#Phoenix’s parents never come up
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bibbumblebee · 1 year ago
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I know we’ll probably never get any information on Phoenix’s parents, but I refuse to believe his mom is named anything other than Miranda.
Miranda Wright.
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medicinemane · 5 months ago
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Man, I'm just kind of dazed today
I woke up yesterday around 9am, didn't do much for the day, went to bed... realized it was too hot to fall asleep (cause my window is broken so I can't open it)
So I got up, filled 3 box with papers as I sorted out the magazines and mail
Then I needed to stay up till after 8am so I could go to the post office to return that bowl. Came back and laid down but... you know when your body just feels wired and you really need to sleep but can't? Probably cause it's pumping out hormones to keep me awake to compensate for me being so tired, that's my guess based on how it feels
Anyway, lay down and kind of drift off with a video in the background, but... I think I was just on the verge of sleep but not able to cross over... like dozing at best
Then I hear Bart making noise and look over and he's acting like he's hunting a mouse, and sure enough he was, so he helps me cup it, and then I go take it to a field outside of town to hopefully live a better life... but clearly wasn't sleeping if I'm doing that
And... I'm still up. I think I'm gonna try and take another crack at sleeping... I hope I can do it. Things do at least feel a bit cooler
But yeah, I'm a mess today, gonna be two days worth of dash to look through whenever I get up, and then I can also respond to the couple messages I've got
But oof... hate feeling like this. The non depressed part of me wants to die just because maybe then I could finally rest
#for the record not even feeling that suicidal today; not sure if I'm too tired for it or if I'm just in an ok mood for once#but fuck do I just want to shut off and never have to boot up again; but now and in general#I relate to Bilbo and Frodo talking about being stretched thin... I feel something similar... you know... most of the time#strip the depression aside and I'm tired... and I don't know if any amount of rest will cure it... I don't know if I can truly rest#got a lot of things I want to do; whole lot of skills I want to pick up#but... having to be the parent my whole life; never actually getting a proper break... I'm so tired#my trip to Phoenix was the closest to a break I've gotten; but... there was a set activity in a set time frame#...it still kinda feels like I should have found a way to squeeze more out of it; you know? like as an obligation#not cause I minded how things actually went... but it just felt like I shouldn't have been at the hotel on the couch; should have been out#and then a 3 day window with stressful travel on either side of it... hard to really relax like that#obviously I had a fairly bad breakdown there; one of the few times I was actually at serious risk... not sure if I'd have managed it#don't trust myself to have the nerve to kill myself; but I very much did have a method... if I hadn't had someone to go see the next day#might have just gone ahead with it#but anyway; other than dinner with my friend their friend group and showers... I'm not sure I relaxed there either#I think... I think sleeping was more a maintenance obligation and I sprung up like when I set an alarm#(I so rarely set alarms and almost always wake up a couple minutes before them; it felt like that for 3 days straight)#so... truthfully I don't know if... if I've ever really rested#mhh... no joke; the last time that comes to mind that I didn't feel like I had to be kind of on#was when I was 13 on a school trip; and I'd taken a surf board to the back of the head while being rescued from a rip tide#and so people were worried about me; and I was just kind of laying there relaxing while people played cards and stuff nearby#...mhh... anyway... in less of a mood to say it's a shame I didn't just drown; so I suppose that's something#but... I don't even know what I'm saying; I'm so tired in the lack of sleep sense#and also physically and emotionally or... whatever#well... take care#mm tag so i can find things later
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dearsnow · 5 months ago
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BIRDS OF A FEATHER
- phoenix and her girlfriend set you up with a wso they insist will be right up your alley. (robert “bob” floyd x fem!reader, fluff, reader is meant to be similar to bob, ie quiet, sweet, and nerdy, mentions of being drunk/having sex but nothing explicit)
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word count: 2,003
a/n - this fic is parallel HEAVY, so don’t be surprised if you see the same phrase passed around. it’s truly a mindlink esque situation lol. and it’s 100% self-indulgent because the reader’s personality is so similar to mine (i am nothing if not a self caterer)
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“Nat, I’m really not sure.” Bob tries to protest. “You know I’m no good with dating and stuff. Who’s to say she’ll even like me?” Natasha pats him on the back, firmly enough for him to know she means it.
“You guys are birds of a feather. Trust me, she’ll like you.”
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“Jamie, I just don’t know.” You frown. She’s trying to set you up with her girlfriend’s friend, claiming that you’d be the perfect match, but you know you’re not the most amazing when it comes to meeting new people. You’re slightly awkward at best, socially anxious at worst. “He probably won’t like me. And if we’re really so similar, don’t you think it’ll be stiff and weird because neither of us can say the right, flirty thing?”
“You don’t need to be ‘flirty’ to have a good connection. Not every relationship is going to be like Natasha and I, all fire and flame. Sometimes it’s slow, and slow is good. It’s exactly what you need.” Jamie chides, putting a soothing arm around your shoulder. “Trust me. Birds of a feather, right?”
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You shift uncomfortably in the booth you’re sitting in, Jamie’s hand rubbing the side of your arm comfortingly. It’s ten minutes before your supposed double date, and Natasha affirms that it’s about five minutes before he shows up. “Bob’s always early,” she stated, “so we can be even earlier to give you some prep time.”
You’re quiet. Shy, even, and you don’t have the best track record with social events. You’ve never really had a date that understood why you don’t want to get roaringly drunk and have sex in a bathroom and whatnot. The two girls, one in front of you and one by your side, have assured you that Bob will be different. He’s quiet too, but he stands up for himself. He’s strong and capable, with a humble attitude and the slight southern charm that you can bring home to your parents. If he’s really so great, though, what the hell is he doing going out with you?
Bob can see your booth through the door of the diner, and he steels his nerves quietly. He’s got this. He’ll make it a nice dinner, a nice experience, and he will not, under any circumstances, fuck it up. He owes you that much. He knows he’s probably not what you want in a guy. Natasha described you as hardworking, kind, and a good listener. He can’t help but think that you deserve much better than him.
He takes a breath and pushes open the door, the flowers in his other hand a little damp from his sweaty palms.
When he finally rounds the server stand, he can see you. And you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever had the pleasure of setting sights on.
He’s royally fucked, he thinks.
Oh my god, he’s so hot. You smile at him and curse a bit under your breath, careful to not let anyone hear. He’s everything you imagined and more, with sandy colored hair, bright blue eyes, and glasses that look like they’re just a little crooked. If you were bold, you’d reach across the table and fix them as he sat down. You’re not, though, so you just fidget with your hands under the hard wood.
He clears his throat and hands you a small bouquet of daises, sliding into the spot across from you. Nat gives a little self-satisfied smile from next to him. “Hi. I didn’t know what you liked, so I hope that’s okay. I’m- I’m Robert by the way, or Bob, whatever you prefer.”
You think your cheeks will split open from how hard you’re smiling. It’s such a small gesture, but the blush on his cheeks tells you that it’s earnest. “They’re perfect. Thank you, Bob.” You introduce yourself with the next breath, and he shakes your hand like it’s a business meeting. His palms are warm and just a little bit damp, but when his fingers curl around your own like they were meant to fit together, you couldn’t care less. “So,” you begin, somewhat shyly, “you’re Natasha’s WSO?”
When Bob hears your quiet voice, he knows he’s in deep. “Yeah. She’s a great pilot.” His praise earns him an elbow from Natasha, a silent ‘talk about yourself, dipshit’ evident in the action. He smiles nervously. “We do a lot of the weapons bits so the pilots can fly safely. How about you, what do you do?”
“It’s not as important and exciting as your job, that’s for sure.” You laugh before explaining exactly what you do.
“Honestly, that is important and exciting. I’m sure you excel at it, too,” Bob offers, somewhat bashfully. What makes your head spin is that he seems like he means it. He’s sincere, wonderfully so.
As that statement quirks the corners of your mouth up, Bob’s heart explodes. You’re charming and beautifully sweet, with a pretty smile and dashing eyes to boot.
Jamie enters your conversation carefully, like she wants to help but isn’t forcing anything. Natasha pipes in a few times, but overwhelmingly, it’s you and Bob. Neither of you have ever spoken so much in this type of setting before, and it’s great. You bounce ideas and jokes and quips off of each other like you were meant to. You feel like you were meant to, because everything just comes so easily with Robert Floyd. You’re finally talking to someone who understands every bit of you, polishing the hidden parts of yourself until they shine. You never thought you could feel this way with another person.
“Wait, have you read this book called For One More Day?” You ask, finding every opportunity to drag out a subject you enjoy so deeply. “It’s really sad, like a fictional memoir, but I think you’d enjoy it. The whole story is basically an ode to loving your parents while they’re still around.”
“I haven’t, but I’ll be sure to check it out the next time I go go the library.” Bob says, giving a slightly lopsided grin that makes your heart scream. “It seems right up my alley though. I like non fiction books, mostly, but I could go for a change every once and a while.”
Your food is almost forgotten in the midst of the conversation, and his is too. “When you do read fiction, what genres do you go for? I have a million recommendations, so help me narrow them down a bit.”
Bob will never admit this to his friends, but he’s an avid reader. He’s a sucker for a true story or anything about dogs, however, he’d read anything you could ever think to tell him about. He has already made a mental note to check out For One More Day and is currently making more notes as you list off more dog-central books. You, as you’ve told him, go for more of the fancy prose-d, heavy drama-d, and emotion-filled stories. It’s nice to see you like this, talking about something you’re honestly passionate about. The light in your eyes makes you look like a ray of sunshine.
Jamie grins at Natasha from across the table, utterly and unashamedly content that her plot has worked. Natasha rolls her eyes. “Alright, you two,” Nat says, “can we move on to something more exciting? Like planning a second date, maybe. One where Jamie and I can be happy at home while you two nerd out.”
Bob’s face reddens and you give a small, sheepish smile. “I’d like that.” You say.
“Me too.” Bob adds. Natasha can firmly say that she’s never seen him so happy, not even after a successful flight. It’s like he’s finally found the thing that made him tick, like you reached into his chest and wound up the gear box in his heart. “I’m free this Friday, if you’re up for it.”
You tap your fingers on the tabletop, thinking. “This Friday… this Friday is when I’m doing a book reading for the kids at our local library at lunchtime. We could have dinner after that, though.” You want to spend the entire day with him, but if a few hours is all you’re given, you’ll take it. You’d take anything.
Bob’s hands move to touch yours, just barely. His warmth radiates out, perfectly soothing your nerves. “If you want, I can make lunch and help you out at the book reading. I like those kinds of things, but I don’t want to impose.”
“You absolutely should.” You breathe. “You wouldn’t be imposing at all. In fact, I think the kids would really like it if Mr. Naval Aviator read a few books to them. You’d be like a superhero in their eyes.”
You’re a bit astounded by how much Bob’s face flushes. If you thought he was a bit pink before, he’s got a drunk man’s glow now. And you were being completely, one hundred percent honest when you said that the kids would like him. They’d love him. Micah’s father was in the Navy when he was younger, so there’s one connection, and April loves airplanes with a passion. It would be amazing.
“Then I’ll be there. Here’s my number, so you can text me when and where.” Bob slides a little piece of paper over to you, one that he must have written a bit ago, because his pen is securely clipped to his pocket. He likes you so much he wrote down his number while you were (probably) explaining your love for reading, or crafts, or small animals? You’re going to swoon if he keeps this up.
Natasha eyes where your hand is touching Bob’s. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out. Now eat your food.” She gestures to your half-touched plates. You and Bob both stutter a little, completely having forgotten what you’re going to have to pay for.
The rest of the evening goes amazingly. You talk about so many subjects that by the end of the day, when the sun is slipping below the horizon, you feel like you’re floating on air— light and unburdened by the way you’ve been able to express yourself. Bob insisted on paying for your meal, and though you protested, a little part of you feels giddy that you’re worth spending money on. Bob walks you to your car, tucking your flowers into the cup holder between your seat and the passenger side.
“I really enjoyed that.” He muses. “I really enjoyed you. I thought Nat and Jamie were kinda full of it when they told me about this whole double date, but I’m glad they weren’t.”
“Me too, oh my gosh. I was totally expecting some stuck-up Navy nerd, but I’m glad it was you. I enjoy you too, Bob, probably way too much.” You’re standing by your door, but you feel like you can’t leave just yet.
He looks at you with something you hope to think is affection in his eyes before glancing down towards your lips. “I’ll let you get going. Text me anytime.”
You hesitate, staring up into his ocean blue eyes. Before you can stop yourself or tell yourself it’s a bad idea, you take the collar of his shirt in your hand and kiss him.
It feels right. His hand coming up to rest on your waist, his body pressed against yours as he stabilizes himself on your car, it’s everything you’ve always dreamed of. His lips work in tandem with your own, like they’re collaborating on some sort of secret mission, and he kisses you like he loves you.
His pupils are blown up and he’s panting just slightly when you pull away. He misses the feeling of your lips on his as soon as it ends, the tingling sensation working its way down his face. “T-Thank you…?” He whispers. You laugh, the sound music to his ears. He can hardly believe that that just happened.
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you later, yeah?”
“Definitely.“
You give him a small peck on the cheek and step into your car, so happy you think you could explode. As you pull out, and as he waves at you from the parking lot, you make an effort to remember to thank Jamie and Natasha.
Who would’ve thought that you really would be birds of a feather?
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Taglist: @seitmai
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littlestpersimmon · 1 year ago
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Guy with cataracts and scarred from an explosion has a fail toymaking shop in front of a rundown temple and he has a crush on a disfigured lowly priestess whom he suspects is a stealth trans guy because she always picks the boy option when they play board games (he’s right btw)
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He's from Kalantiaw, but his mom is diaspora, and I thought her to be half "Japanese" (coded) - still trying to figure out how japanese ethnicities come to play.
She was a sailor turned pirate. She didn't know the language spoken in Kalantiaw (more akin to Khmer), and she spoke a different language (more austronesian), and she named him Kahilingan, which means "wish". But in Kalantiaw, where she settled, his name means "curse" or "bad omen" 💀 it doesn't help that her life ended with the beginning of his. So.
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Kahi spends much of his life chasing the image of his mom and trying to.... live up to her- because sailing is the most esteemed occupation in their world. Only very very very very very few people have managed to work on "dragonships".
Basically, their world is physically broken (like living on an asteroid belt) and they sail to and fro each sundering / country on specialized stone ships called "dragonships" / "bakunawa"- and the ships themselves are semi-alive? They're like.. Stone ships laminated with the spirits of devas and dragons and other great beings who have all died because of (redacted).
Anyway, his mom, Maaya, was a renowned sailor- she tamed a dragonship that was imbued with an infamously wild dragon called Duksa- Dragonships are Sponsored, but those who sponsor the ships are almost never in command, and they also easily lose ownership to their hired captains- because the ships themselves are sentient, and they never obey anyone who they deem are incapable of commanding them. Only Maaya could control Duksa hehe. So she became known throughout all their world as this wild woman who loved fast boats and only accepted voyage commissions "if they are very fun". Anyways blah blah blah she fell in love w Kahi's other parent (who is nonbinary) and she got pregnet with him. And they eventually settled in Kalantiaw, in it's countryside near the subterranean capital (Kamharik).
Kahi always annoyed his other parent abt his mom because he too wanted to meet Duksa, but his parent kept warning him not to go near the ship because after Maaya died, it went even more mad with grief. Kahi more of an engineer than a captain like his mom, but his goal was simply to acquaintance with Duksa rather than actually captain her. But Duksa did not accept anyone, not even anyone who was part of Maaya's original crew.. Kahi went to an apprenticeship on shipbuilding-
he became somewhat popular for being clever with his hands, and all around Kalantiaw, everyone thought of him as reliable and very creative when it came to problem solving. So he went from normal ships to fixing dragonships.. ..
The Greatest dragonships are ones that are imbued with the spirits of actual ancient dragons and qilin, bc some are imbued with "lesser" dragons or false dragons, and some are with non-dragon albeit great spirits- like minor gods, wind spirits, phoenix,naga, etc etc..
Duksa was a true and great dragon, and Kahi knew that she was suffering from severe neglect, so all he wanted was to patch her up-
Everyone, every single one of Kahi's peers discouraged him, bc it is known that anyone who even approaches her is immediately kilIed by her; but Kahi, he is different. When he approaches Duksa, she was a shadow of herself, a ghost ship- She senses Maaya, and she even thought that Kahi was her at first- so she lets Kahi patch her big crabclaw sails, fixed her boilers and really tried to replicate how she used to look when Maaya lived.. and Duksa didn't know it wasn't her, because her eyes were covered in barnacles.. The "eyes" of a dragonship is its lodestar, and Kahi was purposefully saving it for last because he is frightened of what Duksa could do to him;;
But before that, Duksa spoke to him, joked like "ah beauty, what happened to you?! Your voice sounds like you swallowed a frog.. are you ill? Why did you abandon me?" Fhjsjs
"Why are your hands so gentle now? I want you to be rough!! Stop this at once! I am not old!"
But when Kahi started scraping finally at the lodestar, and he opened Duksa's eyes to the world once more, she cried in great anger because who tf was this intruder! And why did he carry Maaya's spirit with him !!!
Her entire deck creaked so hard the floorboards broke again, and she swayed her whole body so Kahi nearly fell from the lodestar;; he tried to reason with her, and it sort of mirrors how his mom tamed Duksa. She barrelled in head on and confidently, but Kahi was meek and gentle.
Eitherway.. an angry dragonship is like highly radioactive, its like being in a storm in a contained environment, and she started puffing steam- it's like microdosing being in fukushima; And she called Kahi a fool, he'll never measure up to Maaya, he will never be her- aaaah, but she didn't kiIl him. Maybe because she knew he was Maaya's boy. She warned him never to return, and tossed him into the open shallows. So, he was absolutely brokenhearted. He was 19.
~intense lonely lovestory between him and a closeted trans guy raised by mean transphobic priestesses in a cult the antithesis of a loving and wise lesbian death goddess occurs.~
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There she is.. her name is Viharana Magayarin
Names-
Maaya's name is spelled a certain way in kanji, I want it to mean "True"
Duksa's name is Tagalog, it means "grief"
Kahilingan's name is tagalog- and it means "wish". Inspired from.. in tagalog, "curse" is a contronym of sorts- "curse" and "promise" is the same word ("sumpa")
Kahi's trans boyfriend's name is Tala, and it means "star" 😌
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seresinhangmanjake · 4 months ago
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Main Masterlist
Series:
Oh, Baby (dad!Jake Seresin): You might not have been his girlfriend, but when you left town one night a month after sleeping together, it completely broke Jake’s heart. Now, a year later, you’ve returned and you’re not alone. You have a new little companion that just so happens to bear a startling resemblance to Jake.
The One I Want (Jake Seresin x Plus Size!Reader): You're new in town and some guy named Jake is about to be your roommate. Being skeptical of new people keeps you lonely and uninterested in any entanglements, but Jake is desperate to change that.
Signed Away (Arranged Marriage AU): You find out about the contractual marriage your parents arranged with Jake’s when you were a baby. You’re plenty angered by it, but Jake doesn’t seem too bothered. He might even be happy.
Stolen Angel (Angel/Demon AU): You thought you were having a one-night stand with some random, normal guy. Turns out he's a winged, demon-like stalker who has been obsessed with you for years.
One shots:
Forgetting: Jake forgets to pick you up at the airport because of his ex, and for the first time, you think maybe you and Jake aren't mean to be.
Can’t Let You Go: When you and Jake broke up, it hurt both of you more than you could handle. Now, after three months of barely seeing or speaking to one another, Jake walks in on the surprise of seeing you in a wedding dress, and it brings past memories and ruined dreams to the surface.
Rather Be with You: Jake has been away for six months and he just hopes you waited for him.
It’s oh so Quiet: you are in a bad relationship, and you just want to be with Jake.
Just a Little Weak:  You are Penny’s new bartender and she warns you to stay away from one particular pilot, so you do your very best to please your boss. It is only when Penny goes out of town for the summer, leaving you in charge of the bar, that the pilot finally makes his move, and you finally give in. 18+
Touch and Go: You and Jake had been sleeping together for months, and as sure as you were of your feelings for him, you were unsure of his for you. He, however, certainly knew how he felt about you, and after you decide to go on a long trip without telling him, he lets you know just exactly what’s on his mind. 18+
Lazy Mornings and Whatnot: After coming home from his last mission, Jake doesn’t want you to leave the bed and will do what he has to if it means insuring that you’ll stay, which leads to fluffy conversations.
Jealousy Game: You do a little experiment to try to make Jake jealous and it works, with unexpected consequences that change the way you thought the night would go. 18+
Jealous Jake and the Biting Problem; Jealous Jake and the Other Sleepover Buddy: You and Jake have a friends-with-benefits situation, but when he finds bite marks on you from another guy, he doesn’t handle it well. 
Split: You break up with Jake because his actions make you question everything you’ve had between you, but he wants you to take him back. 
A First and a Second: It’s soft Dad!Hangman from start to finish. And cute marriage stuff.
Wanting it all: Hangman ends up in the hospital from a very similar Phoenix/Bob/birds situation, and you suddenly regret keeping a big secret from him.  
Drunken Words, Sober Thoughts: You and Jake had a history of flirting and occasionally kissing if too much time was spent at the bar, but it never went any further than that. One night, after showing up at your house and passing out on your couch, Jake wakes up the next morning only to learn he had drunkenly confessed his feelings for you.
Alive: After you get into an accident, Jake has a hard time coping with how close he was to losing you.
More Than What We Are: You and Jake are friends with benefits, and you have one rule: No feelings! Jake decides that rule doesn’t work for him anymore. 18+
Less Misery, More Company: Jake has feelings for you but you don’t believe it, so you play a little trick to get back at him for all of his flirtatious teasing. But that little trick fails miserably, and as the weight of your mistake settles in, you realize you owe him an explanation, one that requires you to admit some things you’ve long denied.
Back for More: Jake up and left you without explanation right before a mission. Now he’s returned wanting you back, but you want that explanation before you’ll be willing to let go of the pain and heartbreak from his sudden departure a month prior. 
Scrapes and Bruises:  When Rooster and Hangman get into a fight over you. Basically, Rooster is not thrilled about your relationship with Hangman, and their issues with one another bring up some fears of your own.
A Mission of Another Kind:Jake is assigned to a mission he did not think he would have to take part in, despite training for it with everyone else. Considering its high level of danger, you had been happy he hadn’t volunteered for it, until he came to your house one morning to tell you he had been assigned and would be leaving within the hour.
Drabbles:
He Doesn’t - Jake doesn’t do relationships...right?
Early - Jake’s a sweet boyfriend when reader gets her period.
Jake helps his drunk girlfriend
His Princess
“The bed is cold without you here”
Perfect for me, Baby - Jake is there for you when you have body-image concerns. 
Get Me Through - Jake helps you through the death of a loved one. 
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formulawolff · 6 months ago
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x. bringing the heat in miami - t.w.
pairing: female driver! x toto wolff
word count: 3.6k
warnings: cursing, mentions of sex, mentions of masturbation, lewd humor, age gap relationship, ANGST, naughty text messages, banter, light flirting, toto being down astronomically bad (like actually in the trenches) yadayadayada
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party in the city where the heat is on 
all night, on the beach till the break of dawn
“welcome to miami”
“bienvenidos a miami"
˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖
will smith’s infamous track fills your ears as you stroll in through the main gate of the track, fans clustered in thick waves. your name is called more times than you can count. posters, caps, shirts, you name it, wave about, begging to be signed. 
the sun shines overhead, casting bright, fiery light all around. although it was only around eight in the morning, humidity clung to the air, creating a sticky, dewy sensation on your exposed skin. fluffy clouds drift along, carried by a breeze as it rolls through. 
god, the weather was perfect.
hopefully it would be like this on race day.
“welcome to miamiiii,” alex bobs his head, singing along to the music, “are you excited? it is your home turf, after all.”
“if we were in phoenix, i think i would feel a little closer to home,” you suppress a giggle, “but yes, i am really fucking excited. everyone loves a race in their home country.”
“we’ll be in austin soon enough in october,,” alex shrugs, “when we’re in austin, i need you to show me how to ride a bull and teach me how to perfect that smooth texas drawl. i want to be like one of those little aunties who always say, ‘y’all come back now!’ like dolly parton! ” 
“you’re ridiculous,” the giggles blossom into a full-on laugh, “you don’t just start speaking with a southern accent. that’s not how that works.”
“sure it is,” alex nods, “hey, your parents are coming out for the race, right?”
“yes sir! they will finally get to see their baby girl in action!”
“they didn’t come out for a single grand prix last year?” alex raises a brow.
“i wasn’t winning races last year,” you counter, “i told them not to worry about spending that money during my rookie year. not everyone’s parents are loaded, you know.”
which, was a true statement. 
your parents had invested their time, hard-earned cash, weekends off, and a portion of their lives to get you here. you didn’t expect them to fly out for every single grand prix, make every event, or pay another dime towards your expenses. 
unlike many of the drivers, you were not born into an extremely lavish lifestyle. your parents were modest people, who happened to have a child later in life. ever since you were born, they lived in the same house, drove the same vehicles, and got by adequately. since they both worked full-time, getting you into the racing world was no simple feat. 
yet, they were determined to make your dreams become a reality. after years of careful coordination to the karting tracks, weekends devoted to races, and thousands upon thousands of dollars spent, you were offered a contract with williams racing. of course, you accepted that offer graciously. 
now, you were steadily paying your parents back for their dedication. once you signed your contract and those zeroes hit your bank account, you went out to the nearest dealership, purchasing a suburu wrx. with the premium package, at that. 
you would never forget your dad’s face the moment you pulled into the driveway, beaming as you placed the keys in his hand. 
that was one of the only moments you had ever watched him cry, wrapping you up in a tight, loving embrace.
“you didn’t have to do this. being your father is a gift in itself.”
“but you deserve it. you’ve sacrificed so much so that i could be in this position.”
“and you deserve nothing but the best, baby girl. you are going to be one of the greatest drivers formula one has ever seen. you make us so proud. keep making us proud. keep defying those odds. keep making history, baby girl.”
keep making history, baby girl.
as you stroll into the paddock, greeting the engineers, pit crew, and other team members, you can’t shake that feeling brewing deep within. 
it’s is a fiery desire, setting you ablaze with determination. 
you were going to keep making history. 
you were going to be the first american to win the miami grand prix. 
you were going to be the first woman to win two consecutive grand prixes. 
you were going to be the first woman to earn that title of world champion. 
you were going to chase that high. by any means possible. 
and nothing was going to stop you now. 
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“look at him,” lewis hamilton shakes his head, “he looks absolutely pitiful.”
“you think his little relationship is on the rocks?” 
“quite the contrary mate,” lewis remarks, folding his arms across his chest, “i think it’s more like the poor man is depraved. obviously the euphoria has worn off. he’s come down from that high. the man is craving more. plain and simple. a hand can only do–”
“i don’t need the mental image of my team principal wanking off,” george russell scoffs, rubbing his temple, “fuck, that is disgusting, lewis.”
toto wolff stood a few meters away from the drivers, engaged in deep conversation with bono and members of the crew. now that lewis knew the truth, he couldn’t help but notice how much power that american girl held over the team principal. it was almost as if he were deep in a trance, under some sort of spell. 
it was pitiful, really. just the sight of her was enough to send the team principal spiraling, intoxicated off her alluring aura. not like lewis could blame toto, though. there was no denying that the woman was extremely breathtaking. 
with her stunning features, witty mouth, unapologetic personality, and angelic presence, she was practically miss america.
well, not practically. 
she was miss america.  
everyone adored her. lewis could barely go throughout his morning without hearing her name being mentioned. whether it was fans, journalists, social media, even members of the mercedes crew, she was the hot topic of formula one, taking the world by storm.
toto was a lucky man. an extremely lucky man. 
if only she was into men her age. 
“my apologies mate,” lewis nudges george with his elbow playfully, “did we have anything going on today? any obligations?”
george’s brow furrow, sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, “if we’re being honest, i can’t really remember. i think something to do with monster energy, maybe.”
“perfect,” lewis licks his lower lip, fishing his phone out of his pocket. 
time to text that little assistant. 
in all seriousness, he felt horrible for taking advantage of that young girl. she was only nineteen for fuck’s sakes, a fresh face to mercedes at the start of the 2024 season. that made her the perfect target to do his bidding. 
well, it wasn’t really bidding. 
more like investigative journalism. 
at least, that’s what lewis told himself to feel a little less guilty for what he was about to do. 
hey, do you by chance know toto’s schedule today?
seconds later, little text bubbles appear. 
he was meeting with you guys this morning, then he has an interview with the press around two-thirty p.m. it’s nothing super serious, just a brief session entailing his thoughts for the weekend. at four, he has a zoom call with a few of the mercedes execs. after that, he told me he was going to be out for the remainder of the evening. why? 
hmmm. how convenient. 
i was just curious. thanks for letting me know! i appreciate you, natila. 
of course, mr. hamilton! let me know if you need anything else! :))) 
it was now or never. go time.
after the meeting with the mercedes executives, lewis hamilton was going to knock on toto wolff’s door. he was going to stroll into that office, settling into one of those plush leather chairs. and before toto had the opportunity to speak, lewis was going to confront him about that american girl. 
how he was going to start that conversation, he had no idea. that would come to him in time as he went about his day, meeting with sponsors, flashing that lovely lewis smile, flirting with the reporters just a little. not too much so that it was obvious, but enough to make them blush a tad, giggling as they scrambled to stick to their script. 
but for now, it was time to focus on the matters at hand. 
across the track, a dutch driver strolls through the crowds, a jersey in one hand, phone in the other. glancing down at his screen, he curses under his breath at the throng of people. why were there so many people? where did they all come from? 
pausing for a moment, he taps his screen, thumb gliding through his contacts. 
“hey, where are you again?”
“we’re in the williams paddock!” her voice is an octave higher than usual, more than likely from anticipation, “we’ll see you soon!”
“sounds good,” max verstappen stifles a chuckle as he hears a voice on the other end, the words firm, demanding almost.  
“honey, who are you talking to? who’s coming over here?” 
“mom, please, just let me be on the phone for two seconds,” she exhales, “okay, i have to go. i’ll see you soon!” 
the walk to the williams paddock was excruciating, as max had to bob and weave through the masses to avoid reporters, potential sponsors, and any individual who called his name. it’s not like he didn’t like the fame that came with his success, it’s just that he didn’t like the constant cameras in his face. the prying questions. the intrusive comments. 
sometimes he wished he could just blend in, be like any other face in the crowd. yet, how could he when he was max verstappen? 
yet, as he steps into the paddock, he makes out the williams driver, her parents hovering around her as she introduces them to various members of the crew. at the sight, max can’t help but feel the corners of his lips curl into a smile as he notices the sheer and utter pride plastered across their faces. 
and they had every right to be proud of you. 
you earned it. 
“goedemorgen,” max clears his throat, raising his hand for a small wave, “i just came to stop by.”
the instant your mom realizes who is standing before her in the paddock, her eyes widen, lips parting, “oh my gosh – honey. look who it is!” 
“good morning max,” your laughter rings like bells as you cross over to the dutch driver, “how are you?”
“pretty good,” he nods, sticking out his right hand, “hallo, i’m max.”
your dad shakes his hand, squeezing it firmly, “nice to meet ya, max. i’m tony. this is my wife, heather.”
“pleased to meet you,” max beams, turning to your mom, “i brought something for you today. your daughter mentioned that you were a big fan of mine. so, i brought this jersey for you. she let me know your shirt size, so it should fit perfectly. my signature is on there somewhere, but i just can’t quite remember where.”
graciously, heather accepts the jersey, her eyes glossy, shifting to you as she wipes a tear, “oh, honey, you planned this?”
“of course i did,” wrapping an arm around her shoulders, you pull her in for a hug, “i couldn’t bear the thought of you guys attending the race without meeting any of my friends. besides, you deserve an all-inclusive experience at your first grand prix.”
“besides,” max shoots you a wink, “i wanted to meet the woman who crafted such a talented driver.”
at max’s compliment, your mom’s face flushes, “oh please! i can barely make it on the freeway without having a nervous breakdown. i don’t know how she can drive these things. it amazes me how confident she is and–.”
“i could show you,” max offers, “i have some free time tomorrow. i’m sure we could all meet up somewhere and i could take you for a spin, show you the ropes. how does that sound?”
“oh max,” your mom waves a hand, “you do not–”
“but i want to. it’s no issue. no issue at all.” 
“then it’s a plan,” you can’t help but grin as your moms’ eyes light up, “what time works for you, max? since it’s only thursday, we’ll have some time in the morning before the practice laps. or, we could go after. whatever works for you.”
“let’s go in the morning,” max suggests, checking his phone, “i think i can make a few calls. have someone bring in a car. we’ll take it out on the track.”
“is that allowed?” your mom arches a brow, “i just don’t want you two to get in any sort of trouble. 
“oh mom,” you roll your eyes playfully, gesturing to max, “that is max verstappen. whatever max verstappen wants, max verstappen gets.”
“she’s not wrong.”
“okay fine,” your mom nods, and you feel a giggle forming at her overprotective nature. 
“just don’t give me a heart attack out there, max. i have a very important race to watch on sunday.”
as your parents talk to max, alex making his way into the conversation, you feel the buzz of your phone in your pocket. carefully, you fish it out, ensuring to shield your screen from your mom’s wandering gaze. 
this is unbearable. i need to see you tonight. are you going to have any free time? i vaguely recall you mentioning that your parents were going to be here. i will take no offense if you would like to spend time with them. i know you do not get to see them often. 
i need to be inside you, schatzi. i can’t think straight right now because the only thing i can think about is fucking that perfect pussy of yours. 
i miss my golden girl. more than anything. 
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“lewis? this is a pleasant surprise.”
“how’s it going mate?” lewis hamilton bears a quaint smile as he settles into a chair, face-to-face with the team principal, “things going well?”
“eh,” toto shrugs, his head bowed as he types away on his phone, “same old shit, you know.” 
“things going well with the horseback rider?”
oh, so he wasn’t going to drop it. silently, toto curses the attentive nature of his british driver, “they’re fine.”
“so,” lewis leans back, folding his arms across his chest, “when were you going to fess up and admit that your little girlfriend doesn’t ride horses?”
“i don’t understand what you–”
lewis scoffs, clicking his tongue, “i know exactly who your little girlfriend is because she’s a few spaces ahead of me on the grid.”
shit.
the expression painting lewis’ features is brimmed with satisfaction, his gaze piercing right through the team principal as he shifts uneasily in his desk chair, running a hand through his hair. 
toto was well aware that lewis had completely blindsided him, pinning him in a corner. it was quite literally perfect timing, as the team principal was merely minutes away from organizing his things, shutting down his computer, and heading out the door, well on his way to his golden girl. 
well played, lewis. well played. 
yet, he had to maintain his composure. he had to maintain that poker face as lewis cocks his head, prompting him to formulate some sort of witty retort. 
“i’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“bullshit,” lewis shakes his head, “you’re not a very good liar, toto. you of all people should know that i can read you like a bloody book. how long has this been going on?”
well, he had to fess up now. lewis would continue to call him out on his shit if he kept up with the lies. letting out a shaky breath, the team principal hangs his head in defeat, his heart thumping against his rib-cage, wiping his damp palms on his slacks.
no going back now. time to come clean. 
“since she won in jeddah. but if we’re being technical, it started in bahrain.”
“wait,” lewis sticks his hands up, squeezing his eyes shut, “pause. this has been going on since the start of the season? for weeks you’ve been sneaking around, meeting up with her in secret or something? was she the one who came to brackley between melbourne and suzuka?”
with all of the questions pouring from lewis’ mouth, toto’s mind reeled, a swirling torrent of anxiety, fear, and disappointment. his cheeks burn with shame, tinged pink. 
“yes, she was.”
tilting his head, lewis’ lips purse, “you like her?”
“well isn’t that blatantly fucking obvious,” propping his elbows on the desk, he massages his temples with his fingers, “how did you find out?”
“it wasn’t hard,” lewis shrugs, “i mean, i see the way you look at her.” 
toto’s eyes narrow at lewis’ vague response, “how. did. you. find. out?”
“natila texted me about it,” lewis coughs, averting the team principal’s beady stare, “she may have heard a conversation or two.” 
“regarding?” toto presses, satisfaction pumping in his veins as lewis starts to crack, shifting in the chair, “come on, lewis. you can’t just march in here and demand answers from me without sharing your sources. what did natila hear?”
“she heard the entire conversation you had with the drive to survive crew while we were in suzuka. they mentioned that they had footage of you walking over to her motorhome. that’s all natila heard. don’t fire the poor girl,” the words were rushed, breathy, “it was my fault. i asked her what she heard. i told her i would pay her if she told me what she knew.”
“well,” toto blinks, swallowing thickly, “did you end up paying her?”
“only like five thousand.”
“that’s quite a large sum over something you could have just asked me about personally,” clasping his hands together, toto raises a brow, “why didn’t you just come to me instead?”
“because you got so fucking defensive the first time i asked about it!” 
lewis did have a point. 
a good point, at that.
it was not like the team principal would have withheld information regarding his developing relationship with the williams driver. it was more like he feared what would ensue if he did share what had transpired. he trusted lewis, he really did. additionally, it wasn’t like this was just some average woman. his career, her future, and so much more were at stake. the benefits of keeping it all under wraps greatly outweighed the risk of discovery. 
more importantly, he was protective of his golden girl. 
she was his little escape from it all. a breath of fresh air after excruciatingly long nights in the paddock or disappointing days on the track. she was his sun, shining her vivid, warm, golden rays into his dreary and dull life. 
sure, toto was a billionaire. but money was not everything. 
nearly every day, toto’s mind wandered to their time spent together in brackley. the way she felt against his skin. the way her shy smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. the way her fingers felt intertwined with his. the way her lashes fluttered as she slept, lips parted ever so slightly. the way his hands roamed her curves, relishing the softness of her. 
that memory alone was worth far more than the number of zeroes in his bank account. 
“you’re falling in love, aren’t you?”
lewis’ voice is low, dangerously quiet. yet, there’s a curious glint in his eyes, the bitterness and anger no longer present. his body language is more relaxed, legs crossed, the driver fiddling with his thumbs. 
“i –” toto stutters, scrambling to find the right words, “yes, i am.”
“does she know?” 
“no,” he inhales sharply, “she doesn’t.”
“you want to tell her though, don’t you?”
“it would just feel rushed,” the team principal dismisses lewis’ inquiry, his voice hardening, “i have to be realistic here. no one falls in love that quickly. that’s just petulant.”
“well look at it this way,” lewis offers, “if you’ve had your eye on her for some time, then it’s really not that rushed. clearly, if you’re feeling those emotions so deeply, then it’s accumulated over time. i don’t want to pry, but how long have you been attracted to her?”
“you don’t want to know,” a chuckle rumbles in the team principal’s chest, “it’s embarrassing, really.”
“no, no, no,” lewis tuts, “tell me, toto. how long?”
“december 2022, when she signed her contract with williams. when i saw that photo of her, i knew i had to have her. last summer, in monaco, i may have slipped up and approached her at the afterparty. i flirted with her, but she dismissed me. so, i kept my distance. however, it was just growing harder and harder to stay away. it was impulsive, that night in bahrain. but i wanted to make a move before anyone else got to her.”
as toto finishes, he can’t help but notice lewis’ smirk, “holy shit, toto. you’ve been wrapped around her finger for quite some time then, yeah?”
“i wouldn’t say that–” toto begins, clicking his tongue, yet, he’s swiftly cut off as a new figure cracks open the door. 
george russell leans against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest. his lips are pressed together, forming a tightly wound frown. 
“way to include me in the gossip session, guys. what did i miss? clearly, quite a lot. if you don’t mind, i would like to join the conversation. toto, would you start from the top? even though i’ve already heard most of it, when were you going to bring it to my attention that you were fucking that bloody williams driver?”
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777heavengirl · 3 months ago
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poa!remus lupin x healer!reader one-shot ! warnings: angst ? mentions of war and death, eventual fluff word count: 4,014 masterlist
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Remus Lupin was a handsome man. You had always known this, ever since fifth year when you got paired up with him in potions. It became your new favorite subject. He was not only gorgeous but bright and sharp as a whip. You could hear his sarcastic and witty comments from under his breath often, and the giggles that bubbled out of you were hard to contain. You had considered yourself decent friends, sharing more than one class with him and opting often to work together throughout your time at Hogwarts. He was even the reason you were a part of the order of the phoenix as the war broke out. 
It was a dark time, the insecurity and the panic. The sheer paranoia that draped over everyone like a coat made of lead. You lost contact as the war ended. His best friends were dead, or traitors. His family was dead and as far as you knew he retreated until the only mention of him was the pictures on your walls. You hadn’t laid eyes on the man for twelve years. 
But Remus Lupin was still a handsome man. Older barely, tired definitely. As Dumbledore introduced him as the new defense against the dark arts professor you couldn’t help but gawk. His shy smile was the same, a small curl of his lip as he looked sheepishly at the crowd of children. His light brown hair was longer than the last time you had seen him. He shaved it the year Harry was born, you always thought he looked quite good with the buzz. Matter of fact he had asked you to shave it for him. You’d never forget the trust he had in you at that moment, nor the feel of his head, his face in your hands. 
You had started your post as a secondary healer at Hogwarts around the same time Harry Potter turned 11. Albus insisted Madame Pomfrey needed the help, and as a trusted witch and now experienced and skilled healer after many years at St Mungo’s, you were the one for the job. After much bonding with the Potter boy, as he had the terrible habit of always needing medical care along with his friends you started to tell him, stories of his mother, of his father, and your time together at school. You suspected Albus Dumbledore was playing a game of chess. Remus’s appearance was no different. Maybe he was trying to introduce the boy to his parent’s old friends. Show him the love and care his parents had fostered with others. The way James and Lily cared for their friends like family, until their last seconds.
Lily Evans had been, until the day of her death, one of your closest friends. The two of you were basically inseparable, she always said muggle-borns needed to stick together. This closeness is what made your friendship with Remus so easy. It was like two overlapping circles of friends perfectly lining up, creating one. This also made it easy to fall in love with him. Lily always encouraged it, you could still hear the smile on her face as she spoke warmly about the man, how perfect he was for you.
Lily loved Remus. You suspected this was also the reason for his absence. Everyone deals with grief differently.
Or maybe he just really had no care for you after all?
You shook the thought away as you did your nightly duties. It was nearing the end of the first week of classes and you hadn’t dared talk to Remus. You were trying to come to terms with the undeniable fact that maybe it was best that you didn’t reconnect. He could teach from his classroom on his side of the castle and you could heal children from yours. Not in a bad way, but maybe in the way two people avoid each other because of too much shared pain. Because maybe looking at each other meant acknowledging how alone you were. It’s not like he had even looked at you either. You wondered if he thought of you. 
You thought of Lily as you cleaned. She’d huff at you if she heard your thoughts. 
“Ah yes Ms Y/L/N,” Dumbledore walked in, Remus in tow. The soft brown, wool sweater he wore made your heart clench. He looked like he always did, he looked like the Remus you grew up with. Not the stuffier professor robes you had seen him wearing around. “I do believe you are familiar with Professor Lupin’s-”
”predicament” Remus muttered but in the silence of the night it was clear as day. 
”ah yes, ever so verbose, the professor, but you are aware yes?” 
Of course, you knew, you had helped him post-full moon before while you were training to be a healer. While the war felt like it would blow down your doors at any minute. you simply nodded. You resumed your task of folding the sheets, opting to do it with your hands.
You were afraid to look at him, but you knew what Dumbledore would ask.
”I trust you can make sure he’s in good shape each month then?”
You smiled softly at the headmaster, “of course sir, i’ll tend to him when needed” Dumbledore smiled and nodded as he turned, patting Remus’s shoulder as he passed and disappeared into the castle's darkness.
You could feel Remus tense up as you were left alone, you felt suffocated even in the expansiveness of the hospital wing. 
“I have all the moon dates in my calendar professor,” the words felt foreign coming from your mouth but you couldn’t bring yourself to say his name. “so please don’t hesitate to tell me what arrangement you’d prefer I can go up to your room the morning after or if you feel like coming down as well”
Remus shifted on his feet as you spoke. He stared hard at the windows but he suspected you were also avoiding his gaze. 
“I think I can make it up here, don’t worry I’ll probably be okay,” You hummed, shooting him a tightlipped smile as he bowed his head and left. Your eyes never met. 
Remus felt like he might suffocate at any moment. His skin felt hot under his collar and he couldn’t remember if he had looked at you at all. He tried to picture your face. Had it aged at all? Had you changed? He could only think back to when you buzzed his head thirteen years ago. Your wide smile as the two of you laughed at his falling locks. It had been cathartic at the time, and he could still feel the ghost of your fingers over his face, over his head.
It was a fleeting thought, a flash of a life he had forgotten he had lived. Twelve years is an awfully long time, to not see someone.
He wondered how you had dealt with all of it. With the losses, with the absence of everyone you loved. He could feel regret worm its way into his heart. He had left you alone. You were each other's remaining friends. There was no longer anyone else, Lily and James, Marlene, and Dorcas were all dead. He presumed Mary was dead as well. Frank and Alice weren’t there anymore, not mentally.
He knew you took care of them. At St Mungo’s. He caught a glimpse of you once as you came into their room. Remus had just gone to visit, talk to them, and bring them flowers. Even if they didn’t seem to recognize him, Alice was entranced by the Lillies he brought. He felt content enough about it as he walked away, but then you walked into the room after. He knew you hadn't seen him, but he peeked in to observe you. With your nice smile and your caring gaze, you checked up on them, made sure they had been fed, ran through a small (although futile) therapeutic exercise with them, and put on a charm so the flowers wouldn’t wilt, so they make you happy for a long time Alice. Remus hated the pang of pain in his heart. He always knew you would become a good healer. He didn’t want to disrupt your life. You seemed well-adjusted. Or at least he hoped you were, but that was just the outside, and the outside doesn’t always reflect the inside.
Remus knew this especially well.  
-
This arrangement between you was barely touched on. Remus had come in only once in the two months that had passed for a small scrape on his neck. It made your fingers itch in anticipation. It was like you needed to feel needed. You knew he wasn't having the best time. He looked pale and ill and you fought the urge to drop something off at his door. 
"Severus I need to know if you're giving him Wolfsbane" You disliked dealing with Severus Snape. You didn't trust him. Not since the incident with Lily in fifth year. And rightfully so. Regardless of the headmaster's unwavering faith in him, you were convinced he was going to screw with Remus and his job. Whether payback for things in the past or simple jealousy. 
"I don't see how that's any of your business," He sneered at you as he turned away, walking down the dark empty halls of the dungeon's hallways. 
"I'm his nurse-"
"He won't even let you treat him, and if you knew what was good for you," he crossed his arms. You felt as useless as when he and Lily had started arguing in fourth year. "You'd forget about him, its pathetic-" 
You knew it was pointless to speak to the man. You often pondered if he saw glimpses of Lily in you just as you saw them in him.
You huffed as the two of you walked your separate ways. You felt sixteen again. Mindlessly, you walked to the defense against the dark arts tower. It wasn't a section of the castle you found yourself in often or at all anymore, your days as a student had long passed. You focused on the stone stairs. You felt like your hands were clammy and freezing at the same time. You didn't know if you were overstepping a boundary. 
Classes had finished for the day, the kids ran around the castle, some greeting you some not. You didn't mind. You knocked softly at his office door with your knuckles. You suddenly felt insecure about your red robes and white apron, it was nearly identical to Poppy Pomfrey's. She said something about yours having a younger silhouette. Whatever the hell that meant. 
"Come in," Remus's voice called out through the door. You turned the door knob hesitantly. You couldn't help but stare at the artifacts and books thrown and placed about. "Ah, welcome"
"I'm sorry for the intrusion," you still didn't dare say his name, it was stuck in your throat like a bubble of water and air that forms when you drink too fast. You felt like you might choke. "I just needed to know if you were taking a certain potion-"
Remus nodded, an understanding smile playing on his lips. 
"I am,"
"Okay good," you trailed off as you finally looked at him straight on. His hands had stopped their task, ink-dipped feather placed back on his desk as he also stared at you. You fiddled with your fingers behind your back. "I'm sorry, Severus wouldn't answer my question and I needed to know so as to not give you anything that might react poorly-"
"It's alright," Remus bit his lip slightly, you could tell he was bouncing his leg from under his desk.
"I'll take my leave then" you turned away from him. 
"Y/N" you stopped at the door, the cold metal handle cooling your hand. "D'you want some tea?"
You couldn't say no. Not to him. So you turned back and nodded. 
Remus smiled softly, seemingly relieved. 
-
Your tea time with Remus had been filled with content silence. Neither of you felt the urge to speak, it was a comfortable stillness as you sat side by side looking out his window. You didn't feel the need to express anything or address the twelve years that you were absent from each other's lives.
This felt enough for now. 
As the sun set you left, with a thank you and a small smile. He mirrored it. You felt like a bit of weight had been lifted and you spent the rest of the night with a small smile on your face. 
The next few weeks went along about the same, healer duties with the bonus of Remus passing by the hospital wing later on and having tea silently or you seeking him out in his office. You were afraid to talk, like you'd ruin it if you did. You felt as if your desperation to erase the last twelve years of silence and solitude might consume you.
But the full moon came around again and you desperately hoped Remus would come in the morning. For you to fuss over him, to make sure he was properly fed, to give him whatever sweets he wanted. You wanted to kiss the scars on his face as you once did, to run your fingers through his hair as you reassured him that it was over, that he was okay. Even if he kept his consciousness thanks to the potion, transformations were rough on him. You hadn't been able to even close your eyes.
You heard a knock on your door. You briefly glanced at the clock on your desk, 5:30 AM. Remus was out of it. And probably outside your door. You scrambled from your bed, closing the distance between you and the door, and cracked it open. Sure enough, the brown-haired man stood there, with his greenish-pale face and clammy skin.
"I'm sorry-"
"Remus please-" You dragged him inside, quickly directing him towards your bed. You made sure he laid down while you assessed him for any accidental injuries. As you got to work Remus watched you, the way you muttered to yourself as you read the labels to potions and serums to try and help him. Your dark blue silk gown flowed down your body, reaching right over your knee. It reminded him of a river at night. The lighter blue robe loosely tied around you pooled around ur feet as u crouched next to your medicine box. 
“Here drink this, it should make you feel better,” you say next to him, one leg tucked under your thigh, the other hanging from the side of the bed. You brought the small vial up to his lips, one hand under his head to try to bring him up. The green liquid tasted slightly bitter but he drank the whole vial without reproach. 
Remus sighed as he felt his body warm. You got up again, opening and closing cabinets, muttering to yourself again. You found a chocolate bar and a cloth with a sigh and walked briskly back to his side. Remus felt sadness bubble up from deep within. He thought of you all alone for so many years, he watched your face as you dabbed a warm damp cloth around his face. He hadn’t noticed before, how you didn’t look all that older. Tired, yes, beautiful, always. Last time he had seen you, the two of you were freshly 21 and you felt like you would eat the world raw. Now you were 33. Most people your age haven’t seen half of what you had. You had a frown on your face, and your eyes reflected a deep sorrow. 
You were so young. Remus thought of your time apart. He couldn't rationalize that he had lived so long without you.
You were both still so young.
”I’m sorry,” Remus couldn’t help saying it
”You don’t have to apologize for anything Rem,” your voice was barely above a whisper, you conjured some water in the glass on your bedside table. You went to help him drink from it and he grabbed it from your hand, sitting up.
“I do though,” his eyebrows stitched together in worry, he placed the cup back in its original spot. He couldn’t help but look away “I left-“
Your hands dropped onto your lap, you felt like your heart was falling out of your chest.
”You didn’t owe me anything, we just drifted-“
”Love you know that’s not true,” your head spun at the nickname, you hadn’t heard it come out of his mouth in so long. Old habits die hard. “I left you alone and we’re all the other has left.”
He shook his head and felt his eyes fill with tears. You could feel the tears start falling from yours as well.
”It’s my fault I should’ve tried harder-“ Remus laughed in indignation.
”Y/N it is not your fault,” as you tried to talk, to somehow convince him and yourself that your distance had been your doing, that you had been the one to cut him off, the one to leave, he grabbed your hand. “I was the one that stopped answering calls and the door, I moved away, I’m the one that did everything in my power to not think about what had happened and that included leaving you-"
Remus couldn't help but think the worst of himself, as he saw the tears stain your cheeks and your nose redden. You were full-on crying now, clutching his hand like he would vanish into thin air. Remus Lupin was someone who left. He knew this, he always had been, as a kid he ran from his problems. From his lycanthropy, from his mother's illness in his teenage years, from his father's sadness. He ran then, spending holidays at Hogwarts where he could pretend that the only thing that plagued him was the full moon, moving in with Sirius and Peter right after graduation. Being the first one out of the door after they had to go their separate ways for safety.
He was still a man that left. He left you as the both of you stood alone in the ruins of the family you had all built. He ran as far as he could. 
Remus Lupin was someone who left. And he feared that the look on your face now would forever make his heart bleed. Because how could he have let himself leave you?
But you didn't see that, and if you did you didn't hold it against him. Your tear-ridden eyes shone when you looked at him. He felt like he might suffocate under your gaze. He wanted nothing more than to kiss you, for all the years he didn't, for all the times he almost did. Remus Lupin wanted to kiss you more than anything else in the world. 
That could wait, he had already waited a lifetime anyway.
He pulled your arm until your body collided with his chest, heart to heart. His hand pressed your head close to him, your hands gripping his soft sweater until your knuckles turned white. He buried his face in your hair as you both cried, sobs trembling through both your chests. Your knees on the bed as your top half lay on top of him. You didn't care, the only thing you could think about was how he was here now, how he held you, and the way his hand rubbed up and down your back. 
"Please never leave Remus," the words managed to escape you between sobs, and he could hardly manage to croak out a never again.
And he never would. Remus vowed to himself, at this moment with you in his arms, he'd never let go again.
He'd never leave.
-
It had become a habit for the two of you, to seek each other's comfort. You'd wonder what it felt like to kiss him. Although you were close now, there seemed to be a line neither of you would cross. Wary of the other's reaction. You figured that maybe after so many years any romantic interest in you had dissipated. 
So the habit persisted, he'd come beaten and battered after a full moon, Severus's potion-making is quite unreliable, isn't it? You figured he did it on purpose. And you'd patch the brown-haired man, only then would he pull you into his arms. Remus was soft and pliable, the exhaustion of the transformation made him melt into your body and your bed. He more often than not dragged himself to your room, even when the full moon was far, even when he felt good. He would make his way to your room, and you'd always greet him with your arms wide open and ready to press your bodies together until you fell asleep. He'd usually be gone by morning.
It was December now,  and the cold made his joints feel brittle and ache. 
He had gone directly to your room after dinner, he couldn't help but watch you as you got ready for bed. He stripped down from his robes until he was only in a loose white tee and a pair of joggers he had permanently left in your room. The aches that resonated through him often made you forget that Remus Lupin was still a young man. You were only 33. The remainders of youth highlighted the shape of his body as he threw himself on your bed. The white tee shifted upwards with his arms revealing slivers of his torso. You couldn't help but look through your mirror as you brushed your hair. 
Your dynamic had become somewhat domestic, he'd watch you get ready and pull you into his arms to sleep together. You felt like a silly teenager, playing house. Like this was the life you were supposed to live, the soft music pouring from the record player, a soft song you heard many years ago. The type of song that makes nostalgia and melancholy settle in your heart. This was it, the life you were supposed to live was the way Remus crossed the room and pulled you by the hand. The way his arm pulled you close and you slow danced, laughing at the way you tumbled around. You deserved a soft life, one with chocolate frogs and slow rhythms. A life with laughter and joy, of feeling unjudged, of feeling safe and warm. 
A life full of love.
And as Remus spun you around and laughter poured from both your lips you couldn't help but feel your heart swell. It felt like a warm flower bloomed in your chest as you looked at his smiling face. He slowed your spinning around the room as the song came to a close but you remained in his arms, you could feel the tip of his fingers tug slightly at a lock of your hair. You couldn't help but smile up at him between giggles. 
"Can I kiss you?" his words were merely a whisper, like a ghost of desire. And you couldn't help but smile even wider, pulling his neck down to press your lips against his soft ones. He tasted of spearmint and chocolate, and you couldn't help but break into a smile, lips still pressed onto his. He leaned back, holding your face between his large hands. Laughter bubbled from his lips as he leaned in for a second kiss, head spinning, his lips soft but firm. He dragged his lips to your cheeks, pressing pecks on the apples of your cheeks, on your jaw, on your neck. Laughter bounced between the two of you.
Fifteen years of desire piled up to one kiss. 
This life was the one you deserved. 
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writing-until-i-drop · 1 month ago
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Breeding Kink | Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x reader | wc: 1,008
No use of y/n | 18+ Minors DNI
Warnings! Oral (fem receiving), unprotect p in v (wrap it before you tap it), dirty talk, mentions of pilot death, lmk if I missed anything
a/n: this isn't the story I thought I'd write but it's what came out when I put my fingers to the keyboard???
Ao3
Kinktober 2024 Masterlist
Bradley had been back from deployment for two days, having spent that time sleeping and eating as much of your cooking as possible. This deployment had been rough, he had been sent out on a sixth month mission that had taken a year to complete with only intermittent communication home, and one of the other pilots had burned in around the eight month point, something your husband was having a hard time recovering from. 
The two of you were laying in bed, Bradley’s head on your chest, his calloused hand resting on your stomach. You lazily carded your fingers through his hair, which had grown longer while he was at sea, texting with Phoenix about plans for brunch that weekend. Bradley started to rub wide circles over your stomach, tickling you.
“Roo,” You giggled, “What are you doing?” 
“Thinking,” Bradley shifted so that he was laying between your legs, both hands resting on your stomach. You put down your phone, freeing your hands to rest them on his shoulders. 
“You want to talk about it?” Bradley didn’t respond right away. You patiently waited for him, watching him as he cradled your stomach, pressing soft kisses all over it. 
“Freighter had two kids waiting for him back in Missouri,” Your heart broke for the pilot and his family. Your worst nightmare was getting a knock at your door while Bradley was deployed, men in uniform waiting on your porch to tell you that he wasn’t coming home to you. “My mom used to say that I was the only thing that really helped her get through my dad’s death.” Bradley looked up at you with sad eyes, still holding your stomach. 
You knew what he wanted to do. The two of you had talked about having kids one day, when the time was right. The idea of getting your pregnant usually drove Bradley wild, leading to spur of the moment sex around the house, nothing but pure filth leaving his mouth. It was hot as hell every time but you had never really gotten into it to the level your husband had. Except what he didn’t know is that you had gone off your birth control a few months ago.
“I want to have a kid with you, sweetheart,” Bradley whispered, eyes flickering downwards, not meeting yours. “Not just because I might not come home one day because I’m going to do everything I can to come home but because I think we’re going to be the best parents.” 
“Then let’s do it, give me a baby, Bradley.” 
The look of surprise on Bradley’s face was precious. You wanted to snap a picture of it but before you could reach for your phone, Bradley was kissing you hard. You sighed into the kiss, spreading your legs so he fit more easily between them. You were wearing one of his shirts and underwear but both pieces of clothing quickly ended up on the floor alongside his pajamas. 
“I love you so much,” Bradley kissed down your neck, between your breasts, paying special attention to your stomach.
“I love you too,” You moaned as he settled between your legs, placing your legs over his shoulders. Bradley ate your pussy like a starving man, obscene noises filling the room as he licked and sucked, sliding two fingers in when you were wet enough. After a year of no sex, it was a mix of pleasure and pain but you were dying for more. 
“So fucking good,” Bradley kissed the inside of your thigh, “Missed you so fucking much.” 
“Missed you,” Your back arched as he pressed in a third finger. “Gonna cum,” Bradley doubled his efforts, rushing you towards your climax, and he didn’t stop when you reached it. Bradley kept going until you were pushing him away, overly sensitive after so long apart.
“Think you’re ready for me?” You tasted yourself on his tongue as he kissed you and you moaned against his lips. “You ready to have my baby?” 
“Please, Lee,” You wrapped your arms around his neck. “I want to have a baby.” Bradley notched himself at your entrance then paused, giving you a serious look.
“Are we actually about to do this or are we just practicing?” You could tell this was important to him, he’d be okay with either answer because he loved you, but he wanted this to be the real thing.
“I’m not on the pill anymore,” You promised, leaning up for a kiss. “We’re going to have a baby.” 
“Fuck yeah we are,” Bradley’s kissed muffled your moans as he thrust into you in one quick stroke, his cock stretching you, filling you completely. “Gonna put a baby in you,” He promised, setting a deep, steady pace that had your back arching and toes curling. “I’m going to fill you up and fuck my cum back into you, make sure it takes.” 
“Fuck,” You gasped as he pulled your hips, shifting you into a position that let him hit even deeper inside of you.
“You’re going to look so pretty, tummy all swollen with your baby.” Our baby. Those words hit you like a ton of bricks. You were going to have a baby with Bradley and you were over the moon. “Shit, I’m not gonna last.”
“Cum inside me, baby,” You wrapped your legs around his waist. “Give me a baby.” Bradley reached between you, rubbing your clit until you were right there on the edge with him.
“Cum for me, honey.” And you did, falling over the edge of your second climax, Bradley following right behind you. The warmth of his cum filling you with the possibility of getting you pregnant was overwhelming, the sensation heightening your orgasm that much more. “That’s it, honey. Milk my cock, take every fucking drop.”
When Bradley finally pulled out he grabbed a pillow and shoved it under your hips, keeping them angled up so nothing leaked out. 
“I love you so much,” He kissed you sweetly, “So, so, so much.” 
Taglist: @wanderingsoul6261 @halflifejess @kyemna @alipap3 @yutangwl @teacupsandtopgun @glenpowellluver @closetspngirl @that-one-fangirl69 @starshinegrl @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @sarah-bear706318 @shanimallina87 @atuman @carolina-on-my-mind03 @winelover27 @cherrycola27 @cevansbaby-dove @runawaybaby3 @helloitzholly
“I love you too, Roo.”
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whenlilyfallsinlove · 8 months ago
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photograph
sirius black x reader
sirius is/was winning so fred fic tomorrow and jolene part 3 soon! this is a sad one beware. y/n is an implied gryffindor.
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"i thought you'd might like to see this harry." sirius was stood in his old bedroom at grimmauld palace, holding a picture. it was the christmas holidays, so harry, ron and hermione were back. back at the order headquarters.
harry peered over sirius' shoulder to see that he was holding a photograph. a photograph which was now a little tattered due to age.
"what.. is it?" harry asked, curiously.
"the original order of the phoenix, look its your mother and father." sirius answered, and he was right. harry saw his parents smiling and waving at the camera, it made his heart ache.
to the side of lily and james was sirius, as handsome as ever, his hair shorter, and he was smiling. not at the camera but at the girl next to him. harry had never seen the girl before but he looked at her, noticing she too was smiling and waving like his parents, however she didn't seem to have noticed sirius was looking at her.
"marlene mckinnon" harry brought his attention away from the mystery girl to look at who sirius was pointing at.
"she was killed two weeks after this photograph was taken.. they got her whole family." sirius grimaced.
harry frowned, looking around at the picture again. he saw a younger, less rugged remus. frank and alice longbottom who were tortured using the cruciatus curse by bellatrix lestrange. the sight of their smiling faces made harry feel a pang of sympathy for neville.
but harry couldn't stop looking at the girl who was next to sirius. as he watched the picture play again and again, he noticed that she was laughing and sirius was too.
"uhh.. sirius?" harry spoke up, looking at sirius who also seemed to be staring at the mystery girl.
"yes harry?" sirius brought his eyes away from the photograph to look at harry.
"who's that girl next to you in the photograph?" harry asked, hoping he hadn't touched a nerve.
he saw sirius wince which made harry regret asking so he started apologising profusely.
"no it's okay harry, that is y/n l/n." harry recognised your name vaguely.
"who.. is she?" he asked.
"she is.. was one of my best friends at hogwarts. an honorary marauder if you will. skilled at charms and one of the funniest people i have ever met." sirius smiled fondly.
harry noticed sirius's change in tense.
"you don't have to answer but is she...?" harry trailed off but sirius knew what he meant. he nodded, sadly. harry's heart dropped, however he had realised where he had heard your name before.
harry was under his invisibility cloak, listening in to mcgonagall, flitwick, hagrid, fudge and madam rosmerta talking about sirius black.
"you say you remember him at hogwarts, rosmerta" murmered mcgonagall. "do you remember who his best friend was?"
"naturally.. never saw one without the other, did you? the number of times i had them in here - ooh they used to make me laugh. quite the double act, sirius black and james potter." madam rosmerta laughed.
harry had felt his heart dropped, at the time he thought sirius was guilty.
"precisely" said mcgonagall. "black and potter. ringleaders of their little gang."
"they'd all come in here lots. i remember. it was always the same group. that little peter pettigrew was there."
"he looked up to those two." mcgonagall sighed. "such a shame for him, poor boy."
"they used to come with a girl sometimes as well. pretty, always smiling." rosmerta said, making harry's ears prick up. they were probably talking about his mother.
"oh.. y/n l/n." mcgonagall suddenly seemed upset. harry had not heard this name before.
"she was such a talented young witch. always top of the class in charms." flitwick sighed.
"black was mad about her, i remember that rightly." madam rosmerta reminisced. "used to always buy her butterbeers, flirted with her all the time. she always had none of it, shooing him off"
harry's breath hitched.
"i don't know rosmerta." hagrid interjected "i think it went both ways."
"it was such a shame what happened to that poor poor girl. she would've been a great a witch. heavens.. sirius might not have turned out the way he did if she hadn't have died." mcgonagall's voice wobbled.
"now, now minerva don't get upset, it couldn't be helped." fudge comforted her, and your name wasn't brought up again.
""i remember.. madam rosmerta saying something about her. how she was friends with you." harry eventually spoke aloud. he had left out the parts of her and sirius and her death.
"oh we were, in fact i remember the day i first met her very clearly." sirius smiled.
you were scared, well of course you bloody were! it was your first day at a new school and you didn't know anyone. you didn't even know how to get on to the platform. apparently you were a "muggle-born." your parents weren't magic and it had come such a shock to you when professor mcgonagall showed up on your doorstep on your eleventh birthday claiming you were a wizard. madness.
you had arrived at the station, saying goodbye to your parents when you approached platforms 9 and 10. was this some sort of joke? how did you even get on?
"excuse me." you heard a voice pulling you from your thoughts. it was a woman, she was with a man and a boy who looked like he was about your age.
"would you like help getting on the platform, dearie?" the woman smiled kindly at you.
"yes please." you smiled.
"it's my son james' first year as well." you looked at the boy with messy dark hair and glasses. he grinned cheekily at you which you returned.
after the woman (euphemia, you learnt her name was) helped you get to the platform, you were left in the company of her son.
"hi. i'm james." he smiled.
"i'm y/n." you smiled back.
"you want to sit with me on the train?" he asked you, noticing your slight nervousness.
"yeah thanks." you followed james into a carriage on the train and you began small talk.
your talking was interrupted, however, by another boy entering the carriage. he was handsome, with long dark hair and a charming smile.
"can i sit here, i'm hiding from this kid severus, i spilt pumpkin juice all over him by accident" the boy chuckled.
james grins at this. "of course." he says.
"i'm sirius black." the boy smiles at james.
"james potter." he replies.
sirius turns his attention to you.
"and whats your name darling?" he cheekily smiles.
"call me darling again and i'll punch your brains out." you smile at him innocently. "but it's y/n."
sirius roared with laughter to which you grinned back.
"well y/n.. i think we're gonna get along just fine." he said. and he was right you were best friends since that very day.
sirius was smiling at the memory which made harry feel a little happier.
"were you.. dating?" harry blushes slightly.
sirius doesn't seem too bothered.
"no we weren't, my biggest regret was not telling her i loved her. especially after... it happened. lily told me she was head over heels for me." sirius faltered.
"now that i think about it.. it was quite obvious."
"AND BLACK'S GOT THE QUAFFLE AND HE SCORES!! 10 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR." you shouted into the microphone. you had been the quidditch commentator since your third year and even now, two years later, it was still a role you took pride in.
you were stood next to mcgonagall in the box when you saw a slytherin beater aim for sirius' face.
"AND THE SLYTHERIN BEATERS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO HIT THE BLUDGER AT BLACK. PLEASE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT TO WRECK HIS PRETTY FACE." you shout.
"L/N, STICK TO THE GAME." mcgonagall shouted, but she didn't seem too annoyed. the crowd laughed.
"sorry professor, sirius was distracting me." you smile and you see sirius fly near your box and grin at you.
as the game went on, you continued to make some biased comments about gryffindor. and continued flirting with sirius. it was extremely common in your friendship,for the two of you to act like an old married couple. you'd never admit it to him but you really liked the boy.
"YOU DIRTY CHEATING SCUM, YOU ABSOLUTE BASTARDS." you jeered, when you saw the slytherin chasers slam themselves in to james.
"Y/N L/N, I'M WARNING YOU." mcgonagall shouted but she was just as annoyed.
"OH BUT HERE'S BLACK TO SAVE THE DAY, ISN'T HE A CHARMER, POTTER PASSES THE QUAFFLE TO BLACK AND HE SCORES AGAIN!! JUST BRILLIANT, ISN'T HE?" you ignore mcgonagall. you see sirius blowing a kiss at you.
you laugh, and then you're nudged by mcgonagall AGAIN.
you notice shes pointing at the golden snitch.
"THE GOLDEN SNITCH HAS BEEN SPOTTED AND THE SEEKERS ARE NECK AND NECK. WHOEVER CATCHES THIS WILL WIN AND- MCKINNON! SHE'S DONE IT! MARLENE MCKINNON HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH. GRYFFINDOR WIN 270-80!!" you shout, and do a dance. sirius sees you and chuckle.
you run down from the box and straight onto the pitch and hug sirius tightly.
"you were great sirius." you smile.
"i know." he winks at you.
your cheeks heat up as you smack him round the back of the head.
"idiot!"
"she was murdered." sirius's tone in voice suddenly changed, brining harry out of his train of thiught.
"murdered for being a muggle-born, murdered for not ratting out lily and james." sirius said, angrily.
harry's eyes widened.
"disgusting." sirius looks down.
"i loved her. and they took her life from her. like they did with the mckinnons. like they did with your parents." sirius put his hand on harry's shoulder.
"the war is cruel." sirius sighs, looking back at your smiling face on the photograph. "you should tell people you love them when you can."
and with that sirius turned away from harry, harry expected this was to subtly tell him to leave. which he did. he needed to tell ron and hermione about this. as he shut the door, he could've sworn he heard a small cry from sirius.
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laracrofted · 11 months ago
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i want your midnights
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synopsis: on the coldest new year's eve in a decade, bob floyd shows up at your door. prequel to delicate.
pairing: bob floyd x fem!reader
warnings: 18+ minors and ageless blogs dni, bob is really soft and cozy and lovestruck, swearing (barely), so much yearning and pining, kissing kissing kissing (wc: 2.2K)
note: surprise! i wasn't planning to write something for new year's, but i missed lovestruck bob. happy new year, loves! 🍾
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summoning a few people who might be interested: @sometimesanalice @roosterbruiser @theharddeck @callsignspark @lewmagoo @gretagerwigsmuse @roosterforme @rhettabbotts
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He shouldn't be here right now. For several reasons. 
Technically, Bob should be on a plane right now – or on one of several planes because San Diego International doesn't offer any direct flights to the part of Montana Bob is from
He usually flies from San Diego to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to Bozeman and drives from there.
Except when half of California freezes over in the coldest storm in a decade on the very day Bob is supposed to head home for New Year's and grounds all of LAX.
This normally wouldn't be a big deal. He doesn't even care all that much about New Year's – New Year's is celebrated very casually in his family. He's usually in bed well before midnight. – but Bob already missed Christmas. 
He and Phoenix were selected for a special detachment at the end of December, which – while an honor and a privilege, etcetera – meant Bob spent Christmas on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific. He didn't get back until December 28.
Phoenix immediately drove up to San Francisco to be with her nieces and nephews. He'd been waiting for New Year's. 
Now, after countless delays and an eventual cancellation – which should've happened hours ago when Bob maybe could've found another way home, rented a car and driven the seventeen hours – Bob is stuck in San Diego.
Disappointed isn't a good enough word to express what Bob is feeling right now. 
He could've driven back to his apartment – his sad apartment, already devoid of colorful lights and silver and gold decorations because Bob didn't expect to come back until January. He could've called Fanboy or gone to the New Year's Eve party at the Hard Deck, but Bob isn't in the mood to be around people right now. 
He only wants to see one person. 
And now Bob is here – standing outside of your apartment with a backpack and a carry-on, like Bob is about to clear out a drawer and move right in. 
He probably looks like a weirdo. He definitely feels like a weirdo. 
Damn. This was a mistake. 
It's a brisk 40 degrees and dropping outside, and Coronado smells like ocean air and fireplace smoke. Pine needles, shed from the withering evergreens hauled onto the streets and abandoned the day after Christmas. Seawater and camphor and burning wood.
He shivers in the cold, broad shoulders rounding under the worn wool of his sweater. He should've worn something warmer – something nicer – but all of Bob's warmer coats are either deep in his suitcase or at his parents' house. He never expected to need them in San Diego.
A shaky puff of breath blows from his quivering lips. 
He breathes in a deep and steadying breath. A bracing breath. And knocks on the door. 
Minutes pass. Or maybe, just seconds.
Finally, Bob hears a voice from inside. Blessedly.
"Just a minute!" 
Your calm voice is like a soothing balm, even muffled, even barely audible, and Bob feels like a loosed bowstring – held taut for hours on end and at the sound of your voice, finally let free. He can drop his shoulders and loosen his clenched jaw for the first time in the past day – in the past week.
Tension melts off of him like the last snow of late spring from the Montana pines. He can finally relax. He can breathe again.
A crack of light spills out of the creaking door, and Bob pulls his gaze from his scuffed brown Blundstones. 
You are silhouetted in the doorway like a priceless Renaissance sculpture, glowing, curves highlighted and illuminated in the most beautiful dress Bob has ever seen.
Black satin, catching in the dim light and glimmering, like a blanket of stars on a cloudless December night.
He used to lay under stars like those in Montana and memorize the constellations. He feels the same sense of wonder, of awe looking at you.
He's always found you beautiful – even dressed in your coveralls with grease smudged on your cheeks, sometimes especially then – but now, fuck.
He's never seen your hair like that before, loose around your shoulders, curled like the ends of a ribbon on a beautifully wrapped present on Christmas morning. He shoves his hands in his pockets, slightly chapped and reddened from the dry cold, and pinches the denim between his palms, squashing the urge to reach out and wrap one of the delicate strands of hair around his finger.
A deep shade of red paints your lips, parting in a surprised smile. "Bob Floyd, is that you?" You shiver and hug your arms, and Bob, respectfully, keeps his eyes on your face. "Jesus Christ, when did it get so cold out here? Aren't you cold?" 
"I, uh... run warm, I guess," Bob says. He lifts his baseball cap and runs his fingers through the mess of strands underneath, in desperate need of a trim. Sets it back on his head and squares his shoulders. "Are you headed out?" 
You look down and absentmindedly shuffle your feet to look down at your heels – which reveals a slit in the fabric, exposing a line of bare skin all the way up to your thigh. God help him. 
"Kind of. I'm supposed to meet up with some of the other mechanics at the Hard Deck. There’s some New Year’s thing there, I guess.” You fold your arms across your chest and look at him, still smiling curiously. “But what about you? What brings you here on New Year's Eve?" 
He showed up out of the blue. Anyone else might be annoyed, but all Bob hears in your voice is gentle curiosity. Like Bob is the most pleasant of surprises. 
"I spent 12 hours in the airport, only for my flight to get canceled, and I couldn't go back to my apartment after that and spend New Year's alone, but I couldn't go to the Hard Deck either. I'm sorry," Bob adds. "I shouldn't have shown up here like this. I should've called you. You have plans."
You regard him, expression calm. "Don't be sorry. I'm happy to see you."
You're happy to see him. You're happy to see him.
Is it cold enough for the pink in his cheeks to be mistaken for a different kind of flush? He hopes so.
"Do you wanna come in?"
His eyes grow wide. "Oh... well, what about your party?"
You drop your shoulder in a shrug. "New Year's is kind of lame anyway. I was really going as an excuse to get dressed up because I never go anywhere fancy enough to wear this dress. It's been in the back of my closet for months."
His eyes drop to the dress again, and absently, Bob wonders what the material would feel like between his fingers, what it'd feel like to run his hand over the elegant slope of your hip. He swallows.
"It's quite a dress," Bob croaks. His mouth is so damn dry. "You, uh... You look really beautiful. It's really... yeah."
You watch him, expression softening like warmed butter. "Thank you, Bob."
You look at him – look past the backpack and the scuffed carry-on and the slightly baggy sweater that once belonged to his older brother – and Bob feels seen, really seen. He feels safe.
You bump the door open wider with your hip and reach for his luggage, wiggling your fingers playfully until Bob passes the suitcase over. He's rewarded with a beaming smile, radiant and warm.
"Come on. You like Chinese?"
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You change after Bob comes in, hanging up your dress and putting on an oversized gray sweater, pushed up at the sleeves, and a pair of fleece pajama pants that aren't quite the right length for your legs, covered in white dots and blue and white snowflakes.
You order the food and put on your favorite New Year's Eve movie while Bob calls his parents and gets comfortable, changing into sweatpants. His mom is pleased that Bob isn't spending New Year's alone, but Bob chooses his words carefully.
He is spending New Year's with a friend, not with a girl.
She'd ask questions Bob couldn't really answer in your hall bathroom.
When Bob comes back in, When Harry Met Sally is on.
You explain: "It's my favorite New Year's Eve movie. I watch it almost every year. If I start watching it 28 seconds after 10:30 PM – exactly, like down to the second – I can count down to midnight while Harry is confessing his love to Sally in the New Year’s scene."
You curl up on the couch, nursing a glass of champagne, while Bob sips from a chilled can of Ginger Ale while Harry and Sally banter and dance around each other and fall in love.
Admittedly, Bob is only half watching.
He likes this movie, but Bob is much more interested in you.
He is rarely alone with you.
He usually comes to see you on the Naval base – sometimes even making up questions as an excuse to come and talk to you, bringing coffee as a thank you for your answers – or seeks you out at the Hard Deck. He drove you home once when Bob was working late and spotted you in one of the hangars, but otherwise, Bob has never been here before.
About 30 minutes into the movie, Bob gets overheated and sheds his sweater, leaving him in a white short-sleeve and sweatpants underneath the oversized blanket from your bedroom. It's made of some kind of sherpa and smells like you.
Everything in here smells like you.
His legs are sprawled out in front of him, resting on the coffee table between a half-eaten plate of spring rolls and what’s left of his chicken chow mein. He ate his body weight in noodles and miso soup, and Bob feels warm and relaxed – if bordering on uncomfortably full.
He can barely focus with the smell of your perfume in his nostrils; excruciatingly aware of you underneath the blanket next to him, curled up with your legs folded underneath yourself, head lolling to the side, dangerously close to resting on his shoulder; smelling like cherries and champagne and vanilla and you.
A countdown begins in the background of the scene.
“Five…”
You sit up underneath the blanket, which brings you closer to him, inadvertently.
“Four…” 
Your arm brushes against Bob’s.
“Three…”
You watch the screen, excited, and count along.
“Two…” 
Your lips part in a wide and excited smile.
“One…” 
Cheers erupt on the screen, but Bob isn’t even pretending to watch the movie anymore. He’s watching you. 
You grin at him, eyes bright, looking so beautiful that Bob can’t hold the words in.
“Can I kiss you?” 
Surprise flashes across your face, soon replaced with a small smile. Bob can see a lipstick stain at the corner of your mouth from where earlier, you'd messily wiped the red from your lips with a cocktail napkin. He wants to reach out and smooth it away with the pad of his thumb. He wants to kiss the spot where the smudge used to be.
Instead, Bob holds his breath. Waits.
He shouldn't have said anything. You've been such a good friend to him. You changed your plans, invited him in.
What if Bob's ruined everything now?
You've never been so close. You ask, "Like a New Year's kiss? Or like a real kiss?"
What if Bob hasn't ruined anything at all?
“Both,” Bob says softly, like a confession.
What if?
You're glowing in the sparkle of multi-colored lights, still strung along the walls, still decorating the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, blues and reds and greens, eyes glimmering, liquid warm. "Yeah. That'd be okay."
"Okay," Bob echoes, leaning in.
He presses his lips against yours in a gentle but firm kiss, cradling your jaw with a careful hand, stroking your cheek.
Bob doesn't linger. Doesn't press his luck.
He gives you a good and solid kiss and pulls back, eyes slowly opening.
"How was that?"
You lick your lips, and Bob follows the movement with his gaze, entranced.
"Kiss me again."
It's after midnight now, and uncertain, Bob asks, "Like a New Year's kiss?"
You shake your head, slow and clear, and lean in, and Bob meets you in the middle.
He kisses you in earnest now, kissing the smudge of red on the corner of your mouth, licking a drop of champagne from your bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, running his hands over your skin.
You do the same, running your hands over his shoulders, over his neck, and knocking his baseball hat from his head, run your fingers through his hair. You pull on the ends of the strands, pull him closer, and god, it's all Bob can do not to moan into your mouth.
You're all warm skin and soft curves and sweet perfume, and Bob is drowning drowning drowning.
You knock the wind out of him, and eventually, Bob is forced to pull back and catch his breath. His chest is heaving. His cheeks are pink and warm.
You blink up at him, eyes wide and glassy, as if pulled from a dream, and give him a dazed smile. You murmur, low and breathless, "Happy New Year, Bob."
I think I'm in love with you.
"Happy New Year," Bob whispers instead.
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end note: likes are always appreciated, but comments and reblogs make my whole day. i love hearing from y'all!
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tip-top-cloud-surfer · 1 year ago
Text
The Danger Zone (Part 4) - Hangman
Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC
Word Count: 3.5k
This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY
Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Secret Relationship; Angst; Undefined Relationships; Overprotective Family; Background Relationships; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description
Summary: Jake tries to talk to you, if only your family would stop getting in the way.
Series Master List
Master List
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One Hour Earlier
Jake closed the door to his truck and walked up to Coyote and Phoenix’s house. They bought it during the preparations for the wedding, which definitely added to their stress level at the time, but it was nice to come home to a house that was all theirs after their honeymoon. And now Jake was reporting for painting duty. He let himself in through the side door and spotted Javy in the kitchen, putting away some random things.
“Where’s Phoenix?” Jake asked, setting his keys and wallet on the countertop.
“She went to her parent’s house for the weekend to grab some stuff and help out a bit.”
“And you promised to get a whole bunch of shit done while she was gone?” Jake guessed, gesturing to the empty boxes and random tools and materials all over the place.
“And you’re going to help me with all of that shit,” Javy replied, patting Jake on the arm. “Come on, let’s start painting.”
They walked into the spare bedroom and started cleaning out all of the shit that was shoved in there. Setting up the sheets on the ground, Javy glanced over at where Jake was pouring the paint into the tray.
“So, what’s new with you?”
“Nothing much,” Jake replied, turning back to the wall. “Just the same old shit.”
Javy nodded and stood up, fixing Jake with a knowing gaze. Javy and Jake had been best friends since the Academy and Javy liked to think that he knew Jake more than well enough to know when something was up with him. Good or bad. And Javy was very much aware that Jake wasn’t himself.
“How’s everything going with your relationship?”
“It’s over,” Jake replied simply. “And it wasn’t even a relationship.”
“What happened?”
Jake shot Javy a look, but Javy shot him one right back. Jake could play the whole nonchalant bullshit with everyone else, but Javy would call him out on it when he felt it was needed. And after seeing the change in Jake’s demeanor after whatever he wanted to call your relationship ended, Javy knew that he needed to call him out.
Jake picked up a roller and started to paint the wall in straight, even lines. Javy did the same, though he was still feeling out Jake at that moment. He usually just had to give Jake a little bit of time to think over it on his own before following up.
“And you’re okay?”
“No, but nothing I can do about it now,” Jake replied, a bit tensely.
“Did she block you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jake mumbled, running the roller through the paint again. “She’s been reaching out to me, but I haven’t responded.”
“Because?” Javy stressed, earning a sigh from Jake in return.
“Because what’s the point? It was never going to go public. She’d never stand up to her family about it. And we just didn’t work anymore.”
“Didn’t work with what?”
“We weren’t on the same page.”
“About?”
“For fuck‘s sake, Javy.” Jake set down the paint roller and turned to Javy, who remained calm and eyed Jake with a knowing expression. “She was acting weird before the wedding and at the reception she just blew me off, so what was even the point of all of it? It was just a waste of time for both of us.”
“Or did she hurt your feelings and you wanted to push her away to protect yourself?” Javy asked, setting down his own paint roller.
“You’re not my therapist, Javy,” Jake muttered, looking away from his best friend.
“I know I’m not. But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you made the right choice when you look as miserable as you do.” Jake sighed and rubbed his face with his hand, causing Javy to soften a bit. “Jake, you were really happy when you were with her. And maybe you two grew apart and maybe you want different things in life and maybe I should just mind my own business. But just talk to her. At least figure out why she was avoiding you in the first place.”
“It was probably something with her brother or Mav,” Jake huffed, picking his head up more. “Or, hey, maybe she found a new fuckbuddy.”
“You don’t know any of that. And she’s not the type to play shit like that and you know it, Jake.” Coyote paused for a moment before adding, “Hell, maybe it was something with work or she’s dealing with some other issue and she wanted to figure it out first before telling you about it.”
“I just don’t know what would cause such a sudden change in her. I mean one minute she was fine and the next she just shut down.”
“You know how you’re going to find out?”
“How?”
“Talk to her,” Javy emphasized.
“I liked you better before you got together with Phoenix,” Jake scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re acting all wise now.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Javy muttered, waving Jake off. “Now, be an adult and go talk to her. And, hey, maybe in a year, I’ll be your best man at your wedding.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jake sighed, getting to his feet. “And I’m holding you to it, Javy. If it’s a shitshow, you told me to start shit.”
“Get out already.”
“I’m going, I’m going.”
Jake grabbed his keys and wallet and headed down to his truck. Sliding in, Jake thought about how to proceed before just deciding to drive over to your apartment. If the two of you were actually going to have the conversation, he wanted it to be in person. And well she was also a little worried he would lose his confidence if he gave it too long to linger.
Parking in the lot, Jake spotted your car and made his way up the stairs to your apartment. He, however, didn’t recognize Emma’s car parked in the lot too. Stopping in front of your door, Jake knocked lightly and took a step back. He knew that you had a viewport and could see that it was him. Whether or not you opened the door was your choice.
The door opened a few moments later and Jake was rather quietly surprised at how shocked you looked when you spotted him. Why hadn’t you looked through the viewport before answering the door like you always did?
“Jake,” you breathed out nervously.
“Hey,” he replied softly, unable to prevent himself from frowning a bit at your reaction.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk about . . . everything.” Jake paused, mulling over his words before asking, “Is this a bad time?”
“Um. . . yeah, kind of,” you responded, wincing. “My brother’s here. And Mav is on his way over here right now.”
Jake’s eyes widened a fraction but before the curse could slip from between his lips, Rooster walked around the corner.
“What’s taking so long, old—Hangman?” Bradley corrected himself, very openly frowning when he spotted his teammate in the hall. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh, he’s just here to pick something up,” you lied, turning to face your brother.
“Pick up what?”
“Uh, his . . . sweatshirt,” you decided, gesturing for Jake to come inside. “He let me borrow it at the beach when Coyote and Phoenix had their thing and it got cold.”
“And he just dropped by?” Bradley asked, staring after you as you hurried to your bedroom to grab it before shooting Jake a look. “Without your permission?”
“I told him that I was going to be here,” you snapped back defensively. “It’ll be two seconds. Calm your tits.”
Hurrying into your room, you started to dig around your closet for Jake’s sweatshirt that he gave you several months ago right before he went on deployment. You wore it on multiple occasions and by now Jake’s scent had long ago disappeared from the fabric. Meanwhile, out in your living room, Jake and Bradley were in the middle of a staring contest.
“So, you were just in the neighborhood?” Rooster asked suspiciously.
“I do live in this town too, Rooster,” Jake reminded him, causing Rooster to narrow his eyes a bit.
“So,” Emma cut in, trying to control the tension, “how have you been, Hangman?”
“Peachy.”
“Here you go, Jake,” you called, hurrying over and shoving the sweatshirt into his hands before urging him towards the door. “Well, thanks for giving it to me. For that day.”
When you were only two steps away from the door, there was a sharp knock. Cursing under your breath, you glanced at Jake to see that he looked like he was readily planning to climb out the window, before turning to the door. Letting out a breath, you opened the door to reveal Maverick and Penny standing there.
“Hey, Mav, Penny,” you greeted them, trying to act normally.
“Hangman?” Maverick asked, confused.
“Maverick,” Jake returned, his face impassive though he was sweating nervously.
“He was just grabbing something,” you cut in, talking just a little too fast. Maverick looked over at you, raising his eyebrow just a bit. “And he’s leaving right now. So, uh, bye Hangman.”
“Yeah, uh, see you around.”
Jake moved past you and he was about to walk past Maverick when the older aviator stopped him from his escape.
“Where are you going, Hangman?”
“Just heading home, that’s all,” Jake stated, turning to Maverick. Scrunching up the sweatshirt you gave him, he held it up. “I’ve got some laundry to do.”
“You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner,” Maverick offered, causing you to shake your head slightly. “And cake too, if you want. You saved my life, so it’s the least I can offer you.”
“I think he said he already has plans, Mav,” you tried to butt in.
“I’m sure the laundry can wait,” Maverick insisted kindly, though with an edge of force.
Jake shot you a slightly nervous look, to which you tried to discreetly shake your head. Penny seemed to be eyeing the exchange curiously, though you knew she sensed Maverick’s tone. You sent Jake a look to get out while he could. But then bigmouth Bradley came around the corner and decided to butt in.
“Yeah, I’m sure we can find something to talk about,” Bradley stated, leaning on the wall with his arms folded in front of him.
And Jake, sensing his rapidly approaching defeat, started to surrender.
“I don’t want to intrude—”
“—You're not,” Maverick interjected before gesturing inside your apartment. “Come on, I’m sure the food’s getting cold.”
You stood stone faced by the door as Bradley, Maverick, and Penny walked further into your apartment. Sharing a defeated look with Jake, who pulled up the rear, you shut the door and tried to calm yourself down before you turned on your heel and headed towards the table.
You found yourself sitting with Maverick on your right at the head of the table, Jake to your left looking uncomfortable as hell, and Bradley across from you with a sharp glare directed at Jake. You shared a look with Emma, who returned an apologetic grimace. Staring at the glass of wine in front of you, you simply ducked your head and stared at your plate.
“So, what caused the sudden change in location?” Maverick asked curiously.
“There was a minor problem at your place,” you replied, staring down at your plate.
“We set the oven on fire,” Bradley filled in, causing you to kick him under the table. Bradley shot you a look before turning to Maverick. “And then she threw up again and we just decided to get out of there.”
Again?
Jake glanced over at you from the corner of his eye, concern clear in his gaze. You didn’t look severely ill. Maybe a bit flushed, but not ill. So what caused you to throw up so often? And how did you just seem to bounce back if you were so sick and throwing up?
“How did the fire happen?” Maverick asked calmly, used to the back and forth between you and Bradley.
“I accidentally set the timer for too long,” Emma cut in, trying to take some heat off of you. “I walked off and it boiled over and burned.”
“Not a problem. That oven was ancient anyways,” Maverick dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I barely used it as it was.”
The family conversation continued on with an occasional pointed comment directed at Jake from Bradley, but it wasn’t too much. You seemed to be well-versed in how to deflect your brother’s questions and comments. It almost made Jake wonder why you were so cautious about him being anywhere near Rooster or Maverick with him.
“Anyone want a refill?” Penny offered, getting up from her seat.
There were a few mumbles around the table, but when Jake glanced over at your wine glass, he was a bit more than just surprised that it looked like you hadn’t touched it. Not that you had to drink the wine. But why didn’t you?
“So, Hangman,” Rooster cut in, causing Jake to turn away from you, “did you spend a lot of time together? Planning Coyote and Phoenix’s wedding and all, I mean?”
“Yeah, so what?” you snapped in Jake’s defense. “I spent a lot of time with Emma’s brother for your wedding, Bradley.”
“It was just a question,” Bradley scoffed in return.
“This is a great meal, Emma,” Penny announced louder than she needed to speak. “What restaurant did you get it from?”
“Ferrucci's down the road from here,” Emma answered, talking loud as well. “It’s really good. We should go there more often.”
“How was the wedding in your end, Hangman?” Maverick continued, getting the conversation back on track despite Emma and Penny’s attempt. “I feel like you were quite busy.”
“Yeah, I was,” Jake replied honestly.
“We didn’t see you at the after party,” Bradley added, earning a nudge from his wife.
“I was feeling under the weather. Just tired from everything,” Jake stated, staring down Bradley, not at all afraid of him.
He was slightly terrified of Maverick. But Bradley? Not even a little bit.
“Funny. That’s exactly what someone else said that night,” Bradley replied, turning to look at you. To which, you narrowed your eyes and shot your brother a warning look back. “What a weird coincidence.”
“Bradley,” you hissed, placing your hands on the table, “if you want to ask a question, just ask it. Stop being weird about it.”
“Should we cut the cake?” Emma interjected, trying to prevent a fight.
“I think we should,” Penny agreed, getting up from her seat. She called your name, causing you to look away from Bradley. “You made the cake, so you get to set up the candles and everything. Come on.”
With one last look over at your brother, you got up from your seat and walked into the kitchen with Penny and Emma. And that left Jake at the mercy of both Bradley and Maverick. Once the three of you were out of earshot, Bradley turned to Jake with a dark look.
“Are you messing around with my sister, Bagman? Because I swear to—”
“—I’m not,” Jake muttered, glaring over at Rooster. Anymore, at least. “Is that good enough of an answer for you?”
Rooster glared right back at Jake, practically screaming that no, it wasn’t good enough for him. Even though they had come a long way since the mission, it was near impossible to just get rid of years of resentment and tension in a moment. And anyone who knew Rooster well enough knew that messing around with his little sister was a sure fire way to be at high risk for getting a fist to the face.
“Bradley,” Maverick cut in, causing Jake and Bradley to turn to him, “drop it. Your sister is old enough to take care of herself.”
Maverick and Bradley had their own staring contest for a moment until Jake excused himself from the table, needing to cool down for a second. Walking down the hall and into the bathroom, Jake shut the door and let out a breath. Running a hand down his face, he sat on the toilet cover and stared at his hands.
“What the fuck did you get yourself into, Jake?” he muttered, shaking his head. “You’re a real big fucking idiot, you know that?”
Sighing again, Jake got to his feet and turned to walk out of the bathroom when he accidentally kicked the small trash can over. Cursing under his breath, Jake kneeled down and hurried to clean up the mess. Picking up a plastic wrapper, Jake was about to toss it back into the trash when he caught some of the text on it. Frowning, Jake smoothed out the wrapper to read it.
And he nearly passed out when he read the plastic cover.
Prenatal Vitamins
Well, that sealed the deal. Especially when he thought about Rooster’s comment about how you were throwing up all the time lately. And then he remembered the full wine glass in front of you at dinner. And well, three coincidences didn’t seem that likely. And he couldn’t exactly say that the two of you were extremely careful every time with any sort of conviction.
Jake sat there and just stared at the plastic wrap, his whole world just exploding in front of him.
Meanwhile, out in the kitchen and slightly hidden behind a half wall, you were holding your hands to your face, trying to remain calm while Emma placed the candles on the cake and Penny gave you a supportive squeeze.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” Penny whispered to you, urging Emma to hurry up with the candles. “We’re just going to eat cake and Jake will leave and it’ll all be fine.”
“Why the fuck is he here? Of all fucking days,” you cursed, letting out a breath. “And I’m going to fucking kill my brother if he keeps asking stupid questions.”
“Just hold onto those thoughts for now. Focus on getting through this dinner, okay?” Penny coached you, giving you another squeeze. “You’ll be fine. You will get through this. But it is a good reminder about some conversations that you need to have, okay?”
“I know, it’s just,” you sighed, feeling a wave of nausea hit you, “they’re all going to freak out. I know it.”
“You can’t control them. Only you. And you are holding way too much on your shoulders right now. You need to tell them. Or at least one of them,” Penny whispered, causing you to nod in return.
“I know. I’m already starting to show,” you mumbled, resting a hand on your abdomen. Letting out another breath, you turned back to Penny, “Let’s just get this party over with.”
You, Emma, and Penny walked out of the kitchen with the cake and candles all set up. Singing the birthday tune for Maverick, you sat back down in your seat. You were a bit surprised that Jake wasn’t there but he seemed to slowly make his way out of the bathroom and back to the table as the song wrapped up. You laughed and clapped with everyone else as Maverick blew out the candles, though you felt Jake’s gaze burn into your back.
“Thank you, thank you,” Maverick chuckled, waving the smoke away. “We’ll, what are we waiting for? Let’s eat cake.”
“I should go,” Jake suddenly spoke, causing everyone to turn to him. He seemed to stumble over his words for a moment before adding, “Coyote texted me. I guess there’s some problem at the house.”
“Well, we don’t want to keep you if you need to go,” Penny stated, knowing that it was best to reduce the tension in the air.
Jake bid his awkward goodbyes, almost acting like he was a puppet being controlled by some higher power before he left. He didn’t or couldn’t look you in the eye about it. Feeling a bit taken aback by his sudden change, you whipped around to shoot Bradley a death glare.
“What the hell did you say to him?” you demanded, causing Bradley to scoff.
“Nothing. Why do you even care anyways?”
“It’s my apartment. If you want to pick fights with people, do it at your place, not mine,” you deflected, causing Bradley to roll his eyes.
“Don’t mess around with him. I’m serious,” your brother warned you.
“And we’re cutting the cake!” Emma interjected, walking over with small plates.
The conversation was effectively over for now, but you still couldn’t help but let your mind wander. What the hell did Bradley say to Jake to freak him out like that?
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ilovecatilinclark · 4 months ago
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You Were Right
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Caitlin Clark x Reader
You and Caitlin were friends and would always argue about things never agreeing with each other. Soon high school started and you would always tease. Rumors spread about you and caitlin dating because of how close you two were. As you would joke around about how she had a crush on you. As the more you teased her the more her feelings grew. Soon college started as you both drafted apart not talking much. Soon after some years you run into each other again as she scared of losing you she finally tells you, you were right.
AN: Also sorry I still am on vacation rn so sorry for not writing much! After this I'll be starting on the two request.
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"No cats are so much better" you said to caitlin as she argued back "No dogs are better they can stay with you forever" she said. "But cats can do the same" you replied back to her. You guys were having another playdate at your house. Your parents were both college friends mostly hanging out.
Till soon both your moms came in "Caitlin Sweet heart we have to go now" her mom said to her. "But mom me and Y/n are talking about what is better cats or dog" she said whining. "Come on sweetie you guys can talk about this another time" her mom saidAs caitlin got up your mom and you followed them behind and walked them to the door. "Bye caitlin I'll miss" you said clinging to your mom as she waved bye back to you.
As you guys both grew up you guys both started having more disagreements with each other constantly arguing about who's right and who's wrong. "No math is blue" you stated as you guys were walking back to Caitlin car. "No math is red" she replied back you guys would constantly bicker about small topics like this. As this started continuing you would always start involving people into the conversation.
As you were bickering in the hallway again you dragged your friend into the conversation. "you guys sound like a couple arguing" as people over heard they started thinking of it wrong starting to believe you two were dating. Soon rumors spread about it and you would always get asked if you two were a couple when you guys were walking together.
Soon some following days you decided to play with it after another person ask. "You probably have a crush on me don't you Caitlin" you asked her as you smiled. She couldn't help but chuckle and laugh it off. As the year continued you continuously teased her starting her to actually develop feelings for you slowly. As soon your senior year ended and you both graduated you both went your separate ways.
As you guys were both at college Caitlins tarted realizing how she regretted losing and not confessing to you. Mostly staying up at night and thinking about you many times. As she would always go to her friends to talk about you. As her friends couldn't help but feel bad because they knew she missed you. As she also the rarest chance to text you as you were either busy studying for test for college or at college both being a in a different time zone.
As years passed by and her going into the Wnba you decided to move to Phoenix. As the Wnba started gaining more popularity your friend invites you to go to a game with her as she got some tickets but the people she asked were to busy. You soon agreed as you weren't busy, as the days came by it was soon time to go the game.
As you and your friend walked in the court you took you seat not knowing it was court side. As you sat down and watched the teams start there starting line up you made eye contact with someone familiar. It was Caitlin, as you guys made eye contact you soon looked away. As the game started you couldn't stop watching her, she was dominating the court.
As she soon hit a triple double, as the game ended you and your friend started packing up to had out. You felt a hand on you arm "hey" caitlin said as you turned around looking at her. "Oh hey great game" you said to her smiling. "Before you go I just wanna tell you I have loved you for years and you don't need to like me back but I just need to get it off my chest" she says.
As you stand there in shock you hug her quickly and kiss her, as she lifts you up. As you guys pulled away she quickly said "You were right" she smiled at you. As you soon pulled her back into the kiss this was gonna be a new beginning for you two as you were glad to have each other back.
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whatislovevavy · 24 days ago
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Oh, What Bliss
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Jake and Caledonia go as Morticia and Gomez for their first Halloween living together.
AN: lol this two days after Halloween but it's been on my mind for a long time, and it's better late than never :)
WC: 2.3 k
Warnings: Fluff, smut (18+), unprotected sex, oral male receiving, Jake has a breeding kink
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You puckered your lips, capping the tube of onyx lip stick in your hands, admiring the raven hue painting the plush flesh. Turning in the mirror, you watched the velvet material of your form fitting gown cling to you. You smirked, proud of the investment, running your freshly manicured inky black nails through your now midnight colored wavy hair.
The soft trills from Chanel on your shared bed made your smile reach your eyes. She looked absolutely adorable in her Wednesday costume. Frankly, you were surprised that she seemed to enjoy being in it.
“Come on down, Cal, trick or treaters will be here any second.”
You yelled down to Jake that you would be down in a minute before slipping your heels on, and scooping up Chanel in your arms, meows morphing into purrs as you gently stroked under her chin.
Jake ran his dexterous fingers through his hair, making sure the gel held. His forefingers smoothing over the hairs of his grown-in pencil mustache. He didn’t think there would be a day where he would willingly grow out a mustache, but here he was. Your excitement for halloween and your shared couples costume made the harassment he got from Phoenix and Rooster over his facial hair worth it. Especially during its early growing-in phase.
He adjusted his suit in the mirror you had picked out. Jake still hadn’t seen you in your costume yet, and he was eager to see how you would do the character of Morticia Addams justice.
The creaks of the stairs under your weight, brought his attention to you.
His mouth dried up at the sight of you. His heart skipping a beat as his eyes met the soft fabric that clung to your curves and exposed an appreciative amount of cleavage. His cock stirred in his slacks at the sight of your sinfully painted lips and lush, sable hair that you’d straightened a bit. Your dark lashes brought out your eyes. And the talons you sported made his stomach giddy with excitement. He couldn’t wait till he could feel them dig into his shoulders as he made you into a whimpering, moaning mess. Or to see a ring of black around his cock. He almost didn’t register Chanel in your arms. Your wide grin and bright eyes made him smile.
“Do you like it?”
He nodded, striding towards you, snaking a hand around your waist and pulling you closer to him with a small gasp. Your lips parted as he brought the back of your hand to his lips with mirthful evergreen eyes. “Morticia, you’ve never looked more ravenous.” You giggled at his drawl ridden impression of Gomez. Chanel purred and trilled in your arms, nestled against your and Jake’s chest.
“Chanel, you make the perfect Wednesday.” he cooed, bringing a hand up to stroke at her chin and behind her ears. She closed her eyes, purrs vibrating from her soft throat.
You couldn’t help but admire his slicked back dirty blonde hair, cute mustache that worked well on him, and form fitting suit that hugged his broad shoulders dangerously.
The ring of the doorbell, broke you both from your shared moment. Jake quickly grabbed the candy bowl and strided to the door. You followed closely behind with Chanel in your arms.
The choruses of “trick or treat” were cut off by gasps of excitement at the sight of Chanel in your arms. The three disney princesses at your doorstep asking to pet her, and complementing both yours and Chanel’s costume. The little girls giggled as Jake snuck them each a second piece of candy, winking at them before closing the door as they ran to the next house.
The next few hours were filled with answering the door for basketball players, power rangers, princesses, and superheroes. Young kids and parents alike complimented your decorated yard, and you and Jake’s costumes.
Halloween had always made you happy, and the sight of the little kids and parents trailing behind excited little ones made you yearn for something more in the future with Jake.
Perhaps next year you’d have something else to dress up for Halloween besides Chanel, who showed no sign of exasperation with the attention she’d been receiving.
You stirred the candy bowl in your hand. Almost empty, you thought. Being careful to avoid Chanel playing with her catnip pumpkin on the carpet, you strided towards the kitchen for the extra bag of Halloween candy.
Jake had been resting on the couch, taking turns getting up to answer the door while you snuggled in watching reruns of classic horror movies on the TV.
His eyes followed that sinful, curve fitting dress till it disappeared behind the doorway to the kitchen. He checked the time, it’d been a few hours since starting and the trick or treaters were starting to thin out. He got up from the couch, giving Chanel a quick scratch behind her ears as he snuck towards the door to turn off the porch light.
I’m sure there were times Morticia and Gomez turned off the front porch light prematurely for some time in the sack, he thought. You’d both done your Halloween civic duty, and Jake needed some time with his sweet Lass.
You poured the rest of the candy into the bowl, a gasp leaving your lips as a pair of hands settled at and caressed your waist. A gentle smirk tugging at your lips, turning your head to meet his almost electric green ones. His lips centimeters from yours.
You hummed, eyes tracing from his lips to his eyes. “I refilled the candy bowl.”
“I can see that,” he purred, bringing his lips to your neck.
Your giggles and clutching at his hands made him chuckle. His open mouthed kisses making you mewl.
“Baby, there's still more trick or treaters,” he smiled as you jutted out your lower lip slightly into a pout. He brought his lips to yours.
“Sweets, the couch is calling our name, and there's other houses on our street they can get to.” He purred against your lips, hands guiding your thick hips out of the kitchen and into the living room, ensuring you didn't trip over your heels on the way.
Chanel was nowhere to be found. She often took her toys underneath you and Jake's bed when she was getting sleepy.
Jake quickly went up the stairs to close your bedroom door before rushing back down to your embrace and soft lips, much to the giggles that died on your lips and his met yours.
You moaned as he nipped and sucked at your throat. He hands clutching at your waist and squeezing your breasts that spilled out of your dress and into his awaiting hands and lips.
You ran your fingers through his hair, simpering at the texture of his mustache on your soft breasts. His hands sneaked behind you to undo the zipper of your dress, the realization hitting him that you didn't bother to wear a bra with this gorgeous number.
Your thighs twitched against his hips, your need coming to a boil like a witches brew. You could feel how much he needed you, you gently caressed and scratched at his thick cock bulging in his dress pants. He always loved the look in your eyes when you touched him. Like he was entirely yours.
“God, I want to suck you off so fucking bad. Look so handsome in your suit and your hair slicked back and your mustache I wanna feel on my pussy.” You purred in a tone that was sweeter and more sinful than a poisoned candy apple, and had his bulge pulsing against your hand with a groan.
You came to your knees in front of him, gently pushing him down to sit on the couch. You quickly unbuckled his pants, bringing the fly down to pull out his thick, throbbing cock with your silken grasp. His deep grunts and dilated eyes spurred you on as you pumped him, bringing your lips to his leaking, angry red tip. His head tipped back, fingers weaving tightly into your soft, onyx locks.
He choked on his breath as your raven colored lips encased his length, leaving a trail of midnight sky along his saliva soaked dick.
“Fuck, baby, look so fucking pretty with my cock in your mouth.” He grunted with that graveled tone that made your knees weak and core clench.
You took as much of him as you could fit, bringing your hand up to stroke and squeeze at his balls. He looked too good like this. You kept your mouth on his cock as you gently undid the buttons to his jacket and shirt, scratching your nails against his abs and Adonis belt.
At a particularly harsh suck, he whimpered under you.
“Fuck, Cali, I'm gonna cum.” His strained voice made your eyes flutter shut, your mouth coming off his dick with a lustful pop.
You rose up much to his lust-ridden confusion and disappointment. “Sweetheart,” he groaned out. You leaned down and whispered in his ear,
“Shh, I want you to cum inside me.”
Those whispered words snapped him back into focus. His torso rising up, his broad hands digging into your hips. Giggles and moans flowing from your lips. He pinned you down on the couch, his hands reaching for the back zipper of your dress. His eyes meeting yours, asking in silent permission. You nodded. His hands brought the zipper down, his thick fingers helping to pull the fabric down your body. He let his eyes flutter shut, shaking his head with a chuckle. He couldn't believe this; you weren't wearing anything under that dress. Not even a pair of panties. And you were passing out candy looking like absolute sin and being the sweetest woman in the neighborhood, all without anything underneath.
You bit your lip, eyes playful as you were laid back against the couch.
“Jesus, Lass, I can't believe I was with you for hours and didn't know you weren't wearing anything underneath this.” He growled as he pulled the rest of your dress down and flung it towards the stairs.
He separated your thighs around his hips. He needed you too damn bad. Eating you out would have to wait. You definitely didn't need the preparation, you were completely soaked and he saw how flushed your pretty clit was.
He hitched the tip of his cock to your weeping entrance, gently pushing in with a hiss and broken moan.
He never got tired of your silken walls clutching his dick. Everytime felt like the first time.
His hips nestled against yours as he completely filled you, your back arching off the bed as his tip rubbed against that special spot that made your toes curl.
His pace picked up in tempo, the sound of skin slapping skin filled the lower floor of your home. Your broken moans and grasps spurred him on.
“God, Cali, want to cum inside you, want to fill you up so good, have you leaking me for fucking days.”
Your cunt clenched impossibly harder around his cock at his words making you squirm.
“Does that sound nice pretty girl? Shooting my load into your pretty pussy?” He smirked that lupine grin you loved as you nodded feverishly, eyes glassy.
“Fuck, Jake, yes! M’love it when you cum inside me.”
“Yeah? Want me to put a baby in you sweetheart? Want me to fuck you like this everyday till it takes?” He groaned out, unsure of where this was coming from. But he loved it. Loved you.
You feverishly nodded, eyes clenched shut as he pounded your throbbing pussy.
“Yes, Jake, yes! Fill me up!”
“God, Cali, want to fill you up and plug you up so it all stays right,” he placed his hand above your womb,” here.”
You felt your toes tingle in the familiar sensation of your impending orgasm. Your eyes clenching shut, mouth parting as your high overtook you like a bullet train. Your body wracked by tremors, body tethered to him by his throbbing dick still thrusting into you like a hot knife in butter.
You clutched at him as his release overtook him. His grunts and growls making you whimper as his release painted your walls.
His body stalled above yours, his chest coming to rest on yours. Your shared breaths ebbing and flowing together in the new found silence of your home.
You lifted your eyes to his still closed ones, sweat beaded at his forehead, breaths coming out in pants.
You gently scratched at the back of his head, bringing your lips up to his.
“Do you really want to have a baby with me?”
His head leaned up, bright, dilated eyes meeting yours. He nodded, “I don't know something about seeing you tonight with all of the kids…makes me want that with you.
Your cheeks blushed. You'd been together for what felt like forever. And you knew you wanted to be with him for as long as you could.
“I could go off my birth control, on one condition.” You bit into your lip.
“You put a ring on my finger.” You teased, but also trying to swallow any insecurities about bringing this up now.
His grin widened, “who says I haven't picked one out already?”
Your grin matched his, tears budding in your eyes as you brought his lips to yours, gently nibbling on his lip. Simpering at the ticklish feeling his hair above his lip brought you.
“Oh, what bliss to love a woman like you.” he said, pulling away from the kiss, completely out of breath, his smile reaching his eyes in that boyish grin you loved. His hand still on your tummy, thumb gently rubbing over the skin above your womb.
--
Thanks so much for reading ❤️ there's still more coming with Jake and Caledonia in Learning from the Best :)
People who may be interested:
@entertainmentgirl80 @sebsxphia @goldenseresinretriever @withahappyrefrain @teacupsandtopgun @yuckosworld @djs8891 @whoeverineedtobe @sugarcoated-lame @hangmans-wingman
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missmarveledsblog · 2 months ago
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It's fate part two ( Bradley bradshaw x reader)
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summary : bradley can't stay away and well jake soon finds out leading to a blow up game of dogfight football
warning: none its still goofy fun well one fight but other than that it's fluff
previous part
Never had he been sure of anything then fact was he sitting across from his future wife. From the way she laughed to smile , how she animatedly told him of the different kids in her class and how each was a character in their own right . he imagine would she talk like that about their kid albeit he was getting a little ahead  since he hadn’t even asked her on the first date nor did her brother his fellow aviator and well close friend he was even talking to her in the first place .  yet in that moment i wasn’t on his mind , jake wasn’t on his mind as he sat in the cafe on what was the third time he was meeting with the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. 
“ i’ve not let you get a word in have i ?” she chuckled looking up as she took a bite of her brownie . 
“ seriously talk away it amazing to hear about little katie and her overcoming the sandpit but i do wanna know if little zack got his dog cat yet?” he smiled almost dreamily as she laughed  the way her head fell back and the way the sound literally warmed his insides better then any coffee he’s drank so far taking full advantage of his weekend off  not caring to go to the beach  or beat jake in dog tag football like he usually is no bradley is content with sitting in a cafe listening about kids he never even saw . so lost in her not even the buzzing on his own phone snapped this spell she had on him till her own went off . 
“ sorry let me take this” she smiled before bringing it up to her ear. “ hey idiot … yeah i can come and bradley can bring me  .. what he’s here with me know  yeah jake we will be there soon” she rolled her eyes before hanging up . “ my dumb brother wants us to meet him at the beach something about some game” she shrugged as bradley came crashing back to earth. 
“ yeah sure  lets go i’ll follow you” he smiled as took got ready to leave watching as she walked out. “ well i guess i’ll see my parent quicker than i thought i would “ he sighed  leaving a tip on table  before slowly heading to what was going to be his doom . 
From the look on jake seresins face when they arrive on the beach well doom was the right and accurate world to describe the following . 
“ I’ll sit with little seresin ..hey i’m natasha you can call me nat”  phoenix smiled really not wanting to be caught in the crossfire of what was about to come as Mav called the two captains to only be jake and bradley . 
“ i told you she’s off limits chicken “ jake glared getting in position . 
“ i told you it’s fate bagman “ rooster almost copied as the two glared it didn’t matter who was on side no this was between them two and them alone in this game .  the moment javy passed the ball throwing it to bob who ultimately tried to throw it back to jake only for fanboy to intercept and throw it to payback then in turn threw it too rooster .  well with who he was determined to impress stood on side lines rooster ran playing probably the best he had since he ever came across the game . 
“ 1 point to roosters team “ Mav called as y/n cheered making her brother pissed off . 
 Throughout the game both men done whatever in their power knocking each other over diving and dotting  til the scores where tied both panting and glaring at each other as their teammates honestly was happy to call it a tie . 
“ is it usually this … violent” y/n asked nat worried for both men . 
“ well there a more push rate here” nat winced instantly catching her on to what it  was . 
Once she watched as the two began head to head like to bulls charging til it was no longer just pushing and well fist started fly sending the men over pull them apart both men yelling at mav with bruise cheeks and egos and she walked closer. 
“ he’s dating my sister” 
“ it’s not a date …yet she’s an adult asshat” .
“ a girl really grow hell up both of you” mav rolled his eyes as the two began shouting back and forth . 
“ sorry sir may i try  “ she smiled sweetly up all doe eyes and sugarly sweet . 
“ i’m willing to try anything kid knock yourself out “ now what mav didn’t expect was the loud whistle  that shut the boys up or the fast she grab both of the men by the ear . 
“ now y’all gonna talk like adults or am going to show you how we treat misbehaving children  “ she looked between the two sternly as they instantly shut up . 
“ you can’t date rooster , one he’s old as hell and two he’s my friend” jake huffed. 
“ jakey buddy you have slept with  i could easily name five of my friends and another five co workers   another think if i wanna sleep with or date someone i will choose myself i am adult seem more of an adult then you” she crouched. 
“ i said that , i’m not old as hell ” rooster spoke up . 
“ and you well goading my brother and hitting him ain’t gonna happen again because idiot or not i kinda love him is that clear “ she  stood as he gulped and nodded. “ now  shake hands and grow up because i will give that man my number and jake can tell you how my mama kept his ass in straight line” she stomped over to Mav. 
“ sorry chicken “ jake grumbled. 
“ sorry bagman” . 
“ like you mean it jesus “ she rolled her eyes . 
“ sorry bradley .. shit maybe if she dates you  be less well that” .
“ sorry jake … dude i might marry you sister today” . 
“ you can take me on a date first bradley brooster radley “ she chuckled gathering her things. 
“ have you ever thought of joining the navy?” Mav asked shocked at the scene before him . 
“Oh and bradley pick me up at 7 “ was all she said before she headed up the beach . 
“ yessss ma���am… my wife is so pretty” he sighed happily . 
“ you aint married her yet” jake chuckled 
“ i’m gonna i’m telling you its’ ….” 
“ Fate “ the all groaned . 
Now as first date would be, he was never a ball of emotions as he was now almost pacing a hole in jake seresins floor as he waiting for her to get ready . 
“ really man i’ll lose my deposit you keep that up “ the blonde huffed eyes on the game that played on his television . 
“ sorry my nerves are gonna dent your income man i’m freaking out and all while in the chicks living room in front of you “. 
“ man where was confidence from earlier look for some weird reason she really likes you so i’m pretty sure even you couldn’t screw this up “
“ yeah thanks for the shiner really what my outfit needed “ he grumbled . 
“  you ready” she called and god she almost knocked him on his ass as he took in the sight of her man she could wear a potato sack and still look like a queen . the white sun dress hit her thighs or the red lips that paired well with her nails like something straight out of his fantasy . 
“ yeah .. yup ..yes.. Lets go “ he sighed ignoring the weird look jake was giving him or the way she was hiding her amusement . 
“ home by midnight” jake called . 
“ i’ll be home whenever i want to” she called back as door shut .
“ jesus he really is gonna be my brother in law” the blonde groaned .
part three
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neonovember · 8 months ago
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Deceit
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Mafia!au x Steve Rogers
CHAPTERS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
summary: your escape to Brooklyn was harboured by secrets and a harrowed past, left abused and betrayed, you accepted your destiny of being swallowed by the crowd. Until the King of New York showed up in front of you and wanted a piece of you for himself.
divider by @firefly-graphics��� !
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Bucky is quiet the ride over, dark steel greys surveying the road eagerly, like he was waiting for someone, or something to give him a reason to jump out and spill blood. 
The wheel wains in his grip, and his dark hair falls over in waves, pushed back behind his ears and smelling of pine nut and mint. There's a hint of a smile on his face, he knows you're watching him.
You avert your gaze quickly, looking towards the mountain trees on either side of the asphalt road ahead.
The relief you had thought would fill you as Bucky pulls into the potholed road of your apartment is blank, and your chest fills vacant without the heat of it. Your mind is restless, and the entire ride over had given you ample time to think over everything that had happened earlier. 
You had folded and unfolded every piece of information Bucky had told you about Steve and all it had done was make you feel like you were intruding, like you were given privy to something you had no right knowing. Like peeking through the cracks under closed doors as a child listening in on their parents.
Where your street had once been busy with loitering huddles of gaunt faced men, a quiet murmur settles over the ground floor of your apartment complex, all the way up to the hallway to your place. 
And as you pass by a few stragglers who blanch when Bucky shifts his hard gaze towards them, stuttering over their own feet and rushing back to their alleyways, you have an inclination that it was all Steves doing.
His reach was absolute.
You didn’t know what to feel, you’ve known displacement for too long. 
Separating from your betrothed, separated from the life you had been half folded into, separating from the very syllabus of your name. 
The spaces between the letters get further and further as the years go by. Until you can hardly remember if your namesake is really yours, just a frightening sound that came out of your husband's mouth.
This is different though. Until now, your instinct has always been right. And yet, when you think of Steve? When you try to find footing in your gut it comes up wobbly and unsure.
Was he something more than he let on? Did he only uncover pieces of himself for his own benefit? 
Bucky had told you he had lost his own wife, and young too. Forced to be exposed to the brutality of the world before he could even get a chance to indulge in youthful recklessness. 
You feel a sense of empathy for him, but also, also surprise. It isn’t the murder, or your own husbands doing that causes a slight slip of your heart. The truth is much more foolish instead.
There was a time Steve was ready to forsake this entire life, live forever looking over his shoulder, turn back on tradition that was as deep as marrow, all for love.
You could laugh if you had remembered what that felt like. The thought outright unnerves you. Steve? The gluttonous leader who held sanctions of New York with an iron fist? 
It drives a pit in your stomach when you think too hard about what it means. 
There’s a fiery jealousy that swarms you, you had never understood the wielding power that love carried all your life. It was a feeling, just like any other was it not? 
Yet it had men like Steve falling to his knees!
And all that swarms your mind is how it’s so unfair, that you’ve never experienced such a thing. That you may never will. Forced to succumb to the life that was only half yours, down a path so far the ground had changed beneath you.
What did it feel like to give in? To show all your misgivings with unabashed apprehension? To let yourself, all of it, to another person?
Anything close to a love like that had come from the faded memories of your father, his warmth and deep gritted protectiveness over you. And that had been stripped from you quicker that you were able to forsake it.
You suppose that wasn't meant to be dealt in your cards, which you had come to understand were drawn years ago. You lie to yourself, but during some nights the aching desire to feel something, to taste the deep gripping love that had caused even Steve to lose focus explodes deep in your gut. 
Your longing for connection was something you hid well, and god didn’t you get awfully good at hiding these years? Fit yourself in nooks and crannies that were too small, smoothed out your jagged edges to click into the puzzle pieces.
And yet, the empathy you had silently shared, the intimate conversation you had had with Steve in your mind is stamped out with swiftness as Bucky walks you to your door.
That was then, now Steve had made it perfectly clear where he stood. The cool indifference and hardening this life caused had stolen any shine or hope that Steve may have held those years ago. Everything he did now was calculated, for the betterment of broadening his kingdom. 
He might as well have died along with her.
Bucky leans against the hallway, eyes surveying the decrepit halls lit by overexerted linoleum lights. You hesitate a moment, before popping your keys into your door, twisting it this way and that to get it to open.
You flinched as the door opened wide, almost like you were expecting someone to be standing right behind it, waiting for your arrival before pouncing. You’re a child, waiting for the ghoul in the closet to jump out.
Yet all that is there is the same peeling walls of your small entryway and some shoes and a coat strewn to the side in your haste to get to the diner early those days before. 
You’d much prefer the monster.
Days, it had only been days, so why did it feel like a lifetime since you stepped foot into your home? 
You don’t know what you were expecting, for your apartment to change when you had been kept away from it unceremoniously? For someone to have cleaned out the dishes lying in the sink, and ruffle the pillows lying on your old sofa? 
You had craved mundanity for so long, craved consistently at a time where you didn’t know which face of your husband you would meet those days. 
When the monster living underneath your husband's skin would jump out.
But now, you crave something more. It simmers right under your skin, deep within your chest and its shadowy fingers flutter over every inch of you.
Your apprehension is evident by the way Bucky shifts his way towards you stuttering frame.
“Hey, I wouldn't be so keen on coming home to this place either. Those carpets don’t look that inviting" Bucky replies, there is a sight lilt in his voice as he drags his eyes across your depressing furnishing.
You cut your eyes towards him, narrowing your lids.
“Not everyone lives in an exorbitant palace you know” You gruffly reply, shuffling into your door in a way that was more spite than eagerness.
Bucky breaks out in a grin that takes up half his face, his hand stuffed into his suit pockets as he rocks on the balls of his feet.
“Talking like a woman who hasn’t done just that half her life” Bucky replies, cocking his head to the side.
Oh right, your husband's estate that took up half of the city. One that was never, and would never be in your name.
You drop your handbag onto one of the hooks attached to the hallway, turning towards Bucky with a sigh.
“That’s different” You reply evenly
“Oh yeah? How so?” Bucky murmurs, eyes shining with a smile
“I was never welcomed in that home- house. God it would never be a home no matter how many architects and designers dressed it up. You think I escaped ‘cause it was my safe haven?” You cock your head to the side and Bucky’s face evens out. The smile adorning his features morphs back into his face as a look passes through his eyes.
“You don’t have to worry about that with Steve-”
“Oh yeah? Because he is the most upfront person to talk to. Right. This place, as depressing as it looks, is solely mine. It’s the only thing I have on this goddamn earth that hasn't been mauled and changed with my husband's fingers. Or the life he leads. You might not understand it, how important that is but-”
“I do. Trust me” Bucky replies, cutting you with and he offers you a nod that was more understanding than half the world's he promised to you.
Can I? You wonder thoughtfully. Was this just a part of some elaborate plan that Rumlow had clued you on? You were everywhere all at once, topsy turvy and turned inside out. This was the life you had to live now.
“Good” You say instead, wringing your fingers as Bucky’s phone begins to buzz from his pants pocket.
You wait for him to reach for it immediately, but he doesn't, just remains quiet as he taps his foot against the hardwood floor. There seemed to be a look of understanding that passed between you when he had racked his fist against the wall adjacent to your door. 
The blues of his eyes twinkled under the sun peeking through the hallway window, and you didn’t realize it then but it was trust that shined in his eyes. Like the words he had shared with you warranted the same secrecy he held with the other men he worked with. 
You had paid in flesh and blood for your silence, what more was another pound?
The ring runs through, and the silence soon returns between you both.
“I’m not going to the mouth off to half of Brooklyn that their most influential business man likes painting” You reply with a murmur, eyes darting left and right as if neighbors were listening in. Enough of them had watched you walk to your apartment door, eyes strained on Bucky and his shoes that shine too bright. Faces that had never even said hello had craned their necks as you passed, of course. Whispers of inquisition under their breath.
“I know you won’t” Bucky replies instantly. “Just- let him explain the rest of it, yeah? ‘S only fair you hear it from him” 
“Fair?” You raise your eyebrows, “You’re talking about fairness now? Bullshit. If you were guided by some moral compass I wouldn't have been forced into this, you wouldn't even be in this life” You snark unconsciously.
Where does this all come from? You hadn't even raised an eyebrow at your husband, and now you were bad mouthing a man with a gun poking through his waistband. You look down, staring at the unusual stain in the hallway carpet you never quite knew what was. The anxiety and timidness you were used to coming back tenfold.
Bucky doesn't retaliate, just looks towards you with a feather-like smirk.
“I was wrong about you, y’know?” Bucky whispers, leaning in as if he were divulging in a secret he couldn't let be spoken in the open air.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re everything like Steve.” Bucky replies thoughtfully, a far away look taking over his dark features. 
He’s miles away, reminiscing about parts of Steve that had been left in the dark. He looks younger than, when you notice the way his eyebrows scrunch and his locks fall flat over his face. 
But it's enveloped back into Bucky in a second, a sad smile replacing his grin.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call” 
Giving you one last nod, he turns back towards the hallway entrance and it takes you a few moments before you realise.
“But I don't have your number!” You call out, leaning out your door
His brown locks shift as he turns back to you
“You sure about that?” A raise of his eyebrows at the ping of your phone, waving you with two fingers.
You don't have to pull it out to know it's him. And you can't help but let out a chuckle before turning back and shutting the door firmly.
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You find yourself accompanying your time scrubbing down the floorboard and yellowed walls of your home, filling your hours since Bucky had left with meager tasks. It helps you think, concentrating on little chores around the house so you don't have to think about the thoughts that rattled loudly in your mind.
It’s still well into the morning, and as the sun filters through your drapes you lean back on your heels nodding accomplished at the glint of the shining floors. The walls were an impassive yellow, never yielding no matter what cleaning products you threw at them, but beyond the old entryway carpet the apartment was lined with pristine hardwood floors that shined with a little elbow grease.
Not that shitty huh Bucky?
Wiping the sweat that had grown increasingly uncomfortable above your brow, you make way to your small enclosed kitchenette, swiping a cup from the drying rack before you watch the water fill to its glass edge. You gulp half of it down, before your much needed break is interrupted by the faint buzzing of your phone emitted from somewhere in the living room.
You forage for it quickly, searching till you find it wedged between the cracks of your couch. You pause for a moment, considering whether it might be Bucky, or Steve calling but as you see the vibrating screen of your manager's face you slide the receiver across the screen.
You brace yourself for the inevitable screech of her voice, you haven't been to work in days, an irregular for you considering the mountain of bills that left your bank account squandered each month. You needed this job, and now Steve hand upended your life, you fear it’ll slip through your fingers.
Manager calls, you pick up, she’s very quiet and apprehensive and is all sweet in a a way you remember she never had been before. She’s almost scared to talk to you, asking about a shift you could cover and you say yea without thinking. You need a distraction. Even if Steve had made it clear you no longer needed to worry about work.
“Hello?” You reply, eyebrows furrowing at the beat of silence that fills the space usually used up by ** loud un yielding demands.
“Y/N? Hey, how are you doing” Replies carefully, as if choosing her words.
“What?” You blurt out
You can’t help the confusion that puzzles your voice, who was this person? In the months you had spent working at that dead end job not once has she ever asked how you were. Not when you had spent half your break with your head in your toilet the first few months you had escaped. A cat on edge, nerves frazzled by even the slightest heavy stamp of a dress shoe.
What had changed?
You don’t have to kid yourself, you know the answer deep down. Him, it always goddamn is.
“Sorry, uhm I’m been doing good” You reply “I apologise for kind of just disappearing on you and the Diner”
“Oh that? That’s totally fine, once your friends cleared that up” 8 gulped, the sharp exhale of breath filling the receiver at the mention of this friend of yours.
“Friend?” You reply
“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad your doing alright. Uh-, so uhm ’s sister dropped her kids off at 4am last night at hers, she cant her shift. And * got SAT prep. Can you fill in if possible it’s totally okay if you can’t, I needed to stay back a few anyway-”
“Sure” 
You needed the distraction, you felt stifled in the walls of your apartment. It wasn’t meant to be a prison, and yet the only time you felt truly free now was when you slammed the door behind you.
“-oh, Oh thank you! Thank you so much. If you could come in at 12, it’s just the afternoon shift. And if you need to leave for whatever reason it’s totally fine you don’t even have to tell me-“
“Mare?
“Yes?”
“Relax. I miss the diner and it’s crappy linoleum lights anyways”
Mare snorts into the receiver “The teams missing you too”
After passing a few more instructions on the wave of Russian tourists coming through Brooklyn this time of year you let your phone clatter onto the coffee table.
Sure, your manager could be a pain in the ass but being passive aggressive didn’t warrant a mob leader holding you at gunpoint.
You wonder what Steve had said to her to cause her to be this shaken up, she was the most stubborn woman you’ve ever met. It couldn’t have been easy to have her yield, at least not without some sort of real threat.
Especially in New York.
You rifle through your bag before grabbing your work uniform. The musty smell of old oil and grease makes you throw it haphazardly into the laundry basket before reaching for a clean shirt.
You try to look presentable, washing your face with the bathroom tap that never not juts out cold water. You avoid your reflection when you pay your face dry, which is interestingly enough, hard to do since it’s well..your face.
Drawing the wisps of coils that spring free you pull your hair back into a bun. You don’t bother with makeup, it never quite sat right on your face when you did it. Reaching for your bag and throwing your phone and the rest of your miscellaneous, you hurry down the steps of your apartment complex. 
Popping in your earphones as you step into the train carriage, you memorise the dock and pull of the train ride till you feel your stop. Your music swims through your veins, and you breathe it in before opening your eyes to the tram doors opening.
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shakespeareanwannabe · 7 months ago
Text
As You Wish, Chapter 10
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Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.
Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (but biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, angst, panic attack, drinking, sadness, reference to divorce, kids doing sneaky things, swearing, character falling in the pool
A/N: No flashback for this one because I wanted to jump right into the chapter you've all been waiting for!
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Hotel Zaza, Now
Charlie kept her eyes peeled as she scanned the lobby for her mother, her father, and her potential future stepmother. She couldn’t believe that Uncle Bob had lost her mother. It was literally his only job in this whole operation.
Beside her, Natasha grumbled under her breath, echoing her thoughts. “…great WSO, terrible wingman,” she had just finished grumbling, leaning against a large white column as her one good eye surveyed the people coming and going. “Heads up, there’s your mom,” Nat jerked her head as Buttercup rushed from the elevator, clad in her yoga pants and tank top from earlier.
Charlie groaned as she saw her father and a blond young woman emerge from the crowd, the woman looking around as though looking for someone before heading to the front desk. “Oh crap, they’re gonna end up right next to each other!”
“Would it be so bad if they did? Takes the pressure off you and Abby to be the ones to reintroduce them,” Nat shrugged.
“I don’t know! Javy and Roo always made it seem like the world would end if my parents ended up in the same room together,” Charlie moaned, watching anxiously as her mother and the blond that she guessed was Savannah came closer and closer to each other, Jake trailing behind with his eyes on his phone.
Beside her, Nat rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, Javy always had a knack for the dramatic.”
“I thought you liked my dramatics, Phoenix?” a deep voice sounded from behind them, and they both turned.
Javy stood smiling at them; his thick arms crossed against his chest.
“Uncle Javy!” Charlie launched herself at him and found herself caught in his strong tattooed arms.
“Hey there, girlie!” Javy hugged her close for a moment before placing her back on her feet. “No warm welcome from you, Phoenix?” He held his arms open playfully, an earnestness twinkling in his eyes that Charlie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen before, but Natasha just scoffed.
“How about you do something useful and go stop your best friend from blowing this whole operation before it starts?”
Javy blinked at her, hurt flashing momentarily in his eyes before he crossed his arms. “Is that anyway to talk to your friend?”
Natasha rolled her eyes, turning her head slightly so that half her face was against the pillar. “We haven’t been friends in a long time, Machado.”
Javy’s shoulders bowed forward. “I know, but I never wanted it to be that way.”
“Then what did you want?” Natasha snapped.
Charlie huffed and turned away from them. The concierge desk had four people working at it, and, luckily, her mother was in line for the first person, and her dad was in line at the third. The odds of them seeing each other weren’t high, but Charlie didn’t want to take any chances.
With a gulp, she ran over to where her dad was in line, Savannah hanging all over him.
“Dad?” she hid her trembling hands. She had missed him so incredibly much, despite being so angry with him for hiding her mother and sister from her. He was still her dad and she hadn’t seen him in over a month, so while she really wanted to give him a hug and never let him go, she instead hid her hands behind her back and waited for him to respond.
Jake disentangled himself from Savannah, turning to her with a bright smile on his face. “Hey sweetheart, did you and Rooster find the pool?”
“Yeah, but…they don’t have any change rooms!” she blurted out the first excuse that came to her mind. “Could you show me where our room is so I can get changed?”
Savannah pouted before Jake could even open his mouth. “Sugar, we’ve got to meet the wedding planner.”
Jake fixed her with a look that had her pouting bottom lip sucking back in. “And we’ll have plenty of time to do that. But I’m not allowing my daughter to wander around the hotel alone. C’mon, Charlie. I’ll take you up to the room.”
Charlie felt a smile creep onto her lips. “Thanks dad.”
Savannah sighed, a dramatic, long-suffering thing, before she nodded. “Fine. Let’s go back to the room. But then we have to meet Phillipe.”
Charlie glanced at her father’s face quick enough to catch the tail end of him rolling his eyes. “Yes, dear.”
Charlie stifled a giggle as they weaved through the crowded lobby and hustled into the glass elevator. Savannah pouted and leaned her back against the glass as Jake punched their floor number before taking the two steps towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
“It’ll take five minutes, tops,” he murmured, pressing a placating kiss to her hair as the car started to move, rising them up above the lobby.
Jake glanced down, always having loved heights, even if he was only going a few stories high, and his heart stopped.
There, standing below them, waiting for the next elevator car, was…
But it couldn’t be. She wouldn’t be in Texas. There was no way. She had practically sworn off the States after the papers had been approved, even going so far as to take her brother and her closest friend with her when she had basically fled.
Jake blinked, but the phantom from his past didn’t disappear. Instead, she raised a timid hand and waved at him, a small smile tugging on her lips.
Jake felt his knees begin to buckle, and it had nothing to do with the elevator car coming to a halt or his girlfriend—no, fiancée—kissing his neck.
She was here. His Buttercup…she was here. In the same hotel as him. In the same hotel as him and Charlie. Did that mean Abby was with her?
Jake’s heart began to race. She was here. She was here.
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The second her dad and Savannah wandered off to meet Phillipe, Charlie scurried back to the elevator, rode it two floors down, and practically sprinted to her mom’s room, where she knocked rapidly.
Her own familiar face opened the door and she smiled brightly. “Abby!”
Abby returned her hug with fierce strength. “Charlie!”
They stood standing, smiling at each other for a moment before a deep voice interrupted them. “You two are gonna blow our cover if you keep standing out there for the world to see you.”
Charlie grinned and sprinted at her uncle. “Uncle Roo!”
He scooped her up with his usual begrudging smile. “Hey kid. Good to see ya. Now get your butts inside before someone spots you.”
Both girls rushed into the room, both smiling at Bob where he lounged on the bed.
“Crisis averted?” he teased.
Abby glared playfully. “There wouldn’t have been a crisis if you hadn’t lost our mother.”
“I had to take a phone call,” he defended, a small smile playing on his lips. “Where is your mom?”
“I’m right here.”
Abby turned and spotted her mother, standing in the doorway that connected the two rooms.
“Mum!” she launched herself across the room and was caught by those soft, strong arms that wrapped around her fiercely.
“Oh my girl…” Buttercup whispered into her hair. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Abby whispered into her mother’s neck, feeling the tears stinging her eyes. As much as she had loved being with her dad and uncles, she had missed her mother just as much. Her warmth, her strength, her slight floral smell, the way she laughed. All of it. “I’m sorry I went to Texas without telling you.”
Buttercup sniffled and straightened. “I understand why you did, baby. However, what I don’t understand…” she placed her hands on her hips. “Is why your father just looked at me like he had no idea I was on the same planet as he is, let alone the same continent.:
Abby stepped back, falling into line with Charlie, and they both gulped. “What do you mean?”
“Your father spotted me when he was riding the elevator up, and, from the look on his face, he had no idea I was going to be here.” She looked between them sternly. “You did tell him that I was going to be here, yes?” As the two sisters stared at each other guiltily, she groaned. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Well, mum…” Abby started. “You see, we…that is to say, Charlie and I…”
Rooster and Bob started to edge around the room towards the front door, but Buttercup held a finger up at them.
“Freeze, you two!” she barked. “You allowed my daughters to—to—bamboozle us this way?”
Bob tensed while Rooster purposefully dropped his shoulders. “Bamboozle you how?” he asked, a forced calmness in his voice.
Buttercup huffed. “What is this? Is this about you still not believing that a divorce was the best course of action for us, Bradley? Or about how you always thought we should have tried harder with the custody arrangement, Bob?”
Charlie stepped up. “It’s not their fault, mom. We…we wanted you and dad to be happy.”
Buttercup couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped her. “And how is cornering your father on the tour of his wedding venue going to make him happy?”
Charlie felt herself flush and she opened her mouth, but it was Abby who spoke first. “We don’t want to have to live with this custody arrangement anymore, mum. We were hoping that, if you and dad saw each other again, you’d be able to figure out another way, so we can share the two of you instead of having to live separate lives.”
Buttercup folded in on herself, arms crossing in front of her, not defensively, but protectively. “I…I know the custody arrangement wasn’t fair to the two of you. I…you’ll never know how sorry I am for that. But forcing your father and I into this…” she shook her head. “Why didn’t you just talk to me? Talk to us? Especially once you met at camp.”
“Mum…” Abby bit her lip. “I wanted to. I really did. But you always seemed so hurt whenever I brought up dad, and…and I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I wanted to talk to you too, but…” Charlie gulped. “But I was so scared that you wouldn’t love me if I pushed you to talk to dad. And I was terrified that you were going to say no.”
Buttercup drew in a deep breath and her shaky exhale drew the attention of Rooster and Bob, still edging towards the door. They paused in their quest for freedom, and Bob looked tempted to approach his sister, but Rooster’s hand on his shoulder stilled him.
“I…I’m so sorry, girls,” Buttercup whispered. “I wish I could do it all different. I wish that things had turned out differently for all of us. I wish that your father and I—”
The door that stood mere feet from Rooster and Bob burst open, letting in a bickering Natasha and Javy. Buttercup jumped as their voices raised.
“—I never said that!”
“Oh, but you implied it! How else was I supposed to take that?”
“You can take it and shove it up your—”
“Enough!” Buttercup shouted, bringing the room to a standstill, quiet as a pin-drop. Her hands covered her face, and it was only the keenest of eyes that could pick up the slight trembling of her limbs. “The four of you—” she shot a pointed look at the four retired aviators in the room. “Owe me a massive explanation for why you thought it was okay to manipulate J-Jake and I. I trusted you. Natasha, you and Bob know how I felt about this meeting and you still decided to blindside me. And I’m sure Jake will feel similarly once he finds out that his two closest friends are pulling the rug out from under him while he’s planning the happiest day of his life. And girls? There are so many reasons why what you did is not okay. First, switching places at camp and now forcing your father and I into close proximity. I’m trying to be understanding but…” she sighed heavily, her hands sagging back to her sides. “I need a drink,” she murmured, backing towards the door. “You four can watch my daughters,” she added with a glare at the four adults quietly sulking around the edge of the room.
Looking down at the guilt-ridden faces of her daughters, Buttercup sighed and stooped to hug them both into her arms. “I love you both,” she whispered, sniffling slightly. “I’m not mad, I’m just…I need some fresh air. Stay here. Please.”
With another small sniffle, she turned and fled the room, leaving six guilty parties staring after her.
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Jake found himself boring holes into the ugly paisley wallpaper of the hotel hallway, listening to Phillipe yammer on about some special flooring package. Or was it a floral package? Either way, Savannah seemed thrilled and was too busy chatting with her new bridal BFF to notice that her future husband hadn’t said a word since the elevator.
Buttercup was here. In Texas. He hadn’t seen her since…
His stomach roiled at the thought of their last meeting, the tears they had both shed as they left their wedding rings on the table and said goodbye to one of their daughters. Her tear-stained face and the gauntness of her cheeks, the bags under her eyes. His memory was in sharp contrast to the woman he had seen in the lobby, all full cheeks and glossy hair, all smiles as she had waved at him.
He shuffled his feet as a funny feeling exploded in his stomach at the thought of her. It was Abby. It had to be because of Abby. Jake hadn’t held his daughter in over ten years, and if she had come to Texas with her mother…
Jake’s hand dove into his pocket before he could second guess himself. He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to see his daughter. And if his chest tightened at the idea of seeing his ex-wife? That was just the nerves talking, of course.
“Hey, sweetheart?” Jake called, his eyes widening theatrically. “I just got a call from Sarah. Our vet on staff? Apparently something came up on one of the horses tests and she wants to talk to me about our options. She says it’s urgent, otherwise I wouldn’t be asking. But why don’t you and Phillipe make some decisions and you can tell me all about them later?”
Savannah pouted and Jake was honestly a little surprised that she didn’t stomp her foot for emphasis. “But Jakey!”
“I know, sweetheart,” he crooned, his feet already shuffling him away towards the door. “But I trust you. You can make whatever choices your heart desires. I just want you to be happy with this wedding.”
Apparently, he had said the magic words because Savannah turned back to Phillipe without another word to Jake and said, “In that case, what about the premium lighting package? Can we add more chandeliers?”
Jake ignored her as he took off towards the elevator, wondering where he should even start looking. The hotel was huge, but he would knock on every door he could if it meant finding his Buttercup. Jake shook his head at himself. No. He wouldn’t allow himself to go down that path. He was searching for Abby. His daughter. Not his ex-wife. However…his daughter was likely to be wherever his ex-wife was, so he supposed he would have to search them both out. But where the hell to start?
Jake exited the elevator onto the main floor and scanned the lobby. His Buttercup wasn’t much of a gym fiend, more into home yoga and cardio than anything, so the gym was out. She was an author, he knew, but it didn’t seem likely that she would be in a conference room.
Jake paused and leaned against a white marble pillar. He had to think. Think like Buttercup. She liked the water, he remembered. They had had way too many fun memories on the beaches of Coronado for him to pick just one favourite, but the way she had smiled at him while surrounded by the sun and sand and surf was enough to warm his soul even ten years later.
The mere thought of it had him turning and racing down the hall towards the indoor pool. He quickly palmed his keycard against the magnetic lock and stepped into the room, almost taking a step back when the overwhelming smell of chlorine caught his nose, but he persisted, doing a quick lap of the pool and surrounding deck chairs to try to spot Buttercup or Abby.
“Sir, can I help you?” a lifeguard regarded him suspiciously, and Jake took a second to realize how it must have looked, a fully dressed man scanning every woman and child in the pool room.
“Sorry,” he felt himself redden. “I just thought…my wife said she was heading to the pool with our daughter, but I don’t see her.” He didn’t see Charlie either, but he had enough questions on his mind to wonder where she might have gotten to.
“She might’ve meant the rooftop pool,” the lifeguard offered helpfully. “There’s a cabana bar and a waterslide that the kids really seem to love.”
“Thanks, man,” Jake replied, already turning on his heel to head back to the elevator. Of course, she would head to the rooftop pool instead of the indoor pool. She hated the smell of chlorine and she always said the water felt better when you could feel the breeze in your hair. She was up there. Jake could feel it in his bones.
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Buttercup placed the glass back on the bar with a little more force than necessary before meeting the bartender’s gaze and saying, “Another one, please.”
He frowned a little disapprovingly but poured her another rum and Diet Coke, her second since sitting down at the cabana bar next to the pool five minutes ago.
I love my daughters. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my daughters. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my daughters…she chanted to herself as she sipped the second drink slowly. What they had done, tricking her here on some half-cocked dream of getting her and her ex-husband back, was so far over the line that she was fairly certain they didn’t even know where the line was anymore, but she loved them. Her daughters especially had their hearts in the right place, and she couldn’t fault them for wanting a normal dynamic between their parents. It’s what she herself had always wanted for her family. But things didn’t always turn out the way you dreamed. That was made especially clear to her when she spotted the bottle blond wrapped around her ex-husband, at least ten years her junior and basically painted into her blue jeans. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was her daughters. She would face Jake. She had to. She wouldn’t live a life without Charlie, not anymore. She wouldn’t fight him for full custody, but she would do everything in her power to make 50/50 possible for her girls. She could do that much for them…after she had another drink.
She threw back her second drink and asked the bartender for another one. He rolled his eyes but poured the drink and handed it to her before moving off to clear up some of the glasses that had been left on the poolside tables. Her eyes followed him as she nursed her third drink, tracking his movements as he collected glass after glass before her eyes caught on a figure rapidly approaching from the roof’s door.
“Buttercup?”
Her stomach roiled, and she decided that three drinks in less than ten minutes was a bad idea. “Oh god,” she whispered, turning away from him and stumbling to her feet. She couldn’t do this. She wouldn’t do this while drunk. She needed to be stone cold sober to be able to face him, otherwise she’d make a fool of herself. And she had promised herself that she would never make a fool of herself in front of Jake Seresin ever again.
Buttercup quickly straightened and walked away from him. If someone accused her of running away from him, she would have no defence but that didn’t matter to her. She wouldn’t face him until she was confident in herself, and she couldn’t be less confident after three drinks.
Buttercup passed the bartender as she heard Jake’s footsteps pounding behind her. “Buttercup, wait!”
“Don’t call me that,” she whispered, feeling her heart pound at his nearness.
“Buttercup, I—”
A loud crash sounded behind her, and Buttercup spun on her heel to see what was happening, but she didn’t see anything before her flip flop caught on the tile of the pool and she stumbled unsteadily, falling backwards right into the pool.
The chill of the water immediately sobered her as she flailed in the deep end, trying to figure out which way was up before a strong arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her to the surface.
She gasped as the fresh air kissed her face, that arm not leaving her as it towed her towards the edge of the pool.
“Th-thank you,” she panted, frantically pushing her wet hair from her eyes.
“Don’t mention it…” an achingly familiar voice replied, deep and playful with a beautiful Texan twang.
Buttercup clutched the edge of the pool as she blinked, her vision clearing enough to see Jake Seresin a mere foot away from her, his dark blond hair plastered to his forehead and his white button-down shirt almost see-through.
“J-Jake…”
He grinned, that cocky grin that she had always hated because it meant his shields were up. “You weren’t trying to run away from me, were you?”
“No!” she shivered and started pulling herself along the pool’s edge towards the stairs. “Don’t be so full of yourself. Not everything is about you.”
Jake chuckled as he did the butterfly stroke beside her, easily keeping pace as she clumsily looked for an escape. “But it’s so much fun to think that everything is about me,” he grinned a Cheshire cat smile at her that would’ve had her defences melting a decade ago.
Buttercup reached the pool’s ladder and didn’t have it in her to swat away Jake’s hands on her waist to help steady her as she climbed out of the pool, a staff member greeting her with a fluffy white towel as she stood in her dripping clothes. Jake smoothly exited the pool next to her and wrapped the towel around his shoulders.
“So, are you saying you’re not in Texas to see me?” Jake asked, his green eyes glinting in her direction.
Buttercup swallowed. “As a matter of fact…” She had to tell him. She had to just come out and say it. It wasn’t fair to the girls to make them do it, and it wasn’t fair to him to keep him waiting. “I am here for you. And I thought you were here for me.”
Jake’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“Mum!”
“Dad!”
Both jolted away from each other, not realizing how much they had moved into each other’s space as they talked.
Abby and Charlie stood before them, mouths gaping.
“What on Earth did you do?”
“Why did you go swimming in your clothes?”
Buttercup pulled the towel tighter around her shoulders as Jake turned and gaped at the two almost-12-year-olds standing in front of him.
“Did I hit my head when I jumped into the pool after you?” Jake murmured, not taking his eyes off the two girls.
Buttercup shook her head. “No…they’re both here. It’s…kind of a long story.”
One of the twins gulped. “Please don’t be mad.”
“It’s not Mum’s fault.”
“We met at camp—”
“—and we figured out that we’re twins, and—”
“—and we decided to switch places—”
“—because we wanted to meet you and—”
Jake crouched in front of them as they rambled and slowly, carefully, placed a hand on each of their shoulders before pulling them into a tight hug.
“I don’t care,” he whispered tightly, cradling them both against his strong body as years of pent-up longing and grief threatened to spill out over his cheeks. “I don’t care how it happened. I’ve waited years to hold you both in my arms again. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
He pulled them even tighter against his chest and his heart fractured as he felt them—both of them—wrap their arms around him. And if a few tears fell, then who could blame him?
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