#but now he's here for the rest of the summer and we've been spending more time together and stuff and i think it's given a lot of clarity | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

javierpena-inatacvest · 1 year

Text

Chapter 13- There's No Place Like Home

Summary: 6 months ago, Javier Peña quite literally bumped into you and changed your life forever. 6 months later, Javi prepares to ask you to spend your forever with him.

Word Count: 13.2K (reasonable of me tbh)

Warnings: SMUT (18+), unprotected p in v sex (wrap before u tap), oral (f receiving), vaginal fingering, creampie, praise kink, massive breeding kink, one use of daddy (in reference to actually being a dad, but STILL), overstimulation, multiple orgasms, mentions of food/eating, Javi being a nervous wreck, so many surprises (hehehehehe), literally so much fluff and love and happiness AHHHHHHHHH

A/N: It's here!!! The moment we've all been waiting for since these two lovebirds first met 😭😭😭💖💖💖 I have no words, only loud screams into the abyss bc of how happy and in love these idiots are!!! Thank you to everyone that has been along on this ride, your love and support means more to me than you know 🥺🫶🏻 Also literally not that anyone cares, but I picked May 27th as just a random day when I first started writing, and the way I literally SCREAMED when I found out that Thanksgiving in 1997 fell on November 27th?!?! That, and when I first started, Javi was not proposing until the spring/summer OOPS 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

Series Masterlist Next Chapter Previous Chapter

November 27th, 1997.

6 months.

6 months since the day he quite literally bumped into you.

6 months since he had first laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

6 months since the moment he already knew he was head over heels in love with you.

6 months of waiting to ask the most important question of his life.

Because tomorrow, exactly 6 months from the day he had met you, Javier Peña was going to ask you to marry him.

And he was a fucking nervous wreck.

It had killed Javi to wait this long. By conventional standards, 6 months wasn’t that long to know someone before you asked them to spend the rest of their life with you, but in all honesty, Javi would have proposed to you 3 months ago after he first got his mom’s ring from his dad. He had never been so sure of anything in his entire life- he wanted to spend forever with you. And now, after what felt like years of waiting, making sure that everything had fallen in place to give you the best proposal he could possibly imagine, the day was almost here.

Javi wanted everything to be perfect. He needed it to be. You were the most perfect person he had ever met, and to him, you deserved everything, and then some. He wasn’t nervous you were going to say no, or that he was second guessing his decision, Javi was a mess because there was nothing more he wanted than to give you a day you would never forget.

It was also going to now be a day Chucho Peña never forgot either. After everything had settled into place for Javi to finally start finalizing his plans, his poor dad had now become much more involved in planning a proposal than he ever thought he’d have to be. At this point, he was truly trying his best to not find it humorous how worked up his son had been over it, knowing that there was no way in the world you were going to be anything short of amazed, let alone say no.

“And you’re sure that you’ve got the-”

“Javier. This is probably the 14th time you have gone over the plan with me. Yes. I am sure I have everything you need. I have both lists you insisted I take, everyone knows where to be and what to do to help. Take a deep breath, hijo.” Chucho chuckled, taking a sip of his beer as he and Javi sat on the back porch of the Peña ranch, watching the sky slowly fade from bright yellows and pinks to faded blues as the sun dipped below the horizon.

“Okay. Sorry. I’m uh- Fuck, Pops, I’m nervous as hell.” Javi swallowed, running his thumb along the condensation of his can, anxiously drawing little circles in the water droplets.

“Really? I can’t tell.” Chucho joked, smirking to himself as he glanced over at his son, bouncing his leg against the chair he was sitting on. “Javier, what is there to be nervous about? It’s not like she’s going to say no.” Javi looked up at his Dad, the worn smile of his wrinkled face bringing him some relief from the nervous state he was in.

“No, I know. I just- I just want it to be perfect. I want it to be perfect for her. I’ve been thinking about this for so long and now it’s finally fucking here. She deserves everything, Pops. I love her so much.” Chucho reached over, patting his hand against Javi’s shoulder, gently squeezing his fingertips against the soft fabric of his flannel shirt.

“Javier, it will be perfect because you love her, and she loves you.” Chucho paused for a moment, quietly laughing to himself as he looked over at Javi. “Have I ever told you the story of how I proposed to your mamá?” A mischievous grin grew across Chucho’s face as Javi nodded, taking another swig of his drink.

“Yeah, you did it at the lake, right?”

“Yes. But that is the short version of the story, Mijo. I was so nervous when I proposed to your mother, that as we were walking up to the lake so I could get down on one knee and ask her to marry me, I tripped over my own feet and fell right to the ground, and the ring came out of my pocket. I didn’t put it in a box, because I was worried she would see, and so she had to help me find her engagement ring in the grass because I couldn’t find it. Until the day she died, she never let me live it down. But it is still one of my favorite memories of the two of us. It was still perfect. Javier, that girl would marry you if you got down on one knee and asked her in your living room. I have no doubt in my mind that tomorrow will be a day that she will never forget.”

“Fuck, guess I better add tripping over myself to the list of things I need to worry about, thanks, Dad.” The pair laughed, shaking their heads as Chucho gave Javi one last pat on the shoulder before he placed his hands on his knees, letting out a heavy grunt as he pushed himself up out of his chair.

“Cabrón (asshole). Now go, you should be spending time with your future esposa (wife) instead of your old man the night before your engagement. I promise, I have everything taken care of.” Javi followed his dad’s suit, setting down his beer before standing up, reaching out to wrap his arms around Chucho in a tight embrace.

“Thanks, Pops. For everything. Te amo.”

“Of course, mijo. Te amo mucho. I am so happy for you, Javier. She is such a wonderful woman. I am so glad she is going to be a part of our family. I know that your mamá is smiling down on you- She would have loved her so much, Javier. I love her, too. And now, I’m finally one step closer to mis nietos (my grandchildren).” Chucho playfully nudged Javi as he rolled his eyes, giving his son one last embrace as Javi headed out to his truck. As he turned over the ignition, Javi smiled to himself as he turned up the volume of the Queen’s Greatest Hits album you had picked out from your last drive.

“Oh, you're the best friend that I ever had. Been with you such a long time, You're my sunshine, and I want you to know that my feelings are true, I really love you. Oh, you're my best friend.”

Javi couldn’t help but let a stupidly wide grin spread across his cheeks as he listened to the lyrics of the track that had begun playing over the quiet crunch of the gravel under his truck tires as he backed out of the driveway to drive home. Because tomorrow? Tomorrow, Javier Peña was going to ask his best friend in the whole world, the woman he loved more than life itself, you, to be his wife.

Even though it was barely long enough for you to consider it to be a school “break”, you were glad to have today off to prep for your first Laredo Thanksgiving tomorrow. This would be the first time you would ever spend the holiday away from your childhood home, where your family had hosted every Thanksgiving for as long as you could remember. As much as you would have loved to fly back to go see everyone, plane tickets for the long weekend had been ridiculously expensive, and with just going to visit them a month ago for your cousin’s wedding, and future plans to go back to Chicago over Christmas break, your parents had been insistent on the fact that it was okay that you weren’t going to be able to make it home for Thanksgiving. While of course, you had been heartbroken you would have to miss seeing your family, from the moment Chucho found out you were Texas bound for the holiday, he was quick to make sure you felt nothing short of absolutely included in celebrating with the Peñas, even if it was just you, Javi and Chucho.

Javi still had to work on your day off, so you had spent your free time catching up on chores around the house, taking a well deserved nap and now, you were working on the apple pie you insisted to Chucho bring for the celebration tomorrow, as much as he had tried to convince you that you didn’t need to bring anything.

Somewhere along the lines of your childhood, it had become a Wednesday before Thanksgiving tradition that your family would watch The Wizard of Oz with your siblings before going to bed (although now as an adult, you had a feeling your parents put it on for you and your brothers so they could get the house ready without the four of you doing any more damage), so it only felt right that you put in on to watch as you waited for your pies to cook in the oven and Javi to get home. You shuffled through your VHS collection under the TV, rummaging around until you pulled out the worn tape, pushing it into the VHS player. After the movie had begun to play, you turned back around, letting out a defeated sigh at the current state of your kitchen.

As much as you loved baking, it always seemed to feel like a bomb had gone off by the time you were done as you looked around to see bowls, cutting boards and rolling pins in disarray on your counters. You grimaced to yourself looking around at the mess you had made, rolling up the sleeves of Javi’s oversized Texas A&M sweatshirt you had thrown on after you had woken up from your nap. With the way you had set up your apartment when you moved in, you were able to get a good view of your TV from the kitchen, cranking up the volume on your remote so you could listen and quote along to the movie as you worked on trying your best to clean up before Javi came home to your baking tornado.

At this point, you had seen the Wizard of Oz enough to quote it from front to back, especially as you and your brothers very early on in life had easily determined who got to be each part when you watched together. By default, because you were the only girl, your brothers told you that you had to be Dorthy, which you didn’t mind because you got the main part and to have Todo (Although your favorite family dog, Otis, an overweight yellow lab, wasn’t very pleased about having to be a part of you and your brothers yearly production). Charlie was always the Tin Man, being the oldest and most empathetic out of the rest of your brothers, David was Courage the Cowardly Lion, claiming lions were cool animals and that he was the bravest of your siblings, much to your disagreement, leaving Patrick as the Scarecrow, you and your brothers giving him the title of the smartest idiot you’d ever meet. After finishing washing the dishes, you had moved on to wiping down the counters, pausing and smiling to yourself as you heard the start to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” playing from the TV. You couldn’t help yourself as you began to sing along, swaying back and forth as you lazily wiped up your mess. You were so caught up in singing and dancing to yourself that you hadn’t even heard Javi open the door behind you.

Javi had quickly come to find out after moving in with you that not only coming home to you, but coming home to find you singing along to whatever CD you had playing as you meandered through the apartment, completely oblivious to his presence, was one his favorite things. There were times he could hear your voice as he went to unlock the door, making sure to open it extra quietly so he could stand in the doorway for a few moments, taking in the warmth and joy that radiated from you as you were lost in your own world. He soaked in every moment, watching every sway of your hip and shake of your head until you realized that he was home, making him just as happy for the big hug and kiss he got from you and your excited giggles as you greeted him.

He couldn’t quite make out what you had been signing as he carefully turned his key in the lock, gently closing the door behind him, grinning at the image of you dressed head to toe in his sweatshirt and sweatpants, messy bun plopped on your head as you bent over the counter, resting your elbow on the hard surface with your head propped up on your chin.

“Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?”

Quietly setting down his bag and keys, Javi snuck his way over to the kitchen loud enough for you not be completely startled by his presence, as the song came to an end, making you turn your head over your shoulder to see Javi coming behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist from the back he pressed his chest into your back, making you giggle as he planted quick, soft kisses along the exposed skin of your neck and shoulder.

“I could listen to you sing all day, Hermosa.” Javi rasped into your ear, playfully shaking you in his grasp. “Wizard of Oz?” He asked, gesturing towards the TV as the movie continued in the background.

“Really? You want me to sing Days of the Week for you? I didn’t get to sing it today since there was no school, I really need to get my fix.” You retorted, giving Javi a little nudge as he rolled his eyes.

“Please for the love of God, no.” The both of you laughed as you looked back at the TV, watching Todo escape from the back of Mrs. Gulch’s bike basket.

“My brothers and I would always watch it the night before Thanksgiving. Not really sure how the tradition started, but figured I’d throw it on. I can turn it off if you don’t wanna watch or put on something else.” You replied, reaching over for the remote.

“No, keep it on, Osita.” He smiled, pressing a soft kiss on the top of your head, arms still resting along your hips as he held you. “I can’t fuckin’ tell you the last time I’ve seen this movie. I’m gonna be real honest with you, I never really watched it that much as a kid because the flying monkeys scared the shit outta me.”

“Seriously? They’re not even that scary. But we can fast forward through the monkey parts, if you need to, ya big bab-HEY!” You shrieked as Javi suddenly turned you around in his grasp so you were chest to chest before scooping you up and plopping you down so you were sitting on the counter. He placed his hands outside your hips, engulfing your body and making you squirm and laugh as he peppered ticklish kisses across your neck and face, trying your best to swat back at him. “Javi stop! You know that tickles!” You squealed, finally grabbing his arms, wrestling with him until he had given up, pressing a sweet, tender kiss on your lips.

“Oh yeah? Who’s the big baby now?” He smirked, running his hands along your thighs as your legs dangled over the edge of the counter.

“Still you, because I’m not irrationally afraid of poorly made monkey costumes.” You pointed your finger at him, prodding at his chest.

“They’re fucking terrifying, Osita. You’re the worst, you know that?”

“Oh really? You still gonna tell me I’m the worst when I take these apple pies out of the oven?” You smirked, crossing your arms over your chest as you nodded over to the stove.

“Fuck, I knew it smelled good in here. Does that mean I get to-”

“Don’t you dare even think about trying to sneak a piece of these pies before tomorrow, Javier Jesús Peña! These are for Thanksgiving, and even though there’s only the 3 of us, I still made two because I know if I put a pie down in front of you, you could probably eat the whole thing by yourself, and I am not making another pie after the disaster in this tiny kitchen that I just cleaned up.” You raised an eyebrow at Javi, trying to give him your best stern face, the two of you snickering at each other as you tried to scold him.

“Fine, fine. No pies.” Javi laughed, holding up his hands in defense. “Not even just a little-”

“Javi! No!” You shook your head, slapping his arm as he looked back over at the oven before looking back at you, a sly smirk spreading across his face. Grabbing at the meat of your thighs, he slotted himself in the empty space of your legs, spread open as you sat on the counter. His hands quickly slid up towards your waist, creeping under the hem of his sweatshirt you were wearing as he caged his chest against yours, nipping at your neck, his words hot and heavy on your skin. “Javi….” You moaned, tipping your head back as his kisses traveled down to your collarbone and hands tugged at the waistband of your sweatpants. “Javi, I’m gonna burn these pies, I don’t wanna have to make them again or explain to your dad that they’re burnt to a crisp because his son cannot keep his hands off me for more than 30 seconds. They only need to be in the oven for like-”

“10 more minutes?” Javi quickly cut you off, now beginning to slide your sweatpants down your thighs, firmly pressing his hands along the soft flesh of your now bare legs. “Oh, don’t worry, I saw the timer, Hermosa. Baby, you know I can take care of you in 10 minutes, now I just wanna see how many times I can get you off before the pies are done.”

“Seriously? You’re timing yourself? Are we placing bets on this too, while we’re at it? You are absolutely ridiculous, Javi, I swear.” You tried your best to roll your eyes, but as his hands crept down, palming the already wet patch that had been growing in your underwear, it was hard to pretend you were even annoyed in the slightest. Your breath hitched as he hooked his fingers around the waistband of your panties, shuffling them down your legs as he placed his hands on the inside of your thighs, pushing them open to reveal the slick of your arousal that had already been pooling between them. Gently, he ran his fingers through your folds, barley grazing over your clit before dropping to his knees, coming face to face with your dripping heat.

“3.” He said, carefully kissing along the inside of your legs, making his way closer and closer to your entrance.

“3 what?” You replied, trying your best to stay focused on anything Javi was saying as his nose bumped against your throbbing bundle of nerves, practically feeling his smirk against your pussy as he darted his eyes up at you.

“3 times. I bet I can make you cum 3 times before the timer goes off.”

“You’re a fucking menace, Javier Peña, you know that right?” You sighed, gripping your hands against the edge of the counter, feeling your cunt clench, desperate for him to ease the ache between your legs.

“Only for you, Hermosa. Solo para ti (Only for you).” Javi looked up at you, shooting you a quick wink before licking a broad stroke against your clit, making you gasp and your jaw go slack as you moaned breathlessly. That was all it took before he dove in, a man on a mission to make you cum as many times as he could in the few minutes he had. Your legs draped over his broad shoulders, his fingertips squeezing into the flesh of your hips as his pace became rapid and intense, licking and sucking at your clit in a way that had you writing on the counter, tugging at the dark curls of his hair for any sort of relief.

“Javi, holy shit baby, oh fuck.” You whined, bucking your hips towards his face and arching your back as he circled around your bundle of nerves, your moans and whimpers only making him press his tongue firmer against you. Even after all this time, there was a part of you that still couldn’t believe how fast Javi could make you cum. He had memorized every twitch, every tug of his hair, every breathy whisper to know what made you fall apart under his touch, loving every second of watching you come undone for him. You could feel the tingling beginning to creep up your legs and into your stomach as Javi sucked at your clit, pulling his head closer to your soaking core, desperate for more. “Please don’t stop, Javi. Fuck baby, fuck, fuck, I- ahhhhhhhhh.” That was all it took before you could feel the waves of pleasure rushing through your body, your pussy throbbing as your orgasm flooded over you, your body trembling at Javi’s relentless pace as he still worked at you as you came.

“Fuck, you taste so sweet, hermosa. Sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever tasted.” Javi smirked, his mustache covered in your slick as he peeked over at the timer counting down on the stove. “7 minutes? Plenty of fucking time, Osita. You want my fingers, pretty girl?” He mewled, satisfied as he stared at the soaking wet mess between your legs, knowing you were still needy for more.

“Mhmmmmhhh. Please, Javi, please.” You whimpered, your hand still buried deep in the brown locks of his hair, pleading for relief as your cunt clenched around nothing, desperate to be filled.

“Such a good girl, asking so nicely.” He cooed, slowly pushing his two fingers into your already drenched core, making you gasp at the thickness now filling you, bumping against the soft spongy spot that made your toes curl and your jaw go slack. Already so worked up from just moments ago, as soon as Javi’s mouth was back on your throbbing clit, you could feel yourself beginning to clench around Javi’s hand, arousal pooling in your belly. His fingers slid easily in and out of your heat, his hand and mouth working at a persistent pace as he felt you squirm under him, knowing how close you were again.

Your second orgasm hit you even harder than your first, moaning and panting incoherently as you tensed around the thickness of Javi’s digits, soaking his hand as he feverishly lapped up your slick, only removing his mouth after he knew you had come down from your second high to smirk up at you with a devilishly smug grin. He ran his free hand along your leg, grasping at your thigh as his other hand still slowly pulsed inside you, his fingers curling ever so slightly to the spot he knew would get him to his goal. As much as you wanted to, you couldn’t even blame him for self-satisfied smile- Javi knew just as well as you that he knew how to work you in all the right ways to get you exactly where he wanted you. “Gimme one more just like this, Osita. C’mon, sweet girl. Wanna watch that pretty face when you cum. ” You nodded, looking down at the shine of your arousal covering his smirk, knowing that at this point, you were so worked up and overstimulated that just the fingers already inside of you really were all you needed to give him your last orgasm.

Javi’s fingers had already sunk so deep into your cunt, already so overly sensitive to every push and pull of his hand, that your grasp on the counter had become so tight, you could feel your knuckles turning white. You cried out his name as it fell from your lips, babbling incoherently as the third rush of pleasure crashed over you, gushing onto Javi’s hand as awed at your blissed out state.

“That’s it, baby. Let it all go, hermosa. Fuck, you look so good like this. Can’t believe you’re all fuckin’ mine. God, you’re so perfect.” Javi carefully pulsed his fingers a few more times as he felt you clench around him, making you hiss as he withdrew his hand now soaked in your slick. Bringing his hand to his mouth, he sucked his fingers clean before rising up off his knees, taking his time to plant soft kisses along your body before grabbing your face, pressing his lips against yours the taste of you still tangy on his tongue. It wasn’t long until the beep of the oven timer was ringing through your kitchen, making Javi’s smug smirk only grow wider. “See? Told you I could do it 3 times before the pies were done.”

“Jesus Christ…” You swatted at him, trying to catch your breath, the two of you laughing and shaking your heads as he helped you slide down off the counter before pulling your sweatpants back up over your legs, walking over towards the oven. “If you think this was gonna change my mind about you getting a piece tonight, it’s not.” You raised an eyebrow at him, throwing on an oven mitt before reaching in to pull out the pies, sweet and steaming as they rested on the counter.

“Not even just a-”

You turned around, trying your best to give him your most stern look without bursting into giggles, making Javi hold his hands up in defense, stopping mid-sentence. “You can have all the pie you want tomorrow, you hungry, horny menace.” You laughed, taking off your oven mitt and pointing it at him.

Tomorrow.

He couldn’t help but smile knowing that in less than 24 hours, tomorrow meant a lot more than just getting to eat the apple pies that had just come out of the oven.

Javi felt like a little boy on Christmas morning. Sleep was an incredibly inaccurate way to describe the anticipated tossing and turning he had done all night, his heart racing excitedly as he counted down the moments until he finally got down on one knee, and asked you to be his wife. It didn’t take much to get Javi out of bed bright and early, his adrenaline pumping through his veins as he planted a soft kiss on the tangled and sleepy waves of your hair as you laid face down, snoring into your pillow, before sneaking out of your room into the kitchen.

As you shifted over in bed, reaching for Javi to pull him closer to you in your half asleep state, you scrunched your face, blinking as you looked over to find an empty space beside you, the sheets of Javi’s of the mattress left in a tangled pile in his place. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you looked up to see the sunrise creeping through the cracks of your curtains, painting your bedroom walls in golden rays and silhouettes, blowing in the soft breeze from your cracked window. Reaching your arms over your head and letting out a big yawn, you crawled out of bed, shuffling across the carpet of your bedroom to your dresser to pull out another one of Javi’s sweatshirts before opening your door to hear the sounds of sizzling and popping coming from the kitchen. Creeping down the hallway, you peeked your head around the corner to see Javi and his messy, sleepy curls cooking away, working on what seemed to be like bacon and eggs, sitting next to an already completed giant pile of pancakes.

“Are we having breakfast for 12 this morning?” You giggled, your voice still soft and sleepy as you smiled at Javi, walking into the kitchen and hugging him from behind, snaking your arms around his waist, resting your body against his broad back. “You didn’t have to do all this, Jav. I didn’t know you were getting up to make breakfast this morning, I could have gotten up and helped.”

Javi set down his spatula, turning to face you, gently cupping your jaw as placed a soft kiss on your lips and forehead, squeezing you in a tight hug. “Good morning to you too, Hermosa. I know you didn’t. I wanted to surprise you and bring you breakfast in bed, but I guess I should have known better that you would be up before then.” He chuckled as you hoisted yourself up onto the counter, sitting next to the stack of pancakes you now noticed were separated by both blueberries and chocolate chips. He reached beside him, handing you the mug of coffee he had poured, gladly taking a generous sip before watching him finish up the rest of the scrambled eggs on the stove.

“Surprise Thanksgiving breakfast?” You laughed, tilting your head in confusion as you looked over at Javi before reaching down to grab a chocolate chip pancake, taking a bite and letting out a satisfied sigh.

Javi tried his best to keep calm and nonchalant, giving a little shrug as he scraped the eggs off the pan onto one of the empty plates, handing it over to you. “It’s uh- it’s your first Thanksgiving away from home, I don’t know- I know you love breakfast, I just wanted to make it special for you, I guess.”

“Well-” You paused, taking a big fork full of eggs, nodding your head as you chewed, “Oh my god these are good-” finally swallowing before finishing the rest of your thought, “You’re very sweet, and I am very, very thankful for you, and your delicious breakfast.” You grinned, leaning over to give Javi a kiss on the cheek on his scratchy, morning stubble as he dropped the rest of the eggs on to his plate, setting it to the side as he hooked his arms under your thighs, making you squeal as you draped his arms around your neck and locked your legs around the small of your back as he spun you around, peppering ticklish kisses against your soft skin.

“I’m so thankful for you too, Osita. Fuck, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, you know that? I love you so goddamn much.” His sweet, brown eyes locked with yours as your hands ran through the soft curls of his hair before tracing along his cheek, your thumb rubbing soft circles along his jaw.

“I love you too, Jav. Someone’s feeling sappy this morning.” You prodded, giving him one last quick peck before unwrapping your legs and setting your feet back on the ground, grabbing your plate and heading over to the couch to turn on the TV. Javi looked at the ground sheepishly, feeling the heat creep through his flushed face.

You didn’t even know the fucking half of it.

Javi had spent the rest of the morning trying his best to stay as even keeled as possible, but with how fast his heart had been beating since the moment he had gotten out of bed, he was surprised you hadn’t asked if he was having a heart attack as you pressed your head against his chest, cuddling up together on the couch to watch the rest of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade after finishing your huge breakfast.

“Awh yes!” You grasped at Javi’s shirt, shaking the fist fulls of fabric in excitement as you stared at Santa’s sleigh now making its way across the TV screen. “Christmas time is finally here!” Javi shook his head, laughing to himself at the number of times you had already broughten up how excited you were for Christmas since the day November had started. “Are you gonna hate me if I start decorating and listening to Christmas music tomorrow?” You grimaced, twisting your head to look up at Javi.

“Jesus Christ, you weren’t kidding, huh? You really wanna start setting out Christmas shit tomorrow?”

“I will hold off until December 1st if I absolutely have to, but just know, each day that passes until then will kill me slowly.”

“And I’m the ridiculous one?”

“Pendejo.” You grumbled, giving him a nudge.

“You love me. That’s fine baby, I’m honestly impressed you held out this long.”

“Honestly, it’s only because I actually really do also like Thanksgiving, it deserves it's time to shine, too. Oh, speaking of which, I wanna call my family just to say hi really quick before we start getting ready to leave, is that okay?” You asked, pushing yourself up off the couch.

“Uh, yeah- yeah of course that’s fine, Hermosa.” He replied, seeming surprisingly flustered by your question. You obviously hadn’t seemed to notice, walking over to grab your phone off the receiver before punching in your house phone number, holding it up to your ear as the dial tone rang repeatedly. A confused look spread across your face as the ringing ended in your mom’s familiar voicemail, giving Javi a puzzled shrug as you left your message.

“Hi everyone, it’s me! Just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! I miss you guys! If you try and call and I don’t answer, we’re over at Javi’s dad’s- Javi says hi too. Okay, well if I don’t talk to you later, then tell David not to eat too much gravy so he doesn’t shit his pants again. Love you!” You pressed the red button, ending your call as you set the phone back down. “That’s so weird that no one answered, they should all be home right now.”

“I’m sure they’re fine, baby. They’re probably just busy. I’m sure you’ll talk to them later.” He smiled, giving your outstretched hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Yeah, you’re right. We should probably start getting ready, when did your dad want us over again?”

“He said to take our time, he’ll have food ready whenever we get over there.”

“Well I feel bad that he’s there waiting all by himself. I’m good to hop in the shower if you are?” You suggested, pulling him up to stand from the couch.

“Don’t worry about me for the shower, I’ll clean up the rest of breakfast and you can start getting ready, okay?” Javi rubbed his hand along your arm, reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind your ear.

“Jav, you made me breakfast, the least I can do is help clean-”

“Osita. I know you’d help me clean up. I want to, okay? I wanted to get up and make breakfast for you, I’m not gonna let you clean up my mess.”

“Fine, Mr. Stubborn. Thank you. You sure I can’t-”

“Go get your ass in the shower, hermosa.” Javi gestured towards the bathroom, giving your butt a quick smack before heading down the hallway into the bathroom.

In all honesty, cleaning the dishes was the last thing Javi had on his mind as he was finally able to get you into the bathroom. Once he heard the water on and the shower curtain open, he snuck his way into the bedroom, digging through his sock drawer to pull out the giant sock ball with your ring buried inside it. Pulling the velvet case out of the fabric, Javi carefully opened the box, smiling at the glimmer of the piece of shiny jewelry, picturing how perfect it would look finally wrapped around your finger. He slipped the case into one of the inside pockets of his jacket, squeezing his hand around the fabric, as if to make sure this was actually happening. Quietly, he grabbed his cell phone from his nightstand, dialing up Chucho, anxiously chewing at the inside of his lip as he waited for his dad to answer.

“Hola, hijo.” Chucho answered, his voice filled with excitement and glee.

“Hey, Pops. She just started getting ready so I’m guessing we’ll be there in like, an hour and a half?” His dad could practically hear Javi’s nerves and anxiety now beginning to build as the realization that he was hours away from proposing was finally starting to hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Perfect. Everything and everyone will be ready, don’t worry, Mijo.” Chucho chuckled, trying to ease his son’s tension.

“Okay.” Javi’s response was short and unassuring as he ran his free hand through his dark curls before resting his hand on his hip.

“Javier. Tiene planeada un día mas perfecto para ella. Así que respiremos profundamente, todo está yendo bien. A ella le encantaría. Casi tanto como elle te ama.” (Javier, you have planned the most perfect day for her. Take a deep breath, it will all be okay. She will love it. Almost as much as she loves you). Javi took a long inhale, his dad 's words comforting him as his exhale followed.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Claro, hijo (Of course, son). We will see you and your futura esposa (future wife) soon.”

“Te veré pronto. (I’ll see you soon) Bye.”

Hearing the water from your shower turn off, Javi rushed back into the kitchen, speed washing every dish and pan to make sure it looked like he had made good on his promise to clean up after himself while you were getting ready in the bathroom. With the dishwasher full and running, Javi made his way down the hall to see you standing in front of the bathroom mirror, wrapped in your towel, and starting to put on your makeup. He couldn’t help but gawk at you- Javi watching you get ready had become a staple in your relationship very early on, the two of you talking as Javi rested his hip on the counter, or sat on the lid of the toilet seat, smiling to himself, in awe of every beautiful part of you. But there was something about the way that Javi was staring at you right now as you peeked your head out of the bathroom that made your heart flutter. It wasn’t the I’d fuck you right now against the bathroom counter look that had become just as much of a staple as Javi watching you get ready, it wasn’t even the sweet, flirty look he’d give you when he just wanted to let you know how cute you were. The way Javi looked at you as you stood there in your fluffy towel, makeup half done and hair wet and tangled from the shower was a look that put butterflies in your stomach. He looked at you like you were the only person in the world. That he didn’t care if anyone else existed beside you. That you were the only person he ever wanted to look at like this.

“What’s that look for?” You blushed, setting down your mascara to stare back at him.

“You’re just- Fuck. You’re so beautiful, Osita. Everything about you. I’m so lucky.” Javi’s words were soft and gentle, his sweet brown eyes making you melt as they soaked in every inch of you.

“Does Thanksgiving always make you this sappy?” You giggled, biting down on your lip before turning back to the mirror. “Thanks, Jav. I hope you know I feel equally as lucky. Now go get your cute butt in the shower so we don’t have to make your dad wait any longer. I need to find the loosest fitting outfit I have so I can make room for when I eat my bodyweight in mashed potatoes.”

By the time Javi was finished getting ready, you were already out in the kitchen wrapping up the pies you had made last night to safely get to Chucho’s without any sneaky tampering from Javi.

“Well, you look handsome.” You smirked, watching Javi walk down the hallway in one of his dark washed pairs of tight jeans, paired with a tan button up and black jacket overtop of it. Javi’s jaw just about dropped as he watched you make your way out from around the counter, showing off the cute, burnt orange dress you had put on over your cream colored turtleneck.

“Me? Jesus Christ, look at you, Osita.” You giggled as you pressed up on your tiptoes, giving him a quick kiss as you draped your arms over his neck.

“Oh shhhh. Thank you, Jav. You ready to leave?” You smiled up at him, Javi praying you couldn’t feel how fast his heart was racing as he caged his chest against yours, thinking about the last drive he was ever about to make with you before you went from girlfriend to fiancé.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Can I trust you to carry the other pie on the way down to the car without eating any of it?” You laughed, rolling your eyes as you reached over the counter to hand him the tin foil covered dessert.

“Yes, you can trust me. I think I left my phone in the bedroom, let me just go grab it really quick and then we can go, okay?” You nodded at him as he quickly made his way back to your room, cell phone already tucked away in his pants when he put on his jeans 15 minutes ago. He looked over his shoulder to check and make sure you hadn’t followed behind, pulling out the ring box one last time, taking a deep breath before giving it a little squeeze and stashing it back in his pocket.

It was really fucking happening.

As the two of you began your drive to what you assumed was Chucho’s, Javi turned up the volume of the CD he had picked out to play in the car, “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac now bumping through the speakers. He reached over the center console, intertwining your fingers with his as he grabbed your hand, smiling over at you as the melodic intro began. “This song always makes me think of the first night I ever stayed over at your apartment. All you had to eat was fuckin’ mac and cheese.”

“Oh my God, I remember that. I was so embarrassed because I had nothing else to eat and I didn’t want you to think I was a crazy person who only ate like a 10 year old. God, that feels like forever ago.” Running your free hand over your face, the two of you laughed over the melodic soundtrack playing in the background, the memory of that night making your heart grow warm.

“I guess. Honestly, it still almost feels like it was yesterday. I just remember how fucking nervous I was the whole goddamn night.”

“With how many times we fucked that night, you really didn’t seem nervous.” You giggled, rubbing your thumb over the rough skin of his hand interlaced with yours.

“I was. I was so nervous I was gonna fuck something up, because I knew I was already so fucking in love with you, and it scared the shit out of me. No one else has ever made me feel like you do. I knew from that day on I never wanted to live without you.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I felt the exact same. We’ve come a long way since then, huh?” The two of you smiled at each other as you leaned your head over to rest on Javi’s shoulder, Javi pressing a tender kiss in your hair, the sweet and familiar smell of your shampoo flooding him with comfort, easing his nerves just a touch as changed course from his usual route to the ranch, making you perk back up in confusion.

“Since when do we go this way to your dad’s house? We’ve never gone this way before.” You questioned, a puzzled look spreading across your face.

“I know. Just trust me, okay?” He grinned softly, giving you a reassuring squeeze of his hand.

“Okay?” You replied wearily, giving Javi a suspicious look. “What the hell are you up to?”

“Osita. Just trust me.”

“Fine, I should know better than to ask questions at this point, I know you’re not gonna tell me anything. Do I get a hint?”

“No, you dork.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” You grumbled, resting your head back against Javi as he drove the two of you down an unfamiliar path, the sounds of Fleetwood Mac filling the comfortable silence between you.

It wasn’t long until the road you were on started to become vaguely familiar, peeking out the window of the truck to try and piece together why your surroundings felt so recognizable. It wasn’t until you saw the white “For Sale” sign, now covered with “SOLD” in bright, red letters, peeking out of the tree lined driveway that you began to put two and two together.

“Wait… Isn’t this the place that we went to go see for Steve’s friend a couple weeks ago?” You asked, looking back at Javi as he slowed the speed of the truck, beginning to turn into the driveway.

“Mmmhhmm.” Javi nodded, his fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel.

“It- It looks like he must have bought it, so why are we back here? Are you sure he’s fine with us just like, showing up here?” You were absolutely stumped as to why you were back at the plot of land you had gone to check out for Steve’s friend after his Halloween party until you rounded the corner along the “For Sale” sign.

“Yeah, I think he’ll be okay with it.” Javi smirked, gazing over at you.

Then all of a sudden, it hit you like a ton of bricks.

The conversation you had overheard between Javi and Steve at the Halloween party.

The reason why he had asked you to come look at this place for Steve’s buddy.

Why “SOLD” was plastered over the for sale sign.

You could physically feel your jaw drop, hanging open so wide, you wouldn’t have been surprised if it had dropped through the floor of Javi’s truck. Your eyes grew as you looked over at Javi, your head darting back between him and the trees lining the driveway, practically frozen in shock.

“Javi…” You whispered, your breath shaky and trembling from the butterflies building in your stomach. His silence had never felt more comforting, simply smiling back at you before putting the truck into park, hopping out to make his way to the driver’s side, opening the door for you. You quickly wiped your palms against your dress, feeling how sweaty they had become from the nerves building inside you before sliding out of your seat, walking hand in hand with Javi the last few feet down the driveway before the trees opened to the open, grassy field hidden behind it, just as charming and beautiful as you remembered it.

You had been so focused on the view in front of you, you hadn’t even noticed Javi tugging your hand over towards the old oak tree on the side of the property, wrapped in twinkling string lights and pictures of the two of you. Under the tree, a big plaid blanket laid spread across the grass, covered in piles of cute pillows and surrounded by a few candles and vases of beautiful orange and red flowers resting on the ground. You felt your heart race, knots of anticipation building in your stomach as you quickly began to realize the “SOLD” sign wasn’t the only thing Javi was trying to surprise you with.

Holy fuck, he was going to propose to you, too.

You used every last brain cell in you to try and form anything close to a coherent sentence, but the best you could get out as the two of you reached the blanket under the towering tree was a jumbled mess of tangled words, spilling from your mouth. “Javi- What, are- Baby, is this- Javi, I, I- Holy shit.” Your hands trembled as you reached out for one of the pictures hung around the base of the tree- One Chucho must have taken one of the days the two of you were out on the ranch, Javi carrying you on his back as the two of you laughed at each other with stupid grins on your face. You could practically feel your heart beating out of your chest, tears already beginning to well behind your eyes as you looked up at Javi.

“That one’s always been one of my favorites. You look so happy, Osita.” He whispered, rubbing his hand along your back as the two of you stared at the photo, Javi pressing a soft kiss against your head, letting out a shaky exhale as he pulled away. Grabbing your hand, he turned towards you, the Adam’s apple of his throat bobbing as he swallowed, trying to compose himself before he spoke again. “All I ever want is for you to be happy, baby.”

You let out an audible gasp, covering your trembling hands over your mouth as you watched Javi lower himself down onto one knee, tears welling behind those sweet brown eyes as he smiled up at you with that familiar gaze you realized you would now never have to live without.

“Osita. Baby, you make me the happiest man in the world. I don’t think I ever truly understood what it felt like to be this happy until I met you. I couldn’t be more thankful that your clumsy ass bumped into me all those months ago, because there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by since I’ve met you that my life hasn’t been better, because you’re in it. You’re everything I never knew I needed, and everything I never thought I deserved. You are the most beautiful, kind, and loving woman I’ve ever met. You’re also the most stubborn, headstrong, independent woman I have ever met, and I love every perfect part of you that makes you the person I feel head over heels in love with. From the moment I met you, I couldn’t imagine how I could spend the rest of my life without you. I wanna spend forever with you, Osita. I wanna give you the world. I wanna start our lives together here. I wanna build you a house, I wanna fill it with as many kids as you want, I wanna spend the rest of my life here with you, because if I have that, that’s all I’ll ever need. You’re all I’ll ever need.”

Javi’s hands shook as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the little velvet box that had been hidden inside, carefully opening the case to reveal the beautiful, oval cut diamond, nestled between little clusters of smaller stones, resting on top of a dainty and simple gold band. You could feel the tears streaming down your grinning cheeks, still trying to comprehend what was happening as Javi held the ring up towards you.

“Osita, I love you so much. Te amo más que a mi vida (I love you more than life itself). Baby, will you marry me?”

Javi could barely finish the question before you were jumping on him, wrapping your arms around him as tightly as you could, sobbing into his shoulder as the two of you fell onto the blanket, bodies tangled in each other as you laid on top of him.

“Of course. Of course I’ll marry you, you idiot. I love you so much.”

You laughed through your tears, grabbing his face, your lips meeting in an electric moment that made everything else around you stand still. You could feel each other’s grins against your parted mouths, laying back down on top of Javi squeezing him as tightly as you could to try and ground yourself in the reality of what had just happened.

“I think I’m supposed to put the ring on your finger now, you dork.” He laughed, pushing you both to sit up as he grabbed the case that had landed next to him on the blanket, cautiously taking out the ring, his thumb rubbing over the knuckles of your outstretched hand as he slipped onto your finger, the both of you staring at it in awe.

“Javi… Baby, holy shit this is beautiful. How did you- When did you-”

“It was my mom’s.” He grinned, biting down on his lip as he watched the ring sparkle on your finger before looking back up at you, the tears now building in both your eyes again. “When uh- In the end, before she passed, she always told me if I ever found someone, I could have it. I kinda wrote it off because I didn’t think I’d ever find anyone, let alone find you. I know I never really asked you what you wanted or liked, but-”

“Javi. It’s perfect.” You cupped his cheeks, your face beaming with joy as you shook your head still in absolute shock. As if the ring on your finger wasn’t enough, you looked back out at the green grass swaying in the gentle breeze, reminded of the fact that not only did Javi want you to be his wife, but this man had just told you he was about to build you a fucking house. “You really bought this? We’re gonna build a house here? This is all ours?”

“It’s all ours, Hermosa. Whatever you want, baby, I’ll build it for you.” Javi's face lit up watching the excitement radiating from you, your eyes darting back between the ring on your finger and the beautiful plot of land in front of you, trying to take everything in.

“You’re being serious? Like actually? We’re really gonna build a house here?” You asked, still trying to process.

“Yes, seriously.” Javi nodded, smiling at you as you shook your head in disbelief, burying your head in your hands and squealing before shooting up, running over to the middle of the empty plot grass, spinning in a circle, imagining the possibilities of what was to come.

“So we can have a big kitchen? And huge windows so it’s always sunny inside? And a porch on the back deck that we can watch the sunset? And a-”

“Baby, we can have whatever you want.” Javi chuckled to himself as you stood there for a moment, taking it all in before running back over to him, once again, tackling him to the ground pressing frantic kisses against his lips.

“We can finally have a bedroom big enough for a king size bed? Where we can hang out all day? And watch the sunrise? And have plenty of space to fuck my husband?” You smirked, feeling Javi’s cock twitch against the denim of his jeans as you laid on top of him. Javi let out a low groan as you hand snaked between your bodies, reaching down to palm at the bulge straining against his zipper.

“Say it again.” He rasped, planting hot, wet kisses along your neck, nipping at your skin.

“My husband. You’re gonna be my husband, Javier Peña.”

Husband.

Oh fuck, did that do something to do him hearing you say that out loud.

Grabbing you by the hips, he quickly flipped you over, your back resting on the blanket as he hovered over you, trailing kisses down every inch of your body before his palms pushed up the hem of your dress, grasping at the meat of your thighs. He cupped his hand against your core, already feeling the wetness that had begun to pool in your underwear, carefully hooking his fingers under the waistband before sliding it down your legs.

“Again, baby. Say it again.” He mewled, running his fingers between your folds, collecting your arousal as his thumb circled around your clit, making your breath shake as you spoke again.

“Husband. Fuck, Javi, I’m gonna be your wife.”

Now that, that one really did something to him.

“You’re gonna be my fucking wife.” Javi’s tongue darted between his parted lips as he sunk his two fingers deep inside you, making you moan beneath him. “I’m gonna be your fucking husband. I’m gonna take such good care of you, Osita. I’ll give you everything. Anything you want, Hermosa, I’ll give it to you.” His touch had you writing, bucking your hips against his hand as he thumbed at your sensitive bundle of nerves. His fingers curved ever so slightly, pressing against the soft spongy spot that made your pussy throb even more intensely than it already was. Javi’s forehead rested against yours, your noses brushing against each other as your words escaped from the soft, smirking curve of your lips, thinking about Javi’s promise.

“Anything? You’re gonna give me a house, your last name…you gonna give me a baby, too? Make you a husband and a daddy?”

Holy shit, you were really trying to fucking kill him.

Just the thought of that alone was enough for Javi to let out an audible groan, biting down on his tongue and taking a deep breath to compose himself so that he didn’t bust right that second. “Jesus Christ…” he growled, quickly removing his fingers, already soaked with your juices, making you whimper at the rapid loss. Frantically, he undid his belt buckle, sliding his pants and boxers down his thighs to reveal his already hard cock, his tip red and leaking with precum. That was all it took before Javi was stroking himself, lining his tip up with your entrance and flushing his hips against yours, feeling his length bottom all the way out against your cervix, making you whine at his fullness inside you. You’d be lying if you said the idea alone hadn’t made you so wet and worked up, that even though Javi had barely spent any time working you open with his fingers, he still slid into your heat effortlessly.

“Fuckkkk meeee, Osita.” He grunted, already beginning to press into you at a rushed, sloppy pace. You had come to find out that while Javi had impressive stamina, there were times that the little things you said or did to him made him absolutely lose his mind. It would leave him so worked up and on edge, that his endurance flew out the window, barely standing a chance at lasting more than a few quick minutes buried inside you. Given your comment, the rate he was snapping his hips into yours, and that all too familiar lustful look in his eyes, you already knew he was a goner.

You grasped at fist fulls of his jacket, digging your fingers into the fabric as Javi punched deep into the spot that made your vision go white, feeling your cunt already beginning to clench around his cock as he rubbed his fingers frantically along your clit. “You want me to give you a baby, Osita? Shit- I’ll give you as many babies as you want. We’ll fill up every fucking room in this house. I’d fuck a baby into right now if I could. You’d like that, huh?” Javi hissed through gritted teeth, his strokes rapid and punishing as he punched against your g-spot, watching you whimper beneath him.

“Fuckkk, yes, Javi- ahhhh- Jesus, I want it so bad. I want everything with you, baby.”

“Fuck, Hermosa, I’m close- I can feel how close you are too, baby. So tight and wet. Give it to me, Osita. Want you to cum all over my cock before I fuck you full of me.” With a few more strokes, you could feel the tingle building at the base of your spine as your orgasm ripped through you, euphoria flooding through your veins across your body. Your moans and cries as you tightened around Javi’s dick had him moments away from coming undone just as fast as you had, his rambling becoming just as fast and boundless as his last few pumps inside of you.

“Fuck, you’re gonna be such a good wife- oh shit- such a good mom. I can’t until we can have a family to raise here- I can’t believe-ahhhh- I can’t believe your mine forever. Can’t believe I get to marry you, fuck a baby into you, holy shit, fuck, fuck- ohhhhhhh-” With one final thrust, Javi buried himself deep in your hilt, milking himself of every last drop of his spend, slumping into you, your chests rising and falling in unison as you both came down from your blissed out highs before pulling out from the wet mess between you.

“Well fuck me…” You giggled, running your hand over your face, smirking back up at Javi.

“Jesus Fucking Christ, Osita. I’d apologizing for fucking busting so quick, but goddamn, if you keep saying shit like that, I swear…” The two of you laughed, Javi picking up the hand covering your face, kissing the ring now wrapped around your finger before leaning down to meet your lips in a long, tender kiss.

“You liked that, huh?” You smirked up at him, biting down on your lip as he nipped at your ear, his voice low and raspy as his hot breath pressed against your skin.

“Baby, if you keep talking like that, I swear to God, I’m gonna find a way to beat your birth control and fuck a baby into you right this second.”

“I meannnnn, I wouldn’t be mad about it. You better stop saying shit before I run home and toss my birth control pills out the window, never to be seen again. No, no, this is bad, Jav! We aren’t even married yet, Jesus! We cannot be talking like this until we at least make that happen and we build this house. One step at a time.” You sighed, shaking your head and laughing to yourself as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear before swiping his thumb along your bottom lip.

“One step at a time.” He repeated, softly gazing into your eyes, his sweet chocolate brown stare making you melt beneath him. “I love you so fucking much, Osita.”

“Te amo hasta la luna y de regreso, Javier Peña.” (I love you to the moon and back). I still can’t believe you did all this for me. I would have been happy with anything, but a proposal and surprise house combination is pretty fuckin’ tough to beat. Thank you, Javi. For everything. I am the luckiest woman in the world. I honestly still can’t believe this, oh my God.”

“There’s still one more surprise.” Javi grinned, his comment making you sit up in shock.

“Javi. Seriously? How could there possibly be any more surprises? Did you get me a fucking unicorn too?”

“Last one, I promise.”

Javi grunted as he pushed himself up to stand, extending his arm down to you to help pull you towards him. You couldn't help but wrap your arms around him, squeezing your body against the warm familiar space of his, staring out into the blank canvas that would be yours and Javi’s home. The two of you stood there for a moment in silence, smiles stretched wide across your faces as you held each other in the crisp November breeze, feeling like the only two people in the world to exist. No one but you and him. You had Javier Peña forever, and you were never letting go.

As you had finally come to grips with the reality of what had just happened on the actual car ride over to the Peña ranch, you could feel your head spinning with questions as to how in the world Javi had managed to pull all of this off.

“Wait okay, so when did you get the ring? You hid it really well, I had no idea you even had it. Did you set all of this stuff up? When the hell did you go buy this beautiful piece of land we’re about to build a house on? How long have you been-”

“Jesus Hermosa, one at a time.” Javi chuckled, resting his hand on your thigh to try and slow your interrogation as he drove.

“Sorry, sorry. I still can’t believe you did all of this, I wanna know all the details now! Okay, the ring- I’ll start there. God, it’s so pretty.” You beamed, holding out your hand in front of you to stare at it.

“I got it from my dad after my birthday party. Believe me, I would have done this sooner, but all the stuff with buying the fucking land was a pain in my ass, and took way longer than I thought it was going to. I put the offer in right before we left for Chicago, and didn’t close on everything until like 2 weeks ago. ” Javi sighed, shaking his head.

“Yeah Jav, I’m SO upset you didn’t get this beautiful piece of land to build our dream house on and propose to me a few weeks sooner, I’m calling it all off.” You joked, your voice oozing with sarcasm as Javi rolled his eyes at you.

“Pendejo.”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked to marry me. When did you decide building a house was gonna be a part of this whole plan?” You asked, smirking over at Javi, giving him a little nudge across the center console.

“For a while now. I looked at a few houses after I got the ring, but nothing felt right. My dad built our house on the ranch when he and my mom got married, and after talking with him, it was the only thing that made sense. I want our house to be everything we want. Everything you want.” He smiled, tracing his thumb in soft circles along your leg.

“Javi, we could live in a cardboard box together and I would be happy. I don’t care as long as I’m with you. Although, I’m not mad about it.” The both of you laughed to yourselves, stupid grins on your faces. “So like, are you gonna build it? Not that I don’t trust your construction skills, but that seems like a lotta house for one man.”

“Jesus, no. My cousin Danny’s a contractor- I talked to him when I was thinking about doing all of this. He helped me find the place and already agreed to start building whenever we’re ready. I told him obviously we would help whenever we could, and my dad has already offered to help too- he’s about to be over there every day, because he’s convinced the sooner the house is built, the sooner he gets his grandkids.”

“I think he may be the most excited out of anyone.” You giggled, shaking your head. “So he obviously knows about all this? Did he help with setting everything up?”

“Yeah, he had some help too.” Javi smiled as the two of you pulled into the driveway of the Peña ranch, the sun slowly beginning to set behind the horizon, the golden rays spilling in through the windows of his truck as he shifted it into park. He quickly got out, hopping around to your side of the car to open your door, taking your hand and helping you down after planting a soft kiss on your lips.

The two of you walked hand in hand up to the house, giddy with excitement to finally talk with Chucho about everything Javi had surprised you with today, almost forgetting that the 3 of you still had Thanksgiving to celebrate on top of everything else. “Oh shit, the pies!” You exclaimed, getting ready to run back to the truck before Javi grabbed your arm, stopping you in your tracks.

“I’ll go get them in a minute, let’s go inside, okay?” He insisted, dragging you back towards the house.

“Javi, it’ll take like 2 seconds, I-”

“Ostia. Just go inside, okay?”

“Fine, fine!” You laughed, reaching your hand down to twist open the doorknob, looking up at Javi’s boyish grin. “I just don’t understand why-”

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, THEY’RE HERE! AHHHHHHH HONEY!”

You stood there for a moment, wondering who the hell was screeching at the top of their lungs, ambushing you in a hug that felt more like a death grip than anything else. It took a second before you processed the all too familiar voice and arms wrapped around your body, making your heart race and tears begin to fall down your face.

“Wait, wha- Wait Mom?! What are you-”

“Oh sweetheart, oh my God! BOYS! GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE! COME CONGRATULATE YOUR SISTER.” Your Mom shouted over your shoulder, still squeezing you in her arms, shaking you frantically. “JAVI, HONEY, AH WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR YOU!” Your mom shrieked, pulling Javi in for just as tight of a hug as the one you had just gotten a few seconds earlier before turning back to you, squeezing you again.

“Wait, everyone- Mom, what the fuck? What are you- wait, what are you all doing here?” Finally beginning to come to, you pulled away from your mom to see not only Chucho, but your dad, brothers, and nieces all smiling back at your awestruck face.

“Language honey, Jesus, just because you’re getting married doesn’t mean you get to swear at your mom.” She swatted at you, rolling her eyes.

You took another step back as your eyes darted between Javi and your family, your jaw hanging open in absolute shock. “But when did you- how did- Wait, what is happening?” You ran your hands through your hair, head swiveling back and forth, looking for someone to explain how the hell your family had ended up here, at the Peña Ranch in Laredo, Texas.

Shuffling up behind your mom, your dad greeted you, pulling you in for a quick hug and little noogie on your arm before doing the same to Javi, standing between the two of you as he spoke. “Once this kid knew when he was gonna propose, he wanted to find a way for us to be there. He knew how much you didn’t wanna miss Thanksgiving, which I don’t fucking understand, I thought you were gettin’ a get outta jail free card from these idiots,” He gestured over at Charlie and David, shrugging in agreement before turning back to you, “Javi asked if we wanted to come down here for Thanksgiving so we could celebrate it and spend it with you. You found a good one, kiddo.”

“Congrats, asshat. If there’s hope for you, then there’s hope for us all, isn’t there?” David snickered, giving you a playful punch before patting you on the back for a hug.

“To say there’s hope for you is generous.” You smirked at David, elbowing him back as Olivia squealed, running up to you with her arms outstretched, her patience running out as she waited for the grownups to finish talking.

“AUNTIE BEAR!”

“Cutie patootie!” You shrieked back, picking her up and spinning her around.

“Auntie Bear, did Mr. Javi do the surprise? Did you know that Mr. Chucho has cows?! And horses!? I got to go pet one and Brianna did too, but she was scared and cried, but I didn’t ‘cause I’m really brave!” Olivia beamed, giggling as you gave her one last twirl as you set her back down.

“You got to go see the animals? Aren’t they so cute? Yes, Mr. Javi did the surprise, it was a really good one.” You smiled back at Javi, tears welling in your eyes, wondering how your heart could feel any fuller.

“This niñita y su hermana (little girl and her sister) took very good care of the animals this afternoon. Gracias, peque (thanks, little one).” Chucho grinned, reaching down to give Olivia a gentle high five as she bounced in excitement before looking back up at you. “Oh mija. I am so happy for you both. Your family is a hoot, I will tell you that. I see where you get your spunk from.” All of you laughed as you wrapped your arms around Chucho.

“Mr. Peña, that’s a very nice way of calling us the biggest bunch of annoying idiots you’ve ever met, so thank you.” Charlie remarked, making everyone laugh equally as hard as he leaned against you, holding your other niece, Brianna as he ruffled your hair. “I’m so happy for you, Cubby. Natalie says she wishes she could be here, but with the baby, she couldn’t make it out.”

“I’d ask if she was mad, but considering you got these two little monsters and yourself out of her hair, I’m guessing she’s kind of relieved. Tell her we’re excited to meet baby Lucas at Christmas. Thank you, Charlie.”

Now that you had finally said hello to everyone, you turned back around to look at Javi, the look on his face only slightly smug as he winked at you, shaking your head back at him in disbelief. “You are absolutely insane, you know that?” You tried to laugh through your tears, caging your chest against Javi’s as you hugged him, wondering how in the world you had ended up so goddamn lucky. “Thank you, Javi. This is- I can’t- I don’t even know what to say. I love you so much.” Javi reached down, brushing a stray piece of hair from your face as he cupped his hand around your jaw, smiling out at your family before back down at you.

“I told you, Osita. You deserve everything. I’m glad I get to spend forever trying to give it to you. I love you too.” He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss on your lips, quickly interrupted by the sounds of Olivia’s disgust at the two of you.

“Ew, that’s really gross. Auntie Bear, do you have to kiss him now because you’re getting married? Maybe just do that when I’m not here.” She grimaced, covering her eyes and sticking out her tongue. Your family burst out in laughter, only to be interrupted once again by your mom’s excited screams.

“MARRIED! Honey, you’re getting MARRIED!”

“Jesus, Pam! I’m right here! You’re gonna blow out my fuckin’ ear drum!” Your dad winced, covering the sides of his head with his hands.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re getting married.” You replied to your mom, without breaking your stare up at Javi, your cheeks warm and full from the grins between them.

The rest of the night was spent full of joy and laughter as all of you gathered in the Peña’s kitchen for Chucho’s Thanksgiving feast, telling your family all about the surprises of your day, listening to them explain their antics of getting from Chicago to Laredo, how they had spent the day with Chucho at the ranch after helping set up for the proposal, and stories of Thanksgivings past, and the sweet memories of the family you’d wished could have been here to celebrate. The hours passed by like seconds as you ate more than your fair share of food, (excluding the pie you had made, considering Javi and your brothers practically inhaled it from the moment it was set out on the table), and laughing harder than ever as your family taught Javi and Chucho how to play “Chaos Cutlery”- your family’s version of the game “Spoons”, which wasn’t really that much different besides the element of danger involved with your competitive-ass siblings.

You truly didn’t think that your heart could get any fuller as you looked around to see all of the people you loved more than anyone in the world all gathered in once place, celebrating the happiest day you had ever had with the man you were going to get to call yours for the rest of your life. As the hours of the night grew later and later, you found yourself fighting off the sleep from your amazing, but exhausting day, not wanting the dream that had been today to come to an end. It wasn’t until Javi noticed you softly snoring against his shoulder as you were sitting on the couch, realizing the only ones left awake were him and your brothers, deep in an argument about who would win in a fight between 100,000 chickens and 10 dinosaurs, that he realized that it was probably time to get you home.

“Hermosa.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead. “Baby, let’s get you home, okay?”

“I’m awake. I don’t want today to be done.” You grumbled, half-asleep, eyes still closed shut as you curled into Javi’s lap.

“Osita, it’s 1 in the morning, everyone else is asleep too. Your family’s here all weekend, baby, I promise we’ll get to spend lots of time with them, we gotta get you home before I fall asleep, too. C’mon.” He chuckled to himself, watching you scrunch your face, trying to wake yourself up as he helped to pull you off the couch. Javi tried his best to say goodbye to his dad to let him know you were leaving, even though he had already been sound asleep for the past hour in his chair with Olivia and Brianna on either side of him, the trio up well past their usual bedtime. Javi's heart fluttered at the sight, watching the fabric of your families lives intertwining to become one, fitting perfectly together. After you and your family said your half coherent goodbyes for the night, Javi helped hoist you up into the truck before the two of you headed back to the apartment.

Curling over the center console to rest your head against Javi’s shoulder, a sleepy smile spread across your face tangling your hand in his as he traced gentle circles with his thumb along your skin.

“Javi…” You mumbled, your eyelids heavy with sleep as your blinks grew slower and slower.

“Yeah, baby?”

“This was the best day I think I’ve ever had in my entire life. No, I know it was the best day I’ve ever had in my entire life. I can’t believe you wanna marry me. And build me a house. And that you made sure my family was here to celebrate. I love you so much, Javi. Thank you for everything. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Today’s the best day I’ve ever had too, Osita.” He grinned, pulling your intertwined hand with his up to his mouth, pressing a tender kiss on your knuckles. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you too, Hermosa. I can’t imagine it without you. Te amo con todo mi corazón (I love you with all of my heart).” Javi let out a content sigh, pausing for a moment, waiting for response. It didn’t take him long to realize that you were already back asleep, the sweet sounds of your snores against his sleeve making him laugh to himself. “Dulces sueños, mi amor. Soy el hombre más afortunado del mundo. (Sweet dreams, my love. I am the luckiest man in the whole world.)

As Javi spent the rest of the drive with you propped up against his arm, he couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful gold band wrapped around your finger, resting in his lap.

Before you, Javier Peña didn’t really have much to live for. He didn’t think he’d deserved to. He was tired and broken, disappointed in the man that he had become. Now, you had become his everything. His light, his hope, the thing that made life worth living. You had taken his broken and battered pieces and put him back together. You had made him whole again. On a Wednesday in May, Javier Peña had fallen head over heels with you, the woman who would forever change his life for the better. And on Thursday in late November, the woman who had forever changed him, was now his forever, too.

Taglist: @cool-iguana @rhoorl @whyjuliaaa @bbiophiliaa @pertinentpostmortem @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @pedrobaby @fatima-marisa @beboldbebravethings @poodlebae @kittenlittle24 @3sriracha @jungchloee @perennialdoll247 @prettyinpunk85 @partyofone3413 @harriedandharassed @pedrohoe04 @theorganasolo @endlessthxxghts @blackfemalenerd

496 notes · View notes

manicpixiefelix · 8 months

Text

at the other end of the leash

{ One-Shot for head, heart, hand. }

@vannyangelxoxo asked: can you write Felix beating someone’s ass for reader? Summary: You convince Felix to go with you to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in one of the last weeks of Summer before you begin your first year at Oxford University. While out on the town during the Festival, Felix finds himself enchanted with one of the performers, an avant-guarde acrobat named Magnus. The perfect night quickly goes south, however, as Felix discovers someone trying to take advantage of you, and he immediately steps in. Of course.

Need to Know: They/Them. Explicitly NB Reader. FWB!Reader/Felix. Reader is from a well off family but has pretty much been adopted by the Cattons. Set at the end of Summer before Felix and Reader start their first year of university at Oxford. Established Bi Felix.

Warnings: heavy themes; reader is slipped a roofie at a club and a stranger attempts to take them home, and it's heavily implied that he plans to assault them. felix gets there in time, which leads to the second warning of VIOLENCE. felix beats that motherfucker to a bloody mess. it doesn't get super gorey/explicit but there is a lot of blood. also there is discussions of nudity, non explicit sex, and recreational drug use in the club.

A/N: 6053 words. well, would you look at that. another request that got outrageously out of hand. this is also a personal homage to Edinbugh Fringe Festival, my beloved, my home for 6 weeks of the year. id also like to state that it's a wonderful place to be; the roofie plot is 100% fictionalised. the rest of it is a pastiche of real things that i have actually experienced. i cannot stress enough the raw animal attraction of a man named magnus who can and will flirt with anyone and everyone while getting drinks after his shows, who performs several times a week with his dick out, wearing eyeliner, heavily tattooed, who smokes and has pretty eyes. that's all i have to say about that.

TAGLIST IN COMMENTS!! // TAGLIST ALWAYS OPEN ! (just message or comment to be added)

----

"Come on Fi, it's the last weeks of Summer before we start uni," you'd been rather desperately imploring, as if Felix had ever known how to refuse you when you actually wanted something, "you know Monty Python started there before they were even Monty Python," you told him knowingly, which was certainly interesting, though not particularly relevant. Finally you sighed, splaying yourself out over the sofa you'd been sitting, looking up at him from as he entered the room. Now you were spread out foolishly, childishly, looking up at him with imploring eyes, "Fi we've spent a month lazing around the house and I know your parents have no other events planned before we go back, except for the party on the second last night; we'll be back before then, I promise! I want to spend time watching strange show, meeting people I'd never imagine, and drinking cocktails named after famous poets from rustic bars!"

It had been your suggestion to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a few days, and despite the exhaustingly long train ride and the hotel prices that would probably cripple anyone less well off than you - Felix had agreed. Of course he'd agreed; you sounded so hopeful.

Which is how you'd found yourself in an underground club on a Friday night, dancefloor packed with more bodies than sense, and a twenty minute line for drinks. Tonight he'd been feeling especially bold, forgoing a jacket altogether, spending time in the mirror with you before heading out to see the show you'd chosen for the evening - a compelling one-man show about being gay in Australia, in a less compelling, cramped venue. So now here he was, in one of his more fetching dark, silk, button-down t-shirts, eyeliner on his waterline, mascara even though he claimed to not need it, a touch of glitter by his temples, and his favourite brown lipstick that he'd agonised over.

Not long after you'd come out, you'd tried wearing eyeliner with the male, private school uniform - I can- I should be allowed to do whatever I want, right? - and the minute after Felix had gotten out of suspension for smacking a kid who called you a slur, he went out and bought his own eyeliner. His collection had only grown from there. It really was a shame that people seemed to think it was reserved for femininity. Well, as it turned out, people who weren't part of things like Fringe Festivals.

Felix fit right in tonight.

It's a little thrilling; these people, in neon underwear and wigs and makeup that would forever outshine his own efforts, they look at him differently. Drugs passed around him - oh darling, would you like some? But once he'd ask what they were and the kind soul goes to check, they're pulled away by some other shiny thing to focus on. Always too close, tits out with nipple pasties being sweated off, he's sure he saw someone's dick out on the dance floor, the most beautiful, feminine, sculpted faces on the hairiest male bodies sporting only a gold speedo. Confusing and foreign and everyone smiling at him.

Felix wasn't quite sure where you'd gotten too, especially not since he'd found himself caught in the blue-eyed gaze of a stocky punk with a face tattoo and carefully loose hair pulled back into a low bun. Nose piercings and ears with stretched holes that Felix could see all the way through, black silicone bordering the void almost like it was intended to match the black makeup around his eyes, though it looks worn, half sweated through. Still, Felix can't help but be enchanted by the way it made his blue eyes peak so brightly through. Felix didn't think he had much of a type when it came to guys, but he'd always found something very charming about dark hair and blue, mischievous eyes.

"Magnus," he'd introduced himself as with much confidence and yelling over the music, and when Felix introduced himself, asked if he was here for the festival, Magnus smiles wider. Felix thinks very distinctly of biting. "Actually here blowing off steam after a show," a performer then, "part of an avant guarde acrobatics troupe," a very flexible performer.

"How... long have you been doing that?"

"About three years now," Magnus squints into the distance as he tried to recall, "since I was nineteen."

"Oh," Felix brightens up, adding without thinking, "I'm nineteen." And immediately hangs his head with embarrassment. Thankfully, instead of calling him a kid - despite only being twenty-two; everyone in their twenties seemed to like calling him a baby, even if they'd turned twenty yesterday - and laughs.

"Oh thank god," he claps Felix on the shoulder, "because I was definitely going to ask."

"It's a pub," Felix points out, as if no-one underage has ever snuck into a pub ever. Magnus gives him a sidelong smile.

"With no security in sight, mate," he snorted. Felix had noticed that drugs were being passed around like candy, but he hadn't really considered it beyond that. Magnus, however, points to a couple that have been grinding on each other on a bar stool several feet away, "he's been fucking her like that for the past fifteen minutes." Felix's brows shot up.

"Really?!" He gasped; Magnus grinned like the Cheshire cat, mentioning in a far too offhand way that they were also friends of his, "should we move?"

"It's the furthest you're going to be from some kind of sex act unless you want to go outside," he gave a loud, pleased sigh at the environment, seeming entirely at home. Felix is struck with the immediate and vivid image of Magnus in his beautiful leather jacket pressing him up against this very wall, hand slipping beneath the waistband of Felix's pants; the freedom of everyone seeing and nobody caring and -

"What's avant guarde about it-" Felix clears his throat awkwardly, "the acrobatics, I mean, if I may ask?" Felix tries to remain polite while he knows he's blushing all over. All he hopes is that this man beside him that he's just met can't tell how loudly he's thinking holy shit have I met someone who could throw me around the room with ease? Is that something I want? He's never really thought about it before -

"You ever seen three people stand on each other's shoulders all at once in the full monty?" As if that's a real question Felix is supposed to have a real answer to, but Magnus stood just a little taller, just a little prouder, "I'm the lad at the bottom, holding us all secure, cock out for the world to see." What a fucking mental image.

Magnus also informs Felix that the tattoo on his face, the delicate dagger, has its match somewhere else on his body. It's with a staggering amount of confidence that immediately flusters Felix that Magnus tells him he can either buy a ticket to the show, or buy him a drink if he'd like to see it. He's pretty sure he's never been so directly and effectively hit on before in his entire life. Yes, counting the trips you, he, Farleigh, and Venetia took to France that Summer in high school.

Standing in line, thinking about beautiful, punk, acrobat Magnus and what Felix can only assume is his tattooed cock, it takes him a long while to realise that he's nearing the bar and has been staring at some guy's drinks for a full minute. Something colourful and fizzing, something with vodka he's pretty sure. It takes another moment to register something falling into one of the drinks from between the man's fingers as he goes to take them away -

"Hey!" It could have been an accident, it could have been nothing, but Felix wouldn't be able to forgive himself if it wasn't, "dude, hey!" He tries to snatch at the guy's denim jacket, but he slips into the crowd. Trying to jam himself up to the bar, despite everyone else's annoyance, he tries to tell the bartender, but the man's already disappeared too far.

Vaguely distressed, but mostly dejected, he steps back to his place, and waiting another few long moments for his turn at the bar. Even as his gaze roams the crowd for the potential bastard, he can't seem to see him. But he looses track of his thoughts on the matter when he gets back to Magnus, leaning against the wall with half a cigarette tucked behind his ear, and those gorgeous blue eyes drinking in Felix as he approaches.

"Was almost worried I'd lost you there," he slings an arm around Felix's waist, drawing him in close, accepting the drink with a grin, and all Felix can think about is how warm he is, how he smells sweet and like rich herbs and smoke. He asks what Felix does, and Felix tries his very best not to sound as young as he suddenly feels -

"Remains to be seen," he leans into speak into Magnus's ear, musting the confidence he knows he usually has in spades, wrapping his own arm around Magnus's shoulders, "about to start at Oxford in a few days -"

"Oxford!" Felix isn't sure if Magnus is teasing him or not. He's also not sure that he minds, he kind of wants the man to keep looking at him- keep smiling at him like that.

He's so enraptured by the company he's found for himself that it almost startles him when you come stumbling out of the crowd, off of the dance floor, beaming and sweating, holding a half-finished drink.

"Fi, there you are- oh my, hi, hello!" You're already giving Magnus a million watt smile, clearly quite drunk. Felix catches you with his free hand, having finished his own drink not too long ago.

"Hello, sweetheart," Magnus greets you warmly, but with an unmistakable hint of reservation, gaze momentarily flicking between yourself and Felix, trying to reassess the situation in the blink of an eye. You don't seem to notice that, however, simply standing a little taller, subtly preening at the pet name.

"Y/N is my best mate," Felix leans in close to Magnus to explain, voice fond in his ear, "the reason I'm here at all." And there's that smile again, all warm and amused and Magnus' eyes shining in a way that makes Felix want to let him do terrible, unspeakable things to him.

"Lucky for us both then, that you have such a darling friend."

Performers are a different fucking breed of people, Felix can't help but think to himself, even as Magnus turns - arm never leaving it's place around Felix - to properly introduce himself to you. He thinks it again watching Magnus charm you just as easily, even if he wasn't trying to outright hit on you the way he had been with Felix.

"I was just- I was just-" you stumble over your words, taking another sip of your drink - something colourful and fizzing, vodka something, you'd said with an offhand frown, a lovely guy I've been dancing with bought it for me - while you take Magnus' offered free hand to steady yourself, "I was thinking of heading back to the hotel pretty shortly, I'm a bit -" you make a vague hand gesture. Before you can even finish the sentiment, however, the next song begins and you light up. Finishing your drink, you grab Felix's free hand with your own, tugging them both towards the dance floor, begging them for one dance.

"How could I say no to a face like that?" Magnus teases, letting himself be dragged onto the dancefloor, Felix adding with a fond smile.

"Trust me, I wouldn't know."

Glad for the company, you gleefully let loose amongst the crush of bodies, and there's something both endearing, and endlessly attractive, about how happy Magnus seems to match your energy. The three of you jumping around to The Sex Pistols, Magnus shouting along with all of the lyrics and seemingly impressed that you and Felix at the very least seem to know some of them.

After the song, however, you seem to slip back into the crowd on the dancefloor, as if once more transfixed by the lights and movement and heat of the night. Magnus, however, leans in and asks if Felix smokes.

Outside it's far easier to breathe. It's cooler too. Still, Magnus pulls off his leather jacket, ties it around his hips, leaving him in a tight, white t-shirt. Felix has known in a roundabout way that he wasn't straight for quite some time, but damn did reminders like this not feel like being hit by a truck. Covered in tattoos and with the kind of arms and shoulders the Greeks could model statues of gods from, Felix knows he's staring but quite literally does not know how to stop.

Except then Magnus is pulling out an actual, metal cigarette deck, offering it to Felix for him to take one, and Felix is pretty sure this is the coolest person he's ever met in his life.

"I love these," Magnus takes Felix's hand in his free one, clicking the cigarette deck closed and sliding it smoothly back into his pocket, "these are cute," he's looking at the silly, little collection of stars tattooed on his hand. They look like nothing compared to the ink all over Magnus, but he seems genuine in his interest.

"Surprise gift for my sister," Felix hears himself say, cigarette between his lips as he fumbles in his pockets for a lighter.

"For your sister?"

"Well it was a surprise to me too," Felix chuckles at the memory, "Y/N and I organised for me and Venetia to get matching tattoos of her choice for her birthday."

"You... didn't know?" Magnus snorts, dropping Felix's hand to take the half-cigarette out from behind his ear, holding it out for Felix to light.

"Well I'm not opposed, I've got a couple of tattoos - nothing like yours," he grins, and Magnus's gaze meets his, flashing with that same amusement and attraction as in the club that had so captivated Felix in the first place, "but I'm kind of surprised that that's what Y/N gifted her?"

"Did your sister not like it?"

"No, that's the thing, I've actually never seen Ven react like that to a gift before," Felix muses; smiling at the memory, "of course she was a menace about it at first; I was worried she'd been given too much power," he snorted, tipping his head to look at Magnus, only to see those blue eyes gazing back, as if hanging on Felix's every word, "do you know how close I came to having a tramp stamp?"

"As if you wouldn't look fantastic with a tramp stamp," Magnus snorted.

However before the story can even be finished, the door to the club opens and both turn at the sound of your voice.

"No, I need some water first -" you sound very wrong. The person beside you, a man who looks vaguely familiar, though Felix is sure it's not his face, is setting almost too brisk of a pace.

"Come on, there's water back at my place, remember?"

"I need to go back to the hotel," you tried to insist, "and water- 'm gonna throw up in the taxi."

"You'll be fine, I promise, I've got you." The man's hailing at taxi, while you're swaying on your feet, looking even more out of it than you had when they'd last seen you.

Felix is moving on instinct, without hesitation, without even thinking.

"The fuck are you doing?" His voice raises, and the man turns right as a taxi is pulling up, looking at Felix with blatant irritation, not appearing to be intimidated in the slightest.

"Back off man, my friend isn't feeling well-" the bastard lies through his teeth, even as you of course recognise Felix, and take his arm, mumbling that you felt sick, "see?" He actually tries to pry you away from Felix, "I'm taking care of them, no need to worry -" but Felix puts his hand on yours, secure. Just as well, since you start to list and lean and lose your balance.

"Fi," you mutter weakly, pitifully, "help."

And that's when Felix realises what he recognises about the man; the jacket that slipped through his fingers at the bar. The man he'd seen dose your drink, as it turned out.

Felix has never seen red in his life the way he has in this moment.

Fury simmers white-hot just beneath his skin, though he keeps himself calm and collected as he gently walks you over to the wall of the club, easing you into a sitting position. All the while the bastard that was with you is berating him, saying you just needed to get somewhere to lie down. Magnus, however, seems to understand what's happening, and sits himself down beside you at the wall, quietly asking one of the many onlooker to go inside and grab some water for you.

"Fine, sit 'em on the filthy fucking pavement in the middle of the city instead of letting them lie down in a bed to sleep it off; you feel good? You feel like a hero for not letting me take my friend home -?"

There is an audible crack when Felix's fist makes impact with the bastard's nose. He knows once his adrenaline wears off it's going to hurt like a motherfucker, but it's worth it. More blood splatters across them both than Felix was anticipating from his wonky uppercut, but he doesn't care. The man half recovers, unsteady, but he gets a hit on Felix's cheeks with a fist full of rings, but he seems almost disorientated. Felix goes for the throat this time, satisfaction being the sound of the man choking on his gurgle of pain.

Felix isn't quite sure what it was that sent the bastard crashing to the ground, but he does know that he's tearing through that man's coat pockets like a feral beast before he finds the bottle of pills like the one he saw fall into your drink.

It's like the entire world stops for this one second.

His knuckles ache, covered in blood that isn't his own, clutching the same roofies that were now coursing through your blood, making you weak and vulnerable and prey to bastards like this. His head spins, fury spitting in his veins, blood singing to tear this man apart. There were on lookers, a gasping crowd, but for some reason no bouncer in sight, no-one stopping this.

And you, sitting against the wall of the pub, tucked up against Magnus who had a protective arm around you and was looking at the man beneath you with something cold in his eyes. His other hand was balancing a glass of water on his leg next to you, for you, but you didn't move, just looked at your hands, helpless. Magnus's cold gaze slides to meet Felix's, and there's something approving in his eyes. He gives the faintest nod.

Felix kind of blacks out after that.

The next thing he remembers is being shoved into a taxi rather frantically, hearing Magnus shout - well get him on his side so he doesn't choke on his blood before the ambulance arrives. You're already in, leaning against the window seat, gazing vacantly out of it. Felix gently touches your shoulder once the door shuts behind him- fuck that seems like a lot of blood? When did that happen? You make a vague hum of acknowledgement, so Felix shuffles over to the middle seat and coaxes you to rest against him.

"Fi?"

"Of course," he cradles you against him.

"Fi," your voice is weak, he can hear you beginning to sniffle. Your words come out awkwardly, slurred terribly, "feels wrong, c'nt.. m've."

"I know, I'm sorry," Felix feels the tears in his own eyes, "you'll be okay, I'm here, you'll be okay." He can't believe he let this happen. The front door opens, and Magnus's voice greets the driver.

"Sorry about the state of them in the back -"

"'s Friday, laddie," the terribly aged, terribly Scottish taxi driver says blithely, "where shall I be takin' yas?"

Magnus looks over the back to you both, expression concerned, but genuine, and asks for the address of your hotel. Felix takes a moment to compose himself, but finally gives it, and the drive commences in silence.

It seems only natural for Magnus to also get out once you've all arrived, easily sliding into step with Felix as they both wrapped one of your arms around their shoulders and helped get you back through the hotel and up to your room.

"Thank you, Magnus," Felix says softly as he fishes the key from his pocket, "I'm so sorry about how the night turned out." Magnus actually laughed at that, and Felix opened the door.

"Felix, if the context weren't so dramatically, disgustingly awful, this would be the most fun night I've had all Fringe." And you all shuffle inside, Felix guiding you all towards the bedroom to lay you down, "nice room by the way," Magnus looks around as he passes through, "who's cock did you have to suck to afford it in the middle of the Fringe?"

"I..." Felix hesitates, "don't know if that's a first meeting kind of question."

"Well played, Oxford boy," Magnus says, but there's no malice behind the nickname, "I have my theories, though." Part of Felix is glad Magnus is there, to help lighten the load, lighten the mood, even a little.

They lay you gently on the bed, and Felix is just glad that you seemed to finally have fully passed out. He can't begin to imagine the horrors that were going on inside your head. Then it's just the two of them. And the built in wardrobe across the room with it's floor to ceiling mirror.

And all that blood on Felix.

"I look the fucking American Psycho," it's fucking horrific! What did he do? Magnus, sitting on the end of the bed with one knee crossed over the other gives an amused smile.

"You actually kind of do."

"It's not good!" Felix approaches the mirror like he's in a damn horror movie, scrubbing at his cheeks with little success, but with a surprising amount of sharp pain, "the fuck did I do? Is this all his?" Magnus, in the mirror, is looking at him curiously, "Magnus, seriously, the fuck did I do?"

"You were fucking beautiful, Felix," Magnus says, sounding almost awed. Felix stopped; there was nothing flirty, nothing about it that wasn't genuine. Wait holy shit, Felix realises, are these fucking butterflies in his chest? Now of all times?

Then, in the next moment, Magnus blinks, clearing his throat loudly, like he hadn't meant to say that. For the first time all night he looks genuinely flustered, dropping his gaze.

"You hospitalised a fucking rapist, is what you did," he said matter-of-factly with a nod - he'd nodded before, it's the last thing Felix really remembers - "proved your point to everyone there finding those fucking pills; that was a good move. I mean, I had to explain what the fuck was happening to our little audience while I was dragging you off him - didn't think you wanted to kill him."

"Thanks," Felix says weakly. Then, softly, looking down at his shaking hands, "should I go to the police?"

"For doing a public service?" Magnus snorts, shaking his head, "no, there's at least a dozen girls who will attest to him acting threatening, and to Y/N's behaviour - who was thankfully taken away by an actual kind friend - and that he admitted in a fit of rage to spiking the drinks. He'll be the one in jail if anything." It's so... easy. So nonchalant.

When Felix asks, confusion, disbelief, innocence in his voice, Magnus just smiles like the easiest thing in the world, and says he's an actor, it's his job.

"You don't have to be doing all of this," Felix covers the room in a few short steps, knowing he'll never have the words to thank this stranger for all he's done tonight.

"Are you kidding me? I'm going to be telling this story for the rest of my life," Magnus grins brightly, and his eyes shine just like that had hours ago, before everything went to hell. He leans in conspiratorially, "you broke his fucking ribs."

"I think I broke more than his ribs," Felix says with a tentatively proud smile. Magnus nodded in absolute agreement. Then, after a moment.

"Have a shower, Felix," he said, "I'm going to go downstairs to the petrol station, see what they have there, and be back in a bit; is it okay with you if I crash on the sofa -?"

"You don't have to do all this, seriously, it's late, please go home," Felix implores, taking Magnus's face in his hands. Magnus, however, looks at him like he's a fool.

"I'm going to make sure you're both okay," he pets Felix's hand on his cheek, smiling so sincerely, "and besides, if I'm down getting stuff, that way you can have a shower and know I'm not using that time to be a creep towards Y/N while you're busy."

After a moment of deliberation, Felix pulls Magnus in to press several kisses to his forehead, calling him an absolute Godsend, while Magnus laughs to hide how flustered it makes him.

The shower is where the adrenaline really starts to wear off and the ache of the fight sets into his muscles and bones. The mirror mists over and the droplets still cling where he wipes his hand over. His knuckles are bruised, as is his face, scratches and split lip and gashes where the rings had punctures his cheek. The makeup and eyeliner that he didn't think to properly remove before his shower probably makes it look a little worse than it is.

There's scratches on his throat, his collar, shallower on his chest where the bastard had tried to get him through his shirt while he was trapped beneath Felix on the ground. Scratches up his arms as the man fought a losing battle.

He takes one of the makeup wipes from the pack and cleans up his face as best he can as the first step. It helps, but not by a lot. Back in the bedroom, once he's dry, he searches his suitcase for pyjamas, getting himself dressed.

In there, there is a long few moments where he watches you sleep, watches the steady rise and fall of your breathing and sees the dried tear tracks on your cheeks.

"Fi, help."

God, he's tearing up at the memory. He should have stopped that cunt at the bar when he'd had the chance, when he first saw it happen. Never in his life has he heard you sound genuinely weak until tonight; his hands shake.

Before he gets you cleaned up, however, he feels like he needs to check... Magnus really didn't have to come back. Yeah, sure, he said he would, but if he got tired, if he needed to call it a night, Felix would not blame him in the slightest. He really was surprisingly lovely, and part of Felix would probably regret not getting his number, but it was understandable -

Magnus is sitting cross-legged in the hall, across from his door, eating a slice of white bread from a grocery bag by his side. In his other hand, he's texting.

"Give us a second, just letting the troupe know I'm fine."

Felix blinks at him. Felix waits. Magnus's thumb works the digits of the Nokia he's focusing on, before he must hit send, satisfied. Then, tucking the phone back into one of the inner pockets of his jacket, he looks up, eyes still that same, bright blue. He looks genuinely pleased to see Felix. Felix, for his part, is genuinely pleased to see him too. Surprised as well, if he was being honest, but pleased.

"You look much better," Magnus comments, and pushes himself to his feet. Bag looped in his arm, Felix sees it's a few basic supplies, bread, maybe some spread, something he can't identify, and something bright red. He offers to pay; Magnus tries to shrug it off, but Felix finally gives a self deprecating smile, gesturing around to the rather luxury hotel room they were in. Magnus gives himself a moment to take it all in again, and finally sighs, smiles, gives in.

He does, however, insist on making them both food.

Grilled cheese; all he could find on short notice since it was getting to the early hours of the morning. Felix watches for a few long moments, the way Magnus moves around the kitchenette with practiced ease, like a man used to these spaces, to life on the road. Felix finds he enjoys just watching Magnus; perhaps this is how people have often felt about him. Magnus doesn't watch him, he feels rather free.

"Do you want to take off your makeup," Felix pipes up just as Magnus reaches for the stove. Magnus freezes, "if you're staying, and being so kind as to make me food, the least I can offer is for you to make yourself comfortable."

"Should have suspected you'd be a good host," Magnus grins over his shoulder, and gently puts the pan down, leaving the stove off for the time being. So Felix directs him to the bathroom and tells him to take all the time he needs, and himself heads to the bedroom. Fishing his wallet from the jeans he'd discarded for the night, he pulls out two fifty pound notes. It's far more than the contents of the grocery bag, but Felix definitely doesn't care. It's so little for how kind he's been.

Opening the bedroom door, however, and he almost runs into Magnus, startling the both of them. Even with the remnants of his makeup still clinging around his eyes, the faintest traces of stubborn eyeliner and mascara, he looks fresh-faced and beautiful. Startled, both by the abruptness, and the fact that he might be even more taken with this man without his makeup on, all Felix can do is hold out the money. Magnus seems to thaw first, chuckles, shakes his head, and calls Felix incredibly generous. Unsurprisingly, Felix insists that it's not generous, it's simply fair compensation for his kindness.

After a moment, Magnus peers around Felix, asking how you were. Felix finally relaxes, assures him that for now you're fine. Magnus's expression is understanding, but still very knowing, as his gaze flicks between Felix and you.

"You take care of them, I'll take care of food," he insists gently. Before Felix can even ask how Magnus knew what that he still wanted to make sure you were comfortable, Magnus pats his chest fondly, "you beat a man half to death for them, I assume you want them to sleep in comfort."

Yeah. Fair. Good assessment of the night, and of Felix.

So Felix smiles, thanks him, and trusts him in the kitchen.

Felix treats you with such reverence in these moments, wiping off your makeup with such care, changing you into your pyjamas while he made sure there were no bruises, no scratches, no sign of this bastard anywhere on you. But no, thankfully not. He could have killed that bastard. Sounds like he almost did.

You frown in your sleep. Felix's heart hurts. But there's nothing more to be done for now.

Magnus is humming softly in the kitchen, a gentle sound amid the comforting sizzle of butter in a pan. Felix watches from the doorway for a long moment, the gentle, neutral expression, the focus on the food, the way he's retied his hair to catch all the hair that had so casually been hanging around his face back at the bar. There's something else different about him, however, and it's not the lack of leather jacket or makeup, it's something Felix can't put his finger on for a good few moments.

"Did you get shorter?"

Magnus stops humming. His gaze slides to Felix out of the corner of his eyes, expression unreadable. Then his gaze drops to the ground, and Felix follows; Magnus is wearing Christmas socks on the cold tiles. After a beat, Felix puts two and two together, and Magnus gives a vaguely sheepish laugh the minute he stalks around the kitchen island to the door. There's a pair of gigantic, black boots sitting primly by the door.

The absurdity of this, on top of everything else, finally has Felix laughing, collapsing against the kitchen island, face in his hands, as Magnus cackles quietly by the stove.

"What even is this night?" Felix groans through his fingers.

"One to remember," Magnus responds sagely as he served the first of the grilled cheeses onto a waiting plate, "the good parts, at least, and the good in the bad," immediately he puts another blob of butter in the pan, "and when you look back, you won't see the rage or the fear," he puts the second set of bread and cheese in the pan before picking up the plate with the first, finished dish, "you'll simply recall the love that inspired it all."

"You're so wise," Felix sighs fingers curling down so he could rest his chin on his fists, glad for the man he'd met by chance just a few hours before, "how'd you get so wise doing backflips in your birthday suit, Magnus?" He can feel himself growing tired, finally, as a yawn hits him, "is that something I should try?" Magnus laughs once again, putting the plate of food in front of Felix. He settles across from him, mirroring with his chin on his hand over the kitchen island.

"I take chances on people who intrigue me."

Somehow this terrible night has come full circle; you're comfortable and safe, there's nothing to worry about, and Felix desperately wants to kiss this damn acrobat who's in his hotel room making him grilled cheese at three in the morning.

"Magnus?"

"Yes, Felix," he murmurs back, smiling softly.

"Is that why you're still here, being so... lovely?"

But there's something in Magnus's eyes that dims at the question, just a little. Taking a deep, hesitant breath, his smile turns a touch awkward as he pushes off of the counter to check on the stove. Felix follows him with his eyes, confused, unsure of what he could have said that was wrong.

"I suppose that could be the short answer," Magnus offers, idly. Felix is quiet, crosses his arms on the bench and sinks down to rest his head there, almost childishly, waiting, "don't know if this is a first-meeting discussion either." Magnus finally comes to, though his tone is thankfully lighter.

Silence. Slowly, Felix sits himself back up and starts on the grilled cheese in front of him, quietly thanking Magnus who once again assures him it's no trouble. They sit and eat in silence together; it's not awkward, but Felix is growing more tired with each moment that passes.

"I'm five-seven," Magnus offers without prompting, halfway through the impromptu meal. Felix snorts so hard he starts almost choking on a lump of cheese. Magnus claps him on the back, snickering to himself. Felix, while trying to blink away the way his eyes are watering, peers over to the boots by the door once more, "six inch platforms."

"Fucking hell, how do you walk around in them?" Felix says between thankfully clearing coughs, "you don't perform in them, do you?"

"Fuck no," Magnus grins, "it's not that hard -"

"They'd make me near about seven foot!" Felix crows.

"Maybe next time you can try them on."

Next time.

Even as Magnus spends the next half hour tending to Felix's wounds, advising on how to take care of his muscles, Felix can't stop grinning to himself. Then Magnus says it again, wearing a grin of his own;

"I'm not kidding, I'm going to make sure you're taking care of yourself next time I see you."

"You promise?" Felix wears a wide, goofy grin, clearly giddy at the prospect, enough so that Magnus can't help but finally pull him in for a kiss.

"Promise, Felix."

#felix catton x reader #saltburn x reader #saltburn imagine #felix catton imagine #felix catton x y/n #felix catton x you #felix catton x reader x oliver quick #head heart hand fic #manic writer

167 notes · View notes

c0wb0yenthusiast · 10 months

Text

Sun, sand and Graves

Phillip Graves x Fem!reader!

Summary : due to unexpected circumstances, you find yourself trapped in a sunny paradise with your colleague and begin to learn what he’s like outside of work.

Word count : 1.7k

A/N : Hey everybody! If this gets enough attention then I plan to make a part 2! Yearning part 3 will also begin to be made soon. I just wanna say I’m sorry for being so busy 😭 I hope this will help me get back into my writing schedule. All I can say now is I hope you enjoy the fic!

Never in a million years could you have thought of this scenario. You couldn’t picture you and your superior, Phillip Graves, curled up underneath an umbrella as you tried to find the most comfortable dips in the sand to rest each limb.

Never.

Although, it wasn't like you wanted to be here. Sure, the breeze blew gently onto your skin as the waves rolled up and down the shoreline lazily and it was definitely the most relaxing moment of your life.

Yet you couldn’t settle completely knowing why you were stuck in this sunny paradise.

"They what?", you remember looking up from the folder handed to you to meet his eyes .

To your surprise, they were glistening with ambition.

"Think of it as a happy little accident, doll.", he smiled, now taking it back from your hands and tossing it aside as he was clearly dealing with more important issues.

“We've got a couple of days to spend here, so why not make the most of it?"

"That is so unprofessional."

You couldn’t help it, after so many years of training and constant work you’d become a stickler to your usual schedule. You would’ve thought Graves would be the same.

"Well, you won't be telling Shepherd or those others now, will you?", Graves lowered his voice, leaning in slightly.

"I don't think you're giving me a choice here." you rolled your eyes playfully, turning on your heel to exit the safe house and find anything that was suitable for the weather.

Looking out onto the water from your towel, it was therapeutic.

Until you heard him shuffling in his spot right next to you.

"... Do you mind?"

"Not at all.", he let out a chuckle, looking up at you through his aviators.

Graves was only wearing shorts, propping himself up on his elbows to 'catch a tan' as he called it.

It felt unprofessional, but it didn't stop you from stealing glances at him every now and then.

"So... You go to the beach often?"

You turned to look at him, raising a brow at his sudden urge to talk to you after working under him for years.

"Yeah.. Every summer when I'm off of work."

"Nice, nice.. You go with friends or family?"

"Uhm.. Both? Not at the same time-"

You paused.

"Are you bored? Is that why you’re interrogating me?”

"What? Now why would you say that?”, he now sat up, staring at you with a pointed look.

"Why don't you go flirt with the locals? I'm busy.", you urged, fighting the temptation to shove him onto his feet and away from your solace.

"Because we should stay together."

You cocked a brow at his behaviour, "I'm sure you won't get lost in the crowd, it's not like I'm going anywhere.”

"Well then I'm not going anywhere either.", he announced indignantly.

"You're not really acting like my superior right now."

Laying back down onto your towel, you crossed your arms over your waist and tried to day dream. Anything that didn’t involve the man in front of you.

"I have a life when I'm not your superior, you know.", he was looking down at you from his awkward, sudden crouch.

A large grin was plastered on his face.

“Look, why don't we just get a drink? Cool down, relax and enjoy our time."

“Fine.”

You got up and sighed at your situation.

You never thought you would be standing on the beach, dressed in a bikini about to order possibly alcoholic beverages with your commander.

After slipping off the robe you'd been wearing, the breeze hit your stomach and upper thighs gently and you relaxed at the cool sensation.

"You done daydreaming over there?", he tilted his head, gesturing for you to follow him.

You groaned, holding onto your sunhat as the breeze attempted to blow if off of your head while you hurried along to catch up to his confident strides.

Graves stopped by the bar, leaning across the table and waiting with a smile for the bartender. Once they approached, he cleared his throat.

"Right.. Err, you speak English?", he clocked a brow at the bartender who nodded, clearly unimpressed.

"Can I get two of whatevers strongest?"

"Phillip?", you put a hand on his shoulder, making him suddenly turn and look up at you.

"Hm?"

He didn’t seem phased from your touch which was odd. The two of you didn’t interact like this very often.

"I'll just have a beer and I think you should too."

He sighed, looking back at the bartender still drying a glass.

"Can I just get two beers, please? Thanks."

"You see? Let's have something normal before we start seeing stars or something.", you laughed and took your bottle of beer.

“Sure- thank you!” He called to the bartender as he slid over some cash and walked beside you.

“I can’t wait to get this over with.”

“Why? This is a one in a lifetime opportunity.”

“It’s.. weird.”

You shrugged, sitting back down onto your towel and taking swigs of your beer every now and then.

He lowered himself down beside you, squatting as he looked around like a child in a candy store.

This must be paradise for him. Sun, sea and beautiful women everywhere you turned. Men are so typical.

“You’ll get over the feeling soon. Believe me, I’ve only had this happen once before and it wasn’t even that close to this.”

The two of you sat for awhile, making idle conversation in bits and pieces that were initiated by him. You were too busy listening to the waves crash against the nearby rocks. Graves took the hint and left you alone.

The door clicked shut and you both seemed to loosen up as you entered the safe house. It had been such a calm day that your senses were heightened; you were still tense and cautious deep down.

“Fun day, hm?” He smiled at you, instantly pulling off the vest he’d lazily put on before leaving the beach.

He walked over to his bed, allowing you to catch a glimpse of his toned back.

You didn’t want your eyes to travel. This wasn’t a holiday or some sort of fantasy.

They still managed to scan his broad shoulders and structured muscles, savouring every scar or imperfection scattered across his skin.

“I’m going to have a shower.” You blurted out, hastily making your escape before you started to examine the waistband of his shorts.

You shut the door behind you, locking it and turning the water on. It was loud and a good enough distraction for at least a second until you were getting flashes of the slight scar that traced his waist bone and curved around to his back.

It had only been a day and you were becoming an animal.

What was going on?

Stripping down quickly, you almost jumped into the welcoming stream of water. It felt good to wash all of the sand and sweat off.

Your hands trailed over your body, which prompted you to think about Graves. You hand on his shoulder.

He was firm, possessing a sense of solidity which made sense as your commander.

But as a man, it just made you feel weak in the knees.

You wondered how his hands felt. Maybe they were rough, calloused from work. Maybe they were cold; his fingertips spreading shivers across your skin as they tried to figure out any sensitive spots.

As you scrubbed gently over your skin, a sudden knock sent your arms crossed over your chest.

“What?!”, you called, a little angry for the interruption.

“How long? I need to shower too, you know.”

“When I’m finished!”

You huffed to yourself, now massaging soap into your hair. You really were losing it.

He still didn’t have the right to interrupt you though, it was getting good.

Sighing, you continued developing this daydream while you washed your hair.

You sometimes saw him ruffle some of his shadows’ hair in a show of appreciation. It was cute.

Now, you tried to envision his hands knotting through your hair. Fingers tangling around strands which sent shoots of pain to your scalp. Pain mixed with pleasure.

You rinsed your hair out, movement becoming much more sharper. You stopped when some small strands were pulled out and you shook them off, stopping the shower.

It was your warning to yourself to keep these thoughts private. Possibly just keep them as daydreams in the shower to stop you from feeling lonely. Sometimes work was tough, you deserved the break.

Even if that meant imagining getting intimate with your colleague.

It’s fine, it’s not like he’d ever find out.

As you wrapped as towel around your body, you unlocked the door to find him standing outside with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You’re awfully impatient.” You commented, smirking a little at his glare.

“Sure, but I know you’d do the same.” He grinned back, poking your chest and immediately darting into the bathroom. The door clicked shut and you were left alone.

Did he just… poke you?

A tentative hand brushed over the spot that had just been touched.

It’s nothing. He probably didn’t think before acting.

You turn away and begin to put on some pajamas for the night. Soft and skimpy - a pair of thin, cotton shorts and a vest which hung loosely on your figure.

It was now the late afternoon.

Graves had finished his shower and you wanted to glue your face to your palms to prevent your eyes from gazing at his hips or happy trail. It was blonde.

You only knew that because his hair was blonde. Nothing more.

“You don’t fancy going out tonight?”

Your brows furrowed. That was out of line.

“I’m getting rest. Something that is rare when working for the Shadow corporation.”

You rolled on your side and now shuffled in your bed, trying to get comfortable.

“Hit a nerve there…” he sighed, sitting opposite you on his bed before continuing.

“Well, you can’t be tired already.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Alright, alright… I’ll leave you be.”, Graves pulled himself up, walking over to the little desk situated in the room. He fell back into the chair and whistled.

He was bored and you knew it.

You shot up from your bed, glaring at him.

He won this time.

“Fine! We can go out. Let me get changed…” you muttered, snatching your clothes and retreating to the bathroom after your bitter defeat.

He may or may not have whistled a celebratory tune as you passed by.

#phillip graves #cod mw2 #fanfiction #cod mwii #phillip graves x reader #cod mw2 fanfic #call of duty #warren kole #SoundCloud

177 notes · View notes

daisybianca · 2 years

Text

pairing: charles leclerc x femalereader

summary: you're christian horner's beloved daughter and everyone wants a relationship between you and max verstappen. on the contrary, your ex boyfriend, charles, thinks he still belongs to you just like you belong to him. and his doesn't like to share his belongings with anyone.

warnings: intense jealousy themes, cursing words, mentions of sexual actions, max as a villain (I'm sorry, still love him)

(a/n): I got the main idea for this story from a tiktok. unfortunately, I can't find the username of the account that posted it. if you do, please feel free to comment and let me know so I can add it here and give credits, as I should!

THE LAYER COVERING the atmosphere had an aura of brightness as the light flickered through it and reached the surface of Earth, making it a bit scorching.

Charles loved sunny days, even though they had this harsh, uncomfortable blazing and intense lighting.

As he sat there, next to Carlos and Lando, he found himself harking back to the past summer. When everything was easier and so effortless. Just because he had you by his side, supporting and loving him continually.

He still couldn't fathom how he was so stupid to lose you. Every bone of his body ached at nights when he had to return to his home, once upon a time your home too, and go on with his daily life as if you never were a part of his life. The most significant part, to be exact.

"As if!" Lando exclaimed as rest of drivers, seated around the enormous and circular table, chortled to his words. "I didn't even know it was a thing till Daniel told me a few months ago!"

All the F1 drivers were here, except for Max. He had informed Daniel that he'd be a little bit late due to some things he had to take care of.

More giggles blared, but Charles' blank stare at his coffee on the table was rather too striking to inattention.

"What is it, mate?" Carlos asked. Charles' eyes transfered to his teammates after a few seconds he spend trying to unfocus his stare and figure out who was talking to him. "Is there something wrong? You seem a bit... off lately."

Charles didn't reply. He simply inhaled the needed air to concentrate on his friend's question, trying to come up with a response.

"Does it have to do with (y/n)?" Carlos voiced, gaining his full attention now.

"No," Charles lied. He knew the drivers had met you multiple times because you were Christian Horner's daughter, but they weren't particularly aware of the fact that you two used to date Only Carlos knew. They other thought that you were 'a friend of his'. "Honestly, I--"

"Hey, guys!" Max showed up and after taking off his leather jacket, all sweaty and soaked, he smiled politely and collapsed into his seat next to Daniel and Checo. "Sorry for being late, I just--um--"

"Say it." Daniel speaked, smiling to himself.

Max's face reddened more. And this time it wasn't because of the scorching sun. "Oh, man!" Charles took a sip from the cold liquid, patiently waiting for Max's explanation.

"He was with a girl!" Daniel gave away, receiving a playful punch from his friend.

"Really? Oh, that makes it up for your being late then, mate." Pierre laughed, followed by the others.

"Do we know her?" Yuki stretched on his seat. Charles' eyes wandered around. He really didn't give a fuck about other people's love lives. They reminded him of his and his mind wasn’t prepared for another wave of depression. He had to accomplish his goal as an F1 driver.

"Of course we do." Daniel pronounced. Charles' eyes went wide open.

Heart racing, his body started sweating up as he tried to fix his white shirt and attempted to look cool. He miserably failed because Carlos noticed his tensed body language. Although, he chose not to ask anything, and Charles thanked him internally for it.

"It's (y/n)." Charles heart seemed to stop for a couple of seconds. He tried to breathe, but his lungs refused to let the air escape. "We've been going out for a little while."

Puffed out chest, Charles' chin lifted, and his hands were on hips, nervously playing with the fabric of his jeans.

His arms raised, feet spread apart, coming to full height, as his shoulders straightened.

And just like that, anger took over.

♡

You played with the edge of your white dress, biting your lips just when you saw the F1 drivers exiting their racing vehicles.

Another day of hard practice was over.

"Go talk to Max." Your father, Christian, approached. "He was talking about you just the other day. Said he hadn't seen you in almost two weeks.

You puffed out. You were tired of your father and the team insisting on a potential romantic relationship with you and Max.

He was a great guy, you honestly admitted. Even if he liked you, you were kind of freaked out. Basically everyone from Red Bulls' team forced you to talk to him, ask him to hang out and...

Those things should be effortless.

Just like they used to be with Charles.

Oh, Gosh! You were comparing someone with your ex again. AGAIN.

This had to stop. You had to leave the past behind and forget about him. Charles had already done that, you were sure about it.

As soon as you started strolling to get to Max, a hand grabbed you, forcing you with it.

"Charles?" You went haywire.

How the hell did he locate you and get here so fast?

"Let go off me!" You tried to shout but it came out as a threat through greeted teeth.

Charles didn't even spare a single glance as he led you to a people-free, small area. There were tyres and racing stuff everywhere.

"Why did you bring me here?" You asked as he unzipped his red suit, making you go absolutely and utterly feral.

"I'm the one asking questions now." Charles let go of your wrist. You could still feel his hand on your flesh. "I'm going to ask you something... and you're going to be completely honest with me, okay?" He glanced behind, making sure no one saw or followed you two.

Oh, shit. He knew.

He knew.

Fuck.

Your legs were tremulous.

He noticed and grabbed them, locking them in his hands. They were warm and flawless and veins popped out... They were perfect. Just like you remembered them to be.

"Did you scream his name as loud as mine?"

712 notes · View notes

mariposa-writes · 2 years

Text

Good Sleep - LaMelo Ball

Summary: hate writing these, so just read and find out.

A/N: This man is the love of my life (and his brothers).

It was hard, dating an NBA player. Not that it was Melo's fault. He tried to make things as easy as possible. He called whenever he could, making sure to at least check in on me once a day.

It wasn't like I made things any easier. I took a lot of pride in my job and it felt like a lot of the time when he was home, I was busy working.

Which is what I am currently doing. Its around midnight, when I hear the garage open, I know it's Melo. His team was supposed to get back earlier tonight, but their flight got delayed due to weather.

After a few minutes he enters our room. I moved in with him a 6 months ago, since I practically lived there full time anyways. We both also thought it would be a good way to spend more time together.

"Hey, babe." He says walking over to me and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. He heads into our bathroom, getting ready to shower. He hates how he feels after plane rides, always complaining about being dirty. "What are you working on?" He calls from the bathroom.

"Just work stuff." I respond, not having the time to explain. I have to have these reports ready by Monday. I'm a CFO for a major clothing company in the US. We are currently working on expanding to European countries.

Melo showers while I work and before I know it he's climbing into bed. "Babe," He whines, "when are you going to bed?"

"I don't know, soon." I answer, dismissively. He frowns, looking up at me from where he's laying.

"You work to hard. Your not even 22 and your the CFO for a major company. I worry you're gonna work yourself to death." Melo's always hated how hard I work. We've been dating since we were both 19.

I was getting ready to graduate college, when he was getting drafted into the NBA. Being born a genius helped me fast track my schooling and career.

I started interning with the company I currently work at when I was 17, the summer after my junior year. I started working with them when they were just a start up, but in the past four years they have rapidly grown and I've been a part of the process the whole way.

This company is like my baby and I'm the one that has to track everything to make sure we are achieving our goals. I never intended on working here this long, but I love the people I work with (the pay isn't bad either).

They promoted me to CFO when their old one left to work for a bigger company. What an idiot, they didn't have believe in the company and soon ours will be bigger than the one they are working for.

Three hours later and I'm still working, Melo's passed out. After he fell asleep I headed to the office he set up for me, not wanting to wake him.

I have a blanket wrapped around me, with my headphones in and a cup of hot chocolate sitting on the desk. Once I get this done, I'll be on Monday and present to our investors I will be on vacation for the next 9 days.

I haven't told Melo yet, wanting to surprise him since our schedules rarely line up.

I look up from my computer, when I see the hallway light turn on. I take my headphones out, knowing it's Melo. He walks into my office, frowning. "Babe, go to bed." He groans.

"Ok, just give me a few minutes."

"Nope, you always say that and then a few minutes turn into another hour or two and then you're only getting like 2 hours of sleep before you head into the office." He walks over and shuts my laptop, before pulling me out of the chair.

I whine and protest the whole way back to our bed, but he doesn't seem to care. He makes me lay down and tucks me in like I'm a little kid, before climbing in bed next to me.

Once he's in bed his, arm wraps around my waist as he pulls me closer resting his head on my stomach. "Finally, I can sleep now."

"You've been asleep this whole time." I argue.

"Yea, but now I'll get good sleep. I only get good sleep when you're with me." I smile, even though he can't see me. I continue playing with his hair, before we both drift of to sleep in each other's arms.

#lamelo ball #melo #nba #lamelo ball x reader #lamelo ball one shot #nba players #lamelo ball imagine #LaMelo Ball #Melo ball #basketball #charlotte hornets #lamelo x reader #lamelo ball fanfics #lamelo ball fanfiction #melo x reader #melo ball x reader #ball brothers

411 notes · View notes

thorfemmes · 1 year

Text

Now in Technicolor

part ii: "I found I could say things with color that I couldn't say any other way"

a/n: Surprise, I'm alive! This update has been a long time coming. I posted part one back in January, and then hit writer's block, and then my semester started, and then time just slipped away. but I'm on summer break so hopefully I should be able to write more! My ask box is always open for requests, headcannons, or just some fun chats about our favorite characters. I hope you enjoy!

read part i here

as always, reblogs, likes, and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Rated 18+: fem!reader x steddie, possible smut in the future, slight suggestive language (literally barely there), anxiety, brief mentions of nail biting and skin picking as nervous habits

Word Count: 2,667 words

When Steve woke up that Sunday morning he hadn't expected much. He had been called in to cover a shift last minute so he was dragging his feet all morning, upset that he had to miss out on breakfast with Robin and her new friend.

He quietly shrugged on the starchy green vest and crawled over his side of the bed to kiss Eddie goodbye.

Eddie groaned. "D'ya have to go? You weren't supposed to be scheduled," Eddie mumbled into his pillow, not opening his eyes.

Steve smiled softly. "I have to, baby. I called out last week so this shift will ensure a full paycheck for me".

"It's not my fault you called out".

"Oh definitely not. It's never your fault when you want to spend the day in bed".

Eddie opened one eye and smirked at Steve. "You weren't complaining when I fu-".

"Okay Eddie! I've gotta go, handsome. I'll see you this afternoon, yeah?"

"Of course. Bring home the bacon, babe!"

When Steve got off of work, he hadn't expected much. He stopped by Eddie's favorite Chinese restaurant and picked up food for an early dinner. Some Jade beef with extra steamed rice and a couple new movies sounded like a perfect night in for them.

When he got home, the front porch light wasn't on but Eddie's van was parked in the driveway.

"Hey Eds? I'm home," He shrugged off the vest and threw his keys in the dish on the front table. He walked into the kitchen and set the food on the counter. "Eddie?"

He heard a grunt come from the living room. He found Eddie sitting on the couch, his face in his hands and his leg bouncing up and down. Steve kneeled down in front of him and slowly rested his hands on Eddie's leg.

"What's wrong, Eddie?"

Eddie looked at Steve, eyes wide with stress. "I went to breakfast with Robin and Nancy this morning," Steve nodded. "And I met their new friend, Y/N. When we met, color flooded the rest of my vision".

Steve took a deep breath. "Okay..."

"I'm just… not sure what to do. I gave her my phone number so we could talk, but I wanted to talk to you. What does this mean for us?"

Steve glanced over Eddie's face. His eyes were glassy and his bottom lip was chewed raw. "Baby we've talked about this, it was bound to happen to one of us. Nothing is going to change unless all of us want it to. I still love you, do you still love me?"

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed. "Of course! It's just that, what if she's not your missing soulmate? Or what if she doesn't want me in her life since we're already together?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Did she say anything about us when you brought it up?"

Eddie shook his head. "No, not really. But she was cool with Robin and Nancy so I'm assuming she's cool with us. It's just different, obviously".

"Obviously," Steve smiled softly. "Let's just give her some time to settle. We can't worry about something that hasn't happened yet. You just met her today, I haven't even met her yet. Let's just relax and eat the Chinese food that I brought home before it gets cold. Whatever happens is meant to happen, it's out of our control now".

Eddie took a deep breath to steady himself. "Okay Stevie, it's your turn to pick the movie tonight". Steve reached up and gave him a quick kiss before heading to the kitchen.

Across town, Y/N was eerily quiet. She had been since breakfast. Rather than heading home, she headed for the nearest Goodwill and went straight to the book section. Scanning the shelves, she came across a book meant for newly found soulmates. One that could help her identify the colors around her. She quickly picked up the book, along with one on color theory (though truth be told she had no idea what that meant) and went to the register, thankful that it was a bored teenager ringing her up rather than a chatty old lady that would no doubt question her purchases.

She drove home, probably faster than she should have. She quickly ran into her apartment, locking the door behind her. She scanned her living room, now blotched with color. Various unnamed shades poked through her vision, overwhelming her. She wasn't sure if it was the colors that were overstimulating her, or the newfound knowledge that she had more than one soulmate wandering the earth. For most people, finally finding a soulmate was easy. You meet, you get to know each other, you fall in love, the end. What was she supposed to do with a soulmate that was already in love with someone else, with his soulmate. A soulmate that wasn't her. All of this made her head pound. She threw the book on the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She rummaged through her cabinets until she found some ibuprofen. A nap and a handful of Advil will do her some good.

Eddie hadn't heard from Y/N in almost two weeks. He had gone back and forth debating whether he should ask Robin for her phone number, but ultimately decided not to. It was up to her to reach out to him, and in her own time. Though truth be told life carried on as normal. Steve continued to complain about the middle schoolers trying to sneak rated R movies out of the store, Eddie continued to bar back at a local restaurant, and the two boys continued to build their lives together. The only thing that has changed is Eddie's ability to fully see color. He could tell Steve what matched and what didn't. He encouraged him to wear more yellows and browns that looked great with his slight tan and rosy cheeks. He also stopped Steve from wearing that god awful orange polo shirt with the green vest because c'mon Stevie, you have to know what an eyesore that is, even with your limited colored vision.

When she finally did call, Eddie wasn't home. Steve was getting out of the shower that evening, greeted by the shrill rings of their telephone. Sitting down on the bed still in his towel, he answered with a simple hello?

"Hi, is Eddie there?" A soft voice came through the phone.

"No he's not, may I ask who's calling?"

"Oh! Um, it's Y/N".

Steve stood up a little straighter. "Hey Y/N, it's Steve". The other end went silent. "Hello?"

She cleared her throat. "Hey, yeah. I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to pick up, but now that I'm thinking about it, it makes perfect sense. Of course you guys live together, you're soulmates, why wouldn't you? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called. Please tell Eddie I won't bug him again, I-"

"Hey, hey slow down. You're perfectly fine, there's no reason to worry. Eddie's just at work, but I can tell him you called?"

She nodded, "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you".

"Of course. And hey, Y/N? I meant what I said, there's nothing to worry about. We're both excited to get to know you -if that's what you want".

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Let me give you my number".

After the phone call with her, Steve called Eddie at work.

"Hey baby, is something wrong?" Eddie was a bit worried. The last and only time Steve had called him at work was to let him know that he wouldn't be home for dinner because he was in the ER with Lucas who had a broken nose after a basketball incident.

"Yeah everything's okay. I just wanted to let you know that Y/N called. I'm not sure when you'll be home, so I wanted to let you know before I head to bed".

Eddie let out a slow breath. "Okay, thank you for letting me know. Sleep well, Stevie".

It was well past midnight when Eddie got home. He quietly meandered around the house, peeking through the pantry and fridge for a late night snack. He grabbed the quart of juice from the fridge and drank straight from the carton, something Steve would've chided him for. Nothing they had in the house sounded all that appealing to him, but his attention was quickly drawn away from eating by an empty envelope with Steve's chicken scratch on it.

Y/N's phone number, it read. Give her a call when you're ready, she's just as nervous as you. Xoxo.

Eddie let out a small laugh at the sign off. The microwave read 1:37 am, surely it was too late to call her? Something urged him to though, a small voice in the back of his head inviting him to the telephone in their living room. He sat down on the arm of the couch and pressed her number into the dial pad. Eddie immediately regretted the decision until she picked up after two rings.

"Hello?" She sounded almost hesitant, wondering who on earth was calling at this hour.

"H-hey," He cleared his throat. "Hey, it's Eddie".

"Hey Eddie," She whispered.

"How are you doing?" He cringed inwardly. Was he supposed to make small talk or cut to the chase?

She huffed out a small laugh, "I'm doing well, you?"

"I'm doing well," He paused. "This is awkward, right? It's not just me?"

"It's a little awkward, yeah. Um, what are you doing up so late?"

"I just got off work, I hope I didn't wake you up or anything".

She shook her head in response. "No, don't even worry about it. I couldn't sleep anyways. What do you do for work?"

"I bar back at Paolo's down on 10th street".

"Oh! I've been meaning to try that place. Is the food any good? I know there's a town-wide debate on whether Enzo's or Paolo's is better".

Eddie smiled again. "The food’s really good, but I may be biased. Enzo's was a little too stuffy for me. They wanted me to cut my hair and cover up my tattoos even though I work in the back of the house".

"Yeah, that sucks. I'm glad you found a place that works for you".

A minute passed by before either person talked.

"So I-".

"I think-"

They fumbled over each other's words.

"You first," Eddie said.

"I've been thinking, and I'd like to get to know you a little better. And Steve if he's comfortable with it. I'd like to have my soulmate -or one of them, I guess -be a part of my life".

Eddie sat up a little straighter on the air chair. "I'd like that, I'd like that a lot. Steve and I are both off on Thursday if you'd like to meet then? Just something easy like over coffee".

"Something easy, I'd like that. I get out of class around 2:00 pm, so maybe we could meet at 3:00 pm? I go to school outside of Hawkins so it'll give me time to drive over to you guys".

"Sounds perfect, sweetheart".

Eddie was going to have a heart attack. His anxiety was bouncing off the walls leading up to his meeting with Y/N. What does one wear to introduce one of your soulmates to your other soulmate? What if your soulmates hate each other? What if Steve isn't her missing soulmate? The mental gymnastics of even processing that he has to introduce two separate soulmates to each other was exhausting. Before it was all hypothetical; He didn't know if she wanted to be in his life, in fact he had assumed not since he hadn't heard from her. But now? Now Eddie had to face reality and jump over this hurdle.

Steve, on the other hand, was calm and collected. Almost too calm for Eddie's liking. He just went about his day normally. Sat and drank his coffee and watched the morning news. He got dressed without a second thought. He was eerily calm. Even on the drive to the coffee shop, Steve calmly drove with a supportive hand on Eddie's thigh. Meanwhile, Eddie was biting his nails down to the quick.

Across town, Y/N had already arrived. She bolted out of class and ended up getting there 20 minutes early. She saved a table near the back of the cafe. She debated whether she should order or wait for the boys, but ultimately decided to wait. To be completely honest, Y/N had no idea how she was going to stomach a drink during this meeting. She didn't know if she was more anxious about seeing Eddie again or meeting Steve. Selfishly, she hoped Steve was her other soulmate. It would make everyone's life easier. And if he wasn’t her other soulmate? Well, that’s a whole separate shitstorm to navigate. Let’s not get caught up on that right now. You have enough stress bottled up as is. Any more might shatter the glass.

She was jolted from her racing thoughts by the bell on the cafe’s door ringing out. She looked up and saw Eddie holding open the door for another man. A slightly shorter, more muscular man that was just as handsome as Eddie.

She quickly waved them over and stood up to greet them. “Hey Eddie, it’s nice to see you again”.

Eddie offered a soft smile. “Yeah, same. This is Steve. Steve, this is Y/N”.

She offered a small wave, too nervous to shake his hand and confirm their soulmate status so early in their meeting. Steve understood, keeping his hands tucked into the back pockets of his jeans. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N”.

“Cool,” Eddie cleared his throat. “So, I’m going to go order for us. Y/N, do you want anything?”

“Oh, it’s okay! I can go with and order”.

“Please, I insist”.

She looked into his soft eyes, getting nothing but kindness back from him. Chancing a glance at Steve, she received the same look of patience and kindness from the man. She nodded and told him her order.

With Eddie standing in a line across the room, there was no longer a buffer between Steve and Y/N. Steve quietly motioned back to the table. They sat down, an intimidating silence fell over them. She picked at the skin around her thumbnail while Steve’s leg bounced -both of them filled with nerves. It was Steve who finally broke the silence.

“So, uh,” He started. She quickly looked up at him, giving her full attention. “Robin and Eddie tell me that you’re in school? Well, mostly Robin, but yeah”.

She nodded with a soft smile. “Yeah I am. I’m almost done, thankfully”.

“Cool, cool”. Another silence fell over them.

“H-how,” She cleared her throat, when did it get so dry? “How did you and Eddie meet?”

“Technically, through mutual friends. We had crossed paths in high school, but we really didn’t talk to each other until after I graduated. I was kind of a dick in high school, so we wouldn’t have gotten along much anyway”.

“The universe has a weird way of doing that. Throwing people into our lives when we least expect it”.

Steve smiled. “Yeah, yeah it does”.

The rest of their coffee date went rather smoothly. Y/N learned a lot about Steve and Eddie, and vice versa. She learned about Eddie's uncle, Wayne, who raised him as his own from a young age; and, that he had an affinity for thrash metal -especially Metallica and Anthrax -fantasy books, and DnD. She learned about Steve's upbringing and that while his parents were in his life, they were never truly involved or all that interested in actually being a parent. Steve's music taste varied, loving anything from the Beastie Boys to Simple Minds to Bruce Springsteen; and, while he would never openly admit it to anyone else, he secretly loved Tiffany's music. They learned about your family and your relationship with them. They thought it was interesting that you chose Hawkins of all places to settle down for college. Your music taste was also eclectic, but Eddie continually teased you about liking Madonna (Steve had to hold his tongue from calling Eddie out on loving "Vogue" and her Like a Prayer album). When it was finally time for them to part, Eddie offered a small hug, to which Y/N softly accepted. When they separated, she turned and offered a shaky hand out to Steve. He took a deep breath and shook her hand.

Time seemed to stand still again. Color flooded the rest of their vision. What was once murky grays and blobs of pigment quickly became a full painting with every shade imaginable.

Eddie looked at the two of you, hope sparkling in his eyes. “Well?”

Y/N and Steve shared a grin.

“Well, life just got a whole lot easier for the three of us”.

thank you so much for reading! more to come soon! <333

taglist: @alexxavicry @marvelous-musicals @kbakery @sillypurplemurple @munsonology @sidthedollface2 @sunnygrey99 @sigh-mon-says @pastelbabygirl19 @sleepy-bunny @bethanysnow @sllooney @cottagecori @saramelaniemoon @bestofbucky @luvrsbian @shotgunhallelujah @tiannamortis @hazydespair (please lmk if I missed you!)

330 notes · View notes

realmadridfamily · 2 months

Text

Where have you been on holidays? I was in Marbella for a week and a few days in Rome. Footballers choose Ibiza, Maldives … you don't? I associate Ibiza with noise and discos, it's not my style. The Maldives are far away. You have to spend one day getting there, the other day returning … I prefer something closer. We've never been on Marbella so we decided to give it a try. And we loved it. Last year you chose Benidorm, right? Yes, between Benidorm and Alicante. A small villa in a residential area. It was good because we had the beach right next to it. You seem like a very family person. Yes, I devote all my free time to my family, my son and wife. I try to spend as much time with them as possible when I'm not with my team. You spent your holiday with your family. Are they here in Spain or did they stay in Ukraine? My family, apart from my father, is in Ukraine. He moved in with me six years ago, although he lives separately. The rest are in my hometown in Ukraine. I was on holiday with my wife, son and mother-in-law, who lives with us because she left the country because of the war. How do you manage to concentrate on football considering the situation in your country? The first two months were very difficult. I remember the first night when it all started. The first two months were very difficult for me and my wife. I was more off the team than on it. When you have your family and friends there and you see the bombings and all these horrors… As a player, I wasn't in the best shape. I felt stressed, I didn't feel well. Over time, although it is not normal, you get used to what is happening. We don't realize how much time has passed since the war began. People there too and it's surprising. I try not to forget about it. When I post things on social media, I do it so that people see what is happening, so that they see the truth about what they are doing… I try to help by sending help, supporting people who come to Spain from Ukraine. We help them look for jobs, with papers, with apartments… There are many mothers who come here alone with small children, and we help with clothes, food… This is our life now. How much time do you spend on this? A lot, especially my wife. She helps mothers who come alone with their children, but we try to cooperate in everything and do what we can. We ship many things there. Why did you get married in tracksuits? We didn't feel comfortable in the suit environment. My wife and I decided that it would be easier, more comfortable and that it would be a special day. It's true that one day we want to have a ceremony on the beach, with family, without suits, but she in a summer dress, me in a white shirt… In the future, we will do something nicer.

#Andrii Lunin #Anastasia Tomazova #Anastasia Lunin #Andriy Lunin #Andrey Lunin #Real Madrid #Ukraine #Interview

7 notes · View notes

fundielicious-simblr · 10 months

Text

(Valentina's pov)

We've definitely been enjoying our summer here in Brindleton Bay! We try and spend most of our day outside, now that the girls are toddlers we have a lot more freedom as to what we can do. Aria and Ansel have been going with their dad to fish in a nearby lake almost every day since summer started, and whilst they don't come back with a fish everyday, they come back with stories about their fishing adventures that I'm sure they'll look back on with fondness. Whilst we aren't actively doing schoolwork in the summer, we're still learning when we're outside. The kids research the kinds of fish that are local to our area, so they know how to identify anything they might catch. Ever since we got our chickens, we've been learning all the things about them like the differences between the eggs that are laid for us to eat versus the fertilised eggs that hatch into chicks. We've also been learning about the fruits and vegetables that we've been growing, as well as the local plants and animals in the area. We've been debating whether to move to a property that has more land to have more animals, but that's a big undertaking so we're definitely praying on it.

These four are proving to be thick as thieves, there's a year between them and they're determined to put me through my paces. I don't mind it though, I'm taking my time and cherishing all these memories while they're still young. Before I know it they'll be in school, then maybe even college, then getting married and moving out. I'm so thankful for the Lord choosing me to be the mama of these rambunctious kids.

(AN: The kid should really be a toddler cause he's 2 weeks younger then valentina's youngest 2, but lets pretend these are old pictures. Also, I hate that the infant blanket has to appear when they're being posed)

My sister Sabrina and her husband Tucker live further out in the country from us, but we still see them at church and manage to plan to see each other when our schedules align. Though Tucker's family still does their touring music ministry for parts of the year, Tucker and Sabrina have chosen to focus on maintaining the farm and being at home. They've even bought their own home close to the farm, as they wanted their own place for their growing family. Sabrina announced that they're expecting another baby by early next year!

My little brother Zachary is courting! He met Kelsey Parnell (19) last year when he was in Brindleton Bay to visit us, Kelsey lives in a town an hour away from Brindleton Bay but has the same social circles as our aunt Danielle. I guess my aunt is determined to have her nieces and nephews have ties to Brindleton Bay so that there will always be a way to see her, because this is now the 3rd couple she's used her match making skills on (the first being Me and Eric, the second being Sabrina and Tucker). Kelsey spends her time helping her mother at home, or working with the same ministry my aunt sometimes works with. They first met at a christmas bake sale to support an pro-life ministry, and would see each other everytime Zach would visit Brindleton Bay either for work or to see us. My parents were able to meet her parents as well and our families got along great, they agreed that it was okay for the two to get to know each other better in order for a courtship to happen, and recently Zach got the greenlight to ask her to start a courtship. Kelsey is a great girl, we've known her and her family for a few years and I think they'll make a great couple.

Celeste is also courting! She's in a courtship with a delightful young man named Reid Robbins (25) from Northbury, a town a few hours outside Britechester. They met through mutual friends when she was at a young women's retreat that was a ministry run by his church. She met one of his sisters and they became fast friends, and she later introduced the girls to her family and the rest of the church congregation. These two met and there was a group chat formed where they all got to know each other and challenged each other daily to keep up in their walk with the Lord. Between a few visits to Newcrest, a few visits to Northbury, and some group trips added into the mix, Reid had started to pray to the Lord about Celeste (what he didn't know is that she'd also started praying about him!). After discussing the fact with his parents, they contacted our parents and after both sides approved, he made his way to my parents house in Newcrest and officially asked her! Though she was excited, Celeste was slightly apprehensive at the beginning because she is slightly older than him (her being 27 and him being 25), but my sisters and I reassured her that if she felt the Lord leading her in that direction - then to follow where she's being led. Now she's happier than ever before, she's already started dreaming about what their wedding will look like!

#fundie sims #fundiesims #quiverfull sims #collins family #quiver full sims #modest sims #sims 4 legacy #collins legacy #homeschool sims #sims 4 courtship #sims 4 pregnancy #gen 3 #Eric and Valentina #tucker and sabrina #Zachary and Kelsey #Reid and Celeste #gen 4 #post #eric and valentinas kids are actually always outside #they wander everywhere #theres always one in the pen with the chickens #sabrina and tucker are shooting out children #both their families are very much the 'have all the babies' type #theyre also the 'marry young' crowd considering the courtships #celeste is giving allison bontrager energy but shes not got the outgoing personality #its mostly the younger man tbh #but at this point shes just happy to be in a relationship #three siblings on either side of her are all married with the last two still in highschool so she was def feeling the pressure

9 notes · View notes

madaboutmunson · 2 years

Text

Again - Part 6

Part 1 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Full list of Again series links inc AO3 Link

Steddie fic where Steve and Eddie are in their mid 30's and everyone has sort of drifted apart

Taglist: @adaed5 @grtwdsmwhr @swimmingbirdrunningrock @mightbeasleep

Notes: Apologies to everyone for the delay in posting an update on this story. A lot of life stuff happened.

=============================

"So, do you live around here now?" Steve asks curiously, helping to pack away the paints now that most everything is dry again. Eddie is opposite him inspecting and nodding approvingly at the figures Steve has base coated before putting them in their little foam capsules. It was dumb sure, but he couldn't help feeling a little proud to have impressed Eddie with something. Maybe he wished it was something more profound than painting a little plastic figure, but this was Eddie's domain, and perhaps that held more weight for him.

"Ah..well...I live here now, but to avoid confusion, that is more of a technicality. I could live anywhere. I…well we…Morgan and I go wherever we want over the summer. I got an apartment between Hawkins and his old school that may as well be a storage unit, honestly, for the amount of time I spend there." Eddie shakes his head, making his curls bounce around his face, with a laugh, "You live around here then?" He asks side glancing at Steve.

"A little further out, but this is our nearest library" Steve quickly volleys back the spotlight. He wanted to know more about this older Eddie. What his life was like, had been like, or could be. "So you move around a lot?"

"I guess. More than most people, but I just go where the work is, and my company has bases all over, so I can see how they're all getting on.

"Wait, I thought you said you didn't want to work for anyone else, and this was your business?" Steve asks in confusion.

"Oh, it is. I'm sorry I'm not explaining myself too well here" Eddie pops the top down on a full container, turning to Steve. His hip is balanced carefully against the table ledge, one arm around himself, the other bent at the elbow, animating his words as he speaks. It's honestly a posture that Steve could only ever equate with Eddie. Something that, for the most part, looked relaxed, and the hand flailing around delicately. His eyes split their time either focusing so deeply on him that he felt his very secrets would spill out of his mouth or they were observing what Steve could only imagine were tiny obscure details of the room around them. But at the same time, that crossed arm was a line of defence, a weak one, but it was still there. The other arm not extending too far from his torso, so he could bring it back in if needed. "So Tremolo is my business, and we've got bases all over, and it kind of just runs itself, you know? I occasionally check in with the different areas when I can. The rest of the time, I would have nothing to do, so I took some session guitar jobs or small local tours in a backing band. Earning that extra money means I'm not using Tremolo profits to live. So lets us do more charity-based work, and helps us expand.” Eddie laughs, “Sorry, I don't know why I’m explaining all that. You know how business works.”

“Yeah, of course,” Steve says with a smile before turning back to the tiny paint pots again. Truth be told, Eddie could be talking to him about the intricacies of paint drying, and Steve would still be hooked on his every word. However, Steve was definitely trying not to make it look that way and possibly failing miserably. Then Steve recalls something and turns to Eddie, "Hang on. Didn't Carl say you weren't supposed to be here?" Steve watches Eddie's body stiffen, and he knows he's rumbled him about something, but he's not sure what. Eddie quickly turns to him, and in an attempt to hide his alarm, he is overly relaxed.

"Yeah, we were gonna move to the next place like normal, but we kinda liked it here" He smirks at Steve and puts his hands on his lower back. "What can I say, Steve? Nice views, you know?" He says, a glint in his eye that Steve interprets as Eddie isn't talking about the nearest vista point, "But obviously, when term starts, Morgan will have to head home." He says quickly as he turns back to packing the bag.

"And you?" Steve asks a little too quickly, staring intensely at Eddie, who bites his bottom lip in thought for a moment.

"Well, that depends on a few things, I guess. Money, work," he says, reaching for the last box of figures and packing them before turning to Steve to collect the paints "Other projects that might be, er, worth working on around here?" Steve sees Eddie's Adam's apple bob, and it occurs to him that he's nervous. There is no way he couldn't know how Steve felt about him. Someone must have told him at some point, or it might have been something Steve had given away during their interactions then or now. Maybe he was nervous because he wasn't sure about his own feelings or not sure of Steve. That is a pretty logical view. A lot can change in fifteen years. There is a little silence between them, and Eddie gestures at the paints, "Pretty weird names, right?"

"Honestly, I didn't notice," Steve says gently, trying not to replay in his mind how absolutely adorable Eddie looks when he’s nervous.

"What? Not one of them?" Eddie snorts with amused confusion, holds up the tub, and taps on it. "Not Crimson Carnage, Blugeoner's Brown, or Pangalatic Purple?" Steve's eyebrows shoot up, and he smiles at the names of the paints. "Oh, you think they're funny, huh? Well…" Eddie steps closer and points out a few more "What about Scar-let, hmm? Or No guts, no glor-grey? This one isn't even a pun, but Hooker's Green?" And Steve erupts with much more laughter than the silliness probably warranted, and maybe most of that was due to how close they were and how Eddie was looking at him right now. All fondness, an open-mouthed smile, soft staring until the smile changes to his usual one, and turns to pack the paints in his bag, but something at the game table catches his attention, and his eyes go wide.

Steve cranes his neck to see what's going on. Everyone at the table is chatting or packing away. Morgan, sporting a battle vest very reminiscent of Eddie's old one, is half sitting on the table, Zee in front of him and his bag in between them. They're talking, and he seems to be guiding her around the pins and patches on his backpack. Zee's face is running through a series of emotions: confusion, alarm, and amusement, but the big smile doesn't leave her face. Morgan's eyes only move around Zee's face and only leave it for a split-second glance at whatever item Zee is pointing at. Then Morgan moves the bag from between them and shows her his vest. He offers the material up to her so she can get a closer look at the patches and different pins. She takes it up in her hands and runs her thumbs over the patch near the chest pocket, and then they look up simultaneously. Finally, their eyes meet, and they just smile at one another for a while.

"MORGAN!!" An ear-splitting screech comes from Eddie's direction, startling everyone in the room. There are several thuds of things being dropped around the room as Morgan falls off the table with fright making Zee laugh as she helps him up. He points between himself and the origin of Eddie's yell. She waves him goodbye and goes to pack away her things. Steve checks, Zee looks back, and Morgan does the same a split second later, both faces plastered in big grins. Steve turns his attention to Eddie, who is pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. When Morgan eventually gets to Eddie, a lecture begins.

Steve can tell the exasperated look on Eddie's face, the gesticulating hands, and Morgan's head dropping. Then Eddie takes him by the shoulders gently. Eddie isn't angry but seems to say something in earnest. Steve knows that face. He's seen it first-hand when Eddie was telling Steve about Nancy in the upside down. It was the first time Eddie brought Nancy up to Steve, but it wouldn't be the last. He seemed quite fixated with it for a while, telling Steve how perfect they were for one another or picking out things she’d do that just screamed she truly loved Steve, but the more time he and Eddie spent together, the less he did, and then he just stopped bringing her up altogether. Ultimately Eddie had been wrong about Nancy. She cared about Steve, no question, but the kind of love Eddie was talking about? No. Steve isn't sure what Morgan did wrong here, but he'd find out. Eddie hands Morgan a bag, points to the exit and gives him a gentle pat on the back to get him on his way.

Steve approaches Eddie cautiously as he still seems a bit out of sorts, "Everything ok?"

Eddie huffs out a sigh, "Yeah, it's all fine, just could see something dumb about to happen, that's all."

Steve folds his arms with a teasing smirk, "I thought we weren't going to meddle?"

"I wasn't…it's more like…ok look, the way he was behaving wasn't ok, and also not like him at all. He's just trying too hard. God knows who's taught him that one." Eddie grumbles, "I just explained to him that if he liked someone, he should be himself and not put on a facade."

Steve is confused, "I think he was just showing her the bands he liked, Eddie. It's fine, really."

Eddie hops onto the table, his face reads whatever he's about to say he really doesn't want to, "Morgan, just tried to pull a move on Zee, ok? You get the other person interested in your pins, patches, or something, and when you've got them interested, you reel them in with something closer. Morgan used his bag and then his vest. It was not cool. And I understand that's like fun to do sometimes or whatever, but they aren't even dating. He's got this idea from somewhere and-"

Steve laughs and waves his hand at Eddie to stop him from talking, making his face fall into confusion, "Let's call it even. Shall we?"

"What do you mean, even?" Eddie says, confused.

"Zee pulled a move on Morgan two weeks ago. When they bumped into one another? First, the book drop, she had a tight grip on those books, and then she let him gather them up for her. Then the most important part, you act like you don't care, and it drives them nuts." Steve shakes his head. Eddie looks like he's trying to solve the equation for world peace with two fish sticks in his head.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Eddie's mouth is agape in shock as he looks over at Zee and back to Steve, "I didn't even know that- what? how?" Eddie clasps his hands above his head in disbelief, "Is that why you said it wasn't about what Morgan had done?" Steve nods in reply, and Eddie paces around in a circle, "I wouldn't have even picked up on that!"

Steve laughs, remembering driving Eddie nuts pretending he didn't care on several occasions, "Yeah, Sorry. guess things are harder to spot when it's not one of your own moves, huh?" Steve laughs heartily at Eddie's attempted innocent face of surprise, "Come on, Eddie, who else was gonna teach him a move about patches and pins?"

Eddie's hands shoot up in surrender, "Steve, I would never have suggested he pull that kind of thing on Zee. Not that it should matter. I might have told him about it a long time ago in passing as a confidence thing to fall back on. He's good at talking about things he likes, you know, bands, D&D, art, cooking and stuff. To save him from stumbling over his words with small talk. I'm-I'm sorry." This might be one of Steve's favourite things about Eddie, sure he could be a little mischievous, but getting the truth out of him wasn't difficult, and his apologies were always from the heart. If he didn't mean he was sorry, he wouldn't bother saying it. That could be what made Eddie so easy to like. He wasn't hidden under layers of thoughts and secrets. He was just himself, take it or leave it, but never at the expense of the feelings of the people he cared about.

Steve shakes his head and beams back at him, "I would consider this even, Eddie. It's fine." Eddie's face lights up in response, and Steve is still pleased to see he does that sweet little fist clenched side to side little dance thing when he's happy about something. "Anything else you might wanna tell me, Eddie?" Steve says, cutting the dance short to be met with raised eyebrows and Eddie biting his lips back before blurting out a stream of things.

"Morgan's new high school isn't far from here, so we thought we'd check it out. His mom is currently looking into finding a place closer to save him the bus ride, or her the drive. We wanted to stay here because of meeting you and Zee. That apartment I told you I had, is actually a storage unit. I live in my RV. I'd really like it if we could hang out someplace without the kids sometime." Eddie says it all so quickly he has to catch his breath at the end. The last one takes Steve a little off guard. Eddie looks at him expectantly, like someone has paused him.

"Well, ok," Steve says with a sheepish smile. The dance resumes making Steve laugh, and Eddie smiles hugely.

"Hooo, that feels better," Eddie says with a laugh, his eyes spelling happily.

"Do you maybe want my number?" Steve asks. Eddie opens his mouth to say something and quickly closes it again, "Let me guess, Eddie. You already have it, don't you? Probably when you were fixing my phone, right?"

"Right," Eddie confirms with a smile.

"I have the kids this week, so if you and Morgan wanted to come round for dinner and basketball training, that could be an idea, and then the week after, the kids are with their mom, so that could be cool, or you know, whatever." Steve concentrates on a suddenly fascinating bookshelf to the side of them.

"Whatever?" Eddie chuckles, and Steve shrugs, "Steve Harrington, are you trying to act like you don't care? Trying to drive me nuts, huh?" He says softly, almost teasing. Steve just tries to hide his smile and shrugs again, "Well, it's working", he says, and Steve almost loses his mind. Is this happening right now? "Maybe I'll break my denim vest out and tell you about all my favourite bands?" Steve won't look, but he can sense that Eddie is exceptionally close to him now, leaning into his space. Steve nudges him away, and his laugh reverberates through the air around them. God, he loved hearing him laugh again, every one felt like it was starting the ignition in some long-forgotten part of Steve.

"Dad?" He hears Mackenzie call out and immediately spins around to her voice and tries to act normal, but his heart thumps in his chest because even though he hasn't, he feels like he almost got caught doing something he shouldn’t. Looking out the corner of his eye, he can see Eddie's big smile, which almost seems a little smug.

"Yeah, Zee?" He calls back, and soon enough, she tracks them down through the bookshelves and looks at both of them in analysis mode.

"Yeah...so...I was just wondering if you were ready to go because most people have already left, and also Beans," She says slowly, still analysing the scene.

"Oh fu- " Steve stops himself quickly, but Zee raises her eyebrows in surprise, and Steve knows this will be used as leverage one day. "Oh, fudge, of course, Beans."

"Beans?" Eddie asks in confusion.

Steve pats himself down for his phone and keys before extending a hand towards Eddie, "Nice seeing you again. Let me know about this week, yeah?"

Eddie looks at him oddly but accepts the handshake with a smile, "Sure thing, dude." He salutes to Zee, "Until next time Little Miss Harrington."

"See ya, Eddie", Zee replies in a sing-song way.

Eddie rolls his eyes and clutches at his heart, whispering, "So sweet. She gets away with everything, right?"

Steve chuckles, "Half of what you said is correct."

"Daaaaaaad!" An impatient yell comes from the hall, making Steve wince and point towards it. Usually, it would make Steve feel a little embarrassed when Mackenzie shouts after him this way around others, but the way it makes Eddie laugh, Steve thinks he gets it. How nice it feels to be called at all when your kid gets to a certain age.

"I see it was mainly the latter, for you then, but at least she's sweet to me," Eddie says with a smug little grin as he waves Steve goodbye. Steve walks down the hall towards Zee. He's resisting it so hard. It must have been enough steps by now, don't do it, Steve, don't you do it! Steve quickly looks back through the open door for Eddie, who is leaning in the doorway, already looking right back at him, grinning, making a phone shape with his hand by his face and waggling it. Now that definitely warrants a blush, and Steve quickly waves and turns away to hide it. You're a grown man Steve. Blushing?? Blushing?! No, Steve. Get a hold of yourself. With a deep breath and a few long strides, he catches up to Zee.

"So, how did it go today? The game, I mean?" Steve clarifies.

"Oh, you know, good. I love my new character, even if she is squishier than I'm used to playing. Got the killing blow to the boss in today's encounter."

"Well that's…great, but squisher means…" Steve is trying his hardest here, but he really only retains what he needs to, and this was new.

"Fewer hit points because of the class and stats, but I can do so much more damage," She says with enthusiasm, "Just gotta keep out of the way of the bad guys and the law."

"The law??!" Steve exclaims, "Are you a criminal?! I thought you were all heroes?" Steve begins to regret all sorts of things right now. The cleric was all praying and helping and healing, and whatever this new thing was so far was stabbing, murdering and maybe a thief?

"Think of it as more like Robin Hood crossed with Catwoman," she tries.

Steve nods, a little happier with this explanation, "Ok, I think I get it. Does this mean you'll need a new dice set or notebooks soon?"

"You know what, no. I think I'm good with the old ones I have" She smiles up at him, and whilst he's happy to be on the receiving end of this side of Zee for a change, he is suspicious. He had just offered her brand new stationery and dice, and she'd turned it down. Curious. "But speaking of old things", Here it comes. "You don't happen to have any old records from when you were a kid, do you? I mean, even better if you have them on CD."

A little confused, Steve replies, "Ah yeah, all my old records, I have on tape and CD, well, where they were available anyway. So you wanna listen to my old music collection?"

"Well, Morgan" Ah yes, Morgan, how could we have gone this long without bringing him up "was saying that some old music isn't that bad, but do not tell Eddie I told you he said that!! So I thought maybe if I listened to your collection, I might find something I like too."

"Now honey, Eddie and I didn't really listen to the same kinds of music when we were kids. So I don't think you're gonna find my taste very, er, cool," Steve says with begrudged honesty.

Zee shrugs, "That's what I said, but Morgan said you seemed pretty cool to him and-" Steve's brain needs a rewind. He can't believe what he's just heard. He's not even spoken to the kid, hasn't even had a chance to be nice to him, nor has Morgan had an opportunity to talk to Steve, though with comments like that, he's on the right track to win him over.

"I seem pretty cool to him?" Steve inquires, and Zee rolls her eyes so hard he's worried they might detach.

She sighs. "Oh my god! Don't make this a big thing, Dad, geez! He's just going on what Eddie must have said or the fact you drive me to the games, ok? But as I was saying, he thought you might have some hidden music gems too."

"Well, yeah, of course. I'll get the records down and find the matching CDs for you when we get home" Zee turns round excitedly only to be met by the raised finger of Steve, "After we've eaten", she slumps a little.

"Thanks, Dad," she says with a smile as they get to the car. Steve raises his eyebrows, smiles back proudly, and resists air punching to celebrate this success.

"Anytime, honey." He says as they get in.

#steddie #steddie fan fiction #eddie munson x steve harrington #steddie fan fic #steddiefanfiction #steddiefanfic #madaboutmunson #madaboutmunsonagain #eddie munson #steve harrington

30 notes · View notes

eryiss · 1 year

Text

Summary: Seeing your ex boyfriend is always awkward. Having to work with him, in a job where your uniform is a speedo no less, is almost too painful to deal with. But Freed had a left lot of things unfinished with Laxus, and maybe now was the time to fix them.

Notes: Hi all. Head to @fuckyeahfraxus to see some other event submissions. This was meant to just be Laxus obsessing over Freed in a swimsuit, but developed some emotions. As a warning, there's a few mentions of homophobia, but not in much detail.

Links: Ao3, Event Masterlist

The Pool-Boy, The Barman & The Things They Left Unsaid

June - 2023

"And I'd like to welcome our new summer hires," Gildarts said, looking over his clipboard. "We've only got two in our department. Bickslow here is gonna be one of the new pool boys, so the rest of you can help him out. And we've finally got someone to help with the pool side bar; that's you Laxus."

Freed, who had been sitting at the back of the locker room only half paying attention, froze at the sound of the name. It was an uncommon name, and Freed had never known anyone to have it other than him. He quickly scanned the room to have his suspicions confirms, and his stomach dropped when he saw the half familiar man standing at the front of the room. His pulse exploded and he looked found himself unable to look away from the only man he'd ever loved.

Laxus was there, in the same room as him again after five years.

He looked different. As kids, Laxus had been almost weedy and lanky, but now he had more bulk and muscle to him than the average gym rat. His face, which had once been gaunt and pale, was tanned and home to the strongest jaw Freed had seen. If it weren't for the scar and those enchanting eyes, Freed might not have recognised him.

"I'll be spending the morning training Laxus, so don't bother me unless is urgent," Gildarts continued. "Oh, and today we're trialing the new uniforms for the pool boys. Bickslow's already offered and Freed, since you've got highest rank, you'll be wearing one as well. And, well, I can only apologise for what management has chosen. Hopefully it won't go past the trial week."

Freed couldn't take in anything Gildarts had said, as the second he'd said Freed's name, Laxus' eyes had widened, and he started to look around. Freed attempted to make himself as unobtrusive as he could, but the locker room wasn't that big, and it only took a moment for the heavy weight of someone else's gaze to hit Freed. Freed tried not to look, but after a nudge and encouraging wiggle of the eyebrows from Natsu, Freed looked up and was trapped in Laxus' gaze.

Five years. Even after all this time, looking into Laxus' eyes sent lightning through Freed's veins.

"Right, gentlemen," Gildarts began again, and it sounded muffled to Freed's racing mind. He couldn't look away. "It's Saturday, we've got new guests coming and they're gonna want drinks and to use the pool, so get out there," Gildarts stood tall. "You all know what you're doing. Laxus, you come with me, and I'll talk you through everything. Bickslow, job's pretty self-explanatory for the most part, but go to Freed if you need anything. Freed, new uniform's by your locker."

Everyone moved, and Freed was forced to tear away his eyes. He felt a hollowness he'd forgotten about entirely.

Laxus followed Gildarts out, and Freed made sure not to watch to see if he looked back. The room was now almost entirely empty, and Freed felt nothing but the thudding of his heart. Five years of trying to get over Laxus – trying to find another man who set fire to his heart in the same way – and it had all just been undermined. Laxus was back. Laxus was his coworker. Laxus was as mesmerising as he ever had been.

He pressed his forehead against his locker, mind swirling as he decided what his next move was. He wasn't the type to turn and run – certainly not from a job as well paying as this – but how would he cope with his ex working only a few feet away from him. They'd have to coexist. They'd have to be civil. They'd have to have a damn conversation every time Freed picked up a tray of drinks from the bar to deliver to a table. How could he deal with that?

The answer was obvious. He would grow up, remember he wasn't a teenager, and do his job.

Forcing confidence he didn't feel, he straightened his back and picked up the black package that was sat on the bench in front of his locker. As he unwrapped the package, he told himself that he'd treat today as if it were a normal day; Laxus would not have the same innate influence he'd had on Freed when they were kids. They'd both grown, likely both changed, and both knew that the other just wanted to get through the day without it being too awkward.

He looked down at his new uniform, and blanched. A speedo, nothing more. Today was going to be hell.

Two Hours Later

"It can't be that bad," Bickslow chuckled, the sun beating down on him as he straightened a stack of towels. "I get that they're revealing, but you're pulling it off."

Freed had spent the morning trying to focus on work and had failed miserably. Every second, he was lamenting how bad his luck had been. He'd left for work that morning expecting a regular day with a busier than normal shift being the worst thing he could deal with. Now, he had to spend the day serving men while wearing the tightest swimsuit he'd ever seen, all the while feeling the ever-present shadow of Laxus fucking Dreyar. It was only nine in the morning, and Freed was almost certain that this was the worst day of his four years working at Blue Pegasus.

Even the realisation that he'd been working there for four years soured his mood. He hadn't wanted to be a damn pool boy. He doubted anyone strived to be a glorified waiter who wasn't allowed to wear a shirt. It wasn't a bad place to work, and the fact it was so gay friendly was a relief Freed would never under appreciate, but still. It was meant to get him through the last year of college, nothing more.

"Okay, I know I barely know you," Bickslow cut though Freed's thoughts, crossing his arms. How he was so comfortable in the speedo was astounding to Freed. Though, he likely didn't have to endure an ex. "But you're clearly not just pissed about the uniform. What's up?"

"Nothing," Freed shook his head. "I just would have appreciated some warning, that's all?"

"Why, can you make your abs even better than they are right now? I doubt it," Bickslow nudged his shoulder and cackled. Freed would have laughed, but he suddenly felt the heat of eyes on him. He turned to the bar without thinking and caught Laxus turning away quickly. "Ah, is it blondie? He's been makin' eyes at ya all day. If you're not interested you should tell him, or I can do it," He shrugged, then clicked his fingers. "Oh shit, do you not like men at all? I kinda assumed – gay resort, Y'know – but if you don't then I'll tone down the flirting."

"No. Don't worry. I am gay," Freed shook his head. "And it's not like that at all. If he is looking at me, it's not for that reason."

"You sure?" Bickslow teased. "Because I've had a lot of guys wanna piece of me-"

"We dated, through some of high school and the first year of college," Freed cut in, mainly to stop the conversation from getting more off track than it already was. He was meant to be telling Bickslow how they replaced and cleaned the towels. "It wasn't exactly the best of break ups, we fought with each other and haven't seen each other since. It's just… uncomfortable."

Why he was telling this stranger that, he didn't know. Freed had never been the type to be open with his feelings, but the ridiculousness of the day must have gotten to his head. That, and through the unofficial training he'd been giving Bickslow, Freed had found him easy to talk to.

That quickly fell away when he thought back to his and Laxus' breakup. They had been looking for an apartment to share for their final year of college, and during one of the viewings it had all suddenly became clear to Freed. Laxus had said something about the building – about how good the location was, and how far it was from his father's building – and Freed had snapped. He realises that everything they were doing was influenced by Ivan Dreyar, and he couldn't take it anymore. Every bad thought he had about Ivan – and Laxus' inability to stand up to him – had come out. They'd fought, they'd left the apartment they had nearly rented, and hadn't spoken again.

There was a lot of regrets from that day. Freed shouldn't have blamed Laxus; he knew what kind of a hold Ivan had over Laxus and shouldn't have thrown it back at him. He should have approached the topic with at least a modicum of sensitivity. He should have sent a damn text to apologise.

Too little, too late, Freed supposed.

"So that's why you've been sending me to get all the drinks he serves, huh?" Bickslow said, snapping Freed from his recollections.

"I had hoped you didn't notice," Freed confessed.

"I don't care. I thought it was the weakest new guy hazing I'd ever seen," Bickslow shrugged. "But, I'm pretty sure you're gonna be working with him for a while and you can't avoid talking to him forever. So why don't ya swagger over there, show off those abs and that ass, take those drinks and make blondie drool over ya."

"I'm not exactly the type-"

"Just go talk to the guy, Freed," He looked over Freed's shoulder and towards the poolside bar. "There, he just got an order. Take the drinks, thank him for making them, and leave. That's all you gotta do."

He made it sound easy, and perhaps it was. Freed turned to look back at Laxus, and caught him quickly looking down again. A tray of drinks was already prepared and waiting for pickup. Freed had taken drinks from the bar thousands of times now; it would take only a few seconds and would require very little conversation. Freed couldn't avoid Laxus for as long as they were both employed, so they'd have to do this eventually. It was best to get the first contact over with.

Taking a breath and gathering his mind, he stood tall. He was careful as he walked; wearing this ridiculous thing was humiliating enough without slipping on a puddle. Laxus seemed to sense his approach, as he looked up. His eyes caught on Laxus', and his breath halted for a moment.

Laxus looked gentle. That had never been a word Freed had associated with him before.

Freed was beside the bar within a moment, and half expected Laxus' eyes to wander over his body, but they stayed trained on his face. Freed picked up the tray of drinks, glanced at the sun loungers he was to deliver them to, and then looked back at Laxus.

"Thank you."

"It's alright," Laxus nodded slightly. Freed went to turn, but Laxus spoke again. "Wait."

Freed did, and Laxus seemed to be fighting for words. Freed waited before speaking. "Are you-"

"I'm sorry," Laxus spluttered slightly. He looked vulnerable. That was new. "Everything you said was-"

"Laxus," Freed whispered. He hadn't said that name in a long time. "You don't need to apologise."

"No. I do Freed," God, the way he said his name. "You were-"

"You don't," Freed shook his head slightly. "We'll speak at some point. I'll tell you why you don't need to apologise, and you'll likely tell me what you were just planning to say. But not today. Not when I'm still processing that you're here," He saw Laxus wince. That wasn't new, and Freed hated the fact he had caused it. "And certainly not when I'm dressed like this."

"Yeah," Laxus laughed weakly. "Was kind of a shock."

"It was for me, too. I can assure you I hadn't been told," They shared a small smile, before Freed remembered the tray of drinks. "I should take these."

"Yeah. Yeah of course."

"It was… I'm glad to see you."

Laxus' head snapped to him. "Yeah. You too. Really glad."

Freed nodded, and turned away. A weight he hadn't known he'd been carrying was lifted.

Five Days Later

Their shifts ended almost at the same time. It was so late that it was nearing the morning, and most of the guests had vacated the pool hours ago. Freed, who had showered and changed in the locker room, walked back outside to see Laxus was sitting at the edge of the pool. He had his back to Freed, and absently was kicking his legs and making ripples in the surface. Freed couldn't help a soft smile at the sight as he walked towards him.

"Hello," He said, and Laxus whipped around to look at him.

"Hey."

Freed slowly brought himself down to sit next to Laxus, with barely a foot between them. He slowly put his legs into the water and looked out on the reflected lights. He waited a few moments before he spoke again. "Before we begin, I have to ask. Did you know that I was working here before you got your job?"

"No," It was a firm response. Freed believed him. "I'm not upset that we can talk, but I had no idea you'd be here."

"Good," Freed nodded. "So… we should discuss what happened."

"Yeah," Laxus turned from the pool to look at Freed. "I… I don't really know how to start. I know what I want to say, just don't really know what the words should be, Y'know."

Freed did. But hearing Laxus confess to being at a loss for words was something he'd never had before. "I understand that. But there's been a few things I've wanted to say to you since we fought, so I'd like to get them off my chest first. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"The things I said… they were unacceptable," He saw that Laxus was about to speak, and put a hand up to stop him. "The relationship you had with your father… I still believe it was bad for you, and that it was hurting you more than you would admit. But I also knew how difficult that relationship was for you, and that you weren't happy with the situation either. I threw it at you in a moment of anger, rather than trying to broach the topic in a way that might have helped you. I shouldn't have done that, and I really am sorry for that."

"Freed, I was letting that man-"

"No. That's the other thing I needed to say," Freed interrupted him. "There was always a part of me that thought you were… complacent with your father. That you shared a bit of the blame. But you were a teenager whose father was just awful. He threatened you anytime you did anything he didn't like. That was him, not you. I'm sorry if I ever made you think otherwise."

"You didn't," Laxus placed a hand on Freed's. "Seriously Freed, you never made me think that. Even when we were fighting, I wasn't pissed off at what you were saying. I was pissed off because I thought my dad was ruining another thing I cared about."

"I still shouldn't have said what I did."

Laxus took some time, before sighing. "I needed you to dump me, Freed. I was pissed about it for months – wounded pride, Y'know – but I think it needed to happen."

"Really?"

"Freed, I was an angry dick when we were kids. When I was around you, I got calmer and felt better. We worked that way, but it couldn't last forever," Laxus leant back. The sky was cloudless. "I always thought I kept it hidden; all the shit my father was doing. I actually thought you didn't know. I was stupid back then. You laying everything out for me… it made it so I couldn't hide from it anymore. I thought that I could just endure all of my dad's crap until I made a life that didn't have him in it, but that didn't work. I needed someone to make me stand up for myself."

"Did you?" Freed asked, honestly shocked.

"Yeah," Laxus nodded. "Not straight away. I was stewing in how pissed off I was for a while. Then, I realised I wasn't happy and found a therapist. She helped a lot, but even then, I was scared to stand up to him. He'd given me a job at his company – high up, well paid, totally under his thumb – so I felt like I couldn't do anything. I think that's why he never had a problem with me going to therapy; he thought he could win against her."

"And he didn't?"

"No. We had this meeting in front of the investors. I stood up, nudged the table, and a glass of water spilled on his knee. I thought he was gonna explode, but he didn't. He called for his assistant to bring in a massive pitcher of ice water, handed it to me, and told me to pour it all over myself if I didn't wanna be fired," He scoffed slightly. "He was fucking insane, and I never realised it. Not really."

"You didn't do it, did you?"

"Nah. I nearly did. Then I nearly threw it at him. But I just walked out, quit and blocked his number."

Pride bloomed in Freed; and perhaps he didn't have a right to feel that way. But Laxus had stood up to Ivan, and not with a screaming match or a fight, but with a straight rejection of his ideals. That had seemed insurmountable from where Laxus had been when they'd broken up. It was a testament as to how much Laxus had changed in their years apart, and how much he had grown into himself.

He really had gotten more comfortable in who he was, too. He was more gentle, quicker to smile, and seemed to have a lightness to him now.

Freed might have been stealing glances at him over the past could of days.

"I'm glad you could do that."

"Me too. Wish I threw that water at him though. Fucker deserved it," Laxus breathed out a long sigh. He wasn't saying something.

"What are you not telling me?"

"Shit, you can still do that, huh?" Laxus laughed. "He didn't exactly let it go. I got a job in another office, he found out and told my boss a load of crap and I got fired. Got a new job, same thing happened. Two years of that shit. I got less money each time, a smaller apartment each time. He was bleeding me."

Freed didn't know when he had taken Laxus' hand in his own. He didn't remove it.

"So, I got ahead of him. Sold all the shit I didn't need, found a crappy apartment, and looked for a job that he never would think I'd go for," He made a gesture to the vacant bar. "And, this place seemed appropriate, Y'know. Final way to stick it to my asshole, homophobe lawyer father is to get at a low paid job as a hotel that's main draw is how gay friendly it is."

"You've gotten poetic," Freed teased.

"Guess so. Or maybe I heard how generous people here are with tips," Laxus joked, and Freed laughed. "Although, that hasn't exactly been true. Some pretty boy's been walking around in a speedo all day and getting all the money that should be going to me."

"I have been making more money since the uniform changed," Freed mused and smiled. "I'm glad I got to see you again."

"Me too," Laxus nodded. They sat in silence for a moment, before Laxus spoke in a timid voice. "So, the two of us. Are we okay? Can we…"

"I would say, we get to know each other again as coworkers. We're both different people and have changed a lot, and we can't pretend we haven't," Freed spoke softly, and he saw Laxus nodding. "But, for what it's worth, the person you've grown to be already seems very promising. I doubt we'll stay just coworkers for much longer."

"Like, friends or…"

Freed didn't say anything. He ran a finger over Laxus' hand and watched the stars as they glittered on the pool.

Three Months Later

"Loungers three to six gave us this," Freed said, sliding the twenty-dollar tip into the communal tip jar. They'd installed them after Freed and Bickslow's tips were so much larger than anyone else's. Needless to say, the new uniforms were staying; Freed had long since gotten used to them. "And the delightful man on lounger twenty-three will be requiring your… personal touch."

Laxus grinned, brought a prepared drink, and pushed it forward. "Already done."

Over the past three months, Freed and Laxus had gotten over any awkwardness remarkably quickly. They had fallen into a fast friendship and their work reflected it. They were a well-oiled machine, and as such were always put on the same shift. They knew what the other wanted, and anticipated the other's needs. As such, Freed wasn't surprised when he saw a large blob of Laxus' saliva resting at the top of it. Freed took a drinks umbrella, stirred the drink until the spit was no longer obvious, and grinned back.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Freed took a tray of drinks and began his walk around the poolside. He finished the round at lounger twenty-three, the occupant of which glared at him and made a comment about how long it took. Freed made a fake apology, and the man actually tutted. Freed watched magnanimously as the man took a long sip of the drink.

"Before you go," The man said, voice smarmy and cool. "You couldn't do me a favour, could you? Oaf that I am, when I kicked off my shoes, they went a little further than I thought they would. Well, you can see," He gestured to the pool. A single sandal was floating in the middle of it. "I'm not dressed for the water. You couldn't get it for me, could you?" Freed sighed almost imperceptibly. The man must have seen it. "I'll make it worth your while."

Without shame, the man plucked a fifty-dollar bill from his wallet. Freed was half tempted to throw it back in his face, but his mortgage had gone up and he should take any extra cash he could get. If some creep would pay to get him wet – because there was no way in hell you could accidentally kick a shoe that far – then he would take it. And, after an incident when he was accidentally knocked into the pool a month ago, he did know that tips were larger when he had a few drops of water sliding down him.

"Of course, Mr Tartaros."

Freed didn't look at the man and turned towards the pool. On the other side of it was Laxus, who was watching them both, but averted his gaze when Freed spotted him. It lightened Freed's mood. This had happened a lot; Laxus watching him when he thought he wasn't going to be caught. Freed probably shouldn't have enjoyed it as much as he did.

He slid into the pool, and the coolness of the water was rather pleasant. It took only a few seconds for him to gather the sandal, and once he had it, he pushed himself out of the pool. He handed it to the guest, took the note offered while ignoring his roaming gaze, then turned back to face Laxus. He made sure to stretch a little and flex as he did and saw Laxus' face explode into redness.

That certainly was new.

And then, for a reason he couldn't think of, he winked.

Laxus went even redder and fumbled the glass he was cleaning. Freed smirked and went on with his day.

One Month Later

"Fuck!" Laxus yelled, slamming his hand onto his locker.

Freed looked up, eyes a little wide. He was on his break, chatting with Bickslow and Gray. The two other men shared a glance but didn't comment, while Freed looked at Laxus. He was wearing an expression that Freed had seen a few times before, and it sent a queasy feeling straight to his stomach. He stood without thinking and walked to Laxus, placing a hand on his back.

"What's wrong?" He asked, voice low.

"My dad. He figured out I'm working here."

"He didn't… you've not been fired, have you? Surely Bob wouldn't-"

"No, he didn't. He just called me in to say dad got in touch, and not to worry because he didn't believe anything the old bastard said," Laxus whispered.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"No. Well, I mean yeah it is, but this happened before. I worked for a little charity, and he tried this shit before, and they stood up to him," Laxus leant against the locker, face contorted in unhappiness. "So he went after my landlord and wore her down until I was evicted. He'll do that again. I'll be out before next month. It's not like a college city is short of people looking for cheap apartments."

"Surely there are laws protecting-"

"I had no money when I signed the contract. I would've taken anything. It's not a fair deal at all."

Freed winced; he had been in a similar position himself with a landlord who knew how to take advantage of him. He patted Laxus on the shoulder, and suddenly he felt as though they were both teenagers again. Laxus was dealing with his father's crap and trying to figure out a way to survive him, and all Freed could do was stand by him and do nothing of actual help.

But that wasn't the case now. Freed was an entirely different man than he had been back then. Perhaps the biggest regret he held about their relationship was that he had not done enough to help Laxus get out of the situation he was trapped in. But now he had more to offer, and an even greater desire to make life work for Laxus. As much as he had cared for Laxus before, there was something special about seeing how brilliant Laxus could be when he was away from Ivan.

"Why don't you move in with me," Freed said quietly. "It's a one-bedroom apartment, but it's got a sofa bed that you could use. And we were practically living together in college, so we know how not to antagonise each other. It could work."

"You sure?" Laxus asked, before shaking his head. "No. He'd just go after your landlord and then we'd both be fucked."

"I own my own place," Freed shrugged. Laxus looked at him, half impressed. Freed laughed. "It's not so impressive really. It's small, but big enough we wouldn't feel crowded if you do come. I only got it because I'd had enough of living with a landlord."

"I get that," Laxus half chuckled. "But no- I can't interrupt your life like that."

"And I won't allow you not to have a home," Freed said firmly, before softening. "How about you spend the rest of the week with me, as a sort of trial. We can see if it works, and if it doesn't then we can come up with something else."

"Well… are you sure?"

Freed smiled. "I'll drive us both to your apartment and we can pick up what you need."

"Thanks," Laxus gave him a brilliant smile, and Freed's insides roared with pleasure.

Three Weeks Later

"Mr Dreyar, you have no right to be here, and I insist you leave this moment."

At Bob's exclamation, Freed looked up and towards the bar with shock. Bob was a man who was slow to anger, and Freed couldn't think of anything Laxus was capable of doing that would bring his ire. Laxus looked equally as confused from behind the bar. That confusion quickly changed to a white-faced horror that shook Freed to his core. Freed followed Laxus' gaze, and felt a roaring of anger grow inside of him.

Ivan was there, and every spec of hatred Freed had ever felt for him came back with a roar.

"I am here to see my son," Ivan snapped, and Freed hadn't missed that voice at all. "Laxus Dreyar you come here now!"

"Mr Dreyar, if you don't leave now security will escort you out and the police will be called."

"There you are!" Ivan saw Laxus and stalked towards him. Thankfully Laxus was behind the bar, so there would be something between them. Freed abandoned the stack of towels he had been collecting and began to walk towards them. Ivan kept speaking. "You have been disrespecting the Dreyar name for far too long. Working in this… place is the final straw. No, I have had it with you! You are coming with me now."

"Mr Dreyar!" Gildarts, who had obviously heard the commotion, snapped. "You better leave right-"

"It's alright, Gildarts," Laxus said calmly. It was the kind of calm that sent a chill down your spine. "My father and I have nothing to say to each other. He's going to leave and won't be coming back anytime soon."

"I don't know where the hell you get the balls to speak to me like that but-" Ivan cut himself off, eyes snagging on Freed as he approached. He turned, looked Freed up and down, and rolled his eyes. "Of course. You came running back to this little shit. He can't be that good of a fuck, Laxus. Look at him; he's a damn joke. You can hardly call him a man at all," he scoffed then turned back to Laxus. "He'll leave you when things get hard for him, you know. Just like he did last time."

Freed took a step forward.

"Don't speak about him like that," Laxus' calm shifted into something more dangerous.

"Oh, you don't believe me," Ivan laughed. He walked to the bar, picked up a pitcher of rainbow cocktail, and grinned. "Then let me show you." He swaggered to Freed, who didn't shy away from him. He raised the glass and slowly tipped it over Freed's head. Crushed ice of many colours poured down Freed's face and onto his torso, but he still didn't look away. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Ivan snarled and leant in. "Go on, kid. Fuck off."

"No."

"The hell did you just do?" Laxus barked, storming out from behind the bar. He was moving fast and had an expression that Freed had rarely seen on him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"You are coming back home, Laxus," Ivan snapped. "And you will take whatever role I deem appropriate for you, and you will be thankful I was so-"

Ivan couldn't speak further, because Laxus stormed over to him, pressed two hands into his chest, and pushed him straight into the pool. He spluttered as his luxury suit was drenched, flailing around and finding his balance. He waded towards the edge of the pool and made to get out, but Laxus placed a foot down on his hand and pressed hard. When he spoke, it was an acidic whisper that chilled Freed.

"You've spent so much time trying to fuck up my life, and I don't think you even remember why anymore," he hissed, applying pressure on Ivan's fingers. "But you ain't doing it anymore. If you hadn't done any of that shit, I don't know what kind of life I would have had. But this is where I am, and I fucking like it. So why don't you fuck off."

"How dare-"

"Oh shut up," Laxus scoffed. "But, for what it's worth, you didn't fuck everything up. Not totally," He glanced at Freed before firming himself and looking back down at his father. "You know, whenever I thought of you, I thought about the last time I saw ya. This is the last time you're gonna see me, and I hope this really sticks in your mind."

With a quick moment, he turned to face Freed, wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Freed was quick to act, running his hand through Laxus' hair and pulling him into a slow kiss. It was electric as it always had been with Laxus, this time softer and sweeter than they had been in their youth. Freed lost himself in the sensations, the feeling of Laxus pressed against him again. The relief of finally having Laxus as his own again.

A trickle of the cocktail slid down Freed's cheek, and he broke the kiss with a laugh. He had forgotten about it and couldn't stop himself from chuckling. He pulled away from Laxus, but only enough to see him. The rainbow of crushed ice covered both of their faces, and Freed couldn't think of a more perfect second first kiss.

"I missed you," Freed whispered.

"I missed you too," Laxus beamed.

They grinned at each other, then joined together in another ethereal kiss. The world fell apart around them, and, for that moment, it was just the two of them. The moment was perfect, and Freed felt a sense of love he'd never known before. He didn't say anything, though. His love for Laxus went without saying. With the two of them, their love for each other had always gone without saying.

#Fraxus Week 2023 #Fraxus Week #Fraxus #Freed Justine #Laxus Dreyar #Fairy Tail #Fanfic #Writing #One Shot #writing event #Modern AU

13 notes · View notes