#୨୧ loner!shoupe!reader

[plaidcowboy]

loner!shoupe and guarddog!rafe having a photoshoot

rafe quietly closed your window back in place, peeking back at you with a grin. you shook your head admiringly. it was becoming more frequent for rafe to sneak into your room late at night to avoid shoupe.

rafe, though, was becoming a little nervous about the likelihood of him not being caught. without worrying you, he wanted to take pictures with you tonight just in case shoupe found out and separated you two. of course he wouldn’t leave without a fight or coming right back, but for any time he wasn’t around you, he wanted, no, needed to see you in some way. photos on your polaroid, it is.

he walked over to your bed where you sat with your laptop on your lap. he moved the device from your lap, leaving over you. “hey, pretty” he smiled, showing teeth at you. you giggled, reaching up to grasp his head. “hi, rafe.”

rafe sidled in next to you, replacing the laptops spot on his lap. his brow scrunched at what you were reading. “another cold case?”

it was a fascination of yours to read about cold investigation cases. rafe didn’t judge, but he worried what you read or saw would affect you. not only was he protective about you in the physical sense, but mentally as well. you nodded, leaning over to point at the screen.

“this one says the suspect is still at large,” you explained with an adapt interest in your tone.

rafe frowned at the screen. a killer on the loose? he glanced to the location. near outer banks. he shut the laptop, tossing it aside. he shook his head before you could react. “none of that, don’t worry about that. i don’t mind your little obsession, but i don’t want you reading about that.”

you gaped at him, not understanding his sudden change of mind. “do. . you think i’m scared?” you scoffed with little confidence.

rafe looked to you. “i don’t think anything scares you. i just don’t want this guy getting into your head. it’s already easy to get in through your window. .”

rafe looked to your aforementioned room’s fixed component. he stood from your bed, walking to it. he skimmed his eyes and hands over the square, noticing its loose screws. he frowned again. “gotta fix this. i’ll come back later with my toolbox. only i’m allowed in and out of here, not some sick creep.”

you frowned at rafe’s worry. “rafe. .” you grabbed his attention, him turning back to you. “is everything okay?” his jumping attention and nervous behavior wasn’t like him. sure, noticing everything around you and making sure it’s safe for you was like him. but not how he was acting now.

rafe sighed, stepping back from the window. he walked back to you, kneeling on the floor beside your bed. you grasped his hands, placing them in your lap. “is it your dad. .?”

rafe shook his head quickly, not wanting to think about the man. “no,” he said gruffly, “’s nothing. . just wanted to see you,” he sighed. “long day. .”

you placed a peck on his knuckles, rubbing your finger over the fading red mark. “well, you can stay for as long as you need.”

rafe smiled tightly up at you, it not quite reaching his eyes. his attempts to not think about what was on his mind already made you worried about him without meaning to. no way could he express his worries about your dad finding you two out. he stood, walking over to your desk and picking up your polaroid. he tossed it between his hands, inspecting it. he turned back to you, holding it up. “let’s take pictures.”

he flopped onto your bed on top of you. you laughed out an okay, wanting to do whatever made rafe give you a genuine smile and not the one he just gave you.

he held the cameron above you two, snapping a picture of his head lying on your stomach, a laugh still caught between your lips. the photo came from the top, and rafe took it, shaking it out. once it came to, you both looked at it. “you’re so cute,” rafe told you, making you feel shy.

“whatever. .” you grabbed the camera, pointing it at rafe. he saw what you were doing and immediately went to stop you. “no, no. i want photos with you in it. you’re the star.”

you looked at him through the lens. “and you’re my moon,” you captured a shot, staring at the top of the camera, eager for it to come out so you could see the photo.

of course, rafe was sporting a small scowl that was hidden by a smirk. his usual resting face around you. you took the photo, shaking it, then moving it out of rafe’s reach when he went to grab it. “no, it’s mine. you want photos of me, let me have this one of you.”

rafe stared at you, taking in your words. “okay. .” he grabbed the camera from you, quickly taking a picture before you noticed what he was doing. “and this one is mine.”

you smiled at him, not able to contain it over your pout. “fair.”

rafe grabbed you, maneuvering you onto his lap. you giggled, curious what position he was putting you two in. his arms came around you, one hand holding the camera. he pressed his face against yours, taking the picture. the photo developed, but he didn’t make a move to grab it. you turned to look at him.

“rafe? are you serious, you’re okay?” rafe turned his neck to look into your eyes. he grasped your jaw, holding your stare. “nothing can keep me from you.”

your eyes slightly widened at his serous tone. you nodded in his grasp. “i know. .” you whispered.

what rafe didn’t know was that he was worrying for no reason. shoupe couldn’t be more clueless about you two. you and him would still be legally and illegally finding ways to stay together. he meant it. nothing would keep him from you.

[plaidcowboy]

!loner!shoupe being rafe’s alibi

next ⸝⸝ !loner!shoupe being rafe’s alibi continued

ྀི after the peterkin situation : “i can log into the system.. and cause an error so they can’t track the gun to you..” you held your phone tightly to your cheek, peering at your cracked door for any movement of your dad. rafe whispered back in response to your whispering, though he didn’t need to.

“you can do that for me, fugitive?” his low voice sounded in your ear.

you’d do anything for him. this was only the first of many instances to come that would prove that. you knew upon meeting him you would do whatever to make him stay. there wasn’t anything you were opposed to doing for him. he confided in you about his family issues which only made you feel that more protective. nothing could come between you two. neither of you would let it. what rafe did to the sheriff didn’t come close to what he would do if you were taken from him.

“of course.. i.. i don’t want them to figure out it’s yours. that would mean they’d connect you shot her. i don’t want you to go to jail, rafe. i don’t know what i’d do..”

“shh. i don’t want that, either. they think they’re testing me with this peterkin situation, if anything happens with you, i’ll show them how far i can go”

rafe’s constant reassuring words always made you swoon. no one wanted you like that. no one showed you they cared like rafe does. he showed you the standard of how you should be treated. you thrived off of it.

“but nothing’s going to happen. not with you being so good to me. what did i do to deserve you?”

you started, taken aback by his question. “i don’t deserve you. you treat me too well, i.. i can do more. i can get the cops to focus on the actual perp.. i’ll make them lock him up, you won’t have to worry..”

“no, don’t do that. you’re doing good already, it’s fine.” rafe hadn’t told you who the real perpetrator was. as much as he trusted you with his secrets, this one he still didn’t yet want to tell. you would never rat out ward, him being too close to rafe. it would only upset rafe and that was the last thing you wanted. rafe knew it would only make you more upset with ward. he didn’t need you worrying.

“okay.. i’ll call you tomorrow once i finish.”

ྀི visiting rafe in jail : “no, don’t tear up, you tried your best” rafe wished he could reach through the glass to wipe your tears. your plan to sabotage the computer system did work.. but your father came up with a different way to figure out who the murder weapon belonged to. which led to you and rafe being separated by aforementioned glass.

you softly sniffled, bringing up your sleeve covered arm that went past your wrist to swipe at your nose. “i know.. but..” you hiccuped. “..now you’re in there” your nose twitched.

“i don’t want those tears messing with my little fugitive’s pretty face. i’m not mad at you, alright?”

you sighed out a breath, collecting yourself. “okay.. do you need me to do anything? check on your sisters?”

rafe appreciated your willingness to help. you were always willing. whatever made rafe happy. even messing with the law. or talking to his sisters for the first time..

“nah, don’t talk to them. ’specially not sarah. i’ll deal with her myself” he trailed off to a mumble, slight vengeance forming in his eyes. it should scare you, the inference of what rafe would do to his sister. but you didn’t like sarah’s traitorous actions. family or not, anyone who didn’t care for rafe like you did didn’t stand out in your book. of course, you’d yet to find out what rafe did to sarah.

“okay.. anything else?”

rafe leaned closer to the glass, assessing you. “i’d love if you could visit everyday..”

“i will. i’ll come see you everyday” you rushed out before rafe could finish his sentence. he smirked at your eagerness.

“..but you can’t make your dad suspicious of where you’re going everyday.” you slightly pouted, knowing he was right. you only were able to get away and see rafe now because your dad was called to a scene. usually, he wouldn’t be letting you out of his sight.

“so.. you still got that camera, right?” he referred to your polaroid that you kept on your dresser. that you two used to take pictures of yourselves to keep. you two couldn’t always be around each other what with your dad’s relationship with rafe and reluctance to let you out of the house. “yeah..”

“could you take some pictures for me? don’t think i can go too long without seeing that pretty face.” rafe spoke with an awe to his voice. you wouldn’t get enough of his compliments.

“okay. whatever you want.” you attempted a smile at him.

[plaidcowboy]

!loner!shoupe being rafe’s alibi continued

previous ⸝⸝ !loner!shoupe being rafe’s alibi

ྀི after rafe found the cross : “i know where they’re hiding it” was rafe’s first words when you opened the door. nevermind your being prohibited to have company while shoupe was away, rafe never cared. he had been on about this cross that the pouges found and all you wanted was to plant yourself in their group as a mole so you could find out more information. rafe shot your idea down, warning you to stay away from the pouges. the more people said it, the more you wanted to do the opposite.

your eyes widened, stepping back so rafe could enter. he did so, hoisting you up by the waist with a smile. “pretty, i found it. those dumb pouges couldn’t cover their tracks for nothing. i found it. rafe.”

you giggled down at him, grasping his shoulders. his happiness was yours times a thousand. him being able to find the cross on his own.. somewhat.. added on to things you were proud of rafe for.

“okay, okay. what do you do now? i could help you take it? where are you going to put it? it could stay here, i’ll find somewhere for it..”

rafe set you down, sliding a hand over your mouth. “first, that thing looks heavy. you’re not touching it. second, there is no way you could hide the cross here. you want to be bad so badly for me, you don’t even care to actually think first.”

you stared up at him, mouth trapped. you mumbled an apology into his hand, knowing you were jumping the ship. “what’s that?” rafe leaned closer with a brow raised, hand still on you. you huffed, tugging down his hand. “you’re right, i’m sorry.”

“no need to be sorry, you need to be safe. even if you could, it’s too dangerous for it to be in your possession. i have a plan, i need to run to barry’s to carry it out. once i know i need to solve something, i have to get it done. you understand.”

it wasn’t a question. rafe knew you understood. you knew about barry from things rafe has told you. he confided in you about his substance issues, but how barry was willing to do what rafe said if money was thrown at him. you still seethed a little at the fact barry was the reason you weren’t able to touch rafe for a while. rafe assured you he still had the trailer owner under his thumb. that was what mattered. rafe having the upper hand on everyone. it’s what you admired most about him. you bit your lip at the thought, rafe’s lip forming a smirk upon seeing it. almost like he knew where your thoughts went without asking.

you nodded, placing your hands on his chest. “of course. you know what’ll happen if you get yourself hurt. i don’t have to tell you to be careful.” you promised with a threat. something you did whenever rafe was going off to handle something that could put him in harms way. you told him what you would do if he came back with a mere scratch on his face. rafe, unaware if he could take you seriously or not, promised anyway that he wouldn’t get hurt. nevermind the time pope roughed him up after he threatened kie when she confronted him about peterkin. you didn’t need to see that. and you didn’t need to go swinging that pocket knife around and getting yourself in trouble.

“you don’t, but i will be. for you” was always rafe’s response. he grabbed your hand, placing a kiss on the back of it where your scar lied under your skin. “i’ll come see you later” he grabbed your head, placing another on the top of it. once he was out the door, you shut it with a dreamy sigh.

when he returned to you, muddy with a slightly dripping bloody nose, you steeled him with a hard glare, tugging the blade from your pocket. but, “don’t worry” rafe said. “i handled it” he said..

ྀི rafe returning after shipping the cross : you were shocked when rafe entered through your window, tugging you down to your floor with his arms tightly bound around you, not saying a word. you ran your fingers over his head that he lied on your chest, breathing in you.

“hi” you whispered, glancing to your door. it was late and your father was fast asleep. the need to be cautious was pushed down by the content you felt at having rafe in your arms again. your legs tangled together, his weight pressing into you from above, acting as your anchor. you placed a kiss on his temple, smiling at the easy access. “your hair..” you murmured, smiling against his skin.

his hands found refugee roaming around your body, needing to feel you as much as you needed to feel him. “too long” you heard him whisper into your neck where he placed little pecks. “too long” he sighed out, head coming back to lie on you.

that was way too long to be without you.

ྀི when rafe melted the cross : “can i..?” your fingers reached out hesitantly to the nugget in rafe’s palm. real gold. rafe chuckled, placing a kiss on your shoulder where you sat perched on his lap on the chair that sat on your wooden porch. shoupe was too busy going around handling business and worries about the gold that was being talked about around outer banks. and here you were, close to touching it. the gold rafe found. the gold rafe melted. all him.

“yeah you can” he lifted it closer to you, letting your fingers skim over the surface. “that’s so cool..”

you turned to him with hearts in your eyes. “and you said you already have buyers lined up?” you fiddled with the lapels of his suit jacket. this new look, you loved.

“mm hm, not hard to get people’s attention with this stuff. they’re all the same and they all want the same thing. i’m the only one that can supply it to them.”

you were giddy with proudness at rafe. he did it. he showed his dad what he’s capable of. he helped his family’s issue. not sarah, not ward. rafe. since it became all he wanted, it became what you wanted as well. you would steer your dad off to focus on something else whenever he mentioned anything close to a treasure. whether it was throwing the pouges under the bus or leading him somewhere where he wouldn’t find anything, you needed to stall him so rafe could carry out his plan. rafe didn’t know it. he didn’t need to.

you threw your arms around his neck, running your fingers across his nape. “i could help distribute it, if you like? so many people walk past here, i could get their attention and mention it. i could help this go quicker. the faster you are, the less likely you’ll get caught..”

rafe ran his thumb over your lips, signaling you to stop talking. “you do have the pretty face for selling.” you grinned under his thumb. “but you know who you are..”

you took a second to come down from your eagerness to help rafe, taking in his words. right. you’re the sheriff’s daughter. if anyone found out about you selling gold to people, you’d never hear the end of it from shoupe. but you couldn’t help thinking it’d be worth it if it helped rafe.

“right.. i just wish there was a way for me to help..” you murmured softly after rafe removed his thumb to stroke it against your cheek.

he sighed. it wasn’t easy seeing you like this. you were always so eager to make anything easier for rafe. to go against your dad if you needed to. to throw off the cops. rafe couldn’t tell you just how much he appreciated you.

“you want to help?” you shook your quickly in a nod, rafe’s hand gripping your face to still you. “put on that good little girl act for dad. keep up that innocent face to get things your way. you know you’re good at it.”

you peered up at him while his hand covered most of your face, thwarting you from moving. “then you drop it around me. let yourself be my little accomplice. that’s how you help me. i couldn’t ask for anything more.

you remained silent, rafe not yet telling you you could talk again. he noticed, and he let his thumb tug your mouth open, and you spoke around it. “okay, rafe. whatever you want.”