#because coyote and i started talking about it after i showed this to her

[hangmanssunnies]

Heat To Boil

Summary: After a failed Tinder date, you go to hang out with your friend Jake "Hangman" Seresin. When you get to his house, you unexpectedly find him with a baby, and it is a sight that rewires something in your head. Jake needs a baby of his own. Right now — like yesterday, actually. And that is a task you would be more than willing to help with; now, you just need to find the courage to bring it up.

Pairings: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Word count: 9k

AO3 Link

Warnings: 18+ Only, Friends to lovers, baby fever, smut, P in V, Oral, Hangman with a baby (deserves its own warning)

Author's note: The attorneys at work keep bringing their babies in and letting me hold them, and @top-hhun has done absolutely nothing to discourage the subsequent baby fever I've been dealing with. Anyways, that's where this fic came from. I hope you enjoy this. My inbox is always open if you want to let me know your thoughts. Reblogs with your thoughts, opinions, and tags are gold to me. I love reading through them.

You had become friends with Jake unexpectedly some years ago, hitting it off at your mutual friend's wedding. Part of you had, of course, hoped the attractive blonde aviator would be interested in you, maybe in a romantic sense, but it never came to fruition. He shipped out the week after the wedding, but the easy rapport you carried with him started with sharing jokes about how trashed other people got at the reception, and eventually developing into a true and close friendship. 

It was for the best because the more you got to know Jake, it became clear to you that he didn't want the same things that you did. He was focused on his career and didn't have time for a partner. When he did talk about settling down, it was never in an authentic way, more joking that he was waiting to swoop in if Coyote's marriage fell apart or that his Mama would set him up with a nice southern belle who wanted to give her twelve grandkids. Jake would claim he was too busy for a relationship, away from home too much to be steady. However, none of that seemed to stop him from finding time for you, which is probably why you hadn't been able to completely repress your feelings for him despite some valiant efforts. 

Just today, after a failed lunch date with someone from Tinder, you texted Jake disheartened. He hadn't hesitated first to ask if you were okay and then invited you over for dinner to tell him all about it. He had even promised to cook you whatever you wanted. A special treat guaranteed to make you feel better, considering Jake's superb culinary skills. 

You walk into Jake's house without knocking or ringing the bell, knowing he left the door unlocked in anticipation of your arrival. After securing the front door's lock into place, you toe off your shoes, making sure to set them neatly in line with the others there. Jake's home is clean and tidy, just like it always is; the organization of the entry is no exception. You know from the smells and sounds wafting towards you that he must still be cooking, which is odd because he's almost always done by the time you show up. 

Venturing further into the house you see him, standing in the kitchen, with a baby strapped to his chest. It's an unexpected sight, and you're frozen by it. Jake's in a casual white teeshirt, jeans, and a dark navy blue sling with a camo pattern wrapped tightly around him, securing a tiny infant in place against his broad chest. His hair is fluffy like it often is on his days off, and the golden strands fall across his forehead. Seeing it like this always creates an instinctual desire to run your fingers through it. However, you can hardly even process that thought because you're so distracted by the bundle on his chest. Music is playing on his record player, and he is humming along. 

Jake suddenly stops the humming, and the prep he is doing, looking down at the baby. After a pause, a smile pulls at the edges of his lips, his eyes crinkle before he drops a kiss on the infant's head. And it's like everything is right. Jake with a baby seems so natural. The fact that he exists any other way than with a baby in his arms every day feels wrong. Your heart starts beating harder in your chest, and a thought pops into your head, instantly taking deep root: Jake needs a baby of his own. Right now — like yesterday, actually. 

You don't know what sound you must have made, but Jake looks up and finally notices you standing in the hallway. He doesn't appear at all startled as a wide grin spreads across his face as he greets you, "Howdy there, Doll!"  

"You have a baby," you say stupidly in an entirely delayed response. 

"Yeah, this little guy is Jackson. Coyote and the Mrs wanted a date day, so I offered to watch the baby for them. They were supposed to be here two hours ago to pick him up, but I'm sure they just got caught up." Jake laughs and presses another kiss to Jackson's head. Before continuing on, "I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind," you manage to breathe out, unable to tear your eyes off Jake or even pretend you're not staring. He quirks an eyebrow at you but otherwise doesn't comment. After he gestures for you to join him, he returns to the cutting board in front of him. You are transfixed; when you sit down at the bar in the kitchen, it occurs to you that you should probably say something and not just stare like an idiot. "Do you want me to take him?"

"I think he is just fine here," Jake says, examining the sleeping baby strapped to his chest again. Jackson has hardly moved since you showed up, clearly passed out, not disturbed by the music or any of the kitchen sounds. 

"At least let me help finish cooking then?" You request. 

"No, Ma'am. Bubba and I have this dinner taken care of. I did pick up that wine you like from the store. Maybe you can open it up for us?" 

Entering the kitchen, you pull out two wine glasses from a cabinet. Opening the fridge you see your preferred wine stocked, as well as a few of your other favorite drinks stored there. Warmth blooms in your chest that Jake picked up things for you when he was at the store last. It was touching that he would take care to buy something he would never touch but getting it anyway just to have beverages you prefer on hand. After pouring the wine, you set one glass next to Jake's cutting board, making sure it's in easy reach for him. 

"Thank you," he says appreciatively. You sigh and lean against him, pressing your face into the bicep of his arm, careful not to disturb Jackson or the sling as you do. Closing your eyes, you breathe him in, looking for the subtle cedar scent of his cologne to soothe you. However, only a hint of it tickles your nose, the cedar not as strong as it usually is. Today, Jake smells more like clean laundry and his natural musk than anything else. You are surprised to find it still does the trick in helping settle your nerves, though. Jake hums but doesn't protest your closeness, instead asking, "Long day?" 

You don't answer with words, just humming noncommittally against his arm. You leave your face pressed there for a moment longer. "Not enough wine to talk about it yet," you eventually say into his arm before pulling away. Settling on the other side of the counter again, you take a long drink of the wine you poured. Deciding to admire Jake again, you ask, "How was your day?"

"It was pretty good. Javy dropped Jackson off this morning. We had tummy time, went on a walk, and to the grocery store to get things for dinner. Then we got a little cranky, so we rocked in the lazy boy for a while." You took a moment to picture Jake doing these activities and can't decide which is most swoon worthy. Jake is always swoon worthy, of course, but knowing that he was caring for a baby while doing it feels like an extra kick to the stomach or maybe ovaries. 

"And?" You ask him, taking another drink of your wine and pillowing your face on your palm. 

"And what?" Jake asks. 

"What else did you and Jackson do today? I want to hear every detail." 

Jake gives into your request easily. Starting his description of the day over, he tells you how even though he has babysat before, the Machados were still anxious to leave Jackson alone here when they dropped him off that morning. Jake told you about tummy time, which toys they liked and which were uninteresting. How long their walk was, and what they saw. He told you about the old woman who fawned over them in the store and how they helped her with getting her groceries to the car. It was endearing that Jake used the first person plural 'we' as if he and Jackson were a team with equal agency in their day's activities. It was especially cute when Jake told you about the tantrum they had thrown earlier in the afternoon as if he had been crying right along with his godson. 

Just as dinner was finished and you were setting the table, Jackson woke up and started to get fussy. Jake cooed to the baby affectionately, leaving to the guest room, where Javy had stuffed almost a car full of supplies for Jake to watch Jackson. Some of the just-in-case supplies included toys and clothes Jackson wouldn't even be able to use until he was at least a year old.  

When Jake comes back, both he and Jackson are wearing different clothes. Jake is in a soft green shirt and sweats, while Jackson is now wearing a giraffe onesie. He has the baby propped on his hip and doesn't offer you any explanation aside from that they had an accident. Then he sees that you have plated and set everything for dinner at the dining room table, and he offers a soft thank you. 

You watch as he balances Jackson on his hip and starts following the written out directions for making a bottle that's taped to his fridge. Jake isn't someone who struggles, and you know that this is something that he is fully capable of doing, but you also can't help but think that it would be easier for him if he had two free hands. So, you gently pull Jackson from his arms and into your own instead. 

The baby blinks up at you, his eyes still soft and sleepy. He babbles a bit of nonsense but otherwise makes no protest at you. Jackson has the same brown eyes and skin tone as his father. Even with his chubby cheeks, you can tell that the little boy is going to be Coyote's mini-me. The similarities in their appearance are so close it's like the universe had just hit copy and paste. 

He is so cute you can't stop the grin that stretches across your lips when Jackson snuggles into you. One of his hands starts grabbing at your shirt's fabric while he absently gnaws at his other one. The little boy completely steals your attention as you walk around the living room and dining room with him. Asking him how he feels about his day with his Uncle Jake, pausing for his babbling like they were real answers. Jake comes up behind you several minutes later, setting a steady hand on the small of your back.

 "Here, let me take him," Jake mutters practically in your ear while reaching for Jackson. 

"No," you protest, turning away from Jake's reach. "You've had him all day. I've only gotten to hold him for a few minutes." 

"Now, darling," Jake drawls. 

"Don't darling me."

"Doll," He says 

"Don't Doll me either." You snap, though the aggression of it is completely manufactured. 

"Fine, fine," Jake says, holding his hands up. "You can have him for a few more minutes, but then it's my turn again."  

"How is that fair?" 

"It's fair because he is my godson." 

You pout at Jake, and he pouts back." I can't believe you're going to be a baby hog like this. Don't you know sharing is caring?" 

"Jackson isn't a rental car, sweetheart. Can't just hand him out to anybody."

"So what? You don't trust me with him?" 

"No," Jake says, suddenly dropping all of his dry, teasing tone. "Of course, I trust you with him. Of course, I trust you."

Jake steps closer when he says this, crowding a bit into your personal space. His sea glass green eyes hold you in place, and you don't think you imagine that they flick downwards, that he has his sights set on your lips, that Jake could be considering kissing you. However, a breath later, he is swooping Jackson out of your arms and into his own, quickly back peddling. 

"You can have the baby back after I feed him, okay? I don't want to risk him throwing up on that pretty blouse you've got on." 

"Kidnaper! Baby Snatcher!" You half gasp, half yell, and start to chase after Jake as he runs away, holding Jackson close and carefully but still managing to evade you.  

You're both laughing, and Jackson has started joyfully screeching as well when the doorbell rings, startling all three of you. Jake hands Jackson to you wordlessly before going to check who's at the door. It only takes a minute for him to come back with Coyote in tow. Who immediately rushes to sweep his baby from your arms and press kisses all over his cherub face. 

After Javy examined his son to ensure nothing was out of sorts, he handed Jackson back to you to hold while he and Jake packed up all of his stuff and moved the car seat. This was only after he made a sly comment about how good you looked with a baby in your arms, though. 

When you are alone with Jackson again, you take a moment to admire yourself in the mirror hanging on the wall. It wasn't such a hard thing for you to imagine holding a baby, and it looking normal, like something right, especially when you start to picture one with Jake's features or one that would take more after you, possibly even some sweet mix. The feeling of casual want that started from seeing Jake when you first arrived suddenly twists into an unexpected ache and intense need. 

You expect it to let up, but it doesn't. Rather, the feeling smolders in you, burning hotter and hotter until it feels slightly consuming. Seeing Jake hug and kiss Jackson goodbye, promising they would spend another day together soon, nearly does you in. Heating your feelings from a low simmer to a roaring boil. 

When you and Jake finally sit down to actually have dinner, it gets a little hotter with every sip of wine you take. Every time that Jake smiles and his eyes crinkle around the edges, the way he asks about your failed date with the perfect mix of sympathy and care, even the way he reheated dinner, all adds to the fire. As Jake is starting to put away the leftovers from dinner, refusing to let you help, you can't keep it in anymore, and you boil over. 

"Jackson was so precious," you say, casually swirling the bit of drink you have left around in the glass.  

"Little mans is so fun. I love him. It's always a treat to babysit," 

"You were really great with him today." 

"Aw, thanks Doll. Now, what do you want to do with the rest of the night? Play a game, watch a movie? We can do anything you want."

"Anything I want?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jake says easily as he pops the lids of his pyrex container into place.  

"I want a baby." You say in a quick breath. You nearly slap your hand over your mouth in horror that had just jumped out of your mouth. You really haven't had enough wine to be this bold, but then again, maybe you were a little intoxicated on having seen Jake be so domestic. 

"What?" he asks with a laugh, probably thinking he misheard you. You grip the edge of the cool countertop trying to steady your nerves and prevent your hands from shaking. 

"Jake, I want a baby," you tell him more slowly, making sure each word comes out clearly. 

"No, you don't," he laughs, shaking his head. He starts tossing dirty dishes into the sudsy water of the sink and stacking up the food containers to put in the fridge. Jake turns away from you before saying, "I thought you've said you didn't want kids."

"It's complicated," you explain softly. "Are people not allowed to change their minds about things anymore?" 

"Oh, so are you debating or like —"

"I don't really know how to say this more clearly. I want to have a baby with you, Jake." 

He freezes. You see his shoulders tense, and he stares into the fridge for a long moment, slowly finishing storing the leftovers. When he closes the fridge, he still doesn't look at you immediately. 

"You want me to be the father of a child you have? You want to have my baby?" Jake asks you incredulously. You gulp, now feeling entirely too vulnerable to speak, so you just nod in agreement instead. Jake's eyes are piercing, and his body language is tense as he stands in front of the sink again. He heaves a heavy sigh, his lips flattening into a tight line. Then he scrubs his hands over his face before narrowing his eyes at you, "This is not a very funny joke." 

"It's not a joke, Jake. I want a baby, and I know you would be a good father." When Jake's demeanor still doesn't change, you continue on hurriedly. "I think we could do the whole platonic coparent thing easily enough. We get along so well, and we're already such good friends." 

There is a long pause where he does not say anything, turning on the sink, waiting for the water to heat, and sudsing up a scrub daddy sponge. Only once this task is started does he answer you in a very stoic, perfectly level tone, "No, I don't think I can do that. I can't just sleep with you."

"Oh, well. I see. Forget that I asked, please." You mutter, embarrassed but trying to not let the sting of rejection affect your tone. You knew that this could backfire, but you didn't think it would feel this bad. Feel like the pit of your stomach falling so low you are almost nauseous. 

"I'm sorry, Dolly." 

"It's okay, Jake, really. It's just the wine getting to me."

"Are you going to ask someone else?" 

"What?" 

"Are you going to ask someone else to give you a baby?" Jake asks in a gruff tone. 

You wouldn't actually, you wouldn't want one without Jake. In fact, this urge to have a child came from seeing him. However, you didn't know how else to play off your out-of-pocket request than to commit to the bit. Nonchalantly, you say, "Maybe." 

"I could help you find someone," he offers. 

"Please, Jake. It's okay you said no. You don't have to try and fix my situation."

He practically ignores you, asking, "What about Rooster?"

"I'm sure that I would have fun with the process," you say. Jake, who has focused himself with dedication on the dishes, looks up at you sharply. He quickly looks away again as you continue, "I'd be worried about having a baby that's born with a full mustache, though. So, no, thank you." 

"I'm sure Fritz would be happy to help you out." 

"No —"

"Harvard—" 

"No Hangman. Stop," You say much harder with emphasis, cutting him off and leaving no room for argument. 

"I tell you no for one thing, and suddenly I'm Hangman to you?"

"No, you're Hangman when you disregard the people around you, no matter what they say. You're Hangman when you decide something's a mission objective, and you refuse to let it go. This isn't your problem to fix or one to pawn off on one of your friends." 

"You made it my problem when you just asked me to give you a baby," Jake says, frustrated. Roughly scrubbing the dishes, rinsing, and setting them in the drying rack. 

"Well, the moment you said no, it's not your problem anymore. I'm absolving you of responsibility. It's my problem, and I will find someone for myself to put up with me, at least for a night." You joke, trying to lighten the mood again, not wanting to ruin the whole night from this mishap. Jake doesn't react more than his face darkening significantly, a deep frown pulling at his lips as he rinses the last dish and closes the dishwasher. 

"Put up with you?" He asks, his eyebrows knitting together. Jake reaches for a dish towel to dry off his hands, and you're momentarily distracted by the thick fingers and web of veins tracing up his arm. It's a better sight than meeting Jake's intense eyes, those eyes that can stare you down and leave no room for you to hide. 

"I mean, I know I'm a lot, but I think even I can get someone to fuck me once or twice. If I want and am very lucky, I'll only need one night. There are also other options, of course, like sperm banks and adoption. Let's just let it go. Okay?" When you don't get an immediate response, you glance at Jake once more. He is staring at you, but it's not a look you like. He's looking at you like you are a problem to be fixed, a puzzle to solve, an item to take off his to-do list. So you force a chuckle out and smile.  

"I don't think I want to. Actually, I can't let this conversation go." 

"We have to," you insist. 

"Why?"

"Because Jakers, it doesn't have anywhere else to go. I expressed a stupid desire without thinking. It was awkward, and that's okay. It doesn't have to stay that way, though. Now we laugh and forget it. There is no other option." 

"A lot. Put up with. Stupid desires," Jake scoffs the words as he rounds the kitchen island. He spins the bar stool chair you're sitting on by the back, turning you to face him. Then he sets his hands on the marble countertop on either side of you, effectively boxing you in. Even sitting on the tall bar stool, you have to tilt your head a bit to look up at him. When your eyes meet again, the green isn't as soft or kind as you're expecting. "I don't like how you're talking about yourself right now." 

"I'm just being honest. I'm taxing to deal with; people get tired of me. My past relationships have certainly taught me that I'm only desirable under the right conditions. And I am stupid. I just ruined our whole night because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. What kind of normal person asks one of their best friends to fuck a baby into them unprompted?"

"Oh wow, I'm not even sure where to start with all that." Jake breathes. You can't take seeing his furrowed brow and disappointed frown. So instead, you examine his right arm that's stretched by you, mapping out the moles and freckles there. "You've developed a warped sense of the truth, Doll."  

It's your turn to scoff and roll your eyes. When you do, the arm you've been studying shifts, and Jake cups your cheek. Gently, he urges your face to turn back towards his, and a calloused thumb sweeps across your cheekbone. "Listen to me good now. The things you want and desire they ain't stupid, and neither are you. You're not too much. You're just enough."

"Thank you, Jake." You whisper. And while his words are kind, you don't really believe them.  

"Don't say thank you."

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"Say you believe me and mean it," Jake urges you. 

"I don't want to lie to you. That's not who we are, that's not our friendship," You say. Jake's hand drops from your cheek, and he steps back quickly as if he's been burned. After you had been so surrounded by him, you nearly reach out to urge him close again. Running a hand through his hair, you can tell he's resisting the urge to pace. 

"Is that our friendship, one built on honesty?" 

"I thought so." 

"Then I've failed you, and I've failed us because it's not." 

"Jake, what are you talking about?" You ask him, confused. He shakes his head at you and doesn't respond, instead backing away further until he is abandoning you in the kitchen. Swiftly, you stand to follow him, "Where are you going?" 

"I'm leaving." 

"And going where? This is your house," you remind him. You've caught up to him in the doorway of his bedroom, where he's grabbing a hat and his wallet. "I'm sorry I ruined tonight, and I'll leave. You have to be honest with me before I do, though. I have to know we're going to be okay tomorrow." 

"I can't," Jake says tersely, not meeting your eyes and attempting to sidestep you in the doorway. 

"I was wrongly under the impression there wasn't anything you couldn't do, Hangman. But I guess we are finding a lot of things you just can't do tonight, aren't we?" You aren't expecting the little lash out of a taunt to get you anywhere. Jake is normally always calm, cool, and collected, acting with decisive precision. However, nearly as soon as you've finished speaking, Jake's hands are on your arms, and he backs you up until you gently hit the wall of the hallway across from his door. 

"You're asking for more self-restraint than I have, Doll." He warns roughly. The sudden movement doesn't make you back down like he was probably expecting. Instead, the rush makes you feel emboldened. 

"I don't care. I can accept you don't want a baby with me, that you don't want to fuck me. I can accept that you want to force me to talk, but I can't accept you making me question our friendship." 

"Oh god. You really don't understand. My honesty is not going to make this better," he warns. 

"Yes, I do. Whatever it is, please tell me. I can think of many things you could be referring to, like that I'm not attractive to you. How I would make a terrible mother. Maybe I'm not a good friend. Or you don't actually like spending time with me. Whatever it is, you have to tell me. I've never thought you would lie to me. So, I need to know, or it's going to drive me crazy." 

"There you are, all twisted up again," Jake sighs. 

"And whose fault is that?" You snap back. Jake still has you pressed against the wall, so you set your hands on his broad chest with the intention of pushing him away. However, he doesn't budge; in fact, he does the opposite, coming even closer so he is flush against you. You refuse to tilt your chin to look up at him as he looms, rather only lifting your eyes in a cold stare. "I shouldn't be surprised that you're going to leave me hanging to dry, but you could at least —"

You don't get to finish the thought because a hand has snaked to hold the side of your neck, thumb tucking under your chin, turning your face upwards to Jake's waiting lips. The first brush of his lips on yours doesn't line up quite right, but that doesn't stop your breath from catching. Shifting to get a better angle, Jake applies two more feather light kisses. Your hands, which are still resting on his chest, creep up, and you loop them around his shoulders, using the leverage to lift higher on your toes and get closer to him. 

This prompts him to deepen his next kiss, lips moving harder against yours. When you open your mouth wider in invitation, Jake's tongue traces along your bottom lip but doesn't dive in. You whine when Jake pulls away to take a breath. 

"Forgive me, Doll, I should've asked first." 

"Asked what?" You wonder, not moving your eyes away from his lips and strategizing how to get them back on yours. You think if you could just get a little higher, you would be able to kiss him without Jake needing to bend down so much. 

"May I kiss you?" He asks. 

"Yes, please." You answer immediately. You tug your hold on his shoulders, hoping it will urge him to get right back to it. Jake doesn't, though. His hand shifts from your neck to cup your cheek again, his other leaving the wall to settle on your waist. 

"Can I touch you?"

"Yes, Jake." His hand traces up your side from your waist and back down again in what is a soothing motion. It's too soft and delicate for what you want right now, though, so you tug on his neck again, pressing your chest into his. He gives in this time, molding his lips to yours once more. 

When his tongue meets yours, a low rumble emulates from Jake's chest, and the sound sends a new wave of arousal coursing through you. Reaching up, you push off Jake's hat, not caring where it falls, only that it's no longer in your way. When you thread your fingers into his hair, it's smooth and silky, providing no resistance when you tug it. 

"Tell me what you want, Doll," Jake says when your lips part again. 

"You. I want you," you whimper, tugging his hair again. A wide grin breaks across Jake's face, and his eyes crinkle around the edges. He tucks his face into your neck, and you can still feel him smiling. 

"What else do you want?" He questions. When his lips brush a spot that makes you stretch your neck to give him easier access, he nips it lightly. You stumble, coming up with a response, just sighing his name as he finds another spot to bite. "Come on now, you said it so pretty earlier. Tell me again."

Once his request processes through your lust filled brain, you push on Jake's shoulders once more. This time, he doesn't resist, backing away from you and creating some space between your heated bodies. Sagging against the wall, you try to catch your breath while examining Jake. His hair is disheveled now, some of it falling across his forehead. 

"You said no, you don't want that with me. You don't want this with me," You answer, finally dropping your gaze to examine the grain of the hardwood floor near your feet. Confusion at this sudden turn in attitude from him settles over you as your head clears. One of Jake's hands enters your field of vision, turned upwards in an offering. "Come sit, we need to set some things straight." 

Taking Jake's hand, he curls his fingers with yours and gently tugs you back through the doorway of his room. With his direction, you perch on the edge of his four poster bed. Jake presses a kiss to the back of your hand and lets it go to settle on the accent chair that's in the corner. 

"We'll be honest, right?" You say hesitantly, already missing the feeling of Jake's hand in yours. 

"Yes. I'll be honest." Jake answers reassuringly before continuing, "From the beginning, I never wanted to be friends with you. 

"You didn't?" 

"Nope," he says, popping the p. "I never wanted to be friends, and then once we were friends, I was stuck. You didn't seem to want the same things as I did, and I'm not the kind of man to complain about the friend zone."

"I haven't friend you zoned you," you say, scandalized at the suggestion. 

"Just earlier tonight, you asked me to have a baby with you, platonically," Jake deadpans. 

"Because I can't conceptualize you wanting me any other way." 

"I want you. I've always wanted you, but not platonically, baby." 

Baby. Jake was a casual sweet name user, there was doll, sweetheart, honey, darling, those all were commonplace, but baby was new. Hearing it makes butterflies erupt in your stomach. He called you baby, and he has wanted you. You could have had him from the start if your fears and insecurities hadn't held you back. 

"I'm sorry," you whisper. 

"I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to need me, to love me," Jake explains with more hesitation than you've ever heard from him as if he is tip-toeing through this conversation. Worrying your fingers together, you have to take a calming breath to settle your own hesitation before answering him, "Well, that's easy because I do."  

A gleeful grin stretches across his face, and it's so bright you feel a matching one appear. He rubs a hand over his face, hiding it from view for a moment, and when you see his face again, he is still smiling. He looks as if he is trying to bite it back but can't quite manage. 

"Well, alright, a few more things we have to iron out then. I love spending time with you. You've never not been desirable to me." You can't help a disbelieving laugh when Jake says that, and the look he gives you is disapproving. "I mean that. I was thinking about it even the time I came over to bring you soup when you had the flu. Wanted to bundle you up and crawl into bed with you." 

"Oh, come on, that can't be true. I was so gross." 

"It is. I promised I would be honest, and I'm not going to be breaking any of the promises I make to you. Can you believe that?" 

You study his face, tracing over his nose, and jaw. He still has the hint of a grin that hasn't slid off his features yet, and he looks so very earnest. You can't imagine that Jake would be in the business of lying to you, and the openness he is offering makes it feel like you can believe him. That you can keep trusting him just like you always have. "I can believe that."

"Great. So, baby —" 

"Yes?" You say entirely too breathily before he can even finish the sentence. It was really a surprise how much hearing him say that already turned your brain to some form of liquid. 

"I want to sleep with you," Jake says plainly. 

"Then why are you all the way over there?" 

"I didn't want you to feel any sort of pressure while we were talking, and wasn't confident I could keep my hands to myself." 

Standing up from his bed, you walk steadily over to the chair Jake is sitting in. Crawling into his lap more confidently than you truly feel, his hands automatically slip around your waist, steading you against him. Holding eye contact with him, you say, "I don't want you to keep your hands to yourself." 

"Fuck, you're going to kill me," he sighs, tightening his hold on you. You go to kiss him again, but when you do, he blurts out, "I don't have any STDs or STIs." His cheeks stain a little pink, and he looks as surprised by the declaration as you are. 

"That's good to know. I'm clean too," you inform him. 

"Good to know. I just thought it was important to put it out there. Got to do safety checks first and everything. I don't want us to have any questions or be unsure about anything, and it's important to consider all the factors involved with —" Jake's rambling comes to a halt when you dip your face into his neck, kissing at the underside of his jaw softly. 

"Jake," you say, linking your arms around his neck and playing with the short hair there. "Will you give me a baby?" 

"Fuck, Doll. I promise to give you anything you want. The ring, the house, the baby. It's yours." 

You don't waste any time kissing him. When your lips meet, all the hesitancy and nervousness that Jake had while you were talking melts away. His mouth confidently teases yours open for his tongue to quickly follow. Your hands thread into Jake's hair again as his start to roam your back, sides, and arms. When you wiggle closer on his lap, he groans and grabbing a handful of your ass, lifting you up. Jake stands easily and walks you back to the bed. 

He doesn't drop you on the bed like you're expecting. Instead, he sets you down gently, one of his hands cradling the back of your head as he does. Laying on your back with Jake standing over you reminds you just how large and broad he is. 

With surprisingly little fanfare, he pulls off his shirt and tosses it to the side. Jake shirtless is not a new sight; in fact, it's a tantalizing one you've seen too often. He has every right to be proud of his body, you know how much time he dedicates at the gym. So it shouldn't be a surprise that, never one to be self conscious, Jake hardly could be found wearing a shirt if the situation didn't require it. However, you realize this is the first time that you don't just have to look but can also touch. 

Wanting to get the nervousness of undressing out of the way, you sit up, quickly discarding your shirt and tossing it aside. Before you can shimmy out of your bottoms, Jake's large hands are on your wrists, stopping you. 

"You're doing my job," he chastises huskily. Jake is slow and meticulous in removing your clothes, running his hands over all the skin that's exposed to him. When he pulls off your bra, leaving you only in your panties, he just sits back and stares for a moment. Such intense scrutiny from his gaze has you covering your chest, crossing your legs, and looking away. 

"I wasn't planning on sleeping with anyone tonight," you mutter, knowing that you don't have the sexiest underwear on and perhaps were not as physically prepared for this intimacy as you would like. 

"Good," he says lowly. "No one else is going to get to see you like this anymore." Grabbing an ankle in each big hand, he spreads you out for him. He slides off your panties so you're completely bare, and takes up his staring once more. "Ain't you fucking gorgeous?" Jake mutters and you realize he ain't talking about you necessarily; he's talking to your pussy. Whining his name gets Jake to shove off his sweatpants, leaving him in a pair of dark grey boxer briefs as he crawls over your body. 

As he kisses you again, your hands greedily explore his exposed skin. His chest hair proving to be much softer than you had imagined it, and his shoulders are taut as he holds himself up. While Jake's lips move with yours, you use a leg to encourage him to ease more of his weight into you, seeking friction. Kissing down your neck he lavishes attention to your breasts, licking and sucking his way across your skin. 

"You know, I was too busy to make dessert," he says when he reaches your core. One of his hands teasingly traces all around the skin. Placing a kiss on your inner thigh, he asks, "Do you mind filling in?" 

"Jake, you don't need to." You say, trying not to squirm when his fingers dip between your lips. 

"I want to. Do you not want me to?" 

"I know it's not everyone's thing," you answer, giving him an out. 

"It's my thing," Jake says. His eyes lock onto the cleft of you, and he licks his lip, biting at the bottom one. Reaching up, he grabs one of your hands and brings it up to his hair, encouraging you to thread your fingers there. His fingers that are teasing you spread you open more, and he groans, "Oh yeah you're my thing." 

Jake's tongue traces over you, probing until he finds the spot that makes your hips jump. Once Jake finds your clit he doesn't waste his time. Widening his mouth, he latches on and sucks. While he starts gently, he ramps up to sucking hard and twisting his tongue as he does. When you pull at his hair, he moans encouragingly.

"More," you request tugging his hair gently. Jake listens, sliding a finger into you. Whispering praise into your thighs about how pretty you are and how good you taste. You don't know how long Jake spends between your thighs, but he doesn't seem to be in any hurry. He sucks and licks, fucking his finger into you until the sound is sloppy and wet. He slips a second finger in, stretching you, occasionally scissoring them wider open in you. 

Even when you are whining and gasping, working against Jake's tongue, he doesn't let up. You don't have the mind to worry how you're trying to suffocate him with your thighs, which he keeps pushing back open with no complaints. All that you can focus on is Jake, how good he is making you feel, and how close you're getting. It's a matter of time until you're shuddering and falling apart for him.  

Continuing to lavish attention even as you jerk with sensitivity, Jake seems content to keep eating you out. You try to pull him away by his hair, but he just licks into you harder. "Jake, enough," you whine, trying to wiggle away from his mouth.

 "I haven't had my fill yet, Doll," he says, pulling his mouth off you but not going far, pressing wet kisses to your thighs. 

"I haven't even seen your cock yet, and I don't know why it isn't in me." You say, trying to reason with him. It doesn't come out very strong, though as Jake's fingers curl in you, making your cunt flutter. 

"Patience is a virtue," he teases.

"Being virtuous isn't really at the forefront of my mind at the moment."

Jake sighs dramatically and presses one more kiss to your pussy before sitting back on his haunches. You can see the hard outline of him in his briefs as he gets off the bed. You watch his every move closely, more than ready to finally see him naked.

However, Jake is clearly taking some sort of joy from making you wait, because he detours to start picking up your hastily thrown clothing. As he is laying them out on the chair, you lose your patience. Grabbing one of his decorative pillows, you throw it at him. It smacks him between his shoulder blades before dropping to the floor with a thunk. 

Spinning to face you, Jake crosses his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge, his eyebrow raised. "Did you just hit me with a pillow?" 

"No, I wouldn't do that," You deny trying to look innocent. Jake tsks at you, picking up the makeshift weapon and setting that neatly on the chair as well. 

"Being desperate for my cock isn't an excuse to misbehave, baby." 

"Big talk for someone who still hasn't shown it to me. It's okay if you don't have a pretty dick, Jake. It won't change how I feel. I'm still going to want you to fuck me."  

Goading someone into action was a wonderful tactic you had learned over the course of your friendship with Jake. Something he easily did with others, and something tonight that it proved was just as effective against him because he doesn't even respond to your words. Sliding off his underwear, his dick springs free. He's hard from eating you out, and just from the first glance you get, it's clear there isn't one thing for him to be self-conscious about. 

The fleshy pink length is nestled among dark hair, and the size of him is nothing to dismiss. It's a very symmetrical cock, lining up nicely with his balls and adonis belt. Bouncing a bit as he gets back on the bed, you can't bring yourself to look away. You know he is going to fill you so deliciously. When he's finally close enough for you to touch, you hesitate though. 

"Speechless?" Jake wonders, with no ounce of shame or self-consciousness present. 

"Can I touch?" You ask. Jake nods, taking your hand and bringing it to your mouth. You suck a few of your fingers in, wetting them with your spit. Then he guides your hand to his dick, encouraging you to wrap it around him. Jake's hand covers yours for the first few strokes, showing you what he likes, but then it falls away, letting you explore. He grunts when you trace one of the veins that runs along the side, following it down to cup his balls. He allows your teasing for a few more strokes before he pulls you close, kissing you hard. 

The hard planes of Jake's naked body pressed against yours is nearly too much. He is so close and yet not close enough. With some gentle maneuvering, Jake is in between your legs and checking that the position is comfortable for you. Jake runs his length through your lips, the head bumping into your clit. Despite all the encouragement and build up, he's still not in a hurry. When his cock is wet from you, it starts to slide effortlessly. Losing your patience, you cup Jake's face, making him look you in the eyes. 

"Jake, fuck me now. Please." You say. He nods, kissing you slowly. Then finally, he grabs his cock lining himself up and pushing the tip into you. When his pelvis meets yours, he holds himself there, your breaths mingling together in light pants as he stretches you out. The time he gives you to stretch and adjust is necessary, but once you have, Jake fills you deliciously. 

"How're you feeling baby?" He asks. Your thumb moves across his cheekbone, soothing until the worry lines between his eyebrows disappear. Only responding when you know you're okay and so is he, "Perfect. Feel so full of you."

"I'll fill you up," Jake promises. 

"Yeah?" You ask. He hums his agreement and rocks his hips against your experimental, drawing a small gasp from you. 

"Promise," he says, starting a lazy punctuated rhythm, moving his hips against yours. Your hands explore the skin of his back as he thrusts into you. You hike a leg up on Jake's hips, letting him get a little deeper in you. The action makes him moan, and he pulls your other leg up around his hip, too. 

Hooking your ankles together, you use the leverage to encourage Jake to fuck into you faster. Digging your heels into his ass and lifting your hips up to meet each of his thrusts increases the heat boiling between you. His face falling into your neck, Jake starts whispering dirty praise about how good you feel around him and how long he's been dreaming about this. 

Stamina clearly isn't something that Jake is lacking in. He fucks you until you are both dripping with sweat, and you are begging for him noncoherently, unable to process anything but how good his cock feels. He maintains a steady rhythm, snapping his hips to meet yours the whole time. 

"You feel so good. Want to get you there again. What do you need?" Jake pants huskily. 

"Harder," you answer shakily, snaking your hand to play with your clit. You're close, and you know it's not going to take much more for you to get there with how long Jake's been building you up. He listens, slamming his hips more pointedly into you, grinding his pelvis every time he bottoms out. 

Huffing, Jake pulls out of you a few minutes later. Making you cry out wantonly, reaching for his retreating body. He takes a moment to kiss both your hands that he unhooks from his neck. Then, shushing you gently, he grabs a pillow and lifting your hips, he slides it under them.

"It's okay, just a little better angle." He explains to you. You flop back on the bed, content to have Jake manhandle you any which way he wants if it means he'll be in you again.  

"Oh, you're such a needy thing, aren't you?" He asks, as your cunt clenches around nothing, empty and wanting him. His fingers dipping in to play with the wet dripping from you. A flash of shame passes through you as he asks that. You drop your arms that had been reaching out for him back to the bed, and you screw your eyes shut, turning your face to the side looking away from him. 

Jake had already got you to cum once, and it was possible he didn't want you all over him as he was trying to get off now. Preferences were probably something y'all should have talked about more in depth before jumping into intimacy. You didn't want him to think you were overly needy or hard to please. You didn't want to ruin what you and Jake could have the very first time together. Noticing the shift in your enthusiasm Jake immediately stops pressing his cock into you, worriedly asking, "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," you answer, staring up at the ceiling looking for patterns there. It's easier to play this off if you don't have to look at him; easier if you don't have to acknowledge the unexpected, unwelcome swell of emotion that's overcoming you. 

"Doll, look at me." He orders you, but you shake your head, refusing. Jake grips your chin, tilting your face to meet his eyes. They are intense studying you intently, completely focused on you. "The honesty we just promised each other needs to extend to sex nearly more than anywhere else going forward with this relationship," Jake says seriously. His hard dick is pressed against your thigh, and you don't know how he's able to have such a level-headed conversation considering the circumstances, just having been balls deep in you a minute ago. "So, what's wrong?" 

"I don't want to be too high maintenance or needy," You sigh, trying to work through your words. Knowing this conversation is important, but also not completely sure how to express what you're feeling. "Sometimes I might seem needy, or maybe I could take a while to cum or not at all, which wouldn't be a reflection of you. I don't want you to think, well, I don't want to be too much for you to change your mind about this, and now I'm ruining the mood with a dumb fucking insecurity."

"Stop," Jake says gently, but leaving no room for argument. "You haven't ruined anything. I'm sorry I called your pussy needy. I didn't know it would make you feel this way. Can I tell you something, though, Doll?" When you give a hesitant nod, Jake's voice drops so low it's nearly gravelly. "I want you to be needy. I want your pussy desperate for my cock, desperate for my cum. I want you as desperate for me as I am for you." 

"You're desperate for me too?"

"Frantically and wildly so." He answers easily. Then he asks with his thumb ghosting over your nub, "Are we okay? Is this still okay?" 

"Yeah, this is good," You sigh, enjoying the zing that runs up your back when he nudges your clit more pointedly. 

Jake grabs his cock, giving it a few languid strokes before he guides it back into you. You push your hips up to meet him. The new angle that the pillow gives him leverage to hit somewhere that's just a delicious feeling. As he rocks into you, his thumb maintains its place on your clit. Your fear of the mood having been ruined proves wrong as the coil in your core quickly builds, pushing you near the edge once more. 

"Cum in me, Jake, please. Give me a baby," you request, your thighs quivering as you near your orgasm. 

As his hips snap nearly frantically, Jake rolls your clit over in nearly the same rhythm. He moans your name a minute later, falling over the edge and spilling inside of you. Though his hips stutter to a stop leaving himself fully seated in you, he continues working over your clit. It doesn't take long until you're dissolving into pleasure along with him. 

The ripples run through your body, and you feel every muscle tense and relax, turning into jelly. Jake grunts when you spasm around him but doesn't move or pull out until you've fully melted into the bed on the downward crest of your peak. 

When he does pull out, he doesn't go far, shifting enough to spoon you. Settling behind you, Jake pulls you close to his chest, wrapping you tight in his arms. His hand is tracing lazy patterns on your hip and occasionally venturing to the soft skin of your belly. You don't have the mind to be self-conscious at the moment, still a little too blissed out. It takes significant brain power to process his question when he asks, "Do you actually want to have a baby?" 

"Do you?" You wonder. 

"You can't answer a question with a question," Jake chastises you. Turning in his arms so you are sprawled against his chest, you snuggle close, nuzzling him affectionately. 

"Do you know how it was seeing you with Jackson today?" You ask him. 

"If it was even half of how it felt seeing you hold him, then I'm sorry." 

"Whatever you felt, double it. Triple it even." You say lightly. "It was enough for me to ask my friend, who I thought could never want me, for a baby." 

"I do want you," Jake immediately reassures you. 

"Thank goodness for baby fever, then. Because at least now we know we want each other," you reason, slowly starting to draw mindless patterns of your own against his skin. 

Jake heaves a sigh and strokes his hand down your back, wondering, "Was this just baby fever?" 

"No," you answer after thinking about it for a long span of silence. "I would have a baby with you. It seems right. I want that, I think." You can feel the relief in his body, hearing that, all his tension easing into relaxation. 

"Good," is the only response he gives you, kissing the crown of your head. You expect more but don't get it. Rather, Jake seems content to just bask in the afterglow. That doesn't seem to be too bad an idea, so you close your eyes, listening to his steady heartbeat.  

When you wake up from your impromptu nap, you're not alone in bed. However, you are now under the covers of a different comforter than there was before, and Jake is no longer acting as your pillow. He is on the other side of the bed, but his hand is stretched out, grazing the middle of your back. 

Rolling to face him, you admire the sight he makes stretched out on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Jake's got a book open, folded in half, clearly abusing the book's binding just so he can have one hand on you. When he notices you sleepily admiring him, Jake shoots you a soft smile. 

"Hey baby," he whispers. 

"Hi," You whisper back scooting closer to him and grab the hand that had been touching you, threading your fingers together. 

"Let's go on a date," Jake suddenly springs on you, squeezing your hand. 

"I would love that," you respond, feeling giddy as butterflies erupt in your stomach. "Want something first, though."

"I already told you I would give you anything you want, and I meant it," Jake says, setting his book on his bedside table and giving you his full attention. 

"Good, because I want round two and a shower, which hopefully has round three involved." 

"Your wish is my command," Jake says easily. You move even closer to him so your lips are only a breath apart. "I meant it, the ring, the house, the baby. I can make it all happen by tomorrow." 

"Let's start with breakfast in bed," you say, kissing him hard. When your lips hardly touch because you're both smiling too wide, well, that actually makes it feel all the better. 

[jetblack4realz]

idiot girlfriends - bradley "rooster" bradshaw x reader

summary - bradley's stupid girlfriend doesn't understand that bradley has a life-long best friend, and that would be you

warnings - no

word count - 2.6k

______________________________________________________________

when you joined the navy, everyone knew it was only because of bradley bradshaw. well, and nick bradshaw. you wanted to do right by him and his memory by serving the same way he did and followed bradley into the navy, even pulling your own papers to graduate the same time and be in the same classes as him.

you two had been inseparable since you were toddlers. your mothers were childhood best friends and so when goose died carole moved her and brad right back to the same small town she grew up in in virginia, only a few doors down from you all.

so, when you two got assigned across the world from each other, it was a shock to everyone.

you met again in top gun, both competing for the top spot and landing ten marks above the rest of your classmates. you tied, which everyone thought was a good resolution, but you both teased about who really won for years.

you loved your line of work, emailing bradley on deployments and facetiming whenever the time difference allowed. you'd gone on random deployments off in fightertown and did a few in naples, but for the most part your commanding officers fought for you to stay in guam.

until the uranium mission.

you were ecstatic to be back in the states, stationed with him. and mav. but, mostly him. you'd jumped into his arms when you walked in and spotted him talking to your friends by the pool tables. everyone thought you guys were a thing, and you both were casual in blowing them off.

you trained hard, working well together in your fights against maverick. you managed to find tone on him once and only once, but hell, you were proud of it.

you flew with bradley and maverick, coyote as your backseater and accomplishing the mission. when he went down, you nearly had a heart attack. and when he got back it took everything in you not to kiss him, instead opting to wrap your arms around him in a death-grip of a hug.

because he had a girlfriend.

her name was gabbie, and she definitely gabbed. she was a brat, you and phoenix decided as soon as you were introduced to her.

"hey," bradley said with a wide smile, reaching out for you as he approached the group. you matched his smile and wrapped your arms tightly around him in a quick hug. when you pulled away, he offered phoenix a quick wave before he gestured to the girl with narrowed eyes behind him. "guys, this is gabbie. we've been together a couple months, she started emailing me this last deployment."

"right," you nodded, offering her a polite smile. "hi."

"this is phoenix, and this is minnie - or y/n," bradley said, gesturing to you with a soft smile. he looked back at his girlfriend. "she's my childhood best friend, i've known her forever."

"oh really?" she hummed with a dramatically sweet smile. "well, it's nice to meet you then."

"yeah, you too," you said with a nod. "wanna play pool with us? you could have the table next."

"does everyone in the navy play pool? even the women?" she laughed to rooster, his brows furrowing slightly. she looked back at you. "just because you're in the military doesn't mean you have to do everything the guys do. and you don't have to wear your hair that way on night's out either. you're off duty! dress cute!"

you were beyond shocked and so were the rest of your friends. your hair was up in a messy bun because yeah, you were tired after the week's dealings and didn't want to curl it. but also, top knots weren't regulation anyways.

and you thought it looked cute.

"i'm sorry?" you asked, tilting your head as you stared at her.

"well, do you like how i did my hair? i could show you if you want," she offered, playing with her front pieces, but it only made your grimace deepen.

"i'm good, thanks," you told her. you turned your attention to hangman, your go-to games partner. "jake - darts?"

as you walked away, whispering to him likely about gabbie, bradley watched with a frown.

whenever she hung out with the daggers she insisted that she would rather stay by his side than hang out with you and phoenix, making snide comments about women in the military and more about your appearance. and whenever you would try to have a private conversation with him, she was immediately by his side. you felt like you never talked to him anymore, that you couldn't talk to him anymore.

"wanna step outside for a minute?" you asked quietly, nodding your head to the back porch. "i need to talk to you about something."

"yeah, for sure," he answered quickly, his brows furrowed in concern. "what's wrong?"

you sighed, glancing around at where your friends were stood swinging back beers and shooting around the pool table in a game of 9-ball. your eyes caught on an approaching gabbie, a fresh mai tai in hand.

"can we go outside?"

"yeah, of course," he said with a nod. his hand hovered over your lower back as he ushered you to the back door, slipping out of it behind you and following you to the railing. he leaned his back against it, eyes on you.

"what's wrong?"

"my dad texted this morning," you said, breath shaky as you glanced at your phone. he looked down too, reaching for it when it was offered to him. "it's my mom."

the door opened and out came gabbie. "hey guys! what's up?"

"hey baby, i'm so sorry, but could you go back inside?" rooster asked gently, offering her an apologetic smile. "we're having a private conversation."

"too private for your girlfriend?" she asked, quirking a brow as she glanced at you. she looked you up and down and you hated how pissed off it made you.

"yeah, i'm sorry honey," he said. "it's personal."

"shouldn't i know about your personal things?" she asked, her tone still high and light enough to feign innocence, but you were getting increasingly upset as she refused to leave.

"it's not his personal life, it's mine. it's my stuff that i'd like to discuss with my best friend, in private," you said in as even a tone as you could produce.

"do you need help with anything?" she asked. "i could help too."

"no thank you," you said. "just bradley right now."

"no, i'm actually working front desk at a therapists' office right now and i've picked up on a few things. i'd be happy to work a few techniques with you if you're feeling depressed or-"

"forget it," you mumbled, shoving your phone in your pocket and pushing passed her to get inside.

bradley sighed, following you quickly. she tried to catch his arm, saying something about the sunset, but he followed you inside, mumbling apologies and trying to get you to talk to him again.

you offered him a thin smile. "later."

later never came. there wasn't enough time in the work day to talk about private matters and it seemed like gabbie now had a permanent tie to his side.

the girl infuriated you to your core.

but, for bradley's sake and trying to be a good best friend, you offered one night to get to know her outside of the hard deck. she didn't even entertain the idea when bradley approached her about it.

"i'm not a girl's girl," she mumbled to him while you exchanged an eyeroll with coyote, able to hear their whole conversation thanks to her inability to whisper. "i've never been good at that. i'm better with guys."

"not likely," phoenix muttered to you with a roll of her eyes. "hypocrite."

"well, she's not necessarily girly either, hun," rooster told her, brows furrowed. "she is military."

"which isn't my cup of tea either. but, it's alright! i'll just stay with you and the boys," she answered, hands coming up to hang off his shoulder. her eyes were trained on you as you turned back to your game with hangman, scoffing under your breath.

"alright baby," rooster relented, eyes on your back with a knit in his brow.

"i'm trying here," you muttered to the man next to you as you leaned down to take your next shot. jake shrugged.

"can't help who she likes as friends."

"wish i could help who she likes romantically."

"what do you mean by that, min?" a smirk was already growing on his lips and you groaned.

"oh, don't start. everyone knows it," you said, moving around the table for the best angle.

"yeah, but you've never admitted it," he teased, following you. "do you like rooster?"

"he's right there, dickhead, go and say it louder," you said with a quick glare, shooting your last ball into the pocket.

"what'd you say, minnie?" rooster asked, eyes on you and jake both intently.

"nothing, just trash-talking hangman here," you answered, standing and clapping a hand on said man's shoulder. you smiled at jake. "he's about to get his ass beat."

you lined the cue ball up with the 8 ball, counting to three in your mind before you shot, the two balls clicking together and the 8 ball landing in the corner like you predicted.

"ha!" you exclaimed, turning to him. "loser!"

"you didn't call it," he hummed, a wicked grin on his lips. "scratch! i won!"

"what? no!" you cried.

"oh yes, princess," he laughed.

"you could tell what i was going for," you argued.

"oh could i?" he teased with a wiggle of his brows.

you scoffed, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped your mouth as he did a stupid 80s-like victory dance, phoenix leaning into you to mumble teases about the man.

from behind you, bradley's face had settled into a scowl.

"minnie," he called. "you and me."

your eyebrows shot up and a smirk lifted one side of your mouth. "oh really, roo? you wanna take me on?"

gabbie looked taken aback that he'd offered to play you.

"she just played. how 'bout you play coyote here?" she asked, looking at javi with a smile.

"nah, i'll give y/n another chance to win," he answered, his eyes not leaving you as you faced him with a smile.

"game on, chicken," you told him with a grin, moving to rack the balls.

he helped you, your hands brushing as you placed them into the triangular rack. your eyes found each other, a subtle smile on your lips as you placed the 8 ball in the center.

"all you mousey," he told you.

"you know, maybe i will take you up on your offer," gabbie chimed in, catching your attention. "let's do something."

"alright," you said slowly, nodding at her. "we'll figure it out later."

"no, let's go get a drink and talk," she replied.

"i'm playing bradley right now. later," you insisted. she seemed to harden at your use of his proper name and she approached where you stood next to rooster. she grabbed your forearm gently, tugging you towards the bar.

"phoenix will take your place. come on!" she said with fake enthusiasm. everyone could tell it was just that and you were left stumbling after her with knitted brows.

"no gabbie, we're playing," rooster told her, taking a hold of your other arm and tugging you back to him. she turned to him with a sharp look in her eye and you hated where you were standing at that moment.

"she wanted girl time, bradley, so i'm giving her girl time," she told him. she turned her attention to you, a sweet sweet smile shot in your direction. "maybe i can give you makeup advice?"

"okay, no," you laughed dryly, ripping you arm from her grasp easily. "i'm good, thank you. i don't need your makeup advice."

"oh, honey, you do," she cooed condescendingly. "i think the boys would agree."

"you're being rude and i'd like you to leave," you said calmly. you looked at rooster. "can you take her home, please?"

he looked conflicted, glancing at you and then gabbie.

"i don't need to go home," she told you.

"oh, so you're gonna play nice?" you asked, raising your brows.

"i will when you do," she answered, glaring openly at you now. you breathed an incredulous laugh, glancing back at phoenix with wide eyes before returning your attention to her.

"what the hell does that mean? i've been trying to be friends with you, lady!"

"oh yeah, just so you can cozy up next to bradley a second later," she said, her glare deepening as she gestured to his hand on your wrist.

"the hell are you saying?" you asked. "i've known him my whole life, forgive me for trying to maintain a friendship."

"no," she shot back. "because you're not just maintaining it."

"yeah, it's flourishing under your watch," you spat sarcastically. you shook your head, glancing back at bradley for a moment before pulling your arm from him and stepping back. you held your hands up in faux defense, scoffing as you stepped towards the door. "sorry brad, i'm not allowed to talk to you anymore."

"no, y/n, stop," he said quickly, shaking his head and sighing. "gabbie, stop saying stuff like that."

"it's true! she's making moves on you bradley," gabbie insisted.

the daggers were not amused, watching as you rolled your eyes and waiting for what bradley would do in respone.

"she's not," he said.

"but if i was?"

that was a question that caught him off guard. he looked at you, his mouth falling open and brows furrowing as he struggled for a response.

"i - what?"

you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest before looking at him with complete seriousness and honesty. "look, she's not the girl for you bradley. i think you've figured that out by now. the rest of us sure as hell have."

"what are you saying?"

"i'm here," you said with a shrug, taking another step back towards the door. "i've always been here. do with that what you will."

gabbie was awestruck, watching you with wide eyes as you strutted out of the bar.

"bradley-"

"gabbie, i can't do this anymore," he said, eyes flashing to her as soon as you left his view. "she's right. you're not the girl for me and i'm not the guy for you. you'll find him, i know you will."

"what? what the hell are you-"

"and now i've gotta go get mine," he said, offering her a small, apologetic smile before running through the bar, dodging customers and slipping out the door after you.

"about time," coyote laughed, leaning back to sip on his beer.

"oh, screw all of you," gabbie spat. "i thought we were getting along, but i guess not."

"cheers to that!" jake said, clinking his bottle with phoenix's as she glared, leaving the room quickly.

bradley chased after you, desperation in his voice as he called, "y/n! y/n!"

you turned, a subtle smile on your lips as you peered at him. "yeah?"

"i want you," he said, grabbing your hands with a wide smile. "i want you forever. i want you to always be here and i want to always be here for you and i'm sorry that i wasn't, but i promise i will be."

"just kiss me, bradshaw," you told him, a grin overtaking his lips as he pulled you into him, his hands cupping your jaw as he pressed his lips to yours.

the kiss wasn't without passion, the both of you having been waiting for this moment for who knows how many years. your arms were wound tightly around his neck as you pulled away for air. you both had stupid grins on your faces, just watching each other.

"thanks," you breathed out dopily.

"anytime," he answered. he leaned closer to you, smirking slightly. "all the time."

he kissed you again, you smiling as you kissed him back.

"fuck yeah!"

you pulled back quickly to see phoenix and the daggers on the front porch, watching with knowing grins.

"we've been waiting for this!" coyote whooped.

you rolled your eyes and laughed at your friends before looking bradley back in his beautiful browns. "i have been too."

[call-sign-jinx]

Robert "Bob" Floyd X Reader - What's a wallflower?

summary: Coyote sets Y/N and Bob up with some alone time. Bob thinks Y/N hates him but it's the complete opposite and he has no idea.

Warnings: swearing, kissing, fanboy being a matchmaker

Main Masterlist Robert ”Bob” Floyd Masterlist

a/n: hey girliessss! its been a looooooong time since the last time i posted anything. hope u enjoyyyyyy xx

robert “bob” floyd x fem!reader

Robert Floyd was a very shy man on the outside. I always admired him. The way he just sees and hears everything without being seen himself. Like a wallflower.

All of us are at the Hard Deck, Bradley is trying to pick up a girl at the bar. So was Hangman. Fanboy, Coyote, Payback and Phoenix were all chatting with each other while playing pool, as was I. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bob, eating from a cup of peanuts with his drink at the side of him.

He hadn't yet seen me staring as he was watching Bradley try and pull the girl beside him. Did he think the girl was attractive? If he did, I think he's lost his shot at being with her because Bradley is now locking lips with her. Gross.

"Y/N! You listening? It's your turn to shoot." Fanboy shouted to me waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked, shook my head a little then looked to Fanboy.

"Uh sorry. Lost focus for a second." Fanboy gave me a knowing look. He was the only one, other than Bradley (my cousin), that knows I may or may not have a thing for Bob. Bradley only knows because he guessed and I couldn't stop smiling when he mentioned Bob's name.

I grabbed the pool cue off of Fanboy and looked around the table to see where I could pot a ball. I moved around the table and found my shot. I lined my cue up with the white ball, then looked up to see Bob intently watching me. I shook my head and refocused on the ball. I drew the cue back and hit it with enough force so that the ball potted. The white ball then hit another of our balls into one of the holes. Fanboy patted me on the back and said well done before I sat down.

It was now Fanboy's turn to shoot. But before he did, he shouted to Bob.

"Hey Bob! Please could you get my jacket out of Y/N's car? She'll help you find it, can't remember where I put it." My eyes instantly went to Fanboy. I shook my head slightly with a pleading look. I could not be around Bob alone. Last time I was I completely embarrassed myself. I didn't show my face to him for two weeks.

"U-uh sure!" Bob put down his cup of peanuts next to his drink and got up off the chair and headed towards me. "After you." He muttered with his eyes glued to the floor. I began to walk out and turned to give Fanboy a death stare.

The walk to the car was silent. And awkward. Very awkward.

I unlocked my car and decided to start off in the boot of the car while Bob started in the backseat.

"Not here!" Bob shouted as he then began to look in the front seat of the car. I muttered a quick "okay" before continuing looking in the back.

I was zoned out. Just moving things about, not actually looking for Fanboy's jacket.

"Do you like... hate me or something? Did I do something wrong?" I quickly snapped out of my trance and closed the boot so I could see Bob's face.

"Why would I hate you? You haven't done anything wrong..." I furrowed my brows but my tone was quiet.

"You barely talk to me. There was a period of time where you avoided me, I know that because every time you saw me you did a full 180 and practically ran the other way." With every sentence, Bob took a step towards me until he was only a few inches away from me.

"I... I do not hate you." I chuckle as I make eye contact with him, Bob had a serious look on his face.

"Then why do you always avoid me? There has to be a reason..." Bob really wanted to know... Should I tell him? What if he doesn't feel the same way? Fuck it. I'm gonna tell him.

"Bob... I... Fuck!" I couldn't get my words out. I ran a hand through my hair and breathed out through my nostrils.

"You should know already! You're like a fucking wallflower!" Bob's brows furrowed and head tilted to the right in confusion.

"What's a wallflower?" He seemed very confused. The way he looked right now was adorable though.

"It's someone who sees and hears everything around them but isn't seen." I chuckle as I look into his eyes. The moonlight made his face look absolutely ethereal.

"Oh right... But... You still haven't answered my question." Bob had a small smile on his face.

"I..." I sucked it up, he was probably gonna find out sooner or later. "I have feelings for you Bob..." I couldn't look at him, I didn't want to. He surely doesn't like me back.

When I looked up at Bob, he was looking at me with utter shock on his face. Oh no... Shit... I've probably just fucked everything up.

"It-It's alright if you don't feel the same. I don't actually know why I told you... I could've just come up with an excuse but I just said it out loud." I kept on rambling and rambling.

Bob then grabbed both my arms and shouted my name.

We looked at each other intently until our faces began getting closer to each other. Bob couldn't wait as his hands found place on my cheeks and connected his lips to mine. It was a sweet, soft kiss. Severely contrasting to the other guys I've kissed before.

My hands then traced his abs and up to the back of his neck. I pulled him closer and he backed me up against the boot of my car. My hand went up to tug at his hair to which he let out a groan to.

We then pulled away for some air and stared at each other with goofy smiles on our faces.

"I have wanted to do that for so long..." Bob says breathlessly. I giggle as his smile becomes impossibly goofier.

"Come on, let's go back inside." We both then head back inside the Hard Deck to which Bradly, Coyote, Hangman, Phoenix and Fanboy were waiting and cheered as we got back inside.

"Did you tell them all?" I asked, to which Fanboy gave me a smug grin and hugged me.

"Well done for deciding not to be a pussy anymore Y/N/N." He said in my ear, I hit him on his back in reply which received a laugh from him.

I then go over to Bob who took back his place on his chair next to the wall and rested my head on his shoulder.

I'm glad I decided not to be a pussy.

[mamaskillerqueen]

Have A Beer For Me || Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

A/N: This is sad, and short, and contains mention of Jake being with a woman. There is also a main character death. If you'd ever like more to this story, I'd be happy to add more to this world. Also! Got inspo from this song.

“Well, I have the most beautiful girl in the world waiting in my bed for me… and I don’t have it in me to make her wait much longer,”

All of the men around the table made a collection of noises. All are in the booing category. It made Hangman chuckle lowly with a shake of his head.

“I have one more cheers in me, and then I really gotta get going."

Everyone at the table quickly lifted their glasses, clinking them together as Jake started the speech he had dragged them all out to hear. Everyone knew it was coming but not a single soul was ready for it.

“Boys, I do gotta ask a favour… you know, if I don’t make it back from this one.”

“Hey man, that’s not going to happen. We all know you, you’re gonna pull through without a scratch,” Bob interrupted but with a singular glare from Hangman he snapped his mouth shut. Any protests that would have ensued were quickly shut down.

“As I was saying, if I don’t make it back, I need a few things from y'all. For starters, I don’t want any tears. My girl will have that covered. I want y'all to have a beer for me, and to keep my truck going. Big off-road treks that get the old girl dirty,” Jake laughed, trying hard to not think about how mad his girlfriend will be at his friends when they come to steal his truck.

This was the part he was dreading the most. This was where he was going to beg them to keep an eye on her. He was devastated to be going on this solo mission. It was surely a suicide mission, and prior to having met her, he was all for those. She had changed everything and he hadn’t had enough time with her. The little diamond ring that recently found its home on her finger was a testament to that.

“I need y’all to keep an eye on her, and when the time is right, you gotta find her someone who will love her like I would have. You know she deserves the world and more.”

No one acknowledges the break in his voice or the hint of tears welling up in his eyes. If all of the guys around the table were honest, they knew that this was what tonight was about. How could they not? Seeing the usually unshakable Hangman in near tears was messing them up more than they’d like to admit.

“And to end this sap fest… I’m proud I’ve gotten to be a part of this squadron. It’s been good to know y’all. Thanks for givin’ me a chance. I know I haven’t always been the best, but don’t you forget to cheer for them Longhorns on the away teams side any chance you get.”

As Hangman pulled his glass to his lips and finished off his beer the rest of his friends slowly followed suit. Rooster was the first to finish off his drink after, watching Jake carefully as he shrugged his jacket back on. They made eye contact, and Rooster couldn’t deny the sinking feeling this was the last time he’d see his newishly found friend. A nod was shared as Jake placed a hand on Coyote’s shoulder.

Javy quickly rose to his feet and followed Jake out the front doors. This was the hardest for him of everyone. He was doing his best to not let it show. Jake never talked like this. Then again, he was never ordered to a suicide mission by himself before either.

“We were gonna get married. Gave her Meemaw’s ring and everything. You’re my best man. Just needed you to know.”

Javy let out a heavy exhale, because of course he was. There would have never been a question of that. He appreciated the sentiment though, and as much as he knew he had to let his friend leave to see his girl, he really didn’t want to.

“I know, man. Always did,” Javy finally answered. His voice was a little more shaken than he would have liked it to be but neither of them acknowledged that either.

Javy held his hand out, waiting for his friend to shake it. When Jake slipped his hand into his friends they pulled each other into a hug afterwards.

“Take care of her while I’m gone,” Jake whispered.

“You got it, big man,” Javy returned in the same whisper.

Javy watched his best friend walk away, and climb into his precious truck. They used to joke that she was the only thing Jake would ever love. Boy were they wrong as ever. Javy watched as the truck disappeared into the dark, knowing it would be the last time he ever saw his best friend.

Jake’s plane ended up going down behind enemy lines. There was no rescue team. All that returned was a folded flag. Javy handed it off to his best friend's other half at his funeral. They both cried as the guns went off. In fact, there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole squadron.

The whole squad, including Phoenix and Halo, had gone to almost every Longhorns home game just so they could sit on the visitor's side and cheer as loud as they could for the home team. And every Friday night, the first and last song played on the old jukebox at the Hard Deck is always Slow Ride.

Javy and the girl who had turned his best friend into the man they had all become so proud to know took that old truck out for a nice long joy ride at least once a month. He had even introduced her to a good ole boy Jake would have hated but was exactly the kind of guy he would have wanted for her. She hasn’t been ready though, and Javy wasn’t sure she ever would be. That dainty little diamond still sits nestled right where Jake left it.

Whenever the sun starts to set, and the sky is a brilliant shade of reddish purple, Javy finds himself with a beer that isn’t his brand down by the shoreline. He whispers the latest updates of life to his best friend, holds the beer up for a cheers, and tells Jake just how much he’s loved and missed with tears in his eyes.

[rose-pearls]

You're losing me

Inspired by the song You're Losing Me from Taylor Swift, that completely destroyed me.

Warnings: angst, cursing, men

Part 2

Top Gun. 

Your father had talked about it every chance he had and now here you were ready to join the new class. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell had always been a mystery to you, the only time you saw him were at your birthdays and sometimes at Christmas. Your mother would tell you that he had another family, that he preferred and that you shouldn’t hope for him to come back.

And in the end, you did stop, birthdays coming up with only a postcard and after time you didn’t knew what he looked like anymore. The only reason you still heard about him was because of the Navy, everyone knew him and just for that you were getting judged. 

Getting the callsign Fire didn’t help either but slowly you started showing what you were made of and the captain’s stopped comparing you to your father. 

Now heading into Top Gun, you knew it wasn’t going to be easy, even more cocky pilots who thought they were better than you just because they were men. But you had fought that your whole life, not time to stop now. 

The Hard deck was filled with people as you entered with Steph by your side, the two of you had been flying together since the Academy and by some luck got called together. The pool table is surrounded by pilots, and you know immediately that they will be with you. Dress whites and cocky smiles, that will certainly be your class.

Penny introduces herself before telling you that if you have any issues, you can always come to her, and she will handle it. 

“Ready for your first day tomorrow?”, she asks with a knowing grin and the both of you smile at her slightly nervous.

“Not sure what to expect but excited.”, she smiles and before she can answer a costumer arrives.

Steph takes you to the pool table and the other pilots, already getting to know each other. A blond man is talking to another dark-skinned pilot, and you can’t help but admire him, the man is truly handsome. 

“Well, well would you look at that. Two new recruits”, the man says, a cocky smile on his lips and you can’t help but blush slightly under his gaze as he looks at you. Steph scoffs before looking at him unimpressed.

“And you are?” he smirks at her reaction and turns towards what you assume to be his friend.

“Hangman, and this here is Coyote.”, Coyote smiles in response and you nod back.

“What about you two pretty ladies.”, even if he seems to be quite the asshole you can’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach at the sound of his southern accent.

“I’m Thunder and this is Fire.”, that seems to surprise the two of them, just for a moment. It’s the typical reaction, your last name was quite known just like Steph as her father was Cyclone.

“Two legacies then. We’ll see what you ladies can do in the air and if you didn’t just get in because of your father’s names.”, he smirks, like a cat that got the cream, and you can’t help but scowl at his insinuation.

“I don’t know what you are insinuating Bagman but don’t go there.”, you tell him, and he looks at you surprised for a moment, the quiet chatter around the pool table has stopped and everyone is looking at the two of you wondering what was going to happen.

“Hangman.”, he tells you with a smirk as he comes incredibly close to you, which means you have to lift your head in order to look him in the eyes.

“Whatever.”, you say before turning around towards Steph who is smiling like a proud mother.

Hangman leaves to join his friends again and even if you do not like the man after this first meeting you can’t help but feel butterflies at the sight of him. The butterflies needed to die fast.

“He can be a real pain in the ass.”, a voice tells you and you turn around to see another female pilot.

“Hadn’t figured that out.”, Steph says sarcastically, and you shoot her a look before turning towards the other pilot.

“Well hopefully we won’t have to do this too often. I’m Fire.”, you tell her, and she smiles at your words.

“Unfortunately, he doesn’t give up easily. And I’m Phoenix.”, you had heard about her before but just in passing, you knew about her training accident that gave her, her call sign.

--

The next week had been hell, you thought you were a decent pilot, but your instructors were kicking your ass, it didn’t help that Hangman had somehow decided that he wanted to torment you every day.

“What do you want?”, you can’t help but ask in frustration as you see Hangman waiting for you outside the changing rooms, he has a smirk on his face, and you can’t help but think he looks handsome like this.

“Relax, just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out and drink something.”, the words surprise you and you must be showing your surprise as Hangman looks at you with a knowing smile.

“Common, I know you find me attractive, and honestly who could blame you.”, his smirk widens at his words, and you can’t help but blush at the thought of him having seen you checking him out.

“You really are confident aren’t you.”, the stupid smirk doesn’t leave his lips as he comes in front of you, one of his hands going against the wall, trapping you against his body.

“I just know. So, what do you say? You, me tonight?”, you try to focus on the words, you really do but the closeness is just a lot, the smell of his cologne is soft after having worn it all day long, but it still smells the same.

“Sure, why not.”, you try to say confidently but your voice quivers a little and Hangman’s smirk widens.

“Perfect, let’s go.”, he doesn’t give you time to react before leaving the spot and turning around, leaving you there trying to regain your senses. After a second or two you start moving and following him towards his car. 

The ride is awkward at first before he starts talking about today’s hop and you can’t help but start talking about the instructor and how he was getting on your last nerve, making him laugh.

The Hard deck was quieter then the first day and as you enter it you see Penny looking at you curiously, but you ignore it, instead following him to one of the tables.

“So, tell me about yourself.”, he simply says as Penny gives you your drinks and you look at him slightly surprised.

“There isn’t really anything to know, I’m an only child, grew up in California with my mother and when I was old enough, I decided to enlist in the Navy.”, Hangman nods at your words and looks at you with curious eyes.

“Common, I’m sure there must be something that you are hiding.”, he says with a smirk, and you roll your eyes.

“What do you want to know?”, this makes him smile and he takes a moment to think before answering.

“What is something that practically no one knows.”, the question was quite intimate, but you guessed that it was normal to move quickly towards these types of questions.

“I have two tattoos, one on my ribs and the other on my ankle.”, he seems to take a moment to process the information and you can’t help but chuckle at his silence before a smirk appears.

“Aren’t you full of surprises.”, you roll your eyes at his words before asking him the same question and he looks unsure for a bit.

“I lived in Texas, on a ranch my whole life and before I decided to join the Navy, I had never seen a real plane before.”, this makes you look at him in surprise and for a moment he seems sheepish.

“I need to hear all the stories of you at the ranch.”, he laughs in answer before thinking and starting a story of one of the horses.

The rest of the night is spent talking, laughing and reminiscing about your childhood. Hangman, or Jake as he had asked you to call him seemed to be a completely different person after a few hours. More relaxed, less trying to put on a front and you couldn’t help but like the person that you were seeing in front of you.

“Well, this was fun.”, you say softly when the two of you get back to your housing and Jake smiles softly, there is something in his eyes that you can’t decipher but you let it go.

“It was, we should do it again.”, he says, and you can’t help but smile brightly at the idea of him wanting to do this again.

“I would love to.”, you tell him, and a small smile appears on his lips.

“Are you free tomorrow?”, you can only nod in answer, too busy looking into his green eyes and before you know it, he kisses your cheek softly. 

“Good night.”, he whispers softly, and he seems to be ready to leave before you stop him.

“Leaving without a good night kiss.”, you tease him, and he looks surprised for a moment before a small smirk appears.

“Your wish is my command.”, he tells you and you can’t help but laugh at the words before feeling his soft lips on yours. He is delicate, sweet even as he kisses you and the two of you stay there for a moment before he stops the kiss.

“Sleep well.”, he tells you softly, and you nod slowly and tell him to do the same before entering your room and silently jumping up and down in excitement after that night.

--

It had all been going well, the two of you were seeing each other every two days and it was going well until one day you didn’t see Jake and decided to go to his apartment.

He answered at the first knock, but he looked worn out, dark bags under his eyes and he was looking distressed as he stood there.

“Are you okay?”, you ask him softly and Jake takes a deep breath, probably to say that he was but you take a step closer and take a look at him, making sure he was alright. 

“I’m not.”, he manages to whisper, and you whisper his name before taking him into your arms and letting him break down. 

The sobs were breaking your heart and he was holding you as close as he could, like he was somehow scared that you would leave but you held him just as close. 

After what felt like hours he started to calm down and you looked at him with worried eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?”, you asked slowly, and Jake shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t have to do all of this.”, he says, his voice breaking over the words after crying.

“What? Comfort you? Jake that wasn’t an issue at all, I’m here for you.”, you whisper, and Jake closes his eyes at the words.

“I just-”, you let him figure out the words, knowing that he needs to find them on his own and after a moment he lets out a sigh.

“I’m not used to someone doing that.”, he whispers, so quiet that you nearly don’t hear it but when you do you can’t help but get closer to him.

“it’s scary at first to open up to someone but I’m here to stay Jake, talk to me.”, he looks unsure but after a moment he lets out a shaky breath and you take his hand in yours.

“My parents were never really the cuddling type; my mother preferred a bottle of wine as company and my father his mistresses. Most of the time my father would ignore me and the times he didn’t it was to tell me some stupid shit.”, the words make your blood go cold and you squeeze his hand in reassurance.

“I left immediately when I was able to, haven’t seen them since then but sometimes I still have nightmares.”, a tear rolls down his cheek and you immediately bring him back into an embrace, holding him close and trying to reassure him.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, you didn’t deserve that. If there is anything I can do just tell me.”, you whisper, and Jake holds you tighter.

“Just stay.”, he whispers and clings to you as if he is scared that he was going to lose you.

You spent the rest of the night there, holding him until it was time to get ready, but he stayed close to you all day long. It was weird seeing him like this, but it showed you a more vulnerable side to him that you will always protect, make sure that no one would hurt him again.

--

The final hop was close, and Jake had gone back to his cocky self, flaunting his points to everyone and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes and smile at his antics. 

Sure, he wasn’t perfect, but he was Jake, and that was enough for you. Somehow you believed it had been enough for him too.

What an idiot you were. 

“So Seresin when are you going to drop the girl?”, you hear someone say and you can’t help but freeze in your steps, you had wanted to get some fresh air, but the words made you stop.

“What do you mean Cody?”, it seemed like some of the boys had gotten together to talk, recognizing Coyote, and two other pilots in your class.

“I mean that you won the bet, you asked her out and kissed her. I think it’s time you let the poor girl go.”, the words hit you like a knife in the back, a bet. 

“Didn’t you tell him that he would win 50 dollars more if he got her to go to bed with him? Maybe he is waiting for that.”, Coyote says, and you feel sick at the words.

“I don’t think I will go that far. She is nice and all but not really my type.”, you hear Jake, no Hangman say, and you feel anger coming up as the conversation plays over and over again in your mind.

“Well, at least you got fifty dollars out of it and our respect.”, the two other pilots say, and you want to throw a punch at one of them.

“Fifty dollars? That’s low for you Fishman.”, you hear yourself say and the four of them turn to look at you, eyes wide in fear as your look at them with cold eyes.

“Fire, good to see you.”, he tries to start, stammering over his words but you scoff at his words.

“Don’t bullshit me, get the fuck out of here before I make sure you don’t have any balls left of the small ones you have.”, the two men seem to take that as their cue to leave and hurry back into the Hard Deck. 

Hangman and Coyote are looking at you with mixes of horror etched on their faces.

“I can explain.”, Hangman starts but you let out a laugh, as cold as the ice you had pressed against one of his wounds just a few days ago.

“I’m sure you can but let’s see if I got it right.”, you say before stepping down the peer and approaching the both of them.

“You made a bet about me, betting fifty bucks that you could swoop me of my feet and kiss me before Top Gun was over but later on, they saw that you did it and thought why not add fifty more bucks to see if you could get me to sleep with you. Am I wrong?”, you ask him, and Hangman looks at the ground, shame in his eyes.

“Am. I. Wrong?”, you ask, this time raising your voice, unable to keep your emotions in check any longer. Hangman and Coyote both flinch at your tone and you glare at them.

“No.”, Hangman barely whispers, and you scoff at his answer. The silence following is long, and Hangman opens his mouth multiple times, but nothing comes out.

“Was any of it real?”, you can’t help but ask, your voice wrecked from all of the emotions running through you.

“I’m sorry. It was a bet at the beginning but then I got to know you and-”, he continues to ramble, and you shake your head.

“Stop.”, you whisper, feeling tears in your eyes as you close them, trying to regain your strength.

“I know it was wrong alright, from the moment I saw you.”, he tries to say but you scoff and turn to look at him.

“You had a choice! You had one and chose to still go through with it. You chose to talk shit back there and tell them I wasn’t your type.”, he flinches at your words, but you can’t stop. 

“You lied, made me believe you had feelings for me when in fact you did not. And for what? Fifty fucking bucks.”, you yell, tears brimming in your eyes and Hangman takes a deep breath, but he doesn’t say anything else. 

You wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t, just stay there and you can’t help but feel helpless. 

You leave, unable to still look at him and as you leave you silently hope for him to stop you, to try and win you back even if you wouldn’t take him back. But he doesn’t say anything.

-

And I'm fading, thinking

Do something, babe, say something (say something) Lose something, babe, risk something (you're losing me) Choose something, babe, I got nothing (I got nothing) To believe, unless you're choosing me

-

Steph is the one to hold you that night, trying to console you while probably plotting his murder in her mind. 

“I should have listened to you.”, you whisper at one point, and she looks at you with sadness in her eyes.

“For once I wished, I hadn’t been right about this.”, she whispers, and a sob leaves your lips at her words. Unable to stop the memories from coming back with him, trying to push them back but ultimately you fail.

--

You could’ve stayed in bed that morning, trying to mourn something that wasn’t real from the start, but you couldn’t give them the satisfaction. It was after all the last hop; it would be now or never to prove yourself. 

Steph stayed by your side, looking at you with worried eyes but you ignored her. Moving towards your plane, ignoring everyone who was looking at you.

Hangman hadn’t done well on his last hop, not that you were watching but you had heard everyone whisper about it. You managed to get full points, the anger making you even more brutal than you usually were in the air. 

Admiral Cain had congratulated you as he gave you the Top Gun trophy, but you didn’t feel a single emotion, still feeling like someone had pushed you under water and you couldn’t get out.

The time you did come back was when Hangman tried to approach you, but you turned around to try and leave but he quickly stopped you.

“Please.”, he whispers, and you look at him, he looked like shit but at that moment you didn’t care. You just wanted to hurt him just as much as he had hurt you.

“I’m sorry, I know I did something unforgivable, but you have to believe me when I tell you that it wasn’t all a lie. I fell for you through the hours we spent together, and I know I fucked up but please, give me another chance.”, he was pleading, nearly with his knees on the floor but you looked at him, eyes devoid of emotions.

You take something out of your pocket, fifty dollars. 

“They gave it to me after you refused it. Said that I at least deserved to get it.”, he looks pained at your words, but you don’t care.

He tries to say something, but you shake your head.

“It’s too late.”, you whisper, and he shakes his head at your words, looking at you with sad green eyes.

“You just need to think about it, just for a moment.”

“I don’t, we are done. You made your choices now you need to take responsibility, accept it and move on.”, you whisper, and he looks destroyed, but you ignore it, taking his hand and putting the fifty-dollar bill in his hand.

“This is yours.”, a tear rolls down his cheek but this time you don’t comfort him, you let go of his arm and turn around to leave. 

“You promised you would stay.”, he whispers, and you feel a tear leaving your blinking eyes.

“And you told me you had feelings for me.”, you say, unable to look at him.

“Guess we are both liars.”, a sob leaves his lips, but you turn around, seeing Coyote arriving, knowing that someone was there to take care of him.

Rain started falling as you entered your car and a sob left your lips as you gripped the steering wheel. You knew you had made the right choice, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.

-

You're losing me Stop (Stop, stop), you're losing me Stop (Stop, stop), you're losing me I can't find a pulse, my heart won't start anymore

[roosterbruiser]

"if you win, i'll kiss you"

Will they won’t they bffs with Jake at the hard deck at darts

everyone knows it but the two of you.

you and Jake are head over heels for each other. like, certified whipped, no-take-backs kind of head over heels.

you two have just had a difficult time admitting it to another.

most have bet on when it will happen, many have whispered about it behind bar menus and handfuls of peanuts, a few have even made groupchats dedicated to it.

sure, the two of you have had some run-ins. there was that time you had too much tequila and sucked his fingers in the car as he kissed your throat. and yeah, there was that time when he very nearly went down on you outside The Hard Deck, pushing your dress up by your hips as the sun sank in the ocean. but the two of you have always written the encounters off as tequila-fueled. flukes, if you will.

identically, the two of you feel like there's not a chance in Hell that the other is as crazy about you as you are about them.

it's a regular Friday night, one where you meet Jake at The Hard Deck right after your shift, one where everyone watches with smirks as Jake lights up and automatically makes a beeline for the front door to wrap you up in his arms.

"howdy," he always greets, pressing a wet kiss to your cheek as you grin up at him. "how's my pardner today?"

you lean against his shoulder, all the weight of your day fading as he helps navigate your connected bodies through the usual crowd to the bar--where he will undoubtedly order your usual without you saying a word about it, winking at Penny and telling her to put it on his tab.

"fine and dandy now," you respond, nose wrinkling with joy when Jake hugs your waist against him. "how're you, honey?"

and he always grins down at you, leaning against the bar, making a show of drinking you in as the golden sunlight drenches your elated form.

"much better now that you're here," he says. he nods towards the rest of the squadron and wrinkles his nose. "needed some fresh meat in here, anyway."

so, when you end up playing darts with Jake after a few of your usual drinks, completely dithered as the two of you shoot the shit and talk about your hectic weeks, neither of you are aware of Coyote standing behind the two of you with a smile tugging on his mouth.

"how about a friendly wager?" he says, suddenly making his presence known as he throws his arms over your shoulders. "between you and the cowboy, of course."

you're a few drinks in, smiling something fierce as you chew on a vodka-flavored ice cube.

with a perched brow, Jake looks between you and Javy and lays a hand on his hip.

"like what?" you ask innocently, voice muffled from the ice between your molars.

Javy stares at Jake, eyebrows raised.

"I'm sure you two can think of something..."

and as if speaking to him telepathically, Jake suddenly feels his chest inflate with courage. maybe it's because of how sweetly you're smiling at him, eyes glittering and glossy. maybe it's because he had a dream about you last night, one where you were looking up at him through your lashes as you took his cock in your mouth. or maybe it's because he's had just enough shots of whiskey.

so, with a handful of darts, Jake grins at you.

"how 'bout this..." he starts, nodding towards the dart board. "if you win, I'll kiss ya."

you're flushed suddenly--smile faltering as your heart races in your chest. for a moment, Jake begins to deflate, but then you're beaming at him, nervously chewing another piece of ice.

"and if you win?" you ask, taking a careful step towards him.

Jake sucks the back of his teeth, meeting you halfway, letting your sweet and familiar scent waft up to his nose.

"trust me," Jake says quietly. "I won't."

[waklman]

Delicate (Pt. 3)

summary: jake quickly learns that he can’t manage without you, at all.

pairing: jake seresin x female reader

warnings: mentions of childhood neglect, negative self-talk, and one brief instance of suggestive language. 18+ blog.

word count: 3.1k

previous part

“There you are.” Natasha shouts a little too loudly, the adrenaline from the last round of dogfight football is still rampant in her system–practically oozing from her pores. 

Catching her breath, the brunette steadies herself, anchoring both hands onto the flesh of her hips, fingers firm over her figure. Upon not receiving any signal of acknowledgement from Hangman, Natasha leans forward, searching to see if he has his bluetooth headphones snuck into his ears again. But, those navy blue pods are nowhere in sight–for the very first time this week Hangman isn’t drowning everyone out with music.

Natasha feels herself grow nervous as she observes him now. It’s almost like she’s looking at a stranger. 

In front of her, Hangman is laid on his back, forgoing a beach towel entirely—his backside directly on the burning sand, while the sun nips at his front. Not an inch of his body is protected by sunscreen either, refusing it from Coyote earlier in the day. 

And Jake lays there, fully aware that the heat from the sun is punishing him, but it’s exactly what he needs–no–what he deserves. 

There has been radio silence between you two since last week, and with every passing day, guilt gnaws at him until he’s left debilitated. But he allows that guilty feeling to sink its teeth into him and spread like poison—because Jake knows that deep down, this is entirely his fault, and that he deserves this. He had promised you–no more Stella, and yet she showed up at his door anyway. 

A small part of Jake had known that he could’ve done more to prevent this too–he could have told her to never talk to him again, he could have blocked her number, and he could have made the front desk remove her name from his guest list, but he didn’t–leaving a small crack of opportunity for her to slip in and she did–right in front of you. 

“What are you still doing here?” Natasha attempts to joke, but there’s no reaction from him. 

“How about we head inside with everyone else..” she begins to offer.

No answer.

“Hangman?”

Still, no answer.

Natasha’s jaw tightens as the frustration starts to slowly build. She watches him in disbelief as he doesn’t even spare her a single glance, refusing to open his eyes.

“I said, let’s go.” Her voice is strung with impatience. 

She lets the statement hang in the air, believing her clear agitation would earn her a response, but it doesn’t even stir him. 

Finally having enough, Natasha snaps. “Jake.” 

And just like that, she fizzles out every loud thought that’s been consuming his head.

“Oh.” Jake whispers to himself, sitting up to look around as if he wasn’t aware of his own surroundings.

Natasha’s scoffs, watching as he slowly gathers himself, dusting the sand off his shorts. 

“That’s it? Oh?” she shouts, arms shooting up in the air. 

Her arms fall flat against her sides again, “I’ve called for you over five times, Jake.” 

He looks up at her startled, as if he’s now noticing she’s there. 

With furrowed brows, she stares back harshly as Jake swipes a disappointed hand over his jaw, trying to pull himself together. 

“I’m sorry.” he quietly apologizes, arms dropping like dead weight on his sides. His eyes are only on her for a second before they drop to look at the sand below her.

Not sure what to make of his sudden apology, Natasha’s anger simmers almost immediately. “You know what. It’s fine. Let’s just–let’s head inside for drinks.” 

“Hey Hangman?” Bob worriedly looks back, hoping for a response from the pilot. 

After wrapping up things at the beach, the dagger squad headed inside for drinks. But sadly enough, Jake ended up quietly nursing a beer all night, just to knock out from heat exhaustion at the bar before he even could finish his drink. 

And with Coyote too drunk to even properly utter his best friend’s address, Phoenix and Bob find themselves playing the role of detectives and babysitters.

“You won’t get a reply out of him, he’s out cold.” Natasha sighs, pulling into the lot of your apartment complex. 

Bob’s face twists in confusion, instantly recognizing their location from the window behind Hangman’s head. 

“Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital instead?” he asks, turning to face his girlfriend. 

“Trust me, this is better than the hospital for him.” She assures him. “Now grab his phone for me, please.”

Natasha pulls her keys out of ignition, then reaches to hit the car light above her as half of Bob’s body twists over to reach where Hangman’s seated. 

Bob finally pulls himself back into his own seat, after struggling to not accidentally touch Hangman anywhere important in search for his phone. 

He swiftly hands the blond’s phone over to her, “Here.”

Natasha puts out a hand to grab the phone being passed to her, looking down towards the screen. 

Her head snaps back to the man on her right, ”Bobby…how'd you unlock his phone?” 

Bob smiles sheepishly at her. “Face ID?” 

Natasha shoots him a stern look, “That doesn’t work if you’re dead asleep.” 

“He unlocks his phone around me a lot.” 

Natasha smiles, nodding her head at his confession���satisfied that he cracked so easily under her pressure. 

“That sounds more like it,”

Both pilots share a small laugh, appreciating their small moment together–before turning around to the noise in their backseat, alerted by Hangman mumbling your name in his sleep.

Remembering who’s seated in the back of their car, Natasha turns back around–skimming through Hangman’s phone in search of your contact.

“God, look at this sap.” Natasha tilts the phone in her boyfriend’s direction.

Bob’s eyes skim over your contact name, slightly taken aback by Jake’s clear affection for you,  “Are they dating? There’s so many heart emojis..” 

Natasha smiles to herself, “I’ll be damned if they’re not. This is the first time I haven’t seen them glued to each other's side since they met.” 

You’re not sure how long you’ve been standing there, outside your own bedroom door. With tired hands, you weakly trace over the little sketches of pizza you and Jake drew onto the patch underneath the door knob. It was from one of the first times you two hung out by yourselves, Jake had begged for your permission to erase his drawing that day–feeling self conscious because your pizza looked better than his. But, once you told him you loved his pizza even more than yours, he immediately began to love his own little pizza as well–appreciating its uneven shape and disproportionate sauce to cheese ratio.  

You swallow looking at Jake’s pizza doodle, knowing you’ll be spending another night wide awake–shot numb by heartache. 

Just as you’re about to twist at the doorknob, you’re quickly interrupted by the buzzing in your sweater pocket. Your hand slowly withdrawals from the door in reaction, reaching inside your sweater, fingers brushing against the cotton lining for your phone–bringing it up to view once the buzzing device is your grasps.

There’s no way. You blink unbelievingly at the device in your hands. Jake’s smiling face takes over every pixel of your screen, and before you could think–you’re reaching to answer the call. 

“..Jake?” you feel breathless. 

“You brat.” Natasha’s voice snaps at you from the other line.

“So you can pick up his call, but not a single one of mine all week?” Her words are slightly muffled by her clenched teeth, but you make out what she says. 

“Oh. Hi Nat.” 

“You sure sound like you missed me.”

“Nat, I–I did miss you, I’m sorry.” you scramble, feeling guilty. 

“What’s wrong with you two lately?” 

“Nothing. It’s–we’re fine.” you attempt to assure her. 

“Okay?...well I have a special delivery for you outside. So please accept this gift, before he flatlines in my car.”

You’re almost unsure what to do with what’s in front of you. The sight of Jake’s exhausted state on your couch makes your heart churn in pity���but his face also sends a flood of pain rushing into your system. 

Natasha and Bob left not long ago. They had made a team effort to lug him up to your door, helping you look after him as he was completely unaware of where he was–knocking in and out of consciousness. Bob had even gracefully offered to wash the other man–scrubbing Jake’s body in your bathtub to the best of his ability–nervous eyes scrambling to look anywhere but down. 

For the first time tonight, you reach to touch him, knees bent in front of the couch to observe him more closely. You barely graze his skin, fingers softly brushing to move the strand of hair that covers his eyes. And it’s almost like his body learned to recognize your touch–alerting Jake to wake up. You are completely still for what feels like hours, nervously watching as his eyes slowly pull open, and those eyes instantly widen from seeing you.

You feel almost incapable of speaking from seeing his reaction. Jake is at a loss for words as well–mind reeling to comprehend how you’re sitting in front of him, blobs of fuzzy memories not patching together well enough for a clear timeline. Feeling like he got punched in the chest, Jake’s ribs constrict tightly from the way you’re looking at him–reminding him of what he’s done to you. The hurt he’s caused is confronting him now. 

Not willing to worsen your heartbreak, you use up the little energy you have left to speak–quietly trying to dismiss him. “Go back to sleep, Jake.”

You’re already moving to distance yourself from him, again–and Jake panics, grabbing your wrist, loosening his grip immediately after catching you, making sure not to hurt you.

“Don’t, please.” he begs softly.

You don’t turn back around, worried that his face might be the final trigger you needed to cry. Instead, you twist your hand to hold his. 

“Let’s go to bed, I’m tired Jake.”

Like a lost puppy, Jake gets up and lets you lead him to your bedroom. As you two pass through the door, his footsteps suddenly become heavier knowing what’s etched onto the tall slab of birch. Memories of the day you taught him how to appreciate his little imperfections through your silly analogies with pizza flood back into his throbbing skull, and the guilt coats his mouth again. 

Once you're both standing in front of your bed, you let go of his hand–still choosing not to face him. You quickly tuck yourself onto the left side of the bed, knowing he preferred the right. 

Jake’s heart sinks watching you fall onto the mattress weakly, burying yourself under the thick comforter. You’re upset with him, but you still give him the consideration that he doesn’t deserve–remembering the small comment he made to Phoenix and Bob once, about how the right side is always more comfortable. 

Feeling Jake finally slip into bed next to you, his weight causing you to slowly slip over to his side–you scoot your body closer to the edge. With a heavy heart, you remind yourself to keep a distance there, in some respect for Stella. 

And all Jake can do is watch with sad eyes, as you physically pull away from him. But there’s nothing he can do–you’re both too fatigued by the long days spent without each other to have a coherent conversation right now. 

After moments of silence, Jake hears you softly snore beside him, making his heart feel a little lighter—knowing you were comfortable enough to actually sleep next to him. And not even a minute passes before Jake’s begins to drift off as well, eyes growing heavy and limbs falling slack–finally matching your steady breathing. 

There’s a tickling sensation that wakes you up, but it quickly disappears. 

You slowly blink away the sleepiness, trying to make sense of what time it is–lazily attempting to focus your vision onto the dim sky that peaks through the blinds, not brave enough to turn over to check the clock on the other side. But suddenly, the tickling sensation is there again, on the skin of your lower back.

Behind you, Jake is absentmindedly dragging his finger across the small sliver of exposed skin between your ribbed shorts and plain shirt. In the middle of the night, Jake stirred awake just to see that your back is still facing him. After an internal struggle where Jake fought the urge to reach out to embrace you, he settles on writing his apologies on your back for the next hour. 

You stiffen, but this goes unnoticed by Jake–who’s completely unaware that he’s woken you up.

Laying there, you feel your throat start to itch realizing what he’s been repeatedly writing on your back. Jake’s writing, I’m so sorry. You let him trace out the statement one more time, not wanting to interrupt him–before flipping around to finally face him, causing him to quickly retract his hand. 

The room remains unlit, besides the deep purple light emitting from the sky–glistening against his teary eyes. Your eyes nervously scan his face, bringing an instinctive hand up to swipe away the fresh tear that slips from his eyes. 

Straight away, Jake snaps his eyes shut–eyebrows pinching at the center, completely overwhelmed. He almost forgot how it felt to be handled by you.

Then, the painful reminder he’s been hearing in his head for the past few days makes its presence known again. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t deser-.

“I’m so sorry too, Jakey.” you sweetly whisper, hoping he would open his eyes. 

Jake’s face twists in pain, as if someone physically harmed him. How could you be sorry? He deserved the silent treatment–he always deserved the silent treatment. The one that you gave him? He deserved that. The ones his older brothers always gave him growing up? He deserved those too. And the one his father is currently giving him? He especially deserves that one.

“I didn’t talk to her. I don’t–I never want to talk to her again. Please I–I’m so horrible to yo-I don’t deserve-” Jake feels like a little boy again, stuttering out his poorly constructed apologies to his father, who couldn’t care any less to hear them. 

“Jake.” you cut him off.

Jake unravels further under your touch, more tears streaming down his face upon feeling your hand slip down to the side of his neck–thumb stretching over to stroke at the birthmark he hated at the center of his throat. 

“It was wrong for me to ignore you. You never deserve to be treated like that.” you gently whisper.

And in an instant, Jake Seresin completely shatters. All the burdens that casted over his heart since childhood, disappear. All the negative thoughts that swarmed his consciousness since he became a teenager falls silent. And finally, the slow acceptance that Jake didn’t deserve to have a good constant in his life comes to a complete halt. All relieved by you. 

Jake finally wills himself to open his eyes, meeting your stare. 

“I missed you.” he announces, looking in your eyes intently.

“I missed you, too.” you reply, blinking up at him.

You feel your heart beginning to sputter, noticing Jake’s eyes slowly trail down to look at your lips, with all his attention placed there. 

Slowly, you bring your hands up to cradle his face, fingers twitching against the sharp line of his jaw–but Jake’s eyes are still tracing over the shape of your lips.

And before Jake could do it, you lunge forward first–capturing his lips in an intentional kiss. You languidly move your mouth against his in the darkness, making Jake’s skin run hot against yours as he kisses you back–pressing his chest closer to your front. 

Without breaking the kiss, Jake moves to hoover above you–body slotted between the space between your thighs, hands reaching under your lifted shirt to sweetly swipe at the skin of your waist. 

“You’re so good, Jake.” Jake shudders, feeling you whisper the praise against his mouth–lips softly brushing against his own wet ones. Accepting the praise, Jake slips his lips between yours once again–heart swelling from the way you sweetly kiss him back. 

You kiss him unlike anyone has before. There’s no clashing of teeth–no desperate teasing–no rough pulling. Instead you kiss him–with a gentle intent lingering behind it. And that intention is there, through the way you softly maneuver your lips against his. And Jake’s heart twitches in realization–you’re kissing him with love. You love him.

Unable to contain himself, Jake pulls away to look at you. You stare back shyly, lips parted and swollen underneath him, your chest rising and lowering to catch your breath. 

“I love you.” he confesses back, pressing a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. 

You rapidly blink as Jake lowers himself to kiss your collarbone, “I love you.” he whispers there.

“I love you.” he kisses your clothed tummy, causing your stomach to swirl in effect.

He moves down further, kissing the skin of your hip. “I love you.”

“Jake?” He immediately pauses.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I love you too,” you pause, Jake curiously looks up at you–taking in the way the orange glow of the rising sun began to softly kiss your face.

“..but are you in the mood for pizza?” 

Jake falls flat against your stomach, smiling ear to ear. “I can never win against pizza, can I?”

“I knew they were open!” you squeal, thrashing around to free yourself from the seatbelt. 

Jake shakes his head–a smile tugging at his lips, amused that you knew a pizza shop that was open this early in the morning. 

Before Jake could pull his keys out of ignition, you’re shooting out the side of his car–your excited cheering echoing through the empty parking lot. 

“How are you so damn fast?” Jake laughs, finally catching up to you at the entrance–slipping his hand into the back pocket of your denim jeans. 

“Don’t you pilots have the need for speed?” you tease, grinning up at him over your shoulder.

While lowering his head to kiss your shoulder, Jake’s hand slips out from your back pocket–moving to stuff half his fingers inside your smaller front pocket instead, with the addition of hooking his lonely thumb into the band of your jeans. 

“Trust me sweetheart, the need is there.” he whispers into your ear. 

You snap your head at him, “Are we talking about the same thing right now?” 

Jake scrunches his lips, “How about you try pineapple pizza today.” he offers, totally ignoring your question.

“What will you give me if I do?” you tease, leaning back on him. 

“Come on, get your head out of the gutter.” Jake pretends to be shocked by your statement. 

Your face falls flat, very unamused by him. “I hate you.” 

“That’s not how I remember it. Now—let’s get you some pineapple pizza, my hungry girl.” Jake grins, moving you both forward into the familiar pizza shop.

note: thank you so much for reading delicate, this part was a personal favorite of mine. as always, reblogs are very greatly appreciated!

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[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

A Rite Of Passage: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Summary: A case brings you to a small town in Texas that is close to Mexico's border. Someone is killing people who illegally cross the border, and he's a lot closer than you think.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Season Five Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

After taking care of the head, your team went back to the station to give the profile to all of Eva's officers. Deputy Boyd is there watching the team with careful eyes but your eyes are on him and only him.

"We're searching for a personality type called a Human Predator or a hunter if you want to get basic. All the victims we've been able to conclusively tie to him have been older or handicapped in some way. This suggests he waits for someone to separate from the pack and looks for the weakest."

"Like a lion or something?" Eva asks.

"A lion hunts food. This type of predator hunts power. It's not about serving a need, and everything is a means to that end. We also believe that he makes his victims run through the desert in order to weaken them."

"Like a coward," you say while keeping direct eye contact with Boyd. He holds your gaze before looking away with narrowed eyes. Yeah, he's wearing his heart on his sleeve. He's showing all his cards to someone like you. "He may not be capable of taking them on in their strongest state despite their age or infirmity. This suggests that he's possibly handicapped in some way himself. Certainly weak, maybe small, or even thin."

"An unsub who creates chaos and then attacks typically carries this through to all aspects of his life. He's unlikely to be in a relationship. If he is, it's an abusive one. This guy gets off on control. He will have tried to stay very close to the investigation. He's well aware that the sheriff has started looking into the missing illegal immigrants."

"How do you know that?" Eva asks.

"It's probably why the decapitations started as a countermeasure. He's trying to throw off the investigation. It's typical in an organized offender like this. Cary Stayner, the Yosemite Killer, drove more than fifty miles to dump cigarette packs and driver's licenses at intersections to throw off suspicion," Spencer explains.

"Start by looking back at everyone you've talked to in connection with these killings. We need to start with people who are familiar with the immigrant journey."

"Like who? Advocates? None of them will talk to us. I've tried," Eva sighs.

"Well, the coyotes want this guy caught. He's hurting their business, and if the advocates really care about the immigrants, they're gonna want to find whoever is responsible as well."

"There's one guy who could help. He runs an outreach program called Libertad."

"Where can we find him?"

"Boyd, do you want to take them over to meet Richard Corral?"

Eva asks but her look suggests she wasn't asking.

"My lucky day," he sighs.

Emily offered to go and because you don't want her alone with him, you agreed to join them. Boyd isn't too happy that you're going solely based on what you said in the profile reading but he keeps his mouth shut. If you want to be sure Boyd is the one who is killing these people, you have to read into him more and maybe catch him off guard to the point where he will confess something.

"Corral, these FBI agents want a word with you," Boyd says when you get there.

Richard finishes with what he is doing before walking over to you, Boyd, and Emily. He is limping slightly which catches Emily's attention.

"See the limp?"

"Emily," you whisper and shake your head.

Richard might fit the profile but he isn't the one who is killing these people. You take out your phone and step off to the side but stay close enough to hear their conversation. As you call Penelope, you don't take your eyes off Boyd.

"Hey, Pen, I need you to run a check on someone for me... Make that two."

"Who are you looking to get dirt on?"

"Richard Corral and Ronald Boyd. He's one of the deputies here."

"Ooh, you think he's the unsub?"

"Yeah. Let me know what you get."

"I'll hit you back."

"What is wrong with you, Boyd? None of my clients will trust me If I've got federal agents walking around here," Richard hisses.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't spend your time helping illegals sneak into the country."

Your eyes narrow at his words.

"They only want a better life."

"Well, they ought to come in the front door."

"Gentlemen, another day?" Emily butts in. Boyd steps off to the side and looks at you. He is angry and desperate which makes him dangerous. "Mr. Corral, we understand your hesitation but we aren't here about immigration, we're here about murder. Do you know anything about the heads that were left in front of the sheriff's station a few days ago?"

"Everyone does. My clients are terrified."

"Clients," Boyd scoffs.

Again, more anger.

"Deputy, why don't you go wait outside?" you ask. He is much taller than you but he doesn't intimidate you. "And I wasn't asking."

Boyd glares at you but he doesn't say anything. Like a petulant child, he turns and leaves.

"Another man was murdered last night. An immigrant. We need to figure out how this man finds his victims. Sheriff Ruiz said you know more about these people's journey than anyone." Richard nods. "How many places were there to cross?"

"For every tunnel we find, there's twelve more we don't know about."

"What about once they've made it?"

"Runners keep documents in the trunks of their cars--passports, fake social security numbers, and green cards. It's a big business. Especially in border towns."

"Do you know these runners?"

"No, they change all the time."

"If immigrants don't find you, where do they go?" you ask.

"Safe houses. It's supposed to be where they can find rest, water, and food."

"Supposed to be?"

"It's more like a prison until their families can pay off the coyotes."

"Where are these safe houses?"

"Are you kidding? They come and go faster than the tunnels."

"Thank you for your time," you smile politely.

Since Richard can't tell you where these safe houses are, Hotch is relying on Sheriff Ruiz to help him with the geographical profile. It would help to go to them and talk with the immigrants but it's unlikely that someone from those houses will talk to your team. Then you think of the man who was just murdered last night and how he traveled with a group so someone will be missing him. If you can find last night's group, you can find the route they used therefore finding the hunting grounds for the unsub.

Eva isn't too fond of this plan because if she knew where they were, she'd shut them down. Without her help, you're forced to look at this through a different lens. You can start with the houses closest to the border but it's going to take a while for Eva to pull the land deeds. That's where Penelope comes in. Hotch has her looking for homeowners and renters with criminal records who are always moving and looking for homes with short-term leases. Every house that is housing illegals will have higher utility usage.

Penelope came up with three, and she sent the addresses to all your phones. You and Emily leave Richard's outreach post and join Boyd in the car.

"You know, we're not going to get very far if you keep arguing about illegals with everyone," you say to Boyd.

"This place used to be different."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know. Different."

Images of Boyd decapitating people's heads are enough to solidify your theories. You take out your phone and type something in your notes before angling it so Emily can see. She looks away from the road and looks down at your phone.

I think Boyd is the unsub.

She looks at you and you give her two nods before taking away the phone and locking it. The closest safe house is ten minutes from you so that's where you three head to first. If this is a bust, you'll check out the other ones. However, when you get there, you can feel the fear radiating from the horse stable next to the house. Boyd is in the front while you and Emily are in the back. You know that the man inside the house will make a break for it when Boyd makes himself know which is why you and Emily have guns trained on the back door. Spencer might not have the qualifications to carry an MP-5 but you do. When you went to do your firearms test a few years ago, you passed with almost every weapon. Your dad owned a lot of guns that he'd let you use growing up.

"Police! Open up!" Boyd yells from the front.

Just like what you predicted, the back door opens and a man runs out. You stick your arm out and hit him right in the chest causing him to fall on his ass. He puts his hands up in defense mode when he sees the guns on him.

"FBI. We have a few questions for you," you glare.

"No hablo ingles."

Emily sighs. She is fluent in Spanish so she takes over. "FBI. Tenemos algunas preguntas para usted." 

The man is put in handcuffs but before he is arrested, he is forced to tell you where he is keeping the illegals. There's a reason why you felt fear coming from the stables. There are people in there scared of the man you arrested. He rapes them and keeps them prisoner for his own sick pleasure. After you get them medical help, you take the man back to the station for questioning. The man is placed into an interrogation room that Derek is going to use so you're off to the side with the rest of the team to watch him.

"Anything?" Hotch asks you.

"He picked a fight with Richard about the illegals. He's very angry and desperate. I even saw him decapitating someone through energies. I don't have any evidence though."

"No, but you can question him afterward."

"Okay, I'll do that."

Derek walks into the interrogation room and stands in front of the man who is stoned and silent, and Eva walks into the room where you and Hotch are.

"Now, you're gonna listen to me. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. I don't care, but you're facing rape, kidnapping, weapon charges, and numerous counts of federal conspiracy to smuggle and harbor illegal aliens. This is your last chance to help yourself, my friend."

"He doesn't look concerned," Hotch says.

"It's because the whole border situation is chaos. He has as much chance of just getting deported as he does of doing prison time."

"I'll make some calls and see if I can pull some federal strings."

"Who's gonna pull the strings when you go home?" she sighs.

Emily and JJ are questioning the woman whose husband disappeared last night, the person whose head was on a stick in front of the sheriff's house this morning. The mother was distressed over her husband but her son told them that he saw the sun when they were running which is weird since they cross the border at night. They didn't think too much of it and passed it off as the kid having trauma for leaving his father behind.

You wait until your team is done questioning everyone before you search for Deputy Boyd. When you don't see him, you question around for his whereabouts. The line of questioning your team did took a little longer than usual so Deputy Boyd was sent home, and Sheriff Ruiz also went home. You take out your phone and call her but she isn't answering.

Weird. You'll talk to Boyd tomorrow. Penelope's search of the deputy didn't come back with any red flags. He's a model employee even though he doesn't have a lot of friends or family around.

When you arrive at the station tomorrow, there isn't a deputy in sight.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[balkanradfem]

I started reading the book 'Pests' by Bethany Brookshire. I thought it would be a book filled with information on how to protect your garden without causing any harm to animals. I could not have been more wrong, but soon it didn't matter, because I was drawn in immediately. This book is written by a brilliant scientist, who presents to you, the history, the data, the results and the cultural context of pests all around the world. It starts with squirrels, but then goes on to talk about pythons, pigeons, cats, rats, mice, frogs, coyotes, wolves, elephants, dogs, raccoons, deer, bears – and how they've been seen as a pest, most often for no fault of their own.

I learned about the numerous ways people in the past have created a 'pest' problem for themselves, and how they went on resolving it, and honestly I was shocked  at the most of it. I did not know that human scientists developed specific plagues for animals in order to get rid of them. I also had no idea how quickly humans turned the perception of a certain animal from 'useful' to 'pest', without even realizing they're responsible for the behaviour of the animal in the first place. Also the number of times humans have attempted to introduce a predator in order to get rid of an invasive species – only to immediately cause a new invasive species, absolutely incredible.

I was surprised to find out that some specific animals could be pests at all, for example, elephants. Absorbing the information presented to me thus far, I thought elephants were nothing short of wonderful and welcome in anyone's life – but, the story describes them eating the entire fields worth of grain, in only one night. And due to their size, they're unstoppable. They've destroyed houses, and even killed people, as a result of trying to get to the food. The elephants are a protected species, so the locals have been forced to develop different way of co-existing, namely, to stop growing grain and try to find different ways of survival and sustenance. There have been numerous other attempts to protect the fields from them, but how would you protect anything from an elephant? The only thing they're scared of, are bees. And if there's food to be gained, they'll overcome the fear of the bees too.

Did you know that if mice multiply too much, they'll have a mice plague that will wipe them out, without human interference?  Mice and rats are described as the animals closest to us – because they live where we live, eat what we eat, and learn whatever it takes to find their way in the land of humans. And it seems, we have the same problems as well.

One of my favourite little piece of knowledge in this book: the scientists studying the snakes in a lab name the snakes after Slytherins – so they have Snape, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Bellatrix. It was amazing to listen about Snape the snake.

The author of this book is incredibly unbiased, and shows her love for every animal mentioned, but also understanding and compassion for people who have felt wronged, violated, helpless and cornered by the animal, and how awful it feels to not be able to protect their homes and livelihoods from an animal invading their territory. In author's mind, the animals are not at fault, because all they've been trying to do is survive, get to the source of food, for them this is foraging. For us, it's nature taking from us what we intended for ourselves.

The problem of seeing animals as pests, comes often from the perception of us being the dominating species, and having the right to remove or introduce or change animals, by how convenient and pleasing we find them. She sourced the problems from negative experiences, loss, violation and danger, but also from culture, colonialism, religion, behaviours of the people around us. Most children have no concept of danger or pests – babies in a study would reach out curiously seeing a picture of snake. Perception of which animal is good and which one is bad, comes with culture, experience and the behaviour of everyone else around it. And our collective perception comes from whether the animal is rare, whether it lives close to us, if we have to adjust our lives because of it or not, if we have had negative experiences or not, whether it can hurt us, whether we have something the animal wants (food) and tries to get from us.

I recommend this book to anyone who'd like to know more about the history of humans trying to live alongside – or refusing to live alongside certain animals. And anyone dealing with any kind of pest, or just not understanding why animals act the way they do around humans.

I come out from reading this, feeling no more wise on how to keep the pests out – except for, don't leave the food outside the house where animals can get to it, that's the #1 reason for most scenarios – but feeling way more understanding and at ease about animals that are perceived as pests. I know solutions  that have been tried to deal with them, I know what didn't work, and I know how badly some collective solutions can become. I understand we need to find a way to live with them as our neighbours, not enemies, not violators of our property. And most often, just being responsible about where you leave your food, how much animals you tempt to come close to you, how you reward them for interacting with you, is more than a half of the solution.

[crazycurly-77]

Healing processes - Ch 13

You spent hours going through the files, the photos and various theories.

One of these photos also showed the small, colorful object that you saw from the rock. It was a small ball. When you zoomed in, you could see bite marks on it... it was a dog's toy!

Tim immediately called the responsible hunter, who confirmed that he had found a stray dog ​​whose owner had not yet been identified.

This was probably the dog with the ball. Tim asked the man to bring the animal to Abby for a saliva sample.

Suddenly things happened very quickly, because as soon as he hung up, your team leader's cell phone rang.

"Gibbs," he answered briefly.

Then he listened intently to what the person on the other side had to say.

After a short while, he raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked: "Are you sure?"

Again he paused briefly. Then he grumbled: “Good, thanks,” and hung up.

You all looked at him curiously and waited for his report. No one dared to say a word. But none of you had expected what Gibbs had to tell you - not even him.

“That was Ducky,” he began. “The dead man died of natural causes. Heart attack. Bears, coyotes and other animals saw him as food, but only after his death.”

“And the dog?” you asked.

“What about the dog?” he asked impatiently.

“Maybe he belonged to him and wanted to get help?” you expressed your suspicion with concern.

Tony then laughed out loud: “Y/N...that's not Lassie, who barks twice and the rangers already know that his master is lying behind a rock 543m away and having a heart attack.”

He grinned mischievously, whereupon you narrowed your eyes and replied snippily: “So? Maybe he did, but the rangers didn’t understand him?”

Your argument was so absurd that you both burst into loud laughter. You still had to hold back a little, but it was already much better than right after the operation. The injury healed well, just like your other injuries.

“Good, now that the case has been solved, you can start writing the reports,” Gibbs intervened.

What a killjoy, he could have at least let you have fun for a few minutes, you thought with a collective eye roll.

But it didn’t help, the reports had to be written. So you all got to work and were finished by the end of the day.

You wanted to invite Tim and Tony to dinner together, but they disappeared faster than you could blink. “Then not,” you thought, shrugging your shoulders.

During dinner, Jethro and you talked about the case and especially the dog. If it was the victim's dog...what would happen to the poor animal?

"I'm not taking him. I don't want to put another living creature in danger," he immediately protested grumpily.

"Why? Who are you putting in danger?" you asked him worriedly.

He froze and looked at you intently. Then he looked away briefly as if he was considering what to say.

Finally, he looked you straight in the eyes and said sharply: "You."

You looked at him in horror. "No, please don't," you thought in panic. Your heart was pounding so hard with fear that he would push you away that you thought you would faint.

He couldn't live with the guilt. Despite her assurances, he thought he was dangerous to her. She is certainly better off without him.

That thought alone almost tore his heart apart. How was he supposed to live without her? He would be alone in this cold house again and as additional torture he would see her every day without being allowed to touch her.

He felt so miserable and hopeless that he almost cried. But he had to think about her, everything else was unimportant. He had to push her away for her own safety.

...but he hadn't counted on you and your stubbornness, which was in no way inferior to his.

"He's doing it again. He's trying to push me away. I won't let him. I can't and won't let him. He has to finally see that it's not his fault and that we belong together and are good for each other," you thought in desperation.

You had to do something and fight for him and for your relationship - against him if necessary. It was all for the good of the both of you. So you went on the offensive.

You stood up, fixed your gaze on him and almost begged him:

"No, don't do that. You could do that with the others, but not with me!

I won't let you just hide in your shell and push me away.”

You paused for a moment to let him process this. Then you continued:

“Yes, I didn't want to climb that rock because it was too unsafe for me.

Yes, you ordered me to climb up anyway.

And yes, I slipped and fell and you couldn't prevent it.

But you know what?

It was ultimately MY decision to climb up.

It was MY carelessness that I stood too close to the edge and didn't pay enough attention.”

He stood there and just looked at you in silence. In his eyes you could see the storm and the battle within him. He was fighting against the hope that you were right and that there was actually a future for the two of you together. But he didn't want to allow it.

You continued your fight in a whisper:

"And do you know something else?

Thanks to your patience and persistence, I feel better every day and I love you for that.

In my eyes you are a wonderful person. Who sacrifices too much to help and protect others and it is high time that someone protects YOU.

Yes, I am very grateful to you for everything you have done for me and I have fallen in love with you during our time together despite all your rough edges.”

Hope shone in his eyes and made them shine.

“But I don’t want to force you to do anything and especially not out of guilt towards me.

I only ask you one thing:

If you think that one day you might be able to love me as much as I love you, then please give us a chance.

I don’t want anything more.

A chance. Nothing more and nothing less.”

This was your closing argument. You had thrown everything you had into the battle arena. If he were to push you away now, everything would be lost because you had nothing left to convince him of a future together. Everything depended on him now.

What will he do?

(To be continued in Chapter 14.)

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Here you will find the other chapters of this story.

Masterlist stories - Part 1 (finished ones)

Masterlist stories - Part 2 (finished/ongoing)

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Tags: @ilovemark1951, @hobby27

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[blackwidownat2814]

Pride & Prejudice & Partridges (J.Seresin)

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x plus size!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x librarian!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Garcia!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x latina!reader

Word Count: 4580

A/N: Written for @jupitercomet's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. I had Day 1-Secret Santa. This is also my first Top Gun Maverick fic, so go easy on me! I want to thank the wonderful and amazing @jobean12-blog for letting me bounce ideas off of her and helping me break through my writer's block. Also, many, many thanks to @navybrat817, for her firsthand knowledge of Navy life and for answering my countless questions. You two rock!

Triggers: Death of parents (just mentioned, no specifics), negative talk about self, body image issues. Angst with a happy ending.

‼️⚠️I do not give permission for any of my work to be copied, translated or reposted anywhere else but on my own blog.⚠️‼️

Masterlist

You were content with the quiet life you led.  Working as a librarian on a US Navy installation allowed you that freedom.  NAS Miramar wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge either.  When you worked in the public library system, you were busy quite often…and it was starting to wreak havoc on your mental health.  Luckily, around the time you were trying to decide what to do with your career, your brother, Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia, called you to let you know he was going to be stationed at NAS Miramar for the foreseeable future to be part of the now permanent Dagger Squad.

So, you moved to San Diego and onto the installation with Mickey, leaving your hometown behind (it didn’t really bother you to leave because your parents had been gone for several years and your introverted nature didn’t grant you close friends).  He helped you get the job at the library and that was that. 

The day you finished unpacking your things, Mickey told you he was going to take you out to meet the rest of the squad because the only person you knew was Reuben and you needed to meet some new people in your new home:

“Are you sure that’s okay?  I don’t want to invade your group or anyth--"

“Sis…really?  This night is for you!  I’ve told them all about you and how excited I am to have you with me again.”  You smiled big and giggled.

“Aw, you’re such a sweetheart, aren’t ya little bro?”

“Shut up”, pouted Mickey.  You grabbed his hand and pulled him to you.

“Thanks.  Te quiero, hermanito.”

“I love you too.”

When you and Mickey arrived at the local watering hole, The Hard Deck, you were instantly greeted by Reuben.  He pulled you into a tight hug, calling you Little Garcia (which was a ridiculous nickname, seeing as how you were older than Mickey by a year).  Shortly after that, Bob, Rooster, Phoenix, and Coyote showed up.  You were all sitting around one of the pool tables, drinking beers (in your case, it was an ice cold Dr. Pepper because you weren’t big on drinking) when you heard the most suave and cocky sounding, Texas accent ever:

“What do we have here?”  You saw Phoenix roll her eyes and smile.

“Little Garcia, this here is Bagman.”

“Hangman.”

“Whatever.”  Hangman laughed and pulled Phoenix into a hug.  When she let him go, he turned to look at you.

“So, you’re Fanboy’s sister.”  You nodded.

“Y-yes.  That’d, uh, that’d be me.”

“Well m’dear, we’re all really happy that Fanboy has you close by again.”

“I’m glad to be here Hangman.”  He smiles big and sits on the barstool next to you.

“Please, call me Jake.”

“Okay, Jake.”  If this man keeps looking at you with those gorgeous green eyes, you were going to melt.

“So, tell me Little Garcia, what do you do?”

“I’m a librarian.  I’m going to be working on base and living with Mickey”, you replied.  “Since I was moving down here, he managed to get out of the barracks and into a small house on base.”  Jake clapped his hands together and looked around at the group.

“You’re going to be living on the base?  That means you deserve your own callsign!”  The rest of the squad voiced their agreement.  “The question is, what do we call you?”

“How about Libby?” suggested Bob.  He made a face when everyone groaned.  “I know, I know.”  A few of the others made their own suggestions of library related callsigns before Jake stood from his spot next to you.

“I’ve got it!”  Jake turned back to you with a huge smile on his face, “How about…Dewey?”  

You felt heat crawling up your neck because of the way he was looking at you, like you were the only woman in the room.  You knew that that wasn’t possible, that someone as good looking and amazingly talented and a hero like Jake would never look at someone like you that way.  Why would a man who looked like he was crafted by Zeus himself look at a chubby librarian twice, when he could have women like Phoenix, or your cousin Isabella (who stole the first boy you ever really had a chance with, away)?

“I like it.  Thanks, Jake.”  He pulled you into a hug, squeezing you tight.

Oh Lord.  You were in trouble.

That was a year ago.  Over the last year, it was like you became an honorary member of the Dagger Squad.  They became the family you and Mickey were missing.  Most of them came to visit you at work.  One of those people was Jake.  The first time he came by, a month after the two of you met, you were shelving books and he’d snuck up on you, giving you a moment worthy of fan fiction itself.

You stepped up onto the plastic footstool and filed the book in its spot, on the topmost shelf.  You had an earbud in and were singing quietly along to “Remember Me” from Coco since you very rarely ever got someone in the library this early in the day, which meant you didn’t hear the door open, and you didn’t hear footsteps coming towards you.  You felt something tap you on the shoulder and you let out a scream, feeling yourself tilt backwards.  You squeezed your eyes shut and braced yourself for the inevitable pain, but it never came.  Instead, you felt the warm embrace of familiar arms.

“You can open your eyes now, darlin’.”  Opening one eye, you saw Jake smiling at you.  “Sorry I scared you, Dewey.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem.  I should’ve been paying more attention and–” It was then that you realized Jake was holding you bridal style.  “Oh my God!  Jake!  Put me down!  You’re going to hurt your back or something and I’m going to get in trouble for breaking government property.  I’m way too hea–”  

You would’ve rambled on had Jake not stopped you.

“Dewey.  I’m going to need you to relax.  You’re not going to mess up my back and you’re not going to get in trouble.  I have trained a long time and I don’t want to sound like a cocky bastard–”  You gave him a judgmental eyebrow raise and a Look.  “Okay, you have a point.”

“Seriously Jake, I don’t want to hurt you!”  Jake rolled his eyes but put you down carefully.  “Thank you.  I know you work out..I mean look at you, of course you do.  I just-lifting weights and doing bench presses is one thing, Jake…”

“Dewey…”

“Thank you for saving me from getting hurt”, you say before Jake can continue with whatever platitudes someone as good looking, built, and thin as him can come up with.  You smooth out the skirt of your bright red button front chiffon dress and look up at him since he has at least half a foot on you.  “Is there something I can help you find today, Lt. Seresin?”

Jake’s jaw clenched and you could tell he wanted to say more.  What you couldn’t figure out was why he seemed to care this much about how you thought of yourself.  He was just a friend.

“Uh, no…no.”  He ran a hand through his light brown hair.  “My sister is coming to visit next week with my nieces for Family Weekend.  Are y’all doing anything special?”

“Of course!”  You gave him a big smile and proceeded to run through the activities that were planned.

The following week, you got to meet Jesse and Isla Seresin.  The bonus was getting to see ‘Uncle Jake’ in action first hand and you hated it because every minute you spent in his presence was making you fall in love with him.  This was something you didn’t want because you knew you couldn’t afford a broken heart.  Not again.  You’d only recently been able to put your heart back together finally coming to term with the loss of your parents.  You weren’t going to let a crush derail that progress.

Over the next 10 months, Jake visited you at the base library often, acting like that first conversation between you two never happened.  You’d ask after Isla and Jesse, how school was going and when they’d be back to visit again.  Jake would even bring you gifts from the girls for their ‘favorite librarian’ when he’d come back from visiting them.

Sometimes Jake would come to the library because he needed to research something for a mission or because he needed to develop some sort of lesson plan now that he was an instructor at TOPGUN.  Sometimes he’d come by just to chat.  During those chats, you found yourself opening up to him.  One day in October, almost a year after you moved to San Diego, Jake and some of the squad were at the library helping with the Halloween Festival for the kids the library staff was throwing in the parking lot.  You and Jake were manning the ‘Balloon Dart’ booth, chatting away the time while waiting for some new challengers.

“You know Dewey, in all the time I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what your favorite book is”, said Jake.

“Is this you asking?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Pride & Prejudice”, you replied, keeping your eyes on your feet.  “I know, you don’t have to say it.  It’s totally cliché.”

“It’s not cliché at all.  It’s a good book.”  You looked up at Jake’s comment.

“You like Pride & Prejudice?”

“Your Lizzie Bennett is showing, you know.”

“Sorry.”

“No worries.  I read it for school, and I just really liked it”, said Jake.  “So, why is it your favorite?”

“It’s one of the first books my mom and I read together”, you replied.  Smiling sadly, you continue.  “She’d read me a chapter a night.  It took a while, but we finally finished it.  Afterwards, we borrowed the six-disc BBC mini-series from our local library and watched it all in one day.  Colin Firth was so handsome and a perfect Mr. Darcy.  Then in 2005, she surprised me with tickets to the movie as a late birthday gift and I just adored Matthew MacFadyen’s version of Darcy.  It fed my love of reading, which then inspired my choice in career.  Before they died, mom and I had been looking for the ‘Peacock edition’ of the book that was released in 1894.  It’s one of the most valuable and gorgeous versions because of the cover and illustrations by Hugh Thomson.  I had almost tracked one down, but then…”  

You looked away, not wanting to let Jake see you cry, but were unsuccessful.  Jake reached over and tipped your face up so he could look you in the eye, and wrapped his free hand around your ample waist, pulling you closer.

“I’m sorry about your parents.  It can’t have been easy for you and Fanboy.”  He placed the hand he’d had under your chin on your cheek and wiped away the few tears that escaped.

“It wasn’t.  He hides it better than I do, but he was just as broken.  It’s why I’m so thankful for Reuben and the rest of you.  When I couldn’t be there for him, all of you were…so, thank you, Jake.”

The way he was looking at you made you weak in the knees, and you saw him leaning towards you.  Was Jake Seresin about to kiss you?  Unfortunately, you wouldn’t find out because as he got closer, one of the kids ran up to the booth and you two jumped apart.

You watched him closely, out of the corner of your eye, the rest of the night.  You made sure you were always busy with the kids or whatever else was needed at the booth so that you weren’t available to talk with Jake.  You could tell he wanted to say something about what happened, but you really didn’t want to deal with the rejection and the explanation that it was a mistake.

As Jake was explaining the rules to one of the kids, you saw her mother fluffing her hair and adjusting her ‘assets’.  She put on the biggest (fakest) smile she could when Jake turned his attention to her. You rolled your eyes as you eyeballed the diamond on her left hand.  Did she think that he would just ignore that she was married and fall into her bed?  You knew Jake was imperfect, but he would never stoop that low.

You loved him.  You knew that now, because you gave up on trying to not fall in love with him months ago.  You hoped it wasn’t obvious because you didn’t want to be that chubby girl who was in love with the hot guy and acted like a stalker.  Becoming that stereotype was not going to happen.

Over the next month, you did absolutely everything in your power to avoid Jake Seresin.  You changed your shifts at work as much as you could so you wouldn’t be there when you knew he had free time and if he came in when you were there, you made sure you were busy or your coworkers would take care of him for you.  You didn’t go out to the Hard Deck on the weekends or anytime you knew he’d be there.

The week before Thanksgiving, you were at work when you received a visitor.

“Dewey?”  You looked up from your work to see Phoenix in the doorway of your office.

“Hey Phe!  Come on in.”  She stepped into your office and took a seat across from you.  “So, what brings you by?”

“We’ve missed you”, she said.  “All of us.”  The underlying meaning in her words didn’t skate past your understanding.

“I-I just can’t Phe.  I won’t be able to get over him if I’m around him constantly.  And I have to get over him because when he eventually finds someone–”

“Dewey, he doesn’t want to find anyone else.”

“Nat, I’m going to explain something to you, okay?”  You took a deep breath and continued, “Men as good looking as Jake or Rooster or any of them don’t go for women like me.  I know I’m not ugly, I never said that, but I am fat.  It’s just a fact.  Someone who takes care of himself like Jake is expected to be with a woman who looks like you.  Like the high school trope, the quarterback and the cheerleader.  I’m just the nerd who helps tutor the quarterback.  Who, like an idiot, falls for him and thinks that because he was so nice to me, maybe I should tell him how I feel.  When I do, he goes and laughs about it with his cheerleader girlfriend and all the other jocks.

I reached too far Nat.  Like I said, I need to get over him because I need to be able to be around him when he finds his cheerleader.”

Phoenix huffed.

“I didn’t know you felt like this.”

“I’ve been dealing with this since I was a kid.  I was compared to my cousin and how she looked.”

“Why didn’t you come talk to me?”  Phoenix leaned forward and took your hand.

“Phe, you’ve got enough on your plate, enough to deal with”, you reply.  “Besides, you’re not my therapist.  I didn’t want to burden you with my problems.  I’m already enough of a burden to Mickey.  I’m his older sister and he thinks he has to take care of me.”

“Can I say something now?” she asked, and you nodded.  “You are not a burden.  Not to me, not to Jake, and especially not to Fanboy.  He’s your brother and he loves you.  Before you moved here, he may have smiled and joked around, but it never really meant much.  He was just okay.  After you let him know you were coming to San Diego, you should’ve seen how happy he was.  His smile was huge, and his eyes didn’t look empty.  You’ve made all of our lives better.”

By the time she finished, tears fell silently down your cheeks.

“Thank you, Phe.  I love you, you know.”

“I love you too, Dewey.”  Phoenix came around the desk and pulled you into a tight hug.  “Believe it or not, this wasn’t the only reason I came to see you.”  You pulled away and wiped your cheeks.

“What can I help you with?”

“Some of us are having a Friendsgiving thing next week.  I wanted to know if you and Fanboy wanted to join us.”

“Um…”

“He’s going to Texas to see his family.”

“Okay then.”

Friendsgiving with Rooster, Phoenix, Reuben, and Mickey was one of the happiest times you had.  After dinner, Phoenix brought out a small basket with several small pieces of paper.

“What’s this?”  You looked over at your brother with a questioning look.

“Last Christmas, we all decided that a Secret Santa with the squad would be fun.  Since it was a hit, we’re doing it again.”  He took the basket from Phoenix and held it out to you, “It’s your first time, so you get the first draw.  No take backsies, unless you get your own name.”

“Got it.”  You closed your eyes and shoved your hand in the basket, rooting around for a few seconds before finally grabbing a paper.  You unfolded it, shielding the paper from prying eyes.  You smiled at the ‘Bob’ written on the paper.  You were close enough with Bob and knew the perfect gift for him.

“When do we have to have the gifts ready?” you asked the group.

“Penny’s having a Christmas party at The Hard Deck next month on the 15th”, said Rooster.  You felt your stomach drop.  You weren’t making any progress in getting over the feelings you had for Jake, and you didn’t think you were ready to see him again.

“Awesome.  Can’t wait.”  Bob came in for Book Club all the time, so you could slip him his gift then and not have to worry about being at the party.  Everyone would be so busy enjoying it, they probably wouldn’t even notice you weren’t there.  How wrong you were.

Now.

Sure enough, the day before Penny’s Christmas party, Bob stopped by the library.  He loved his gift; you’d gotten him a cookie decorating class that was online and prerecorded so he wouldn’t miss any of the days because of work and emphasized intricate decorating techniques.

He gave you a kiss on the cheek and a big hug in thanks, promising you the first batch of cookies he made with his newfound knowledge.  Before leaving, he asked if he’d see you the next day at The Hard Deck.  You felt bad about lying but told him no because you had to take care of something important.  In reality, you were going to hide out at the library for a few hours and then go home.

So, you did.  Your phone started going off only a few minutes after everyone was supposed to be arriving at The Hard Deck.  You ignored the texts from Phoenix, Mickey, Bob, and Reuben and were about to shut your phone off when a call from Mickey came through.

“What?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m busy.”

“You’re a bad liar, you know, hermanita.”  You rolled your eyes.

“Is there a reason you’re calling Mickey?”

“Everyone is wondering where you are.”  You could hear voices and the jukebox going in the background; it sounded like a good time.  “And I mean everyone.”

“Mickey…I can’t, okay?  I won’t be a novelty or something he bides his time with until he finds someone better, someone prettier.  Someone thinner and more appropriate for him.”

“That’s complete bullshit.  And Hangman is a lot of things, but that isn’t something he’d ever do.  Please believe me.  When I met him, I thought he was a complete dick.  The only one who didn’t was Coyote, and that’s only because they’ve been friends for years, so he knows how much of a good man Jake is.”

Mickey went on about Jake’s pros and as you were about to cut him off and hang up, you heard another voice.

“Fanboy, who are you talking to?”  Jake.  He’d seen your brother having a heated discussion while on the phone, and since he hadn’t seen you yet, he put two and two together.

“Don’t you say a word Mickey.  Don’t you do it.”

“Um…”

“Fanboy, is it Dewey?  Where is she?”

“I’m under orders to not say anything.”

“Bullshit.  Tell me.  Now.  I need to talk to her.”

“No.”  You knew your brother and you could hear his resolve weakening in his voice.  Suddenly, you heard what sounded like a scuffle on the other end and shouts of Give it back Hangman! before another voice came on the line.

“Dewey?  Dewey, please, tell me where you are.  I need to talk to you.”  You pressed ‘mute’, so he wouldn’t hear you starting to cry.  “Please darlin’.  Tell me where you are.”

You almost broke at the pleading in his voice.  You didn’t understand why he was so determined about seeing you.  You were just friends.  You took a deep breath and unmuted the call.

“I’m sorry Jake, but I’m not going to do that.”

“Darlin’, pl–”

“Goodnight Jake.”  You hung up and put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’, so you could listen to music while you did some shifting and didn’t have to worry about phone calls interrupting you.

You were in a Metallica-type of mood, so you chose the correct playlist and put in your earbuds.  ‘All Nightmare Long’ transitioned in to ‘Master of Puppets’ (your favorite song), and you shimmied along the aisles, shifting books around so they weren’t so tightly packed together.

Once again, you were so distracted by your task and the music, you didn’t hear someone knocking on the front door of the building or even walking in.  He heard you, though.  Jake called out for you, but when he didn’t get a response, he went to check your office.  Seeing your things still there, he was dead quiet to find out where you were...until he heard you singing.

‘Come crawling faster (faster)

Obey your master (master)

Your life burns faster (faster)

Obey your master

Master!

Master!’

Jake took the stairs two at a time, finding you in the graphic novel section.  You had your back to him, and he knew you were going to be mad, but he just had to.  Unbeknownst to you, he tiptoed up to you and tapped you on the shoulder.

You let out an almighty shriek and spun around, your feet getting tangled together.  Jake launched himself forward and caught you before you could fall and get hurt.

“You okay Dewey?”  You smacked him on the chest and pushed him away.

“Jake Seresin!  How could you do that to me?!”  You pulled your earbuds out and pocketed them.  You looked over at Jake and were glad to see he was looking slightly ashamed.

“I’m sorry darlin’.”

“What are you doing here Jake?  I wanted to be alone.”

“I needed to see you.”

“Why?  What could you possibly have to say to me right now?  There’s a party with everyone there and yet you’re here, wasting your time with me.”  You crossed your arms and leaned against the shelf.

“First of all, you’re not there, so not everyone is there.”  Jake reached behind him and pulled a wrapped, rectangular something he’d tucked into his back pocket.  “Secondly, I needed to give you this.  I’m your Secret Santa.’

“You could’ve just given it to Mickey to give to me.”

“Dewey, just take it, please.”

“Fine.”  You reached over and took the package from Jake’s hands.  You were carefully unwrapping the gift when Jake spoke up.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I haven’t b–”

“Don’t lie to me.  I may act like an idiot, but I’m not one.  Anytime I go to visit you, either you’re not there because you changed your schedule, or you get one of the others to deal with me.  When we all get together at the Hard Deck, you never show.  Fanboy feeds us whatever lie you tell him, but I know better.  I know you, something happened to make you avoid me and the others.”

“Jake…”  Before you could continue, you pushed the wrapping paper of the gift to reveal a book.  A copy of the ‘Peacock Edition’ of Pride & Prejudice, originally published in 1894, making this a first printing.  You carefully opened the book to look through it.  No creases, the spine was perfect for a book that was almost 130 years old, and it was beautiful.

“Do you like it?”  In your astonishment, you’d forgotten he was standing there.

“Jake, Jake, I-I-I can’t believe you remembered?”

“I did.”  You felt tears starting to form and threatened to fall down your cheeks.

“Jake, I c-can’t accept this. It-It’s too much.”

“It’s not too much darlin’.  I just hope it makes you feel closer to your mom.”  The tears fell in a steady flow now.  Jake rushed forward and took your face in your hands.  “Please don’t cry baby.”

You shut your eyes and basked in the feeling of his hands on your cheeks.

“Why did you do this Jake?  This isn’t something you do for a friend for a Secret Santa gift.”  You hear Jake chuckle.

“Open your eyes darlin’.”  You took a deep breath and slowly opened your eyes to look into green ones.  “You know why, Dewey.”

“I need you to say it.  I won’t believe it unless you do.”

“I love you, Miss Garcia.”

“Jake…”  You gave him a big watery smile.

“I know you have your reservations because of some weird reason that you think you don’t deserve me just because of the way you look.  Baby, that can’t be further from the truth.  I love you because of who you are, of what you’ve overcome, of what you’ve done–”

“I’m just a librarian, Jake.  I’m not anyone special.  But you, you’re a literal hero.  I read, you fly planes and save the world…how could I ever measure up?”

“Darlin’, you’re a hero too, to the girls.  I can never talk with Isla and Jesse without hearing Miss Garcia this and Miss Garcia that and When can we see Miss Garcia again, Uncle Jake?  They were both having trouble with their reading, but after meeting you, they’re the top readers in each of their classes.”

“I–” Before you could say anything else, Jake surged forward and kissed you. You’d only ever been kissed a few times in your life, but this blew the other kisses out of the water, it obliterated them. It reminded you of The Princess Bride, and the thought brought a smile to your face.

When the lack of air finally became an issue, you pulled away and leaned your forehead against Jake’s.

“I love you too, Jake, so much.”

Jake smiled that perfect smile of his and kissed you again. So focused on the kiss, neither of you heard the footsteps up the stairs, and didn’t know Reuben, Mickey, Rooster, Coyote, Phoenix, and Bob were watching the two of you make out until Coyote spoke up.

“Yeah buddy! Get your girl!” You and Jake broke apart in surprise.

“What the hell guys?!”

[the-ace-with-spades]

Trying to make myself write like a monkey pilot and so random bits from worldbuilding of this fic that are only mention or not even included (this is trans Bradley fic, for people who have not read it, but some bits are universal - I'm sorry for the rambling)

Merlin has a flight school in Nevada - this is where Bradley gets his commercial pilot licence, not long after he starts medical transition. Merlin runs it with his second wife, Nandini, who was the original owner and main flight instructor. They met through Slider, who got his commercial through her school, and they got two kids and their daughter had a crush on Bradley everyone in their family holds against her any time they meet for family gatherings.

Slider, by the way, retired from the Navy the same year as Mav started on the path to become a test pilot, and got a commercial and then airline pilot licence. Mav makes fun of it constantly.

Jake and Bradley (then pre-transition) talked extensively about their future life together and in Jake's mind, it was a given they would get married and have kids eventually, they'd just wait for the right timing or until they were at certain ranks/positions. Bradley did want all of it, he just never thought/imagined how it'd actually look with him as wife/mother, only vaguely with Jake as a dad and his own image completely avoided (kinda hard to explain but it's like a very blurry picture where his own figure would be even blurrier).

Bradley still wants to get married and have kids. Once the whole wife/mom bit became husband/dad thing, he's no longer uncomfortable about the topic. He knows being pregnant would be difficult because society sucks but he's pretty sure he's at the stage of confidence when he can pull it off.

Jake's mom is the nightmare mother-in-law people joke about. For real. She is terrible to all of her kids' partners, but she is especially terrible to Bradley (pre and after transition) because Jake is her little miracle baby.

Coyote joined Jake's squadron just as Bradley left the Navy, which means he met Jake in the middle of a heartbreak and well, that's basically why he's not the biggest fan of Bradley (even if sometimes it shows in ugly ways).

Bradley and Jake also had very different mindsets about their relationship during the break-up period of six years. Bradley had been a bit in denial and tried to force himself to move quickly, thinking that ever being with Jake was impossible (or you know, a fantasy only possible in his head...). Jake up until he sees Bradley, now after transition, at the Hard Deck, thought they were like magically destinated to be together and they'd meet again at some point. He dated some girls, mostly on Coyote's insistence, but he never hit it off with any woman, liked to say he was 'ruined for life' for Bradley and never stopped believing they'd find each other again despite the years apart piling on.

Mav and Ice renewed their vows and had a second wedding after Ice went into remission. Bradley was the officiant, mostly because Ice and Mav had a massive fight about whose witness he should be.

This is implied ?? but Ice's cancer went in remission because I imagine Bradley being there and Mav being there more often because of Bradley meant Ice'd go to the doctor earlier than in canon and had better chances given it was at an earlier stage when it was found. You know, a butterfly effect and all that.

Bradley and Ice spent weeks after Bradley's top surgery playing DCS, most often in the F-14 sim with Bradley in the RIO seat, sometimes with Slider providing commentary. As stated in the fic, Slider is the one to pop the idea and install the whole thing. Ice and Mav often play while goes through his oncology treatment and Ice often uses his puppy eyes to make Mav play as the RIO (rather than have two planes and Jester AIs)

Jake has a strange view on gender, which isn't necessarily bad, but it can be disheartening to Bradley, especially at the beginning. It's almost as if he doesn't see people's gender but who the people are (kinda like similar to not seeing skin colours??) which can be great when you don't want to be perceived/treated by just gender (like Bradley pre-transition) but can be ignorant if you do (like Bradley after transition). He is also terrible with labels and doesn't really believe or use them.

(A bit nsfw/tmi ??) Bradley chose his preferred type of top surgery based on the desire to keep the sensation of his nipples (buttonhole has a higher probability of keeping the feeling), mostly because it was a really sensitive part of his body, but ended up not keeping the full sensation on one side, which is always a possible outcome with any top surgeries, and after a few more months on T realized that his chest isn't really that sensitive anymore anyway. It's probably one of the very few things he misses.

I'm absolutely ecstatic because readers picked up on it, but Jake's been so jealous of Mav the whole time the fic's been going on and it'll continue until he realizes who Mav is to Bradley actually. You can only imagine how horrified he is when he realizes how terrible of a first impression he made on Mav.

While Mav is not a fan of Jake, Ice is trying to be very neutral. Objectively, he's not the biggest fan of Jake either, mostly because he's never going to be a fan of any of his baby boy's partners, but he thinks Bradley is an adult and should be able to make his own decisions. He also knows that a lot of people would have told him Mav is no good for him and it's not true at all so he's trying to trust Bradley's judgment.

someone please make me write, i just stare at the open document and change words in already written dialogues

[smytherines]

Fell asleep while writing and had a very weird dream where my partner and I went to see a legit tcb production of saf and lemme just tell you the parts I remember before I forget:

I remember none of the show- except Not So Bad, where Brian Rosenthal stood onstage with a bunch of kids singing in little like... oompa loompa costumes?

I kept weirdly running into Joey Richter in the theater while he was trying to get a sandwich from a place called Beanies? And he was extremely intense about this sandwich

Mary Kate Wiles kept suddenly appearing in the audience under a spotlight and then the spotlight disappeared and she disappeared?

There were like ten intermissions and every time I came back I ended up sitting in a new seat, and the last time I was sitting next to Jackie Franco and I don't remember anything she said but apparently she was really funny because we kept getting in trouble for laughing

I kept having interactions where I knew I was talking to Jaime Lyn Beatty, but she was I dunno in character as a frazzled stage manager gradually spiraling into a mental breakdown (I have been a stage manager before, that's so real of her)

Briefly saw Corey Lubowich lying down face first in the hallway to the bathrooms (yes he was breathing)

My dream had a recurring gag where Curt Mega just kept getting injured? So every time I like briefly saw him out of the corner of my eye he had a sling on his arm or new bruises or something, and then at some point I heard from someone else that he had to wrestle a coyote in the parking lot? Still did the show though. Sorry dream Curt Mega

They gave out little 2D plastic prop guns to the audience and people kept having fake shootouts in the hallway

During one of the many intermissions I very anxiously asked Joey Richter about the whole Curt/Owen names thing and he acted surprised like he had never heard about it and told me to ask Curt Mega because "I don't know, but he probably does" which honestly tracks, and then he started explaining a very confusing sequel with I guess a dragon in it?

The only time I saw Lauren Lopez she walked by and said "oh good you finally got that fucking sandwich" so I guess Joey did finally get that sandwich. Good for him.

Eventually after the show I found my partner again and I was like "I was looking for you!" And he responded by holding up a cup and shaking it and saying "I found margaritas!"

And then I woke up. Anyways now I have a really bad headache

[imawkwardlysoc]

meet me in the pouring rain

Song- Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift

Paring- bob floyd x bradshaw! gn! reader

Warning(s)- Just pure fluff! Also Nick and Carole are alive in this because I said so.

Wordcount- 1,039

Summary- Reader has always been a hopeless romantic and has always wanted to share a kiss in the rain.

“I’m so tired of dating!” I announced myself as I walked into my childhood home to see some of the Dagger Squad there.

“What happened?” Bradley handed me a bottle of beer.

“How come when I set the bar so low for these guys,” I sat down in the open spot on the couch next to Bob, who I greeted with a smile. “Like the bar is six feet under the ground, but they somehow manage to go under it. Like how? I literally lowered my standards for these dates.”

“How do you even find these guys?” Phoenix asked.

“Tinder,” I saw everyone wince as my answer. “I know. I know. A twenty eight year old still using Tinder.”

“Come on Chickadee, you’ll find your prince or princess charming one day,” Coyote gave me a smile.

“Hopefully,” I sighed and sipped on my beer. “I just want the same love that Mom and Dad have. It also doesn’t help that I’m a hopeless romantic with high standards. Just dropping everything you’re doing just to dance in the rain like Mom and Dad did. Where are they anyways?”

“Went on a triple date with Mav, Penny, Ice, and Sarah,” my brother replied.

“Ah, welp I’m gonna head to bed now,” I placed my empty beer bottle down. “Have a busy day tomorrow writing people’s memoirs.”

“Night, go romanticize those people’s decent lives,” Roo chuckled before giving me a kiss on my forehead.

Saying goodnight to everyone else, I headed upstairs to my room.

_______

“Hey, I’m gonna drop off lunch for your father, brother, and everyone else in the squad,” Mom poked her head in my room. “Wanna come with?”

“Sure,” I nodded my head. “Let me wrap this last paragraph up and change.”

Mom nodded her head and left my room. Wrapping up my last paragraph, I saved and closed my laptop before getting up from my chair. Putting on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a cardigan, I slipped on my glasses after fixing my hair. Grabbing the wrapped book, I slid it in my bag before throwing it over my shoulder. Walking down the stairs, I grabbed one of the trays and carried them to the car. With two trays of pasta, a tray of sweets, and a tray with veggies and fruits, we started to make our way to base.

Showing our IDs, we were let through and parked in one of the parking spots. Carrying the trays of food, we looked up at the sky.

“I have a feeling it’s going to rain,” Mom said.

“More like a sprinkle probably,” I shrugged my shoulders. “But if it does, I’m going to be so happy.”

“What’s with your love for rain? We barely get some down here,” Mom quizzed.

Rain has always felt calming to me. The tiny droplets hitting my window just makes me feel more relaxed. I’m also able to relax more while working on my writing if it rains. If I’m not working, the feeling of being wrapped up in a blanket on the couch while drinking a cup of hot chocolate and watching a movie feels just right. Also the thought of kissing your loved one and dancing with them in the rain is one thing that I want to experience.

“Is Y/N talking about her love for the rain again?” Rooster joked as we placed the trays of food down on one of the desks.

“And you are not getting any food,” I told my brother, jokingly.

“Y/N, Bradley, play nice,” Dad told us.

“Dad,” we wined.

We saw our parents let out a laugh and shook their heads in regret for deciding to have us. Soon all of us filled up our plates and ate.

“Oh, I have something for you,” I told Bob while reaching into my bag. “Here.”

“What is this?” His eyebrows furrowed as I handed him the book.

“Open it,” I answered.

Placing his empty plate down on the floor, he started to unwrap the book I got him. With a smile forming on his face, I looked at his reaction when he saw what I got for him.

“Wait, is this?” He looked at me.

“Yeah, all of the original stories and sonnets of Shakespear in his own words in one book. Also with no translations,” I nodded my head. “I finally got all of my stuff that I bought and shipped from my month-long trip in Europe.”

“Thank you,” Bob hugged me.

“It’s no problem,” I hugged back and smiled.

We talked for a couple of minutes before I heard the sound of raindrops hitting the ground. Getting up from my seat, I threw away my plate and walked out of the hanger into the rain, ignoring the looks everyone was giving me. Looking up at the sky with my arms wide open, I felt the droplets tap my skin in an irregular rapid pattern.

Soon, I felt someone’s arm wrap around me and spun me. Looking away from the sky, I saw Bob in front of me giving me a smile. Letting out a joyful laugh, the both of us danced ignoring the looks we’ve been getting from everyone. We both let out a laugh as it started to pour down on us.

“Hi,” I smiled as he dipped me.

“Hi,” he smiled back.

I gently placed my hand on his cheek and moved my head up to his lips. Bringing me back up from the dip, I wrapped my arms around his neck while his arms were wrapped around my waist. Our lips slowly moved in sync as I felt my stomach flutter. Detaching our lips, I saw the blushing on his face and I could feel mine.

“Wanna go on-?” We asked at the same time.

“Sure,” we answered.

*Meanwhile in the hanger*

Hangman- Did that just?

Coyote- Yeah, it did. All this time Bob had game?

Fanboy- That’s really romantic, I like it.

Goose- Look if he hurts them.

Rooster- Dad, Bob wouldn’t even hurt a fly. They’re in good hands.

Carol- Besides, they look happy with him. Also, doesn’t this look familiar?

*The couple looks at their youngest and the WSO*

Goose- Yeah, yeah it does.

A/N- It is cannon that Bob is a Speak Now and Lover stan and is a hopeless romantic. Change my mind. Also this is gonna be a mini series with two other songs so stay tuned!

[beezelarts]

Okay, so I’m posting this already because I have so many other projects that I’m currently working on and I’m afraid that I’d forget to share it if I waited.

I’m a huge fan of every Hangster fanfiction that involves the Seresins and their farm in Texas so I decided to draw how I imagine them (or at least 1 version).

So far, I have Jake’s parents and one of his many older siblings, his only sister. Enjoy!

As you can see those are Jake’s parents Joanne and Oliviero.

Oliviero is Italian so all of his children can speak at least a little bit Italian.

When Jake’s grandparents were still alive they’d visit them every summer and every winter in their little house near the french border.

Oliviero flirts with Jo (only he gets to call her that) in Italian and blushes when she flirts back. (His children understand every word and suffer psychological trauma.)

Since he’s technically European he refuses to call football “soccer”.

When Jake first came out to his family he wasn’t exactly… happy about it BUT his wife refused to let him sleep in their bed (“That includes NO SEX, Oliviero.”) so he caved after one week and refrained from disowning his youngest.

He only started to respect Bradley when the latter wins an arm wrestling match against him.

He gave Bradley the shovel talk.

Now Joanne:

She met Oliviero when she was on vacation in Italy.

The Seresin farm is technically hers (therefore actually the “Grant farm”).

She’s a simp and is obsessed with her husband’s ass. (Again, the Seresin-siblings are traumatised.)

She loves being a momma and grandma.

She’s a great cook and sometimes she cooks some of her mother-in-law’s recipes. (Oliviero has tears in his eyes because deep down he’s a softie.)

She seems like a sweet lady but she’s actually very scary: After Bradley got the shovel talk from Jake’s dad (and Coyote before that) she took him for a walk and showed him an idyllic clearing in the middle of the woods nearby. Then she turned to Bradley and said, “this is where we bury our enemies. Don’t hurt my baby boy.” She proceeded to kiss Bradley on the cheek and went back to the farm. When Oliviero saw them coming back he shot Bradley a compassionate look. Joanne’s father had done the same with him when he had asked for her hand. Don’t mess with the Seresins/Grants !

And here is Jake’s sister Jenn with her husband Björn:

She met Björn when he started working on the farm. They did the deed in the barn and she got pregnant and he asked her to marry him. (Oliviero didn’t like it.) Now, they’ve been married for almost twelve years and have three children (and a fourth on the way). Björn still works on the farm. Jenn is a trauma surgeon.

Okay, phew, that’s a lot of headcanon but I felt the need to share.

EDIT (I forgot to mention):

During Jenn’s first pregnancy Björn gained a little bit of weight “out of solidarity for his wife”. (Back then, Jake might have had the tiniest crush on him. Nobody can blame him. Björn has the perfect dad bod :3)

[lutrainman]

Been wanting to create some quick profile pics, but I haven’t really fleshed out all main and supporting and chatizens. For now, I’ll give you the main. Still haven’t gotten all the other chatizen profiles done. Nor do I plan to in the future.

warning lots of profiles to skim through. Not all of them are fleshed out.

Terrence E. Coyote (middle name Egnacio)

ChibiRoom handle: Techy-mancer2772

Age: 25

Species: Anthro Coyote? (his dad hasn’t confirmed if he’s part wolf)

Close colleagues call him Terry. His friend Rev will call him Ter (pronounced Tear, as in “tear it all up”). Youngest prodigy in science and engineering. Already 2 PhD and current researching scientist at Acme Technical University. Has been going through a shut-in gremlin phase about 4~6 months ago.

He just finished up his last contract deal that has freed him from college debt, especially after the debacle involving an undergraduate intern. So he’s gone into a pseudo-gremlin mode by indulging in all of the nerdy stuff he’s deprived himself of; including anime, cartoons, shows, movies and video games, personal sci-fi prop making, reading books, comics, graphic novels, and going to sci-fi or comic conventions.

Terrence is an introvert by choice and isn’t very social. So he’s socially awkward, and tries to hide it behind a professional facade. Unfortunately, he comes off as standoffish, aloof, and a bit arrogant. Only because he holds himself to a high standard in the pursuit of science and using science for good things. Has a few inventions and breakthroughs tied to him. But he’s best known to be a collaborator, despite how obsessive he is with research and the details.

Joined “Retro-tech” chibiroom since he has grown up retro-fitting or making old tech work.

Creon Gilead

Age: 24 (going on 25 eventually)

Species:Publicly Human. Latent Mutant status hidden for now

Sous-chef and assistant manager to the Leghorn building cafe that she started when she first worked as a barista at the coffee bar. Also overworks a lot with side hustles, her main job, and community/volunteer work. Loves motorsports, hover-board racing, roller skating.

Adrenaline junkie and adventurous. Quite reckless and has a YOLO mentality. She tries to keep an open mind to new experiences. She’s multi-lingual due to her life experience and time in the military, and living in the Crater. Her life hasn’t been kind, and she is both lucky and unlucky with whatever wild scenarios that happen near her. Creon is a glass-half-full type of girl who always strives to be the best version of herself. Which means doing her best to be kind in a cruel world.

Despite trying to be honest and true, she’s a bit cagey about her past. Nearly abstained from dating/romance for 2 years. Until Terry literally fell into her lap one night on the train. She’s unaware that the chatizens of the Retro-tech Chibiroom refer to her as “Snow White.”

Revel R. Runner (middle name Reginald)

Age: 24

Species: Anthro Roadrunner

One of the undergrad students who got lucky with interning under Terrence, despite Terrence’s vehemence against taking on another intern. Goes by Rev most of the time. He prefers it. Rev was the only one to pull Terrence out of his shell, most of the times. Rev is the only one who can keep up with Terrence, or at least understand him when they work together. And Terrence is able to keep up with Rev’s speed-talking. Rev has made it his mission to keep Terrence from becoming a cyborg in the possible future. Rev thinks Terrence needs to live a little and not let science be the sole reason for existence. Also works as a researching scientist and engineer alongside Terry.

Alex Bunny

ChibiRoom handle: Black-Ace-Kazma

Age: 24

Species: Anthro Bunny

Works as one of the personal trainers and instructors at the Acme Tech campus gym and recreation center. Later on, Alex will become Terrence’s personal fitness coach. Also someone who likes to watch really old school movies or films.  He’s a martial arts nut so he has an old collection of Kung-fu film dvd/blu-ray sets. These were passed down from either an old relative or grandfather. Some even on VHS cassettes. So Alex also knows how to use antique projectors, VHS, DVD & Blu-ray players. Later on, Alex will figure out Techy-mancer and Terry are the same, but won’t reveal this at all. He silently enjoys the shitshow and continues to encourage Terrence with the pursuit of personal and physical growth. Alex sometimes does some stunt work for films or tv.

Lexi Bunny

ChibiRoom handle: Loola_Honey55

Age: 23

Species: Anthro Bunny (distant cousin to Alex Bunny)

One of Creon’s besties. Met Creon when they were both auditioning for TV extras. Marketing Research specialist for a fashion company that caters to anthros. Lexi is gregarious, ambitious, and quite bubbly. But Lexi can also be ambitious, hard-working, and introspective when she needs to be. On spare time she takes care of her plants, tiny garden, and streams playing video games. She’s also a fashionista who likes to take thrift-store clothes and fix/spruce them up for herself. Lexi joined chibiroom asking for advice on integrating old consoles, emulators, or stream setup. But mostly the video games, since she likes to explore old-school games ranging from late 90s, and early 2000s. Plus, she likes some of the older consoles and games.

Ripley R Runner (middle name Roland)

ChibiRoom handle: RippingW!r3z226

Age: 22

Species: Anthro Roadrunner

Rev’s younger brother. Moderator of the Retro-Tech Chibiroom. Actually working on his own apps and software in spare time. Secretly wants to get approval from dad and take over family business. Due to a lot of time in the Retro-tech chibiroom, he’s made a few programs, mods, and even inventions to help the group. Has tested them out. Lexi was the first guinea pig to test out programs or plugins for her stream and video game setup. Rip may seem slow-speaking, quiet, and aloof, but he’s just as smart as his big brother. Maybe even smarter, especially in certain departments. Rip has that perfect balance of being business savvy, entrepreneur, and software engineer and inventor.

Tina Russo

Age: 26

Species: Anthro Duck

Another one of Creon’s besties. Met Lexi through Creon. They too are besties. Tina is down-to-earth, blunt, feisty, and street-smart. Tina can be brutally honest, especially during the early days of befriending Creon. It’s thanks to Tina that Creon started developing a no-nonsense attitude and was able to set boundaries for herself. Family came from Italian immigrants. Does construction work in modular housing. Has always liked building stuff as a kid. Helped her dad out a lot in his plumbing and handyman work. Has a degree in architecture. Transferred to Acmetropolis from home in New Jersey to work with a real estate company that is undertaking a city renovation project.

Daniel Duck

ChibiRoom Handle: Duck_Dodgers_livedangerous

Age: 24

Species: Anthro Duck

Is kind of a pessimist and a conspiracy nut. He’s really paranoid about how the government is using current technology as surveillance. A bit short-tempered and comes off as delusional or egotistical. Deep down he’s just a lonely, insecure guy who got done dirty by the child foster system. So he’s had to grow up a bit street-smart and cynical. The “Retro-tech” chibiroom is the only place he sometimes finds solace in and the first place he consults in regards to retrofitting some old gadgets to work. That and he’s kind of a lonely duck trying to cope with his unfulfilling mundane life.

Samuel D Tazman (middle name Denver)

ChibiRoom handle: Slam-Taztic-devil

Age: 28

Species: Anthro Tazmanian Devil

A local wrestler who works in construction work and welding during the day. Sam is actually chill and respectfully polite in real life, which tends to clash with other people’s perception of Tasmanian Devils. Sam is very fond of good food and happens to know which local food venues are best. Joined “Retro-tech” chibiroom for adapting some tech for his big hands.

Oberon_Maestro67 (chatizen)

Species: Human

A music enthusiast, musician, and loves performing or going to music concerts. Absolutely hates the idea of AI music overtaking normal organic music. Has offered a lot of audio tech integration advice and music recommendations.

T!meSk!pper136 (chatizen)

Species: Human

About high-school senior who’s kind of lonely but loves making models and gunpla or making robots for bot-fighting. Lives with grandpa, who is an acclaimed professor and expert on theoretical physics and time. For now, he takes solace in the Retro-tech chibiroom.

Sylphair375 (chatizen)

Species: Human

A bitter, pessimist who seems to like being a naysayer and bringing up the worst case scenario. Is actually a recovering athlete who is bitter about how his athlete career barely started after a bad accident and injury.

Cloudy-chance-185 (chatizen)

Species: human

Currently a news anchor intern working under Misty DeBreeze. Actually went to school to study weather and meteorology. Part of a small collective of volunteer weather watchers collecting local weather data for climate change studies.

Massivechad305 (chatizen)

Species: human

Just a guy trying to go straight while living on parole. Had been jailed for some time for burglary. Participating in a new parole rehab program which was experimental and difficult. Joined chibiroom to get help and resources for retro-fitting tech that accommodated his size. Doing odd-end jobs here and there. Training to get a welding license.

Wac-gran20K (chatizen)

Species: human

Creon’s next-door neighbor, enjoying her well-earned retirement with her pet canary, Tweety. She’s already aware that Creon is “Snow White” that everyone in the Retro-tech Chibiroom chat likes to talk about. She just chooses to not reveal this secret and just watch the drama unfold. Granny is the definition of “sweet little old lady.”

Yeah there are other side characters, like Zadavia and others who are also chatizens or just regular citizens living normal lives. But I don’t think I’ll get into them now.