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boldlyvoid · 1 year

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Employee of the Month 2: Stocking Stuffers

Eddie Munson x Fem Reader | Part One

Summary: Christmas is the season for Giving

Warnings: food mention, appearances from eddies friends, teasing, kissing, lots of fluff, meeting the family, gift exchanges, Eddie's scars, the truth about Hawkins + the upside down, love confessions, oral sex (m+f), hand jobs, squinting, cum play, first times, Protected p in v sex

word count: 13.9k

Eddie makes her breakfast the next morning, with Wayne trying to sleep on the couch in the living room, thinking he has no idea that Y/N slept over last night… it’s not like her coat and her shoes are by the door or anything.

They eat quietly in his room, they haven’t talked about what happened last night or the fact that they’re dating now… she quietly eats with a confused look on her face like she’s thinking really hard, it’s cute.

He stares at her with a smile, “what’s on your mind, princess?”

“Huh?” She looks up at him finally, wiping away any trace of what she was thinking about. “Oh, I just… I can’t believe this is real and I’m not dreaming right now like I actually slept over last night. You actually like me, that actually happened last night…”

“You’re a big girl now,” he teases first. “No, but really, I feel the same, it happened really fast.”

She nods, fighting a smile as she remembers it fondly, “but it was nice…”

“Waynes out there,” he whispers, pointing through the wall, “you can’t get all horny on me when he’s here, I have to behave.”

“Shut up,” she smacks his knee lightly. “I am not getting all horny on you I was just saying, it was fun and I would like to do it again sometime… with my boyfriend.”

“We work together again tonight, and tomorrow,” he reminds her. “And if you don’t have anything to do on Monday, you’re more than welcome to stay every night, so we can, you know…”

“You can stay with me on Sunday night?” She suggests, knowing Monday was Christmas eve and her mom wouldn’t let her miss it. Not since her dad died. “And we could spend Christmas together if you wanted? I think my mom would actually love to have you at the table too.”

He nods, “I’d love to, I think Waynes working nights but he’d be able to come to dinner before work?”

“I’ll talk to my mom about it,” she fills with glee. “You know, I wasn’t going to say anything but I’ve been working on a Christmas present for you and I’m even more excited to give it to you now.”

“Thank god,” he feels a wave of relief wash over him. “Cause I got you something too and I didn’t want it to be weird if you didn’t get me anything, I was freaking out a bit about it.”

“Really?” She can’t believe it. “You didn’t have to do that?”

“You didn’t have to get me anything either, but’cha did,” he reminds her, giving her the biggest heart eyes ever. He’s so gone for her it’s a little dramatic how much his heart aches for her when she’s right there in front of him.

She returns to her plate with a big smile, stabbing her fork into the scrambled eggs with a shake of her head and then she points it at him, “you’ve gotta stop being so cute before I jump on you again.”

He drops it there, they finish their food and he brings them all back to the kitchen carefully. The two of them get dressed again, he brings her coat and boots over to the other door by his room, not wanting to disrupt Wayne at all. He bundles up and heads out to start the van about 5 minutes before she’s ready to go, making sure it’s nice and warm when she gets inside. He holds her hand on the ride back to her place, he walks her to her door and kisses her with the promise of being back at a quarter to 8 for work.

And then he’s alone again.

The pressure of it all shows up when he’s pulling out of her neighbourhood. So he doesn’t turn back towards the trailer park, instead, he heads downtown. He pulls right up beside Steve’s Beemer at the video store and heads inside with a feeling he can’t shake off.

“Hey, stranger,” Robin lights right up, she was home for the holidays and working with her one best friend, surprised to see another already. “What are you doing up so early?”

“It’s noon?” He laughs, “but uh, I had to drop my girlfriend off at her place before work.”

“Girlfriend!?” She lights right up, “the girl you like from the grocery store, right?”

He nods, “yeah, she uh, she came over when I was sick last week and made me some soup and read to me and tucked me in and I was like, I’m so stupid she clearly likes me too so I kissed her yesterday and now she’s my girlfriend.”

“Wow,” she leans on the counter with her head in her hands, “Steve! Are you hearing this?” She calls over to him in the back room.

“What?” He pops his head out to see Eddie, “oh, hey!”

“Y/N’s his girlfriend now,” Robin points at him with a smile, more of a shit-eating grin, really. They’ve been keeping a bet on when it would happen. “You owe me 20 bucks.”

“Come on, you couldn’t have waited till after Christmas?” Steve complains, happy for him, but out $20.

He shrugs, “sorry man, she wanted me sooo bad, I couldn’t say no to her.”

“Shut up,” Steve can tell he’s exaggerating. “How did you find a girlfriend before me?”

“Charm, raw sex appeal, pure luck,” Robin uses it as an opportunity to bully Steve, “it’s not his fault you lack those things.”

“Fuck you both,” he slaps $20 on the counter and heads back towards the stock room.

“Wait, I needed to talk to you, specifically,” Eddie calls after him, following him towards the back room. “I have a question that only you would understand…”

“Okay,” Steve seems concerned but he holds the door open and lets Eddie into the staff-only room full of VHS cases. “What’s up?”

“Have you… I mean, has anyone seen— ugh this is so weird man, I’m sorry,” he leans against the table back there with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. “Fuck. Okay, the scars… has anyone seen your scars, you know, when you’re… intimate with them?”

Steve nods, “yeah, I’ve been taking good care of them now so they’re not too bad and when they ask about it I just lie and say it’s road burn from a motorcycle crash and they buy it.”

“How do you take care of them?” He genuinely didn’t know there was a way.

“I learned from this one girl that bio oil helps with stretch marks and lightens them so I tried it and look,” Steve pulls his shirt up and moves his vest out of the way. The scars aren’t as red as Eddie’s, they’re almost the same fleshy pink as the rest of him. “You want some, you can have the rest of my bottle, I think this is as light as they’re getting for me.”

“If you don’t mind?” He genuinely wanted to try anything that would make them a little less visible. “I just don’t know how to explain to her why I have these.”

“Have you considered the truth?”

He shakes his head, “her dad died in the earthquake. How do I tell her we almost stopped it from happening but missed it by a few seconds and now her dad is dead?”

“We can give her someone to be mad at, tell her we killed Vecna, we made sure it’ll never happen again,” Steve knows that’s not much, but it’s something. “If you want, we can all help tell her? Nancy’s home as of tonight and staying here all week, or you know what? Bring Y/N to our Christmas party on Monday and we can tell her then… unless you want to wait till you’re more serious?”

“We’re pretty serious,” he can’t help but blush.

“Wait, you’ve fucked but she hasn’t seen you shirtless?” Steve can read Eddie’s face better than anyone. “How?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Eddie bites his lip, keeping his secrets to himself. “But we didn’t have sex, we just, you know…”

“I don’t,” Steve crosses his arms, playfully. “Explain it to me, pretend I’m an idiot—

“I don’t have to pretend.”

Steve points at him with a glare, “hey.”

“What?” Eddie laughs it off, enjoying how easy it was to bug Steve. “We kissed and did stuff, you don’t need to know anything else.”

“Fine,” Steve gives in. “I’m glad you’re happy though, man, you’re like glowing right now.”

He nods, smiling away, unable to disagree. “I can’t believe I got her… it’s fuckin’ nuts how happy she makes me.”

—

She has the house to herself until her mom gets home, which means she spends a decent amount of time in the shower without anyone telling her that she can’t. She packs a little overnight bag to bring to Eddie’s tonight, she gets all dolled up too and just in time for her mom to get home.

She’s looking in the mirror, making herself all pretty when her mom comes and stands in the doorway, leaning on the frame with a smile. “You didn’t come home last night…”

“I did not,” she turns slowly, afraid to get told off for some reason… her mom wasn’t very confrontational at all.

“Can you just tell me next time? I woke up in a bit of a panic when you weren’t in here but I figured you’d be with Eddie,” she says it without saying it. “I just want to know you’re safe.”

“I’m probably going over to his trailer again tonight, but tomorrow I want him to stay here… if that’s okay? I just figured that with Christmas coming that you’d want me here on Christmas Eve,” she explains her thinking all in one go. “Is that okay?”

She nods, “I don’t see why not. Does he have anyone to spend Christmas with?”

She shakes her head, “I’m pretty sure he’s Jewish on his uncle's side, but he said he’d like to spend Christmas with us and, his uncle works night shifts but he’d be able to come to dinner too if we have the space? He’d never turn down a good meal.”

“Yeah, I bought a big turkey last week thinking we’d have a bunch of leftovers, so it’s definitely big enough for 4,” her mom explains with a smile, happy to have guests again. “Give them the invite for me, tell them dinner is at 5:30 on Tuesday.”

“I will,” she can’t contain her excitement so she just beams a powerful smile at her. “He’s kinda my boyfriend now too…”

“Yeah?” She smiles right back, proud of her. “Well, I can’t wait to get to know him.”

“He’s really awkward at first, but he’s funny and he’s nice and just the cutest man on the planet, it’s literally not fair how cute he is,” she gets a little carried away on that.

“Yeah well, just try to behave yourself when he’s here… and be safe?” She had the talk with her in grade 6, she’s known about safe sex for years, doesn’t mean mom can’t bring it back up. “You’ve got condoms, right?”

She nods, slightly embarrassed but she knew her mom meant well. “I bought some for his stocking… that’s what I got him for Christmas, a bunch of things I thought he’d like or would make him laugh.”

“That’s cute,” she smiles, remembering how she did that for Y/N’s father. She backs up from the doorway and taps the frame lightly, “well, I’m going to make dinner, should I be expecting anyone?”

She shakes her head, “no, he’s coming to get me for work, though.”

“Sounds good.”

And then she’s gone.

It leaves her feeling a little more anxious than before. She has spent a lot of time thinking about the day she’d finally get to have sex with another person, and after last night it’s never felt realer. It’s mildly terrifying to think about. He was going to see her naked, he was going to stretch her open and slip inside of her and she was going to feel how hot and heavy he is as he fucks her and…

She has to take a deep breath and calm herself down, turned on and anxious at the same time now.

She’s so into him, she has been for so long. She's thought about him while getting off, she’s had dreams about a life with him, he’s been a constant in her fantasies and now it was going to become her reality.

—

Work is excruciatingly slow now that they’re dating.

He’s so handsy, he has to touch her every time he passes by, he kisses her cheek randomly, he comes up behind her to help her and rests his chin on her shoulder to watch what she’s doing and hold her in a weird hug around the middle. She wants to get her work done, the sooner they finish the quicker they can get out of there but he’s just happy being in her presence. He’s so happy with her.

He’s on the other side of the aisle, humming along to the songs on the speakers, shoving boxes of cereal into the shelves without a real care in the world, too caught up in the songs. “Don’t take my heart, don’t break my heart, don’t, don’t throw it away,” his voice drops to mimic the song, making her smile over at him.

He reaches back to the palette of boxes in the centre of the aisle, pretending to drum and then he points at her, “And this is my four-leaf clover! I’m on the line, one open mind, this is my…” he makes his way to her, taking her hand to dance like an old 50s couple and cradling the back of her head as he brings her closer. “Four leaf clover,” he finishes the words before he kisses her head and she settles there.

They sway along to the beat, his jaw pressed to her temple, holding her close to his heart, she feels so incredibly loved by him it was insane. She gives his hand and his side a little squeeze before pulling away with a smile, “that was nice, but stop being so cute, I have things to do.”

“Yeah, me,” he teases, letting her go.

She smacks his arm and pulls away completely, turning back to the shelf to fiddle with the boxes there, nervous to say this but she can’t stop the words from coming out, “maybe if you’re good you can have me for Christmas, you know, on top of your present…”

He leans on the shelf and crowds her space, keeping his voice down and just between them, “you know there’s no rush, right? I know I was kind of a horn-dog last night, but seriously don’t rush. I’ve waited 22 years, I can wait 22 more if I need to.”

“Well personally, I’m tired of waiting,” she presses her lips together awkwardly, admitting that to him felt embarrassing. “I would’ve done it last night if we took 5 minutes to pull apart and get undressed, honestly.”

He’s mighty surprised by that, speechlessly so.

“I’m not kidding,” she manages to laugh at how frozen he is. She pokes his cheeks a few times to bring him back and almost jumps out of her skin when he goes to bite her finger off.

He wraps her up and kisses her all over her neck and under her ear, making her laugh harder as she tries to push away from him. When she finally does pull away enough to look at him, he’s so smiley he’s blushing, “you’re everything, Y/N Y/L/N. Absolutely everything to me.”

She could melt staring into his eyes like this, she’s filled with so much love for him she could burst into a billion pieces of heart-shaped confetti… “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that to me. Too long.”

“Just wait till I feel like I’m allowed to start telling you that I love you,” he teases, letting her know he feels it, but there’s also no rush there.

Little does he know she loves him back already.

—

Back at his trailer, she’s a lot less anxious this time as she takes off her boots and hangs up their coats. Within seconds she’s, once again, all over him. Hands-on each other's cheeks, holding themselves in a heated kiss as the two of them bump into everything on the way to his bedroom.

Knocking things to the floor with a mumbled, “I’ll get that later,” from Eddie against her lips. She laughs against him, kissing his teeth as he smiles back, completely in love with her.

They tumble into his bed in a sea of laughter, he lands on her and knocks some of the wind out of her, making her laugh come out funny and then they laugh harder. He rolls off her, the two of them on their backs with their legs still dangling off the edge of the bed, cackling towards the ceiling. The room is pitch black except for the light beaming in from the hallway, causing an orange rectangle to light up his dresser and illuminates his guitar where she hangs on the wall.

His room is so dark that the old glow-in-the-dark stars still kinda work, as their laughter dies down, she can’t help but smile up at them. She reaches out to hold his hand between them and turns to him, “I haven’t laughed that hard in forever.”

“Me either,” he finally stops giggling with a sigh, unable to stop smiling either to the point that both their faces hurt.

She gets up and sits on her knees, he sits up against the headboard, he reaches over to his side table and flicks on the lamp, making the whole room glow again.

“What did you want to do tonight?” She asks, “like… make out? Watch a movie? Read?”

“All 3 sound amazing,” he reaches out for her, guiding her right back into his lap like she belongs there forever now. It’s her seat. “You pick, I’m just—

“Just happy to be with you,” she rolls her eyes playfully.

“I am!” He tickles her sides, making her grab his wrists while squealing, trying to pull him away but he’s too strong for her.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” she gives in, wanting to be able to breathe again.

He wraps his arms around her, pulling her in close, her chest heaves as she tries to settle in her own skin again. She wasn’t really that ticklish, it was the way his fingers dug into her sides that got her all squeamish. He kisses her neck again, just under her ear, “this is all I’ve wanted for years…”

“Me too,” she settles against him, arms resting on his shoulders once more, she runs her fingers through his hair. “I have wanted this with you since I was a freshman, so like since I was 14… I saw you in the cafeteria with your curly hair and your charming smile and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

“Why didn’t you come talk to me?” he begs for the past to change.

She shrugs and pulls away, sitting up in his lap she drags her hands down his chest and plays with his shirt slightly, “didn’t think we had much to talk about, I just liked to look at you.”

“Look at us now,” he places his hand under her chin to bring her eyes back to his. “We can’t stop talking to each other.”

“Or touching each other,” she smirks. “I think this was how it was supposed to work out though, we have a lot more in common now.”

“The grocery store, being virgins…” he teases, counting on his fingers but not finding many things.

“Dead dads,” she bites her lip, knowing that was a dark joke but it felt a little too dark. But he laughs. Thank god he laughs.

“Okay so 3 things,” he teases.

“And I know you love to sing and you like metal and rock music and you play dungeons and dragons and have a band, but I don’t know about Wayne until last week and I don’t know your middle name or anything personal really,” she worries. “What if we get to know each other and it doesn’t work out?”

“What if we find new things to love together and have the best relationship that’s ever happened on earth?” He proposes the opposite of her worry, “what if we could be the happiest people on earth together?”

“I’d like to try that,” she muses, brushing his hair off his face, she leans in for a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I’ve gotta tell you some things first before you decide if you want me,” he whispers against her lips. “I’m sure you’ve got questions about everything that happened here.”

“It didn’t happen here, this is a new trailer, right?” She worries. It’s not like she believes in ghosts or anything but the idea of Chrissy Cunningham's spirit lingering made all the hair on her body stands up.

“Yeah it’s new, but, I mean, the truth about if I did it or not,” he explains with a sigh. “I didn’t, I think you know that or else you wouldn’t talk to me…”

“I never thought you did it,” she assures him, petting his hair gently, soothing him as he talks. He stares back at her with sad doe eyes, “really, I mean it. I knew you’d never be able to hurt anyone.”

“I want to tell you everything, but I don’t know it all from the beginning,” he admits. “Steve offered to help me explain it to you, they’re going to have a little Christmas thing Monday night that we’re invited to, and Nancy can probably explain it all the best.”

“Like, Harrington and Wheeler?” She’s surprised he still talks to them of all people in Hawkins. “Since when do you know them?”

“Since they tracked me down and told me they knew what really killed Chrissy, and it was the same thing that killed Barbra Holland and took Will Byers in ’83,” he explains slightly. “The lab in town made a monster and a superhero and their battle ripped the town in half.”

“So it was all connected,” she thought so, the murders were way too close to the earthquake. And as much as she didn’t want to believe the bible thumpers, it made sense that it was a series of sacrifices that caused the earth to fall inward towards hell.

Still, it wasn’t eddies fault.

He nods, “and worst of all, there’s this alternate version of Hawkins called the upside down thats like all grey and creepy and full of monsters… and I was down there for a few days. With Steve and Nancy, and Robin… and poor Dustin. I uh, I’ve gotta show you something, so you’re going to have to get off of me for a sec.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” she’s anxious to know what happened, she backs right off of him and sits on his bed with her legs crossed, watching him get up and stand.

He turns to face the bed, reaching for the hem of his shirt with a sigh, “I knew they needed more time to kill Vecna, I knew something was wrong and the whole system down there is like a hive-mind— if I hurt something attached to him, then it would give the other team some advantage… so I took off running, I got the attention of these bat things and I was going to fight them. Like an idiot.”

She covers her mouth with both her hands, scared to hear what happened to him and terrified that this is actually real. Monsters are real. And in Hawkins.

He pulls up his shirt slowly at first and then all at once, he pulls it off and tosses it to the floor without even looking at her. He can’t. She gasps, reaching out to touch it but she doesn’t, her fingers just hover, “oh my god, Eddie…”

“They kinda got me instead,” he gestures down. “It was bad… I almost died.”

She finally touches the deep pink skin on the side of his belly button. The scar tissue is velvety smooth but she can feel all the bumps and dimples of missing flesh that would never regenerate right. He’s missing his nipple, a huge chunk of his breast around to his back and there are about 4 other decent-sized patches of missing skin across his broad chest. He’s sucking in a sharp breath as she explores, letting her touch even though she’s so cold compared to him, it’s excruciating.

“Your fingers are like fuckin ice,” he finally takes both her hands in his and brings them up to his mouth to blow hot air into her palms.

“Sorry,” she manages to give him a small smile. “How bad did it hurt?”

“When it happened or after?”

“God,” she grimaces at the idea of either, taking both her hands back and placing them on his bare shoulders. “Do I even want to know?”

“I was full of adrenaline when it was happening so I don’t fully remember it all, I passed out pretty quick… and the morphine at the hospital was superb,” he’s able to joke, kissing his fingers like a chef would. “I still get these sharp shooting pains, like phantom bites, so if I ever twitch or jolt under you at night thats why.”

“Okay,” she pulls him closer to the edge of the bed and softly kisses the scar on his neck, it’s big enough to require two kisses to get it all.

Trailing her hands down his arms, she leans down and covers the next scar in kisses, then the one on the middle of his chest. Right over his heart which he hopes she can’t feel beating faster than ever before. She cups his sides, gently rubbing her thumb over the scar under his breast, she kisses where the nipple should be and the other surface area of the scar.

“I hope you know I think you’re handsome and very brave,” she mumbles against his skin, on her way to kiss the mark above his belly button.

He cradles her head in his hands, tilting her head up to look at him, “I love you.”

She straightens right up, almost at eye level with him, full of awe, “really?”

His eyes are full of tears, he’s never felt so loved in his life before. He nods softly, “thank you… you don’t know how much it means to me that you’re okay with all this.”

“I love you, too,” she cups his face in her hands. “So, so much.”

“Yeah?” He wraps his arms around her waist, holding her flush against himself. She nods, “yeah,” she responds with a cheeky smile. “Alright then,” he picks her up and tackles her right into the bed, kissing all over her face as soon as her head hits the pillow.

She’s a giggling mess, like always, she brushes his hair off his face as he hovers over her. She pulls him down for a kiss, breathing him in deeply, she wraps her legs around him and traps him there. He kisses her again and again, and again, breaking away to kiss her neck and shoulder, over her shirt.

“You can take it off,” she assures, reaching for the hem she leans forward, he pulls back and helps her pull the shirt off completely, leaving her under him in her bra.

“Wow,” he’s taken aback by the view before him, he lightly trails his hand from her shoulder down her arm, over her tummy and then up to cup her bra. His thumb glides over the cup, feeling her nipple harden behind the padding. He licks his lips, “you’re so beautiful, Y/N.”

“So are you,” she whispers up at him. With a hand at the back of his neck, she pulls him back in for another kiss.

He can’t help but smile against her lips, he steals a few more kisses and pulls away, he hovers over her and cups her face in his hands, “do you want to go a little further tonight?”

She nods, “yeah… anything on your mind?”

“Can I try and eat you out?” He asks, “I want to feel you cum on my tongue this time…”

“Please?” She melts under him, eyes almost rolling into the back of her head at the mere thought of him doing that… “oh, I want you so bad, Eddie.”

“Yeah?” He smirks, slithering down between her legs and playing with the hem of her pants. “Lift, princess.”

She does just as she’s told, and he takes her pants off first. He traces his fingers down the insides of her thighs, spreading her legs apart to display the wet patch on her cute little panties. He leans in for what she expects to be a kiss over the fabric, but instead, he presses his nose against the damp patch and breathes her in with a groan before dragging his tongue over it. “You have no idea how fucking hot you are, do you?”

“Show me?” She begs, lifting her hips again, giving him permission to peel her panties off. He slips them down her legs and off completely, he grips them in his hands and brings them to his face again, taking one last sniff before he tosses them to the floor.

She spread her legs automatically, over-eager for him to please her and not at all scared of him seeing her naked… she had a feeling no matter what she thought of herself, he was going to love and admire her pussy beyond any expectation she could have.

His shoulders drop and all the air leaves his lungs when he finally sees her, beautiful and wet and on display just for him. “Sweet Jesus…”

Without skipping a beat he flattens his tongue against her spread pussy and laps up all the evidence of just how horny he makes her. It's better than anything she has ever imagined, he sucks at her clit in just the most perfect way before flicking it back and forth with his tongue.

He runs his pointer finger over her hole, circling it gently before slipping the digit inside, pumping in and out of her as he keeps repeating the same movements on her clit. The backs of her knees start to sweat and that all too familiar heat starts to bubble in her gut and spread throughout her body, making her feel like she’s floating.

“Add a second and curl it up, fuck,” she had to take a breather as he listened, pumping into her without a single issue as he found her g spot.

“Oh, right there, Eddie, baby,” she runs her fingers through his hair and grips it tightly, her back arches with a moan, he feels so good everywhere.

His breath is hot against her clit as he takes a moment to smile up at her, proud of himself, “tell me when you’re close, pretty girl, I wanna watch it happen.”

“Okay, fuck,” she moans, pushing his face back into her cunt.

Her free hand comes up to grip her own breast, playing with the nipple between her two fingers for just a little bit more pleasure. Her legs start to tremble, “right there, oh my god, oh my god?”

His big brown eyes flick up to her, he flicks at her clit with his tongue and fucks into her with his fingers, again and again, watching her orgasm build and wash over her in a wave. She trembles, back arching, he has to hold her hips down with both hands but thats fine, he replaces his fingers with his tongue. The wet heat of his tongue inside her and his nose nudging against her clit still as she rides out her orgasm, push her into overstimulation.

“Fuck, fuck, Eddie,” she scrambles to push him away, but he holds her there, tongue fucking her deeply to ensure he gets all her cum.

He licks her clean and pulls away with a smile, face glistening, lips swollen, “good?”

“Fuck yeah,” she reaches forward as she sits up, pulling him in to straddle her hips so she can reach his bet buckle.

“What are you doing?” He asks, curious but his eyes look more cautious.

“It’s your turn?” She hesitates, making sure she’s not going to far. “Can I jerk you off?”

He laughs, shocked that she’d want to so badly, “yeah, yeah, absolutely.”

She tugs his jeans down as far as she can get them, and they stop mid-thigh, exposing his hard cock in his boxers. She runs her hand over the bulge, making him hiss, no one’s touched him before either. She felt unbelievably lucky to be the first person to ever peel back Eddie Munson's boxers and take his thick cock in their hands.

“Wow,” she says, breathless as she strokes her hand from base to tip, using her thumb to trail along the vein under his cock. She strokes him gently with one hand, still balancing on her other forearm, it’s slightly uncomfortable.

He can tell she rather be using both hands, “sit up,” he instructs. He helps her up against the pillows better and gets off her so he can slip out of his jeans.

He re-straddles her hips, and she trails her hands over his thighs, scratching her nails over his bare hips while his cock twitches there in front of her. She grips his cock at the base and slips down the pillows a bit, now at the perfect level to take him in her mouth.

She runs her tongue along the underside of his cock, she can feel the vein working overtime, he’s so fucking hard for her. She takes the head in her mouth, teasing the tip with her tongue, and she strokes the rest of him. His hands are in her hair, his eyes are closed, and his thighs tremble as he tries to keep himself upwards but she feels too good.

“I’m gonna cum,” he warns her, letting her pull away if she wanted to.

She pops off his cock with a smile, jerking him off a bit faster with ease from the added saliva. He moans, he sounds so fucking beautiful, his hips sputter and his cock twitches again and again as he releases all over her neck and chest.

“Oh, fuck,” he shutters, his cum is so hot on her skin, leaking down her chest and between her boobs, he watches the whole thing, stunned and fucked out at the same time.

She giggles amazed that he could get so lost in her touch and cum like that, it was hot and amazing and filled her with pride. She did that.

He crawls off of her, reaching for tissues on his nightstand to clean her up before he ruined her bra. “Sorry, I’m just gonna,” he says as he parts her boobs and wipes the cum off. “God, sorry there’s so much.”

“It’s fine,” she continues to laugh, “You’re so hot when you cum.”

“You’re one to talk,” he scoffs, “I would like to live between your thighs, babe.”

“Thats fine by me,” she sighs as she rests back against the pillows. “I can’t believe I waited so long to experience that.”

He tosses out the tissue once she’s clean and climbs into bed beside her, she cuddles into his chest and kisses the side of his neck. “I still love you…”

“I love you more,” he says it to one-up her, but also because he loves her more now than the last time he said it. He had a feeling it would keep doubling as the moments with her went on. His love for her was going to be never-ending.

—

They wake up in the afternoon, they have lunch together in town and when she gets back to his trailer, she talks to Wayne about Christmas because Eddie had somehow forgotten by the time he got back from her place on Saturday…

“Now, you’re sure your mom is okay with the two of us intruding?” He asks again, “this isn’t just you two wanting us to bond right, she knows you’re asking me over?”

“Yes Wayne,” she places her hand on his arm with a smile. “She’s very excited to have a full house for Christmas again.”

“Is there anything I need to bring? Should I get her a gift as a thank you?” Wayne asks, just as giving and considerate as his nephew.

“No, just come with room for a big supper, she’s making a huge turkey,” Y/N teases. “But you know, she’d never turn down a bottle of wine…”

“Noted,” Wayne nods in agreement, “it’s the least I can do as a thank you, I haven’t had a homemade Christmas dinner in years.”

Something in the conversation also reminds Eddie that he has to wrap his friend's gifts for their party the next night.

“Do you know how to wrap things nicely?” He ponders aloud, making Wayne smile at him, he knew that was his way of asking for help.

“Yeah, what do you need help with?” She asks, following him back to his room ready to help.

He makes her close her eyes while he digs all the presents out of his closet and makes sure none of the ones he got for her are in the pile. He places them all on the bed along with some wrapping paper and tape, and finally says she can open her eyes again.

There are so many things in front of her, he’s been collecting gifts for a while clearly. And clearest of all, he loved his friends more than she could ever imagine.

“Wow, okay, what first?”

“Well,” he starts to arrange things into piles, “these are for Dustin, that’s for Gareth, Jeff and Kev. These are for Steve and this one is for Robin and…” he goes on with more names that she remembered from school and some she had never heard of like Erika and Eleven.

“And this one is for Wayne,” Eddie whispers so he doesn’t hear from the other room. He got Wayne yet another mug with a bag of specialty coffee and some nice biscotti to have with it.

“So we’ll do his first, get it out of the way,” she says as she unrolls the wrapping paper and tries to figure out the nicest way to wrap the 3 items.

“Can I ask why you got each thing?” She asks, carefully slipping the package of coffee grounds into the mug.

“I got Dustin this shirt,” he unfolds it and shows it to her, the shirt reads: “choose your weapon wisely” with a row of differently shaped dice over the letters. “And some dice,” he shakes the box in the pile and then places it on top of the shirt. “He’s the current dungeon master in their school club and when he graduates Erika will be taking over so I got her the newest edition of the dungeon masters book.”

“Oh, thats so cute,” she swoons.

“Then I got the guys in the band some new branded shirts and picks, I had them made by a company over in Shelbyville, they’re so cool,” he takes a pick out and shows it to her. The black was matte, the CC in the middle was glossy, and it popped so well. “They’re going to love them.”

He explains that he got Nancy a journal because she’s going to school for journalism so she must need one. It’s a nice deep red and he’s written her a sweet little note on the first page. Robins gift is a set of rings from Claires that he said screamed her name when he first saw them. Steve gets some fuzzy dice for his car's rearview mirror because no matter how hard they try to get him to play d&d, he’s not interested but he still needs some lucky dice.

He got Lucas a keychain with his basketball number on it. Max got some cool stickers for her skateboard. Mike got a lighter because unfortunately, his tendency to copy Eddie has gone all the way to smoking. He got Will a colouring book and his sister El, a fantasy graphic novel.

It’s a lot of things, but he holds a lot of love for these people in his heart.

She can’t wait to see what he got for her if this is the level of care he put into his friend's gifts.

—

She brings him home after a shift that feels more like 16 hours instead of just 4. By the time she’s tumbling into bed, it’s almost 1 in the morning and she’s ready to crash and sleep for the next 2 days straight. This weekend has been too exciting for her body clock to handle.

Eddie looks around her room curiously, she’s quick to step out of her clothes and climb right into bed in just her bra and underwear. She lays there against the pillows with her eyes closed, under her covers, “I’m exhausted.”

“Awe,” he comes and sits down on the edge of her side of the bed. “So I guess no fun stuff tonight, princess?”

“I mean,” she opens her eyes and leans forward. “I wouldn’t say no to an orgasm before bed… I’m starting to get used to them.”

“I was kidding,” he’s genuinely shocked that she’s down for it. “Your mom is home? Really?”

“I was also kidding,” she laughs at how eager he got, “I think one night of not having our hands all over each other will make tomorrow better…”

“What’s tomorrow?”

“Well technically right now it’s Christmas eve, it’s past midnight, so tomorrow is Christmas,” she reminds him. “I wanted to go all the way… I was thinking maybe after the party at your friends house? Before we come back here?”

“You want to meet my friends knowing we’re going to have sex after?” He teases.

She nods, “yeah, cause when else can we do it? My mom has traditions: after dinner, we have to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas movie and have hot chocolate and dessert, and then she’s going to go to bed, and I don’t think I can do that with her down the hall and us leaving just makes it obvious…”

“If you’re this anxious about it we don’t have to do it yet.”

“I’m ready for it, I just know that when my parents had sex here before the house kinda shakes, it’s old, she’s going to know every time we do it and I don’t want her to,” she explains. “It’s so awkward knowing when your parents are fucking, I can’t imagine how she’d feel knowing I’m having sex.”

“God,” he can’t even imagine the horror. “Wayne only ever had one girl over, years ago, and I only know cause she was loud.”

“So Waynes good in bed too,” she teases, watching him get visibly jealous. “I’m kidding, I only have eyes for you, big guy,” she assures him, reaching out to pull him in for a hug.

“Good,” he holds her there, running his hand over her back gently, “scoot over, I’m getting in.”

“Okay,” she does just that, tossing the covers back so he can get out of his clothes and slip right in and share the warmth.

They get all cozy, cuddled together with him as the big spoon, “I’m getting way too used to going to sleep with you.” He wraps his arm around her middle, resting his hand on her tummy, she places her hand over it and interlocks their fingers.

“I know,” she feels the same way. “It’s not like we have to stop at any time soon… I have no problem going back and forth every night so I can still see my mom often.”

“I don’t mind that either,” he agrees. “Even if I stay here some weekdays cause you have school and you just stay with me after work?”

“Yeah, I like that too,” she agrees. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be working with you, though. I was just supposed to get holiday hours, they said they’d probably cut me come mid-January.”

“Oh,” he sounds really sad. “Well I can talk to Jerry and Linda, you’re a lot better than anyone else I’ve worked with, if you want some hours a week I’ll advocate for you.”

“Thank you,” she gives his hand a good squeeze and then let's go, she rolls over to face him, missing his sweet face. “I love you, you know that?”

He nods, “I do, funnily enough… and I’m so fucking lucky that you do.”

“I feel pretty lucky too,” she assures him. “I used to lay here after a terrible day and dream of scenarios where you’d come and talk to me at school… and now you’re actually here beside me. I don’t have to dream anymore.”

“You know,” he starts before he can really think it over. He knew she was emotional, but he says it anyway. “There was a part when I was dying, I thought it was okay cause it’s not like anyone loved me anyway,” he admits with matching teary eyes. “I’m so glad I didn’t listen to that voice.”

She cups his face and pulls him into a kiss, she smothers his face in kisses, “I love you, so, so much,” she says between each one. She pulls away with a teary smile, “I’m going to have to kiss Nancy Wheeler as a thank you for keeping you alive for me, what else can I do that says thanks for not letting my soulmate die in a creepy hell dimension?”

He laughs, “I mean, her girlfriend might get upset but you can try…”

“She has a girlfriend? That’s so cool, I had no idea what she was up to now that we’ve graduated,” she explains, not one for keeping up with everyone in her graduating class.

Eddie spends a few minutes explaining the very interesting dynamic of his friend group to her. How Robin and Steve are basically attached at the hip, which is ironic seeing as Steve dated Nancy first and now Robin in… and together, robin and Steve are like parents to the younger group consisting of Nancy’s little brother Mike, the missing kid Will Byers and his step sister Elle. Billy Hargrove's little sister Max and her boyfriend Lucas as well as his little sister Erika. And finally, Dustin. The main glue of the friend group, he was everyone's favourite, he had everyone's back, he was the little brother Eddie always wanted, it’s sweet how everyone loves him.

She’s excited to meet him later.

—

Her mom makes them breakfast, they all sit together and it’s surprisingly easy for him to talk to her. They’re a lot alike, he can tell they’ve spent a lot of time together over the years. He can also tell she really misses her husband, Eddie can’t help but feel like he played a part in taking him away, so he offers his services to her.

“Y/N was saying that you’ve been having a hard time getting to all the repairs and I was wondering if I could help? Me and my friends could get the siding done in the spring and—

“Eddie, it’s okay,” she cuts him off. “Really, it’ll get done when it gets done.”

“I want to help,” he assures her. “It's the least I can do, I have a feeling I’m going to be over a lot.”

“A lot,” Y/N echoes, nodding along. “If he wants to help then let him, mom, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Okay, but I’m going to find a way to make it up to you,” she assures them both.

“I’ll do it for a sandwich and a hug?” He suggests, sticking his hand out to make a deal.

She takes it gladly, “I’ll throw in a pack of beer when you’re done, Y/N’s dad always did that for his buddies that helped us out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agrees happily.

He heads back to the trailer around noon to change and grab his presents for the party that night, and to talk to Wayne. He hasn’t had a chance to really catch up with him in the last few days. And they had a lot to talk about.

He brings him up to speed on his new relationship and the Christmas details, asking if Wayne wants his present now or at Y/N’s house the next day, he picks the latter.

“I want to open it on Christmas, it’ll be weird not doing it here but oh well,” he shrugs. “I always knew one day you’d get a partner and we’d end up doing a big Christmas or Hanukkah somewhere with your little family, it just feels like it happened a lot sooner than I expected.”

“I’m 22?”

“I know, but you’re still my little buddy,” Wayne reminds him. “You’ll always be the little boy I raised and love, no matter how big you get.”

He wraps Wayne up in a big hug, “I love you so much, old man, you know that?”

Wayne gives him a big smooch on the cheek and holds him tight, “I know. I love you too, squirt.”

He pats his back a few times before letting go of the hug, the two men pull away awkwardly, never really being touchy with each other. The last time they really hugged that much was when he was in the hospital, Wayne didn’t let go of his hand for about a week. He didn’t leave his side, he spoon-fed him, and he was a wreck until Eddie got better. He thought they had a strong bond before all hell broke loose, it was unbreakable now.

Eddie heads back into his room after that, and he spends some time making it look and smell nice. He sets out her present on the bed, wanting to give it to her right after midnight and right before the main present. He was both excited and nervous, he loves her so much he wants to make it good and fun for her while also making it memorable and special for them both.

Wayne heads to work, and Eddie has dinner with Y/N and her mom which is absolutely delicious and only makes him more excited for dinner tomorrow.

—

Y/N gets all dressed up even though he told her it wasn’t a big party, she made a chip dip and got Nancy a bottle of wine as a thank-you for hosting, she was really trying to win them over.

He holds her hand on the drive over, making sure she’s not too nervous. “Trust me, they’re all super weird and they’re going to do everything in their power to impress you, you won’t have to try hard. They love having new members join.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive… and I’ve been talking about you to Steve and Dustin for the last month, and so of course Robin also knew I liked you cause Steve can’t keep anything to himself. They will literally malfunction if one knows more than the other, it’s like their brains share a hard drive,” Eddie shakes his head with a loving smile.

He loved his friends. More than he could ever explain.

“I know for a fact they’re excited to meet you and they will love you,” he assures her with a squeeze of her hand.

“Okay,” she takes a deep breath and believes him.

“You ready? Cause we’re here,” he says as he parks outside a very large house all decorated with wreaths and lights for the holiday season. There’s a bunch of cars parked in the driveway, so they have to park on the street.

He gets out first, rushing to her side to help her out and then grabbing all their things from the back of the van. She carries the dip, and he carries in all the presents, all the way to the front door where Steve Harrington opens the door before they can even knock.

“Come in, come in,” he ushers them inside and out from the cold.

He can tell it’s really weird for her to be reacquainted with Steve, Robin and Nancy, they never really interacted much in high school but they all knew of each other. It takes about 15 minutes of knowing them and hearing weird inside jokes that she doesn’t understand for Dustin to start the retelling.

He and Nancy argue about the order of events, having led two very different sides of the same battle against the upside down.

Eventually, however, she gets it.

She eats about a whole bowl of chips as she listens, completely engrossed in the lore of Hawkins that no one except their friend group knew of. It was terrifyingly amazing, she loved the fact it brought them all together, but she hated how traumatized it left them all.

“Can I just say thank you,” she reached out for Nancy’s hand, just beside her on the couch. “Eddie’s always meant a lot to me, and I don’t think I would have him if it wasn’t for you.” She turns to the rest of the room too, all smiling because they knew Eddie found the love of his life. “I’m really grateful to all of you for making sure he got off the hook for Chrissy’s murder and everything.”

“It was nothing,” Robin, waves it off, not wanting to get too emotional. “We’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

—

He slips away to talk to Nancy in the kitchen, she’s quietly cleaning up the mess so her mom isn’t mad in the morning. Wrapping cling-film over a few dips, she’s not paying attention when he walks into the room.

“Hey, Nance?” He whispers.

“Oh, hey,” she slightly jumps but settles easily. “What’s up, did you need something?”

“Yeah… uh, I kinda have a super personal question to ask, and you can totally tell me to fuck off if it’s too personal—

“I gave you CPR, there’s nothing too personal between us anymore,” she cuts him off, always teasing him about having to kiss his nasty blood-filled mouth to bring him back to life. “You’re welcome by the way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waves her off and then takes a deep breath. “Um, I know you’ve been with guys before and I was just wondering if there was something you wish was different about your first time? You know, to make it better or easier?”

“Well,” she crosses her arms with a surprised yet pleased smile. She leans against the counter and thinks about it for a second, “I mean, Steve was really gentile but it still hurt a lot, I guess I wish I had explored with myself a bit beforehand cause I think if I knew what I liked it would’ve been more fun.”

“We’ve done other stuff together,” he shares, only slightly embarrassed. “I just know on my end I want it to be special for me, it’s my first time too and if I feel this nervous about it being perfect then she must too, and the last thing I want is to hurt her or make it not memorable or fun.”

“You’re you,” Nancy laughs. “Seriously, you’re so charismatic and loud and dramatic and—

“I get it, I’m a lot,” he stops her before she accidentally bullies him.

“But a good ‘a lot’. I just mean, she loves you for a reason, whatever happens, she’s going to have a lot of fun with you,” Nancy explains more articulately. “I know it.”

“Thanks,” he can’t help but smile. “You need any help in here?”

She shakes her head, “no, you go be with your girl, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

And so he listens, he heads downstairs to see Steve and Dustin still talking Y/N’s ear off. He comes and stands behind her, chin on her shoulder and wraps his arms around her. She tilts her head to the side to rest against his, hands on his big arms as she holds him close.

—

They leave the party shortly after that, she tells them all about her mom's big Christmas breakfast plans and how they need to be up by 8am and Eddie’s friends let them go. She had a genuinely wonderful time with them, they’re friendly and sweet and absolutely hilarious. They love her Eddie, he loves them, and she can see herself fitting in quite well with them.

The clock on his dashboard reads 9:56. She told her mom not to wait up because she’d be home after midnight. They had 2 hours until then. Part of her wants their night to be long and drawn out and hot but she knows they have to get up and get dressed again just to go back to her childhood bedroom.

The stocking she got for Eddie is large enough that all the things she got for him fit inside without much fuss but some of the comic books stick out of the top. She put it inside a grocery bag and then in the back of his van earlier that night, she hopes he hasn’t looked inside or seen anything through the plastic. She really can’t wait to give it to him.

Actually, she can’t wait to give everything to him.

They pull up to said trailer all while she’s been in her own head, in a haze of sorts. He’s about to open her door when she takes a deep breath and says her over-prepared speech, “you go unlock the door, I don’t want you to see the present yet.”

“Okay,” he backs up with a sweet smile, “meet me in my room?”

She nods, “I’ll see you there in a minute.”

She waits for him to be up at the door, focusing on his key in the lock and unable to watch her open the back door of the van and take out his present. She insures that it’s all together and holds it close to her chest on the walk up to the door.

Once inside, she slips out of her shoes and trades the stocking back and forth in her hands as she takes her coat off too. “Can I come in?” She asks at his door, not looking in case he wasn’t ready.

“Yep,” he sounds like he’s smiling.

Once she steps into his room she can see his ever-glowing smirk as he stands on the opposite side of his room. He’s also holding a stocking, only his is decorated to the nines with glitter glue and little accents.

“Oh my god!?”

“No fuckin way?” He says at the exact same time.

They didn’t plan this in the slightest. Neither one knew the other even had a present until just the other day and she’s been collecting things to gift him for a while now.

They quickly make their way to each other, meeting at the foot of his bed and both taking a seat. Criss cross apple sauce facing each other, “I just thought ‘what would Eddie like?’ And it was a bunch of little things so,” She hands him the stocking.

“That’s what I was thinking for you, too,” Eddie can’t help but smile.

She takes the stocking from him, admiring how he decorated it to say her name in purple glitter glue. He drew out some trees, what looked like a can of Campbell's soup and a bunch of hearts… it’s so cute she could cry.

“Do you want to go one at a time?” He asks?

She looks back up at him with a tearful smile, “Yeah, you first.”

“Okay,” he’s more than happy to start pulling things out of his stocking.

One by one, he takes each thing out. First, he takes out the fantasy magazines and comic books and gives his thanks as he flips through the pages. “What made you pick batman and wolverine for me?”

She shrugs, “I spent a lot of time at the comic book store trying to pick what was the best and I thought the art looked cool, I thought you’d like it the best.”

“Thank you, I love them,” he places them down on the bed and takes out the next few items.

Kitkats, skittles, twix, and all sorts of candy. There’s a pack of cigarettes cause she knows he still smokes, he just doesn’t smoke as much around her. She got him a package of hair ties cause he always has one on his wrist that looks a little stretched out and worn down. A pack of chapstick because his lips always looked so soft he must love chapstick. There’s a handful of lighters that have funny saying on them like “flick your bic” which she thought he’d laugh at. And finally, at the bottom of the stocking, there’s a box of condoms.

“Oh, okay,” he can’t help but smirk as he reads over the box. “You pick these out more for me or you?”

“Both of us,” she shyly admits. “It’s not weird right?”

He shakes his head, “no, honestly it’s amazing cause I only got us a pack of 2 the other day…”

“Well, now we have 12,” she bites back a smile.

“Thank you, baby,” he smiles too, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Your turn.”

“Okay,” she is more nervous to open her own gift than she was watching him react to his.

The first thing she pulls out is an agenda with 1989 embossed on the dark blue cover. “Oh my god?” She can’t believe it as she flips through the beautiful pages with elegant presets ready to help her plan the next year out.

“I figured with school and work and next year you have to do a placement that you’d need an agenda,” Eddie explains. “And I took the liberty of adding my name and number in the address book and my birthday is in there too…”

“It’s next month,” she already knew when his birthday was. “6-year crush, remember, I know a lot more than you think.”

“Sorry, forgot you were an Ed-xpert,” he teases, hands up in surrender.

She does give him a laugh, cause that was stupid and funny and he’s just too cute not to laugh. She shakes her head fondly, “that was a good one…”

“Thanks,” he’s smug now.

“Your friends would get in trouble every year for sticking candles in whatever the lunch order was on your birthday and they didn’t care, they always lit the candles anyway,” she remembers fondly. “It was cute, you always had little celebrations for everyone in hellfire.”

“We’re a family,” he shrugs. “It’s what families do.”

“It’s cute, and I love this, thank you,” she thanked him, and places the agenda down on the bed, starting her own pile of things.

He got her some gel pens to write in her agenda, as well as a bunch of stickers to decorate it. There’s candy and fuzzy socks with cute patterns on them, he also got her some chapstick and some nail polish in purple and red. Yet her favourite item in the whole stocking is a cute pair of gloves.

“Cause your fingies get cold in the van, I need to get a new heater,” he explains. “I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I love you,” she holds the gloves to her chest, feeling so overwhelmed with emotion. A simple pair of gloves in her favourite colour, they match her coat and her purse, that’s why he got them, and they’re perfect. “Eddie baby, this is the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

He gets up and stands at the foot of the bed, extending a hand to pull her up onto her knees at the end of the bed. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close to his chest as he looks down into her eyes, “I love you, merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

She wraps her arms around his neck, tilting her head to the side with a lick of her lips, “it's finally main present time, isn’t it?”

He nods seductively slow, “that it is…”

“The bed is a mess,” she whispers, reminding him with a cheeky smile. “We can’t have sex on a bunch of candy and magazines.”

“I mean we could, it wouldn’t be comfortable,” he teases, dragging his hands down her back to cup her ass. “And the chocolate would melt… but we could.”

“No,” she shakes her head with a smile. “Come on,” she pulls back and returns her attention to their presents. She starts to shove everything into her own while Eddie simply takes the box of condoms out of his pile and opens it up.

He holds up the long strip of condoms with a smile, “think we could go through all of these tonight?”

She laughs, “no, we have to save enough energy to go back to my mom's house, remember? If we’re not there Christmas morning she’s going to kill me.”

“Right,” he rips the first condom off and tosses it onto the bed and puts the rest of them on his nightside table.

He puts the rest of his presents on his dresser and while he’s over there, he takes off his shirt and tosses it towards his dirty laundry pile. She watches contently, he’s too pretty for his own good. “Sorry, did you want to do that part?”

“Undress you? No, it’s fine,” she shakes her head and meets him by his dresser, she places her own stocking there for safekeeping and wraps herself back around him. Hands-on his bare shoulders this time, she drags them down his chest and stops at his belt. “But I can continue…”

“Please,” he begs, breathless as he stares down at her, overwhelmed with how much he wants her.

She runs one hand back up his chest, over his tummy, his pecks and she stops at his neck. Cupping the nape of his neck she leans in and presses a kiss to his pulse point. With her other hand she unbuckles his belt and pops the button on his jeans, she snakes her hand inside his pants and palms over his boxers, stroking the outline of his cock and feeling him harden in her hands.

His grip on her hips tightens, he balls the fabric of her dress into his fists and tugs it up to cup her ass through her nylons as she keeps kissing his neck and stroking his cock.

He picks her up in one go, she wraps her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck for support. He walks her over to the bed and tosses her down onto the mattress once more. Reaching for his own belt, he pulls it through the loops and tosses it towards the floor, “how’d you wanna do this?”

“Could you, maybe… um,” she goes sky, watching him push his jeans to the floor and step out of them.

“Yeah, princess?”

“Could you eat me out again?” She whispers up at him.

He smirks, placing his hands on her knees and tracing his fingers down the inside of her thighs until he reaches her hips. He grips her tight and pulls her to the edge of the bed and drops to his knees, “I’d love to.”

He starts to pull down her nylons and he can tell she’s nervous again, “I shaved the other day so I’m going to be a bit stubbly…”

“I don’t mind, baby,” he assures her.

She grips her dress at the hem and pulls it up and over her head, thanking god it was stretchy and didn’t have a zipper to trap her inside of it. One leg at a time he takes her nylons off, smoothing his hands over her legs and then he brings his cheek to her knee. He drags his face along her skin, kissing the hem of her panties and then right where her clit should be.

“Did you wear these panties on purpose?”

“They’re my only black pair,” she explains, black was a sexy colour, so of course, she wore them for this.

“The bow is cute, you’re like another present I get to unwrap,” he teases, running his finger over the little bow at the front of her panties.

“I guess it is,” she can’t help but smile.

He loops his fingers under the band and she lifts her hips knowingly, helping him slip them off of her and onto the floor.

She props herself up on her forearms, watching with her bottom lip sucked between her teeth. He wraps his arms around her thighs, holding them open as he inches closer to her wet pussy. He kisses the little freckle she has on her underwear line, his breath is hot against her skin as he runs his tongue over her pussy lip ever so slowly.

Using his right hand he runs his index finger from her clit to her glistening entrance, he gathers up all her slick and rubs it into her clit with his forefingers. “I want you to cum at least once for me before I fuck you, then you’ll be nice and relaxed and it won’t hurt as much.”

“I think I’ll be fine,” she’s sure of herself, sharing a bit too much because she was so comfortable with him. “I usually use three fingers when I’m alone, I think I can take it.”

He groans, “god, you’re so fucking hot.”

With only one arm holding her legs down he’s not as strong, she clamps her legs closed at the sensation of his tongue lapping over her aching clit, “be a good girl and keep these open for me, kay?”

She nods, breath hitching at the sound of good girl…

“You liked that,” he smirks. “I can tell by the way your cunt fluttered, ooo, there you did it again.”

She’s aching for more, feeling her heartbeat in her clit 10 times stronger than ever before, she needed him desperately, “please, Eddie?”

“Since you asked so nicely, baby,” he muses, voice vibrating against her core as he leans in impossibly close and licks over her hole.

Her hand goes right to his hair as she tries desperately to keep her legs open for him. He holds her pussy open with two fingers, and he drags his tongue over her cunt in long, broad strokes serpentining as he gathers her wetness. She tastes so good he moans against her, she grips his hair tighter, bringing him toward her clit as a silent instruction to suck.

She drops down against the mattress then, “oh, fuck,” she moans, letting go of her grip on his hair to hold her own legs in place for him. He flicks her clit back and forth with his tongue between soft licks and suctioning onto her clit.

He pulls back enough start pulling off his rings and he places them all on his night table. He makes perfect eye contact with her as he takes his middle and ring finger in his mouth, coating them with saliva before he circles them over her hole, “ready?”

“Yeah,” she’s breathless just watching.

He smirks, she fluttered around the tips of his two fingers, sucking them into the first knuckle. He pushes in slowly to the second knuckle, watching her suck in a deep breath at the feeling. He leans back in to suck on her clit as he bottoms out, as deep as he can be inside of her like this, he curls his fingers the way she said she liked it before and begins to thrust. Pulling out ever so slightly and pumping back into her again and again.

She feels him everywhere, back arching as she pushes her pussy into his face more. She reaches behind herself to unclasp her bra and pull it off so she could grip her tits, playing with her own hardened nipples and he watches from between her legs. He laughs slightly, hot breath against her and the feeling of his lips curling into a smile brings her attention back down to him.

“Feels so good, baby,” she praises, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair again, helping keep it out of his eyes.

She can’t help closing her legs on him again as the pressure builds, and instead of scolding her for it he simply holds her knees together and pushes her legs up against her chest. He stands, still fucking her with his two fingers, and a trail of spit hangs from his lips down to her soaked pussy.

“Hold 'em up,” he instructs her to wrap her hands around the backs of her knees to keep them up. “I want you to cum for me,” he says, rubbing the forefingers of his leg hand over her clit rapidly.

Her legs start to shake, and a strange pressure builds in her stomach that she isn’t used to, like an orgasm but so, so much more. She sounds so wet, soaking up his fingers as he fucks into her faster. He rests a knee on the bed for better balance, she can feel his hard cock against her ass cheek and that does it for her.

She cums with a shout of his name and a chain of obscenities, and he does the same. “Sweet fuck, princess, look at you, holy fuck,” he can’t believe what he’s seeing. She squirted all over his hand, the edge of his mattress and his boxers.

She drops her legs, looking between them to see the mess she made. “Oh my god?”

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever fucking seen,” he praises her, leaning in and cupping her face with his clean(ish) hand as he kisses her. She can taste herself on him, she hums as she sucks his tongue into her mouth and experiences it all.

He pulls back and gets off the bed, leaving her there on the mattress, breathless and empty and craving more. He takes off his boxers and uses them to wipe down his hand and the inside of her thighs. “Did you know you could do that?”

She nods, “not that much though.”

“I can’t fucking wait to discover everything you can do, baby,” he smirks, reaching for the condom on the pillows and opening it with his teeth. “Get comfortable, princess.”

He examines it carefully, making sure he puts it on the right way before he rolls it on. She watches as she scoots up towards the pillows, resting her head against them and laying there with her legs spread again. He crawls onto the bed again, kneeling between her legs with his cock standing there at attention. He rests his hands on her knees and drags his fingertips down towards her aching cunt once more, “you still want this?”

“More than you know,” she’s practically drooling for him, she can’t wait to feel his cock deep inside of her.

He can’t help but smile, shaking his head slightly with disbelief. He drops down on top of her, boxing her in against the mattress, she wraps her legs around him and cups his face in her hands, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he repeats, staring deep into her soul. “Ready?”

She nods, feeling him reach between them to grip his cock at the base and guide it into her.

She sucks in a sharp breath and makes a sound she’s never heard herself make before as he slips in inch by inch, he’s a lot thicker than she anticipated but she takes him easily. “Oh my god?” They say at the same time, resting their foreheads together with deep breaths.

“Can I move?” He whispers.

She nods, “yeah, yeah please?” She doesn’t mean to beg but she needs more.

He kisses the side of her head and then her cheek, she tilts her head to the side to capture his mouth with hers, kissing him deeply as he starts to thrust. She runs one hand through his hair and the other down his back, gripping his skin, she moans against his mouth.

He kisses the side of her mouth and then her jaw, he slips a hand behind her back to arch her forward as he kisses down her neck and towards her chest. His thrusts are slow and deep as he takes her right nipple into his mouth and sucks.

She tugs on his hair, “fuck, Eddie.”

He pops off her tit with a smile, “feel good, baby?”

“I need more,” she admits, “can you go faster?”

“Yeah?” He sits up on his knees, holding her hips with both hands for support as he fucks into her deeply, over and over.

“Holy fuck,” her back arches and she reaches out to grip the sheets around her.

She meets his thrusts, pushing her hips down every time he fucks into her, getting deeper each time. She can feel him knocking at her cervix, the angel is so perfect he grazes her g spot with each thrust, she could cum just like this.

Lucky for her, he’s best friends with her clit now and couldn’t spend more than a few minutes away from her. He licks his forefingers on his right hand and brings them down to meet the sensitive bud, rubbing them counterclockwise just as fast as he was fucking into her.

“So fuckin hot,” he praises, he feels like he’s in the middle of another good wet dream about her it’s so fucking perfect. She’s everything he’s ever wanted and then some, all here, unravelling just for him. “Gonna cum for me again, princess?”

She nods, “yeah, fuck, oh my god?” She can’t believe how good it feels, her whole body tingles, and she can barely keep her eyes open she’s so cock drunk for him.

She reaches out for his chest, wanting to touch him, missing how close he just was before this. She pulls him back down and wraps her legs around him and rolls them over so she’s on top. She straddles his hips, and he’s still inside of her, she hovers enough for him to fuck up into her just as fast, only they’re a lot closer now.

She buries her face in his neck, kissing and sucking just below his ear, “oh, Eddie, oh my god, I love you,” she mumbles, over and over as he fucks up into her.

He’s so close, he isn’t sure he’s going to be able to get her off again before he loses it all inside the condom. He reaches between their bodies to thumb over her clit, immediately making her legs quake.

“Gonna cum, please? Please?” She begs, wrapping her arms under him and holding him close. “Cum with me?”

That does it for him, he fucks up into her one last time as she drops all her weight on him, riding out her high and fucking him through his own. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her shoulder between moans and whispers of her name. “Oh, I love you, I love you so much, sweet girl.”

She’s breathing heavily against his neck but he can feel her smile, “I love you more.”

He runs his fingers over her back gently, and both of them just lay there with their eyes closed, staying in the moment as long as they could. He’s still inside of her too, she doesn’t move, he’s afraid if he does then he’ll get hard again because she’s so tight and she keeps flittering around him as she calms down. It’s heaven.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispers against the side of her head before pressing a kiss to her temple. “How long do you want to lay her before we go home?”

“Home?” She repeats as she sits up carefully, “you consider my place home already?”

“You’re there, so yeah,” he admits. “I just want to fall asleep with you in my arms and I can’t do that yet, so…”

“Yeah, let’s go home,” she agrees, leaning in for one more kiss.

He holds her face in his hands, keeping her there as he breathes her in, loving every ounce of her so deeply he couldn’t even begin to express it with words. He hoped this kiss did it for him.

She pulls back with a smile, “thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he teases.

She gets off him carefully, and he hisses as he slips out, sensitive and soft. She uses the bathroom first, leaving the door open so he could come in with the used condom tied in a not and wrap it in toilet paper before hiding it at the bottom of the garbage in there. Embarrassed as all hell for Wayne to come across any evidence that they were having sex in his trailer.

She slips back into her dress, he slips into some track pants and a shirt, they get all wrapped up with their coats and she puts on her new gloves. She holds her stocking in her lap on the drive home and she still holds his hand over the centre console the whole ride too. They can’t stop smiling at each other, they don’t talk, he just has the radio on low, letting the music fill their silence.

She doesn’t know what else to say other than that she loves him. She’s overflowing with love, it’s insane.

Back in her bedroom, there are two presents left on her bed.

“Oh my god,” she whispers, picking up the one with her name knowing exactly what they are. “How did she have time to do this?”

“What?”

“These are matching Christmas pyjamas for tomorrow morning,” she explains as she hands him the other present.

He can’t believe it as he peels back the green wrapping paper to see that they were indeed the same pyjamas as the ones Y/N is holding in her hands. White shirts with red bottoms, covered in candy canes, they’re cute as hell.

“You’re officially part of the family,” she swoons, overjoyed with everything.

He tosses his PJs back onto the bed and pulls her into a hug, he cradles her head with his big hand and kisses her temple, “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” she wraps her arms around his middle and holds him just as tight.

They get undressed again, their pyjamas for the morning are placed on her dresser as the two of them climb into her bed together. She snuggled right up to his chest, just as naked as they were 10 minutes ago, they release a matching sigh as they settle in the dark room.

He runs his hand over her back, and she traces shapes into his chest with her finger. They’re silent, content, and happy. Everything they’ve always wanted to be, simply together.

General Taglist

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @eddiemunson-rp @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife

Employee of the month taglist

@munsonficdump @angelsarecallin @wonderful-outcast @aysheashea @ick90 @bloodandtime @birdsinmywalls

Eddie

@fightingdragonswithwho @kyomito @reidselle @venomsvl @nomajdetective @girl-with-an-orange-cat @blairscott @princesseddie

#eddie munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem reader #eddie munson smut #stranger things #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson imagine #stranger things imagine #stranger things season 4

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wolfjackle-creates · 1 year

Text

Bring Me Home, Part 3

First, Previous

It’s been a while since I’ve shared anything from this fic. I’ve been working on it in the background, though. Might share something a bit longer in the upcoming week or so, even! Ended up reworking nearly everything I want to do for this fic, so it’s been a challenge.

This is the final segment from the first chapter I’ll share before posting to AO3. (There’s a lot more I haven’t shared, though.)

Fic Summary: Tim Drake and Danny Fenton come from very different backgrounds. But two things they have in common are neglectful parents and internet access. And so a friendship is born and secrets shared.

Word Count: 1.4k

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Danny’s hands shook as he held his phone. Then he cursed as it fell through his hands and clattered to the floor. He scrambled to retrieve it and his knees, rather than hit the floor, sunk through it. Eyes burning, he pushed himself up until he was kneeling on top of the floor and reached his phone again.

All of his focus was on staying solid as he dialed a number he’d memorized months ago but never saved. It rang twice and then Tim’s voice came through.

“Danny! It’s been too long since we’ve called each other! How’s it going?”

“Tim? I…” Danny’s voice caught in his throat. He hasn’t said the words yet. He tried to start again but couldn’t say a thing. Was he breathing? The phone fell through his hand again and he realized he was sinking into the floor. He choked back a sob and tried to pick up the phone, but his hands passed right through it.

He tried to take a breath, but it was shallow and shaky. He tried again and it was a little better. He focused and pushed up until he felt solid ground under his knees again. With the same determination, he picked up the phone. This time it didn’t fall.

“…ny? Danny! Are you there? What’s going on?”

“Tim?”

“Thank god, what’s happened? What’s wrong?”

His breathing was still rapid and shallow. “I… Tim, I….” He wiped away the tears he couldn’t stop.

“Danny, it’s okay. I’m here. Don’t force it. Can you breathe with me? In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.” Tim continued to count his breaths.

It took a few repetitions, but eventually Danny was able to follow the pattern. Even if his breath still hitched every few counts. He decided to try again. “Tim, I died,” he blurted out. He pulled his knees up and rested his forehead against them; this time he didn’t fight the tears. “I’m dead. Only…not.”

Tim’s sharp intake of breath was the only sound he heard through the phone speaker for a few too-loud beats of his heart. His heart was still beating. He was still alive. It would be okay. It had to be okay.

“What do you mean?” asked Tim after a moment.

“I told you my parent’s portal didn’t work.”

“Yeah…?”

“Sam and Tucker wanted to see it. And Mom and Dad were depressed and haven’t been in the lab for like a week. So we went down. I… I…” The words wouldn’t come and Danny almost lost himself in the memories, but Tim started counting his breaths again. Danny listened and after a minute was able to continue.

“I entered the portal. They put the ‘on’ button inside. Who does that? But I tripped and hit the button. The portal opened up on top of me. I died. I know I did. But it didn’t take. I came back, too. Only now… I think I’m a ghost. Or part ghost. I’m human. I have to be. I still bleed and I have a heartbeat and I need to breathe. Only… not all the time. Sometimes I change. Into something else. Something not human. That doesn’t have a heartbeat or blood or…”

“Danny, are you safe? I’ll come get you. We can figure this out.”

“No! My parents love me. They forget me sometimes, but they love me. When they’re around, they ask questions and mom makes dinner and we play games and its good. They have done the most amount of research on ghosts of anyone in the world. I need the information they have.” His phone fell through his hand again. “Shit!” he cursed as he grabbed for it again. “I keep turning intangible. It makes me drop everything.”

“When did this happen?” Tim was talking slowly, his voice deliberately steady in a way Danny wasn’t used to.

“A few days ago. Sam or Tucker have been with me constantly since. But both their families needed them tonight. I seem to be mostly stable now. If I can just keep myself solid.” Danny laughed and he ignored how close it sounded to a sob. How did his life end up like this?

“The Justice League can help you. Or the Teen Titans if you would rather people closer to our age. We’ve dealt with people with powers before. We can help you learn to control them.”

“No!” It came out sharper than Danny meant it to. “My parents would find out. And they love me. They’d be fine with it. They would. But…” he trailed off. He couldn’t finish that sentence. He wouldn’t. He would not give voice to the fear that was growing in the back of his head. The one that got stronger when he remembered how his parents reacted the minute they realized the portal had started working. He pushed the memories of his mom laughing gleefully as she grabbed an ecto-gun and his dad set up the ecto-line to try and catch a ghost so they could dissect it.

“Okay, okay. No league. You said you turn intangible? What else happens? Maybe we can talk through this. Figure out ways to help you learn to control your powers. Can you send me some of your parent’s research?”

Danny’s breath came a little stronger. A plan. Tim would help him and they could make a plan. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll send you everything. I’m not at the computer now, but I’ll get it to you as soon as I can. Um. I have two forms. My normal self but also a ghost self. I can turn invisible and intangible. In my ghost form, sometimes my legs disappear and I just have a tail-cloud thing. Like Casper.” He laughed at how ridiculous this sounded. “Sam and Tuck took some pictures to document everything. I’ll try and send you those as well.”

“Thank you. That would help. Not how I imagined our face reveal…”

Danny snorted. “No. Can’t say this is what I imagined either.”

“Can you control your transformations?” It seemed Tim was getting down to business. Danny appreciated that; he needed someone to help him figure out what to do next.

“Full transformation, yeah. I seem to be able to. It’s not perfect, but I’m getting there. It’s the bleed over powers. They’re easier to control in my ghost form than my human one.”

“Bleed over powers. You mean the invisibility and intangibility?”

“Yeah. I dropped like three beakers in Chemistry lab yesterday. I’m not allowed to touch any glassware for the rest of the year.”

Tim whistled. “That’s impressive. Short term, do you have plastic at home? Cups, plates, all of it. Use that for the time being. If you drop it, no big deal.”

“We do still have some stuff from when Jazz and I were younger. Good idea.”

“Next, pay close attention to what happens when you become intangible. What’s going on around you, how are you feeling? Carry a notebook and write down everything you can think of for each instance. Teachers won’t think twice about you writing in a notebook during class, so do it as soon as you possibly can. Also write down the circumstances and feelings surrounding intentional instances. It’s only been a few days. You’ll be able to get this under control, Danny. I know you can.”

Danny took a deep breath. This time it was steadier. He had a plan. “You’re right. That’s perfect. I know Jazz has extra notebooks, I’ll get one from her. Thanks Tim.”

“Keep me updated? I want to hear from you every day. I don’t know if I trust your parents.”

“Will do. I think I’ll be getting my own laptop soon, so that’ll make it easier.”

“Good. I’m not kidding—every day, Danny. And I think we need a failsafe from your end, too. You’ve got Alfred’s number if I ever stop responding so you can get updates on me. I want someone to contact, too.” Tim’s tone brokered no disagreements, and Danny realized he was smiling sincerely for the first time since the accident.

“I… yeah. That’s a good idea. Contact Tucker. He’s always got some sort of device on him and will respond the quickest.” Danny quickly listed off Tucker’s email and phone number. “Now, can we talk about something else? I need a distraction. What’s been going on in your life?”

Danny listened as Tim talked about a mission he and Batman had gone on recently. He really had the best friends.

So now they're both on the vigilante train! God, I miss writing scenes with just 2 characters. Looking over this for a final editing pass, it's so easy when there's only two characters. Nothing else that I'm working on at the moment has fewer than seven people actively in the scene. Seven plus people with strong personalities.

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(I also like writing angst and think I'm pretty decent at it which also made this scene easier.)

Tag List

@gremlin-bot, @bonebrokebuddy, @britcision, @lady-time-lord-, @welcometosasakiworld, @akikkobara, @phoenixdemonqueen, @dolfay, @skulld3mort-1fan, @we-ezer, @markus209, @sjrose1216, @onyxlightdragon, @dragonsrequiem, @jesus-camp-the-sequel, @spidey29phangirl, @kyrianclawraith, @evilminji, @introvert-even-on-the-internet, @emergentpanda-blog, @lexdamo, @v-inari, @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit, @longlivethefallen, @undead-essence, @xye-chan, @liandrin, @seraphinedemort

#dpxdc #danny fenton #tim drake #dead tired #danny is struggling #but he's got some good friends #and tim won't let him suffer alone #danny just has to accept the help he has

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severelystrangewriter · 7 months

Text

Drunk Confessions (Flufftober 2023 Day 14)

Pairing: keishin ukai x female reader

WC: 678

Warnings: nudity (nothing explicit they shower together), mdni

Summary: you take care of your drunk boyfriend after a night out

Note: ukai is a big ole softie in this so ooc i guess? idc i love him

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It was late at night on a Saturday and you were finishing grading your students’ quizzes when your front doorbell rang, startling you. You carefully padded to the door, not expecting company, and you checked the peephole before furrowing your brows. You opened the door to reveal your boyfriend Keishin Ukai standing there with a lazy grin on his face.

“Did you forget your key again?” You asked, letting him into your shared home. He had gone out with his friends for a drink, and judging by his somewhat clumsy gait, he might’ve drank a bit too much.

When you got the door closed, he wrapped your arms around your middle, bringing you to his chest.

“I wanna cuddle,” He declared.

“Let me finish grading these last few papers and I’m all yours,” You replied, causing him to huff.

“But I missed you,” Ukai pouted at you.

You giggled, “You saw me a few hours ago.”

“I always miss you,” He buried his nose into your hair and inhaled deeply, “You smell so good.”

“Well you need a shower,” You pointed out, wrinkling your nose at the smell of sweat and alcohol.

“Yeah, yeah,” He let go of you and took hold of your hand, “Join me?”

You knew you probably weren’t going to get that grading done tonight, not when he was looking at you with the most prettiest pout. He would probably keep pestering until you said yes.

“Well I guess someone has to make sure you don’t drown,” You agreed with a teasing smile.

And so you led your boyfriend to the bathroom where you quickly got the shower started, finding a comfortable temperature that you both liked. He undressed himself and got in, and you followed suit. You had already taken a shower so you focused solely on getting Ukai cleaned up. You helped him wash his hair, massaging his scalp the way he liked and he left featherlight caresses to your skin as you worked.

It wasn’t sexual, and you didn’t feel an ounce of embarrassment as he gazed at you so lovingly, like you had hung the stars themselves.

“Did you have fun?” You asked as you took a soapy washcloth and ran it over his chest.

He sighed at the feeling and nodded his head.

“I wish you could’ve come,” He said, and you cracked a smile. He was always so open and soft with you when he got like this. It was endearing.

“I’ll go next time,” You promised.

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise,” You held out your pinky to him, and he quickly circled his own around it. He then brought your hand closer to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

After he rinsed and dried off, you two made your way to the bedroom. He slipped under the cover and patted the space next to him as an invitation to join, which you did so happily.

A comfortable silence fell over you both and for a moment you thought he had already fallen asleep. It wouldn’t shock you, he’s been working hard balancing his time between you, work, and both volleyball team practices. It must be exhausting.

“I can’t wait to marry you,” Ukai mumbled suddenly as he snuggled into you, causing you to blink in surprise.

“You want to marry me?” You repeated curiously. You had been dating for a bit, but this is the first time he’s even introduced the idea of marriage to you.

“Mhm,” He nodded and pressed a sleepy kiss to your neck, “My pretty little wife.”

Your heart fluttered at the confession. Even though he was drunk, you couldn’t help but feel like he meant it.

“And when we have kids, you’re gonna be the best mom.”

Butterflies erupted in your stomach at that. He wanted a family with you too? Before you could let your imagination run wild, your gaze softened as quiet snores finally fell from his lips, signaling he was asleep.

“I can’t wait to marry you too, Keishin,” You whispered back.

And you meant it.

#haikyu x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #ukai keishin #keishin ukai x reader #keishin ukai #ukai keishin x reader #x reader #fluff #fanfiction #flufftober #kace writes #haikyuu #haikyu

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allinthemagicshop · 6 months

Text

Not How I Wanted to Meet Your Parents

Bangchan X Fem!Reader

wc: ~3000

Angst, fluff at the end

Again, this makes me cringe a little bit looking back at it but also I think I see some potential to grow from this so here's yet another from my vault

No warnings that I can think of, besides pet names maybe? Insecurity, crying also present. Some cursing.

I do not own the rights to Stray Kids or anything related to them, this is a work of pure fiction and just for fun

Channie💕: hey babygirl, I’m so sorry. I have to stay late at the studio again. I’ll just go back to the dorm instead of waking you up so don’t wait up. I’m sorry.

I crumpled into myself. Texts like these have been coming daily for the last three weeks straight. Every single date night was canceled, always for the same reason. I can’t bring myself to think of it as an excuse. That would be he is trying to find ways to avoid me. Unless he finally realized that I’m just holding him back from creating more, creating better. Maybe I am just a pawn to find inspiration in, like a learning experience more than a loving one. I lay my phone down on the nightstand and glance over at the sweatshirt Chan left the last time he stayed the night. It’s been nearly two months since then, his scent long gone. Instead of replying, knowing I wouldn’t get a response, I leaned over and shut my lamp off. Maybe in my dreams he would love me again.

●●●

The morning light shines through the small crack in my curtains. I sit up, rubbing my eyes as I lean over to grab my phone. No new messages. My heart sinks. This is the part I was dreading the most. Never had Chan canceled a date night and not immediately tried to reschedule. So this is it then. Taking a shaky breath, I shut down my phone. It’s no better than a paperweight right now when all I’ll be doing is waiting for him to reach out first. It’s childish of me, I know I could reach out first, but that brings more brewing of hope that it isn’t over if he responds. Or worse yet, if he does respond and confirms that it’s over.

Letting my despair guide me, I shuffle towards the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I peel myself out of the clothes I wore to sleep in and step under the cold water. I don’t want warmth, that’s what he was. I just want to hide in the rain and gloom as these thoughts take over my body. It’s not like I can pack up and move out, we don’t share an apartment. Changing the code to my apartment is a possibility, but then I have to let all my friends know the new code and explain why it had to be changed. The only other option I can come up with is going back home for a few days. I moved to Seoul for school, but my family was back in the States. It’d give me the distance I need, and maybe some home cooked meals would heal the hole in my heart. I know Dad would pay for it, he’s been asking me to come home for a couple months now.

Taking a deep breath, I shut the water off and wrap a towel around me as I step out. Sighing, I walk back towards my bed and sit down at the edge. Bracing myself as I start my phone back up, I immediately call Dad as soon as it allows me to. “Hey! I know I’ve been delaying coming back home but I really miss you guys. I have the next two weeks off and was wondering if that would work for you and Mom?”

“Darling, anything works for our little girl to be back in our arms. Give me a second to look at flights. How long would you need to pack? We still have plenty of your clothes here, you know.” Laughing a little as I struggle to keep my composure, I glance around the room. “I can be ready to go as early as tonight then.”

“Really? There’s a flight that leaves at 5pm, your time. You’d have a couple hours to pack. Is that enough time?” His giddiness is almost palpable through the crackling speaker. A genuine snort forces its way out. “Sure, Dad. Thank you, I love you and I’ll see you soon then.” I stand up as he replies, “I love you so much, honey. Your mom is going to be so happy to have her baby back home for a while.” I hang up a little after a little more farewells are exchanged, insisting that I need to start packing. I make the mistake of glancing down at the screen before I get changed.

Channie💕: good morning, sweets. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can attempt to reschedule. It’s so hectic here with the comeback so soon and the album not being near ready enough. We’ll talk soon

Dread coils my gut, nearly knocking me over. That’s two messages without the words I need most. With shaking fingers I finally respond back, Oh okay. I love you. I throw my phone on the bed and walk away towards the closet, changing quickly. I refuse to look at my phone again until I have a suitcase packed.

●●●

Almost two hours later, I finally find the courage to pick my phone back up. Checking the time, I notice two notifications: one text and one email. Unlocking the screen, my heart shatters. Both are from Dad. The email is the flight information, informing me that I have around an hour to get to the airport.

Father Dearest: y/n, I forwarded the email with all ur flight info. Oh, honey, I can’t explain how excited I am to have u home with us. If u haven’t finished packing yet, good luck. Love u!

Sighing as tears finally fall down my cheeks, I order an Uber to take me to the airport. I know I should text Chan, but I can’t bring myself to allow even the possibility of going unanswered again. I’ll let him know before the plane takes off, using the cushion of the flight to allow me the escape I’ll need.

An agonizing 20 minutes pass before I’m climbing into the Uber. I spare a glance up at my apartment as we pull away. A part of me hopes he’ll show up to find me gone before I can even text him. It’s selfish and petty, but I just want Chan to feel a part of the agony I’ve been feeling. A simple conversation might be able to solve all of this, but we haven’t been able to have a solid 5 minute conversation in the past month, let alone one long enough to require what needs to be said. He couldn’t even get time off for a quick phone call on our one-year anniversary last week. Tears are slipping down my face before I know it. I quickly rub my sleeves over my face, not wanting the driver to ask questions.

We finally pull up to the airport and I climb out, thanking him for the ride. I barely feel present in my body as I walk through the motions of the airport. Next thing I know, I’m sitting in my seat staring out the window. The announcement comes that phones need to be turned off soon. Taking a deep breath, I prepare the text for Chan.

Hi, Channie. I want to start off by saying I’m not mad, I completely understand. You’re an idol and I knew this was going to be difficult when I agreed to be your girlfriend. I guess I misjudged exactly how difficult it would actually be. I want to thank you for the last year. You were such a blessing in my life, crashing into me and claiming your spot in my heart. I don’t know if you feel the same, I can’t talk to you anymore to confirm or deny my suspicions. The distance between us recently has said more than we’ve been able to. I’ve decided to make it more physical for a little while. I’m headed back home for a couple weeks. I know the timezone difference is going to be hard to communicate, but we’ve gotten so used to it that it shouldn’t feel any different. If this is goodbye, all I ask is that you just remove your stuff from my apartment before I get back. I’m sorry I couldn’t be stronger. I do love you, Chan. I just miss you too much to keep this up.

I hit send just as we begin our take-off. Shutting my phone and my feelings off, I lay my head back and drift to sleep, keen on waking up only when I can step off the flight into my parents’ arms.

●●●

I didn’t last the whole flight, but the last few hours were filled with reading the book I had packed just in case sleep evaded me. It was enough to not think about Chan, but never enough to dull the ache in my chest. We finally landed and shuffled off the plane, all heading towards baggage claim. Refusing to turn my phone back on, I felt like a robot on autopilot as I followed the crowd. I grabbed my suitcase and squared my shoulders as I prepared to face my family. They knew about Chan and I’s relationship, but I don’t want this trip to be about my broken heart. I walk out the doors and it takes me only a minute of scanning before I hear my name being shouted seconds before Dad barrels into me, lifting me off my feet in a hug. Mom wraps her arms around me as he sets me down, tears falling down all our faces.

“Oh my baby! You’re finally home! I’ve missed you so much.” Mom sobs into my shoulder, holding me tighter than should be humanly possible. I hug her back before tapping her shoulder, in need of oxygen. She pulls back with a relieved smile. “I have your favorite dinners planned for the whole time you're here. How’s Chan?”

My own smile falters for a split second before I straighten myself out. “Oh, you know, he’s just busy with his comeback. I had plenty of time to myself to make an impromptu trip,” partially the truth, just not the whole story. I can work with that easier than an outright lie. I smile at both my parents as they nod in understanding, Dad grabbing my suitcase to put in the car while Mom pulls my hand to get us going. The ride home is full of small talk about how work is going, how school was this last semester, how they are enjoying Dad’s new bonus from work. I fall into a comfortable silence as they keep the conversation flowing between them.

●●●

After dinner I finally find the courage to turn my phone back on, it’s been nearly six hours since I landed. It’s early morning back in Seoul, close enough to a full day since I sent the text to Chan. As my phone turns on, I’m bombarded with notifications. Missed calls and texts, nearly all from Chan.

Channie💕: Baby what?

Channie💕: You didn’t actually leave did you?

*two miss calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: Y/N please answer me. I can’t stand this, don’t leave me. I love you so much

Channie💕: I know I haven’t seen you in a bit or been able to talk to you but I don’t want to lose you

Channie💕: Baby please be at home, please let this be some cruel prank

Channie💕: You’re really not at home. Oh my god, baby please come back to me. I can’t lose you please don’t do this I love you

*four missed calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: I get it. Baby, I understand it’s hard. I should’ve tried harder for you. You mean so much to me. I fell into my typical work pattern and left you out, I’m so so fucking sorry. You’re a priority too and I neglected that. I need you

Channie💕: you went back home… for fuck’s sake I screwed up. I just saw the date. Oh my god y/n im the worst. I didnt even take off for our anniversary. You were waiting for me to even acknowledge it and i couldnt even do that. I fucked up so bad

Channie💕: Babygirl… i feel like i cant even breathe right now, my heart’s been ripped out and flew across the world with you

*eight missed calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: okay okay, I know this is getting excessive and I get that you’re on the plane but you should’ve landed by now. Just let me know that you’re alive.

Channie💕: My sweet girl, I will fix this. Fix us. I can’t imagine going through life without you in it.

Channie💕: I hope what I’m about to do doesn’t further break us, I love you so much, to the moon and stars beyond

The last text sent my heart into a stuttering stop. What did he mean by that first part? A wave of relief followed by anxiety floods my system. The last text was sent almost four hours ago. Tears welled in my eyes as I listened to the multiple voicemails he left. All practically the same as his texts, only I could hear the voice breaks and sobs between words. My heart cracked open and pain seeped through me.

Chris what are you doing? I understand that you’re busy, you don’t need to apologize, I’m the one who couldn’t handle it. We can talk when I get back, just focus on the album. Maybe with a longer time to plan we can sit and have a proper conversation. I still love you.

I chewed on my lower lip nervously as I waited for his response. After staring at the screen for nearly 30 minutes with no reply, I sighed as I assumed he just had to go back to work, blocking out the relationship that was sinking underwater. I quietly changed and crawled into bed. One last glance at my phone showed no new notifications. Tears flooded my face as I turned over in my childhood bed, resigned to sleep until the pain subsided.

●●●

I woke up to my mom shaking my shoulder. Blinking, I turned over to her, my face swollen from crying until I passed out. “Oh honey, I’m sorry to wake you up but there’s someone here to see you,” Mom bit down on her lips, like she was trying not to smile. I sat up and grabbed my phone, realizing that I’d slept for nearly 14 hours. “Okay, who is it?”

Mom shook her head and finally let the smile break free. “I think you should check for yourself, they said they’ve been wanting to see you for a while.” I cocked my head, confusion etched across my face. She just smiled brighter as she backed out of the room. “Just get dressed and I’ll send them up in a couple minutes. They’re finishing some tea up with your dad.” Tea? Dad doesn’t even like tea, he’s a die-hard coffee lover. Confusion still clouding my mind, I walked to my closet, ignoring the suitcase on the ground and threw on a sundress I had left here. I didn’t know who was waiting or how formal I had to be. I quickly threw my hair into a braid before checking my face in the mirror. The puffiness wouldn’t be able to go away in time, as I already heard rushed steps up the stairs. It finally dawned on me that whoever it was was being sent up to my room. Who would my parents have me meet in my room instead of downstairs with them?

As soon as the thought finished, my door was practically kicked open. I had less than 2 seconds to process who it was before arms were around me and squeezing me almost as hard as Mom had at the airport. Instantly the familiar scent hit my nose and I reeled back, surprise taking over the confusion and tears welling up faster than ever before.

“My sweet babygirl, you think I could handle two weeks with you in another country across the world after what I did?” Chan smiled as tears streaked down his face, clearly wary of my reaction. “I- fuck. I’m so sorry for everything,” he fell to his knees in front of me. “I didn’t expect to meet your family like this. Hell, your dad’s first impression of me was with tears streaming down my face and blubbering out what I did before I was even invited in,” Chan laughed at himself a little. “Of course, then I was immediately brought to the kitchen where he had me sit down and explain everything. I felt like such an idiot saying it all out loud. I wouldn’t have forgiven me if I was him. But then he said it wasn’t up to him, it’s your decision on if I should get kicked to the curb.” I stood in silence, staring down at him. He wrapped his arms around my legs, shaking from the sobs he was clearly holding back. “Baby, my y/n. I don’t even know where to begin. I screwed up so tremendously. The company couldn’t even stop me before I had booked a flight and had Bin race me to the airport. Felix called me a moron before I left,” at that he leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck.

“He’s not wrong.” I sunk down to my knees to be level with him. His eyes widened and tears still silently slid down his cheeks. I shook my head as I pulled him to me, finally hugging him back. “You’re a moron for coming here when you should be working on the album. But I don’t think I’ve ever loved you more. We can get through this. I just- it sounds so selfish- but I needed to truly see if you still wanted this. This was more than I ever expected.” I pulled back to look him in the eyes, bringing my hands to his cheeks to wipe the tears away. I leaned forward and connected our foreheads, breathing in his presence.

His words were barely a whisper as he breathed them into our shared space. “I thought I lost you. I swear on my career that I will change for you. You mean too much to me to watch you slip away again. I love you more than words can express. To the moon and stars beyond, my angel. Always.” I closed my eyes at his confession, breathing in the love he was giving back to me.

“How about we go back downstairs and reintroduce you to my parents. Since, you know, you’re meeting them now.” I giggled softly as he stiffened.

“Can we hold each other a little longer first? I look like a mess and it’s been long overdue to have you in my arms again.” I fully laughed at that. “Of course, love. You’re mine, they can wait to see the best version of you while I piece it back together for a bit.” He pulled away and stared at me. Without another word, he launched into a tackle, hugging me like he would never let go.

#skz x reader #stray kids #skz imagines #skz #skz angst #bang chan #bangchan skz #bangchan x reader #bangchan imagines

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babydollmarauders · 1 year

Text

ROADIE — TREVOR ZEGRAS

dad! trevor zegras x fem! reader

summary: in which your baby says her first word while Trevor is on a roadie.

warnings: pet names?

notes: i wrote this in about 2 hours and it was not proofread. so for all i know, this could be absolute trash.

“mama. can we say mama?” i probably looked like a crazy person, bent over the front of the cart, talking to my 10 month old in the grocery store with a rats nest of hair and wearing leggings with a heavily stained oversized Anaheim Ducks t-shirt. and the usual stares over being a 21 year old mom aren’t helping.

this has been the first time since Addy was born that no one was staying with me while Trevor is on a roadie, and it’s been a bit harder than i anticipated. it’s been exhausting because although Addy is delaying with her words, she excelled with her other milestones. namely walking. she took her first steps about two weeks ago and has been toddling about the apartment ever since, so life has turned into a fun little ‘where’s waldo?’ game every time i turn around for the past two days. she’s also going through a sleep regression, so she’s waking up every hour again, which leaves me with little to no time to sleep or shower or do anything besides dote on her. and then, of course, when i opened the cupboard this morning, i realized we were on the last jar of baby food, so cue a trip to the store.

Addy just makes some babbling noises and scream laughs in my face, making me flinch and straighten back up.

“alright duckling, i hear you loud and clear. let’s get checked out so we can go back home for some Bluey time, yeah?” i worked quickly and swiftly, scanning each glass jar of food at the self check out and bagging them based on vegetable, fruit, medley, or meal.

when i finally get out to the car and buckle Addy in, her little blue eyes, exact replicas of Trevor’s, sweep over my face as wide as saucers.

“can we try that again?” i make conversation as i finish buckling her car seat. “can you say mama? mama. mama.”

once again, my baby just stares back at me.

“or not. that’s cool too. you can totally not speak at all if you want. doesn’t matter to mommy, as long as you’re happy and healthy.”

with the grocery bags placed in the passengers seat, i start the drive back to the apartment.

when we get back, i turn the tv onto Bluey and set Addy in her jumper in the living room. giving myself some time to wash the dishes piling in the sink. about 10 minutes into it though, my phone starts ringing back in the living room. drying my hands on a dish towel, i walk the ten or so steps back to the couch and swipe at the answer button on my phone screen without even checking the caller id.

“hey babe!” Trevor’s face fills the screen in a facetime and his voice is like music to my ears.

“hi love! how was morning practice?” i use the remote sitting on the arm of the couch to pause the tv show while i go sit beside the jumper so Trevor can see our beautiful baby.

“it was good! the sharks aren’t ready for us.” his face lights up as soon as Addy comes into the camera view.

“that’s great. i believe in y’all! show those fish who the real predator is!” his laugh at my joke brings a smile to my lips and i’m overwhelmed with gratitude that this is the man i’ll be vowing to spend the rest of my life with this summer.

“how’s daddy’s little duckling?! daddy’s so happy to see your pretty little face! yes, he is!” his baby talk oddly causes my heart to skip a beat. “dada misses you so much. i can’t wait to be home tomorrow night so i can kiss all over your tiny face.”

“duh- duh” Addy babbles and i smile at Trevor on the screen.

“we’re taking dada’s absence to try and learn the word mama, aren’t we baby?” i direct the end of my sentence to Addy, who’s still babbling sounds.

“that’s cheating!” Trevor’s whine is joking and he opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can get a word out, someone else does.

“dada.” my eyes go wide, Trevor’s copying, and we both avert our gaze to our 10 month old, who just said her first word. her chubby little fingers are making grabby motions towards my phone, straight at her father.

“that’s right babygirl! say it again! say dada!” Trevor is frantic and i can see tears welling in his eyes, even through the screen.

“you can do it baby! say dada!” i encourage her, my own tears falling freely down my cheeks.

“dada. dada!” she looks at Trevor and repeats the word before looking up at me. “dada.”

“oh my god, she did it Trev! she said her first word!”

“i know! i was so worried it wasn’t gonna happen! i mean, i would love her regardless, but she did it! and it was dada!” the smile he wears is breathtaking and wide.

“she misses you. so do i.”

“i miss you too, baby. i’ll be home tomorrow night.”

****

Trevor gets home tonight and i have not gotten a reprieve from the endless shouts of dada, all morning. at the moment, Addy is wobbling down the hallway towards Trev and i’s room for the fifth time today, repeatedly shouting “dada! dada!”

i can’t be for certain, but i have a feeling she keeps assuming he’s in our room and is calling out for him. she’s definitely a daddy’s girl, although that’s not a surprise because she has been since she was born.

i’m currently trailing behind her, recording a video. after a few seconds, i scoop her up into my arms and send the video to Trevor.

to: Trev Swift

**video attachment**

she’s been doing this all day. babygirl is looking for her dada!

from: Trev Swift

oh my little duckling! be home in 2 hours

i blow raspberries on her cheek and readjust her on my hip.

“daddy will be home soon! isn’t that exciting?! i’m thinking playpen time until then.” i stop beside the pack n’ play set up in the living room already stocked with a few teething toys and blocks, and set Addy inside. i put some Mickey Mouse on the tv and sit on the couch, grabbing the book i’m currently reading off of the side table.

about 30 minutes later i notice it’s been suspiciously silent and look over to Addy, only to find her napping. i smile at the sight of my sleeping daughter, and go back to reading my book.

before i even realize how much time has passed, i hear the front door opening and a thud hit the ground. Trevor’s home. i bookmark my page and snap my book shut, leaping up from the couch and making my way towards the front of the apartment, meeting Trev in the dining room.

“hi, baby.” his arms snake around my waist and he leans down to plant a kiss on my lips. “where’s Addy?”

“napping. she passed out in the playpen about an hour and a half ago.” i slip my arms around my fiancé’s neck, laying my head on his chest. “how were your trips?”

“eh. they were fine. but i missed my girls.”

we pull back and share one more kiss, this one a little deeper, before the sound of Addy’s cries drifts towards us from the other room.

“you wanna get your daughter? i need a shower.”

“oh so now she’s my daughter?” he laughs as we walk into the living room. a big smile graces his lips and he scoops Addy up and into his arms. “hey babygirl! daddy’s home and he’s not going anywhere any time soon.”

“dada!” Addy shouts and slaps both her tiny palms onto his cheeks, squishing his face.

“yeah, duckling. dada.”

#trevor zegras #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras imagine #babydollmarauders #faithlynn’s writings <3 #nhl fic #nhl imagine #anaheim ducks

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rhoorl · 8 months

Text

Delta Landscaping | Chapter 3: Watch the Show

Series Summary: In this AU, the boys of Delta Force start a new business post-Colombia.

Rating: Explicit (18+) - putting this here as a blanket rating even though it doesn't apply to all chapters

Word Count: 4.4k

Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Connor and the boys fix Lucille’s fence giving the Neighborhood Watch its first opportunity for an in-person thirst fest.

A/N: Thank you again for all of the love on the first two chapters. I am having a lot of fun writing this and interacting with you!

BMW Group Chat

Will: Hey. Benny said that Connor wanted to come over and help with Ms. Lucille’s fence.

Megan: Yeah - you guys good with that?

Will: Affirmative. Wheels up is 0800 if he wants in on the Home Depot run.

Benny: Cool it Captain America. 🙄 Megan does 8 a.m. work tomorrow for him?

Megan: 😂 Yeah I’ll let him know. I think he’s looking forward to it.

Benny: Sweet! We’ll probably use Frankie’s truck but Connor can ride with me if that’s cool with you.

Megan: Yeah sounds good! About what time do you think you’ll start working?

Will: Probably a little after 9, shouldn’t take too long to get the stuff.

Megan: Ok cool.

_____________________

Neighborhood Watch Group Chat

Megan: ⚠️⚠️ Will said the guys should start working on Lucille’s by 9 tomorrow.

David: HELL YES! Who’s bringing what? Ty and I can bring mimosas. 🍾

Olivia: I can go for a donut run in the morning on the way back from soccer with the boys.

Melissa: I got the fruit salad! 🍓🍍🍉🥭

Katie: Anyone want a fancy coffee? I’ll run to Starbucks … just text me what you want.

Megan: Cool, it’s settled. See you all tomorrow!

_____________________

“You ready for today?” Megan sipped on her coffee, trying to sound nonchalant while eyeing Connor as he rolled into the kitchen.

“Yeah, should be fun.” He made a beeline to the fridge, grabbed a jug of orange juice, and turned around to inhale the breakfast Megan made for him – scrambled eggs and bacon. “Thanks, Mom!”

Bucky was immediately at Connor’s feet, looking up at him, begging for food.

“Despite what he tells you, I already fed him today. And I gave you a slice of bacon, mister!” Megan shook her head at the greedy pup before heading to the sink to rinse off her plate.

While her back was turned, Connor raised his fingers to his lips making a shushing motion as he snuck the pup half a piece of bacon.

He cleared his throat to cover up the sound of Bucky scarfing down the treat. “So, these guys used to be in the military or something?”

“Yea. Will says they were in for like almost 20 years or something but retired a few years ago. With that being said they’re probably punctual as hell so don’t be late!”

“Yes, mom. I’ll head over there right after I get a few more bites.”

After he finished his breakfast, Connor grabbed his phone and wallet, gave his mom a kiss, and gave Bucky some head scratches. He looked at the time, smiling that he was 15 minutes early.

As he walked over to 319 Mulefall Court, he saw a green truck pull up. He recognized the two men who got out, they were Benny and Will’s friends, but he just couldn’t remember their names. The taller guy was in jeans and a gray T-shirt with a blue baseball cap and aviators. The other guy, who was a bit shorter, wore black shorts and a white V-neck shirt that was a bit tighter fitting than the taller man’s shirt.

Benny walked out of the garage and greeted the two men with a handshake and hug and was dressed comfortably in black and white basketball shorts, a cutoff concert tee, and a black backward baseball cap. He spotted Connor walking over and waved at the boy.

“Hey, bud!” Benny called over. “You're early, nice!”

“Ha yea, I uh… I didn’t want you all waiting up.”

“All good. Hey I’m not sure if you’ve officially met them but these are my friends Frankie and Santi – or Fish and Pope, whatever’s easier for ya,” he chuckled.

“Nice to meet you boss,” Santiago extended his hand for a firm handshake.

“We’re excited to have an extra set of hands,” Frankie smiled, giving the boy a handshake too.

“Well, thanks for the invite.”

“You know, for being the one always up my fucking ass about being on time, Will is late. Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to swear in front of you. Fuck!" Benny smacked himself on the forehead laughing.

“Ha, it’s all good. I won’t tell my mom if you won't,” Connor winked.

“Good man!” Pope chuckled, slapping Connor playfully on the shoulder as they all laughed.

“Hi, Connor!” a soft voice called from across the street.

Connor turned to see Aria walking her dog. He tensed and immediately felt his face getting red. Aria was one of the prettiest girls in school and also his biggest crush.

“Uh…h-hey Aria!” He rubbed the back of his neck, giving a small wave.

“I like your dog!” Benny called over. “Is that a Rhodesian Ridgeback?”

“Yea! No one ever knows what kind of dog he is.” She was impressed at the man’s astute observation.

“Yeah, we used them on missions before. Those dogs are badass!” Benny smiled.

Aria stopped as her dog sniffed the grass, looking over to Connor and the men in the driveway. “Um…you all off to do something fun?”

Connor was frozen and didn’t know what to do. He felt tongue-tied, intimidated by her and the three men behind him who were most likely scrutinizing his every move and probably ready to make fun of him when this encounter was all over.

I bet none of them have trouble talking to girls.

What he couldn’t see was that the three men behind him were exchanging looks and smirks, remembering what it was like to be in high school, faced with talking to a pretty girl. Hell, depending on the woman they still acted that way.

Frankie gave Pope a nod, using the unspoken language they had mastered after decades of friendship.

Pope cleared his throat, “Uh, yeah actually we are. Connor here is helping us build a fence!”

“Build a fence? Wow, cool!” Aria smiled, looking directly at Connor.

“Yeah, he does a lot of work for Ms. Lucille. It was his idea to have us help, wasn’t it Connor?” Benny came up, slapping a hand on the boy's shoulder.

“Uh.” Connor glanced over to Benny who gave him a look and a squeeze to the shoulder. “Uh, ye-yea. It’s not a big deal, should be pretty easy.”

“Cool, well, don’t work too hard. I’ll see you around!” she waved and continued on her walk.

Connor immediately turned around and took what felt like his first breath in minutes. Benny’s arm was around his shoulder and he braced for the guys to give him a hard time before seeing Will come out of the garage.

“Hey, Connor! Sorry guys, I was talking to Joel. Ready to go?” Will smiled, walking over to give the boy a handshake.

“Yeah, let’s do it! I like your shirt,” Connor pointed to Will’s blue Tampa Bay Lightning dri-fit shirt.

“Thanks, man, you ever go to a game?”

“I’ve only been to like two, but I’ll catch them on TV when I can.”

The guys chit-chatted with Connor for a few more minutes before Benny cut in.

“Ok, so since there’s five of us, I figure we could take two cars. Fish, you good driving Will and Pope? I’ll take Connor.”

All the men nodded and got into their respective vehicles.

Benny didn’t say anything to Connor as they got into his car and buckled in. He reversed down the driveway and headed for the entrance of the neighborhood.

As they reached a stop sign he looked over to Connor, “So…you like her?”

“Who?” Connor kept facing forward, but his eyes darted around. He wasn’t really used to talking about girls with anyone.

“That girl with the Rhodesian. You think she’s pretty right?”

“Uhh…”

“Dude, you practically froze,” he chuckled, glancing over to see the boy was clearly nervous. “Hey, it’s all good, man I get like that too. A pretty girl will have that effect on you no matter how old you are.”

“Really?”

“Ha yea. One time, I got so nervous to walk up to a girl at a bar that I tripped and fell flat on my face,” he laughed. “But it worked out for me, I still got her number," he smirked at the memory. "There’ve been times we’ve had to practically push Fish over to a girl to get her number, the guy gets so shy. Oh and don’t even get me started on Pope. You see the guy and he looks like he’s super suave and shit, but he's had his moments too. Don’t let him fool you,” he glanced over with a wink.

Connor let out a nervous laugh. “Ha, yeah…I like her…I’ve liked her for a while.”

“Then why don’t you ask her out? Do you have her number? Is that a thing you even do anymore or do you like message on social media or something?”

“Ha, yeah I have her number.”

“Ok, and?”

"Well, for starters, she's older than me. She's gonna be a senior this year."

"Ooo an older woman? Nice," he winked. "Nothing wrong with going out with someone older than you. Still doesn’t explain why you just can’t ask her out."

“I can’t, man. She…she…what if she says no.”

“Well, what if she says yes?” Benny glanced over. “Does she have a boyfriend or something?”

“No, at least I don’t think so…I think she and one of my teammates were talking last year.”

“But not anymore right?” Connor shook his head. “Ok, then!”

“I don’t know. She probably isn’t even into me, you should see my teammate. He looks like a younger version of Will…not that I'm calling him old or anything,” Connor chuckled.

As they reached the stoplight Benny assessed the boy in his passenger seat. He couldn’t really tell based on the baggy Orlando Magic T-shirt, but it looked like Connor was a bit on the skinny side. He could relate, he was a string bean when he was younger, so he could only imagine what Connor felt like comparing himself to other guys, especially if his teammate did in fact look like a younger version of his brother.

“Do you lift?"

Connor nodded, "Yeah I try, don't really know what I'm doing though … clearly." He motioned to his bicep.

"Wanna…wanna start working out with me?

Connor looked over at him confused, “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, like this summer, do you want to start working out with me? I was a personal trainer for a little while and I did some MMA fighting too for a bit, so I know my way around a gym,” he offered with a smile.

“Uh, y-yea that would be cool.”

“Nice, well we’ll figure something out,” Benny continued as he turned into the Home Depot parking lot. “Welp looks like we’re here.”

___________________

“Lulu, where are you?” Megan called as she walked into Lucille’s home. She knew the rest of the crew would be showing up any minute.

“In here,” Lucille called from the kitchen.

“I should have known,” Megan mumbled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen.

When she turned the corner, she saw Lucille arranging some muffins and pastelitos on a tray.

“We’re going to have so much food!”

“Well, don’t look in the fridge, then” Lucille smirked. “I made some things for lunch for the boys… papa rellenas and croquettes, and of course empanadas for Benny. I just need to fry it all up. Don’t say anything to David, he’ll want to take it all home!”

Right on cue, they heard the door open, knowing instantly it was David and Ty based on the noise.

“We’re here bitches! Let’s get this thirst fest started!” David shouted in a sing-song manner as he and his partner made their way into the kitchen. “We brought a few different juices - orange, pineapple, and your favorite Lulu, guava!” He said, kissing Lucille on the cheek as he set several containers on her counter.

“I also brought my binoculars,” Ty showed off a large pair of binoculars he used for birdwatching.

“Eres demasiado.” Lucille shook her head as she wiped her hands on her apron and gave the man a kiss on the cheek.

Megan laughed, amused at the two characters who just walked in.

David and Ty had been together for 10 years and moved into Torrey Hills a few years ago. At first, they were quiet and kept to themselves, unsure how the neighbors would feel about a gay couple living next door. Suburban Tampa was a bit different than Miami, where they previously called home.

They were excited but a bit nervous when Megan and Lucille invited them over for coffee for the first time. But the four of them quickly became thick as thieves, even Julio found the little posse’s antics hilarious.

“Knock, knock!” Melissa was the next to arrive, with her elaborate fruit salad in tow. “I haven’t missed anything yet, right?”

“No, girl, they are still out at Home Depot,” Ty said as he poured her a mimosa. “Light on the juice, just how you like it,” he winked.

Olivia came frantically through the door a few moments later with an assortment of donuts.

“Where’s Diana? I was hoping for some baby cuddles,” Lucille pouted, seeing Olivia sans her nine-month-old.

“She’s taking a nap. Chris is watching CJ and Max, leaving momma to have the morning to herself!” She smiled and greedily reached for the mimosa Ty made for her.

“Where the hell is Katie?” Megan asked, looking at her phone to see if Katie backed out.

___________________

“Ugh, I should have asked for another tray,” Katie mumbled to herself as she parked her car. She walked over to her passenger side door and grabbed the tray of drinks along with a few bags of breakfast sandwiches and pastries.

She decided to walk over to Lucille’s since it was only a few houses over. She had just reached the porch when she heard a couple of cars pull up.

Shit. I knew I should have gotten here earlier.

“Hey, Katie!” Benny called over to her from the car window he had rolled down.

“H-hi Benny!”

“What’re doing here? You all having a party while we work?” he chuckled as he got out of the car.

She saw Connor and then turned to notice Will, Frankie, and Santiago getting out of a truck, all smiling and waving at her. Will, in particular, looked over at her curiously and she was thankful for her sunglasses so he couldn’t see that she was checking him out.

“Uh, yeah something like that. It’s been a while since we got together and uh…we…uh… wanted to keep an eye …things…like…Connor,” it was the best she could muster and she immediately regretted it.

“Keep an eye on me?” Connor asked confused.

“Oh, not in a bad sweetie, uh…” she was getting more flustered. “There’s some stuff I need help with around my house too so, uh, we figured we’d see how you do. Might need to hire your little crew here,” she smiled hoping she had recovered.

“So, like a trial run of our services, then?” Will smirked.

“Uh, y-yea, something like that. I should probably get inside. If David’s sandwich gets any colder he’s going to freak the fuck out. Shoot, sorry Connor,” she blushed, turning quickly and dashing up the steps.

Once she got inside, she slammed her back against the door, trying to catch her breath.

“Katie?” Megan asked as she walked around the corner. “There you are! Wait…what happened?”

“Ugh, the line was long and I knew I was running late and was trying to get back here before they did, but I didn’t and shit, I was awkward as fuck in the driveway. And now they know that we’re all here,” she rambled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you chug six espressos on the way over here? It’s all good. Besides, I wasn’t trying to hide the fact that we were over here, they’re going to be able to see us through the window silly,” she laughed.

Katie let out a breath, realizing she was spiraling. “You’re right. Sorry, Meg.” She smiled.

“C’mon let’s go before David calls dibs on the best seat.”

__________________

“I can’t believe we are watching this … and for free!” David laughed. "This is better than that time we went to the Magic Mike show, right Melissa?"

Once the guys got all of the materials and tools settled in the backyard, they made pretty quick work of mending Lucille’s fence. They took out some of the panels that were rotting or damaged. Will and Frankie taught Connor how to cut the different pieces of wood, while Benny and Santiago sanded some pieces down.

However, the crew inside wasn’t paying attention to the progress of the repairs, instead, they were admiring the view.

“Ok, but like, I’ve never had a thing for forearms before but holy shit,” Melissa said as she reached for one of the guava and cheese pastelitos.

“Those are for the boys!” Lucille slapped her hand as Melissa rolled her eyes.

“Ok, so before today I thought I was more of a Benny guy, but Santiago, phew!” Ty fanned himself. “The shirt is basically like a second skin it is so drenched.” His eyes were pressed to the binoculars.

“I think he has the cutest butt,” Melissa chimed in.

“A Benny guy? It’s like they’re a boy band and you’re picking your favorite member,” Megan threw her head back in laughter.

“I am fully on the Will train, but he’s all yours Katie!” Olivia smirked as Katie blushed.

“Well, we all know who I am a fan of!” David glanced over to the group.

“You just have a curly hair with a hat kink, babe,” Ty teased.

“No! Well… okay, yeah I guess. But his hair baby, look at it. The way it just like peaks out from under his hat. Gimme,” he snatched the binoculars from Ty.

They see Frankie remove his hat, running his fingers through his hair before returning the hat to the top of his head.

“Also the way his sweaty curls are sticking to the back of his neck? Ay yai yai yai! I just want to bite it.”

“He reminds me of my Julio when he was younger,” Lucille cut in, looking at Frankie fondly. “He was quite the stunner, you know.”

The group continued to look on as the guys moved on to start nailing some of the planks in place. Olivia snorted, laughing to herself, the mimosas starting to take their effect.

“What’s so funny?” David asked.

“I mean, I just … my mind is in the gutter, no thanks to you,” she pointed at him. “But, like with them using the nail gun, I can only think of dirty puns.”

“What, like how long it’s been since you've been nailed?” Ty smirked.

“She has three kids, Ty, I think we all know she fucks,” David chuckled.

“Ok, everyone, my son is literally using the nail gun right now, can we not?” Megan put her hands over her ears shaking her head.

“I just think it’s so sweet how they’re including Connor, it would have been so easy to have him do something small but he’s been involved in every step,” Lucille smiled warmly as she looked out of her kitchen window.

"Ugh, yes! They're getting sweatier now. I’ve never been more grateful for the Florida heat," David raised his hands in praise.

___________________

“Ok, that should about do it, I think,” Will said as Connor put the last nail in. He pulled his shirt up, using it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“Nice, this looks great. That was fun…Uh, thank you guys. I honestly don’t know if I could have done this on my own.” Connor said as he looked at the four men.

“Oh, I’m sure you would have figured it out, man. You picked things up really fast,” Frankie gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Do you think our audience liked the view,” Santiago motioned over to Lucille’s back patio.

“Well, you sure were flexing anytime you could Pope. Could you get a tighter shirt next time?” Benny joked as Pope slapped him on the chest.

“I can’t help but put on a show pendejo, especially when I have an audience,” he winked. “And don’t give me shit, your brother was doing it too. I saw you eyeing Katie, Ironhead.”

“See,” Benny said under his breath to Connor, raising his eyebrows.

“She’s…nice. And she needs help with her house. It’s not in as bad of shape as ours, but I can tell she has a few projects just from the outside alone. I can only imagine what’s going on inside.”

“Yea, you’d like to know what it’s like inside, wouldn’t y-, oww!” Santiago yelped as Will hit him upside the head and Frankie shook his head laughing.

“Dude, can you fucking cool it in front of the kid,” Will motioned over to Connor who was doubled over laughing along with Benny at the scene in front of them.

__________________

“Oh shit, Will has a six-pack?!” Ty said from behind his binoculars. “Do you want a look, Katie?”

“I can see just fine from here,” Katie smirked. It was obvious that Will was a fit guy and she was grateful to get a little peak at what he was working with. Although she wasn’t usually attracted to blondes, there was something about Will that she was drawn to.

“It looks like they’re about done, so I’m going to go out there,” Lucille grabbed a tray and a basket with water bottles.

“We can all come!” David started to get up.

“Wait. Maybe just Lulu and I go out there first, we don’t need to overwhelm them with all of this…energy,” Megan chimed in.

“Ok, but we’re all coming out at some point,” Melissa laughed, eyes still focused outside taking in the scene.

_____________________

The glass sliding door opened and Lucille and Megan walked out with water and snacks in hand.

“This looks great, boys. You did amazing,” Lucille beamed, she loved seeing Connor so proud of himself.

“Connor did a great job, he’s a natural, Ms. Lucille!” Benny squeezed the boy's shoulder as he smiled at him.

“Yeah, careful Megan, or we may need him to come over to our place to work on some stuff,” Will added.

“Oh, I’m sure that would be totally fine,” Megan smiled.

“Who are all of your friends?” Santiago motioned toward the house with his chin.

“Ah, that’s our little crew. We get together every now and again, you’ll like them. We’ve become a little family,”

It was true, this specific group of neighbors had become pretty tight-knit, getting together for Super Bowl or Stanely Cup parties, celebrating birthdays, hosting barbecues and game nights, and just generally looking out for one another.

“We actually were thinking of having a pool party soon, you all in?” Megan asked.

“Hell yeah, we’d be down!” Benny smiled, excited to be included.

“Even us? I mean, we aren’t technically neighbors…” Frankie asked.

“Ay, por favor Francisco,” Lucille shook her head, lightly slapping Frankie’s arm.

“Of course! You two basically live here!” Megan chuckled.

“Is it settled, are we down for a pool party?” David yelled from the porch, waving at the group in Lucille’s backyard.

“That’s David,” Megan rolled her eyes, laughing and shaking her head. Turning back to the house she gave a thumbs up, signaling for the rest of the crew to join them.

***

Everyone shook hands with each other and started talking. Will managed to work his way over to where Katie was standing.

"The fence looks great!" Katie glanced over to Will and she surveyed their handiwork. "You just casually know how to fix fences?"

"Ha, well not entirely. I definitely had to call and get some pointers from my cousin, he's a lot handier than I am, but I can manage just fine," he smirked.

"Well, that's good to know," she felt her face getting red.

"So, you said you needed some help around your house? What projects d'you have?"

"Oh, there's a ton. Seriously, I need to get off of Pinterest because every time I open that damn app I add something new to my list," she chuckled.

"Ha yeah, I've heard it has that effect. My...uh…ex used to constantly be on that��" he trailed off as if he was reliving a memory.

"Was she into home repairs too?"

Shaking his head, "Ah no…wedding planning." He picked up the hem of his shirt again, wiping his forehead.

Seeing his stomach up close made Katie's eyes almost bug out of her head, but she tried to keep her cool.

"Ah yea, been there done that."

***

“So, the party is at your place then?” Santiago asked Melissa, lingering a little bit longer with his handshake and eyeing her up and down.

“Uh, yeah, my fiancé and I just finished our pool, so it’s a great excuse to have people over,” she blushed, biting her lip and looking down.

“Oh,” Santiago withdrew his hand. “N-nice, we’re…uh…looking forward to it.”

Melissa snapped out of it and cleared her throat. "Hey everyone, is tomorrow too soon of notice for the party? We can do it next Sunday if that's better?"

A cacophony of "No, tomorrow's great" and "Let's do it" rained down, which then turned into everyone chatting about what to bring. Once everything was settled the Neighborhood Watch crew went inside to clean things up as the boys and Connor collected all of their things.

___________________

"Thanks again for letting me come and help you guys," Connor said after they got everything situated back in Will and Benny's garage. "I had fun."

“You did great, man! And seriously, if you want to help us with other stuff that's cool. Sounds like Katie may have some projects," Will said as he wiped his hands.

"Oh does she, now? Those projects in her bedroom or what?" Benny started to tease his brother, but Will punched him in the stomach. "Ow!"

"You made plans to see what she needs help with?" Santiago raised his eyebrows at Will who shook his head.

*Well, figure it out tomorrow at the pool party then," Frankie shrugged.

As Connor started to head back, Benny stopped him. "Hey, wait. Here gimme your number. I'm serious about what I said earlier. If you wanna get started working out, just let me know, but…don’t feel like you have to." He handed the boy his phone and Connor put his number in.

"Thanks. You aren't going to go all drill sergeant mode on me are you?"

"Ha, nah. I used to train all kinds of people, it's not a one-size-fits-all approach." Benny offered him a warm smile.

"Sweet. Ok, well I guess I'll see you all tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, sounds good. See ya bud!"

Next Chapter

A/N: I can't remember who made the comment that rather than a reader insert this is a group insert, but hopefully the Neighborhood Watch is fulfilling that role! We’re headed to Melissa’s house next for a pool party in the next chapter!

I’ve loved the asks I’ve received about this universe! In case you missed it here are the two most recent ones:

The Cars: The boys' cars are mentioned in Chapter 2, but it wasn't specified who owned which car, now you know!

Vanity Plates: Going off the cars post, I received an ask about whether the boys would have vanity plates on their cars.

Let me know if you want to be on the tag list moving forward!! Apologies if I accidentally left you off, I added it all manually … just let me know!

@goodwithcheese / @gemmahale / @trulybetty / @patti7dc / @periodtsparadox / @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin / @maggiemayhemnj / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @avastrasposts / @meveispunk / @chaoticfestninja / @beholdbebravethings / @casa-boiardi / @katw474 / @linzels-blog / @laughing-in-th3-purple-rain / @primosworld / @lynnchun / @anoverwhelmingdin /@lilmizmoz / @pedrit0-pascalit0 / @titlee78 / @noisynightmarepoetry / @inept-the-magnificent / @perennialdoll247 / @for-a-longlongtime / @readingiskeepingmegoing / @harriedandharrassed / @musings-of-a-rose / @anavatazes

#delta landscaping #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier fic #triple frontier au #triple frontier fanfic #triple frontier #frankie morales fanfiction #benny miller fanfiction #will miller #santiago garcia

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jasntodds · 6 months

Text

Petrichor [12]

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader (little bit of fwb)

Words: 12,719

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, angst, blood, violence, canon violence, manipulation, gunshot wounds, mentions of drug use, drug use, reader is fed the fuck up, description of withdrawal (kind of??)

Summary: ❝Pylades: I’ll take care of you. Orestes: It’s rotten work. Pylades: Not to me. Not if it’s you.❞

Gotham is home, not just for Jason but for you, too. And now that you’re both finally back home, together, you’re ready to see where this next chapter brings the two of you. He’s your best friend and you’re his. And you both might want a little something more with being back home, the place you both feel most comfortable. Surely, nothing could possibly go wrong now.

A/N: I really do just love angst so much lmao You can add yourself to the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary and turn on notifications if you prefer that!! I love feedback, I swear it keeps me posting on a weekly basis 😭

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The next day Jason is with Crane. Jason is still reeling from last night. Dick knows pretty much everything now and that wasn’t a part of the plan. Jason thinks it’s only a matter of time before Dick shows back up and destroys the entire thing. It’s only a matter of time before Dick ruins everything all over again. And he thinks about you and how mad and worried you were. It’s all growing a bit too heavy for him, even with the drug. But, he pushes Crane anyway.

The sooner they get this plan in action, the better. The sooner Jason can take care of Dick, the better. But, Crane isn’t having any of it. Crane wants to go through with his plan but he’s also not telling Jason a single thing about it. It’s like Jason is just a piece in his game, a pawn. Doing all of the bidding and only knowing what’s going on when he actually needs to in order to do Crane's bidding. But, Jason shakes that thought off because Crane cares about him. Crane wouldn’t be just using him. Right?

“I met that girl of yours.” Crane states, getting tired of Jason’s pestering about going after Dick.

“I heard.” Jason quips, his voice snippy and harsh.

“She is a handful, isn’t she?”

Jason knows what he’s doing and he won’t. He can be as high as Crane wants him to be but he still has a line. And that line is you. It is always you. Anyone but you.

“I can handle her.” Jason states.

“Can you? You can fight better than her. You've had the training. But, like Dick Grayson, she walked away from last night.” Crane lets out a wistful sigh. “And she threatened to kill me.” Crane looks to be hurt as the words leave his lips. Jason knows better than to think someone threatening Crane's life would hurt his feelings. “Doesn’t it bother you that her and Bruce didn’t kill the Joker for you?” Crane asks and Jason’s eyes land on the floor. “I mean,” Crane lets out another sigh. “That maniac killed you and they couldn’t be bothered to kill him for you. Sam is at least a killer now but not for you. I, though, I brought you back.” Crane gives Jason a sinister smile as he places a hand on his shoulder.

Jason hates it because Crane makes a point. Bruce couldn’t even bend his morals for him. Bruce said he was his son and he took him in, he let him be Robin. Bruce was supposed to protect him and everyone else. But, then he couldn’t even kill the Joker. He’s not asking him to kill Two-face or The Riddler or even Crane, but he should have killed the Joker for him. That’s the part that hurts. And you turn around and starts taking out lowlives but you didn’t even hit the Joker first. Not even for him and you've been wanting his blood on your hands since your mom died. But, somehow, that wasn’t enough for even you. Jason, though, does know someone killed him. And he knows what you said about what him dying did to you. He thinks that person just beat you to it. Bruce though, even Dick. Dick could have killed him, too and he didn’t. No one that claims to care about him at all killed the Joker for him and none of you brought him back. Jonathan Crane brought him back from the dead. Not the people who care bout him.

“This isn’t about her. It’s about Dick.” Jason shakes his head because you're still the line. Despite it all, you're the line he won’t cross.

Jason knows, under the haze of the drug, you would have brought him back from the dead if you knew how. And if it were something you knew he'd want. You would have fought and chewed into fate and the Reaper with nothing but your bare hands just to bring him back. You would have killed the Joker if someone didn't beat you to it. After everything going on, you're still the one person who hasn't given up on him.

You're the line.

“See, that’s your problem. It’s not just about Dick Grayson. It’s about all of Gotham and your girlfriend is a part of that.”

“Okay.” Jason states, unsure where else he could possibly be going with this.

“She’s going to be a problem, just like that older brother of yours.” Crane warns as he turns back around as he walks into the little office building. “She’ll come after me eventually and then I bet she’ll come after you, with Dick Grayson at her side.”

“She’s not a problem.” Jason defends.

You could have killed him last night. If the first knife would have missed, you would have had a second one already in the air on its way to his jugular. If you want someone dead with a knife, you're more than capable but instead, you didn’t. You've had opportunities to kill him and fight him at full force but you don’t. You aren’t the problem, no matter what Crane says.

“Isn’t she? She still wants you to join their side and turn me in, the person who has helped you the most. Haven’t you thought about her using you? Her fear drove her to you and now she’s lost. She doesn’t know who is without you because she got to try to fix you and distract herself from it. You got her to live in that fancy mansion.” Crane says and Jason, right about now, is pretty glad he left out more about you.

Crane pushes sometimes for more information but Jason deflects and pulls information about anyone else he can. Jason won’t let Crane target you. That’s not how this partnership is going to work. It doesn’t matter. Jason Todd doesn’t make very many promises, but he made a promise to you and he’s not breaking it. You don’t break your promises to him.

“She’s not using me. I can get her to join our side.” Jason states, his voice growing more annoyed.

“Then why haven’t you?”

“That wasn’t part of the plan.” Jason lies.

“If I told you to give her the drug and help us, would you?” Crane asks, his brows slightly furrowing with the question because he’s already pretty sure he knows the answer.

Crane doesn’t know you already took the drug. Crane also doesn’t know the real reason Jason burned down his lab. Jason told Crane he was just covering his tracks after Hank. He knew Dick would be digging deeper and he might find it. That isn’t actually a complete lie, that’s probably what would have happened if Dick didn’t already find it. But, the real reason was that he didn’t want you going back and making more of it and taking it. He feels the comedown and sure, while he’s high or when he’s desperate not to feel that way again, it feels worth it. In those moments it always feels worth it but you were always better with dealing with your shit than he was. He doesn’t want you involved with Crane and he doesn’t want you addicted to the drug. You deserve better.

He’d never give you the drug. He’d never ask you to work alongside Crane.

“Yeah, she would do it. She’s just as fucked up as I was.” Jason lies through his teeth, shifting his weight to his right foot.

Crane nods his head but he met you. You're not scared, not in the way Jason was. He can tell you have her own issues but you're not like Jason when Jason showed up at Arkham. “Maybe she’s not who you thought she was.” Crane sighs. “You should really be focused on taking care of her with Dick, if that’s your goal that is.”

“No.” Jason states firmly. “Not happening.” Jason scoffs. “She’s not a fucking problem. She fights with Dick all the damn time and she fought him last night with me. Nothing to worry about.” Jason shakes his head, still a little confused what that was even about.

“Oh, I’m not worried.” Crane states. “You are. If you don’t take care of her, you’ll always be stuck here. You’ll never be able to get to your full potential because you’re too worried about what she’ll do. Maybe what she’ll think of you. Though, I have to say, she is not pleased with you over that Hawk fellow.”

“And she still fought Dick for me.” Jason urges. “Clearly, she doesn’t have that big of a problem with it.”

“I’m just giving you my advice. You want to be fearless but you’re still scared of what she’ll do and what she thinks of you.” Crane tsks.

“I’m not taking care of her. I want to go after Dick. Look, we know the drug works. I’m exhibit one.” Jason states, trying to deflect from you. It can’t be you.

“You’ll see, my boy.” Crane states.

The night before rings through your head like a migraine you can't quit. You and Dick got back pretty later, or rather early in the morning. Dick was instant he could take care of the gunshot wound on his own. He'd done it before, apparently. So, that left you to your room alone and sleeping didn't come too easy.

You could have had both of them but Dick just wouldn't listen and Jason doesn't listen and you're too damn loyal to him. If it were anyone else, you could have thrown a knife to injure them and you would have had him and then could have gotten Crane. But, it's Jason and you don't want to hurt him even if hurting him could bring him back and end up being for his own good. You just won't take the risk. And it sucks. And then you almost got shot because Jason and Dick can't work out their problems like normal people with an actual conversation. You're stuck in the middle of the two of them and you don't even know how the hell that happened.

And then there's the way Jason looked at you when you asked him to come home.

The drug must have been wearing off because he looked scared and for the life of you, you don't know why he would be so scared to come home. Yes, he killed Hank and that's bad but everyone attacked Gar while possessed and moved on from that. Gar killed people when he was being controlled. Jason is killing people while he's manipulated and drugged. None of them have attempted to do anything about any of the people you've killed. Dick just let Bruce walk right out after killing the Joker. Jason shouldn't be scared to come home and you feel horrible he clearly does. Getting him back just got a lot more difficult it seems and you're starting to second guess where you should stand in all of it.

You walk into the Batcave where you find Gar and Kory, looking to be researching something on the Batcomputer. You're best guess is they're trying to track down Jason. That's the only thing anyone is doing these days anyway.

"There you are!" Gar yells with excitement and relief as he rushes to you.

Gar's been worried. You and Dick went off without an explanation and didn't come back last night. Neither of you could even be bothered to answer a phone or keep the phones on for that matter. Kory hadn't heard anything and neither did Connor. He's relieved to see you're okay, even if you're looking a little out of it.

"Oh, yeah, hey." You let out a sigh as Gar brings you in for a hug.

"Where were you last night?" Kory questions. "And where is Dick?"

"And what happened?" Gar asks as he pulls away.

You furrow your brows, looking between them as your heart misses a beat. "W-what do you mean?"

Have they really not seen Dick? You might not have slept long or well but Dick is still, somehow, usually always awake. At least here like maybe the manor is haunting him in its own way. But, Kory and Gar are watching you expectantly and you worry maybe something went wrong with the whole gunshot thing.

"I don't think it's some coincidence you and Dick disappeared yesterday and stopped answering your phones." Kory crosses her arms.

Your jaw opens and closes a few times. "Uh..I mean...yeah..." You offer a yikes expression, squinting your eye slightly.

"Explain, now." Kory states sternly.

"Well, uh, you see...you haven't seen Dick or...heard from him?" You ask slowly.

"No." Kory grows more annoyed by the second.

"Not since he dropped Dawn off." Gar offers, hoping you get to the point soon.

You suck in a breath as you tug your sleeves over your hands. "Uh, yeah...so Dick got, uh shot. But, he was fine."

"So, you just went to bed?!" Gar asks.

"And you didn't think to come get me? Or any of us?" Kory demands.

"He said he had it and he's been shot before. I wasn't gonna argue with him."

"Since when? You argue with him all the time." Gar shakes his head in disbelief. Of all times you aren't going to argue with Dick, it's when he's shot. He could be bleeding out somewhere.

"Yes, I was not in the mood last night." You defend your stance as regret starts to chew at your stomach.

Kory lets out a groan. "And where did you last see him?"

"In the living room? Before I went to bed." You state but before you start giving up more answers, the one and only finally makes his way into the Batcave. "Oh, thank fuck." You let out a breath of relief.

"What happened!?" Kory asks quickly, immediately rushing over to Dick who's a little unsteady on his feet.

You and Gar watch the two of them and you can't help the grin that comes to your lips. Rachel made jokes about the two of them and said she thought it was weird but they'd be cute together. You get it now. Kory ran to him in the same you would have if it were Jason. Dick is clearly the idiot between the two of them.

You eye Gar. "Bet you ten bucks it'll be Kory to close the deal when she gets tired of waiting for him to get his shit together."

"I'm not gonna bet on that." Gar whispers with a soft grimace.

"Because you'll lose?" You raise, offering him a smirk.

"Yes." Gar chuckles. "I don't know if Dick is capable of having that conversation unprovoked."

You nod, rolling your eyes. "Batboys." You let out a sigh. "Okay, I give Kory a month."

"Four, tops." Gar sticks out his hand and you shake it with a soft laugh before you and Gar follow Kory and Dick to the medbay.

Dick takes off his shirt and reveals a gunshot wound on the upper left side of his chest. You furrow your brows. It looks nasty and his entire chest is covered in blood, most of it dry but some of it still looks fresh. Kory shakes her head, grabbing the supplies to stitch up the wound. Gar and you watch for a few minutes, mostly grimacing at the sight of it.

"Dude, that looks horrible." Gar scrunches his nose.

"Five inches over and we'd be burying another body." Kory says as she starts addressing the wound.

"Dude, seriously?" You huff. "You said you'd take care of that." You roll your eyes. You wonder how he could be so dumb. And reckless. It's not like it's a cut or a scrape. It's a literal gunshot wound close to his heart.

Kory stops what she's doing to look at you, Gar nearly snapping his head at you. Dick just glares at you, looking more annoyed than usual.

"What?" You ask, looking between all of them with wide eyes. "What'd I do now?"

"Let him go to bed with a gunshot wound and not tell anyone." Gar mutters under his breath, making you snap your entire attention on him. That's uncharacteristic.

"I'm not gonna force someone to let me help clean up their wounds." You mutter right back, earning a glare of disbelief from Gar. "Okay, unless it's Jaon or you." You snip back. "Sorry." Your eyes widen, looking between the three of them.

Gar keeps his stare on you. You're supposed to be friends and you're not looping him to anything anymore. You and Dick go off to fuck knows where and Dick almost gets killed. They're trying to find Jason since he went dark and you two can't be bothered to work as a team with the team. It's ridiculous. You're supposed to be a family.

"Explain." Kory warms, looking between you and Dick.

"It's nothing." Dick states, watching Kory stitch the wound.

"Nothing?!" Kory yells. "You two went off last night without a word! We deserve an explanation."

Dick pauses and you're not about to be on Kory's bad side. If Dick wants to piss Kory off, that's all on him. You do not want to do that. Kory is usually very nice but you have a feeling being on her bad side could get ugly. Plus, it's Kory.

"Jason's working with Jonathan Crane so we kidnapped him and took him to the cabin to lure Jason there. Then Jason and Dick started fighting and I helped. And then a helicopter came and Dick got shot." You explain simply.

The room falls silent for a few seconds as everyone looks between you and Dick. Kory wants to know why everyone who manages to get involved with Bruce Wayne ends up being some of the most reckless people she's ever encountered. Gar is piecing together everything you've told him and now he's even more frustrated. You and Dick went after Scarecrow and decided you could take him on and Jason on your own without any issues. You both didn't even have a backup plan. And Gar is realizing you not only took Jason's drug, but if it's Scarecrow, it was probably something he designed. You took a drug Scarecrow designed and knew that. Then neglected to tell everyone that piece of information.

You both could have died last night and everyone is supposed to just be normal about that. After everything.

"Wow, thanks." Dick quips.

"I'm not gonna disobey Kory. That's all you." You shake your head as you cross your arms over your chest but you can feel Gar's eyes still boring into you.

"And whose side were you even on last night, by the way?" Dick questions.

"You two morons almost fucking shot me!" You yell. "I was on your side. Hello? Do you not remember that and then you got the first swing on him. I was with you guys until you two almost shot me."

"That was Jason." Dick argues. "He pulled the trigger, not me."

"Because you grabbed his arm! It was aimed at you originally, not me." You let out a scoff.

"Enough." Kory warns, growing tired of the back and forth. The specifics of the fight last night don't matter right now when she's trying to fix a bullet wound that could have been fatal. She is so sick of losing people. "Barbara's responsible for this?" Kory asks.

"One of her snipers is, yeah." Dick answers.

"On her orders, I'm sure." Kory states. "Maybe I should go and have a word with her."

"I think there's been enough bloodshed for today." Gar adds in. "That was way too close, man." Gar's voice is soft but drenched in worry.

"I almost had him." Dick defends.

"No, I had him." You protest. "I had a knife ready to go. He never would have done it. I could have gotten him just fine but then you had to take the damn gun and I almost got shot." You pause for a second and if Dick would have just trusted you, maybe you really could have gotten him back. "We almost had him."

"Neither of you are listening!" Kory yells, looking between the two of you. "You scared us. Going out on your own, getting shot. It's not okay."

"I didn't want to put you guys at risk." Dick says. "She was here when I got the call. She's the only one that ever got through to Jason before. That's the only reason she went." Dick states calmly while Gar looks back at you as if waiting for you to explain why you didn't at least tell him.

"I'm not dragging you into it." You look to Gar as you shrug your shoulders.

"Oh, bullshit, guys." Gar spits and he's sick of this.

"Excuse me?" Dick questions.

"Dude, Hank blew up!" Gar yells. "Dawn left us forever, and Jason went dark. You're killing people!" Gar looks at you. "This family is dying and you two go out alone and Dick gets shot?" Gar yells before he starts growling lowly, his entire face turning green while his teeth turn into fangs. "Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouths!?"

"Gar?" You question slowly as your eyes grow wide. You've never seen him this upset before.

"Gar!" Kory yells, trying to snap him out of it.

"Hey." You stand in front of him, putting your hands on his cheeks. "Hello?"

His eyes land on yours, refocusing his attention and the fire in his bones starts to calm. The green fades from his face as his fangs start to retract. He's so upset and hurt and terrified for the lives of the people he cares about most, he didn't even realize he was starting to transform and Gar doesn't lose control.

"What?" Gar asks, his eyes scanning your face.

"Take ten." Kory states and she also feels like they're starting to lose everyone.

"Come on." You offer your hand to him as you turn around to walk away. Gar joins his hand with yours. "Don't do anything fucking insane without looping me in." You look over your shoulder at Dick, sending him a glare before you turn back around. "You were turning green." You whisper to Gar as you walk hand-in-hand across the Batcave.

"Because you guys could have died last night! I'm sick of losing this family!" His voice is panicked this time.

Gar might wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he is also very good at controlling his emotions. He never just loses control but he is today and it has you feeling even more guilty than you already were. Dick has Kory and Babs. You have Gar and Molly. Conner didn't really know Hank and he doesn't really know Jason. Gar, though, he knew Hank and was friends with Hank. Jason is his best friend and yet everyone has someone besides him. Everything has been a mess and Gar is the one left trying to fix everyone and help everyone but who helps him?

"Come on." You tug him along with you until you reach the living room. You let go of his hand and take a seat on the couch. "Yell at me for it. Go for it. You're scared and mad at us, fine. I get it. So, yell about it. I'm not gonna tell you to take ten. Turn green, turn into a tiger, go for it." You say with ease while Gar just stands in front of you, growing confused.

"What...? But I...I don't know..."

"Look, if you need to yell, do it. I deserve it and Dick does, too. You let me bitch to you for months. So, yell about how you're scared. I'm not gonna be hurt or mad. If it'll make you feel even a little bit better, do it. You take care of all of us, all the time. Take care of you." You offer and it's true. If he needs to yell about it, he should. You're not worried about him turning into a tiger. Gar deserves to let everything off of his chest. He always lets everyone else vent to him.

Gar's eyes narrow slightly. "This feels like a trick."

"It's not. I'd yell at Jason sometimes. He just kind of let me and then he'd yell at me. It was never that we were really yelling at each other, but just yelling. Because we were scared or mad. It usually helped. So, go for it." You shrug softly. "I do deserve it though so ya know."

Gar lets out a breath and decides he'll take the opportunity. He is just scared for all of you. Losing Donna was really hard. And losing Jason was worse. He was close with Json and that sucks. And now he's back and he's dark, working with a maniac. Hank is gone, there's no getting him back. Gar just can't lose more people and he's pissed that you and Dick don't seem to care how any of them feel about it. You're supposed to look out for each other to make sure you don't get blown up or beaten to death but Dick and you just go off on your own without a word.

"I'm just mad at you guys and I'm scared you're gonna go out there and get yourselves killed." Gar groans. "We had no idea where you guys went. You guys left and didn't loop us in. We're supposed to be a team and I know you're between teams but we're at least supposed to be friends! Jason is my friend, too! I want to be on his side. But you guys aren't telling us anything! I don't want to lose any more people."

You're tired of everything and you're tired of keeping secrets especially when Gar is looking at you desperate for answers. He says you're between teams right now but what if you don't want to be anymore? Jason is going to do whatever Crane is putting him up to and Dick is going to off and do his own thing anyway. Nothing you're doing has been working anyway. Maybe you're tired of being the one in the middle.

"The call about Crane came in and we left. I was with Dick and I don't think he would have looped me in if I wasn't already there. You're my friend. You're right. And that's why I didn't tell you." You state. "It's just...I wanted to protect you, I guess. I, uh, I've been dodging Molly's calls and texts, too because of it. I'm with you, I'm sick of losing people. So, I didn't tell you."

"Okay and I get that but this is what we do." Gar urges. "We help each other and we help other people even when it's dangerous. It's dangerous but you and Dick still go out there alone. At least if we're all working as a team, we have a better shot of making it home."

You chew the inside of your cheek and you think your heart might stop beating soon. "I fought him, ya know? And I know what that was like because even though I was high, I'm sober now and I remember every detail. And it fucking sucks that happened. I didn't want that to happen to you. I don't want him to have a bigger reason to target you." You shake your head and you shrug slowly and weakly. "He's not your fight, Gar."

"Yeah, he is." Gar urges. "Why wouldn't he be? He's my best friend."

"Because I owe it to him." You nearly yell. "I owe it to him to fucking save him because he saved me more than once and I never fucking told him. I missed it. I will never forgive myself for it. I have to save him this time."

"You don't have to do it alone." Gar's voice nearly breaks and he desperately wishes that's something you would understand. You never have to do this stuff alone. That's part of being a team and a family. "He's our friend. He's our family. We weren't here and that sucks! But he's not just yours to save. What if you can't do it alone?" Gar asks. "You're up against a freaky drug, Jason who I don't think you could really fight if you had to, and Scarecrow!"

"I know." You nod your head. "I don't know, okay? I know I can't do it alone. I'm sorry. I really am." You suck in a breath. And you're realizing you do a lot of things alone. It's as if it's easier to do them alone and only disappoint yourself, risk your own life than drag other people in the middle of it. "Really, I'm sorry. I was...scared if I tell you then you have to tell Dick and what if that got Jason killed, ya know? I don't know. I'm sorry though."

"You can tell me." Gar says. "I know you're worried about him but you can tell me and I won't tell Dick." Gar stresses. "Not if there's a risk it'll get Jason killed again."

"I know." You nod. "I'll try harder. I'm really sorry, Gar." You let out a breath. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna stay out of it today and take a breather. Might head to Excellent Gotham later, just so you know." You offer a soft smile.

"It's okay." Gar nods his head and offers a soft smile back. "You're going to be able to do that?"

"Yeah, I think better when I take a step back and I need to find a way to not be in the middle." You let out a soft chuckle. "While not doing it alone. But, if something happens..."

"I'll let you know." Gar's eyes widen. "Thank you." Gar clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "That did help a little actually."

"Told you." You laugh softly as you get to your feet. "Want some food now? Yelling really works up an appetite."

"Yeah okay." Gar chuckles as you get up. "Oh! I can tell you about Blackfire."

"Blackfire?" You quirk a brow.

"Kory's sister. She was kind of tapping into Kory's head and she attacked me yesterday so we went to find Blackfire. Some scientist was holding her captive." Gar states excitedly.

"Um..." You stutter. "Well, we already have so much in common." You laugh softly. "But yeah, no, please explain literally all of that." You say eagerly as the two of you make your way to the kitchen.

Jason and Crane are standing in the washing area of an operating room, watching as the surgeon and the nurses prep a kid for something. Jason isn't sure why Crane made him come here. He said he wanted to show Jason something. It's important he understands what's going on and Jason's part in all of this. If Jason were being honest, he thinks Crane is full of shit this time and he just wants to get out of here. This feels wrong.

Then it gets worse.

A woman comes in holding a sword and starts slicing up the surgeon and nurses. Jason's eyes grow wide as his breathing stops. Blood sprays over the walls and window right in front of Jason. A nurse backs against the window with her hands up and begs for her life only for the woman to slice her, too. This isn't right. Why would Crane do this? They're doctors. They're helping some kid live and Crane has this woman come in....and kill them. She takes something with her before looking at the window and offering Crane a nod. Jason questions if all of that bloodshed was for that one thing. She didn't have to kill them. But, she did.

"You are expendable. If you're not happy here, you are replaceable. Remember what I said." Crane says as he faces Jason and that's when Jason realizes this whole thing might be to help Crane, but the show was a threat.

Crane is withholding the drug from him today. Jason finished the inhaler and then Crane refused to give him more until they came here. He's withholding it on purpose, let Jason's fear kick in just enough to keep him in line and make him desperate. And it's working.

He's scared again.

He's scared he'll end up like the surgeons and nurses. He's scared Crane is the one who's going to turn on him. Red Hood is supposed to be the face of the whole plan. That was the point of creating that alter ego. Crane wants Jason to get rid of you and just do whatever he says, when he says it. He wants him to divert from the original plan while telling him nothing about what's actually going on. He can't do that. That is his line.

Crane can try all he wants but no amount of drugs or manipulation will get him to cross that line. He might believe Crane sometimes about you, maybe he has a point sometimes. But, he won't kill you. You could have killed him at any point but you don't. You could have pushed him off a roof but you didn't. When Jason gets desperate he thinks of that because you're the one that stood on that ledge with him despite your fear of heights. You're the one that talked him down that day no one else and he owes you something for that alone. He won't go after you. He doesn't fucking care what Crane has to say about it, he won't do it.

The more he thinks about it, the more mad he gets. Crane thinks he's expendable, just like Bruce. But he's not. Why does everyone think he's so fucking expendable and replaceable? Why is nothing he does enough? He turned on all of his friends for Crane. He killed Hank for Crane. That's not enough to prove he's not replaceable and expensable? It's infuriating. He'll prove Crane wrong. If Crane wants to get to you, he'll have to go through him first. If Crane wants to wait to distribute the drug, that's a Crane problem, not a Jsaon problem. And he knows exactly what he can do to prove Crane he's not expendable and he can be trusted.

Later that night, you find your way to Excellent Gotham. The other Titans have been busy trying to locate Crane and Jason. You kept yourself busy with a scrapbook page while they did their own thing. It's not really all that nice distancing yourself alone. You figure Excellent Gotham at least provides dinner and you can talk to Tim, someone who doesn't know everything that's going on and doesn't come with the feeling of guilt. If Tim wants to talk about who the Titans are and Batman and Robin, that's fine, too because it's what you always did. Before everything. It'll feel normal anyway. At least Excellent Gotham is a good distraction and lets you take the breather you need. If you're going to be any help, you need the step back. You're too close to it all.

So, you stand at the counter with Tim on the other side as a large smile consumes your face, a take-out counter resting open in front of you.

"Okay, okay, why Bruce Wayne? Like, okay if Dick were Robin, how does that make Bruce Batman?" You question as Tim leans against the counter.

There's a genuine smile splitting your face as you point at him with your fork before going in for another bite. You've been here a few hours, checking in with Gar every so often, a way to try and keep your word to him. And this is helping. You might be in a heated discussion about who everyone is but it feels normal. It doesn't feel heavy anymore. It's just a normal conversation with a friend and it doesn't feel fucking sad. It just feels warm.

You don't remember the last time you felt warm.

"He's rich." Tim scoffs, a grin plastered across his face. "And why else would he let Dick go out there?"

"Unless he doesn't know. Bruce is a busy man. Dick being Robin doesn't mean Bruce is Batman and that's if Dick is Robin." You argue with a laugh. "And that means you'd also be wrong about Jason."

"No, no, I know I'm right about Dick and Jason." Tim pauses, the smiling falling. "Is...is that okay to talk about? Jason?"

"Yeah." You nod with a soft smile. "I, uh, I like talking about him."

"Okay well," Tim picks right back with enthusiasm. You find it amusing how into this he is. Especially since he's right. "He has to be Robin. He has the same fighting style. He walks the same way, how do you explain that?" Tim raises. "And Robin 1.0 and Robin 2.0 share the same height difference as Jason and Dick." Tim states. "If they're the Robins, Bruce has to be Batman."

"Unless!" You yell with a laugh, flinging your fork around. "Dick recruited Jason because they're brothers! Like I said, Bruce is busy. What if Batman is just some guy? Like Kick-Ass. Doesn't have to be some rich guy and maybe he's recruiting kids." You argue and truly, you're only defending Bruce because you think it's funny. And Dick would kill you if you outed fucking Batman.

"Batman can be Batman because he's rich." Tim laughs. "Uh, where has Bruce Wayne been? Where has Batman been? They disappeared the same time!" Tim laughs.

"Bruce is on business! Maybe there's a Justice League thing!" Your laugh reverberates through the restaurant. This feels like home. "How the fuck would I know where Batman is?" You put your fork back in your food. "And that's still assuming Dick is Robin! He's not. Explain Dick having a stick up his ass. Robin is more free-spirited!"

"Sorry to interrupt this very important conversation." Mr. Drake states, walking back to the counter. "But Tim, where is Stephen? Get him on the damn phone and find out where he is. Or you're stuck here all night."

"Shit." Tim mutters, checking his phone to see Stephen's shift started an hour ago. "Okay, hold on." Tim says. "And we'll continue this." Tim laughs as he calls Stephen on FaceTime. "Where are you, man? Your shift started over an hour ago."

"Priorities. My girl's parents are out of town. I'll be there in a second." Stephen says through a grin.

"Seriously? I could have plans." Tim protests.

"What plans?" You snort. "You're here with me arguing about Batman."

"Whatever. Just hurry up." Tim says as he hangs up and three men walk into the restaurant.

Tim is about to start talking all over again with even more enthusiasm and proof but he gets a look at your face, eying the men as they walk further into the restaurant. Maybe you’re just paranoid but they look like they’re up to something. It’s that their walk is steady, determined, but careless. Their eyes don’t land on the menu or Tim or Mr. Drake. They’re pointed at the register. And that’s when you see the reflection of metal sticking out of the last guy’s waistband. He looks to you and then it starts.

The throbbing kicks in like a freight train. It’s an armed robbery and they plan to go out swinging. You’re quick, rushing to Tim as they pull out their guns. Gunfire surrounds and encompasses the restaurant as you tackle Tim to the floor behind one of the counters.

Tim leans against the counter, ducking his head with every echo of a gunshot. His eyes are on you as you take a breath, as if to be debating what you’re going to do. And Tim knows you knew this would happen. You were running to him before they had their guns pulled. And his thoughts are confirmed when you look back to him with fury in your eyes.

It’s been less than five seconds but it gives you enough time to gather yourself. It’s all you need. These people are not going to walk in here and murder the people you care about. They picked the wrong restaurant on the wrong night during one of the worst months of your life.

You lift your hoodie, pulling a knife from the belt around your waist before you pop up from behind the counter.

“Ya fucking missed, assholes!” You yell over at them as the knife leaves your fingers, connecting with one of the guys’ eyes, embedding itself deep into his skull as he drops to the ground.

The throbbing starts again from the side and you duck down just before a shot comes your way. You take another deep breath before grabbing another two knives and throwing one, hitting one of their jugulars. The last one still standing locks eyes with you, his gun pointed right at you. He has this…grin, one you almost swear you’ve seen before but you’ve never seen him before this. His breathing is steady and he actually looks relaxed while you have your arm ready and aimed with a knife, right at him.

His pupils are blown.

And then your heart sinks because Crane is free on the streets and these guys came in here completely fearless. This one finds the whole damn thing amusing. Maybe he’s just high on something else, or maybe you’re right and Jason and Crane have moved to disruption. Excellent Gotham wouldn’t just be a coincidence.

“Give me the money and it’ll be over.” He says so easily you nearly roll your eyes.

“Kiss my ass.” You throw the knife, hitting this one in the arm with the gun.

Then you throw another one, hitting him just below the eye. He drops to the ground in a hard thump, leaving the restaurant a glass and gun-shelled mess. The smell of gun metal seeps into the air while an eery and dense silence consumes the place.

Tim calls your name not ten seconds after the last man drops. There’s panic in his voice, a sense of dread. You rush right over to him where he’s against the food counter now, his dad leaning against the side of it. Blood seeps through Tim’s hands are he tries to hold pressure on the wound. You kneel down, seeing Mr. Drake breathing heavily. Your eyes scan over him, quickly running over the crash course Jason gave you in gunshot wounds once.

“He’s been shot!” Tim yells, desperation in his eyes as he looks to you, silently pleading for help. He knows you're Bluejay. He can only assume you've had some sort of training in this. More than he's had.

You can feel the lump in your throat grow and the spinning of your head. Blood never really bothered you and it didn't with Dick. But, it was mostly dry with him earlier and this, right now, is fresh and active. Your bones feel like they're going to vibrate through your skin and your teeth grind together, trying to push every thought out of your mind that isn't first aid.

You have to help.

“Okay, move.” You urge as Tim pulls his hands away. Your hands are shakey as you lift Mr. Drake’s shirt, seeing the wound oozing and you think you might prefer knife wounds instead of gaping holes. “It’s gonna take the ambulance ten to fifteen to get here,” You rush out. “So, we–”

“Is that…?” Tim asks, cutting you off as his eyes are on the window. He only even looked up to see if he saw someone for help or Stephen but instead of help, he just saw one person.

Jason Todd.

You look up just in time to catch a glimpse of him before he turns around. This cannot really be happening right now. Jason Todd is supposed to be dead. It was all over Gotham City News. Bruce's newest adoptive son was killed in a freak accident. This is going to be a lot harder to explain to Tim and you want to explode. If he's here, you're right.

Why the fuck would he be here and why the fuck would he target the place you frequent?

“Okay, keep pressure.” You look to the door, seeing Stephen rush in. “Stephen, call an ambulance and grab some towels!” You yell as you get to your feet. “Stay here, hold pressure with the towels. I’ll be right back.” Your words nearly slur together as they come out as fast as your mouth will let them.

You rush outside where you see Jason, his back facing the open windows of the restaurant. You can’t believe this. Of all the things he could do, of all the damn people in Gotham he could target, he really came for you. For your friend and his family. You can’t fucking do it anymore. This is insane. If he wants to go after Dick, fine. Sibling rivalry bullshit taken to an extreme. But this? This is targeting innocent fucking people.

“Jason!” You seethe as you approach him. “What. The. Fuck!?” You scream, nearly vibrating from the anger coursing through your veins.

But then Jason faces you.

The anger washes away as your mouth opens, looking for words. There are dark circles under his eyes, a hollowed expression of the charism that used to radiate off of him. Maybe it’s the dark lighting but you swear the green in his eyes is pale, his skin is pale. He looks like a shell of who he used to be. He’s been acting like it but now…he really looks the part and you’re getting the idea that something really bad is happening.

Jason’s eyes are wide, tired, and exhausted but wide as he sees you come to a dead stop a few feet away from him. Why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here. You should be with Dick and the other Titans. He didn’t see you inside of the restaurant. Not before the gunfire or after. How did he miss you? It can’t be you. He just wanted to show Crane he was right. He wanted to prove he could do this. He chose Excellent Gotham on purpose, a way to show Crane it’s a threat at you without being a real threat. He knows you went to Tim for help. You weren’t supposed to be here.

Jason questions your name, closing the rest of the distance between the two of you.

His hands immediately come to your face for just a second and they send a chill down your spine. His fingers are like icicles and they're clammy, completely different than how they usually are and it breaks your heart. He keeps his right hand on your cheek, while the other hand goes to your waist. His eyes scan you over quickly, desperate to make sure you weren’t hurt in the gunfire. He didn’t take the drug again yet, he was saving it for after. He’s scared. Panicked. Desperate and guilty. You have blood on your hands and on your clothes. Can’t be yours. Not you.

Please not you.

“Are you hurt?” Jason rushes but his voice is weak and fragile, echoed in pain.

You eye him and you’re stuck between wanting to punch him and wanting to kiss him in hopes to make it all better again. He’s slipping so far away from you and you’re scared how far he’s willing to fall. Crane is doing something to him. He has to because he didn’t look like this last night. He didn’t even seem like he cared this much last night. Right at this exact moment, he feels like the old Jason. And you nearly get sucked right back into his gravitational pull.

“What…” The venom is gone from your voice. “What is he doing to you?” You ask, your hand comes to to his face. Not him. Not again.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jason’s voice breaks.

“You know I’m always here. I was hanging out with Tim. Jason…what the hell is he giving you?” You look him over and you notice him favoring his leg. You haven’t seen him much since he’s been back from the dead but this is the first time since that first day you’re noticing it. You always notice it.

“Are you hurt?” Jason asks again and he can feel his heartbeat in his throat. He wants to spit his own heart right onto the ground in hopes it’ll stop the pain in his chest.

“No. I’m fine. It’s not mine.” You urge, catching him glancing at your free hand. “Jason, what is Crane giving you?”

Jason shakes his head, dropping his other hand to your waist. He misses you. He’s been so damn high all the time, he’s been able to ignore the longing in his chest. The one who always swore was his heart searching for yours. He could ignore it with ease but Crane has been keeping the drug close to his chest and this batch isn’t very good. He can feel it more tonight. It’s wearing off quicker. He can feel the worry for you and the care and the fact he fucking misses you. And the guilt for everything that’s led you both here.

“Same shit.” Jason grits his teeth. “You took it, you know.” He hates the words leaving his lips because they sound bitter and angry but it’s not at you. He just wants you to be okay and he wants to get the fuck out of here.

“No.” You shake your head, your voice soft. “Are you sure it’s the same drug? Jason, you look…is he withholding it from you?” His skin is cold and clammy under your fingers and his hair is flatter than usual.

You’ve seen it, what withdrawal looks like. You saw it on the streets and that’s what Jason looks like. Why would Crane do that? He’s insane and he doesn’t actually give a shit about Jason but Jason has been doing all of his bidding. You figure Jason is here with the drug. That’s why he just stood here while Excellent Gotham was attacked, he probably gave it to them. Surely, that has to be part of the plan. But, if that’s the case, then why does Jason look like he’s been thrown headfirst into withdrawal? And why would Crane be doing this?

“Stay the fuck out of it. I have it. It’s the same shit. It’s fine.” Jason grits his teeth. He wants to break. He wants to lose it for the first time since that first day on the roof with you. It feels like it’s been months since and it’s only been a week. And you look at him with worry and fear and you have always had a way with getting Jason to breathe. But, he can’t afford that right now. Not you. “Please.”

"It's fine?" You spit. "You look terrible, Jason. It's not fucking fine."

"Yeah, it is." Jason removes his hand from your waist and digs in his coat pocket, pulling out a full inhaler. "Fine." He wiggles the inhaler for you to see, the liquid sloshing around in the clear canister.

After all of that, he's going to wave the drug around as if it's fucking easy. He's going to stand here and pretend like it's all fine and well when he almost got you and Tim shot? He's actually lost his damn mind now. If he's going to stick with Crane despite everything, fine. You've stuck by his side since day one all those months ago. Fine. If it's going to be like that, fine because you can't take it anymore. You love him more than anything on this planet but this is not fucking fine. He's not fine and he has got to realize that.

"Fine!?" You shake your head, eyes bugging out of your head in disbelief. "Get off me." You shove his hand off of you as you take a step back. It's not fine. None of this is fucking fine. He's not fine. That drug isn't fine. Working with Crane isn't fine. Doing what he just did isn't fucking fine. It doesn't matter what his reason is. "You...you just got Tim's dad shot. Do you know that? What have the Drakes ever done to you?" You look at him with disgust. "You could have gotten Tim shot, my friend. You could have gotten me shot!" Your voice cracks as you yell at him, your arm flying out to the side. You might be worried about him but you're not going to let him almost kill your friends because you're worried about him.

"That wasn't the plan!" Jason screams in desperation, his words clawing at the hope for you to believe him. "You went to Tim, didn't you!? I know you suck at figuring out codes! Tim is a genius. I just wanted to scare him!" Jason defends his stance, leaving out Crane wanting Jason to target you. If you knew this was a fake threat, maybe that'd be worse.

"Bullshit! Bull-fucking-shit! You gave them the drug! That's why you're here! You did this! You knew what would happen and you did it anyway!" You bark back. "You just wanted to scare him!? Then do it your damn fucking self, Jason! You just didn't want the blood on your damn hands so I couldn't blame you! But you did this!" You point a finger at him and Jason isn't sure he's seen you so mad and...disappointed.

"You weren't supposed to be here! I didn't think they'd shoot anyone!"

That's not a lie. He didn't think. He just did it. He knew they'd go in there and rob them. Maybe they'd have to close down for a little bit. For safety. He didn't think about anything else. Thanks to the drug Jason claims is helping him and curing him.

You don't fucking get it. It doesn't matter that you weren't supposed to be here. That's a load of shit anyway. You're always here. Tim and his family are innocent, regardless on if Tim helped you or not. He doesn't know anything, not for sure. Jason's reasoning is flawed and it's cruel. It fucking hurts.

"Tim is my fucking friend! I don't care I wasn't supposed to be here! You....fuck." You let out a desperate groan, tilting your head back. At some point, enough is enough and he isn't even taking responsibility for this. You just can't do this anymore. You look back to him, eyes turning glassy. "I was fucking fine with you being a crime lord or whatever, taking out those fucks hurting people. But this?" You point at the restaurant. "These are innocent people! Hank was innocent! Dick is innocent! I can't fucking stand here and watch you kill innocent fucking people! And innocent fucking people that I care about and that care about me!" You say it all so quickly, you barely register what it would mean.

No no no no no. He fucked it all up. Like he always does. He just ruined it all. Everything is gone. Everything is going to shit. It's all messed up. He did all of this. How did he even get here? You can't walk away from him. You always swore you wouldn't. Please, not you, too.

You're all he has left.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Jason asks, jerking his up quickly as he tries to give the question some bite.

You let out a heartbroken laugh that's mixed with a cry as you look to the sky and hope a blackhole will open up just to swallow you whole. You have no choice.

You have thrown him life preserver after life preserver, and all he ever had to do was hold on and you'd reel him back to safety. But, all Jason has done is chew right through them and wonder why he's still drowning. You can't keep trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved. He was always your lifeline but you were clearly, never his.

"You win, Jason." Your voice is defeated as Jason's brows furrow. The lump in your throat grows so large you can barely get the words out. "You win. I can't do it anymore. I'm done. I can't." You shake your head as a tear falls down your cheek. The words taste like blood-covered glass, killing you with every cut and slice.

If you're always on his side, then what he's doing can't be that bad. If you're always on his side, defending him, why would he ever stop? You've tried everything else to get him home and none of it is enough. And it is killing you, knowing this is it. There is one last option because something's gotta give. Maybe if he hits rock bottom, having no one, maybe it'll turn him around. It's the only thing left to do because begging him doesn't work, loving him doesn't work, fighting him doesn't work, arguing doesn't work. Nothing else works and you hate it because you don't mean it, not even a little bit but you have no other options and you're devasted by what he is right now.

So, you say the one thing you can't take back.

A last-ditch effort, knowing he may never forgive you.

"I'm giving up on you. You get what you always wanted. I can't do it. I have tried and tried, but I can't do it anymore." You give him a tired shrug as you dodge his eyes.

If you see the heartbreak in his eyes, you'll take it back and you can't do that. If Jason always has you on his side, why would he turn things around when he hasn't yet? You could have died two nights in a row. He is actively targeting the Titans. You can't meet his eyes because he is targeting innocent people. It might be under Crane's control but, until he gets clear of him and gets clean, this has to be on Jason. Jason has to be the one to deal with the consequences and you will never forgive yourself for it.

Jason's world stops. Not you. Not another person. Why does he always do this? How did he even get here? You were never supposed to be involved. He should have included you from the start. He almost rips the inhaler from his pocket and hits it, right in front of you, anything to get rid of this pain in his chest. It's as if his heart just exploded through his cage, shattering every bone on its way out. How are you doing this?

You're all he has left.

Jason shakes his head, fighting back tears of agony and anger. "You're just like everyone else." Jason's voice cracks.

You knew it was coming but something about it makes you want to burst into tears.

"No." You shrug because he should know how badly this hurts you, too. This is the last thing you want to say to him, ever. "I'm not. I am not like everyone else. Don't ever say that shit again. You have done this. You came after my friend. My innocent friend, Jay." Your voice cracks as you try desperately to hold back your sobs. "All you have done since coming back from the dead, is hurt me." You pause, taking a ragged breath and Jason's face falls. Is that true? "And I have done everything to protect you. To be by your side. And you have done nothing but hurt me. So, no. I am not like everyone else. You just gave me no choice, Jay." You're quick to wipe a few tears away as your voice is weak and soft, lacking all fire and bite it had just seconds earlier.

He can't do it. He could try to make up for this. He could try to explain. He could just quit. That would do the job just fine. But, he doesn't. The heartbreak kicks in with anger and he just wants to be spiteful just like he always is as if fighting the person is going to change their mind. He knows it won't change yours but he does it anyway because he's hurt and the hurt has nowhere to go besides the open and cold air of this soulless city.

"You swore you never would but look at you now!" A lump grows in Jason's throat. "You said you don't break promises. Crane was right about you." Jason sneers as he closes the distance between you, looking down at you but he's not threatening or intimidating. You see the heartbreak in his eyes. You will feel guilty about this in every life you live.

Jason Todd has always deserved better.

"Okay." You shake your head slowly. "Sure, Crane doesn't know me. But you do. You know me. And you know I'd never be giving up if you left me another option. But, sure, believe Crane. Fuck it, right?" You scoff and all you want to do is cry. Or break every bone in your body because maybe that would be less painful. "I'm sick of losing my family." Your voice is quiet, barely a whisper. "All I ever wanted was you. And you died." You shrug your shoulders, keeping your eyes on him. "And all I wanted was you." You say quietly and Jason wants to shatter, his breath catching in his throat as his vision starts to go blurry. "And still, all I want is you but...I don't know what else to do."

You can see your breaths mixing together in the winter air between you. Everything led you both here and all you both want to do is take it back. The winter air chisels at your face and hands, hacking away at every hope you could have had. Jason's eyes are locked on yours, dissolving into heartbreak and you think this is what hypothermia must feel like.

But, Jason is too scared of what will happen if he does take it all back. He's still under Crane's manipulation. He's too stubborn. And you're terrified what will happen if you back down. If you back out of it, who will he target next?

"So, that's just it? I didn't mean to hurt anyone in there. It's not my fault." Jason huffs and the anger starts to evaporate as the heartbreak comes in the form of agony and devastation.

"Sure." You nod and you don't want him to feel like he's trapped with Crane. You have to give up because that's your option. But, you can offer him someone else and maybe that'll be enough. This all boils to Dick anyway. "The same way your drug isn't Crane's fault. Look, I'm done. I can't do it. Dick though, he believes in you still. So, if you want to come home, call him. Don't contact me. If you get clean, then you can. Until then, don't call me. Don't text me. Nothing. And stay the fuck away from the Drakes, Molly, and Gar." You try to hide the quiver in your voice but Jason catches it.

"Please, don't walk away." Jason says softly and you nearly collapse into the ground. His words are like knives aiming right for your heart. How does he do that?

You rest a hand on his cheek. "I can't leave it like that so, I'll always love you, Jay but...I want the old you back." You nod as your hand falls from his cheek. You turn around, going to leave him but you hear Jason take a few slow steps after you before they stop.

Jason's voice cracks as he says your name, his version becoming so blurry he can't see. "I...I'm sorry." Jason says quietly, looking to the ground as a tear falls from his eyes. "Don't...please," He looks back up to you. "Don't give up on me. I have a plan and it's all gonna work out. This was just an accident."

You swear he's never going to forgive you for this. This is the hardest thing you've ever done. Even if he understands one day, he'll never forgive you and it's the hardest pill to swallow.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was." You nod softly. "I can't save you. You don't want to be saved, not yet. You have to save yourself, now, Jay. And for what it's worth, I..." You pause watching tears come to Jason's eyes. "I love you, Jay." You nod your head as you sniffle. "And I am so fucking sorry I couldn't save you. From Deathstroke, from the Titans, from the Joker...from Bruce. And from Crane. I'm sorry I was another person that let you down and I'm really fucking sorry I'm walking away." You shake your head as you lick your lips. "But I don't think you'll get it through your head if I'm in your corner. I've tried everything to stay." You suck in a breath as a few tears fall from your eyes. "I tried to stay for once because being with you was worth it to me. But I don't think it's helping you so...get clean and we can talk. The second you get clean, I'll be here." You nod once as the ambulance finally starts to arrive. "Those are for us. You should leave." You turn back around and head back inside of the building, leaving Jason in the cold.

How could he fuck up this bad? He just wanted to show Crane he was right. He just wanted to prove himself and instead, he's the one standing out here all alone. Guilt and shame gnawing at the last good parts of him. And he just can't do it anymore. The pain and the fear and guilt and everything about it. It's too much and too heavy and maybe he's a little spiteful. So, he puts the inhaler to his lips and takes a hit.

They said it was a skinny batch but he didn't realize it would feel like this. It's numbing a lot of everything but not enough and it all still feels too heavy. When things get heavy, he always went to you but he just fucked that up. It's his fault it's heavy. This is all his fault and you're supposed to be on his side but you're not. He's all alone again and all he has is Crane. It's not supposed to be like this. How the fuck did he even get here?

All he wanted was to be somebody to someone. To be enough.

Back in the restaurant, the paramedics are getting Mr. Drake into the ambulance, rushing him off to Gotham General. Tim watches with sad and hollowed eyes, his hands are covered in blood and his shirt is soaked. You squeeze your eyes shut, looking away before you shake it off. You can't lose it over Tim's dad. That's not fair.

"Do...do you need a ride?" You clear your throat as the ambulance drives away. "I have my bike. I can take you." You offer with a steady and firm nod.

"Uh...yeah," Tim looks at his hands, something lost in his voice. "That...that would be great. Thanks."

"Of course." You nod, reaching down for this hand. Your hands have been covered in blood enough times to almost seem normal. "Come on."

The two of you head outside to your bike and you wonder how you're supposed to explain this. Dick talked to you months ago, when you first came to the tower. It was all about vigilante life and what it entailed. It would be making hard decisions but knowing those hard decisions would be for the greater good. It's not killing people because enough people hurt and kill innocent people enough. Vigilantes, heroes, don't do that. It was about keeping the identities of everyone a secret to protect yourself and them. You've never had much of an issue keeping secrets.

You hold your own close to your chest, lock them away where even you forget they exist sometimes. But, those secrets aren't these. Those secrets only ever hurt you, only ever made you feel alone. These secrets that you're forced to keep hurt everyone you care about. They hurt Molly because you couldn't tell her about Bluejay or Robin or Jason or Red Hood. You and Jason would bail on her and you'd both would show up riddled with bruises and aches and pains. It hurt her because it worried her. It hurt her because Jason died and she never got to know him as Robin, the part of him that meant the world to him. She only got to know a portion of him.

But telling Molly meant telling her about Dick and Bruce and the other Titans. It wasn't your secret to tell because it would out all of them. And she still doesn't know he's alive because telling her means leaking something Jason wanted to keep a secret and that's going to hurt her even more.

This hurts Tim because his dad was just shot and he just saw Jason Todd who's supposed to be dead. Now, he's going to think his friend is lying to him about your boyfriend being dead. Lying about an alter ego is one thing, lying about someone dying is cruel. Even if you weren't close.

And it hurts Gar because Gar ends up in the crossfire of everything. He's the one up worrying when you and Dick don't come home. He's the one scared for what Jason is going to do because you couldn't tell him about the drug in order to protect Jason and keep his secrets for him. And then there's Jason.

You can't tell Jason what's going on with the Titans because of Crane. You can't tell him everything you want to desperately scream from the rooftops. That you're sorry and you don't mean it and it hurts you, too. You can't tell him you're scared Crane is going to snap and kill him. It'll drive the wedge further between you. All of these secrets are piling on top of each other, slowly building to the tallest building in Gotham and it's only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses. All it does is hurt everyone you care about. That doesn't seem very heroic.

"Here, take my helmet." You offer the helmet to him once you reach your bike.

"Uh, no it's okay." Tim shakes his head. You're driving.

"Put the helmet on." You say sternly as you mount your bike, sending a glare to Tim.

Something about the look you give him makes Tim grab the helmet. "Right, okay." Tim nods and puts the helmet on before he gets on the back.

"Hold on." You state before Tim holds onto your waist.

You drive to Gotham General, pulling up to one of the entrances without blocking the ambulance entrance. Tim gets off and takes off the helmet, handing it back to you. He knows you know something. And if he's being honest, he's annoyed you didn't tell him. You aren't that close but...his dad just got shot and Jason fucking Todd knew about it. It was a hit. He stood outside and did nothing. Why wouldn't his own girlfriend know he's alive and planning a hit? You have acid generation and combat clairvoyance while also being an excellent marksman. Tim swears it can't be some coincidence you were there tonight.

"I'm really sorry about your dad." You state softly, holding the helmet on your thigh.

"Thanks." Tim looks back at the hospital. "That was Jason Todd outside, wasn't it?"

You nod softly and you know you can't deny that. Tim saw him "Yeah."

"I thought he was dead." Tim questions as his voice holds hints of venom, something you haven't heard before.

"Yeah." You nod again and you hate yourself for tonight. For everything. "Don't, uh, don't tell anyone. It's a long story." You hang your head, dodging the look Tim is surely giving you.

"You knew?" Tim scoffs, looking at you with annoyance and disappointment. Why the hell would you let everyone believe he were dead? "He faked his death or?"

You look back to him and all this sucks. You're sick of lying and hiding secrets. It's tiring and lonely. It's so fucking lonely.

"No." You shake your head. "He, uh...he really, uh...he really died." You suck in a shakey breath before you shake your head quickly. "I-I can't tell you anything else." You let out a bitter scoff. "That's shit and I know that. I'm sorry."

"Did he target us because of you? Because of the Titans?" All Tim wants is some clarity. There had to be reason. Tim helped you with a code. That's what it was.

"Not a Titan." You sigh with exhaustion, lacking any and all fight you'd normally have with the statement. "I don't know why." You lie but you're sick of this. Keeping these secrets is making you out to be the bad guy with everyone and you're not. You're just trying to protect everyone you care about so, you're not going to tell him in so many words but you're not going to cover it up either. "Um...yeah...maybe it was because of me but uh...I, uh, I never...I never thought he'd figure it out or....or come after you. I should have left you out of it."

Tim nods bitterly and he wants to understand but his dad could have been killed. "That code, it wasn't a murder mystery thing, was it?" Tim asks and you just suck in a breath, not offering him anything else. Technically, you aren't lying and technically you aren't telling him anything. He already knows. You don't need to so he nods. "I saw what you did. You knew they were going to start shooting. I was right."

You shake your head, looking to the sky and it's gloomy as always but it looks like it might snow. You scoff looking back to Tim. "I saw the guns."

"Bullshit, you know," Tim gestures a hand to you. "You're supposed to be a hero, like Batman and Robin but..." Tim shakes his head.

"Fuck Batman." You mutter as your jaw clenches.

"You're supposed to help people." Tim says sternly.

The lump in your throat grows and you bite your cheek so hard the taste of iron floods your mouth. It's not supposed to be this hard. And why does helping people have to be so black and white? Good and bad? It's not. Whether anyone likes it or not, the guys you want to target and take out permanently and the guys Jason was going after, that was helping. Making sure they can't hurt anyone else ever again. That's helping. Dick thinks he can help all of the Titans and he fucks up sometimes which gets people hurt, but he still helps. Sometimes people get hurt and that sucks but does that really make everyone else irrelevant? Does that really make everything else wrong? Or the motive and reasoning?

Helping people shouldn't be black and white, good and bad, morally good and morally evil. There needs to be a grey area because you have people like the Joker who needed to be killed for the greater good of everyone in Gotham. And you have people like Jason who isn't in his right mind and is being manipulated but should still be helped. It sucks Tim's dad got shot and you will regret going to Tim for help forever, but you're helping him by not telling him anything, even if you want to and even if he doesn't see it that way.

"I am literally begging you to please go inside and leave this alone, Tim." You force the words through gritted teeth. "I can't fucking tell you anything else, okay? I want to. If it were up to me, I'd fucking tell you what's going on but I can't. It's not my shit to say." You look to the ground and then back up to Tim, rolling your shoulders softly. "So, I'm sorry." You shake your head, giving up and cluing him enough. Technically, you're not admitting to anything, just admitting that you know what's going on.

"You just confirmed it." Tim says softly. "I'm gonna figure out what's going on and--"

"Tim! Please, go be with your dad. Trust me." You practically beg him because if he digs into this, what's going to stop Jason from actually going after him? Tonight might have been a threat or whatever, but at this point, you don't know if he would actually go after someone like Tim. You need him to just take what you're saying and understand it.

"That's my dad."

"I know and I know it sucks. I get it which is why I'm telling you to go be with him." You say softly as your voice cracks.

Tim nods softly, understanding why you're saying it. "Thanks for the ride."

"Just...text me about your dad, okay?" You ask. "I'm really fucking sorry."

"I will." Tim nods because he's beginning to think maybe this isn't on you. He might know who you are but you aren't as cut and dry as Batman and Robin always were. You're more morally grey and maybe it is more complicated because it involves Jason. You look terrified. "Thanks for saving me."

You nod quickly. "Of course." You say softly. "Good luck." You suck in a breath, popping the helmet on and taking off.

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A/n: I still promise reader and Jason get a happy ending lmao This just had to happen lol but I do make up for it a little bit next chapter (pretty sure it's next chapter)

Tag list: @fairyofshampoo // @italiana-20 // @jasontoddsmentaldisorders // @purplerose291 // @lovelessamai // @makaelaseresin // @lenidaslenchen // @mayfieldss // @ghostkingblake // @im-done-with-this-im-out // @velvetskies // @lilylovelyxo // @cryinghotmess // @yesimwriting // @vivian-555 // @stainedstardom // @baebeepeach // @legend-o-zelda // @harleycao // @somehow-lovable-trash // @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx // @deyja-the-duck // @jasontoddslover // @captainmarvels-blog // @totallynotkaibiased // @scarlovesyou // @whydoyoucare866 // @littlemeowmeow1000 // @ginger24880 // @septixtrash // @kplatzman // @urmomsgayforme5

#jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x reader #red hood x you #jason todd fanfic #jason todd fanfiction #red hood fanfic #red hood fanfiction #titans fanfic #titans fanfiction #dc fanfic #dc fanfiction #petrichor

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Home Is Wherever You Are P2

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

With a very heavy emphasis on platonic!Christopher Smith/Peacemaker

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Adrian Chase Masterlist

Prompt: You take Adrian, Gut, and Chris school shopping. It might be harder to keep the timeline in tact than you originally thought.

Warnings: mentions of/implied child abuse, panic, meltdown, crying, divorce, mentions of August Smith, cannon typical Peacemaker violence and language, homophobia

A/N: I’ve decided to start with biweekly updates! I’m post on Saturday and Wednesday. I’ll also be posting on my new AO3 adriansglasses. I’ve actually added all of my old work there as well. Hope you guys enjoy!

“You’re the most attractive person I’ve seen in my entire life.” Adrian smiles at you.

“Shut up. No, I’m not.” You blush hiding your face from your boyfriend.

“Don’t hide.” He pushes your hands away from your face. “Please don’t hide your pretty face. It’s like the prettiest face I’ve ever seen and even if it wasn’t- which would be totally absurd like have you even seen yourself? You’re so hot- anyway more to the point. Your personality is so attractive to me that you’re automatically that much hotter. That’s just math babe. Do two wrongs make a right?” You laugh at his comparison. To someone else that may not make sense, but to many people Adrian never made sense. To you, he always made perfect sense.

“You’re too nice to me.” You say smiling at him.

“Well you’re the only one who’s nice to me sometimes period and your pain in the ass loves you very much.” He kisses you.

“I never said you were a pain in the ass!” You laugh. He gives you a look.

“Okay, I may have said it once or twice, but I didn’t mean it. I was just teasing you.” You kiss him on the cheek as he holds you close.

“It’s okay. I know I’m annoying and hard to deal with sometimes.” You turn his face to look directly in your eyes so he knows you’re serious.

“Not to me.”

September 1st, 1994

You woke up to the sound of the chunky alarm clock on the nightstand. You could hear somebody cooking downstairs. You used the bathroom and made your way to the kitchen to find Diane making breakfast.

“Morning! I’m running a little later than usual this morning, so all I could really manage was toast and eggs. Hope that’s okay.” She gave you a sympathetic smile.

“That’s more than okay. I usually skip breakfast half the time anyway.” You admit.

“You shouldn’t do that. Adrian’s always trying to skip breakfast. He doesn’t like most breakfast foods. I’ve been trying to make sure he eats more of them.” You have to bite back a comment about how his future self is still just as annoyed by the concept. You think back to all his rants about how breakfast doesn’t make sense because it’s foods you can only eat in the morning. He was always annoyed that he couldn’t order pancakes at dinner time or a burger for breakfast unless he was in a diner. It just didn’t make sense to him. ‘What?! Suddenly diners don’t have to follow the rules?! It’s all just a bullshit societal construct!’ You could hear his voice now.

“You could have called me down to help.” You say as the food sizzles in the pan.

“You were sleeping. You had a long day yesterday. I need your help with something while I’m at work anyway.” She says, turning to take the toast out of the toaster.

“What can I do for you?” You ask without debate. She’s helped you a lot and she is Adrian’s mom after all. You never thought you’d get to meet her outside of an ouija board. It’s the least you can do in your current situation.

“I have an envelope in my room for you with back to school money in it. It’s mostly just tip money I’ve been saving up from the restaurant. If you could bring the boys into town to get school clothes that would be wonderful. Adrian needs a little bit of everything. He just went through a big growth spirt. Dorian mostly needs new sneakers, but he should get a pair of jeans and maybe a couple shirts. There’s enough money in there to get a few things for Chris because God knows his father won’t do it. There should also be a little leftover if you want to get anything for yourself.” She says, beating the eggs.

“For me?” You question.

“You showed up with no clothes. You can have some of my old clothes, but I doubt you have the style of a divorced mom with two and a half kids. You should get one or two things you actually like.” She laughs.

“No, Diane I- I couldn’t-“

“Yes, you can and you will. This is basically just payment for the nannying gig.”

You smile at her. “Okay, fine. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

After cooking breakfast and saying goodbye to the boys, Diane was off to the office for the day. She was a secretary at a nearby law firm. Waitressing was only her second job to help pay the bills after her husband left for another man.

“Dorian, do you know where Adrian’s shoes are?” You ask as you chase Adrian around the living room, trying to get him ready to leave. He had so much energy. You couldn’t say you were surprised.

“That’s not my name.” He sat there with his face in his gameboy, barley giving you the time of day. He was just radiating 12 year old angst. Honestly you couldn’t blame him. He was 12, Chris was 13, and they were both about to enter 7th grade. That’s hard enough on its own. It’s probably a lot harder when your mom is asking you to help look after your 3 year old brother because your dad just left because he’s gay. It’s 1994 in Evergreen, Washington and his best friend’s dad is the biggest homophobe in the country. None of this must be easy on him.

“What do you wanna be called?” You ask. He tears his eyes away from his gameboy to give you a look. It’s almost like nobody’s ever asked him or cared for his opinion.

“Gut.” He answers.

“Yeah that’s a much cooler name. My dad says Dorian is a pansy name.” Chris says, continuing to channel surf.

“Christopher Smith that is not nice and will not be tolerated when I’m around. Understand?” You know you can’t tell him his dad is wrong. You know if he challenges his dad now he might not make it back alive, so you hold your tongue for now.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” He huffs.

“Actually, as your babysitter, I can.” You turn to Gut. “Okay Gut, where’s your brother’s shoes?” You try again.

“By the door, under the bench.” He informs you.

“Thank you.” You smile, bringing Adrian to sit on the bench, so you can put on his shoes. There’s two pairs under the bench. You lift them up for him to choose between. One pair has dinosaurs on them and the other pair lights up. He very excitedly points at the light up ones. You can’t get him to sit still long enough to put on the shoes, so eventually you inevitably drop one.

“Motherfucker!” Adrian exclaims in his loud toddler voice.

“Adrian!” You say in shock. You want to laugh because this is so him, but you don’t wanna be blamed for this one. He’s only 3. He giggles at your reaction of the forbidden word.

“Motherfucker!” He says it again in a fit of giggles.

“Buddy, you can’t say that. That’s a grownup word. If you say it too many times you have to go to work and pay taxes.” You try to persuade him against the word.

“What’s taxes?” He asks.

“Taxes are what grown ups have to pay to people. They give a lot of money that you don’t have, so you shouldn’t say that word. Also not paying is a crime. I don’t wanna pay taxes, so I’m not gonna say it.” You try to bargain with him using toddler logic.

“But Dor and Chris say it!” He objects.

“Well, Dor and Chris are gonna have to pay taxes soon.” Adrian begins to cry. “Why are you crying, buddy?” You wipe his tears.

“I’m scawred!” He cries.

“Of what?” You ask.

“Taxes!” He cries.

“It’s okay. You didn’t say it enough times to have to pay taxes.” You pull his small, hiccuping body into your arms, not quite sure what to do. You feel kinda bad. Parenting is fucking hard. They say never parent your boyfriend, but you were taking it to a whole new level. You don’t think this is what they meant.

Finally you had wrangled the boys together and you were on your way to the store. You had to walk because Diane had the car at work and you obviously didn’t have one, but the store wasn’t far.

“Why do we have to walk? This is fucking stupid.” Chris complained.

“Chris, knock it off. We’re at the repeating age.” You gesture to Adrian, who was jumping around the cracks on the sidewalk. Luckily he wasn’t paying attention.

“Hey, Adrian!” Chris grabs his attention.

“Chris!” Adrian runs up to him, on his wobbly little legs.

“Don’t you fucking dare-“ The words came out of your mouth before you even had the chance to realize it.

Gut laughs. “You’re the one who actually said fuck in front of him.”

“Fuck!” Adrian repeats.

“No no no no no!” You try to stop him.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He says as he hops up and down with each fuck.

“No! I said…duck! I said duck!” Gut and Chris break into a fit of laugher.

“Rey’s lying, Adrian.” Gut tells him. Adrian stops giggling and his entire body language changes. He starts to cry, trying to walk away. His little legs don’t carry him very far. You turn to Gut and Chris.

“Please just stop! I just wanna get through the day. Would it kill you to just be nicer to him?!” You don’t mean to lose your temper with the boys, but you know this is only the start to a lifetime of bullying and provoking Adrian. You sigh, dropping your attitude. They’re all just kids. “Stay here for a minute.” You turn in Adrian’s direction and start racing after him.

You try to scoop his little body into your arms, but he screams at you. “NO! NO!” Okay. He’s not great with words, but he totally has no down. You decide to give him some space. Even if he’s not his adult self yet, he’s still a person. You know how easily overwhelmed he gets as an adult. You can’t imagine how upset his 3 year old self is.

“Buddy, I’m really sorry.” You apologize. Your heart breaks. You hate knowing you made him cry.

“P-p-pweas don’t weave!” He begs you not to leave through his tears.

“Hey…what’s going on? Why do you think I’m gonna leave?” You question him.

“Daddy lied to m-mommy and now he’s not here!” Adrian cries. Oh fuck. Of course he couldn’t fully grasp that his father had an affair and that’s why he’s gone.

“Adrian, listen to me. I will never leave you for something like that. I’m sorry I lied to you. Lying isn’t nice, but I’m here for you. I will always be there for you. Even if I’m not here with you, right next to you, I promise I will always love you.” You try to keep yourself from crying now. You can’t help, but think of your version of Adrian at home without you. You try to keep your tears in and stay strong for the younger version of the man you love right in front of you. They feel like different people, but they’re not. This is Adrian and you need to help him.

“Lying isn’t nice!” Adrian repeats, sniffling as his tears slow.

“You’re right. It’s not. Do you want a hug or do you not want to be touched?” You ask.

“Hug!” He cries, crashing into your open arms. You hold his little body as he cries.

“Even if you can’t see me, I’ll always be with you. I love you.” Everything about this is so fucked up. You shouldn’t even be here. You’re messing with Adrian’s life. You’re messing with Chris’ life. Everything about this feels so wrong, but when he’s crying in your arms like this all you can think about is the restless nights when you’d cuddle with your boyfriend and he’d shed a tear or two about his childhood. You knew how much it effected him even now and you just wanted to protect him from all that was to come and heal all that had already happened, but you knew you couldn’t do that. Time had to run its course.

After you helped baby Adrian collect himself you joined Chris and Gut back on the sidewalk and continued your way to the store. Town was small, so the walk wasn’t long, but luckily you had a new Walmart nearby. In your day this Walmart was shitty, but in 1994 it was new. You let Gut and Chris walk around on their own with the promise they’d meet you in the men’s clothing section. You were going to take Adrian to the toddler section. Toddler clothes were cheaper and he was growing fast, so you picked out a couple different outfits for him. You grabbed some basic pants and socks that would match everything and let him pick his own shirts. He settled on a shirt with a spaceship on it that said ‘I’m so cute it’s out of this world’. He also picked a Barney shirt and an Aladdin shirt after making a comment on how both Jasmin AND Aladdin were pretty. You then brought him to your side of the clothing department to grab a shirt or two you liked before meeting up with the boys. After settling on some basic shirts, you were on your way to meet Chris and Gut when you passed the electronic isle and you caught Chris staring at a tape recorder. Even from a distance you could tell he was about to cry as he put it back on the shelf. Gut was nowhere to be seen, probably waiting in the men’s isle like was supposed to. He usually listened better.

“Hey, Chris…”

“I’m not crying!” He wipes his eyes.

“I know.” You give him a smile.

“I just got dust in my eye. They need to clean these shelves better.” He crossed his arms across his chest. You crouched down in front of Adrian.

“Hey, Ade. Why don’t you go pick out a movie for us to watch tonight from the clearance bin?” He wiggled excitedly before taking off towards the bin of cheaper VHS tapes.

“Stay where I can see you!” You called after him. He did just as you said and stayed in your line of vision as you talked to Chris more privately.

“Level with me. I know you weren’t crying, but if you had been crying…hypothetically of course…you could tell me anything. You know that, right?” You weren’t sure if you were breaking the timeline, but at this point you didn’t care. Chris deserved to be able to trust someone in his life.

“I wasn’t crying.” Chris tried to walk away from you, but you caught his arm in your hand.

“Chris, wait-“ He hissed as you made contact with his shoulder. Your jaw drops and you can almost feel tears in your eyes. You pulled up his sleeve to reveal small, circular burn marks. They were burns left behind from where his father had put out cigarettes in his arm.

“Stop starring at me like I’m a freak and just let me go.” He pushes you off of him and he walks away. You knew this job would be hard, but it’s a lot worse than you expected. You had no idea it would be this awful constant moral battle between letting these kids get hurt and keeping the timeline in tact. After realizing you were all alone and you could still see Adrian, but he wasn’t paying attention to you, you started to cry. After taking a deep breath you wiped your tears and picked up the tape recorder, putting the shirts for yourself on the shelf. Fuck it. Chris deserved something his dad couldn’t ruin. So what if you had to wear Diane’s maternity clothes and any clothes her husband left behind? You knew how much he loved music. He deserved this. Timeline be damned he deserved one fucking thing in his life untouched by his father. You hid it in the cart under some of Adrian’s clothes before heading to him digging around in the clearance vhs section.

“Rey!” He called for you as soon as he saw you.

“Adrian!” You called back, pretending to be happy. “Did you pick one?” You ask.

“This one!” He says, excitedly shoving the tape in your hands. You couldn’t help, but smile a real genuine smile. In your hands was a copy of the movie Adrian told you was his favorite growing up; The Brave Little Toaster.

“Have you seen this one?” You ask.

“No!” He smiles, hardly able to stand still.

“You’re gonna love it.” You smile, placing it in the cart. You take his hand and you both head to the men’s section to get clothes for Gut and Chris. Gut picked out a Green Day shirt, while Chris picked out a Nirvana shirt. You were happy when Chris didn’t pick up the Green Day shirt because you knew having that might get him in trouble in the next 10 years when they come out with American Idiot. His dad’s gonna hate that. These were of course considered hot new bands and most of their most famous songs weren’t even out yet. After picking out a couple more clothing items you headed to checkout. You were thankful Adrian was being such a distraction because Chris didn’t even see you put the tape recorder in the bag. With the remaining money, you took a bus to Fennel Fields for dinner where you told Diane you’d meet her on her night shift.

“Mommy!” Adrian yelled running up to her as soon walked through the door. It was nice to see him with his mother.

After grabbing a pizza you headed home. When you got there you pulled Chris aside and gave him the tape recorder.

“Happy birthday.” You said handing him the Walmart bag.

“It’s not my birthday.” He gives you a strange look.

“I know. Just think of it as an advance on your birthday gift.” You smile as he starts to open it.

“Is this mine?” He asks in shock. You nod. “Why did you do this?” He asks.

“Because you deserve something that’s yours that you enjoy.” You say as you watch his eyes well up with tears again.

“I’m not crying.” He says again.

“I know. But even if you were…it’s okay…” He stares at you for a moment before bringing you into a wordless hug. You stand there for a moment, shocked. You never expected this from him, but you wrap your arms around him anyway.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. You deserve it.” You remind him. You know it won’t change the timeline much, but this time, you hope it does something.

After tucking Adrian in, you leave Gut and Chris to play video games until Diane gets home. You head to your room, flipping onto your bed with a sigh. You just hope you did the right thing. You open your phone and head to your voicemails. This has almost become routine.

“Hey babe, it’s me. I’m just calling because I know you had a bad day today and I was thinking…” You close your eyes, as the voicemail plays and you begin to cry. You’ll see him again one day. You have to. You didn’t know how or when, but you had to. You’d figure it out. You’d make a plan.

69 notes · View notes

crazyk-imagine · 2 years

Text

The Good, The Bad, and The Working on It

Pairing: (Stepdad) Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Mom!Reader

Characters: (Stepdad) Jake “Hangman” Seresin, Mom!Reader, Edwin and Maryanne (the kiddos), Penny Benjamin, Amelia Benjamin, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, Robert "Bob" Floyd, Reuben "Payback" Fitch, Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia, Javy "Coyote" Machado, Billy "Fritz" Avalone, Callie "Halo" Bassett, Neil "Omaha" Vikander, Bringham "Harvard" Lennox, Logan "Yale" Lee, Marty and Cody (the other bartenders)

Warnings: Fluff, minor angst, not enough communication (always communicate with your partner), minor cursing (very brief), drama, nicknames (gorgeous, darlin’, etc.), Fanboy is the man when it comes to photography, Bob is the best guy for the job of being a DJ, Javy "Coyote" Machado is a good friend, Jake being a softie, Penny acts as a protective mother figure over reader, Bradley judges our favorite cocky pilot, everyone teases Jake, Cute quick Penny and Pete moment.

Word Count: 11,575

A/N: This can easily become a series, still thinking about it though (even though I have notes and drafts all revolving around this imagine and I made a header for it not even 10 min ago)

Answers to TGTBATWOI

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Three and a half years ago…

After the father of your kids decided that he had enough of being tied down and left with little to no goodbye, it was safe to say you didn’t think or care about dating after that shitty experience.

So, you can fully admit (as well as Jake and his pilot buddies) that it was no surprise when you met said pilot at the Hard Deck.

You work there a little more than part time, being a bartender there is your “out of the house” job (as you like to say) and you do a type of telemarketing at home when the company you’ve been emailing with asks you too.

Luckily it doesn’t happen all the time but sometimes it can be pretty inconvenient on days when your babies have a part in a play and they’re the lead star or when they have their first soccer game (it was a bit of a hassle to accomplish but you did it).

And then again, it was no surprise when Jake was a jackass when you two first met.

You (and anyone else, yes, including Bradley and Pete) can admit that it was nice when he actually started to act like a human being with emotions and not some douche with a huge ego.

Today however, will be the test to see how everything will be if you and Jake decide to take your relationship (or pining) a step further… even though he hasn’t officially asked you out.

“Are you sure you can’t watch them for another three-ish hours?” You ask your babysitter and get a lame excuse saying she can’t because she has to study when she actually has plans to go out with her friends and her boyfriend (the kids told you yesterday about all this).

You sigh, hanging up your phone before shoving it into your pocket. You rest your hands on the edge of the bar top, closing your eyes with your head down to the floor.

“You, okay?” Penny asks.

You quickly straighten your posture, “yep, all good.”

“Your babysitter cancel on you?”

You avert your gaze, “maybe.”

“You get off early tonight, why not bring them here? Pete and the others will be here. They could go swimming.”

“I don’t have any of their swim things and no sunscreen. Plus, I need them to focus on their homework right now. I don’t want to have another meeting with their teachers over something as minor as homework.”

She nods, “alright. We can have them sit over at one of the tables until the lunch rush shows. And, before you say anything, breath. We’ll be fine. I’ve got Marty and Cody coming in for their shifts in an hour which will give you more than enough time to go pick them up and come back here… even though we won’t need you.”

“I’m gonna ignore that last part because we both know it’s not true. Thank you.”

You check the clock on the wall, “crap. I gotta go. I’ll be back soon.”

“Looks like your girlfriends not here,” Javy comments.

“She’s not- shut up, man.” Jake shoves his buddy away from him as he enters the bar, immediately aiming for the center station. He can’t take these conversations seriously without a drink.

“Where’s the only sensible woman Bagman hasn’t managed to sink his claws into?” Natasha asks, standing behind him.

“He’s in one of his moods,” Javy says before leaning down to “whisper”, “she’s not here. Her car wasn’t in the parking lot.”

“Guess she came to her senses,” she pats him on the shoulder.

Logan, Billy, and Callie wave her over, pointing to the pool table.

She walks away from the two, wanting to place some bets (knowing she’ll make a quick buck or two).

“She’s gonna be here soon, you know. Don’t pout, man.” Javy pats Jake’s shoulder, not wanting to have to console the dude for something so minor but willing to do so anyway.

“Would you stop saying that? I don’t care, alright?”

His friend makes an attempt to respond but doesn’t because he starts coughing, choking on his saliva.

“You good?”

His buddy shakes his head, covering his mouth with a clenched fist, using his free hand to point over at you.

The blonde turns, his eyes widen ever so slightly. “She has kids?” He mutters to himself, wondering who else may have known and if this is why you continue to turn him down.

He thinks back to the times when he’s asked you out and if you wear a wedding ring or have mentioned having a boyfriend, but the answer is no.

“Alright, today we can focus on your homework a little more because Pen has a couple extra hands. We ready?”

“Do we have to?” Edwin, Ed (or Eddie) asks with a whining tone.

“Don’t give me that pouty lip, Mister. If we can get this done before we go home, I know for a fact you would feel better.”

“What if I don’t want to feel better?”

“You should.”

You turn to your daughter, Maryanne, who’s older by three years looks back down at her own work. “Thank you, sweetheart, but I don’t need you to chime in with your insightful thoughts.”

“But he needs to focus. He’s already gotten a warning from his teacher.”

“He’s what?” You turn to look at your son, “Edwin, is this true?”

He looks down, not saying anything.

“Why did you get a warning?”

“She wouldn’t let me ask my friend for help.”

“Were you talking to your friend during class time when you know you’re not supposed to?”

He purses his lips, “that’s ervelant.”

“Irrelevant, sweetheart. How long ago did you get your warning?”

“He got it on his first day and we’re on our third day of school now.”

You turn to your daughter, “do you know if it was a verbal warning or is there something I need to sign?”

She shakes your head, “the first one. It’s okay though. His teacher tells me what I need to tell you when I’m waiting for him in his class after school.”

Your son is upset that you two are talking about and “acting” like he’s not even there. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

“Eddie, I need you to calm down-”

“No!”

You open your mouth to say his name again when he hops off the chair and runs off. Your eyes widen. “Sweetheart, you’re coming with me. Hold my hand.”

“Mom,” she groans.

“There is a small crowd already. I will not lose both of my children in it.”

She lets out a dramatic, long sigh, “fine.”

You grab her hand, “thank you.”

Javy opens the bathroom door, stopping when something bounces off his legs. He freezes when he sees a little boy sitting on his butt, looking up at him, ready to cry. “Oh no.”

“Hey, what’re you doing? Get out of the doorway, man,” Jake says.

“There’s a tearful kid in the way.”

“What?” He looks over his buddy’s shoulder to find Edwin sitting there with a wobbly lip.

“What do I do?”

“Pick the kid- move out of my way.” Jake scoffs, “Coyote.” The blond bends down, holding his hand out for the little boy to take.

Edwin hesitantly reaches up for the man’s hand.

Jake helps him off the ground, giving him a gentle smile. “Atta boy, you’re looking better already. Is your mom or dad here?”

He nods.

“You want to point me in their direction-”

“Eddie! Edw-” Maryanne stops you, pointing to Jake.

You rush over to the two, kneeling beside Jake. “Edwin, I’ve told you too many times, not to run off like that.”

He sniffs, nodding his head.

You sigh, wiping his cheeks before turning to find- “Jake.”

“My favorite,” he glances between the two, “b-a-r-t-e-n-d-e-r.”

“I can spell,” Maryanne says with slight attitude.

“Maryanne.”

“Sorry mama.”

“These two are yours?”

“Obviously.”

“I’m really sorry,” Javy starts to apologize. “I didn’t see him and then he-”

You smile, “Javy, it’s okay. I know you didn’t do anything on purpose. He just got upset and ran off.”

“I’m still really sorry.”

“We accept your apology.” You stand up, “why don’t you two go join the rest of your crew. We’ve got some work to do.”

Your daughter pouts, leaning against you.

He stands up. “You go,” Jake whispers to Javy.

“Dude.”

“Just go.”

“Alright, alright.”

“So, what kind of homework do we have to do?”

You shake your head, holding both of your kids’ hands, “no, Jake. You go join your friends. You don’t want to stay and help out with homework, that’s not what you came here to do.”

“I came here to talk to some people, and I’d certainly enjoy talking to you three.”

You scoff through your nose, shaking your head to hide the fact that your cheeks are on fire.

“Let me carry little man and don’t tell me I don’t need to. I want to, gorgeous.” He lifts Edwin into his arms, holding the boy against his hip.

Maryanne starts walking ahead, pulling you with her.

You all settle into your seats, Jake across from you with the kids on each side of you.

“I finished my writing assignment before we went looking for Ed.”

You give her a small smile, “that’s good, what else do you have to do?”

She pouts, “math.”

You nod, “okay.”

“I can help,” Jake offers.

“You can?” You ask.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that attitude and say yes.”

“Since when were you a math whiz?”

“Since I actually put in the effort to pass.”

“That’s always nice to hear...” You smirk, resting your head on your palm, “were you being threatened with detention?”

“Worse.”

“No car?”

“Bingo.”

“I bet it would have been hilarious to see teen, skinny armed, pasty Jake riding his bike through the neighborhood.”

“Oh, yeah. So, funny.” He turns to Maryanne, glancing down at her work, “you need help with math?”

“Yeah… can you help me?”

“Sure, I can. What are we doing today?”

“Is he actually being nice to kids?” Bradley mutters.

“He’s obviously doing it to impress her,” Reuben adds.

“I don’t think so. He’s actually good with kids. You should see him with his nieces and nephews,” says Javy.

“There’s more of him? There are little bagman’s running around out in the world?” Natasha asks, catching the last little bit of the conversation.

Javy dry laughs, “ha ha. Yeah, kind of. He just doesn’t want you all to see him as a softie.”

“I feel like I’m watching a rom com,” Mickey says.

“But it’s actually decent and well worth watching,” adds Bob.

“How long have you been there?” Reuben asks.

“A few minutes. I’m waiting on my soda.”

“Anyone want to play pool?” Javy asks.

“Or darts? Maybe next to them?” Natasha offers.

Javy smirks, “let’s go.” He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her with him.

Mickey and Bob trail behind them, shaking their heads, not liking what the two may be planning.

Reuben runs over to the bar to grab their drinks.

“And how are we today?” Javy asks, wrapping his arm around is buddy’s shoulders. He turns to Edwin, “sorry about running into you little dude.”

“It’s okay and we’re good. Jake’s helping Maryanne with her math,” you tell him.

“You’ve got the best guy to help her.”

“How come we never met your mini me’s?” Mickey asks, pulling Javy away so he and Natasha can start their game of darts.

“My babysitter canceled.”

“That sucks. Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“She’s in high school, has a boyfriend. Need I say more.”

“Ah,” he nods, “got it. Well, if you ever need a babysitter, I’d happily offer my services.”

“Well, aren’t you sweet.”

Jake furrows his brows; he knows the kid isn’t hitting on you, but he can’t help but feel a little jealous very jealous. “Alright, that’s enough. Your partner in crime is calling you over to play darts.”

Mickey snickers as he walks away.

“You good, Seresin?” You ask with a raised brow.

“Always,” he smirks before helping Maryanne with her homework.

You smile, letting yourself daydream about a future with him and how nice it would be to be able to share a life with him, having family outings, potentially expanding your family, and growing old together… You shake your head, ridding your mind of these thoughts. You don’t want to get your hopes up (anymore, then you already have).

He glances over at you and smiles.

You fight the urge to smile for a second before you give up and give in, smiling with just as much, if not a skosh more happiness.

After about an hour or so, Maryanne was able to successfully finish her homework.

“You know if she gets a good grade on her homework, I’m gonna ask you to help her again. I can barely help her when she asks me. If it was me, I would have still been on problem two.”

Jake chuckles, “I’d be happy to help her out as long as I get to take you out.”

A nervous chuckle escapes you, “you mean like a- like a date?”

“If you wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, “I’ll see if I can find the time.”

He shakes his head.

You check your phone, seeing that it’s dinner time and you’ve been off your shift since- wow three hours ago. “Looks like it’s time to go home. I’ve still got to make dinner and figure out when I need to go grocery shopping. Do I need gas?” You push your chair in, helping the kids get ready.

Jake getting out of his seat makes you realize you, kind of, forgot about him for a second. “Oh, sorry, I got too into my head.”

“It’s alright, my sister is the same way.”

“Oh, how is everyone? I’ve been meaning to ask but every time I want to someone else needs a drink.”

“It’s okay. Maybe on our date we can talk more about things you’ve been wanting to ask me and… I can do the same.”

“Yeah?”

He nods, giving you a genuine smile, enjoying how he gets to see you all excited and jittery (and hopefully because of him, in a good way, of course), “yeah.”

“Can we go now?” Edwin asks, rubbing his eyes.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“I’ll walk you all out.”

“I’ll call you.”

“You don’t have my number,” you point out.

“Did you forget, I’m good with numbers.”

You’re not impressed right now. “Just give me your phone.”

“So bossy,” he teases, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“You love it, don’t lie.”

“Maybe I do but, I think that’s more of a later date thing.”

You return his phone back to him, “you think we’ll be going on more than one date?”

He nods. “I know we will.”

You shake your head, “goodnight, Jake.”

He leans in, giving you time to push him away; you don’t. He pecks your cheek.

You close your eyes, inhaling his cologne (something else you’ve grown to like about him).

He pulls back, opening the car door for you.

You shake your head, remembering what you have to do.

“Text me when you get home,” he says, leaning against the car and door.

“Only if you do them same.”

“’Course I will. Goodnight, gorgeous.”

“Night, Jake.”

After that night, he officially asked you out for a proper date and the two of you hit it off.

He didn’t take you to a fancy restaurant (since he asked the others and Penny for a few different ideas on where you’d like to go). Jake did NOT want to screw up (what felt like) his one chance to take you out.

The two of you found yourselves in his truck, laying in the back watching the stars, talking about whatever came to mind while you ate fast food.

“This has to be the best date I’ve been on in- well, ever honestly,” you admit, staring up at the night sky.

He turns his head, studying your side profile, “really?”

“Without a shadow of a doubt.”

He gulps, unsure if he should ask this now or ever. “I know this is too soon to ask and I might be overstepping some boundaries but, what happened with Maryanne and Edwin’s dad? Is he going to come back into their lives at any point in the future?”

You scoff, leaning up to rest on your elbow with your head angled down towards him. “I can assure you that he will never come back into their lives until they turn eighteen then they can make the decision, but I will take the role of a bad guy if it means I keep that asshole away from them and out of their lives.”

You sigh, resting on your back once more, “he decided that when Edwin was three months old, and Maryanne was close two and a half that he wasn’t cut out for the life of being a dad or being tied down, so he left, and I haven’t looked back since. He hasn’t called or texted since then so why should I go looking for him. He made his choice.”

“And you made yours.”

“What’s that?”

Jake shuffles closer to you, cupping your cheek with his thumb brushing across your cheekbone every so often as he stares into your eyes. “You are raising two amazing kids all by yourself and you look damn good doing it.”

You let out a quiet playful laugh.

“I’m not gonna lie, a part of me wishes that they were mine.”

“Yeah? What about the other part of you?”

“Which one? I’ve got two more.”

You raise your hand, placing it against the base of his neck, brushing your thumb back and forth against the edge of his hair, “what’s the second part of you say?”

“How much I want to ask you to marry me even though it might be too soon.”

“And the other?”

“If it’d be stupid of me to ask if you’d be my gorgeous girl and let me in, help you raise those two troublemakers.”

You sink your teeth into your bottom lip, preventing yourself from getting too emotional. “Seems to me like you just want to get in my house to see my bedroom.”

“That would certainly be a plus, wouldn’t it?”

“For you maybe.”

“Damn straight.” He leans down, whispering in your ear, “I’d get to see what you wear underneath your pretty little clothes without asking you to strip for me.”

You scoff, slapping your hands against his chest.

He chuckles, pulling back to see you relaxed and happy, something he doesn’t think he’s ever seen before. “There’s another part of me that wants to do something.”

“Like what?”

“Kiss you.”

You don’t realize it until a second later, but your lips tugged upwards, and you know you’re smiling. “Do it,” you whisper.

He hums, blinking owlishly at you clearly coming out of his thoughts.

You lean up and lightly brush your lips against his before pulling back. You switch from staring one eye to the next, waiting to see panic or disgust, only to find the stars twinkling in his eyes. “Kiss me.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t think I’ll be able to stop once I start.”

You both lean into one another sharing a passionate first kiss (with many more to come).

Two years later...

“Do you think she’s gonna say yes?” asks Jake, to his friend who has a bored look on his face.

“I hope so. I’m tired of hearing you complain and whine about “if she says no” and how you’ll “die” with whatever answer she does give you,” Javy slaps his hands on the blond man’s shoulders, “shut up. She’s gonna say yes.”

Jake says nothing as he purses his lips, “I hear you but what if-”

“Shut up,” Javy hands him a handful of darts, “and play. Have a drink, just do something- anything to calm your nerves… please. And you hear that? I’m asking you nicely.”

He stares at Javy with a deadpan expression. “I’m talking to you in confidence. You’re supposed to boost me up and help me feel better.”

“I am.”

“You’re not being honest with me,” Jake complains.

“I am.” He sees the look his fellow pilot is giving him out of the corner of his eye while he throws the dart at the dartboard, it lands, and he turns around. “Look, you’re an asshole-”

“Thank you, keep telling me things I need to hear,” the blond says with sass.

“But you’re an asshole in love and you’re,” Javy pokes his chest, “just too scared to admit it.”

“Yeah,” he nods, until he repeats what his friend said in his head and glares at Javy. “I hate you sometimes,” he throws a dart at the dart board, it lands way off base from the center.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Bob walks over to the two, glancing over Jake with a concerned expression. “Is he okay?”

“Him? Oh, yeah. He’s fine.”

“He’s nervous she’s gonna say no, huh?”

Jake spins around, using a dart to point at Bob. “No, I’m not.”

Javy leans closer to the WSO, “he’s in the denial stage.”

“I can see that.”

“You two are messing up my concentration. Go gossip about me somewhere else.”

“You know,” Javy pats his shoulder, “it’s okay to be scared.”

“I’m not scared,” he denies.

“Lying is only gonna make this worse.”

“Can it, Baby on Board.”

Bob raises his hands, staring at the ground with a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Your girl’s here,” Billy says, handing Javy a drink and Bob his beer nuts.

Jake spins around just as the dart hits the center of the dart board. A boyish grin tugs at the corner of his mouth, “yes, she is.” He hands Bob the third dart, “have fun boys. Oh, and use protection, especially you,” he points to the WSO before talking off.

“What?”

“Ignore him. He’s in love, you know, it makes people do and say crazy things,” Javy assures Bob.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he greets you, placing a hand on your lower back.

“Hey.” You turn around, leaning into him. You see the guys standing there, watching the two of you. “Are we gonna go say hi?”

He shakes his head, “nope. Come on.” He leads you towards the walls, wanting to get away from the crowd, not lose you in it.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to go outside and see how much more beautiful you can look tonight.”

You scoff, smacking his shoulder, “you can be such an adorable suck up.”

“Only for you,” he pecks your lips, “did it work?”

You roll your eyes, “shut up.” You grab his hand, pulling him along behind you. You happily wave over at the three, who return “cool” waves, except for Bob (he always waves back with just as much enthusiasm as you do to him).

Jake shoves you out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.

He pulls you back, spinning you around once, and wraps his arms around your waist. “Hi.”

You can’t resist his charm and smile back at him, “hi.”

“Let’s walk along the beach, yeah?”

You nod, “if that’s what you want to do.”

“Come on,” he tucks you into his side and starts walking.

You begin to wonder what he has planned. Jake usually doesn’t like to walk along the beach at night (he can’t see your gorgeous face as he likes to say whenever you ask… which is always).

You turn to look at him, he’s nervous but you can’t tell why. You know there’s nothing important coming up such as birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries. The kids haven’t been giving him too much of a hard time (it’s a tough process but they do seem to act like they like him when he comes over or when you all go out).

You’re left even more confused than when you first exited the bar.

He stops, staring out into the ocean.

You watch him, curious as to what’s floating around in his head, “are you okay?”

He turns his head looking at you, wondering how he got so lucky to have meet you and hoping you’ll say yes because he wants the married life with you and to be another parent figure that Maryanne and Edwin can look up too. He knows he wants to live out the rest of his life with you and the kids. Jake gulps, “you should ring me?”

You jerk your head back, blinking owlishly at him, “what?”

“We should rings.” He closes his eyes with a clenched jaw, shaking his head.

You tilt your head, “are you feeling okay?” You place your hand on the back of his forehead.

He nods, reaching into his pocket, pulling the box out of his pocket, practically shoving it in his face.

You grab his wrist pulling it down, out of your face and look down, realizing what he’s planning to do. “Jake?”

“I don’t know how to say it.”

“What- uh- what do you want to do?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what I want to do.”

“Okay, smart ass. Get down on one knee and ask me.”

“That’s the thing. I can’t figure out how to ask you.” He bends down on one knee, “I’ve got too much running through my head. and I don’t know what to say. Then before I know words just start spewing out of my mouth.”

You take a deep breath, placing your hands on his shoulders, “what’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think about wanting to marry me?”

“I don’t want to marry you. I am gonna marry you. So,” he reaches for your left hand, placing a gentle kiss on top, “you can’t get rid of me easily.”

An emotional chuckle escapes you, “what a sap you are.”

“The first thing that pops into my head when I think about us being married is how there isn’t going to much of a difference because we’re already a family. But there is one thing I do know and that’s wanting to grow old with you. You know, I want us to be the older fun couple who still act like they did their first year of dating and I want to listen to your old lady problems.”

You smack his shoulder.

He chuckles, “while you listen to my old man issues.”

“Something tells me there’s gonna be a lot.”

“Let me finish then we can add the commentary later… I also want to be able to help with the kids more.”

“You already do so much.”

“I know but, I think it’s best if we don’t have a lunch issue 2.0.”

You nod, wiping your cheeks, “that’s very true. You almost got kicked out. They called me to make sure you were who you said you were.”

“I told them not to.”

“Oh, yeah because that always goes well when a strange man they hadn’t actually seen before says “don’t call their mom”. Really, Jake? I mean honestly.”

“Ask her already!” Javy, Bob, Natasha, Bradley, Pete, and Penny shout.

You two turn to see some of the gang standing there, waiting for Jake to pop the question.

“If you don’t do it tonight, you’re doing all my paperwork,” Pete shouts.

“I already do.”

“Yeah, well… then you’ll have more.”

“Can you guys turn towards me a little?” Mickey asks, holding up his phone. “You’re gonna regret it, if you don’t.”

You two do as he asked.

“Perfect, thank you! And… propose.”

“What are we in a movie or something? Geez,” you roll your eyes.

“I’m gonna ask you now.”

“Okay, shutting up now.”

“Will you marry me?”

“Can I think about it?”

“What?” He asks with his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

“I’m joking, you idiot. Of course, I will!” You throw your arms around his neck causing the two of you to fall back.

The two of you start laughing.

You push yourself off him, opting to lay on your side.

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“Where’s the ring?”

“Right here,” answers Bradley, holding the ring box up for him.

“Give it to me.”

“No.”

“Give it to me, chicken.”

“See that, that right there is exactly why I won’t.”

“I swear to-”

“Shut up,” Natasha snatches the box from him and hands it to Jake. “Don’t be an idiot.”

“I wasn’t,” Bradley pouts.

“Sure, you weren’t.”

Jake lifts your hand up and slides the ring on, kissing your knuckles.

You give him an excited smile, wondering how you got so lucky and he’s doing the same.

Your scooped up before you know it, squealing until you find yourself taller than everyone else. “Guys,” you giggle, “put me down.”

“Nope,” a certain mustached man responds.

“Nat? Help?”

“Mickey’s getting a good shot of you up there,” she says, looking over said pilot’s shoulder.

“We can do a better photoshoot tomorrow. Put me down.”

“Can I have my fiancée back?”

“After the old timer,” Penny pats Pete’s shoulder, “buys a round for everybody.”

You all holler, shouting excitedly.

“Not the whole bar, right?” Pete asks his girl.

She smirks, “no, only a lucky few. I promise… as long as your phone doesn’t wind up on the bar top.”

“You’re a cruel, cruel woman.”

“I’ve gotta be stern when running a bar.”

“I was hoping that wouldn’t apply to me.”

“Alright, one round on the old man then we’re outta here,” Jake announces.

Numerous “aw’s” and “boo’s” come his way.

“We gotta go home and get the kids ready for school.”

“Who knew Bagman could be such a softie?” Natasha adds.

“You couldn’t have done this on a Saturday?”

“Shut up, chicken.”

“I’m just saying, you should have planned better.”

“And we’re out of here.”

You let out a soft chuckle, squeezing his hand as you two exit the bar. “Jake, I wanted to say by to everyone.”

“I did too, but they pissed me off.”

“You’re such an old man.”

He lightly pushes you against the car door, “hey, I’m your old man, gorgeous.”

You smirk, “that makes me your old lady?”

“Or if you prefer, my gorgeous.” He kisses your cheek.

“That��s a bit of an open ending, don’t you think?”

“No because you can add anything you want to it.”

“You’re such a sappy suck up,” you tell him before reaching up to peck his cheek.

“Only for you.”

“I don’t know how they’re gonna react.” You glance over at the front door of your shared home.

"We don’t have to get married right away.”

You look over at him, “Jake…”

“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s not just because of Maryanne and Edwin, alright. I want us to take our time and plan it. Invite the people we actually want to be there because I can tell you no one from my family would actually come. I mean, my sister might but… I want to make this a special day for us.”

“I don’t want to argue about this, even though all I have to say is that I know whenever or wherever we have this wedding it will be special.”

“Now who’s a sappy suck up,” he reaches over the middle console to cup your cheek.

“What are we gonna do if the kids don’t accept this?”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“I don’t want you to be the one who’s hurt.”

He shakes his head, “I won’t be. If I can be a part of their life in any other way, I’ll do it. And I get their hesitancy towards me. I do.”

“I know you do and that’s so, so nice of you but you don’t deserve to be treated like this.” He rests his forehead against yours, “like I told you, I would do anything to be in their lives.” He pecks the corner of your mouth, “and yours.”

Jake pulls back, staring into your eyes. His thumb brushes back and forth against your cheekbone. “Let’s go inside, yeah?” He knows he can only distract you from your worries for so long.

You nod, not wanting to worry about this anymore. “Okay.”

A month and a half ago…

The credits play across the screen. The sound is off because he muted the TV, wanting to talk to you.

"It happened again," Jake sighs.

You quietly groan to yourself, rubbing your face with both hands before slapping your thighs. You scoot yourself into an upright position, legs still resting in his lap, "I'm sorry, honey. I can talk to them again or-"

"No, it's okay. I- uh-” He gulps, “I was thinking maybe I should go stay somewhere else for a few days."

You shake your head, "no. No, absolutely not."

He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. "Our kids don’t care about me."

You scoff through your nose, "they do. How could you ever think otherwise?" Your chest puffs out with every breath you take, your vision blurs as tears pool in your water line.

He cups your cheeks, "they're not going to warm up to me because they think I'm trying to replace their deadbeat dumbass of a father, or they think I’m gonna be exactly like him and leave. They’re not ready to trust me."

"They know you’re not trying to replace him," you weakly argue.

"You could be right, but they won't listen to you because you’re mom."

You sniff, "please, don’t leave."

"I'm doing this to save yours and the kids relationship."

"You staying here and being a part of the kids’ lives hasn't changed that."

"But it will."

This is it. It feels like it’s the end of your relationship, but you know it’s not. You refuse to believe that you two won’t find your way back to one another and have a better improved relationship with yourself and the kids. His bag falls to the ground.

You take a step forward and rest your head on his shoulder, silently crying into his shirt, bunching it in your clenched fists, "Jake…"

He shushes you, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you closer. His hand finds its way up to its rightful resting place, cupping your cheek, "hey, look at me. Look at me please.”

You lift your head up, with wet cheeks.

His thumb sweeps across your cheek, wiping away your tears, “you know I love you, right?"

You don’t think you’ve ever heard him sound so emotional (except for when he told you about his past and his family, the day he asked to marry you, when he repeated what you said about moving in, and the first time he said I love you). "Course I do.” You lean in closer, whispering, “I love you so much."

It feels like you’re sharing a secret (which you are about Jake’s departure… from the kids for the time being).

"I'll text you when I make it to my place."

You nod, "okay."

Jake leans down, kissing you, reminding you of how much he loves you. He takes a step back, one hand on your back as he leans over to grab his bag.

You two stare at one another with tears in your eyes (yes, even Jake’s on the verge of crying- or maybe he already is but your own tear-filled eyes blur your vision, preventing you from seeing so).

His hand slides off your back after he opens the door. He steps outside, feeling like a stranger on the porch of his own home. Jake tries to walk away before things could get even more depressing.

You reach out, hand squeezing his bicep, silently pleading for him to stay. “Be careful?”

The corner of his lips tug upward into a farewell cocky smirk, “always am, gorgeous. Always am.”

You watch as he gets in his car and wave him off (breaking your hearts into a million pieces).

Jake disappears from you view and you stand there for a few seconds, unwilling to move because if you do, you’ll be home alone… you’ll be alone.

You close the door, resting your forehead on the wooden frame. Your shoulders shake as you struggle to keep your cries quiet. You raise your hand, covering your mouth; whimpers escape you before you can even try and stop them.

As much as you don’t want to, you make your way to your bedroom. You swear you hear your heart break when you walk in. It doesn’t look like much has changed but you know if you open your dresser drawers and check the closet, his clothes won’t be there. You won’t be able to admire his uniform or shake your head at the way he organizes his sock and underwear drawer.

You try to not to think about the little things you’ll miss while taking of your shoes. You lay down on your side, bending your legs, curling into yourself.

After about an hour of laying down, you text Penny.

SoonToBeMrs.S

Hey Pen Sent Read 1:58pm

PickaPenny

Are you alright? You only say my name when something’s happened Sent Read 2:00pm

SoonToBeMrs.S

All good here. Can you pick up Maryanne and Edwin? Sent Read 2:00pm

PickaPenny

You got it. Sent Read 2:01pm

PickaPenny typing…

“What are you doing here?”

Jake turns around, his shoulders sag, “needed a drink.”

“Why am I getting a text from your fiancé about picking up the kids?” asks Penny.

He gulps, “I- uh- I’m gonna be out of the house for a while.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you were deployed.”

“I’m not.”

The bar owner looks back at him after giving another customer her drink. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Did you break it off with her?”

“No, God no. Penny I-”

“You what?”

“I’m doing this to save the family relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“The kids don’t like me.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“They don’t listen to a thing I say and when I pick them up from school, they don’t talk to me.”

“Have you tried talking to them?”

“Of course, I have.”

“No, no. Not ask them questions, talk to them about the whole situation?”

“I’ve tried but they won’t put in the effort to listen. And, yeah, I know they’re kids and that’s how they are, but I want them to know that I’m not trying to replace their bio dad and I want them to stop thinking I’ll leave ‘em just like he did. I just- I can’t get through to them. And I’m not going to be the reason they hate their mom for marrying someone they don’t like. I grew up that way. My mom married someone we weren’t all huge fans of, and he didn’t care. He never tried to talk to us, not even after mom died.”

“Jake-”

He takes out his wallet, setting a few bills down. “Don’t tell her you saw me.”

“Fine,” she sighs. “Can you at least tell me where you’re staying?”

“I’ll be crashing on Coyote’s couch for a few days.”

“And then?” He shrugs, “see you around Penny.”

You open your eyes, glancing over your shoulder to see Penny standing there, and jolt. “Jeez!”

“Sorry, hon. I tried to be gentle, but you wouldn’t budge.”

You push yourself up, “sorry. I take it since you’re here, you picked the kids up?”

“No, I left them to run the bar.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Pete for too long. His- whatever is rubbing off on you.”

She scoffs, “oh, please. If anything, it’s me making him less of an old man.” She sits down beside your legs, rubbing your knee in a comforting manner. “I saw him earlier.”

You don’t say anything, your eyes shift downwards.

“He looked really upset.”

“Did he?”

“He already misses you and the kids.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t give me that fake “I don’t care attitude”. I know you’re upset he’s gone but it’s not like you won’t see him. He just doesn’t want to come between you, Maryanne, or Edwin but he still cares about all of you and wants to help out.”

You wrap your arms around your abdomen, “I know that.”

“Why can’t you two talk it out?”

“I’ve tried to have us talk but no one wants to listen.”

“Okay, okay. Breathe.”

“I am but- it’s all gotten so complicated.”

Penny leaves before dinner time.

You finish preparing their plates, setting them on the dining table. “You two start eating, I’ve got to make sure my makeshift office space is ready after dinner.”

“Where’s Jake? We always have dinner together,” says Edwin.

You freeze, handing the two their utensils. “Oh- um- he’s got- he got caught up with work and won’t be here for a little while.”

“Is he gonna be, okay?” Maryanne asks.

You slowly stand up, giving them a sad smile, “yeah, yeah, he is.” You exit the kitchen.

“Is mama not gonna eat with us since Jake’s gone?” Edwin asks his sister.

“I don’t know, Eddie. I don’t like this.”

“Same.”

“After dinner we can watch a movie. Maybe mama won’t be so busy.”

He nods, “okay.”

“Go pick a movie.” Maryanne pushes her brother towards the living room and realizes what she said. “No Ice Age!”

“Ice Age is a good movie!”

A knock on your door gets you moving faster, you pat your face dry, hoping the bloodshot look will go away soon. “Come in, Maryanne.”

“How did you know it was me?”

“You and your brother have very different knocks.”

“Obviously if you can tell who’s who when we knock. Do you want- were you crying?”

“No, what makes you say that?”

“Your eyes are puffy. Is it because of Jake? Did he make you cry?”

You chuckle, “no, sweetheart.”

“Well, then where is he?”

“I told you; he has a few work things he needs to do.”

“If he’s leaving like dad just tell me, I can handle it.”

You swoop her into a hug after seeing the way her bottom lip quivers. You take a step back, sitting on the edge of your bed. “No, no, no. He’s not leaving. He’s just- he doesn’t want to- he says he wants us to have a better relationship with one another.”

“We already do.”

“You think so?”

She nods.

You sweep the hair covering her eyes out of her way, “what do you think of him?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you like him?”

“I… yeah.”

“Do you not like, Jake?”

“He’s nice and tries...”

“Can I ask you why you two are hesitant on letting him into our life?”

She doesn’t say anything.

“Do you think he’s gonna be like your dad?”

“I don’t want him to leave,” says Edwin from your bedroom door.

You open your other arm, giving him room to squeeze in. “Did you like him?”

“We both do.”

“Eddie!”

“I’m tired of you not telling mama what you mean. We both like him.”

“You do?”

He nods, “uh-huh. But we don’t want him to be like dad.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t-”

“Where is he now?”

“...He’s giving us space because he thinks you don’t like him.”

“We do!” He bounces around, “we do! Call him. Make him come home.”

“We can’t make him come home, if he doesn’t want to,” Maryanne points out. “Can we call him tomorrow?”

“We’ll see.”

“Can we watch Ice Age now?” You chuckle, “I’m not leaving you alone with Jake again. He’s corrupted your movie likes and dislikes.”

The kids run out of your room.

You change into something a little comfier before exiting the room.

Maybe there is light at the end of this tunnel.

Edwin was the first to fall asleep, you went out next, leaving your little girl to be the sole survivor.

She grabs her phone off the side table, going to her camera app. She angles herself closer and takes a selfie with the three of you.

LittleDarlin

*image* Miss you Sent Read 8:39pm.

Jake puts his shirt on, checking his phone before winding down for bed. His heart starts to race a little when he sees it’s from his little girl. He opens the message and his heart melts.

SouthernSavior

Miss you too, darlin Sent Read 8:41pm.

Shouldn’t you be asleep? Sent Read 8:42pm.

LittleDarlin

Eddie put Ice Age on Sent Read 8:42pm.

SouthernSavior

Not a good excuse. Go to bed Sent Read 8:43pm.

LittleDarlin typing… Can you come home? Deleted

LittleDarlin

Night Jake Sent Read 8:45pm.

SouthernSavior

Night darlin Sent Read 8:45pm.

Before Jake turns his phone off and puts it on the charger, he sets the photo as his lockscreen.

Three days later…

A knock on the front door alerts you.

You’re confused until you realize it’s a school day and pop out of bed, running out of your room. You check their rooms, finding neither of them there. “Not in the living room or kitchen,” you gasp. “The kitchen.”

You run in, seeing your kids putting their dishes in the sink. “Was no one going to wake me up?”

“You know Jake takes us to school,” Maryanne argues.

“He does but with everything that’s going on, I didn’t know what we were gonna do.”

“I’m still on school duty.”

You scream, jumping just about ten feet in the air. You bring your hand up, placing it on your chest, “don’t. Do. That.”

“I have to get your heart pumping somehow,” he answers you with that damn cocky smirk you’ve grown to love.

“Yeah, and I can send you to work with a foot up your a-s-s.”

“We can spell,” your daughters chimes in.

“Pretend you can’t.”

“Come on, d- Jake. Let’s go before we’re late.”

The two try to walk past you, until you clear your throat.

“What?”

“Hug your mother, kids,” he says, standing beside you.

Edwin rolls his eyes and sighs in a joking way before launching himself into your arms.

Maryanne walks over to give you a quick hug before dragging her brother outside behind her.

Jake hesitates to place his hand on your lower back.

You turn, almost automatically curling into him. “Hey there, sailor.”

“Still not a sailor but, hello to you too, gorgeous.”

“Can we talk later?”

“Is it a good talk or a bad talk?”

“Depends, are you gonna listen to me or not?”

“When don’t I listen to you?”

You arch your brow.

“Fine, I’ll listen.” He walks to the door when you remember something.

“Oh, wait! Edwin has early day today.”

“What time?”

“Like Thursday.”

He quietly groans to himself, “I won’t be able to pick him up.”

“It’s okay. I planned on picking him up anyway. I just wanted you to know so you’re not sitting and waiting at the school for too long.”

“Are you always this thoughtful?”

There it is again. You give him a sarcastic smile, “are you always a pain in my ass?”

“I’d like to think otherwise.”

“In other words, yes.”

“If that’s what you want to call me then fine.”

A car honk alerts the two of you.

“I gotta go. I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“You can count on it. Bye, Jake.” You lean up and peck him on the lips. You aim to head back into the kitchen when you’re pulled back.

He cups your cheek, pulling you closer, “is this, okay?”

“I’d say it’s more than okay.”

The corner of his mouth tugs upwards, “knew you could never resist me.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am.” His other hand wraps around your waist, bringing you closer to him.

You place your hands on his arms, one hand slides along his shoulders, stopping at the base of his neck. You scratch the back of his neck near the edge of his hairline.

He slightly shivers pulling back; he pecks your pink, wet, and swollen lips. “I gotta go drop them off,” his voice comes out hoarse and quiet.

You nod, “mmhmm.”

“You can kiss later! We’ve gotta go or we’ll be late!”

You cover your mouth, hiding your laughter. “You heard the girl.”

“Hey, I didn’t start this whole thing.”

“Neither did I.”

“Let’s call it a truce and you go take the kids to school.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, hon.”

“Bye, gorgeous.”

You and Edwin do his homework before you put on a movie (yes, Ice Age) for him. You turn your head to see the mess in the backyard.

You sigh, getting up off the couch to clean it up. You were doing good, making a lot of progress until you didn’t.

You fall, landing on your shoulder. You know you’re screwed, the pain radiating in your arm is too much, but you can’t freak out because your baby boy will freak out which won’t solve anything.

You push yourself off the ground (with great difficulty) and enter the house.

“Eds,” you whisper, sitting beside him with your arm close to you.

“Yeah?” he asks, slightly distracted by the movie.

“Can you call Aunt Penny for me and hold the phone to my ear?”

“Why?”

“I fell.”

“Are you okay?!”

You shush him, “breathe, sweetheart. Breathe.”

“Where’s your phone? Where’s your phone?”

“Look at the table beside you.”

“Okay, Penny… Penny… Aunt Penny? Mom wants to talk to you.” He holds the phone against your ear.

“Pen? Hey… can you come over and drive me to the emergency room? I fell and broke something.”

Jake rushes into the emergency center, frantically searching for you with Maryanne holding his left hand. He stops when he sees Penny waving, letting him know where you and Edwin are.

He rushes over to the two of you while the poor little girl is being yanked over to your bed. He makes sure Maryanne can hold your hand and get close to you before he sets his hand on top of your head. “Are you okay?”

“I will be if I can get out of here.”

He checks over you, stopping when he sees your arm resting across your stomach, “what happened?”

“I was in the backyard cleaning up-”

“I told you I would do it.”

“Yeah, and that was before you…” you trail off unsure of how to say it without making it sound mean, ‘before you left,’ yeah, not the nicest thing to say ever.

“You could have called me. No, you should have called me.”

You open your mouth to respond when Penny moves the kids away from the bed, having them sit in the seats (she grabbed earlier) giving you two more room to talk.

He reaches down for your hand without looking, letting you squeeze his hand, knowing you aren’t taking any of the morphine or other pain medication (because you don’t like how you feel afterwards). He leans down, letting you turn your head into his chest, “why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what?”

You look up at him through your wet lashes, blinking repeatedly so you can see him. “I didn’t know how we were. After this morning-”

“Hey, hey.” He brushes the few loose strands that cover your face back, “we are never gonna change.” He pecks your forehead before turning around.

He takes a step closer to Penny, whispering, “can you take them somewhere else? Ice cream? Hospital cafeteria? Wherever. I don’t want them to see their mom in anymore pain. I know, Eddie is gonna have a hard time when we get home but I’m not letting them see any more of this.” He pulls out his wallet.

She places her hands on his stopping him, “you don’t need to do that. I’ve got it besides I’ve been wanting to show them a few shells I found the other day.”

He lets out a breath of relief, “thank you.”

“You can thank me by taking care of your wife.” She turns around, facing the two. “Come on, kids. We’re gonna go back to Aunt Penny’s place and look at the few seashells I found, and we can prank Pete. How’s that sound?”

“We don’t want to leave our mom, Aunt Penny,” Maryanne whispers to the older woman.

“I know but Jake thinks it would be smart if you two aren’t stuck in the emergency center for hours.”

The young girl glances over at the two of you, watching how Jake is consoling you and trying to distract you from the pain. She looks back at Penny and nods, “okay. Can we text Jake and ask him when we can go home?”

“Of course, we can,” she holds her hands out for the two to hold.

Maryanne looks back to see nothing but love between the two of you. Maybe she was wrong, maybe Jake won’t be like her dad.

He came just seconds after Penny called him and made sure that both of them could see and touch you.

She feels bad for how she’s been treating him and knows what she needs to do.

“You should have called me,” he whispers into your hair.

“I wanted to.”

“Why didn’t you? You know I would have been there in a second. Well, maybe not a second but,” he smirks but you can see the worry on his face.

You scoff, rolling your eyes, “don’t make me hit you.”

He hums, “it seems to me like you can’t.”

“I can do other things.”

“Oh, yeah. Like what?”

“Well, if I tell you then it won’t be a surprise.”

He sticks his bottom lip out, “come on, you know you want to tell me.”

“No, I really don’t.”

Jake hasn’t removed his arm from around your waist since you were released (after texting Penny).

“You can let go now.”

“I gotta make sure my girl is taken care of.”

“You are by making sure I can get to my car.”

“That was never the plan because that’s a, dangerous and b, penny took your car remember. Seems like you’re stuck with me, gorgeous.”

“Jake,” you start, ready to complain.

“No, no. Don’t give me that attitude. I’m making sure you get home back to the kids safely. End of story.”

You say nothing as he opens the door for you, letting you take your time getting the car.

Once your seated, he helps you with your seatbelt before running to the back, grabbing a pillow to place under your arm (that’s in a secure sling) but that doesn’t stop him.

The drive back to the house was quiet, at least, between the two of you, there was music softly playing filling some of the silence.

He jogs around to the other side of car, opening the door. He reaches in to unbuckle the seatbelt.

You scoot to the edge of the seat, swinging your legs out of the car. Jake holds his hand out for you to take. You slap your hand on his, “I’m gonna need a little help getting out. Take the pillow, first.”

He carefully removes the pillow, tossing it to the driver’s seat. He lets you push yourself out before he wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

You take a deep breath, staring at his collarbone (since your eye level with it), your eyes slowly trail up his neck, past his jawline and cheekbone.

It feels like you’ve lost your breath as you stare into his eyes, reminding you of when you two first started dating.

He moves your hand onto his shoulder before sliding his other arm to your waist, pulling you closer to hug you. He rests his head on your shoulder before tucking his head into the crook of your neck.

You slide your hand across his shoulder, stopping at his neck, brushing your thumb vertically against the base of his hair, feeling the top of his spinal cord.

The two of you wet the others shoulder with your salty, relief ridden tears.

He pulls back, staring at you without wiping his cheeks.

You reach up and wipe away his tears.

He does the same for you. “Let’s get you inside, yeah?” He removes one arm to close the car door, locking it right after.

He unlocks the front door, gently shoving you inside, following after you.

You let out a quiet breath of relief, you were scared he was going to leave after hugging you.

The kids run out of the living room, stopping in front of you.

You bend down, letting them hug your good side with Jake telling them to be careful and not tug your neck.

Maryanne steps away from you, telling Jake to bend down. She wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

Edwin does the same.

You wipe your cheeks, not wanting to cry even though this is what you’ve been waiting for.

Three months later...

Maryanne stands in front of you, “mama?”

“Yeah, baby?” You turn to look at her, seeing how she looks down at the ground. You furrow your brows, “what’s wrong? Are you feeling, okay?” You place the back of your hand on her forehead. She pulls your hand away from her forehead and shakes her head. “Did you break something?”

“No... I want to do something for Jake.”

You nod, smiling (happy to know no one’s hurt or sick). “Okay, like what?”

“I- we want to do something for him for… Father’s Day.”

The smile slowly falls from your face, “oh,” you gulp. “Did you two have something in mind? And know that just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean that you have to do anything. I know we’ve had a hard time adjusting with one another,” you move the few strands of hair that fell off her face. “He would be happy with anything whether we do something or not.”

She pouts, “I know but we want him to know that we like him and- and that we want him to be our dad.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“Can he adopt us?”

You lift your hand up, covering your mouth, shocked at her surprising request.

“Mama?”

You shake your head, blinking your eyes rapidly to prevent the tears from falling. You wrap your arms around her shoulders pulling her in for a tight hug. “Oh, my sweet girl.” You detach yourself from her, holding her by her shoulders, “that is more than okay, sweetheart. And you’re sure this is something you and Edwin want?”

She nods as a smile tugs at the corners of her lips.

“We should start now if we want it ready by then huh?”

The wedding was a small one with only Jake’s fellow pilots, WSO’s, and other navy members invited. You both invited his sister, but she was pregnant with baby number four and was unable to fly over.

She was kind enough to call and say that she and her husband would drive over, but it’d take too long for them to arrive. You assured her that it was okay, and she would be missed (you were so close to getting to hear embarrassing stories about pre-pilot Jake).

You didn’t let Jake see you before the wedding (much to his displeasure).

You walk down the aisle with Penny and Amelia walking you down the aisle. When you asked the girls, it easily became one of the most emotional moments when it came to planning the wedding, but you have no regrets (even if the few photos of you three walking down the aisle were of the Benjamin girls crying the entire time).

It was something else when you two were married by Pete.

And, of course, Maryanne was the most adorable flower girl ever making sure used all the petals in her basket and Edwin was a handsome ring bearer.

Thank God you didn’t assign anyone with this task because when Mickey and Logan were asking you a while ago, they showed you the website where you could rent a bear. Of course, this was a joke… you hoped anyway but they did redeem themselves by helping out with all the guy’s suits (after giving them the “mom” look).

Almost everyone- that’s a lie, everyone was crying, no matter how hard you tried not to, you did.

The water works got worse when Jake gave his vows. The man may be cocky as hell, but the man knows when to put his heart and soul into something.

Jake could barely keep his hands to himself when Pete said, “you may now kiss the bride.”

“More like devour the bride,” Bradley mutters. Jake pulls back, needing air, knowing you need the same.

“Can it chicken, you’re just jealous.”

The mustache man scoffs, prepared to say something else when Javy pulls him off to the side, handing him a drink. “To the happy couple!”

Javy and Bradley are the first to raise a glass. “To the happy couple!”

“To my stunning and gorgeous wife,” he whispers in your ear.

“And to my charmingly cocky husband.”

“I see how it is. I compliment you and you insult me.”

“It’s all part of my charm.”

“You weren’t this mean when we first started going out.”

“I didn’t want to show you my dark side.”

“Sure, you didn’t.”

“Okay, enough you two,” Penny takes your drinks from you two, “it’s time for the first dance.”

You let out a dramatic sigh, “if we must.”

“Prepare to have your heels knocked off your feet.”

You place your hand on his shoulder, “play on the usual phrase, I see you’ve been studying with Edwin.”

He smirks, “’course I have. I wanted to impress you.”

“Oh,” you chuckle, “impress me? I see.”

“No more talking, more dancing.”

The song ends and you feel light tugging and look down to find your babies standing there.

“Looks like it’s time for family’s first dance,” DJ Bob announces, adding airhorns.

“I’m never letting baby on board DJ for us again.”

“Oh, c’mon, he’s doing good. Leave him be,” you tell your husband.

“This is a special request coming from the shortest guy here this evening and no, I’m not talking about Fanboy.”

Reuben, Natasha, and Billy cover their mouths to prevent them from spitting out their drinks.

Pete, Penny, Amelia, and Callie shake their heads.

Logan and Bradley shake their heads.

Javy and Bringham hold Mickey back from going after a power-hungry DJ Bob and Neil grabs the camera before the photographer of the evening, can drop it.

An Ice Age remix comes through the speakers and you three look down at Edwin, who innocently shrugs, “what?”

You and Jake glance back at one another and shake your heads, dancing until your feet begin to hurt.

Javy and Bob help back the car with wedding presents while Jake puts the kids in the back, letting them get comfortable and fall asleep.

“Thank you, boys.”

Javy gives you a rare, sweet smile, “anything for the newly Mrs. Seresin.”

Your lips quickly tug into an upward smile, “I haven’t heard that yet.”

“It feel weird?” “You know what? It doesn’t.”

“What doesn’t?” The man of the hour asks.

“Nothing.”

“And… we’re done. You two ready to go?” Bob interrupts.

“We are. Are one of you driving the car back to our place?”

“No, we’re gonna leave it here for the racoons to rip open and bring to you later tomorrow.”

“Just because you’re Jake’s friend, doesn’t mean that I won’t hesitate to kick your ass, Machado.”

Your husband wraps an arm around your waist pulling you back, “okay and that’s enough excitement for one day.”

“We’ll see you two there.”

Bob waves to you with his usual, adorable smile dancing across his lips.

You wave back before Jake holds you against the passenger door. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’m walking on air, husband of mine.”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one. Let’s go home.”

The day after the wedding…

You and Jake sit beside one another on the couch, looking through your wedding album, taking a break from opening presets.

“Aw,” you point to the photo Maryanne sent him a while ago. “When did we take this?”

“Our little darlin’ sent me this when we were- uh-” Jake scratches the back of his head, “away from each other.”

“Oh… why didn’t you ever show me this? Send it to me.”

“Can I never have a cute family photo for myself?”

You sigh, “I suppose you can.”

He shakes his head, “don’t you be trying to guilt trip me now, gorgeous.”

“Me? Guilt trip you, never.” You flip to another page, “wow!”

“Guess the kid is as good with a camera on the ground like he is in the air.”

“Yeah, I’ll say. We are so using him for the kid’s birthdays.”

You can feel the vibrations of him chuckling behind you.

“Guess that means we save a few bucks.”

“Don’t tell me now that we’re married, you’re going cheap on me.”

He scoffs, “never… I just didn’t expect Fanboy to be so good.”

“Wow, no wonder he was hesitant to ask me.” You shake your head, setting the album on the table and see the last gift on the table is the big one. “This one is from the kids, but we have to wait until they wake up.”

“What?” Jake whines.

“Please,” you plead.

“Fine, fine. Stop giving me those “sex” eyes.”

You scoff, “I am not giving you “sex” eyes. If anyone is giving those eyes, it’s you.”

“Wow!”

“I know, it sucks when your words come back to bite you in the ass, right?”

“I know something else that can bite you in the ass.”

“God! We just got married and it’s like you’ve become ten times hornier within twenty-four hours.”

“You just have that effect on me, gorgeous.”

“Did he open it yet?” Maryanne asks, scaring the shit out of you two.

You and Jake scream, the latter lets out an oof. “What happened? Are you okay?”

He shakes his head, holding his stomach, “no.”

You cringe, realizing what you did. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry, are you okay?”

“My poor, beautiful abs.”

You scoff, smacking his arm, “you’re fine.” You turn to look at the kids, “and no he did not. I wanted you two to be here with us.”

They run over to the couch, sitting on each side of him.

You grab the rectangular, thin box, handing it to him.

“You not gonna help me with this one?”

You shake your head, trying to hide your smile, “no, this one’s all you, honey.”

He narrows his eyes at you before looking back at the gift, ripping the gift open. He tosses the box to the side, holding a large manilla envelope. He stares at it with furrowed brows, “what-”

“Just open it,” you tell him.

He carefully opens it, pulling out the document. He starts to read it, “what-” his voice cracks. Jake scoots forward, setting everything on the coffee table so he can cover his eyes.

“Aw, honey,” you start.

The kids stare at you with wide eyes, unsure if this is a good reaction or not. They scoot off the couch, standing in front of him, wrapping their arms around his shoulders.

He returns the gesture. “I know we had a hard time gettin to know each other in the beginning,” he lifts his head, staring back and forth between the two, “but did you two really have to make a grown man cry?”

“We made you cry?” Your daughter asks.

“You should have been worried if I didn’t cry.”

“Fair point.”

You rub the back of his shoulder.

He looks back at you, “how long have you known about this?”

“Too long. I’m just happy your late/ early Father’s Day gift finally made its way to you."

“This is a- okay, new rule, give the old man a little warning so I have time to prepare myself.”

“Nah,” you shake your head, “this is better. We get the raw emotions.”

“Shut up,” he shoves your thigh.

You smile, leaning back against the couch.

“Let’s a movie… not Ice Age,” he pulls Edwin closer, “whispering”, “we’ll watch it when the girls aren’t here.”

The young boy nods, giggling, “okay.”

Maryanne settles in on your side with Jake on your left, an arm wrapped around your shoulders and Edwin on his left.

“Oh, wait. We need popcorn,” says your daughter.

“Let’s go.” Edwin pulls her into the kitchen, preparing the movie snacks.

He pulls you closer.

“I told you they like you.”

He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, “okay, maybe you were right.”

“I was so right, darlin.”

“Look at you trying to copy my accent.”

“Honey, I pull that accent off better than you.”

“Oh, is that how we’re playing it?”

“You bet.”

“How about we cut this competition short?”

“Oh, yeah. How’s that-”

He cups your cheek, pulling you in for a kiss.

“We’re done- ew!”

You can’t help but smile as you two part from one another.

“Alright, kids. Settle in,” he tells them.

They return to their previous seats.

You rest your head against his shoulder.

This is exactly how you pictured it, the family life with Jake.

Prev // Next

TGTBATWOI Master List

Taglist: @abaker74 @ebonyhogan24 @shanimallina87 @starkleila @kurtkunkle17

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specialagentlokitty · 1 year

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Melissa x Teen!reader - you’re family

So if you won’t write this, I totally understand. Could you do parental Malissa with a reader who is part of Scott’s pack but their parents are abusive (or just horrible) and Scott brings the to his house to ask his mom if they can help reader? - @theafterofnevermore 💜

Sitting on the curb, you sighed as you looked at the bag next to you and your busted phone on the road in front of you.

Getting up, you grabbed the phone and pocketed it before grabbing your bag and walking aimlessly around the empty streets.

There wasn’t many people out at this time of night, which made harder to find a place to eat, but you found a small diner that was still open and ordered some food while you sat in the booth at the far back.

The waitress brought over your food, and she frowned a little bit as she looked at you.

“Are you alright? Do you want me to call anyone for you?” She asked gently.

“I’m okay… I Uhm… I don’t know any of my friends numbers off by hand… sorry…” you mumbled back.

She just smiled at you and shook her head.

“No that’s fine, do you want some help cleaning that cut on your cheek and your knuckles?” She asked.

You shook your head.

“No I’ll be fine…”

“Alright darling, let me know if you need anything.”

She walked away and you nibbled at your food, simply getting lost in your mind as you tried to figure out what your next step would be.

No doubt your parents would call the sheriffs department tomorrow claiming that you ran away, so you had to find one hell of a place to hide.

Sighing, you pushed your half eaten food away and placed some cash on the table before slipping out the door once again.

Pulling your jacket across you a little more to beat the breeze, you started to aimlessly wonder around, ignoring sounds of someone driving past.

You stopped when you noticed the bike stop not far in front of you, and you were getting ready to run when you realised you knew who it belonged to.

Walking over, you stuffed your hands into your pockets and watched the driver to his helmet off.

“You’re driving around pretty late Scott, what’s up?” You asked.

“I was actually looking for you.” He replied.

“Huh? Why?”

Scott pulled out his phone and showed you the last message you had sent to him, asking him if he could pick you up straight away.

Putting his phone away, he gestured to the back of the bike.

“I’m sorry I took so long, I was sleeping. I checked my phone when I woke up to get a drink and came straight out to find you.”

“It’s fine, can you just take me to a motel or something?”

He handed you his helmet and waited for you to climb on the back of his bike.

“I can bring you back to mine if you want? I can set up the spare room for you.”

“I don’t want to intrude Scott it’s fine.”

“Nope, you’re coming to mine, motels aren’t safe, and it’ll waste your money.”

“Do I even get a say in this?” You sighed.

“Nope.”

You just sighed and waited for him to get to his house before you climbed off his bike and handed the helmet back.

He gestured for you to follow him, and did.

He led you upstairs to the spare room and showed you where everything was and he leant against the doorway as he scowled a little bit.

“What happened this time (Y/N)?” He sighed.

“Nothing, forget it Scott. It’s fine.”

“It’s not, look my moms gonna be home any minute, she can help.”

You shook your head and crawled into the bed.

Scott sighed and left, he wasn’t going to make you let his mom help, but he still told his mom about what had happened so she knew you were in the house.

When you woke up the following morning, you quickly changed and made your way down the stairs to the kitchen.

It wasn’t the first time you stayed at Scott’s house after being kicked out, he was like a brother to you, so he always took you in.

“Morning (Y/N).” Melissa smiled.

“Morning Melissa, is Scott awake?”

“He had to go to work, but he said he’d be back later.”

You nodded your head and sipped from the cup she had given to you.

You weren’t really paying attention to Melissa while she wondered about the kitchen, you were too busy trying to rub the dried blood from your hands without her noticing.

When she placed something in the table, you looked up at her.

“Can I see?” She asked.

You held out your hands towards her and she got to work on cleaning them.

“What did you do?”

You didn’t reply.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to tell me. They’re alright though, just a few small cuts, can I look at the one on your face?”

You nodded and she walked over, carefully inspecting the wound on your face and cleaned it up.

“It shouldn’t need stitches, but if it reopens I’ll have to stitch it up is that okay?”

“Yeah… thank you…”

Melissa binned everything, and put the medical box away before she came over and sat next to you.

“The sheriff called here earlier looking for you.” She said.

“Did you tell him I was here?” You asked quietly.

“No, I didn’t. But he’s going to realise you’re here eventually.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave in the next hour. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

You got up to leave but Melissa quickly stopped you.

“No. That’s not what I mean.” She laughed softly.

You turned to face her and frowned a little in confusion.

“Scott and I know that your home life isn’t good, and I don’t want you being taken back there, so Scott helped me write this up. If you want to stay here you just have to sign it, and then they can’t take you back, okay? You’re old enough to make your own choices, and this states that both you and I agree you’ll stay here.”

You took the paper from her and read it over.

It was simple, but it was a written contract none the less.

Looking at Scott’s mom, you tried to find the words to say to her.

“I wouldn’t be bothering you?” You asked her.

“You’re never a bother (Y/N), you know I like having you here. And with everything going on right now, I’m sure both you and Scott would love the company.”

You quickly nodded your head.

You would much rather stay here then go back home or live on the streets, so you quickly scribbled your signature.

“I swear I’ll help with shopping and dishes and I’ll do everything you ask!”

Melissa laughed a little and set the paper aside.

“I just want you to have fun and enjoy yourself.”

She opened her arms and you quickly ran to hug her, letting all your fears and worries melt away.

You knew Stilinski wouldn’t force you got go back home, and that the paper was essentially just to stop your parents demanding him to bring you back home.

“Now, I’ve got the day off, so let’s go get you some new clothes and stuff to decorate your room.”

You were practically bursting with excitement at the thought of being able to decorate and finally wear what you wanted to wear.

Melissa couldn’t help but smile at you, you were always like her child, she did everything to take care of you and try make you feel better.

She was going to be the mom you deserved, and her and Scott were going to show you the happiness of a family

#teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf x you #teen wolf x y/n #teen wolf x reader #Melissa McCall #Melissa McCall x reader #Melissa McCall x you #Melissa McCall imagine

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ghostmaldo · 2 months

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𓇢𓆸 Spiderverse hc: Giving them flowers with GN!Reader 𓇢𓆸

*Shrugs* I think their neat and I have no creativity to make my own spider-sona so I offer this instead 💖

No warnings, Just fluff, Can be read platonically or romantically. Remember, friends can give each other flowers and its not gay to kiss your homies goodnight.

End report

Ask Box open 💙

Playlist I listened to while writing this: https://youtu.be/LWqT5xWzQ2k?si=_mFj6LztUIBaZWOr

youtube

~Maldo

🕸️ Miles Morales 🕸️ (In a universe where he joins the spider-society)

~It’s been a busy day combating the anomalies sprouting through the multitude of universe. And with the spot still heavily on the lose and hiding within those thousands of universe… Let’s just say its been a hard day for a young man named Miles Morales

~His in the lunch room scouring for something to snack on before Miguel sends him on another goose chase or finally decides to send him home for a few days. Miles becomes a bit startled when he feels a soft pat on his shoulder. Too distracted in his own mind to have realized someone was approaching him.

~Oh, (Y/N)! Hey, sorry I didn’t see you there.” He chats with them for a little while before realizing they’ve got a hand hidden behind their back. Though he can clearly see the red and black roses peeking from behind their back. “Whatcha got there?”

~(Y/N) smiles, claiming they found these roses during one of their patrols and decided they were just right for him. They’d noticed Miggy (A nickname they call him just to get on his nerves) working him especially hard these last few days and wanted to give him a pick me up.

~Placing the roses in his hand, Miles is speechless. His never really received a full bouquet of his own aside from his family members. He stares at the petals for a long while. He can smell the black spray paint on some of the petals and it makes that much more special to him that (Y/N) put in the small detail to match his suit. This be far puts the pep back in his step.

~”Wow! Thank you (Y/N)! It’s great! I’ll make sure these don’t get ruined.”

~He gently places them in his locker until Miguel does send him home. And one he does arrive home, he has his mom help to put them in a special flower vase on the kitchen counter.

Mrs: Morales: “These are pretty Miles! Que lindo’s! Who gave them to you?”

Miles: A friend *smiles*

🕸️ Gwen Stacy 🕸️

~(Y/N) and Gwen arrange to have a friendly outing on a particular warm day. She texts them shes at the shop they decided to meet. After a few minutes of them going without a response back, she starts to look for them. Quickly spotting the back of their shirt/jacket/cloak/etc. they normally decide to wear. They seemed hunched over a bit, focused on something out of her sight.

~”Hey you, I sent you a message- What are you doing?” (Y/N) makes an attempt to cover up what they have like a child caught with something they aren’t suppose to have. Even so, Gwen easily spots the blue and pink hues covering the tips of their fingers. She lets out a soft chuckle with a raised brow. “Busy?”

~Unable to hide it any longer, (Y/N) reveals the white rose with messily done spots of blue and pink through the petals they wanted to give to Gwen as a surprise. “For me?” She takes the flower gingerly into her hands and admires the work. Being as friends are hard to come by for her, she can’t help but instantly swing her arm around (Y/N) shoulder and bring them in for a half hug. “You too much you know that? But I like it! Are there mooore flowers? Come on! I wanna make you one too! Got any more markers?”

~She sticks the flower in her hair to keep it safe from being damage. Then takes the next few minutes to make an equally as messy flower made of (Y/N) favorite colors. “There! Now we match!”

~After the outing, Gwen places the flower in a cup of water. Even after the petals have long dried she keeps them in a special box she opens from time to time. She really cherishes the object and the petals still carry a sweet scent.

Hobie Brown:

~On a random Tuesday afternoon when (Y/N) is hanging out with Hobie at his place (Where ever that might be). Perhaps (Y/N) ran out to replenish snacks before some friends came over for movie night. One the way back, they saw the yellow roses of sitting in the garden of a government building and well… the rest is history.

~Upon returning, Hobie hears the door opening. He sits up from his place on the couch and goes to meet them.

~“Took you long enough, I was about to go and look for you myself- What’s that?”

~When (Y/N) explains the roses and where they got them from a wide prideful grins appears on his face. “So you jumped the fence and ripped them right out of the ground. Thorns and all? Good on ya! I knew you were a rebel on the inside.” Brings them in for that friends side hug and a ruffles their hair.

~Hangs them upside down somewhere in his place. (I don’t know to me that just seems like something he’d do) And keeps them for as long as they’ll stay intact.

~When he sees them hanging, a fond smile aways appears on his face.

Pavitr Prabhakar: (Thses flowers are more in symbolizem to innocence and a purity)

~Pavitr and (Y/N) are out on patrol together in some form of dimension, keeping an eye out on for anomalies… but anytime with Pavitr is a time spent with much laughter.

~They’ll be on opposite sides of of the city but clogging up the com lines with jokes, banter, and some genuine talk about life. Pavitr is actually in the middle of explaining something and patiently waits for (Y/n) to respond back to him. However, when the silence become a bit to long, he parks himself on a building. “Hello? (Y/N)? Are you alright?”

~He breaths a deep sigh of relief when (Y/N) voice finally comes through. “You were starting to scare me! Don’t do that!” (Y/N) might have to spend a few extra minutes coming up with an explanation as to not ruin the surprise they have. Though he may question why they suddenly want to meet up with him. His mind immediately making assumption that they might be hurt and need help.

~And yet again his relieved to see they are unharmed. (Y/N) instantly present the basket of white flowers to him. The flowers are practically glowing under the moon.

~”For me? Oh my goodness! (Y/N) you should have! But thank you! Wow! These are so elegant! Let’s run to my house so I can put them away properly. Shhh! Don’t tell Miguel!

~He places the flower on the window seal in his kitchen as he feels it really brings the room to life and he can gaze upon him every morning when he has chai with his family Whaaat i had to sneak it in it was my favorite part of the movie-

🕸️Miguel O’Hara 🕸️ (I love this grumpy cat-)

~It’s been several days since Miguel had gotten a decent nights sleep. The screen’s were greatly starting to burn his eyes to the point they were watering if he gazed upon them too long. Begrudgingly, he was forced to walk away less his eyes balls literally felt out of his skull.

~He sluggishly made his way to the cafeteria to refresh himself with a warm cup of coffee and some warm food to settle his belly. Hoping it would help him feel better. Though, it seems it only takes one particular person, about the only person he can tolerate in the later hours perks his mood entierly.

~He welcomes them to sit and chat for a moment before he has to return to his work, as much as he dosen’t want to.

~Before he does go, (Y/N) presents the arrangements of marigold flowers to him. The petals are a bright orange and blooming beautifully. At first, Miguels at a loss of words. His nimble fingers reach out to take the arrangement and bringing it closer to him. The sweet natural scent of the flowers hitting his sense like a truck… His never received flowers like this before…

~Then, the ghost of a small smile up lifts the corners of his mouth. Suddenly the dark circles under his eyes don’t seem so deep. “T-Thank you, Este es un regalo maravilloso (This is a wonderful gift).”

~Bidding them farewell, Miguel carries the flowers back to his working area. Before doing anything, he finds a place for the flowers to safely reside in, but in a place he can still see them from time to time.

~And its just like that his screens don’t seem to be such an eye sore anymore.

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exy-shmexy · 1 year

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high school au rivals to lovers kevaaron

kevin getting his science test back with a 98 so he smugly turns around to shove it in aaron’s face. aaron raises an eyebrow, lifts up his paper to show to bright 99 with a shit-eating grin (andrew got 100 but will never show it to anyone).

their next class is a history presentation, afterwards the teacher discusses grades (my high school did that idk if yours did too but it was the WORST anyway) kevin gets a full score.

english class arrives and it is set to be a debate, cue the two having an argument-contest of symbolism and meaning of a certain poem they had to study.

one day kevin shows up to the library to find all the seats taken except the one next to aaron. he grumpily considers his options but when aaron looks up from his textbook he turns on his heels and tells himself it’s not too cold to study outside yet.

then they are assigned a presentation for their spanish class. neither of them speaks it very well (they would have preferred being with the weird kid andrew always hangs out with) but they have no choice so kevin tells aaron to come at his place during the weekend to work on it.

it’s a bit of a disaster because they keep bickering but then eventually manage to get an outline for it after way too much time wasted deciding who should work on what. aaron brought his old laptop so they both start working on their part in silence, neither happy to be in the other’s presence but at least working is familiar and comfortable, so much so that they don’t see time pass. kevin’s step-mom comes home and she tells aaron he should stay for dinner with them. he refuses but she insists because “listen i got too much food, what’s one more mouth to feed”.

(little does she know aaron hasn’t eaten anything since the previous evening. his mom is going to be mad if he doesn’t come home but kevin’s step-mom, abby, is very sweet and besides kevin looks constipated at the prospect of him staying so he ends up accepting)

aaron helps get the table ready while kevin chops veggies with way too much force, abby makes small talks but it’s alright, at least aaron doesn’t have to think about the screaming that will be waiting for him at home.

just as dinner is ready, the high school coach, who is also kevin’s father, arrives and stomps in all grumpily because some kids tripped each other on the tracks so he had to take them to the hospital for a sprained wrist and a sprained ankle. coach wymack looks at aaron then at kevin and then huffs. “‘bout time you brought a friend here” “he’s not my friend” “whatever you say kevin”. dinner is pleasant and aaron doesn’t remember the last time his stomach felt so full, kevin’s parents keep asking him questions and he finds it surprisingly easy to talk to them, especially because kevin is silently fuming opposite him.

aaron goes home with a tupperware full of food but as soon as tilda sees him she slaps him in the face because “where the fuck were you”. aaron drops the tupperware in surprise and apologizes profusely, when tilda is done with him he runs to his bedroom and doesn’t get out until the next day. kevin is the first person he sees in class, if he notices the still red mark on his cheek or the stiff way aaron holds himself, he doesn’t comment on it. aaron sits next to him to review their notes and kevin says “you’ll have to bring the tupperware back”

aaron “i’ll bring it tomorrow”

kevin “abby gave me these for you” kevin gives him a small bag of wrapped cookies.

aaron “why?”

kevin “because she has the audacity to like you”

they get an a for their presentation and aaron is invited for dinner again the following friday, kevin starts warming up to aaron even tho aaron keeps his distance until one day it’s just the two of them left in the locker room and oh fuck kevin is shirtless and oh fuck abs.

aaron realizes something about himself in that moment while kevin seems completely unbothered, but then a smirk stretches the corner of his mouth and oh fuck aaron is standing too close. kevin tilts his chin up with one finger and kisses him right there

#an oldie but a goodie #seriously i love this hc a bit too much #what if i wrote a proper fic for it 😳#not that i already have two big wips going on already but you know #kevaaron #kevin day #aaron minyard #aftg #aftg headcanon

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calypsocolada · 10 months

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I CAN SEE YOU | s. gojo

(part 2 to it's time to go)

synopsis: you're back with your parents and an unwelcomed visitor comes to visit.

authors note: fyi I listened to taylor swifts new song 'i can see you' while I wrote this :) this is my second attempt at smut, this shit is hard to write!!!! lol hope you enjoy regardless.

cw: small bit of smut with more plot, clueless reader, idiots in love, candy sweet fluff, angst

wc: 3.9k

----------------------------------------------------

Being back home was one of the best damn decisions you’d ever made in your entire life. All that uneasiness you felt that came along with being a sorcerer was gone now. You remember Gojo telling you years ago you had to be a special kind of crazy to be a sorcerer and you just weren’t like that. You like the mundanity of being home, of working at your parents cafe. You missed the coffee smell, the townspeople and their over eagerness to hear about your stories as a sorcerer and you had many of them. They sit in rapt attention hanging on to every word that passes your lips. They laughed at the funny parts and gasped at the dangerous things. They were so impressed. But every story led you to the same person.

“And who was he to you?” One customer had asked, his eyes flirty as he leaned across the table. You’d been telling him about a curse that you’d tracked down into a cave system a few years back. You got hopelessly lost and when you were sure you’d die in there you saw bright eyes rounding the corner. Ever the hero.

You scoffed a laugh.

“Just an annoyance.” You lied, forcing a smile. The man grinned at that, seemingly pleased with your answer.

“Annoyance, huh… So you’re single then?” You squirmed slightly at his question. It was very forward and honestly you hadn’t been hit on much in your life, that or you mostly just ignored it. You cleared your throat.

“Well, uh, sir I hope you enjoy your coffee. Can I get you anything else?” You asked and the man straightened, clearly he didn’t like you dodging his answer.

“Yeah, your number.” He says and you can’t help but scoff a laugh.

“That’s cheesy.” A monotone voice says off to your right, you turn, startled by the familiarness of the voice. Megumi stands off to the right of the counter, his black hair spiking out of control. A smile envelopes your face immediately and although the tall boy doesn’t smile back he still looks happy to see you. Forgetting the forward customer you spring forwards and yank the young boy into your arms, enveloping him in a hug. Megumi slowly pats your back as you laugh.

“What’re you doing here, kid?” You ask as Megumi scoffs, pulling away from you.

“You’re only seven years older than me, stop calling me that.” He asks as you shake your head.

“I helped raise you so I get to call you whatever I want.” You quipped back as Megumi rolled his eyes. “Seriously, what're you doing here?”

“I can’t come visit?”

“Of course you can, is that why you’re here, missed me that much?” You ask and Megumi shrugs his shoulders, ever the conversationalist. You remember when an exhausted Gojo would bring little Megumi to your dorm room. Gojo would pass out on your bed as you helped Megumi with his homework.

“You talked so fondly about your home, is this the famous tea shop?” Megumi asks as you nod your head. Your parents opened this tea shop before you were born, it was the best selling one in the state. Popular for the different blends your mom and dad crafted together. You motioned for the tall boy to follow you as you slipped behind the counter and fixed him something to drink and eat. The shop was closing down soon so business was slowing. Megumi slid into a seat as you placed his food into front of him and sat across from him. He dug in as though he hadn’t eaten all day, sipping the tea slowly due to its hotness. Your Mom had flipped the closed sign and turned to you.

“I’ll start loading things up, dear, take your time.” She says with a little wave to Megumi. You smile and nod at her as she starts taking boxes out to the car.

“Very good.” Megumi says as you laugh slightly.

“A glowing review.” You teased.

It had been almost three months since you left to go home. You found it rather adorable Megumi already came to visit.

“Did you come alone?” You ask, eyes drifting to the door.

“Why? Hoping to see someone?” Megumi asks with a brow quirk, you ignored that.

“I just didn’t know you went anywhere without Yuji.” You teased as Megumi’s cheeks blushed.

“Jerk.” Megumi grumbled in between bites. The storm outside started to pick up, rain splashing against the window near where you both sat. “So…” Megumi started. “When’re you coming back?” He asked, you looked at him.

“Megumi,” You bit your lip. “I think I’m good here.” You say. You wondered what he meant, whether he missed you that much or if someone put him up to it. That someone you were too cowardice to face. Megumi sat his tea down, he didn’t look upset by your words, just contemplative.

“It is nice here, it’s quiet, I know how much you value that.” He says and you smile. “It’s just…” Megumi straightens, looking at you very seriously. “I think you left someone behind.” Your throat goes dry and the coward within you looks away. You sigh, clearing your throat. You knew exactly what and who he meant.

“Look-- it’s,” You were struggling to find an excuse. “It’s more complicated than you think.”

“Is it?” He asks and you slump back in your seat. The consequences of your actions tracked you down so quickly. After you and Gojo had well… practically made out in a hospital room you got cold feet later that night. You started thinking about how far apart you two would be and how you’d been in long distance relationships before and they never worked out. Not to mention the person you’d be in a relationship with would be Satoru Gojo and you knew that he could be quite the womanizer if you were honest with yourself so… you left. He asked you to wait for him, that he’d drive you to the airport later that day but you were up all night, overthinking everything and you left without waiting for him. When you got off the plane you had two tons of missed calls and texts from a worried Gojo and you felt like complete shit. You called him back, hours had passed and he picked up on the first ring.

“Jesus, Y/n, I called a thousand times, are you alright?” He had asked. You were so damn embarrassed.

“Sorry,” You said stupidly, your voice rugged from sleep. A few quiet moments passed and you bit your lip, sighing.

“You left didn’t you…” Gojo said, a sadness in his voice that made your heart clench.

“Yeah.” You said softly, so softly you weren’t sure he even heard you. In the distance you saw your mom pulling up, an excited smile on her face to see you. “Satoru I gotta go.” You said, tears welling in your eyes.

“I want to visit.” You heard him say as your Mom parked the car, waving to you.

“We’ll talk later.” You said, tears spilling down your face as you hung up the phone.

The memory alone was enough to put strain on your heart. You were cold and callous. You blinked away the memories, reaching across the table to grab some of Megumi’s food.

“You’re a kid, you’ll understand when you're older.” You teased as he swatted at your hand. It was pretty hypocritical of you to say but you just wanted to change the subject.

“He’s not the same without you.” Megumi sighs as you roll your eyes.

“Come on now, Megumi, Gojo will be fine.”

“You’re so sure?” He asks, finishing his food, grabbing for his tea cup again.

“You do remember who you're talking about, right?” You say with a sigh.

“You left without saying goodbye.” Megumi says with a tilt of his head.

“Did you come all this way to tell me off?”

“Maybe.” Megumi says, setting his tea cup down. “I didn’t come alone though.” He says, eyes drifting out the window. You turn to look and your heart sinks right down to the bottom of your stomach. Satoru Gojo was currently chatting with your mother, her head thrown back in laughter. He was casually leaned up against your car, long limbed and damp from the rain. His eyes flick from your mom’s to your eyes and linger.

“Jesus christ.” You mutter, turning back to Megumi and sinking lower in your seat.

“No use hiding anymore.” Megumi says, pushing up from his seat. “Come on.” He says. Reluctantly you push up from your chair and follow Megumi out the door. Rain pattered against your bare arms as you closed the door behind you, cold air hitting your cheeks. Your mom turned at the sound of the bell above the door ringing and smiled at you brightly. Clearly he had been charming her because you’d never seen your mom laugh so much. She was like you in a way, somewhat serious.

“Pumpkin, you never told me how handsome your little sorcerer friend here was.” Your mom said and embarrassment flooded your entire body. Gojo tilted his head at the sight of you, his eyes locking with yours. You looked away, red and flushed.

“Mom,” You admonished and annoyingly she laughed at your shyness.

“Always so bashful that one,” She waves, turning back to Gojo. “Anyway, dear, like I said you're invited to dinner tonight if you like, your friend here too.” She motions back to Megumi.

“I’m actually quite tired from the trip, think I’ll head back to the hotel.” Megumi supplies, shooting you a look that reminded you so much of Gojo that it made you tighten your jaw. This was all very calculated it seemed.

“I would love to come to dinner, Miss.” Gojo grins. Everything was happening too quickly and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

Dinner was complete hell. Your parents loved Gojo. They laughed at everything he said. Even your Dad, who hated every boy you brought home, was practically talking you up to Gojo as though he could sell you off to him or something.

It was completely humiliating.

You tuned out until your Mom asked if you two had ever gone out before. Gojo tilted his head your way, flashing a grin. The answer was all over his face. You pushed yourself to your feet.

“Well, this was fun and all but I’m beat,” You said, effectively killing the mood of your parents who shot you daggers.

“Y/n’s right, it’s getting pretty late.” Gojo says, stretching and yawning.

“How long will you be in town?” Your mom asked as Gojo smiled at her.

“A couple days.” He says as he watches you gather up the dirty plates, carrying them off into the kitchen.

“Well, feel free to come over for dinner again anytime.”

“I’ll take you up on that.” He winks, actually making your mom blush, you groan, rolling your eyes from the kitchen.

“Pumpkin, be a dear and take your friend home.” Your dad calls from the table as your heart speeds at the thought of being alone with Gojo.

“Ah, don’t worry about it, I called for an uber.” Gojo says, rising up from his seat. A sad sort of relief fills your stomach. Your parents say their goodbyes as you walk Gojo to the front door. You're both quiet, your heart is in your throat as you open the door. You’re so aware of him, how much he towers over you, the presence he gives off. You turn to tell him something but he pushes open the screen door, pausing. You’re both so close as you look up at him.

“I told you parents love me.” He winks, slipping out the door without another word.

You're quick to get back to your room, snagging the wine bottle from the table. You call out goodnight to your parents and race up the stairs. You press your back into the door, locking it behind you. You take a long sip, almost chugging half of it until there’s a light knock at your window. Startled, you choke on the wine, coughing to free up your throat. You set the bottle on your nightstand and walk across the hardwood floor. With your heart beating unsteadily you pull back the curtains, Gojo is standing on the balcony, soaked from the rain. You steady yourself as you unlatch your window and push it open.

“May I come in?” He asks, hair slick against his forehead. You bite your lip as you move to let him slip in. He does, body brushing against yours even though there’s plenty of room. You pull the window closed. “It’s been a while since I had to sneak through a girl's window, I’m a bit rusty.” He says walking forwards.

“What happened to your uber?” You ask, pulling the curtains closed.

“Lied about that, hope your lovely parents will forgive that.” He says over his shoulder as he inspects your room. “Was kind of hoping you had a place to yourself.” He mumbles, running a finger over some books stacked on your dresser.

“Gotta save up for that.” You say watching him as he looks over the pictures on the dresser.

“Gotta say, Pumpkin, this town is pretty damn cute.” He teases, your heart somersaulting. You missed his voice, missed the way he teased. He didn’t say much to you during dinner and you knew why. Having his attention now was taking your breath away.

“Glad you like it.”

“Oh I love it,” he says, turning slightly to look at you. It was strange, him being in your room, he was always larger than life, him being in here was almost grounding. “I can see why you ran back.” You look away, clearing your throat.

“Satoru, listen-”

“Let’s not start that quite yet,” Gojo interrupts, picking up a well worn book, flipping through the pages. Pride and Prejudice, you’d read through it countless times, it was one of your favorites. He sets it back down with care before turning to sit on the edge of your bed. Large hands splay out on the blanket, he cocks his head and looks at you, eyes drifting from your face, down to your shoes then back up, the action sends a flush to your cheeks.

“Why’re you here?” You ask unsteadily.

“Megumi missed you.”

“Liar.” You say, biting your lip.

“We’ve got that in common don’t we.” Gojo says and your breath catches. He somehow looked even more handsome then you remembered, especially with his hair wet from the rain. You swallowed.

“It wouldn’t have worked out, Satoru.” You say, but it’s just an excuse. Gojo doesn’t say anything for a long moment.

“You’re so sure?” He asks, eyes blazing.

“We-- we never got along before.”

“We got along just fine in that hospital room.” He says and your cheeks blaze, you cross your arms and pointedly look away from him.

“You’ll be too busy for me.”

“I’ll make time.” He counters.

“Don’t you want someone close, that you can see all the time.” You argue.

“Nah,” he waves nonchalantly. “Apparently I only like women that move halfway across the country and leave me behind.” You stare at him and you know you hurt him but he’s covering it with humor. You sigh, walking across the room, stopping just in front of him.

“I’m sorry I left without saying anything.” You say softly. Gojo stares up at you, enraptured. Slowly he reaches for you, large slender fingers sliding around the back of your thighs just below the hem of your shorts.

“Why did you?” He whispers, just barely sliding his thumb up and down your skin. It was hard to concentrate on his words. For three months all your thoughts were about him. It was like you’d gone insane.

“I,” your words faltered as you searched for the right ones. You watch his icy eyes travel down your body to his hands. You bit your lip hard. Why did you leave? “I was scared.” You said finally. Gojo’s eyes drifted up to yours You felt vulnerable and embarrassed but Gojo didn’t crack a joke or a smile like usual, it was like he was a different person with you.

“Scared of me?”

“Yes?” You questioned, pondering just what you meant. It was hard sorting out. You knew Gojo for years and for most of those years you didn’t like him or at least you thought you didn’t. But then he kissed you and for three months you couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was maddening. Gojo pulled you suddenly, your body falling into his as your legs straddled his hips. “My parents are down stairs.” You whisper as Gojo smirks a devil's grin, leaning forwards. You feel his breath against your neck a second before his lips brush softly against the tender flesh. Goosebumps rack across your body and you involuntarily shiver. His one long arm was wrapped around your waist keeping you close as the other pulled your hair out of his way, giving him better access to your neck.

“What're you so afraid of, pumpkin?” He teases and you scrunch your nose.

“That’s the least sexy nickname ever.” You groaned and you felt him laugh against you.

“Don’t dodge the question.” He says kissing softly up to your jawline. It was hard to think as you let some of your weight fall against him, his fingers holding you in place.

“I don’t- it’s hard to say.” You say and your voice is raw and clearly you were affected by him and he knew it.

“Having trouble finding the right words?” He asks, the hand that held you slowly dipped into the waistband of your jeans at your hip. You shivered and cleared your throat. This was not going the way you thought it was going.

“You’re annoying.” You sighed as he pulled back, eyes shining.

“Come on... I traveled all this way and you still don’t have an answer for me?” His voice was teasing but you could tell just how damn badly he wanted to know. Everywhere he touched you sparked some little reaction, you had to force yourself to think of an answer.

“Honestly, I didn't think you’d care that much.” You finally managed. Gojo paused, he pulled back to be able to see you eye to eye.

“Are you serious?” He asks and your breath catches. He looks at you as though you said something crazy.

“Satoru, I-“ he cuts you off with his lips. Pressing his mouth hard against yours with a sort of want that left nothing to the imagination. His right hand traveled up your back and slid into your hair, his left hand flipping you over as he pressed you against the bed, trapping you beneath him. You slid your hands up his sides and pulled his weight fully on you, fingers digging into his hard skin. Your bodies were hot, the room seeming to spin and shrink at the same time. Gojo’s knee came up, pushing your legs apart, pressing it slightly against your core. Your breath caught, something strangled in the back of your throat muffled by Gojo’s mouth on yours, swallowing every little sound. There wasn’t a single inch of you that wasn’t touching him somehow. You had too many layers between you though and Gojo was first to notice that, he leaned up and your hands followed. He watched as you slide your hands into his shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin, the hard carved abs beneath. Gojo shivered as you helped him pull his shirt off. You yanked him by the front of his pants back to you. Your lips connecting as your fingers deftly unbuttoned his pants and unzipped the zipper. Gojo made a sound above you and the bed creaked with movement. You paused. Were you really about to do this? Your parents are just downstairs… Gojo felt your hesitation and backed away from you.

“You want to stop?” He gazed at you through lidded eyes, his voice thick with desire.

“We’ll just have to keep quiet.” You whispered and the smile that broke onto Gojo’s lips sent shivers through your body. He leaned back against you, his weight barely on you as his lips brushed your ear.

“We’ll see about that.” He whispered huskily.

It all happened quite quickly after that. Your hands and his hands, your clothes across the room, his pants on the chair by the bed, you didn’t even get your bra off in time. Gojo was inside of you, filling you so much that you weren’t sure you’d split. There wasn’t any pain, just a pulsing desire building in your core. You were on top, your hand pressing Gojo back onto the bed as he looked up at you. You rocked your hips and he whimpered, sending shocks through you. You’d never heard noises like that, most men were shy and boring but not Gojo.

“God…” He groaned. With your parents just downstairs though you knew their kindness towards the man beneath you could only stretch so far. So you bent towards him and muffled his sounds with your mouth, your hips jerking as you rocked towards an orgasm. His hands grabbed you tightly, digging into your skin as he pushed up into you hitting the spot each and every damn time. He was good at this, unsurprisingly so. You hated that you had thought about this before, even when you claimed to hate him. You couldn’t help it, the man was practically sculpted to perfection. Gojo flipped you over and you yelped, biting your lip as he drove down into you, burying his head in your neck, lips kissing against the skin there. “You feel so good.” He muttered, voice thick. You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood trying to keep quiet. He hit just the right spot and you saw stars, he pulled his lips from your neck and kissed you desperately as you both came together. It was all so intimate, he didn’t stop kissing you, didn’t stop pushing into you until he knew for sure that you had finished the same as him. Didn’t stop kissing you for a long time after that. He just held you close and kissed you as though, just like before, you’d be gone in the morning. Your heart swelled in your chest.

“Stay the night,” You mumbled against his lips, his kisses trailed down your jaw. “Please?” You squeaked when his lips brushed that spot on your neck.

“Since you asked so nicely.” You felt him grin and you couldn’t help smiling as you rolled your eyes. Gojo had you as many times as he wanted that night, to make up for the three months you’d stayed away from him. And when you both finally fell asleep the sun had just begun to rise. There were a lot of things to be said in the morning but instead of staying up and worrying about them you let Gojo brush his fingers through your hair, listening as he whispered. “If I wake up and you're gone again I’m gonna lose my mind.” You laughed into the darkness.

“Where would I even go?”

“Somewhere far away.” Gojo said, his voice soft.

“I won’t. I promise.”

“I know.” He said, pressing his lips to your forehead as his arms snaked around you, pulling you closer to him. You closed your eyes and listened to his steady heartbeat.

#satoru gojo #gojo satoru x reader #gojo fanfic #gojo satoru x you #gojo x y/n #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu gojo #satorugojo #gojou satoru x you #jujutsu kaisen smut

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