#mugged tw

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

Stay (Part 1)

AI-Less Whumptober 2024: Day 23. Passing Out, “Hey?! Stay with me, okay?!” Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick, Hangman, Bob, FloydSin, Bob's POV Summary: Once again, Bob finds himself dragged along to the club with the rest of his friends. Miserable, and unable to find the only person he really wants to spend time with, he decides to head home. But he's about to discover where Jake has been all night... Word Count: 4230 TW: College AU, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Blood, Stabbed, Unexpressed Feelings, Getting Mugged, Broken Finger, Left for Dead, Tears, Language, Hopeful Ending Notes: Thank you to @green-socks and @ohtobeleah for beta reading this for me! For @ailesswhumptober's whumptober event.

Part 2

Whumptober 2024 Masterlist

Bob wasn’t sure how he kept letting himself get talked into this every weekend. While practically all of his classmates loved going to bars or clubs, he wasn’t your typical college student. He didn’t drink and he was too self-conscious to get out there and dance (probably because he didn’t drink), so he once again found himself standing alone in a dimly lit corner while the rest of his friends let loose.  

Nat had promised this time would be different, that she wouldn’t leave his side. Yet his roommate predictably disappeared as soon as Jake and Javy walked through the doors. Bob spotted her several minutes later in the middle of the dance floor, Javy’s arms tangled around her body as he ground on her. If the past was any indication, they would be inseparable until the next morning, which left Bob on his own once more. 

He gave it another hour before he called it a night. Everyone in their usual gang was too preoccupied with their own fun to notice that he had been standing in the same spot, holding the same bottle of water, since he got there: Bradley was at the bar surrounded by a group of gorgeous girls who were hanging on his every word; Nat and Javy had migrated to one of the other dark corners of the club and Bob was scared even to glance over to see what they were doing; Reuben and Mickey were in a heated drunken discussion with a few guys from their film class but things were escalating to that point where either a fight was about to break out or they were all about to buy another round of shots, of which neither option interested Bob; and Jake…Jake was nowhere to be seen. 

Bob had last spotted him about twenty minutes ago making out with a girl he didn’t recognize. Knowing Jake, he had probably ducked into one of the bathrooms with her and there was no way Bob was going to try to confirm that suspicion. Last semester he had walked in on a situation just like that and it was an experience he wasn’t looking forward to repeating. 

Not that Bob didn’t like Jake. In fact, he might like the guy a little too much which was yet another reason he didn’t want to see him doing that with someone else. Not that Jake would ever...not with someone like him. 

Bob sighed as he pushed open the door at the back of the club and stepped into the back alley. Jake always seemed different when they were alone together compared to when they were all hanging out with the rest of their friends. In those moments, he wasn’t “Hangman”, the star quarterback who had the entire college campus swooning at his feet and an ego the size of his home state. No, when Bob found himself one-on-one with the guy, it was when he saw the real Jake. He was softer, more open, and his smile always seemed genuine, not like the one he flashed for his adoring fans. 

Lately, those stolen moments with Jake had become the highlight of Bob’s week, and they were the real reason he kept allowing Nat to drag him along with her to places like this. Most of the time, Jake was preoccupied with whatever girl who caught his eye that night. But sometimes—if Bob was lucky—Jake would track him down and they would spend the entire night tucked away in a corner together talking and laughing. 

However, that hadn’t happened in a while. Not since the last night of Spring Break…

Bob was so lost in his thoughts as he began walking towards the front of the club, that he would have continued walking, oblivious to the fact anything was wrong, if a low moan hadn’t echoed through the alleyway at just that moment. Pausing, he turned back and peered down the dark passage behind him, trying to make out who or what had made that sound. But it was impossible to tell in the dimly lit space. 

He glanced back in the direction he had been heading, the welcoming bright lights of the street beckoning him towards them. However, he knew if he just left only to later find out someone had been in trouble and he could have helped, he would never be able to live with himself. So, reluctantly, he walked deeper into the alley.

The streetlight was broken back here, but as Bob ventured further, he was eventually able to make out a figure on the ground, leaning against the far wall. He still couldn’t see the person’s face, but as he neared, he recognized the designer jeans and cowboy boot on the outstretched leg. 

“Jake? Is that you?” Bob took a few hesitant steps closer to the man at the end of the alley. “Did you have too many drinks again?” 

The only response was another moan. 

Bob chewed on his lip while he considered his options. This wouldn’t be the first time Jake had overindulged and wound up passed out in a random location, but Javy or Bradley were usually around to deal with him. This was the first time Bob had stumbled into this situation on his own and he wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, he called out, “I’m going to go get Javy so he can take you home.”

But as Bob turned to go back into the club, he heard a weak “B-Bob?” that made him freeze in place, his blood running cold. That single word whispered in through the darkness was laced with such pain and fear—two things he had never heard in Jake’s voice before. This wasn’t just another case of Jake drinking himself stupid. Something was very wrong here.

Slowly, Bob turned back towards the figure. “Jake? A-are you okay?” When he didn’t get a response, he walked closer and gasped. “Oh my god,” Bob breathed as he got his first good look at the man lying before him. No…not him. Not Jake…

Jake Seresin lay crumpled against the brick wall in a frighteningly large pool of what appeared to be his own blood. His clothes which had been immaculate only an hour before were now ruined. His favorite leather jacket was missing, his tight shirt was torn in multiple places, and everything was stained a deep red. Bob never realized a person could lose that much blood and still be conscious. 

But his face…Jake’s face was the worst part. His once handsome, Adonis-like face was now mangled almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Blood matted his hair into thick dark clumps which were plastered against his face. His lip was split wide with a trail of blood leaking over his chin, down his neck, and onto his chest. Bob couldn’t be certain, but through the gore, it appeared as if Jake might also be missing a tooth or two. One eye was swollen shut while the other was bloodshot and dilated as it struggled to focus on Bob. 

“Hey, Bobby.” Jake shifted slightly—unable to do much more than that—and tilted his head so his “good” eye was turned towards Bob. His voice was raspy and weak, but a smile ghosted across his face. “Are you really here or is this a dream?”

More like a nightmare, Bob thought as he knelt beside Jake. He was so focused on his friend that he didn’t pay attention to where he was kneeling and he immediately felt something sticky and warm seeping into the fabric of his jeans. He gagged when he realized it was Jake’s blood, but tried to push that thought aside for now.

Bob carefully rested his hand on Jake’s outstretched leg so he could feel that he was real. “No, I’m really here. What happened to you?” However, as Jake opened his mouth, Bob shook his head. “No, wait, it doesn’t matter right now. I need to get you help and fast.”

“Bobby…”

Bob ignored him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. His hands were trembling so much it took him three attempts to finally dial 911. As soon as he heard the line pick up, Bob stammered, “H-hello? My friend was hurt o–or attacked or something. I just found him in an alley and he’s bleeding really badly… like really badly. There’s so much blood and I-I-I don’t know what to do!” Bob tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, yet he couldn’t help the slight tremble in his words. 

The woman on the other end asked for his location and Bob did his best to describe how to find them down the dark alleyway. She thanked him and promised to send help as soon as possible. However, it did little to ease the panic in Bob’s chest as he hung up.

Next, he tried calling Javy, then Nat, then Bradley, then Javy again, but none of them picked up. The noise of the club was probably drowning out their phones.

Resigned to the fact he was in this alone, Bob turned his focus back to Jake. “The ambulance should be here soon. You’re gonna be okay.” He felt the bitterness the words left on his tongue and he prayed they weren’t a lie. “C-can I do anything? Make you more comfortable?”

“You’re here,” Jake mumbled, his finger tapping Bob’s knee. “Isn’t that enough?”

Bob choked back a sob. No. It wasn’t enough. It was killing him to see Jake—strong, cocky, confident Jake—like this and knowing there was little he could do to ease his pain. Bob still couldn’t believe any of this was real, that Jake was actually lying here bleeding out before his eyes. “What happened?”

“Was tryna be a hero. Followed a girl out here and saw she was cornered by four or five scary-lookin’ guys so I stepped in. Got her behind me, thought she was safe, ‘til the bitch literally stabbed me in the back.” Jake shifted to the right slightly with an agonizing groan and Bob could see a deep gash on his back rapidly oozing blood. He quickly removed his jacket and pressed it against the wound as Jake hissed. “Guess it was all an act and I fell for it. Then her buddies beat the shit outta me and took my stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Everythin’. Watch, wallet, phone—” his breath hitched slightly in his throat “—even my ring.”

Bob glanced down to see the knuckle on Jake’s empty right ring finger bent awkwardly and swollen to almost three times its normal size. The thieves must have ripped the ring off his finger without considering how it would hurt Jake. His finger was almost assuredly broken, maybe worse. 

Yet more than the physical pain it must have caused him, Bob could only imagine how devastated Jake must be to lose it. It had been his older brother’s class ring that Jake had inherited after he was killed by a drunk driver when Jake was fifteen. In the three years Bob had known him, Jake had only ever taken the ring off for football games, then it was immediately returned to his finger the second he stepped off the field. Jake would have fought with everything he had to keep that ring, which explained why the injury to his finger seemed so severe. 

“I’m sorry, Jake. But I’m sure he’d understand.”

Jake chuckled, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Ty would have been mad I fought so hard to keep it. ‘It’s just a stupid ring, Jakey. It’s not worth your fuckin’ life.’” But then his smile dropped, a slight grimace of pain shooting across it as he moved the injured parts of his face. In a thick voice, he choked out, “But it was all I had left of him, you know? I couldn’t just…I couldn’t just let them take it.”

As more tears streamed down Jake’s face, Bob nodded before turning away to give his friend a moment of privacy. He glanced down the alleyway, the light from the street just a faint glow in the distance. It worried him that even once help arrived, they might have trouble finding them tucked all the way back here in the darkness. 

Turning back to Jake—who had composed himself once more— Bob asked, “Do you think you could walk a little if I helped get you to your feet?”

“Seein’ that I can’t feel my feet right now, I doubt it.” A full-body shiver passed through Jake. When he spoke again, there was a slight quiver in his voice. “Man, I thought San Diego was supposed to be warm this time of year. It’s fuckin’ freezin’ tonight.”

Bob didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was currently close to 90°F and the coldness he was feeling was probably due to blood loss. 

He glanced back towards the street. “Then maybe I should go wait closer to the entrance so they can find us.” He started to stand up. “I’ll be rig–”

“No. Please, stay.” Jake’s hand brushed against Bob’s leg as his voice trembled. “I…I don’t wanna be alone.” The vulnerability and fear in his voice nearly shattered Bob’s heart. There was an unspoken meaning to his words, but they both knew what he was really saying. 

Bob sunk back to the ground, taking Jake’s uninjured left hand and squeezing it tightly. “That’s not gonna happen. And I’m not going anywhere. The ambulance is on its way and they’re going to help. You just have to hold on a bit longer.” Tears began slipping from his eyes, fogging his glasses, but he didn’t dare let go of Jake’s hand to clean them off. “Jake, I can’t…I need you to be okay. So I won’t go anywhere, but you can’t either. Okay?”

Jake slowly reached up—his right hand trembling from the effort—and cupped Bob’s cheek. His hand was ice cold and sticky with blood, but Bob leaned gently into his caress which made a soft smile flicker across Jake’s face. In a voice barely over a whisper, he murmured, “I’m glad it was you.” Then, his eyes drifted shut and his whole body went limp, his hand slipping from Bob’s cheek and splashing into the pool of his own blood on the pavement. 

“J-Jake?” Bob felt his heart stop as he stared at the still body of his friend. He squeezed Jake’s hand tighter where it was still clutched in his own, silently begging for even the slightest of signs that he was okay. But Jake didn’t even flinch. “Hey?! Stay with me, okay? Please, Jake. Don’t leave me. You got to hold on. For me…please. I can’t—”

Bob’s head snapped up as he heard a siren off in the distance steadily growing closer. He wanted to jump up and sprint down the alley, screaming for them to hurry, to help Jake before it was too late. But he had made him a promise. He wasn’t going to leave him, no matter what. 

So, as Bob saw dark shapes moving at the edge of the glowing entrance to the alley, he took a deep breath and cried at the top of his lungs, “Help! We’re back here! Please! We need help! Someone! PLEASE!”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then he saw three figures making their way down the alley, a gurney rolling unevenly across the broken pavement. They had lights attached to their shirts and Bob blinked as they got closer, the sudden brightness temporarily blinding him. He heard one of the men mutter, “Oh, fuck. I thought dispatch said there was only one victim.”

Realizing how gory he must look, Bob raised his hand to shield his face from the light. “I-I’m okay. It’s just my friend. Please, you have to help him.”

The three men bent down and began to examine Jake. It was only then that Bob pried his hand off of Jake’s and stepped back, giving them room to work. They muttered softly between themselves before one—a spiky-haired blond with piercing blue eyes—turned to look at Bob. “Hey, kid. What’s your name?”

“B-bob.”

“Bob, can you tell me what happened to your friend?”

Bob tried to think of where to start. “H-his name’s Jake. We came to the club with a group of friends. I-I wanted to go home so I came through the back and found him…” He shuddered as he remembered almost walking away when he first heard Jake’s moan of pain. “He said he was stabbed and beaten up by thr–no! Four or five guys. And there was a girl with them too. They took all his stuff and ran off. He was alone when I found him.”

“So, you called it in?” Bob nodded. “And he was still conscious at that point?” Bob nodded again. “Okay, that’s a good sign.”

One of the other paramedics, a taller muscular man with darker spiked hair and a broad forehead, caught the first man’s attention. “We’re good.”

The first man nodded and all three men stood up. Carefully, they lifted Jake and placed him on the gurney. Bob nearly sobbed with relief as Jake groaned softly as they moved him. It was the first sign of life he had shown since his hand slipped from Bob’s face. But a pained Jake was an alive Jake, and that was something Bob could accept for the moment.

As the paramedic began wheeling Jake down the alleyway, Bob stumbled behind them, his legs feeling weak and unsteady beneath him. He kept his eyes on the uneven ground. But as they neared the entrance of the alley, and Bob heard the paramedics talking about whether it was okay to leave him alone or if they should wait for the police to show up, Bob’s head snapped up.

“No!” He struggled to push his way past the paramedics to reach Jake’s hand once more. “No! I promised! I promised I wouldn’t leave him!”

The first paramedic turned and placed his hand on Bob’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he held him back from the gurney. Smiling softly, he said, “And you didn’t. You stayed with him until help got to him. You did good, kid. But now we need space to do our job. We’re taking him to St. Mary’s Hospital a few blocks from here. Do you have someone who can drive you?” Bob nodded, his lips trembling. “Good. Tell the person at the front desk Tom said to let you through. I’ll let them know the situation and make sure they let you see him once he’s stable.”

“Th-thank you.”

The man—Tom—nodded, his smile widening slightly. “He’ll be alright. And it’s all thanks to you, Bob. You saved his life. You should be proud of yourself, kid.” Then, with one last squeeze of his shoulder, Tom turned and hurried back to where the other paramedics were wheeling the gurney to the ambulance.

The sounds of the siren must have cut through the noise inside the club because a large mass of people began streaming out trying to see what all the commotion was about. As Bob reached the end of the alley and stepped back onto the main sidewalk, he saw Nat and Javy exiting the club just in front of him, arm in arm as they strained to see over the crowd to where the lights of the emergency vehicle were flashing. 

“Jake?” Javy took a few steps towards the ambulance, his eyes wide in disbelief as he caught a glimpse of the man being loaded into the back. As the paramedics moved aside, giving the mob of onlookers a better look at the victim, Javy bolted forward trying to get to his best friend’s side. “Jake!”

However, he only made it a few steps before Nat grabbed his arm and pulled him back. As Javy struggled against her, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder and murmured, “They’ve got him. You need to let them help and you do that by staying out of their way. Let them do their job.”

Javy continued to fight for another moment before slumping into her embrace. His eyes remained fixed on his teammate, his roommate, his best friend as they began loading Jake into the ambulance. “What the fuck happened to him?”

“He was jumped behind the club. Th-they stabbed him and took his stuff.”

Both Javy and Nat whirled around at the sound of Bob’s voice. Nat gasped as she took in his blood-soaked appearance and immediately ran to his side. 

But as she began to fuss over him, her fingers gently running over his body as she checked him for injuries, he shrugged her off, muttering, “It’s okay. It’s not mine.”

“Jake’s?” Bob nodded and her eyes grew wide. “You were there?”

He shook his head. “Not for the attack. I found him afterward when I was heading home. I-I called the ambulance.” 

Bob looked down at his hands which were covered in Jake’s blood—clinging to the creases on his palms, buried under his fingernails, dripping slowly off the ends of his fingertips—and the full force of the last twenty minutes hit him like a semi-truck. Now that Jake was out of immediate danger and safely in the hands of those trained to help him, there was nothing to keep Bob from feeling everything he had managed to hold back from the moment he saw his friend lying dying in the alley. 

Bursting into tears, Bob sobbed, “There was so much blood, Nat, I-I didn’t know what to do! He tried to be strong, to play it off like he wasn’t that hurt because he knew I was worried, but I’ve never seen Jake like that. So weak and in pain. And he was scared. He didn’t want me to leave him to get help. He didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t leave him a-alone!” Another sob wracked his body as he remembered the way Jake looked at him just before he passed out. Dread sat like a brick in his chest as he wondered if that was the last time he would see Jake’s smile or those pale green eyes that brought him such joy.

With tears welling up in her own eyes, Nat pulled him into her arms and squeezed him so tightly Bob thought she might break something. “Oh, Bob. Why didn’t you call us?”

“I-I tried but neither of you p-picked up,” he cried, nuzzling his face into her shoulder despite the fact it caused his glasses to dig painfully into the bridge of his nose. The mix of pain and comfort actually helped ground him at the moment. 

Javy quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. When he saw the missed calls, he cursed loudly and hurled his phone to the ground, not even flinching as it shattered on the sidewalk. “Fuck!” He crouched down and buried his head in his hands just as the ambulance pulled out, sirens blaring. 

Bob felt how tense Nat was beneath his embrace, and he knew she was trying to process everything just as much as the rest of them were. However, ever the level-headed one, she sighed and said, “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do.” She rested her hand on Javy’s shoulder. “Were you in Jake’s truck tonight?” He looked up, tears filling his eyes, and nodded. She swore under her breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Then we have to go find Bradley. We all came in the Bronco so he’ll have to drive us to the hospital.”

Javy straightened up, a little more composed now that he had a plan to follow. “I’ll track him down. Go see if the police need to get a statement from Bob. Then we’ll all meet in the parking lot.” Nat nodded and Javy pushed his way back into the club.

Now, with all of her attention back on him, Nat asked Bob softly, “Do you think you can talk to the police?”

Bob nodded, but then his face crumpled as another sob escaped his lips. Trembling, he cried, “Nat…I can’t lose him. Not Jake. Not like this.”

The tears that she had been holding back slipped from her eyes as she gathered Bob into her arms. “I know. I’m so sorry, Bob. I’m so sorry you had to be the one to find him and that you had to do this all alone. I know what he means to you.”

Bob squeezed his eyes together tightly. She didn’t know. Not really. She knew that lately Bob had sparked up an unusual friendship with Jake and the two sometimes hung out alone. But Bob had never told her the full story. He never told her how he got butterflies in his stomach whenever Jake called him ‘Bobby’. Or how he offered to tutor Jake in geometry just so he could spend more time with him. Or how his heart almost beats out of his chest when Jake slings his arms across his shoulder when the gang all hangs out together.

He never told her how he kissed Jake on the last night of Spring Break or how, for a moment, it felt like Jake had kissed him back.

But most importantly, Bob had never told her that he was hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Jake Seresin. 

There will be one more part coming 10/28 written from Jake's POV!

Tag List: @green-socks, @mayhem24-7forever, @blue-aconite, @ohtobeleah, @hederasgarden,

@wildbornsiren, @writercole, @ryebecca, @phoenixhalliwell, @sunshineflowerchild789

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Stay (Part 1)

AI-Less Whumptober 2024: Day 23. Passing Out, “Hey?! Stay with me, okay?!” Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick, Hangman, Bob, FloydSin, Bob's POV Summary: Once again, Bob finds himself dragged along to the club with the rest of his friends. Miserable, and unable to find the only person he really wants to spend time with, he decides to head home. But he's about to discover where Jake has been all night... Word Count: 4230 TW: College AU, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Blood, Stabbed, Unexpressed Feelings, Getting Mugged, Broken Finger, Left for Dead, Tears, Language, Hopeful Ending Notes: Thank you to @green-socks and @ohtobeleah for beta reading this for me! For @ailesswhumptober's whumptober event.

Part One

Bob wasn’t sure how he kept letting himself get talked into this every weekend. While practically all of his classmates loved going to bars or clubs, he wasn’t your typical college student. He didn’t drink and he was too self-conscious to get out there and dance (probably because he didn’t drink), so he once again found himself standing alone in a dimly lit corner while the rest of his friends let loose.  

Nat had promised this time would be different, that she wouldn’t leave his side. Yet his roommate predictably disappeared as soon as Jake and Javy walked through the doors. Bob spotted her several minutes later in the middle of the dance floor, Javy’s arms tangled around her body as he ground on her. If the past was any indication, they would be inseparable until the next morning, which left Bob on his own once more. 

He gave it another hour before he called it a night. Everyone in their usual gang was too preoccupied with their own fun to notice that he had been standing in the same spot, holding the same bottle of water, since he got there: Bradley was at the bar surrounded by a group of gorgeous girls who were hanging on his every word; Nat and Javy had migrated to one of the other dark corners of the club and Bob was scared even to glance over to see what they were doing; Reuben and Mickey were in a heated drunken discussion with a few guys from their film class but things were escalating to that point where either a fight was about to break out or they were all about to buy another round of shots, of which neither option interested Bob; and Jake…Jake was nowhere to be seen. 

Bob had last spotted him about twenty minutes ago making out with a girl he didn’t recognize. Knowing Jake, he had probably ducked into one of the bathrooms with her and there was no way Bob was going to try to confirm that suspicion. Last semester he had walked in on a situation just like that and it was an experience he wasn’t looking forward to repeating. 

Not that Bob didn’t like Jake. In fact, he might like the guy a little too much which was yet another reason he didn’t want to see him doing that with someone else. Not that Jake would ever...not with someone like him. 

Bob sighed as he pushed open the door at the back of the club and stepped into the back alley. Jake always seemed different when they were alone together compared to when they were all hanging out with the rest of their friends. In those moments, he wasn’t “Hangman”, the star quarterback who had the entire college campus swooning at his feet and an ego the size of his home state. No, when Bob found himself one-on-one with the guy, it was when he saw the real Jake. He was softer, more open, and his smile always seemed genuine, not like the one he flashed for his adoring fans. 

Lately, those stolen moments with Jake had become the highlight of Bob’s week, and they were the real reason he kept allowing Nat to drag him along with her to places like this. Most of the time, Jake was preoccupied with whatever girl who caught his eye that night. But sometimes—if Bob was lucky—Jake would track him down and they would spend the entire night tucked away in a corner together talking and laughing. 

However, that hadn’t happened in a while. Not since the last night of Spring Break…

Bob was so lost in his thoughts as he began walking towards the front of the club, that he would have continued walking, oblivious to the fact anything was wrong, if a low moan hadn’t echoed through the alleyway at just that moment. Pausing, he turned back and peered down the dark passage behind him, trying to make out who or what had made that sound. But it was impossible to tell in the dimly lit space. 

He glanced back in the direction he had been heading, the welcoming bright lights of the street beckoning him towards them. However, he knew if he just left only to later find out someone had been in trouble and he could have helped, he would never be able to live with himself. So, reluctantly, he walked deeper into the alley.

The streetlight was broken back here, but as Bob ventured further, he was eventually able to make out a figure on the ground, leaning against the far wall. He still couldn’t see the person’s face, but as he neared, he recognized the designer jeans and cowboy boot on the outstretched leg. 

“Jake? Is that you?” Bob took a few hesitant steps closer to the man at the end of the alley. “Did you have too many drinks again?” 

The only response was another moan. 

Bob chewed on his lip while he considered his options. This wouldn’t be the first time Jake had overindulged and wound up passed out in a random location, but Javy or Bradley were usually around to deal with him. This was the first time Bob had stumbled into this situation on his own and he wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, he called out, “I’m going to go get Javy so he can take you home.”

But as Bob turned to go back into the club, he heard a weak “B-Bob?” that made him freeze in place, his blood running cold. That single word whispered in through the darkness was laced with such pain and fear—two things he had never heard in Jake’s voice before. This wasn’t just another case of Jake drinking himself stupid. Something was very wrong here.

Slowly, Bob turned back towards the figure. “Jake? A-are you okay?” When he didn’t get a response, he walked closer and gasped. “Oh my god,” Bob breathed as he got his first good look at the man lying before him. No…not him. Not Jake…

Jake Seresin lay crumpled against the brick wall in a frighteningly large pool of what appeared to be his own blood. His clothes which had been immaculate only an hour before were now ruined. His favorite leather jacket was missing, his tight shirt was torn in multiple places, and everything was stained a deep red. Bob never realized a person could lose that much blood and still be conscious. 

But his face…Jake’s face was the worst part. His once handsome, Adonis-like face was now mangled almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Blood matted his hair into thick dark clumps which were plastered against his face. His lip was split wide with a trail of blood leaking over his chin, down his neck, and onto his chest. Bob couldn’t be certain, but through the gore, it appeared as if Jake might also be missing a tooth or two. One eye was swollen shut while the other was bloodshot and dilated as it struggled to focus on Bob. 

“Hey, Bobby.” Jake shifted slightly—unable to do much more than that—and tilted his head so his “good” eye was turned towards Bob. His voice was raspy and weak, but a smile ghosted across his face. “Are you really here or is this a dream?”

More like a nightmare, Bob thought as he knelt beside Jake. He was so focused on his friend that he didn’t pay attention to where he was kneeling and he immediately felt something sticky and warm seeping into the fabric of his jeans. He gagged when he realized it was Jake’s blood, but tried to push that thought aside for now.

Bob carefully rested his hand on Jake’s outstretched leg so he could feel that he was real. “No, I’m really here. What happened to you?” However, as Jake opened his mouth, Bob shook his head. “No, wait, it doesn’t matter right now. I need to get you help and fast.”

“Bobby…”

Bob ignored him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. His hands were trembling so much it took him three attempts to finally dial 911. As soon as he heard the line pick up, Bob stammered, “H-hello? My friend was hurt o–or attacked or something. I just found him in an alley and he’s bleeding really badly… like really badly. There’s so much blood and I-I-I don’t know what to do!” Bob tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, yet he couldn’t help the slight tremble in his words. 

The woman on the other end asked for his location and Bob did his best to describe how to find them down the dark alleyway. She thanked him and promised to send help as soon as possible. However, it did little to ease the panic in Bob’s chest as he hung up.

Next, he tried calling Javy, then Nat, then Bradley, then Javy again, but none of them picked up. The noise of the club was probably drowning out their phones.

Resigned to the fact he was in this alone, Bob turned his focus back to Jake. “The ambulance should be here soon. You’re gonna be okay.” He felt the bitterness the words left on his tongue and he prayed they weren’t a lie. “C-can I do anything? Make you more comfortable?”

“You’re here,” Jake mumbled, his finger tapping Bob’s knee. “Isn’t that enough?”

Bob choked back a sob. No. It wasn’t enough. It was killing him to see Jake—strong, cocky, confident Jake—like this and knowing there was little he could do to ease his pain. Bob still couldn’t believe any of this was real, that Jake was actually lying here bleeding out before his eyes. “What happened?”

“Was tryna be a hero. Followed a girl out here and saw she was cornered by four or five scary-lookin’ guys so I stepped in. Got her behind me, thought she was safe, ‘til the bitch literally stabbed me in the back.” Jake shifted to the right slightly with an agonizing groan and Bob could see a deep gash on his back rapidly oozing blood. He quickly removed his jacket and pressed it against the wound as Jake hissed. “Guess it was all an act and I fell for it. Then her buddies beat the shit outta me and took my stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Everythin’. Watch, wallet, phone—” his breath hitched slightly in his throat “—even my ring.”

Bob glanced down to see the knuckle on Jake’s empty right ring finger bent awkwardly and swollen to almost three times its normal size. The thieves must have ripped the ring off his finger without considering how it would hurt Jake. His finger was almost assuredly broken, maybe worse. 

Yet more than the physical pain it must have caused him, Bob could only imagine how devastated Jake must be to lose it. It had been his older brother’s class ring that Jake had inherited after he was killed by a drunk driver when Jake was fifteen. In the three years Bob had known him, Jake had only ever taken the ring off for football games, then it was immediately returned to his finger the second he stepped off the field. Jake would have fought with everything he had to keep that ring, which explained why the injury to his finger seemed so severe. 

“I’m sorry, Jake. But I’m sure he’d understand.”

Jake chuckled, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Ty would have been mad I fought so hard to keep it. ‘It’s just a stupid ring, Jakey. It’s not worth your fuckin’ life.’” But then his smile dropped, a slight grimace of pain shooting across it as he moved the injured parts of his face. In a thick voice, he choked out, “But it was all I had left of him, you know? I couldn’t just…I couldn’t just let them take it.”

As more tears streamed down Jake’s face, Bob nodded before turning away to give his friend a moment of privacy. He glanced down the alleyway, the light from the street just a faint glow in the distance. It worried him that even once help arrived, they might have trouble finding them tucked all the way back here in the darkness. 

Turning back to Jake—who had composed himself once more— Bob asked, “Do you think you could walk a little if I helped get you to your feet?”

“Seein’ that I can’t feel my feet right now, I doubt it.” A full-body shiver passed through Jake. When he spoke again, there was a slight quiver in his voice. “Man, I thought San Diego was supposed to be warm this time of year. It’s fuckin’ freezin’ tonight.”

Bob didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was currently close to 90°F and the coldness he was feeling was probably due to blood loss. 

He glanced back towards the street. “Then maybe I should go wait closer to the entrance so they can find us.” He started to stand up. “I’ll be rig–”

“No. Please, stay.” Jake’s hand brushed against Bob’s leg as his voice trembled. “I…I don’t wanna be alone.” The vulnerability and fear in his voice nearly shattered Bob’s heart. There was an unspoken meaning to his words, but they both knew what he was really saying. 

Bob sunk back to the ground, taking Jake’s uninjured left hand and squeezing it tightly. “That’s not gonna happen. And I’m not going anywhere. The ambulance is on its way and they’re going to help. You just have to hold on a bit longer.” Tears began slipping from his eyes, fogging his glasses, but he didn’t dare let go of Jake’s hand to clean them off. “Jake, I can’t…I need you to be okay. So I won’t go anywhere, but you can’t either. Okay?”

Jake slowly reached up—his right hand trembling from the effort—and cupped Bob’s cheek. His hand was ice cold and sticky with blood, but Bob leaned gently into his caress which made a soft smile flicker across Jake’s face. In a voice barely over a whisper, he murmured, “I’m glad it was you.” Then, his eyes drifted shut and his whole body went limp, his hand slipping from Bob’s cheek and splashing into the pool of his own blood on the pavement. 

“J-Jake?” Bob felt his heart stop as he stared at the still body of his friend. He squeezed Jake’s hand tighter where it was still clutched in his own, silently begging for even the slightest of signs that he was okay. But Jake didn’t even flinch. “Hey?! Stay with me, okay? Please, Jake. Don’t leave me. You got to hold on. For me…please. I can’t—”

Bob’s head snapped up as he heard a siren off in the distance steadily growing closer. He wanted to jump up and sprint down the alley, screaming for them to hurry, to help Jake before it was too late. But he had made him a promise. He wasn’t going to leave him, no matter what. 

So, as Bob saw dark shapes moving at the edge of the glowing entrance to the alley, he took a deep breath and cried at the top of his lungs, “Help! We’re back here! Please! We need help! Someone! PLEASE!”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then he saw three figures making their way down the alley, a gurney rolling unevenly across the broken pavement. They had lights attached to their shirts and Bob blinked as they got closer, the sudden brightness temporarily blinding him. He heard one of the men mutter, “Oh, fuck. I thought dispatch said there was only one victim.”

Realizing how gory he must look, Bob raised his hand to shield his face from the light. “I-I’m okay. It’s just my friend. Please, you have to help him.”

The three men bent down and began to examine Jake. It was only then that Bob pried his hand off of Jake’s and stepped back, giving them room to work. They muttered softly between themselves before one—a spiky-haired blond with piercing blue eyes—turned to look at Bob. “Hey, kid. What’s your name?”

“B-bob.”

“Bob, can you tell me what happened to your friend?”

Bob tried to think of where to start. “H-his name’s Jake. We came to the club with a group of friends. I-I wanted to go home so I came through the back and found him…” He shuddered as he remembered almost walking away when he first heard Jake’s moan of pain. “He said he was stabbed and beaten up by thr–no! Four or five guys. And there was a girl with them too. They took all his stuff and ran off. He was alone when I found him.”

“So, you called it in?” Bob nodded. “And he was still conscious at that point?” Bob nodded again. “Okay, that’s a good sign.”

One of the other paramedics, a taller muscular man with darker spiked hair and a broad forehead, caught the first man’s attention. “We’re good.”

The first man nodded and all three men stood up. Carefully, they lifted Jake and placed him on the gurney. Bob nearly sobbed with relief as Jake groaned softly as they moved him. It was the first sign of life he had shown since his hand slipped from Bob’s face. But a pained Jake was an alive Jake, and that was something Bob could accept for the moment.

As the paramedic began wheeling Jake down the alleyway, Bob stumbled behind them, his legs feeling weak and unsteady beneath him. He kept his eyes on the uneven ground. But as they neared the entrance of the alley, and Bob heard the paramedics talking about whether it was okay to leave him alone or if they should wait for the police to show up, Bob’s head snapped up.

“No!” He struggled to push his way past the paramedics to reach Jake’s hand once more. “No! I promised! I promised I wouldn’t leave him!”

The first paramedic turned and placed his hand on Bob’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he held him back from the gurney. Smiling softly, he said, “And you didn’t. You stayed with him until help got to him. You did good, kid. But now we need space to do our job. We’re taking him to St. Mary’s Hospital a few blocks from here. Do you have someone who can drive you?” Bob nodded, his lips trembling. “Good. Tell the person at the front desk Tom said to let you through. I’ll let them know the situation and make sure they let you see him once he’s stable.”

“Th-thank you.”

The man—Tom—nodded, his smile widening slightly. “He’ll be alright. And it’s all thanks to you, Bob. You saved his life. You should be proud of yourself, kid.” Then, with one last squeeze of his shoulder, Tom turned and hurried back to where the other paramedics were wheeling the gurney to the ambulance.

The sounds of the siren must have cut through the noise inside the club because a large mass of people began streaming out trying to see what all the commotion was about. As Bob reached the end of the alley and stepped back onto the main sidewalk, he saw Nat and Javy exiting the club just in front of him, arm in arm as they strained to see over the crowd to where the lights of the emergency vehicle were flashing. 

“Jake?” Javy took a few steps towards the ambulance, his eyes wide in disbelief as he caught a glimpse of the man being loaded into the back. As the paramedics moved aside, giving the mob of onlookers a better look at the victim, Javy bolted forward trying to get to his best friend’s side. “Jake!”

However, he only made it a few steps before Nat grabbed his arm and pulled him back. As Javy struggled against her, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder and murmured, “They’ve got him. You need to let them help and you do that by staying out of their way. Let them do their job.”

Javy continued to fight for another moment before slumping into her embrace. His eyes remained fixed on his teammate, his roommate, his best friend as they began loading Jake into the ambulance. “What the fuck happened to him?”

“He was jumped behind the club. Th-they stabbed him and took his stuff.”

Both Javy and Nat whirled around at the sound of Bob’s voice. Nat gasped as she took in his blood-soaked appearance and immediately ran to his side. 

But as she began to fuss over him, her fingers gently running over his body as she checked him for injuries, he shrugged her off, muttering, “It’s okay. It’s not mine.”

“Jake’s?” Bob nodded and her eyes grew wide. “You were there?”

He shook his head. “Not for the attack. I found him afterward when I was heading home. I-I called the ambulance.” 

Bob looked down at his hands which were covered in Jake’s blood—clinging to the creases on his palms, buried under his fingernails, dripping slowly off the ends of his fingertips—and the full force of the last twenty minutes hit him like a semi-truck. Now that Jake was out of immediate danger and safely in the hands of those trained to help him, there was nothing to keep Bob from feeling everything he had managed to hold back from the moment he saw his friend lying dying in the alley. 

Bursting into tears, Bob sobbed, “There was so much blood, Nat, I-I didn’t know what to do! He tried to be strong, to play it off like he wasn’t that hurt because he knew I was worried, but I’ve never seen Jake like that. So weak and in pain. And he was scared. He didn’t want me to leave him to get help. He didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t leave him a-alone!” Another sob wracked his body as he remembered the way Jake looked at him just before he passed out. Dread sat like a brick in his chest as he wondered if that was the last time he would see Jake’s smile or those pale green eyes that brought him such joy.

With tears welling up in her own eyes, Nat pulled him into her arms and squeezed him so tightly Bob thought she might break something. “Oh, Bob. Why didn’t you call us?”

“I-I tried but neither of you p-picked up,” he cried, nuzzling his face into her shoulder despite the fact it caused his glasses to dig painfully into the bridge of his nose. The mix of pain and comfort actually helped ground him at the moment. 

Javy quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. When he saw the missed calls, he cursed loudly and hurled his phone to the ground, not even flinching as it shattered on the sidewalk. “Fuck!” He crouched down and buried his head in his hands just as the ambulance pulled out, sirens blaring. 

Bob felt how tense Nat was beneath his embrace, and he knew she was trying to process everything just as much as the rest of them were. However, ever the level-headed one, she sighed and said, “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do.” She rested her hand on Javy’s shoulder. “Were you in Jake’s truck tonight?” He looked up, tears filling his eyes, and nodded. She swore under her breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Then we have to go find Bradley. We all came in the Bronco so he’ll have to drive us to the hospital.”

Javy straightened up, a little more composed now that he had a plan to follow. “I’ll track him down. Go see if the police need to get a statement from Bob. Then we’ll all meet in the parking lot.” Nat nodded and Javy pushed his way back into the club.

Now, with all of her attention back on him, Nat asked Bob softly, “Do you think you can talk to the police?”

Bob nodded, but then his face crumpled as another sob escaped his lips. Trembling, he cried, “Nat…I can’t lose him. Not Jake. Not like this.”

The tears that she had been holding back slipped from her eyes as she gathered Bob into her arms. “I know. I’m so sorry, Bob. I’m so sorry you had to be the one to find him and that you had to do this all alone. I know what he means to you.”

Bob squeezed his eyes together tightly. She didn’t know. Not really. She knew that lately Bob had sparked up an unusual friendship with Jake and the two sometimes hung out alone. But Bob had never told her the full story. He never told her how he got butterflies in his stomach whenever Jake called him ‘Bobby’. Or how he offered to tutor Jake in geometry just so he could spend more time with him. Or how his heart almost beats out of his chest when Jake slings his arms across his shoulder when the gang all hangs out together.

He never told her how he kissed Jake on the last night of Spring Break or how, for a moment, it felt like Jake had kissed him back.

But most importantly, Bob had never told her that he was hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Jake Seresin. 

There will be one more part coming 10/28 written from Jake's POV!

[lover-of-mine]

Buddie Countdown to Season 7:

92 days.

[nocterish]

Don't talk to him, he's angy (and waiting for his angel)

A quick snek Crowley animation to patch up the wound

[coolmugsifound]

“Bug mug” Matscot April Fools day mug (1996)

source

[shiftythrifting]

Ontario Canada 

[meatballsander]

Decided to get silly and draw the inverse of the iconic "Victory Soldier" poster. And make it Heavymedic, of course.

Inspiration, progress pics, and alt versions under the cut

This poster! Always been a fan.

Initially I was gonna keep the same setting & color scheme, but the original poster distinctly has the top two thirds warm tones/bottom third cool tones. If I wanted to keep the piece cohesive it'd have to be RED Heavymedic vs BLU Soldier. And the more I thought about that the less it felt explicitly like Heavymedic fanart and more like propaganda for the RED team.

So I set it on Snowycoast! Its sky box and layout let me have cool top thirds/warm bottom third. Also it's one of the most beautiful maps in the game and I love drawing night scenes. Literally no downsides.

Progress pics!

Textless version, and an alt text version I made at the request of a friend:

And finally, since you've reached the bottom, some memes I made while working on it.

:)

[vanderbilt-draws]

I saw a post telling me to tell you to draw, so can you do a pic of Kirk and Spock doing literally whatever. I just love them and need to consume Star Trek content

SPIRK MY BELOVED!!!!! THE SILLAYS!!

[bambiraptorx]

In which Draxum realizes he and the turtles may have something in common (they're all dumbasses). Minor Interference is gonna be so fun when April shows up lol

[aberrantceramics]

Blatta orientalis Cockroach Mug

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

Stay (Part 2)

AI-Less Whumptober 2024: Day 30 Alt Prompt 10.  “If you weren’t around, I’d be long dead by now...” Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick, Hangman, Bob, FloydSin, Jake's POV Summary: Jake thought he died in that alley after he was mugged. But thanks to a special someone, he pulled through. And when Bob brings him a gift more precious than his own life, Jake does what he should have done a long time ago. Word Count: 3575 TW: College AU, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confession, Hospital, Amputation, Language, Hopeful Ending Notes: Thank you to @green-socks for beta reading this for me! For @ailesswhumptober's whumptober event.

Part 1

Whumptober 2024 Masterlist

Jake had fucked up big this time. He had realized that fact a while ago as he shoved his tongue into that random girl’s mouth while they were still in the club, but he ignored that feeling and just tried to shut his mind off for the night. Something just felt off about the way this girl had come on to him and lured him onto the dance floor, but he didn’t question it.

Twenty minutes later as he found himself laying in the back alley broken, bruised, bloody, and fucking stabbed, Jake regretted that decision.

Once he had realized what was happening, he hadn’t even tried fighting back that much. He was outnumbered and it was better to just let the five muggers and the girl he had been flirting with take what they wanted and leave him be. But all that changed the moment one of the men reached for Ty’s ring.

Jake would give them everything else he owned in this world, but they couldn’t take his brother’s ring. He wouldn’t let them. Yet there was little he could do as one of his attackers drove his fist into the fresh stab wound on Jake’s back and Jake collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll. 

At that point, he began to sob. He begged with everything he had left in him for them to leave the ring but it made no difference. One of the men stood on his wrist—his boot crunching the bones and skinning Jake’s palm against the pavement—while another ripped Tyler’s ring off his finger. Jake felt as if his finger had been ripped off, the pain so intense he nearly blacked out. And as he watched his attackers gloat to his buddy and slide the ring onto his own finger, it felt like Jake had lost his brother for a second time. 

He didn’t remember what happened next. Between the pain in his hand, the pain in his back, the pain in practically all of him, and the blood loss, Jake was barely able to cling to consciousness. And even if he could, the muggers had smashed his phone and he was in no condition to get to his feet to find help. What was the point of hanging on only to prolong the inevitable? 

So, Jake Seresin had done something he had never once in his life done before: he gave up.

“Jake? Is that you?” 

There were maybe only two or three voices in the world that could have drawn Jake back from the inky black abyss he was letting himself sink into but Bob Floyd was at the top of that list. 

Forcing open his one good—well, decent—eye, Jake swallowed a few times before he managed to croak out, “B-Bob?”

From the darkness, he saw a shadowy figure walking towards him. As he got closer, Jake swore Bob looked like a goddamn angel as he approached, a soft glowing halo of light outlining his body from the light of the street. And for a moment, Jake wasn’t sure if Bob was really standing there or if this really was an angel coming to ferry him to whatever came next.

Part of him didn’t care. At least he was able to see Bob one last time, real or not. If only he had gotten the chance to tell him the truth about how he felt about him…

When Jake first met Bob, he hadn’t given him more than a cursory glance. And even once Bob began to become a constant presence in their friend group, he still remained little more than set dressing for the evening. He was so quiet and withdrawn that Jake forgot he was there half the time as he blended into the background. But he was Natasha’s roommate who she had been best friends with since their first day of college three years ago, so wherever she went, Bob tended to follow—most of the time seemingly against his will. However, he never complained or objected to the group’s plans so Jake figured he would just continue to ignore him and things would continue like normal.

But all that changed when Javy and Natasha began hooking up late last year. Soon, “Jake and Javy’s Boys Night Extravaganzas” turned into “Jake and Javy plus Natasha and Bob’s Time Together”. And Jake hated every minute of it. 

As soon as they got to a club or popped in a movie at their apartment, Javy and Natasha would be all over each other leaving Jake awkwardly hanging with Bob, neither quite sure what to do. The first few times this happened, Jake either left to find some fun on his own or sat in silence as he scrolled through the apps on his phone. And Bob…Bob would just sit or stand in the same spot with his hands folded in his lap as he tried to stare anywhere but at his best friend going at it with Jake’s best friend. 

Finally, one day when they all went to a bar and Javy and Natasha had already disappeared into the bathrooms, Jake’s phone died. The decision to go out that night had been a spur-of-the-moment one and he hadn’t had time to charge it or grab his power bank from the drawer on the way out. Tossing his phone onto the table with a huff, Jake glanced around the room to see what else could keep him occupied. But, unfortunately, it was early in the night and only a handful of people mulled around the space. So, Jake did the only thing he could think to do: He started a conversation with Bob.

By the end of the night, Jake was captivated by the other man.

It turned out that Bob was nothing like he had assumed. He was sweet and he was smart but, most surprising of all, once he started letting his guard down, he could snap back with barbed comments that could put Jake to shame. And Jake realized that there was so much more depth behind those wire-frame glasses than he ever imagined. When Javy and Nat returned to say they were ready to head out, Jake found he was actually sad to say goodnight to Bob.

Soon, Jake began dropping hints to Javy about inviting Natasha (and by extension, Bob) to hang out more often or to come with them when they went out. He could tell Javy was suspicious of the 180° change in attitude, but since it allowed him to spend time with Natasha without Jake throwing a fit, Javy didn’t question it. Which left Jake free to see Bob pretty much as often as he wanted without making a big deal about it. And as time went on, he found he was developing real feelings for the other man.

Jake had been with his share of men over the years. He might not advertise the fact he was pansexual, but he also didn’t try to hide it. However, he was fairly certain Bob wasn’t interested in men. In fact, Jake sometimes wondered if Bob was interested in anyone.  

Which was why he was so taken aback when Bob suddenly kissed him at the big end of Spring Break party. They had been sitting together by one of the bonfires on the beach. Everyone else had either gone back into the bar or were getting busy in one of the secluded areas just over the dunes leaving the two of them completely alone. Jake turned to ask Bob something when, suddenly, his lips smashed against Jake’s. 

Jake startled slightly at the unexpected kiss. But as soon as the shock wore off, he smiled against Bob’s lips and leaned into him. The kiss was clumsy and a little awkward, but it was exactly the kind of kiss he’d expect from Bob, and that made it feel perfect. Jake raised his hand to wrap around the back of Bob’s neck and draw him in—

Then Javy yelled from behind one of the dunes, asking if Jake had a condom, and the spell was broken. Bob jumped up from his seat, his face a deep red and his eyes like saucers behind his glasses. He tried to stutter out some sort of apology or explanation but before Jake could reassure him it was alright, Bob ran into the bar without another glance in Jake’s direction. 

Ever since then, it felt like Bob had been avoiding him and Jake tried to give him space to figure things out. He just hoped that even if Bob realized he wasn’t interested in him in that way, they could still find a way to be friends—even if Jake desperately wanted them to be more.

But now it didn’t matter. Jake had tried to use the last of his strength as he bled out to tell Bob the truth, but he only managed a few words and a soft caress of Bob’s cheek before he finally succumbed to the darkness. Now, it was all over, he was dead, and he never got the chance to talk to Bob about the kiss or what it meant to either of them. If only—

Jake opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed.

There was a knock at the door, so soft that Jake wasn’t sure he really heard it at first. But when the person knocked again with slightly more force, Jake called out, “Yeah, come in.”

The door creaked open and out of his good eye Jake saw a pair of wire framed glasses peering at him through the crack in the door. Jake’s heart leaped in his chest and he prayed his visitor hadn’t noticed the increased beep of his heart monitor. With a wide closed-lip smile (he was still self-conscious about his missing teeth), he said, “Hey, there’s my hero. I was hoping you’d stop by.”

Pushing the door open a little further, Bob stepped into the room, a backpack thrown over his shoulder. “T-They said you’ve been awake for a few days but were just now allowed visitors. I hope it’s okay—”

“Are you kidding me?” Jake said, cutting him off. “Bobby, you saved my life. If you weren’t around that night, I’d be long dead by now. You can come visit me anytime. Hell, I’ll even give you a key to my fucking apartment if you want and you can have free reign there too. What’s mine is yours.”

A pink hue crept up Bob’s neck. “That’s not necessary. I just wanted to see how you’re feeling.”

“Like shit,” Jake chuckled, trying to brush off the worst of what he was dealing with so as to not upset Bob. “The pain meds are doing wonders though. Now if I can just charm my nurse into upping them slightly, we’d be in business.”

“I would think you’d be good at that. I don’t know many people who can resist your charm.” Bob’s face suddenly paled as he realized what he said and he quickly changed the subject. “They, uh, they weren’t allowed to tell me any details about your condition, doctor-patient confidentiality and all that. But I heard you had to have a few operations?”

Jake shifted in the bed, the smile on his face becoming even more difficult to force as he said, “Uh, yeah. Most of the damage was just stuff that has to heal on its own like bruises, cuts, my swollen eye. Plus, I’m going to have to go to a dentist about my teeth once I’m released. But, um, apparently I had some internal bleeding from the stab wound they had to patch up and, uh, then there’s this.” Jake held up his left hand to reveal the thick gauze wrapping around his hand and the gap between his middle and pinky fingers.

Bob’s face somehow went even whiter as he stared at Jake’s hand. “Oh my god, Jake. I’m so sorry.”

Jake lowered his hand with a shrug. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t your fault, was it? I guess the doctors said when those guys pulled Tyler’s ring off my finger, it caused something called—” Jake paused as he tried to remember the term the surgeon had told him “—ring avulsion? Basically, it severely internally damaged the nerves and bones and stuff to the point there was nothing they could do to save it. So snip, snip, and I guess I’ll have to figure out a new way of doing math since I can’t count to ten anymore.”

Despite Jake’s ill attempt at humor, Bob’s face was still mournful. “Jake, I-I don’t know what to say. I–Will you still be able to play football?”

“They think so,” Jake shrugged. “It’ll take a little bit of practice maybe to get used to it, but at least it wasn’t my right hand. All in all, it could have been a lot worse.” 

Jake swallowed sharply as he felt a lump growing in his throat. He had already discussed all of this with the doctors, his parents, his coaches, and a few of his teammates, including Javy. They had all been supportive and encouraging and Jake had forced his smile then too. However, there was another aspect to losing his finger that he was struggling with yet hadn’t felt comfortable sharing with anyone. 

However, as he looked at Bob, he found the words finally tumbling from his mouth. “I don’t even really care about the finger, you know? I’ve got nine more and it’s not like I lost a thumb or anything really important. But it’s just that much more of a reminder that Ty’s ring’s gone too.”

“I remember you telling me about Tyler and what his ring meant to you.” Bob set his backpack down on the floor. “Jake, I—”

But Jake cut him off. Now that he had finally opened the dam, he couldn’t stop the words from flooding out. “My brother was the best man I’ve ever known, and it’s been almost a decade but I still can’t believe he’s gone. He had all these plans and goals for his future and just like that, they were gone…and so was he.” 

He sniffed and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. “So every day, I try to be the man he never got the chance to be. I know I can never be him and that I let him down a lot but I do try. And that ring was the only thing I had left of Tyler. But now it’s been ripped from me and I…I feel like any connection I still had with him is gone too.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Bob said, his eyes bright behind his glasses. “It’s not gone.”

Jake blinked several times in quick succession. “W-what do you mean?”

Bob reached into his backpack and pulled out a small jewelry box. With a smile that stretched across his entire face, he popped open the box and Jake gasped.

The ring inside was unmistakable. After all, Jake had spent every single day of his adult life staring at the yellow gem set in the center of the gold engraved base as it sat on his finger. 

Tears sprung to Jake’s eyes as he gazed at his most prized possession, the one he never imagined he’d ever see again. His voice caught in his throat, but after a few shuddering breaths, he managed to whisper, “Where did you…?”

“I knew what it meant to you, so I made sure the police knew it was one of the items stolen. Between Javy’s memory and a few pictures we found of you where it was visible, we were able to give them a pretty good idea of what it looked like. Last night, they tracked it at a pawn shop just outside LA and used footage on the security cameras to identify the muggers. They got ‘em, Jake. They got all six of them. ” Bob walked forward until he was right next to Jake and he placed the ring box on the tray in front of him. “And it’s all because of Tyler’s ring. So, see, your brother’s still looking out for you.”

Tears streamed silently down Jake’s face as he stared at the ring. He couldn’t believe he had actually gotten it back. But as much as he loved the sentiment behind Bob’s words and would treasure that thought forever, Jake knew that Tyler wasn’t the reason it was returned, that the muggers were captured, or that Jake was even still alive.

Wrapping his fingers into Bob’s t-shirt, Jake ignored the pain radiating from his stitched-up stab wound and yanked on the material. The other man was caught by surprise and fell to his knees. Before he could catch his bearings, Jake leaned forward and pressed his lips to Bob’s. 

Kissing with three missing teeth was a strange experience, but Jake ignored this new sensation as he tried to make Bob feel comfortable with the kiss. He could feel how tense he was and, for a moment, Jake thought he might have misinterpreted everything between them. But then, Bob began kissing him back. Hesitantly at first, then more forcefully until Jake swore he felt some real heat in the exchange. It was just a glimpse of the Bob he knew hid beneath the shy, quiet outer shell, but the prospect of discovering more of this heated side made Jake’s heart race (a fact that his heart monitor picked up on).

Fearing this excitement may alert his nurses and lead to some unwanted visitors, Jake reluctantly pulled back. Bob’s lips seemed to chase after his for a moment, and Jake smiled.

With his face still hovering in front of Bob’s, he whispered, “I know exactly who saved me that night and got me my ring back. And I’ll never forget it.” 

Releasing Bob’s shirt, Jake winced as he leaned back against his bed. In a more normal tone, he added, “But I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve just been wanting to kiss you again since that night during Spring Break and I thought I’d lost my chance when I was dying in that alley.”

Bob straightened his glasses, his face an adorable shade of pink as he caught his breath. “Wait, you…you wanted to…?”

“‘Course I did. I have for a long time but I wasn’t sure if you were interested in guys or not. Then, you ran off so quickly after the kiss that I thought maybe you had changed your mind or something. If that was the case, I didn’t want to push it. I figured if you were interested, you’d come back eventually.”

“I didn’t think you were interested in guys,” Bob mumbled, his head down and gaze trained on the floor. “You’re always picking up some gorgeous girl at the club—”

“Or guy. Or however they want to identify themselves. I don’t really care. I just like being with people who I have a good time with.” Jake smiled, “And I always have a good time when I’m with you, Bob.”

“Bobby.”

Jake blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Raising his head, Bob stared at Jake. “I-I like it when you call me Bobby.”

A natural, unforced smile spread across Jake’s face and he didn’t even mind it showed off the gaps in his teeth. “Good. I like it too.” He reached over and took Bob’s hand. “So, Bobby, does this mean you have a good time when you’re with me too?”

“Yeah, it does,” Bob muttered. Then, scoffing, he added, “Did you really think I was always volunteering to help you with geometry because I enjoy the Pythagorean theorem that much?”

Jake laughed. “Well…you’re full of surprises so who knows.”

“No, I might be good at it, but I hate geometry. Always have. But it meant getting to spend time with you so it was worth it.” Bob squeezed Jake’s hand gently and gave him a small smile.

“You could have just told me, you know.”

Bob rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I thought Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin— the school’s football quarterback god who is being scouted for the pro leagues and could have anyone he ever wanted—could ever possibly like me back. People like you don’t normally give people like me a second glance, and even when you did, I thought you were just doing it for Nat and Javy’s sake.”

“I admit, I was at first.” Bob’s hand began to slip from his, but Jake held firmly onto it. “However, once I got to know you, I wanted to spend every minute I could with you, even if you never liked me the same way I liked you.”

Bob leaned across the bed, his face only a few inches from Jake’s as he whispered, “And how do you like me, Jake?”

Jake licked his lips, flinching slightly as his tongue dragged across his split bottom lip, and he stared directly into Bob’s big, blue eyes. “I think you know.”

“I’m starting to figure it out.” A small smile flickered on Bob’s lips. “So, what happens now?”

Jake shrugged. “What do you want to happen now?”

“I think…” Bob’s cheeks grew pink again as his eyes dropped to Jake’s lips. But when he looked back up into Jake’s eyes, his gaze was strong and determined. “I think I’d like to kiss you again.”

Leaning forward to close the distance between them, Jake murmured, “Anything for my hero.”

Tag List: @green-socks, @mayhem24-7forever, @blue-aconite, @ohtobeleah, @hederasgarden,

@wildbornsiren, @writercole, @ryebecca, @phoenixhalliwell, @sunshineflowerchild789

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Stay (Part 2)

AI-Less Whumptober 2024: Day 30 Alt Prompt 10.  “If you weren’t around, I’d be long dead by now...” Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick, Hangman, Bob, FloydSin, Jake's POV Summary: Jake thought he died in that alley after he was mugged. But thanks to a special someone, he pulled through. And when Bob brings him a gift more precious than his own life, Jake does what he should have done a long time ago. Word Count: 3575 TW: College AU, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confession, Hospital, Amputation, Language, Hopeful Ending Notes: Thank you to @green-socks for beta reading this for me! For @ailesswhumptober's whumptober event.

Part 1

Jake had fucked up big this time. He had realized that fact a while ago as he shoved his tongue into that random girl’s mouth while they were still in the club, but he ignored that feeling and just tried to shut his mind off for the night. Something just felt off about the way this girl had come on to him and lured him onto the dance floor, but he didn’t question it.

Twenty minutes later as he found himself laying in the back alley broken, bruised, bloody, and fucking stabbed, Jake regretted that decision.

Once he had realized what was happening, he hadn’t even tried fighting back that much. He was outnumbered and it was better to just let the five muggers and the girl he had been flirting with take what they wanted and leave him be. But all that changed the moment one of the men reached for Ty’s ring.

Jake would give them everything else he owned in this world, but they couldn’t take his brother’s ring. He wouldn’t let them. Yet there was little he could do as one of his attackers drove his fist into the fresh stab wound on Jake’s back and Jake collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll. 

At that point, he began to sob. He begged with everything he had left in him for them to leave the ring but it made no difference. One of the men stood on his wrist—his boot crunching the bones and skinning Jake’s palm against the pavement—while another ripped Tyler’s ring off his finger. Jake felt as if his finger had been ripped off, the pain so intense he nearly blacked out. And as he watched his attackers gloat to his buddy and slide the ring onto his own finger, it felt like Jake had lost his brother for a second time. 

He didn’t remember what happened next. Between the pain in his hand, the pain in his back, the pain in practically all of him, and the blood loss, Jake was barely able to cling to consciousness. And even if he could, the muggers had smashed his phone and he was in no condition to get to his feet to find help. What was the point of hanging on only to prolong the inevitable? 

So, Jake Seresin had done something he had never once in his life done before: he gave up.

“Jake? Is that you?” 

There were maybe only two or three voices in the world that could have drawn Jake back from the inky black abyss he was letting himself sink into but Bob Floyd was at the top of that list. 

Forcing open his one good—well, decent—eye, Jake swallowed a few times before he managed to croak out, “B-Bob?”

From the darkness, he saw a shadowy figure walking towards him. As he got closer, Jake swore Bob looked like a goddamn angel as he approached, a soft glowing halo of light outlining his body from the light of the street. And for a moment, Jake wasn’t sure if Bob was really standing there or if this really was an angel coming to ferry him to whatever came next.

Part of him didn’t care. At least he was able to see Bob one last time, real or not. If only he had gotten the chance to tell him the truth about how he felt about him…

When Jake first met Bob, he hadn’t given him more than a cursory glance. And even once Bob began to become a constant presence in their friend group, he still remained little more than set dressing for the evening. He was so quiet and withdrawn that Jake forgot he was there half the time as he blended into the background. But he was Natasha’s roommate who she had been best friends with since their first day of college three years ago, so wherever she went, Bob tended to follow—most of the time seemingly against his will. However, he never complained or objected to the group’s plans so Jake figured he would just continue to ignore him and things would continue like normal.

But all that changed when Javy and Natasha began hooking up late last year. Soon, “Jake and Javy’s Boys Night Extravaganzas” turned into “Jake and Javy plus Natasha and Bob’s Time Together”. And Jake hated every minute of it. 

As soon as they got to a club or popped in a movie at their apartment, Javy and Natasha would be all over each other leaving Jake awkwardly hanging with Bob, neither quite sure what to do. The first few times this happened, Jake either left to find some fun on his own or sat in silence as he scrolled through the apps on his phone. And Bob…Bob would just sit or stand in the same spot with his hands folded in his lap as he tried to stare anywhere but at his best friend going at it with Jake’s best friend. 

Finally, one day when they all went to a bar and Javy and Natasha had already disappeared into the bathrooms, Jake’s phone died. The decision to go out that night had been a spur-of-the-moment one and he hadn’t had time to charge it or grab his power bank from the drawer on the way out. Tossing his phone onto the table with a huff, Jake glanced around the room to see what else could keep him occupied. But, unfortunately, it was early in the night and only a handful of people mulled around the space. So, Jake did the only thing he could think to do: He started a conversation with Bob.

By the end of the night, Jake was captivated by the other man.

It turned out that Bob was nothing like he had assumed. He was sweet and he was smart but, most surprising of all, once he started letting his guard down, he could snap back with barbed comments that could put Jake to shame. And Jake realized that there was so much more depth behind those wire-frame glasses than he ever imagined. When Javy and Nat returned to say they were ready to head out, Jake found he was actually sad to say goodnight to Bob.

Soon, Jake began dropping hints to Javy about inviting Natasha (and by extension, Bob) to hang out more often or to come with them when they went out. He could tell Javy was suspicious of the 180° change in attitude, but since it allowed him to spend time with Natasha without Jake throwing a fit, Javy didn’t question it. Which left Jake free to see Bob pretty much as often as he wanted without making a big deal about it. And as time went on, he found he was developing real feelings for the other man.

Jake had been with his share of men over the years. He might not advertise the fact he was pansexual, but he also didn’t try to hide it. However, he was fairly certain Bob wasn’t interested in men. In fact, Jake sometimes wondered if Bob was interested in anyone.  

Which was why he was so taken aback when Bob suddenly kissed him at the big end of Spring Break party. They had been sitting together by one of the bonfires on the beach. Everyone else had either gone back into the bar or were getting busy in one of the secluded areas just over the dunes leaving the two of them completely alone. Jake turned to ask Bob something when, suddenly, his lips smashed against Jake’s. 

Jake startled slightly at the unexpected kiss. But as soon as the shock wore off, he smiled against Bob’s lips and leaned into him. The kiss was clumsy and a little awkward, but it was exactly the kind of kiss he’d expect from Bob, and that made it feel perfect. Jake raised his hand to wrap around the back of Bob’s neck and draw him in—

Then Javy yelled from behind one of the dunes, asking if Jake had a condom, and the spell was broken. Bob jumped up from his seat, his face a deep red and his eyes like saucers behind his glasses. He tried to stutter out some sort of apology or explanation but before Jake could reassure him it was alright, Bob ran into the bar without another glance in Jake’s direction. 

Ever since then, it felt like Bob had been avoiding him and Jake tried to give him space to figure things out. He just hoped that even if Bob realized he wasn’t interested in him in that way, they could still find a way to be friends—even if Jake desperately wanted them to be more.

But now it didn’t matter. Jake had tried to use the last of his strength as he bled out to tell Bob the truth, but he only managed a few words and a soft caress of Bob’s cheek before he finally succumbed to the darkness. Now, it was all over, he was dead, and he never got the chance to talk to Bob about the kiss or what it meant to either of them. If only—

Jake opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed.

There was a knock at the door, so soft that Jake wasn’t sure he really heard it at first. But when the person knocked again with slightly more force, Jake called out, “Yeah, come in.”

The door creaked open and out of his good eye Jake saw a pair of wire framed glasses peering at him through the crack in the door. Jake’s heart leaped in his chest and he prayed his visitor hadn’t noticed the increased beep of his heart monitor. With a wide closed-lip smile (he was still self-conscious about his missing teeth), he said, “Hey, there’s my hero. I was hoping you’d stop by.”

Pushing the door open a little further, Bob stepped into the room, a backpack thrown over his shoulder. “T-They said you’ve been awake for a few days but were just now allowed visitors. I hope it’s okay—”

“Are you kidding me?” Jake said, cutting him off. “Bobby, you saved my life. If you weren’t around that night, I’d be long dead by now. You can come visit me anytime. Hell, I’ll even give you a key to my fucking apartment if you want and you can have free reign there too. What’s mine is yours.”

A pink hue crept up Bob’s neck. “That’s not necessary. I just wanted to see how you’re feeling.”

“Like shit,” Jake chuckled, trying to brush off the worst of what he was dealing with so as to not upset Bob. “The pain meds are doing wonders though. Now if I can just charm my nurse into upping them slightly, we’d be in business.”

“I would think you’d be good at that. I don’t know many people who can resist your charm.” Bob’s face suddenly paled as he realized what he said and he quickly changed the subject. “They, uh, they weren’t allowed to tell me any details about your condition, doctor-patient confidentiality and all that. But I heard you had to have a few operations?”

Jake shifted in the bed, the smile on his face becoming even more difficult to force as he said, “Uh, yeah. Most of the damage was just stuff that has to heal on its own like bruises, cuts, my swollen eye. Plus, I’m going to have to go to a dentist about my teeth once I’m released. But, um, apparently I had some internal bleeding from the stab wound they had to patch up and, uh, then there’s this.” Jake held up his left hand to reveal the thick gauze wrapping around his hand and the gap between his middle and pinky fingers.

Bob’s face somehow went even whiter as he stared at Jake’s hand. “Oh my god, Jake. I’m so sorry.”

Jake lowered his hand with a shrug. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t your fault, was it? I guess the doctors said when those guys pulled Tyler’s ring off my finger, it caused something called—” Jake paused as he tried to remember the term the surgeon had told him “—ring avulsion? Basically, it severely internally damaged the nerves and bones and stuff to the point there was nothing they could do to save it. So snip, snip, and I guess I’ll have to figure out a new way of doing math since I can’t count to ten anymore.”

Despite Jake’s ill attempt at humor, Bob’s face was still mournful. “Jake, I-I don’t know what to say. I–Will you still be able to play football?”

“They think so,” Jake shrugged. “It’ll take a little bit of practice maybe to get used to it, but at least it wasn’t my right hand. All in all, it could have been a lot worse.” 

Jake swallowed sharply as he felt a lump growing in his throat. He had already discussed all of this with the doctors, his parents, his coaches, and a few of his teammates, including Javy. They had all been supportive and encouraging and Jake had forced his smile then too. However, there was another aspect to losing his finger that he was struggling with yet hadn’t felt comfortable sharing with anyone. 

However, as he looked at Bob, he found the words finally tumbling from his mouth. “I don’t even really care about the finger, you know? I’ve got nine more and it’s not like I lost a thumb or anything really important. But it’s just that much more of a reminder that Ty’s ring’s gone too.”

“I remember you telling me about Tyler and what his ring meant to you.” Bob set his backpack down on the floor. “Jake, I—”

But Jake cut him off. Now that he had finally opened the dam, he couldn’t stop the words from flooding out. “My brother was the best man I’ve ever known, and it’s been almost a decade but I still can’t believe he’s gone. He had all these plans and goals for his future and just like that, they were gone…and so was he.” 

He sniffed and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. “So every day, I try to be the man he never got the chance to be. I know I can never be him and that I let him down a lot but I do try. And that ring was the only thing I had left of Tyler. But now it’s been ripped from me and I…I feel like any connection I still had with him is gone too.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Bob said, his eyes bright behind his glasses. “It’s not gone.”

Jake blinked several times in quick succession. “W-what do you mean?”

Bob reached into his backpack and pulled out a small jewelry box. With a smile that stretched across his entire face, he popped open the box and Jake gasped.

The ring inside was unmistakable. After all, Jake had spent every single day of his adult life staring at the yellow gem set in the center of the gold engraved base as it sat on his finger. 

Tears sprung to Jake’s eyes as he gazed at his most prized possession, the one he never imagined he’d ever see again. His voice caught in his throat, but after a few shuddering breaths, he managed to whisper, “Where did you…?”

“I knew what it meant to you, so I made sure the police knew it was one of the items stolen. Between Javy’s memory and a few pictures we found of you where it was visible, we were able to give them a pretty good idea of what it looked like. Last night, they tracked it at a pawn shop just outside LA and used footage on the security cameras to identify the muggers. They got ‘em, Jake. They got all six of them. ” Bob walked forward until he was right next to Jake and he placed the ring box on the tray in front of him. “And it’s all because of Tyler’s ring. So, see, your brother’s still looking out for you.”

Tears streamed silently down Jake’s face as he stared at the ring. He couldn’t believe he had actually gotten it back. But as much as he loved the sentiment behind Bob’s words and would treasure that thought forever, Jake knew that Tyler wasn’t the reason it was returned, that the muggers were captured, or that Jake was even still alive.

Wrapping his fingers into Bob’s t-shirt, Jake ignored the pain radiating from his stitched-up stab wound and yanked on the material. The other man was caught by surprise and fell to his knees. Before he could catch his bearings, Jake leaned forward and pressed his lips to Bob’s. 

Kissing with three missing teeth was a strange experience, but Jake ignored this new sensation as he tried to make Bob feel comfortable with the kiss. He could feel how tense he was and, for a moment, Jake thought he might have misinterpreted everything between them. But then, Bob began kissing him back. Hesitantly at first, then more forcefully until Jake swore he felt some real heat in the exchange. It was just a glimpse of the Bob he knew hid beneath the shy, quiet outer shell, but the prospect of discovering more of this heated side made Jake’s heart race (a fact that his heart monitor picked up on).

Fearing this excitement may alert his nurses and lead to some unwanted visitors, Jake reluctantly pulled back. Bob’s lips seemed to chase after his for a moment, and Jake smiled.

With his face still hovering in front of Bob’s, he whispered, “I know exactly who saved me that night and got me my ring back. And I’ll never forget it.” 

Releasing Bob’s shirt, Jake winced as he leaned back against his bed. In a more normal tone, he added, “But I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve just been wanting to kiss you again since that night during Spring Break and I thought I’d lost my chance when I was dying in that alley.”

Bob straightened his glasses, his face an adorable shade of pink as he caught his breath. “Wait, you…you wanted to…?”

“‘Course I did. I have for a long time but I wasn’t sure if you were interested in guys or not. Then, you ran off so quickly after the kiss that I thought maybe you had changed your mind or something. If that was the case, I didn’t want to push it. I figured if you were interested, you’d come back eventually.”

“I didn’t think you were interested in guys,” Bob mumbled, his head down and gaze trained on the floor. “You’re always picking up some gorgeous girl at the club—”

“Or guy. Or however they want to identify themselves. I don’t really care. I just like being with people who I have a good time with.” Jake smiled, “And I always have a good time when I’m with you, Bob.”

“Bobby.”

Jake blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Raising his head, Bob stared at Jake. “I-I like it when you call me Bobby.”

A natural, unforced smile spread across Jake’s face and he didn’t even mind it showed off the gaps in his teeth. “Good. I like it too.” He reached over and took Bob’s hand. “So, Bobby, does this mean you have a good time when you’re with me too?”

“Yeah, it does,” Bob muttered. Then, scoffing, he added, “Did you really think I was always volunteering to help you with geometry because I enjoy the Pythagorean theorem that much?”

Jake laughed. “Well…you’re full of surprises so who knows.”

“No, I might be good at it, but I hate geometry. Always have. But it meant getting to spend time with you so it was worth it.” Bob squeezed Jake’s hand gently and gave him a small smile.

“You could have just told me, you know.”

Bob rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I thought Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin— the school’s football quarterback god who is being scouted for the pro leagues and could have anyone he ever wanted—could ever possibly like me back. People like you don’t normally give people like me a second glance, and even when you did, I thought you were just doing it for Nat and Javy’s sake.”

“I admit, I was at first.” Bob’s hand began to slip from his, but Jake held firmly onto it. “However, once I got to know you, I wanted to spend every minute I could with you, even if you never liked me the same way I liked you.”

Bob leaned across the bed, his face only a few inches from Jake’s as he whispered, “And how do you like me, Jake?”

Jake licked his lips, flinching slightly as his tongue dragged across his split bottom lip, and he stared directly into Bob’s big, blue eyes. “I think you know.”

“I’m starting to figure it out.” A small smile flickered on Bob’s lips. “So, what happens now?”

Jake shrugged. “What do you want to happen now?”

“I think…” Bob’s cheeks grew pink again as his eyes dropped to Jake’s lips. But when he looked back up into Jake’s eyes, his gaze was strong and determined. “I think I’d like to kiss you again.”

Leaning forward to close the distance between them, Jake murmured, “Anything for my hero.”

[ponzien]

- Home to you

Summary: Spencer expresses his concerns about how late reader works, she reassures him the next night

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Badass!fem!reader

Category: Pure fluff

Spencer Reid

That same exact nightmare for the 7th time in a row. They used to come and go and now they’re here. I felt myself crying, warm tears streaming down my cheek in fear of loosing her just like Maeve.

Suddenly I see her, gorgeous figure still in the doorway upon seeing my tears. “Oh..hi” I said awkwardly while wiping my tears. “Babe are you okay ?” She asked in panic, putting down the tray of food and wiping my tears.

“I’m fine” I say bluntly. I’m not fine. “But you’re not…is something the matters you can tell me anything” she cooed in an almost motherly tone. It was warm and soft. Instinctively, I leaned onto her, nuzzling into her neck. Y/N grabbed my waist, her gorgeous hair tickling my neck.

Her gentle gaze on me felt equal to the rays of sun on a spring morning. My saving grace. “Let’s eat, you’re probably hungry.” She smiled. “Can I be honest?” I asked, looking up at her through wet lashes. “Of course hun, anything” Y/N kissed my forehead. “I’m scared…” I said with a crack.

“Scared of what?” She hummed. “Scared that something will happen to you..what would I do without you..?” I began to cry again. “Oh Spencer… you have nothing to worry about.”

“But you work so late and walk the streets alone…” I insisted, watching her soft and swift movements. She’s a fragile looking woman. “I have to go to work but I promise you nothing bad will happen to me my love” She kissed my lips and walked out, leaving me with my thoughts in the empty room.

___

That same night I felt a slam against the door. I rushed to open it and saw a bloody Y/N. Fearfully I took her inside and saw her panting. I checked her pulse which was normal…weird? “Thanks I couldn’t find my keys” She panted. “Are You okay?!” I cried. “Yeah, this blood isn’t mine” she shook her head.

“What?! Did you…” I raised a brow. “No I almost got mugged, but I took Karate for 7 years and Boxing for 12, that’s why I told you not to worry about me” she laughed. “Are they…alive?” I asked. “Oh yeah just knocked out I called the cops on those suckers to prevent misunderstanding”

“Are You alright?” I asked again. “Just a Little shaken but it’s fine.” Y/N kissed me. I hugged her tightly with a huge smile, not wanting to imagine what it could’ve been.

“I’d fight a bear to come home to you remember that Spencer Reid”

[morimementa]

Day 3 of making a soft SoapGhost post for every untagged M/C/D I come across:

Soap surprising Ghost on his birthday with a positive pregnancy test and a note that says, "Looks like we got ourselves a win LT!"

That night they fall asleep spooning, Ghost's hands resting protectively over Soap's belly.

[stimboardofatourneykid]

“That's a perfect solution!”

A stimboard of Clover from III for @l0ser-nicolaz !

🍀-🍀-🍀

🦋- x - 🦋

🍀-🍀-🍀

[faithinlouisfuture]

the Live From Fest’s stories are an ode to Louis today (x)