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i-cant-sing · 4 months ago

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Time Traveller AU part 9

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Part 8 is here. Time Traveller au masterlist is here. Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Part 10 is here.

"I think you should take off your veil now. You need to impress the princes so that one of them could take pity and marry you. Or you could try black magic-"

"Baris, I will pull your tongue out and strangle you with it if you say another word." You muttered, holding your head in your hands.

After Baris landed the "marriage bomb" on you last night, you've been stressed. Why did I have to teach Mihirmah? Why did I have to accept the bracelet? Why did I-

"You have bags under your eyes, and considering that they're the only feature visible, its not good-" You threw a pillow at him, which he dodged easily. You hadnt slept at all, how could you? You tried to figure out a plan, that didnt work. You tried to fix your time machine, that was not going to work at all without tools.

"You could be wrong." You mumbled, opening your eyes as you stared ahead. "This bracelet could be nothing but just a kind gesture. It is not a marriage proposal. You're wrong-"

Baris cut you off. "I know it seems impossible, considering how you look, even I'm surprised- but I'm never wrong, Y/n. I've worked here for more 25 years, I know what everyone thinks." You stared at him with a pinched expression.

"You have to help me, Baris."

He smiled. "Of course, you'd be lost cause else wise! I'll get the seamstress to make you some new clothes-"

"No, I meant- you have to help me escape. I cant- I dont want to get married!"

He scoffed. "Darling, we're alone right now. You can drop the "I dont wanna marry a prince and enjoy the luxuries of the world" act."

"I mean it!" You huff.

"And why is that?"

"Because-" you bit your lip. What excuse can you possibly come up with to satisfy him?

"I love someone else."

"How tragic." He said monotonously. "Love has no place in the harem. You're here to attract, serve and please the royal family." He walked closer to you, leaning down as he lowered his volume. "And I'm going to give you some advice: you better not use that excuse again, never even MUMBLE about having a lover again, not unless you want to be tortured and executed for being a traitor."

You knew what he was referring to. The harem, the concubines, the whole palace was filled with jealousy. If anyone were to hear about this, they would use it against you, conjure up such vulgar lies that the sultan will chop off your head.

"Baris I cant-"

"You dont have a choice, Y/n." He cut you off harshly. "I suggest you suck it up and pretend to be happy or else you'll be in for a hard life."

"Now, get ready. You need to teach a lesson."

"You look sick."

You resist rolling your eyes. "Yes, I know I'm ugly. Thank you for keeping me updated."

Mihirmah shook her head. "No, I mean you dont look well. Are you alright?"

No, I lost sleep because of you and-

"Just tired, Mihirmah. I think we've should stop here today." You watched her beam.

"Finally! Now we can celebrate!" Mihirmah clapped her hands as the servants brought in some tea and sweets. She had initially wanted to celebrate her victory from last night as soon as you came in, but you wanted to get the lesson done with so that you could leave.

"You enjoy it. You did a good job." You tried to excuse herself but she frowned.

"I did. And so did you! I mean, the way you made Mahidevran shut up! It was amazing!" She took a piece of sweet and handed it to you. "Besides, my father appreciated your efforts as well-"

You looked down at the bracelet. This was more of a death sentence than a gift.

"Mihirmah." You took off your bracelet. "I- I appreciate the sultan's gift, but I cant accept this. Its too much- its-" you mentally rolled your eyes at your next excuse. "Its above me."

She furrowed her brows. "Even if that may be the case, which its not because you fully deserve that after the showdown, you still cannot refuse or return a sultan's gift, much less one that he made himself!" She tilted her head. "What is really going on? Why do you not want the bracelet? And dont say its not to your taste, because lets face it- you probably have not seen jewels like this in your life."

Biting the inside of your cheek to prevent the insults from slipping out, you took a breath.

"I... heard that..." you took another breath. How do you say "I dont want the bracelet because I dont wanna marry any of your brothers" without sounding narcissistic. "I... I heard that there might be a different meaning behind the bracelet. That it may signify... something else."

"Which is...?" She prompted you.

You exhaled.

"That I might be considered to be... a spouse for a sehzade."

Mihirmah snorted as you looked down to conceal both your embarrassment and fear.

"I'm sorry- what did you say?" She was laughing now. You continued to look down. As long as she's laughing and not getting mad at you for even suggesting such a thing, you're fine. Besides, if she's laughing then it means that all that bullshit Baris was spewing earlier was just that- bullshit.

"You think- my father, the sultan, wants you- YOU, to marry one of his sons?" She wiped a tear away from her eye as she laughed. "That is the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. True, father does only give handmade gifts to those he considers close, but I dont think thats true in your case, Y/n. You're just my teacher, that's all. Besides, even if you were to be considered as a potential spouse for my brothers, you have my mother and Mahivdevran standing in your way. And trust me, they're going to marry their sons to someone they like. You- they cant even tolerate you as my teacher at this point of time."

Sighing in relief, you nod. "Well, that's great to hear-"

"Wait." Mihirmah narrows her eyes at you. "If you thought that my father wanted to marry you to one of his sons, why did you want to return the bracelet? Did you- did you not want to marry my brother?"

Oh shit. "Mihirmah no-" You tried to pacify her.

But she snapped at you. "What? You think you're better than my brothers? Any of them? You'd be lucky if Mehmed or Mustafa chose you, if such a miracle does happen."

Your eyes were wide at her venomous tone. You dont know whether it was because she was protective of her brothers, or if she just really hated the idea that you would consider rejecting royalty.

A few more moments of silence went by. "You misunderstand me, sultana." You chose her title to please her. "I know of my status, and I am well aware of how... lowly I am to be a part of this family. The only reason I was returning the bracelet was because... I didnt want the harem to assume things and threaten or hurt me. I am aware that the sehzade have their favourite concubines, much better equipped to their tastes. But if they were to see this bracelet gifted by the sultan on me, they would... it would cause misunderstandings. I just wanted to avoid that."

Your words were carefully selected to not aggravate her any further, which it didnt but they also didnt calm her down.

Mihirmah's face was still sour. "The concubines are smart enough to figure out who's a competition and who's just a mere servant. You have nothing to worry about."

The words stung but... you just bowed and took your leave instead of slapping her across the face.

Mehmed had just turned the corner when he saw you leaving Mihirmah's room with tears pooling in your eyes, the niqaab only causing them to look more prominent.

He entered Mihirmah's room, finding his sister looking angry as she gazed into space.

"Mihirmah?" He sat down beside her, noticing how she didnt immediately light up as she always did when he came. What did you do to piss her off so much?

He cupped her face to look at him. "What's wrong? Tell me."

You're laying in your bed, arm over your eyes as you try to think of a way out of here.

When will the time machine work again?

Its not like you can go out of the palace to get help or even tools to work on it, and you always fear that someone just may walk in on you tinkering with the machine. The only place where you can get privacy in this palace here is the dungeons, only because its dark and oh-so-daunting that it doesnt really attract people there.

There's a knock on your door. With a grunt, you get up and open the door, only to find no one there. Your room was in the harem, but it was on the upper floor, so you could see the whole area from above, including the silhouette of someone leaving the harem doors.

Normally, you wouldn't have bothered with the "door bell pranks", but you made your way down because 1. you're not familiar with what this might mean, maybe some royal summoned you and you're to follow the servant. 2. you're bored.

When you left the harem and looked to your left, spotting the back of a girl in red dress, you knew she was baiting you to follow her. So you did, turning around the corridor only to be body slammed to the wall.

3 women surround you, blocking any escape routes. They're all glaring at you, and you recognise their faces. They're the concubines.

You clear your throat. "Well? I suppose you have something to say that you couldnt say in there."

The brunette in front of you narrows her eyes. "Who do you think you are?"

"Why dont you tell me?"

Her glare intensifies. "You think you can just bat your lashes and whore yourself to the sehzade?"

"Heh?"

The raven haired girl on her right grabbed your throat and banged your head against the wall behind. "Dont play dumb! We know you're trying to marry the prince!"

The blonde on the left banged your head against the wall this time, gritting out "Stay away from sehzade Mustafa!"

"And sehzade Mehmed!" the brunette warned, repeating the same assault as the other two.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes as you rubbed the sore spot on the back of your head. "None of your accusations are true. Unlike you, I actually have a respectable job here-"

"We saw the bracelet! You think you can just prance around here, pretending to be this holy and pure, untainted girl while we work ourselves to the bone to get in bed?!" The brunette screamed at you, getting in your face.

You pushed her away. "First of all, I am not interested in marrying anyone. Secondly, the bracelet means nothing than a job well done. And finally- you seem to mistake your status over me. I dont work for you, or under you. So, this is for earlier-" You slapped her hard across the face, making her fall. The other two were in shock, and you took that as an opputunity to slap them too.

"Now, we're even." You huffed, adjusting your niqaab before turning on your heel to leave. You needed to slap them, not only because you need to let them know they cant bully you, but also because you needed to release some steam. It felt good, you wont lie. You may have even imagined some people's faces as you smacked them-

"Omph!" You're pushed to the ground, flipped over onto your back. You grab on to the hands that are wrapped around your neck, eyes wide as the brunette starts to choke you.

"You stupid bitch!" She screamed as you fought hard to pull her hands away. She yanked the veil off your face, smacking your cheek hard enough to scratch you with her sharp nails.

"Laira stop-" the blonde tried to pull her off you but Laira continued to beat you.

"Hand me the torch!"

"Laira-" The blonde started again but the raven haired grabbed the fire sconce off the wall and handed it to Laira.

You stared in horror as she brought the torch closer to your face, the heat radiating. She grinned manically, one hand still squeezing your throat.

"You're not even that pretty for a sehzade. Did you use black magic on them?" She clicked her tongue, while your eyes were fixated on the torch. "I guess, it wont be futile to ruin your face for guarantee."

"Please no-" she choked you harder with her man hands that you just couldnt seem to pry off, and you sort of became paralysed as the dancing flames took you back to the night in the desert, when the assassins set your tent on fire. Everything slowed down, and noise drowned out like in the movies.

Salauddin. Help-

The flames suddenly vanish from your view as Laira is thrown off you.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" The man roared behind you. Your eyes moved from the shaking concubines to your saviour.

Ibrahim pasha.

"Pasha bey-"

"Shut it. Guards! Throw them to the dungeons!" Ibrahim yelled and automatically, 4 Janisarries appeared from behind him and dragged the wailing girls away.

Ibrahim looks down at you, his eyes shifting from rage to sympathy. He crouches down and helps you sit up, his touch gentle.

"Are you alright, Hatun Y/n?" You're staring at him in a daze, your body has not recovered enough to physically react, almost on autopilot.

Say something.

"Y/n?" He asks again, his brows furrowing as his concern deepens. Why does everything sound so far, so low?

He snaps his fingers near your ear, and your brain finally reacts.

"Y-yes." You tear your gaze away, looking at the fire torch lying on the ground far from you.

Fire. Second time you were almost burnt to death.

"Come on." He helps you up, gently tugging you to follow him. A few shaky steps later, you follow him to your room.

He sat you down on the bed. "There we go." Ibrahim pasha scanned your face for any burns or injuries, noting the nail marks from the slap.

"Baris Agha!" Ibrahim called and a few seconds later, the eunuch stumbled in.

"Yes, pasha- ya Allah, what happened to-"

"Baris." Ibrahim snapped at him. "Get me bandages and healing balm. And keep quiet about this." Baris only nodded before following orders.

You cleared your throat. "I... thank you for saving me, pasha." Ibrahim smiled courteously as he sat on a chair nearby.

"It was my duty. Sultan Suleiman had asked me to keep an eye on you."

Your brows furrowed. "Why?"

Ibrahim looked at the bracelet around your wrist. "I suppose you did something to make him pleased."

He relaxed in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. "So... what happened with the concubines?"

"Misunderstanding." You said dismissively.

"And what that might be?" He prodded. When you didnt reply, he sighed. "I am the pasha, the sultan's right hand. I am supposed to know what happens in the palace."

"Its nothing of significance. You can let the girls out of the dungeon."

"I'm afraid that decision is not upto you." Ibrahim deadpanned. "If you do not wish to tell me, fine. I have other ways of finding out." He made his threat clear and began standing up.

"Wait!" You clenched your niqaab, looking at the veil in your lap. "I'll tell you, but... you cant tell anyone."

Ibrahim stared at you before nodding, sitting back down.

"There may have been a rumour... the cocncubines- they think that the bracelet, a gift from the sultan means that I am... special." You mumbled the last word.

"Special how?"

"They think... that the sultan wants me to be his... daughter-in-law. Actually, they think that I am wooing the sehzades- Mustafa and Mehmed."

"And are you?" He asks immeadiately.

"Of course not!"

"Why not? Anyone would love to marry a prince."

You scoffed. "I would never want to be a part of this family, not even as a teacher."

He raised a brow. "Hate the Ottomans?" You shake your head. "No. But I wouldn't want to be a part of it." You clicked your tongue. "Everyone in this palace is a slave. The concubines, the servants, the wives, the kids, you and me too. The wives of the sultan, they have all the luxuries one could imagine... except for the loyalty of their husband. Not to mention, they have to live in constant fear of being replaced and be in paranoia forever because everyone who is not family, is a threat to her. The kids? If you're born a boy, sure- you are immediately given a superior status, but with such power and princely status also comes with its own drawbacks. The boy will have to always be compete with his brothers, not because he wants to be the next sultan, but for survival."

In Ottoman empire, there was a common practice of fratricide- a tradition where once the next sultan is chosen, the new sultan is allowed LEGALLY to kill his brothers, stepbrothers, nephews and even female relatives (sisters included) as well, so as to get rid of any future competition or betrayal by his own family. In a nutshell, it was done to prevent civil wars.

"If you're born as a girl, then you may have a better chance of survival than your brothers, but that's still not guaranteed. Not to mention, you are raised to be married off to someone that will strengthen the royal family. Not to someone you love." Ibrahim watched you as you continued. "Its not better to be a servant either. Always being threatened, questioned about your loyalty, having to take the fall for the higher ups. The eunuchs, who think they are all high and mighty and control the court, you and I both know that their job to "protect the women of the harem" wasnt even their choice. To be forcefully castrated as children, forcefully ripped from their families, forced to serve the royals... they dont have a choice. I dont have to tell you how degrading it is to be a concubine."

"And me? How am I a slave?" Ibrahim asked.

You smiled sadly. "You know very well, and youre just trying to see how much I know. Your past is not a well kept secret, pasha." You kept quiet, and Ibrahim realised you already knew about his life.

Ibrahim, born as Orthodox Christian, was enslaved during his childhood. He and Suleiman became close friends in their youth, or perhaps forced to convert to Islam and then raised to befriend Suleiman. Suleiman appointed Ibrahim as grand vizier when he took the throne.

"How do you know?" Ibrahim's gaze was sharp. "I know a lot of things, pasha. But dont worry, I have no ill intent. If anything, I want to be as far from this life as possible. Perhaps... you could help me with that?"

He raised a brow. "I dont think that is an option for you right now." At your frown, he explained. "The safest place for a woman like you is here."

"Did you just forget that my face was almost burned off moments ago?"

He chuckled, shaking his hand. "Of course not. But you need to understand that you cannot just up and go without a word, especially after the sultan just gave you a handmade gift, and whether or not it signifies that he's considered you for one of his sons, it does mean that he considers you important. His majesty will not just accept your leave for no reason." Ibrahim leaned forward, clasping his hands. "As for your safety, you can leave that to me. I will make sure no harm befalls you again. I promise."

"But what about the sehzade? The rumours?"

He hummed thoughtfully. "If you're so concerned about that matter, then you should just avoid the princes as much as you can. Keep your niqaab on, continue your lessons with the princess and avoid interacting with people as much as you can."

Well, its not a bad suggestion. If you make yourself scarce and draw less attention to yourself, you can slip out of the palace and leave unnoticed.

"Oh, pasha?" You called him as he stood up to leave. "Can I request you not to tell about this incident to anyone?" You pointed to bruises on your face.

He grinned and nodded. "Of course. But it is not me you should be worried about talking." At your confused face, he chuckled.

"Baris Agha still hasnt returned."

Mihirmah and Mehmed were in your room just a few moments after Ibrahim pasha had fetched the bandages from below and treated your wounds, further confirming that Baris was spreading the news about your attack all over the palace.

"Y/n! Who did this to you?" Mihirmah traced the bruises gently as she sat beside you on the bed, while Mehmed sat in front of you, on the seat previously occupied by Ibrahim pasha- just closer this time.

"I dont know." You lied, pulling yourself away from Mihirmah's concerned touches. Oh you're still mad at her.

Your evasiveness didnt go unnoticed by her, as she dropped her hand and her mouth settled into a thin grim line.

"Why did someone attack you? What happened?" Mehmed asked, cutting the tension.

You shrugged. "I dont know." You fiddled with the niqaab in your lap. There's a big bandage on your cheeks, so while you couldnt exactly wear your veil again, you suppose in a way your face was somewhat covered?

"Probably mistook me for someone else. Or just a misunderstanding." You tried to brush this off.

"Still, it shouldnt warrant such a reaction. We should investigate-" Mehmed started but you shook your head.

"Ibrahim pasha is already looking into the matter. He'll take care of it-"

"I am the sehzade. I will look into this personally." Mehmed stated before leaving the room before anyone could stop him. Ah, to be the knight in shinning armour for a distressed damsel.

You and Mihirmah sat alone now. The air in the room was thick, the silence thicker. Mihirmah glanced at your nonchalant face, your eyes fixated on the ground, not caring how uncomfortable the silence was making the princess.

It was clear she had to break the ice.

"Y/n." She called. "Yes, sultana?" You answered, but your eyes still remained on the ground.

Sultana. Not Mihirmah, like she'd allowed you to call her, but sultana.

She pursed her lips. "I..." She paused. What is she supposed to say? Sorry? The word is as foreign to her as it is to any royal.

"I dont like the things you said this morning." She finally stated. "You shouldnt have said those things."

You resisted the urge to scoff. Is she really trying to pin this on you and make you apologise? Entitled brat-

"You're right, sultana. I was out of line. I suggest we should just stick to our lessons and avoid talking about anything else. I'll be careful not to bring up any other topic." You stated monotonously.

Mihirmah frowned. Why are you saying this? Why are you being so difficult?

"Stop it." She warned. You nodded. "As you wish, sultana. I'll arrange another Quran teacher for you." Your words only enraged her further.

"I said- stop it." She ordered but you're hell bent on making her apologise- a dream, but still. You clicked your tongue. "I suppose I'll hand in my resignation to the sultan and explain to His Majesty that it was my fault for being a useless servant who is just not capable- ow!" You finally looked at her in disbelief.

She pinched you. Mihirmah pinched your arm. Hard.

And she had the gall to glare at you, with some anger and remorse in her eyes.

"What did you do that for?" You spat, hissing as you rubbed the area she'd assaulted. There was going to be a bruise, for sure.

Her frown deepened. "You- I told you to stop, didn't I?!" You watched her trying to contain her rage, her body shaking as she tried not to wrangle you by the neck. "I- I dont want you to leave."

"But sultana-" "Mihirmah. You call me Mihirmah." She emphasised.

You bit the inside of your cheek to suppress your smile. "I am just a dispensable servant-" You jumped back when she went to pinch you again.

"Will you stop doing that?!" Your arm still hurt from her first attack. Mihirmah's nostrils flared. "Will you stop acting like a brat?!"

Your throat made a sound of disbelief. "I am acting like a brat?! Have you looked in the mirror recently?"

"Yes and I look very beautiful! Unlike your busted face!"

"Oh so you just get to insult me?" "I am not insulting you! I am DESCRIBING YOU!" She screamed as you glared at her. Mihirmah took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I am not calling you ugly, I was just referring to the bruises on your face. How did you manage to get beat up so badly? Did you not learn anything from my sparring lessons?"

"Sparring lessons? You mean the times where you would flip me on my back or throw me against the wall?" She glared at your accusation. "How is it my fault that you dont fight back?"

Mihirmah's gaze flicked the arm you were holding, the one she'd pinched. "Does it still hurt?" Her voice was much softer this time.

"Would you like me to pinch you back to demonstrate how much it hurt?" You spat back and she scoffed. "I didnt pinch you that hard. You're just sensitive." "Sure, you must only have meaty man fingers." You grumbled as she gasped and smacked your bruised arm, making you hiss.

The two of you glared at each other before Mihirmah wrapped her arms around you and looked up at you with a small pout.

"This doesnt work on me." You muttered, making her grip tighten around you.

"You know you're not a servant." Mihirmah whispered, looking up at you with puppy eyes, but only you knew the real Ronda Rousey in her.

"You're my friend, Y/n. Or the closest thing I have to a sister." "If you were planning on beating up your sister, I'm glad your parents didnt have one."

"Shut up, you're ruining the moment." Mihirmah scolded you. "I dont want you to go. I dont want you to be hurt, either. So just- I'm willing to let things go back to the way they were before this morning, if you are."

You stared down at her. You knew you were never going to get a real apology, Mihirmah was too prideful. You couldnt make her feel ashamed for her actions, or hold her responsible. So, you'll have to make do with this.

"Fine." She broke into a grin and squeezed her arms around you tightly before letting go.

"Now, tell me! Who were these girls who attacked you? I'll skin them with my daggers!" Ignoring her sociopathic tendencies, you shrugged. "I dont know, Mihirmah. I dont know who they were- I'm still new to the palace."

She hummed before her face lit up in realisation. "Wait! Baris Agha did say something about concubines. I'll ask Mehmed too when he returns with more information from Ibrahim pasha!"

While you are trying your best to hide the incident about your attack, unbeknownst to you, the news has spread like wildfire in the palace. A maid saw Mehmed entering Ibrahim pasha's office, and when she reported it to her friend, she then told her about how she overheard the eunuchs talking about a fight breaking out between the concubines and someone else, and then someone added that they saw Ibrahim pasha, Mehmed and Mihirmah in your room, so you were involved too. It wasnt long before this news reached Hurrem and Mahidevran, only this time it was more dramatised.

"The concubines tried to kill Hatun Y/n! It was only by pure luck that sehzade Mehmed saved her! And now her wounds are being tended to by Mihirmah sultana while sehzade Mehmed and Ibrahim pasha are punishing the concubines!" Gul, the chamber maid, told Mahidevran.

Mahidevran narrowed her eyes. "Why did they save her? She's just a teacher." The queen didnt understand why the royal children were going through such lengths to get justice for you. Fights in the harem break out all the time.

Gul fumbled with her thumbs, avoiding eye contact with her queen. Mahidevran's frown deepened. "What is it, Gul?"

"I- sultana- I just heard some rumors, its probably not even true-" "Out with it!" Mahidevran snapped.

Gul licked her lips as she spoke. "Um- I overheard that sehzade Mehmed has been... spending a lot of time with Hatun Y/n. Especially after the dinner where Mihirmah sultana recited-"

Mehmed... spending time with you? Why? If he wanted to sleep with you, he could have any girl from the harem. So why you? Why you, a Quran teacher, a conservative girl who covered herself from head to toe? Surely, Mehmed hadnt been bewitched by your physical appearance- not that you had any, in her opinion. And then Suleiman seemed to like you to, so for Mehmed to fancy you would be because-

Mahidevran's eyes widened at the sudden realisation.

"Get me Mustafa. Now!"

"Hatun Y/n was attacked by the concubines! Ibrahim pasha saved her and carried her unconscious form to her room!" A maid reported to Hurrem.

"Why was she attacked?" Hurrem asked, bored.

The maid hesitated to answer. "I am not sure, sultana, but the word is that the concubines were jealous of the attention Hatun Y/n was getting from sehzade Mustafa."

Mustafa? No. What possible business could you have with Mustafa? From the past week's events, Hurrem was told that you'd spend most of your time with her daughter, and only moments with Mehmed when he visited his sister.

"Mustafa isnt interested in Y/n." Hurrem stated, more to herself than to refute the maid's claims.

The girl nodded. "I'm only telling you what I heard, sultana. And... I also saw sehzade Mustafa leaving Mahidevran sultana's chambers to visit Hatun Y/n earlier today, just moments before I came here!"

Hurrem halted as she tried to make sense of the information. Mustafa was out all day because of the hunt, he wasnt supposed to return before dinner. Which means, he was fetched, likely by Mahidevran. Who probably informed him about your attack and now he went to check on you.

But why? Even at the dinner the other day, Hurrem didnt detect any sort of affection from Mustafa for you, or you from him. You both barely glanced at each other.

Maybe he's just checking in on you. That's all it is to it.

"How badly was Y/n injured?" Hurrem inquired.

"I didnt get a chance to see her yet, she's been with Mihirmah sultana since the event, but I heard that her unconscious body had to be carried by Ibrahim pasha himself! And- and that he even bandaged her up-"

"Ibrahim pasha?" Hurrem whispered to herself. What business did he have with you? He could've easily had a servant tend to your wounds, so why did he personally do it himself?

Ibrahim. Mustafa. Mahidevran. What are they upto? Hurrem knows Ibrahim doesnt like her, that he favours Mahidevran and Mustafa over her, that he wants Mustafa to be the next sultan-

Hurrem's heart sinks as she pieces it together.

"Get me Mehmed. Now!"

Suleiman was having dinner with his family. Both of his families- Mahidevran and Mustafa joined him tonight as well. He was happy to have them together, all well and healthy.

Except... something was off.

Suleiman's gut could sense it. The children were making small talk, his wives as well, but he could tell. There was some sort of tension.

It was Mihirmah that made him finally speak up.

"Mihirmah." He called out the girl who was playing with her food. "You've barely eaten. What's wrong?"

The room immediately fell dead silent, the attention now focusing on Mihirmah.

She smiled nervously, taking a small bite. "I'm fine, baba."

But Suleiman could see that her usual bubbling aura was somewhat depressing. "Mihirmah." He called her name more sternly, and this time, her smile faltered as she finally spilled.

"I'm just worried for Y/n."

Suleiman frowned. And when he looked at everyone else, it was clear that they knew something he wasn't aware of.

"What happened?"

Baris Agha was having fun riling you up. "So, you're telling me that both sehzade Mustafa and Mehmed, the two crown princes racing to be the next sultan, are visited you?" He snickered as you shot him a glare. "Can I just suggest you to remove the niqaab for the wedding-"

"Baris! Shut up!" You raged at him. "Dont think I dont know you were the one spreading the lies about-" "Lies? About what? About you being attacked? By concubines who are jealous of your- I dont know, I'm sorry what it is that these men seem to be enraptured with-"

There are hurried, intense knocks on the door. Baris opens the door as a servant stumbles in, out of breath.

"Hatun Y/n! Sultan Suleiman has summoned you! Now!" His tone signified that you're not to waste time.

"Why did he call for me?" You whisper to Baris as the two of you rush down the hallways.

"Perhaps he wants to formally ask you to marry one of his sons-" "Baris!" He grinned. "What? I have a sixth sense-" "YOU HAVE NO SENSE!" You yelled. "Have more sense than you." Baris grumbled.

"Why are you even following me? Dont you have a job?" You wanted him to stop vexing you.

He snorted. "And what? Miss out on all the fun? Besides, you know as the future sultana, you will need me-"

"I swear, as soon as I'm finished meeting the sultan, I am going to throw you off the roof."

The two of you turned the corner leading to the royal dining hall, and you bumped face first into Ibrahim pasha's back, the man catching you by the arms before you fell on your ass.

"P-pasha? What are you doing here?" You asked, backing up once you got your footing.

"Sultan sent for me. What are you doing here?" Ibrahim asked, equally confused.

"He summoned me as well. What do you think its about?" You watched the cogwheels in his mind turn and the realisation dawn on him.

"The attack earlier." He exhaled, closing his eyes as he tried to figure out his next steps. "We cant- you cant tell him the truth!"

"You want me to lie to the sultan?" He rose his brows. "Please, Ibrahim! I- I told Mihirmah and Mehmed and then Mustafa that I didnt know who the attackers were, or why they attacked me! If you tell them the truth-"

"Y/n." He grabbed your shoulders, staring into your worried eyes. "I promised to protect you, didnt I? I intend on keeping my promises."

You both entered the dining room together, bowing to the royal family sitting there.

"Y/n." You looked up at the sultan. "Is it true? Were you attacked?"

You were quiet for a few moments, resisting the urge to glance at Ibrahim to figure what to say, before nodding hesitantly.

"Y-yes, sultan." You trailed your eyes back to the ground. These people, they were warriors. They didnt have any technology back then, and they had to rely on body language to read people.

And you didnt want to risk him catching you in a lie.

"Are you alright?" Suleiman's voice was much softer now. "Did you go to the infirmary?"

"I'm well now, sultan. Thank you for asking." You meekly answered. "I was saved in time, thanks to Ibrahim pasha."

Mahidevran's eyes narrowed at you. Ibrahim saved you? Of course, you'd lie about that, so that no one would suspect you and Mehmed getting close. She thought to herself.

"Ah, Ibrahim pasha." Suleiman's voice turned serious. "You were the one who saved Y/n?"

"Yes, sultan." Ibrahim confirmed.

"And you have the attackers in custody?"

"Yes, sultan."

Suleiman slammed his fist on the table, rattling everyone. "Then why the hell wasnt I informed of it?!" Ibrahim kept his head down as the sultan continued to rage. "Why does everyone seem to be aware of this matter, except me?! Answer me, Ibrahim!"

Hurrem couldnt help the smile that curled on her lips. She was glad to see Ibrahim getting in trouble, perhaps Suleiman will finally get rid of him for once and for all-

"It's my fault, your majesty!" You announced suddenly, and everyone's focus shifted to you. "I- I was- I was shaken up from the attack and I- I made the pasha stay with me. I was too scared- I didnt think I was safe- so Ibrahim pasha left to make arrangements to assure me I was safe! He was busy because of me. I'm sorry! If- if anyone should be punished, it should be me!"

You held your hands together tightly to stop them from trembling. The room fell silent at your explanation, with you and Ibrahim holding your breaths.

"Is this true, Ibrahim?" Suleiman broke the silence.

"Yes, my sultan." Ibrahim answered. "After I had saved Hatun Y/n, I wanted to assure her of her safety, so I was busy interrogating the concubines who attacked her. After they confessed, I wanted to check if anyone else in the harem had any ill intentions for Hatun Y/n, so I was engaged in checking everyone who could be a possible threat. I was on my way to inform you, but you summoned me before I could."

"Concubines? Why did they attack Y/n?" Suleiman asked, wanting to know the result of his interrogation.

Ibrahim answered without missing a beat. "They were jealous of Hatun Y/n's bracelet." You looked at him but the pasha kept his eyes ahead at the sultan. "From what I gathered, Hatun Y/n refused to give up His Majesty's handmade gift, and when she put up a fight to defend your present, she was subjected to a harsh beating and had her face almost burned."

Suleiman's eyes widened. "Burned? Because of a bracelet?"

"It was what the bracelet represented, my sultan." Ibrahim's statement made your heart sink. He better not tell him about the "daughter-in-law" theory.

"The concubines think that you... favour Y/n over them." Ibrahim's words set fire to your cheeks and you had to bite your lip to suppress the gasp you almost let out.

Ibrahim decided to change the "daughter-in-law" theory to "3rd wife/bedwarmer theory".

"What rubbish?!" Suleiman slammed his fist on the table again, and perhaps everyone in the room was silently grateful for his rage and disbelief, as it disapproved the theory and quelled any future rumours. "I only see Y/n as my daughter, nothing else! How dare they slander me like that?! How dare they hurt someone I care about?! Ibrahim, execute those wretched concubines!"

Your eyes widened at the order. Preventing their death sentence was the only reason you lied and kept this charade up. You cant risk more people dying and history changing forever because of you!

"Y-your majesty!" You fell to your knees, your voice wet. "I- I beg you- I beg you on the behalf of the concubines, please- have mercy!"

Everyone watched in surprise as you cried for mercy for... your attackers?

"You... want me to forgive them? Despite what they did to you?" Suleiman asked, watching in disbelief at your tears wetting your niqaab.

"It- it was wrong- but please, they're just- they're just young girls. They made a mistake, they shouldnt pay with their lives!" You tried to come up with better reasoning. Aha!

"Sultan, I- we are Muslims. You are a role model for Muslims all over the world right now- but you have a role model as well- someone you havent met or seen, but you follow his advices and footsteps every day. Its Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)- and- and he advices us to be forgiving and merciful." Ibrahim watched you try to persuade the king.

"On the Day of Judgement, when we beg and grovel Allah for forgiveness, would He not forgive us happily if we show mercy to His creatures? If we forgive His mankind?" You pleaded and Suleiman was touched by your words, so-much-so that he walked over to you and pulled you by your shoulders before pressing a kiss to your veiled forehead.

"You're too kind, Y/n." He whispered, before nodding at Ibrahim. "Dont kill the concubines. But find a fitting punishment for them, Ibrahim." The pasha bowed his head obediently.

"And find Y/n her personal chambers in the royal wing." Suleiman stated, making everyone surprised.

No. Room in the royal wing only meant more contact with the royals themselves. This was the last thing you needed-

"Your majesty-" He held up a hand. "Dont protest, Y/n. You were hurt because of my present and while I appreciate that you defended it, I do not wish to see you hurt. Ibrahim, find her a room and shift her there by tonight. And assign a few guards and servants to Y/n as well. I dont want her to feel unsafe again." Suleiman looked at Ibrahim with a serious expression. "I trust her in your hands, Ibrahim."

"Of course, your majesty." Ibrahim nodded.

Suleiman looked back at you, a gentle smile on his face. "I would like you to join us for dinners now." He gently pushed your back and Mahidevran immediately scooted a bit closer to Suleiman's seat and patted the space beside her... and next to Mustafa.

Hurrem glared at the blatant display of intentions- Mahidevran showed her "generosity and humbleness" by letting you sit next to her to please Suleiman, and also make you sit next to her son to get close with.

At this moment, both queens are under the impression that Suleiman wants you to be his future daughter-in-law, so both women think that the other is making her son court you because the first one to marry you will produce a heir, further legitimising the prince's claim to the throne and becoming the next sultan, especially since Suleiman views you to be the perfect, pious woman who would be the perfect mother for his grandkids.

The only difference is- Mahidevran wants you to be Mustafa's spouse, not because she thinks you're a good match for her perfect son, but because she wants to speed up Mustafa's claim to the throne. She knows Suleiman prefers Hurrem over her (Hurrem's five kids are proof of that), and since she has no child other than Mustafa, Mahidevran is at disadvantage and she needs every advantage she can get, no matter how savoury it is- like you.

Hurrem on the other hand, does not want you as her Mehmed's spouse, because you're not what she had in mind for her precious son. She wants someone soft, demure, submissive, beautiful and more importantly- someone she can control. But she also knows what game Mahidevran is playing, and since Hurrem doesnt want Mustafa trying to steal the throne from Mehmed, Hurrem will have to just- get rid of you.

"So... the sultan just said that outloud?" Baris ate a date from the fancy table in your brand new chambers. "He just announced that you're his "daughter" to everyone?" He heard you groan a yes from your place on the bed- face buried in the pillows.

"And Mahidevran sultana made you sit between her and sehzade Mustafa?" He heard you groan another "yes".

Baris plopped down next to you. "So you're marrying Mustafa. Huh, didnt bet on that-"

"You bet on this?" You asked miserably, finally pulling your head up. "Of course, need to make money. Unlike you, not everyone has the oppurtunity to marry into royalty-"

You smack a pillow right across his face. "If I hear you talk about marriage again, I will strangle you."

Baris rolled his eyes, fixing his hair that you'd messed up. "I dont know why you're so upset. Did you want to sit next to Mehmed instead? If so, maybe I can still win the bet-"

"I dont want either of them!" You stated frustratedly, sitting up. "Do you not get it- I dont want to be a part of royalty! They're- they're all mad! My life would be in constant threat- from jealous concubines, possessive mother-in-laws, throne hungry princes. I dont want that!"

"Is it because you want Ibrahim pasha?"

You blinked at him. What? "What?"

Baris rubbed his chin. "Oh come on, I saw the way you two looked at each other before you entered the dining room- how the pasha promised to protect you, even from the sultan's wrath."

"Are you like- fishing for anything? For fun?" You shake your head at him.

Baris gave you a look. "Really? What about you going in and lying to protect him? He didnt even say anything before you took the chance to save him."

"I saved him because it was the right thing to do! Not because I love him!" You exclaimed, throwing your hand in the air. "If this is how you think, please- PLEASE resist the urge to ever help me! I dont want a proposal coming from you just because you saved me from choking."

Baris glared at you. "First of all- I'm never going to be as blind as the sehzade when it comes to love. Secondly, you'd be lucky to have me as a husband. At least your offspring will have a chance at looking somewhat normal-" You lunged at him and put him in a chokehold while Baris grabbed at your hijaab covered head to pull you off.

Your fighting match is brought to a halt as someone knocks on the door.

Mustafa stands outside your door, surprised to see Baris looking slightly disheveled when he opened your door.

"Baris? What are you doing here?" Mustafa asked, watching the eunuch fix his collar.

"Ah sehzade! Oh I was just helping Hatun Y/n adjust to her room. Shift her things in here." Baris faked a smile.

Mustafa nodded before lowering his voice. "Is she awake?"

"Yes yes- please come in." Mustafa walked inside just as you appeared out of the wooden divider screen, adjusting your niqaab.

"Sehzade." You gave him a courtesy. "How may I help you?"

Mustafa gave you a gentle smile, his moustache quirking up handsomely. "I would like to ask you to spend the day with me tomorrow."

You froze, and you didnt dare look at Baris who you knew was sporting a smug look because you didnt want to throw your shoe at his face in front of the prince.

"I- I think I am busy with Mihrimah sultana tomorrow-"

"No, I asked her. She said she's happy to skip her lessons for tomorrow." Mustafa cut your excuse. "I'll come by after breakfast. Good night, Y/n."

Even though Mustafa said he'll see you after breakfast, which for royals was just an hour before noon, you were woken up by Baris at the ass crack of dawn.

"Baris! What the hell?" You glared at him when he yanked the covers off you. Baris grinned at you. "As much as I'd like to believe in beauty sleep, its so not helping in your case. Come on, you need a bath and a lot of other stuff!"

He'd brought fine silk gowns and matching niqaabs (which you insisted on wearing despite Baris voicing his displeasure).

Currently, one of the maids had just finished doing your eye makeup- which in this case was kohl, and some dried berries crushed to a fine powder to make a rouge sort of shade.

"Since your eyes may be the only thing the prince sees, we need to make them bewitching!" Baris had commented before spraying you down with a lot of perfume.

"That's enough!" You push the bottle away as you coughed at the musky, earthy perfume. "Isnt that for men?" You ask coughing.

Baris's grin only widened. "Its sehzade Mustafa's favourite attar! I had to bribe his chamber servant to tell me this. And you my darling-" He sprayed you again. "-need to smell like him so that he thinks you two are a perfect fit!"

"That is literally the stupidest thing I've heard-" your insult is cut short as your vision is blinded by Baris flipping up your veil to reveal your lower half of the face and him applying some crushed berries juice to your lips.

"Just in case you have a change of morals and want to kiss the prince." He jumped back when you tried to slap him.

Soon, Mustafa came to fetch you. You two were currently walking through the royal gardens, with you giving curt answers so that he would lose interest in you and leave you alone.

Your dismissal didnt go unnoticed by him. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Read." You answer looking at the well cut hedges. "Have you been to the royal library?" He looks down at you, finding you gazing at the flowers. "Yes. I've already read all of the books there." In college, of course.

"All of them?" His disbelief makes you look at him. Finally. Mustafa thinks.

"Of course." You answer, offended.

"Even the royal ancestry book?" Mustafa raises a brow at you.

"Yes." Your brows furrow. "Ask me anything."

He shakes his head and chuckles. "I doubt you know more about my ancestors than me."

When he looked back at you, you were still looking at him expectantly.

"Ask me."

Mustafa's curiosity got the best of him at your determination.

"This is- this is incredible." Mustafa commented, his eyes wide as he looked at the ancestry book from where he basically quizzed you. He didnt know he was talking to a historian who had pulled all nighters for pretty much every major empire for finals.

"How did you learn all of this?" He asks you, still double checking your answers.

"Oh... I have good memory." You mutter, making him shake his head at you with an amusing smile.

"Of course, I should've figured. You're a hafidha, you're passionate for learning." And passionate for making money in trivias.

Mustafa closes the book. "So, since you've read every book in here, I suppose you must be bored?" He doesnt wait for an answer when an idea pops in his mind. "Come on, lets go."

You follow him, trying to keep up with his fast pace. "Go where?"

"To get you new books." He looks over his shoulder and gives you charming grin.

Your steps falter. New books? "We're leaving the palace?" He hums.

You havent left the palace since you came here, mostly because you havent been able to leave.

You match his pace. "Lets go!" And Mustafa finally sees you excited for the first time today.

With a few Janissaries and some disguise, you all head out into Istanbul. You're looking around the city like a kid in a candy store, only you're looking for a something or someone to help you fix your time machine.

The market comes into view along with the sound of hawkers trying to attract customers. Of course, the only shopkeeper who wasnt yelling was the blacksmith, allowing his hammer to garner the attention of serious clients.

He could be of use. If you're able to find some tools, maybe even get some metal films, you could try to spark a charge and trigger the time machine to work.

You start to take a few steps towards him when Mustafa grabs your shoulder and pulls you back to him. "Where are you going? Stay close to me. I dont want to lose you." He tells you, almost in a chiding tone, but his hands carefully pulling your robes around you said otherwise.

He lead you towards a bookshop. Mustafa nodded at you to go ahead, explore and get any book you want. He'll buy it.

While you were busy browsing, Mustafa couldnt help but steal glances at you. He didnt understand why he was doing this- he couldnt really see your face, or anything except for your eyes.

Your eyes, they were pretty but its not their beauty that really captivates him. Its the swirl of emotions in them. The mystery in them, like there's... more to you. Like you're hiding something.

Perhaps it was your mannerisms. Your dismissive nature, your tendency to not be impressed easily by their eccentricities or status, almost as if you've lived with royalty before.

Maybe he likes how different you treat him him. How you dont bend over backwards to please his family, or try to pursue him or his brothers. In fact, you almost seem to be avoiding them altogether.

You intrigue him. Badly. Amusingly. Adorably.

"I dont understand! Where could she have gone?" Mihirmah whined to her brother at lunch. Mehmed only raised a brow. "Who? Y/n? She might be in her room recovering from yesterday's events. She was pretty shaken up-"

"I already checked! She's not there!" Mihirmah sighed before laying her head in his lap, and he began patting her hair. "She went out with Mustafa but she still hasnt returned! Its lunch time and I planned on teaching her sword fight! For self defense, you know- so that she doesnt get beat up like last time."

Mehmed's hand stopped patting. "She's with Mustafa?"

She nodded. "Since morning!"

"Huh." Mihirmah sat up, looking at her brother puzzled.

"What? What is it?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He faked a smile, but Mihirmah knew him like the back of her hand. "Mehmed. Tell me."

"I just... dont understand why Mustafa is spending time with her." He stated, standing up to walk to the balcony. "She's your teacher. What business does Mustafa have with her?"

Mihirmah watched her brother stiffen suddenly, watched the way his jaw ticked as he looked down the balcony. She stood up and joined him, following his gaze to see what he was looking at.

Its you. And Mustafa. Finally returning to the palace, servants holding piles of books following behind you two. What's even more bizarre is to see Mustafa smiling down at you while you giggled, covering your mouth despite the niqaab, making you look even more bashful.

Even Mihirmah hadnt ever seen you so joyful, and yet here you are- laughing so gleefully with her eldest brother. Step brother.

It rubbed her off the wrong way.

"You want her?" She asked him, her voice so hollow that it made Mehmed look at her.

"What?"

Mihirmah looked at him, her eyes stern. "Do. You. Want. Her?"

Unwavering determination. Thats what he saw in his sister's face.

Say the word, and it'll be done.

Mehmed stared at her.

"Yes."

"I hope you had a good time." Mustafa asked you as he walked you to your chambers. You nodded. "I did. Thank you, sehzade." Despite your best attempts at dismissing him, Mustafa was very persistent at breaking down your walls. And sure, part of you giggled and pretended to be flustered at his words, you mainly acted cordial so that he may take you out of the palace more often. He was your only way out at the moment.

You both stopped outside your door, the servants walking past you to place your books inside. Mustafa looked satisfied.

"If you ever need to go outside again, feel free to come to me, Y/n." He offered, before taking out a small box from his pocket and handing it to you.

Your heart dropped. A ring? Now? This fast? No no no no no-

You opened the box and you felt life returning back to you. It was a gold broach adorned with rubies and a diamond in the center, encaged in an intricate heart pattern.

"I may not share my father's gift of handcrafting jewels, but I do happen to be skilled at acquiring precious jewels on my conquests." Mustafa informed you as he took the broach from the box and looked at you for permission before pinning it to your hijab, just below your collar bone.

You were too stunned to stop him or even turn down the gift, though Mustafa took your silence as awe.

He adjusted the broach.

"Perfect." He whispered, looking into your eyes.

You watched him leave with a grin, finally able to breathe when he was out of sight.

With a sigh, you enter your chambers, half expecting Baris to be sprawled over your bed waiting to tease you for details on your outing.

What you werent expecting was... her.

"Did you have fun?" The sultana asked, her eyes sharp. "I've been waiting for you, Y/n. Lets have a chat, hm?"

Shit.

"You're abnormal." Your hands stop adjusting your hijab as you glare at him through the mirror.

"What?"

Baris tilted his head. "You're abnormal." He repeated.

You turn around from the vanity and glare at him. "Is this another way of calling me ugly?"

"Tch. No, I have words for that." He shook his head. "I meant, you've been acting weird since yesterday, after you returned from your secret outing with sehzade Mustafa."

"You're imagining things." You mumble, turning back to the vanity mirror and picking up the broach Mustafa gave you.

Baris scoffed. "I am not. I may have been busy with the younger royal kids yesterday, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of you giggling and blushing when you returned with the prince." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So that means, the day went good. Something happened on the way to your chambers." He narrowed his eyes at you. "Did you kiss him?"

You whipped your head. "Baris!" He palmed his face. "Sorry, I forgot you're the religious prude. Did he kiss you?"

"No, Baris! No one kissed anyone." You began pinning the broach to your hijab, the same area where Mustafa had placed it yesterday. But you werent able to, too frustrated at the interrogation.

Baris grabbed the broach from you and pinned it in place. "So, you two didnt kiss, bought you enough books to make a you a scholar, and gifted you this broach, and you're disturbed because...?"

You frowned. "I am not disturbed. You're just reading too much into this."

"Fine, dont tell me. I'll find out on my own." You walked past him to teach your Quran lesson.

As much as you'd like to think that you're sly, Baris is right. Something did happen. After you'd returned to your room, you were met there by Mahidevran sultana.

You were reasonably scared because you thought that she's here to torture you or even kill you because you've been "seducing Mustafa" or whatever rumour Baris has spread about you.

But you were surprised when she told you that she wants you and Mustafa together, in marriage. As soon as possible. For the next half hour, Mahidevran basically told you all about the likes and dislikes of her son so that you would accustom yourself to them and then emphasised how supportive she would be of you to be her daughter-in-law. She even encouraged you to... sleep with him, she didnt say it directly but you got the meaning behind her words.

At the end of her lecture, she warned you to not spend time with Hurrem or any of her offsprings, besides Mihirmah because you are her teacher and even then told you to keep your interaction strictly formal and minimum.

When she was about to leave, she spotted the broach on your clavicle and beamed, almost proudly so. When you confirmed that Mustafa gave it to you, and started to take it off to return it to her, she stopped you and told you to wear it everyday. EVERYDAY.

"My son has given you something. You should be honoured. Cherish it." Mahidevran ordered.

The main reason you didnt tell Baris about Mahidevran and her confusing but threatening demands to court Mustafa was because of Baris's blabber mouth that couldnt hold a secret if his life depended on it.

And you have enough on your plate as it is.

You enter Mihirmah's chambers, bowing as you spot her.

"Ah! Welcome! Sit, sit!" Mihirmah pats down the seat next to her and you're slightly suspicious of her energy.

She's upto something.

You sit down beside her, opening the Quran. "I think we should start with-" She closed the book in your hands.

"In a minute. Lets talk first, hm?" She smiled at you. "How was your day off yesterday? Well rested?"

Your shoulders sag slightly. Of course, she wants to know about your day out with Mustafa. Baris probably blabbered something to spark her curiosity like this.

"Yes. A much needed break. Quite refreshing." You tell her, purposely keeping away from the details, lest she gets the wrong idea again and accuses you of whoring around your "ugly self" to her brother.

"Mmhm. Had fun with Mustafa?" Her sharp tone made you look at her.

Is she implying something?

"The prince was kind enough to get me some books." You told her cautiously, trying to ease the tension. "I think you'd like some of them-"

"Mustafa sleeps around." You blinked at her. What were you supposed to do with this unsolicited information.

"Okay...?"

She shrugged, picking up her cup of tea. "I'm just saying- he's been with a lot of women. The other day I was reading a verse from Quran where it mentioned adultery. Then I realised- thats what Mustafa is. An adulterer."

"You read Quran without me making you-"

"Mustafa is an adulterer, Y/n. Allah will not forgive him. He's doomed for hell."

"Actually, if he repents sincerely-"

"He's doomed, Y/n. Doomed." She reiterated.

"By that logic, so are most of your ancestors. I think most men, kings and princes commit adultery-"

"Mehmed doesnt." She stared at you. "He's never slept with anyone. He's a good Muslim man. Allah will be pleased with him."

What is going on here? "Um... okay. That's great news for sehzade Mehmed."

"And for you." Mihirmah announced. "You are the lucky one."

"What?"

She let out a sigh of frustration, as if she has to state the obvious. "Mehmed likes you- no, he loves you-" "Loves me?" "Shh! I'm still talking. You have caught his eye for some reason, so you should end whatever it is that you have with Mustafa and be loyal to my brother."

The room was silent, the two of you staring at each other- you, in confusion. Mihirmah, in determination.

A crow croaked outside.

"First of all, I have nothing going on with sehzade Mustafa. Secondly, Mehmed said he loves me?" You asked while trying not to show resentment.

Mihirmah scoffed. "He doesnt have to say it, I know it."

Your tension deflates to some extent. Okay, so she's just making up stuff. This can be handled.

"Mihirmah, I understand how-" you resist the urge to roll your eyes "-you may think Mehmed may be attracted to me, I am honoured, really. But I can assure you, Mehmed does not love me."

"No, I love you." Your head whips around at the sound of his voice.

Mehmed. He's standing behind you.

"Sehzade-" you begin standing up to bow to him, but he holds up a hand.

"Mihirmah's right. I love you." Mihirmah beamed proudly at standing correct.

Your eyes could only widen in horror as Mehmed sank down to sit right beside you, and with Mihirmah on your other side, you were trapped between the siblings.

"I. Love. You." Mehmed repeated, his hazel eyes staring into yours.

After several moments of silence, a crow croaked again. Mihirmah nudged you to say something.

"Um-" You cleared your throat. "Ugh... thank you."

Mehmed's brows shot up in surprise while Mihirmah broke into a fit of laughter.

"Thank... you?" Mehmed asked, and you would've thought he was mad if it werent for the amused smile on his face.

Mihirmah continued to laugh, and you had to look back at her to make her stop. "I-I'm sorry, Mehmed- this was- this was just too funny. I mean, she has a prince, the next heir of the empire confess her love and all she says is "thank you"?" She said, chuckling as she wiped the tear from her eye.

Mehmed glared at her playfully. "Well, maybe she's just shy around you." Why are they talking about you like you're not right there?

Mihirmah hummed, then nodded. "Perhaps you're right. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I have to do something-"

"What? Why? You dont have anything to do." You stopped her from standing up. You dont want to be alone with Mehmed.

"I do!" She narrowed her eyes at you.

"Like what?"

"Like-" her eyes zeroed in on your broach. "-pretty. Mustafa gave it?"

"Yes-" you yelped as she grabbed it and pulled it off you, ripping the niqaab it was pinned with along.

"Mihirmah!" Mehmed yelled at her, his eyes stern. You could only stare at her in disbelief before turning away from Mehmed to hide your bare face now.

"Oops! I'm sorry Y/n! I'll go get you a new niqaab- this one is all torn!" She said without an ounce of remorse before leaving the room.

Mehmed shakes his head as he watched her leave, before turning his attention to you- or well, your back.

"Y/n?" He called out to you softly. "I'm sorry for Mihirmah. She... she doesnt mean you any harm. She's just- she sometimes doesnt realise how hurtful her actions can be when she's trying to help someone."

When you didnt reply, Mehmed grew slightly worried. "Y/n?" He sighed when you didnt reply. An idea popped in his head as he looked around the room before looking down.

You heard the sound of cloth ripping, your heart dropping as you assumed the worst. He wasnt going to-

Your head turned around just as Mehmed's hands encircled around your head, a red cloth blocking your view of him.

"Mehmed?" You whispered, scared. His frozen hands seemed to snap out of it and began encircling round your head, the red cloth in his grip brought closer to your face. Thats when your eyes landed on the bottom of his red shirt (kemis). It was ripped.

Mehmed had torn his shirt to make a niqaab for you.

His eyes were focused on tying the makeshift veil, securing it before they landed on you.

"Y/n?" He called your name gently again, his concern growing at the sight of tears pooling in your eyes. He softly sighed as a his hand reached up to wipe a tear that escaped your eye.

"You're that scared of me?" After a few moments, you sniffled as more tears escaped your eyes and you shook your head. "Then?" When you didnt reply, or couldnt as you continued to cry mutely, he took it as a sign that you were humiliated because of Mihirmah removing your veil.

He took a deep breath and cupped your face gingerly before pressing a tender kiss to your forehead.

"My mind is occupied by you. I think about you all the time. Perhaps...I only think about you, moon." He wiped another tear with his thumb. "I love you, my moon. I fear I... I love you too much. My heart holds so much love for you, I can hardly call it my own anymore." He then kissed your teary eyes one by one.

"I know you... you dont love me yet, but one day, when you find yourself being generous, I want you to be the one holding my heart in your hands. Its yours, moon. Yours."

Baris waited with a few guards and servants outside Mihirmah's room, when Mehmed left the room with a satisfied smiled on his face. Baris noted the bottom of his torn shirt but before he could comment on it, Mehmed asked him where Mihirmah was.

"She went to see sehzade Mustafa. Shall I fetch her?" Mehmed waved him off, saying he'll go get her himself, after all- Mihirmah still had to finish her lesson with you.

Mehmed had just turned around the corner when you came out of the room.

"Y/n-" Baris called out to you but you sped past him, and he didnt chase after you when he saw your red eyes.

He'll tease you later, when you're not so sad. For now, he has to report the sight of this to someone.

Even if Mihirmah hadnt bumped into Mustafa and proudly showed off the broach he'd gifted you, the news would've still somehow made its way to him by the servants whispers.

"Oh this broach? Its pretty, isnt it?" Mihirmah smirked, showing it off to Mustafa. "Y/n gave it to me."

"She... gave it to you?" His gift. You gave it away?

She nodded. "Mmhm. She said it wasnt that precious to her, so she gave it. She was going to throw it away, but it went well with my dress so I took it."

You were going to discard his gift? Just like that?

"Mihirmah. There you are." Mehmed walked over to her. "Mustafa." He greeted his brother.

"Mehmed." He looked at his shirt. "What happened to your shirt?"

Mehmed grinned. "Nothing." He then looked at Mihirmah. "Come on, Y/n is waiting for you. I talked to her."

Mustafa could only watch the two siblings beam at each other as the taste in his mouth soured.

His broach. Torn shirt. Mehmed "talked" to you.

Mahidevran could feel her blood boil at the complaints Mustafa brought to her. Even if he didnt, the maids she'd hired to spy on you had already reported of everything they'd witnessed. You and Mehmed alone in Mihirmah's room.

Did you not understand a single word she said? Does she need to give you a more stern warning this time?

"Hurrem must've put them upto this." She muttered, before her gaze flickered to her worried son. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dont worry, Mustafa. I will fix this. You focus on Y/n, hm? You deserve her, my lion."

So? How was it?

Part 10 is here!

#time traveller au #ottoman empire #ottoman #yandere baldwin #yandere Salauddin #yandere x you #yandere x #yandere x reader #male yandere #yandere male #yandere #yandere x darling

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starsinthesky5 · 3 months ago

Text

the one || joe burrow x reader

description: once he found the one, he never planned on letting go

a/n: this is part 2 of down bad!!! thank you to the anon that wanted to see a part 2 and since she literally gave me the idea for a good chunk of this fic, a special shoutout to @joeys-babe! part 3 will be out soon!

also, i just wanted to say do the things that make you happy and not care about what anyone else says (as our boy has stated a few times). don’t let anyone’s opinions or words dictate what you can and can’t do, especially if they do not know you. do what makes you happy, ALWAYS! that has lowkey been my life motto for the longest time and those are my thoughts as I continue to write and enjoy my time on this app 💗

okay back to the fic, this takes 2 years after the first part! so you and joe have been together for 2.5 years going on to 3 by now!

warnings: SMUT, language

word count: 20 k

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“Fuck, you feel too good, baby,” you moaned as you closed your eyes and ran your nails along Joe’s muscular back, your pleasure rapidly building inside your sore body.

“That’s it…that’s it, baby,” Joe moaned. “You’re doing so good,”.

You and Joe had been wrapped up in bed for over an hour this evening, enjoying all this extra free time you two had together since it was off-season for Joe. You two were planning on spending the evening going through your shared closet and getting rid of things you didn’t need or use anymore, but that only lasted for about 10 minutes since Joe found a pair of new skimpy red lace panties you bought to surprise him later in the week. You could practically see the lust in his eyes as he pulled you right back to bed and you could feel it too because of the way he was going about it.

“I’m gonna cum again,” you whined while opening your eyes and seeing Joe’s incredibly dark blue eyes filled with raw desire, his hand firmly placed on your waist as he rammed into your core, sending your body further up the bed and a prominent indent being visible in your lower belly because of him. You felt your orgasm building again for the 3rd time this evening and you were practically floating at this point. Joe's stamina was never to be questioned, but he was surprised that you could still keep going even after being so wrung out.

“Shit..me too,” Joe panted as he dropped his head to the crook of your neck. “Fuck, you look so pretty under me like this…I can’t get enough of you, baby,” he moaned into your ear as he finished the sentence with a nip to your neck. He continued to moan and whimper in your ear, the sounds coming from his mouth literally making you lose all control and innocence.

“J- Joe,” you whimpered as your legs started to shake, your eyes once again seeing stars. “Fuck..I need you harder,”.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groaned as he felt your walls start to convulse around his thick shaft, your nails clawing at his back which was sure to leave a few red marks you’d take care of later. He started pounding into you with more intensity, making your moans come out in short gasps.

“Baby, I-,” you hissed before you felt Joe crash his lips against yours, silencing your sounds of pleasure as he moved one of his hands down to your bundle of nerves. You placed a hand into his hair–lightly scratching his scalp in a way you knew he loved–and pulled him closer while his thumb fondled your aching clit.

A few seconds later, you pulled away from his lips mid-kiss because you felt the imaginary band in your belly snap hard and another wave of pleasure washing over your tired body. “Ah, Joe,” you screamed for maybe the 100th time in the past hour.

You felt your release soaking both of your lower halves as he kept pounding into your core, his rapid pace not slowing down even though you were experiencing the aftershocks of your orgasm and he was making it even more intense.

“Joe…I C- Can’t…,” you whispered, your eyes screwing shut again as you arched up into him.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispered into your ear, his gentle hand sliding along your thigh and down to your calf as he pressed a few loving kisses to your flushed cheeks. A few seconds later, you heard him let out a soft grunt as he emptied himself inside of you, his warm cum coating your walls for the second time tonight yet the feeling was still so pleasing and fresh.

After giving himself a few moments to regroup, he gently pulled out of you and crashed down right next to you on the bed, both of your bodies incredibly sweaty and covered in body fluids but still stuck to each other like glue.

“That was hotttt,” Joe smiled as he pulled you into his chest and pulled a blanket over both your bodies after he noticed you shivering a bit because of the cold air hitting you.

“Very. I don’t think I’ll be able to move for at least another hour,” you laughed as you kissed his chin. “I don’t know what we were thinking when we said we’d be productive this evening,”.

“I mean, we were pretty productive I would say,” Joe smirked. “If the task at hand was baby-making then we were definitely productive,”.

“Joe!” you shrieked, slapping his chest as he continued to laugh above you.

“Kidding,” he added after he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “We can be productive another day. We deserve to have fun and do our thing without worrying about anything,”.

“Won’t argue with you about that one,” you breathed out while closing your eyes and snuggling up to him, his arm wrapping comfortably around you as you both just enjoy each other’s warmth.

You both stayed like this for a little while longer, Joe tracing invisible shapes onto the soft skin of your back while you played with the wristbands on his other wrist, neither of you saying anything to the other.

Only when Joe spoke up.

“Soooo, earlier I may have booked us a trip to NYC for tomorrow night,” he so casually said to you, your head immediately lifting up from his chest as you were now face to face.

“What?” you asked, incredibly confused and surprised by what he said.

“Yeah,” he smiled at you while moving the falling hair out of your eyes. “We could use a little trip,”.

“To New York,” you said while raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, to New York,” he slowly nodded.

“Any reason in particular? You didn’t even ask me about it like you usually do before planning a trip,” you said, slightly suspicious about the whole thing. Why did he want to go to New York for vacation out of all places? He could’ve picked Florida, Hawaii, or literally anywhere else to escape the coldish March weather.

“Nope, no reason at all,” he lied while flashing you a smile.

Oh, there was a reason that’s for sure. Joe planned this spur-of-the-moment New York trip because he was going to propose to you this week, and you had no idea. He had known that you’d be his forever from the first time he laid his eyes on you, and your first conversation sealed the deal. From then on, every kiss, every date, every ‘I love you’, and every moment you spent together just made that ever more clear. Although you two hadn’t been together for a super long time, he knew that nothing could compare to the love you two shared–this was it. This is what many people spent years upon years searching for, some even being unable to find this type of connection. He was lucky enough to have found it so quickly and wasn’t planning on letting go of something so rare and priceless. You were the one for him and he had to make it official.

He spent countless days trying to figure out when and where to do it since he had the ring made and in his safe for about a month and a half; he was growing restless by the minute because every idea he had was cliché or generic. He also hadn’t discussed this with any friends or family yet because he wanted this special moment to just be for you two, so he was completely on his own. He didn’t know what to do until yesterday, a photo popped up in his memories from your trip to New York–2 years ago to be specific–at your best friend Sophia’s Wedding.

And that’s when it hit him.

This was the same place where Joe first mentioned your future together.

This was the same place where he told you that he was going to marry you.

This is the same place where Joe was now going to propose to you and really make you the one. It all was going to come full circle.

“I just thought to surprise you with the trip. I know you usually do the majority of the planning and stuff whenever we go somewhere but I wanted you to take the backseat this time,” he added.

“Okay,” you nodded. “But tomorrow night? What’s the rush?”.

The rush was that he physically could not wait any longer to put that beautiful ring on your finger and call you his fiancé.

“No rush,” he lied again. “It’s just because we don’t have anything really going on this week so why wait,”.

You thought over it for a few seconds and felt that it would be nice to get away for a little bit and spend some time together outside of Ohio, and New York was one of your favorite spots to visit. And since Joe was planning it all, you could sit back and relax. You needed a break from life for a second and this was exactly what you craved. “I guess,” you giggled as you moved his tousled curls out of his eyes.

“So, you down?” he asked, searching your tired eyes for a ‘yes’.

“You know I’m down for anything as long as I’m with you,” you lazily smiled before you leaned down to press a sweet kiss to his swollen lips.

“I love you,” Joe smiled against your lips, your loving eyes staring deeply into his which were mirroring yours. It was finally going to happen, he was finally going to make you his forever.

“I love you more,” you said while nuzzling your nose against his, his arms wrapping around your waist and his warm body cuddling you again. “I’m so excited,” you giggled as he smothered you with kisses.

“Me too,” he grinned, internally laughing at how you had 0 idea how excited he really was. He had never been this excited to do something in his life.

The Next Night - On the plane

“I always love a good night flight,” you smiled as you got comfy in your seat after you and Joe shared a quick meal while the plane was taking off.

“And that’s exactly why I called the Private Jet for this specific time,” he grinned as he brought over your wine glass and sat down next to you.

“Thaank you,” you smiled as you took the glass from him, taking a small sip before handing it to him so he could take one as well. “Something about night flights is just so much more comforting and relaxing,”.

“Mhm,” he nodded before swallowing the lush wine. “New York looks even better at night so I figured you’d like seeing the city from up here before we go further out and the lights are gone,”.

“Further out?” you asked as you turned your neck to look at him. “Are we not staying in the city?”.

“Nope,” he grinned. “I got us an Airbnb in Winchester,”.

“...Winchester?” you asked, your brain struggling to remember why that sounded so familiar. You stayed quiet for a few seconds as you tried to recall where you’d heard that from, and Joe stayed quiet so you could figure it out on your own.“Wait, isn’t that the little town where Sophia got married?”.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “I remember you saying how much you liked it out there over the city because it was quieter and simpler,”.

“It’s soooo pretty,” you smiled as you closed your eyes and remembered how beautiful the town looked the last time you visited it. “It’s right by the lake, has tons of cute little shops but also all the luxury ones like the city does, and the energy is so romantic. Like rom-com romantic,” you blushed.

“Romantic?” Joe raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Mhmmm,” you grinned while leaning your head on his shoulder. “Like the vibe is just so-,”.

“Romantic?” he smiled while finishing your sentence.

“Yeah,” you shyly said. “I don’t know how to put it into words but it’s just so perfect and lovey. No wonder Sophia and Steven chose it as their wedding spot,”.

“Mhm,” he hummed and hid his extremely big smile by wiping his mouth, trying very hard to not refer to it as your proposal spot.

“Thanks for doing this, Joe,” you smiled up at him. “I feel like I needed this more than I thought,”.

“Of course, baby,” he said while kissing the side of your head and wrapping an arm around your shoulder. “It’s just you and me, just as it should be. No distractions, no outside noise, and definitely nothing around that can ruin this for us,”.

“Our own little bubble of love. I loveeee it,” you said while leaning into him.

“Good, because I plan on staying in this bubble till I die,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Hm?” you said because you heard him murmur something but couldn’t quite make it out.

“Nothing,” he quickly shook his head and brushed off, his cheeks turning a little red since you almost heard what he said. You were about to say something because he was acting a little weird but before you could, he spoke up again. “I um..Do you remember our little yearly game challenge,” he quickly changed the topic so that you wouldn’t dig at the little moment that you just had.

“Listen, I know I lost last time, like really badly lost, but you don’t have to rub it in my face,” you scowled.

“I’m not rubbing it in your face, I just wanted to remind you that since I won, you have to do whatever I say for an entire day,” he smirked, this little condition a small part of tomorrow’s proposal plan.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” you groaned while stuffing your face in your hands.

“By the way, I’m cashing in my ticket tomorrow so be prepared to do whatever I say,” he whispered in your ear.

“Why tomorrow? We’re on vacation,” you groaned again. “I swear to god if you have me do some stupid shit-,”.

“Nothing stupid, I promise,” he grinned. “You’ll have fun and I’ll make it enjoyable,”.

“This game challenge was a bad idea. You always win and have too much power over me for 24 hours,” you shook your head.

“Well, from what I remember, right now we’re pretty neck and neck,” he shrugged. “If you wanted to catch up, now is probably your chance. Unless, of course, you’re too lazy,” he teased.

If there was one thing you hated being called, it was lazy. You never backed down from anything because you were too ‘lazy’ and Joe knew that which made this even more fun because he knew that being called ‘lazy’ woke something up inside of you. He found your competitive nature incredibly endearing, and he got to see it pretty early on in your relationship. He loved that he had someone who matched his competitive side, someone who didn’t mind silly shit-talking and was as goal-oriented as he was.

You stared at him for a few moments, a fire building behind your eyes before you got up from your seat, “Where’s the Switch,” you grumbled while scrunching up your nose.

“That’s my girl,” he grinned before he got up from his seat, dropped a loving kiss on your red cheeks, and grabbed his bag. You couldn’t help but smile even though you were getting your determined game face on, his sweet and soft attitude towards you always made you melt into a puddle of goo.

The Next Day

“Joe, where are we going?” you asked for the 3rd time as you looked over at him, but couldn’t see because of the blindfold around your eyes.

“It’s a secret, babe. You and your sexy self need to be patient” he grinned as he looked over at you, taking in how gorgeous you looked in the very expensive outfit he bought for you earlier. You both were doing some shopping earlier and Joe came in intending to find something for you to wear during the proposal but lied and said it was for tonight’s special dinner so you wouldn’t ask questions. He picked out a very gorgeous but very expensive vintage floral dress for you to wear, a matching pair of vintage Prada heels with a matching handbag, and even bought you another gold necklace from the jewelers next door to tie it all together. You refused to let him spend this much money on you, but he reminded you that you had to do anything he asked for 24 hours, so you had to comply with his wishes of buying you all this.

After shopping your lives away, he made you go to the Spa with him. You were very confused as to why he made you both go to the Spa since that was never Joe’s scene, but this was his way of making you get a fresh set of nails and a nice facial treatment without it being too suspicious. Since this New York trip was super last minute, you didn’t have any time to get anything done and he knew that you’d be on his ass if you took engagement photos with a bad manicure and slightly dull skin, so he made sure you got everything done. You were going to go with light blue nails, but once again you had to do everything he said, and Joe wanted you to get white chrome nails. You didn’t ask why he wanted that specific color because you were too busy laughing at how silly he looked with a green mud mask on, but it was because it was the perfect color to mesh with the engagement ring he had made for you.

Then once you got everything wrapped up at the Spa, you went back to the Air BnB and got ready for the ‘dinner’ Joe was taking you to. You were finishing your makeup before you felt Joe come up behind you in his baby blue sweater, wrapping his arms around you, swaying you from side to side, telling you how beautiful you looked. You spent a few moments like this, whispering little words of love to each other and passing typical flirtatious comments before Joe pulled out a blindfold from his pocket.

“Why the blindfold?” you furrowed your eyebrows and asked. “You trying to kidnap me or something?” you joked.

“Do you trust me?” he asked with a smile.

“Of course, I trust you, my to-be kidnapper,” you giggled as you leaned back into his arms.

“Then let me put it on,” he whispered in your ear while running his hand along your arm, your body heating up from his electric touch.

“Why?” you breathed out, his hand moving up to cup your shoulder, the pad of his thumb lightly brushing against the nape of your neck.

“It’s a surprise. Can’t say,” he smiled as he opened up the blindfold and met your eyes in the mirror, looking for some sort of response. You gave him a small nod and let him wrap the blindfold around your eyes. You didn’t really have a choice because you had to do whatever he said but you also didn’t ask too many questions, mostly because he wouldn’t answer any of them but also because you enjoyed a good surprise.

“I know it’s a secret but I’m getting impatient,” you frowned as you snapped back to the present. You did enjoy a good surprise, but the anticipation was killing you. “You got me all dressed up and even took me to the Spa–which might I add–is the least Joe Burrow-like activity on the planet, and I’m a little suspicious right now truth be told,”.

“Am I not allowed to pamper my fian-..girlfriend?” Joe said, his eyes widening at the fact that he almost called you his fiancé.

“You are,” you laughed, Joe letting out a relieved breath because it sounded like you didn’t hear him slip up. “I just thought you’d have me do other stuff and not stuff that was catered to me since I have to do whatever you say for the whole day,”

“Other stuff? Like what?” he snickered as he looked out onto the road, the Wedding Venue where Sophia got married and where Joe was proposing getting closer and closer.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe giving you super sloppy world-class head or making you pumpkin pie while only wearing an apron and no clothes underneath,” you chuckled.

“Well, the day isn’t over yet,” he smirked. “Maybe I’ll ask for those two later tonight,”.

“Now that sounds more like you,” you laughed. “But seriously, where are you taking me that requires a blindfold,”.

“You’ll see, we’re almost there,” he smiled, his heart rate picking up once he realized that this was really happening and wasn’t just a dream.

A few minutes later, you had made it to the Winchester Country Club. Joe had rented out the entire event space for the day so that you two could have all the privacy you needed for this special and intimate moment. He had the staff set up the same ballroom where Sophia had her reception–and where he first mentioned your future together–with various candles and flowers lining the dance floor while there were rose petals scattered around in the middle. He even made sure that they hooked up the sound system so that he could play a special song while all of this was going down. It was picture-perfect, all of it. He was going to make you the one where it all really started for you both, where you first got a taste of what the years to come would be like.

Joe turned the car off and took a few deep breaths to calm his growing nerves before looking over at your clueless yet adorable face, a big smile on it as you unbuckled your seat belt and turned to face him.

“Are we here?” you eagerly asked as you attempted to find his forearm but couldn’t see so you were doing a bad job.

“We are,” he smiled while grabbing your hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“So I can take this off?” you asked as you reached to untie the blindfold.

“No!” Joe quickly moved your hand down and said. “I need you to keep it on for a bit longer,”.

“You’re so kidnapping me,” you giggled.

“Would it be so bad though?” he teased as he opened his door and slid out of his seat, quickly closing it and jogging over to your side to let you out and finish your conversation.

“Not really,” you laughed as he opened your door and you struggled to find where he was standing since you couldn’t see a thing. “I would have the sexiest kidnapper in the world and probably receive the best treatment a hostage could get,”.

“Exactly,” he shrugged as he grabbed your hand and carefully helped you out of the car. Being blindfolded was not easy because you were either one step away from falling on your face or one step away from going the wrong way. He made sure you got down carefully and closed your door for you before taking another deep breath and grabbing your hand. “You trust me, right?” he asked again, his nerves settling in now.

“Where was this coming from?” you thought to yourself. This was now the second time he asked you this and it was adding to your suspicion along with the blindfold, expensive outfit, and spa treatments, that something was up.

“More than anyone in the world,” you smiled as you pulled his hand up and pressed a soft kiss to it.

“Okay,” he sighed. “Let’s go,” he said while leading you inside hand in hand. You let Joe lead you to what felt like a building of some sort, the whiff of warm air confirming that you weren’t outside anymore.

You were walking for a little bit and felt that you were turning corners and entering other rooms. A few moments later, you stopped walking and you heard a few noises that sounded like a door opening, and then you were walking again.

You heard the door close behind you and Joe let go of your hand, his eyes scanning the room as he took in the fairytale-like set up which was just as he imagined. “Wow,” he mumbled to himself before he looked down at you, his heart rate picking up and his palms getting sweaty.

“Come on, Joe. You got this. She loves you and she’s going to say yes,” Joe thought to himself, giving himself a mental pep talk.

This was it.

“You gonna let me see now or is there something else?” you laughed as you continued to look forward. Joe didn’t say anything in response, instead, he just untied the blindfold around your eyes and slipped the silky band off.

Your eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit room, your heart stopping as you looked around and saw that you were standing at the foot of a ballroom floor that was lined with lit candles and flowers, a plethora of rose petals scattered across the middle. “Joe..where are we?” you said, your voice just short of a whisper as you looked up at him, taking note of his crinkled eyes and charming smile.

“The Country Club,” he said while he reached into his pocket and tapped the play button. A few seconds later, the starting tune of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley filled the ballroom.

“Why are we-,” you began to say before he grabbed your hand and led you out to the middle of the dance floor.

“Dance with me first,” he said as he stopped you both in the center and placed his hands on your waist. “This is our song, it would be a shame to pass up on a chance to dance to it,” he said while pulling you closer to him.

“That is true,” you agreed while looping your arms around his neck, Joe began to sway you both back and forth while looking deeply into your soft eyes. “Whatever this is, I already love you for it,” you said while threading your fingers through his hair.

“That’s really good to hear,” he smiled, as you placed your cheek against his chest and melted into him. Joe couldn’t believe that this was happening, he was just a few moments away from one of the most important moments in his life. He was a little nervous, to say the least, but he knew that you loved him more than anything in the world and there was a higher chance you would say ‘yes’ than ‘no’. You wanted this just as much as he did and if you didn’t, then you would show it.

You spent a few quiet moments dancing around to the song that you both held incredibly close to your heart before Joe ended the dance by giving you a little twirl and pulling you right back into him after, a little gasp leaving your lips because of the strong movement from him.

“I can’t help falling in love with you,” he said, his face just inches from yours. “And that’s why I have to do this,”.

“Do what?” you giggled.

“Do you know where we are right now?” Joe asked as he moved his hands from your waist to entwine your fingers, holding your hands as he started his little speech.

“The Country Club,” you nodded, Joe staying quiet as he expected a more specific answer. “…The place where Sophia got married,” you added as you looked around and recognized the familiar surroundings.

“Mhm,” he nodded, taking another deep breath to compose himself.

“Joe, why are we here?” you asked again, a little more serious this time as you noticed his tense body and felt his slightly sweaty palms.

“Do you remember what we talked about at the Wedding? Specifically what we talked about on this dance floor while we danced to the same song?”.

Of course, you remembered what you talked about that night, you couldn’t forget it even if you tried. It was the first time he mentioned your future together, as more than just boyfriend/girlfriend.

“Yeah,” you swallowed. “I do,” you said as you felt a warm feeling fill your body.

“I wanted to bring you back here for that specific reason,” he began to say. “This was the first place where I told you how I felt about our future together. Where I told you I wanted to marry you. This was where I had to do this,”.

“Holy. Shit.” you thought to yourself. “Was he actually about to do this?”.

“Y/N, I love you more than words can describe. These past two years have literally been the best years of my life because of you. You lit my world on fire when you first walked in, and from the first moment I saw you, I was already so down bad for you,”.

Flashback to when you first met - Offseason 2.5 years ago

“Y/N, we need you! He’s here,” your boss yelled as you were prepping the dressing room.

“Coming!” you yelled back as you finished setting up the room with snacks and the wardrobe for the shoot. This was just another part of your job working in PR–setting up the room for brand shoots for your guests.

You looked everything over again to make sure that nothing was lacking, which obviously it wasn’t because you were amazing at your job. “I’m too good,” you grinned to yourself as you quickly turned around on your heels and walked out to the main area.

Joe was talking to a few of the staff for the shoot today before he heard your boss speak up. “Ah, there she is,” he said while throwing his hands up. “Our miracle worker!”.

“I’m flattered,” you laughed as you walked over to everyone, Joe’s eyes darting toward the adorable laugh that echoed throughout the room.

The first time Joe looked at you, it felt like the world shifted, just enough to make everything around him blur into the background. When you walked into the room, your presence commanded attention without even trying and the air around you shimmered with something magical. His heart skipped a beat, caught off guard by the sudden pull he felt toward you.

His eyes met yours for a brief, electrifying moment, and in that instant, it was like a spell had been cast over him. All he could focus on was you, your smile, the way you moved with effortless grace and the way you lit up the entire room. It wasn’t just your beauty that captivated Joe; it was something deeper, something that resonated with his soul.

The way you laughed and smiled, the way your hair bounced around while you moved, the way you just seemed so utterly yourself–it was all so enchanting. It didn’t take him long to realize that he didn’t want to break free from whatever spell you had unknowingly cast on him. He was completely and utterly mesmerized by you, and you were all he wanted to think about.

“I’m Y/N,” you said to him, breaking him free from the trance he was in.

He looked down and saw that you were now standing in front of him, his heart skipping another beat because of how close you were to him. “I’m- I’m Joe,” he nervously said.

“Oh, I know,” you smirked. “You’re pretty well known to say the least,”.

“Y/N will be your best friend today, Joe. She’ll help you get ready, answer any questions, and basically be stuck by your side while we film today,”.

“I’m a lucky guy,” Joe laughed while rubbing his neck.

“That you are,” you chimed in. “Follow me, I’ll show you your room for today,” you smiled as you turned around, your smile dropping once he couldn’t see your face anymore.

“Why was he looking at me like that?” you thought to yourself, his heated gaze incredibly noticeable. His beautiful blue eyes were stuck on you the entire time and that made a cloud of butterflies appear in your stomach. You shook your head and snapped out of it, “Focus, Y/N. That’s Joe Burrow. He probably looks at every girl that way for this exact reason–he likes to see them fawn over him,”.

“So, this is basically your house for today,” you awkwardly joked as you led him into the glamorous room.

“Wow,” he said as his eyes scanned over everything. “And this was all done by you?”.

“Mhm,” you nodded while closing the door behind you. “Also, after the shoot, you can keep whatever you want in this room. Except for the furniture obviously, but the clothes, snacks, and accessories are all yours,”.

“What about you? Do I get to keep you too?” he looked over at you with a cheeky grin and said.

“Sorry, I’m off limits,” you winked.

“Damn, that sucks because I think out of everything in this room, you’re the most appealing,” he flirted.

You raised an eyebrow, amused at his boldness. “You’re trouble,” you laughed.

“Are you gonna arrest me?” he smirked while raising his hands.

“We’ll see. I’ll give you the rest of the day before I make a decision,” you said as you felt yourself getting lost in his captivating baby-blue eyes. Something about his eyes was pulling you in, it was as if you wanted to get to know what was behind them and he was going to let you.

“I’m gonna go back out there and look over the first set of shots we’re doing of you. The stylist and hair/makeup person should be coming in a few minutes,” you said as you felt his heated gaze traveling over your body, your breath hitching in your throat when you saw him lean in close to you, his arm brushing against yours.

He reached to the side of you, twisting the doorknob and opening the door for you, “Thank you,” he whispered into your ear before pulling back and meeting your eyes again, seeing a spark behind them that you were trying to hide; but why were you trying to hide it?

You stared at him for a few quiet seconds before giving him a shy nod and quickly leaving the room, closing the door behind you as you pressed your back against the door. All it took was one look from him to leave you breathless. No man has ever been able to make you feel like this with just a look.

“I’m so fucking screwed,” you whispered to yourself, a blush creeping up your face.

About 20 minutes later, you walked back into Joe’s room and saw that he was getting ready for the shoot. Your eyes traveled down his body as you took in his outfit, “Mm, this is all wrong,” you shook your head, everyone in the room looking over at you.

“Why?” the stylist asked.

You walked over to Joe, “The colors are clashing with his complexion. The tan just blends in with his skin and those necklaces aren’t popping either,” you said while touching his shoulder, your gentle touch sending shivers down his spine as he looked up at you from his chair.

“I think I can fix this. Everyone, out. I’ll bring him out in a few minutes,” you ordered, everyone nodding and leaving the room.

“Damn, they didn’t hesitate to leave,” he laughed.

You walked over to the clothing racks and looked over the variety of available clothes, “I take my job very seriously and they all know that our boss calls me the miracle worker for a reason. I can’t have you going out there looking like a tan bandage,” you giggled as you pulled out a plain black tank top, baggy black jeans, and a white and black letterman jacket.

Joe stood up from the chair and stood next to you, “Here, put these on,” you said while handing him the clothes. “I’ll look at the chains and necklaces and see what I can do,” you nodded as you moved around him and went back to the vanity.

Joe took the clothes and moved to the middle of the room, slowly peeling his clothes off as you remained unbothered and looked down at the chains. There was no other room for him to go into and change as the bathroom was like a broom closet, so he had to get changed right there.

“Oo, this one looks good,” you said as you picked up a chain and turned around, your body freezing once you saw him standing there with no shirt and just his boxers on.

Your eyes were glued to his chest, a warm feeling taking over your body again as you looked at his perfectly crafted tan frame. “Fuck, why does he have to be so hot,” you thought to yourself.

Your eyes widened at the thought you just had before Joe spoke up, “Uhh, my bad,” he said, still standing there half-naked.

“I..I..uh,” you stuttered. “You’re good, that’s on me,” you stuttered again as your eyes traveled down his body to his pelvis, your breath hitching in your throat as you saw something you’d never thought you’d see.

“Give me a few seconds,” Joe said as he quickly put everything on.

“Take all the time you need,” you blushed as you kept your head down and turned around, Joe’s gaze stuck on you the entire time he was changing. He wanted to touch you so badly–feel your plump pink lips against his and your manicured hands scratching down his back. But equally, he wanted to get to know you. He wanted to peel off your clothes but also to peel you like an onion, peeling back each layer and getting to know you on a deeper level than what he saw on the surface.

The rest of the shoot went like this as well, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You stayed where he was the entire day as you said you would, so his eyes would instantly move over to you after every shot since you were right next to the camera. You even caught him staring at you a few times, each time thinking that he’d stop but he wouldn’t. You even found your gaze lingering on him when he wasn’t looking. You couldn’t help it, he looked insanely good. And he noticed, of course. Each time you stared at him for longer than normal, he could feel it.

You wondered what about you made him so unfocused and distracted, unable to figure out if it was because there was something wrong with you or if he just wanted to get in your pants for a quick hookup and this was his way of drawing you in. You didn’t say anything to him about it because you tried to remain professional, but also because you thought that maybe the answer when you asked him wasn’t something you wanted to hear.

Until the end of the shoot came around, delaying the inevitable wasn’t working anymore. If you weren’t going to say something, Joe sure was.

“So…,” he cleared his throat and spoke up as you were looking through a few of the shots in his dressing room with him. “Thanks for helping me out today with everything. You’re really good at all this. Not just PR and work stuff, but also keeping me entertained,” he said as he looked over at you.

In between shots and filming, you two actually had a few great conversations with each other. You talked about how you got involved in PR, and your thoughts on football–telling him that you lived and breathed football and had been since you were little so this was pretty fun for you, then talked about your favorite season which for both of you was fall which then led to you two bonding over your mutual fondness for pumpkin pie, and then talked a little about your likes and dislikes.

Joe got to see your humorous side as well, he even lost count of how many times you had made him laugh. He also saw a little bit of your nerdy and brainy side, a dichotomy to the stupid jokes you made. You were quite literally perfect in every aspect, the most flawless person he had ever met. Each time you talked, Joe saw a little sparkle in your eyes; a sparkle that he wanted to never stop seeing now that he had been exposed to it. Every time you opened your mouth to talk, he got lost in your eyes, and that drove him crazy.

“I’m a woman of many talents,” you grinned. “Also, I didn’t mind because you’re actually a pretty cool guy,”.

“You sound surprised?” Joe said, acting like he was offended.

You were opening your mouth to say something, but all that came out was a soft laugh. “It’s just...the things I hear about you and how great and normal you are outside of football, I didn’t really believe it?”.

“Really?” Joe said, sitting up in his seat and rubbing his hands on his thighs out of nervousness. “Why is that?”.

“I just….you’re this millionaire quarterback who has the looks, the brains, the athletic ability, and all the money. That’s the formula for a Playboy douchebag but the way you portray yourself to the public doesn’t align with that. I just thought it was a front for your brand and image, but today’s showed me that it’s not,” you said. “You’re a pretty cool person,”.

While Joe got to see a bit of your personality, you got to see the same from him too; and the part you saw, you loved. He was funny, grounded, and legitimately a caring person. Whether it was him talking about his football journey or talking about his silly interests–he laid himself bare and was fully honest about himself.

“Go on a date with me,” Joe blurted out, that being the only thought in his head for the past hour.

You flinched when you heard him say that, your heart dropping from your chest all the way to your feet, “Woahh, I know I said you’re a cool person but I never said that I-,”.

“I know. And I’m probably being way too blunt right now but I want to go on a date with you. Like really bad,”.

“You don’t even know if I have a boyfriend or not,” you huffed, entertained by his confidence.

“With the way you were looking at me during the shoot, either you don’t or you have a wandering eye,” he laughed.

“Fuck, he saw me? This is so embarrassing,” you thought to yourself.

“Don’t think I didn’t see the amount of times you were staring at me too. Way more than the times I looked at you,” you said, flipping it back onto him to hide your embarrassment.

“That’s because I want you,” he blurted out again, this newfound confidence coming out of nowhere. He had never been this straightforward with a girl, especially a girl he had just met. You were special.

Your eyebrows felt like they shot up to the roof, “You’re very forward, aren’t you?” you laughed.

“Only when I’m serious about something,” he nodded.

He’s just trying to get in your pants right? No way he was really interested in you. “Joe, you’re sweet, super flirty, but sweet. But I don’t think this is a good idea,” you sighed.

“Not a good idea? Who were you trying to please? You’re not some angel saint, this Greek god-like man literally said he wants you. What the fuck are you doing? Jump his bones already!” your subconscious said.

“Why not?” Joe crossed his arms and asked.

“I mean, I don’t even know you and-,”.

“That’s what first dates are for,” he interrupted.

“Okay, but I’m just a normal girl and you’re this hotshot Quarterback. You could have anyone you wanted so why-,”.

“You’re perfect, like insanely perfect in every aspect and not just your looks. I don’t want anyone else,” he interrupted again.

“How do I know you’re not just looking for a quick hookup? You are an athlete after all and-,”.

“Don’t judge a book by its flashy cover,” he interrupted, again. “Get to know me. The real me. You got a sneak peek of the real me today. He wasn’t so bad, was he?”.

You were speechless. He had an answer for every doubt you had and he was oh-so persistent.

You looked down at your hands, fidgeting with the rings on your fingers because you didn’t know what to say. You wanted to peel his onion and get to know him, but you were scared that if you did, it would leave you in tears–and not the good kind. Even though you’d only spent a few hours with him, he made it memorable and special. The conversations you two had were as if you were just two old friends catching up, not as if you were two strangers who had just met. He had this aura around him that was pulling you in even though you were trying to hold back.

Joe saw your uncertain facial expression and scooted closer to you, lifting your chin with his hand to meet his eyes. “Listen, go on one date with me. Just one. If you don’t leave with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart, I’ll leave you alone. We can pretend like it never happened,”.

“....Really? You’d do that, leave me alone? You’re pretty stubborn so…,” you giggled.

“Very funny, Y/N,” he rolled his eyes. “But yeah, I would. I hope I don’t have to because there’s something about you that just draws me in and it’s not just how beautiful you are. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like a magnetic pull and I felt it the first time I looked at you,”.

“You have a way with words,” you smiled.

“I’m serious though. I want to get to know you, if you’ll let me,” he added, the seriousness in his voice making you feel less nervous about the situation.

You bit your lip and thought over his offer for a few seconds. “It can’t be that bad? He seems really sweet, respectful (but flirty as fuck), and is acting like he genuinely likes you. Not every guy is looking for a quick fuck and he was right, don’t judge a book by its flashy cover. You peeled a layer of his onion so far and you liked what you saw, you should keep peeling because it probably gets better and not worse. Right?” your subconscious said. “This could be different. You never know unless you try,”.

“Fine. I’ll go on a date with you,” you said while you looked back up at him, his eyes filled with desire and curiosity.

“Perfect,” he beamed, mentally doing a little dance because he got you to agree. “I’ll swing by tomorrow after you’re wrapped up here and take you out to the best first–maybe last–date possible,”.

“I’m counting on it,” you nodded. You weren’t sure why you were giving him a chance, but it felt right for some reason. This was either the worst decision you’ve ever made in your life or the best decision you’ve ever made in your life.

Oh, and Joe made sure that it was the best decision you’d ever made in your life. The date was quite literally perfect. He was quite literally perfect.

And given how well it went, it wasn’t your last date. It was the first of many, many exciting and special dates.

You left that first date just as he thought you would–with a smile and a warm feeling radiating throughout your body; but also with another feeling.

A feeling of intrigue.

You wanted to get to know him just as much as he wanted to get to know you. You wanted to get to know him more than you already had during your date.

You wanted to get to know Joe in every single way possible.

End of flashback

“I was stubborn as fuck and even though you were hesitant, you still agreed to go on one date with me. I came into that date nervous and awkward as hell because I was scared that you wouldn’t enjoy it and that you didn’t feel the same spark that I did, but I was wrong. We left that date hand in hand, laughing until our stomachs hurt, with your head on my shoulder, and with your name carved in on my heart. You peeled my whole onion in one date and nobody has ever been able to do that. That was the moment I knew that you’d be the one. I swear I fell in love with you the moment I saw you and that date made me double down on those feelings. You’re kind, compassionate, and the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. You never fail to make me laugh, you’re always finding new ways to make me fall even more in love with you, and you’re exactly what I picture when I think about my forever person. You’re exactly what I needed in my life; with you, there are no empty spaces. My entire world is complete because of you,”.

You felt tears pool in your eyes as he continued talking, “Joe-,” you sobbed.

“I’m not done, yet,” he laughed. “I’ve thought about this moment every day since that Wedding. The thought of you being the one makes my heart hurt, in a good way obviously. I physically can’t live without you, everything I do is for you. I live for you, I love for you, I burn for you, Y/N. It’s all for you,”.

“He’s perfect. He literally cannot get more perfect. I love him so much,” you thought to yourself.

“I brought you back here to this special spot so I could do this,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red velvet box. He got down on one knee in front of you, the sobs getting harder as he opened the box and showed you the gorgeous princess-cut diamond ring.

“Princess Cut. He remembered,” you thought to yourself, tears streaming down your cheeks like a river breaking through a dam, fast and uncontrollable.

Your heart was about to beat out of your chest, he was actually about to do it. He was about to do the one thing that you had dreamed about for as long as you could remember. “You’re the one, Y/N. You always have been, and you always will be. Will you marry me and let me be the one for you?” he said as he opened the box and looked up into your eyes, his glossy with a few tears.

“You already are, Joe. You’ve always been the one,” you choked out as you cupped his face. “You’ve been the one since the day we met. Yes, I’ll marry you,” you smiled through your sobs.

Joe’s entire soul lit up when you said that, fireworks set off inside his body as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto your ring finger. “I love you, Y/N,” he choked out as you crouched down and pulled him in close for a tight hug, tucking his head into your neck and rubbing his neck as you felt a few tears from him drip down onto your shoulder.

“I love you, Joe. I love you so fucking much,” you smiled as tears slid down your face. You moved his head out from your neck, cupping his adorable face and pulling him in for a kiss, a kiss that quickly became heated.

“Whew, gotta hit the brakes, we’re still in public,” you giggled as you ran your thumb under his eye.

“Who cares,” he smiled as he moved his hands down to cup your ass and chased your lips for another kiss, planting a few around your cheek before ending at your lips. “Wait,” he said as he pulled away. “You didn’t just say ‘yes’ because of the fact that you have to do whatever I say for a whole day, right?”.

“Are you kidding?” you broke out laughing. “I would say ‘yes’ solely because of that condition even if I didn’t actually want to willingly marry you. I said ‘yes’ because I wanted to, not because I was forced to. However, I wouldn’t complain if I was forced? Being married to you either way sounds like the best thing ever,”.

“Mmm, I love you,” Joe mumbled as he pulled you in for another kiss.

“So,” he said as he pulled away and kissed your right cheek. “Fucking,” he said as he kissed your left cheek. “Much,” he said as he kissed your nose. “Mrs. Burrow,” he said as he ended the sentence with another kiss on your soft lips.

“Ooo, I like that name,” you giggled.

“Yeah?” he asked with a laugh.

“Mhm, and I love you, Mr. Burrow,” you smiled against his lips.

One month later - Las Vegas, Nevada

“Woo, we had a little too much to drink tonight,” you giggled as you and Joe stumbled into your hotel suite.

“What do you mean? I feel amaaaazing,” Joe drunkenly laughed as he let go of your hip and set you down on the couch before plopping down next to you.

“Leave it to us to get fucked up within 5 hours of being in Vegas,” you rolled your eyes while slipping your heels off.

You and Joe had been in LA for the past week for some of Joe’s offseason training & brand sponsorships and decided to end your visit to the West Coast with a trip to Las Vegas for a few days. You had gotten to your hotel around mid-afternoon and immediately got changed and went out, first attending a classic Vegas magic show but not before you tricked Joe into thinking you bought Magic Mike tickets instead and his reaction was priceless.

Flashback to earlier

“What the fuck do you mean you got Magic Mike tickets,” Joe said, his jaw practically on the floor.

“That means, I got us Magic Mike tickets,” you smirked as you slipped on a sparkly black skintight short dress. “Front Row too,”.

You could practically see the steam coming off of Joe’s face, his cheeks turning a shade of red you had only seen a few times; times when he got jealous. “Absolutely not,” Joe grumbled as he grabbed your wrist and spun you around so that you were facing him and not the mirror.

“Why not?” you said with a furtive grin, his grip on your wrist sending chills down your spine.

“Because,” Joe said while motioning at you with his free hand.

“Words, baby. I can’t read minds,” you laughed.

“Because I don’t want half-naked men ogling at my sexy fiance right in front of me,” he snarled. “Especially when she’s wearing a dress that’s showing off too much cleavage for public view,”.

“So it’s okay if they do it not in front of you,” you said, perking up and flashing him a full tooth smile. “Because I can go alone,” you shrugged.

“What? No,” Joe chirped. “I don’t want any half-naked men ogling at you, not in front of me or behind my back,”.

“But Joeee,” you whined. “It’ll be fun,”.

“Please, I cannot believe he actually thinks I want to go to a Magic Mike show,” you thought to yourself.

“Y/N, no man needs to be giving you a lap dance in front of your to-be husband. No man needs to be giving you a lap dance period,” he said, his voice laced with sternness.

“What if I want them to,” you said while crossing your arms from displeasure.

“What,” Joe said, his jaw falling to the ground again as his eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “You can get eye-fucked by every girl that’s in your vicinity and I never say anything. Maybe I want a few guys to do the same to me without your objection,”.

When the words left your mouth, you saw his jaw clench and the veins on his arm pop, “Oh fuck, he’s mad mad,” you thought to yourself.

“Am I not enough?” Joe asked, the tension in the room now so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Joe, I-” you began to say.

“No, seriously. Is my attention not enough that you need random sweaty men in skimpy outfits to make you feel good?” he said while crossing his arms at his chest, a pose that signaled that he was upset. “If you want that kind of attention, why are we even engaged? Why are you even with me? Being single and being as gorgeous as you are can get you all of that kind of attention you so clearly want,”.

Your smile dropped as you could practically feel in your soul how this joke didn’t sit well with him through his voice. Joe was a pretty sensitive guy even if he didn’t show it and this joke clearly made him feel pretty awful because he was saying these things he normally would never say.

You looked up and walked closer to him, cupping his face with your hands as he refused to look at you in the eyes. “Hey, Hey, look at me,” you softly said as you tilted his head back to look at you. “I’m just kidding, Joey,” you said, your softened eyes telling him that you were being truthful.

“W- What?” he choked out.

“It’s a prank…a really dumb prank, but a prank. There are no Magic Mike tickets and there are no men that I want eye-fucking me, other than you obviously,” you laughed. “I was just messing with you. I got us the David Copperfield tickets at MGM like we talked about,”.

“You’re serious?” he hesitantly asked.

“So serious. I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t enough. You are more than enough for me, more than I can honestly handle,” you winked, earning a soft chuckle from him.

“Sorry I got so worked up over that,” he shook his head as he placed his hands on your hips, the pad of his thumb rubbing the sparkly fabric. “I just don’t want anything ruining this, even if it’s some rando Vegas stripper getting too close to you because it’s part of the show,”.

“Nothing is ruining this,” you said while looping your arms around his neck. “I’m here with you, and only you. My to-be husband, my favorite person in the world, my bestest friend–don’t tell Sophia I said that, and the sexiest person alive. I don’t need random men to make me feel good when I have you,” you said while scratching his scalp.

“You make me feel good,” you smiled. “In every,” you whispered as you pressed a wet kiss to the corner of his lips. “Single,” you whispered as you planted a few kisses on his cheek. “Way,” you whispered as you pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “Possible,” you whispered before you crashed your lips against his.

End of flashback

After a quick makeout sesh, you both went to the magic show and then hit up a few clubs along The Strip, which was the reason you were both completely out of your senses. The alcohol and hint of weed in both your systems were really pushing you both onto a different planet.

“It was worth it though,” Joe shrugged. “I had the time of my life watching you struggle to drink all the Jello Shots by yourself,”.

“And that is the last time I make a bet against you,” you sighed.

“Let this be a reminder to never make a bet about anything sports-related against an actual athlete,” he slurred as he got up from the couch to walk over to the mini-kitchen and grab you both some water.

You got up right after him, following him into the kitchen as you started fiddling with the fabric of your dress which was scratching against your skin and making you incredibly uncomfortable. You hopped up onto the counter as Joe opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles, his eyes navigating towards you as you were pulling down the straps of your dress.

“What’re you doing?” he laughed as he set the bottles next to you.

“Trying to get the hell out of this dress,” you whined, an idea popping up into your head when you glanced over at him. You reached out for his hand and pulled him over to you, spreading your legs open to accommodate his large body, allowing him to step in between them. “Maybe you could help me?” you smirked as you pulled him down for a kiss.

His veiny hands settled on your waist as you leaned back, your hands cupping his cheeks as your lips moved against each other in a sensual tango. You both had so much pent-up energy from your activities earlier and going out tonight made it even worse. Joe’s eyes were glued to you the entire time at the clubs you went to, even though you two were stuck to each other’s side the whole time anyway. You just looked so insanely good that the only thoughts in his brain were ones he would get slapped for if he said them in public.

Everything about you was sending him into overdrive tonight; the way your dress hugged your body in all the right spots, the way your hair bounced each time you laughed, the way your beautiful eyes would look into his, the way your soft pink lips were curled into a smile the entire night, and the way you were stuck to him like glue–reminding everyone in the room that he was all yours.

His eyes were also glued to the massive diamond ring on your ring finger, a constant reminder that you were all his.

But that ring being a reminder wasn’t enough. He couldn’t wait to make you all his.

“Mm, Joe,” you moaned into the kiss, the taste of alcohol lingering on his tongue which made the kiss more intoxicating. “Fuck, I need you,” you whispered against his lips as he pulled away. Those words usually ignited a fire within Joe that couldn’t be burned out until you two ended up naked in bed after spending a good amount of time partaking in certain activities, but this time those words seemingly didn’t do anything.

“Let’s get married tomorrow night,” Joe blurted out as he looked into your eyes with nothing but a look of raw desire and excitement.

You stared at him like he had two heads, breaking out into a fit of laughter a few seconds later. “Oh my god, you’re funny,” you laughed while pulling him back to you using the collar of his shirt, attaching your lips to his for another kiss before he abruptly pulled away.

“Y/N, I’m not kidding,” he said.

“Joe, you’re drunk. We’re both very drunk,” you giggled as you rubbed his cheek.

“I know, but I’m sober enough to know that I want to marry you tomorrow,” he said, turning serious as he pulled away from you.

You hopped off of the counter and stood in front of him, still not being able to take him seriously. “Can we talk about this later? Why don’t we go to bed and finish talking about some other things first,” you said while running your hands up his chest and cupping his big shoulders.

“Nope. We’re getting married tomorrow night which means we have to abstain from having sex so that the first time we do as a married couple is special,” he said, stepping back from you.

You think he’s just messing with you like you were earlier, so you decide to play along and tease him to hopefully break his front. Since you were out of your mind drunk, there was no logic available in your brain to stop you. You quickly yank off your dress and are left standing in front of him in your matching bra and black lace panties, his breath hitching in his throat as the tent in his pants grows at the sight of your gorgeous body.

“You sure about that?” you said while raising an eyebrow, knowing that he could never resist putting his hands on you when you were half-naked in front of him.

“Yeah,” he cleared his throat and said, “I’m sure,”.

“Okay, but you can’t be so sure when you’re sitting next to me in that big bed…all alone…just the two of us…with nobody in sight that could interrupt us,” you teased while giving him a slow once-over.

“Fuck, why does she have to make this harder than it already is,” Joe thought to himself, an idea quickly popping up into his head that would solve this problem.

“But that’s just the thing. I won’t be sitting next to you in bed,” he smirked.

“What?” you asked.

“I’m sleeping in the second bedroom,” Joe wiggled his eyebrows and said as he walked around you towards the bedroom.

Your jaw dropped to the floor, “Joe!” you yelled as you followed him through the large suite. “You wouldn’t dare,”.

“Ohhh, but I would,” he laughed as he glanced back at you, watching as you quickly matched his pace and walked up next to him.

“Joe, we haven’t had sex in 2 days,” you complained. “I can’t take it anymore,”.

“And that’s exactly why tomorrow night will be better,” he smirked as he made it to the little hallway where the bedrooms were, opening the door of the second one and flipping around on the doorstep so you couldn’t come in. “Nope. Your room is over there,” he pointed across the little hallway as you bumped into his chest, then backed up because of the stubborn smile on his adorable face.

“You’re not serious,” you said while placing your hands on your hips.

“I’m very serious,” he slurred and nodded. “We can’t be in the same bed before we get married,”.

“Fine,” you huffed, seeing that he wasn’t going to budge so you shouldn’t waste your breath trying to get him to cave. Whenever Joe set his mind on doing something, he always did it.

“You’re going to wake up and regret this, Burrow. And stop with the marriage thing. Our wedding is in July, not tomorrow,” you shook your head and turned around to go into the bedroom you’d been sleeping in alone tonight.

“I loveeee youuuu,” he grinned as you opened the door to the room.

You turned around and couldn’t help but giggle at the scene, “You make me crazy, but I love you too. But also, I’m still mad at you for this,” you said as you turned your smile back into a pout, earning a throaty laugh for him before he closed his door.

A few minutes later, you were lying on your back and staring up at the ceiling, absolutely bored out of your mind as the ache between your thighs got stronger and stronger and the only person who could fix it refused to come near you.

“Fuck,” you whispered to yourself as you ran your hands along your neck. You still couldn’t quite understand how Joe could still get you like this years later. Back then, getting turned on by him was a given because you hadn’t gotten a taste of what this was like with him consistently. But now, you had gotten plenty of tastes and he still got you like this. Either you were insatiable as hell or he was just too damn good. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

Flashback to your 4th date

“Tonight was really fun,” you smiled over at Joe, who was walking you to the front step of your house. He had taken you out on your 4th date tonight, taking you to glow-in-the-dark Mini Golf and treating you to dinner at a retro diner nearby. Every date with Joe just got better and better; you couldn’t get enough of him. You couldn’t get enough of his contagious laugh, silly stories, and his constant looks of admiration for you. That pull he talked about feeling from you, yeah, you were feeling it for him too. Everything about him made you happy. He was a walking ray of sunshine in your life which was something you desperately needed.

“I’m glad you had fun,” he smiled as he led you over to your door. “I hope this isn’t getting too boring for you,” he said while scratching his neck. Although everything was going smoothly between the two of you, he couldn’t help the few doubts that crept through.

“Boring?” you laughed. “Joe, please. Our first date solidified that you are physically incapable of ever boring me. I mean, we were in that restaurant for 4 and a half hours,”.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he chuckled. “You managed to get my entire life story out of me in those 4 ish hours, even shit I’ve never told anyone,”.

“I peeled your onion pretty quickly, didn’t I?” you smiled as you played with the rings on your fingers. “I didn’t even cry,”.

Joe’s heart skipped a beat and his eyes instantly moved from the ground to your eyes. “Onion? Peeling my onion? She compares people to onions too? Like me?” Joe thought to himself.

“You- you compare people to onions too?” he swallowed.

“Yeah,” you giggled. “I know it’s silly, but people are like onions just less smelly–they both have layers. There is more to what is seen on the surface, you know? Like each layer represents different parts of your personality, experiences, emotions, and thoughts. As you get to know someone better, you peel back these layers, discovering deeper and more complex parts about them,” you smiled. “But doing so can also make you cry, because well, onions can make you cry just like people can,”.

“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted,” Joe whispered out loud, his cheeks turning red once he realized he just said that to you.

“….I am?” you blushed as you rocked back and forth on your feet.

“I..uh…yeah,” he stuttered, feeling a spark inside of his heart. “I compare people to onions too but I’ve never met anyone who does the same,” he nervously smiled, hoping that he didn’t just weird you out by saying you were everything he’s ever wanted—even though it was 100% truthful.

“Look at us being on the same wavelength,” you smiled as you grabbed his hand and entwined your fingers.

“That’s really cool,” he shyly smiled, the blush on his cheeks now matching the blush on yours and his eyes staring deeply into yours as you held onto his hand. You both continued to stare at each other in silence, not exactly sure why but it felt right. You didn’t want to let go of his hand and quite frankly, you didn’t want to let go of him either. Tonight was amazing, and you didn’t want it to end. You didn’t want him to leave.

“I should get going,” Joe said as he broke eye contact and looked down at his watch, letting go of your hand which startled you.

“Or you could stay?” You quickly said as you looked back up at him with hopeful eyes. You and Joe hadn’t spent the night together yet so this would be the first time you’d ever stayed over at each other's house. The first time it would be just the two of you, together, in a quiet house, with a bed, for hours.

Specifically with a bed.

You’d be lying if you said there wasn’t a single unholy thought in your head about the man standing in front of you. You had managed to keep it PG between you both—except for the occasional wandering hands during a little make-out session—but you wanted nothing more than for him to touch you everywhere, to kiss you everywhere, and to make you feel like the most special girl on the planet.

You wanted Joe so bad. You tried to fight it when you first met, but you couldn’t stay away and his extraordinary personality made it even harder. He was the epitome of sexiness, the textbook definition of perfection. From his gorgeous dirty blonde curls to his adorable ski slope nose, to his killer jawline, down to his plump pink lips, and then to his crafted-from-gold chest that you wanted to run your fingers along, he was the hottest man you’d ever come across. And he was all yours.

But were you all his? Did he want you as bad as you wanted him?

“Are you sure?” Joe said while anxiously playing with his wristbands.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I had a lot of fun tonight and I don’t want it to end. We could go inside and watch a movie or something,” you said while turning around to unlock the door. “If you want to, obviously,”.

“I’d love to,” Joe contently sighed, a feeling of excitement sparking inside of him as he followed you inside your house.

It was just the two of you, in this house, alone, at night. Nothing bad could happen, right?

But what if you wanted something bad to happen?

What if you both wanted something bad to happen?

A half-hour passed by and you and Joe were sitting on your couch, watching “The Proposal”. You would think since you put on a classic & incredibly sweet romantic comedy, you and Joe would be curled up in each other's arms and glued to each other as you laughed your hearts out.

But you weren’t.

Instead, you two were awkwardly sitting next to each other with none of your body parts touching each other and with both of your hearts beating out of your chests because of how nervous you felt.

By saying that you both kept your relationship PG so far, you really meant PG. Yeah, you two kissed a lot and even had a few spicy make-outs, but oddly enough—cuddling wasn’t common. Hell, you barely even cuddled with each other. Cuddling was so intimate and special, the feeling of your bodies pressed against each other out of pure love and comfort was unmatchable.

That’s why you both are so nervous right now. This was a prime cuddle moment. You wanted to scooch over and lay your head down on his chest while he wrapped his arm around your waist, but you were too scared he wouldn’t want to. How could you go there if you couldn’t even cuddle him without getting anxious and nervous? The fact that you even wanted to cuddle with him was enough to scare you. Since when did you get so comfy around a guy so quickly?

“Snap out of it, Y/N. Stop getting in your head over this,” you thought to yourself.

Joe was nervous because you made him nervous. He’d been pretty vocal about how badly he wanted you—your first meeting clearly giving that away—and those feelings were heightened right now because of the situation you were in. You were coming off of a really good date night and were all alone in your house; the situation couldn’t be more perfect for things to happen. Things Joe literally spent hours thinking about.

He was so down bad for you and he hadn’t even gotten a full taste of what you had to offer. It was insane. “Come on, Joe. Pull her over. Why are you sitting like you don’t know each other? She’s literally made out with you in your lap so why are you being so awkward?” he thought to himself. “Wake the fuck up, Joe. This is your girl,”.

“My girl,” he mumbled under his breath, causing you to look over at him.

“Did you say something?” you breathed out, your palms getting sweaty as your brain wouldn’t shut up about how awkward this situation was.

“Hm? Oh…no,” Joe said, his cheeks turning red again once he realized he said that out loud. “I’m gonna go get a glass of water, you want one?” He quickly changed the subject and got up.

“Oh, I’m good,” you swallowed, letting out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in once he walked around the couch and back to the kitchen.

“A glass of water. That’s what I need,” Joe thought to himself as he grabbed a glass from your cabinet and poured himself some water, looking up a few times and seeing you laughing adorably on the couch in front of him. “When you go back, sit down closer to her. Put your arm around her, girls love that,” Joe’s subconscious said.

Joe took a final sip of the icy cold water—a much needed refresher—before he walked back over to the couch, your eyes following him as he sat down next to you. As he sat down closer to you.

You froze as you felt his arm touching your arm, and then suddenly felt him move his arm and place it around your shoulder, then felt him pull you into his warm chest. “Oh my god,” you thought to yourself as you heard his heartbeat through his chest. “Wait, is he nervous too?”.

You stayed quiet and frozen for a few seconds before literally melting against him. The feeling of his thumb rubbing your skin and his head leaning against yours was something you craved, and now you finally had it. You felt like a piece of melting chocolate on a warm tongue.

Joe smiled as he felt you relax against him, planting a sweet kiss on your forehead as you got comfy on him. This calmed all of his doubts and nerves, you felt comfortable with him and that’s all that mattered.

“This is nice,” you smiled up at him a few moments later, showing your appreciation for his actions.

“It’s very nice,” Joe chuckled, his laugh vibrating through your body. “I’m glad you feel comfortable around me, I got a bit nervous there,”.

“Feel my palms, Joey. They’re sweaty as hell. I feel nervous around you,” you giggled.

“Nervous? Why are you nervous?” He questioned.

“…Because,” you said while taking a deep breath and turning serious. “I’ve never felt this way about a guy before. Especially this fast,”.

“Really?” He said while looking down at you.

“Yeahhhh,” you sighed. “It takes me a minute to get comfortable around a guy like this. I usually have all my walls up early on because I’m scared that if I don’t, they’ll see the most vulnerable parts of me and then they’ll know exactly what my achilles heel is. I’ve made the stupid mistake of letting my walls down early on a few times, and that’s exactly what happened. They used it against me, and that really fucked me up for a while,”.

Joe's heart broke when he saw your eyes slowly getting glossier as you talked. “I’m- I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“No, don’t be,” you smiled up at him. “You haven’t done anything wrong and that’s why I’m nervous. Usually by now, a guy does something that ticks me off and leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But you? You haven’t done a single thing,” you beamed.

“So that’s good?” he nervously asked

“It’s great,” you said while leaning up to plant a big kiss on his lips. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I don’t feel the need to put my walls up. I have really, really strong feelings about you. I haven’t even known you for that long, but I know you won’t ever do anything to hurt me,”.

He wouldn’t. Joe would never do anything to hurt you, never in a million years. He wouldn’t hurt someone that he loved.

Yeah, he loved you. Was it too early to say it? Absolutely. But he couldn’t help the powerful feelings he felt about you. He’d never fell this fast and hard for a girl, you were clearly unique. “I wouldn’t ever dream of hurting someone so precious and extraordinary,” Joe smiled as he pecked your lips.

“I knew I liked you for a reason,” you smiled as you buried your face in his chest, his arm tightly wrapping around your waist, his hand slipping a little under your shirt. The feeling of his warm hand against your bare skin sends jolts of electricity throughout your body.

“Tell me about your exes. I want to know what things they did that ticked you off early on so I know what not to do,” Joe said while he squeezed the soft plush skin of your waist.

“I don’t think you’ll make the same mistakes they did, trust me. But okay, if you really want to know I won’t stop you,” you laughed. You spent a few minutes ranting to Joe about your exes, his jaw-dropping each time you said something they did—each ex progressively getting worse each time.

“Where are you finding these guys? Like this is insane,” he said with a wide-eyed stare.

“Tell me about it,” you rolled your eyes. “And my most recent ex, please,” you scoffed. “You can’t be an incompetent boyfriend and be bad in bed at the same time,”.

“No way,” Joe gasped.

“Mhmmm. Only cared about getting himself off; never once thought about me and how I felt. I should’ve known, if you can’t take care of a girl in bed then you definitely can’t take care of a girl in a relationship,” you shook your head.

“I’d take care of you,” Joe mumbled under his breath, but just loud enough for you to hear.

“You would?” you smirked as you looked up and said, a gush of wetness instantly pooling at your core.

“Did I seriously say that out loud AGAIN? Can I not keep anything in my head?” Joe thought to himself.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking up, “Yeah, I would,” he boldly said. “Fuck it. This is my girl. She should know how I feel about her straight up, no beating around the bush,”.

You felt a pang of arousal shoot up your body, his alluring words waking up another side of you that you hadn’t seen in a while. “Really?” you asked as you shifted next to him, slowly moving up and placing your legs on each side of him, settling down in his lap. His hands moved down to cup your thighs as you moved his hair out of his eyes, your face just inches from his.

“Yeah,” he nodded as his eyes darkened with lust. “I don’t think I’ll have any issue getting you off before I get off,”.

You felt your breathing stop for a second, “Fuck,” you thought to yourself. “I need him, bad,”. Any and all nervousness and anxiety left your brain at this moment. You couldn’t care less about things that happened in your previous relationships, all you wanted to focus on was Joe. “You sound so sure,” you whispered as you leaned down and peppered kisses along his jaw, his hands moving to your back but slowly inching down to your ass.

“Because I am. I’ll make you scream my name so loudly that you’ll forget about all those other guys. I’ll be the only thing you remember,” he whispered into your ear, his voice thick with lust.

A switch turned on when he said that and you immediately lifted your head from his jaw and crashed your lips down onto his, your hands cupping his cheeks as you pushed yourself closer to him, his lips fighting for dominance against yours as you ran your hands along his thick chest.

You wanted him so badly.

His lips were so addictive, the way they were so soft just felt like you were kissing a cloud. He moved his hands back up to your waist, his fingers tugging on the fabric of your t-shirt, “Bedroom?” he breathlessly asked you as he pulled away.

“Yes,” you panted as he quickly pulled your face back to his and got up from the couch, your legs wrapping tightly around his while he carried you up to your room.

Once you got inside, he gently threw you down on the bed before ripping his clothes off, both of you moving with a sense of urgency. When he was completely bare in front of you, that’s when you truly lost it. Your eyes traveled along his body, noticing each and every vein that you would so easily travel along, noticing every muscle and every spot that you deemed kissable. Your eyes then dipped down to the V in his abdomen, your breath stopping again when you saw his prominent erection, the tip of his cock pooling with precum.

“Fuck me. Literally and figuratively,” you thought to yourself. You looked back up at him and ripped your shirt and shorts off, quickly making yourself bare just like he was. Normally, you’d feel insecure and shy with a guy when it got to this point. But with Joe, all you felt was comfort and confidence, it was amazing.

Joe looked down at you, taking in every part of your body for the first time; your perfect thighs, your soft belly, your perfect & gorgeous breasts. You were all his, and you were so beautiful. You felt a dip in the bed as he moved on top of you, “You’re gorgeous, Y/N,” he whispered as he peppered kisses along your chest. “So insanely gorgeous,”.

“Joe, I need you,” you whispered as you felt your core throb and your body relax underneath him.

“Before we actually, you know, do it..you’re good, right? I don’t want you to feel any pressure or stress to do anything if you don’t really want to,” Joe said while tucking your hair behind your ear.

You grabbed his hand and shoved it down to your core, his eyes looking down as you ran his fingers through your wetness. “You feel that? That’s all for you, Joe,” you blubbered, the way his fingers were sliding along your folds was teasing yet so satisfying. “Please, fuck me. Make me forget about them,” you said while intensely staring into his eyes, his eyes turning a shade of blue you’d never seen before.

You wanted this just as bad as he did and he wanted this just as bad as you did.

He leaned down and captured your lips in another heated kiss before sliding his hand up your belly to cup your breast, playing with the sensitive bud at the same time as he lined himself up with your dripping core and thrusted all the way into you, wasting no second to get straight to it. The intensity of the first thrust caught you completely off guard, the feeling of fullness and being stretched out by him for the first time making you abruptly pull away and let out a throaty moan. “Oh, fuck,” you moaned as he set a relentless pace. “Fuck, Joe,”.

“Fuck,” he whimpered above you, his hair falling down and acting as a curtain. “Jesus, you feel so good,” he groaned as the warm feeling of your walls felt like a tight hug around his cock.

You placed your hands on his back, digging your nails into his muscular body as he continued to fuck you in the most delicious way possible; each thrust laced with need and infatuation. He grabbed your leg, cupping the back of your knee and pushing it up which opened you up even more, allowing him to hit new spots as he explored you in the most intimate way imaginable. “Does it feel…good,” Joe wailed as he pounded into your wet heat.

“It feels amazing,” you whimpered while throwing your head to the side, his lips instantly attacking your neck with little nips and sucks. The feeling of him inside you was sending electricity throughout your body, he was so good at this. Each thrust hit the right spot inside your core, each kiss landed on the right spot, and each word that left his mouth made you lose any and all control you had. He definitely was better than your exes, and he was definitely taking care of you.

“F- fuck, Joe. P- please, fuck me forever,” the filthy words leaving your mouth surprised both you and Joe.

“You’re so needy, baby,” he smirked as he peppered kisses along your jaw. “Were they that bad?” he asked, referring to your exes.

“Mmph,” you whimpered as you moved your head back to look at him. “S- so bad,” you moaned as his thick cock was grazing your g-spot. “Oh, right there,” you practically screamed.

“What? Right here?” he smirked as he gave you an extra hard thrust, this one sending you up the bed.

“Joe,” you moaned again as your back arched off the bed, but he pushed you back down with his hand and continued to snap his hips into you. He dropped your leg and moved his hand to your abdomen, rubbing the soft skin of your belly and gently pushing down as he inched towards your breasts. He leaned down and took your nipple in his mouth, his tongue swirling around the sensitive peak as you threaded your hands through his hair.

You lost track of the amount of times you moaned his name just like how you lost track of how much time had passed. There were no real thoughts in your head, all you could think about was how good this felt and how it was all because of Joe. Your chemistry was insane. It was like pure fire between you both.

You felt your arousal building in your stomach as he continued to send you over the edge, both of you moving with pure lust and desire. “You’re doing so well, Y/N…that’s it,” he whimpered as he dropped his head to the crook of your neck. “Fuck, you’re perfect,” he moaned.

You couldn’t help but smile, he was praising you and making you feel good at the same time. He was truly the perfect guy; he lacked in no area. Each time your name fell from his lips, you found yourself yearning for more and more. You deserved this, you deserved him, his love, his touch, his everything.

“Joe, I’m so close,” you moaned, your chest heaving as the band in your stomach tightened with each thrust, the room filling with sounds of your pleasure and the wetness below.

“Mmph, me too,” he whimpered, trying to hold back his release because he wanted to make sure that you felt your high first, just as how it should be.

You looked down and saw his thick shaft moving in and out of your core, that sight alone made you let go. “Oh- oh,” you croaked as you felt him lift his head and move his hand down to your clit.

“Come on, baby,” he panted as his fingers toyed with your sensitive clit. “Come for me,” he said as he leaned down to kiss you again. You lifted your legs and wrapped them around his waist, pulling his head closer to you at the same time as you moaned into the kiss. Your hips started jerking and bucking up into him, your body starting to tremble under him as you felt your walls spasm and contract around his cock.

“Joe!” you screamed against his lips after one well-placed thrust, the tension snapping as you came around his cock. You were seeing stars at this point as your release soaked both your lower halves, Joe feeling his cock twitch inside of you. Your reaction, your rolling eyes, and the sounds leaving your lips were pushing him straight toward the finish line.

“My girl…that’s my girl…,” he rasped as his hips stuttered and his thrusts became erratic, his high practically knocking at the door. “You’re so fucking hot,” he groaned as he watched you feel your high below him, your breathy moans that were filling the room being one of the greatest and prettiest things he had ever heard.

You let out a few more sounds of pleasure as you felt shockwaves throughout your body from your intense orgasm, your body fully limp as he dropped his head and bit down on your shoulder. “Oh, fuck..Y/N,” he moaned as he felt the band in his stomach tighten. He wanted to let go so bad, but he wasn’t going to make this “just good enough” for you. He was going to make this better than anything you’d ever felt before.

“F- fuck, Joe,” you whispered, coming down from your high just to feel another one building as you felt your walls tightening around his cock again. Before you knew it, his hands were on your waist and he flipped you over so that you were on top.

“W- what?” you panted as you placed your hands on his beautifully crafted chest, his cock still seated deeply inside of you. Your brain was so fogged up with arousal that you couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

“Fuck, keep going,” he whimpered, his hands grabbing your waist again as you continued to stare down at him–a frisky grin appearing on your face as you leaned down to give him a passion-filled kiss.

“You’re the best,” you whispered as you got back up, your hips starting to rock back and forth against his. He looked so right underneath you with his tousled curls and open mouth that was repeating your name over and over, this was meant to happen. Not only was your sexual chemistry on fire, but your emotional chemistry was too. He knew exactly what you wanted, how you wanted it, and knew how to give it to you without you having to say a single thing to him.

He reached up to cup your breast with one hand, the pad of his thumb rubbing your nipple as you closed your eyes and quickened your pace against him, his arousal just begging to be released. The restraint he had was insane and quite frankly, it was killing him. But this was about you, not him.

“Just like that,” he whimpered, bucking his hips up into your core slowly, helping you reach your second orgasm faster.

“Joe, I can’t…it’s too- you’re too…,” you said while letting out a shaky breath, this time your climax feeling stronger than the previous one.

“Yes, you can,” he said as he slid his hand up your back, pushing you down to him and cupping the nape of your neck. “I’m right here,” he softly said against your lips.

“J- Joe,” you whimpered as you hid your face in his neck, his hips snapping into yours as you felt your thighs starting to burn.

“You make me crazy, Y/N,” he groaned as he moved his hand back down to your clit, his voice laced with pure need. “You make me so fucking crazy,”.

“Oh, Joe,” you moaned into his ear, placing a hand on the side of his neck as you opened your mouth to bite his earlobe. A thin layer of sweat was forming on both of you as your movements became more frantic like you were both chasing something you couldn’t get enough of. It was like an insatiable desire for more.

Joe started rubbing circles around your clit, your body reacting with a slight tremble as jolts of pleasure started vibrating through it. Your breathing was getting deeper and deeper and a few breathless seconds later, you felt him pinch your sensitive bud which ultimately set off your release.

“Joe!” you screamed again as the strength of your orgasm made you sit back up, your movements stilling as you came around his still-moving cock again. “Oh my fucking god. You are not real,” you whimpered while your high washed over you.

“F- fuck. I’m,” Joe choked out, not being able to hold it in any longer.

You looked down through your messy hair that was falling in front of your eyes and saw his face—specifically his scrunched up nose—and knew that now it was your turn to make him feel good.

Although you were about two seconds away from passing out and still dealing with the aftershocks of your second high, you leaned down and smashed your lips against his while cupping his face, allowing him to do whatever he needed to feel as good as you did right now. A few more hip snaps later, he emptied himself inside of you—endless ropes of his warm cum filling your already—soaked core. This was the first time you’d ever felt him like this, and it was everything you’d dreamed of and more. Joe was everything you dreamed of and more.

A few minutes later, your body was lethargic as you lay on top of him, his arms tightly wrapped around your tired frame. You felt his hand rubbing the back of your head and playing with the strands of your hair, words of love and affection filling your ears as he went on and on about how perfect you were.

Joe was truly the man of your dreams. Not only did he do what your ex couldn’t do, he did it twice, and he did it better than anyone else could. All while making you feel safe, comfortable, and in control. He was truly perfect for you in every way possible, emotionally and physically.

“So?” Joe spoke up, his hand now rubbing slow circles around your back. “How was it?”.

You shifted your head on his chest to look up at him, “Are you god? I think I’ve been sent to heaven,” you giggled.

“You liked it?” He softly asked again, a shy smile on his face.

“I loved it,” you grinned as you leaned up to peck his lips. “I loved all of it. You’re amazing,”.

“No, you’re amazing. Seriously. I was already obsessed with you and your personality, but now I’m also obsessed with your body. You’re insanely beautiful and insanely sexy,” he blushed.

“Awww, stop,” you blushed while patting his bare chest, pressing a few kisses along his pec.

“Do you still remember their names?” Joe smirked, referring to how he told you he’d make you scream his name so loudly that you’d forget the others.

Of course, you didn’t, Joe made sure you didn’t. He worshiped your body tonight and his name left your lips like you were chanting a sacred prayer. He was unlike anyone you’d ever been with before, he was special.

“Whose names?” you grinned up at him. “I only know one name,” you added as you scooted up so that you were by his ear.

“What name?” Joe said while biting his swollen bottom lip.

“Joe,” you whispered into his ear, the sultry tone of your voice making Joe instantly pull you right back underneath the covers.

“Joeeee,” you giggled as he flipped you over and the white covers created a cocoon around you two.

“What?” he grinned down at you. “You thought I was done?”.

“Maybe,” you teasingly shrugged.

“Well, I’m not. That was just the beginning,” he winked as he leaned down and peppered wet kisses down your abdomen, his head eventually disappearing in between your thighs.

You looked back up, not knowing what to expect since seemingly you were doing everything with him in one night—not that you were complaining. You hadn’t even mentally prepared yourself for him to go down on you, this position was so incredibly intimate and raw.

But he didn’t give you a chance to overthink because suddenly, you felt his warm mouth latch onto your swollen clit and a finger thrust into your core, another shock of pleasure vibrating through your body. “Joe,” you moaned loudly, your brain turning off as he threw your leg over his shoulder. The only coherent thought in your head was that he was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to you.

End of flashback

“Holy fuck,” you whispered to yourself as you snapped back to the present. The spicy memory made you feel even more needier than before and you had absolutely no idea what to do. You knew he wasn’t going to budge but you definitely were not going to be able to fall asleep like this. “Of course, the universe gave me the sexiest guy known to mankind,” you grumbled as you stuffed your face in your hands, “I can’t stand being away from him,”. You still couldn’t quite believe that he was all yours and would be forever. He was truly one of the most special people you’d ever met in your life and he changed your world in a way you thought was impossible. You were going to marry him in a few short months (or tomorrow based on Joe’s silly drunken thoughts that he would most likely forget about) and get to spend the rest of your life with him. You couldn’t ask for anything better, your life was perfect.

You sat on the bed for a few more minutes, thinking of a way to cool yourself down because you could just feel your body getting hotter and hotter as the minutes passed by. All you could think about was Joe.

Your eyes traveled around the room, looking for anything that could calm you down. There was a bottle of wine, but that would just make your hormones skyrocket more than they already were since you were still as drunk as ever from earlier. There was Joe’s stash of edibles, but that would probably make you even more horny. You let out a shaky breath as your eyes moved to the bathroom, an obvious reliever right in front of you the whole time.

“Cold shower, obviously,” you sighed as you quickly got up and walked into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Joe was struggling too. Even though it was his idea, it wasn’t being executed successfully. The tent in his pants and the need to feel your lips around him were strong. He refused to get off on his own, so now he was stuck sitting on the bed and staring up at the blank ceiling, wondering if he should cave and go back to your shared room and finish what you started.

“Nope. Not happening,” Joe said as he sat up and shook his head. “I’m marrying her tomorrow, I can wait,” he assured himself.

Joe was so serious about marrying you tomorrow even if you didn’t believe him, he could wait any longer to fully make you his even though you had only been engaged for a month. He didn’t care that it was going to happen in Vegas or that no family would be here. It would be much more special and intimate if it was just the two of you and truthfully, that was all he wanted. He was down for a big ceremony and party, but as someone who didn’t enjoy big crowds and all eyes being on him (even though he played football in front of 50,000+ fans every week), he would rather do something like this. Plus, something about getting married secretly in Las Vegas at a small chapel was giving him an adrenaline rush; it sounded like much more fun than standing in a big hall in front of hundreds of people who had their eyes glued on him. This way, it was just the two of you.

You were his dream girl and were finally about to be his forever girl. He couldn’t wait to stand across from his girl at the altar and recite the vows, say the things he needed to say and kiss his wife for the first time.

He laid back down on the bed, smiling as he imagined what your married life would look like. First, he needed to plan your honeymoon with you. You both had 2 places in mind–Porotifno, Italy, and St. Barths–and since you were having 2 weddings you’d also have 2 honeymoons which meant you could go to both places instead of having to pick one. He couldn’t wait to travel with you more, especially around the world now that he had moved on from his whole ‘I hate traveling’ shtick. There was a whole lot of world out there to see and he couldn’t have asked for a better person to see it with him. Another thing he couldn’t wait to do with you was have kids. Although that was still a few years down the road, he was so excited to watch you grow his child inside your belly. He was so excited to grow his family with you.

Another thing he was looking forward to was all of your ‘firsts’ as a married couple. The first time you have sex as a married couple, your first vacation, your first big purchase together, your first husband/wife date, your first anniversary, your first Christmas, your first Valentine’s Day, and your first baby together.

It was all he could think about as he drifted off to sleep with a huge smile plastered on his face. He thought his life up until he met you had been perfect and like a dream–a solid college football career and successful NFL career plus the fame and attention that came with it–but his future with you was even more promising and fulfilling than all of it.

You were more fulfilling than anything he had in his life.

The Next Night – STK Steakhouse – Las Vegas, Nevada

“Ooo, Joe you have to try this Crab Cake,” you chewed as you covered your mouth and handed him a crab cake. “I feel like I’m eating gold right now,”.

“Considering this is one of the most expensive and highly rated restaurants in Vegas, I would expect no less,” he smiled as he took the crab cake and took a big bite, a groan leaving his lips as the bundle of flavors exploded in his mouth. “Holy shit, this is actually amazing,”.

“I told you,” you giggled while you bumped his leg with yours, then reached for your wine and took a small sip to wash down your food as you were wrapping up dinner. He had brought you out on a date tonight to one of the best restaurants in Vegas, even going so far as renting a private room for you both so you could enjoy the night in private. You weren’t exactly sure why since eating in public was never an issue before, but you decided to let it go.

The day had passed by pretty quickly up until now as you both kept yourselves busy by relaxing by the pool together and soaking up the sun, Joe didn’t mention his marriage idea at all the entire time which wasn’t surprising for you. You knew that was just one of his drunken words that had no real meaning behind them, so him forgetting about what he said last night wasn’t a big deal. Although it was weird he wasn’t confused when he woke up in a different bedroom in the morning since he seemingly forgot the marriage talk which is how he ended up in that room because of how drunk he was, but you also let that go.

“You think we’re all done? Or did you want to stay for a little longer,” Joe asked, praying you said that you were good to go so he wouldn’t be late for the time he booked your wedding for.

Yeah, wedding.

He didn’t forget. He just decided to keep quiet the whole day so that this moment would be way more memorable. While you were taking a dip in the pool, he found a little classic Vegas chapel down the street from the restaurant he was taking you for dinner and booked a little private ceremony for tonight. All while you were blissfully unaware that this was your last few hours as his fiancee.

“Uhh, I think so,” you nodded as you looked around. “I’m stuffed and probably would throw up if we ordered dessert,” you laughed.

“Okay, cool,” he nodded, rubbing his sweaty palms on his thighs as he took a deep breath.

“But don’t you think it’s a little early to head back? Or did you have something else planned for our little date night since you think absolutely everything through ahead of time,” you said while putting your elbows on the table resting your chin on your knuckles, and looking at him with pure love.

“We’re not heading back,” Joe said matter-of-factly.

“Where are we going then?” you said while raising an eyebrow.

Joe let out a little laugh as a song lyric from The Dixie Cups entered his head, “Because we're, going to the chapel, and we're gonna get married,” he sing-songed while moving his shoulders back and forth as he pretended to dance around.

You stared at him for a few seconds, your face not changing as you expected him to say he was just kidding since you two were not that drunk like you were last night for him to be talking like this.

“W- wait, you’re serious?” you said as you sat up after he didn’t say anything else.

“Run away with me, Y/N,” Joe blurted out as he lost the lighthearted tone in his voice and became serious. “Marry me, right here, right now,”.

Your heart was pounding in your chest and a wave of reality hit you like a brick. He wanted to marry you right now. Like right now.

“I know it’s not what we planned, but I can’t wait anymore. I know you’re the one and I need to make it officially official, the ring is a great reminder but I want to make you the one for real,” he said as he grabbed your hand, his thumb grazing over your engagement ring. “I booked us a time slot at that chapel down the street. We can go right now, just say the word,”.

You felt your eyes well with tears, he was serious about it. You knew that you were getting married to him now that you were engaged, but the fact that it was this close to actually happening was making your heart stop. You didn’t realize you were really crying until you felt his thumb wiping the falling tears.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry, baby,” he softly said while cupping your cheek. “If this is too much too fast, I can cancel. I can wait,” he lied. He couldn’t wait, who was he kidding? But if this was too much for you, he could make himself wait. He would do anything for you.

“I- I thought you were drunk last night and that’s why you said that,” you sniffled.

“Drunken words are sober thoughts,” he smiled. “I was being serious,”.

“Y- you really want to marry me right now?” you said while meeting his gentle eyes.

“I’ve never wanted to do something so bad in my entire life,” he said.

“But what about our friends and family? Shouldn’t we wait for our parents? Shouldn’t we talk to them?” you said while placing a hand on top of his.

“Actually, I want it to just be you and me as cliche as it sounds. It’s always been you and me and it’s always going to be you and me, Y/N. You are the most important person in the world to me, I just need you there. I want this moment just for us,” he said while picking up your hand and planting a gentle kiss on it. “We can still have our big wedding in July with everyone like we thought about, but I want this to just be for us. But only if you want that too,” he said while looking down at your ring.

You stayed silent while you thought over it, “He’s thought it all through. He’s thought everything through from the first time we met, to our first date, to our first time, to the proposal, and now this. Whenever Joe set his mind on doing something, he always did it. Whether that was convincing me to go out with him or wanting to make me his forever, he did it. He wanted this with me. He’s always wanted this with me,”.

“Okay,” you breathed out, a thrill shooting up your spine at the thought of marrying Joe in secret.

“What?” Joe said while he looked back up.

“Okay,” you smiled again. “I don’t care how we get married, Joey. I’ll marry you in secret, I’ll marry you in front of a thousand people, I’ll marry you on top of the Empire State Building, I’ll marry you drunk, high, naked, you name it. I’ll run away with you,”.

“You’re serious?” Joe asked, his body perking up. “Because if this is a joke, it’s not funny…like I will not forgive you if this is a jo-....,”.

“I’m serious, Joe,” you said as you interrupted his nervous rambling. “Let’s go get married,” you said while pulling his head closer to yours by the nape of his neck.

Joe bit his bottom lip as a blush grew on his face, “I love you, Y/N. You have no idea how happy you make me,” he said while he rested his forehead against yours.

“I love you endlessly, Joe,” you smiled before you tilted your head to press an expressive kiss to his lips.

“Let’s go get married,” you said against his lips when you pulled away.

“Let’s go get married,” he softly chuckled, quickly sliding out of the booth and pulling you out with him, his hand holding onto yours tightly.

He pulled you out of the private room with speed, both of you flying through the crowded dining room while you quickly dodged the waiters and servers. “Joe,” you laughed. “Slow down,”.

“Nope. I have to get us there before you change your mind,” he joked while he glanced back at you.

“Well if that’s the case, then the clock is ticking, Burrow,” you teased as you made it to the front door of the restaurant.

“Fuck, I didn’t call an Uber,” he realized as he stopped you both before you walked out onto the street.

“You said it’s down the street right? We can walk,” you suggested.

“Are you sure? Won’t your feet hurt?” he asked as he inspected your burgundy heel boots.

“Probably, but it’ll all be worth it in the end,” you said while opening the door and pulling him out onto the street, the fresh breeze taking all of your worries away.

“Okay,” he laughed, the adorable crinkles around his eyes showing up as he tightly held onto your hand again and pulled you down the street. You felt like it was the early days in your relationship again with the way you were sneaking around. In the past, it was sneaking around together to keep your relationship on the low for a little, but now it was sneaking around to get married without anyone knowing. It’s funny how everything had changed in the blink of a crinkling eye.

You were only a few more blocks away from the little chapel before you stopped in your tracks, Joe feeling a tug on his hand and looking back at you. “What’s wrong?”.

“I don’t have a white dress on,” you said while looking down at your black mini-dress. “I can’t get married without a white dress,”.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to have time to go dress shopping,” Joe laughed.

“Mmm,” you hummed while looking around the street. “Oh, look,” you said while pointing over at the boutique across the street. “I could find a basic white mini dress in there,” you looked over at him and said.

Joe looked down at his watch, seeing that you had a few minutes to spare. “I think we have time,”.

“Okay, good,” you breathed out. “I’ll go, you stay here,”.

“Okay,” he eagerly nodded, feeling you let go of his hand before quickly walking across the street, your sense of urgency making him feel like he was on top of the world. You really wanted this just as bad as he did.

When you walked into the store, you quickly glanced around to spot a white dress, the store owner noticed your frantic state and spoke up. “Can I help you, young lady?” she asked.

“Yes, actually,” you said while walking over to the front desk. “I need a white dress,”.

Her eyes landed on the massive rock on your ringer finger, then broke out into a huge fit of laughter after you said that. “Ohhhh, Stacy owes me $20,” she laughed.

“Excuse me?” you questioned her strange behavior.

“Oh, sorry sweetie. It’s just comical,” she said while getting up and motioning for you to follow her.

“What’s funny?” you asked as you followed her to the back of the store, your eyes widening once you got closer to the wall of white mini-dresses, white heels, and veils. “Holy shit,” you mumbled.

“You’re surprised? You can’t expect a boutique to be this close to the little chapel and not be stocked up with wedding wear,” she laughed. “You aren’t the first girl to run in here in search of a white dress,”.

“Clearly,” you said as you walked closer to the display, your eyes looking over the variety of dresses and heels.

“Stacy, my employee, owes me $20 because she said we weren’t going to get a bride-to-be in the store today,” she said.

“And then I walked in,” you blushed as your eyes instantly landed on the perfect, simple yet glamorous, white mini dress.

“You sure did,” she smiled as she walked over next to you. “You like this one?” she asked after she saw the spark in your eyes.

“I love it,” you whispered.

“Oh, here honey,” she said as she spotted a pair of heels that went with the dress. “These go great together,”.

You looked over at the beautiful pair of white jeweled heels which had flimsy soft white bows tied to the clasps. “This is perfect,” you smiled over at her.

“Oh my goodness, it has a matching veil too!” she clapped her hands together and grinned before she brought over a delicate shoulder-length veil.

“Thank you, so so so much,” you smiled as you grabbed the simple yet flawless veil.

“My pleasure,” she nodded. “Now hurry, let’s get you checked out so that the groom isn’t kept waiting too long,” she laughed as you scurried back over to the front desk.

“Good idea,” you giggled. “I think if I made him wait any longer, he’d drag me out of the store himself,”.

“Tell me about him,” she said while she quickly started scanning everything.

“Where do I even start,” you grinned as you looked out the store window and saw Joe rocking back and forth on his feet, the biggest smile you had ever seen on his face.

“He’s my everything. My whole world in the form of a person. He’s the biggest sweetheart I’ve ever met and has shown me a kind of love I never thought I’d ever have. I don’t think I really knew what love felt like until I met Joe. I honestly don’t think I even knew what truly living life felt like before I met him. He keeps me on my toes, acts like my safety net when things get too chaotic, and is the one thing I physically can’t live without,” you blushed as you looked back over at the lady, who was holding a bag with all your things in it. “Oh, you’re fast with it,” you giggled while handing her your card.

“Well, as I said, you’re not the first bride to run into the store for wedding wear,” she winked, noticing the spark behind your eyes after you finished talking about Joe.

“Yeah,” you laughed as you took the bag.

“But he sounds like a wonderful man, sweetie. A word of advice, hold onto that love for as long as you can and never let it fade no matter what happens. That spark behind your eyes only comes around so often, it’s rare,” she told you.

“Thank you, I will,” you nodded. “I appreciate your help tonight,”.

“It’s my pleasure, dear. Enjoy your married life, I wish you the best,” she waved over at Joe through the window before looking back at you. “He looks and sounds like a keeper, hold onto him forever,”.

“Oh trust me, I will,” you said before thanking her again, then swiftly exiting the boutique and joining Joe back across the street.

“We good now?” he asked as he grabbed your hand and entwined your fingers again.

“Yes, Mr. Burrow,” you giggled while leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“Okay, Ms. Y/LN, I think we have a wedding to get to,” he grinned before pulling you down the street again, another soft laugh falling from your lips as another wave of reality came over you. Your whole future was in front of you, right at your fingertips.

About an hour later

You both were inside the chapel and had finished filling out the paperwork that they needed to approve the marriage license–which apparently needed 90 days to be approved but one mention of Joe’s status changed that pretty quickly.

Joe was already wearing a black dress shirt and formal-ish pants, so they just gave him a bowtie to finish it off. You two had also decided to keep the custom, special vows for your big wedding so you’d be sticking to the classic ones for tonight.

After slipping on your dress, heels, and veil, you were standing in front of the mirror and holding your bouquet of white roses. You were thinking about how your life was about to change in a matter of minutes and you still couldn’t quite believe it, you were about to become his wife.

Joe was about to become your husband.

You felt your nerves settling in when you looked down at the ring on your finger, inhaling a few deep breaths to compose yourself. “It’s okay, I’m okay,” you told yourself out loud. “This is my wedding. That’s my husband. This is it,” you continued.

“Y/N, we’re ready,” Vanessa, one of the chapel’s bridal assistants smiled as she entered the room which snapped you out of your daze.

You took a few more seconds to collect yourself, “Okay,” you breathed out. “Here we go, Y/N. This is what you’ve been waiting for since the day you met Joe,” you thought to yourself before turning around, hearing the soft tune of the music fill the air as you walked through the curtain and made it to the aisle.

Your breath hitched in your throat as you saw Joe standing at the altar with the officiant, his eyes widening once he saw you in your white dress–you looked like an angel. “Oh shit,” he whispered to himself.

“Fuck,” you mumbled under your breath as you started to walk down the aisle, all your nerves disappearing once you see Joe mouth ‘I love you’ to you.

You finished walking down the aisle and placed the bouquet down on one of the benches in front of you before you took your place across from Joe.

“You look beautiful, Y/N,” Joe mouthed to you, his heart soaring at the sight of you in a veil and a white dress, only imagining how he’d feel when you’re in your real wedding dress in a few months.

“Not too bad yourself, Burrow,” you mouthed back before you heard the officiant clear his throat.

“Welcome, everyone. We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Y/N and Joe, two hearts and souls in marriage. This is a day of great joy, for we have come together to recognize the tremendous love and commitment these two share,” he said.

“Today, we stand together to witness a love story that has been written in the stars, a story that has brought us all here to celebrate the union of two souls who have found their forever in each other. As we gather in this moment, we are reminded that love is not just a feeling but a journey—one filled with laughter, challenges, and countless memories that shape who we are. Today is the beginning of a new chapter, one where two hearts, once separate, now beat as one. It’s a day when promises are made, not just with words but with the deepest parts of our hearts. May this day be a reflection of the love and commitment you share, and may it be the foundation of a marriage filled with joy, compassion, and endless adventures. So, let us celebrate this momentous occasion, as you embark on this incredible journey of life together. Here's to love, laughter, and a lifetime of happiness," he added, the sweet opening remarks making you and Joe both get a little misty-eyed.

“Joe, Y/N, do you stand here today with the intention to be each other’s partner, rock, and best friend for all the days of your lives?” he asked.

You and Joe both looked back at each other, joining your hands together and saying, “We Do,” in unison.

“Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?” he asked.

“We will,” you both smiled in unison again, Joe giving you a gentle squeeze in return.

“Joe, do you take Y/N to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, For better, for worse, For richer, for poorer, In sickness and in health, To love and to cherish, Till death do you part?” he asked, both your hearts about to beat out of your chest.

“I, do,” Joe nods as he tries to hold back his tears, giving you another squeeze as you feel your heart explode.

“Y/N, do you take Joe to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, For better, for worse, For richer, for poorer, In sickness and in health, To love and to cherish, Till death do you part?”.

“I, do,” you answer, goosebumps rising on your skin as you feel the room get 10 times brighter.

“It is my great pleasure to now pronounce you both husband and wife. Joe, you may kiss the bride,” he said.

Joe quickly pulled you into him and captured your lips in a passion-filled, needy kiss; one that said everything without saying anything.

You were finally his. You were finally the one.

His hands settled on your waist before one slowly slid up your back while you looped your arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to deepen the kiss, your lips moving against each other in a familiar dance. After a few heated seconds, you felt him bite down on your bottom lip when you threaded your fingers through his curls, a sound leaving your lips that immediately made you pull away out of sheer embarrassment.

“Oh my god,” you giggled as he rested his forehead against yours.

“Damn, wait till we’re back at the hotel, Mrs. Burrow,” he grinned, watching a blush rise on your face after referring to you as his wife.

“Sorry, I can’t help myself, Mr. Burrow,” you teased while nuzzling your nose against his.

“I can’t believe we did that,” Joe laughed. “We’re crazy,”.

“The craziest,” you agreed. “But I’m glad we did. It was just you and me like it was supposed to be,”.

It was just the two of you, and that made Joe the happiest man on the planet. Nobody could ruin this moment.

“I love you, Y/N,” he choked out—high on emotions—before pulling you in for a hug. “I love you so much and I can’t wait to show you how much I do for the rest of our lives,”.

You felt the tears coming back when he squeezed you, the tone of his voice enough to make you want to break down into tears. “I love you, Joe. Thank you for being the one,”.

“No, thank you,” he corrected before pulling away. “Your name was unwillingly carved into my heart since the moment I saw you. Thank you for letting me carve mine into yours,”.

“I didn’t need to let you, Joe. You won my heart over the moment you asked me out on a date” you grinned.

“I didn’t, but we could go back and forth on this for hours,” he laughed as he grabbed your hand.

“That’s debatable, babe, but I’ll let it go for tonight,” you chuckled while dropping your head on your shoulder.

God, Joe could never get tired of hearing that adorable laughter. And now he’d get to hear it for the rest of his life. “You ready to be a Wife?” he asked as you felt him press a kiss to your hair.

“Mhmmmm,” you grinned while turning your head to look up at him.

“You ready to be a Husband?” you asked while kissing his neck.

“Mhmmmm,” he hummed while dropping his hands to your ass, giving it a gentle squeeze that made a twinge of arousal shoot up your spine. “You wanna get out of here?” he whispered in your ears. “I think it’s time for us to consummate the marriage, my lovely and sexy Wife”.

“You’ve been watching way too much Bridgerton with me,” you shook your head as you pulled away and looked up at him, his heated gaze making you feel naked even though you were fully clothed.

“But yeah, let’s go, my handsome and precious Husband,”.

–To Be Continued–

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow fic #joeburrow #nfl imagine

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