#while all she thinks about is going to cali

[guiltyasdave]

like snow on the beach

pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

word count: ~2.8k

summary: You're on a work trip with your boss, who you don't like and who you're convinced doesn't like you either. Unfortunately, there's only one bed.

tags/warnings: only one bed trope (ayyyy), fluff, idiots in love, alternating povs, reader has hair that drips down her neck after showering at one point but there are no texture or color descriptors, able-bodied reader, no use of y/n, my nonexistent knowledge of colombian geography which i'm asking you to ignore for the sake of this silly story THANK YOU

a/n: my entry for the summer lovin' challenge brought to us by queens @pedgito, @chaotic-mystery and @amanitacowboy <3 i got the moodboard you see in the header and the location by the water. i'm also posting a little early but i'm too excited and it's almost midnight here so i think it's gonna be fine hehe

biggest love to @sizzlingcloudmentality who held my hand through writing this and patiently listened to all my complaints lol. i love drinking more caffeine than pedro and writing with you while getting distracted by cats <3

dividers by @plum98!

find my full masterlist here and follow @guiltyasdavenotifs to get notified when i post a new fic :)

You’re hot, too hot. 

It’s disorienting, as you blink awake, slow to get your bearings. Arms are wrapped around you, caging you in, engulfing you in the warmth of the body pressed against your back. Hot air is fanning against your neck, accompanied by a scratching sensation on the sensitive skin. 

Your surroundings are unfamiliar, faded wallpaper in an unappealing shade of green and light filtering in through the battered up blinds. It comes back to you in pieces, the motel you’re staying at, the small Colombian town where you’re hoping to get a hold of one of the Cali cartel men. 

The obnoxious scent of Peña’s aftershave is flooding your nostrils, paired with the traces of tobacco that follow him everywhere he goes. It’s honestly embarrassing, how easily you recognize it.

It clicks into place now. The arms around you, the warmth. The scratch that you now realize is his mustache as he’s breathing against your neck.

You start wriggling around, causing the man behind you to stir, a confused groan coming out slightly muffled, his mouth still so close to your skin. He lets go of you after a second, allowing you to turn around and glare at him. 

His face is already forming his signature annoyed scowl, an expression that you’re more than well acquainted with.

“What the hell are you doing?!” 

He sounds different like this, voice still thick with sleep, a hint of the disorientation that you’ve shaken off by now. 

“What am I doing? I woke up with your arms around me, Peña.” 

He blinks, shifting to sit up and lean against the headboard. You mirror him, putting as much space between you as the rather small bed frame allows. 

“Sorry,” he allows after a beat, running a hand through his hair, tousling the mess of black strands that has formed in his sleep. “That wasn’t… appropriate. I apologize.” 

If you weren’t as annoyed right now, you’d probably think that he looks adorable like this. The you from a few months ago would most likely go wild at seeing Javier Peña right after waking up, after he held you in his arms no less. 

The you from a few months ago hadn’t experienced what an asshole of a boss he could be yet, hadn’t been taken off investigations again and again, because Peña thought you weren’t ready. She also hadn’t heard about his terrible reputation with women, hadn’t been subjected to all the office gossip that surrounded him yet. 

Now, after days of practically begging him to take you along on this trip because the whole investigation was based on information that you had gathered, you’re stuck in this motel room with him. Something about your booking of two single rooms accidentally having been processed as one double room, with no other rooms available because of course there weren’t. 

Peña had offered to sleep on the ground, or in the car, but you had waved him off, thinking about how often he had complained how his back was getting worse the older he got on the drive here. You hadn’t expected to wake up to him all but wrapped around you. 

Maybe a small, very small part of you is still going wild about it. A part that you can easily swallow down though. He’s objectively attractive, yes. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s an asshole.

“Just forget it,” you mumble, heat rising belatedly in your cheeks. Gathering your clothes for the day, you flee to the bathroom, eager to wash the whole decidedly weird situation off your body and out of your mind. You’re here because you have a job to do, not to get flustered around your boss. 

When you reemerge, wet strands of your hair dripping down your neck, he’s already dressed, clasping his hands in a way that almost seems nervous. If you weren’t pretty convinced that Javier Peña isn’t physically able to get nervous. 

“I– I’m really sorry,” he repeats, raising from the worn down arm chair he’s been sitting in. “I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position. I’m not– I’m not exactly used to sharing a bed.”

A scoff leaves you at that. Sure, Agent Peña, who’s notorious for sleeping with his informants and with at least half of the female staff of the American embassy, isn’t used to sharing his bed. 

“Don’t worry about it, Peña.” 

You turn away before he can reply, collecting your notes on the investigation that you hope will come in helpful eventually. You don’t catch the remorseful look in his eyes, or the way they linger on you as you open the door, the early morning light illuminating your figure.

It’s another day filled with nothing but waiting and growing frustration, just like the one before. The sun is beating down on the car that you’re occupying, the heat suffocating even with the windows rolled down and the cool bottle of water that you’re pressing against your neck.

Minutes tick by, turning into hours that go by too quickly and seem to last forever at the same time. Peña is surprisingly quiet, not goading you in the way you had expected him to. 

“Maybe the information was bad,” you mumble eventually, sinking deeper into the car seat. The leather is sticking uncomfortably to your skin and you can’t shake the growing feeling that you’ve insisted on coming out here for nothing.

He slowly turns his head in your direction, regarding you through the dark tint of his aviators. 

“I looked at it. We wouldn’t be here if it was bad.” 

You huff, your patience running short and shorter at the subtle indication of his superiority, his quiet arrogance, always so fucking sure of himself.

“You weren’t exactly thrilled about coming here, remember?”

He raises a brow, a hint of impatience on his own features.

“I wasn’t thrilled about you coming here.” 

You roll your eyes, openly scowling at him now. 

“It’s my intel.”

“Doesn’t make it less dangerous, does it?” 

Biting your lip, you force your blood to not boil over. He’s still your boss, at the end of the day, someone you probably shouldn’t start cussing out, no matter how openly he underestimates you and how badly it annoys you. And you’re gonna have to share that wretched bed with him again tonight. 

Javier watches your face, watches you swallow down your anger, watches your teeth digging into your plush bottom lip. He understands your frustration, understands that no part of this trip is turning out the way you expected it to. 

You’re still new to the workfield, not yet experienced with the hours upon hours of waiting, more often than not without a satisfying result to show for it. If he’s being honest with himself, he isn’t mad about it this time. He’ll rather have you frustrated than in danger. 

You want to prove yourself, you’ve made that abundantly clear. You work hard, determined to bring in results, hungry for praise. It’s not that he doesn’t see that, doesn’t think that you’re capable. But he’s seen enough, enough injuries, enough psychological trauma, enough deaths, to know that he wants you far away from that side of your work. 

Even if that means you’re angry at him more often than not, a glint of bitterness in your eyes every time he refuses to send you out yet again. 

After another few hours, accompanied by the increasing rumbling in both your stomachs, he finally calls it quits for the day. 

“We can drive back to Bogotá tomorrow,” he quietly offers on the way back to the motel, after picking up food for the both of you and refusing to let you pay for your share. “Gather more information, see why we didn’t find anything.”

You huff in return, irritated about the whole situation. The one chance you had to convince him to take you seriously, and this is what you get. “Fine,” you agree, gritting your teeth. Maybe your intel was bad. Maybe you just aren’t that good at your job.

“Keep to your side of the bed tonight,” you grumble later, after the bored woman at the reception told you that there still aren't any other rooms available. 

“Of course,” he sighs, sliding under the covers with the biggest possible distance from you.

You nod, closing your eyes and willing for sleep to take you, but it’s a losing game. You toss and turn, feeling both too hot and too cold at the same time, unable to find a comfortable position and to get the voices in your head to shut up. 

When you roll over yet again, his voice rings through the dark, somewhat agitatedly asking what’s wrong. 

“Nothing,” comes your frustrated reply, pressing your face deeper into the cushion, your eyes squeezed shut. After a few more breaths and zero sign of your brain slowing down, you turn towards him, only able to make out his silhouette in the dark. Your judgment is probably hazy with how tired you are, but the words are out of your mouth before you can think them over.

“Can I ask you a question, Agent Peña?” 

“Javier is fine.” 

Your heart gives a tiny flutter, despite your conflicted feelings about him, despite the question that you’re about to ask. 

“Why do you not like me?” 

It’s inappropriate, especially right now, lying in the dark and sharing a fucking bed with him. But you think that if you don’t ask now, you probably never will, and you need to know. 

“Why would you think that I don’t like you?” 

You huff, squinting at him. “It’s pretty obvious. You don’t trust my work, you never send me to go out, dismiss my intel most of the time–” 

It’s silent for a long time, safe for his quiet breaths. 

“That’s not–” He sighs deeply, turning his head towards you as well. “That’s not true. You’re making it about yourself when you shouldn’t. I treat you exactly like your colleagues, you’re the one taking it personal.” 

It’s curt, dismissive. Laced with carefully feigned indifference, bordering on coldness. Too carefully. You didn’t think he’d lie to you if you asked him this directly, but here you are. 

Blinking back angry tears, you roll onto your back again, unseeingly staring at the ceiling. You don’t understand why it hits you like this. You’ve had shitty bosses before, far worse than Peña. You’ve just never wanted them to like you the way you want him to. 

“Good night, Agent Peña.” You turn onto your other side, your back towards him. 

“Good night,” comes his solemn reply. 

You don’t wake up with his arms around you again, thankfully, but he hasn’t exactly kept to his side of the bed either. One hand is curled over your shoulder, like he had to reach out and hold onto you in his sleep. 

You’re the one taking it personal. 

Clearly he hasn’t been reaching for you specifically. It’s probably just second nature for him, something that usually goes well with the women sharing his bed. 

You’re able to shake his hold off without waking him up, something that you’re grateful for. 

When he wakes and repeats how he thinks you should abandon the investigation, you don’t argue. It’s a quiet affair, packing up and getting ready to leave. 

Sitting in the driver’s seat, he turns to you, his brow furrowed into that moody expression you’ve gotten used to. “I’ve been thinking,” he begins, eyeing you warily. “We’re not far from the ocean right now. Have you been to the beach since you came to Colombia?” 

You raise an eyebrow in mild suspicion, curious where he’s going with this. 

“I haven’t been out of Bogotá since I landed there. But–” 

His eyes grow softer, his hand twitching like he almost reached out towards you. 

“No buts. At least then it won’t have been a total waste of time to come here, right?” 

The dig towards you, towards the reason you drove all the way out here for nothing isn’t lost on you. You don’t have it in you to argue against it, so you just nod, staring straight ahead. 

Javier realizes how badly you misunderstood his words as soon as they’re out of his mouth and he sees your face. He doesn’t know how he consistently manages to fuck up his interactions with you like this. It’s not him, the blundering, the words constantly coming out all wrong, but you make him nervous in a way that he hasn’t experienced in years. 

He starts driving, hopeful to somehow still be able to turn this trip around. There’s a whole day on the road ahead of them, and he’d much rather spend those hours without feeling like he’s made you hate him. 

You do soften at the sight of the ocean, the sound of waves rolling against the shore having a soothing effect almost instantly. It’s beautiful, the water a brilliant blue, the sun glittering on the surface. You can’t be mad right now, not even at Javier, who’s keeping his distance, letting you wander along the shore by yourself. 

You focus on taking in the scenery, hoping to somehow take it with you to when you’re back in your bleak, government issued apartment, staring at the vastness of gray buildings that is of Bogotá. 

When you turn back to him, his eyes are already on you, less tense, more open than you’re used to. You don’t know how long they’ve been lingering on you, how little attention he had been paying to the nature surrounding you. How good it had felt, to see you like this, without the usual distaste in your face that you have come to regard him with most of the time. The silhouette of you against the bright sky, your skin glowing under the beaming sun. 

“Thank you,” you say, actually smiling at him. A spark of warmth grows in his chest. “This was a good idea, I– I enjoyed it.” 

“I’m glad.” He eagerly returns the smile, allows himself to reach out and graze one finger against the soft skin of your hand. Finding himself unable to stop touching you, now that he’s had a taste of it.

Confusion crosses your face before you quickly avert your eyes, but you don’t pull away. It gives him a sliver of hope, that maybe you’re starting to understand what he doesn’t know how to tell you. 

After a mostly quiet drive back, both of you too exhausted to talk much, Javier drops you off at your apartment, his hand once again hovering over yours before you get out. 

“Good night,” he breathes, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he continues on. “You– you’re doing good work. Don’t beat yourself up over this, okay?” 

You manage a nod, murmuring thank you, Javier before opening the car door and stepping out onto your street, illuminated by the glow of yellow lights. You only realize that you used his first name by the time that your apartment door falls shut behind you. It doesn’t bother you as much as you thought it would. 

Breathing in the familiar scent of your own place, a deep relief washes over you, reveling in the knowledge that you’re gonna sleep in your own bed tonight, alone. You turn on your shower, eager to let the warm water soothe your muscles, stiff from spending the entire day in a car. 

When you exit the bathroom, wrapped into a towel and with a cloud of steam accompanying you, your answering machine is blinking. You press the button to let the message play, moving through your apartment to put on your comfiest sleepwear and ready to fall straight into bed. 

You stop in your tracks when Javier’s voice rings through the room, tripping over the words in a way that’s difficult to associate with the calm, self-assured man that you know. 

“Hey, it’s Javier. You– you’re probably showering, or already asleep. I just– I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings these past days, or– or any day, really. I wanted you to know that. You’re good at what you do, you really are, but– I worry about you, I guess. And I know that I shouldn’t, that I shouldn’t treat you differently. It’s– it’s not because I don’t like you. I like you too much, if anything, and– and now I know what it’s like to sleep next to you, and– anyway, I’m– shit, I’m making a fool of myself. Just– just call me back. Please.”

Your hand finds your phone as soon as the recording ends.

thank you for reading! as always, reblogs, comments and asks are love and absolutely make my day <3

[malwaredykes]

well. here she is. miss Leigh Stasik.

trans woman. stubborn, incorrigible, eccentric. communist; she has leftist in-fighting with herself on the regular. a cannibal; she has no moral qualms about this, and its both a bit of a spiritual thing and a bit of a pragmatic thing. medic (not a doctor. no medical license). she knows for sure she had some kind of significant personality change from being shot in the head, but she doesn't remember what she was like exactly before it happened, it all became this kind of distant memory soup. shes originally from west new cali, but she grew very attached to the mojave. and has a lot of contempt for the ncr. She Will Serve Crack Before She Serves This Country. thank god the army discriminates against transsexuals etc. zero tolerance for the legion, obviously.

she firmly believes she is not nice, or kind, or compassionate, but instead her actions and her general sense of justice stem from her simply doing whats the most logical and objectively beneficial. it may be true to some extent, but she might also have a wee bit of ocd of the "i am a horrible person whos at all times like 2 seconds away from committing atrocities" variety.

shes a SCIENTIST. unofficially. she doesnt have a degree nor a chosen field of study. she makes her own hrt and other mysterious concoctions, including designer chems. which she claims she ingests injects etc not for recreational purposes, but to Enhance Her Powers And Possibilities. she reads old world books about psychology so she can manipulate people better. and makes weird contraptions and doohickeys while high. shes a HACKER of course and hacks terminals and systems for fun and just to see if she can.

her stats are out there due to implants and intense training, originally they were rather average. in-game she wears combat armor mk 2, but i see her having spruced it up like this. her main weapon is the ycs/186, the unique gauss rifle, but before that she used a modded plasma pistol. which she very much enjoyed the silly appearance of. because it was so small and with so much shit tacked on and she could just hold it in one hand like a mutated revolver like Hands up motherfucker bang bang bang lol. her melee weapon of choice is the machete gladius, but she's been training to be able to wield a thermic lance.

in my head the trajectory of her actions and the fate of the mojave that follows is different from what you can do with the game, because leigh could only go for The Secret Leftist Route Which Was Supposed To Be In The Game But We Were Robbed Of It.

boone was the first friend she made after leaving goodsprings and their relationship is particularly notable. they are Comrades, Siblings-In-Arms, Worsties (like besties but fucked up). theyve seen each other at their worst. they annoy each other on purpose. theyve had serious ideological clashes with each other and some ways in which boone perceives the world drive leigh absolutely nuts. they're ride or die for each other. theyre the kind of comfortable around each other where she'll be on the toilet and smoking a cig with the door open and talking to him, while he's naked sitting on the floor removing stitches from his leg. she's done surgery without anesthesia on him. he's projectile vomited blood on her from being poisoned by cazadores. she strongly encourages him to become a traitor to the ncr and to take part in the revolution and the formation of the new independent mojave alliance. somehow, it works on him in the end. shamefully they kinda like snuggling... boone bro come to bed man its nighty night man its beddy bye time.

shes in love with lily bowen. i havent decided yet whether she actually makes a move. but she thinks lily is sooooo dreamy. and shes right. if you dont think the enormous 203 year old blue mutant woman is dreamy thats your problem. outta her way

[pitchsidestories]

Just a little crush II Kim Little x Beattie!Reader

masterlist I word count: 3192

a/n: sorry, It's a lengthy one, but we hope you still enjoy it. ❤️

“Lee, who’s that girl talking to Jen?”, Kim Little asked Arsenal’s vice-captain while licking her lips nervously. They and some other family and friends gathered for a party to send Jen Beattie off who was going to California to join Bay FC.

There was something about that young woman standing next to her friend which was making her feel and think things the midfielder never did before, but she didn’t want to dwell on them any further as it would lead to much more questions and less clear answers.

Amused Leah Williamson raised her eyebrows:” Oh Kimmy, you don’t recognize her? It’s Jennis baby sister, she’s fresh out of Edinburgh University!”

“That’s not Jen’s sister! She looked so much younger last time.”, the Scottish woman shook her head in disbelief.

Still smiling the England captain replied: “Yes, it’s, she’s 25 now.”

“Oh wow.”, Kim muttered.

Noisily Beth Mead took part in their conversation:” Who are you two gossiping about? I want to know.”

“Jens little sis.”, Leah answered with a smug smile on her face.

“She turned into a real beauty, right?”, the blonde forward winked watching Kim turning red.

Much to her dismay the defender noticed it:” think our captain would agree with you.”

“Stop it.. I’m not.”, Kim explained slightly embarrassed.

“Having a little crush?”, Beth teased her teammate grinning.

Tuning in Steph Catley chirmed:” Oh Kim, that’s so cute.”

“I don’t have a crush.”, their captain disagreed. She felt relived when Jen came along distracting from the gossiping football players.

“Hi guys, remember my little sister?”, the tall Scottish defender asked.

Cheerful you greeted them:” Hi, everyone.”

“Hello great to see you again. Even though the reason is kind of sad.”, Beth responded with a sad smile.

Empathetically you nodded:” No, I agree but shamefully can’t wait to visit her soon in Cali.”

“You all act like I’m disappearing forever.”, your big sister laughed. Even though you knew the farewell felt equally as bittersweet to her.

Quickly Lia Wälti hugged her: “We can’t help how we’re feeling, Jen. It’s a big loss for us and a big win for Bay FC.”

“You girls are the sweetest.”, Jen whispered, she was so grateful for the friendships she made during her time at Arsenal.

Big eyed Steph Catley responded:” I’ll miss my favourite neighbour.”

“I’ll miss living next to you too, Steph.”, the defender answered truthfully.

This was the moment you found the time to talk to Kim directly to express your gratitude towards her:” Thanks for letting me stay at your place for a few weeks, Kim.”

“You’re welcome. Now that your sister can’t let you stay anymore.”, the older woman waved it off.

“I really appreciate it.”

With a small smile the midfielder told you in a reassuring tone:” You can stay as long as you want. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time together.”, Jen intervened confidently.

You gave your sister a nod: “I’m sure we’ll.“

As the evening progressed, the atmosphere became more and more relaxed. You felt right at home with your sisters teammates who happily shared stories about Jen with and made sure your glass was never empty.

It was only after midnight that Kim appeared right in front of you, reaching out a hand towards you: “Come, I’ll get you home.“

“Now?“, you asked, surprised by how drunk you sounded already.

Kim just raised an eyebrow but did not comment on it: “Yes, it’s late.“

“Bye, Jen!“, you shouted across the room to your sister while Kim helped you into your coat.

With one swift motion, Jen came over and pulled you into a tight hug: “Bye, you two.“

Luckily, the way home in Kims car was short. You were by sleep and found it difficult to keep your eyes open. Once Kim led you into the guest room of her apartment, you let yourself fall onto the bed with a relieved sigh. Kims dog curled into a ball at your feet.

“This is really cozy.“, you mumbled, burying your face into the soft pillows.

Kim watched you from the doorway: “Glad you feel at home here.“

“Good night, Kim.“

The corners of her mouth quirked up as she closed the door behind her and you fell into a dreamless sleep.

You woke up early the next morning and decided to make coffee for yourself and Kim. The coffee was just done brewing as Kim came back from walking her dog. Beaming, you handed her a mug: “Morning, this one is for you.“

She gave you a surprised look first but then took the coffee from you: “Oh. Thank you.“

“You’re welcome. Also I hope I didn’t say anything weird when we went home last night.“, you said as you sat down at the kitchen table together. You took a sip of coffee to hide your reddening cheeks behind the cup.

“No. Like what?“, Kim asked inquiringly.

You decidedly ignored her question and only reacted to the first part: “Oh good.“

“You almost immediately fell asleep.“, she explained plainly.

Changing the topic, you suggested: “Do you like Pizza? When I’m done with my interview, I could get some on the way back.“

Finally, a small smile appeared on the football players face: “Sure, why not?“

“Okay, great.“

With a glance toward the kitchen clock, Kim announced: “I have to leave for training now. So, see you later?“

“Yes, see you.“, you smiled at her.

Just before Kim walked out, she paused for a moment: “Oh, wait.“

“Uhm, yes?“, you patiently looked at her as she walked back into the kitchen.

“I forgot to give you the keys.“, she said, carefully tossing them in you direction.

You caught them with a grin: “Right. Thank you, Kim.“

“See you later. Good luck with your interview.”, Kim replied.

You were almost at the door when you turned around to face her beaming with hopefulness: “Thanks. Have fun in training!”

During training Kim warmed up with Cloé Lacasse. The Canadian striker asked her curiously:” So you got yourself a roommate, Kim?”

“I was more or less assigned a roommate, Cloé. She was supposed to stay with Jen, but she decided to leave us.”, the Arsenal captain explained with a deep sigh.

With a mischievous smile on her lips Leah came to a stop right next to the older women: “The most important part is though that Kim has a Girl crush on said roommate.”

Annoyed by her comment Kim rolled her eyes at the defender:” I don’t have a girl crush, Leah.”

“Kim is straight too.”, the Canadian forward added.

“Right.”, the Scottish midfielder nodded. Although deep inside of her something didn’t sit right with it although it has been true for so many years at this point. Why did your presence make her question things she thought she knew about herself.

This didn’t impress Leah in the least: “You should have been there Cloé when they met at Jens Farewell Party.”

“Well, I can’t wait to hopefully meet her soon.”, Cloé answered politely.

Frustrated Kim intervened:” You guys are making a way too big deal out of it.”

“If you need to chat though we’re here for you, Kim.”, Beth offered warmly.

Stubbornly the Scottish woman shook her head: “I don’t need to chat. She’s just staring at my place.”

“Alright, just saying.”, the England forward mumbled.

“It’s not a big deal.”, her captain repeated in a serious tone which made obvious that she was done with talking for now.

Reading the signs Leah decided:” Let’s get back to training.”

Finally, Kim thought relieved as they started to move again, distracting from the whirlwind, which was currently inside of her, giving her a peace of mind for the moment.

In the early evening you returned to Kim’s place announcing cheerfully:” Hi, I got the pizza.”

“Thanks. How did your interview go?”, she wanted to know from you.

As you were setting up the table for dinner, you told her about it:” Not too bad, actually. They said my writing is promising but they asked me if I really want to stay focused on women’s football.”

Interested the Scottish woman looked up to you:” What did you say to them?”

“That I don’t want to change my focus, I love writing about women’s football and the culture surrounding it.”, you responded.

Proudly Kim remarked:” Your sister would have done the same in your position.”

“She would’ve, right?”, you asked her cautiously.

Kim nodded once with conviction: “Absolutely.“

“There’s still such a long way to go… although the recent success helped a bit.“, you thought out loud, a sad smile tugging on your lips.

“You don’t have to tell me.“, Kim replied with her gaze trained on the kitchen table.

You could sense that the football player felt a similar way about the topic. Your curiosity was piqued so you continued: “For you and Jen it must have been an amazing progress to live through.“

“Yes. We’re lucky to be part of this generation. Selling out stadiums is something that a few years ago we thought was impossible.“, she explained calmly.

You were reminded of your sisters first football games. She was not getting paid to play yet and the number of fans was ridiculously low compared to this season. You bit your lip: “Yes, I remember that too.“

“I appreciate that you want to keep focusing on womens football.“

Hearing her say that made your heart flutter for a brief moment. But you were also reminded how quickly the atmosphere had changed. You sighed and with all the enthusiasm you could muster, said: “We should eat the pizzas now before they get too cold.“

“You’re right.“

As you both sat down, taking the first slices of the pizza, you admitted: “But I do love talking about football with you.“

“We can continue at another time if you want.“, Kim suggested a little more relaxed.

“Yes, I’d like that very much.“

“Me too.“

“Great.“

Kim put her slice of pizza down and looked at you thoughtfully: “We’re playing at home on the weekend. You should come watch.“

“Yes, I’ll be there.“, you politely smiled back at her.

Kims focus had already shifted back to her pizza: “Great.“

 The stadium was starting to fill on the following Sunday while players walked out to warm up. You were engrossed in a conversation with your friend Emily who after a long time of convincing had finally agreed to come to the game with you. You completely missed that Cloe Lacasse walked out on the pitch with Kim and curiously nodded in your direction: “So that’s her?“

“Yes, that’s her.“, Kim replied, a frown on her face as she spotted you close to the field.

“Is that her girlfriend? The one who’s standing next to her?“, the Canadian wanted to know.

Kim shrugged and shook her head: “She didn’t say anything about a girlfriend.“

Still, her gaze lingered on the two of you for a little longer.

The game ended with an easy win for Arsenal. Apart from the goals of Cloe and Alessia Russo, Kim also converted a penalty. The atmosphere in the stadium after the game was great and you immediately felt at home. However, the mood between the players on the pitch was less elated.

Leah Williamson bumped her captain with her shoulder: “Kim? You’re even quieter than usual.“

“What? I’m just focused.“, the midfielder replied, pulling away from her teammate.

The younger player couldn’t ask any further as you hugged the Scottish woman and sung:” Kim, you had a fantastic game, Kim!” Seeing the England captain you added blushing:”Hi Lee.”

Smiling Leah couldn’t help but to notice the height difference between you two, you were almost as tall as Jen while your roommate was fairly small: “Our skipper was great, right?”

“Yes, she definitely was.”, with that said you let Kim down.

Much to your surprise she didn’t look happy despite the comfortable win:”Thanks.”

The midfielder didn’t say anything further instead she left the room and left you clueless. Puzzled you turned around to look at her teammate: “Well, that was a bit strange do you know what’s going on, Leah?”

“I think she’s a bit jealous.”, the blonde replied seriously.

Baffled by that you let out a shaky laugh:” Jealous? Kim?”

Leah grinned: “Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because you brought your girlfriend.”, the defender replied, crossing her arms in front of her.

“My girlfriend? Emily is just a friend!”, you corrected her, shaking your head in disbelief.

Sceptical Leah rose an eyebrow at you:” Oh, is she?”

“Yes, wait, did Kim think that Em was my girlfriend?”, you questioned her.

Thoughtfully Leah responded:” Maybe.”

“I need to talk to her.”, you decided.

With an empathetic smile on her lips the blonde held you back: “Maybe not now.”

You listened to her advice, so you went back to Emily and brought her home before making your way slowly to Kim’s home. In your mind it already was yours too.

On her car ride home Jen phone called the Arsenal captain:” Hi mate, great game!”

“Thanks, Jen. How’s California?”, Kim asked her.

“It’s been really great so far., the defender sounded happily before turning more serious, but you texted that you needed to talk?”

Earnestly Kim told her: “Yes. About your sister. Did you know that she’s dating someone?”

“What? No, she’s single.”, she mumbled convinced.

“What do you mean? She brought someone to our game today?”, the midfielder frowned.

Quickly Jen explained: “Yes Emily, she’s just a friend of her, Kimmy.”

“Are you sure? They seemed close?”, Kim almost felt something like relief by her former teammates reply. Although she didn’t dare to trust the news yet.

“Kim, I’m sure of that besides Emily has a boyfriend.”, Jen chuckled.

“If you say so.”

“But you can ask my sister again. Kim are you jealous?”, the defender wanted to know from her friend.

Offended Kim scoffed at her:” Why would I be jealous? I was just wondering why she’d stay with me when she’s got a girlfriend here.”

“Now you know. I need to go to training, hope to hear from you soon, mate?” After a few goodbyes they ended the phone call and the Arsenal captain tried to focus on the drive instead of the turmoil which was inside her.

When the door closed behind Kim, you looked up from the food you were cooking. While the Arsenal players showered and debriefed at the stadium, you had hurried to get home and surprise your housemate with a freshly cooked dinner. “Kim? Hi, I started cooking…“, you greeted her.

The football player raised her eyebrows in surprise: “You’re already here?“

You nodded: “Yes, Emily had to go back to her boyfriend who has a bit of a cold. Otherwise we might have gone to a pub. Do you want a drink to celebrate the win?“

“No, thanks. I usually don’t drink after games.“, Kim answered plainly, putting her bag down next to the kitchen table.

You grimaced: “Oh, right. Sorry. So water?“

“Sure. What are you cooking?“, Kim asked, looking over your shoulder at the food while you poured two glasses of water.

You smiled while handing her one of the glasses: “Some pasta dish. It’s one of the few things I can cook.“

The football player nodded impressed and smirked slightly: “That’s more than your sister can cook.“

“That’s true.“

You both sat down to enjoy your home-cooked meal, talking about the game again even though Kim kept her answers short. You took the empty plates and set them down at the sink: “I guess I’ll let you sleep now.“

“You don’t have to. I can’t sleep yet anyway.“, Kim replied to your surprise.

You slowly turned back to her, biting down a nervous smile: “Okay but you know you can just ask me on a date instead of running away and sulking after the match, right?“

Her eyes widened in shock: “Wait, what are you talking about?“

“Leah said you were jealous because of Emily and you really don’t need to be.“, you shrugged, trying to keep the nonchalance in your voice.

“I wasn’t jealous.“, she protested.

You looked back at the dishes in the sink, waiting: “Good.“

“That’s ridiculous.“

“Kim…“, you started but when you looked back to her, she had already bridged the gap between you two and pressed her lips to yours. You gasped into the kiss: “What?“

“That was a mistake. I’m sorry.“, she sighed, shaking her head in a mix of confusion and guilt.

She wanted to turn away from you but you grabbed her wrist: “No, please, do it again.“

There was an urgency in your voice that made Kim search for your eyes: “Are you sure?“

“Yes.“

“But… okay.“

She kissed you again, more patiently now. This time you could savour the taste of her lips on yours and only then you realized that she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach you. You were so charmed by this that you could not stop yourself from smiling.

As you both pulled away, you could see an uncertainty in Kims eyes. It was definitely not the kiss, you could feel that you both enjoyed it. Another thougth raced through your head: “Am I your first woman? Don’t worry, we have time. When is your next free day? Maybe we could go to a restaurant.“

“I have tomorrow off.”, she told you straight away.

A relieved sigh escaped your mouth:” Perfect, with a smirk you continued, also, you’re not a bad kisser, captain.”

“I never said I was.”, Kim laughed, you could tell some weight fell off her shoulders.

“No just saying.”, you shrugged.

The midfielder put a loose string of hair behind her ear:” Thanks.”

A month later Kim and you had a video call with your sister. The first thing you told her was that you two became a couple. “You two are dating?! You better take good care of her little sis!”, Jen warned you in a jokingly tone.

“What?! Me?!”, you huffed.

Grinning the defender nodded: “Yes, you heard me.”

“Wow.”, you ran a free hand through your hair.

Meanwhile your girlfriend seemed to have ignored that part of the conversation as she reassured Jen:” Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of your sister.”

“I can already see that.”, your big sister observed amused.

“Jen, you’re a terrible big sister.”, you teased her.

“I’m the best big sister.”, she countered quickly.

“Sure.”, you rolled your eyes at her.

“Stop it you two.”, Kim demanded in her captain voice.

Smiling Jen answered:” No, get used to it, Kimmy. You’re part of the Beattie family now.”  

“Oh yes.”, you added, while giving the midfielder a kiss on her blushing cheek.

Coming to London to move in with one of your sister’s oldest friends was one of the best things that could had happen to you.

As for Kim she never knew she could fall for a woman until you came into her life, but the midfielder was very happy to have let her change her mind about that. Turned out you were more than just a little crush.

[idyllic-ghost]

title: Strawberry Jazz; Love on the Train to Tokyo pairing: non-idol!seungkwan x reader genre: fluff, romance, strangers to lovers, neighbor au warnings: mentions of bad relationships, alcohol consumption, drunk kiss, slight angst synopsis: In an attempt to let go of your past, you travel to a new city and pretend to be a new person. On the train to Tokyo, you meet a handsome stranger but miss the opportunity to get his name and number before you part ways. Lucky for you, your fates seem to be intertwined as you meet again just a few hours later. wordcount: 9.4k taglist: @enhacolor, @shuabby1994, @junhui-recs, @dkakapizzaboy, @just-here-to-read-01, @loviehan, @userjunhuii, @novalpha, @bubblymoon, @aaniag, @d0nghyuck, @fantasy2wonderland, @seunghancore, @woozixo, @niktwazny303, @lllucere, @uniq-tastic, @wonwoospartyhat, @stariightjoyy, @hyneyedfiz, @cali-snow, @pearlygraysky, @crazywittysassy, @yeosayang rating: PG 13

a/n: this is a collab with @svthub, click here for the masterlist!

Disclaimer: The scenarios and depictions in my works are fictional and do not represent real-life situations. They do not aim to reflect the complexities of any culture, city, or individual. All characters are entirely fictional, regardless of names or descriptions.

Join my taglist // Masterlists

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The many rows of seats are packed with people - as far as the eye can see, there isn’t a single free spot for you to sit down. When the train starts moving - at first slow, but quickly gaining speed - you almost lose your balance. Grabbing hold of the nearest seat, possibly brushing your hand against someone’s head, and holding onto your luggage for dear life, you manage to keep yourself on your feet. Your face grows hot, as you mumble out apologies to the man you accidentally slapped and the people you backed into behind you. Now prepared for the speed of the train, you keep moving forward.

Every row of seats you pass disappoints you. Whenever you think there’s an empty spot for you, there’s either a child in the seat or too much luggage tucked away - even if they were trying to be helpful by playing Tetris with their bags, they just had too many bags. As you watch the people in front of you take what seems to be the only empty seats on the train, you start losing hope. You accept that you would probably have to find a corner for you and your bag to stand in. You only have your backpack and a suitcase with a month’s worth of clothes and other necessities, so squeezing against a wall wouldn’t be impossible. However, it wasn’t how you imagined spending the first few hours of your time in Japan. Despite having flown to Osaka partly for the scenic route the bullet train would take you on, you would have to settle for staring at the floor so as not to meet other people’s eyes. Maybe it would have been better to fly directly to Tokyo, even if you had to decline the surprisingly low price of your plane ticket to Osaka.

The cheap flight settled it for you. You were set on flying to Osaka and taking the over two-hour train ride from the Shin-Osaka station to Tokyo station. Now you are less sure about your decision, but a few weeks ago it seemed foolproof. After sleeping on your friend’s couch for nearly a month, anything else seems like a dream. Going to Tokyo is one of your dreams, it always has been, but now it felt like it had been fate. The night you had seen the short-term rental on the outskirts of the big city, it felt like the universe was paying you back for all the hurt it had caused. You needed a fresh start - or rather, a chance to not be you for a while. Ever since your ex broke up with you, you’ve been down on yourself and this trip would change that. You are certain.

You remember sitting on your friend’s couch that night. She was on the floor, drunkenly muttering to herself while you were scrolling on your computer. Seeing as you weren’t sober either, you can’t remember exactly why you were on your computer. It might have been an attempt to find a movie to watch, but your endless scrolling brought you to a website with cheap rentals in Tokyo. One in particular caught your eye; it was a short-term lease for the entire month of June, near a train station, and it wouldn’t completely break your bank. Maybe it was because it was up for rent in the middle of the rainy season, but you believed the cheap prices had to be a sign for you to go. So, you started planning your trip then and there.

Ever since then, you have been looking forward to it. Now that you are here, it was a little chilly and you were desperately tired - but a sense of calm had settled in your chest. Your limbs are light, and nothing holds your shoulders in an embarrassed slouch. Despite the train catastrophe, the small, yet bright, light in the cavern between your ribs keeps burning. As you keep walking, your consciousness stays in your head - thinking back to when you had just booked the trip. You’re so deep in thought that you don’t notice a man calling out for you, not until he grabs your arm.

"There’s a seat for you here," he says.

The very first thing you notice about this stranger is his smile. It’s the kind of smile that meets the eyes - he isn’t just being polite, he is sincerely offering you the seat beside you. When you look past him, you can see the small line he is stalling. You quickly thank him and move to the side to let others pass. His hand lets go of your arm, and he sits back down. The handprint on your arm is giving off a warm glow, that you’re sure only you can see. Once the walkway is open, you try to put your suitcase on the overhead rack. The stranger is quick on his feet again and helps you put your bag up. When the two of you finally push your heavy bag onto the rack, you thank him again before sitting down. It isn’t a window seat, but it’s better than standing in a corner.

"Where are you headed?" the stranger asks.

"Tokyo," you answer as you put your backpack under your seat.

"Oh! Me too!" He flashes his smile again, and you feel like melting.

He’s handsome, the kind of boy-next-door you’d bring home to your parents, and the air around him is wholesome. Everything about him is delicately intentional, from the put-together outfit to his silver jewelry. This stranger is “too good to be true” personified. 

"Do you have any plans in Tokyo?" he asks, bringing you out of your bewitched state.

"Not exactly," you admit. "I mean, I looked up a few spots that I’d like to visit… but nothing’s set in stone yet."

You’ve never pictured yourself as a person who casually talks to strangers, and yet here you are. There’s something easy about talking to him as if there isn’t a judgmental bone in his body. Despite the sad amount of things you’ve planned, Seungkwan still looks at you like he’s fully invested in your journey.

“I’ve looked up a few cafés,” he says, “If you want some recommendations, I can give you my list.”

As if he couldn’t get any more endearing, your next-seat neighbor pulls out a small, navy blue notebook. It’s leather-bound and has a small latch that keeps it shut with a magnet. The stranger opens it up and flips to a page at the beginning of the book. There, in neat handwriting, is a written list of café names - written in Korean with a carefully written translation in Japanese beside it. You look over the names and the stars he’s put beside them, indicating the ratings they have been given.

“Your handwriting is very nice…” you comment as your fingers gently graze the paper. “Do you mind if I take a picture? I haven’t planned on any café stops yet.”

“Go ahead.” He nods with another warm smile.

After taking a picture, you put your phone back in your bag and thank the stranger for the recommendation. The stranger nods and packs his notebook back in his bag. Your eyes linger on him just for a moment, the lighting almost making him look ethereal. A small bump on the rail makes you snap out of it, and you go to look for your headphones in your backpack - but you’re left with nothing. With a sigh, you lean back in your seat at the realization that you left your headphones in your luggage to leave space in your backpack.

“You okay?” The man beside you gains your attention yet again.

“I put my headphones in my luggage after I got off the plane,” you say with a pained smile.

“Oh, I always hate it when I do that,” he says with genuine sympathy - it surprises you how a stranger can feel for you this way. “I could lend you one of my earbuds if you don’t mind listening to my playlist.”

If it had been any other stranger, you might have said no. However, the man beside you intrigues you to no end - so you end up accepting his offer. You put in the earbud and smile as you hear a familiar tune. You can’t seem to place it, but the melody brings back memories that you had since long forgotten - your school days, the times when you had no worries and could simply exist as a kid. As your muscles relax, you let out a content sigh - was it too good to be true, or were you so lucky to have sat next to such a wonderful man? It doesn’t take long for the adrenaline of the busy day you’ve had to wear off, and for you to drift off to sleep. 

When you wake up, your body aches to move - as if you had sat in the same position for your feet to root into the floor and for your skin to turn into bark. To make sure your limbs haven’t turned into twigs and leaves, you stretch out the best you can. In the process, you knock out the earbud in your ear and startle the man beside you.

“Oh, I’m sorry- did I wake you?” you whisper to him.

“It’s alright, I had only barely fallen asleep,” he assures you with a lopsided smile. “You must have been tired, though.”

“How long was I out?”

“We have ten minutes left.” He takes out his earbud, puts the wires in his lap, and turns off his playlist. “You must’ve been tired, I haven’t seen anyone sleep through a baby crying like you were.”

“I was tired,” you admit with a chuckle. “I didn’t snore, did I?”

You took up your bottle of water from your bag, your throat must have gotten dry during your sleep and you desperately needed water. 

“Oh, no. Not at all, actually. I thought you were dead for a good minute.”

Your seat neighbor’s comment made you snort, successfully making you choke on the water in the process. As you cough, the man beside you tries to find tissues for you in a panicked manner. He grumbles as he looks, but all you hear is something about his backpack being a mess. Eventually, he gives up and reaches for a side pocket. There he pulls out a white handkerchief with some blue embroidery on it. He hands it to you, and you wipe the water that had spilled all over yourself.

“Thank you,” you croak out.

“Here.” He motions to take the bottle from you.

You give it to him, and he carefully puts on the cap for you before handing it back to you.

“I’m sorry about your handkerchief,” you say.

“Don’t worry about it.” He motions with his hand as if to nonverbally say ‘whatever’. 

“I’ll wash it and give it back to you,” you promise.

To that, he turns his head to you with a glimmer in his eyes and a small shy on his lips. You didn’t realize that you had implied that you should meet up again, but as you look at him you discern that you don’t mind.

“I’d like that.”

“The train is now approaching Tokyo Central Station.”

Your seat neighbor helps you down with your luggage and the two of you make your way off the train. The carriage itself is packed, but there are only more people outside of it. You walk through them the best you can, repeatedly excusing yourself as you push yourself toward the escalators. Only when you get up the escalator, do you realize that you lost your seat-neighbor. Moreover, you realize that you don’t have his name or number.

“Shit,” you mumble as you look around.

There is no way you’ll find him, you think as you approach a taxi. If you’re lucky, you might bump into him at one of the cafés he had written down - but the chances are slim. With a heavy feeling in your chest, you manage to flag down a taxi and get in.

The apartment you rented for the month is on the outskirts of Tokyo, in a somewhat quiet area with access to public transport. It is perfect for the days you’ll want to spend inside - though you don’t know how many days that’ll be. The building’s outside is almost the same as you saw in the picture online, even though the images were dated. The walls are beige and, except for a few areas which reveal the building’s age, are unscathed. It is a three-story, rather small building, with a black roof and relatively large square windows. The owner, who you met up with outside, gives you a key and says that your apartment is on the top floor. Despite giving you directions to your temporary home, he still guides you to your front door. 

The stairs are on the outside of the building, and the owner carries your luggage up them for you. At first, you hesitate, worrying that his old age wouldn’t allow him to carry something so heavy up two flights of stairs. However, there seems to be something magical about this old man - as he carries up your bag without a single huff or puff. 

“This is your apartment,” he says as he sets down your bag outside the door. “If you go further up the stairs, you get to the roof where the guests usually hang up their clothes. I have my area downstairs, so you’ll have your privacy- except for the other guests, of course. But it’s just the two of you, so you’ll have plenty of space.”

“You have another guest?” you ask as you go to unlock the door.

“In the apartment under you,” he explains. “He got here just minutes before you. Nice, young man. I’m sure you can make arrangements for the clotheslines. Feel free to come knock at my door if there are any issues with the shower - I’ve had complaints before, but it’s usually easy to fix.”

“Alright, thank you.” You smile at him, nodding your head before opening the door to your new home.

On the other side of the wooden door, is a small yet cozy room. It’s fully furnished, housing a bed, a coffee table with chairs, and a kitchenette all in this first room. It’s small, you knew it would be. The space is just enough for you and your small amount of luggage. You put your bag down beside the bed to go exploring, quickly finding the bathroom - also small but it held all of the essentials, as well as a small window right above the shower to let the natural light shine on the tiled walls. After finding the door hiding the washing machine, you looked through the entire apartment.

After unpacking and making yourself at home, you rummage through your backpack to find the small handkerchief. Now that you have a closer look at it, the blue embroidery on one of the corners is a profile of Snoopy the Dog. You smile to yourself, gently running your thumb over the carefully stitched pattern. It felt like an intimate secret to hold it in your hands, a look into someone else’s life - someone whose name you don’t know, and probably never will. As your fingers grace the fabric, you can feel that it’s still a little damp from when you used it to dry yourself off. You sigh, a feeling of regret striking you as you realize that this handkerchief might never find its way back home. But what if it does? Are you going to hand it to him with the stain of your water and spit? Absolutely not. With newfound determination, you get up and walk out of your apartment - walking up the stairs to find a washboard. 

The rooftop looks as you had imagined: a smaller area for the clotheslines, next to the slanted, black roof - there is a small door on the short wall holding up the roof, no doubt leading to the attic. The door is not the only thing catching your attention, as a man is sitting on the small table on the roof.

“Oh, hello,” you say to not scare him with your sudden presence.

The man stands up and turns around, and your breath catches in your throat. It’s the man from the train. Your steps halt, and words linger on the tip of your tongue but nothing comes out.

“You,” he says with wide eyes. 

“Me,” you answer, you fidget with the handkerchief. “I was just thinking about you- I mean, I found this and I thought I should wash it in case I saw you again.”

“You’re going to hand wash it?” He walks toward you and you force your feet into the ground to not back away. “I can throw it in with my laundry later.”

He holds out his hand to you and you put the handkerchief in his hands. Now that you have nothing to do on the rooftop, you know that you should say your goodbyes and leave - but you can’t bring yourself to do so. 

“I didn’t mean to run away from you at the station,” you say, “I was just trying to find my way out, and I guess we got separated.”

“I get it.” He nodded. “I got stuck in a crowd, and then it hit me that I never caught your name… it’s hard to call out for someone when you don’t know their name.”

Your jaw went slack and your eyes widened - you didn’t know his name. The two of you looked at each other for a beat, before breaking out into laughter. The tension started dissipating as you looked back at him with a big smile. It was a strange situation, but neither of you seemed to mind.

“Y/L/N Y/N,” you tell him. 

“I’m Boo Seungkwan,” he replies and stretches out his hand for you to shake. “Nice to meet you.”

You take his hand and shake it - his hand is warm and comforting, like a blanket on a chilly summer evening. What brought the two of you together, you didn’t know - but you’re thankful that it did. After shaking his hand you bid him an awkward goodbye, and start walking down the stairs.

“Do you have plans tonight?” His question makes you turn around.

“Plans? No, I was just going to get some groceries and stay in,” you admit.

“Well, if you want to come with me, I was thinking of going to a Jazz café.” His voice stays strong, but his eyes show his nerves as they look everywhere but at you.

“That sounds nice.” You smile at him. “When are you planning on going?”

An hour or so later, both you and Seungkwan are out in Tokyo. Seungkwan is looking for directions on his phone, guiding you through the city. Neither of you speak much, the tension from before having returned. It’s only when you arrive at the café that Seungkwan starts speaking to you again. 

“Do you want to sit in a booth?” he asks as the two of you walk into the cozy room.

It’s a dark room, with a jazz band playing in one of the corners, and people sitting at every other table. It isn’t packed by any means, but it’s still bubbling with energy. You agree to a booth seat, and the two of you find your way over to a free one. After ordering your drinks, the two of you are left to yourselves again. The tension’s there, but now it’s inviting and almost pulling you into a conversation. Seungkwan’s looking around the bar, and doesn’t notice your staring - so, you happily stare for a while. His fingers were drumming anxiously against the table, something you used to find annoying but now it’s nothing but endearing. 

“How did you find this place?” you ask, gaining his attention again.

“I’ve been wanting to go to Tokyo for a while,” Seungkwan explains, “So I did a lot of planning in advance to make sure I could see as much of it as possible.”

You nod while silently condemning yourself for not doing the same. In truth, you had come to Tokyo on a whim - and even though you’ve been wanting to visit for a while, you didn’t spend nearly as much time as you maybe should have when researching. The drinks arrive, and the two of you thank the waitress.

“Why did you decide to go to Tokyo?” he asks once the waitress left.

A vivid memory of loud arguments and slamming doors hit you as his question reached your ears. You look down at your drink, the ice in it slowly melting and blending with the cocktail, taking a moment to compose yourself before looking back at Seungkwan with a smile.

“I needed a fresh start,” you admit. “I’ve been sleeping at my friend’s place for some time, and I needed something to get me back out in the world again.”

“So, your first thought was Tokyo?”

“Well, it’s been a dream of mine too,” you add with a flick of your hand as if it isn’t particularly important. “I saw the opportunity and took it.”

It’s embarrassing, how casual your reason is compared to his - or maybe it’s just how you told it. Seungkwan, however, looks at you as if he’s heard the most interesting thing in his life. His eyes are bright and present, and he wears a small smile. The bad memories his question brought back are now gone.

“I wish I could be that spontaneous,” he says and takes a sip of his drink - his tone is laid-back but his eyes show his nerves. 

“Why can’t you?” you question.

Seungkwan pauses and looks out over the bar for a moment. You can tell that he’s earnestly considering your question - and you half-expect him to jump up on the table and start singing, as if in some kind of musical about finding oneself. He doesn’t, of course, but you snicker at the thought and it gains you Seungkwan’s attention back.

“Well, I really don’t know,” he stumbles over his words, “It’s just who I am. I plan ahead.”

“Do you have a lot of plans for this trip?” you ask, and you watch Seungkwan relax at the change of topic.

“A few,” he admits. “Most of it is just walking around and sightseeing.”

“Well, if you want,” you say, “you can spend a few days being spontaneous with me.”

The piano player plays a small solo, their fingers violently speeding across the keys to produce a sound that is somehow both coherent and incomprehensible. Seungkwan stares at you, his eyes wide with anticipation - you could practically hear him thinking: “What will this lead to? Should I say yes? Is this a good idea?” He opens his mouth, just as the saxophone player joins in on the riff. The two of you laugh as you wait for them to finish, your shoulders finally relax fully, and the annoying bubbling feeling in your stomach has subsided.

“Yeah, let’s go out together sometime,” Seungkwan answers after the players have calmed down. “We live next to each other, anyway, so it would only be awkward if we don’t.”

“Great.” You raise your glass in his direction. “To being spontaneous.”

“To being spontaneous,” he repeats as he clinks his glass with yours.

You wake up the next morning to the sun blaring in through the thin blinds - they’re nothing like the black-out curtains in your friend's apartment, and you make a mental note to get some for your future place in Seoul. With vigor, you rip the covers off of you and put your feet on the cold hardwood floor. You make a second mental note to make sure to get a good rug for your future bedroom, while you tip-toe over to your belongings in the corner of the room. In your unpacked suitcase, you find a pair of knitted socks - brought just in case - and put them on. Once your feet aren't being tortured by the chilly floor, you go to the bathroom and freshen up. A sudden urge to sing and dance struck you, as you realized you had no roommate you could possibly bother with your noise - a new sense of freedom echoed in your ribcage, like a warrior’s cry before a fierce battle.

However, your newfound happiness dulls when you go into the kitchen and find no food in the fridge. You completely forgot to get groceries. A sigh escapes your lips as you trudge around the room to find an idea. Passing by the window, you catch a glimpse of your new neighbor coming home. Seungkwan looked like he had just been out on a jog. You look over at the clock and see that it’s only nine-thirty. The shock and envy of his good life habits leave you once you come up with an idea.

You get out of your apartment quickly, only throwing on a cardigan over your tank top and pajama pants before leaving, and you sprint downstairs to knock on Seungkwan’s door. He opens the door rather quickly.

“Good morning,” you pipe up.

“Morning,” he answers with an incredulous smile. “Do you need something?”

“Yeah…” You take a deep breath as if you’re about to tell him something very serious. “Do you have breakfast?”

“I think you’ve confused me with a hotel,” he quips.

“I know, I’m sorry- I just didn’t have time to get groceries yesterday and now I have no breakfast,” you explain. “I don’t mean to bother you- I’ll even pay for whatever I can borrow-”

“I don’t have anything either,” he admits and, when he sees your sad expression, adds, “You can come with me to the supermarket if you’d like. I spotted one on my run, and it looked like they were about to open. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll walk with you!”

As you and Seungkwan stroll to the grocery store, you take in the charming surroundings of our neighborhood. The store is just a few blocks away, and it's a pleasant walk that only takes a couple of minutes. It’s a small and cozy neighborhood store, known for carrying only the absolute necessities. Seungkwan carries a grocery basket on his arm, and you start putting in any breakfast items that catch my eye. We decide to just grab breakfast items for now and come back for other groceries when you're not feeling so hungry.

As the sun rises, the small store is alive with the chatter of early-morning shoppers, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Navigating the narrow aisles with Seungkwan by your side feels cozy and intimate like you're on a special adventure together. The shelves are packed with an array of tempting items, each one seemingly more delicious than the last. Your stomach grumbles with hunger, but you can't help but be captivated by the variety of products on display. Finally, you come across a container of plump, juicy strawberries. Despite their hefty price, you and Seungkwan decide to share them, exchanging a meaningful, wordless glance that solidifies your unspoken pact.

Back at your apartment, you and your new friend eagerly started the delightful task of preparing a leisurely breakfast in the inviting embrace of your kitchen. With its panoramic view, your kitchen became the heart of your morning adventure. The two of you decided on your place instead of Seungkwan’s seeing as the view from your kitchen window was better. The gentle, tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, infusing the space with a sense of comfort and anticipation for the wonderful meal ahead. Before long, you both find yourselves on the rooftop, savoring the delicious meal you've meticulously put together. The early morning light casts a spellbinding glow over Tokyo, offering a breathtaking view. As you indulge in your breakfast, the easy-flowing conversation is punctuated by laughter.

After finishing his breakfast, Seungkwan reclines in his chair, a contemplative expression adorning his face. It's as if he's carefully considering something significant, and a sense of eager anticipation starts to build within you. At last, he turns to you, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

“Hey, I was thinking,” he begins, a hint of shyness creeping into his voice. “Would you like to go to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden with me tomorrow? It's one of the places on my list that I’m really looking forward to, and I think you’d enjoy it too.”

You feel a flutter in your chest as he asks you to join him, and you have to remind yourself that despite his charming appearance, he is still a stranger. Nevertheless, the thought of sharing more moments with Seungkwan in such a breathtaking location is incredibly tempting. A smile spreads across your face as a wave of contentment washes over you.

“I’d love to,” you reply eagerly. “I've heard it’s amazing, and I'd be thrilled to go with you.”

As Seungkwan flashes his radiant smile, it illuminates his face, causing a delightful flutter in your heart.

“Great! We can pack a picnic and make a day of it,” he suggests. “I'll buy some snacks and drinks after my run tomorrow, and we can enjoy the gardens together.”

As the morning progresses, you immerse yourselves in detailed planning for your upcoming outing. You carefully deliberate on what items to bring along and excitedly map out which areas of the garden we hope to explore. The air is tinged with palpable anticipation, and with every passing moment, you find yourself forming an even stronger bond with Seungkwan. As the day of your outing approaches, you find yourself thinking about Seungkwan more and more. There's something about him that draws you in, making you want to know more about him and share more of yourself in return. The prospect of spending a day together in such a beautiful place feels almost magical.

The following morning, you rise with the sun, your heart brimming with excitement. And when Seungkwan stands at your doorstep, he holds a woven basket overflowing with a delectable variety of snacks and a steaming thermos of coffee. A wide, infectious grin spreads across his face, and you can't help but reciprocate, feeling an exhilarating surge of anticipation.

"Ready to go?" he asks, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Absolutely," you reply, following him out the door.

While you make your way to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the air is filled with lighthearted conversation and laughter, adding to the sense of anticipation. Upon arrival, the breathtaking sight of the expansive gardens captivates your attention. The lush greenery, vibrant flowers, and tranquil ponds combine to create a serene atmosphere, transporting us to a world far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Strolling through the meticulously designed gardens, you can't help but lose track of time. With every step, you’re greeted by a breathtaking array of colors and scents that captivate my senses. Seungkwan, who’s done his diligent research on the park, eagerly points out various points of interest he's researched, sharing intriguing stories and fascinating details about the diverse plants and landscapes. His genuine love for the garden is palpable, and you’re fully engrossed by the beauty of my surroundings and the delightful company of Seungkwan.

Once the sun climbs to its highest point in the sky, casting a warm golden glow over the surroundings, you and Seungkwan spot a serene area shaded by a magnificent cherry blossom tree. You carefully lay out the soft picnic blanket that Seungkwan had found in his apartment and both settle down on it. The spread of delectable food on the blanket invites you to indulge in a delightful meal, further enhancing the serene atmosphere. Engrossed in each other's company, your conversation effortlessly drifts from light-hearted and cheerful topics to heartfelt and intimate stories. Through this easy exchange, you come to truly appreciate Seungkwan's endearing charm, quick wit, and remarkable kindness, making this shared moment even more special.

Time seems to stand still as you talk and laugh together, the connection between you growing stronger with each passing moment. You feel a sense of contentment that you haven't felt in a long time, and you realize that this day with Seungkwan is something truly special.

As the afternoon turns into evening, you reluctantly pack up your picnic and make your way back to the entrance of the garden. The walk back is filled with a comfortable silence, both of you lost in your own thoughts, savoring the memories of the day.

When you’re just a few blocks away from the apartment, Seungkwan turns to you with a warm smile. 

"I had a great time today," he says softly. "Thank you for coming with me."

"Me too," you reply, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought of the day ending. "Thank you for inviting me."

You don’t want to go to bed just yet, you want to stay with him for just a little longer. A thought strikes you as you pass the small convenience store. You stop Seungkwan by pulling on his sleeve, and making him look over at the store. He seems to follow your train of thought, as he turns to you with a smile.

“Do you want to grab a couple of bottles of beer and head to the rooftop?” he asks, a playful glint in his eyes. "The view of the city lights from up there is amazing, it’d be a shame if we didn’t make use of it."

“You’re reading my mind,” you reply.

You both walk into the store, walking directly over to the aisle with beer. Enticed by the colorful and artistic labels, you and Seungkwan carefully inspect each bottle, trying to decipher their unique flavors and styles. Because of your lack of knowledge about Japanese beer, you make your selections based solely on the eye-catching labels - a choice that evokes a playful chuckle from Seungkwan, who nonetheless assures you that he isn't one to judge. With your chosen bottles in hand, you pay and eagerly make your way back to the apartment, your excitement growing with every light and eager step.

The rooftop is quiet, a perfect contrast to the bustling center of the city that you can spot from your position. You find a cozy spot to sit, the cityscape sprawling out before you in a dazzling array of lights. Seungkwan sits down right next to you. The air is cool and crisp, and you feel a sense of tranquility wash over you. You sit together, sipping your beers, and the conversation begins to flow more deeply. You share stories about your past, your dreams, and the things that matter most to you. Seungkwan opens up about his life, his struggles, and his hopes for the future. You find yourself doing the same, feeling a sense of trust and connection that surprises you. Seungkwan sits quietly as you open up about your past relationship, sharing the details of how it ended and how it was all your fault. He attentively watches you, unwavering in his focus as you pour your heart out. As you finish your beer, he offers you another can, and you express your gratitude. The beer loosens your tongue and you divulge more and more secrets from your past.

“How can it be your fault?” he asks suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that…” He pauses, adjusting himself on his seat on the small table. “Sure, you didn’t put in the effort you should have at the end - if what you said was true, of course - but couldn’t he do the same? Why is it all because of you?”

His words leave you speechless, and you find yourself sitting in stunned silence for a while. You had always thought that it was all your fault - maybe because you had never told anyone the details before, let alone said them out loud. 

“I don’t mean to overstep, sorry,” Seungkwan adds.

“You’re not.” You straighten out your back and look at him with a newfound confidence. “You might be right… are you sure you’re not a therapist?”

Seungkwan's laughter fills the room, a melodic sound reminiscent of silver bells. He playfully shakes his head and lifts his beer to his lips to take another sip. The alcohol drips from the corner of his lips, and you find yourself entranced by his lips. You move a little closer, using the chilly wind as an excuse. Before you know it, the distance between you has disappeared. Seungkwan’s face is close to yours, his breath mingling with yours in the cool night air. There's a moment of hesitation, a silent question hanging between you. Then, without thinking, you both lean in.

The kiss starts gentle and uncertain meeting of lips, sparking a sensation that sends a shiver down the spine. As the initial surprise fades, the kiss deepens, drawing its passion from the swirling emotions and the shared bond between two people. In the heart of the moment, it becomes all-consuming, surrounding you in a luminous wave of happiness and excitement.

When you finally pull back, you're both a little breathless, your faces inches apart. Seungkwan's eyes are dark and intense, filled with an emotion that mirrors your own. You smile at him, feeling a mixture of giddiness and contentment.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he admits softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm glad you did," you reply, your heart pounding in your chest. 

Without a second though, you lean in for another kiss - savoring the moment. The rest of the evening becomes a whirlwind of joyous laughter and tender, stolen kisses. Between the kisses, you find yourselves invigorated by a drunken conversation. Somewhere along the line, he asks you to get breakfast with him the very next day at a local café nearby. You happily agree before continuing to indulge yourself with his lips that taste of bitter grapefruit. With each passing moment, you can feel the connection between you growing stronger, the bond deepening. Below, the city lights shimmer like stars, bearing witness to the beginning of a beautiful journey.

As the night comes to an end, you both reluctantly decide it's time to call it a day. You walk back to your apartments together, the silence between you comfortable and filled with unspoken promises. When you reach your door, Seungkwan pulls you into one last kiss, a sweet and lingering goodbye that leaves you wanting more.

"Goodnight," he whispers, his forehead resting against yours.

"Goodnight," you reply, your voice soft and filled with emotion.

You watch him disappear down the stairs, a smile playing on your lips. As you enter your own apartment, you feel a sense of anticipation for what the future holds. This day has been perfect, and you can't wait to see where this newfound connection with Seungkwan will lead.

The next day you wake up with a slight headache, and burning cheeks at the memories from the night before. Have you already managed to mess up this new relationship? Nevertheless, you hadn’t forgotten Seungkwan’s promise of breakfast - and although you doubted yourself through every step, you managed to get ready. As you get ready, you can't help but replay the events of the garden and the rooftop in your mind. The thought of seeing him again fills you with anticipation.

You and Seungkwan stroll to the café, the air is charged with unspoken words. Apart from a brief exchange of greetings, the silence hangs heavy between you, even as the sight of him fills you with a comforting warmth. Upon entering the cozy café, the barista happily tells you that you both are the first patrons of the day. You order quickly, thanking the barista before going to find a table. Choosing a table by the window, Seungkwan settles in, and you take a seat across from him. The atmosphere is tense, with neither of you saying much, lost in your thoughts while reliving the memory of that unforgettable, electric kiss.

As the warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee envelops the air, the hushed stillness of the room becomes palpable. The coffee arrives at your table, along with the food you had ordered. As you sip your coffee, the silence begins to feel impossibly heavier. You steal a glance at Seungkwan, noticing the way he seems to be carefully collecting his thoughts. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he draws in a slow, steadying breath, and as his gaze meets mine, there's an unmistakable resolve in his eyes.

"I was thinking..." he starts, his voice a bit hesitant. "Would you like to go out on a date with me? Tonight, maybe?"

His unexpected words jolt you, causing you to almost choke on the pastry you're eating. You swiftly regain your composure, feeling a warm flush of embarrassment spread across your cheeks. Seungkwan stands up hesitantly, unsure of how to help you - but you quickly motion for him to sit back down, silently telling him that you’re okay. Your face breaks out into a smile as you eagerly nod, feeling a surge of excitement welling up within you.

"I'd love to," you reply, your voice soft but filled with enthusiasm.

The rest of the breakfast passes in a blur of light conversation and shared smiles. The tension that had been present at the beginning gradually melts away, replaced by a growing sense of anticipation for the day ahead.

After going home and getting changed, you meet Seungkwan again, and he walks with you to the theme park. The colorful lights and the sound of laughter fill the air, creating an atmosphere of excitement and joy. Seungkwan takes your hand and leads you inside. The theme park is alive with energy, and the two of you quickly get swept up in the fun. You ride the roller coasters, feeling the rush of adrenaline as you laugh and scream together - you out of excitement, but Seungkwan sometimes out of pure fear. Later on, Seungkwan wins you a stuffed animal at one of the game booths, and you can't help but feel a warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest as you hug it close.

Throughout the evening, you find yourself feeling like a kid again, running around and enjoying the rides with Seungkwan by your side. His laughter is infectious, and you can't help but be drawn to this new playful side of him. There's a carefree joy in the air, and you feel completely at ease with him. For someone who said he has issues with being spontaneous, Seungkwan’s surprisingly good at it.

As the golden sun begins its descent and the evening sky is painted with vibrant hues, Seungkwan suggests one last exhilarating escapade - a romantic ride on the Ferris wheel. You eagerly make your way to the structure. Soon, you find yourself nestled in a gondola, slowly going up above the amusement park. As you ascend, the breathtaking view unfolds before us, revealing a mesmerizing display of city lights twinkling like a sea of stars in every direction. The radiant sun bathes everything in its warm, golden glow as it gradually dips below the horizon, casting a spellbinding and unforgettable scene. 

You and Seungkwan sit in comfortable silence next to each other, watching the sunset paint the sky in hues of orange and pink. The Ferris wheel comes to a gentle stop at the top, and you turn to find Seungkwan already looking at you. There's a softness in his eyes, an unspoken connection that makes your heart race. He leans in slowly, giving you time to close the distance. The kiss is soft and tender, a perfect reflection of the emotions swirling between you. It feels just as magical as the first. The warmth of his lips, the gentle pressure—it all feels right, like the beginning of something beautiful.

As the Ferris wheel starts moving again, you pull back slightly, your faces still close. Seungkwan smiles at you, his eyes shining with happiness.

"Thank you for today," he whispers. “I wouldn’t have gone on most of those rides if you weren’t with me.”

"And you don’t regret that?" you reply with a snicker.

“For some reason, I don’t.” He glances down at your lips, and then back to your eyes while a smile plays on his lips.

The ride ends, and you step off the Ferris wheel hand in hand. The theme park begins to quiet down as the night deepens, and you make your way back to the entrance. The memory of the sunset and the kiss lingers, a perfect end to a perfect day. A few months ago, you couldn’t have pictured yourself in this kind of setting.

When you get back to your apartment building and say goodnight, you’re filled with a sense of anticipation for the future. The bond between you and Seungkwan has grown stronger, and you know that this is just the beginning of something wonderful.

From that day on, the two of you spend every other day together, exploring Tokyo and growing closer. The city becomes your playground, a backdrop to the unfolding story of your blossoming relationship. Each day brings new adventures and deeper connections, as you discover the many facets of Tokyo and each other.

You visit bustling markets, where the vibrant colors and tantalizing smells overwhelm your senses. Seungkwan makes you laugh with his attempts to haggle, his playful banter drawing you closer. You wander through serene temples and shrines, finding moments of peace and reflection amidst the city's chaos. Seungkwan's hand in yours feels like an anchor, grounding you in the present and the promise of what’s to come.

The two of you wander through the vibrant streets of Harajuku and Shibuya, finding yourselves immersed in the eclectic fashion, unique shops, and bustling atmosphere. Your afternoons are filled with the delightful aromas of freshly brewed coffee and the delectable taste of sweet pastries as you share conversations in charming cafes. Seungkwan's laughter and genuine warmth create a sense of ease and joy, weaving seamlessly into the fabric of your daily experiences.

You spend lazy Sundays in lush parks, where you lay on blankets under cherry blossom trees, sharing secrets and dreams. The beauty of the city mirrors the beauty of your connection, each moment spent together is a testament to the bond growing between you. You take boat rides on the Sumida River, the gentle rocking of the boat lulling you into a serene state as Seungkwan points out landmarks and makes up stories about the people you pass.

Evenings are filled with vibrant nightlife, from izakayas where you taste various Japanese dishes to karaoke bars where Seungkwan's voice fills the room, his enthusiasm infectious. You find yourself singing along, your laughter mingling with the music, creating memories that will linger long after the songs have ended.

As the days melt into weeks, a bittersweet truth starts to sink in. Your time in Tokyo is gradually coming to an end, and the idea of parting with Seungkwan feels like a heavy burden on your heart. The city, which has served as the canvas for your love story, now seems like a relentless countdown, each passing day pulling you nearer to your impending departure.

Eventually, the day arrives. You have one last day together before you have to leave, and you decide to make the most of it. You revisit your favorite spots, each location now tinged with nostalgia and the knowledge that this is your final adventure together in Tokyo. The laughter and joy are still there, but there's an underlying sadness that neither of you can ignore.

That evening, you find yourselves on the rooftop again, the city lights twinkling below like a sea of stars. The two of you sit in silence for a while, soaking in the moment. Seungkwan reaches for your hand, his grip firm and reassuring.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow," he says softly, his voice tinged with sadness.

"I know," you reply, your heart aching. "I wish I could stay longer."

Seungkwan pulls you into a hug, his embrace warm and comforting. "Let's make a promise," he whispers, his breath warm against your ear. "No matter what happens, let's remember this time together."

“Promise.”

When the moment to part ways approaches and you bid each other goodnight, a bittersweet feeling fills the air. You savor one last, tender kiss that seems to linger long after it's over, leaving an indelible mark on your heart. The following day, as you prepare to leave, a sense of heaviness settles in your chest, a poignant reminder of the emotions stirred up by that final, lingering kiss. 

It was only at Tokyo Central station, watching Seungkwan wave goodbye through the window to your seat on the train, that a sinking feeling washed over you as you realized that you had never thought to ask for his contact information. In the whirlwind of our time together, you had never exchanged numbers, always assuming that you’d simply meet up again the next day. The thought of leaving without a way to reach him fills you with a sense of regret, but there's no time to rectify it. You leave Tokyo with a heavy heart, the memory of Seungkwan's kiss, and the moments you shared replaying in your mind. The city fades into the distance as you return to your old life, but the connection you felt with Seungkwan lingers, a bittersweet reminder of a love that bloomed amidst the bustling streets of Tokyo.

Back home, you find yourself missing him more than you anticipated. The sights, sounds, and smells of Tokyo haunt your thoughts, each memory tied to the boy who made your time there unforgettable. You crash at your friend's place, trying to adjust to the familiar surroundings that now feel foreign without Seungkwan.

You throw yourself into finding a new apartment, hoping that the busyness will distract you from the ache in your heart. When you finally move your things from storage and settle into your new place, you feel a sense of accomplishment but also a lingering sadness. The memory of Seungkwan's smile, his laughter, and his touch stays with you, a constant reminder of the days spent exploring Tokyo and falling in love. 

The days blend together in a haze of unpacking and organizing, but there’s a sense of purpose driving you forward. The bustling energy of Tokyo still lingers in your mind, a vivid contrast to the quiet moments of solitude as you prepare for this new chapter in your life. When you start moving your things from storage, you immediately know that you’ve found a good place to call home. The apartment, with its cozy corners and ample sunlight, feels like a fresh start. Each box unpacked and each piece of furniture arranged is a step towards creating a space that is uniquely yours. Slowly, you let your heart heal from Seungkwan - and you can only hope that he’s doing the same.

A few weeks after settling in, you’ve developed a routine that brings a sense of normalcy back to your days. Yet, there's a lingering feeling of incompleteness, a part of you still caught up in the whirlwind of memories from Tokyo and the adventures you had there. One afternoon, you decide to take a break from your routine and explore the neighborhood a little more. You look at the local shops and cafés, watch the people who live there continuing their lives, and you think of Seungkwan. He should be back in Seoul by now if you remember correctly. It would be impossible to find him, but a small sense of hope lingers in your chest that you’d manage to bump into him.

You walk back to your apartment and get into the elevator with tired steps. As you walk into the elevator, lost in thought, you hear someone shout for you to keep the doors open. Startled, you quickly press the button to hold the elevator. The doors slide open again, and in rushes Seungkwan, looking slightly out of breath but beaming with that familiar, heartwarming smile. He doesn’t see you at first, his focus being purely on the bag in his hand. Your jaw all but drops to the floor as you watch him fix his messy hair.

"Thank you!" he says, slightly breathless. "I didn't want my ice cream to melt."

He motions to the bag and finally looks up at you. His eyes go as wide as yours, if not bigger, and his mouth hangs open. He had immediately recognized you. You don’t know what to do with yourself. Would it be wrong to hug him? Kiss him? Although that’s all you wanted to do, you couldn’t bring yourself to move. However, when the elevator started moving so did your ability to function.

"Seungkwan… I can't believe it's you."

With the hand that’s not holding the bag, Seungkwan brings you into an embrace. His chin lands on your shoulder, and you can’t do anything but hug him back. You come back to your senses once Seungkwan pulls away. The elevator ride, which feels like the longest and shortest ride at the same time, is filled with small talk. You both exchange quick updates on your lives since Tokyo, and the conversation is as light and easy as it had been before. As the elevator reaches your floor, you realize with a mix of surprise and delight that Seungkwan is getting off on the same floor as you.

The tension releases as the two of you laugh at the situation. "Looks like we're neighbors," Seungkwan says, shaking his head in disbelief. "What are the odds?"

As you both step out of the elevator, he turns to you with a playful smile and lifts up the bag demonstratively. "How about we celebrate this coincidence with some ice cream? My place?"

You agree, telling him that you’re just going to go change out of your clothes. "Give me a few minutes," you say, your heart pounding with excitement.

Rushing into your apartment, you quickly freshen up and change into something more comfortable. As you stand in front of your mirror, you take a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach. A few minutes later, you're knocking at Seungkwan’s door, a mixture of nerves and anticipation coursing through you.

He opens the door, welcoming you in with a warm smile. His apartment feels cozy and inviting, a perfect reflection of his personality. You sit down together, catching up over ice cream. The conversation flows naturally, filled with laughter and shared memories. Seungkwan tells you that he’s missed you and regretted not getting your number before. His voice is earnest, and you can see the sincerity in his eyes.

"I've thought about you a lot," he admits, his gaze meeting yours. "I was worried I might never see you again."

You feel a rush of emotions, your heart swelling at his words. "I've missed you too, Seungkwan. More than I can say."

The moment feels charged with emotion, and before you know it, you're leaning in, closing the distance between you. The kiss is sweet and lingering, filled with all the unspoken feelings and missed opportunities. It’s as if no time has passed since your last kiss in Tokyo, and the connection between you is just as strong, if not stronger.

When you finally pull back, you’re both smiling, a mixture of relief and happiness in your expressions. Seungkwan takes your hand, squeezing it gently. "How about we do this properly?" he asks, his voice soft but hopeful. "Will you go on a date with me?"

Your smile widens, and you nod eagerly. "Yes, I'd love to."

Seungkwan’s face lights up with joy. "Great! How about tomorrow evening? There's a new restaurant I've been wanting to try."

"Sounds perfect," you reply, your heart soaring. “Can I finally give you my number now?”

Seungkwan laughs, and your heart soars. After exchanging contact information, you decide to leave. As you leave Seungkwan’s apartment that evening, you feel a sense of contentment and excitement for the future. The chance encounter has rekindled the spark between you, and you can’t wait to see where this new chapter with Seungkwan will lead. The memory of your time in Tokyo remains a cherished part of your story, but now, you look forward to creating new memories together in this place you both call home.

[inesbaby21]

omggg hii loved ur inês head cannons!! was wondering if you would do like singer!reader x inês !!

10000x yessa guys look at my username .. i LOVEEEE ME SOME INÊS DOWN DO NOT PLAY WITH IT 😜

INÊS BETTENCOURT X SINGER!READER HEADCANONS

Definitely has a playlist dedicated to your songs/ Songs that remind you of her

I'm also getting nepo baby vibes from singer!reader, but not like you guys are probably thinking..I seeing like former WNBA player mom, or NBA player dad that follows singer!reader like a HAWK honey ..

Anyways, this girl cannot shut up about you in post game interviews- like she's getting side eyed by kk and ice for mentioning your new EP/new album

"Yeah no, my pregame playlist is full of Y/N-" Inês says, full blown smile- eyes gleaming full of adoration.

"The fact that she's not even lying is the best part, she's so whipped that we can't even MENTION Y/N being in the stands- or even like coming to a game without her squealing like a little girl .." FT A NASTY the side eye BAD.

I definitely see Inês getting in trouble for missing practice to see you perform- or like begging you to come to a home game for weeks and like freaking when you finally do.

"Paige help me- I didn't think she was actually gonna fly in to watch me play. SHE JUST HAD A CONCERT IN ARIZONA."

"nesh don't task me- I've never had to stop someone from getting on a plane to see me the next day" Paige says muting the live as Inês marches in the room terrified

FASHION. KILLERS. cmon now, like seriously do think Singer!Reader would let nesh walk around looking like a hobo?

Jokes, Jokes, the two definitely match- but like Mary Kate and Ashley match (I'm a twin fun fact! and my mom would match me and my brother this way!)

Definitely always Inês plus one to events- and vise versa.

"But Y/N/NNNNN I really want you to go to our pregame dinner- meet my teammates and friends! I literally live with most of them" The tan girl says pouting as she raises her head from the dip of your chest.

Poor baby definitely (accidentally) exposed your relationship on live with Kk, Paige, and Azzi somewhere in the background. Definitely got laughed at while she freaked out.

"Paige- You know that Y/N/N is coming from california after todays performance and she's coming to see meee" The girl says, completely disregarding the fact that they were on live. UNMUTED with over 5k active and listening fans, fans who commonly screen recorded the lives.

Poor baby ended the live so fast, and rushed to call you and let you know that she had exposed your almost 7 month relationship on accident (while sobbing)

"And- and like I said something about you coming to see me after your performance in Cali, a-and like We were on live. With you being in Cali right now- about to perform in a few hours- plus Y/N being your name they know i'm talking about you" The girl says In-between sobs.

"Oh Nes- I'm not mad baby, I had no problem with going public I just wanted to make sure you were ready" You said doing your best to comfort the obviously distraught girl- who was convinced that you would be upset with her.

Cutest paparazzi pictures of you two on the beach, or on stage before a concert- and don't get me started on the date/late night pictures of the two of you out.

Definitely having to get Inês used to people following her around, getting picture of her, and the Gala's (Not that ANY of the things paparazzi do should be legal, but just so it's less stress on the poor girl 😞)

Definitely writing a few (a whole notebooks worth) of songs about inês

Also definitely comes to see Singer!Reader live/ on stage after hard launching each other and Is invited (dragged) on stage as she sings an acoustic version of a song she wrote about Nesh

Definitely spends all of her free time on the phone with you, or if your schedules line up little vacations/get aways because with both of your demanding schedules sometimes you two need a little no phone, no wi-fi, no service break you know ?

A/N I love my sugar plum blum Inês! I can't waittt to see her do great things this season, even if she's not with Uconn! also remember that these are HUMAN BEINGS with emotions, feelings, and personal behind the scenes things that we don't know about. Meaning that her transfer really is none of our business, as for other players transferring schools/being traded off in the WNBA. Our "Job" is to support these women, watch them do what they love, and to honestly mind our business 🤷🏽‍♀️.

[xhoneygirlxx]

Fade Me

Older!Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

summary: your night is ruined when your date is a no show. maybe the handsome stranger at the end of the bar can fix it.

warnings: slight angst. reader is 30, Eddie is early 40s. Modern au! Reader's date sucks. Eddie is a sweetheart. Fluff. Swearing. Shitty writing and grammar mistakes!!! Not proofread!!!! Also Minors go away, I'm an 18+ blog.

*if I missed anything lmk

a/n: WELCOME TO MY BIRTHDAY BASH EVERYONE!!!!!!! I'm so excited to be celebrating with all of you guys!! This isn't my best work but I think its cute and that's all that matters. Love you all and hope you guys like this <3

Oh, maybe, you could devastate me.

Little lady, come and fade me.

Everything at the moment was pissing you off, setting spark to the last small fuse that sat within you. The pain from sitting on the hard bar stool was shooting pain right to your tailbone, not going away no matter how many times you switch your position. The unforgiving squeeze of the uncomfortable heels radiated pain all over your feet and you knew they would be swollen in the morning. The group of rowdy girls at the back of the bar were shrieking with joy over something you have no idea about, but you did know that you wanted to drag all of them by their scalp and remove them from the bar. 

This was stupid, so fucking stupid, and you knew from the very start that it wasn’t going to work. It never does and the next time you see your friends, they aren't going to hear the end of it. Dating sites and dating in general were things you didn’t like to partake in and for good reason. 

Out of all your friends, you happened to be the only single one and you were fine with that, but they weren’t. They begged you, since the moment you broke up with your college sweetheart, to get back out into the dating world. It was actually irritating that they cared so much about your relationship status so much, if you were hooking up with anyone, all under the guise of wanting you to be happy. Truthfully they did want you to be happy and they knew you craved having a relationship, but you were pissed and wanted to stew in your own anger.

Well, right now you were everything but happy. In fact you were furious. Furious with yourself, with them, and most importantly your stupid ass date, Luke. After your thirtieth birthday, your friends all but tackled your phone out of your grasp, making you a stupid tinder profile. 

“Thirty is the new twenty one, babe,” Dahlia said as she and the two other girls scrolled through pictures to post. 

Twenty one your ass, you think, especially with the way you’re fighting a yawn at only nine thirty on a Friday night. 

So you gave in, swiped on a few different people who snatched your attention, one of them being Luke. He was handsome, smiling brightly with a bottle of Corona in his hand and a pair of Raybans perched on the bridge of his nose. His bio was simple, straight to the point, and it was the least douchey thing you’ve read while on the app. 

After making short conversation, you learned that he was an investment banker, working in the Citibank building downtown. His interests were the same as yours, very shy yet loved to have a good time with friends. The best selling point was his dog, Cali, that could be seen in a few of the other pictures he had. 

You were sold, with his witty banter and the fact that he had his life together at thirty two didn’t make the decision hard, especially when all the other people you know that are your age don’t have a solid plan. Which in argument's sake is fine, however you weren’t getting any younger and the want to get married and start a life with someone was getting strong, even though you’d never admit it to your friends. 

So that’s why you’re sitting in a swanky bar in downtown Indy, waiting patiently for your date, who happens to be an hour late, in a dress you spent sixty dollars on. It was a pathetic feeling really, putting this much faith into a stranger in the hopes of finding the one. It’s actually why you didn’t want to do it in the first place and why your friends would have to face your wrath when you get home. 

The buzzing of your phone on the wooden bar jolts you awake, the wave of adrenaline coursing through your veins making your heart pump erratically. 

IMessage 

Luke: Sorry for the last minute text but I’m not going to be able to make it tonight. Had to stay late at the office today, I hope you understand. 

With a defeated sigh you turn your phone face down, not having the energy to cuss the asshole out for making you wait so long. Pulling your focus on the bartender, you flag him over and order a martini. Dry martini. Very dry. 

When the man places the glass in front of you, he gives you a weak smile as if he knows what’s happening. He probably does know what’s happening, he’s probably seen this happen more times than he’d like to admit and it only adds to your frustration. 

Muttering a small thanks, you take a big swig from the crystal glass, letting the liquor burn down your esophagus. It hits your stomach causing an instant burn, more fuel to the fire that’s been shimmering below the surface. The pity you started to feel has now turned into a new found rage. 

Quickly picking up your phone, you ignore the burn from the sting of the bright light, and tap on Luke’s text. 

Staring at it, you can feel the fire ripping through your body, all the anger and embarrassment you’ve let build up while sitting here coming out as you read his last message. 

Luke: Sorry for the last minute text but I’m not going to be able to make it tonight. Had to stay late at the office today, I hope you understand.  

You: That would’ve been awesome to know about an hour ago. Thank you for wasting my Friday night asshole. 

Before you can text more insults, a gruff voice interrupts the quick tapping of your acrylic nails on the screen.  

“Trust me sweetheart, he’s not worth it.” Pulling your gaze from your phone, you try to find the owner of the voice. 

Turning to your right you see him, two seats away from you, tucked away into the corner at the end of the bar. You’re not sure when he got there or if he’s been there the whole time but his presence alone is pissing you off. You’re ready to aim your dagger like tongue at him and tell him to go fuck himself when you take in his appearance. 

A plain black tee shirt pulled taunt across his broad chest, tattooed arms squeezed by the material just right. On his hands sits more black ink and nice silver rings, gleaming in the low light of the bar. His hair is brown with a streak or two of salt and pepper mixed in, wisps of hair framing his face from where it fell out of the low bun it’s been pulled into. The crows feet by his eyes are fitting, especially when his dimpled smile is peaking through from where it sits behind his glass of whiskey. 

He seems older, at least from the discolored hair and stubble on his chin, but he’s very handsome. Actually he’s hot and if you weren’t so mad right now, you’d be flirting with him. That’s not the case though, not when he has a smug ass smile on his face like he’s all knowing. 

“What d’you know?” You bite back, waiting for the handsome stranger to answer. When he takes more than a second to answer, you cock an eyebrow at him like it’s taking him too long. 

“I shouldn’t have assumed,” He replies cooly, putting his glass down on the coaster, “Don’t text her, it’s not worth it.” When his eyes meet yours, you can’t help but stop breathing. 

Big brown eyes looking right at you, so soft and gentle. You sink into the warmth of his eyes on you, almost letting yourself drift away. But you’re mad and this stranger is the perfect person to let it all out on. 

“No they’re not a she, and even if it was you don’t know anything.” You look back down at your phone, tapping away at your keyboard finishing what you had started. When you hear him huff out a laugh, the frown that was on your face before quickly deepens. 

“You’re right, sweetheart, I don’t know anything. What I do know is when a pretty girl like yourself has been sitting alone at a bar for longer than an hour and suddenly starts tapping away on that thing, like you are right now, I know she’s been stood up.” 

His statement brings you right back out of your phone, willing yourself not to wipe that ‘know it all’ look right off of his pretty face. Your scowl is piercing right through him, hating the way that he could see right through you and yet not having a clue who you were. 

“Hey, I’m not judging,” He throws his hands up in surrender, “But I promise, whatever douche made someone as stunning as you, wait in a bar this long for ‘em, doesn’t deserve you. Plus, you’re too pretty to be lookin’ that angry.” He picks his glass up, finishing off the rest before nodding to the bartender for another. 

In any other situation you’d be telling them off, yelling at them to get lost, but something about this stranger feels different. You could write it off and say it’s because he’s attractive but in all actuality, it’s because he’s gentle when he says it. His eyes aren’t roaming your body like some pig, hoping to get into your panties by sweet talking to you. It’s like he actually cares about you, the stranger in her pretty dress who has been stood up by her date, like he’s known you his whole life. 

Slowly you set your phone down, relaxing the sour look on your face, and you take a deep breath. The last thing you want to do is cry, especially in a bar, and especially in front of the caring hot stranger. 

“Is it that obvious?” You ask shyly, picking up your martini glass for another sip. The man shakes his head, moving his posture so that he’s leaning towards you. 

“Don’t do that,” he says, “Don’t start thinking down on yourself. Yes it was a little obvious but my suspicion grew more when you didn’t order a drink after sitting at a bar for five minutes.” 

The statement makes you laugh wetly when he says it, a single tear escaping your eye causing you to wipe it hoping it’s not noticeable. If he sees it, he doesn’t say anything, instead moving over to the seat next to you. 

“Listen, don’t let whatever dickhead person ruin your night. From what I’ve witnessed you’re a pretty badass chick, so whatever frat bro did this to you should be scared.” An inked hand places a white napkin in front of you, a peace offering that you’re quick to take. 

“That’s the worst part, he’s not even a frat bro. He’s a finance bro.” When you chance a look up at him, he’s looking right back at you, pearly white teeth staring at you. 

In a split second he’s laughing, a deep belly kind of laugh with his head thrown back. As much as you want to defend yourself, tell him that Luke wasn’t your first choice, you can’t. Following suit, you start giggling as well, placing the white napkin to the corner of your eye to collect any unushered tears. 

“I gotta tell you sugar, that’s even worse.” The pet name doesn’t get lost on you, heart stuttering the minute it falls from his lips. Trying to pull yourself together, hoping he didn’t see the way you stiffened at the name, you clear your throat. 

“Tell me about it,” You playfully roll your eyes, taking a sip of what’s left of your drink. 

When you move your sight back over to him, he’s leaning back, dimples showing off, almost like he knows something you don’t. He does know something however, he knows that he has some sort of effect on you, watching you with pink flushing your cheeks and it’s not from the alcohol. 

“So,” You break the silence, “Sugar, huh?” You furrow your brows questioningly and it only makes him smile bigger than before. 

When he leans forward you catch a whiff of his scent, pine and cedar, musky and smoky. He’s even prettier up close and your eyes are trying to map out every detail of him so that you can remember it when you go to sleep tonight, dreaming of the good looking stranger who made your night better. 

“Well, between the softness of your laugh and your scowl that could kill,” his voice is low and husky, saying a secret for only you to hear, “You have a little bit of sugar and spice. Kind of like that cartoon with the badass power wielding girls.” 

“Do you mean the PowerPuff Girls?” Cocking your head to the side you laugh, his true age showing in the way that he described the Cartoon Network show. 

“I’m showing my true age, huh? Well, in my defense I was fifteen and you probably weren’t born yet.” His crows feet become more defined. Shaking your head, you wave to the bartender for another martini. 

“Actually, I was five but you were close enough.” His eyes go wide in shock with your admission. When another glass is placed in front of you, you send a smile to the bartender and he gives you one back. 

Looking back at the man next to you, you raise an eyebrow, questioning why he’s so surprised at your age. Blowing out a big breath it seems he’s been holding the whole time, he takes a swig of his own drink. 

“Sorry, I just,” he sighs, looking back up at you quizzingly, “wow, you’re really thirty?” Although there’s no malice behind his question, you can’t help but frown at him. He notices and immediately back tracks. 

“Fuck, no not like that I just meant,” You wait for him to dig himself a deeper hole. When he finally gets his thoughts together, he looks at you, really looks at you and it makes you want to melt. “Listen, I really didn’t mean it like that, I promise. Honestly, I felt like a perv when I first started talkin’ to you, thinkin’ you were like twenty one. When you said you were thirty, I was just surprised, that’s all. Maybe a little excited knowing I might have a chance.” 

You take in what he says to you, how sincere his voice is, and you know he isn’t lying. You don’t want to give in so fast though, you want him to sweat it out a bit. So you take a sip of your drink, your eyebrow still arched in fake annoyance. With an extra shot of courage, you look over at him, fake pout on your red stained lip. 

“How can you have a chance when I don’t even know your name?” Your voice is like silk, smooth and soft. The older man clearly likes it, the way a smirk is formed on his pink kissable lips is a clear indicator. 

“M’Eddie, Eddie Munson,” He offers you his ringed hand for a handshake, “And you are?” You give him your name and he hums with delight. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.” 

You snort loudly at his comment, covering your mouth to stop from any further laughter from falling from your lips. Eddie arches an eyebrow at you, questioning what you found so funny. 

“I’m sorry, that was just so corny.” Another giggle slips from you and the cool facade he had crumples, laughing along with you. 

“S’pretty bad, huh?’ He scrunches his nose and you think it might be the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. 

“Yeah it was bad, who told you that would work?” You take a sip of your martini and look at him from over the rim of your glass. 

Chuckling and shaking his head, Eddie rubs his forehead as if he’s stressed. Now he’s the one fumbling and nervous, you got him in the palm of your hand. 

“Goodness, it was going so well too.” You continue to tease, the playfulness dripping from your voice. Looking over at you Eddie can’t help but smile, those damn dimples back on display. 

“You’re trouble, sugar.” It’s said with the utmost confidence and it has you blushing.

“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet, babe.” It’s an invitation for him to find out and you hope he catches it. 

“How about I find out on Sunday over dinner and some drinks? What do you say?” Eddie leans into you when he says it, getting the closest he’s been to you, letting his husky voice fill your ears. 

Trying to hide the chill that runs up your back and the excitement that settles in your belly, you lean in just as close. “I’d say you have a date, pretty boy.” 

The two of you stay like that for a minute, smiling like giddy teens. Breaking away from the small moment, he pulls his phone out from his pocket, unlocking it and opening up the phone app to type in a new contact. 

Handing you the phone, his face seems boyish and giddy, you’re sure if he wasn’t sitting he’d be bouncing on the ball of his feet. Typing in your number, you shyly smile up at him handing back his phone. 

“I better hear from you Eddie Munson or finance bro won’t be the only one gettin’ his ass kicked.” Pointing a finger at him, you try your best to look as mean as possible but your plan quickly fails when you see his eyes shining at you. 

“Yes ma’am.” Throwing a wink at you, he reaches into his wallet and pulls a crisp hundred out and places it on the bar top. “I’ll be seein’ you soon, sugar.” Wrapping his fingers around yours, he places a kiss to the back of your hand. 

The feeling of his lips on your skin makes you ache for more, and the moment it’s gone you wish you can make him do it again. Pulling your lip in between your teeth, you look up at him like he’s hung the stars. 

The moment is cut short when the bartender asks Eddie if he wants change. Surprisingly he doesn’t look at the older man with anger for ruining it, instead he gives him a nice smile. 

“No Paul, the change is all yours. Also, this beautiful young lady’s drinks are on my tab.” Nodding his head, the bartender thanks Eddie for the generous tip. 

Pulling his attention back to you, he cuts you off before you can chastise him for paying. “Let me pay for the pretty girl who made my whole night, it’s the least I can do.” 

Rolling your eyes, you try hard to not let him see how flustered you are. When he bids you a goodnight, you can’t help but feel the ache of his absence. The whole time you’re in the Lyft home you think of him, staring out the window and replaying everything in your head. 

Once you get home, you sit in silence on the end of your bed, not worrying about the shower you need to take. You can’t believe the luck you had in meeting Eddie and a part of you wants to thank Luke for not showing up. 

The ding of your phone pulls you out of your thoughts, your heartbeat picking up when you read your screen. 

Maybe Eddie: Hey it’s Eddie, just wanted to make sure you got home safe. I wanted to ask if you could thank that loser for not showin up, he really did both of us a favor tonight. 

When you read it, you can’t help but giggle a little. Although corny and maybe a little dorky, Eddie had thought the same thing as you and for some reason it sent the butterflies in your tummy on a rampage. 

Maybe Eddie: You’re totally laughing at me right now, aren’t you?

Bursting into laughter, your tummy flips in excitement, imagining him blushing on the other side of the phone. Tapping away on your screen, you send him a reply. 

You: Oh you know it 😉

You: Thank you for making sure I got home by the way, I appreciate it. 

Eddie: I should’ve known. Glad you got home in one piece. 

Eddie: Night, sugar. See you Sunday 🖤

Fuck a text, you were going to send Luke a thank you card and maybe some chocolate.

I hope you guys liked this! I can't wait to continue this week with all of you! See you all tomorrow with the next fic :)

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[missadangel]

Little Bird in a Cage

Part 1: Operation Little Bird

---------------------------- All episodes here ------------------------

(Javier Peña x reader)

In this story, the reader is the daughter of the Colombian Defense Minister from Narcos season 3 and DEA agent Javier Peña has to kidnap her to protect her.

Rating: Mature, 18+

Word Count: 54,191 in total.

Warnings: falling in love, rough sex, smut, sex, mention about sex workers, cursing, alcohol, kidnapping, violence, gun violence, drugs, narcos, Cali cartels, unplanned pregnancy, fluffy, mention about pregnancy, bathtub sex, age gap (10-15 years)

Summary:  When I was writing this story, I wondered what it would be like to be kidnapped by Javier Peña. i wish lol

Notes:  English is not my native language so bear with me. hit me in comments if you like it so i can keep sharing. Enjoy!

Gif by azerytrobaz - reddit

-Prologue-

The night you turned 22 you met incredibly charming and mysterious man, and the first time you saw him your heart skipped a beat. Immediately the question came to your mind,

What if he’s the one?

That was your first mistake…

You will soon realized that he was Javier Peña,  former DEA agent - yes, former, because your father played a big role in getting him discharged - who has been sneaking up on you because of all the shit your father had done and was going to kidnap you to teach him a lesson. So that was the plan, at least for now.

From Javier's point of view, it wasn't the first time he'd seen you. He's been after your father for a while for aiding and abetting the Cali cartel. But because your father was Colombia's respected minister of defense, it was very difficult, close to impossible, to expose it. But on the other hand, you were his only weakness, which made you the only option.

"It's fuckin stupid, we'd better commit suicide..."

Javi grumbled while he's stalking you on the way your home.

That was the first time he saw you, you look like very happy with your friends returning from college, unaware that the man you would later love and hate so much was following you at the moment.

Of course, you didn't know about the shit your father was doing and you never did.

As Javi spy on you behind his sunglasses in a distance, all he could think about was how to approach you. You were young and quite beautiful that every man would want you easily. He was at least 10 years older than you and he usually spends his time after work in the brothel with prostitutes, he wasn't very good at approaching other women.

"She usually likes to hang out at a bar with her friends, that's good for you sir, that's your specialty." Chris said with a smirk standing next to him.

Javi rolled his eyes. "Let’s see."

The plan that Javi, the other two agents Chris and Daniel, and his buddy Steve -by providing support from Bogota- came up with was actually technically quite simple. Kidnap the minister's daughter, hold her for a while so that you can protect her from the Salazars, the archenemy of the Cali cartel, and others can't get to her. The CIA certainly didn't want to be involved in this plan because they had already taken Escobar. That's why it was actually very difficult. Javi was no longer an agent and he was not authorized to ask any support.

So he had to reluctantly go to Don Berna, knowing that he would definitely want something in return, of course. But Javi was doing it partly for himself, he wanted more than anything to go back to his days as an agent. And taking the cartel down.

They could kidnap you suddenly when your'e outside, but a conflict would be inevitable, and if gets out that Javi was involved in this, the positions of other agents could be in danger, and even if America's name would heard about the kidnapping of the minister's daughter incident, it could be very very bad.

That's why Javi was going to approach you as random guy, not as an agent. The first attempt was failed, because you were at home almost all week, and sometimes you went shopping, that's all. Also you were given ride by a car every-damn-time. Javi was getting more and more impatient wondering when he would find the right time.

Luckily, due to the information Javi received, the girl -you- has a birthday party tonight and you were going to be with your friends only. That night, he was primping his hair more than usual night, he was already very attractive with his bright brown eyes, slightly shaped hair, clean-shaven face except for his mustache.

He put his favorite perfume on his neck and a little on his black leather jacket too, then left the house.

The party was in the bar of an elite hotel. As Javi approached the crowd at the entrance of the big hotel, his phone rang. That was Chris, he was joking about whether he was going to put a bug in his jacket so they can eavesdrop on .

"Fuck off," he hissed and approached the entrance. It was not difficult for him to get in, pass the security etc., the main problem was what he was going to do inside. He sat down on a bar stool, had a drink and started spying around. He looking for you, and he almost spit out his drink when he noticed you, “Damn,” he gulped.

There you were, standing in front of him with all your beauty, the dress you were wearing left your back and shoulders exposed, also was quite short so he can see clearly your long and smooth legs, shining under colorful lighting. Your light brown hair, resembling chocolate, was layered long, cascades down your back, your makeup was not too much but the color of your lips was just—

"Great," Javi muttered. He almost forgot what he came here for. He tossed off his drink and observed a little more, just then someone -he thought was probably her ex boyfriend -approached you, and things got tense after an argument, luckily for Javi, you walked over to the bar stool. With an upset expression, you sat down next to him without noticing Javi who got excited for a moment realizing finally had opportunity to make a move.

“Is everything all right?"

You just took a sip of your drink and startled by this question.

When you turned your head that way, you saw him, and were immediately surprised how you didn't see him before, sitting on barstool next to you, because he wasn't one to go unnoticed, at that moment you felt that you entered the field of his attraction.

This stranger asked you sincerely, he seemed a little worried but much curious though.

Even  you were almost forgetting why the hell you’re upset about. Then you shook your head and come to your senses.

"Yes, I think so," you murmured without looking at him.

"It's just that some men can't handle being dumped," you sighed. Javi smiled flirtatiously, "If the person who dumped is a beautiful woman like you, I can’t imagine how though to handle."

When you heard his compliment, you felt your cheeks turn red, you couldn't take your eyes off his dark brown eyes for a while. You smiled and made a gesture like thanking him with the glass in your hand. Your friends came to check you on trying to convince you to go with them but you didn't want to go.

The music was loud, everyone were dancing madly but you didn't want to dance either. For some reason, it was more tempting for you to sit with this stranger.

"May I ask your name?" he asked.

"Y/N," you said immediately, your voice was like a silver bell ringing. "And your name is?"

Of course, Javi couldn't say his own name, he had to lie, and he said the first name that came to his mind.

"I'm Juan."

"Glad to meet you, Juan. You're not here for my party? why are you here?" you asked in a curious way.

"I think my date ditched on me tonight," he pouted his lips and smirked.

"Oh, it's too bad," you said sincerely, "Well, her loss."

"Do you think so?” he said, by raising his eyebrows. “That was very kind of you."

Oh god, those eyes you thought, feeling your heart pounding so fast.

‘Can you be my birthday present?’ you wished and smiled to yourself for naughty thoughts and hoped he didn’t notice that shit.

"Let me stay here if you want, the party is almost over anyway, you have no idea how happy I am to get another age," you said in a sarcastic voice, looking at your friends and rolling your eyes.

"Well, happy birthday then," said Juan (aka Javi), handing you his glass to toast.

After toasting your glass with him, you had a long conversation, you started to like him more and more, however it was quite late.

"Oh, it's almost 2 am," you said in a nervous voice, checking your watch.

"Juan, it was nice to know you, but I need to go home. My father is very strict. And he won't accept any excuses."

"Okay, I have no intention of getting beaten up by a girl's father, but let me take you home, because I’m afraid, all of your friends are gone so."

You immediately turned your head and looked around, he was right, there was no one left, well, you wondered how this happened so fast.

"We had a very long chat, ha?” you smiled hysterically.

“Si, I enjoyed every moment," he got up with triumphant joy and helped you to put your jacket on. How kind he was, you thought, when he helped you while putting your jacket on with his big hands and the smell of his perfume came to your nose, almost took your breath away.

It was fucking perfect.

--

"Actually, you can't give me a ride home," you said before leaving the hotel.

"My father always sends a private car to pick me up."

You sound was low because you've never liked that.

Javi quickly scanned the outside with his eyes, he didn't need your father's men to see him at all right now.

"Then will you give me a chance to see you again?" he asked quite willingly hoped it wasn't too much to ruin everything.

You didn't know what to say, usually you would never tell your father about their relationship because he kept grumbling unnecessarily.

But you wanted to see Juan again more than anything, you surprised even yourself with this eager attitude. What was happening to me like this? you thought.

Javi was waiting wanted you to say yes more than anything, time was running out. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get that close to you again. It should be done later this week.

"We just met, Juan," you suddenly said, “I'm not used to this, meaning this is the first time I've had such a chat with someone I met at the bar.” You didn’t want to look like easy.

“But I can give you my beeper number." you added, mischievously.

While you were typing in your number to part of paper, Javi was wondering if it was right time to kidnap you right now. But suddenly his eye caught the men standing outside next to the black car. They were probably waiting for you. He had to a give up, it was too risky.

"Here," handing him your number written on a paper.

"Good night," you said with a warm smile

"Good night," Javi answered in low tone looking the paper you just gave him.

Suddenly something came to your mind and you stopped for a moment, which made a big smile on your face. You immediately turned towards him, after you check the men waiting for you, one of them was coming towards you slowly, you had to be quick.

"Do you like painting?"

Javi was surprised.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I have an exhibition of paintings at the Muli museum on Friday at 8pm, maybe we can hang out afterwards."

Javi's brown eyes were shining with hope, he smiled at you so warmly.

"Ah, and the best part is, dad won't be there," you whispered, blinking at him, then you ran towards the car like the cinderella in a hurry for her carriage.

That was your second mistake…

Javi was happy, felt like he has won a victory.

"Can’t fucking wait, baby," he murmured with a smirk on his face .

----

“What the fuck?”

Opening your eyes in a place you've never seen before, trying to remember what you did last night, where you were, and how you got here.

Or by whom.

Your memory was starting to come back with a terrific headache. You were waiting for him in the art gallery of the museum, people were congratulating you for your exhibition and it was crowded. You were hoping for him to come, yes, him. The person who brought you here. He.

When you sit up in bed, you realize that you remember everything.

Juan brought you a bouquet of flowers, visited your exhibition, praised the paintings you made, and then offered to have dinner outside, everything has been great so far. Until when he asked if you wanted you to go to his house after dinner, and you said yes.

Well, that was your third and last mistake.

-----

While the two of you were driving towards his house-at least while you were hoping so- he brought you to a large area, somewhere like a helicopter field.

You got out of the car and looked around try to understand what the heck is this, but before you even turned around to ask him, You felt your consciousness go away with a sharp smell coming from a rag which he was holding his palm pressing to your nose. The last thing you remember is that a helicopter was approaching in the distance.

Suddenly, your heart started beating very fast, you pressed your hand to your chest, feeling make a fool of  hit you very hard.

You immediately stood up to look out of the window. Everything was dark outside, the only visible things were the forest-like trees that made it impossible to see the sky and the weak lighting that surrounded the house where you are now. There were iron bars outside the window, like a prison. Anger and a feeling of being cheated began to take over your body. You turned your eyes to the room and hastily reviewed it, but there was nothing useful, your body wanted to leave here immediately, your survival instinct wanted to find a way out.

"She's awake,” you heard a voice from behind the door almost whispering.

You were suddenly startled by the opening of the door, but at the same time you went into defensive mode.

He was the one who came in.

The first thing that came to your mind to take small lamp on bedside table and throw at him. Juan was fast, he flinched reflexively, then he carefully and  slowly approached you.

"Please listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you, let me talk."

"Who the fuck are you? What do you want, why are you brought me here?”

Javi then put his hands on his waist trying to find correct explanation.

“Answer me!” you yelled at him.

"Fuck, baby I know you’re surprised as hell but listen, I am Javier Peña. Former DEA agent, the reason I brought you here is to protect you only, please believe me."

"Is it so?" you asked in a sarcastic way.

You moved back and picked up a pillow this time and threw it at him again.

"Fuck off!"

Javi grabbed the pillow and sighed deeply.

He brushed his hair back with his other hand, which fell on his face when the pillow hit, and then he approached you, there was no place left for you to step back so just standing there.

Without taking his eyes off you, he threw the pillow on the bed. His eyes were deep and serious this time.

"I'm telling you the truth, I guess you don't know about your father's shit with the Cali cartel. I don't blame you. But it was only a matter of time before the cartel's enemies used you to harm your father, so I had to take you here."

"And you saved me? What, am I supposed to say thank you or something? Yeah, fuck you very much!"

He rubs his head, didn’t know what to say.

"You should have a dog in the hunt, right?” you asked suddenly, trying to find a way to get closer to the door.

Javi sighed and sit on small couch near the door.

"I lost my job because of your father, I'm not an agent anymore. Beside- wait!"

When you run towards the door in a quick move, he grabbed you from behind easily.

"Let me go," you cried. You were struggling to get out of his strong arms.

"Don’t be silly Y/N, have you ever thought about where you're going. There are soldiers outside, guards, and we're not in Cali anymore."

Suddenly you stopped fluttering, Javi hadn't pulled his arms out, he couldn't figure out what to do. But when he saw the sad expression on your face, he let you go.

"What do you want from me exactly?" you asked, your tone was no longer angry, yet desperate.

Javi grabbed your shoulders softly and looked into your eyes with his bright brown eyes.

"I want you to stay here until we capture the Cali cartel, we’ll do whatever you want or need, no harm will come to you, I promise."

"You mean, until you get your job back.”

Javi's touch by shoulders hurt you more, you pushed his hands away and he was avoiding reply and you both knew it meant yes.

"I want to talk to my father," you said after a short silence.

"No fucking way, I'm sorry."

"You were going to do whatever I wanted, you said so," you frowned.

"Everything except that," said with half smile.

His smile made you even more angry.

"Look, why don't you get some rest, stay alone for a while, we'll be downstairs when you need us."

You didn't answer, you were looking out of the window with hands crossed.

"Was it all part of this game?" you asked Javi who was about leaving the room but playing with door handle.

"I mean your interest in me," you explained, "It was all a lie, wasn't it? You approached me because of my father, didn't you?" looking at him this time.

"Get some rest, please" he said again, slowly closed the door, left the room.

You couldn't hold back your tears anymore and you let them flow and fell asleep while murmuring.

"How stupid I am.”

-------

The days were passing, and every time you were a hostage, you started to get more bored, you hated the feeling of uncertainty and detention.

And when you looked out of the window in your room and see the same things every day, it didn't help to make that feeling go away. Mercenaries, soldiers or whoever they are, they sprinting as group every day for training, changing shifts on duty, and this goes on until it gets dark.

Javi and others visiting you to ask what you needed and to bring food and drink only.

But you didn’t see Javi for two days. Even though he came anyway, he didn't talk much.

Maybe because you beg him for to get you out of there everytime he comes by, who knows. And one day the worst thing happened for you. Chris ran into the room at lightning speed because you screamed very loudly.

"Are you all right, senorita?"

Javi was in a meeting with the commander of the soldiers and Don Berna at the time. The meeting was about to end when his own name was called. He frowned, put out his cigarette and left the office.

"What now," he hissed.

He ran up the stairs, getting worried.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he asked curiously. Saw Daniel and Chris waiting outside of the bathroom door.

“Señorita has a problem, we didn't get it, sir."

Javi gestured his hands for them to step aside and grabbed door handle wanted to check but-

"Y/N are you all right? What-"

"Don't you dare come in!!!" you shouted quite loudly.

"Okay, can you tell me what happened, por favor?"

"Look, I need clean clothes to change and, the, that thing," your voice was cracking.

Three men in the room looked at each other confused as hell, they had no idea. Javi approached the door softly again.

"To what, cariño?" his voice so soft too but it only made you more angry.

"Just the fucking girly thing," you scolded him.

"Never came to your little minds of yours, when you were kidnapping a girl, ha? Idiots!"

Javi felt so embarrassed when he realized, he bit his lip and ruffled his hair with his hand.

"I'll find you what you want, I promise, you hang in there a little longer, okay?" almost begging.

Daniel and Chris giggled each other.

"Stop it and think about how we will find it." Javi snarled.

"The market near here is at least 50 km away, sir."

“Fuck.”

"What about the female soldiers? I've seen one, no harm to ask her, right?"

Javi nodded.

"You two stay here.”

“Hurry up!!!” you shouted again.

When he get out of the building, Don Berna and the others were there.

"Hey amigo, is there any women among soldiers? I need to talk to her right now."

"Peña," Berna laughed roughly.

"If you need a hooker, just tell me. Anton will take you. I wouldn't recommend approaching female soldiers with that intention. If you know what I mean."

He laughed so hard that the cigar in his mouth almost felling to the floor.

"Fuckin hilarious.” Javi snorted.

----

You were in a lot of pain and the bleeding couldn't stop.

You had no choice but to trust Javi and wait. When you were about to faint, you heard the door open, and immediately after, a woman's voice came to your ear.

"I'll take it from here, gentlemen," she said confidently.

You were almost relieved when you saw a woman in uniform in front of you. She brought clean clothes and tampons, also helped you to change, and now you were dying to get out of fucking bathroom.

"Thank you, really," you said sincerely.

"No problem, señorita," she smiled and left the room, but Javi has entered before the door was closed.

"Are you feeling better?"

Suddenly you felt your cheeks turn red.

"Yes, thank you," you said, avoiding to make eye contact with him.

“Don’t thank me, just be okay,” he muttered and left the room.

You wanted to say more but couldn’t. Feeling abandoned because he left you in the room alone, but because you were so tired to think over. So you preferred to go to the bed and lay down.

-----

---------------------------- All episodes here ------------------------

[sunflowergirl522]

Max's Sister

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Mayfield!Reader

Summary: You’re officially moved to Hawkins after finishing school and Max bets Eddie that he’ll fall for you by the time summers up.

Word Count: 8706

A/n: The ending feels rushed to me but hopefully won’t for you.

Eddie Masterlist

“Hey Red, you ready to head to the arcade!” Eddie walks right into the Mayfield trailer without knocking like he’d normally do when he was coming over to get Max and her mom wasn’t home. 

Ever since Max was able to go home from the hospital with broken bones and partial blindness Eddie’s been there to keep her company every second he could. And once she was good enough to walk again he was there to help her get adjusted to her surroundings so she wasn’t always bumping into stuff she couldn’t see. Eddie took up the big brother role she never had and the two of them became thick as thieves. And as soon as her arms and hands were good enough Eddie decided that Wednesdays would be arcade days where even partially blind she beat his ass at games.

“You must be Eddie.” He freezes when he enters the living room and sees you sitting on the floor in front of the couch. His mind blanks as he watches you stand revealing your bare legs that were previously hidden beneath the coffee table.

“Um, yeah that’s me. Sorry but who’re you?” You look familiar and he has a feeling that he’s definitely seen you before and that would explain why you were sitting in Max’s living room in your pajamas but he couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

“I’m Max’s sister, Y/n.” You step closer to him and can almost physically see the light bulb go on in his head. “I’ve heard a lot about you Eddie.” You beg yourself to keep it together and choke back the grateful tears that want to well up in your eyes. 

“Hope it was all good things.” One of his hands rubs the back of his neck and he lets out a nervous chuckle while his other reaches out for you to shake. You can feel the urge to cry crawling and clawing its way up your throat so you’re quick to grab his hand and pull him into a hug leaving your tearful face hidden in his chest.

“Thank you.” At hearing how shaky your voice is Eddie doesn’t even think about it before he’s wrapping his arms tight around you. “Thank you for taking such good care of her when I couldn’t.”

There’s no way Eddie could know how incredibly grateful you are that he’s been there for Max after the accident. You’re still not even completely sure how it happened, all you know is that the minute your mom called to let you know she was in the hospital you were ready to leave everything in Cali, your friends, school, your job, behind to be by her side. If it wasn’t for your mom reminding you that Max would want you to finish getting your degree and promising to constantly call you with updates you would’ve. You spent every minute then working on finishing your degree going as far as to overload your course load and taking summer courses, sure it meant you haven’t been able to come home to Max and see her but it meant you’d be able to move to Hawkins to be with her permanently sooner. 

“It really isn’t that big of a deal, she’s cool and fun to be around, but you’re welcome.”

“Eddie, did I hear you come in?” Max comes into the room and the two of you break apart. You’re quick to wipe your face dry before Max can get close enough to see the damage but he does see it. And immediately he can tell how much your sister means to you.

“Yeah Red, you still wanna go to the arcade? I didn’t realize your sister was in town.”

“She’s been hovering over me like I’m made of glass.” She groans in a playful way as she makes her way over to the two of you slower than she would’ve before she lost most of her sight. “She’s here for good now so it doesn’t matter if we go to the arcade.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” You ask her after putting your arm around her shoulder and bringing her close to your side. Eddie wants to tell you yes seeing the want to come in your eyes but keeps his mouth shut leaving it up to Max.

“No, you can come next time or something but you have to start looking for a job so you can get out of my hair.” You roll your eyes at her.

“You’re right, where are your glasses?” Max groans again for real this time and moves away from you and closer to Eddie.

“Don’t make me wear those, they make me look like a nerd. They don’t even help!”

“That’s a lie and you know it! You bump into things way less when you have them on.” You point an accusatory finger at her before putting your hands on your hips and pursing your lips. Eddie can’t help but think you look like a mom at this moment. Which makes him wonder if you had helped raise her growing up knowing how absent her mom is now.

“Fine. I hate when you go all older sibling mode on me. They’re in my room, can you get them for me?” Your face softens and you nod before walking away. “C’mon Eddie lets go before she comes back.”

“Nuh uh, no way. I didn’t even know you had glasses to help you see.” If he did he would’ve been making sure she was wearing them himself all this time.

“They’re Coke bottles Eddie!”

“Don’t care Red. Maybe they’ll prevent that headache you get from straining your eyes too much.” Every week after they’d get back from the arcade she’d have a migraine and Eddie’s been getting suspicious that the headaches start while they’re there but she’s so stubborn that she doesn’t tell him because he’ll decide it's time to leave.

“Found them!” You enter the room again and put them on Max’s face for her. 

“They aren’t that bad.” They’re thick for sure, like magnifying glasses, but Eddie’s definitely seen thicker on some of his old classmates. “They only make you look a little bit like a nerd.”

“Shut up, she doesn’t look like a nerd. You look so cool Maxy!” You shove Eddie with your shoulder as if you’ve known each other forever.

“C’mon Eddie let’s go. Bye Y/n!”

“Bye Max, love you!” 

“So,” Eddie starts later at the diner he always takes Max to after the arcade, “your sister seems cool.”

“Yeah she’s pretty great.” She shrugs and takes another bite of her burger. “Fifty bucks says you’re gonna fall in love with her by the time summer's up.” He chokes on his coke mid sip.

“What?!”

“Just saying, she’s amazing and you’re not even gonna know what to do with yourself when you actually get to know her. And you’ll be spending a lot of time with her this summer since you’re always around now.”

“What about that makes you think I’m gonna fall in love with her?”

“Well for one, pretty girls make you weak and she’s incredibly pretty, it comes with the California air.” Eddie wants to argue that you’re way more than just pretty but bites his tongue not wanting Max to think she was right. “Two she’s got one hell of a music taste. Same goes for her taste in movies even though if she makes me rewatch one more Muppet movie I’ll scream.”

“I doubt you’ve had to watch that many.” Eddie laughs at how distraught Max looks at the thought of watching another one.

“Eddie you don’t understand, she hasn’t even been here for a week and she’s rewatched them all twice. She’s got this thing where like anything Jim Henson works on instantly becomes one of her favorites.”

“He’s the guy who worked on that movie Labyrinth that came out a while ago right?”

“Yeah, though I don’t think she’s seen that one yet. She hasn’t really done much of anything other than school and work since I was in the hospital so I don’t even think she remembers it came out.”

“Sounds like we should have a movie night.” 

“See you’re already planning to do stuff that’ll make her happy! Just wait, I’m telling you Eds when you get to know her you’ll be absolutely smitten.” Eddie just shakes his head at the girl in front of him ignoring the tugging feeling in his gut that she might be right.

“Oh! Hello again Eddie!” You beam at him after you open the door to the trailer and he takes in your apparel of distressed shorts and striped shirt. “Max isn’t here, mom took her for her check up at the doctors.”

“I know, we talked about doing a movie night and I thought maybe you’d wanna get out of the house and come with me to pick up the movie.” Eddie kicks at a rock by his feet suddenly getting nervous about coming over here to ask. The feeling doesn’t last for long though because you almost immediately light up at the offer nodding enthusiastically.

“I’d like that. Give me one second.” You hold up a finger before disappearing into the trailer leaving the door wide open. It’s not long before you’re rushing back sandals in hand and locking the door behind you. “Lead the way Eddie boy!”

“How have you been enjoying Hawkins so far?” Eddie asks as he walks towards his van, you following close behind.

“It’s alright. I haven’t actually been to many places yet. Just the hospital and the middle school. I’ve been meaning to check out the arcade though.” You hop into the passenger seat after he holds the door open for you.

“Well maybe you can come with us on Wednesday. Maybe I’ll finally beat a Mayfield for once.” He responds after getting in the driver's seat and starting the van up. You laugh and look away from the sandals you’re strapping to your feet at him. His heart skips a beat at the sound immediately wanting to hear it again.

“You can dream but I was the one who taught Max everything she knows. If you can’t beat her, you definitely won’t beat me.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” He glances at you from the corner of his eye in time to see you shrug.

“Take it whatever way you want, big guy.”

“Big guy?” Eddie chuckles at the nickname. He was never really a big guy growing up or even now so it’s odd hearing someone reference him as that.

“Yeah, you’re tall, a little broad, and I’m sure you’re strong. Do you want me to call you something else?”

“No big guy is fine.” You smile down at your feet as you finish strapping the other sandal to your left foot. “Did you move here with Max and then go back to California?”

“No. I was in my senior year when they moved and since I didn’t want to have to move in my last year and I was almost eighteen mom let me stay behind with dad. And then I went to college over there with my friends instead of coming here because I knew the area already.” Eddie parks in front of the store and the two of you get out. “I’ve come here to visit a few times but after the accident Max was in I never had the time to come because I did extra courses each term and did summer classes so I could finish sooner and come home to be with her.” You continue explaining on the short walk into the building.

“Welcome to Family Video can I help- is that you Mayfield?” You look up to find Steve behind the counter and smile at him.

“Sure is Harrington! You miss me?”

“Are you kidding? Of course!” 

“I’ll grab the movie and meet you back here.” You nod to Eddie and he takes one more glance at the excited look on Steve’s face as he makes his way around the counter and towards you before walking away. 

“What are you doing here?” You take a few steps further into the store to meet Steve halfway and bring him into a hug.

“I’m here for good now. I finally finished my degree.”

“That’s awesome! Do you have a job lined up yet?”

“I left my application at the high school and middle school so I’m just waiting to see if they’ll call. But I don’t know what I’ll do if they don’t.”

“I’m sure they will, we had a lot of teachers leave Hawkins after the earthquake. Dustin was telling me that they had gym teachers trying to teach science.” 

“Look who I found roaming the shelves!” 

“Y/n, you remember Robin right?”

“Of course, hi!” You wave to her before turning your attention to Eddie. “So what did you pick?”

“The Labyrinth.” You let out an elated gasp before taking the movie from his hands to make sure you weren’t getting punked.

“No way. I’ve been meaning to watch this since it came out but I’ve been so busy.”

“Yeah, Max may have mentioned how much you love Jim Henson and that she wasn’t sure you’ve seen this yet.” Eddie rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish smile on his face and you look up beaming at him. The next thing he knows you’re wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into an excited hug where he can basically feel you vibrating with it. The hug doesn’t last long, he doesn’t even have time to wrap his own arms around you before you’re pulling away and putting it on the counter for Steve to ring up.

“On the house, think of it as a welcome back present.” He just pushes it back to you before grabbing the other box of movies that needs to be put on shelves and giving it to Robin. 

“Oh, thanks Steve! We should hang out sometime soon. I don’t really leave the trailer so you could just stop by whenever or give me a call and we could do something.”

“That sounds good, I’ll come by on my next day off. Which will probably be Monday.” He leans on the counter as he answers and you grab the movie from in front of him.

“See you then! Come on Eddie, Max should be on her way home soon.” You grab his hand on your way out and give a backwards wave with the movie to Steve as you pull him with you out the door. “We should get a pizza. I doubt anything here will be as good as Surfer Boy out in Cali but you can’t do a movie night without it.”

“That’s a great idea Sweetheart.” Eddie can’t tear his eyes away from your joined hands until you split off to go to the passengers side of the van and you have a hard time suppressing the butterflies in your stomach at the sudden nickname.

“I’m home! Mom’s not, she dropped me off and went straight to work.” Max announces herself getting yours and Eddie's attention in the kitchen. As soon as it registers in your head that she’s back you abandon your spot at the counter making lemonade to greet her.

“What’d the doctors say this visit?”

“Just that my bones have healed nicely and checked my reflexes like always.” She shrugs as she kicks off her shoes.

“What about your eyesight?”

“It’s not better but it’s not worse either. The same it’s been since I got out of the hospital. Do I smell pizza?” It’s her desperate attempt to change the subject. Max hates answering these types of questions because it doesn’t matter what they say or how often she wears those stupid glasses her sight will never get better than it is now. And she should just enjoy what little she has of it left because when she first broke out of Vecna's trance she thought she was completely blind. 

“Yeah, we picked one up after getting the movie. Eddie’s here by the way.” You let the subject change, wanting to know everything and nothing all at the same time.

“Oh is he now?” There’s a lilt to her voice that you’re not used to hearing but don’t focus on it as she beelines for where she hears him moving around in the kitchen probably finishing the lemonade you left unfinished. You let her go off to the kitchen by herself and take her distraction with Eddie as an opportunity to move the couch a little bit closer to the tv so she’ll be able to see a little better. 

“Don’t say anything.” Eddie says after taking one look at the redhead who just joined him in the kitchen.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

“Mhm sure, then why do you look like you have something to say?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs and there’s a pause while he finishes mixing the batch of lemonade that has too much sugar in it. “It’s just that you going to get the movie and pizza with her gives you lots of free time to get to know my sister. I wonder why you would do that.” She taps her chin in mock thought and Eddie groans before a thought pops into his head.

“How does she know Steve?” He meant to ask you earlier after leaving Family Video but got distracted when you started talking about what toppings should go on the pizza. His question, or rather how he asked it, causes Max to let out a laugh.

“That’s for you to find out I suppose.” She joins you back in the living room then where you’re too focused on putting the movie in and setting up the pizza boxes on the small table in front of the couch to pay attention to what they’re talking about. Eddie’s left there once more with the lemonade not waiting long to join the two of you with the plastic pitcher in hand.

The rest of the weekend Eddie spends over your place hanging out with Max and getting to know you better. Most of the time he found a way to rope you into whatever they ended up doing so he’d have an excuse to talk to you while ignoring the jumping eyebrows and smirks Max kept shooting his way. The more time he spends around you the more he feels that Max may have been right and he might be out fifty dollars at the end of summer. But as much as he wants to prove her wrong for once, because somehow Max is always right, you’re too cool for him to want to pull away from. 

So he decided to let Max be right about this and hope that maybe when you get to know him you’ll like him just as much. That thought is what led him to your door Monday morning when he knew Max was out with the rest of the kids. He knocks instead of walking straight in, like he normally would, not wanting to make you uncomfortable in your own space. 

“Coming! You got here really fast, didn’t we like just hang up?” You open the door while trying to shove your sneaker on with one hand and when you look up to find Eddie standing there shock takes over your face. “Oh hey Eddie, Max won’t be home till later.”

“No, I know. I uh, I was coming over for you. To um, see if you wanted to maybe hangout.” He stumbles over his words and he wants to bang his head against a wall. You smile at that, your insides warming up at Eddie wanting to spend time with just you.

“That sounds great Eddie but, I actually have plans with Steve.” Eddie’s heart falls into his stomach like a rock.

“I’ll head back home then. Have a good time!” He waves as he turns around and starts walking back across the street to his trailer.

“Eddie, wait!” Your hand on his wrist causes him to turn to face you and he notices immediately that you left the door wide open. He wonders if you even noticed you do that. Because it’s something he noticed almost immediately after being around you as much as he has been this weekend. You’re always leaving the door open or shutting it with your keys still inside it. If he was the last one in, he would double check to make sure they weren’t still in the door.

“Do you wanna come with us?” Your voice brings his attention back to your face.

“I don’t wanna intrude.” Especially if it was supposed to be a date.

“You wouldn’t be. We’re just going to see the new Friday the Thirteenth movie. And honestly it’d be nice to not have to third wheel Steve and Robin.” You knew they weren’t together, but they were truly platonic soulmates and being with just the two of them was awkward sometimes once they started doing their weird conversing without really talking thing. 

“Robin’s going too?” So definitely not a date then.

“Well yeah, aren’t they always like a package deal?” Maybe you were wrong but the few times you’ve been here and around them they were always together.

“You’re right, as I’m starting to learn you always are.” A trait he can only guess Max got from you and has him wondering yet again how involved you were in raising her.

“So do you wanna come?”

“Yeah, sounds like a good time.” Your smile lights up your face at his agreement and he knows he would agree to anything if it meant he got to see it happen again. “Do you need anything else from inside?”

“No. Why?” You squint your eyes and tilt your head wondering why he could be asking.

“You left the door open.” You follow his head nod toward the front of your trailer and let out a soft ‘oh’ before heading back over to shut and lock it. Steve pulls up just as you pull the key out of the lock.

“Hey Ed boy! You coming with us?” Robin sticks her head, but really more like the upper half of her body, out the window to talk to Eddie. He turns and starts a conversation with her and Steve when he leans forward to see around his best friend. Meanwhile you freeze a little on your way to the car. You knew Robin was coming, but somehow didn’t realize that meant you’d be sitting in the back seat.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive Steve? That way you don’t have to worry about bringing me home later or anything.” 

“No, it’s fine I’m used to driving everyone around.” Steve says this with a smile on his face and absolutely zero malice in his voice. If there’s one thing you know about Steve Harrington from the few times you’ve gotten to know him over the years it was that he likes taking care of the people he loves. Eddie however unlike his friend noticed the hesitance in your voice and your walk up to the car.

“I can drive you if you want Sweetheart. I was going to drive myself anyway.” He wasn’t. “I gotta stop at the store for some more milk after the movie.” He didn’t, he and Wayne still had an almost full gallon in the fridge.

“That’s perfect actually because Max asked me to grab more Pop Tarts or cereal at some point today. Do you care if I go with Eddie, Steve?”

“Nah, we’ll meet you guys there then?”

“Yep!” He gives a wave before driving off leaving you with Eddie again.

“Come on darlin’ let's roll.” Eddie takes his keys out of his pocket and swings them around his finger before leading the way across the street to his van. He doesn’t let it show how relieved he is that they didn’t fly off and hit him in the face again and that he got to look cool in front of you.

“Thanks for driving me, big guy.” He holds the door open for you and you pat his cheek as you climb in in thanks, something you would do with your friends in California if they weren’t comfortable with cheek kisses.

“It’s no problem really.” He closes the door once you’re fully seated and makes his way over to his side. “So how come you didn’t want Steve to drive you?” He asks as he backs out of his spot. You’re momentarily stunned at how good he looks while doing it. Your eyes trail from the hand that’s resting on your seat up his arm until your eyes meet his concentrated face.

“It’s not so much that I didn't want him to drive. I just get carsick when I’m in the back sometimes and it makes me nervous with people I’m not used to being in cars with. There’s just so many different variables that go into it like how big the car is, how they drive, how long I’m in the car for, etcetera.” You’re silent for a minute before panicky turning to face Eddie. “Oh God do you think Steve caught on that I didn’t wanna get in the car with him? He probably got the wrong idea completely.”

“Hey, calm down sugar.” His hand goes to your knee without thinking and the warmth of it on your bare skin helps to calm you. Unconsciously your own hand lays on top of his to keep it there. “Steve’s smart but he’s not the best at reading people all the time. If you want I can find a way to bring up car sickness in some way so you can say you have it?”

“No, it’s fine I’ll just see if he brings it up and then explain it. Thank you though, it’s so sweet of you to offer to do that for me.”

“Of course! And if you want I can just be your permanent chauffeur and make sure you always get shotgun when you aren’t driving.” He’s definitely offering so he gets to spend even more time with you.

“That would be great!” You’re definitely agreeing to spend more time with him too. “Thanks again Eddie.” This time you do kiss him on the cheek in thanks but turn your head towards the window before you can see him start to glow pink. In your lap your hands twine together like your bodies already know that the two of you should be together before your brains do.

“So how do you know Steve?” Eddie finally asks the question that he’s been dying to over pizza after the movie with his arm draped over the back end of the booth the two of you are sharing.

“Oh, I met him years ago when I came home for the first summer after they moved.”

“She was so excited after everything Max told her about me that she flung herself into my arms.” Steve chimes in, pointing a fry in your direction as he says it.

“I did not fling myself into your arms.” You laugh as you speak. “It was sorta similar to how we met Eddie. I brought him into a hug and thanked him for sticking up for Max and beating up Billy before asking him all about what it was like.”

“I’m sure he forgot to bring up how Billy ended up getting the upper hand in the end.” Robin adds getting a betrayed look from Steve because he did in fact withhold that information from you.

“Oh he definitely did but Max had already told me that and how she then saved him by knocking Billy out with some drug. But I didn’t wanna bruise his ego or anything so I let it go.” You shrug and look back over at Eddie. “And then I met Robin when I visited the summer that the mall burned down except I got here after it happened. And admittedly haven’t been around much since, just a week or so here and there before like radio silence for two years.”

“Yeah, not even a phone call or anything, Mike was giving us updates as much as Max was with what he got from Will or El.”

“Were you close with Will and El?”

“I mean El became Max’s best friend so of course I got to know her and Will’s such a great kid it’s hard to not want to be close with them. They all moved into a neighborhood not far from my campus and I helped them get situated into their house and stopped by when I could to see how they were all doing or to hang out with Jonathan and Argyle.” You have to look away from Eddie as you speak because if he keeps looking at you like he wants to know every nook and cranny in you you fear you’ll do something drastic like kiss him.

“You should’ve been here when Eddie and Will met. They both completely freaked out.” Steve changes the subject from you at the mention of Will.

“Don’t even try to deny it, Ed boy.” Robin joins in interrupting Eddie as he opens his mouth to speak. “Will was so excited to meet the cool older dungeon master his friends always told him about. And Eddie was super psyched to meet zombie boy Will Byers who was just as into the game they play as he is.”

“I can totally see that.”

“When did you say Max was coming home Sweetheart?” Eddie leans closer to you the smallest bit as he asks. And Steve and Robin look at eachother with the latter mouthing the nickname to the former.

“Oh probably around like four or five. Why, what time is it?”

“Its…” he brings his wrist in front of him to check his watch and you lean over to have a look too, “almost three.”

“And we still have to make a stop at the store so you can get your milk. Do you think we should go now?”

“If you’re still planning on being home when she gets back we probably should.” 

As the two of you talk Robin and Steve communicate in their weird best friend platonic soulmate way where they don’t talk about how the conversation is going. Steve motions over, look at this. Robin nods and widens her eyes, I know right, before making a motion with her hands and letting her lips quirk up, ir’s domestic as shit. Steve rubs two fingers together, wanna make a bet.

“Do you guys care if we get going?” You ask already standing up from the booth to let Eddie out.

“Not at all.” Robin pushes Steve out of the booth so she can hug you goodbye. “We should definitely do this again soon. And if we can’t meet up for a movie or anything you should stop by the store and I’ll show you my sweet setup in the back where I watch movies.”

“That sounds great!” You hug her back excited to have gotten to know her better. “I think that movie Willow comes out this friday, we could go see that if nothing comes up.”

“Perfect! Eddie has my number written down somewhere so he can give it to you later and you can give me a call or something.” You nod and take a step back to stand next to Eddie.

“Bye guys. Thanks again for pizza Steve.”

“No problem, see you around.” Eddie gives them a mock salute before grabbing your hand and leading the way out to the van.

“So what do you do, like for work?” You look back at Eddie over your shoulder as you grab a basket and lead the way further into the store.

“I work at the auto body shop in town, have been since my junior year of high school.” He blindly follows you through the store and down the cereal aisle as he answers.

“That’s cool.” You grab a box of Cap’n Crunch before thinking it over and grabbing a second one to add to the basket. “That mean I get a discount if my car starts acting up, since we’re becoming such great friends?” Eddie genuinely can’t tell if you’re flirting with him or not - you are - but it feels like it so he flirts back a red hue making its way to his cheeks.

“For you Sweetheart, it’s free. Gotta make sure you don’t go breaking down or anything.” He only gets a glimpse of the smile on your face when you turn to go down the next aisle. “What are you planning on doing for work?”

“I got my degree in teaching so I’m hoping that I get a call from one of the schools soon.”

“I’m sure you will. They’d be stupid not to, you’ll be a great teacher.”

“You think so?” You’ve got a bigger different type of smile on your face when you turn to face him, a box of brown cinnamon pop tarts in your hands.

“I know so. You’ve got this thing about you that screams trust me with your kids.” He spreads his hands out by his face in showmanship that earns him a laugh. He smiles at it and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “For real though, you have fun teacher vibes written all over you.”

“Thanks.” Heat rushes to your face at the compliment. It’s been your dream for what feels like forever to be a teacher and be able to be one of those people to help kids like so many of your past ones did for you. And as much as your mom and dad and friends have told you that you’d be great at it, something about Eddie saying it made you elated. It definitely wasn’t because of the not so small crush that’s started developing, no way. “Now let’s get that milk you need and head home.”

“Milk?” You miss the confused word as you turn around and lead the way out of the aisle. Eddie follows while trying to figure out why he would need to get milk when there was plenty at home to last them another couple days.

“Which kind do you and Wayne normally get?” Your question jogs his memory as he finally remembers using the whole ‘I have to go to the store so I was going to drive anyways’ excuse to get you into his van instead of Steve’s car.

“The blue one, whichever that is.”

“Do you mean two percent or do you mean skim?” Your eyebrows furrow in confusion as you open the fridge door to grab whichever he says.

“Whichever one is blue.” Eddie’s voice sounds distracted and when you look back at him you notice his attention drawn to a stray balloon floating up to the ceiling. 

“Eddie.” An amused laugh escapes you and pulls his attention back to you. “They’re both blue. Do you not know what kind of milk you drink?”

“I know what kind of milk we drink, scoot.” His mock defensiveness and how he pushes you out of the way so it looks like he’s shoving but really it’s just a nudge causes you to let out a louder, longer laugh. Eddie has to fight with the goofy smile that wants to spread across his face so he can keep the act going. “See, it’s the blue one.” He brandishes a jug of milk with a dark blue lid and label triumphantly.

“Okay and what kind of milk is that?” Eddie goes to turn the jug around to read it. “Without looking.” 

“Does it matter? If they wanted us to distinguish it by what type they are then they wouldn’t be color coded.” He huffs out in defeat before hooking his arm around your shoulder and steers you towards check out. “Don’t we have a little sister we gotta get you home to?”

“Oh, hi Eddie.” Max opens the door to greet him two days later. “I’m almost ready to go. Come in but be quiet because she’s on the phone.” She turns to head back to her room to finish getting all of her change together for the arcade and Eddie shuts the door behind him before heading into the living room. He notices you standing in the kitchen phone pressed against your ear. You look over at him as soon as he shows up and offer him a smile and wave before turning to face the wall to not get distracted by him. Eddie can tell it’s an important call by how you twirl the cord around your finger and keep a professional tone to your voice.

“Yeah, I can come by whatever time works best for you tomorrow.” A minute of silence while you listen to whoever is on the other line. “Okay, see you at two tomorrow. Bye.” You wait until the phone is hung back up on the wall before letting out a little happy yell and jumping up and down a couple times.

“Did you get it?” Max shows up next to Eddie looking excited and rushes to hug you when you nod and let out an excited ‘yes’. “I knew it!”

“What’s going on?”

“That was the principal of the high school, I have to go in tomorrow to see where I would fit best and go over a few things but I’m gonna teach next school year!”

“That’s amazing! I told you you would.” He takes a few steps towards you before you make your own way into his arms for a celebratory hug. “You’re gonna be a great teacher.” He whispers into your ear causing a shiver to travel down your spine. “You should come with us today to celebrate. We can stop by Family Video after the arcade so you can tell Steve and Robin about the good news.”

“That sounds perfect. Let me grab Max’s glasses and my rolls of quarters and we can go.” Max groans and rolls her eyes at the mention of her glasses while you rush off.

At the arcade Eddie mainly just watches while you and Max fight over breaking high scores and play against each other. But he’s not upset about it, it’s nice to see such a big smile on your face as you rub it in Max’s that you beat her score before she shoves you out of the way to try to get it back. And this is easily the liveliest he’s seen Max ever, sure she’s happy and excited when it’s just him and her but it’s another level now that she’s playing with you. He doesn’t even play anything, just leans on the machine behind the two of you watching as his favorite sister duo's bonds grow stronger.

He definitely likes that when Max takes the game over again you sometimes will lean into his side and rest your head on his shoulder.

“And once again I’m the Burgertime high score!” You cheer as you put your standard three letters in for the scoreboard. 

“I’m not even gonna try to beat you this time, I know I won’t.” It had quickly become your favorite game since it showed up in the arcade in Cali in eighty two and you’ve had the high score since you got the hang of it. “How about Dig Dug next?” Max asks while squinting her eyes and rubbing her forehead briefly, a sign Eddie knows best as the start of an eye strain headache. You notice it too but before you can say anything he beats you to it.

“Last game Red, then we’re out of here before you give yourself a migraine.”

“But-”

“No ifs, buts, or coconuts. I can already tell it’s starting to bother you.”

“Y/n, back me up here.”

“Nope, Eddie’s right.” You twist your arm with his and grab onto his hand. “You’re getting all squinty eyed again and don’t think I missed you squeezing them shut while you were watching me play last. You’re lucky I don’t drag you out of here now.”

“God, who are you two my parents?” Max groans hating how the two of you are teaming up against her even if she knows you’re right and if she plays much longer she’ll need to rest basically the rest of the day. “Fine, we'll play Dig Dug and leave.” She walks away, turning into the next aisle of games and leaving you and Eddie in front of Burgertime.

“Thanks for looking out for her so much.” You squeeze his hand and smile up at him keeping your voice low and the conversation private. “You really have no idea what it means to me, and probably to her, that you care so much.” 

“You don’t have to thank me for that Sweetheart. Caring for her, for both of you really, is like second nature to me.” Loving the two of you is second nature to him too, but he wouldn’t own up to that just yet. “Now come on if we lag behind for too long she’ll insist the game didn’t count and start to play another round.” He pulls you along heading straight for Max but all you can focus on is how your heart is fluttering at his soft tone and his inclusion of you in the sentence.

After Max dies you make Eddie take a turn before you do. You had noticed that he wasn’t even trying to have a turn for any of the other games and wanted to make sure he felt included and had fun. And after seeing how joyful Max was rubbing it in Eddie’s face that she beat him you may have let her keep the high score, dying with a hundred points to go to match her. But you’ll never tell and that’s exactly what you told Eddie on the way out when he asked if you let her win.

Two days later Eddie finds you sitting on the steps of your trailer with your head on your knees after getting home from work. He can tell by the way your shoulders are shaking that you’re crying and without a second thought crosses the road to comfort you however he can.

“Sweetheart?” His voice makes you freeze for a second before you peek up at him. 

“Oh, hi Eddie. I didn’t realize it was late enough for you to be coming home.” You try to hastily wipe your tears away and pray that your voice isn’t too croaky or shaky and that the tears stop. 

“Are you okay?” He doesn’t approach you carefully or slowly like you’re a rabbit that’ll run off if he gets too close, you get all of him all at once. One second you’re looking up and answering him and the next his body is sitting next to you, the step groaning under the two of you at the sudden addition. You barely even have time to take in his work get up, hair in a bun, tank top, and overalls tied at his waist. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s been a rough day in the Mayfield home.” You sniffle as you speak.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He wants to wrap his arm around you so badly but doesn’t want to risk getting any grease on your clean clothes. 

There’s a pause between the two of you as you think about it. You don’t want to talk about it but you know that holding it in won’t do you any good.

“It’s been a bad day for Max. She’s been bumping into stuff a lot more today and she was trying to read a book but couldn't get her eyes to actually focus on the words. Even with her glasses on. When I asked her if she wanted to go skating for a bit she started yelling and crying about how she can’t believe I would ask her that when I know she can’t do it anymore. And then she ran to shut herself in her room and I came out here.” You start crying again and Eddie decides fuck it if grease stains your clothes he’ll buy replacements and brings you into a side hug where you hide your face in his shoulder.

“Sorry you have to see me in such a mess, big guy.” You apologize after a few minutes. 

“Don’t even worry about it, we’ve all been there.”

“I’m not even upset about her freaking out on me. I get it, she’s going through it y’know? She’s bound to have bad days with what she’s going through. It’s just having to see her go through all of it that gets me. That’s my little sister, I practically raised her, I’m supposed to help protect her. And now I have to watch her go through all this pain and I can’t even do anything about it. I just love her so much.” You let out a heart wrenching sob into his shoulder and his hold on you tightens.

“I’ve never been in your shoes here but I get it. It’s valid to be this distraught about it, so don’t feel bad for showing it.” He speaks into your hair before dropping a kiss to your head.

“Thanks Eddie.” You say once you’ve calmed down. Before you can start violently wiping the wetness from your face Eddie’s hands are there tenderly doing it for you.

“You don’t have to thank me for being here for you.” The two of you just stare for a minute with you taking in every detail of his pretty brown eyes and your noses almost touching. “I have to go shower but after that do you want me to come over? We can play that card game you’ve mentioned.” He offers to come over instead of having you come to his place knowing you wouldn’t want to leave Max home alone, even if she’s going to stay locked in her room.

“That sounds great! Have you eaten? I’ll make sandwiches and get my deck of cards ready.”

“It’s a date, see you in a bit.” Eddie rushes over to his trailer as soon as he realizes the wording he let slip out. You barely even notice in your haste to get up and back inside.

“You can do three of a kind?!” Eddie exclaims as you lay out your winning Rummy hand.

“Yeah, I told you that when I explained the rules.” You giggle while you speak leaning forward to collect all the cards again. “Are we playing again?”

“Yeah, this next round is gonna be my round just you wait Sweetheart. I’ll win this time.”

“Okay.” 

You try to give him a chance, even though after the cards were dealt you had two jacks and two sevens and the first card you picked up was a third jack. But after so long you end up with the three jacks in your hand, a seven, and a run of three clubs and then draw the fourth jack. You couldn’t just pass up that kind of winning hand.

“Oh Eddie baby. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“Rummy.” You discard the seven and lay your hand down.

“No! Teach me a different game, this one’s impossible.”

“You’re just a sore loser.” You laugh and start shuffling the cards again.

“What did you just call me?” Eddie jabs your side causing you to jump before he digs his fingers into your sides causing you to shriek. “A sore loser?”

“Yes! Eddie, stop!” You get the words out between fits of laughter that are making your belly ache and tears to well up in your eyes.

“Take it back and I will.”

“Okay, okay!” He takes his hands off of your sides and lets them hover there so you can talk. “You’re not a sore loser.”

“Thank you.” Eddie goes to collect the cards to reshuffle them.

“You’re just a loser.” You get a scoff before he’s tackling you backwards on the couch, gaining a shocked gasp and a bit of laughter before you both freeze with the realization of how close you are to each other.

Your noses are barely a centimeter apart, you’re close enough that you can make out a ring of a pale dull yellow near the outside of his iris. You knew that you could get lost in the sea of brown but you didn’t realize it was possible to drown in them. Just as his eyes glance down at your lips and you think he might kiss you floorboards creak pulling both of your attentions to Max entering the room. She pauses when she’s close enough to recognize the blob she sees on the couch as you and Eddie.

“What did I just walk in on?” Eddie hesitates a moment, glancing back at your lips before sitting back up straight against the arm of the couch.

“Cards obviously.” He picks up the deck and starts shuffling while you sit up and fix your tank top that had risen up.

“Sure.” 

“Did you need something Max?” Your concerned voice brings her attention to you. The love in your voice, and she’s sure it shows in your eyes even if she can’t see it, causes her to tear up. She was so sure that after she yelled at you for nothing you’d be upset with her. She’s sitting next to you and hugging you in no time at all. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you earlier.” That fact that she did has been eating at her since she shut herself in her room. “You were just trying to do something we love together and I-”

“It’s okay.” You cut her off resting your chin on top of her head. “Everyone has moments where they lash out without meaning to under stress. Remember when we were younger and I screamed at that kid who had a crush on me at the skate park to leave me alone? All because mom and dad were fighting a lot that week and my stress was through the roof between trying to keep you away from it and being the buffer between them. Poor kid avoided me for the next month.” She laughs at the memory before pulling away. “You wanna play five hundred with me and Eddie? We’ve been playing rummy because he thought that would be too long of a game but we can switch games if you want.”

“Can I just watch? I don’t trust my eyes to not mess with me.”

“Yeah, of course.” She moves to sit closer to Eddie while you get up and sit on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. “Deal the cards big guy.”

“You wanna make this round interesting?”

“How so?” He deals the cards out before answering so he can fight off the nerves for what he’s about to say.

“Loser has to go on a date with the winner.” You can’t stop the smile from forming on your face.

“Oh you are so on.” You and Eddie are both quick to pick up the facedown cards in front of you using them to hide the goofy smiles on both your faces.

“This is the weirdest way I’ve ever seen someone get asked out for sure.” You both ignore her as you continue playing. After a few back and forths at taking turns Eddie shoots up in excitement.

“Rummy!” He lays his hand on the table before making his way around the table to pull you to your feet. “I believe you owe me a date, loser.”

“Alright, I guess I do.” You try to act disappointed but you can’t get rid of the smile on your face. “Guess I better get to planning.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll do everything, you just have to answer the door when I come get you.” Eddie starts heading towards the door to leave, stopping right before leaving. “Tomorrow night, dress comfortably.” 

By the end of the next month Eddie owes Max fifty dollars.

Eddie Taglist (Closed): @sadbitchfangirl​ @notbeforelong​​ @munsonswhore86​​ @navs-bhat​ @emotionaldreamer​ ​​​​​ @fangirling-4-ever​  @gaysludge​​​ ​@eddiethesexy​ @mazerunnerrose​ @midnightsgetawaycar  @goldylions  @mushroomelephant @saramelaniemoon @nojamsonmytoast @vintagehellfire @esoltis280 @spikedhe4rt @siriuslysmoking @toobsessedsstuff @alana4610 @gretavanfleas @sparkletash @aactuaaltraash @spookyemorockbabe

Everything Taglist: @matchamunson​ @bubsonnobx​ @practicalghost​ @katsukis1wife @crustyowos @yourfavdummy @protecteddiemunson4vr @kennedy-brooke @m00nkn1ghts @rory-cakes

[the-ace-with-spades]

Tw implied mpreg but it started with the idea of having hangster daughter be a matchmaker for her dumb dads and escalated with a whole backstory of how it got to that

        Jake and Bradley meet when they're younger — Bradley just found out Mav pulled his papers and is taking a gap year traveling around and Jake is in his last year in high school when a guy from Cali starts working in his mama's diner. (for the purpose of this idea, the age gap between them is 1, max 2 years). They become close pretty quickly and bond over their goal to enter the USNA/become naval aviators. Soon, they started dating — it was the burn bright and fast romance type but it was genuine.

        Come the time when the USNA acceptance letters come and they both get in. They've been together over nine months and had talked about all the things they wanted to accomplish in USNA and in the Navy and so when Bradley finds out he's pregnant, he can't make himself tell Jake — he was so excited about the academy, already basically had his whole life planned, and there was no place in it for teenage pregnancy. He likes to think that Jake would try to be there for them (and therefore resign from USNA since he wouldn't be able to visit or work in the academy) but he's also scared he wouldn't. So he doesn't tell him.

        Bradley pretends he's changed his mind, that he's going to enter NROTC and they're going to meet in the pre-flight pipeline, and goes to college to his second choice (UVA) and completely cuts contact with Jake despite the promise. Clean break so Jake can live the life they both dreamed about. Jake turns the devastation into anger but he never really moves on.

       Bradley is studying at UVA on partial scholarship, working two part-time jobs, and has everything planned — due date in the winter break, two weeks off, and then back to work and school. Ice and Mav realize he didn’t go to USNA mid autumn semester — Mav hoped them not interfering with the re-admission would be like an olive branch and Bradley’d forgive him. One way or another, they find out where he is — the baby is born the day they visit his apartment, a good few weeks early.

        Shit gets complicated, Bradley is off school and off work for a few weeks, gets kicked out of both, basically. Mav interferes, Bradley flies to California with them as soon as he and his daughter are fit, and Bradley starts working part-time again, waiting to return to college in the next year.

        Bradley does eventually become a naval aviator, with major help from Mav and Ice. He gets into college close to home and enters NROTC while Mav and Ice take care of his daughter, Angel, whenever he needs to go and promise to take her in whenever he'd need to be deployed in the future. She stays mostly with Ice when he’s deployed, often sitting in his office and going to meetings with him.

        Fast forward to years later, Jake finds out Bradley is a naval aviator after all when they meet at Top Gun (he’s a couple of years ahead in his career than Bradley). He's hoping that he can get some explanation on the radio silence years before and the whole romance thing between them can be renewed. He finds out Bradley has a kid first, before they can talk, and he assumes he's moved on with someone who isn't Jake and has a kid with them as well. Cue Jake being a bigger ass than usual, basically giving Bradley the cold shoulder and cutting any of Bradley's attempts to talk (and taste the waters) short. Bradley assumes it's better the way it is and that his decision all those years ago was right — Jake has the life he wants.

       When they meet at Top Gun again, not much changes. Jake still has a bit of a grudge but that day at the Hard Deck, Bradley isn't there and when the aviators are chatting, Nat mentions he was deployed and went straight to his daughter when he landed and isn't leaving her the whole day. And Jake makes some sort of remark about how Bradley's kid and partner must be happy about the special detachment and Nat just looks at him weird like, you know Bradley doesn't have a partner, never has, he's been a single parent for years. Jake feels, well, dumb, but he still hasn't figured out that he's the baby daddy and all, he just thinks he could've been a step dad all those years he's thought Bradley had someone.

        In the end, Bradley tells him the night before the mission. They're on the carrier and Bradley visits his cabin and they sit down on Jake's bunk and have a talk. And Bradley tells him that he has a daughter, she'll be twelve in November, her name is Angelica but lately she's been telling everyone to call her Angie, that Bradley didn't tell him because he didn't want to mess up his plans and dreams for life. That if he doesn't come back, he wants him to know her and have a chance to be her dad.

[Now, the part that was the first bit that came into my mind.]

       Things are awkward between them after the mission. Jake meets Angie and it's not okay straight away (she's got questions, why wasn't he there all those years, why did Bradley not tell him, what will he do now). Things are even more awkward when she asks if this means he's Bradley's boyfriend now and he answers yes, while Bradley says no. And logically, yes, they haven't talked about it and it's been twelve years and he assumed. But this is Bradley and they have a daughter together.

        Slowly, they try to acclimate to the situation. First, Bradley goes to all the meet-ups Jake has with Angie, mostly because while he trusts Jake, he knows Angie is a bit wary and he wants her to be comfortable, so they go as a three or spend the time in Bradley’s house. Sure, it’s not all straightforward, Angie is a bit angry with Bradley and it takes some mitigating from Jake (and self-restraint, because Jake is kinda pissed with Bradley as well but he doesn’t want it to affect Angie), but once she forgives him, she starts being carefully enthusiastic about having another dad, and it feels like a family. It’s still summer break so they go to the beach, every tourist spot imaginable, and Angie is currently on a marine biology kick so they go anywhere that has related topics. Jake takes her flying, Bradley stays on the ground, and when Angie says it was fun and she wants to do it again, Jake realizes Bradley let him be the first person to take her up in the air. On the lazier, hotter evenings, they stay inside with multitudes of fans running and Bradley making them gazpacho and sundaes, playing board games and cards.

       And you know, there comes a time when Jake is checking that Angie has everything she needs to go to the aquarium and they are at the porch and Bradley gives Angie a kiss and says he’ll see them later and Jake realizes he’s not going. You know, I thought you guys are ready to go alone, just the two of you. Isn’t this what you told me, Angel? And sure enough, Angie agrees that she is okay to go with Jake but you can see she gets really quiet once they get into the car. And Jake is all like, you know we don’t have to go alone if you don’t want to. And she denies it but Jake prods and prods until she admits she heard her grandpa talk to daddy about how he can use the free time to date again. And obviously, Jake is a bit curious so she talks to him about the people who Bradley dated in the past twelve years on the way to the aquarium, and Jake doesn’t get the full picture (she only talks about 3 people and there’s no way it’s all) and has this irrational fear that Bradley is on a date the whole time they’re out. Obviously there’s no date (Angie didn’t hear the part where Mav was making fun of how the only person Bradley wants to date will be on daddy-daughter date…) and when they come back, Bradley is elbows deep in weeding the garden. They have some slushies together and both he and Angie breathe easier but Jake doesn’t stop being kinda bothered that Bradley no longer goes with him and Angie.

Why are you and daddy not together? Do you not like him like that anymore? And how do you explain it all to a kid? Jake tries to go through with the kid-friendly parents don’t have to be together to love their kid and be friendly and she’s like, I’m twelve not five, I know that. So he just tells her the truth, that he likes her daddy very much but sometimes things get complicated and he doesn’t want Bradley to feel pressured. But he’s really happy when you’re around?

The first time Angie calls him dad without prompting/a minute of hesitation, they’re talking about this again when he’s taking her to the cinema at the mall. She asks again why don’t you just ask him out? Daddy always says people need to use their words if they want something and it’s on point and endearing, but he just tries to brush it off and tell her he and Bradley just met again and it’ll take some time. You need to put the work in, dad is what she tell him, all cheeky. I’ll help you.

(Jake doesn’t know this, but any chance she has, she’s prodding Bradley about this as well. And sure, Bradley has a lot of leftover feeling for Jake, but he thinks it’s better if he doesn’t act on them — he still feels guilty about disappearing and he feels like Jake was just a bit overwhelmed at the beginning and that’s why he wanted to jump in where they left. Now that they cooled off and the whole co-parenting thing is working, he’s surely calmed down on the idea. )

Next time Jake takes Angie out to buy her some new shoes for school, they’re all done when she decides, we’re going to buy stuff for your date with daddy. And sure enough, she’s got a whole plan — he needs to buy nicer clothes (You can’t wear another plaid shirt, dad) and get Bradley a gift and some flowers (he likes sunflowers but they never grow right in our garden) and tells Jake he needs to buy a picnic basket and get some nice food when she tells him to.

It’s all set in motion, by Angie. She texts Jake to come and pick her up (daddy will think we’re going to the beach) and take her to Mav’s, where she will stay the night when Jake will put the work in.

He doesn’t believe he’s got himself talked into this by a twelve year old, but sure enough, an hour after he picked Angie up, he’s back at Bradley’s house, sunflowers and Bradley’s favorite chocolates in hand, full picnic basket in his car. And sure enough, when Bradley opens the door, all doubt just disappears.

They go on a date. They talk. Jake takes Bradley back home and Bradley asks him if he wants to stay the night. Things get rekindled.

He stays the night and just kinda, well, never leaves.

(Meanwhile, Angie and Mav make a whole presentation about how this means she should either get a baby sister or a puppy. You know, because if Jake moves in with them, that means they will have the time and energy and the extra helping hands for either — maybe even both. And Mav would love a second grandkid or a puppy, he’s not picky, especially now that he’s retired.)

[alexfromjersey]

𝓓𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓼 & 𝓕𝓪𝓷 𝓓𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼

jenna ortega x g!poc

summary: jah submits a demo. jenna gets questioned by hudson. fans start to piece things together

warnings: mature language

a/n: I want to quit my job 🙂. I wish we got paid to write fanfiction. I walked 14,987 steps in one single shift

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Series Masterlist

🤰🏻🩵

@modernbussywhip: AIGHT I NEED EVERYONE TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND PAY ATTENTION TO ME

@ghostridingwhip: aggressive for wat tho?

@modernbussywhip: SSSHHHHHH I HAVE NEW INFO BOUT JAH'S MYSTERY GIRL! I have two potential candidates and please note that one of them is a little bit of a surprise

@highondatgreen: i thought it was clear that I'm Jah's girl

@ghostridingwhip: @highondatgreen whatever u smoke...slide some over here

@ghostridingwhip: @modernbussywhip who are the candidates 👀

@modernbussywhip: ALRIGHT CLASS IS IN SESSION. Now like I said i have two candidates but it could be more cuz we all know Jah is a hoe...a respectable one tho but i digress.

@modernbussywhip: CANDIDATE NUMERO UNO: Stacey Vernon, a popular social media influencer on TikTok. She has a twin sister Diana and with Davis, they all attended school together (as she has mentioned in a TikTok video). They were together at Stacey's birthday party not too long ago and even though Jah shut the rumors down of them being together...we never know when it comes to Shiesty.

@fnthechat: geeeeezzzzz if this Jah's girl....

@behindthespecialk: I love jah but there's no way jah bagged her

@shiestylover: @behindthespecialk: whoa whoa not u doubting my girl's ability to bag bad bitches. you must not seen her roster 😏

@behindthespecialk: HOW?!?! @sheistylover

@shiestylover: she just built like that 😏

@modernbussywhip: LMAOOO while we can admire the untouchable rizz Jah has later....we should move on to candidate numero dos because this one...is a little out there but plausible.

@modernbussywhip: CANDIDATE NUMERO DOS: we all know her, we all love her and it's Miss Jenna Ortega. Now now now before everyone start think pieces just look at my evidence ok come come....evidence number one back when the Scream 6 premiere happened Jah accompanied Davis to it. I'm 95% sure that's where they first met because Jah didn't go to Canada while Davis was filming Scream 6. 1/4

@modernbussywhip: we all saw jenna appear in Jah's vlog...the eye contact, the sexual tension, everything was there between them. But fast forward a couple of hours later, a fan posted a pic with jenna who was at a restaurant and in the pic u can see a tattooed arm and it's the same tattoos Jah has! 2/4

@modernbussywhip: CONTINUE TO WALK WITH ME! Fast forward more, they follow each other on Instagram and as a jenna fan also...that girl avoids that app like the bubonic plague EXCEPT for when Jah posts...every single post of jah has a jenna like...i don't think jenna even likes her mother's posts so for her to only be on Instagram liking Jah's posts....my spidey senses are tingling 3/4

@modernbussywhip: ALMOST DONE! now we always mess with jah on her Reddit so lately it's been nothing but pics and edits of jenna on it...NOT ONCE has she told anyone to stop sending pics and edits of jenna. AND every time she looks at one...her eyes lights up and she starts to smile and blush! Plus after the Met Gala, Jenna stayed in New York...why did she stay in New York?? Jenna's from Cali across the fucking country and she was seen around the Bronx area....YALL NOT FOOLING ME! 4/4

@fnthechat: if jah managed to bag the baddiest scream queen in existence...imma need her to write a book about how to generate THAT much rizz

@ghostridingwhip: fr...that's like level 100 rizz...past Duke Dennis level of rizz

🤰🏻🩵

"Man this is the fucking FIFTH studio I called today and none of them got availability tonight" You groaned out of frustration.

"Why you wait until the last minute to call these studios?" Delyse questioned.

"Well I just signed up for the contest. It was a spur of the moment thing I didn’t really think it through." You said.

Delyse hummed in response and turned her attention back to the food on the stove.

"We can see if Kenny still got his home studio. I think he still live on 33rd" Davis said.

"Bet let's go. We'll be back Ma" You said to your mother and left with Davis.

"You got a song you gonna record?" Davis asked.

"Yeah I wrote it a long time ago. I made the beat and everything" You smiled.

Soon the two of you made it to Kenny's house. You walk into the building and climb up the three flights of stairs, remembering that his elevator never worked. You got to his door and knocked on it.

You waited patiently and slightly out of breath. You knocked again, "Yo Kenny it's me Jah."

Suddenly, the door was ripped opened and a furious looking woman stood there with a crying baby on her hip.

"Uh is Kenny here?" You asked.

The woman laughed sadistically, "Of course you're looking for Kenny. Kenny left four months ago with a skank from Brooklyn."

You and Davis looked at each other stuck on what to say.

"Um...you don't happen to still have his studio equipment?" You asked carefully.

"Nope. I burned it. I burned everything of his" The woman replied.

"Okay thanks" You both gave her a small smile and walked away from Kenny's former apartment. The two of you left the building with you feeling utterly defeated.

"What the fuck am I gonna do? I have to submit this demo by 11:59 tonight" You sighed.

"Don't stress bruh we gon' figure something out. Trust" Davis reassured you. You nodded and took a deep breath in to calm your body down.

🤰🏻🩵

London, England

1:23 am

Jenna had just got to her temporary home after a long day of filming. She was exhausted and was glad she had the day off so she can rest properly. She pulled her shoes off and placed her purse on the table.

Just as she was about to sit on the couch, a knock is at her door.

She internally screams before she walks to the door and opens it to reveal Hudson.

Jenna sighed, "What do you want Hudson?"

"I...just wanted to check in on you. I know you've been working hard which could be harmful to the baby" Hudson said nervously.

"Now you care about me and my baby" Jenna said and raised her eyebrow in suspicious at the boy.

"I always cared about you Jenna. If I didn't I wouldn't be here right now" Hudson replied.

"If you cared about me you wouldn't have told my family about me being pregnant. That wasn't something someone who cared about me would do" Jenna said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're right. I shouldn't have done that, it wasn't my place to do that and I sincerely apologize" Hudson said.

Jenna hummed in response, not really believing his words.

Hudson sighed and scratched the back of his neck, "I truly am sorry and I regret doing it. I just...I just wanted to check on you after everything that happened with Neil on the plane."

At the mention of the male, Jenna tensed. She was doing good with pushing him out of her thoughts. Instead, choosing to focus on her filming. She couldn't and won't let him control her...not anymore. She deserved to be happy.

"I'm fine. I'll handle it" Jenna lied.

Hudson opened his mouth to say something but decided against it after seeing the look on her face.

"Okay...I'll uh...see you tomorrow" Hudson said and walked away from her door. Jenna shut the door after he left and sat on her couch. She was stressed and that wasn't good for her or the baby...she needed to relieve some stress.

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

i need help

NYC 🩵:

with 👀

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

im stressed

NYC 🩵:

well taking deep breaths and meditating i heard is a good source of stress relief

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

NYC 🩵:

was that not the right thing to do?

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

nope

NYC 🩵:

ah shit

WAIT

😏😏😏😏😏😏

i know what u want

🤤🤤🤤 vegan food looks bomb don't ya agree

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

I hate you with everything in me 😂

NYC 🩵:

💀💀💀 wym? wat i do? is that not right also?!?

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

you know that's not what i want

NYC 🩵:

what u want then

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

you know

NYC 🩵:

i dont know ms ortega

not a mind reader

use your words

A chill went through Jenna's body as she read the message, imagining you actually saying those words to her...under different circumstances.

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

don't say that

it makes it harder when you say things like that

NYC 🩵:

😂😂😂😂

ain't it like almost 2 am or something over there

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

no...

NYC 🩵:

nice try

go to sleep

goodnight my honey bunches of oats 😘🥰

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

you're annoying 😒

Jenna groaned and placed her phone down next to her. She needed to eat, shower, and sleep. But before she could even attempt to start, her phone dinged again. She grabbed it and opened the message from you, she took a sharp inhale of air.

NYC 🩵:

word?

*attachment: 1 image*

It was picture of you in the mirror with your head titled to the side and tongue stretched out your mouth. Your tongue was naturally long, almost reaching to your chin. But what also caught her eyes was your hand placement which was grabbing your genitalia through your gray sweatpants. That's all Jenna needed.

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

i take back what i said

🤰🏻🩵

You laughed at Jenna's message and fixed yourself before walking out the bathroom. You and Davis got back to your Mother's house defeated from the lack of progress in finding a studio.

You don't know how you were going to finished this demo and submit it in 4 hours.

A knock at the door grabbed your attention, you watched as your mother walks to the door and cracks it open.

"Hey Leon" Delyse smiled brightly at the sight of the man.

"Hey Del, how you doing?" Leon gave her a smile back.

"I'm good just cooking for these clingy kids" Delyse answered and opened the door wider for Leon to see you and Davis.

"Hey Mr. Greenhill" You and Davis simultaneously greeted the older man. Leon chuckled and waved at them.

"Oh I knew I smelled something delicious. Man I missed smelling your cooking reminds me of the old days" Leon flattered.

Delyse let out a little giggle, "Yeah the old days."

The two adults stood in the doorway looking at each other basking in the comfortable silence. Meanwhile, you and Davis looked at each other before looking back at the older adults.

"I...uh just wanted to stop by and say hello. I don't wanna intrude anymore than I already have" Leon smiled at Delyse.

"No, no, no intruding...do you want a plate?" Delyse boldly asked.

It took a moment for Leon to come up with a response but eventually he did, "Uh yeah sure."

The older gentleman walked into the house and Delyse closed the door behind him. Leon pulled off his cap and held it in his hands. He sat next to you at the end of the table.

"How you guys doing?" Leon politely said to you and Davis.

"Eh" You shrugged.

"Eh? Why eh?" Leon questioned.

"Jah signed up for this music competition. Winner gets a five million dollar record deal with Passion Records. The contestants must submit a demo by 11:59 p.m tonight but we haven't found a studio all week" Davis explained.

"And I tried recording it on my phone but the audio is all grainy and hard to hear" You sighed.

"Hmm...can you sing the song you are going to submit?" Leon questioned.

You and Davis glanced at each other again but Davis just shrugged. You scrolled to the notes app and pulled the beat of the song you are going to use.

"Rollin' through with stacks, it's easy, money rainin' down, just like a storm, I got the riches-" You get interrupted by Leon pausing the beat on your phone.

"No" Leon said.

"No? What you mean no? It's a good song" You scoffed.

"Yeah for the early 2015 era when singing about money like that could get you hits. It's 2023 now, people want to hear something different something unique. If I was a judge and I heard that...I would think you're just hopping on the trendy music hoping for yours to be the hit. But you don't realize that everyone is thinking the same thing as you. The only way for you to be looked at twice is if you stand out. Let the lyrics come from within you, come from your heart" Leon explained to you.

Delyse then comes from the kitchen with a plastic bag with aluminum foiled wrapped plates inside.

"Here you go" Delyse smiled and handed Leon the bag.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this Delyse" Leon smiled at her grateful. He stood up from the table and grabbed his cap.

"Once you find those lyrics, come and find me on Southern BLVD but hurry though you got four hours left" Leon said and left the house.

Meanwhile, you sat stuck at the dining room table. Replaying the words Leon said, basically calling your song shit. It stung but deep down you knew he was right. The song didn't feel like you, it felt like a 14 year old wrote it and it wasn't your style.

You glanced at the clock on the wall as you grabbed a pen and paper. 7:48 p.m. Your eyes then glanced down to your phone and an unopened message from Jenna.

Hollywood 🤰🏻:

you have to be the greatest partner alive 😏

"Have to be..." You muttered to yourself. Instantly, your hand starts to move by itself as you write down the lyrics to your new song.

Let the lyrics come from your heart.

🤰🏻🩵

Two hours later, you finally finished and made your way to Southern BLVD with Davis tagging along.

"Why Southern BLVD though? What's here besides crackheads and prostitutes?" Davis commented.

The two of you continued walking down the block until you start to hear the sound of music. The closer you got to the corner, the louder and clearer the music became. It was street drummers and Leon was in the middle of them playing the electric guitar. You and Davis watched in amazement as he kept up with the drummers until they finished their last cord together.

The small amount of people that were gathered applauded them and a couple gave a few dollars before walking away.

"Yo I ain't know you could play the guitar Mr. Greenhill" Davis said.

Leon chuckled, "I'm a man with many talents son." The older male turned to you.

"I'm assuming you got something better with you this time" Leon teased.

You laughed, "Yeah I do. Wrote it from the heart like you said."

"Alright, well you better warm up that voice. You got a song to perform" Leon smiled and patted your back.

"Wait what? Right now? In public?" You questioned.

"Uh yeah. You need to submit that demo in two hours. I checked to see if you submit a live version of your demo and it said you could so get a move on" Leon said and stepped to the side.

"I don't got a beat though I just have the lyrics" You said. You were really trying your hardest not to perform in front of people severely underprepared.

"Don't worry about that" Leon said and placed the guitar over his shoulder.

Leon then played a cord on the guitar, soon the bucket drummer started feeling the vibe and matched the cord Leon was playing. Then you heard someone sweeping from behind you, it surprisingly also matched with everyone. You start to nod your head, feeling the rhythm and you grabbed the beat up microphone from the ground.

Davis pulled out his phone to start recording you.

"Can't wait for you to get home, we ain't got to go nowhere. Airplane on my phone, it can wait til the morning. I can't fathom why you choose me out billions but I'll take it" You sung. You felt your eyes close as you got lost into the music.

Soon, you finished off the song to a large crowd cheering and clapping at your performance.

"I told you let the lyrics come from your heart. You made magic tonight Jah, take pride of your work" Leon educated you.

You nodded at him and walked over to Davis who was fiddling with his phone.

"And submitted" Davis smiled at you as he submitted the demo on the competition website.

"Hard part is over for now. Now we wait" You exhaled deeply.

a/n: if you put a buck in my cup I will shut the fuck up… but you ain’t gotta be a baller to give me a motherfucking dollar…

taglist: @grandpatrolnut @raven-ss @fanboy7794 @morganismspam23 @cinffy23 @darklron @cheesybacon1 @octavias-next-meat-bite @playboysaleen @niqmandu @zaclewiss @yescruzzzzzzz @silentfor @gemz5 @alwaysdangerouschild @onceblinkarmyandmore @melonfruit442 @zataracloud @nepobaby08 @jennasslut @rimaybank @jaewu @j3nc0re @fillthwvoid

[softstarlite]

The Casualty of Love

CHAPTER 1

Summary: He's back home. You have almost forgotten how warm his eyes were and how big your crush for him was.

Warnings: Age gap (Javier is 40 and reader is 27), mentions of death.

Rating: +18 (Not explicit)

Word Count: 1.5k

Masterlist

A/N: sorry guys that this one is kind of short, I promise that it is because is the first chapter that I write after almost 4 years without writing anything at all and because I have a terrible big cold bullying me. But I promise that future chapters will be much longer, I hope this one gets you hook up (please remember that English is not my first language) :-))

Divider by @saradika

Javier didn't though he would be waking up in his old bed in his parents house ever again, for him there were only two options, dying on the field in Colombia or working on the DEA until he would be too old and they would force him to retire from the field and he would just live the rest of his days in Miami to be close with the only people he would have then, Steve and Connie.

After everything that happened with the Cali Cartel, Los Pepes and the government of Colombia, the DEA “invited” him into retirement, for a bit he thought about moving to Miami but he couldn't bear thinking about turning his back to his pops again, even more now that he was alone in that big ranch.

“Fuck…” he rises up from the old bed, his back protesting. He makes his way into the kitchen, where his dad is already dressed up and drinking a cup of coffee.

“I made a pot, mijo” Chucho says, signaling with his head towards the coffee maker and sipping.

“Gracias, pa” after two weeks of the same routine, waking up, drinking at least one cup of coffee, getting dressed and spending the day keeping himself busy around the ranch so he wouldn't have to even think, Javi was getting tired of what his life looked like now. He loved his pops with all his heart but between the absence of his mom that was their string of unity and the many years that they've had spend away from each other, he felt like there was always a tension when they were together.

“Mijo, would you mind going into town today to pick a few things up for me?” his dad says while getting up from the kitchen table and putting the empty mug in the sink.

“Sure, pops. Just make me a list and i'll go after feeding the cattle”

Taking the keys out of the ignition and making your way across the parking lot to the little store, your head, more specifically your forehead, collapses with a hard thing.

“ Ouch” you rub your forehead while looking at where your purse has landed.

“Uh, fuck” you hear a masculine but almost familiar voice say from above you. Your gaze comes up to be met with a pair of chocolate brown eyes that you have for sure seen before.

“Ja-Javi?” you say with wide eyes and mouth agape. He mumbles your name like a question, like he can't believe what he's seeing, was it truly you? you looked so… so different, so grown up…

“So it's true, you really are back, eh?” you can feel the corners of your mouth rise a little while you say it.

“Been for two weeks…” his eyes can't help but to roam your body “you… look different…” he says more to himself than you.

“Well, that's what more than a decade does to someone” you chuckle.

“It really has been that long? Mierda…” he runs a hand through his hair.

You suddenly realize that your purse it's still on the floor, so you pick it up. For a few seconds an awkward silence floats between you too, in which you both just stare at each other.

You then realize something, “espera, you´ve been back for two weeks and you haven't been to my mama´s house? She's going to kill you when she finds out, you know it right?” you nervously rub your hands together in front of you.

“Shit, you´re right…” he closes his eyes tightly, “with helping my pops getting the ranch in a better shape and all, i forgot about going to Maria´s…”

“Hey, I'm sure if you explain it to her, she'll understand it. You´ve always been her favorite anyways” you give him a reassuring smile that he reciprocates with another, but somehow it looks like it almost pains him to do so, like he has not given a real one for way too long.

Javier chuckles, “well, after so many years away and only picking up like three of her phone calls a year, i wouldn't bet on been her favorite anymore”

“Yeah… I don't think that could ever be possible. And if the amount of times she talks about his Javiercito are indicating of it, you definitely are on top of the list still” you don't take your eyes off of his, you had almost forgotten how warm they can be and now it was almost impossible to pull yourself away from that warmth.

He changes the subject, still feeling guilty about how much he felt he had abandoned his parents in one of their hardest times in life and also the woman he felt that was like a second mother to him.

María, your mom, was his mom's best friend, they had been since high school. His parents became parents at a very early age, most people in Laredo gave them side eyes and their back for a long time, but your mom never did, she was there even when Alma Peña discovered that she was indeed pregnant and not just sick.

She was even the third person to ever hold him, after his own parents.

Your parents didn't have you until they were 30, so Javier was just like a first born child for your mom for 13 years until she had you.

Alma and Chucho did try to have more children but life had a weird sense of humor and after giving them a son they weren't looking for at such a young age, it decided to not give them anymore children. So when Maria had you, Alma Peña held you in her arms even before your father did and she loved you like her little girl until her last breath.

“How old are you now? You were only like 12 when I left” he shifts from one leg to the other.

“I was actually 15,” you chuckle “don't worry, didn't expect you to remember, you were too busy all the time to even notice me” you say a little fast, trying to hide that the fact hurted you every time you thought about it. “I'm 27 now” you give him a tight smile.

“Almost the age I was when I left. Wow, time really has passed, eh?” he says with an air of sadness in his eyes.

“Yeah, that happens” you feel an awkward tension growing between you so you change the subject fast “so… you're just working on the ranch now?”

“Yeah… pops needs the help anyway, he's getting old. I would rather not see him deal with the ranch chores by himself anymore” he looks at the ground of the parking lot for a brief moment then his gaze rises up again towards you “what are you doing now that you´re not in high school anymore?” he asks you with a tiny smirk.

“I changed one school for another,” you giggle “I went to college to get a teaching degree and after working in Boston for a few years, when my dad got sick, i moved back home to help ma with him before he died, then i just stayed for her and your dad to be honest. I'm working at the elementary school now” when you mention your dad, your face can't help but make a tight lip expression, you didn't have a good relationship with him, and you couldn´´t understand why your mom didn't leave his ass for so many years. But your relationship with your mom was pretty good considering the circumstances.

“Sorry about him by the way, even if you guys had a rocky relationship” he gives you a worried look, like he wanted to ask a million questions about how you felt back then and feel now about it, but they never leave his mind. “Your mom told me about it in one of her calls…”

“Yeah, thank you. She was devastated when it happened and I think she felt like she couldn't confide in me because of my situation with him, so she only talked about it with Chucho” you re adjust the purse in your shoulder “well i need to buy a few things and then get back home to ma, I'll tell her that you´ll be visiting soon?” you ask, putting your gaze back into his warm eyes.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Tell her I'll be there on Friday, after finishing my chore on the ranch” he says, almost nervously putting his hands inside of the pockets in his tight jeans.

“Okay, I'll let her know Javi. She'll start making food today, I'm sure” you chuckle and take a step away “see you on Friday, bye!” you wave to him and make your way across the parking lot to enter the little store.

“Bye…” Javier mumbles more to himself than to you, since you were far already. His eyes can't help to roam the back side of your body in your sundress while you walk away from him, when he catches himself, he shakes the thoughts roaming his mind away and walks to his truck to go back to the ranch.

Next chapter

[fizzigigsimmer]

This is my contribution to the Harringrove Relay Race

There's no following @bigdumbbambieyes but take this humble offering.

The Best You (Never) Had

written for @harringrove-relay-race

Rating: M

Pairing: Steve x Billy with a heavy dose of angst.

I was charmed and instantly driven insane by the absolutely bomb Harringrove playboy bunnies drawn by @adelacreations, and it inspired me to wonder about a trans femme Billy, running into her past at a strip club.

Enjoy the adventures of Bunny Hargrove.

And stay on the look out for what @robthegoodfellow has coming up!

When Billie left Hawkins she hadn’t looked to her future and seen herself working at a strip club. She certainly hadn’t foreseen the possibility of having to serve her high-school bully cheap food and lousy drinks in one once she’d made it back to Cali. But that’s exactly what seems to be in store for her – fuck her life.  

Five men occupy the half moon booth and table reserved mostly for bachelor parties and the occasional VIP. Billie’s coworker Amanda has been serving them food and drinks while they enjoy the sets of dancers on stage, but her wait shift is ending and Billie’s prepping to take over – tuning out the other woman as she complains about one of the men grabbing at her ass and being a poor tipper. 

It seems impossible, but somehow it’s happening. Steve Harrington is sitting right there, watching Lacey wiggle her ass in red spandex to a Katy Perry song.   

It’s been going on fifteen years, but Billie would recognize him anywhere. Same slouch to the shoulders and dreamy eyed stare – neither Lacey’s wild gyrations nor the conversation of the group he’s with enough to hold his full attention. Same stupid hair, although he’s changed the shape since high school. Now it’s held securely to one side by too much gel, and she just wants to break it up with her fingers. His laugh still doesn’t reach his eyes, and it probably says a lot about Billie, that some part of her is relieved to see that.  

Her rent might be too high, her boss might be a creep, and her ex is still full of shit, but Steve Harrington is still hanging around with guys like Tommy and faking a smile, so it balances the scales. 

He’s still gorgeous too, fuck him. Billie swallows and forces herself to look away, and not run away like the frantic beating of her heart suggests that she should. She’s got nothing to hide, and she’s not ashamed.  

There’s no reason at all she shouldn’t saunter right over to the table with the bachelor party Amanda was gracious enough to split with her (knowing all about her rent worries) and flirt her way to another month of financial security; except for the fact that even in this day and age, certain people still get funny about people like her and Billie knows these guys. 

Or rather, they knew her before – before she got out of Neil’s house, before freedom, before Billie. 

There’s no reason at all she shouldn’t go over there and take that table full of drunk losers, eager to blow their cash on the club's cheap booze and dancing girls, for all that they’re worth. Nothing besides fear. 

Fuck that. 

The group is laughing loudly about something as Billie saunters up, one last swarm of butterflies taking flight in her belly as Hagen turns his neck to squint blearily at her.  

God, that stupid smirk hasn’t changed a bit – wide and dopey like the dog he is, and mean in the eyes.  Those beetle browns look her over just like they did on her first day in Hawkins, assessing for strengths and weaknesses to exploit; and for a moment she remembers the terror of being under that gaze and all the others like it. The fear of being caught out consuming her, choking her, day after day. 

Sorry kid. Billie thinks to herself with a sway of her hips, right before parking herself up against the arm of the leather couch, warm skin brushing the sleeve on Tommy’s shoulder. The way that his lips part unconsciously as he gawks at her doesn’t make up for the past, but it still feels damn good. She’s a bad bitch and she knows it. Knew it back then but now she can show it and will kick ass if Tommy or any of his buddies decide they have a problem with it. 

But it’s not recognition of any kind on any of their faces, it’s lust. They leer at the shiny shorts that hug her thighs and the plunging neckline of her tiny top – her employer's idea of a uniform. Whatever vindication she feels on behalf of her pitiful high school self, she doesn’t actually care anymore what Tommy and the clones think. 

Billie finds her eyes going to Steve like they’re magnetized.  

She shouldn’t care what Harrington thinks either, and yet, there’s a stupid flutter in her chest (damn it) when Steve looks her over, eyes lingering just a hair too long on her chest to be anything other than interested, before he meets her eye. 

“Hey beautiful.” He leans forward a little, totally present now like he wasn’t before dripping charm he obviously learned in some board room working for daddy. And yet, there’s still some part of Billie that expects to wake up in bed back in the house on Cherry Street.  

“What’s your name?” Steve Harrington is definitely asking, her, like it’s just a pre-courser to getting her naked, and Billie shivers. Fuck is she doing this? 

“Hi Bambi, I’m Bunny.” She teases. Sees the line in the sand and walks right over it. Tommy howls like some chick likening his buddy to a baby deer is the most hilarious shit, and it sets the others off, oohing and ahhing and generally acting like fools as they rib Harrington. 

But Steve ignores them, and the way he jolts a little when he hears that name, eyes narrowing on her in wary confusion, goes straight to her clit. Shit. One of these days her hard on for danger is gonna get her killed. But today it’s got her heart thumping and her pussy dripping as she clenches around nothing, like he’s already sliding inside where she obviously still wants him. She needs better taste in men. She’s sure her mama would have said she gets her poor taste from her if she’d stuck around long enough while Billie was growing up. 

“I’m a sucker for big pretty brown eyes.” She winks at him, sugar sweet and he seems to settle a little. “Can I get you another round of drinks, or are you in the mood for something better?” 

“Bunny.” He ignores the question to turn her show name over on his tongue, slow and curious like he’s tasting it. “Are you on tonight?” He asks, gaze twitching toward the stage and back. 

“You calling me a stripper Bambi?” 

“It is a strip club, and with a name like Bunny.” 

Billie laughs and Steve’s mouth slides into a satisfied smirk, like that was always the end goal. Tommy rolls his eyes and pouts like an overgrown toddler, “Didn’t you date a chick named Trixie?” 

“Yeah. So?” Steve drawls in reply, his focus momentarily shifting from Billie and back to Tommy, which if Billie’s memory serves, is exactly how Tommy likes it. 

This is a bad idea. Such a bad idea. God, Hagen really hasn’t changed, but neither has Steve. Those dry little dig and the arch of his eyebrows are so familiar she feels a strange sort of relief. Like there was something inside her that had been counting down since the last time she saw him, afraid that he’d change and become lost to memory. 

Fuck. That sounds – it’s not, what it sounds. 

“So, you can’t tell a stripper by their name is all I’m saying.” 

“Dude, are you serious? I met Trixie because you paid for her to show up at my apartment dressed like a police officer and give me a lap dance on my birthday.” 

Now there’s an idea, Billie thinks as Tommy, remembering the incident, smiles sheepishly.  

“I’m not dancing tonight, no.” Billie finally answers his question, pulling Steve’s attention back and a shiver goes down her spine when his eyes snap to her. “But I wouldn’t say no to tying you up and having my way with you, Pretty Boy.” 

She doesn’t have to wonder if Steve remembers her the way she remembers him. If the words Billie had said and the insults, she’d flung had burrowed under his skin to live with him the same way Billie lives with his.  

Steve flinches, his eyes narrowing sharply on her, and it’s barely perceptible but she catches it before he’s being nudged at and jostled from both sides by his buddies as they hoot and holler about how he’s been chosen.  

He never stops looking at her. 

The only one who doesn’t seem absolutely thrilled for him to get picked up by some babe in a seedy strip club in Santa Monica is Tommy, who grumbles something about the attention being wasted on Steve. 

For the first time Billie wonders if he might be the bachelor about to get hitched – and she’s the one to flinch this time, as her eyes dart down to his hand. The ring finger is empty, which doesn’t really prove anything, but the pale strip of skin she finds there tells its own story.  

Divorced? Long engagement? Married already perhaps and out to prove the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree? Fuck she hopes it’s not the last one. Not because it would change anything for her. Maybe it would, if she were a nicer person, but she’s not the married one, and if she started splitting hairs about fooling around with married men her tip jar would be a whole lot emptier each month. 

No. She just plain doesn’t want him to be attached. The thought makes her chest twist up inside and the bottom of her stomach feel like it’s going to fall right out her ass – the same fucked up emotional constipation she’d felt watching him run through the female population of Hawkins High like he was trying to make them all forget they’d watched Nancy Wheeler take his balls and then make an absolute fool of him.  

“Thanks for the offer, Bunny -” Steve starts, and she can hear the butt coming as clear as the others can if the sudden swell of groans is anything to go by. 

“Harrington! Come on man.” 

“Boo!” 

“See what I mean? That’s a fucking ten right there, and you’re going to blow it over some bitch who doesn’t even want you?!” Screeches Tommy. 

Bingo. Thank you, Tommy, with the big mouth. So, it’s divorced. Separated but still holding on to the past – just like old times. 

It makes her smile a little mean as she leans toward him, holding his gaze, purrs - “You scared, Bambi? Worried I might break you?” 

Steve clamps his mouth shut. His eyes blaze at her and her throat goes dry. 

“Oh ho! Careful now darlin, our Stevie boys got a pretty big ego. You might not want to poke that bull if you’re not ready for the ride.” One of the bros says with the kind of glint in his eye that says he lives for ‘big egos’ putting little women like her into place. Fucking prick. 

Steve seems to think so too because he mutters, “Shuttup Andy” as he reaches in his pocket for his wallet. 

“How much?” he asks her, sounding bored. It’s bullshit. Billie licks her lip in triumph. 

“Fifty for a lap dance here at the table, fifty more if you want to see some tit.”  

“How much for a private show?” 

Her breath hitches, her stomach tightening in her eagerness, but somehow, she keeps the breath out of her tone as she replies. 

“Depends on what you want to see.” She answers, and without so much as a pause Harrington smiles – challenges. 

“Everything.” 

Fuck. She’s doing this. 

She’s not delusional enough to think that fucking him is going to heal her inner child or whatever, and while she firmly believes she doesn’t owe every one night stand a complete rundown of her medical history, she’s fully aware of how this is different – of what the upstanding thing to do would be. 

But then Billie remembers the way Steve had started pushing back after their fight that strange night at the Byers house; the way he’d swooped in and pulled the rug out from under her – reclaiming his spot as top dog, just by existing. No begging. No apologies. He just opened the doors to that mansion he lived in and rang the bell, and Tommy and the rest had come looking for supper.  

She remembers the cruel things he said to her as he flaunted his big house and fancy car, rubbing in how quickly it was over once he made it a real contest; because however shiny and new Billie had been to those kids, she was still just trash under it all. Angry white trash going nowhere fast, while Steve was Mr. Somebody. Once he’d pulled his head out of Wheeler’s ass and remembered it, he’d made turning the school against Billie his new focus.  

Pushed further and further to the fringes, Billie’s only choice to keep the jackals at bay had been to fight them off until people got the message and started avoiding her altogether.  

She’s not claiming victim. She knows damn well who started the fight – that it was her own demons that drove her to lash out and try and prove her dominance over him – and that after that night at the Byers, Steve had especially no reason to take mercy on her. 

But just because she’d asked for the fight doesn’t mean taking a beating hadn’t nearly pushed her to the edge. 

Billie swallows back the taste of bitterness in her mouth, from the memory of being alone, broken and desperate, aching to be near someone who loathed her and yearning for the looks he gave so easily to other girls. 

Except now he is – King Steve – looking at Billie Hargrove like he wants her. Like he’d empty out his wallet and spend all of that nepo baby salary just for the chance to get at her; and like hell is she going to turn it away. Revenge couldn’t get sweeter than this. The only thing that could make it better is if he knew. It’s me on your mind. Me you can’t ignore. Me you can’t walk away from. 

But it’s just a fantasy. The reality him recognizing her now or later has her swinging from vicious jubilation toward mind numbing panic on a dime. 

Regardless - Steve Harrington stands up, ignoring the cheers of his drunk friends, eyes locked with hers – and Billie Hargrove makes her own choices. 

Billie is going to ride Steve until he sees God, hollowed be her name. Because she wants him (still) and he finally wants her. Just for once. That’s all she needs.  

She can worry about the aftermath after. 

[joelsmochi]

Be The Boss - Javier Peña

loosely (actually extremely) inspired by the song you can be the boss by lana del rey ♡ i woke up with this idea and immediately got to writing, i love you smut sluts <3 hope you enjoy :3 this is also all lowercase ! i'm thinking of making a part 2... >:)

plot: ofc genie stumbles across javier in more places than one, and they... can't get enough of each other.

warnings: SIMP!javi, language, soulmates trope, mention of drug use, reader is a bit of a javi apologist (i meannnnn), creampie, fingering (f receiving), oral (f receiving), some angst, mentions of death, choking, office sex, public sex, chance of getting caught, sex with other people nearby (not involved), i may have flexed the timeline of the story a bit + steve is there during the cali cartel job (just for storytelling purposes), prob typos + grammatical errors (english & spanish). lmk if i missed anything pls!!!

wc: 9.1k

masterlist

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ✮ ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

those blue jeans and that white button-up shirt had genie fanning herself since she walked into the supermarket, but what kept making it worse was that the universe seemed to be forcing the two adults into the same aisle. she’d purposefully skip an aisle she needed to go down and circle back later only to find he still spawned wherever she went.

not like she was too awfully mad though. she knew it was just a mere coincidence, or maybe he found her attractive too. maybe she was the one following him, and not the other way around. maybe she was just reading into it too much — this happens often. you know when you go grocery shopping and can’t seem to get away from another customer? maybe that’s all this was. maybe.

later that night she decided to take her friend's boyfriend’s offer up to get out and go to a bar with them, and since she was feeling a little sad that the man from the market never approached her even though she was too bashful to do it herself, she needed a pick me up. third-wheeling with her friend and her boyfriend may just be the motivation she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself.

a couple hours into the night genie was having more fun than she expected. her friend, aimee, was much more considerate than previous ones; she made sure genie felt included in the conversations and even spoiled some inside jokes just so that genie could laugh too.

playing pool, turning down pushy men for dances and drinks, and watching strangers basically have sex in the middle of the bar was more entertaining than she expected. that could just be the alcohol talking though.

she knew the universe was laughing at her, however, when the man from the market walked in with two rubios trailing behind him. genie’s eyes widened a bit, having narrowed from her tipsy state, and as if she couldn’t get more tense at that moment he made eye contact with her. she pretended to be confident about it and gave him a sweet smile while waving. he frowned for a second trying to remember where he’d seen her before.

the pretty girl in the pretty sundress from the market.

he gave genie a half smile and waved back before glancing as his shoes briefly and walking back to his friends.

“go talk to him!” aimee smacked genie’s arm over enthusiastically. “if you don’t i’m dragging him to the table.”

genie laughed knowing she is 100% serious. “i will, just let him settle in for a few minutes. can’t seem like a groupie,” genie bargained.

“who is that?” aimee’s boyfriend, cory asked while eyeing the trio from across the room.

“no idea,” she admitted, “we just kept bumping into each other at the market earlier. i think he was eyeing me, but i didn’t wanna just stare so i don’t know. seems like he recognized me though.”

“well, duh, you’re fucking hot,” aimee exaggeratedly compliments. “especially when you wear those sundresses, your ass looks so big and juicy in those i’m literally jealous.”

“please, you’re literally built like jane fonda, and everyone knows that jane fonda has the perfect ass. i’m jealous of you.”

“can we not talk about how you two basically want to fuck each other when i’m right here?” cory grimaces, but genie could see the smile creeping on his face indicating he was joking.

“awe, if i wanted her i’d have her already,” genie teased.

“she’s right,” aimee confirmed. the two best friends began laughing loudly at cory’s expense when they heard a voice from beside the table.

“perdóname.” [excuse me].

genie turned her head and met eyes with the moreno, grinning widely at his seemingly timid presence. “¿cómo puedo ayudarte?” [how can i help you]

“no tengo mucho tiempo, pero, lo quería darte esto.” he extended a cigarette out to the brunette; she admired how his harsh features softened at the sight of her for a moment, ultimately taking it from his slender fingers with a confidence that she forced yet seemed natural to everyone surrounding. [i don't have much time, but i wanted to give you this]

“gracias. acabas de llegar, ¿no?” [thank you. you just got here, no]

“claro, pero el trabajo llama.” [of course, but work calls]

genie nodded once clearly not believing him as a sly smirk tugged the corners of her lips while she fiddled with the cigarette. she turned it over quickly finding his phone number sloppily written on it. “¿trabajo, sí?” [work, huh]

“what’s he saying?” cory asked; aimee shushes him and genie ignored him, finding herself aiming to maintain the eye contact she held with the handsome stranger.

“¿llámame? salvo que no quieras.” [call me? unless you don’t want to]

“¿cómo debería llamarme?” she was poking at his boundaries which was something she found herself doing often. she loved to laugh and joke, so it was important to her to test those waters. [what should i call you]

he squints, unsure of what exactly she was asking until it dawned on him. “javier. javi.”

“javi,” she tutted after saying his name a way to tease him making him just bashfully smile. “bien. te daré una llamada, javi.” they exchange goodbyes and she turned back to her friends. [good. i’ll give you a call]

“i got javier,” the boy says, “that’s about it.”

“he just wanted me to have his number, that’s all,” genie said.

“are you about to have your first summer fling, genie?!” aimee nearly shouted in attempt to make her blush (which worked every time). “i want every juicy detail when you taint him.”

“you’re lucky i love you.”

-

genie waited a few days to give this javi a phone call. she didn’t want to seem too eager or desperate as she typically enjoyed waiting until men begged for attention.

but when she did decide to call it was like he had been posted by the phone for the last seventy-two hours because he picked up on the second ring.

“¿bueno?” [hello]

“¿javier?” she asked much more softly than she intended. unbeknownst to her the delicacy in her voice made him weak in the knees.

“sí, ¿eres la mujer del bar?” [yeah, are you the woman from the bar]

“mhm, soy yo,” she answered. she grabbed the phone from the console table and brought it around the corner to sit in her chair by her big kitchen window; the weather was perfect for her: sunny with some big clouds here and small clouds there, not too humid or dry. she just watched the leaves dancing between the wind and focused on how peaceful the world seemed from inside her temporary home. [it’s me]

“nunca supe tu nombre,” he replied while inhaling sharply as he took a hit of his cigarette, “¿cómo se llama, dulzura?” [you never told me your name / what’s your name sweetheart]

she couldn’t fight the laugh that surfaced from the base of her throat as the nickname surprised her. “¿dulzura? mmm, no me hagas colgar, javi.” [sweetheart? don’t make me hang up]

“¿qué?” he laughed along with her, “tenía que llamarte algo, ¿no?” [what? i had to call you something]

“¿me llamaste así a tus amigos?” [you called me that to your friends]

“¿no te gusta? okay, okay, veo.” [you don’t like it? i see]

“no, no es que me no guste. es simplemente… sorprendente, eso.” [no, it’s not that i don’t like it. it’s simply surprising, that’s all]

neither of them could swallow their smiles behind their receivers. they talked for hours, and she still managed to keep her name a secret for the time being. he quickly got in the habit of calling her dulzura and it grew on her just as fast. the way spanish flowed off of his tongue made her cave deeper and deeper into her chair, having to “readjust” her legs a few times to resist her urges to tell him how sexy his was.

“javier…”

his throat was straining from all the talking and laughing they were doing but he ignored it by inhaling cigarette after cigarette. “¿sí, mama?” he cooed quietly.

the way the new little nickname from his lips gave her goose skin and a flushed face, and she was thankful he wasn’t in front of her in that moment because she just might have giving up on her wait and see rule.

“tengo que ir, tengo que ayudar a mi amiga mañana. pero… fue encantador hablar contigo.” [i have to go, i have to help my friend in tomorrow. but it was lovely talking with you]

“yo veo. voy a despertarme temprano mañana también. una cosas más.” [i see. i gotta get up early tomorrow as well. one more thing]

she giggled, somehow already knowing what he was going to ask about. “me llama genie.” [my name is genie]

“genie… ya has hecho realidad mi deseo, dulzura,” he flirted. [you’ve already made my wish come true, sweetheart]

“obtienes dos más, cariño,” she teased. it wasn’t the first time someone used her name as punchline in attempt to flirt with her, and it sounded just as corny coming from javi. the only difference was that she liked it coming from him because he wasn’t trying to hide how bad the joke was, whereas most men try to make it sound original as if they’re fucking poetic legends. javi knew he made stupid jokes and didn’t shy away from it. he didn’t try to put on some stupid façade (at least not with her). [you have two more, love]

“¿dos deseos más? debe ser mi día de suerte.” [two more wishes? it must be my lucky day]

genie gave him a sweet giggle, whispering, “hasta luego, javi.” [later]

“buenas noches, genie.” [good night]

-

it was like night and day, her first impression of javier was that he was just some man trying to find his way in life, in colombia. she got a real glimpse of him tonight: they got to the bar about an hour ago, and to the other men nearby it was like javier wasn’t even there. they’d stroll up to the table and flirt, hard.

she was trying to be polite and avoid a scene by saying thank you, but i’m not interested or i’m here on a date with this gentleman, but there are other pretty girls around who i’m sure are single.

after the fourth guy, though, javi became noticeably irritable, and well… lost his temper at the fifth guy. genie told herself that they were lucky to not get kicked out after javi’s already bruised fist knocked the other man flat on his skinny ass, but it shook her a bit. a man so sweet and so kind to her yet so violent with others. as fucked up as it was she found it a bit of a turn on, but couldn’t help but wonder if maybe one day he’d lose his temper with her.

all her worries swam away when he sat back down and apologized, a look of pure embarrassment pooling his eyes.

“sorry, i don’t know what took over me,” he whispered, “if you want to go home that’s perfectly fine—“

“javi,” she cooed, “you’re fine.” and she meant it. she not only saw his resentfulness, she felt it radiating off of him. she didn’t want the night to be spoiled by some fuckers who lacked respect. “honestly if every girl was coming up here asking you for a buck and a blowjob i’d probably punch one of them too. no, i would do it.”

“you’re not mad?”

she scrunched her face up and grabbed her drink, raising it to her lips and sipping before she said, “fuck no. well, not at you. it’s not like this is our first real date, anyways. the real one will come soon, i hope.” she gave him a tight smile that showed off parts of her teeth showing javi that she was hopeful and willing to try again. “ugh, i hate saying that.”

“what?” he took a swig of his whiskey.

“‘it’s not our real first date.’ god, that just sounds like i’m crapping on this.”

“no it doesn’t. that’s what we said this was, right? not a first date? just two new friends hanging out?”

she snickered at him. “uh-huh, do two friends just hanging out get jealous and possessive over each other?”

he rolled his eyes wonderingly and bit back a smile. “you know what i mean.”

“sureee i do… then you won’t mind if i go out there and dance, hmm?” she pointed behind herself with her thumb. she wanted to toy with him a little to see what kind of man he was so that she knew how to navigate him.

she only received a squinting glare in response as he asked her to elaborate with his eyes, so she ever so slightly rose up from her chair to lean over the table. his face relaxed at her close proximity, maintaining eye contact with the vixen before him.

“for other guys? since we’re just friends right now, that won’t bug you, right?” she gave him no time to respond as she gave him a kiss so endearing that it swept his mind clear of any thoughts that didn’t include her. she almost moaned at the lingering taste of whiskey and cigarettes on his lips, craving him even more now. the kiss felt like an escape from all of her troubles. she only needed this moment of control and then he could have the rest of her — something she’d never give to anyone else. the kiss was over before it even began, and he found himself simpering for her. “can i go dance for other guys, javier?”

he could only nod like a coward.

javi watched how her thighs glowed underneath the yellow lights as she danced shamelessly in the bar they first met in. he couldn’t take his eyes off of her in the white sundress with her blow dried hair flowing around her shoulders and cheekbones. she wasn’t drunk, no, not even tipsy so he knew that she was just a free spirit with the way she was acting, she spoke her mind and let her body express itself uncaring of the other people in the bar that stared.

he liked the fact that other men were staring at her because even though she was dancing where everyone could watch, she was only dancing for javi to see. he also enjoyed it when a man would approach her and she would just dance her body away from them as it confirmed her growing loyalty to him.

sure she’d forgiven his lack of self control earlier, but now he knows that he doesn’t need to act out to get her attention because he already has it. he didn’t quite understand what was so intriguing about genie, but he wanted to explore her depths (and not just in a sexual way).

he stood up to strut over to her after drinking the rest of his whiskey; he clasped his arms around her waist from behind and took in a deep breathe of her sweet perfume which contrasted the woodsy perfume he noticed her wearing when he gave her his number. he planted a needy but light kiss on the curve where her neck met her shoulder, pressing his hips into her butt firmly before swaying and bouncing with her to the upbeat song.

“people are staring at you, dulzura,” he whispered huskily onto her ear lobe. “these men think you’re single. can’t have that.”

she couldn’t help the cocky grin that spread across her face. “i saw the way you were looking around the room, smiling like you own the place…” she turned around in his tight grasp staring into his territorial eyes with an innocent, but knowing look. “like you own me.”

“i don’t own you, darlin’,” he says monotonously, not even the slightest hint of humor behind his tone, “but i do control you. at least for the night.”

“you can be the boss, daddy.”

she watched the surprise waiver his once stern expression and rather than playing her usual confident self she couldn’t ignore what he said.

i do control you.

she wanted to let him take the reigns on this one and see what javier peña was all about. after all, wait and see was far out of the window at this point.

she just pouts with her eyes and brows and folds her lips between her teeth like she had no idea the effect she had on him. she felt his warm hand slide down to the small of her back, gripping into the clothed skin desperately while he hissed at her facial expression and her dumb eyelashes batting up at him.

she filled him with what felt like so much destitution it was beginning to irritate him. the wanting to take it slow. the giggles and smiles. the dresses—god, he just craved fucking her in that little white sundress. how so much woman fit into one person was beyond him, but he looked at her like she was god created just for him.

yeah… waiting wasn’t happening.

the two of them ran out to his car like a pair of schoolchildren, and javi almost hit other cars or pedestrians at least twice on the way back to his apartment. she just laughed and told him to slow down, the few shots of dark liquor she had getting to her carefulness a bit.

next thing they knew they were naked on the couch, just kissing. that’s all they needed to do. just feel each other’s impure warmth. their lips were far beyond numb but they still went at it. she clung to him like wet on water, and he held her close with his sturdy forearms atop his lap while she rocked her hips occasionally. she poured every moan into his salivating mouth and he swallowed them with pride.

they were in no rush to have sex, they just wanted to need each other for a little bit. their craving for each other exceeded physical intimacy and stretched into every curve of their being as they wept onto each other. she giggled every time she felt more of her juiced pool onto his erection that was nestled between her legs and curved up to her ass. he loved her moans and her giggles and her smiles so much that he found himself smiling with her more than he had with his recent partners.

“javi?” she asked softly after finally pulling away from their hour-long kiss. he hummed and looked at her through his low eyelashes, seemingly drunk off of her kisses. “¿crees que podemos esperar un poco más?” [do you think we can wait a little longer]

he frowned, feeling a tad offended that she seemed a little scared to ask him that. “sí, dulzura. no tienes que preguntar.” he pinched her chin lightly and dragged his fingers around her soft face. [you don’t have to ask]

“no quería asumir.” [i don’t want to assume]

he offered her a loving smile and brought one of her hands up to his lips. “yo puedo esperar, mama.” [i can wait]

she blushed at the compassionate stare he was giving her and rewarded him with a tender kiss on his lips and another one to his forehead. “¿tienes agua?” [do you have water]

“mm-hmm. solo agua de la llave.” [only tap]

she carefully stood up from his thighs and stepped from between his legs to the kitchen. “no soy exigente.” she took it upon herself to grab a couple of glasses from his cabinet and them up up halfway with lukewarm water before she peered her head to her right to find a ring sitting in a small bowl nearby. “javier?” she called, unable to take her eyes off of the jewelry. he hummed and she heard as he stood up from the couch and walked towards her. “are you married?” she asked, finally breaking her stare from the ring and looked at him. [i’m not picky]

he eyebrows knitted together and he gave her a dumbfounded look. “no, why?”

“who’s ring is that then?”

he followed her pointed thumb with his eyes and saw how the ring was perched on top of the junk bowl like a trophy. “shit,” he whispered, glancing at his floor bashfully. “uh, no, genie i am not married. i was engaged, but, i left her… the day of the wedding.”

she couldn’t tell why, but she grew worried. “why?”

shrugging, he couldn’t come up with an answer. “i’m still trying to figure that out myself… i guess i kept the ring hoping it’d give me answer,” he laughed incredulously at his confession. “that was definitely not how i wanted you to find out.”

she nodded and a sense of relief came to calm her down. “i run all the time too,” she replied, waiting a moment before holding out the glass for him to take. he found solace in her words even though he didn’t fully understand it yet. he took a lame sip of his water and set it down on the counter before closing the gap between their still feverish bodies. “we don’t need to talk about it.” her tone was so serious but her smile was playful. “we can just make out for another hour or something.”

they laughed at her suggestion, but just as javi was leaning into kiss her as an acceptance his phone rang. he rolled his eyes and groaned before walking over to answer it. genie didn’t want to eavesdrop so she just strolled over to steal a cigarette from him and walked to his bedroom to blow her smoke out of his screen-less window whilst she looked over the other apartments and the streets. she heard a few gunshots far away and poked her nosy head out to see if she saw something, and when she didn’t she just kept looking around quickly forgetting about it.

it is colombia after all.

she was almost done with her cigarette when javi made an appearance next to her also holding a cigarette.

“everything okay?” she asked, glancing up at him. he nodded and grinned down at her nipples perking up from the cool breeze. “take a picture, perv,” she teased once she realized he was staring, then kicked his calf gently.

“maybe i will, smartass.”

she shook her head and laughed indulgently as he pointed his polaroid up to her naked body that was being illuminated by the orange street lights. he laid the photo on his dresser before hugging her from behind like earlier, and he swayed their nude bodies to music that was heard playing from another house in the distance. she hummed and tossed her cigarette outside before stealing his right off of his pouted lips; he took the liberty of his mouth as opportunity to kiss her shoulders.

she wanted him so badly, but she knew it was just her wound of impatience waiting to be peeled open again. she wasn’t afraid of giving in to him. she was afraid of giving in to herself. javier didn’t make it easy at all, and he saw it, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“mi dulzura…” he breathed onto her hot flesh, trailing his lower lip up to her ear and smacking a kiss on it while his hand found the base of her stomach. she felt herself clench around nothing and moved his hand down to her clit before she could stop herself. he wanted nothing more than to make her feel good and she just gave him permission for that in some aspect. “tu coño todavía está tan mojada… tengo suerte, ¿no?” he rubbed tiny little circles around her clit the same way she would when she’d touch herself. [your pussy is still so wet. i’m lucky, huh]

“alguien podría vernos.” she worried like she wasn’t the one to initiate it. [someone could see us]

he waited a moment to respond. “que nos vean.” [so let them see]

she gave in and let him please her for the whole world to see. the pads of his fingers felt like heaven on her heat as she let go of the fear of getting caught; she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and closed her heavy eyes.

javier wanted to felt her tremble in his arms and hear her call his name. he needed to give her a reason to come back and he knew he could do that with his fingers alone. just like he said: he could wait. and he would wait for her. she was gentle and kind but fearless at the same time. he thought it was sexy the way she never cared what anyone thought of her (anyone she wasn’t familiar with anyways).

“¿te gusta?” [you like that]

she simply nodded rapidly as her chest heaved, her mind straying from reality as she sank deeper into the trap he laid with his fingers. her eyes flew open, however when she heard a group of people walking nearby. “javi,” she panicked, “deberíamos mover—“ [we should move—]

“shut up,” he whispered in her ear through gritted teeth while simultaneously wrapping his free hand around her elongated neck, “tengo esto.” [i got this]

genie moaned louder than she realized and allowed herself to no longer care after javi made his demands. if the people wanted a show then they were going to get it. “claro, después de todo… eres el jefe, papi.” [sure, after all, you’re the boss daddy]

-

weeks of harmony went by, and even the bad moments weren’t so bad. sometimes javier would meet genie after a shit day at work and wouldn’t be in the mood for company, but he didn’t want to push her away because of it. he still wanted her near and she saw that despite feeling like sometimes she had to walk on eggshells around him on his moody nights. she didn’t mind it too much, it was more of her still trying to learn how to read him which came with some difficulty.

he knew that when they went almost a week without seeing other and constantly missing each other’s phone calls that he was falling hard from how much he missed hearing her voice. genie filled her free time with her friends and gardening but her mind always trailed back to javi.

they’re schedules finally aligned on a tuesday; javi got the day off and wanted genie to meet his partner steve so she took it upon herself to have them over for dinner along with aimee.

“hi, i’m genie,” she introduced excitedly as she shook the man’s hand before inviting them in.

“hey, i’m steve. sorry my wife couldn’t be here tonight,” he said.

genie just waved him off. “oh, don’t worry about it. i’ll make some extra for her if that’s alright?”

“sure, thank you.”

“my friend aimee is here in the other room, feel free to make yourself at home. dinner should be ready in about an hour.” he excused himself and genie turned to javi and immediately gave him a sultry kiss. “mm, i missed you.”

he chuckled and wiped the corner of his mouth before giving her a hug. “i missed you too. how ya doing?”

“better now,” she whispered. “come help me in the kitchen?”

“not sure i can be much help.” he watched her hips bounce back and forth as she led him to her kitchen. “you have a nice home,” he commented; he walked behind her and enveloped her body into a warm hug as she stirred the sauce in her pot.

“thank you.” he gave her neck a few kisses, placed his fingers on her chin to turn her head toward him, and pecked her lips a few times. she blushed and focused on her cooking again, but javi wanted to play with her again as it had been too long since the last time he’d heard her delicious moans. “javier,” she hissed and he just slid his large hands into her tight jeans. “javi,” she laughed, “we are not having a repeat of last time.”

“you’re right, this time we’re not doing it in a window, we’re in your kitchen,” he teased after his fingers found her wetness and dove into it.

she exhaled softly and felt her nipples harden against the fabric of her shirt. “i don’t wanna mess up dinner.”

“focus on dinner then, baby, don’t think about me,” his voiced strained. she nearly laughed again but couldn’t because a moan nearly surfaced. she brought a bowl of diced onions over the pot and let them fall in as an attempt to distract herself. “i’m sure dinner will be lovely, dulzura.” his breath hitched up against her ear when he felt her clench around his fingers. “what are you making?”

“lasagna.”

“it smells good.”

“thank you—oh.” she accidentally smacked the spoon on the counter and sauce flew specks around the wall and stove. “shit!” she reached for a towel and immediately bent forward to wipe the mess up, but she only applied more pressure between her sex and his digits. he took the liberty to ram his fingers as fast as the angle would allow which had her struggling to stand straight, but she continued cleaning her mess up—well, her javi-induced mess. once she was done she put the lid on the pot and told him that she was close.

“already? seems like you needed this more than me. is that right?”

“yes,” she huffed, gripping the ledges of the countertop. “right there.”

“you’re doing so good keeping quiet.”

“me corro, me corro!” she breathed out. she swallowed every other noise that tried to leave her fragile body while her orgasm took over. it was strong and overpowering almost, unlike most of her orgasms that were slow and drawn out. she felt every bit of her climax in the span of just a few seconds but it was well worth it. [i’m cumming]

javi eased up on her fairly quickly and freed his hand, careful to not get any of her cum on her clothes. she tried to steady her body while she resumed dinner and he washed his hands before helping her trembling hands with the heavy pot. they didn’t say anything but they could not stop giggling.

“are you guys stoned or something?” aimee asked spooking the couple.

“we’re literally dea agents,” steve retorted as he stood next to her.

“eh,” genie edged receiving a warning look from javi. “are you?”

“genie,” javi hissed.

“don’t worry, i won’t tell steve about the time you and i got high before watching star wars.”

“really peña?” steve questioned accusingly.

javi gave genie’s ass a light smack, but he knew steve would ultimately forget about it so he just went back to watching genie cook.

the night went by slow which made genie happy. she got to bond with steve and aimee got to bond with javi. it was like the formation of a new, happier, stronger family for genie and she hoped everyone else felt the same way. aimee and steve teased the other two about how smitten they were being all night and how cute it was to see the love they have for each other growing. they all got a little tipsy from whiskey and wine which caused the formation of a brother-sister relationship with steve and aimee — one that javi and genie found adorable, especially with the way they bullied each other for their music tastes and political views in a chaste way.

when the night was closing in steve and aimee made their exits to their significant others and homes, and aimee naturally made the comment, “don’t be too loud now,” more than once.

as soon as they were alone, genie and javi made their debut to her room for pillow talk and cuddles having gotten their release of sexual tension out earlier.

“do you think they heard me?” genie worriedly asked.

“i think we’d know if aimee heard us,” javi quip, snickering as he did so.

“good point.”

genie admired all of his facial features which made him smile keenly. he was handsome, smart, romantic, and caring, but he was also daunting and reserved for everyone but her. she wouldn’t dare resist love from someone so sweet after she experienced a life in the absence of love. javier gave her all the smiles she needed for one lifetime already, but his desire to keep that smile on her face earned him a special place in her fragmented heart because he was making it whole again.

“do you want to keep seeing me? i’m just checking in, making sure we’re all good.” javi’s insecure tone put a frown on her face.

“i do. i like you.”

he blushed and crawled on top of her. “yeah? you like me?”

“yeah i like you a lot, papito. te quiero mucho, papito.”

he closed the space between their lips and he snaked his arms around her back. he felt closer than before to the woman below him because she forgave his sins faster than he did himself. he didn’t know what he did to get this lucky, but he refused to question one of the only good things in his life.

“te quiero, genie,” he whispered, nuzzling his nose along hers.

“me encanta la forma en que dices mi nombre… y la forma en que me besas… la forma en que me tocas. me gustas mucho, javi, no sé lo que haría sin ti.” [i love the way you say my name… and the way you kiss me… the way you touch me. i like you a lot, javi, i don’t know what i’d do without you]

-

days later javier ended up getting sent home for playing with the enemy, and it left genie in a state of uncertainty. part of her blamed him for the new distance placed between them but she also knew she didn’t understand everything nor did she want to. in this case ignorance was bliss for her.

they set time aside every couple of weeks to keep up with each other for phone calls and she even began considering moving back to the states to be with him, but her loyalty to beth always pushed those thoughts aside. he worried about genie often because her mental health seemed to decline with how much more she was taking care of the sick woman. he’d never ask her to stop knowing he’d do the same for his own family, but once he got put on the case for the cali cartel he knew him being there would put her in good spirits. at least he hoped so.

it had been nearly a year since they’d last seen each other and he wanted it to be a surprise. from what steve had told him she never really moved on despite javi telling her it was okay and that staying friends was best for them for the time being. it angered her how easy he seemed to want to give up, but this wasn’t a fairytale and she knew that it may have very well been years until she was able to see him again so she understood.

genie became more reclusive, only ever seeing her few friends in the foreign state. she and aimee lacked the mental drive to go out and party like they did in the earlier stages of their arrival so beth, steve, connie, and cory were the only other people they spent time with.

javi knocked on her door and as he stood there waiting for an answer he drummed his fingers over his clad thighs. would she look different? would someone else answer the door? would she not want to see him right now? all these thoughts that ran through his head a million miles per hour vanished when he saw that pretty sundress appear before him.

“javier?” she asked softly as if he were unrecognizable.

“it’s me,“ he whispered hoarsely. her beauty sucked all of the air out of him and his body turned to mush when she collided into his broad frame. “it’s me.” he clung to her and breathed her in like she was a wasting memory.

“¡te extrañé, javi! te extrañé mucho.” [i missed you]

“también te extrañé, dulzura,” he whispered into her hair. “i came to surprise you.” [i missed you too]

“come in,” she urged. she ran upstairs to her bedroom and practically dragged him with her. “i need you,” she told him breathlessly. “can i have you?” he simply pressed his soft lips to hers as permission; they ripped their clothes off of each other and she laid him on her bed. just then everything fell back into place.

all of the midday to midnight conversations they had developed meaning. there was no doubt in her mind that her waiting wasn’t pointless or a waste of time. it meant something to the both of them and they wanted to permeate it.

she reached between their bodies and gave his already hard cock a few slow strokes to build up the anticipation. “are you mine?” she asked, a hint of possession in her eyes.

he felt like his soul mended to the shape of hers, her spirit captivating every corner of his mind. he nodded helplessly. “yes,” he moaned with his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“were you loyal to me?” she teased her entrance with his tip, sliding it in slowly.

“yes, i was l—loyal to you.” he couldn’t stop gasping; just the feeling of her slick walls around the first inch of him had him on edge. “i promise.” just then she sunk onto him without further question and felt her wetness pool around him as he stretched her out. they let out sweet moans for each other and began kissing as she bounced on him. “fuck, ya vas a hacer que me corra.” [you’re going to make me cum (already)]

she giggled, lifted herself up, then put her hands on his stomach for better balance. “dame tu leche, papi.” [give me your cum]

he threw his head back while cursing loudly, giving her plump ass a tight squeeze and refusing to let go. “necesito que me des tu leche lindo primero.” [i need you to give me your pretty cum first]

genie groaned and pinched her nipple lightly, feeling the sensitivity spiral down to her pussy. “ven aquí.” he sat up and ran his warm hands over the goosebumps on her back. “lamer mis pezones.” [come here / lick my nipples]

“yeah?” he licked a teasing strip up one of her nipples, giving her puppy dog eyes. “¿quieres que te me lama los pezones?” she hummed at his question and fluttered her eyes shut when he began sucking one and used his thumb to rub circles on the other one, his mustache grazing her skin adding to the pleasure. she continued her rhythm on top of him while he kept her steady. he felt his eyes light up at the sight of her. sweaty, eager, desperate. he knew that he never wanted to feel anyone else do this for him, and no one could make him feel nearly as good. he had to let his mind wander from time to time because of how close he was getting to cumming inside of her. he didn’t want this to end so soon. he wanted this to be the memory she touched herself to whenever he couldn’t be around. he needed the feeling of his thick cock stretching and pleasing her slick cunt to be engraved so deeply into her mind that the thought of it alone would make her cum on her own fingers. “eres tan jodidamente perfecta, mama. so fucking perfect.” [you want me to lick your nipples / you’re so fucking perfect]

she loved the way he cowered his face into her chest as a way to feel more of her and the way he kissed up her sternum until his lips met hers. he cradled her in his arms so that he could switch their positions wanting to see how good he could make her feel. he freed her face of loose hair strands and gave her tiny kisses while he started slowly inside of her, not fully inserting himself in while doing so. genie loved everything about this moment.

javi with messy hair.

how sheen and warm their bodies were from sex and not the humidity.

the cool breeze that often snuck in through the open windows.

javi worshiping her body.

how pretty her body looked under the sun.

how careful and attentive he was with her.

their heavy breathing

and moans

and pants

and whimpers.

javi knew he couldn’t hold back much longer so he pulled out to bury his face between her thighs. she let out an ungodly sound as he opened his mouth as wide as possible and sucked up everything. she clawed at his scalp with her back arching off the bed not able to form any words at the sudden sensation.

he slurped as he closed his mouth and flattened his tongue on her throbbing clit, roughly shaking his head side to side tickling the skin around her clit with his facial hair (and it drove her insane). she tried to squeeze her shaky thighs around his head but his sturdy arms wouldn’t allow that. she cried out his name and let the vibrant and warm and forceful feeling take over he flailing body. her body shook so hard the bed creaked with the headboard smacking the wall a few times. she had no time to recover when he filled her up with his throbbing length and continued her orgasm by rubbing his fingers around her wet clit.

“hazte correrme otra vez,” she pleaded. he rammed into her and held her legs up while she perched on her elbows. [make me cum again]

“¿quieres otra más? hmm,” he grunted. [you want to cum again]

“yes, fuck—fuck. you’re gonna make me cum again!” he rested on top of her, laying her flat down again. he fondled her breast briefly but moved his hand up to her cheek to caress it. “can you cum with me?” she asked; his eyelids battered down and he nodded. she felt his body jerk and she grinned at his flushed face. “¿tú estás corriendo?” [are you cumming]

“mm. mm-hmm,” he moaned, “solamente para ti.” she felt her mouth go dry and his thrusts lose a steady rhythm. his hips dug into her thighs and his cock pulsed when her pussy began convulsing against him. [just for you]

she pouted up at him when he pressed their foreheads together and felt dizzy until that one second of pure stillness carried her body up and back down to reality again. she forced her heavy eyelids open to see him in her most vulnerable state of mind as a way to let him know he had her always and forever. she held onto him tightly, letting out whimpers of overstimulation that turned into exaggerated moans when she couldn’t hold onto the feeling anymore. he got there not too long after, but instead his focus sharpened on her rather than hazed; he thrusted sloppily into her exhausted body and gave her body every last drop of cum he had saved up for her.

their breathing synchronized as they just laid together; he made sure she felt loved when he pressed a few plump kisses over her face, feeling his heart punch against his ribs every time she cooed at his lips on her damp skin.

he carried her to the bathroom so that they could shower together and they didn’t even realize neither of them said anything for the next half hour until they climbed back in bed.

“doing alright?” he asked her as he lit her cigarette up.

she smiled with her eyes and nodded, pressing her back to her headboard. “you?”

“yeah… honestly thought i was gonna have to put up more of a fight to get in bed with you,” he teased. she nudged his foot with hers and laughed. “i came back for you,” he said once the mood shifted.

“i thought about leaving beth and going to you.”

“i know. steve told me,” he admitted. “i wouldn’t want you to do that. sounds like she needs you and aimee more than ever right now.”

“yeah.”

“hey.” he held her chin then gave her a kiss. “i’m here now.” he wiped a tear that fell onto her cheek and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “i’m here now.”

-

“you’re being so fucking loud right now, shut up,” genie scolded. she covered his mouth with her left hand and choked him with the other. he shook his head in protest but gave up when she resumed riding him in the office chair. he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled even harder as he shot his release inside of her. she finished him off and they had a brief make out session before he tapped her hip.

“how much time we got?” he asked before pulling his pants up and fixing his shirt.

“uh… ten minutes."

“i bet i can make you cum in five,” he challenged.

her eyes widened and she pressed a hand to his chest. “that is a dangerous game you’re trying to play.”

“come on, can’t you make me feel like the boss here for a few minutes?”

his smile won her over and he received the biggest ego boost when she lifted the skirt to her dress. “five minutes.”

he got down on his knees and smirked at her paranoid expression. “an orgasm per minute?”

“shut up.” she pushed his face into her slippery heat, mewling at the curl of his wide fingers and flick of his thirsty tongue. “move to the left… right there.” she held his face in position and watched his tongue work miracles along her clit. the squelching of her discharge mixed with his semen around his fingers was louder than she expected, and she worried about people walking by hearing them.

javi knew how to work the divots and curves of her more than she wanted to give him credit for, and knowing how crunched they were on time he focused on the spongy hill that’d get her to her climax fast especially when combined with tongue despite how badly wanted to taste for hours.

she didn’t warn him or let out any noise other than a few deep breaths, but he could tell by the way her hips jerked on his face and the locking of her knees that she was already cumming. seconds later he felt all he had given her pool around the base of his knuckles. after removing his fingers he licked her and his fingers clean before helping fix her dress.

“come on, we’ll make out in the parking lot,” he whispered to her with that everlasting smirk that she pretended to hate.

“i am never doing that again, that was too close,” she told him once they made it to her car.

“you loved it,” he said confidently. “come ‘er.” his face carried the scent of her and it made her feel good knowing that he’d have to walk around like that for the rest of the day. they kiss until another officer makes fun of javi for becoming a one-woman man to which he just waved off. “ignore them,” he chuckled dryly. “admit that you loved it.“

genie rolled her eyes and a smile crept on her face. “you’re wrong,” she said tugging at his shirt and pulling him in, “but you’re so much fun.”

they kissed once more before saying their goodbye’s and parting ways. when javier made it back to his desk steve could tell he seemed much happier than he was an hour ago.

“fuck are you grinning for?” steve interrogated. the brunette gave him a noticeably fake look of surprise. “what? did you have genie come up here and give you a blowie?” steve huffed and leaned forward when javi’s face went pale. “dude! i was joking!” he whispered harshly.

“do not tell anyone else.”

steve muttered something under his breath but then looked back at his partner through his eyebrows. “where’d you do it?”

he smirked, leaning forward on his elbows. “go big or go home, right?”

“oh-ho-ho!” steve laughed proudly. “you dirty son of a bitch.”

-

“how you holding up?”

genie gave him an endearing look and said, “i’m alright. i miss her a lot already, i’m just glad i got to be with her in her final moments.” he nodded slowly at her answer, watching her pick the strawberries from her garden as they sat together in the grass. “how are you doing? you know with work?”

“i’m managing.”

she rolled her eyes from him back to the garden. “don’t do that.”

“do what?”

“i’m managing,” she mocked in a peculiar tone. “you can talk about it.”

“i don’t want you to feel like i’m ignoring your feelings, though.”

she glared at him and adjusted her posture. “i’m sad, not broken. plus, i asked because i care about you. we’re not just flirting anymore, javi. i thought this was becoming something.”

“this is something.”

“okay so fucking talk to me. don’t tiptoe around me and give me two word responses because i lost beth a couple weeks ago. you don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but you’re not just managing. i wanna know what goes through your head.”

javi sighed and rubbed her back as she got back to work. “you’re right.”

“i know.”

he rolled his eyes but still gave the back of her head a kiss. “i’m thinking of retiring after cali’s done.”

“oh yeah? why’s that?”

she already knew why. the late nights, the constant losses, everyone dying… she saw how he clung to her metaphorically because she was the only stability he got to have every week but he tried hard to not become dependent on her. she appreciated his consideration, but it led to him being unable to vocalize his emotions which made her feel like there was an unnecessary barrier between them.

“can’t do it anymore. i want you to come back to texas with me when it’s done… if that’s something you want.”

she snorted and gave him a raised eyebrow. “you haven’t even told me you love me yet and you want me to move with you?” she was joking, but he noticed how her eyes bored into his as if she was waiting for him to say it.

he thought it over every time he was away from her — was genie just an impulse for him? just another woman? and every time he questioned it his heart screamed no. she could be bratty, lord knows, but she wasn’t complicated. she was sweet and so full of life that she gave some to him and it made him feel warm inside again. she loved all things and all people, she never judged yet she always stood her ground. she could be needy at times when he wasn’t in the mood for attentiveness but she always waited. he didn’t want to keep her waiting any longer.

“i do love you,” he responded nonchalantly, a frown reaching his brows.

she sat her basket down and turned to face him. “you’re just saying that.”

“no i’m not.” her smile faded momentarily, but came back even bigger; he held her face gently and kissed her blushing nose. “genie, mi amor, te amo tanto te esperaría por siempre. i loved you before i even knew who you were.”

“oh,” she pouted, “you break my heart.” she kissed him and sat on top of his lap whilst reaching for his belt buckle to undo it.

"mm, lemme take you inside," he mumbled against her shiny lips.

"right here," she begged quietly; she pulled her sundress over her head which made javi's eyes touch the back of his skull when he noticed she had no panties on. she didn't bother ridding him of his tight jeans. she just pulled out his velvety cock and teased it along her opening, waiting until he was fully hard to sink onto him. she rested her weight on top of him after he opened the rest of the buttons on his shirt, pressing her lips to his. "tell me again," she demanded. she wasted no time to rock her hips at a quick and eager pace as she lusted after the feeling of his cum painting her wet, rubbery walls.

"i love you." he twitched and moaned weakly beneath her, her movements sending shocks and tickles up his spine. he repeated it more than a dozen times like a broken record and boy was the noise music to her ears.

she whimpered against his neck and her hips chased his orgasm more than hers before she whispered, "i love you," back to him. "i love you, i love you, oh, i lo-love you!" she shouted without a care in the world and watched him through weighted eyes. he held her hips in place and fucked her back, ignoring the strain in his thighs from the fabric restricting his range of motion. "i love you, i love the way you fuck me!"

"you take it so good, dulzura." he pinched her cheeks between his palm and fingers causing him to lose his leverage inside of her, however it didn't stop him. he loved seeing how weak he made her: the way she just molded into him no matter how far he'd bent her or throw her around. he loved how red her face got when he squished it in his brawny hands. "that feel good?"

she nodded shyly in his grip. "yes, everything you do f-feels so fucking good."

"good," he boasted, "you're such a good girl for me, hmm... i love you."

"i'll always be a good girl for you," she told him; he felt his steady pace lose its rhythm and his cock twitched so hard and deep inside of her it felt like his skin had meshed with hers. "i'll always be a good girl for you because you're the boss of me."

fuck. he couldn't stop the arrival of his climax at her sinful confession, his cum pouring out of him seconds later with his head digging into the ground beneath him while he silently cursed at himself for cumming so easily. she liked it though and felt comfortable with leaving it off here. she knew he'd make it up to her later in whatever way she wanted. he asked to stay inside of her for just a little longer so that he could savor the moment and she happily obliged. she helped him escape his nerve-racking high by combing her hands through his hair and a firm kiss.

"my god..." his breathing jagged and his arm trembled around her bare waist. "you're gonna be the death of me one day."

"hmm, that's my job." she put her dress back on to sit next to him lazily pulling his jeans up over his slippery length. "you mean it? wanting me to come back with you to texas?"

he laid his head on her thigh after lighting a cigarette and fiddled with her hand. "course i am. i'll buy us a big farmhouse, and you can raise horses, goats, and shit. whatever you want. i'll make you tea every morning and rub your back when you wake up. we can go for walks and watch the sunset... whatever you want. that’s my second wish.”

"you are gonna be setting feminism back a few years if you keep sweet-talking me," she bantered. they shared a few laughs and smoked in silence for a while before he told her it doesn't have to be that. "mi amor... i'll follow you wherever you go. like i always say… you can be the boss."

"you gotta stop saying that. it makes my dick hard every time."

[lavendertales]

SEÑORITA: Chapter 3

pairing: Javier Peña x Murphy!f!reader

summary: dinner at Steve & Connie's new apartment goes a little south as tension runs high between you and your brother—as well as between you and Javier.

word count: 4.4k

series warnings: reluctant friends to lovers, lots of playful banter, mutual pining, slow burn, secret relationship, filthy smut.

series masterlist | AO3

Javier had underestimated New York by all accounts. He knew it was a huge city, but the nickname “the city that never sleeps” somehow evaded him till he actually moved in here a few weeks ago. The constant lights, people everywhere, the noise… it all contributed to unwelcomed flashbacks for Javier, which meant that some nights he laid wide awake in his bed, too afraid to close his eyes.

He doesn’t want to see the bodies of those he had failed.

So instead, he thinks of Steve and Connie and their daughter, starting out fresh in the United States like Colombia’s hell hadn’t followed them, like it doesn’t still haunt them. He thinks of how they’re a family, united through love and support, and he thinks of you.

Rather, he thinks of your strained relationship with Steve, and he grimaces.

Javier tries to imagine a younger Steve being bossed around by his little sister and surprisingly, he has to suppress a chuckle. Quite a funny imagery, Javier decides as he roams around his kitchen at the crack of dawn, scrambling to make some toast and a cup of black coffee. It grows even funnier when he recalls Steve’s exact words about you: “growing up, even if she’s my little sister, she’s the one who bullied me”.

The smile that breaks from his lips remains amused for a little while as his dry breakfast is in the making. It only fades when his thoughts go into a rather surprising—and frankly forbidden area.

Though he begs his mind to oblige to basic commands and envision other things, Javier still falls victim to thoughts of you exchanging glares with so-called bad boys, batting your eyelashes at them and smiling, revealing enough cleavage only to tease, never to give the full taste.

And when he remembers that you live right below him, probably still asleep at this early hour, Javier clears his throat and takes the first bite of toast. He swallows with difficulty, even more so as he recalls the way your hand practically slid inside his pants, hectic and yet so calculated, with cat-like precision and without a care in the world as to how or if that may affect him.

Stop, he shushes his spinning mind.

He reckons this is happening because… well… it’s been a while. Fourteen months, to be exact. Last he shared some intimacy with someone was back in Cali with Gabriella, and it had been, as usual, something quick to take the edge off and satiate the body’s primal need, and they both called it a night. Then things went a bit south and next thing he knew, he packed up his things and returned to his pop’s ranch. And upon his pop’s repeated request, he spoke with Steve and they both agreed on taking this job in New York.

It’s unusual for Javier to be celibate for this long, but in the past year he’s come to realize that all of his encounters with women, while direct and straight to the point, have been meaningless—almost. It was never about having a relationship in the midst of a drug war; that much was clear from the get-go. And Javier never let any of the women he’d seen believe otherwise, less so himself. He wasn’t foolish enough to hope or even want a relationship, not after the things he’d seen and not after almost getting married for all the wrong reasons.

Almost. The word seems to haunt him as much as Colombia itself does.

He’s still not convinced he’d be a good partner to someone. So perhaps celibacy might be good for him. He could take this time to reflect more on himself and grow as a better man. He doesn’t really mind it, though.

When he’s getting in Steve’s car at 7 am sharp, he’s in a good, clear headspace. Especially because he’d hate to have his best friend know that he was thinking of his little sister less than an hour ago. Hell, even Javier doesn’t want to think about that.

But there’s no harm to wonder about someone, right? His thoughts hadn’t been depraved or resembling interest. He was simply being curious about who you are as a person.

“You doing okay today?” Steve asks.

“Peachy. Why?”

“I don’t know. You seem kinda deep in thought.”

“Didn’t get enough sleep to be buried deep in thoughts.”

Steve chuckles, focused on the road. “How’s my sister doin’?”

“The fuck you askin’ me about your sister, how should I know?”

“I figured since you live in the same building you guys see each other on the daily.”

Javier immediately shakes his head, exhausted already from the conversation.

“Don’t do this, man,” he warns Steve. “Don’t even think about it.”

“About what? I didn’t insinuate anything.”

“You were about to. I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. I got no plans to mess with your sister and she’s not even the kind of girl I’d date. I’m steering clear of her, and we both got lives of our own, different schedules.”

“It’s all cool. I just figured you spoke more with her.”

Javier frowns. “You haven’t talked to her lately?”

“No, no, we have. Just… I don’t know, I guess I just assumed things would naturally pick up between us.”

“It’s not gonna be magically okay between you two. It’s been years, and it takes effort and time. But I’m sure you’ll—patch things up.”

“Thanks, man. Sorry if I seemed suspicious.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.”

Steve falters and Javier does take notice, but he doesn’t give him a hard time about it.

“Speaking of patching things up… our apartment’s ready, so Connie suggested we invite you both to dinner.”

“Sounds nice. When?”

“How about tonight?”

“Uh—yeah, sure.”

“Can you tell my sister too? Since—you know, you live in the same—“

“Why don’t you tell her yourself? Just call her and invite her.”

As he glances to the driver’s seat, Javier finally notices how nervous his friend looks.

“Why are you nervous?” he asks Steve. “You’re siblings for fuck’s sake.”

To which his friend shrugs, letting a heavy sigh along with it. “I did some mistakes in the past trying to look after her and I… I want us to be friends again.”

“I don’t think removing any male presence from her life is the solution.”

“Probably isn’t, yeah.”

“Probably?”

Both burst into laughter right as Steve parks in front of the precinct.

“You know I don’t actually think all that shit about you,” he tells Javier. “That you’re a womanizer and you mess with every woman you meet. I know you never mistreated any of the girls you were seeing, in any sort of way, and I know you wouldn’t do that to my sister.”

“I wouldn’t. That is, you know, if I’d actually date your sister. Which I won’t.”

“Yeah I know, she’s far from the women you normally—see.”

Javier unknowingly holds his breath, then releases it slowly and steadily, as to not give away the fact that the mention of dating and you in the same sentence requires deep breaths. It shouldn’t, really, but somehow knowing that Steve kindly asked him to stay away from his flesh and blood…

Yeah, maybe some deep breaths are required in order to forget the fact that he thought of you bright and early this morning, handling him like he was nothing but a piece of clay.

But his thoughts weren’t depraved to begin with, so he’s safe. It was simple curiosity.

“So tonight, what time?” Javier inquires instead.

“Seven.”

“Alright.”

Javier gets through the day’s tasks with little to no exertion. He keeps quieter than usual, which luckily none of his colleagues or superiors notice because no one’s taking the time to know anyone personally, and today he is grateful for that.

So for the rest of the day he wonders about the kind of atmosphere that will await him once he sets foot inside Steve and Connie’s apartment. He knows them together and separately, and he vaguely knows you, but he has no clue what to expect from being under the same roof as the three of you. And frankly, he’s not really sure what to expect out of you, either. Probably just—the unexpected. He’s had a basic, mere taste of what you are like and you seem like a lot to handle. Combined with Steve’s obsessive need to be protective over you?

Yeah, tonight should be fun as hell.

He buys a bottle of white wine regardless and rings the door at the freshly renovated apartment at 7:07 p.m. Steve opens the door, smiling rather cordially than out of friendliness, so Javier’s eyes shot straight to Olivia cooing in his arms.

“Fair warning, Connie’s all wired because of tonight,” he mutters. “So if you hear some sharp commands… don’t question it.”

“It’s just a housewarming dinner.”

“Yeah… I wouldn’t tell that to her. Come on in.”

Javier stifles a mocking sound, so he playfully pinches Olivia’s little elbow instead, to which she giggles and hides in Steve’s shoulder.

“See? All the girls are into you,” Steve jokes.

“Come on, Murphy.”

“Just kidding!”

The smell of warm food swathes Javier, more so when he walks into the kitchen, cautiously looking around so as to not startle Connie. He notices her by the counter, frantically stirring something that looks like a salad.

“Smells delicious, Con.”

She turns almost violently fast, her face lighting up when she meets Javier’s benevolent face. Then she goes in for a hug, her eyes landing on the bottle of wine in his large hand.

“I’m so glad you made it!” she smiles. “And whoa, that is quite an expensive bottle of wine, isn’t it?”

“Uh—medium.”

“I hope lasagna is okay. Homemade from scratch—“

“Connie, relax. It smells delicious, and I bet it’ll be even more delicious.”

Connie’s smile widens and Javier can easily read relief on her face. “By the way, you know Steve’s sister is coming too, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Steve told me. Looking forward to the family dynamic you guys got going on. Sure that’ll be fun.”

Connie snorts. “Well. The Murphy siblings are quite something, let me tell you that. Their relationship has been rocky for years, since she went out to college, but Steve’s been trying to reconnect, and I think tonight can be a good step forward.”

“Kind of feels like I’m intruding then.”

“Don’t worry about it. You know we consider you part of our family. You’re Olivia’s uncle.”

“Well I’m his aunt, and I’m not sure I’m into whatever vibe’s been pushed onto the two of us then.”

Both Javier and Connie turn towards you, each smiling in your direction, though you sense warmth and love from your sister-in-law and nothing but mere politeness from Javier. Which makes sense, given how you’re practically strangers and you seem to have nothing in common.

“Hi,” you smile at him, too wide for Javier’s own taste.

“Hola señorita,” he nods.

You can’t help the sound that leaves your throat, a rather mocking sound. “Why do you do that?” you ask.

“Do what?”

“The thing where you greet me with your ‘come and get it’ voice, all sultry and in Spanish too. Do you greet all the ladies like that?”

Javier frowns. “I don’t have a ‘come and get’—what?”

But then he hears Connie’s stifled chuckle and he redirects his frown towards her.

“You do kind of have that voice that’s meant to be… persuasive with the ladies.”

“I don’t—shut up.”

He places the wine bottle on the countertop then settles in the living room. Not a moment too late, Steve makes his appearance, crashing on the couch next to him.

“Alright, Olivia should be down for a couple of hours at least, but that remains to be seen,” he jokes.

“Your sister’s a real tough nut.”

“You ain’t gotta tell me. What she do?”

“Said I have a ‘come and get it’ voice.”

Steve lets out a hearty laugh, a sound Javier hasn’t heard before. Though he doesn’t reciprocate and merely frowns in his friend’s direction, he can’t help but appreciate seeing him happy. Even if it is at Javier’s expense.

“You do,” Steve agrees after a while. “You do have that kind of voice.”

“How the hell would you know?”

“Jav, I’ve seen you at work countless times. Even walked in on you once while you and Helena were—“

“Don’t bring that up again.”

“Sorry. But why are you pouting about this anyway? Never seen you react like this cause of somethin’ a girl said. A girl like my sister, no less.”

Javier remains quiet. Why did he pout and walk away while you and Connie remained engaged in conversation in the kitchen? It is unlike him, Steve got that right; he’d never feel in any way, shape or form small because of a woman, and even if he could be hurt by a woman, he wouldn’t let it show. Not that it is a conscious choice, but rather another bizarre coping mechanism of his.

Yet it seems that you calling him out on his polite manner of greeting is causing his body to react in unusual ways.

Huh.

“What are you two girls gossiping about?” your voice reaches the living room and Javier instantly stiffens, but he still gets up from the couch and helps Connie set the table, steering clear away from you.

Which you notice. Of course you notice.

“I’m not gonna bite, you know?” you address him directly.

Connie’s eyes follow the two of you intently as you stare at each other from opposite sides of the table. She doesn’t say a word; she can only steal curious glances.

“Unless you’re into that, which… mea culpa, I can get into that too,” you smile mischievously, and Javier fights off the mental image of you leaving bite marks over his neck.

Calm the fuck down, Peña. This is just the dry spell talking.

The more he looks at you, as quickly as humanly possible, and the more he listens to you, the more he acknowledges that yes, you are far from his type.

Which couldn’t be more of a great thing.

“You two sound like an old couple with all this back and forth,” Steve says, laying the lasagna tray right in the middle of the table and makes a face.

“Not sure I’d be up for that challenge. And that’s coming from me.”

“Please! You couldn’t stop talking about marrying Derek, that guy you dated when you got into college. Marrying a bad boy was like your lifelong dream.”

You chuckle, taking a seat in front of Javier as he pours you and Connie some wine.

“That was definitely not my life’s dream,” you smile. “But since you wanna spill tea about the past in front of our guest—“

“You got nothing on me.”

Your smile turns into a rather devious smirk, and Javier can’t help but notice just how well you can match your big brother’s energy, how well you are prepared to handle anything he throws at you.

Resilience. Strength. He admires that.

“Oh yeah?” you cock an eyebrow at your brother, then immediately face Javier and focus all of your attention on him. “Get this: when Steven and Connie started dating, it was all very much textbook romance. The honeymoon stage was all honey and sugar. Every song was about them, every poem was about them. Which meant, naturally, that they were going at it every chance they got, on every surface they could find.”

“Sure,” Javier nods.

“We weren’t really like that,” Connie intervenes softly.

But you raise your hand, dismissing her, and continue. “One day, I stop by Steven’s place and I notice there’s clothes everywhere. I think to myself, ‘must’ve been a wild night, good for them’ because I’m genuinely happy for my brother and I really like his new girlfriend, right? Wrong.”

“Please don’t say it,” Steve begs.

“I make my way to the kitchen, when suddenly I feel something soft and rather moist against my foot.”

“You’re saying it.”

“I look down, and I realize I stepped on a condom.”

“Was it—?”

“That’s right, Javier. I stepped on my big brother’s used condom.”

Javier does everything in his power to not laugh, so he munches on a big piece of lasagna and salad. He washes it all down with a sip of wine, noticing Connie hiding her face in her palms and Steve rubbing his temples and staring into the distance.

“What did I do to you that you had to tell that story?!” Steve exclaims.

“You laughed at my lifelong dream. Which by the way, does not revolve around marriage. And certainly not marrying a bad boy or anything related to that. No offense, Javier.”

“None taken till… just now.”

“Is this about the stupid Star Wars disagreement again?”

Javier’s frown deepens, looking at Connie for some sort of information, yet nothing is readable on her face except an expression that resembles a big “oh shit”.

“’Disagreement’?” you repeat incredulously.

“You guys fought over Star Wars?” Javier surprises himself asking out loud.

“It’s not like that,” Steve says.

“I used to write fanfiction, specifically for Star Wars,” you clarify, your tone bitter now. “That’s how I got started with writing. I love books and reading and… I love writing. That’s why I work at the library.”

“A lot of people get their start through fanfiction, I think it’s great,” Connie adds in what feels like a futile attempt to dissolve some of the tension.

But it’s increasingly clear that the relationship between you and Steve carries more than tension from some silly arguments and some bickering. It runs deeper than what he imagined on his way here, and suddenly he feels guilty for being in the middle.

“I still don’t see the point of it, I’m sorry,” Steve mutters.

“Of course you don’t.”

“Steve.”

“No, I really don’t mean to insult or hurt you, you know that. It’s just… to me, I’m just wondering what the point in writing for a story that’s already been written is?”

You feel anger bubbling at the surface, barely protruding your skin, and yet it simmers dangerously close to your breaking point. You do not want to make a scene, not at this housewarming dinner that Connie worked hard to organize, and not in front of someone who’s practically a stranger.

“The point is creativity, expressing your own thoughts and emotions through words,” you say through clenched teeth. “Even if it is an existing story. You can build within it so that it remains unique and faithful to the material.”

“I’m not the bad guy here, sis. I swear I’m not trying to—“

“It’s not about what you’re trying to do, it’s about what you are doing. And you’re being a dick right now. Excuse me.”

You take a large sip of wine on your way out of the living room, hoping nobody follows you in your pursuit to the bathroom. Yet somehow you end up in a bedroom, presumably Steve and Connie’s judging by the framed picture of them and Olivia on the nightstand. You exhale loudly, closing your eyes and taking a moment to yourself.

You know Steve doesn’t want to hurt you. The opposite, really: everything he’s ever done, the reason why he always pushed so hard and pressured and became annoying was because he wanted to protect you in the first place. He loves you and wanted nothing more but to make sure you were safe. You know that.

But right now, you feel like you’re seventeen again, crying in anger, begging your family to just notice you and understand that you are not some freak for being on the quiet side, and the frustration that comes along with the sentiment is nearly debilitating.

A knock on the door startles you, and you roll your eyes. “Not in the mood, Steven. Gimme another two minutes, maybe I’ll conjure a smile then.”

“It’s Javier. Can I come in?”

You’re met with his face, poorly lit, and you nod. He reluctantly sits next to you on the bed, hands intertwined together between his legs. He’s clearly feeling a little awkward, but not too much since he followed you in here.

“You okay?” he asks.

You snort. “Do you really care?”

“I’m not a heartless monster, so… yeah, I guess. Besides the silence at the table is… a killer. Even Olivia’s more talkative. Pretty sure Connie’s laying it onto Steve right about now.”

“I pray you don’t mean physically.”

“Sure as hell hope not.”

You both chuckle, so soft and silent it could go unnoticed by the untrained ear.

“Anyway,” Javier resumes whilst clearing his throat as if what he’s about to say is painful, “I think it’s cool you wrote for Star Wars.”

“I take it you’re a fan?”

“Big time.”

“So… you don’t think my writing is a waste of time?”

“If it’s what you love to do, it never is a waste of time.”

Baffled, you turn towards him. “Watch it, Peña. I might start thinking you’re a good guy after all and so I could spend my time with you.”

“We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“Definitely not. I’m avoiding you like the plague.”

Javier smiles, looking away from you. You’re witty and got a sharp tongue, but you are still not his type. Even so, you’re not that terrible to joke around with.

“I’m sure you’re a good writer though,” he says, and he’s shocked at his own honesty.

“Thank you for the vote of confidence. Would you mind telling that to my brother?”

“There are few things I actually mind telling him straight to his face.”

You both laugh, just when Connie knocks on the door, eyes locked on your figure. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you exhale, and this time it’s with relief. “Shockingly, Peña calmed me down. Where’s Steven?”

“Sent him outside to cool down. Don’t let him know you guys were alone in here.”

“Why?” Javier inquires.

“I think he thinks that… well… given your tumultuous past and your well-known reputation with the ladies…”

A laughter escapes your throat, rich and sardonic. “He thinks we’re gonna fuck with the first chance we get?” you keep laughing. “Is that how little faith he has in his best friend and his flesh and blood? Motherfucker.”

Connie coos your name, though you it doesn’t really register with you.

“Also, ‘tumultuous past’, seriously? He can call it what it is. I was smoking, drinking, and hanging out with the baddest boys I could find to teach my parents and my big brother a valuable lesson. Lesson that I see has passed by all three of them.”

“Con, I made a promise to a friend. And I intend to keep it. Besides, she’s really not my type, so neither one of you has to worry.”

You shift closer to Javier. “Oh, you mean you don’t find me available and with no standards?”

“See?” Javier smiles, though evidently a little riled up. “We’re fine.”

“O-kay.”

“I should go. Thanks for dinner, Con, it was very nice. The food, cause what followed was…”

“Yeah. Let me walk you out.”

“It’s okay. I’ll see myself out.”

You watch Javier disappear out the frame, your eyes lingering in the doorway one second too long. You’re very appreciative of the way he came in to comfort you, even if he did so rather clumsily. Maybe he’s not good with words. Or maybe he’s not used to comforting women.

Not in this way, at least.

Then you feel Connie’s gaze on you, burning you alive with questions she doesn’t dare ask, and you feel defensive. “What?”

“All the teasing? Him immediately coming to check on you? Comforting you? Plus, the eyes at the table…”

“What eyes? We’re neighbors, barely acquaintances. You’re reading way into it, Connie.”

She raises her arms in defense. “I’m just saying, for a moment there it seemed like you were interested in each other.”

You tsk disapprovingly. “You heard the man, I am definitely not his type.”

“What about him? Is he your type?”

“Connie. Sweetheart. He’s the walking poster for a bad boy. Inconspicuous past, questionable morals and definitely traumatized. While this was exactly what sixteen year old me would’ve swooned over, as sexy as all of that sounds and as attractive as I’d find him, because I’d be lying if I’d say I don’t… no, thank you. Grown me is more mindful of what—or whom—she puts inside her body.”

“Look, I’m not sure what Steve told you about him, but they’re friends for a reason. Not just cause they were partners in the DEA but Javi’s a really good guy. He might’ve done some questionable things back in Colombia, but so did Steve. They did what they had to do to survive and do their jobs, and Javi is actually a very caring person. He just doesn’t like showing it often.”

You rummage through Connie’s words, breaking down each and every single one of them so as to construct a better image of the man that is Javier Peña: a good, honorable man and friend, charming devil to the ladies, but always honest and upfront despite the wall of solitude and grumpiness he puts forth.

Yep. A walking poster for bad boys.

Even worse.

A former bad boy who’s learned from his mistakes and now wants to do better.

“I understand what you’re saying, but you don’t have to sell Javier’s reputation to me. I am not interested,” you reply absentmindedly.

“Alright, suit yourself. But it’s too bad. I think this could be something great for both of you.”

Again you tsk, this time more stubbornly, and you agree to return to the living room and have another glass of wine while you think of how comforted you felt in the presence of whom you could only describe as the most attractive stranger you have ever seen.

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tags: @pedrostories @milkymoon2483 @ifall4dilfs @psychedelic-ink @casa-boiardi

[cissyenthusiast010155]

Mommy’s Little Scientist~ Peggy Carter xFem Reader

Peggy fic of reader working with stark and meeting peg in like Cali or something Scientist through Stark, Cali?

Warnings: NSFW, 18+!!!, fingering, implied sex, mommy kink, praise kink, implied degradation kink, implied chocking kink 😏, age gap (all legal), Peggy Carter being a goddess

Idk exact length; long but not massive

Enjoy (;

You had started working with Howard Stark because he was said to be the smartest man of the century, and you needed the completion as no one could keep up with your level of thinking. However, you very quickly found out that while Howard was a genius, he was also a horny dumbass. He just couldn’t help himself.

And so when he first met you, a female scientist, all he could talk about was bedding you. And it was exhausting. Eventually you caved and told Howard that you were a lesbian (at first scared because of how ostracized you could be for that) but it surprisingly worked. Although now you had to deal with scissoring jokes on the regular, but hey, it was better than before.

You also quickly realized how harmless Howard was, at least his intentions. So, you two worked quite well together. Aside from him offering you second rounds on his daily flow of women, everything ran quite well.

You were currently single because dating women as a woman was a no go in society but also in the scientific community, you could lose all the hard earned credit which you had accumulated. But that didn’t stop Howard. He was constantly going on about how “You just need to get laid” and “C’mon I know some girls who are into that kinda stuf”, but you simply declined. Every time.

To be honest, watching Howard’s very active sex life, made you a bit jealous. You found yourself more needy and desperate than usual (desperate enough to fuck yourself in his bathroom on multiple occasions, because you were so pent up).

It’s possible that Howard picked up on that, because even though you liked women, Howard was quite in tune with women. This led to Howard trying to set you up with even more women, for gods sake.

One particular morning as you were re-reading your book on quantum mechanics, Howard came in to the lab with his face lit up: “I’ve done it! I’ve found you the perfect woman, my les-bean!” And yes, that was his nickname for you… You looked up at him in disbelief “Oh really?”. “Yep!” He continued “Your gonna love her, she’s right up your alley!” You chuckled, “And what makes you say that?” And he just smirked, “You’ll see”. Now this left you intrigued… Who was this mystery woman who would be “right up my alley”?

And that’s when Agent Peggy Carter walked into the lab with Jarvis by her side. “Miss. Carter, Miss. L/N; Miss L/N, Miss. Carter” Jarvis stated. “Oh Jarvis, go grab some more viles from storage, will ya?” Howard butted in “We’re almost out”. Howard’s words slipped over your brain as your eyes met Peggys. She was gorgeous. But this was THE Agent Peggy Carter… She didn’t like women, did she?

“Right, I’ll leave you two to get to know each other” Howard mischievously exclaimed and then he just left the lab, closing the door on his way out. You heard a click… That bastard had locked the door! Peggy had noticed it as well and interjected before you got the chance “Howard! This is not funny, open the door at once!” She sternly yelled. “Nope!” Howard exclaimed “Not until you both work out your own sexual tensions! C’Mon, you both could use a good fucking for gods sake!”

You looked at Peggy in disbelief. She looked back, rolling her eyes at what you assumed was Howard. “What does that mean, Howard?!” She asked. There was no response. You huffed. Howard was kinda right though… But this was nooo way to solve your own sexual dilemma. Especially not with Captain Americas really hot bay… So you just said the first thing that came to mind, “I didn’t know you were into girls”. She chuckled and hummed, “After Steve, I found that no man could meet my standards, so I tried the other team”. She elegantly spoke, although you sensed some hesitation on the “Steve” topic. “I see”, was all you could manage.

In all fairness, Peggy was really fine. You could understand why any man or woman would want her. Everything from her hips, to her lips, speech, hair, and overall confidence screamed incredibly attractive. “What about you?” She interjected your tunneling thoughts, “How did YOU end up locked in Howard’s lab, and not in his his bed” she chuckled. “I work with him. I’m a biochemist. Sure, he tried to bed me many times, but once he found out I was a lesbian, he switched to trying to set me up with all the other potentially gay women he could find” you chuckled. Peggy chuckled back, “That’s Howard, all right”. You looked at her and she looked back. And you both just sat in silence for a while.

“So…” Peggy started, “if we’re stuck here for who knows how long, maybe we could just get to know each other?” You agreed as there was basically nothing better to do, as Captain Americas bay would NEVER fuck you… “Um sure” you replied “What do you want to know?”. She laughed God, was her laugh intoxicating… “I assumed you would have many questions for me, many usually do; but sure, let’s start with you. Hmm…” she took a second to think “How did you realize you were attracted to women?” You blushed a bit as you began to give an answer “Well, I never had a great relationship with my mother I suppose… And when I started looking to date, I never felt attracted to age appropriate men quite like women… y’know?”

Peggy stifled a snicker and just smirked in response. Shit. You had basically just confessed to having mommy issue in front of Peggy fucking Carter. Who was at least a good decade and a half older than you.

“What about you?” You quickly deflected, hoping to save yourself from any more blushing and kink confessions. “I basically summed it up earlier, after Steve, most men couldn’t cut it for me.” She continued, “Howard said we both had pent up sexual tension. I mean, I understand me, but Why did he say that about you?” Now you were ales most chocking on the oxygen in your throat from surprise. “Uh… I think he just doesn’t like the fact that I’m never seen with anyone else, while he’s with a new girl every hour or so.” You half way Lied your way through that one. It was embarrassing for you to mention not having had any sexual pleasure from another since your studies. It had been a while. That was the true answer. Peggy responded while you were in your thoughts, “For me, I think Howard just wants me to get laid. I haven’t had a good fucking besides my own hand in so long.” Damn was she straightforward… You wish you could just say that. “Yea, I guess that’s part of it for me as well” you managed to get out, feeling back for not being completely honest for some reason. “When was your last time?” Peggy inquired. And this one truly got you. You blushed hard. You choked on your own air. Your eyes widened. You answered with a strain “a long time… since my studies..” you reluctantly answered, yet you felt safe to get that off your chest. Peggy chuckled, “Mine was during the war. Not as long as you, but a few years is certainly long enough.” “It certainly it” you agreed with her, glancing at her luscious lips for a second. Shit. Was Howard right? Would this actually work?

“What if Howard was right?” You asked, not being able to keep the line from your thoughts and your words straight, which you immediately regretted. Peggy looked at you a bit surprised but also pleased, “If Howard was right? Then… I think we’d make a mess of his lab” she laughed teasingly. “Then why don’t we?” You hesitantly whispered, hoping to god she’d say yes. But she didn’t say anything. She simply came over to you, tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear and whispered into your ear, “then… you’d listen to every word I say, and be a good girl for mommy.” She backed up to look you in the eyes, hers full of dark lust. “Yes” you breathlessly whimpered. “Yes Mommy…” you whimpered and almost moaned.

The next morning, Howard had this breakfast and made his way down to the lab, exited to see if his little experiment had worked out. He unlocked the door and couldn’t contain his laughter. The lab was absolutely wrecked. Equipment everywhere. And on the center lab table, Peggy had you spread out as she finger fucked you with one hand and had her other wrapped around your neck. “Fuck Howard, out!” You mewled trying to get words out, about to cum for the upteenth time. You were in such a sex fog, you hadn’t even heard him coming or unlocking the door. “Well would look at that!” Howard exclaimed. Peggy moved close to your ear and tauntingly purred, “Last one love, cum on my fingers in front of Howard. Show him and Mommy how much of a lesbian slut you truly are”. And then you came. In front of Howard. And you couldn’t even contain your moan. It was too overstimulating. “Fuuuck, Mommy” you screamed. “Shit”. Howard said. “Hell, maybe I should be a lesbian” he chuckled, as he left the room, leaving you two alone.

[miheartsedthings]

good morning, with billy !

Lovely ~ @billysbot

Thanks for being patient while I worked on this. It's kinda angsty, but ends on fluff. Hope you like it!

Words: ~ 3,000

SFW Billy x Reader

Summary: Billy moves back to California with scars and unfinished business with you. He shows up to a party you're throwing. As usual, the two of you are the last ones awake, and it's finally time to settle your childhood beef.

Warnings: Aggressive behavior, angst, Mind Flayer, fluff

Billy’s been home a few months already. He has a job at his buddy’s surf shop and an apartment Susan insisted on putting him up in. What he doesn't have is the nerve to call you. The events at Star Court left him changed, and as he sat in the hospital through graduation, he couldn’t stop thinking about the road that had led him there. All the anger and resentment he’d brought with him to Hawkins, all the ways those negative emotions had torn through him, bringing out the very worst. Sure, some of it had been that monster, but there was plenty of darkness for it to feed on. Wrath he’d cultivated and thrived on. The Flayer had only taken advantage, turned it on him so he could feel it just as harshly as he inflicted it on others.

Steve, Nancy, and the kids all regarded him differently. With reverence and a little weariness. They had never trusted him, and now they never would. The only exception to this was Max. After the Mind Flayer was gone, she treated Billy like a brother, and in his injured state, he was in no position to refuse it. She visited him in the hospital, with food, and mixtapes she'd made of new songs coming out. He was grateful for her, happy the rest of them were alive. But he needed to get away. 

Hawkins was a different place in the wake of that nightmare. Every shadow filled with movement, every sound insidious. Even the buildings themselves were strange. Besides, he was shaken, and there was no more energy for keg stands and ripping around town in the Camaro. He needed to rest in a place that felt safe. To rediscover the person he’d been before Hawkins, before his mom’s desertion. He needed to go home.  

As soon as he was well enough, he packed up the Camaro and took off, bound for California. Max refused to cry but he could tell she was sad. It was wild for Billy to think his little brat of a step-sister would miss him. Back in Cali, the scenery was brighter, but Billy was flooded with memories of his childhood; days that were full to the brim with you. 

The two of you met as kids, taking swimming lessons at the local pool. You were partnered up one day and from then on you were inseparable. You went to different schools, which didn't stop you from meeting every weekend to go swimming or hit the arcade or the movie theater. You spent Summer days riding your bikes around town trying to find trouble. He was the person you'd talk to when you fought with your girlfriends. Your house was where he ran when things got hard with his dad. You were best friends until the day his mom disappeared. 

It was your junior year of high school. You'd watched each other change and grown attached to each other's company. Even though you'd both dated and cared for other people, you'd never felt for anyone else the way you felt about each other. The line between friendship and love was so thin the slightest pressure could’ve broken it. You thought you’d have the courage to confess your feelings that summer before senior year. Then, one day, he didn't wanna talk to you anymore.

“Are you kidding?” 

You sat there on your bike, watching him flick a lighter over and over just to see the flame spring to life before letting it extinguish. All you knew was that his mom was gone, not how, or when or why. 

“You're really not gonna tell me what happened?”

He sat on his porch steps, his face etched into a frown. He was acting tough but you could tell he'd been crying. When his eyes lifted to yours you expected they would soften like usual, but he glared at you. 

“Hello?” You called. 

He looked away. That's when you hopped off your bike, letting it fall in the grass, and snatched for the lighter. He shoved you away. You landed hard on your wrist, an instant burst of pain making you cry out. Usually when you horsed around and one of you got hurt, the other would snap out of it. Apologize. He just stood there on the porch steps, glaring down at you. 

“Don't act like you care.” He sneered.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He turned to walk inside and something desperate let loose inside you. The need to reverse whatever was happening by whatever means necessary. 

“William.”

He stopped in his tracks. 

Slowly, he turned, his eyes full of ice. For a moment you thought good, I have his attention. Then, he came down the steps and grabbed you by your injured wrist, yanking you to your feet. It didn't seem to matter that he was hurting you. He got in your face, glaring with such coldness. 

“Don't you ever. EVER fucking call me that.” 

His eyes were stone, his lips pinched into a tight line, and for the first time in your life, you were afraid of him. You felt yourself shrinking away, and when he let you go you stumbled back, tripped over your bike, and landed hard on the sidewalk. 

The boy you'd grown up with was gone, and in his place was someone too full of anger to get close to. He was a burning sun. 

The two of you stopped speaking. 

A couple of weeks later you heard a rumor he was moving, and then he was gone. 

Billy has looked back on the day he pushed you so many times. Every time he remembers the look on your face, all that pain and confusion, it fills him with regret. He wanted more than anything to call you and apologize, but every time he picked up the phone he found himself frozen, just staring at it. What would he say? How could he explain? In the end, he heard from one of his old buddies that you were throwing a party, and he resolved to be there. He'd say what he needed to say. One way or another. 

“Happy Youcla?”

Piper makes a face looking at the banner Tracy made, and Tracy makes a face back. 

“You-C-LA. It's like, an acronym. For UCLA?” 

“Okay. Why?” Piper asks. 

“It's fine,” you interject before the two can start fighting again, “It's cute. It's unique, Trac, I love it.” 

Your friend group is…eclectic, and only on special occasions do they tolerate each other for your benefit. Your college going-away party is just the thing to bring them all together for one night. Which didn't stop it from being nerve-wracking. The house is yours for one more weekend, your parents away on a strategically planned vacation, giving you space for one final iconic L/N bash. Your friends have pulled out all the stops, decorating, sourcing booze and grass, one of them even offering to DJ. 

The party is going well, friends from high school plus some people you’ve never even met crowd into the house, sitting along the stairs and standing in the halls. Filling the house with noise and laughter. You quickly get lost in it, drinking and dancing. Your head is empty until Billy walks in. 

He takes you completely by surprise. You recognize his face, of course (who could forget that face?) but the rest of him is a shock. Growing up, both of you were a couple of dorks. Your mothers dressed the two of you in corduroy and plaid. Matching Mickey Mouse sweatshirts. Now he's wearing denim and leather, putting a cigarette out in an abandoned solo cup. His chest is clearly bulky under his red button-up, and he saunters through the foyer with an undeniable magnetism that draws dozens of eyes. 

He's fucking hot.

His eyes scan the crowd, and then he sees you. He pauses mid-stride and stares at you for a long moment, a little smirk curling his lips. You turn away, your whole body flushing hot. God damn. Your childhood bestie is a certified smokin'-hot baddie. When you glance back he's flanked by a few of your friends who didn't grow up around here. He gives them well-meaning smiles, but his eyes come back to yours, making you look away again. 

Fuck.

You thought you'd be ready when B-boy came back, but you can hardly stand his gaze. You didn't expect he'd be this fuckin fine. You’d always found him cute, but it was nothing like this! Now, he's being mobbed by girls the second he enters a party. You find yourself wondering how you look compared to your old self. Billy used to tease you about your looks, and now here he is. You move around the corner into the living room, taking another long drink to take your mind off things. 

“Is that who I think it is?” Piper says, coming into the living room with you. “Is that B-boy Hargrove?”

You make a weak, anxious noise and drain your cup, your body buzzing. 

“Holy shit.” Piper continues “He’s a fuckin smoke show.”

You have to buy yourself time to figure out how to talk to him without losing your mind. What on Earth would you even say? You spend the night dodging him. Luckily, everyone's eager for his ear and keep flocking to him, flooding him with questions. You’re sure he hates it, the smell of desperation always annoyed him, but you aren’t ready. Your wrist had been sprained that day and ever since it tends to ache when you’re upset, as you are now. Your heart is thumping out of your chest, and old bitterness is filling your throat. 

At some point, you're heading into the garage for more beer, and just as you're opening the extra fridge the door to the house opens and there he is. Billy stands there looking you up and down. Your body is warm and you're full of nerves. 

“Hey.” You manage. You clear your throat and grab the six pack you'd come for. “I don't know why everyone insists on these being ice cold.” You say, at a loss for words. At least, words that make any sense. “I mean, of course, you don't want warm beer but it gives you a damn brain freeze sometimes.” 

He's standing there stone-faced, looking at you so seriously you wonder if he's come with bad news. 

“We should talk.”

Your breath catches in your lungs, staying there for a moment. 

“About what?” You shrug, panicking. 

Of all the ways you thought you'd react to Billy coming home, you didn't think it'd be like this. At the moment, all you want is to scramble away from him. Escape the tangle of emotions welling up inside you. The anger you thought you’d let go of, and the sadness underneath it. He’d thrown you away. There's so much you wanna say to him. Too much.

“Ya know, we were kids, B. It's whatever. I gotta get this beer inside, though.” 

You approach him, hoping he'll move, and when he doesn't you're forced to confront the reality of how he looks. He’s fucking beautiful, and he’s looking at you like he wants to say something. You're right in front of him and memories are flooding you, rushing around in a whirlpool. 

The time the two of you hid in the mall until it closed, or hacked one of the PAC Man games at the arcade and used the bounty of quarters to go hog wild in the candy store. The night you had your first kiss stolen by some jerk at summer camp and Billy kept ranting about finding the guy and beating him up for you. 

His desire to defend you had put you at ease. 

“You're a babe now, but you're still a chicken.” He says with a smirk. 

“You're one to talk.” 

You brush past him, successfully avoiding him for the rest of the night. 

The house is quiet and littered with abandoned cups. Here and there things are where they shouldn’t be; a throw pillow on the stairs, a desk lamp in the bathroom. It’s so close to sunrise and you’re so tired, but you can’t sleep. You can never sleep after a party. So you go downstairs, finally leaving your room where you’d been hiding out (crying), and make your way to the living room. Someone left the TV on, and Singin' in the Rain is playing at a low volume. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor are tapping through the opening number. You pull a throw blanket from the floor and wrap it around yourself. Just as you’re getting comfortable on the couch, you hear rustling in the kitchen. Billy emerges with a coffee mug. 

You both pause, and he leans against the archway, looking as comfortable as ever. Like he belongs there in your home.

“Can’t sleep.” he says.

You're too tired to scurry away and let him sit beside you.

“Since when do you drink coffee?”

“They gave it to me all the time at the hospital.” 

This gets your attention.

“You got hurt?”

“It's a long story.” 

The two of you sit side by side, falling into a comfortable silence. His presence beside you is warm and familiar. 

“You’re different.” he says. 

“Yeah well, so are you. Ladies man now.”

He smirks a real cocky little grin that doesn’t last. It melts away while he’s looking into the mug, and it's replaced with a forlorn expression. He’s nervous. You can always tell when he’s nervous.

“For a while, I thought I’d never see you again," you say. 

His grip tightens around the cup. It’s the novelty mug you got from Virginia Beach the summer you turned 12. A vacation you'd shared with Billy and his parents. 

“How was Indiana, anyway?”

He groans, leaning back against the couch. 

“A fuckin nightmare. And I mean that in so many ways, when I tell you about all the shit…” 

He looks at you, his eyes groggy from alcohol and lack of sleep. 

“It was like that time I got stuck in the Devil's Mansion at the county fair.”

You nod at the memory.

“I remember. You freaked out, and started breaking all the puppets.” 

His eyes are clouded with memories, and the kind of fear you haven’t seen in him in a long time. He’s come home haunted. Injured. Your heart beats hard in your chest. 

“There's so much I wanna tell you.” he says. 

“Just start by saying you're sorry.”

His blue eyes are the ones you recognize. 

“I am, Y/n. I think about that day all the time.” 

You look at him and see the boy you grew up with. 

“What happened?” 

He sighs, taking a beat to reach that tender place he hides away. It's hard for him, even with you. 

“She left. She just left that morning and she didn't say shit to me.” 

Your eyes tear up as he lets this out, replaying the day he’d hurt you. 

“But that didn't mean I had to take it out on you.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep the tears at bay. 

“It kinda…you kinda fucked me up that day..."

Your voice is strained, feather fragile. He sets down the coffee and turns his body to face you, pulling his leg up on the couch so there’s only a small wedge of space between yourself and his lap. His face is tight, and he runs his hands into his hair the way he does when he's frustrated. 

“I know, I'm- I'm fuckin sorry, I…I've been thinking about all this shit lately. I've hurt a lot of people, and it all started that day. You were the first person and you didn't deserve it.” 

You can't help it anymore, you're swelled with emotions and the tears start coming. You wipe them on your sleeve. He looks so sad to see you cry, his face growing red. 

“Ya know,” you begin “My biggest fear for a while was that you'd never apologize, and we'd never go surfing on Lizard Island.” 

He laughed. It filled him with so much relief that you were the same sentimental weirdo he'd left over a year ago. 

“You forgive me?” He asked. 

Outside, the first rays of sunlight were peeking through, and on the screen, the trio tapped across a grand foyer singing ‘Good mornin’, good mooornin’!’ 

“Yeah, B,” you manage, your voice breaking “I forgave you a long time ago.” 

He smiles, and in the light of morning, it’s the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. You can't stand it anymore, you lean over and kiss him and he pulls you into his arms, your body falling into his warm lap. He kisses you deeply, taking your lips and tongue in a greedy show of affection. 

The sweetest ‘Good Morning’ you’ve ever known. 

 

Thanks for the request! ~