#they should be good chapters though hopefully they'll be worth the wait

[slashmagpie]

Blood & Snow

Pt. III

Directory: {Pt. I} {Pt. II} {Pt. IV} {Pt. V} {Pt. VI} {Pt. VII} {AO3}

Day three for @hermithorrorweek TWs for this chapter include: minor injury/blood, temporary character death

III. CHASE

“Sorry, Bdubs, I don’t know what you want me to say! Dungeon’s closed! Heard it from the dungeon master himself!”

Scar sits on top of the cobblestone block that’s blocking the barrel to open the dungeon doors, blinking at Bdubs faux-innocently, clutching his cane so tight his knuckles are white.

Bdubs snorts. “Yeah, sure. So where is he, then?”

“Why, he’s fixing the dungeon, of course!”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Bdubs! Why would I lie about this? No, no, I’m simply doing community service, helping out my dear friend Tango while he—”

“Cut the bullshit, Scar,” Bdubs says, scowling and crossing his arms, startling Scar out of his rambling. Scar stares at him for a moment, mouth agape, and then sniffs, pulling a face.

“Language, Bdubs.”

“I’ve heard you say worse,” Bdubs points out. “So, come on, tell me what’s really going on. I mean, if it’s a scam, I can help you out for a piece of the pie.” He smiles. He hopes the smile is still as charming as usual, even with his mismatched gold-and-diamond teeth.

“It’s not a scam,” Scar blurts. Now that he’s given up the bit, his body language has changed: he’s hunched over, curling in on himself with his shoulders raised, and the one hand that isn’t gripping his cane is rubbing at his legs as his expression contorts in pain. Bdubs is instantly concerned.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“There’s—something wrong with the dungeon,” Scar says. “At first I thought I was being paranoid, maybe Tango had just added some new effects, but then…” He swallows, looking vaguely sick. “So when I got out, I went looking for him. And… I couldn’t find him. Bdubs, I don’t think Tango’s anywhere.”

“Well, he’s got to be somewhere,” Bdubs says with a frown. “He can’t just have vanished into the air!”

“I can’t find him,” Scar stresses again. “And the dungeon has flesh now.”

“It has what?”

“It’s got flesh, Bdubs! And—it laughed at me, I think. And—screamed, and—” He cuts off with a shaky breath. “Do you see the problem now?”

Bdubs’ stomach is slowly sinking down into a black pit of dread. “I, uh—yeah. I might.” He runs a hand over his face, blowing out a breath. “Jeez. Okay. Okay. This is—we need to do something about this.”

“What can we even do?” Scar cries, a little shy of hysterical. “How do we—?”

“Does the waiting room still have a bed?” Bdubs interrupts him.

Scar blinks. “Yes…? Why?”

“I need to shreep.” 

“You need to—is this really the time?! Bdubs, Tango is—”

“I know,” Bdubs says. “Tango told me to knock it off, but, well, I’m sure he won’t mind this one time.”

Scar squints at him. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find him.”

----

Bdubs hasn’t slept in Decked Out since he’d realised that he couldn’t control his dreams when he did. Since he’d realised that sleeping within the Citadel’s walls would inevitably drag him beneath it, into the walls of the dungeon, he’d made sure to always head home before sundown.

Tonight, he makes an exception.

The waiting room is a strange environment to fall asleep in, but he manages it, curling up on his side and pulling the blankets over his head. It blocks out the light, the bright colours of the walls, and sleep soon comes to tug him from his body, down, down into the depths of the dungeon.

Huh. Bdubs has never been to level three before. That’s where he assumes he is, the walls thick with veins of skulk, the resting heartbeat of the dungeon accompanied by two quieter, off-beat hearts that echo around the walls. The build around him shudders slightly as it breathes, invisible spider webs sticking to the corners and dripping down from the ceiling. Bdubs stays as far away from them as he can, inching out of the room and down the stairs.

“Tango?” he calls quietly. Not too far away, a skulk sensor clicks. He shudders. It shouldn’t be able to hear him, is the thing. Most sensors can’t, not when he’s sleeping. But the sensors drip with more of that invisible webbing, and Bdubs knows that whatever that stuff is, his current form is made of something similar.

“Tango?” he calls again, louder, and this time a shrieker howls his position out to the dungeon. Bdubs curses under his breath as he hears the warden’s heartbeat pick up, the slow shuffle of footsteps towards him. He drops to a crouch. He needs to find Tango—he needs to get out of here—

His vision goes dark.

Crap.

He sneaks forward as fast as he can, the dungeon’s heartbeat picking up pace, the warden’s footsteps echoing too-loud in his ears. His vision is still dark, still pulsing, and he trips down a step he hadn’t seen in the shadows. The warden sniffs. Bdubs bites back a cry. He’s never going to find Tango at this rate—

The hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. He feels, more than sees, the presence of the warden looming over him.

Panic overtakes his rational brain and he takes off running.

The blast catches him off-guard, leaving him half-dead and wheezing as he skids around a corner, attempting to put as much distance between him and the warden as possible. His ears are ringing so loud he can barely hear the dungeon’s heartbeat above the sound, let alone the warden’s. He feels blood begin to run down his cheeks. Crap, crap, he’s going to die—

The darkness clears. Bdubs spares a glance over his shoulder. The warden is still coming for him, just out of range of the blindness effect, and now that he has a proper glimpse of it he can see the same invisible strings wrapped around the creature as it lumbers towards him.

He wrenches his gaze away and keeps running. 

This isn’t a run: he doesn’t have a compass, or a map, or any berries to sustain himself. He can feel himself flagging, the energy draining from him as he runs, and there’s nothing to soothe the agony still rattling in his ears and skull from the sonic blast. It doesn’t matter that he shouldn’t have legs, or lungs, or ears or blood or a stomach or any part of a body at all in this ethereal form, because this whole dungeon is drenched in the stuff that he’s made of and it can hurt him just as easily as it could while he was awake—

Wait.

What is he made of?

He can’t say he’s ever thought too much about it. Dream-stuff, is what he’d probably say, but what even is that? He’s not a body, but he is alive, is conscious—consciousness? Is that what these invisible tendrils are? Or are they something else? Something more?

Is this what a soul looks like?

His vision goes black again. He curses, glancing back, seeing the faint glow of the warden’s open ribcage, and then turns back to the way he’s facing, only to see the same glow, much, much closer.

…Ah. He’d forgotten about the other warden.

He stops, frozen, heart pounding, and knows that this is it: there’s no way out. His ears ring, and below the ringing, three furious hearts pound in time. The only light he can see in the dark is the invisible glow of the tendrils that hang from the walls, from the wardens, from himself.

He closes his eyes, takes his last breath, and makes his decision. 

He lunges forward, straight towards the warden, and as its arms come down in a killing blow he digs his fingers into the ethereal strings and cries, “Tango, you bastard, where are you?”

The blow should be enough to knock him back into his body. It isn’t. The impact shatters him into pieces, and Bdubs lets out a cry, reaching out for the floating shards of his soul—

And then there are burning blue eyes staring at him out of pitch dark.

“Tango?” Bdubs croaks without a voice.

You shouldn’t be here, says the dungeon, an aching creak of stone and skulk that sounds almost, almost, like Tango’s voice. I told you before. No cheating!

“Scar said you were in trouble. Where are you? We’ll come get you.”

The dungeon laughs. It’s just as terrifying as Scar had made it out to be. If Bdubs had a throat, he would swallow. 

You can’t find me, says the dungeon. I’m in the one place you can’t reach. Now go. AWAY.

Like a rubber band finally being released, Bdubs snaps back into his body with such force that he falls out of bed. He lies, shuddering, on the cold quartz floor of the waiting room, shaking and gasping for breath, pressing his fingers to the skin on his chest like he can push himself back into a single piece.

“Bdubs?” He blinks, bleary, up at Pearl, who’s perched on one of the parkour set-ups on the other side of the room. “Are you okay there, mate? You look a little…”

Bdubs sucks in a breath and finally finds his voice. “Get Scar,” he croaks. “Get—Get Etho. Get anyone. I… I know where Tango is.”

[mamaestapa]

At a Loss for Words

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/n Hubbard, the younger sister of Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Sam Hubbard, finds herself in a difficult situation after a steamy hookup with her brothers best friend, who just so happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals. In just nine months their lives will be changed forever. How will Y/n and Joe manage to to go through parenthood together? more so, how will Sam take the news he is going to be the uncle of his best friends baby?

•chapter summary: You and Joe break the news to Sam and your friends that you’re having a baby together. As you share the news with Sam, some past news comes to light and changes everything

•word count: 5.3k

•warnings: pregnancy, some fluff, mainly angst. mentions of sex, yelling, arguments, crying, get ready y’all this is a dramatic chapter

series masterlist

——————————————————

February 25, 2023

3 months pregnant

"And then you know what daddy did? He ran down the field, to the end zone, and before you knew it the crowd went wild!" Joe enthusiastically whispered to your growing belly.

You were laying on your couch in your apartment when Joe came over. In a couple hours, you have plans to hangout with Sam and some of the guys. Instead of getting ready like you should be, you were instead sitting on the couch and smiling down at Joe while he talked to the baby. He was telling his son or daughter about the first NFL touchdown he made as a Bengal. What an amazing moment it was for him, and all the Bengals fans. It finally gave the team hope for a good future in the league.

"Hopefully you'll get to come to all the home games once you're born," Joe whispered, "that is, if mommy lets you..." he finished, looking up at you with a teasing smile.

You narrowed your eyes at him and lightly smacked his head.

"Ouch," he kissed your bump and got up from his crouched position. "What was that for?" he asked, chuckling.

"Because," you crossed your arms, "of course this baby will be going to a few games once they're born. They'll even be going while they're still in here." you said, pointing to your stomach.

Your due date is September 26, so by then the regular season will have started and. You'll be heavily pregnant and miserable at that point. That is, until the baby is born. While you still had a long six months of pregnancy left, you couldn't wait for this baby to be born. You were ready for the morning sickness, thrown off sense of taste and smell, and the sore boobs to be over. Your doctor told you eventually the morning sickness will subside and your senses will go back to normal, but unfortunately the sore boobs will stick around for a bit. You'll get used to it eventually though, along with all of the other pregnancy milestones you have yet to achieve. As much as all of the hardships that come with pregnancy are tough, you know it will all be worth it in the end.

You and Joe stayed in silence for a moment, before he broke it. "What time did Sam say we needed to be there?"

You shook your head at him. You couldn't help but giggle at Joe's question. "I don't know, you tell me. You're the one who made the plans, Joseph." A light blush creeped up his neck, "I guess I did, didn't I?"

Yo nodded, "I think so? Although I think it could've been this guy named Boe Jurrow maybe?"

Joe chuckled as he sat down on the couch. "How could I forget about him. Yes, he sounds very familiar." Joe teased, giving you a small smile. You chuckled softly as you looked over at Joe. His eyes looked extremely blue as the sunlight from your living room window shown into his eyes. You gulped as you kept your gaze on Joe. He looked perfect. You could blame the hormones all you wanted, but it was hard to tear your gaze away from him as he sat next to you.

You and Joe haven't had the chance to talk much about your current relationship. You aren't together, but there's this unspoken understanding that you will definitely be co-parenting this baby together--unless things change during these next six months, of course. You and Joe have been good friends for more than a few years now, all thanks to your brother Sam. Your friendship has helped make the situation a tad bit less awkward. Along with all of that, there was no denying that you and Joe had chemistry. It's been like that between the two of you ever since you met at Ohio State University all those years ago. You and Joe had history. It wasn't something that lasted long, nor did it end well, but it still happened...

About 6 years ago...

You were sitting next to your brothers best friend, your legs on Joe's lap, as you listened to your brother drunkenly tell the story of his public speaking fiasco from earlier this week. You rolled your eyes as he dramatically re-told the story to all of his buddies. Joe kept his beautiful blues on you as a small smile made its way onto his face. The two of you had undeniable chemistry, both of you wanting nothing more than to be with each other. Joe knew he couldn’t make a move on you in public because of Sam. But in private? It was whole different story. Joe glanced at the guys that were sitting on the other side of the room, checking to make sure none of them were looking. When he noticed he was in the clear, he pushed your legs off his lap, instead moving so he could pull you into him. You hummed as you leaned back into his embrace. You took a risk cuddling with eachother in public, especially in front of Sam—who’s would kill Joe if he saw this. But being wrapped up in Joe’s arms was always so comforting. You never wanted to leave him or his embrace. You wished you could stay like this forever.

But your wishes were crushed.

*four days later*

"You're what?"

"I'm moving to Louisiana in a couple days," Joe sighed, "transferring to LSU. They want me to be starter."

Tears welled up in your eyes at his words. This was why Joe had been so distant from you these last couple days. He was making a life changing decision without you, the person he’s been in love with since his freshman year.

"I, I don't even know what to say right now ." you stuttered out, refusing to look up at Joe.

Because you knew as soon as you looked into those beautiful blues you loved so much, it would be the last time you'd see them.

Joe scoffed at your response. "Aren't you happy for me? I finally get a chance to prove myself, Y/n." His shoulders slumped slightly, "Nothing good has happened to me here. Career wise, that is. I've been benched my whole college football career. I won't make it in the NFL if I ride the bench my whole fucking life. LSU is giving me a chance to start. To prove myself, and show that I'm a great quarterback who can win championships and make it in the NFL."

You just stayed silent, unsure what to say. This was so much to process. The love of your life, or at least who you thought was the love of your life, was leaving you behind. Joe claims he just made the decision yesterday to transfer, but you knew it was lie. You knew as soon as LSU offered him a spot on that team that he had made his decision.

Joe sighed, "Y/n, I need you to say something."

You finally let yourself look up at Joe, a tear rolling down your cheek as you looked into his blue eyes for what you knew was the last time. There was no way to make this work.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" you asked, voice full of heartbreak. Joe rolled his eyes, "I didn't need your opinion. You would have told me to stay."

Your felt your heart break at his words. He didn't need your opinion? he didn't want to tell you his thoughts about transferring because he knew you'd convince him to stay? After everything you went through with him in these last two years, Joe didn't talk to you about this life changing decision because he "didn't need your opinion".

"Joe," you said, obviously taken aback by his harshness, "I never would have made you stay if I knew you were this unhappy. I would have supported whatever decision you wanted to make."

He shook his head, "No you wouldn't. You would have told me to stay because of you."

Your mouth dropped open in shock. You were heartbroken, but most of all, confused. You were about to speak when Joe cut you off.

"You know right now, my future career is more important than some stupid college fling." He scoffed, picking up his backpack from the floor of the dining hall. Ouch. You covered your mouth with your hands, choking out a sob as his harsh words hit you like a ton of bricks. He saw you as just a college fling. It meant the last two years were a complete waste. The two of you were never in a relationship. You never went on a single date. But you were attracted to one another, and boy did he love you. All of those walks to class together and those good morning texts. All of those sneaking kisses behind Sam’s back or cuddling in Joe’s room when Sam wasn’t home. Or those Friday night parties and losing your virginity to one another. Supporting him no matter what, even if he sat the bench every game. All meant absolutely nothing to Joe.

You know you shouldn’t be upset. He was never truly yours. To anyone else you were just friends. But to you and Joe it was always something more. At least, to you it was something more.

"You made the last two years fun," Joe said, looking down at you, "I'll always be thankful for you, Y/n." his voice lowered as he smiled sadly at you, "but I need to move on. There are better opportunities for me and my future, in Louisiana."

You just sat at the table as tears streamed down your face. You didn't even know how to react. Joe sighed sadly and reached out, grabbing your hand and squeezing it gently as he said, "if it's meant to be, we'll see each other again. I just need to focus on my future first." he brought your hand up to his lip, leaving a soft kiss to the top of your hand. "Goodbye, Y/n/n." he said sadly, dropping your hand walking away from you.

*present day*

That was the last time you spoke to Joe. Until he was drafted by the Bengals in 2020, that is.

It took a lot of time for you to come around, but you and Joe eventually spoke to each other again. Both of you apologizing for that moment back in 2018 before he left. You were still heartbroken over Joe, but over time, you got over it. You and Joe slowly started to become friends again. The two of you forgetting about about that day back in college where your friendship ended…

Both of you had grown up and moved on from the situation since then. Joe told you before he went to LSU, that if it was meant to be you'd see each other again. And here you are, nearly six years later. Both of you work for the Bengals, seeing each other almost everyday, just having two completely different roles. Here you are nearly six years after your nasty “breakup”, on speaking terms again, being close friends, and having a baby together.

It was almost as if this was the universes way of bringing the two of you back together again...

~time skip~

"Do you think I need to change my shirt? Maybe wear something a little baggier? I'm worried this shirt shows off the bump too much." you asked Joe, showing him your outfit. You were wearing a tight black t-shirt with a little tan cardigan, along with a pair of your favorite jeans and black boots.

Joe put his hand on his chin, "Hmm," he pondered, looking at your figure, "it doesn't look bad. When you're facing the front you can't tell that you've got a little belly."

You checked yourself out in the mirror, noticing what Joe was saying. You shrugged as you looked at your appearance, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Turn to the side,” he said, motioning for you to turn. You turned to the side, looking in the mirror and huffing out a sigh. As much as you loved that little baby bump, it was much more noticeable now than it was the last time you saw the guys. There was no way you could hide it with the outfit you had on at the moment.

You looked up at Joe through the mirror. He was watching you intently, a twinkle in his eye as he looked at the bump in your abdomen.

“Joe.” You said softly, causing him to snap his eyes up at you. You chuckled softly as he shook his head, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Sorry, I was just thinking about that time before the championship where we saw your bump for the first time."

You smiled warmly as you thought about the first time you noticed your baby was starting to make an appearance, in the bathroom of the Bengals practice facility. Joe walked out of the bathroom, leaving you to decided what to change into. Joe walked back into the bathroom, holding a loose tan sweater.

"Here,” he handed you the sweater, "I found this in the closet. Thought it would look good, plus it'll hide your tummy." he winked, making you smile softly. You took the sweater from him and set it on the counter. You slowly took your cardigan and black t-shirt off, Joe watching as you stripped. You momentarily made eye contact with him through the mirror, making him look away in embarrassment as he got caught. You shook your head in amusement and slipped the sweater on over your figure. You looked at yourself in the mirror, checking all the angles. Sure enough it hid your small baby bump perfectly.

"Wow,” you drew out in amusement, “who knew? Joe Burrow, full time Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, part time fashion designer."

He chuckled, “I like to think I have great fashion taste."

You shrugged, “Well besides the gray jeans and the ugg slippers, sure.” You giggled and went back to finishing up my hair and makeup. Joe rolled his eyes and walked out of the bathroom, leaving you laughing as you finished getting ready.

As you finished cleaning up your things in the bathroom, you went back out to the living room. Sneaking up behind Joe, who was sitting on your couch and reading through comments on his recent Instagram post. You placed your hand on his shoulder, making him crane his neck up at you. He smiled softly as he looked at you.

"Ready to go?" he asked. You nodded, letting out a nervous laugh, “I guess. I don’t really think I have a choice.”

Joe stood up from the couch, frowning. "It’ll be fine, Y/n. Sam might beat my ass, but that's only because I’m his best friend and I knocked you up. He can’t be upset at you for that.” You sighed in response, “Yeah, he might be a little pissed about that.”

"He might, yes.” Joe sighed, reaching out for your hand. He squeezed it gently as he said, “but, I do know he'll get over it, at some point. It took him sometime to get used to us dating years ago, remember?”

You smiled sadly as you thought about your past relationship with Joe when the two of you were just 20 years old. You’d never seen Sam so pissed at someone before. He hated that his best friend was dating his baby sister. However, when he saw how much Joe was in love with you, he finally started to come around. But it was short lived because as soon as your brother came around to you and Joe dating, Joe broke your heart unexpectedly and left for LSU.

"Y/n,” Joe said softly, pulling you out of your thoughts, “I promise everything will be fine.”

You wished you could say you believed Joe, but you knew deep down Sam wouldn’t take this news well at all. The two of you made your way out of your apartment and out to Joe’s car. You got into the car, and Joe’s eyes immediately fell over the ultrasound picture that was sitting on his dash. He leaned forward slightly, straightening the black and white photo of his baby, with a smile tugging at his lips as he did so.

You smiled as you watched his face full with joy and eyes light up with love. It made you so happy to see he still had the ultrasound photo on his dash.

~time skip~

Joe opened the doors of the bar for you, letting you go in first, “Thanks." you smiled softly. Joe followed behind you nodding.

The two of you walked into the bar, looking for the table with all of your friends. You pulled the sweater away from your belly, making sure the material was loose enough so that nobody could see the bump in your abdomen. Joe looked down at you and nodded, “You’re fine, can’t see it at all.” He said, low enough so only you could hear him.

"There they are. Y/n! Joe!” Sam called from the table in the corner of the bar, a wide smile on his face as he saw you walk in with the blonde. You took a deep breath, putting a fake, happy smile on your face as you and Joe walked m over to the U shaped booth he and the others were seated at. "Hey Sammy!"

Sam stood up and hugged you tightly before hugging Joe, and clapping his back like all men do when they greet eachother. Cooper sat down next to Logan and Morgan, Logan wife.

"You guys come together?" Sam joked, smirking up at his best friend. You glanced at Joe who smiled and shook his head no. Sam laughed as you and Joe sat down next to each other. Sam sat on the outside, with Logan and Morgan next to him. Ja’Marr and Tee were in the middle, with you and Joe on the end.

"No,” you sighed as you pulled your sweater away from your tummy again, “we just happened to get here at the same time." you said, laughing a little as you finished your sentence.

Sam nodded and went back to talking to some of the guys. You decided to chat with Morgan. The two of you have been good friends for a while. As you talked to Morgan for a few minutes, catching up with each other about your off-season plans, Ja'Marr stood from his spot.

"How about we get some more drinks?!" he yelled, causing the other guys to whoop and holler.

You gulped, nervously. You knew you would have to break the news about your pregnancy very soon since they were ordering drinks. Joe noticed you were beginning to get anxious, so he put his hand on your knee under the table. He gave it a gentle squeeze as you smiled at him. He smiled back at you before turning back to the guys.

"So, what does everyone want? Y/n, I think I already know what you want." Tee snickered as everyone broke into laughter. Everyone at the table knew what my go to drink or drinks were.

You giggled along with them, "I don't know, do you?"

"Margarita? A glass of wine? No wait-- tequila on the rocks?" Ja'Marr asked, a sly grin on his face.

You knew you had to break the news now. You breathed out a laugh, "All three would be great, but-."

Sam chuckled, "She'll take all three then."

"Wait-."

"She can't..." Joe trailed off. The laughter and jokes came to an end as everyone looked at the quarterback and furrowed their eyebrows in confusion.

"Why? You love alcohol? Well, you certainly did at Taylor's party at least." Ja'Marr laughed. Tee chuckled in agreement, "Yeah. You pregnant or somethin'?"

You anxiously bit your lip. Here we go... You stayed silent. Your silence answering the question. The question that was supposed to just be a joke. Oh how you wished it was a joke right now...

"Oh my god, you're pregnant!" Morgan grinned excitedly, "congratulations, hun!"

Your breath hitched as you looked over at your older brother, whose jaw was clenched, "Surprise?"

"You're actually pregnant, Y/n!?" Tee asked, smiling happily. Ja'Marr and Logan had huge smiles on their faces too. You nodded, "Yeah, I am."

You looked over at Sam again. He had a shocked look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He clenched his jaw once again. Sam already wasn't taking this news well. You can only imagine how he'll react when he finds out who the father is. You glanced over at Joe, noticing how he gulped nervously.

"So," Logan chuckled taking a swig of his beer. "Who's the daddy?"

Sam gave you a stern look. "Yeah, Y/n. Who's the daddy?"

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you felt bile rise up the back of your throat. You couldn't tell him here, not like this. Especially with how he's reacting.

"I," you took a deep breath, "he um..." you stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"Its me." All eyes at the table snapped to Joe, "I'm the father." he stated. You let out a heavy sigh and looked over at the bar. Trying to avoid your friends shocked stares and your brothers eyes that were shooting daggers at you. Tee and Ja'Marr's mouth gaped open in shock.

"Pffft, Burrow shut up. You wish you were the daddy." Tee laughed, taking a drink of his beer.

"I'm not joking." Joe said in a serious tone. You smiled slightly as you made eye contact with him. You both looked across the table at Sam. HIs face was red, and he seemed to be fuming. Oh shit, this won't be good. Sam slammed his hands on the table of the booth. He shot up from the booth and reached across the table, his strong arms grabbing Joe by the collar.

"You fucker!" he roared, shaking Joe as he yelled, "YOU knocked my sister up?! How could you? C'mon man, you're my fucking best friend Joe!"

You gasped as you watched your brother try to throw a punch at Joe's jaw.

"Sam, let go of him!" Morgan cried, trying to pry Sam off of him. Logan joined in and helped her.

You grabbed onto Joe, trying to pull him out of your brothers grasp. However, your attempts were unsuccessful as Sam was much stronger than you. Sam looked pissed, and Joe looked like he was about to piss himself.

"You don't know how bad I want to fucking punch you right now." Sam seethed, tightening his grasp on Joe.

"Sam!" you cried, "Let go of him, calm down, please!" you exclaimed, tears brimming your eyes. Hearing the pain in your voice and tears in your eyes caused Sam to immediately soften. He let go of Joe's shirt collar and sat back down in the booth, chest heaving as he kept his angry gaze on Joe. Joe got out of the booth and took a deep breath, eyes shifting between all of his friends and you. Everyone at the booth was at a loss for words.

"Okay, everyone calm down." Tee said, putting his hands out in a gesture that told everyone to breathe. Ja'Marr nodded, "Well uh, Higgins and I are going to head out, let you guys talk this out."

The two receivers got up from the booth and stood at the front of the table, waving goodbye. Ja'Marr and Tee silently congratulated you before they both left. Logan and Morgan decided to leave too, both of them hugging and congratulating you and Joe. Morgan quietly told you good luck and that she would have Logan talk to Sam if things go south. After all of your friends left, it was just you, your brother, and your baby daddy in booth at the bar. The air was extremely tense, none of you dared to speak a word as you knew it would end in a screaming match. You knew it would be best to talk about this somewhere more private. After a few more minutes of tense silence, you declared that it would be best if you, Joe and Sam, went back to Joe's place to and talk it out and approach the situation.

~time skip~

"Why the HELL did you think it would be a good idea to screw my best friend, Y/n?" Sam yelled, pointing at Joe. You groaned and huffed out a breath of annoyance, "God Sam, we went over this! I was DRUNK! HE was drunk too! We didn't mean for this to happen."

Sam was standing in the middle of Joe's living room, pacing back and forth, while you and Joe sat on his couch.

Sam groaned. He rubbed his hands down his face. "I just...my sister?" he looked at Joe with a look of disbelief mixed with betrayal. "Do you know how fucked up that is? You don't go hookin' up with your best friends SISTER!"

Joe sighed and stood up from the couch, "Sam, look," he glanced at you as he spoke, "just like Y/n said, we were DRUNK. I mean shit, we were both almost black out drunk by the time we got back to my place!" his voice raised slightly as he tried to get his point across to Sam. He walked closer to Sam. "Listen, I get it. You're pissed at me, and if I were in your shoes, I would be pissed at me too. But Sam, I'm not leaving her. I'm staying around for this kid, and her." he said firmly. Sam just shook his head as he laughed in disbelief at his friends words.

Joe was fuming with anger as he saw Sam's reaction. Suddenly, Joe put his hands out in front of him and roughly pushed Sam's chest. "I'm not going to walk out and be some deadbeat dad, goddamnit!"

You looked between the two blondes, not daring to say a word to either of them. They were both of them upset with eachother, so you knew you needed to let them hash things out--without you interfering. You could talk to Sam about this later.

Sam scoffed and pushed him right back, "Bullshit!" he seethed at his best friend, "that's what they all say, Joe! You're going to walk out on her when she least expects it, and you're not going to look back, man. You have nothing tying you down to her."

You couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Sam's mouth. It was true though, there was nothing tying Joe down to you. You weren't together, you were just relying on his word that he wouldn't leave you or the baby.

Joe raised his voice, "You really think that low of me?" "YEAH!" Sam yelled, "yeah I do. You've left her behind before Joe."

Your heart dropped. You knew he was talking about Joe leaving you behind in Ohio when he left for LSU...

"Well this time, it's different. You know why?" Joe asked, getting up in Sam's face. "because I won't listen to you this time. I broke things off with Y/n because of you. I was going to ask her out. I was willing to make long distance work. But you Sam, you made me leave her behind."

You stood up from the couch, your mouth dropping open in disbelief. Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at Sam with a heartbroken expression.

"Sam?" you asked, voice quiet, "is that true?"

"Y/n, we'll talk later," he sighed, giving you a somber expression. You shook your head, "NO! No, I want an answer now. Is that true? You knew about us so you made him break things off with me?"

"Y/n/n I-." You cut him off. "Yes or no."

Same shoulders fell in defeat.

"Yes."

You shook your head in disbelief, "I can't believe you."

"Y/n, you have to understand. Joe is my best friend. you're my sister, I was looking out for both of you. I knew if he dated you and moved to LSU, I would have lost both of you."

You were at a loss for words.

Sam continued, “And Y/n, this isn’t all my fault.” Sam pointed at Joe accusingly, “he made the decision to leave you behind. What makes you think he wouldn’t do it again?”

Joe scoffed, “Don’t give me that crap. This is a completely different situation.”

“How is different? Huh? How the hell is this any different?” Sam asked, his voice raising.

“because I love her. That’s right, I LOVE HER!" Joe yelled, pointing at you as he said those three words.

You never thought you would hear those words come out of Joe’s mouth. The two of you have history, history that you now discovered was only harsh because of your brother. All those years ago you assumed Joe left you behind because he didn’t genuinely care about you. But you were so wrong…

You know you need to talk to Sam about the OSU situation sooner rather than later. But you knew it could wait. You had to focus on the pregnancy news first.

Joe continued, “I love her so goddamn much, and that baby? I haven't even met the kid yet, but I already love it more than life itself. You know why Sam?” Sam stayed silent as Joe poured his heart out.

“That baby was made out of love. I’m going to love him or her no matter what. No matter what you say to me, or what you do me Sam, I’m not going anywhere!"

A tear rolled down your cheek as you listened to Joe’s confession. He truly did love and care about you. Even back when you were just 20, he did truly love you.

The silence was deafening as none of you said anything. Emotions still high between the three of you. Sam sat down on the couch and rubbed a hand over his face. You looked up at Joe with tears threatening to fall. You swallowed the lump in your throat, letting the only words you could think of spill out.

“You love me?”

There was so much to talk about, but that was all you could say.

hey loves!

this chapter was a little fluffy, but it was pretty angsty lol

did you see that coming? sam being the one that made joe break things off with you?👀

that’ll be elaborated on more later on…

the next chapter is pretty fluffy though, we find out what the gender of the baby is!! so exciting!

what are your guesses? will it be a boy or girl?

i hope you’re all doing well. thank you so much for reading and always supporting me and my writing. i love you all😚🤍🤍

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