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preciouslandmermaid · 7 months ago

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nothing’s gonna hurt you baby (carmy x f!reader) - bonus post-epilogue chapter

Note: I randomly wanted to write a wedding, but I don't actually include the ceremony, so this is more like a "pre-wedding/post-wedding" story if we're being honest ! Also it takes place about 2 years after the epilogue :)

Warnings/Tags: 18+ Content! (Explicit Language/Sexual Content).

(Read on Ao3) /// (Masterpost)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney held the wooden spoon toward you and the scent of the honey and ginger glaze tickled your nostrils. Earlier in the afternoon, she rolled the sleeves of her dark green sweater to her elbows and the beaded bracelet (a gift from Richie’s daughter, Eva) slid partway down her wrist.

“Alright, it’s your entree. You get to try it first.”

“I thought that was the chef’s honor?”

“Yeah, well, you’re the bride so…” she trailed off, shrugging. “I think that superimposes chef’s honor.”

You smiled and raised both eyebrows at Syd. She didn’t have to help, especially considering how busy The Bear is nowadays, but she offered and you gratefully accepted. Wedding planning – as it turned out – was a stressful affair. You and Carmy had your location set, but the guest list, wedding registry, and menu were woefully incomplete. You tangled yourselves into knots over the planning, but the goal remained firm in your mind; a celebration with Carmy and your friends mixed with the legality of marriage. You would overcome any hurdles you needed to cross because all of it would be worth it in the end.

Wordlessly, you closed your mouth over the spoon. Your lips puckered and your tongue recoiled to the safety of your back molars.

“Oh, oh shit,” Sydney said emphatically, “you hate it.”

“N-no!” You coughed, swallowing, and grabbing your glass of water. “The acidity is just a little...strong. It needs to be adjusted, that’s all.”

“Fuck,” she said, slapping her palm on the wooden countertop. “Okay – uh – that’s okay. We can – I can totally fix this. No biggie.” When she tasted the glaze, her expression pinched before she stuck out her tongue and gagged. “Yeah, nope.” She released a forced, short laugh. “There’s no saving that one.”

You loved Syd’s earnest, anxious awkwardness. Her blunt nature had been the first foundational stone of your friendship. You liked that she didn’t let Carmy off the hook, regardless of his experience and talent, and their partnership was an integral component to the Bear’s continued success.

“Back to the drawing board,” you said, drumming your fingers on the countertop. “Maybe ginger is too sharp? Do we lean more savory?”

“Interesting idea coming from the baker,” she teased.

“Hey!” You pretended to be offended and infused your tone with as much indignation as you could. “Just because I run a bakery doesn’t mean I have a sweet tooth.”

Syd laughed. “There is literally a bowl of candy by the entryway.”

“It’s for Halloween.” You crossed your arms and said, “There are a ton of families in this building.” In truth, your lack of nicotine intake after quitting smoking had manifested into a ravenous sweet tooth and, the lollipops – although bad for your teeth – were monumentally healthier than cigarettes.

“Dude, Halloween is seven months away.”

“We’re prepared.”

“What for like kids who don’t know how to like tell time and show up a few months early?”

“Obviously.”

She finished scraping the glaze into the trash. “You’re fucking ridiculous.” Her bright smile faded and the light entered her dark eyes. You recognized it as her ‘I have an idea face’ and your mood lifted—the overly sour glaze quickly forgotten. When Carmy said he wanted The Bear to cater your wedding, you had been shocked, and concerned about the additional stress it would add to your lives. However, with Syd in your kitchen, the pan gripped in her hand and her expression rapt with wonder, you realized that you had nothing to worry about. The wedding’s menu and food preparation were in the best hands.

“Do you have any soy sauce?” she asked, “Worcestershire sauce will work too, or liquid aminos if we’re desperate.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carmy watched as your fingers held aloft over the keyboard and the spreadsheet glared menacingly in a harsh blue-white glow. The guest list had been easy to start. The obvious ones were Syd, Natalie, Peter, Richie and Eva, and your best friend, Taylor. The harder choices were family and how to arrange the tables. Your eyebrows angled in confusion and you drew your hands away.

“I’m not inviting my dad,” you said after a moment’s pause.

Carmy nodded. “Okay.”

His neck prickled uncomfortably. It wasn’t the flushed heat that arrived when he felt embarrassed. No. This discomfort traveled from his neck to his fingers. It raked across his skin like a thousand needles, pricking every nerve, and drawing blood. He thought about going to his coat pocket and withdrawing a crumpled pack of cigarettes. The quick, cold rush of nicotine would ease his headache and calm his nerves. But, if he smoked, then he’d need to walk downstairs and into the blustery sharp gray wind of March. And he didn’t want to bail on you. The puzzle of who to invite and who to sit with whom was a project for the both of you to untangle.

“I dunno if I should…” He cleared his throat and looked away when your eyes met his over the laptop screen. “I dunno.”

“Your mom?” you correctly guessed.

Carmy sniffed, scratched the side of his nose, and nodded. His heart thumped into his ribs. Maybe he should take a walk. Maybe the March air would clear this dreadful feeling from his skull. His stomach hardened into a pit at the idea of his mom coming to his wedding. But, at the same time, his dread and fear congealed into a sharp guilt that curdled his stomach acid. His mom was a force to be reckoned with. A hurricane of a woman. He loved her. He didn’t know if he wanted her at the wedding. He knew she’d be upset if she weren’t invited. But, both of you decided to keep the guest list small. The careful cuts were necessary, and not just due to the frugality aspect, but in terms of everyone’s enjoyment.

“She’d make it about her,” he said, “remember Sophia’s second birthday?”

You placed your hand on the middle of Carmy’s back, right between his tense shoulder blades, and he forced a harsh exhale through his teeth. They almost called the police, Carmy thought with a frown. His mom showed up and seemed fine, and then shortly before cake and presents, she buckled little Sophia into her car and claimed that Natalie hated her and didn’t want Sophia to have a relationship with her grandmother. His niece, at the age when separation anxiety often occurred, cried so much that she threw up on her special birthday dress.

“I do,” you said and your eyes softened.

“I’m a terrible son,” Carmy said, “I’m a fucking asshole. We have to invite her, don’t we? She deserves to be there.”

“Carmy, you’re not.” You rubbed his back. “Do you think I’m an asshole for not inviting my dad?”

He quickly said, “No.” The pit in his stomach gnawed at his smoke-deprived lungs. “It’s different.”

“How so?”

“He has another family.” Carmy stood, raking his hand through his hair. “My mom only has Nat and me.”

“So you have to sacrifice your happiness and comfort for hers?”

“Yes!” he said immediately followed by a quick, “No. I don’t know.” He reached into his coat pocket hanging by the door and fished out the squashed packet of cigarettes.

You trailed after him and wound your arms around him, pressing your face into his back, your hands coming to rest over his heart. Carmy froze. The pressure of your hands on his chest made him realize how fast his heart was beating. He squeezed the cigarette packet and it crinkled beneath his clammy fingers.

“Remind me,” you said, voice faintly muffled by his t-shirt, “what was the possible diagnosis your therapist gave her?”

“Borderline personality disorder.” His therapist also said his mom could have narcissistic personality disorder, but BPD was more likely, based on his descriptions of childhood. It helped to have a name for it. It gave him a better understanding of everything he went through.

“Which defines her behavior but doesn’t excuse it,” you said as you circled around him to face him. “Carmy, I love you.” You cupped his face in your hands. “I will support you if you want to invite Donna and I’ll weather any storms she brings with her. Who knows...maybe it’ll be a good day for her.” Your tone toward the end of your sentence became dubious.

Carmy sighed. “I don’t think I want to invite her, but I feel like I should.” He frowned. “That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“No, it does. You feel an obligation as her son to share this big moment with her. I get it.”

“Do you feel guilty about not inviting your dad?”

“A little.” Your lips pursed. “But, if I visualize our wedding, the thought of my dad standing beside me doesn’t make me happy. I don’t feel excited about it. I just feel…”

“Dread?” he guessed.

You smiled faintly. “It’s more annoyance and anger for me.”

“Mm, yeah. Makes sense.” He leaned his forehead and touched it to yours. How did he get so lucky? He imagined the wedding. He imagined seeing you across from him, sliding the ring on your finger, and stuttering through his vows. The usual nervousness bubbled up inside his chest, but it was smothered by the overwhelming warmth and affection he felt for you that bled across his skin like thick honey.

“I don’t think I can invite her,” he whispered.

“That’s okay, Carm.” You kissed him softly. “That’s okay.” You repeated against his mouth. A sensation of cool and blissful relief extinguished the last lingering remnants of his dread.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Something is weird,” you said, leaning forward in the passenger seat. “Why are there two florist vans? Did we accidentally get two?” You didn’t recognize the name on the second van either. Must be a local shop, you thought, although that doesn’t explain why they’re here.

“I don’t think so,” Carmy said.

As everyone poured out of their cars, their garment bags slung over their arms or over their shoulders, a sharply dressed black woman emerged from the entrance and strode purposefully toward you and Carmy.

“You must be the Berzattos,” she said breathlessly as she shook your hands. “It’s good to meet you. My name is Vivienne and I’m afraid I have bad news.”

“What sort of bad news?” Richie said, “The kind that gets us a discount?” He grinned at Carmy and your husband-to-be rolled his eyes.

“Perhaps.”

Richie whispered, “Oh shit.”

“We’ve had some technical issues with our new scheduling program.” She wrung her hands together. “The venue has been double-booked.”

“Okay,” you said slowly, noticing all the additional staff buzzing to and fro across the manicured lawn.

Vivienne said, “I’m so sorry for the mistake. If you’d like, we can reschedule you.”

Your stomach dropped into your shoes.

“Absolutely not,” you said, “people flew out to be here. We can’t reimburse flights and accommodations, and nor should we have to considering this is your error.” You sighed, feeling a headache press into your temples. “Why didn’t you notify us?”

“How about a discount and you can split the venue?” she offered, “we only realized the mistake when the two catering companies showed up.”

“Well, that’s convenient,” said Richie.

“Fuck,” Syd said.

Natalie crossed her arms. “I’m sorry did they say double-booked?”

“Mommy!” Sophia pulled at Natalie’s pant leg. “Mommy, look! Sunflowers!” She pointed at the floral van carrying out their arrangements.

You shared a glance with Carmy. “Can we have a minute?”

“Of course. Again, we’re so sorry.”

You and Carmy broke away from the group of your closest friends and family. You rubbed your hands down the length of your face.

“We can’t reschedule,” you said, “but how the hell are we going to share the venue? They have one kitchen and we paid for our guests to stay the night.”

“Maybe the timing works out,” Carmy said, taking your hand in his. “You want to stay here?”

“Yes.”

“Then fuck it. We stay.”

“Okay, fuck it.” You smiled. “Let’s negotiate a good discount.”

“Say the word and I’ll send Pete in,” Carmy joked.

You laughed. “God, we might need him.”

The organization was a cluster-fuck. The venue manager, Vivienne, assured and promised that the space was large enough and that the other party – the Carmichael's – were having a noon wedding with a 2 PM reception and everything would be cleaned up for your 4 PM wedding and 5 PM reception. But, you noticed the proverbial cracks in the foundation. The necessary kitchen prep work, the clashing decorations, the intermingling guests, and the underlying stress and confusion permeated every interaction. You practiced intentional breathing and hoped you’d make it through the day without bursting into stress-induced tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The zipper was halfway up when it broke. You felt the snag, then the tug and pull, and the abrupt separation. You pressed your hand to your mouth and muffled the noise of discontent and frustration that threatened to break free.

Taylor pushed her long, thick dark braid over her shoulder and pursed her red lips at you. “We can work with this,” she said after a long moment of contemplation. “We can fix it.”

You released a strangled, “can we?” You blinked back your burning tears—you didn’t want to ruin your makeup.

“Yeah, most of these places have emergency sewing kits,” your best friend said while digging through the drawers, “also, this might be a bad time, but is the chef single?”

Despite everything, you laughed. “Which chef?”

“The tall blonde one with the accent.”

“Luca?”

Taylor’s eyes brightened. “Yes!”

“I’ll find out for you,” you said while reaching for your phone. You smiled at the sight of your phone background, a black and white photo of you and Carmy, and Taylor snickered.

“I remember when you told me about him,” she said.

“You do?”

“Yeah, you were all tied into knots about it...and now look at you! Tying the knot.” She winked. “I’m glad you guys figured it out.”

Your chest warmed with pleasure. “Me too.”

“Aha!” She held the little sewing kit aloft. It had the venue's name printed on the front of the bag. “Do you think they write this so nobody steals it?” She asked while tapping the swooping decal.

Before you could answer, your mom bustled into the room, her billowing lilac sleeves trailing after her arms.

“Oh! Look at you!” She grabbed your chin and kissed your cheek. “I’ve got something for you. A little tradition.”

“Mom, I don’t know if I can stomach any more surprises.” Taylor began to fix your zipper and the cold metal teeth periodically kissed your skin.

“You’ll like this surprise.”

Your mom removed a potted plant from her purse. The dark soil clung to her fingertips, the plant likely got knocked around more than once, as she set it down on the vanity. You recognized the wide, verdant leaves.

“A basil plant?”

“Normally, we give a flower of some type, but I chose a basil plant instead.” She smiled, pleased. “Nurture the plant as you nurture your future and it’ll thrive.”

Your throat tightened. “Thanks, Mom.” Your shoulders jerked as Taylor finished zipping and she whooped in triumphant delight.

“There we go, crisis averted,” said Taylor, “now we don’t have to worry about walking down the aisle naked.”

You rubbed your fingertips along the basil leaf and smiled at them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God,” Richie said, fixing his tie, “I can’t believe you’re getting fucking married, cousin.”

“Yeah, me either.” Carmy scratched the side of his nose.

“I always thought Mikey’d get married before you,” he said, “he was just more charmin’, you know? He had a way with people, women especially, God…” Richie shook his head. “He couldn’t walk down the street without getting some chick’s phone number.”

Carmy stared sullenly at his reflection. “Yeah, well, maybe it’s a good thing he didn’t? ‘Cause then he’d have an ex-wife, or a widow, or a kid or somethin, I dunno.”

Carmy wondered if he’d forever be in rooms with Mikey’s shadow stuck to the corners. It didn’t suffocate him as much anymore. Mikey’s memory lurked within every conversation – like slivers of light through the paneled window shades. Today of all days though, Carmy suspected those slivers would blind him. Mikey should’ve been here, could’ve been, and he wasn’t.

“Yeah, good point.” Richie turned the side and smoothed his lapels. “Still, it should be him.”

Carmy’s neck flushed with indignation. Did Richie seriously have to be such an asshole? His brow furrowed. It was his fucking wedding day for fuck’s sake!

“Cousin—” Carmy began.

“Standing here, I mean, as your best man,” said Richie. “Look, there’s no takebacks and this would be a hell of a time to change your mind but it should’ve been Mikey. Not me. I get that, okay? That’s all I’m trying to say…” He fixed his tie again. “And I’m gonna do everything to make sure that this day doesn’t go to shit. I can promise you that, alright?”

Carmy blinked, at a loss for words at Richie’s admission. It had been six years and counting since Mikey’s death and Richie had been with him for every one. If he was being honest with himself and not caught up on nostalgia, if Mikey was here, then Carmy wasn’t sure he would have trusted him with all the responsibility. Hell, Richie organized a pizza-making bachelor party for him. He offered to trash the other couple’s wedding.

“Who else would it be?” he asked softly, “you’re family, Richie.”

Richie sniffed, nodded, and clapped his hand on Carmy’s shoulder, jostling him. When Carmy met his eyes, they were glassy and bright.

“I know.” His lips twitched up into a grin. “Let’s get you fucking married!” He pulled Carmy in a one-armed, half-hug and shook him. “Put a fucking smile on that face, Carm. Come on! Come on!”

He affectionately pinched Carmy’s face in one hand, squishing his mouth, and Carmy shoved Richie away, annoyed, but laughing—in the same way he’d get annoyed and laugh whenever Mikey goofed around with him.

“Fuck off,” said Carmy, without any heat.

“Hey,” Syd poked her head into the doorway, “you ready? The photographer wants to see all of the groomsmen.”

“Shouldn’t you say grooms-people? To be like politically correct or whatever,” Richie asked, “or groomsmen and women considering you’re among us.”

Syd made a face. “Richie shut up and come pose with us.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be inclusive,” he said loudly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If someone asked you to recount all the details of your wedding—you didn’t think you could. It was the busiest and most stressful day of your life. You’d always remember the finer details like Carmy’s thoughtful, flustered vows, Richie starting a limbo competition, or Syd’s dad dancing with Taylor—at least for a while until she disappeared with Luca in tow. Good for you, you remembered thinking as you watched her form retreat down the hall.

But the rest of the day was an exuberant blur. It had been long and you were grateful to relax into the lush pillowcases with your short silk gown kissing your skin.

Carmy climbed into bed after showering and peppered kisses along your nose and jaw, his hands finding your hips beneath the covers and holding them.

“I can’t believe you’re my husband,” you said with soft laughter before chasing his lips with yours.

“And you’re my wife,” he said, lifting your wrists and placing them over your head, “keep those there.”

You said, “We’ve been married less than twelve hours and you’re already bossing me around?”

Carmy chuckled and his breath puffed over your peaked nipples. His tongue laved over the silk, and moistened it before he drew your nipple between his lips. The soft silk and warmth of Carmy’s tongue was a heady, back-arching mixture.

“Oh, fuck,” you whispered, plunging your hands into his damp curls and scraping your nails over his scalp.

“Yeah?” His calloused palm felt its way down your thigh, “Are you wet for me already?”

“A little,” you admitted as you parted your legs for him.

“God,” he muttered before mouthing along your breasts and wetting the silk with his tongue and lips. He held one of your breasts in his hand and squeezed, pushing the mound into his mouth again and sucking your hard nipple. The sensation turned to liquid, sticky heat between your legs. You moaned, pushing upward into his grasp and gyrating your hips in askance. His hand was frustratingly close to your cunt, but not close enough. He rubbed up and down your inner thigh from knee to apex, letting his knuckles occasionally brush your pussy, before drawing away without adding any pressure. The fucking nerve of him!

“My wife is so fucking hot,” Carmy said, and hearing the words sent a hot, fresh thrill trembling through you.

“And my husband is a fucking tease,” you said, digging your fingertips into his hard, sculpted shoulders.

Carmy pulled his mouth away from your wet breasts. The silk had darkened where his mouth had been and you could faintly see your nipples through the semi-translucent fabric.

“Am I?” He drew his hands away from you and grabbed your wrists again, pinning them above your head, “I thought I said to keep these here.”

You snorted. “When have I ever listened?”

“You’re a great listener,” he said honestly.

“I want to touch you, Carmy,” you said, matching his honesty with your own, even as his praise sang through your ears and warmed your skin.

He softened. “Okay.” He pulled your wedding ring-adorned hand to his mouth and kissed your knuckles. The moment he released your hand, you slid your fingers down his chest, smiling at the way his eyelashes fluttered and his cheeks darkened. You wiggled your fingers beneath the tight waistband of his boxer shorts and found him hard and pulsing within your grasp.

“Fuck.” He shuddered. “I feel like I could come just by looking at you.”

He jerked his hips into your touch as your fingers encircled him. You craned your neck upward and kissed him, finding the familiar rhythm of tongue and teeth, and moaning wantonly into his mouth when his hand cupped your wet folds. He hissed when his index finger pledged into you and your mind went white-hot and blank.

“Do you think the stress of the day has manifested into being super horny for each other?” You asked, your other hand cupping the back of Carmy’s neck, pinning his face close to yours so you could kiss him. His pretty blue eyes blinked at you.

“Maybe. But, I think I just want to fuck my wife.” His cock twitched in your hand and you grinned.

“It turns you on to call me your wife, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

His admission made your walls clench around his index finger. Maybe you liked it too. Maybe. You felt Carmy smile against your lips. “Can’t wait to be inside you,” he muttered, “filling you, listening to you moan.”

You gasped and your eyes rolled back into your skull. It wasn’t often that Carmy engaged in dirty talk, so when he did, it was a rare and special treat that never failed to drench your core. Carmy ran his tongue along your neck, tasting your sweat before a second finger speared between your folds and coaxed that inner fire.

“Keep this on,” he said, dragging his teeth across the strap of your gown, “when I fuck you.”

“Mm – fuck. Okay,” you groaned.

“Actually, I—” his words were suddenly lost to a moan as you adjusted your grip on his cock, your fingers slicked with pre-cum. “Fuck, baby. I need you on top of me.”

“Gladly.”

Carmy rolled onto his back, yanking his shorts down, and you smiled at the sight of him – as desperate as you were with his chest heaving and his wet curls falling onto his forehead. Your walls clenched in anticipation as you hiked the hem of the dress over your hips. Carmy’s hands settled on your thighs and he watched hungrily as you held the base of his cock and slowly lowered yourself onto him. Your spine convulsed and the sensation of him stretching you and filling you wiped out every lingering thought in your mind.

“God,” his voice was strangled, “you feel so fucking amazing.”

You cupped his face, resting your forehead on his as you rode him, and said, “so do you.”

“I love you so much,” Carmy said reverently, “so goddamn much.”

Your heart threatened to break and regrow the from sheer tenderness of his words. Carmy, you learned over the years, expressed his love with acts of service and he said ‘I love you’ most often while having sex. However, something about this ‘I love you’ was different. It was more intense on your post-wedding night. You buried your face into his sweaty neck, your bodies and hearts joined, your futures intrinsically linked.

“I love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You tilted the watering can over the thriving basil plant and smiled.

“Auntie.” Sophia, freshly eight years old, held something in her hands. “I found a worm.”

You blinked at her. “Put it back?”

“Okay!” She replied cheerily and dropped the worm back into the potted rosemary. She spun when the balcony door slid open. “Hi Uncle Carmy! Do you want to see the worm?” She pointed.

Carmy smiled, first at his niece, and then at you. “Let me see,” he said, crouching. He balanced his wrists on his knees and the sunlight gleamed off his wedding band. Your heart skipped. My husband. You wondered what your grandfather would say if you could tell him that his death led you to your soulmate, a second family, and a range of new friends. Knowing him he’d tell me that he would’ve died sooner if he knew how happy it’d make me. Your grandfather had had a wry sense of humor.

Carmy stood and put his arm around you. “We’re going to need to re-pot the basil if it keeps growing like this,” he said absentmindedly.

You leaned into him and kissed his cheek.

#carmy berzatto x reader #carmy x reader #carmy berzatto x you #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x you #carmen carmy berzatto x reader #the bear fanfic #carmen 'carmy' berzatto #carmen 'carmy' berzatto x you

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avastrasposts · 5 months ago

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Big Sky Country - ch. 8

There's a lot of things that need to be talked about for Frankie and Ashling in this chapter, but we also finally get to see Frankie in full cowboy mood!

Summery: Cowboy Frankie returns to New York to work things out with his 'maybe girlfriend' Eva. But he also makes a connection with another woman, who makes this lost cowboy feel welcome in her Brooklyn bar.

Series Master List

Warnings for the whole series can be found here

Frankie woke up a bit confused as to why he was on his couch the next morning, then the previous day came back to him while his lower back protested about sleeping on the couch; Aisling turning up, asleep now, only feet away, in his bed. He rolled over onto his side and peered over the edge of the couch to his bedroom door, it was slightly ajar. Pushing himself off the couch, he quietly made his way over to it and peered inside, finding the bed empty. He was a fairly light sleeper, Aisling must’ve been very quiet if she’d snuck out without him waking up. He turned and realized the quilt on the couch was gone and he looked out through the window, spotting Aisling on the porch swing, wrapped in the quilt, watching the morning light over the prairie.

“Morning,” he said, opening the front door, “You like the view?”

“Morning, Frankie,” she said, turning and giving him a bright smile, “it’s gorgeous, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s pretty spectacular, and just wait until you see the sunset.” He thumbed towards the kitchen behind him, “I’m gonna make some coffee, how do you take it?”

“Just milk, thanks, ‘Fish’.”

He chuckled, “Coming right up, Ash.”

He came back a few minutes later with two mugs and handed her one, joining her on the swing with his own. Aisling had pulled up her legs so Frankie gently rocked the swing with his bare foot on the porch.

“This is how I imagined it,” she said, wrapping her hands around the mug, “when you showed me the photos of this place. You sitting on the swing, watching the view and rocking back and forth.”

“It has been known to happen,” Frankie replied, pausing before he continued in a lower voice, “You know I need the silence, and this is as silent as it gets.”

Aisling looked over at him, he was staring out at the prairie, his eyebrows pulled together as if he was working something over in his mind. Then he lifted his hand and rubbed the strong curve of his nose, and sighed.

“Do you wanna know what happened in New York?” he asked, still looking at the prairie.

“Yeah, I think we need to start there,” Aisling replied and he looked over at her, “I won’t walk into something with you again without understanding what happened, Frankie.”

He nodded, “I agree, you should understand. And then…” he paused, glancing down at his hands, something vulnerable shifting in his face before he looked up again, “and then, maybe…you need to decide if you want to stay or not.”

It was Aisling’s turn to nod while Frankie seemed to gather his thoughts for a moment, taking a sip of his coffee and Aisling did the same, looking out over the prairie as he started talking.

“I think you need to know what happened before New York though,” he began, “And I’m not making excuses for anything, just telling you how I ended up where I was.”

“Ok.”

He drew a deep breath and rubbed his nose again, trying to ground himself before he began.

“You know I was in the army, as a pilot. I was in special ops, which means I was in a team of five guys that went on some highly classified missions. I’ve killed people, as a soldier, and many of the things we did, I’m not proud of.”

He paused and glanced over at Aisling to see how she'd react, but she was still looking out over the prairie with the coffee mug resting on her knee.

He took another sip of his coffee, considering how to phrase the next part before deciding to just say it, hoping she’d understand that he’d left it behind now.

“Going back to civilian life wasn’t easy, and I didn’t handle it very well. I started using drugs to numb myself from all the shit in my head. Eventually I got addicted. To cocaine,” he looked over at her again and she was looking back at him this time. “I’ve been clean for almost two years, and I don’t do any other drugs.”

Aisling nodded in response, “The army stuff, is that what’s in your head? That makes you crave silence?”

“Yeah, it’s like my brain can’t sort through the distractions of a busy place and decide what’s an actual potential danger, and what’s just background noise. It forces me to be vigilant for any potential threat, check the exits, check the people around me, make sure I’ve got my friend’s backs covered all the time, like I’m on a never ending mission.”

“Sounds exhausting,” Aisling said, “And explains why New York stressed you out so much.”

Frankie nodded and scratched his beard, “It never fucking shuts up in that city, the only time my head was quiet while I was there was with-”

He cut himself off and glanced over at Aisling who was still looking at him.

“You said I was the only one who made your mind quiet.”

Frankie nodded again, unable to keep looking at her, instead he looked down at his bare feet for a moment before he looked out at the prairie that was slowly filling with sunlight.

“When I was with you in New York, I could focus only on you, the rest faded into the background.”

“Is that why you kept coming back to the bar, even though you had a girlfriend?”

Frankie winced under the directness of her question, but he nodded in response, focusing on the prairie.

“The rest of the story,” he said, “is this; I met Eva when I was addicted, in Florida. It’s where I lived after the army. I’d made some really terrible choices, the worst one left one of my friends dead after we went on a mission we never should’ve touched. I was numbing the pain and the noise with coke every day, and she helped me get clean. She was what I needed then, I suppose, but in reality, she probably should’ve been just a friend, not my girlfriend. I wasn’t in the right place for a serious relationship. But I talked her into moving out here when I realized I needed this kind of space, this kind of life, to get my head straight again. Herb, who runs the ranch, is my NA sponsor, he got me out here.”

Frankie paused and looked over at Aisling again, she was looking at him and when their eyes met, she smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, you haven’t said anything to scare me off yet, just tell me what happened.”

Frankie felt relief flood his chest, a weight lifting, and he nodded as he continued; “I don’t know if Eva hated it out here from the start, but I know she hated it pretty soon after we moved here. She hated how lonely it was, so far from any kind of city, bars, clubs, all the stuff she loved doing. So after a few months, she left me, moved to New York for a job. I went after her, tried living there for about two months, and failed, miserably. I almost started using again. So I came back here.”

Frankie sighed, bracing himself for the most recent part of the story and Aisling noticed he was picking at his cuticles, his fingers restless. Putting down her coffee mug she took one of his large hands in her own and held it still. He gave her a weak smile and inhaled before he continued.

“It was over then, when I came back, we thought we’d try a long distance thing but we didn’t even stay in touch, it was just over. But then she called me a few weeks later and told me she was pregnant, that it was mine, and I went back to New York.”

Frankie looked over at Aisling who was still holding his hand, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb over his small tattoo. If the pregnancy had surprised her, she wasn’t showing it, she just kept her eyes on him as he told her the rest, nodding to keep him going.

“That’s why I was in Brooklyn when I met you, I was waiting for her to get home from work so that we could talk about what we were going to do. I thought maybe the baby would make her want to move back to Montana and we could get a place closer to Big Sky, or even Bozeman. But that wasn’t what she wanted,” Frankie shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face, sighing deeply. “That third time I came back to the bar, when we went back to your place, she’d had an abortion without telling me about it.”

Aisling felt her heart twist, with both anger and with relief, for a few seconds she’d thought Frankie was going to tell her Eva was still pregnant, that he’d be a dad in a few months. Anger filled her heart when she saw Frankie’s eyes shift into grief.

“I know Eva and me having a baby was probably the worst idea in the world,” he said, his voice low as he looked down at his feet again, “I can’t live in New York and she hated living here. And I know she has every right to make the decision on her own, but…” he trailed off, shaking his head and Aisling felt him grip her hand tighter, “She didn’t even let me go to the clinic with her, she wouldn’t even let me help her or tell me what was going on. She told me it was fucking food poisoning...and then the next morning there was blood in the toilet and she told me it was over, just like that.”

“I’m sorry, Frankie,” Aisling murmured, “that was a horrible thing to do.”

“And then you were there, all soft and warm, and I could just lose myself in you,” Frankie said, turning his head to look at Aisling, remembering how good she’d made him feel when he needed it the most that night in Greenpoint. “You made my head go quiet at a time when it was driving me insane. And it was such a fucked up thing to do, I shouldn’t have used you like that and I felt so fucking guilty afterwards.”

“That’s why you went all weird after we had sex,” Aisling said, remembering how he’d almost shut down in her bed, “You were feeling guilty.”

Frankie nodded, and his eyebrows were so tightly knitted together when he looked at her that she had to scoot closer to him on the porch swing and wrap her arms around his wide shoulders. He gratefully hugged her back, holding her tight as he mumbled in her ear.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve stopped myself, it wasn’t fair on you, Aisling. And then I had to leave, I couldn’t drag you into my mess, it just would’ve made it worse and I didn’t want to put that on you.”

“But why did you go back to Eva?” Aisling asked, sitting back so that she could see Frankie properly, “You were with her when we met at Smorgasbord.”

Frankie swallowed and gave a small shake of his head, Aisling had removed her arms from around him and he already missed her touch. But this was the hardest part to explain, he dropped his head and rubbed at his thumb.

“It’s like I was being pulled in two directions, I knew, rationally I fucking knew, staying with her wasn’t a good choice. But the other part of me was saying it was the right thing to do, that it had been good once, and that she’d helped me through so much shit. She put up with me and helped me get clean when everyone else bailed. And when I got back to her apartment that night, she was crying, begging me to stay, saying she needed me and she only realized when she thought I’d left. So I did what I thought was the right thing, and stayed.”

He sighed deeply, “And I know I should’ve told you, but I was just too much of a coward,” he looked up and met Aisling’s eyes, he could see some of the hurt he’d caused her as she was reminded of what he’d done, and it killed him inside. He wanted to make that go away, but he knew he could only hope she would understand on some level, and maybe forgive him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to pull you into my mess, I should’ve stopped things after we first kissed,” he shook his head again, exhaling and looking out over the prairie.

“If you’d told me, I probably would’ve yelled at you anyway,” Aisling said and gave him a crooked smile, “but I would’ve preferred if you’d told me, instead of finding out at Smorgasbord.”

Frankie nodded, “I know, and I have no excuse. I was a coward, I should’ve been honest with you. And I deserved everything you said, I fucked up.”

Aisling wasn’t about to disagree on the deserving thing, he should’ve told her, but she was starting to understand what kind of demons he’d been fighting.

“And after that, you stayed with Eva? She forgave you for having sex with me?” she asked, still sitting close to him, close enough so that she could see the way his eyes seemed to be looking at something else than the prairie. His fingers were picking at his cuticles again, and his foot had started tapping on the porch floor.

“I stayed, but I don’t think she forgave me. She said she did, but then she’d hold it over me when she wanted me to do something. The whole thing sat between us the whole last month and it just got worse. So we had one last fight and broke up, and I left the same night.”

“When you came to see me after closing?” Aisling asked but Frankie ignored her question, he seemed to have lost himself in the spiral of thoughts the memories brought on.

“I always seem to fuck everything up,” he said, not answering her question, “I made so many bad choices, both back in Florida and then in New York…I messed up things for Eva, I hurt you and got you pulled into my fucking mess of a life, I shouldn’ve just stayed away from you, my shitty choices caused you pain and I know I caused Eva so much pain. I just…” he trailed off, sighing deeply as Aisling threaded her fingers through his, stopping him from ripping apart his nails.

“You fucked up, that’s human, Frankie, but at least you’ve realized it and you’re owning it,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “I was so fucking mad at you, I’m not going to deny that. I wanted to punch you so badly.”

“I would’ve let you, I had it coming,” Frankie said with a shrug, but Aisling shook her head and Frankie missed the small smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“I got over my anger for you pretty fast. That thing you said, about needing silence? I had a feeling there was a lot more behind that then just ‘can’t stand the noise of the city’,” she rubbed her fingertips over his hand, circling around his bull’s eye tattoo, her touch soothing him as he looked down at the way her fingers moved over his skin, “But then I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And it’s not like you’re the first guy to ghost me, I usually forget them pretty fast.”

Frankie raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked up at her and Aisling couldn’t help laughing, “Please, you’re not that special, ‘Fish’. But you’re the first one who’s apologized for it and then refused to leave my head,” her eyes went soft, still holding his hand, “but I understand why you did it, and where your head was at. I just needed to hear you explain it because you felt special. To me.”

Frankie kept looking at her, her face was serious and she meant what she said, and he believed her.

“What made you come out here?” he asked, “After three months and no word from me?”

“Female intuition,” she said, her mouth quirking up in a quick smile, “That, and a really, really shitty shift at the bar.”

“Female intuition about what?” Frankie questioned, but Aisling just smiled at him.

“Give me breakfast and that tour of the ranch and I might tell you, we’ll do one fucked up story at a time. But I forgive you, Frankie. Thank you for telling me all that. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

He shook his head, “It’s been on my mind since last night, but I needed to tell you, both for myself and for you.”

“How do you feel now?”

Frankie closed his eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the inside of his mind. It was quiet, light, and he smiled.

“I feel good,” he said, “I told you everything, the worst is over now.”

Aisling smiled at him and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his scruffy cheek.

“The worst is over, Frankie. Now give me breakfast.”

Frankie watched her for a second as she got up and went into the cabin again, while he remained on the porch swing. He really felt lighter, he hadn’t realized how much he’d been holding on to that whole story, and how nervous he’d been about telling her. Now he felt like he could start over, like they could start over, with everything out in the open. His face cracked into a relieved grin and he pushed himself off the swing, following her into the cabin.

“I can’t offer that much for breakfast,” he said, she was pouring herself a second cup of coffee from the pot when he came in, “Eggs and toast, some hot sauce, that’s about it.”

“Sounds good, point me in the right direction and I’ll be a bit more helpful than last night,” she said, folding the throw blanket and leaning down to lay it neatly on the couch where she’d found it. When she turned around Frankie was standing at the counter with an odd expression on his face.

“You ok, Frankie?” she asked and he blinked a couple of times.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, I-I’m fine,” it took him a beat too long to respond and Aisling noticed the red blush flaring up on his neck as he abruptly turned back to the counter. “Eggs, toast, I’ll get us sorted.”

She glanced down at the t-shirt she’d slept in, one of Frankie’s, and smiled. She’d taken it from the chair in his bedroom last night, it had smelled clean, and she’d been too tired to ask about it. The sight of her in his t-shirt seemed to have stirred something in him, and she grinned behind his back.

“If you’re sure, I’ll just go get changed. But I’ll sort the dishes,” she said, pushing back her giggles and leaving him nodding at the counter.

Frankie was gripping the edge of it, trying to contain the hard on that had sprung into life when he’d turned and seen Aisling, the hem of his old gym shirt rising up over her soft legs. It had been an effort to contain the groan that threatened to escape his throat, he remembered all too well what those legs felt like. And now they were here, disappearing underneath his fucking t-shirt.

“C’mon, pendejo, I know it’s been a while but get a fucking grip,” he muttered to himself as Aisling disappeared. Willing his body to behave and going through the pre-flight checklist for his favorite helicopter model, he grabbed the eggs from the fridge, forcing his hard on to calm down.

Aisling returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, back in her own clothes to his relief, and laid the table.

“So what can I expect to see on this ranch tour?” she asked as they sat down with plates of eggs and toast.

“Herb staring, probably,” Frankie chuckled, “I think he’s been expecting me to become a monk since I got back from New York. And horses, lots of horses. Do you know how to ride?”

“Yeah, sure, we had a pony club between the bodega and Johnson’s Laundromat. Me and my trusty steed Silver would ride out every Saturday, taking in the views over Manhattan from the WNYC Transmitter Park.” She made a sweeping gesture as if she was showing off her expansive land and Frankie rolled his eyes at her sass.

“Smartass,” he growled as she winked at him, “Ok, so then there might be some riding lessons too.”

“Really?” Aisling dropped her smirk as her eyes widened, “You can teach me?”

“Yeah, of course, we’ve got two really calm horses for our inexperienced riders, I’ll let you ride one of them,” Frankie pushed back his chair and picked up the plates as Aisling chewed her lip nervously.

“On my own?”

“No, well, not at first anyway,” Frankie reassured her, “I’ll be leading her while you get used to it and figure it out. I won’t let you fall, don’t worry.”

“Ok…slightly more nervous about the tour now, but also excited, thanks, Frankie,” she said, taking the dishcloth from his hand and shooing him away with her other hand, “Get dressed, I’ll sort this.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Frankie smiled and left her to deal with the dishes.

It was further down to the ranch than Aisling had first thought. Frankie had told her the land it sat on was bigger than all of Greenpoint, and she easily believed him as she saw the prairie spread out around them. He pointed out some of his favorite spots as the truck rumbled down the dirt road, passing in and out of dips in the nearly treeless land. Not until they came closer to the foothills did small thickets of trees appear, framing the ranch that nestled in a small valley next to a river coming down from the Rockies.

Frankie parked the truck next to an almost identical one by the main building and Aisling stepped down. They were greeted by two dogs running at full tilt across the yard, their tails wagging madly as they started twirling around Frankie, only stopping to sniff Aisling for a second, before going back to jumping around his legs.

“Alright, alright, calm down you crazy mutts,” Frankie laughed, “I was here yesterday.”

He managed to grab the collar of the black and white one, giving it an affectionate scratch, “This is Whiskey, he’s the old man even though you’d never believe it. That over energetic golden,” he pointed to the golden retriever who was now spinning in circles around Aisling’s legs, clearly very excited about a new person, “is Benny. Named him after an old friend of mine, they have the same energy.”

Benny the golden did a few more laps and accepted a scratchie from Aisling before he and Whiskey took off, someone calling for them in the distance.

“Cute dogs,” Aisling laughed, trying to wipe Benny’s drool off her hands until Frankie handed her rag from the back of the truck.

“Cute and bat shit crazy, but great company on the trails. The guests love them and spoil them rotten.” He stuffed the rag into his back pocket and grabbed a few apples from a crate in the back before holding out his hand for her, “C’mon, let me introduce you to Herb before he yells at me too.”

Aisling took his hand, it felt so natural, and it wrapped around hers like it was meant to always be there. She wondered if Frankie had even reflected over the gesture, he seemed so at ease here, and he made her feel like she belonged here with him too. With a smile he tugged her along, leading her across the yard and towards what looked like a reception building.

“This is Herb’s office but he lives upstairs in the main building behind us, and the ground floor is for the guests who don’t stay in the cabins. During the busiest season the place is packed with guests and we hire some of the locals to help us out. It’s quiet now in the off-season though.”

Herb turned out to be an older version of Frankie, gray curls sprouting around his Stetson, large hands, warm smile and the same quiet demeanor. Aisling could see why the older man would’ve been able to connect with Frankie and help him towards sobriety.

Frankie introduced her just as ‘Aisling’ and she didn’t miss the quirk of an eyebrow in Frankie’s direction just before Herb shook her hand. Clearly Herb had been told about what happened in New York. After some small talk about the ranch, Frankie told Herb he was showing Aisling the stables, and Herb invited them over for dinner later in the week.

“Miranda, my partner, will be very happy to have someone else to talk to for a change,” he said with another warm smile before waving them off towards the stables.

“Nice guy,” Aisling said as Frankie held open the door to the large barn, the smell of hay and horses hitting her nose.

“He’s been a life saver,” Frankie said, “he knows what to say to get me away from the itch of using, he’s been there himself and he always cuts through all the bullshit. It was what I needed.”

“I guessed, from the way you talk about it, you still feel that itch?” Aisling asked, pausing as Frankie closed the door behind them.

“Not all the time, not anymore, but yeah, sometimes. I think I’ll always feel it on some level,” he’d stopped in front of her, his eyes suddenly worried. “Does it bother you? That I was addicted?”

Aisling shrugged and something flashed over her face, “Before yeah, maybe I would’ve had my doubts,” Frankie saw her frown at a memory as she looked up at him, “I have some history with addicts and I know how it fucks up lives. An ex, years ago, he promised he was clean and then he faked a break in to our apartment. I believed we really had been robbed until the police caught him trying to sell my phone on a street corner, high out of his fucking mind. And there was other shit too, the drugs always took precedent in his life. It took me a while to get away from him and I’ve been kinda weary since. So maybe, if you’d told me before, I would’ve cut my losses.”

“I’m sorry,” Frankie said, “that probably makes you feel differently about me-”

“I know your story now, Frankie, and it’s different,” she cut him off, “I’ve also seen how easily it happens and how hard it is to get out of,” she took his hand again, smoothing out his twitching fingers, he hadn’t even realized he was doing it again, “And I understand why you got addicted. What you did in the army, it must be difficult to just leave that behind when you were suddenly back to civilian life.”

“It was, and I’ve seen people deal with it in different ways, I think mine was one of the worst ways though,” he rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand, looking down at their fingers intertwining.

“At least you’re still here, Frankie,” Aisling said, dipping her head so that she could catch his eyes under the peak of his cap, “I’m glad you’re still here. And the addiction doesn’t make me feel differently about you.”

A soft neighing from further inside interrupted their conversation, a buckskin colored head sticking out from one of the stalls with a curious look at the two of them. Further down the stable other horses poked their heads out, looking at the visitors.

Frankie glanced over at the buckskin horse who was giving him an almost exhortative look, as if to tell him to get a move on.

“Thanks, Ash,” he said, turning back to her and she saw his worried look soften, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, “Now come meet the locals.”

She was still holding on to his hand and now he wrapped his fingers around it and led her towards the horse who gave another impatient whicker. When they got close to the stall, it dipped its head and nudged Frankie’s free hand, looking for treats.

“This is Dolly, she’s my girl,” Frankie said, smiling as the horse nipped at his pockets, “always wanting treats, I may have spoiled her a little bit.”

She’d found the apples he’d stuffed in his pockets and was trying to get at it and Frankie pulled one out and handed it to Aisling.

“Have you ever fed a horse before?”

“Never been this close to a horse before,” she admitted, “I’ve only ever seen the ones that pull the carriages around Central Park.”

“Ok, so hold your hand out flat, like this,” Frankie said and flattened her palm, placing the apple on top, “she won’t bite, but she will slobber a bit on you.”

“That’s alright, it’s already covered in dog drool,” Aisling laughed.

Frankie guided her hand within reach of Dolly’s searching muzzle and Aisling felt the soft lips brush over her palm as she gently took the apple. It crunched in the horse's mouth and frothy, apple scented, drool dripped onto her hand.

“At the risk of sounding like a squeamish city girl, but ‘ewww’,” Aisling giggled, holding her hand as far away from herself as possible as Frankie laughed. He pulled the rag from his back pocket and handed it over.

“We have washing facilities in the stable, luckily, but let's meet the rest of the crew, they’ll expect apples too.”

Giving Dolly a scratch on her golden head, adding promises of coming back soon, Frankie led Aisling down to the next stall where a chestnut horse was waiting for them.

“This is Clover, she’s going to teach you how to ride,” Frankie said and reached up, scratching the red horse behind one of her ears, making her whicker softly and bump up against his arm.

“She’s pretty big…” Aisling said, looking at the rest of the horse’s body and Frankie heard the nerves in her voice.

“Clover is our grand ol’ dame, she will stand stock still until you’re comfortable on her back, and she’ll help you stay on, she has the smoothest gait.”

He gave her hand a small squeeze, “And you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but if you want to try, you’ll never find a teacher as good as her.”

Aisling nodded, holding out her hand for Clover to smell. The large horse gently nudged her hand and she marveled at how soft the touch was.

“Give her an apple and some scratchies, you’ll see what a sweetheart she is,” Frankie said, handing Aisling another apple from his pocket. Clover didn’t move, even as her nostrils flared when she smelled the apple. It was as if she could sense Aisling’s nerves and was staying extra calm. Aisling held her palm flat and offered the apple to Clover who carefully took it between her lips, pulling back a little before she crunched down on it. Unlike Dolly, she didn’t drool at all, the very picture of a refined lady, gently munching on her treat.

“Reach up and rub her forehead, scratch hair between her ears, that’s her favorite spot for scratchies,” Frankie said, patting Clover’s neck affectionately. Aisling did as he said and ran her fingers through the coarse hair, scratching at the roots. Clover whickered softly and dropped her head, her big eyes half closed as she enjoyed the sensation.

“She likes it,” Aisling smiled, as Clover moved her head closer so that Aisling could reach further up between her ears.

“Yeah, she’s enjoying herself for sure,” Frankie replied, giving Clover a pat on the neck.

He loved seeing Aisling in the stable, on the ranch, and he felt his need to make her visit as unforgettable as possible so that she’d come back.

To stay for good.

The thought flashed across his mind as he watched Aisling chat to Clover, telling her what a nice lady she was. It sent a jolt through him, and he suddenly felt panic at the idea of her leaving. They barely knew each other, it was crazy to think of her staying for good so soon. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted her to stay, watching her leave would be the hardest thing he’d ever done, he could already feel the desperation in his bones. He thought he’d lost her, only for her to turn up out of the blue, and he knew he’d been delusional when he thought he could put her in his past. Now that she was here, without the complication of Eva, he desperately wanted her to stay. He needed her.

“Frankie?”

“Huh?”

“I said, I think she wants another apple,” Aisling said, looking at him while Clover nudged his pocket, “You kinda zoned out there for a second.”

“Yeah, sorry, I was miles away,” he said, pulling out a second apple and feeding it to the horse.

“You ok?” she asked, her hand on his arm, warm through the flannel shirt.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about some things,” he replied, smiling at her and coming back to the moment, “Let’s get a saddle on her and we’ll have your first riding lesson, if you’re up for it?”

Aisling stroked Clover’s soft nose and smiled up at the big, gentle horse, “Yeah, I’m up for it. You’re right about Clover, she’s going to take care of me.”

Leaving Clover behind, Frankie showed Aisling the tack room, and they picked up a saddle and a bridle. He walked her through how to saddle Clover and then led her out into the paddock behind the stable. There was a step ladder set up at one end and Frankie led Clover to it while Aisling followed.

“So, we’ll use the step ladder for now, it’s easier until you’re used to the saddle,” he said, taking Aisling’s hand as she stood next to Clover. “Stand on the top step, gather the reins in one hand and hold on to the pommel with the other, put your front leg in the stirrup and swing your back leg over her rump and sit down in the saddle.”

Aisling took a deep breath and climbed to the top of the short ladder, giving Frankie a nervous look as he stood next to Clover, smiling up at her.

“If you feel unsteady, just squeeze your legs around her middle and pull yourself straight with the pommel,” he said, stroking the horse's neck. Clover whickered softly but didn’t move a muscle as Aisling carefully put her leg over the saddle and sank down.

“Oh shit��this is high up,” she muttered, her hands holding the pommel in a death grip.

“Try to relax and sit really heavy in the saddle, like, sink down onto your butt properly and grip her sides with your legs.” Frankie gently put his hand on Aisling’s calf and pushed it towards Clover’s flank.

Aisling nodded nervously and sank down a bit further into the saddle and Frankie felt her leg flex under his hand.

“You’re doing great, and you haven’t fallen off yet,” he grinned up at her and she quickly stuck his tongue out at him.

“You promised I wouldn’t fall,” she reminded him and he chuckled.

“You won’t, you’re doing great. Just hold on to the pommel, keep your legs tight around her and we’ll go for a little walk.”

“Ok,” she nodded, adjusting her grip on the saddle and Frankie saw her clench her jaw, squaring up.

“Relax, hermosa,” he gently reminded her, stroking her leg, “breathe.”

Aisling nodded, but his warm hand sent sparks through her bloodstream and she felt herself clench for other reasons. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she forced herself to relax, but still hold on with her legs around Clover’s round middle.

“Are you ready?” Frankie asked her, squeezing her leg again before he moved to hold Clover’s reins. Aisling nodded and Frankie clicked his tongue, making Clover move forwards. The big horse swayed gently under her and Aisling gasped, gripping the pommel even tighter, as she tried to sit heavy in the saddle. Frankie watched her over his shoulder as he led Clover in a big, slow, circle around the paddock. The horse walked carefully, treading gently as if she was balancing Aisling on her back as much as Aisling was trying to balance herself.

After a full circle, Frankie saw Aisling’s white knuckle grip on the pommel loosen a bit, and she lifted her head, daring to look at the surroundings.

“You’re doing great,” he told her, and she smiled back at him. He kept leading Clover at a slow, steady walk and Aisling felt herself relax properly. The horse was swaying under her in a smooth motion, and it got easier to move her hips in the rhythm of the gait, following along with the motions. She let herself look around the ranch, the wellkept buildings, a few groves of trees and then the mountains climbing up behind the main house. As they circled the paddock, she saw the prairie in the other direction, open and endless, just a few rolling hills in the distance. Somewhere above them a bird screeched and she saw Frankie look up.

“An eagle,” he said, pointing to a tiny black speck high up in the sky, “a bald one, I think. They’re pretty common here.”

“Wow, really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an eagle,” Aisling replied, squinting up at the bright blue sky, the tiny bird circling high above them. She felt her balance shift and she quickly looked back down, gripping onto the pommel. Frankie was still looking at the bird, his head tilted back as he led Clover, and she took a moment to watch him. He looked so comfortable, the reins loosely in one hand, the other shielding his eyes under the peak of his cap and he was matching Clover’s slow pace. It was hard equating the man she saw here with the story he’d told her about his background, a soldier who’d killed enemies, his addiction and how he’d ended up here. It was even hard to see the man she’d met in Brooklyn in him. He’d been so watchful and troubled there, here, he was clearly calm and comfortable. If she didn’t know better, nothing could’ve convinced her that he wasn’t born and raised on this ranch, always a cowboy.

“You really look like you belong here, Frankie,” she said, “I can see why it means so much for you to be in Montana.”

Frankie looked over her shoulder at her and gave her a crooked smile.

“I feel at home here, and it means a lot to hear you say it,” he turned his head and looked forward again, “Eva never understood it or saw it, I think that was a big part of our problems.”

“Do you think you’d still be together if she’d stayed in Montana?”

From behind she saw Frankie shake his head, “No, I don’t think so. We should’ve been just friends from the start. And even though it was good in the beginning, and I think we were happy, at least I was, it wasn’t right in the long run.”

Aislin chewed on her lip while Clover continued to walk slowly around the paddock, not asking anything more and Frankie noticed, glancing back at her over his shoulder. When he caught sight of her face he turned and started walking backwards.

“Whatever it is, you can ask me,” he said, “You’ve earned the right to any answer you want from me.”

Aisling sucked in her lips for a second, meeting his open gaze, before she sighed.

“I wonder about us… I wouldn’t have come all the way out here if I didn’t feel something special about you and…” Aisling trailed off and Frankie stopped, making Clover come to a halt as he stepped closer to Aisling’s leg, putting his hand on it.

“You’re special to me too, Ash,” he said, “I thought I’d blown it, and I’m over the fucking moon that you’re here.”

“But are you ready for a relationship? You’ve been through some heavy shit, I don’t want to be a distraction for the healing you need to do.”

Frankie let go of the reins and put his hands up towards Aisling, “Take your feet out of the stirrups and swing your leg over her back, I’ve got you.”

He motioned for her to trust him and she did as he said, clumsily sliding off Clover’s back into his hands on her waist. Frankie turned her around as she got her feet on the ground and didn’t let go, his large palms warm on her sides as he held her close.

“I’m going to be healing for the rest of my life, I’ll always be dealing with the shit in my head,” he said, his voice low as he moved his hands up to cup her cheeks. “But I know it’ll be easier to handle if you’re my distraction, if you want to be with me too.”

Aisling looked up at those warm, brown eyes, his eyebrows pulled up in his worried little frown under the cap. He was waiting for her answer while his thumbs slid across her cheeks, soft and gentle.

“I really want to be with you, Frankie,” she answered, “But only if you think you’re ready for another relationship.”

“With you? Absolutely,” he said, without hesitation, “I thought I’d lost you, and I was prepared to never find someone like you again because no one has made me feel as calm as you do, and you don’t even try. Just being with you does something to my brain. And now that I have a second chance at that? No way am I letting you walk away without telling you exactly how much I need you, how much you mean to me.”

He leaned his head forward, the bill of his cap pushing up so that he could rest his forehead against hers, “I’m ready, I want this, with you, Ash.”

“I want this too, Frankie,” she whispered, biting back the tears that threatened to push up as he made her feel like the center of his universe, only him and her, standing close together in the warm paddock.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, his voice low and soft as his eyes drifted down to her lips, and she gave him a small nod, closing the last short distance between them.

Feeling his lips on hers again was even better that she remembered. Without hurry he gently kissed her, cradling her face in his palms, the cool tip of his nose brushing against her skin. As his plush bottom lip slipped between hers, he opened his mouth, and his familiar taste flooded her brain. It had been four months since the night they spent together, but it was as if no time had passed at all. His touch, his smell, his taste, it was all so familiar to her as she wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled him closer.

Minutes passed, and Clover waited patiently next to them, shifting her weight as Frankie and Aisling made up for lost time. Eventually she turned her big head and looked back at the two humans wrapped around each other, and gently nudged Frankie’s hip. With a low chuckle, Frankie reluctantly pulled himself away from Aisling’s lips and looked at Clover.

“Are we boring you, ma’am?”

The horse neighed softly and nudged him again and Aisling smiled, resting her head against Frankie’s chest as she watched him scratch Clover. His other arm was wrapped around her shoulders and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head.

“One lap around the paddock on your own, and then we go back to the cabin,” he said and she looked up at him.

“On my own?”

“You’re ready for it, Clover will take care of you,” he smiled, seeing her frown, “C’mon, I’ll teach you how to get up without the step ladder too.”

“If I fall, I’m blaming you, and not Clover,” Aisling threatened him and he chuckled.

“I’ll accept that, now turn around.”

Aisling quirked her eyebrow at him, “What do you have in mind?”

Frankie’s face split in a grin as he caught the double meaning of what he’d just said, “Many things, but not right now, hermosa, just turn around.”

The wink he gave her made heat rise in her cheeks and he leaned in and gave her another kiss, letting it linger as his tongue nudged her lips apart again. With soft hands on her waist, he turned her around and placed another kiss on the side of her neck.

“Lift this leg,” he murmured, tapping the outside of her right thigh, “and put it in the stirrup.”

He straightened up and she did as he said while he moved her hands to take hold of the saddle.

“Now, pull yourself up until you can swing your left leg over her back and sit back up in the saddle, I’ll help you.”

Her legs felt a bit jelly-like, the mark of his lips on her neck burning hot through her system, and she took a deep breath to stabilize, holding onto the saddle.

“One, two, three and up,” Frankie counted and she pulled herself up, his hands gripping her waist and giving her a boost.

Settling in the saddle was a little bit easier this time and Aisling tightened her legs around Clover’s middle, finding her balance. Frankie watched from the ground and then reached up and adjusted her hold on the reins.

“Hold them like this in your left hand, and you guide her by moving the reins and your hips, she’ll feel it,” he gave her hand a squeeze, “You ready?”

“Yeah, I guess, now or never?” Aisling gave him a nervous laugh and he smiled up at her.

“You’ll do great, you’re already sitting really well in the saddle. Just roll your hips forward and click your tongue, she’ll start walking.”

Aisling gave an experimental click of her tongue and Clover’s ears peaked up, moving back and forth as she started walking. Frankie backed away to the center of the paddock, watching Clover slowly walk as Aisling tentatively raised her hand and moved the reins.

“Breathe, hermosa,” he chuckled, “Relax, just like before, she’s got you.”

“Can’t believe I’m doing this,” Aisling giggled, sinking down deeper in the saddle as Clover moved into a steady walk, making Aisling’s hips sway with the motion.

“When you get to the gate, put a bit of pressure on the left side of her neck with the reins and let her know you want to turn to the center of the paddock,” Frankie said, “and increase the pressure of your left leg too.”

“Ok,” Aisling replied and Frankie smiled as he saw her mentally preparing as they neared the gate. Clover was a smart horse and as soon as Aisling shifted in the saddle she knew what was expected of her and turned left.

“Oh…” Aisling huffed out, surprised, “It worked!”

“Of course it worked, you’re a natural at this,” Frankie smiled, “Try it again, turn her in another direction.”

Aisling guided Clover to the right, back towards the fence and then again towards the gate, her grin widening each time the big horse understood her commands.

“I can’t believe I’m actually riding!” she exclaimed, giggling as Clover turned again, “You’re such a good teacher!”

“Thanks,” Frankie grinned and Aisling smirked, winking at him.

“I was talking to Clover, actually.”

“Oh, oh! I see how it is,” Frankie laughed, “Well, then cowgirl, why don’t you just go ahead and ride on down towards the stable and let Clover show you how to clean her up once you’ve climbed down from up there?”

Aisling stuck her tongue out at him as Clover whickered, as if she’d understood the joke and was laughing along with them. Frankie came up alongside them and patted Clover on the neck, smiling up at Aisling.

“I’ll get the gate behind you, just ride to the stable, and I’ll help you down.”

“Ok,” she replied and moved the reins again, and Clover adjusted her direction.

Frankie waited until they were clear of the gate, then he pulled it close and latched it.

“Frankie!” Aisling called from behind him and he turned around, hurrying to catch up, “How do I stop her? Where’s the brake?”

He chuckled, “She’ll stop when she gets to the stable, don’t worry. But to halt a horse, you pull back gently on the reins and say ‘Whoa….’.”

Clover stopped as they reached the space in front of the stable, turning her head and looking up at Aisling as if to say ‘Here we are, all done.’. Aising patted her neck, and scratched the mane.

“Thank you for not letting me fall, Clover,” she said and the horse whickered and boobed her head up and down a few times as Frankie caught up to them.

“Need a hand down, or do you want to try by yourself?” he asked, coming up to Clover’s side.

“I’ll try, but can you stand there in case I slip?”

“Sure, I’m on stand-by,” he replied, smiling up at her and Aisling felt like she couldn’t get off Clover fast enough so that she could get close to him again. Pulling her feet out of the stirrups she awkwardly swung herself out of the saddle and slid down Clover’s side. Frankie’s hands found her waist and he held her steady as she turned to him.

“You’re a natural,” he smiled, the dimple deep in his cheek, as he pulled her closer.

“Not my first time as a cowgirl,” she winked at him and Frankie raised his eyebrows, his grin widening.

“Really? What other things have you been riding, cowgirl?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased and he chuckled, bending his head to hers, the bill of his cap knocking against her head.

“As I remember, you did an excellent job riding me last time,” he said, his voice amused and promising, rumbling in his chest as he gave her a smirk. Aisling wrapped her fingers around his curls and pulled him closer, smiling up at him as he glanced between her eyes and mouth, the pink tip of his tongue coming out to wet his lips.

“Are you offering more lessons?”

“Hermosa, you don’t need ‘em, you’re fucking perfect, all I’ve been thinking about since that night.” His eyes had gone dark and lust blown and Aisling could feel the growing hard length of him firm against her hip. She knew her eyes were just as needy as his and it was a great effort to let go of his soft curls and nod her head at Clover behind her.

“Wanna show me how to clean her up and then take us back to the cabin?”

Frankie pressed his lips against hers, a quick, firm kiss, promising more, and then nodded.

“Yeah, let’s get this lady a rub down and then we’ll head back.”

He grabbed Clover’s reins and handed them to Aisling, “You lead her, I’ll talk you through what needs to be done.”

With Frankie guiding her, Aisling got the tack off Clover and rubbed her down, cleaning her hooves, and led her back to her stall. The grand old lady patiently waited while Aisling fiddled with the straps and struggled to pick up the large hooves, scraping them clean from dirt and any rocks.

Frankie watched her from the sidelines, smiling as Aisling chatted to Clover, and Clover whickered back, fondly nipping at Aisling’s arm as she passed around her head. Clover’s calm demeanor had made Aisling go from nervous and jumpy around the big horse, to calm and comfortable, moving around her as if she’d tended to horses her whole life. Frankie had seen it many times before, all the inexperienced guests who came to the ranch were won over by Clover’s ‘teachings’.”

“We’ll go out on the trail tomorrow, take Dolly and Clover up to the creek and go for a swim,” he said as Aisling slid the bolt closed on Clover’s stall and he came up behind her, putting his hand into hers. “Would you like that?”

“You think I’m ready for that?” Aisling asked, feeding Clover the last apple from Frankie’s pocket and rubbing her nose.

“Yeah, absolutely, we’ll go slow, and Clover will take care of you, just like she did today.”

“Ok, yeah, I’d like that, it sounds really nice,” Aisling replied and Frankie smiled, rubbing Clover’s head a final time before they started walking back towards the exit of the stable.

“You’re lucky, I never take guests to this creek, it’s my special place.”

“Am I getting preferential treatment?”

Frankie slid his arm around her waist as they walked across the yard, “Absolutely, I want you to have the best possible experience here so that you want to come back, Clover was the first trick, the creek is the second one, I think you’ll love it.”

“Hmm….” Aisling said, wrinkling her brow and Frankie glanced over at her.

“What?” he asked and Aisling gave an embarrassed shrug.

“When I left New York, I didn’t actually think any further than getting to Montana, I don’t even have the money for a return ticket….” she confessed, “I was thinking I could find a job in a bar in Big Sky or something.”

Frankie’s heart soared, and Aisling saw the grin that split his face, “You were gonna stay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’d like to, if you want me to? And I don’t mean that I’m gonna move in with you just out of the blue, but maybe I could find something in Big Sky, a small place, a job. And then we’d be closer together than two thousand miles.”

“I’d love that,” Frankie said, squeezing her side, “I’d fucking love that, please stay, Ash. And you can stay with me for as long as you want, we can figure everything else out later.”

“You really want me to stay? It’s not weird as fuck that I just turn up and move in next door?” Aisling was smiling at him, his bright grin was all the answer she needed but she wanted to hear him say it too, to confirm that it was really real, squash that last bit of nagging insecurity.

“Yes, I really want you to stay, the thought of you leaving and going back to New York makes me miserable. Having you here? I’m the happiest man in the world.” He pulled open the door of the truck and held out his hand for her to climb in and she settled in the seat before bending down to press a quick kiss to his smiling lips.

“Thank you, for making this so easy, Frankie.” Happiness was settling in her stomach like a little warm ball, the anxiety finally disappearing as he closed the door and jogged around the truck. He slid into his seat and started up the truck, his hand finding hers as soon as he’d put them on the road back to the cabin.

The ride back was mostly silent, Aisling was looking at the landscape in the afternoon sun with new eyes, looking at it as a place that might be home, memorizing landmarks, a warped tree, the curve of the road and how it dipped just before it started climbing up towards Frankie’s cabin. The silence was peaceful, there was no need to fill it with anything, it just wrapped around them comfortably like the soft breeze through the open windows. Frankie’s hand was warm around hers, she could see how he glanced at her from time to time, one hand on the steering wheel, the other caressing her skin.

“I feel so good about this,” he said as the truck pulled up in front of the cabin, turning to look at Aisling with a smile as he turned the engine off, “Is this even real?”

Aisling chuckled, “I spent two horrible days on a bus and then you took me stargazing on the prairie, let me crash in your bed in the cutest cowboy cabin I’ve ever seen, and I’ve just spent the afternoon learning how to ride. I’m not wholly convinced I’m not still just daydreaming in Greenpoint.”

Frankie tightened his grip on her hand and gently tugged her towards him across the bench seat.

“Come here,” he smiled, pulling her onto his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a tight fit with the steering wheel, but his warm body was pressed up against hers, and the smile he gave her made up for the gearshift jabbing into her thigh.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Ash,” he said, “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Buy very expensive beer,” she said with a cheeky grin that he mirrored, his hand cupping her cheek and pulling her down to his lips.

“Pay me back with kisses then,” he chuckled, brushing his mustache over her lips as he felt her breath against his mouth.

“You’re a cheap date, Fish,” she smiled and he caught her bottom lip between his, pulling her closer as she hummed into the kiss.

Chapter 9

Tag list: @harriedandharassed @inept-the-magnificent @sheepdogchick3 @readingiskeepingmegoing @noisynightmarepoetry @survivingandenduring @vabeachazn @amyispxnk @oberynslady @amyispxnk @thewiigers @lady-bess @missladym1981 @peppermintfury @typewriter83 @anoverwhelmingdin @vabeachazn

#frankie morales #pedro pascal character fanfiction #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales fluff #triple frontier

56 notes · View notes

fairlyang · 11 months ago

Text

Special 🕷️

you get brought up on stage (request)

w/c: 3.8K

pairing: magicmike!miguel x f!reader

tags: 18+ smut. one use of y/n, ghostface mask, looks at you, chooses you, practically teasing, lap dance to the extreme, turned on x2, invited you backstage, flirting, stroking, humping, blowjob, interrupted

notes: I posted this on Halloween😭 and also this was a request by a mutual that I don’t think has found this acc yet </3

pony — song 2

It was your friend, Eva's birthday and as usual you were going to go to the club with them, but your other friend Jenna asked why don't you go to a strip club instead.

En route to your usual club too.

So the plan changed and designated driver Alivia quickly changed directions and drove to the strip club Jenna had found.

You were wearing a red lace bralette cami top with black flare pants and heels, and not a dress this time because you weren't in the mood for something tight. But now you were unsure if this was the right type of outfit for a strip club but it was too late to go change.

You had finally made it and the bright neon lights came to view after walking out of the parking lot and to the entrance. You walked to the line, getting ready to get your ids checked which surprisingly went by quickly.

You all walked in together and the inside was the complete opposite of the bright exterior of the club. It was dark and only had a few pillars with red neon lights on them.

And of course with the big stage in the middle with loads of lights. But besides that there was a bar on both opposite ends of the stage, along with lots of tables in front of it.

It was still early, barely about to be 7:30 so your group was somehow able to find a table right up front of the stage.

"No fucking way in hell do I wanna get dragged up there-" Eva says as everyone sits down making you scoff.

"It's your birthday why the fuck would you not want a hot man dancing for you." Jazmin quickly says making the rest of us nod.

"Well first of all I'm wearing a dress, everyone knows they purposely don't choose girls who wear dresses." She says matter-of-factly which only confuses you.

She notices your confusion and continues, "it'd be tougher to do all their moves with a girl in a dress."

You shrug and look up at the stage as the lights turned off, you turn to her and say, "wouldn't be the worst thing in the world though..."

Suddenly the lights come and just as Pony by Ginuwine starts playing there's a man on stage with his back turned to the crowd. He was still fully clothed but as he turned around to look at the already hollering crowd, you noticed he was wearing a ghostface mask.

And as if it couldn't get any better he started dancing while unzipping the sweater he had on, throwing it on to the floor and immediately doing some hip thrusts while he had his arms up.

You yelled along with the other women on the floor because you couldn't help it. And mainly because he deserved it.

The way he was moving his body, to the beat of the music, and in such precision, you could've sworn you were getting turned on already. He had literally just started and the worst part it's not like he was even doing this for you. And it was his job.

Which just meant he was good at it.

And looked good while doing it too.

His biceps were big and toned, you might as well have been salivating as you watched him dance and move around expertly, paying the most attention to his arms.

And his broad shoulders. He looked like a big guy and those muscles looked so fucking good.

He did more hip thrusts and spun before dropping to his knees, hands moving down his body as he slid behind him while moving his hips back and forth. Then standing up, doing a cartwheel and takes his tank top off.

More screams erupted and his torso was just as good as his arms. If not better.

You were barely able to see the six pack he had before he immediately went down to the floor and did some floor thrusts. Your mouth was wide open and your friends next to you were screaming their hearts out.

He then slid to the edge of the end of the stage he was on, sitting there for a few seconds for everyone to ogle him, lifted himself up to do two thrusts then stood up now on the stage in front of you.

He jumped on beat to the lyrics before taking off the tank top he had on earlier, out of his pants-

Your mouth was still wide open in shock because you didn't even notice he put it in there. But you quickly screamed as he threw it to your table making all of you scramble for it but birthday girl Eva was the lucky one to get it.

"Fuck yes!!" She screamed before turning her attention back to Mr. Ghostface.

He then did a few moves looking at each side of the stage before slowly taking off the mask then flipping his hair back. And of course he was gorgeous.

No surprise there.

He dragged the mask down his body before locking eyes with you. He took a couple steps back before throwing the mask behind him. He then walked forward to the front of the stage, has a hand above his eyebrows as if he's scouting out into the crowd then points towards you specifically before turning back around and does a backflip off the stage and lands in front of your table.

Your heart was beating out of your chest and you notice the lights turn off before you felt him in front of you. Surely enough you feel weight on the arms of your chair and his face in front of you. He then moves down and whispers in your ear, "do you wanna come up on stage?"

You feverishly nod before realizing maybe he can't see you, "absolutely!"

Suddenly the lights are back on and he's no longer in front of your face but between your legs. He wraps your legs around his head and then carries the chair you're sitting on up. You quickly wrap your arms behind his head as he drops the chair and in an instant holds you up by your back.

You blurt out curses as you realize how close he was to your crotch but laugh as he carefully places you down on the stage. He slyly got on the stage and his head was by your stomach before he fully brought himself onto the stage and started trusting dangerously close to your crotch.

It was full on torture but the wide grin he was giving you, might've made it worth it.

You were too afraid to touch him so you gathered up some of the bills that were by your head and waved them at him. The grin never falling from his face as he gets up, almost tripping on the loads of bills he had been receiving throughout his whole routine.

He then reached down, grabbed your hands and pulled you up. You straightened up as he brought your hands over his body, letting your trail them along his chest and abs.

You internally screamed and just gasped as you noticed how toned he was up close. And fine, this man was undeniably the hottest man you've laid your eyes on.

He then grabbed your waist and had you walk backwards until you felt something hard by the back of your leg. He had you sit down until your ass was on a chair and you couldn't believe your luck.

He began by dancing in front of you to the beat of the new song that was playing and you subconsciously squeeze your thighs together as you watch the way his body moves.

His eyes were dead set on yours and it only made this whole experience more thrilling. He moved a hand over his body before it stops at his crotch and he does a handful of thrusts to which you happily cheer for.

He then came up to you while on his knees, hands on your shoulders as his head comes up your body, almost touching your cleavage but his eyes were definitely set there before he looked into your eyes. You were mesmerized and could watch him do his thing all day if you could.

He then got on top of your chair, at first kind of squatting over your lap, running a hand over your hair then stands up with his crotch right in front of your face. Your mouth grew dry and it was just making you more excited.

He comes back down, gently caressing your cheek before he jumps off the chair then turns around facing the crowd and flips his body backwards, landing on top of your lap. You watch absolutely shocked as he thrusts on to you then grinds on you slightly before coming back up.

Your mind was already so overwhelmed and filled with thoughts you probably shouldn't be having while getting a show right in front of your eyes.

He stands up again only to do a little spin and sits on your lap, one hand on your shoulder while he brings his body backwards, then lets go but brings a leg up and over your shoulder. You left a hand on his thigh and he then quickly brings your head down towards his crotch.

You laugh again as he sits up, thrusting his hips in front of you before the lights turn dark again and he carefully brings the chair you were on down until it hits the floor. You stayed still not able to see anything until his crotch was the only thing you could see in front of your face, making your body grow hot.

You then see him move his arms forward and he brought the chair closer to him, his crotch now fully being your only view. He then used the chair as support to thrust in front of your face before he grabbed your legs, wrapping his arms around your ass then carries you up.

You quickly wrapped your arms around his waist and you had no other choice but to look at his crotch once again. You let out a shaky breath as you could've sworn you felt him give your inner thigh a kiss.

He then does some fast maneuver, somehow flipping you over his shoulder before bringing you back down to the ground. He gives you a bright smile for a singular second before he flips you back and bends you over, hands on your waist as he full on grinds against you. You held back a moan as he continued and even thrusted against you, you almost forgot there were other women watching this all, including your friends.

He then helped you back up before bringing you back down to the floor again, you laid down no questions asked. He left your eye sight, probably to do some moves for the women in the crowd before coming back crotch back in front of your face.

One thrust before he somehow flips you on to your front, pulling your hair up gently making you gasp before he thrusts into you. He then grabs you, placing you on your side, lifting your left leg up as he thrusts behind you then pulls your leg over and grinds right against your clothed (not so surprisingly) wet pussy.

You cover your mouth as the lights turn into a red and you could see the smirk on his face as if he's only now taking account what kind of reaction you've given him. Surely he was enjoying this too-

He flips over so he was back to thrusting his crotch onto your face but then flips again and drags your body across the floor and now somehow you were sitting on top of his lap looking out into the crazy hoard of women now standing up and closer to the stage.

He bucks his hips up against you then brings you down and flips you over so you were back on your back while his crotch was hovering your face, thrusting again.

He then gets off you and pulls you back up again, then grabs the back of your legs, carrying you as you wrapped your legs around his waist, arms behind his neck. He then starts thrusting into you making you let out an accidental moan into his ear which made him laugh, "enjoying this huh?" He teases in to your ear making you laugh.

He pulls away, still thrusting and you shrug, "maybe.. could you blame me?"

"Don't think I can honestly..." he murmurs as he squats down, hands no longer on you but instead behind your back as he thrusts faster making you gasp before he stands back up.

"Maybe I can help you out." He whispers and you nod, before he places you down and finally the song was coming to its end.

He turned you to the crowd and you could only laugh and hide your face as he blew kisses and thrusted into the air for the hoard of horny women in front of you.

He grabbed your hand and walked to the end of the stage before jumping off and helping you get down. "I'll catch ya in a bit yeah?" He whispers in your ear, giving you a wink before climbing back on stage for his standing ovation.

You stood there shocked until Eva pulls you down to your chair and all your girls scream. You sat there dumbfounded, finding it absolutely unbelievable that you were somehow the chosen one.

And by a fine ass stripper at that.

You looked back up to the stage and right at that moment he gave you a wink before he slipped his ghostface mask back on and ran off backstage. You looked back at your friends and covered your mouth, eyes wide and ready to fall out still shocked. "Lucky bitch."

"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life-"

"So fucking lucky-"

"He was hot as fuck-"

They all spoke at the same time and you couldn't even tell who said what because your body still felt extremely hot and now you just prayed Mr. Ghostface would come get you because he caused this mess.

Another stripper came up in a firefighter outfit but you couldn't stop thinking of that dance you just got. It was so exhilarating and your body was still feeling all tingly from his touch.

And you might as well give him a good tip because that was a once in a lifetime experience and he gave it his all.

Suddenly you're tapped on the shoulder making you turn your head to see a woman with short hair giving you a smile, "our ghostface would like to see you."

You quickly stood up waving to your friends before grabbing your purse and phone then follow the woman who led you backstage. You walked past a ton of other strippers who were getting ready to go up and who were also wearing all types of Halloween costumes.

Michael Myers was also looking pretty good...

You felt them staring right back at you and you couldn't help but question if strippers usually bring girls backstage?

That thought quickly vanishes when the woman brings you up to his door and then walks away. You knock and hear a slight, "come in."

You take a deep breath then open the door to see Mr. Ghostface putting his mask on to a mannequin head before turning to you and giving you a smile. You step in then close the door before he beckoned you.

You walked into his dressing room and gave him a smile back before opening your purse up, "that was really incredible-"

"Oh you don't have to do that." He says and walks up to you, putting his hand on yours to stop you.

"I want to!" You say and he shakes his head.

"It's alright, plus this dance felt a little... extra special than my usual ones go." He replies in a low tone making you nod slowly before letting go of your purse.

His hands were now off you but now you were just filled with curiosity. "How come?" You asked and he chuckles.

"It didn't feel like I was working, it was fun. Not every night we can say that." He says making you hum, slightly understanding him.

"But maybe you could pay me another way.." he suggests and you play dumb, shrugging.

"Like how?" You whispered and he leaned in closer to your face, sending shivers all throughout your body.

"I think you know how now don't you gorgeous?" He murmurs and wraps his arms around your waist, bringing you as close to him as possible making you place your hands to his bare chest.

"I think I have an idea." You say as you feel his hard on right up against your stomach.

"You did really do such a good job out there." You murmur as you snake a hand down his body before letting it trace around his bulge, teasing him.

He starts to breathe heavily and it only makes you more excited. "Had me shocked at every part." You whisper and finally rub your hand against him making him moan.

"Also left me wanting more..." you cooed into his ear as you started to stroke him over his sweatpants.

"It left me wanting more too as you can tell." He breathes out making you chuckle.

"You bring all the lucky girls back here?" You joke and he instantly shakes his head.

"Never do actually." He says making you scoff.

"Seriously. All the guys were shocked but you're special. Something about that out there was special." He murmurs and you stroke him faster after he's done.

"That's good to know." You coo and he hums.

"Technically no competition." You say making him laugh before he holds onto you and sits down, making you sit on his lap.

You both moan when your cunt directly rubs against him. "None at all gorgeous." He breathes out as his hands sit on your hips.

You move them back and forth while you're sat right on his hard bulge, him helping you as he lays his head back. "So fucking beautiful." He murmurs making you moan as his shaft hits perfectly against your slit.

You place your hands against his shoulders for support before moving faster, earning you the hottest moans from him. You bit your lip as you grind against him perfectly.

You then get off him and slide down his body and get on your knees in front of him, looking up at him as you play with the waistband of his sweats. "My names Miguel by the way." He says making you chuckle and smile up at him.

"Y/n." You reply before sliding his sweats and boxers off and then taking hold of his thick cock.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." He coos making you grin before you spit on it and let it dribble down before licking the tip then stroking it. You then take it in your mouth, slowly going down trying to take him while stroking his base. He moaned above you and you felt his hands guiding your head lower, to take more of him.

You let him and go as down as possible, his tip hitting the back of your throat as he bucked his hips forward making you gag before he goes back down and you pull away, slapping his tip onto your tongue.

He groaned and you took him back into your mouth, going down then back up as you looked into his eyes. He locked his gaze on to you watching as you moved back and forth as if this was your job.

He leaned his head back moaning as you took him deep in your throat again and then pulled back only to take him deep again. You were already starting to feel breathless but you needed to make this man cum.

He gave you such an incredible show you might as well repay him the best way you knew how.

"Fuck baby — taking me so good." He moans as you bob your head up and down, stroking what you can't take.

You squeezed your thighs together as your arousal was only getting more prominent in your panties. His moans were just driving you insane and were your motivation to keep taking all of him even if you couldn't breathe anymore.

"Just like that — good fucking girl you take that cock." He groans and grabs onto your head, pushing you down and having you gag on him again.

He thrusts his hips up having you gag even more before pulling away and drool slips out of your mouth and onto his cock. You stroke him fast, the wet noises of his cock filling your ears and only turning you on more and more.

"Holy fuck baby." He grunts, bringing his hand down to your face before slipping his thumb into your light which you happily sucked on.

He rolls his eyes back and pulls it away with a plop. You get back to work and bob your head much faster as you take all of him in your mouth.

Miguel leans back against the couch and feels his orgasm approaching in his lower abdomen as you gag on him more making him groan. He then pushes your head down all the way making you breathe in through your nose as you feel his trimmed happy trail tickle your nose when you feel him twitch and then drop his load down your throat.

You swallowed as much of it as you could before he finally lets go and you pull away coughing then catching your breath as you stroke him through his high, the last of his cum dripping onto his thighs.

He breathed heavily and you stopped stroking him as you watched his cock twitch the final remnants of cum drop off the side of his cock.

You let him go and he shakes his head, looking down at you with the widest grin, "I think we're even now."

You laugh and return the grin before sitting up, "maybe we are but maybe we could go furth-"

Suddenly the door swings open and you scramble to stand up while Miguel stays seated, calming his breathing when the woman from earlier comes in, "Miguel you're up again with the group."

"Thanks Lyla." He says waving her off as you stood up, a bit disappointed this was the end.

"How about we call this a rain check and next time could be outside the club?" He suggests and you nod, smiling at him before grabbing your things and watch as he stands up to change into something else.

"Well I hope you enjoy the rest of the show." He says giving you a wink as you open the door and give him a wave before walking away.

#miguel ohara #across the spiderverse #miguel ohara imagine #miguel ohara x reader #miguel ohara smut #miguel o hara #miguel ohara oneshot #miguel ohara x y/n #atsv miguel

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karenandhenwilson · 15 days ago

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I honestly can't remember when I was this disappointed and heartbroken by something happening in a story for the last time. It's kind of funny in a bad way that I feel so blindsided by it when I remember very clearly how I said in April or May to some friends, "I love Bucktommy, and they take such great care with them right now. But I dread how they'll ruin it eventually. Because we know they will." And here we are.

They proved in the past with both Tarlos and Henren that we can't trust them with queer relationships, or maybe even relationships in general, but especially with queer relationships. They have this constant urge to break Tarlos up and then there was the whole Iris of it all. (I stopped watching Lonestar because of that.) They introduced Henren to us with a cheating storyline. (We got to meet Eva before Karen, for fucks sake, and I'll be forever salty about that.) I think the only queer relationship involving a main they didn't utterly ruin was Michael/David, but I'm convinced they just didn't have enough time with it considering the actor's choices leading to Michael being written off.

So, I feel I shouldn't be this surprised or hurt, but I still am. And I think the biggest part of that is that the narrative makes it clear this wasn't planned to be the end. Even ignoring the mood they set in 8x05 (which we all know they filmed after 8x06), even just looking at this one episode it's a very clear narrative: Buck and Tommy are heading into a conflict, but one that will lead to Buck chasing after Tommy and them repairing the relationship while we learn more about how Tommy was hurt in the past. From Josh's monologue, that's still making me tear up and that I'd really like to call iconic, to the whole dynamic of the loft scene, I really think no one had planned for this to be the end. Without the interviews, all of us, including the GA, would expect a continuation of this story over the next couple of episodes and Buck fighting for his relationship. Taking 8x05 into consideration, that only strengthens that impression.

Then there is the change of tone in the interviews before and after 8x06. It's a jarring and very noticeable change. Lou was very clear he wasn't expecting this end at all.

I'm pretty convinced that something happened behind the scenes we don't know and won't ever know that led to this end of the relationship and that part if not all of the crew is as surprised about it as we are.

Personally, I'll probably continue to watch season 8, but not live anymore. Because I feel Henren's storyline with adopting Mara isn't quite complete yet. And I want to see Eddie repair his relationship with Chris. I'll probably skip over anything else. I kind of hope now season 8 will be the end and all the actors will be able to move on to new exciting projects.

#911 abc #bucktommy #henren #tarlos #911 spoilers

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angelicadamposting · 22 days ago

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EvaVal 🎀❣️ | Sometimes۶ৎ

art credit to @nattycat08 <3

tw // cw — implied ab*se (?)

Sometimes Valentino was good. Sometimes he showered ‘his Eva’ with gifts, carrying her around and taking her on shopping sprees. Sometimes he complimented her. Sometimes he’d defend her, stand up for her. Sometimes she stayed in his bed all night instead of returning to her room… Until Eva wasn’t his ‘fun girl’ anymore.

Sometimes Eva Lean was tired. Sometimes she wasn’t in the mood to film or dance. Sometimes she just wanted to smoke and sleep. That… ‘sometimes’ slowly, after years upon years, turned into ‘most of the time.’ Val began to choose new favorites.. and Eva moved into the Hazbin Hotel.

She still worked for Valentino, even while living away from him now — much like her friend and coworker Angel Dust. However… Val still had a way to tug at her heartstrings. His sweet words, lying or not, could always pull her back in. The fact he made her scars never visible in any photo shoots or videos posted of her was just one of the many small ways he continued to hold power over her, making her feel as if she was special in some way — that he’d take such an effort to keep her secret… But perhaps, in reality, he just liked being the only one to know about her past in heaven. It made her dependent on him, no? And was that such a bad thing?

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evalevaeva · 1 year ago

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Strangers | Sieun x reader

; in which Sieun values his academics over his partner.

warning: argument, breaking up, ignoring.

eva notes! : yo this kinda hit home a little.. :] enjoy

The day seemed like the usual days. Youngbin was busy messing with Sieun and you were sitting in the seat next to him. You took the chance to glance at your significant other next to you as his ears were filled with music and the tip of his pen busy on the notebook infront of him.

"Sieun, Sieun, Sieun!" You tried to whisper-shout to get his attention as he finally took off his earpieces and turned to you, his body language calm as he waited for you to continue.

"Isn't Miss Yeon returning the test papers from the weighted assessment tests the other day?" you asked him as he nodded, his eyes still as dull as when you first met him in school.

It definitely did not go unnoticed. His cold demeanour signalled that his stress levels were over the roof once again, and he definitely was not in the mood for Youngbin's shennanigans or anything happening today.

"Everyone, please return to your seats. Let's begin with checking our assessment papers," Ms Yeon began as she walked over to the podium at the front of the class with stacks of papers, marked with red ink and big numbers on the front, the total scores.

"Miss Yeon! Who got the highest score?" A voice questioned as another student scoffed loudly, "God, you're asking that as if Sieun hasn't topped the last 20 exams since we entered this school!".

Miss Yeon took a look at the stack of papers infront of her as she smiled.

"Actually, we have a new top scorer this examination, Y/N achieved the highest score for this assessment!" Miss Yeon said with a smile as a round of applause was heard.

You looked around, ears red as you'd never have expected to be the top scorer, much more against your own boyfriend.

That was until a bang was heard.

You turned to see Sieun, hands in fists as his eyes burned holes into your face. You've never seen him this angry before, even when Youngbin had thrown a sandal at him.

"Sieun, are you alright?" Miss Yeon asked as Sieun turned to her with a blank face, and responded plainly, "Yes Miss Yeon."

You ran up to catch up with your boyfriend after school as you realised he had left without you, walking to the cram school that you both entered back in your first year of high school.

"Sieun!" You shouted as you ran to reach him, but realised he had his earpieces in, causing him to not hear you. You tapped his shoulder but was met with no response as he continued walking as if you were never there, as if you never existed. You grabbed your phone from your skirt pocket and pressed on his contact on your phone.

"Sieun, are you mad? Let's talk it out?" You texted and sent the message as you followed behind him to the bus stop to the Cram School.

Even at Cram School, he blatantly ignored you as his eyes only switched between the notebook and the large blackboard at the front of the room, ignoring any signs of you trying to get his attention. You tapped his arm, tried to move his notebook, and tried to hold his hand, and still he did not respond. It was as if he changed overnight as it was. . . terrifying to say the least.

"Sieun!" You called out to him as he walked down the path from the cram school to the bus stop to go home.

You'd had enough of him ignoring you the whole day and act as if he didn't know you. This needed to stop.

"Sieun! Stop it." You stated as he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at you.

"What do you want?" He asked for the first time in the many hours you've spent together in school and cram school and all the time in between.

"You blatantly ignored me the whole day, and you have the audacity to ask me what I want? What's wrong with you? You ignored my messages, ignored me, ignored my existence, and treating me like trash. God, even trash would have to be picked up and discarded," you spoke as he stared blankly at you, as if he was, bored.

"You did this," He stated as your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Did what exactly?" You questioned as his gaze became sharp.

"You knew. You knew that this was everything I had. My studies, my grades, they're all I have. Yet, you take them away from me like you don't even know me," He spat out as your jaw dropped from the absolute audacity he had to say what he said.

"You think I chose to score higher than you? Well, sorry, mister arrogant, but I studied just as hard as you did, and you knew that. Just because I scored higher than you in one assessment, it gives you the right to treat me like garbage? You're insane," you responded as you tried to remove your gaze from the stranger in front of you.

"Let's break up." Sieun stated as your eyes widened.

"Just like that?" You questioned as he turned, not bothering to answer your question at all.

He wasn't worth it anyway, right? That's what you tried to tell yourself for the next 4 weeks as days passed by like hell. You requested Miss Yeon to change your seat, away from Yeon Sieun. You did not want to associate yourself with such a jerk, and your academics shouldn't suffer because of a piece of trash like him.

A new student joined the class, and soon, Sieun was buddies with Sooho and Beomseok. Maybe a month ago, it would hurt seeing him having company with other people other than you, but now you were strangers, nothing more.

#weak hero #weak hero class 1 #yeon sieun #sieun x reader #ahn sooho #ohbeomseok #beomseok #sieun #sieun fic

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slutouttanowhere · 2 months ago

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Pairing: Drew McIntyre x Desiree Faith Simons(oc)™️

Warnings: toxic work environment, manipulation, coercion, alcohol consumption, being exposed on social media, this chapter gets a wee bit angsty. Mandy Rose, and Eva Marie are big time heels in this story, this is no hate to their actual on screen characters or them as people by the way. Please enjoy, leave comments, reblogs and follow for more 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Previous chapter here: chapter 3

Chapter 4: But wait…there’s more

Desiree and Drew arrive at the arena together, their arms link together, and a smug look on Drew’s face. It was no big secret to everyone else how badly he missed Desiree while she was gone; his mood was incredibly somber, and volatile. Those were considered to be some dark days, but as he peers down at her, a warmth that he hadn’t felt in a while, settles in his chest. He is happy she’s back. “Double Dee!” Naomi’s voice carries through the hall, she’s leaning against a production crate off to the side. She hasn't changed into her attire for the night, but her make up is already done.

Desiree detaches herself from Drew, and jogs towards her best friend. “Baby!” Desiree squealed happily, they met each other halfway, and collided. Their arms wrap around each other, the both of them squeezing as hard as they can. When they part, Drew gives Naomi a high five, but he stretched his arm up well above his head.

“There’s no way you’re reachin that las.” He teases, a playful smirk on his lips. Naomi was no taller than 5 '5, no matter how great her hoops are, the Scottish warriors arms are just too long.

Naomi groans, “this is cheating somehow.” She rolls her eyes, but didn’t fight the grin that stretches across her lips.

“I got you, I got you!” Desiree shoutes, her arms are open, and she lowers into a squatting position. Naomi, trusting her friend, braced herself on Desiree’s shoulders, and with all the strength in her thighs she lifted Naomi. Quickly she slaps Drew’s hand before Desiree lets her go, carefully placing her back on the ground.

Drew was taken aback by such a display of Desiree’s strength. My girlfriend just deadlifted another human being, that’s hot. He internally moaned, that is quite possibly the most attractive thing he’s seen a woman do. “watch out folks, the gun show is in town.” He deeply chuckles, on cue Desiree began to flex her muscles, and pose arrogantly. Okay, she definitely didn’t have those muscles before. His phone buzzes in his pocket, the ladies continue their conversation on their own when he becomes distracted.

Unknown number: you didn’t tell her about us?

Drew stares at his phone quizzically, it’s unusual he’d get a text from some random person. It’s not like a whole lot of people have his personal number, he’s itching to text back, but he had a bad feeling about that. Whatever, maybe it’s one of the guys fucking around. He dismisses it all together, then deletes the text.

“I’m gonna go get done up.” Desiree’s voice brings his attention back to the present, he barely replies before she reaches up, and pecks him on the lips. He can see how eager she is to go gossip with one of her girls, so he didn’t fuss. He understands just how important her friendships are to her above all else; that’s how Drew and Desire started. A dumb, little friendship where he’d tease, and kid with her all day long. Then somewhere down the line things got intimate fast, he was so attracted to her that he just let it happen. It was too late when he realized what was happening, that he had fallen in love with her. If it hadn’t been for him starting over in NXT, they never would have met.

“Girl, I’m so glad you and Drew are back together. Maybe now he can stay out of trouble, I was really starting to worry about him, you know?” Naomi sat across from Desiree in an unoccupied makeup chair. It was true, Drew had a cloud hanging over his head; most of the male locker room steered clear of him, Naomi was one of the ones that refused to leave him hanging.

Desiree feels uncomfortable, feeling guilty that she wasn’t there for him, but she swallows that down. “Technically we never were officially a thing.” She mumbles, embarrassed, to which Naomi rolls her eyes

“Doesn’t matter, you’re back, so now he can stop getting suspended damn near every month. Drew is like a big brother to me, and you know I love you Desipooh. I just wanna see everyone happy.” Naomi said lovingly, her words genuine, and sweet as always. If there is anyone who could put a smile on her face, it’s Naomi, and Desiree loved her for always being such a light when needed.

As Ashely works on Desiree’s eyeshadow, Desiree sat with her eyes closed, and a small grin on her lips. “What else do you have to tell me about my time away?”

“You know I don’t gossip…” Naomi trailed off, she did want to tell her about the rumors about Drew and Seth, and who their drama was really about; however, she felt like it wasn't her place to talk about a man's business. Instead she said,"mmm I think you should be asking Drew a lot of what went on while you were gone.”

"What does that even mean?” Desiree pressed Naomi for information, but she didn't budge, the silent denial of Desiree request for information shocked her. The two of them shared everything, so the fact she was holding back now made her feel a mix of emotions she didn't know how to describe. Betrayal being at the forefront.

When Desiree opened her eyes Naomi was still sitting across from her, an apologetic expression on her face, and a sheepish smile stretching across her glossy lips . "Drew will tell you everything, I promise.” If only she knew I’ve been trying forever with him. She felt defeated when it came to that topic, Desiree parts her lips to speak, but is cut off by the sound of someone's laughter. "Are you sure about that, Naomi? He wasn't even man enough to tell her that another woman was doing what she couldn't.” Mandy Rose, shasways towards Desiree and Naomi. Mandy and Eva Marie stood with their arms linking together, a prideful expression adorning her features when Desiree became visibly upset. She stands from her seat, and so does Naomi, ready to get in between them if things get too heated.

Desiree chuckled dryly, "yeah if I were Drew I wouldn't claim a bitch that didn't know how to blend her nose contour either.” It's a lame rebuttal, but she'd be lying if she said this whole situation wasn’t making it feel like someone is clutching her heart. She’s trying to maintain her composure, but Mandy is not making it easy at all.

"I can't wait till you wake up and realize that a man like that won't wait for you to make up your mind.” She laughed lightly, she whipped her long blonde tresses over her shoulder, and folded her arms over her chest.

“It’s giving background character to be honest.” Eva giggled, her hand over her mouth trying poorly to suppress her laughter.

Desiree tilted her head, “I’m sorry who are you?” She asked with feign confusion, Eva’s bright red lips pressed into a flat line, Naomi could be heard snickering from the sideline.

"I know Drew better than you Desiree, when he's feeling needy he can't help but spill his deepest darkest secrets with me.” Mandy whispered so only the two of them could hear her words, Naomi didn't like the way this was going. Mandy Rose was a habitual liar, and would say anything to control the narrative in her favor. Naomi and Jimmy were victims of that a long time ago, but she didn't understand why she was locked in on Desiree so much?

"You may have had his dick, but I’ve always had his heart, try again.” Desire spoke fiercely, she just about had enough of Mandy's bullshit, there was a momentary pause, and she's never found it so difficult to be in someone's presence before. Mandy took a step back from Desiree. She grimaced, at a loss for words as Naomi tugged at her best friend's arm to leave. Desiree didn't have to look over her shoulder to know that the fitness models, Mandy Rose and Eva Marie, still had their eyes on her. Desiree, and Naomi kept walking until they reached the ring. With it still being the afternoon, there weren't any fans yet. A production team busied themselves with their work, a few of the officials were standing off to the side discussing that night's show.

Seth was in the middle of the ring, he looked to be discussing a match with Cody Rhodes. “I'm gonna talk to Seth.” Desiree muttered, Naomi wore an uneasy expression, but she nodded her head. She let go of Desiree's arm, she watched as Desiree approached the ring, and climbed up on the apron. Naomi hoped Mandy's words didn't affect her too badly. “Hey blockhead.” Desiree called out to him, he pulled out of the headlock Cody had him in.

“How did you know she meant you?” Cody asked looking dumbfounded, his gaze moved between Seth and Desiree, and he wondered if everything he's been told about her were true. That she only after the spotlight, and had no problem cutting people off to get to the top of her success. Brandi referred to her as an Ice Queen. Cody thought about the conversation he and his wife were having the night of Desiree’s return, but he’s heard the complete opposite from some of Desiree’s closest friends. Seth definitely only had nice things to say about her, which is nothing new under the sun when it came to him, the man known as The Architect is very kind hearted.

Seth snorted, "I’m gonna beat Seth Rollins because he’s got an ego the size of his blockhead, and I’ve got an asswhooping big enough to match.” He repeated Desiree’s words from their first promo together years ago, verbatim. Cody's eyes shined with amusement, seeing some of her current work proves she hasn’t lost her touch being out for a year.

“Don't blame me, Dusty told me to be myself, and lucky for me he paired Seth and I together. That was the first thing that came out.” She shrugged her shoulders as she climbed inside the ring, she leaned her back in the corner, and draped her arms lazily over the top ropes.

“Dusty had been calling me ‘blockhead’ for weeks after that.” Seth smiled to himself recalling the memory, those were good days for him, and he didn't regret a moment of it. Things with Desiree were easier too, he wasn't sure when they had drifted so far as friends, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't have to do with a six foot Scottsman. Ah yes, the thorn in my side for many years. Seth thought sourly to himself, “anyways, what do you want?” He asked half heartedly, just at the thought of his drama with Drew he was exhausted.

"Is that how you talk to your friend?” she asked softly, a small smile on her lips, and blarney in her chocolate brown eyes. Whatever it was that she wanted from him, it must be difficult for them both for her to be so nice to him.

Seth chuckled deeply, "oh, is that what we are? Friends?” he asked bemusedly, Cody took this as his cue as he was starting to feel more like a third wheel in the conversation. He slapped Seth on his shoulder, then waved a friendly hand in Desiree's direction before leaving. “Are you happy? You scared Cody off with your Wednesday Adams ass smile.” The second Cody was out of earshot her face changed, her lips fell into a pout, and her eyebrows pinched together. The way she denied his banter this time was different than the last, she looked pissed, but she was at least doing a good job at holding it back.

"What happened between you and Drew? And don't give me any shit about him being the one to tell me because I've tried that, and he won't budge. I'm sick being the one left in the dark.” She whined, he felt bad about not saying anything, though he's surprised she still doesn't know.

“You wouldn't be if you'd just open your eyes Des.” He breathed, he sat in the middle of the ring with his legs crossed, Desiree came to sit in front of him, mirroring his movements. “Would you believe me if I said all this?” He gestured between the both of them, his index finger making circular motions. "Has everything to do with you?”

“Plain English please.”

Seth exhaled through his nose, he turned his eyes up to the arena lights as he silently prayed for patience. “Listen, way back when, I maybe had a crush on you or whatever, and Drew didn’t like that.”

Desiree gasped, “what? You had a what?” She shouted, some people turned their heads in their direction out of curiosity, but quickly lost interest.

“Jesus this ain’t a telenovela, it’s not like being attracted to you specifically is weird. You’re charming in an annoying way, goofy, and you’re pretty damn talented too.” Seth spoke honestly, he would never feel the same about her as he once did, there was too much distance between them now. But he wasn't going to lie about his past feelings either.

She looked down at her hands, her fingers were tangled together, she felt vulnerable under his gaze. “I didn’t know…” she whispered, she felt dumb that all this time she never saw it, but then again her thoughts were preoccupied by her career.

“It’s not your fault really, now that I look back on it, I don’t think I tried hard enough. I let my jealousy of whatever the hell there was between you and Drew get in my way, and I just sorta gave up on trying.” He shrugged his shoulders, they were all so young back then, he knew in his heart that had that been now, he’d fight for her harder. “The man I am today never would have let you go.” Seth thought that would have been difficult to admit out loud, especially to her face, but instead it felt like a weight had been lifted.

“So what about you and Drew, did he ever say anything to you?”

“Of course! Drew always has something to say, he was nice about it at first, but then when you started hanging out with him less and less, he blamed that on me.” Again he looked up at the arena ceiling, this time he wished for a lifeline, he’s been saying Seth was the reason for their wedge this whole time, and now he was right. “The heat between us just carried on through the years, we never reconciled, and when you got injured a while ago things just got worse.”

Desiree’s eyebrows pinched, “that’s not fair Seth, you had nothing to do with that.” She felt second hand guilt, she could just about guess how those arguments went; Drew would never start off yelling, but if it prolonged he’d be shouting and roaring like a bull. As stubborn as Seth was, she knew he’d never back down from Drew’s fury.

“I know, listen Des, I may have caused an argument a while ago that I should warn you about if you bring this up to him.” He paused for a moment, the countdown clock for all talent to clear the ring, and head backstage began ticking. “A few months before your return, we got into it again. I don’t really remember how it started, but I lied and said you talk to me all the time. Then he jumped me, then we got into a huge fist fight.” He cringed towards the end, he was holding his breath, and waited for her to yell at him.

“Colby! Why would you do that, you know how he felt about me…you’re such an idiot.” She punched his shoulder as hard as she could hoping it actually hurt him.

“Ouch! I know, okay! Not one of my finest moments to lie about something so dumb—

“To you! It’s dumb to you, it really tore him up inside, and you might have made that worse. You owe him an apology, and the truth.” She got up to her feet as the clock reached two minutes, she swallowed back the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what to expect when she approached him about this, but she sure as hell didn’t expect that.

“Fine, I’ll apologize.”

“Tonight.” She hissed through clenched teeth, and fire in her eyes, Seth thought better than to crack a joke right about now, the pain in his harm from where she punched him was still throbbing.

“Yes, I swear, when I find him it’ll be the first thing I do. Pinky promise.” Seth held out his pinky finger, he wiggled it encouragingly, but eventually Desiree caved. They enter locked fingers, “I really am sorry I’m part of the problem Des.” He said after a while, their fingers were still interlocked, he needed to let her know it wasn’t his intention to hurt her in any way. She matched his gaze, she hadn’t been mentally present in so long that she forgot how comforting Seth’s eyes could be.

“Friends?” She offered.

“Best friends actually.” He grinned, when Desiree didn’t argue, he pulled her in for a hug. They were the last two of the talent to leave to ring as the production team finished things up for the show. They walked side by side through the curtain, Hunter wasn’t there yet, but some of the other creative team sat around the gorilla.

“I’m gonna go get dressed, you find Drew?” Desiree confirmed, as she held onto Seth’s shoulders pulling his focus in, Seth nodded his head with a determined look, and then they split ways.

Fortunately for Seth he didn’t have to try that hard to find Drew, as soon as he rounded the corner, there he was. Talking to Mandy Rose, they seemed to be arguing about something as they aggressively spoke in harsh whispers. “Just the man I was looking for.” Seth chuckled, his eyes darted to Mandy with curiosity, but they didn’t linger for too long. The less he knew the better, besides he was crap at lying when it came down to it.

Drew for once, appeared relieved to see Seth, “saved by the bell.” Mandy mumbled, without a glance in his direction she practically stomped past him, her lips were deeply turned into a frown.

“I’m not even gonna ask about that.” Seth started before Drew had a chance to try and clarify anything, “I actually came here to talk about the one person we’ve been killing each other over for years.” He always tries to keep it light with Drew nowadays, since apparently anything could set him off when it came to Seth in particular.

“I have zero interest, now get out of my way.” Drew said gruffly, he was kind enough to not just shove Seth kid his way the second he opened his mouth. That doesn’t mean he’s out of the water yet.

“No can do my man, I refuse to leave without the two of us at least being frenemies.” Seth breathed out, a hint of a smirk on his mouth, and a gleam of determination in his hazel eyes.

“That’s fine, I can always move you myself.” Drew’s lips stretched into a smile, but it didn’t match the look in his eyes. Seth knew Drew would make this harder than necessary, he was prepared to stand his ground, because he felt it utterly useless for the two of them to fight over a girl that left them both.

“She doesn’t want us fighting Drew.” He called out melodically just as Drew was turning to leave, he paused, he couldn’t just not have anything to say in regards to Desiree. Drew always has an opinion, or a comment about something, it’s unlike him to not say his thoughts out loud.

“Why were you even talking to her in the first place?” Drew asked, that same jealousy he thought he had buried, was slowly bubbling inside of him. He could feel himself burning hot, but he remained calm to the best of his ability.

“You know why, you won’t man up and tell her the truth, so she found someone who will.”

Drew’s eyes snapped downwards at Colby, his icy eyes were like daggers sharp enough to kill as he looked at him. It’s always the same song and dance with you, Seth thought to himself, “you be real careful of your next words, or we’re gonna have a part 5 right here, right now.” He mumbled in a low whisper, his accent making half of that sound like gibberish in Seth’s ears, but he didnt need a translation for the threat he just received.

“C’mon Drew, what did you expect? She was gonna find out every single thing that’s been happening while she was gone. You of all people should know what it feels like to have people say shit about you when you’re not even around to defend yourself.” Seth couldn’t tell by the blank stare if he was penetrating Drew’s cold walls, but all he could do was continue to be honest. “All that aside, I genuinely wanted to apologize, so here it is.” He took a deep breath trying to gather his words, and prepare for Drew to completely reject everything he’s about to say.

“I’m sorry.” Colby unfolded his hands from his chest, then placed a hand to his chest where his heart would be. Drew seemed to have come back to life, and out of his meditation, an expression of shock settled onto his face as Colby continued to speak his apology. “First of all, I lied about those messages she was sending me, that was low, and I knew how much her communication meant to you. I just wanted to make you angry, and embarrass you in front of everyone.” Becky had told Seth months ago to tell Drew the truth, “it’s not just about him, speaking your truth out loud will really take a weight off you never knew you had.” And boy was she right. There was a long pause, it was evident that Drew hadn’t found the words to reply, he had almost forgotten why they had that fight to begin with. Now that he recalls that day, he remembered feeling like someone had shot him in the heart.

“Are you done?” Drew’s voice sounded hoarse, like he hadn’t talked in years, and he was using his vocal chords for the first time.

“Not quite, you know I’ve had feelings for Desiree in the past, and I can assure you it’s not like that anymore. That ship sailed long ago, but can you live with Desiree and I being friends?” Seth held Drew’s unwavering gaze, he hated the idea so badly.

Drew breathed out, at this point he just wanted the conversation to be over so that he could have time to himself. “Listen man, as much as I want to lock Desiree up, and throw away the key…I’m not gonna do that. Everybody loves her, it’s just who she is, if I can share her with millions of strangers, I can share her with family.” His body had relaxed, he had fallen back into his slouching stance, which only shrunk him by a few inches.

“So…frenemies?” Seth asked excitedly, he wiggled happily as he could see Drew breaking that icy exterior of his. Drew took a step forward, his hand out to Seth, and a sly grin on his lips. Seth didn’t hesitate to meet him halfway, satisfied with the way this conversation ended.

“Of course Colby, frenemies it is.” He smiled, but when he didn’t let Seth’s hand go, a chill ran up his spine; when Drew got that murderous stare in his eyes, it’s best to stay out his way. “But if you get my business again, in any way, I will kill you.” And he said it all while smiling still.

“No more trouble from me, scouts honor.” Seth grinned, he held the three finger salute up, Drew rolled his eyes, but finally let Seth go. The two men wordlessly parted ways, there was a pep in Seth’s step after making amends with a long time foe. He didn’t think anything else of it, and went about his night, Drew on the other hand had more thinking to do. He found himself in the men’s locker room, thankfully for him it wasn’t crowded yet. He took a seat near a corner, his elbows digging in his knees, and his palms covering his face.

Desiree’s face came to his mind. Her beautiful deep brown skin, her pretty wide eyes, with chestnut colored irises. Her lips always set in a pout, but boy when she did smile it was bright. He knew it was time to officially ask Desiree to be his girlfriend, they somehow managed to skip over that all this time, but he was going to rectify that. He also had to find a way to permanently end the Mandy situation; she has been extra naggy lately, and there’s only so much he can say to her as a man. Put that on the todo list of ‘things to talk to Desiree about.’ He pulls out his phone to send Desiree a quick message, but she had already texted him.

Deedee: i wanna cook when we get back home! 🩷

His heart fluttered, she had never offered to cook for him before, he’s overheard a lot of her girl friends talk about her cooking, but he’s never had the chance to taste it himself.

Drew: of course whatever you want sweetheart. 🫠

Later that night, after the show, Drew and Desiree finally touched down in Florida by 2 am. Without question they went straight upstairs to the bed after showering, and changing into fresh clothes. They immediately fell asleep, their arms and legs tangled. By the time Desiree woke up, it was well into the afternoon, and when she peeled her eyes open the sunlight burned her eyes. “Ugh.” She groaned rolling over expecting to feel Drew’s large, warm body next to her, but his side of the bed was empty. The strong scent of coffee brought her out of the bed, she followed it all the way downstairs, and into the kitchen.

“You need this.” On cue Drew turned with a cat shaped mug in his hands, her hands sleepily reached for the mug, but he pulled back. “Ah, kiss the chef.” He grinned, his lips already perked, and ready. She didn’t fight him in her groggy state, instead she pecked him on the lips like he requested, and finally she was rewarded.

She took a sip, and then another, “morning.”

“Oh! She’s alive everyone, whew, thought we lost you there for a second.” Drew feigned relief, he fist bumped their tabby, he reached out and tapped his tiny paw to Drew’s large knuckle. “Awe, she’s never been a morning person has she?” He brought her in to him, he pressed a kiss on her forehead, took her mug, and carefully sat it on the counter.

“Can we just stay like this forever?” Her words muffled as her face was pressed into his bare chest, her arms wrapped around his waist, and her full weight leaning against him.

Drew let out a hearty laugh, “I wish princess, but we’ve got adult things to talk about.” His hand placed gently atop her head, the bonnet she put on her head last night undoubtedly ended up on her side of the floor near the bed. Her hair was a mess of coils all over head, which is how he knew she was tired because she didn’t even bother with it this morning.

“Fine, I’ll finish my coffee, and cook while you talk.” She rolled her eyes, pushed away from Drew’s embrace, but made sure to grumpily kiss him on the lips one last time. He thought she was so adorable in the mornings, her face is still puffy, and her grouchy attitude is easily fixed by just letting her be.

Desiree busied herself with the food while Drew just got right to it. “The problem is Mandy Rose—

“That heffa still stalking you?” She cut him off, the stainless steel knife in her hand pointing at his eyes, he gave her a pointed look. “Sorry.” She mumbled, then went back to chopping sweet potatoes, then she drizzled them with olive oil, and threw them in the air fryer. She flipped the burgers in the skillet causing the meat to sizzle, and hiss.

“Yes, she keeps trying to get me to tell you some dark secret I’m apparently hiding but I already told you about…that.” He didn’t meet her sharp stare, he’s not sure if he’ll ever get over the embarrassment of sleeping with Mandy.

“Are you sure that’s all there was?”

“No I swear, not that I can think of.”

“Well you better think harder, because this bitch isn’t playing around, and neither the fuck am I.”

“Damn it Desiree, if I knew I’d tell you!”

“Would you?” Her question was simple, yet loaded. Maybe there was a microscopic part of her that still ached that she went looking for the comfort of another woman simply because she wasn’t available. Truth be told she blamed herself more than anyone else.

“C’mon Dee…it was one mistake, and I’m standing here trying to tell you I want to get rid of her before she ruins my career. Before she ruins us.”

“Drew, I forgive you, I do. And no matter what, I’m on your side. It’s just hard to forget that you did that, especially with her ass prancing around like she’s Santa’s favorite reindeer. Shit, you’re the one with a Criminal Law degree, use it.” Desire held his gaze for a moment longer before putting her focus back on the food. She thought it was pathetic how Mandy practically preyed on Drew while he was weak, but she had no idea how to even help Drew.

“Listen, let’s just try to enjoy our time off for now.” Desiree presented Drew with a steaming plate of food; burgers, sweet potato fries, and onion rings with sriracha and mayo sauce. His troubles were instantly forgotten about, his eyes eating for him, as she pushed the plate in front of him. She joined him after plating her own food, and pouring drinks.

“This is so good.” He moaned, his mouth full of food, and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. Desiree had only managed to eat half her burger and her fries. She enjoyed watching him eat, and enjoyed her food.

“Ouu I was thinking we can go sit on the patio tonight, and enjoy the stars?” She kissed his forehead, already cleaning their plates, Drew damn near licking his clean.

“Sounds good.” He mumbled partly distracted by his phone as he scrolled through twitter, he choked on his spit from the post he keeps seeing as she’s scrolling.

“What is it?” Desire turned, she was washing dishes when she realized he was being way too quiet, his skin looked sickly pale. His body became rigid as he continued to scroll, “Drew.” She called him, but he couldn’t dare move. His body felt like a ton of bricks, all the food he just ate felt like it was about to rush back up. Before he had time to react she had taken the phone from his hands, her eyes flickered over to him for a beat, then back to the phone.

She couldn’t believe what she was watching, “you gotta be fucking kidding?” A three minute and twenty-six second long video of Drew and Mandy in a wedding chapel, in Las Vegas. It was evident that Drew was very drunk, it’s a possibility Mandy was too, but she was more coherent than her groom. She watched in utter horror, and shock as Drew drunkenly said ‘I do Elvis’then hiccuped. Again her emotions were all over the place, mostly she felt rage that Mandy would even do this.

The sound of Drew’s voice made her jump, she had forgotten that he was sitting there. His eyes wet with tears, an expression of distraught, and his voice weak. “My career is over.”

#drew mcintyre fanfiction #drew mcintyre #wwe fanfiction #black!oc #—tokio

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