#would yall be weirded out by me if i added an age gap to this be honest besties | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quirklessidiot · 4 years

Text

title : cigarettes and parfaits [1] pairing : older!nanami kento x younger!reader [13 year age gap, ft toji fushiguro] Genre: romance, fluff, super duper mild angst, slice of life, josei, bad comedy, strangers to lovers au

Summary: you’re pretty sure you’d remember marrying a man 13 years older than you, right?

Warnings: alcohol, smoking, very,very mild smut, y/n making stupid decisions, everyones a human-au so yeh non-canon stuff and everyone’s happy (periODT BECAUSE NANAMI DESERVES HAPPINESS)

Notes: after repeatedly giving you jjk angst, i have been very happy to announce that i am able to write something fluffy now. Yay! (Anyways this is based on the manga sesame salt and pudding, yall better read that. It’s just *chefs kiss*) also this may or may not be written ebcause of the amount of smoll nanami content i’m seeing around this site hmPH

masterlist || taglist || [next ; updates every friday]

The sound of your alarm blared at the crack of dawn, making you immediately jerk up in an unfashionable manner, you shouldn’t drink on Sunday nights. Good lord, why did you even do that?-

Your thoughts are cut short though when you feel something, better yet, someone, next to you. It’s dark but you could definitely tell that whoever this stranger is, had settled himself quite comfortably by your side. You blink once then twice then slowly reached out to switch your lamp open to get a good look on who was next to you.

Thankfully, you’re still in your clothes from last night.

Also, who the fuck is this?

Your brows are furrowed together as you try to remember who this person was. Blonde hair and jaw so sharp that it could probably cut the vegetables on your kitchen counter, some fine lines littered his face as he wrinkled his forehead in his sleep.

The tie on his neck is loose as you slowly peered to observe him even more and for some odd reason that made your ears turn bright red as you check out his rather lean figure (he wasn’t overly muscular, he was just right)

“Oh shit.” You mumbled, snapping out of your daze, you had to focus! This was a stranger for crying out loud, “Who the-”

Before you could even say anything more, his eyes shot open and you’re greeted by chocolate brown eyes. You try to stutter out a reply, clearly in your frazzled state the only thing you could let out was, “What the fuck?”

“Oh, you’re awake.” his voice was deep and quite raspy, and daresay, it suited his rather sharp appearance.

Was this stranger awake this whole time that you were gawking at him under the dim light? Your ears turn even a brighter shade of pink. Was it just the heater or was this room getting hotter than it should be?

Yet despite your flustered state though, he thankfully remains oblivious, “Are you feeling any better?” he asks.

Despite his bland facial expression, there was a certain warmth in his tone and that made your heart beat quicken. It wasn’t everyday that you’d wake up to find a good looking older gentleman next to you after all, “I’m good…” You shyly replied, the confidence you had moments ago while you were cursing him was gone when you heard his soft tone, “I- sorry but who are you? What happened?”

He stares at you for a moment and purses his lips, “Nanami Kento.” he introduces himself briefly. From the likes of it, he seemed like a professional, “To be honest, I don’t have much recollection from last night due to the alcohol. When I woke up a few moments ago, you wouldn’t let go and I had no choice but to lay there and wait for you to wake up.”

You paled just a bit at his explanation and turned bright red right after, how embarrassing! Not only did you just embarrass yourself in front of this older gentleman awhile ago, you did something so unlike you last night! Thank god this ojisan was a lot more calmer than you. He didn’t even look that perplexed or annoyed by your state at all.

He runs his hands through his soft blonde hair after and lets out a low groan.

“D-Does your head hurt, Nanami-san?”

“Yes.”

“I-would you-” you tried to stammer a few words out yet you're immediately cut off by his phone ringing.

Right, boundaries. You shouldn’t overstep them since you already did so much last night to disturb him despite you two being so out of it. You watch him as he answers his cell phone in a quick and suave manner, all traces of hungover gone, “Nanami speaking.” He greets as soon as he answers the call, “I understand. Please try to help them out and I apologize for the inconvenience.”

He ends the call and stands up, tightening his tie. Despite him spending the night here, he still looked orderly and it’s so unfair because right now, you knew you looked like absolute shit with the alcohol and booze in your system.

“I have to take my leave now. I apologize for intruding.” he bows down formally.

You’re pretty sure you were the one who intruded, his actions makes you immediately stand up despite the throbbing headache which was definitely a wrong move because the moment you did, you felt your legs giving out.

Great.

“I-sorry, I would bow…” You tried to stammer out an apology, ears bright red once again, just how much could you embarrass yourself in front of this gentleman? “Sorry for the intrusion too Nanami-san.”

He leaves without saying anything much to your relief and as soon as you hear your front door close, you scream right at the pillow.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” You muffled at the pillow.

Thank God you wouldn’t be seeing him ever again!

“L/N-sensei.”

You turn to find Maki and Megumi standing there, they were members of a rather elite family in Tokyo, Most often you avoided bumping shoulders with Megumi’s father since he was, well, quite a tease and although you do admit that Toji Zen’in is a very good-looking and fine man from a very good background, you couldn’t look past the fact that you taught his kids mathematics and there was a good fifteen year age gap between you two, “Hi there.” A warm smile dances on your lips, “Is this about the earlier math problem again?”

The question was directed to Maki, Megumi wasn’t one to ask questions about his lessons since he wasn’t fond of academics.

“Actually, it isn’t. Toji-ojisan says you should come to his birthday.” Maki shrugged, “He says his 40th birthday wouldn’t be complete if you weren’t there.”

Ah, that’s why Megumi didn’t want to go alone. The young boy’s cheeks are painted pink, clearly embarrassed by his father’s antics, “Ah,” You laughed, trying to play it cool. Despite his father’s relentless teasing, he had never made you feel uncomfortable. If he hadn’t been asking you out a few times, you’d consider him a friend, “Your otosan does love to joke around a lot doesn’t he, Megumi-kun?”

“I could deck him for you if you’d like, sensei. I swear that old man needs to realize that you’re way too young and good for him.” He mumbles the last part, clearly annoyed.

“Oh have you gotten married, L/N-sensei?” Maki cuts her younger cousin off suddenly, clearly surprised, “I thought you never had a boyfriend..or girlfriend...or a lover…”

“I- excuse me?” You sweatdrop, “Married, where?”

“Am I mistaken? You have a silver band on your ring finger at your left hand.” Maki points out, “Congrats sensei! It seems like Toji-ojisan won’t be bothering you anymore!”

You were too much in a frazzled state this morning that you hadn’t even noticed the ring band on your finger. You weren’t married, heck, you haven’t dated since college but where in the hell did you get this ring?

“L/N-san?” You’re snapped back to reality by a coworker, “We have two new enrollees, would you mind handling them since they’ll be added to your section?”

“Right,” You smile, “That’s my cue to leave. I’ll get going now. Enjoy your snack time.”

Before Maki could say anything more about the silverband on your ring finger, you scurried away to the faculty room, shaking that weird feeling off since you had to get back to work.

Job first, ring later.

As you went in, two abnormally bleached pink hair stood out and you could immediately tell that they were going to be the new kids that you’d be teaching. You walk closer, realizing how much they looked alike despite the markings on the other.

“Hi, Good morning.” You greeted kindly, “You must be the new kids.”

“Ah,” the one with tattoo markings on his face gloated, “Aren’t you too bright?”

“Sukuna, shut up.” his twin frowned, “Sorry Sensei, My brother isn’t feeling so well since our ojisan had told us off before going to school.”

It seemed like the other twin would be a handful, nevertheless, you were still going to be his teacher so you let out a small smile, “It’s fine.” You waved off, “We all have bad days, don’t we? I’m L/N-sensei and I’ll be your homeroom and math teacher.”

“Hai.” The one without tattoos replied, enthusiasm leaking on his tone, “Itadori Yuuji and this is Itadori Sukuna, please take care of us.”

You watch Yuuji force his twin to bow down to show a sign of respect. For a high schooler, Sukuna and Yuuji’s parents seemed so lax, bleached hair and tattoos? That was definitely a first one on your list. You take a look at the data they passed and a small frown settles on your lips, it seemed like you had to take back the words you said earlier.

Both their parents had died a few years ago.

You cleared your throat and tried to put on the smile and enthusiasm from earlier, “I’ll be sure to introduce you to the class right after break and since it’s your first day I’ll be lax but please try not to go in late again.”

Yuuji’s grin remains the same as he agrees enthusiastically while Sukuna still looks mildly uninterested, something that you realize oh-so quickly that you’ll have to get used to.

After introducing the twins to the class, you settle on your desk at the faculty and peer at the ring on your finger. The only conclusion you could come up with was that this was from the older gentleman from the night before but why would he even give you a ring?

It didn’t even look cheap and it was surprisingly just your size, meaning it was definitely for you.

You inwardly let out a groan as you placed your hand on top of your eyes. God, you definitely needed to lay off the alcohol next time. You feel the phone in your pocket start to ring, peerlessly glancing at the unknown number. People really need to lay off the scam calls.

“Hello, I’m sorry I’m not-”

“Yo-ho, is this Y/N-chan?” The voice on the other line is so unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time.

“Uh, who is this?”

“Is your husband with you?” the voice sounds so playful and teasing that you almost ignore what he had just said earlier.

“E-Excuse me?” You sputtered out, cheeks turning red, “I don’t have a husband.”

“Huh…” the playful voice switches to disappointment, “Don’t tell me you forgot what happened with us last night, L/N-chan.”

You feel something bubbling on your stomach, oh no, this definitely didn’t sound good!

“I- wait, what? who are you? What do you mean? what happened?” countless of questions started to pile up in your head and out of your mouth, panic immediately engulfing you because for a prank call this guy sounded way too legit, confirming your irresponsibility the night before.

“Silly Y/N-chan. How could you ever forget me? I’m such an important person! I’m Gojo Satoru, your witness from your wedding!”

taglist (if crossed out, i cant tag u im so sorry ack ;-;)

; @coldbookworm ; @frankenstein852 ; @neavil ; @shephard17895 @kristineyoshaii ; @airybnb

@Kurok1717 ; @hcn421 ; @shinhiromi ; @airybnb ; ;

#jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fanfiction #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento x you

591 notes · View notes

aprito · 4 years

Text

hello <3 since i got these asks at the same time i decided to combine my thoughts on them in this post. yet another annoying sjw essay from yours truly on this blog

before i get into these i think i need to preface why im like. i guess overly hyperfocused on a certain unproblematic base (same age au / platonic canon) for them and avoid the ped0philic content like the plague lol

tw for pedophilia ment, rape ment if that makes you squicky. ALSO THIS IS LONG AND RAMBLY

as i’ve mentioned a couple times already, ive been into the ship since i was 12, back when it was very very common to not only post untagged (nsfw) canonverse content of the two in writing and in drawing but also non con and the like, so you can imagine how bad my first impression online was. thinking back on it ...as a child i found it disturbing but didnt really register how problematic it really was?? (i know, but i also lived in the middle of nowhere and had no one explain this to me)

skip to 2014 aka me coming back to naruto at 17ish and i had kinda become hyper aware of the fact that there was an increasing amount of people online who had come forward with explaining how fictional problematic content, mostly pedophilia, had been used to groom them into starting relationships with adullts. it was also a time where a lot of people didnt believe these victims, not registering how common it was for minors to be online friends with adults who had no boundaries and no qualms exposing them such content. not gonna get into my personal life here but i was lucky to not having gone through this myself. like... it kinda was my first time truly realising how fiction can EASILY be used to manipulate others irl (and yes i will not argue this, if you dont think fictional media can form and manipulate people’s opinions on attitudes, countries, cultures and virtues, pick up a book about the effects of propaganda media at least once please)

i, being young, still liking the dynamic but not really the romance, would point this out here and there in the fandom and get into fights with grown adults in their mid 20s who assumed i automatically hated the ship(s) and tried to restrict their freedom of speech or whatever, heard everything from the “age of consent doesnt exist in naruto” to the “sasori looks like a child what does it matter” despite people clearly playing on him being older and experienced. it made me so upset that people were just consuming all this content uncritically and exposing children to it tbh?? not really just sos but a lot of minor/adult ships in naruto in general. and thats where i sat down and thought, i do not want to be a grown adult talking down to children that point out how unsafe the fandom is. theyre absolutely right in drawing these boundaries and calling out adults who defend the uncritical consumption and creation of this content. i do not want to consume or create content that predators could use to groom minors, and i absolutely do want to let younger people in fandom know that i am respecting their comfort zones and want them to have a safe and fun experience. after all, naruto is not an adult show and i think a lot of people forget that!!!! i am not perfect in that regard but its something that i, at the age of 23, am very passionate about and strive towards to.

and i guess thats where same age au was born for me and i have been sticking to it ever since.

so finally we can move to the first question

aside from the fact that we both dont like canon sos, i dont think it would work out even if i wasnt prejudiced to it anyways. in all honesty, 35 year old canon sasori is not a redeemable character to me, given the fact that he’s easily amongst the cruelest villains in naruto (torturing and killing and taxiderming people for his own fun personal gain, never for a goal that served anyone but himself. how do you redeem having over 300 corpses in your backpack that you felt absolutely no remorse for killing). sasori was legit one of the only cruel villains that didnt had someone else pull the strings, which sends a clear message on kishi’s part, who absolutely loves to redeem villains LOL.

being that old, he obviously had already been very manifested in what he believed in, even if it was shakey, to the point where the first crack in that world view (sakura and chiyo protecting each other) immediately had him give up on his life all together. that, in my opinion, is not a man who’s going to know what healthy relationships would look like, regardless of it being romantic or not. 35 year old sasori to me has the same appeal as an expired can of tuna and he’s probably very happy 6 feet under. he’s supposed to be a failed gaara in that sense that he had no one to look out for him and therefore was never going to experience anything but a bad ending in life. its fine that hes dead honestly, it wraps up his short character development the best IMO.

adding to that, seriously, sakura was obviously interested in knowing why he was that way, and called him out for being seriously fucked in the head, but it’s weird to me that people assume she had any interest in actively rehabilitating him, let alone starting a serious romantic relationship with him. sakura who’s not only very, uhm, immature and straight forward when it comes to her romantic viewpoints also, as a big bootlicker, wouldnt soil her standing in the village by starting anything with a disgraced and far too gone criminal like sasori. shipping that version of sasori with sakura intimately is still going to set her up for a huge power imbalance that would be difficult to handle imo, even if she was the one in the fight ultimately exerting her power over him. i would still look at it and think damn she deserves better than having to play therapist for man like that lol.

additionally, even if you ignored all of this, you cant really ignore that sasori had already known her as a child, and that had been his first and most impactful impression of her. i dont think that sasori would look at 35 year old sakura and see her as a grown woman and not the little green girl she was in the fight. plus, you easily fall into predatory comparison territory between the “childish” and “womanly” and i have seen way too often in fic just being boiled down to her now being fuckable. a lot of of ships do this and i would just like to remind yall thats it not normal for adults to want to start relationships with children they have seen grown up or known as a child when they themselves were fully grown adults. therefore, maybe if sakura hadnt met sasori before it would be less of a problem? but that also obviously defeats the point of the dynamic and the reason he died in the first place. so yeah, it sounds kind of doomed especially if you were to make it romantic.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE SECOND QUESTION

let me preface this that im not fundamentally against age gaps, even if im not super interested in it. after all, colorblind had a 5 yr age gap (with sakura being 21), even if, say, i wrote similar fics today i probably would make it smaller lol. i think it can be handled well if both parties have enough life experience to deal with it, and the author is cautious of where the age gap starts, i think a 10+ year age gap would be fine in a scenario where the younger party (i guess sakura) was at least 25-27ish, meaning she has completed most of her most formative life stages and probably had been in relationships before, meaning she would be able to handle it without having to fear a huge power imbalance. the older the younger party is the less the age gap is going to matter tbh .TsukiHoshino and AngelOfDeath10 both handle age gaps in their fics really well imo, so i do not mind reading about them.

unfortunately, a lot of people in this fandom think making sakura barely "”””legal””””” (18, not even 20 which is hilarious to me because the source material is obviously japanese) because they both cannot stand her being past her “prime years” of being young fertile and fuckable to much older men as well as thinking a 20 year old is automatically old enough to handle that type of relationship. ive seen a lot of unironic takes that believe it will absolve them of callout posts if they throw around age of consent and “shes 18 now suckers!!!” enough lmfao. absolutely hilarious. aging a minor up without aging the adult down seriously reeks of predatory “cant wait until youre 18″ narratives and thats why i find it similarly disturbing as straight up pedo shipping.

ultimately, sasosaku is and will always be a inherently problematic ship in canon, which is why i think it should always be handled a little more responsibly in fandom spaces, ignoring or outright excusing the main problem factor, which is sasori, isnt going to convince anyone that the dynamic in itself is well written and interesting enough to explore in aus, like giving sasori the redemption most of us wanted him to have by aging him down to a point in time where he was still realistically going to allow being positively influenced, similar to gaara.

so really, what i think is well handled age gap and how most people handle age gap in the naruto fandom are two different worlds at times lol

tl;dr

canon shippers have never been anything but gross when i was younger and i didnt wanna be like that, even if youre “smart”enough to differenate, actual creeps dont really care and might use your content to blur the lines, sasori isnt rly redeemable so romantic canonverse realistically wouldnt make much sense and is still iffy, age gaps are fine if they are handled well, but given that the dynamic doesnt really need the age gap to still work im not that invested on making that an essential part of my shipping experience.

thank you for reading and hope this makes sense!

#nonitxt #meta #another hot take from me #but seriously if you're offended over these #unfollow me lol idc #defending predatory content is not a hill im gonna die on in this life

37 notes · View notes

et-lesailes · 5 years

Text

missing linc // chapter three

series masterlist

pairing: ceo!dad!steve x reader

word count: 2950

series summary: you are a college student working at a daycare full time during your summer break, and you have grown especially fond of one of the toddlers in your class, lincoln rogers. you are certainly not expecting to develop such a huge crush on his dad steve when you meet him for the first time, but you can’t help but be attracted to the businessman– despite the fact that he’s married. however, as intelligent and mature as steve comes across, he has a few secrets behind his marriage- one in particular he may never be able to make up for.

series themes: romance, drama, age gap, infidelity, smut in later chapters

chapter summary: steve and reader start getting to know each other more. while steve is on his business trip, reader is asked to babysit and ends up seeing something she definitely was not meant to see...

taglist: @viarogers , @evanstush , @chibi-crazy , @chalamet-evans , @world-of-losers , @songforhema, @sebabestianstan101 , @tanyam93 , @bval-1, @wonderwinchester , @little-miss-exo, @poerebel , @pining-and-tired , @gogomez-509 , @patzammit, @a-distantdreamer, @malthestorytellerblog, @rainbowkisses31, @jbug491writinghelp, @quaiderade, @melannie77, @gigistorm, @lille-kattunge, @teller258316, @rohaintahquil, @deidrashouseofpain, @firstangeldragonranch, @peach-acid, @allsortsofinterests, @xoxabs88xox, @honeyloverogers, @capsiclesdoll, @qrndevans, @mcueveryday, @drkstrangeson, @bangtan-serendipity, @heyyouwiththeassbutt, @cptn-sgrogers, @heyiamthatbitch, @captainscanadian, @kaithezaftig, @morganhoran1671, @booktease21, @hista-girl, @steeeeverogers, @okilover02, @collete04, @sadella-adams, @rumoured-whispers, @aletteredaffair, @shannon124, @isawritesstories, @knuffeltuff, @wxntersoldiers, @kelbabyblue, @macgruberrr, @troublermalik, @deepmuffinspymaker

notes: i swear if the taglist notification thing doesn’t work this time i will just resort to sending out an email newsletter to yall like i just am so done w tumblr ok. anyways, just wanted to say thank you guys for all the love and support you’ve been giving me for this fic, and tbh if you wanted to give a little extra tonight i’d really appreciate it because i’m having a suuuuper shitty night. :c

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to the taglist!

For the rest of that week, Steve dropped off and picked up Linc from daycare, much to you and your coworkers’ delight. Besides his enthralling looks, he was a genuinely charming and kind person, and it was easy to keep up conversation with him. He did not come past 6 again, but he did generally come at around 5:45 or 5:50, which still had Linc being the only toddler left in the class with you.

You supposed because it was just the two of you there with Linc and no other children for you to watch, it had been a given that there would be more conversation. He did not have to rush to get anywhere and neither did you, and so each day became hanging around slightly more whether it be in the classroom or out on the parking lot, chatting just a bit more than the day before. You would make sure to clean the room before he got there so he could walk you out, and you couldn’t help but wish this could be an everyday routine-- unfortunately, he had told you he would be traveling again just the next week.

You now knew a little more about him, and he about you. He knew you were a college student, a soon-to-be junior, to be exact. He knew you studied psychology and that you eventually wanted to work with children and child development. He knew where you were from, your favorite foods, hobbies, interests-- mainly the basics, really, nothing too deep. He had told you that he was a CEO of a pharmaceutical company and that he grew up in New York. He liked running and exercise in general (of course) and drawing-- he had even shown you a few photos of some sketches he did in his spare time and you were blown away, especially upon a particularly realistic portrait of Linc as an infant. He had told you that he loved seeing the ocean and that he wanted to be able to take Linc to the beach soon, hoping his son would appreciate the water just as much as he did.

When Sunday night came around, you were a little sad knowing that you would not be seeing Steve the next day. You weren’t even sure when he’d be back-- when you had asked, he said that it depended on how long it would take for him to get his current project done. Still, being with Linc throughout the days felt even more special than it did before. Now that you knew he got so many of his traits from his father, you felt more connected to him thanks to the many conversations you had shared with Steve throughout the past week.

You hadn’t expected to hear from Steve while he was gone; he hadn’t even sent you a message ever since he got your number, probably because he hadn’t needed any babysitting during that time. However, when a random number popped up on your lockscreen with a message underneath it at 1:30 AM on Wednesday, your heart skipped a beat simply from seeing the name that came with it.

Hi Y/N. It’s Steve. How are you?

Why were you acting like a girl with her first crush over this? You had been about to go to sleep, figuring you probably should since you had to be up at 8, but now you simply had to reply. You saved his number to your contacts before texting back.

Y/N: Hi Steve! I’m good, what about you? How’s the Philippines?

The screen showed him typing already, and you couldn’t deny you were pleased. The thought of having his full attention made you feel unnecessarily happy, but you also needed to force yourself to stop thinking about it so much.

Steve: Great. The beaches here are beautiful, I think you’d like them too.

He was already typing again and so you waited, biting your lip as you stared at the screen.

Steve: I told Tiana that you were open to babysitting and she wanted me to check with you if Thursday night would work. Maybe from around 6:30-9:30? She has a dinner event for work.

Y/N: Sure, I’m available that night! I’d love to help

Steve: I’ll let her know. Thank you- how much do you charge?

Y/N: Would $15 an hour work?

Steve: $25 it is ;-) Thanks again. Have a good night, Y/N.

You blinked and widened your eyes, wondering if he had made a typo, though the winky face told you otherwise.

Y/N: Wait, you meant 15 right?

You waited a few moments, but unlike before, no typing bubbles appeared.

Y/N: Just to clarify, 15. Just 15! 25 is too much!

Again, no typing bubbles. You stared at the screen in disbelief, though you couldn’t help but smile. Not because of the extra money, but just because of him. This was not good. You could not be catching feelings for Steve, it made absolutely no sense. You still barely knew the guy, and he was a married man, for God’s sake.

Putting your phone on your nightstand, you sighed as you settled into bed, wondering if you should explore dating options within your school-- anything to get your mind off Steve.

Thursday came around faster than you thought it would. Steve had texted you the address the night before, and you were now on your way there from work-- your boss had actually let you leave slightly early for once, and so you figured you’d just show up and wait in your car so Tiana did not feel rushed. She had seemed grateful to you when she had come to pick Linc up-- she had assured you she would have him fed before you got there, so you would only need to bathe him and get him ready for bed.

When you turned down Steve’s road itself, you were already in shock as you stared at the huge houses lining the street. Of course, Steve’s was at the very end and the most grand of them all, extending father both horizontally and vertically looking like a mansion right out of a movie. As you pulled into the long driveway, you noticed three cars-- Steve’s Mercedes, which made sense because he had probably been dropped off to the airport, and two others. One had to be Tiana’s, perhaps the other was another car they both used? To be honest, you were surprised there weren’t even more cars in the driveway, if that was the case.

You parked in a spot that was out of the way of all three cars, not knowing which one Tiana would use-- the driveway was quite roomy, and even if you were on the far side of it, it was probably the most convenient seeing she’d need to get out. You were parked on the other side of a rather large Range Rover, your much smaller car practically hidden behind it. Checking your phone, you saw that it was only 6. Eh, you could probably just go ahead in-- now that you were already in the driveway, it felt weird to simply sit there. You were about to open the car door when you noticed movement coming from one of the home’s large windows. When you looked towards it, your eyes immediately widened.

There stood Tiana and a male who was certainly not Steve, engaged in a rather steamy lip lock as his hands moved over her waist. She was continuously trying to pull back but giggling at the same time, clearly not bothered by the situation, gladly allowing him to keep pulling her back in for more kisses. You froze, staring in shock before making yourself look away, completely in disbelief. She was cheating on Steve? Who the hell could cheat on Steve? The more you thought about it, the more angry you got, but you took a deep breath. It was not your responsibility to be upset with her or lecture her, but you could tell Steve about what you had seen. In fact, you were itching to at that very moment, but the curtains suddenly closed and you were frozen again. Had she seen you? Did she know that you saw her? Did staying in your car look too suspicious, like you were spying? To make it seem like you had just gotten there, you quickly got out of the car, sliding your phone in your pocket. You could tell him after she left.

Trying to act as normal as possible, you walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She answered moments later, a smile on her face as she opened the door, though you could tell she looked a little nervous. “Hi there, Y/N!” You smiled in return as best as you could. “Hi, Tiana. Sorry I’m a little early, I got off work earlier than expected and figured I’d just head here. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she assured, perhaps assuming she was in the clear if you didn’t seem like you knew anything. “Linc actually ended up passing out pretty early tonight, he was exhausted after dinner,” she explained as she let you in, and you couldn’t help but discreetly look around while listening to her; where did the man go? “So you can just sit back and relax-- there’s books in the study if you’re into reading, or the TV has Netflix, Hulu, cable, whatever you wanna watch. Oh, and feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

She showed you around the main parts of the house just so you would know where everything was, and although you were still tense about what you had just witnessed, you couldn’t help but marvel at how luxurious this house was. It did not even seem like a toddler lived there until she showed you the playroom, Linc’s nursery where he was fast asleep, and even his own personal bathroom. She showed you where his diapers and other personal items were in case he were to wake up before bringing you back downstairs. You were still extremely confused on where her little “boyfriend” could be, wondering if he had actually snuck out of the house-- until she called out, “David? Are you still in the study?”

‘Wait, what?’ you thought, now even more shocked than before. She was blatantly admitting to having this man in her home? She looked to you with a smile. “David is one of my associates at work. We were just going over a presentation we have tonight.”

‘Is it a presentation on French kissing?’ you thought to yourself in disbelief, seeing she was clearly trying to make it seem like they were only coworkers. “Ah, I see,” you said politely nonetheless, then looked up as David came into the room, dressed in a suit and tie matching the shade of Tiana’s dress. “Hi. My name’s Y/N,” you introduced yourself, and he shook your hand with a smile. “David. Nice to meet you.”

“Alright, we should get going-- wouldn’t hurt to get there early.” Tiana picked up her purse. “Thank you again, Y/N!” You nodded and waved them off, waiting until they left before letting out an exhale and turning around, making your way to the living room. It was a little disappointing that Linc was sleeping, considering you had been excited to play with him, but at the same time, maybe it was for the best. You wouldn’t be able to have this conversation with Steve if you were bathing a hyper one-year-old. Plopping down on one of the leather couches, you took your phone out and typed a message.

Y/N: Hey Steve, are you busy right now? Think you could call me?

You figured telling him over the phone would be better rather than simply in a text, and besides, you did not exactly want potential screenshot evidence that you were involved in this mess, if it were to somehow come back to bite you in the ass. Your phone dinged a few minutes later and you immediately turned it on silent, even though there was no possible way Linc could hear it all the way from his nursery. The only reason you would even be able to hear him was because of the high tech baby monitor on the TV stand.

Steve: In a meeting right now, so unfortunately I can’t at the moment. Why? Is everything okay?

You couldn’t help but take note that he was texting you despite being in a meeting, but then reminded yourself to stay focused.

Y/N: I saw something and I wanted to talk to you about it. Just call me whenever you’re free? Linc is sleeping so I should be able to answer.

Steve: Sounds good. You’re okay though right?

You hated how nice he was, how thoughtful-- only because it was making you more angry that Tiana would have the nerve to cheat on him.

Y/N: Yes I’m okay it’s not about me or anything. Just call me as soon as you can okay?

Steve: Ok. Talk to you soon.

You started scrolling through Instagram to distract yourself, but you still couldn’t believe it. This probably had to do with what Stephanie had been saying about Steve and Tiana seeming to have an odd relationship based on how they acted with one another; had Tiana really been cheating for that long, though? How could she live with herself? You felt so disgusted with her, getting more and more irritated that she couldn’t appreciate what literally any woman in this universe would-- being married to Steve Rogers.

You realized you weren’t even looking at the photos on Instagram but rather absentmindedly continuing to scroll with your thumb; God knows how many you had missed. Sighing, you swiped out of the app and leaned back on the couch, resting your head back and staring up at the ceiling. What would happen now? Were you about to destroy a marriage? You felt guilty thinking about it that way, but it had to be done, right? It was wrong to withhold such information from Steve, he deserved to know.

Thankfully your phone rang, and you answered it almost immediately, just wanting to get this over with. “Hi, Steve. Thanks for calling me…”

“Of course, Y/N. I have a bit of time before my next meeting. What’s going on? I gotta say, you’re worrying me here…”

You wished you could tell him it was alright, but you really couldn’t, and you felt horrible.

“I, uh-- there’s really no easy way for me to say this Steve, but… um, well, I got to your house a little early,” you finally began, trying not to be so tongue tied. “And I saw Tiana in the window and… w-well… she was kissing another guy.”

There was silence for a few seconds, and your heart was racing. Why were you drowning in anxiety over here? You could only imagine how Steve felt in this moment. Was he just going to hang up on you? Was he going to explode? Was he going to cry? You didn’t know him well enough to know how he would take news like this, and each second was killing you.

“I.. see.” He finally spoke, and you bit your lip, wondering if he was maybe still processing. He sounded strangely emotionless, but perhaps that was how he showed his own disappointment or upset feelings. “I-- uh, wow. Thank you for telling me, Y/N.” You blinked. How was he so composed? Was this what being an adult was about? Maybe he was far too mature for you, because had you been in his shoes, you would have probably been flipping out. “Are you okay?” you somewhat blurted out, wondering if he was maybe just bottling up his feelings. “You.. you can talk to me about it, if you want, I mean I know it’s none of my business and that we barely know each other and that I just take care of your son but-- I, I’m sorry, I just--”

“It’s okay, Y/N,” he cut you off, and you swore that based off the sound of his voice, he was even smiling a little. “I really appreciate it. I think I just need some time to process and think about all of this. I wasn’t really expecting a call like this, you know?” You immediately nodded despite the fact he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, yeah of course. I get it. I-- I guess I’ll let you go, then? Again, I’m sorry, I just thought you should know… it felt wrong if I didn’t tell you.”

“Of course. You did the right thing.” Steve assured you, and you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders-- and then you felt guilty for even having that weight there in the first place. You had no reason to be feeling as if you were the burdened one from this. You wanted to help him as best as you could, but he was right. He needed some time to himself. “I’ll talk to you later, Y/N.”

You said your goodbyes and hung up, a loud sigh escaping your lips. You were still in shock over how… calm he was. Part of you wanted to sneak up to his and Tiana’s room to try and snoop around for more information, but you knew that was going too far. If anything, his maturity about the situation was actually somewhat inspiring, and so you picked up the remote and turned the TV on, telling yourself to stop thinking about it.

#steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers au #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers fanfiction #ml

453 notes · View notes

urdearestmom · 6 years

Text

Santa’s Helper

hey yall!!! i posted this on ao3 and ff at christmas, but i haven’t been on tumblr much recently, so here you have my christmas oneshot!! hope everyone has had wonderful, restful holidays and love you all <3

El really didn’t want to be stuck here doing this job, but she really needed the money and this was all she could get on such short notice. Santa’s Workshop at Starcourt Mall had just opened for the day and while there weren’t many kids lined up yet, she knew there would be. And because it was getting closer and closer to Christmas, the mall was getting fuller and fuller of crazed shoppers. Hawkins wasn’t even a big city, but the number of people El saw every day was overwhelming.

Usually, there were a few kids who would act out and cause problems while they were waiting for their turn with Santa (who was really just a big man named Benny wearing a wig and a fake beard. He managed the burger joint in the food court, though, and he was really nice), and El’s job was to make sure things didn’t get too out of hand. So far, in her first three days on the job, kids had thrown up, had tantrums, gone potty in their pants, and started fights with other kids. She was kind of going a little insane, but once December 22nd passed, she’d be free and she’d have the money she needed to get on a plane and go visit her dad.

He lived in Florida now that he’d retired. El had gone to college in Bloomington, far removed from her upbringing in upstate New York, and she had then moved to Hawkins with a job offer after graduating. Unfortunately, the job at the newspaper wouldn’t start until January, so El had been getting by on her rent payments and other necessities by working at Benny’s Burgers. However, if she wanted a chance to visit her father for Christmas, she needed money for plane tickets, and so she’d had to get another job to help herself out.

Nothing particularly interesting had happened before the noon hour besides one little girl getting upset that she had to wait so long to talk to Santa (her mom hadn’t been able to calm her down, so El had had to resort to escorting them from the line, which the mother hadn’t been pleased about). El was minding her own business at the gate to Santa’s Workshop when she looked up and saw the most gorgeous man she’d ever come across step into line.

He was tall and slender, a black denim jacket draped over him accentuating his shoulders. His entirely black outfit contrasted very nicely with the shock of purple hair on his head, which was what had initially drawn El’s attention. She couldn’t see him at the angles she wanted to, considering he was in line and El couldn’t exactly move around and get caught creepily staring at a customer, but from what she could see the man was not someone who would probably be called conventionally attractive. Nevertheless, El was attracted. She’d never exactly been conventional, either.

Bonus: he looked like he was around her age, maybe a little bit older.

Her fellow elf and hall neighbour (who had told her about this job), Dustin Henderson, was smirking at her from across the line.

“See something you like, El-Bell?”

El glared at him. “Shut up, Dustin.”

He snorted but didn’t say anything else, and El went back to looking at the mysterious man. He was a bit closer now, and El could see that he was accompanying a little boy who looked around four. The boy was swathed in winter clothes, a puffy coat zipped all the way up paired with a thick scarf, hat, mittens, and boots. The kid certainly wouldn’t be getting a cold anytime soon, although El worried he might have heat stroke with all those clothes on in the heated mall. She watched as the boy tugged on the man’s hand and said something, and then the man plucked the boy’s hat off. He took his own mittens off and unzipped the top of his coat, revealing his little face, which El suspected was exactly what the man had looked like when he was that small. She wondered what their relationship was. Brothers with a really wide gap? Cousins? Uncle and nephew? Possibly father and son, although that would mean this guy was either older than he looked or the kid had been born when he was very young.

El had only looked away for a moment to make sure the next kid made it to Santa’s lap without falling over, but when she turned back she found the purple haired man looking her way. He’d hefted the boy onto his hip and they were both looking at her, actually, but the man looked in a different direction as soon as he saw that she noticed. The boy, however, continued staring, and he smiled and waved when he saw El looking back at him. Her heart melted at his little grin and she waved back.

The two of them played a game of peekaboo for a few minutes as the boy and his whatever-the-man-was-to-him approached the front, and then El was taken by surprise as Dustin greeted the man. They did some weird one-handed handshake, clearly indicating that they were friends of some sort.

“Hey, man, I didn’t know you worked here,” said the purple haired man. And shit, did he ever have a nice voice. El pretended she wasn’t listening as she looked back at Santa-Benny and then towards the line of kids and parents to check for any disturbances.

“Dude, I told you,” Dustin answered. “You were probably too busy running after Jesse Owens there to remember.”

El heard the man laugh and it filled her with a swelling feeling. Why was everything about this guy so enticing?

“Isn’t that right, Matty?” Continued Dustin. “You like running?”

Matty must be the little boy because El heard a kid’s laugh. “I love running!”

She turned around and saw the last kid getting off of Santa, so she decided to butt in real quick.

“Hey, it looks like Santa’s ready for you!” She said. Matty turned away from Dustin and smiled.

“Yay!” He exclaimed, wriggling to get away from the man holding him. “Let’s go see Santa!”

Matty tugged the man away with him and El raised an eyebrow at Dustin. “Who’s that guy?”

Dustin gave her a sly smile. “Why, you interested?”

El didn’t answer, merely rolling her eyes.

“He’s single, by the way,” he added. “Name’s Mike. We’ve been friends since fourth grade.”

She hummed. “That’s nice. Back for Christmas?”

“No, he’s back permanently.”

El considered this. She wondered why she hadn’t seen him around yet. Little did she know she’d be seeing this Mike around a lot more often.

It turned out that Mike was to be the new occupant of apartment 3C, just down the hall from El and across from Dustin. Apparently, Dustin had convinced Mike to move out of his parents’ place and into the vacant apartment on their floor, which El came to know of one day when she was heading out for another shift at Santa’s Workshop followed by one at Benny’s. She was walking out of her door when a small body crashed into her legs and almost bowled her over. She looked down in shock and was surprised to find that she recognized the child. It was Matty.

“Oh, hello!” She exclaimed. “I know you!”

Matty looked up at her and gasped. “You’re the pretty elf lady!”

El smiled. Pretty. “Why thank you. And you’re Matty, right?” She was waiting almost with bated breath for that gorgeous piece of man to appear somewhere in the hallway. Why else would Matty be here?

Matty laughed. “Yes! Do you live here too?”

El’s answer was interrupted by a beautifully smooth voice. “Matty, you’re not supposed to talk to strangers.”

Matty frowned and looked in the direction of the open door to 3C, which El hadn’t even realized anyone was moving into. The beautiful Mike from last week was standing in the doorway, hair flopping messily as he leaned into the hall.

“But it’s the pretty elf lady!” Matty protested.

El watched as Mike went suspiciously pink, his face clashing with his hair. “Sorry about him,” he said, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry about it,” El replied. “It’s fine. He’s so cute it doesn’t even matter.”

Matty grinned at her from the floor. “The pretty elf lady said I’m cute!”

Mike sighed loudly and lightly smacked his head on the doorframe. “Come inside, Matty,” he pleaded. “Aren’t you going to help me?”

Matty’s dark hair flopped around his face as he got up, much in the same way that Mike’s had moments earlier. He crossed his arms. “I want ice cream.”

“It’s cold outside, I’m not giving you ice cream.”

Matty stomped his foot petulantly. “I don’t care!”

El stifled a laugh. Matty really was adorable.

“I’m gonna mail you back to your mom, I swear,” Mike announced. “Gonna wrap you up like a present and leave you with her for Christmas.”

At this, Matty went streaking down the hall. “No!” He yelled. “I don’t wanna go back to Mommy for Christmas!”

Matty ran inside the open apartment and El heard a thump that sounded like he’d maybe run into a wall. Nobody said anything for a moment, until Matty’s voice came back out.

“I’m okay!”

El grinned and locked her door, watching Mike sigh tiredly again out of the corner of her eye. She was dropping her keys into her purse when he started making his way toward her.

“I’m Mike,” he said, holding his hand out to shake. “Nice to meet you, neighbour.”

“Dustin told me you were friends but he didn’t say you were moving in,” El answered. “Nice to meet you, though. I’m El.”

“El,” he repeated, as if testing how the name felt. El quite liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. “Cool name.”

“Cool hair,” she responded, immediately cringing at how awkward she was being.

Mike laughed. “Thanks. My mom never let me do anything to it growing up, so now that I’m officially out of college I thought I’d do something crazy. Usually, it looks like Matty’s.”

El imagined how Mike would look with dark hair, and she thought he would look just as beautiful. She didn’t voice that, however.

“Well,” she said, “unfortunately duty calls. Kids are waiting on the pretty elf lady at the mall.”

Mike bowed dramatically. “Be on your way, pretty elf lady.”

The next time she saw him was two days later. He’d come knocking at her door to ask if she wanted to join a small housewarming party of sorts, consisting of Dustin, himself, and Matty.

“I just thought it’d be cool if I could make another friend in the building,” he’d said, nervously scratching the back of his head, “Dustin’s the only one of the ones I grew up with that still lives here.”

El, of course, jumped at the chance to get to know him better. Hanging with Dustin was always a plus, and getting to see Matty would only be the icing on the cake. So, Friday night after work, instead of lounging around her apartment on her own like a loner, El found herself walking over to 3C.

The door was opened by the man himself, but El could see Dustin horsing around with Matty on the carpet behind Mike. He smiled brightly as he let her in.

“You came!” He exclaimed. “Make yourself at home, I’m just whipping something up for dinner.”

She said hello to Dustin and Matty, but they were wrapped up in their game and El’s main target was Mike anyway, so she made her way to the kitchen.

“What are you cooking?” She asked. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

“Beef stew, I think,” he answered. “But without the potatoes? So it’s just beef and peas, but there’s rice too.”

Something about the way he said it was so cute that El couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose a little as she smiled.

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah, apparently Matty loves this, so I’m figuring out how to make it,” Mike continued, pushing up the front of his hair with one hand and stirring the beef and peas pot with the other. “His mom likes him to eat healthy, so he shouldn’t really be eating junk all that often. And we had pizza last night.”

This was the second time El had heard mention of Matty’s mom, and from the way Mike had mentioned her both times, it seemed like there was a complicated story there.

“His mom?” She questioned. She hoped it wasn’t too forward, after all this was only the second time she had officially met Mike and she didn’t want to be nosy or anything. But she was curious.

He paused, his eyebrows coming together in confusion for a second before his face cleared. “Ah, I forgot you haven’t been here long,” he started. “Everyone here knows about it, I forgot that you probably wouldn’t.”

El raised her brows expectantly, and in response, Mike pointed towards a framed picture sitting in the back corner of the counter. It was a picture of him with Matty that looked fairly recent, and the bottom of the frame read “#1 Dad”.

Oh. Matty was Mike’s son. Jesus. Her surprise must have shown on her face because Mike laughed a little awkwardly.

“Yeah, Matty was a bit of an accident,” he said. “High school girlfriend. She didn’t find out until after we broke up, and then there were a lot of issues because I was supposed to go to college but I wanted to be around because she shouldn’t have to deal with something that big on her own, you know?”

El nodded sympathetically. “I get it, don’t worry. So what happened?”

Mike shrugged. “I went to college. I got to spend time with Matty whenever I was on break, but now that I finished and I moved back here I see him more often. This year he’s spending Christmas with me and then I’m driving him back to Chicago for New Year’s.”

El leaned against the counter contemplatively as she watched Mike flip the switches off on the range. The flames under the pots disappeared. “Well, I’m glad it seems like you guys have a good relationship.”

“Yeah, she’s cool,” he said, turning to the sink to wash his hands. “We respect each other’s wishes. Wouldn’t date her again, but she’d be a good friend.”

El didn’t say anything for a moment, but Mike must have mistaken her silence for something else because he looked at her a little nervously and said, “It’s not a problem, is it? Me having a kid?”

“Why would it be a problem?” What was he implying with that? Could he tell that she liked him already even without barely knowing him?

“No reason, it’s just- girls usually get weird when they find out I have a kid,” he answered, meeting her eyes as if challenging her to have a problem with it.

“Well, Matty’s proven to be nothing short of the cutest kid ever, so far,” she replied.

Mike grinned. “Guys, it’s time for dinner!”

Moments later, Matty and Dustin charged into the kitchen and the group seated themselves. The meal was delicious and Matty didn’t make any fuss. That is, until about halfway through dinner when Mike looked up at him and Matty grinned.

“Stop doing that, we use good manners at the table,” reprimanded Mike, his eyebrows scrunching together in the middle.

Matty shovelled a spoonful of peas into his mouth, slouching against the edge of the table. Dustin looked like he was about to laugh, but he didn’t make any noise. The room was silent again, filled only by the sounds of forks scraping across plates, until a few moments later when Mike looked at Matty again.

“Matty,” he said quietly. “I asked you to stop kicking me. We’re eating.”

Matty’s whole face screwed up as if he was about to scream, and then it cleared and he grinned, showing his teeth. “I wasn’t kicking you, I was loving you with my toes!”

Dustin snorted loudly and El almost choked on her rice. Mike closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead, but she could see him struggling to keep a straight face. Matty giggled at the reactions of the adults around him, finding the whole situation hilarious.

“Just eat your food, Matty, okay?” Said Mike resignedly after a moment.

“Okay, Daddy!” Exclaimed the little boy, promptly returning to his dinner.

El looked between a sniggering Dustin and an exasperated Mike and had to bring a forkful of beef to her mouth to keep from laughing.

The rest of dinner was uneventful, but then afterwards when Matty tugged on the edge of El’s sweater to ask if she wanted to stay for the movie they were going to watch, she couldn’t say no. He was too cute. And it helped that she could see his dad starting to blush and say she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to.

“Nonsense and poppycock!” She decreed. “Matty wants me to stay, don’t you?”

“Poppycock!” He screeched. “Daddy, what’s poppycock?”

Two hours later found Dustin snoring in the armchair and Matty snuggled under Mike’s arm, sandwiched between his dad and their neighbour on the couch. The two left were softly talking over Matty’s head, the end of Home Alone playing in front of them.

“So what are you doing for Christmas?” Asked Mike, shifting as Matty slid lower.

“Hopefully flying to Florida to spend it with my dad,” El answered him. “I got the elf job so I could buy plane tickets.”

Mike nodded, pressing further into the couch cushions. “That’s nice. We’re going to my parents’, hopefully my older sister makes it.”

“Where does she live?” Questioned El, curiosity piqued.

“New York, so we don’t see her too often.”

A smile broke across her face. “That’s cool! I’m from New York!”

Mike wrinkled his nose. “You’re from New York and you moved to middle-of-nowhere, Indiana?”

This sparked a laugh in El and Mike joined her. “I’m from upstate New York, not New York City. It’s pretty much boringsville up there too. Hawkins isn’t so bad though, I like it here.”

“Yeah? What about it?”

She smiled. “It’s homey. And the people are nice.”

She wasn’t sure if he got what she was implying with that, but it felt good to at least get her foot in the door with trying to make a move. Maybe after Christmas…

Waking up on the morning of Christmas Eve with her bags packed and ready to fly, El had a feeling that something was off. When she looked out the window, she knew why: it was snowing. Hard. Her flight was probably delayed or even cancelled. With a sinking heart and mounting stress, she caught her bus out of town to Indianapolis’ airport.

Luckily, she made it to the airport with only a minor delay, but the counter for the flight she was supposed to be on was suspiciously empty and the workers overly frazzled for it being so early in the morning.

“Hi, I’m checking in for the flight to Fort Lauderdale?” She said, sliding her ticket and passport across the counter. The woman behind it looked at her tiredly.

“We’re sorry ma’am, but all flights have been cancelled until the storm blows over. You can call us then and we’ll be able to offer you a seat on the next flight out,” she explained. “Merry Christmas and I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

El thanked her and went to go sit in a chair in the middle of the terminal. What am I supposed to do now? She sat there with her bags by her feet for a few minutes, slightly panicking and in denial, before she accepted that there was nothing she could do.

“Guess I’ll find a payphone…” She muttered, getting up to look for one. There was one at the other end of the terminal by the security gate, and she punched in her dad’s number with shaking fingers and burning eyes.

He picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” Came his gruff voice.

“Hey, Dad,” said El sadly, pulling at her scarf.

“What’s wrong, kid?”

She sighed. Of course he would be able to tell immediately that something was wrong. “There’s a storm. My flight’s cancelled.”

Her dad blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Ellie.”

“I’m sorry too, Dad. I really miss you.”

“Well, there’s nothing much you can do, is there?”

“Not really,” she answered. “They told me to call when the storm’s over and they’ll put me on the next flight out. But I don’t think that’ll be before tomorrow…”

“So what are you gonna do?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I have some friends, but they’re spending Christmas with their families.”

She talked to her dad for a few more minutes before her time was running out. “I gotta go, Dad, I’m sorry. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“I love you too, kid. See you soon.” He hung up and El sagged against the payphone in defeat. She was hoping that a bus back to Hawkins was leaving soon.

Unfortunately, the bus schedule told her that the bus she’d been on had left already and that the next one wouldn’t be in for twelve hours, and it was with trepidation that she walked back into the airport, wracking her brains for what to do. She only had two friends she could call, but both of them were probably busy. She figured she’d try anyway.

She called Dustin first, but when he didn’t pick up she remembered that he had told her he’d be leaving his apartment early to help his mom prep the house for their visiting family. He was probably gone already. Feeling the desperation of not wanting to be stuck at the airport all day, El dialled Mike’s landline and prayed he would pick up.

The dial tone seemed to go on forever as she waited, but then the phone clicked as someone answered.

“Hi!”

El could almost taste salvation, but she still had to know if she could even get out of the city. “Hi, Matty. Could you put your dad on the phone, please? It’s El.”

“Daddy!” Screamed Matty. “It’s for you!”

Mike’s voice sounded tinny and far away as he responded. “I told you not to the answer the phone, only I do that, okay?”

“But it’s not bad people.”

“For the love of God… hello?”

“Hi, Mike, it’s El. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important?”

“Hey!” He didn’t sound particularly stressed about anything… “No, we’re not leaving till later. What’s up? I thought you were supposed to be at the airport.”

El sighed into the phone. “I am, but my flight got cancelled because of the snow and the bus back home isn’t coming for twelve hours. Is there any way you could help me out? I tried Dustin but I think he’s already at his mom’s.”

“Yeah, he left, like, twenty minutes ago,” Mike answered, confirming her suspicion. “That sucks, though. I can drive down and pick you up, but I’ll be about two hours.”

“Are you sure?” El stood straight, tense with anticipation.

“Don’t worry about it!” He reassured. “My car’s good with snow, I’ll get there fine. It would suck for you to have to spend Christmas Eve stranded at the airport.”

“Okay, so I can be at post 23 in two hours…”

El could almost cry at the good heart Mike had. He was truly a blessing in her life, in many ways. As the days had progressed since the dinner she’d had at his apartment, they had hung out more, always with Matty but a lot of times without Dustin. Mike was kind and caring, if a little hardheaded and with strong opinions. But El didn’t mind; she liked a challenge in conversation. In fact, she couldn’t think of much that she didn’t like about Mike, and it only made her feel more and more attracted to him. He was probably the closest to her dream man that anyone had ever come.

In any case, she had to find some way to keep herself occupied until he managed to get to Indianapolis, so she dug out her copy of Animal Farm and started reading where she’d last left off. She was slumped over in her chair, the book nearly falling out of her grasp, when she looked at her watch and started, seeing that two hours were nearly up. She gathered her belongings and made her way outside, looking in the direction of the agreed-upon meeting spot for Mike’s little blue BMW. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to wait very long before it appeared in the falling snow, Mike throwing open his door and coming around to take her bags and stow them in the trunk.

El quickly tucked herself into the passenger seat, shivering as she shut the door and waited for the rumbling radiator to warm her up. Moments later, Mike jumped back into the driver’s seat and drove off down the terminal in the direction of the highway.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” she said. “I can’t believe you actually came.”

Mike smiled at her and reached out for her left hand. “It’s not a problem at all. Your hands are cold, though, do you want the heat up?”

“If you can,” she answered, teeth chattering.

He reached out for the knob and El noticed Matty asleep in the backseat. She giggled.

“He came for me too?”

Mike looked in the rearview mirror quickly. “Yeah, he absolutely refused to stay with my mom. Fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago, but he wouldn’t stop talking the whole way about how excited he was to see you for Christmas, even though he literally saw you yesterday,” he said, rolling his eyes. “He really likes you.”

El smiled softly at the little boy even though he couldn’t see her. “Well, I’m glad. I’m gonna miss him when he goes back to his mom.”

“Yeah…”

“How long until you have him next?”

Mike kept his eyes on the road as he calculated. “Three weeks? I think that’s what we agreed on. It’s better than the months it used to be because of college.”

El nodded, looking out her window at the rapidly building snowdrifts on the sides of the highway. “Do you ever think about what it would’ve been like if he’d never been born?”

She saw Mike’s purple locks flop a little as he flicked them out of his eyes.

“Sometimes. I don’t know if I would’ve made the same mistake if I could go back,” he replied. “It’s been hard on both of us as young parents. But,” he added, “Although I would’ve supported Isabel in whatever she wanted, I’m glad she didn’t end it. He’s an amazing kid and I love him more than anything.”

They were all silent for a moment before Mike tapped at the steering wheel randomly and asked, “What about you? You ever think about having kids?”

El nodded. “Sometimes. I want to get settled in first. Have a good, stable job, a place to live, and maybe marriage first. But that’s not necessarily an absolute.”

He hummed in response. “Sounds reasonable.”

“Yeah,” laughed El. “I have the place and I’m going to have the job, now all I need is a boyfriend. But one of those isn’t as easy to find.”

Mike cut her a quick look. “Dustin could totally set you up, he’s good at that.”

“Oh, trust me, he’s already tried.”

“Really? With who?”

And so El launched into the stories of all her failed dates with guys Dustin had set her up with, she and Mike crying laughing by the end. Matty was still soundly asleep and tinkling Christmas music was streaming through the radio. Snow continued falling thickly outside, but it wasn’t much of a hindrance. The BMW was a beast in winter. They were probably halfway back before Mike uttered a surprised, “Oh!”

“I’m so stupid!” He exclaimed. “I just remembered this probably means you’ll be spending Christmas on your own, yeah?”

El shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to my dad.”

“Why don’t you come over with us? My mom loves having guests,” he suggested. “And then you can go right back to your place when I go home.”

She considered it. “If you’re sure it’s okay.”

“Absolutely!”

It turned out she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Mike’s family was more than welcoming, although she could tell his father didn’t really have much holiday spirit. Matty was excited to tell his aunts and his grandmother all about how El was an elf who worked with Santa and that she must be really nice if Santa picked her. Dinner was a delicious meal prepared by the matriarch of the household, and El could understand where Mike got his cooking skills from. His sisters, although one much younger, were both equally interesting people to talk to and interact with. El found herself a bit sad that she would likely never have reason to hang out with them again. The only issue came up when Mike, El, and Matty were getting ready to leave: they were about to be snowed in, and Mrs. Wheeler absolutely refused to let them leave under such conditions.

So, El ended up sharing a room with the older sister, Nancy. She didn’t make a fuss about having to share with a woman she’d just barely met, which El was grateful for. They’d just have to make ground digging Mike’s car out in the morning.

Coincidentally, the next morning El woke early. Nancy was still asleep, and it seemed the rest of the house was as well. But when she made her way to the bathroom she’d been shown the night before with her toiletry bag, she found Mike stumbling out his door, already dressed. He started when he saw her and she laughed at his expression.

“Merry Christmas, Mike,” she whispered.

He rubbed his eye and yawned. “Merry Christmas, El. Slept well?”

“Yup,” she answered, entering the bathroom and taking her toothbrush out of the bag she brought. “Thanks again for letting me celebrate with you.”

“You’re welcome, it was a pleasure,” he replied.

He stood by the door waiting for her to finish brushing her teeth and then her hair, and then they switched places, except El went back to the room to change into her day clothes. When she came out and went downstairs, it was only to bump into Mike in the doorway to the kitchen, and she suddenly had an urge to look up.

What she saw threw her heart into her throat. A sprig of mistletoe was attached to the beam right above Mike’s head, which meant that…

He had followed her gaze. “Oh, uh, we don’t have to do that,” he stuttered, face fire quickly spreading. “My mom just puts it up to mess with us.”

However, as El saw it, she had two options and only one of them was viable. So she followed her instincts, throwing caution to the wind and grasping Mike’s arms lightly over his sweater as she leaned up to give him the kiss that the mistletoe demanded.

Pulling apart moments later, neither opened their eyes right away, both savouring the feeling of what was surely the first of many kisses.

Finally, they opened their eyes, and upon making eye contact they both started giggling like little kids who just opened presents on Christmas morning, because that was essentially what they were.

“Merry Christmas again, Mike,” said El happily.

“The Merriest of all,” he responded.

El was definitely going places with this nut by her side.

#mileven #mileven fanfiction #urdearestmom #christmas fic

10 notes · View notes