake the feeling Angel was right.

“Uh...no—I mean, it’s too early to tell.” You turn the card over before looking up. “I should know by this date, so can you not tell anyone about this? I haven’t even told Izzy...or Angel for that matter. I don’t want to say anything until I’m a hundred percent sure.”

Aiden nods, a soft smile on his lips. “Of course.”

“Thanks.” You allow your head to rest back against the desk. “I don’t want to get Angel’s hopes up too early.”

It was the only thought you’ve had from the moment you woke up alongside Angel that moment. But as you glance back at the card in your hand, you know the truth has nothing to do with Angel. It’s not his hopes that you’re afraid of letting down.

You place the card aside, pulling your knees to your chest. Your gaze drifts to the board before you. The two of you sit in silence, eyes focused on your work. Silently willing your brains to come up with one more revelation before packing it up for the night.

"Alright," Aiden huffs. "I think we've gotten as far as we can get tonight."

HIs brow furrows, a chuckle filling the air as he fingers brush against your arm.

"Didn't take you for a tattoo person."

You glance over at him, following his gaze to the ink on your arm.

"Yeah, well, you've never been dragged to a tattoo parlor with Angel," you laugh. "Now, I try to avoid them at all cost."

"It's pretty cool," he grins, his eyes lingering on the design. "He has one too? Matching?"

"Yep," your eyes roll lightly. "Please don't tease me about teenage decisions."

"I won't," he chuckles. Aiden sits forward, lightly patting your leg before moving to collect the trash.

“Aiden?”

“Huh?” He glances up from the takeout containers in his hands.

“How long was he in Chino?”

“Tommy...uh, hold on.” Balancing the containers in his left, Aiden quickly rifles through the stacks of papers spread across the floor before him. “Says here...he was in Chino for....30 months.”

“Any way we can figure out where he was housed?”

“I don’t know,” Aiden admits as his eyes scan the wrap sheet. “His charges were nothing compared to now. Petty crime, so he wasn’t housed at maximum. Why?”

Once his question is met with silence, Aiden glances over his shoulder at you.

“What’s wrong?” The concern in his eyes slowly morphs to fear as he takes in your expression. “Did I miss something?”

“No, I did.”

“What do you mean?”

Before he can pose the question, you’re already pushing yourself to your feet.

“Go home, okay? It’s getting late—don’t worry about the mess. I’ll clean it up in the morning.”

Although you’ve managed to mask your expression, the trembling of your hands causes Aiden’s brow to furrow.

“You sure?” He objects. He quickly stands, stopping you from grabbing your keys from your desk. “I can send an email about his placement in Chino—”

“No.” Your response comes out more panicked than you want. You quickly backtrack. The reassuring smile you give Aiden not holding the weight it’s meant to. “I’ll do it in the morning. I have to go see Angel.”

“Okay.” Aiden nods. He passes over the sheet watching as you excuse yourself.

Jeyson Reyes sits at the table in the center of the clubhouse, his math homework abandoned. His attention is devoted to the bowl of skittles in front of him. He has spent that past minute carefully picking out his least favorite skittles—the yellow.

“Word on the street is you got a birthday coming up,” Angel accepts another yellow skittle before popping it in his mouth. Jeyson’s eyes widen as he briefly pauses the task at hand. Angel’s brow furrows as his eyes study his son’s face. “How old are you turning again? Five—”

“Nine!”

“Nine? Nah--that can’t be right.” Angel shakes his head as he takes in Jeyson’s broad grin. “I don’t believe you—”

“Uh-huh,” Jeyson nods, dropping another skittle into his father’s palm. “I turn nine in seventeen days.”

“Shit—”

“That’s another dollar in the swear jar,” Jeyson reminds him as he passes Angel another skittle.

“I know,” Angel chuckles. He rests back against his seat, his eyes lingering on your son as he quietly admits. “I can’t believe you’re that old.”

Jeyson’s nose scrunches. “I’m not old.”

“Yeah, you are,” Angel laughs, his hand brushing against Jeyson’s hair. “You’re almost an adult.”

“I’m still a kid,” Jeyson giggles as his eyes lift to meet his father’s. “You’re old—”

“Hey—I am not old,” Angel retorts, the feigned look of offense causing your son’s giggles to increase.

Jeyson reaches over pointing towards the beard Angel’s hand passes over. “You have gray hair—lots of it.”

His father’s gaze narrows as Jeyson’s grin stretches as far as his cheeks will allow. As if to soften the blow, Jeyson drops two more skittles into Angel’s palm before eating one of his own.

Angel’s smile remains as he watches Jeyson redirect his attention back to the bowl of skittles on the table.

“Have you thought about what you want for your birthday?"

Jeyson shrugs. “Not really.”

“Not really?” Angel’s brow raises. “You’re counting down to your birthday, but you don’t know what you want?”

Jeyson lets off a second shrug, his concentration on the skittles causing Angel’s brow to furrow.

“You know we’re gonna end up getting whatever it is you want,” Angel smiles as he ruffles Jeyson’s hair. “You’ve been doing everything you’re supposed to in school.”

Despite Angel’s words, Jeyson’s gaze remains down. He chews on the inside of his cheek. The action causes his father to slide the bowl of skittles aside.

“What’s up? You don't think you can get what you want?”

Nearly a minute passes before Jeyson answers Angel’s question. His voice comes out quietly.

“I want you to stay at home.”

Angel’s brow furrows. The response is not what he’s anticipating. “I am staying at home.”

“My home, not yours.” Jeyson clarifies. “Where mom and I live.”

“That is where I’m staying.”

“You didn’t Friday. Is it because you don’t like living with us?” He asks quietly

Angel’s eyes drift shut, the tightening of his throat causing him to shake his head.

“Your mom and I—” Angel’s voice trails off as Jeyson looks up from the table to meet his gaze.

It is a conversation neither of them has breached before. One Jeyson has found himself thinking about more and more. One Angel knew he would eventually have with his son, but he hadn’t anticipated it to be now. He had also hoped you would be around to help him.

“You having two homes has nothing to do with me not wanting to live with you—or your mom. You don’t remember it, you were too little, but your mom and I...we used to fight a lot.” Angel continues. “I wasn’t nice to her, and I made her cry a lot. So I had to leave. I didn’t want to leave you or her, but I also didn’t want to hurt you or your mom. It took me a while to learn how not to do that. Friday...I couldn’t come home because I didn’t want to fight with your mom.”

“You still made her cry.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” Leaning over, Angel brushes his hand against Jeyson’s hair. His touch forces Jeyson’s eyes to meet his. “You know how you and your friends get mad at each other? Sometimes we get mad at the people we love because we don’t see things the same way. But your mom being mad at me has nothing to do with you. Okay? Just because your mom and I might fight, it doesn’t mean I’m leaving.”

The soft smile Angel offers him prompts Jeyson to give him one in return.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m staying with you and your mom or at my house. I love you. That’s not ever gonna change. Never has, never will. Got it?”

Jeyson nods, his smile growing as Angel places a kiss against his skin.

As Jeyson's attention returns to the bowl of skittles, Angel reaches into his kutte. He pulls out the white envelope that he found in the mailbox upon your return home.

He studies the unfamiliar handwriting. Printed in block letters are his name and your address. His gaze passes over the generic American Flag stamp and date pressed into the right corner. The lack of a return address causes him to flip the envelope over.

Angel waits until he comes to a stop outside of the clubhouse to give the envelope a second glance. Tearing the side, he reaches inside pulling out a single index card. The handwriting matches that printed on the envelope.

An anniversary gift for the Old Lady.

Angel tips the envelope. His stomach tightens as the chill of a silver chain hits his palm. The buzzing of his phone in his kutte pocket goes ignored. He doesn’t need to unravel the chain to know who the necklace belongs to. He has looked at the necklace nearly every day since he was eighteen.

The continued vibration of his phone forces an irritated “fuck” from Angel’s lip before he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“What?”

“This is a prepaid call from Thomas Flores, an inmate at the state correctional facility. All phone calls are subject to recording and monitoring. To decline the call, please press nine. To accept the call and all charges that will be incurred, please press one.”

Angel doesn’t remember committing the act of acceptance. A moment later, Tommy’s voice echoes through his receiver. For a man locked inside the walls of Stockton, his voice is calm and lighthearted.

“Damn, it’s been a minute since I’ve heard your voice, Reyes. Can you believe I missed it?”

“The feeling isn’t mutual,” Angel growls, his grip tightening around his phone. “How’d you get this number?”

“Come on, Reyes--give me some credit. I got it the same way I got your address,” Tommy chuckles. “I had to make sure to wish you a happy anniversary. It just passed, right? What is it six—no—seven years? Hopefully, the two of you are doing better these days—”

“Why are you calling?”

“That’s the funny thing,” Tommy sighs, the smile on his face stretches into a grin. “See, I was in my cell a few weeks back, thinking to myself—got a lot of time for that nowadays—and naturally, that led to me thinking of you. And how I missed my old cellmate. Then I remembered...you owe me a favor.”

“A favor? I don’t owe you shit--”

“That’s not how this shit works. I think the person who’s owed a debt gets to decide when it’s paid in full.” Tommy pauses, the silence from Angel’s end allowing him to continue. “Funny thing, I wouldn’t have even thought to call on you for this, but you made a simple mistake all those years ago, Angel. You talked too much...If you don’t want someone to use your Achilles, you don’t share it.” Angel’s brow furrows as Tommy’s words slowly begin to sink in. “Now, you know I’m not a religious man, but I bet you can imagine how good I felt when I realized that God, himself, dropped Y/N into my lap. What are the odds that she and I got brought together? Huh? It’d be a shame to let this God-given opportunity go to waste, don’t you think?”

“What the fuck do you want, Tommy?”

“A lot of things,” Tommy admits. “A turn with your pretty wife for starters. The way you put it, she’d do just about anything for you--”

“She’s not doing anything for you--”

“That’s okay,” Tommy chuckles. “You’ve always had my back when it came down to the wire.”

Angel’s head shakes. “No—Fuck this—I’m hanging up. I told you that night. One and done—”

“I take it you got my gift,” Tommy ignores Angel’s declaration. “And...judging by the unnecessary hostility I’m sensing in your voice, you took a trip down South recently.”

“I want what you took—”

“And you can get it back—scout’s honor.” The sincerity in Tommy’s voice would fool a stranger, but not Angel. “After you help me out one last time. For old times sake.”

“I’m not helping you do shit.”

“Damn,” Tommy sighs. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

“And you’re gonna leave her alone. Come up with an excuse, I don’t care. You’re finding a new attorney—”

“No can do, Reyes. See, I don’t benefit by losing her.” Tommy explains. “Unless you wanna consider my proposal. Last time I’m offering. I think you’ll find my way is the easiest—for everybody involved.”

A silence falls over the line. The trembling of his hands tightening Angel’s grip on his cellphone.

“Alright, well, my time is almost up,” Tommy yawns. His eyes pass to the clock overhead. “Plus, I know it was a lot to dump on you, so I'll give you the night to mull it over. Tell your lady I said thanks for visiting me today.”

Angel’s continued silence brings a grin to Tommy’s face. His chuckle fills this receiver.

“You haven’t told her yet….Tell me, what do you think she’s gonna say when your secret gets out? Do you think she’s gonna stick around this time? If that shit gets out, you’ll be facing more than some 18-month stint in Chino, Reyes. You’ll be facing some real-time. Ask your baby brother how that shit sits with you. All it’ll take is some rumors about the location of a missing state’s witness to start swirling...evidence anonymously getting dropped into the hands of the right people...then you and I just might be sharing a cell again.”

“Trust me, you don’t want that shit to happen.”

“Maybe...maybe not...only time will tell.” Tommy sighs. The calmness of his voice is the opposite of the feeling causing Angel to force out an unsteady breath. “Do me a favor, check with your old lady on how to get on my visitation list. I think you owe me a visit, make the shit quick, Reyes. Maybe she can get them to expedite the paperwork. You got a job to do, and your clock is ticking, homie.”

There is no need for additional words to be exchanged. Tommy hangs up, leaving Angel standing at the end of the driveway. No matter how hard Angel tried to resist—or tried to appear that he was—Tommy knew the hook was set the moment the call began.

When you pull into the clubhouse lot, you find Angel standing at the base of the clubhouse steps.

His eyes meet yours as you park, but he makes no move to meet you. The question is out before you can step around the front of your car.

“Do you know Tommy Flores?”

Angel’s eyes may be on you, but his mind is somewhere else.

“What?”

“Thomas Flores. He was serving time in Chino. Longer than you—thirty months—but you were there the exact same time. Did you hear about him while you were there?” Your question is met with silence. Angel blinks. His brow furrows as he watches you cross the lot. “I know it’s a random question, but Angel it’s really important. Okay?”

It’s common for people to cross paths. Chino is not a prison. It’s smaller than Stockton. Inmates flood in and out like clockwork. That's what your mind can produce in the time it takes you to come to a stop before him.

But it’s the look in Angel’s eyes that tightens your stomach.

It’s a look you’ve only seen once in your life.

Nearly two years ago. A night you hadn't revisited in quite some time.

When Angel had shown up unannounced at your house. This was nothing new.

Only this time, the pounding on your front door had woken you, Jeyson, and nearly half the neighborhood.

Your initial assumption was that he was drunk—it wouldn’t have been the first time Angel had shown up after a few beers and a shitty hookup only to find his way back to you. Begging you to let him stay the night, swearing to plead his drunken case, only to pass out against you the moment you were seated on the sofa.

Only this time—the moment you’d gotten the door open you were crushed by his weight. Angel's grip had been tight. The pressure caused you to wince as his face burrowed against your skin.

For once, you couldn't detect alcohol--just sweat and dirt. His grip had tightened as you tried to move back and take a better look at him.

You didn't get much out of him that night. The most you could get him to do was shower. Which was for the best because, by the time you'd helped him dry off, Angel's adrenaline crashed. He’d passed out in your bed a minute later.

In the morning, he didn’t produce much of an explanation.

"Sorry if I scared you last night," he'd mumbled as he headed to the door. "I know you asked me not to show up—unannounced like that but—I just wanted to see you."

“Yeah,” Angel nods. “I knew him.”

You wait for elaboration, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Angel takes a step back. He finds a seat on the steps, his left hand reaching up to rub his eyes.

“Yeah, I knew him? What the hell does that mean? You knew of him, or you kn—”

“No, I knew—I know him.” Angel releases a sigh, his fist crumpling the envelope he holds. “He was my cellmate.”

“No, he wasn't.” The response is automatic. The laugh you release echoes across the parking lot. The meaning behind Angel’s silence doesn’t fully register. Your brain is still reeling, trying to find a rational explanation to deny his statement and what it means. You shake your head. “No, he wasn’t. That is not fucking possible—“

“Cellblock D. That’s where they house all gang-affiliated inmates. They don’t give a shit if you’re an MC or not. It’s all the same.” Angel quietly explains, his eyes watching the realization begin to sink into your features. “They put you together with guys from other places, knowing you might not have a brother to watch your back if you need protection. Tommy’s cellmate had recently been discharged. So, after intake, I took the open space—“

“Angel, stop. I can’t have you telling me this,” you cut him off. The sight of your widened eyes not deferring Angel’s train of thought. “Do you know what this means for my case? Why couldn’t you just lie to me—”

“Because what I need to tell you is worse.”

series taglist: @angelreyesgirl89 @holl2712 @relaxing-najee @thedeviltohisangel @awkwardtayler @siempremamita @amorestevens @witching-hour @seize-the-droid @rosieposie0624 @sesamepancakes @est1887 @queenbeered @ticosas @blessedboo @helli4nthus @katjusja @melanicia @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @moneteguiza

mayans taglist: @lilacyennefer @pedropcl @holl2712 @rae-gar-targaryen @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful @henrycavill19 @silverstarsandsuns @chellybear98 @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @noz4a2 @wiccanmetallicrose @crxssourbones @kimljn @starrynite7114 @richonne4life @themarkblues @mariaxliliana @thelovelyleo23 @hail-horror-queen @gemini0410 @binooo98 @the-jer-bear @abbiesthings @losolvidad0s @helli4nthus @babaohhhriley @futureleo1678 @whatupitshuff @trhett21 @trulysuccubus @minnicelli @sillygoose6969 @capnsaveahoe @leahnicole1219 @crashbarbie @cyka1312 @zoovent @lakamaa12 @keithseabrook27 @vir-tually @awkwardtayler @rawrlittlepanda-95 @irenne-stans @pearlkitten33 @ezs-baby-angels-whore @sesamepancakes @toni9 @vannabanana1995 @queenbeered @shawty-fenty @kaystacks17 @thesandbeneathmytoes @anactualcaseofthetruth @star017 @cant-decide-at-this-moment @cocotheclown @watsonwise @ilovebey2018 @oscars-wifeyyy @rosieposie0624 @jennisdirtyimagines @ughdontbeboring @jjwriter23 @briskywalker @peoniarose @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @partypoison00 @making-starsdance @claytoncardenasbabymama @myakai13

#lost one of tommy's scenes and retyped it off memory #so hopefully it's good lol #but let me know what you think?#angel reyes imagine #angel reyes x black!reader #angel reyes x reader #lover of mine

200 notes · View notes

one-boring-person · 3 years

Note

Hey!

I was wondering if I could request a Rambo x reader set in the first movie, if that’s alright, where the reader sees him walking through town and knows that Sheriff Teasle will try to bully him out of town so she pulls over and lies about them being old friends and then they go to eat or something? And the reader actually treats Rambo like a human being and thanks him for his service to his country when she finds out he is a veteran. Oh and could the reader be female please? Thank you very much! If not then that’s totally fine 😊

And I also wanted to say that your writing is amazing!!! And the reason I ended up watching Rambo in the first place 😆

Hope you have a great night/day!

Nfhfhhhf thank you so much! I'm so glad you like my stuff! And I got you into Rambo? Hell yeah!😂 I liked this request a lot, so I hope I've done it justice!

Respect Me.

John Rambo (First Blood) x reader

Warnings: mentions of war, mentions if death

Masterlist

For once, the truck sound system seems to be playing the tape flawlessly, lacking the usual stuttering and skipping it generally likes to include in the soft flow of music. Idly, I tap my fingers along with the gentle beat, the steering wheel moving easily in my grip as I guide the beaten pick-up truck out onto the main road, falling in line with the other traffic around me. The vehicle shudders a little as I change the gears, the old truck having never liked to do anything it should do, slowly moving into a more sustainable pace as I lean back in my seat, keeping my eyes trained on the road, with a half-eye kept on the sidewalk and nearby shops. A few Christmas decorations adorn the homely stores, though it's mostly left dull and bleak, as this town always has been. Once again, I find myself wishing I could just move away from here, start a new life somewhere else.

Ahead of me, the traffic slows, allowing someone to turn into the main flow, giving me the time to glance out of the window, scanning the sidewalk a little way away. Oddly, a familiar police vehicle has pulled up just past a nearby junction, the driver leaning out of the window to talk to someone on the pavement, who I have yet to be able to see. The car is Sheriff Teasle's, the knowledge of which does not sit well with me - If he's pulled someone over, it's not for a good reason.

Checking my mirrors, I indicate off towards the sheriff, leaving the main flow as I follow the curb round, finally able to see who Teasle is talking to. Just as I feared, it looks as if he's pulled up a random person for yet another unfair interrogation. Frowning, I regard the solemn-looking man with interest, trying to ignore the part of me that finds his somewhat crooked features incredibly attractive, taking note of his obvious vagrancy: his hair is long and shaggy, clearly being left uncut for months on end, his dust-strewn parka and faded jeans showing signs of constant wear. From what I can see, Teasle is questioning him, most likely about the guy's purpose in Hope, though he doesn't seem particularly open to this encounter. Making up my mind, I cross my fingers and hope my plan now works.

Pulling up beside the two, I stop the car and climb out, plastering on a convincing grin as I go towards the dark-haired man, greeting him as I go.

"John! I didn't realise you were in town! You should've said something!" I exclaim, pleading the man with my eyes that he'll play along, though it's somewhat unlikely.

He gives me a shocked look, head snapping round at the sound of the name, hard eyes fixing on me with suspicion and hostility, the severity of the expression sending a shudder down my spine. Teasle also looks to me, frowning.

"And to think you were left to walk along here in the cold! Jeez, you really should have called or something, I could've picked you up!" I carry on, praying that he picks up the cue, "Oh, hello there, Sheriff, how are you?"

"Not bad, thanks." Teasle replies tightly, glancing between the man and I, "You know this guy?"

"Oh, yeah. John is a family friend." I lie, smiling brightly at the man in question.

"Yeah, it's been a long while, but I thought it was time to visit again." The man finally chips in, his husky voice stirring up butterflies in my stomach, "Wanted to keep my visit a surprise, though."

"Ah, well! You're here now, at least I can give you a lift back to mine." I offer him, ignoring Teasle's sceptical look.

Giving me a taut smile, which looks more like a grimace, the man steps towards me, shooting the Sheriff a glance as he goes. Doing the same, I smile pleasantly at Teasle, and say my goodbyes, climbing back into my car as my new passenger joins me, sliding cautiously into the seat beside me. Quickly, I pull back out into the traffic, heading away from Teasle as swiftly as possible.

"Thank you for doing that." The dark-haired man murmurs after a moment, his hands clenching around his knees as he forces himself to look out of the windscreen.

"No problem. Teasle's an ass at the best of times, best just to stay away from him." I muse, "Do you want something to eat? There's a good place just down the road from here."

Turning to face me, the man frowns and watches my face, as if for signs of deceit, his quiet nature giving me the impression that he's probably quite acclimatised to being treated as such.

"How do you know my name?" He eventually asks, voice quiet.

Now it's my turn to frown as I glance across at him.

"I don't."

"You called me John earlier. How did you know that's my name?"

Surprised, I double take, now realising how sketchy that must look.

"Your name is John? I had no idea! That's a lucky coincidence, clears up confusion later." I chuckle dryly, "Honestly, I picked the first name that came to mind. I had no idea that it's your actual name."

He watches me for a second longer, eventually appearing happy with my response, looking away again.

"What's your name?" He asks me after a further minute.

"Me? I'm (Y/n). (Y/n) (Y/l/n)."

"John Rambo." John nods, flicking some hair from his face, "And if you're still offering, I'd like to get something to eat, please."

"Of course."

Pulling up to the diner, I park the car, climbing out as I check the cash I have on me, deeming it enough for two decent meals and some drinks, hoping that it won't be too busy at this time of the day. John follows me, leaving his bedroll in the car as we walk into the small restaurant, finding a seat at one of the window booths, sitting opposite each other. He's quiet, scanning the room as soon as he's sat down, body stiff as he unzips his parka, revealing a red woolen jumper underneath. What strikes me most, however, (apart from the obvious planes of rippling muscle) are the silver dog tags hanging around his neck, jingling every so often as he moves.

A waiter comes over to us, handing us menus with a false smile, leaving us alone together again until we've ordered drinks, at which point he returns with the beverages. Stepping away again, John and I are left with some privacy. At this moment, I take a breath and ask him the one question on my mind.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you a soldier?"

John visibly stiffens, eyes hardening a little.

"I was." Is all he says, tone flat.

"Did you serve in Vietnam?" I ask, unable to stop myself as my curiosity gets the better of me.

Once again, John seems reluctant to answer, and instantly starts to glance around, clearly watching for an escape route.

"Yeah." He affirms, gaze returning to me.

Shock fills me at this: I'd heard horrible things about the Vietnam War, about how the soldiers (on both sides) faced terrifying situations that I'd never dream of, my heart stuttering at this admonition.

"Really? That's...wow, that's…" I go to say something, finding myself speechless as I stare at the man before me, admiring him now in a totally new light, "God, you must be a strong person."

He blinks.

"Huh?"

"Well, you've done what I'd never be able to do, you've faced deadly situations, you've probably been in harrowing conditions and fights, I'd never have the strength to do what you did. Very few people do, so you must be a very strong person, mentally." I tell him, still in shock, "You definitely did the country proud, and I respect you for everything you've done. Thank you for that."

He stares at me in shock, eyes wide, lips parted.

"You...What?" Is all he manages, voice hitching.

"I respect you, and admire your bravery. You're a better person than any of the rest of us ever could be." I repeat, smiling gently at him.

For a long moment, he doesn't say anything, his expression remaining as it is, his body tense as he processes what I've said, clearly not quite believing me.

"You...respect me?" He stammers, quietly.

"I do." I nod, taking a sip of my soda.

"Thank you." John murmurs, pulling a face as he looks away, "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what kinda things I've done."

"What you did isn't relevant to me, only that you served the country, and you did it with bravery, so for that, you have my respect." I reassure him, telling him the truth.

John stays silent this time, apparently too overcome for words.

"Do you...do you need somewhere to stay?" I finally break the silence that has descended on us, tapping a rhythm out onto the table.

"No, but I don't want to inconvenience you any more than I already have, so don't worry about it. I'll figure something out." The veteran shrugs, still a little taken aback.

"You're not inconveniencing me, I wouldn't ask if you were. I have space in my house if you want to take it." I offer him, once again smiling across at him.

For the first time, John smiles at me, his features loosening as the expression crosses his face.

"I'll take it."

#sylvester stallone #rambo #sly stallone #john rambo #john rambo x reader #rambo imagine #rambo x reader

293 notes · View notes

calwrites · 3 years

Text

Fearless

Prequel to Don’t You

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Word count: 4.5k

————————

“Looks like it finally stopped raining.”

The murmur of the coffee shop was replaced by the sounds of the city as you followed Sebastian outside. The humidity seemed to hit you like a truck, making you miss the air conditioning you had just left.

“Finally. I thought I was going to be stuck in that coffee shop with you forever.” You laughed at the faux offended look on Sebastian’s face. “That’s what I get for not checking the weather.”

“Next time I’ll let you wait out the rain by yourself,” Sebastian threatened. His grin made the corners of his eyes crinkle a bit. Had they always done that? Had you just never noticed before?

“At least then I won’t have a bunch of teenage girls taking pictures of me the whole time. They’re scary. How do you deal with that all the time?” It had been disconcerting to have the group of girls staring at you and Sebastian as you sat and chatted. For a moment, you had thought you were crazy when you noticed them looking. The first thought you had was that you had something on your face or needed to fix your hair, but you realized why they were so focused on your table when they walked over to ask Sebastian for pictures.

Sebastian let out a sigh as he shrugged. For a second you were worried that you had said something wrong. “I just try to ignore it most of the time. I’m polite if they come up to me. I’d rather they like me than hate me.”

“I’m sure you have lots of stories. You’ll have to tell me sometime.” Your eyes widened when you realized what you’d said. What if he didn’t want to see you again? “I mean, if you’re staying in the city long. I’m sure you’re really busy.”

“I’ve got some promo to do soon, but I’m not filming again for a few months. I wanted a bit of the break.” Sebastian waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about my work. What about you? You taking the business world by storm?”

“Well I did just get a raise, so now I can almost afford my rent, groceries, and student loans.” The joys of living in New York City.

“Ah sounds like everything’s going well then. Are your parents still around?” Your parents had basically fallen in love with Sebastian when they first met him freshman year. A group of your friends had come over to your house for a movie night and Sebastian had insisted on staying to help you clean up after everyone else had left. Your mom had spent the next few weeks not so subtly dropping hints that she thought you should date him.

“Yeah they’re still in Jersey. They tried to convince me to move in with them, but I told them I didn’t want to have to commute into the city every day. Of course, that set them off about how that’s what they’ve been doing my whole life because they didn’t want me growing up without a yard or whatever.”

“So it sounds like they haven’t changed much?” You shook your head slightly to force yourself to stop watching Sebastian as he laughed.

“No they have not.” You bumped your shoulder against Sebastian’s gently. “They’re your number one fans, you know.”

“Oh they are?” His eyebrows raised in surprise, and he was already fighting a smile, no doubt waiting to hear what embarrassing things your parents had done since high school graduation.

“They see all of your movies in theaters.” Multiple times, but you didn’t want Sebastian to think they were weirdos.

“Even the bad ones?”

“Even the bad ones. I did tell them that they aren’t allowed to buy any of the Bucky dolls.”

“They’re action figures.”

You rolled your eyes, but found yourself matching Sebastian’s smile anyway. “Whatever. It’d be weird seeing a mini version of you at my parents’ house. It’s bad enough that they still have a bunch of high school pictures hung up.”

“My mom does too. She’s going to be so excited when I tell her that I ran into you. You were always her favorite of our group.”

You stopped suddenly, grabbing Sebastian’s arm. He looked a little alarmed, but you ignored it. “Are you serious? I was always so scared of her. This is the best day of my life.” You had met Sebastian’s mom a couple of times throughout high school, but had never been able to tell whether or not she liked you.

“Scared of her? Why? Because of the accent?”

“The accent didn’t help, but really it was because she’s hot. That makes her intimidating.”

Sebastian groaned and pulled a face. “No. You can’t think my mom is hot. That’s not allowed. Take it back or I’m sending your parents all of the Bucky dolls I can find.”

“It’s not like I wanted to bang her or anything. I just think that she’s an attractive woman. Which makes sense considering how attractive you are.” Your mouth snapped shut. You weren’t sure who was blushing more, you or Sebastian. “Let’s forget about this whole conversation.” Sebastian laughed slightly and nodded.

It was silent between you two as you continued your walk through the streets. You weren’t really sure where he was going. You were heading to your car, but you couldn’t tell if Sebastian was also going somewhere or if he was just following you. If you had looked up, you would have noticed that Sebastian was watching you carefully. But you didn’t look up. Your eyes were on the pavement, watching the glow of the lights in the reflection from the rain.

“Do you remember that poster that was in our English class freshman year?” you asked suddenly. Sebastian’s brow crinkled slightly as he tried to remember, but then he followed your gaze to the glowing pavement and smiled.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The two of you laughed slightly as you remembered your slightly eccentric teacher. “We made fun of that poster so much.”

“It was a stupid poster. But remember it was raining when we were leaving the homecoming dance freshman year and we started dancing in the parking lot-”

“And all of our friends thought we were crazy,” Sebastian finished. “To be fair, we were crazy. That was probably the most fun part of the dance though.”

“Are you saying that I was a bad date?” You gasped and brought your hand up to your mouth as if Sebastian had offended you. Both of you dissolved into giggles.

“I’m saying that I was probably a bad date. I was so awkward. I had such a big crush on you.” Sebastian rubbed his neck uncomfortably. You definitely didn’t notice how the action made his arms look.

“Wait really?” This was news to you. You had always kind of assumed that Sebastian didn’t like you very much. He had always seemed to just tolerate your presence.

“Oh yeah. All the guys used to make fun of me because I got so awkward around you. That’s why I never talked when you were with us.”

“I just thought you were shy or something.” Or that he secretly hated you.

“Well that too,” Sebastian admitted with a small grin.

“You should have just told me. I had a crush on you too. I was so excited when you asked me to the dance.” You were so engrossed in conversation that you almost walked right past your car. “Oh, this is me.”

“Oh.” Was it your imagination or did Sebastian look disappointed? Before you could figure it out, he was smiling again. “It’s been nice catching up. We should hang out again. You still have the same number?”

You assured Sebastian that you did and the two of you exchanged more pleasantries. After sliding into your car, you watched Sebastian continue down the street. The memory of the two of you dancing wildly in the parking lot while the rest of your friends complained about the rain made you smile. You kind of wished you had asked him to dance again.

————————

Part of you already wished that this weekend would never end, even though it had barely even begun. You had finally made it out of the city and still had a couple hours of driving left, but you were already dreading having to go back into the office on Monday.

You and Sebastian had been hanging out more since running into each other last month. Most of the time, you got away without any pictures of the two of you getting out, but recently that had been getting harder and harder to do. Now, through what you could only assume was some sort of social media stalking witchcraft, people had managed to figure out who you were. The hundreds of notifications had freaked you out at first, but after deleting all of the social media apps from your phone, it was totally not a big deal.

Until your coworkers had found out. Some magazine had printed a picture of you and Sebastian, including your name underneath it, so now everyone at the office was either making fun of you by pretending to take paparazzi pictures whenever you walked into a room or constantly asking about Sebastian. Needless to say, you desperately needed this weekend away.

“Hungry eyes,” Sebastian sang, rather poorly though you suspected that was on purpose. You had seen him in musicals in high school. He half turned towards you, reaching out with one hand while the other stayed on the wheel, as he continued to sing along to the music. “One look at you and I can’t disguise these-”

“Keep your eyes on the road,” you scolded, though you couldn’t help but laugh at his bad attempt to hit a high note. “You know, I was worried that you would get us killed at the cabin, but now I know you’re going to get us killed before we even make it there. And stop caressing my hair.” You slapped his hand away for emphasis.

He reached out again to run a hand down your hair. “I am not caressing your hair-”

“Definitely were.”

“-and I am not going to get us killed. We are going to have a nice relaxing weekend at a cabin that I rented and am graciously letting you stay at without paying me back. And we aren’t going to worry about paparazzi or annoying coworkers or random people on the street with cell phones.” There may have been a incident earlier that week where you had almost gone up to a random person in the street to yell at them about taking pictures of you and Sebastian. It turned out they were just a lost tourist who barely spoke English. That was when Sebastian decided that you needed a vacation too.

“I think I’m paying you back by forcing myself to spend time with you. You’re very hard to get along with. Plus, I have no money for vacations. We can’t all be actors in Marvel movies.” The trees blurred by as Sebastian drove down the highway.

“You know, I could probably get you in the next Captain America movie. You might not have any lines, but you could stand in the background.” Had he ever offered any of your other friends from high school roles in his movies? No, you couldn't let yourself get caught up in these kinds of questions.

“Sebastian, thanks again-”

“Stop! I told you to stop thanking me-”

“Thanks again,” you continued loudly, “for inviting me. I know that you were looking forward to a relaxing weekend away before you have press stuff. If you want, we don’t have to talk to each other. I don’t want to ruin your relaxation.”

Sebastian shifted uncomfortably in his seat at your thanks, but then shot you an incredulous look. “How would you ruin my relaxation? I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t want to spend time with you.”

“Promise?”

Sebastian sent you a smile that was so full of warmth that you could have melted right there. You were definitely getting caught up now. You tried to snap yourself out of it by thinking about all of the reasons you could never date Sebastian. First, he was Sebastian. He knew what you looked like when you were young and awkward. He had seen the awful bangs you cut yourself sophomore year. Second, he was Sebastian Stan. Surely he’d never date a nobody like you. Not that he was stuck up now. He was surprisingly similar to how he had been in high school. It’s just, he could date models if he wanted to. You were definitely not a model. And you wouldn’t even want to date someone in the spotlight like him. Third, you had been on like two dates with the skeazy guy from accounting. If you ignored most of what he said, he was only a little skeazy. Barely tolerable really. You could work with that.

But then Sebastian ran his hand through his hair, and you had to bite your lip to stop yourself from saying anything stupid. Did he know what he was doing or was he just naturally this cool now? Either way, it was going to be a long weekend.

————————

The dance was not fun. Whoever was writing the prom scenes in all of those cheesy movies was full of crap. The decorations looked bad, your dress was uncomfortable, and you were so busy making sure everything was running smoothly that you weren’t even getting to enjoy your senior prom. You never should have agreed to head the prom committee. Surely the night would be more fun if you didn’t have any responsibilities.

Except you’d probably still be standing on the edges of the dancing watching as all of your friends danced with their boyfriends. You had thought that this would finally be the dance you had a boyfriend for, but then your boyfriend broke up with you less than two weeks before because you were spending too much time working on prom. Great. Wonderful.

It had been difficult to mentally prepare yourself to go to senior prom without a date after working so hard on it. It had seemed almost poetic when Sebastian asked you. The two of you had gone to your first high school dance together and now you were at your last high school dance together.

Except Sebastian had barely talked to you all night. In fact, he had barely even looked at you. At least, that’s what you thought. Sebastian later confessed to you that he was scared he’d get in the way of your prom committee duties so he watched you from afar as you took care of the last minute issues. But you didn’t know that yet.

“Decided to actually acknowledge me?” you snapped when Sebastian leaned against the wall beside you.

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He was probably already regretting coming over to talk to you. “I probably deserve that. You just seemed busy.”

“There were a couple of issues that I had to take care of. I still want to enjoy the dance though.”

“So let’s enjoy it.” Sebastian held his hand out to you and nodded to the dance floor. You smiled gratefully at him and took his hand, letting him lead you out.

Neither of you were great dancers, and the dance floor was maybe a little too crowded, but you made the best of it. After bumping into another couple one too many times, you and Sebastian retired back to the wall, perfectly content to watch the others and whisper amongst yourselves.

“So have you had fun tonight?” Sebastian asked. You had, which was surprising considering how badly the night had started out. Sometimes you forgot how well you and Sebastian could get on. It was so rare to talk to him one on one. You really didn’t know how prom could have gone better. You were kind of disappointed that prom was wrapping up. Already, the dance floor had begun emptying as people left for various after parties.

“I did.” Sebastian grinned, obviously pleased with your answer. “But it wasn’t nearly as good as homecoming freshman year.”

Sebastian's smile faded as he tried to recall the dance you were talking about. “Wasn’t that dance really awkward though?”

“Sure the actual dance was,” you shrugged. “But dancing in the parking lot after was one of my favorite high school memories.”

Sebastian threw his head back to laugh, his hand resting on your shoulder to steady himself. “I’ll admit that I’m kind of glad it’s not raining tonight. My mom was not happy that I got my suit wet. But we can still dance like that tonight. There’s plenty of room on the dance floor.”

“Absolutely not,” you scoffed. “We’d look crazy.”

“Everyone here is either our friend or someone who we’ll probably never see again.” Sebastian held his hand out to you. You bit your lip as you considered before meeting his eyes. He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Fine.” Sebastian laughed as you took his hand, once again allowing him to drag you onto the dance floor. He was truly fearless in his dancing this time. Obviously you had to follow suit and ignore the looks people were throwing you as you and Sebastian twirled and spun and jumped around. By the time it was time to leave the dance, you both were red faced and breathless with laughter. The sky was perfectly clear as you walked through the parking lot, but part of you wished it was raining so you could once again dance in a storm in your best dress with Sebastian.

————————

“I thought you weren’t talking to me because you didn’t really want to go with me.”

“What?” Sebastian took his eyes off the road quickly to look over at you. “Why would I ask you if I didn’t want to go with you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe our friends told you to since neither of us had dates.”

“You’re crazy. I was so intimidated by you that I didn’t want to get in your way.” You scoffed and started to speak but Sebastian shushed you. “You’ve always been the most impressive person in the room.”

You weren’t entirely sure how to respond to that. Sebastian Stan thought that you were impressive. But what exactly did that mean? That he thought it was neat that you managed to wrangle high school students enough to plan prom? He said ‘you’ve always’ which seemed to imply that he still felt that way. Right? But he was a successful actor. He worked with people way more impressive than you every day.

The thoughts flashed furiously through your head as Sebastian continued to drive slowly through the town. He had certainly achieved his goal to get away from the city. It was hard to believe the small town you’d spent the weekend in was so in the same state as the city. Paparazzi had certainly not been a worry for the two of you. Eventually, the car reached the end of the road. Rather than turning around and heading back into town, Sebastian put the car in park.

“I don’t want to go back,” he sighed. You had to agree with him. You wanted to stay right there. It had been so relaxing to get away from it all. No paparazzi. No fans. No coworkers. Just you and Sebastian. But it couldn’t last. You had work, and Sebastian had interviews.

“So let’s stay here,” you suggested. “We’ll stock up on food and then barricade ourselves in the cabin. We’ll obviously have to defend ourselves when Marvel comes looking for you and my company comes looking for me, but I have complete confidence that we can take them.” Not that you had reached a position in the company where they would notice you were missing. Maybe after a week or two they’d notice something was off. Marvel was sure to be quicker though.

“Ha ha you’ve made your point.” He sighed again. “This has been the best weekend I’ve had in a long time. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” Your voice sounded small in the sudden stillness of the car. Sebastian’s eyes flickered over your face, going from your eyes to your lips. “What did you mean earlier?”

“About what?”

“When you said that I was always the most impressive person in the room.” You were a little nervous about his answer. There was a good chance you’d made it out to be deeper than he meant. But then you remembered how fearless and free you felt when Sebastian led you out onto the dance floor at prom, and you knew you had to know the answer.

“Exactly that. I’m constantly in awe of you. The way you were the smartest person at school. I mean, I think you’re still the smartest person I know. I don’t understand anything you’re saying when you talk about work. You always knew exactly what to say to diffuse any of our friends’ drama. You’re kind and funny and always keep me on my toes.” Sebastian paused for a moment. You tried to speak, but all you could do was look at his beautiful blue eyes. “Running into you might be the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Sebastian,” you murmured. Before you could think of anything else to say, Sebastian’s lips were on yours. You smiled into the kiss as you ran your fingers through Sebastian’s hair. It was the perfect length. You tried your best to capture the memory of this moment. The feel of his lips. His hand on your cheek. The faint sound of birds chirping outside. The patter of rain on the car roof. It was all perfect, and you wanted to remember every second of it.

————————

You didn’t know how life could get better than this. Sebastian’s hand was entwined with your own as you walked through the streets. You had been nervous about this at first. What would his fans think? So far they had been curious but benign when it came to you. Hopefully that wouldn’t change now.

You had almost cancelled when Sebastian showed up at your door. A night in suddenly sounded really good. He hadn’t let you though. Instead, Sebastian had grabbed your hand and pulled you out onto the street. You laughed as he twirled you, causing the skirt of your favorite dress to flow out.

“Good thing it’s not raining today,” Sebastian had laughed. “This would be much less enjoyable if we were getting rained on.”

“I don’t know about that. I think we normally have a pretty good time in the rain.”

You had managed to walk to the restaurant without being spotted, though you had noticed some people taking pictures as you were eating. By the time the bill had been paid, you were more than happy to take Sebastian’s hand and follow him outside. A short walk later and the two of you were strolling around a park eating ice cream on the way back to your apartment.

“So did you have fun tonight?” Sebastian asked.

“I did,” you admitted with a smile. “It was a lot better than I was expecting.”

“Ouch.” Sebastian made a faux wounded expression that ended up making you both laugh. “I didn’t realize you thought I’d be a bad date.”

“It wasn’t you I was worried about. Your fans kind of terrify me. Not gonna lie. I half expected them to show up at the restaurant and start pelting me with rotten fruit or something.”

“That would certainly kill the mood, but I don’t think you have to worry about people throwing fruit at you.”

“No. I just have to worry about what people are going to be saying about me online.”

“Hey, stop.” Sebastian caught your hand and pulled you back to where he had stopped walking. His hands cupped both sides of your face as he looked seriously at you. “It’s going to be ok. Yeah, there are going to be some people who say some mean things. Just ignore it. It’s why I don’t bother with social media much. It doesn’t matter what they say.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one they’re going to accuse of dating someone just to latch onto their fame or money.” Soon after you and Sebastian had started hanging out, the posts about you trying to use Sebastian’s game to get ahead had started. It didn’t really make much sense. Being friends with an actor wasn’t going to get you promoted any sooner. Still, they had annoyed you and sometimes made you feel weird about being around Sebastian.

“I know that you’re not using me. You know that you’re not using me. Everyone that matters will know that you’re not using me. If anything, I’m getting the better end of our relationship. I’m getting to date the most amazing woman ever.”

“Most amazing woman ever?” you repeated. “I’m not sure I have the necessary qualifications for that title.”

“Would you like to hear your qualifications?”

“Yes I would.” You giggled slightly, feeling like a kid with a crush, when Sebastian slung his arm around you and pulled you close so that he could whisper in your ear.

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You are the smartest person I know. You’re kind and funny and you know all of this already because I’ve told you it before.”

“Yeah but I wanted to hear it again.” Your face was so close to Sebastian’s as you whispered back to him that your noses were almost touching. You hardly dared to breathe as your eyes flickered between his eyes and his lips.

Sebastian just barely started moving closer when you both heard “Is that Sebastian Stan?” coming from a nearby group of people. You jumped back almost immediately, blushing like a kid who was caught holding hands on the playground. Sebastian sent you a small smile before turning to face the fans who had come up to ask for pictures. Once he was finally finished with that, he took your hand again and led you back towards your apartment. Hopefully, no one had gotten a picture of you two in the park about to kiss. Despite what Sebastian had said, you were still scared of what people would say. Your hands shook slightly as you walked, so you slipped your hand out of his, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

Quicker than you would have liked, you were back outside your apartment building. “Do you want to come up?” you asked when he stopped on the sidewalk.

Sebastian shook his head. “I have to be up early tomorrow, and, if I go up, I’m never gonna want to leave.” Sebastian grabbed your hands, which were still shaking, and pulled you close before resting his hands on your hips. “I had a great time tonight.” He smiled, making you feel a bit more brave. This was just Sebastian. The same Sebastian you had known for years growing up.

Slowly, Sebastian brought a hand up to your face, giving you plenty of time to stop him. But you didn’t want to. He was making you feel a bit fearless. You grinned as he kissed you softly. Even though it wasn’t your first kiss, it certainly felt like it. Although technically, it was your first kiss as an official couple. And it was your first kiss out in public, where someone could take a picture that would make its way through the Marvel fandom.

But that didn’t matter to you now. The kiss was flawless. And despite whatever people online were probably already posting about you, you would never regret this moment. Life with Sebastian was undeniably better than life without him.

————————