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[burntheedges-updates]

Maintenance Request Chapter 20

Joel Miller x f!reader | new chapter every Friday 18+ | ao3 | main post & chapter list chapter word count: 3.3k

chapter summary: when Joel met Ellie 👀

a/n: thank you as always to @katareyoudrilling for being the best beta 💕

chapter tags/warnings: flirting, banter, fluff, cursing, food and drink mention, pet names (honey, gorgeous, darlin’, baby, sweetheart, pretty girl, good girl, handsome, cowboy), tricky conversations, typical Ellie bluntness

Chapter 20

Saturday, November 16 Twelfth week of the semester

In the week leading up to The Meeting, as Beth had been calling it for days (in a ridiculously deep, dramatic voice), you were nervous. You knew Joel was a good guy, and you wanted Ellie to like him. But you wanted her to like him on her own, not because you pushed her, or because she felt like she had to for you. 

Beth joined you and Joel for lunch by the psych building on Friday, even though your schedules only overlapped for 30 minutes. Afterwards she blew up the group chat you had with Ellie with her review (“He’s pathetically into your aunt, like it’s written all over his face. He seems like a good one”). You got the go ahead from your sister (who was working that weekend), which wasn’t actually difficult but you were glad to have it anyway. 

By Saturday, you were so nervous you googled breathing exercises on your phone while you waited for Beth and Ellie to come pick you up. Joel was going to meet you at the restaurant, after Tommy picked up Sarah to take her to soccer practice. You tried to tell yourself not to be nervous but it didn’t work. You felt like you actually had plenty to be nervous about, so you couldn’t trick yourself out of it.

You were in the process of breathing in 1-2-3-4 and holding it when your phone buzzed with a text from Ellie saying they were outside. You released your breath and took one more deep one before gathering yourself to leave.

Ellie was in the front seat of Beth’s car and stuck her tongue out at you, so you rolled your eyes and got in the back.

“Morning,” you said as you slid into the seat.

“Morning!” Beth sounded cheery, at least. “Here we go!” You sighed and tried to force the muscles in your back to relax. 

The brunch spot wasn’t far from your apartment, and during the ride there you poked at Ellie a little bit to try to gauge her mood. She seemed fine, if wary. That was probably the best you could have hoped for.

Joel was waiting for you outside of the restaurant when you arrived. He was looking pretty nervous himself. He had his hands in his pockets and he was trying to look casual, but his shoulders were tense.

“Hey, darlin,” he murmured as he leaned in to kiss your cheek.

“Morning, Joel.” You smiled and gestured behind you. “You know Beth. And this is Ellie.”

Joel and Ellie looked at each other for a moment in silence. She was squinting at him fiercely and you could tell he was trying not to smile in response.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie.” Joel nodded at her and you were suddenly glad he seemed to intuit that offering a handshake was not a good idea. “Heard a lot about you from your aunt.”

“Hi,” she replied, eyes narrowed. “What did you hear?”

Joel couldn’t hold back the smile anymore. “Heard you made a pretty cool presentation about the Emu War. How’d that go?”

Ellie looked torn between her warring desires to give Joel the third degree or to monologue about the Emu War at any given opportunity. “Um, fine.” She visibly bit back something else and you sighed.

“Let’s go get a table and then maybe she’ll tell you all about it.” You gestured to the restaurant and Beth moved behind you to open the door.

“Bet I can recite your presentation from memory.” Beth grinned as she teased Ellie, who rolled her eyes.

“Bet me what? I bet you can’t.” Ellie crossed her arms as she entered the restaurant and you laughed.

“Hmm,” you heard Beth muse as you stepped up to the host station to get a table. “I’ll buy you another weird little guy of your choice.”

“Deal!” Ellie sounded gleeful. “Get ready to perform.”

You mentally thanked Beth for putting her more at ease in this unfamiliar situation as you all followed the host to a table and sat down. Joel sat next to you on your left, with Beth across from him and Ellie across from you.

Your conversation got stuck on the Emu War for a bit (Beth managed to postpone her performance and bet fulfillment until you weren’t in public) and you tried not to watch Joel and Ellie too closely. You realized you were twisting your hands together under the table when Joel reached over and gently laid his hand on top of yours, pulling them apart to tangle your fingers together and rest them on your thigh. You took a deep breath.

Before you could say anything, though, Ellie beat you to it.

“So, Joel. What are your intentions with my aunt?” She stared him down, eyebrows furrowed, arms crossed on the table in front of her. It sounded like she had rehearsed the question before asking it. Intentions, you mouthed to yourself. You caught Beth’s eye and realized your best friend was grinning. 

Joel squeezed your hand before he nodded and replied. “I’m serious about her, about us. I care about her a lot. I want to be good for her.”

Ellie hummed, and was briefly interrupted by your drinks arriving. She took a long sip of her orange juice.

“I have some questions.” She said it like she was throwing out a gauntlet. You resisted the urge to hide your face in your hands.

Joel nodded, face serious. “Ask ‘em.”

And then rapid fire, she did.

“You have a kid, right? What happened to her mom?”

Joel didn’t even flinch. “She left, isn’t coming back. We weren’t together long. You’ll have to talk to Sarah for more details.”

Ellie squinted like maybe she wanted to ask a follow up, but proceeded to her next question. You were starting to suspect she’d made a list and wondered if she had it written down in one of her pockets.

“Have you ever been arrested?” You closed your eyes and took a long sip of your coffee.

“Not really. Got thrown into the drunk tank once and I wasn’t even drunk. My little brother was actin’ up in public, got us both in trouble.” You tried not to laugh at this new information about Tommy, even as you realized Joel had apparently chosen the path of extreme honesty. You didn’t want to interrupt Ellie’s interrogation but you wondered if there was a limit.

“Hmm. Ok. Have you ever done drugs?”

Joel shook his head. “Just smoked weed a few times in high school. Used to smoke cigarettes before Sarah was born. Quit when she came along.”

Ellie leaned back in her chair, hands tense on the edge of the table. “What’s your worst habit?”

Joel smirked. “Probably leavin’ my towel on the floor in the bathroom. And sometimes I’m a grouch.” You met Beth’s eyes and looked away sharply before you both could laugh. Joel pressed your clasped hands into your thigh, like somehow he knew you were struggling to hold it together.

“What’s your daughter’s favorite tv show?”

Joel grimaced. “She likes that dating show, the new one where they don’t see each other at first. I hate it.”

“Do you watch it with her?” Ellie raised her eyebrows. 

“Sometimes. She likes watchin’ it with Tommy better, he likes it more’n me. She says I bring down the vibe.” He shrugged.

“When’s the last time you had an argument with her?” 

Joel tilted his head, considering. “Maybe last week? Wasn’t really an argument. She made me drink some orange juice in the morning, said I can’t live off coffee alone. Or I guess maybe when she wanted to go to a sleepover but I wouldn’t let her. I haven’t met those parents yet. But you’d have to ask her what she thinks about it.”

You watched Ellie’s face carefully and could see that she was relaxing a bit. You could guess at her reasoning for some of these questions, but not all of them.

“Why do you like my aunt?”

Joel raised his eyebrows in response and Ellie raised hers right back, expression unchanged. “Well. Alright then. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, and I love learning how she thinks and how she sees the world. She’s funny, been making me laugh since the first day we talked. She’s got good taste in music.” He glanced at you and smiled the little half smile that you loved. “And she cares about people. You can see it in the way she teaches, in how she talks to her students. She wants to help them. She gives so much of herself to everyone around her. I want to do the same for her.” You bit your lip as you felt a sudden tightness behind your eyes. He winked at you. “And she’s gorgeous.” You laughed.

Ellie squinted at him again, frowning. “I mean, she’s the fucking best, I know that. But you better know that, too.”

He grinned at her. “I do know that. She is the fucking best.” He raised his eyebrows at her again when he echoed her curse. “And for some reason she seems to like me. I’m not arguin’.”

You elbowed him. “Joel, you know–”

He shook his head at you. “I know, darlin’, I swear I’ve been listenin’. But right now I’m tellin’ Ellie all the reasons I like you.”

You sighed, but Beth cut in. “Wait, I have a question.”

Ellie looked at her skeptically. You both did. Joel didn’t, but he hadn’t known her as long.

“What? I do!”

Joel smiled. “Go ahead.”

Beth grinned, and you started to worry. “Alright, we need to know, and you have to be honest. How bad at dancing is she? We’ve seen her dance! We know the truth!”

Ellie burst out laughing and despite your own annoyance, you grinned at the sight. “Yeah!” She agreed through her laughter. “Tell us!”

Joel looked at you and smiled, gently. “Nah, she was great. Didn’t even step on my feet. She followed my lead just fine.” You felt your cheeks heat in response.

“Oh, come on! That's it?” Beth nudged Ellie with her elbow.

“That’s it.” He nodded and squeezed your hand again. “I’d dance with her anytime.”

“Gross.” Ellie rolled her eyes, and you knew she was feeling more comfortable.

Joel straightened in his seat as the food arrived and released your hand. “Can I ask you some questions now?” 

Ellie immediately looked suspicious but nodded, grudgingly.

“Alright. I heard you started the art club. What kind of art?” He took a bite of his food after he asked, looking at Ellie expectantly.

She glanced between him and you, clearly unsure. You nodded at her in encouragement. 

“You want to hear about that?” She sounded skeptical.

He nodded. “I do. Sounds like maybe it took a lot of work. Are you in charge of the club?”

Ellie continued to squint at him but answered. “No, I’m the vice president. I didn’t want to be the president but they made me pick something.” You snorted and she rolled her eyes at you. “My teacher says I’m not enough of a people person to be president anyway.” She looked like she wanted to swallow those words back after she said them, and glanced at Joel warily. You frowned.

“Sounds like your teacher might need to work on their own people skills, if you ask me.” Joel grumbled and furrowed his brow at his plate and you wondered if he was thinking about Sarah’s mean chemistry teacher. Ellie looked like she wanted to agree and was conflicted about it.

“That’s what I said,” Beth agreed, nodding. “You’d be a great president.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to be president, anyway.” She shrugged.

“Sarah’s thinking about trying out for varsity soccer next year, not just playing outside of school,” Joel offered. “I told her maybe she should start a club of her own, somethin’ to do with reading, since she’s been doing it so much.” He nudged you as he said it and you smiled. 

“There might be a book club already,” Ellie offered, voice neutral. “I dunno what they have.” Ellie and Sarah went to different schools, on opposite sides of the town. The schools were almost identical other than Ellie’s having slightly more artsy offerings for students.

Joel nodded. “Maybe. I’ll tell her to check.” He took a sip of his coffee and glanced from you to Ellie and back again. “Got any more questions for me?”

Ellie furrowed her brows and frowned at her waffle. You watched as she straightened her shoulders and started to wonder how many questions she might have left on her list. 

“How many people have you dated?” Your heart rate picked up at her words and you opened your mouth to interrupt, but Ellie shot you a stubborn look.

Joel answered just as honestly as he had been so far. “Well, I think your aunt and I will keep some of those details between ourselves. But I haven’t dated much, haven’t been in a relationship in a while, not since Sarah’s mom.”

Ellie eyed him and crossed her arms. “That’s it? How do I know you won’t hurt her?” Her face was fixed in a scowl and you didn’t know if you should say something or let Joel answer. He did before you could decide.

“Well, I won’t pretend I’ve always been perfect,” Joel’s voice was even and you could tell he was treading carefully. “But I would never hurt her on purpose. And I would try real hard not to do it accidentally either.” 

Ellie narrowed her eyes, clearly not satisfied with this response. “I was there, you know. After Matt. I know what he was like.” You felt a tightness in your chest as you remembered how much of a mess you were when Ellie came to live with you, freshly free of your relationship with Matt and still figuring yourself out. She’d only been 9 at the time and you’d hoped you’d shielded her from most of it. You blinked against the emotion building behind your eyes. Beth sent you a supportive look from across the table.

“I believe you.” Joel nodded. “But there are parts of our relationship that are just for us, and I’d rather your aunt decide what to tell you about them. I will tell you that I already promised her I’d never treat her that way. She’ll decide if I’m good enough for her. And you should know Sarah would take care of me long before you could get to me, if I ever did anything like that.”

Ellie continued to scowl for a minute, looking first at Joel and then down at her plate. “Ok. I–” she trailed off, looking unsure. “Ok. One more question.”

Joel nodded and you took a deep breath, bracing yourself. 

“Can you cook? Because she’s not great at it.”

Beth cracked up laughing and you gasped. “Ellie!”

She grinned at you, unrepentant. “It’s true, and you know it!”

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Joel turned to you with the half smile that sent shivers down your spine. “Dinner was pretty good the other night.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “She can make, like, 5 things. Do not let her make soup.”

He raised his eyebrows and darted his eyes from her to Beth and back to you. “What happened? Soup’s easy, darlin’, what could go wrong?”

Ellie cackled and launched into the story of the Soup Geyser with infuriating glee. As she did, you looked up and met Beth’s eyes. She grinned at you and nodded, and you felt your shoulders relax in relief. She was right, even though she hadn’t said the words out loud. 

Ellie was teasing you. In front of Joel. Something had gone right, after all.

…

After brunch, Joel offered you a ride, so that Beth and Ellie could go check out some more “weird little guys” before Beth dropped her off at Riley’s. You hugged them both (squeezing Ellie a bit longer than usual) and she promised to text you later. You took a deep breath, knowing that would probably be her final verdict. But she smiled and waved at you, so you hoped it would all be fine.

You found yourself standing next to Joel by the passenger door of his truck and realized you’d been silent for your whole walk from the restaurant. You looked over to find him looking at you, a smile playing around his lips. You smiled back, sheepish.

“Sorry, Joel, I was just thinking.”

He reached out to tangle your fingers together as he crowded you against the passenger door. “I could tell, sweetheart. So? How do you think it went?” He looked a little worried, which was sweet.

“Honestly, Joel, I think it went really well. Sorry about the interrogation.” You sighed as you leaned against the truck.

He shook his head. “No, I expected it, or something like. I’m happy to answer her questions. You know, to a point.” 

You laughed. “She respects honesty. So you probably won some points, with all that.”

He smiled at you and leaned in to press a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth. “Good. I want her to like me. I want her to meet Sarah, too.” 

For a moment the two of you just smiled at each other. You were shaky, like you were coming down from a huge adrenaline rush, and you supposed that wasn’t far off of what happened. You heaved a deep breath, shaking off your nerves. “Do you have some time, Joel? Want to come over for a bit?”

He grinned, a bit wicked. “Tommy’s taking Sarah to a movie after soccer practice. I’m all yours until dinner time, baby.”

You pulled him into a kiss. “Good,” you mumbled against his lips. “Take me home, cowboy.”

…

Ellie (3:02 PM): ok, he’s maybe a little bit cool. he’s alright (3:03 PM): I want to meet Sarah (3:03 PM): but I think he checks out

you (3:05 PM): thanks, Ellie. I’m glad you got along. even if you had to embarrass me to do it

Ellie (3:06 PM): it’s not my fault you can’t make soup (3:07 PM): do you think he meant it when he offered to teach me to play guitar or was he just doing that adult thing where you say nice things to kids 🙄

you(3:08 PM): he meant it. but I’d be there too. if you’re interested

Ellie (3:10 PM): I’ll think about it (3:14 PM): Beth was right though. he’s pathetically into you (3:15 PM): like I thought you were bad (3:15 PM): but he’s on a whole other level

you (3:16 PM): I thought you’d be happy about that

Ellie (3:17 PM): don’t make me admit to having feelings

you(3:18 PM): 😇

…

sis 👯 (4:12 PM): finally, my break! How did it go?

you (4:15 PM): yay! I think it went ok? You should ask Ellie but her official verdict is that he’s “alright” and maybe “a little bit cool”

sis 👯 (4:16 PM): well damn. High praise

you (4:16 PM): I know!

sis 👯 (4:18 PM): I’m heading back in but now I want to meet him, too

you(4:19 PM): of course! He’d love that. Also he offered to teach Ellie to play guitar and I could tell she was interested, but I promised I’d be there if she does want to take lessons. To make her comfortable

sis 👯 (4:20 PM): she’d probably love that, if she does actually think he’s alright. But yeah I’d want you there. And not until after I meet him.

you (4:21 PM): of course 👍

...

a/n: they met! it happened! what do we think?

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#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou fic #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM #ellie williams

[burntheedges-updates]

maintenance request ch 20 preview

a/n: and then Joel met Ellie �� tags/warnings: nerves lol

main post & chapter list

...

Joel was waiting for you outside of the restaurant when you arrived. He was looking pretty nervous himself.

“Hey, darlin,” he murmured as he leaned in to kiss your cheek.

“Morning, Joel.” You smiled and gestured behind you. “You know Beth. And this is Ellie.”

Joel and Ellie looked at each other for a moment. She was squinting at him fiercely and you could tell he was trying not to smile in response.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie.” Joel nodded at her and you were suddenly glad he seemed to intuit that offering a handshake was not a good idea. “Heard a lot about you from your aunt.”

“Hi,” she replied, eyes narrowed. “What did you hear?”

…

a/n: see you Friday!

tag list: @harriedandharassed @jupiter-soups @ilovepedro @auteurdelabre @anoverwhelmingdin

@myloveistoolittle @iknowisoundcrazy @beezusvreeland @screechingphantommaker @bigboiseason123

@joelalorian @untamedheart81 @ashleyfilm @jessthebaker @jeewrites

@fluffygoffpanda @paleidiot @mithicakurogo @theclairvoyage @lizzie-cakes

@islacharlotte @syd-djarin @copperhalfcent @vabeachazn @spacedoutdaydreamer

@littlevenicebitch69 @secretelephanttattoo @pigeonmama @vickie5446 @glizzymcguirex

#joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM

[burntheedges-updates]

Maintenance Request Chapter 19

Joel Miller x f!reader | new chapter every Friday 18+ | ao3 | main post & chapter list chapter word count: 7.6k

chapter summary: you and Joel have your third date, a bit of a discussion, and try something new together when Joel stays at your place for the first time. 👀

a/n: thank you as always to @katareyoudrilling for being the best beta 💕 fun fact, I wrote the second half of this chapter in a sort of fugue state, late one night during NaNo last year. I swear this just poured out of me. Joel knew what he wanted. 😂 happy chapter 19 on the 19th!

chapter tags/warnings: flirting, banter, fluff, cursing, food and drink mention, pet names (honey, gorgeous, darlin’, baby, sweetheart, pretty girl, good girl, handsome, cowboy), kink negotiation, some discussion of past relationships, somnophilia (kissing, fondling, p-in-v sex), mention of breasts, dream sex, dirty talk, a bit of crying while being fucked (in a good way)

Chapter 19

Saturday, November 9 Eleventh week of the semester

The rest of the week was a whirlwind – you saw Joel for at least a few minutes every day, and you talked on the phone most nights. By Thursday, you had your next date planned. Sarah had a sleepover on Saturday, so Joel was going to stay the night at your apartment. For the first time. 

On Saturday, you caught Beth and Ellie up with your new relationship status – Beth had been pestering you about it since you’d told her about it over text (tell me everything!!) – and they immediately started complaining about how they hadn’t met him yet. 

“I know! I know,” you wanted to wave your hands in front of their faces to get them to chill out. “I was thinking I could invite him to brunch next week.” You took a big gulp of coffee and watched their reactions. 

Ellie narrowed her eyes and stared at you. Beth looked thoughtful. 

“You sure you want him to meet both of us at once?” Beth asked, and Ellie snorted. “Throw him in the deep end?”

You shrugged. “I mean, he can handle it or he can’t. But I’m pretty sure he can.” 

Beth smiled. “Fine with me. What about you, Hell’s Bells?”

Ellie glared at Beth for the nickname, as always, but you knew she secretly loved it. 

“I guess that’s fine.” She furrowed her brow and stabbed a piece of egg with her fork. “If he does anything weird or fucked up I’m not gonna ignore it.”

You nodded. “I wouldn’t ask you to. But he’s not an asshole.” She squinted at you. “I know, Ells. But you know I trust you, right? If you did notice something, I’d want you to tell me. And I’d listen.” You knew you weren’t really talking about Joel, at this point, but you wanted her to know that anyway. She nodded and sighed. 

“Yeah I mean I do want to meet him. He can come to brunch.” Ellie shrugged.

“Thank you. I’ll ask him tonight.”

Beth nudged Ellie with her shoulder. “Maybe I can meet him this week for lunch, first, give you a full report.” Ellie laughed, but you could see the idea relaxed her a little bit. 

“Oh!” Ellie sat up straight. “What are you cooking for him?”

Beth pointed at you with a forkful of pancake. “Do not make soup.”

You rolled your eyes. “That was one time!”

Ellie smirked. “Even if you don’t create Soup Geyser: The Sequel, it’s probably not a good date food. What if you spill it all over yourself?”

Beth laughed. “I dunno, maybe that’s a good thing. Then you can take your clothes off.”

Ellie dramatically gagged and covered her ears. “I don’t want to know about that!”

You and Beth both laughed as she started in on a monologue about how men, and hearing about her aunt dating them, were gross.

…

Later that afternoon, you’d just finished cleaning up and making sure the food was almost ready when you realized you needed to change before Joel arrived. You stepped into your bedroom and stripped off your shirt at the exact moment you heard a knock at your door. Shit. 

You froze, not sure what to do, when he knocked again. “Shit,” you said out loud. You were standing in your bedroom in a lounge bra and sweatpants. How did you lose track of time so badly? You ran to the front door.

You hesitated once you got there but reasoned that Joel had already seen you naked, so you’d just open it and then run back to change. You nodded to yourself, and then opened the door, shielding your body behind it.

“Hey, darlin’, everything alright?” He looked like he’d been about to knock again. He eyed your bare shoulder.

“Sorry, Joel, wasn’t quite ready yet. You can come in and I’ll go change.” 

He smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Guess I am a little early.” 

You laughed and invited him in, and watched as his eyes swept down your body. “You sure you need to change? I like this look.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, Joel, go sit on the couch. I’ll be back in a minute.” He did as you said while you ran back to your room and changed into the outfit you’d picked out earlier (complete with some green lingerie underneath – it was his favorite color, after all). 

When you arrived back in the living room, you found Joel looking at the pictures lining your fireplace mantle. “I recognize Ellie and Beth,” he said. “Is this your sister?”

You stepped up next to him and nodded. “Yep. And our parents.” You continued on your photo tour for a few minutes, introducing Joel to your family as you went. He snaked an arm around your waist and leaned in behind you. 

“This shirt’s pretty on you, baby.” He pressed a kiss to your shoulder.

You smirked at him over your shoulder. “Thought you liked the other look?” 

Joel grinned, unrepentant. “I can like both, can’t I?” You laughed and led him into your kitchen.

“Sure you can. Have a seat, dinner will be ready in just a sec.”

He sat, and soon enough you joined him and placed the food in the middle of the table, which you’d set earlier, before he arrived. You poured him a drink and dug in. He complimented the food, sincerely, which made you smile. 

“So, you’re officially invited to brunch next weekend.” Joel snapped his head up to meet your gaze. He looked surprised, and pleased.

“I am?”

You smiled. “Sure are. Got the Ellie-and-Beth stamp of approval.”

He grinned. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“We might do lunch with Beth during the week, first.” 

He nodded. “Whatever they want, darlin’. I want Ellie to be comfortable.” He reached over to squeeze your hand. “That’s the most important thing.”

“Thanks, Joel. I know she’s not actually my kid, but in some ways she is.” He tilted his head at you, considering your words. “Yeah, I know it’s confusing. Well, you know Ellie’s 14. My sister had her right out of high school.”

“Not too different from when I had Sarah.” You nodded.

“Yeah, she had a rough time. Ellie used to come stay with me a lot, even when she was really little. And then, um. Right after I finally broke up with Matt, Ellie actually lived with me and Beth for about…” you looked up at the ceiling, counting back in time. “About 2 years? Almost. When she was 9.”

Joel nodded, taking that in. “It makes sense that you’re so close.”

You smiled. “Yeah, hard not to be. And Beth helped a lot, so they’re pretty close, too. But my sister is doing a lot better now. She used to, um…” You trailed off, thinking through what you wanted to say. “Well, part of the reason Ellie is more wary of people I might date is that my sister dated, um, more than a few men, and they were in and out of their house all the time. That’s part of the reason she lived with me. Not all of it.” Joel nodded, face solemn. He squeezed your hand between his own. “But yeah, she’s doing a lot better. She’s a nurse, works a lot of weekends and nights. Ellie has her own room here and sort of comes and goes as she pleases. Their relationship is a lot better than it used to be, too.”

“That sounds like it was hard, to send her back.” You sighed. He was so good at seeing right to the heart of what you were thinking. And feeling.

“It was, and it wasn’t. I’m so glad they’re doing better, you know? But I do miss having her here all the time, even now. And now she’s a teenager and wants to be with her friends anyway.” 

He laughed a little. “I’m familiar with that change.” 

You laughed, too. “Yeah, I bet. But she’s doing well in school and she actually talks to her mom about her life, so I feel like it’s going pretty well. And I sort of have my sister back.”

Joel scooted his chair a bit closer to yours and put his arm around the back. “Sort of?”

You sighed and closed your eyes. “Our relationship took a hit during all of that. But it’s getting better. We talk more now. She’s been teasing me about you.”

For a moment you both sat quietly as he considered what you shared and you leaned in to him, head on his shoulder. 

“Everything I learn about you impresses me more, sweetheart.” He murmured his words into your hair, and it made you shiver.

“What? Joel–”

“It’s true.” he squeezed you against him. “Not everyone would do that, you know. Even for family. It’s…” he sighed. “I love watching you get to know Sarah. I know I’m going to love seeing you with your niece. It’s just something special. Getting to know you in every way I can.” You leaned up to press a kiss to his chin and felt him smile in response. 

You were quiet again until you felt Joel shift underneath you. “Joel? What is it?” You leaned back to look at his face, and caught him staring at your cabinets with a frown on his face. “Joel.”

“Hmm?”

“Joel Miller, are you looking at my broken cabinet door and thinking about how you want to fix it?”

You watched as a flush took over his cheeks. “Maybe I am.” He sounded sheepish and you grinned.

“I don’t think I even have the tools you’d need. Sorry.” 

He shook his head, frowning at you playfully. “What, not even a hammer?”

“Ok, I probably have a hammer. And maybe, like, a couple of screwdrivers.”

He laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll fix it another time.”

“You don’t have to–”

“Darlin’,” he cut you off. “I’ll fix it.” He smiled at you, amused by your protest. “You know it won’t take me even five minutes.”

You laughed, loving his confidence. “Oh yeah? Well, who am I to argue with my Hot Maintenance Guy?”

He bit back on a smile and tilted his head. “Thought I was Hot Construction Guy?”

You grinned. “You are. And Hot Maintenance Guy, and Hot Gardening Guy. Whatever I’d seen you doing that day.” 

Joel laughed and pulled you into a short kiss. “Well, I’m definitely your maintenance guy. So I’m definitely gonna fix those cabinets.” You sighed, giving in.

“Not right now, though. We have better things to do.”

He perked up. “Oh? Like what?”

“Let’s clean up and then you’ll find out.” You winked as you stood to gather your plate.

Between the two of you, you made quick work of the dishes and leftovers. It was nice, doing something so domestic with Joel. You fit together by the sink and moved around each other in the kitchen like you’d done it before, like it was comfortable. You’d never smiled so much while doing dishes in your life.

“There is something I wanted to ask you about, honey.” You turned to look at him where he was washing a pot as you dried your plates. 

“Oh? About what?” You saw a tiny smirk in the corner of his mouth and narrowed your eyes. 

“Just about what you said, when we were in bed after our first date.” You flushed, feeling the heat enter your cheeks. But you also appreciated that Joel was bringing this up while you were doing something so totally unrelated to sex. So you could focus. Or try to, anyway.

“Yeah, I remember.” You bit your lip. 

He cleared his throat. “Ah, well, did you, um. Can you tell me more about what you like? And don’t like? I like the sound of it, you know that, but I’d never want to get it wrong.”

“Um, yes. I, well. I like waking up and already…” You took a deep breath and told yourself to act like a freaking adult. “I like to already be having sex, basically. To wake up with your mouth on– on my pussy. Or your fingers inside of me. Or your cock.” You felt more than saw Joel’s sharp intake of breath and smiled. “It’s difficult to do that last one without waking me up, but it’s my favorite.”

Joel coughed. “I, um, I really want that, too.” You finally met his gaze with your own and you could see how much he wanted it. You held your breath. “Shit, sweetheart, that sounds so fucking good. I just… since you’d be asleep, I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing. Since I can’t check in with you.”

You put down the plate you’d finished drying five minutes ago and turned towards him, taking his hands in yours and drying them off with the towel. “I trust you, Joel. I know you’d do it how I wanted – make sure I’m ready, and all that.” You finished drying his hands and put the towel down on the counter before lacing your fingers through his. You considered your next words. “I don’t… we can use a safe word. We don’t have to talk about all of that right now.” He squeezed your hands in response. “But I do have one. We can use it, so you know when my reactions are good and if they’re not. I know I can’t use it while I’m asleep, but it could help.” He disentangled and lifted one hand to place it under your chin and guide your eyes back up to meet his. 

“I’d like that, honey. And I’d like to talk about that more later, what other things you might like. That we might like together. But we can take it slow.” You nodded, smiling. “And, um. Well. Remember when I told you there were issues with Sarah’s mom that she didn’t know about?”

You nodded. “I do, but Joel, you don’t have to explain now–”

“No, I mean,” he interrupted you but then took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say, part of it was that we weren’t really compatible. At all. She thought, well. That some of the things I like are…” He trailed off and you tilted your chin to press a kiss to the hand still cupping your face, encouraging him. “She thought I was strange for wantin’ ‘em. Like all the sweet things I like to call you, honey, and how I like to call you mine. To her it was too much, not what she wanted. We can talk about it more but like I said, we can take it slow. Figure it out together.” 

You felt the shiver run up your spine at the idea of learning what more he might like to try with you. “I just asked you to fuck me while I’m asleep, I think we can be honest with each other.” He grinned.

“So, tomorrow morning? Want me to try it?” You nodded. “I need to hear your words, sweetheart.” As he asked he slipped his right hand around the back of your neck and pulled you closer. His lips brushed yours and you shivered.

“Yes, Joel,” you felt your pulse pick up at the idea and heard the hitch in your breath.

“Yeah, baby? You’d want to wake up with me already inside you?” Your eyes fell closed and you nodded. He pressed a kiss to your jaw, just in front of your ear. “Maybe my fingers? Maybe my tongue?” He licked the shell of your ear. You shivered and your hips squirmed as you pressed your thighs together. “You want to wake up to find my cock already deep inside this pretty pussy?” 

“Yes, Joel,” you breathed again. “I love it. Yes, please —” you cut off as he gripped your chin in his hand. 

“Shhh, honey. Shit, what a good girl you are, letting me slip inside you while you’re asleep, huh? Take whatever I want? Give you what I want?” You sighed. “Can’t believe it. So fucking perfect for me.” He kissed your neck again as his thumb covered your lips, holding your mouth closed. He took a deep breath and relaxed again.

“Well, honey, I told you before. I’ll give you whatever you want. So I guess we’ll see in the morning, hmm?” You grinned under his finger and nodded. “But maybe we can get started right now.”

...

Sunday, November 10 Eleventh week of the semester

In the morning, Joel woke up first. Before he even opened his eyes, he felt the warmth — the warmth of the sun through the window, the bed beneath him, and the soft wonder of your body against his. You’d moved in the night, but not much. He was still wrapped around you, just with more space between your bodies, his right arm thrown across your waist. He blinked his eyes open slowly, careful not to move as he took in a deep breath and just looked at you.

You were on your side, turned away from him, but he could see the outline of your profile over your shoulder. You were peaceful in your sleep, mouth slightly open, eyelashes brushing the tops of your cheeks. He stared, almost stunned to find you with him in bed again. How did I get so fucking lucky? 

As he looked at you, careful not to move his arm, your discussion from last night came back to him and suddenly he was hard. He was so fucking hard, his cock filling so fast it took his breath away as the blood rushed south. 

You wanted him to be inside of you when you woke up. It was a fucking dream even thinking about it. He wanted it, fuck, he wanted it so fucking bad, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. How could he manage it, without waking you?

He kept his breathing even, despite his cock urging him forward, and considered what to do. It was still early, and you’d told him you liked to sleep in on weekends. So maybe he had time on his side. (He always woke up early, because of Sarah.) The first thing he needed to do was get rid of his briefs.

Joel slowly, gently, pulled his arm up from around you. You shifted in your sleep, but he moved slowly and successfully snuck it away. You settled back into your pillow and remained deeply asleep. He sighed in victory.

Slowly, cautiously, careful not to shake the bed, he reached down to slide his briefs off, kicking them somewhere in the sheets. He watched you the whole time, but you breathed evenly, slowly. Still asleep. He smiled. Maybe he could do this.

He rolled back onto his side and considered you. You were a few inches from him. Maybe if he slowly came up behind you you’d snuggle into him in your sleep, making it easier to touch. He nodded to himself. That was probably the best way to start.

Slowly, trying to move like he was asleep himself, he scooted towards you on the bed until his chest came back into contact with your back. He slowed even more there, gently pressing against you until you responded in your sleep — your body titled back against his, moving unconsciously together until he had you spooned in front of him again. He was careful to angle his cock down, not to get it stuck against your ass. (Even though the thought of pressing in between your cheeks almost had him thrusting forward, overcome with want.)

Joel took a moment to breathe in his success. He had you wrapped in his arms again, and he could feel your naked ass pressed against his pelvis. It was so fucking good already. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He was close to what he wanted, but he didn’t want to fuck this up. 

He carefully curled his body so his hips moved forwards, and his breath caught as his cock almost arrived right where he wanted it. The tip poked at the join of your thighs, and he sighed. Now what? How would he get any closer? He paused to consider his options again.

But you, it turned out, were on board, even in your sleep. Suddenly you let out a tiny, breathless moan, and he stilled. Peering over your shoulder, he saw that you were still asleep. A dream? He grinned. He could work with that. 

Leaving his hips where they were for now, he lightly ran his fingertips up your torso until he was cupping your breast. He tried to use the lightest touch, to encourage your dream without waking you up. He teased the very tip of one finger over your nipple and your body relaxed against him, like you were a puppet and your strings were cut. He stilled again, but you were still asleep. He was on the right track.

He watched your face intently as he lightly teased your nipple with his fingertip. In your sleep, your mouth opened wider, and you sighed. He was mesmerized, watching as your tongue peeked out of your mouth, the tip just touching your bottom lip. He realized his own mouth was hanging open, the desire to lick inside yours almost palpable in the air around him. He suppressed a shiver. 

Suddenly, you tilted your head to the side and whispered something. He leaned closer, not quite hearing you. To his great joy, you did it again, and he realized you had whispered his name. “Joel…” he grinned. He had to have you, just like this. Had to give you exactly what you wanted. He just had to figure out what to do about your legs.

He looked down and saw that your feet were twisting in the sheets. He wondered if this was his chance. Lightly slipping from your breast, he slowly moved his hand down to your thigh. You muttered something, but a quick check showed him you were still very much asleep. He only needed an inch, at most.

Ever so lightly, he gripped your thigh and pressed to ease it upwards. You were so fucking responsive, even in your sleep — you followed his instructions perfectly and your thighs shifted just enough for his cock to slip between them. He gasped, and then stilled as his eyes quickly sought your face again. Still asleep. He moved back to his previous position, hand on your breast, before thrusting slowly forward. His cock lined up perfect against your slit, and his eyes almost rolled back when he realized how fucking wet you were. Again. Fuck. His cock glided smoothly against you and he had to fight to keep from letting himself thrust inside, from filling you up right then and there.

Joel teased lightly at your nipple as he gently pulled back again before thrusting his hips forward once more. This time his cock nestled inside your folds and he heard a breathy little moan punch itself out of you when the tip of his cock nudged your clit. He grinned. Yes. 

He kept that up for a few more thrusts — gentle movement, he told himself, slow and steady, so fucking wet, sliding so easily against you, fuck — watching your face like a hawk for any trace of wakefulness. 

On the next pass, his cock almost caught against your entrance, and he stifled a deep moan of his own. Fuck me. That was the final hurdle, he knew. How could he slip inside you without waking you up? He’d have to go slow, ease into you, so slow and smooth you’d never notice. 

He forced himself to keep his hands light, not to grip or pull or tug. At the same time his hips moved with almost terrifying precision. He knew you were wet enough, and still ready from last night. He just had to take the final step.

Joel took a deep breath and, eyes still locked on your face, let himself nudge at your entrance on the next thrust. He stopped there, just there, with the tip of his cock nestled right at the place he most wanted to be. 

His heartbeat was racing and he felt winded. He wondered if his pounding heart would wake you before his cock did.

Gently, so gently it almost knocked him out, he pushed forward with his hips. The head of his cock pushed against you before sliding past your entrance, stopping just inside. Joel realized his mouth was hanging open as he stared at you. He felt torn. He wanted to look down, to see, but he was afraid if he looked away even for a moment you’d wake up. He gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on your face.

He pushed forward again, and he felt his cock sink deeper inside you. Fuck. Your cunt was fucking perfect. He had no idea how you could be so fucking wet all the time. Were you always like this? You’d said it was just for him, but did that mean you were always like this around him? Shit. Hold it together. 

He was panting. He tried to keep it quiet, but it was so much. So fucking much. He blinked to keep his eyes from closing.

Joel took a deep breath, still focused on you, and took one more gentle thrust to slide himself all the way home. He bit down so hard on his lip to fight back a moan he was worried he drew blood. He realized he’d let go of your breast to clutch at the comforter beneath you and was in danger of leaning his weight forward to fall on top of you. He stilled. He panted. He stared at your face. 

You were somehow still asleep. How?

He took the gift he was offered and moved. His hips pulled gently back, and he felt every inch of your cunt squeeze tight around his cock as he pulled out, until only the head of his cock was left stretching your entrance open. He breathed in through his nose, and then breathed out steadily while thrusting back in at that same slow, infuriating pace. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck me.

He managed three or four more agonizing thrusts, doing everything he could to be silent and gentle, to keep you sleeping while he fucked you. He realized now the goal was for you to wake up, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. He paused inside you after his next thrust, taking a deep breath, looking over your slumbering face. He started to smile. 

Slowly, gently, he leaned down towards your neck as he pulled almost all the way out of you again. As he slid home this time, just a tiny bit faster, he pressed a kiss to your neck, right under your ear. You moaned. His smile turned feral.

He continued like that, thrusting inwards and pressing kisses to your neck and your shoulder, getting wetter and sloppier each time. Your breaths started to come faster and faster, and then he noticed your hips were starting to push back against his. 

His eyes flew back to your face. He had to see it. He wanted to see the exact moment you woke up and realized he was doing as you asked, he was doing what you wanted. He was giving it to you just right.

He wanted to push you over the edge. On his next thrust he cupped your breast again, and your voice was clearer this time, calling out to him in your sleep. “Yes, Joel, yes,” he teased your nipple and thrust forward. “Joel,” you called out, brow furrowing. He knew it was coming. He stared at you, and on the next thrust, he pinched your nipple at the same moment his cock bottomed out inside of you. 

It was fucking heaven. Fucking transcendent. Your eyes flew open as you gasped, throwing your head back onto his shoulder. Your hands grasped at nothing until they found his arm, and you clutched at him. He pulled out again and thrust back inside you, hard, and you cried out. He smiled.

“Good morning, honey.” His voice was deep and rumbling and fucking vicious. He thrust inside you again, pinching your nipple and rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Your next breath sounded like a sob. “How’d you sleep?”

…

You were having the most amazing dream. Everything was warmth and pleasure and there was a man holding you and you knew it was Joel. Joel, wrapped around you. You were floating together, somehow, twisting together as he spooned you from behind, but somehow also kissed you and touched you, everywhere. You sighed. 

His embrace tightened and you hitched your leg over his. “Mm, that’s my good girl,” you heard him say, and it melted through you like hot chocolate. “That’s it, baby. Show me.” You weren’t sure what he wanted you to show him, so you opened your mouth and stuck out your tongue. “Fuck yeah, baby. Let me see that tongue.” 

Dream Joel, somehow spooning you and making out with you at the same time, licked your tongue as you stuck it out for him. The slide of your tongues together made you press your thighs tight. “You’re so goddamn hot baby,” he muttered in your ear while making out with you. You moaned back, somehow still kissing him, “Joel.” He grinned at you, wicked and intent. He bent down suddenly to lick at your nipples and you gasped. “Joel!” He smiled and you hummed at the feeling of him worshiping your tits. 

In your dream the two of you were floating upwards, towards something — there was light above you, and warmth below you. Everything felt amazing. 

Dream Joel ran his hands down your body, grasping at your hips and your legs. You smiled. “Love the way you look, honey,” he murmured, and you told him you loved the way he looked, too. He smiled. “Open up for me, then, sweet thing. Let me inside.” You did as he asked and opened your legs. Dream Joel, talented man that he was, managed to kiss you and eat you out at the same time, and you sighed into it, mouth opening for him again. And then you felt something warm and hard and gorgeous slide against your pussy. You sighed and pushed back onto it.

“Inside, Joel,” you tried to demand, your voice weak and breathy. He chuckled, darkly. “Not yet baby, wanna feel you.” He slid his cock back and forth against your soaking wet pussy and you moaned. “You feel so good on my cock, honey. You hear that?” You listened, and you heard him panting behind you, heard the slick glide of his cock as it nestled in your folds. “Shit, sweetheart. You’re so wet for me.”

“Always,” you sighed out. 

“I know you are, baby. Can’t stop thinking about it, about sneaking my fingers inside your underwear everywhere we go, see if you’re ready for me. Ready for me to slip inside you, no matter where we are.” 

You nodded. “Always ready for you, Joel. Always want you inside me. Want you inside me right now.”

“Honey I told you, I’ll give you everything you want. Don’t you worry.” Dream Joel slid back again, and on his next thrust his cock notched right at your entrance, and you sighed. “Yes, please, Joel.” 

“Shhh, honey. Just let me give it to you. I’ll give you whatever you want, you know that. All you have to do is lie there and take it.” You moaned as he pressed the head of his cock inside of you. It felt huge and perfect and warm and like you never wanted to be without it. 

Dream Joel rubbed his hands up your torso as he fucked into you from behind. “That’s it, honey. Take me inside you. Let me fill you up. Let me stuff my cum so deep inside of you it’ll be dripping out for hours.” Your breath caught at the idea and you started to breathe harder and faster. He pinched your nipples and thrust into you, hard. “Feel it, honey? Feel how perfectly my cock fits inside this cunt?” 

“Yes, Joel, yes,” you cried, almost crying for real. “I need it.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know,” he crooned, softly. “You’re such a good girl, you know that? Such a good fucking girl for me. Letting me put my cock inside you whenever I want, letting me fill you up. Sitting on my cock like an angel. Like you were meant to be right here, in my lap.” Dream Joel thrust inside of you again, and you cried out. 

“Joel, please,” you sighed as your brows pinched together. The dream suddenly felt so real, so physical, you couldn’t figure out which way was up or down. You were spinning, falling, and when you crash landed back into your body you gasped.

Your eyes flew open and all you could feel was Joel. He was fucking everywhere. His body was pressed all along your back, his fingers pinched your nipple, his mouth was on your jaw. 

And his cock was hard, and it was deep, deep inside of you. 

Your head flew back as you gasped for air, staring up at the ceiling without seeing. Your hands grasped for purchase on something, anything that would hold you there, keep you from flying apart and spiraling into the air, until they found his arm and you held on for dear life. Suddenly Joel pulled his hips back and then thrust inside of you, hard. You cried out, maybe his name, maybe no words at all. Fuck. You needed to catch your breath. Your hips were pinned under his, your pussy wet and dripping and tightening around his cock. You could feel a tear slip from your eye to land on the pillow under your head. Fuck me. 

Before you could even try to make sense of your surroundings, to catch your breath, Joel’s lips found your ear.

“Good morning, honey.” His voice was deep and rumbling and fucking vicious. He thrust inside you again, pinching your nipple and rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Your next breath came out like a sob. “How’d you sleep?” You felt a tear form at the edge of your eye again, and he curled forward to kiss it away. “Shh, baby, you’re ok. You’re so fucking good, honey, my good fucking girl.” He thrust inside of you again, and his cock slid against you so easily, so wonderfully, that you breathed through another sob. “Honey?”

You realized, distantly, that he was starting to worry about you. You squeezed his arm. You had to say something.

“Y— yes, Joel. Yes.” You felt him grin against your shoulder. 

“Yeah, honey? That feel good?” You nodded, frantically, reaching one hand back to grasp at his hip. “You want it bad, don’t you? Want this cock to split you open?” Your breath hitched, again. “Want me to push deep inside you, don’t you, sweet thing? Fill you up? Leave you fucking dripping?” 

Real Joel echoing Dream Joel spun you upwards again, disorienting you in your pleasure. You whined, and thrust your hips backwards towards him. He pulled out and slammed his cock back into you, pulling back on your hip to urge you onto him. “Fuck, honey, you need it, don’t you? You need it so bad.” You could only grasp at him and nod, feeling another tear run down the side of your face. He kissed that one away, too.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. You can have this cock whenever you want.” He thrust forward again, pinning you to the bed. Your right knee bent in front of you and he followed, curving his body into the same position, somehow driving his cock deeper. “It’s yours. Yours to use, honey. Yours to touch, to lick, to sit on whenever you want.” He started up a steady pace, pushing his cock inside of you so deeply, so right on every thrust. Your face was turned, left side on the pillow, profile still open to him. He pressed kisses everywhere he could reach.

“I’m going to make you come, honey. And I want to see it.” He curved his right hand over your hip, seeking out your clit with his fingers. “I want you to come on my cock. I want to feel you squeeze me, baby, squeeze me so fucking tight.” You sighed into the pillow. “Can you do that for me? Yeah, ‘course you can. Be a good girl, honey, and come for me.”

His fingers started circling your clit, and you felt it building inside of you like a tidal wave. It was almost too much, so much, more than you could handle. You were actually crying now, tears running down your face that he kissed away. “J— Joel,” you whined, and he twisted to press a gentle kiss to the corner of your mouth. 

“That’s right, honey. Let me have it. It’s mine.”

Something about the way he claimed it, claimed you, sent you over the edge. You flew over it, into the air, twisting, falling, electrified. The orgasm erupted through you, and you felt more wet gush out of you, absolutely soaking his cock. He groaned. 

“Holy fucking shit, honey. Yes. Fucking give it to me.” He talked you through it, pressing kisses anywhere he could reach. It shuddered through you and you clamped down on him as your orgasm crested. You sobbed one more time, and he bit down on your shoulder to ground you.

As you came down, you realized his hips were speeding up. You whined and thrust your hips backwards again. You wanted it. You wanted him, inside of you, dripping out of you, like he promised. He nodded, seeming to understand.

“That’s right, honey. I’m going to give it to you. That’s what good girls get, right? And you were perfect, honey. My good fucking girl.” You clutched at the pillow as you pushed your hips back, trying to tilt them to give him the best angle. He sank deeper, somehow, and moaned. “I’m going to give it to you so deep, baby, so fucking deep.” He sighed, dreamily. “Fuck.”

His thrusts picked up, and you let yourself drift, feeling perfectly used as Joel pumped his hips into yours. His thrusts caught, uneven, and you heard him groan from deep in his chest. He clutched at you, with one final, devastating thrust, and came. His mouth was hot on your ear as he said your name in a voice that made it sound like a prayer.

For a moment, neither of you moved. You were both breathing hard, and you were a fucking mess — wet, everywhere — cum all over, sweaty, and tears that had dripped down your face and soaked your pillow. 

Joel sucked in a deep breath and carefully, gently, pulled out of you. You still gasped — you were sensitive from the night before, still, and he’d just fucked you so hard you’d cried, for god’s sake — but he was so soft and gentle with you that it barely hurt.

He flopped to your left on the bed, and with a groan, you heaved yourself onto your right side so you could look at him. You fell in the wet spot, but honestly, the entire bed was probably a wet spot at that point.

He turned his head, and for a minute you just looked at each other. You’d thought you’d seen him wrecked before, but that was nothing. You could see, now, what it actually looked like. And he was wrecked. You imagined you were the same. His hair was wild, his face was awestruck. He was red and sweaty and fucking beautiful. 

Slowly, he started to smile, and you returned it. Then he laughed, and you laughed back. Soon you were both giggling into your pillows, curled towards each other, linking fingers in the damp sheets.

Joel took a deep breath, and managed to stop giggling long enough to say, “I think you might have killed me, honey. Can’t move my legs.” You giggled and buried your face in the pillow. “No, I’m serious. First you knock me over with the idea of fucking you awake, much less telling me to do it? Jesus, I almost came before I ever got inside of you, trying to figure out how to do it without waking you up. Best fucking idea I’ve ever heard, honey, shit. Holy fucking shit.” He sounded winded, and awestruck. Like he couldn’t believe that just happened. “You were so beautiful, baby, taking it so well, even in your sleep. Couldn’t tear my eyes away from you.” He sighed, grinning. “Jesus, when can we do it again? I wanna do it again. How’s every goddamn morning sound to you?” You laughed outright. He cleared his throat. “Was it, um. Was it what you wanted?” He looked hopeful, and a tiny bit worried. You didn’t know how he could be, not after you came harder than you ever had in your life. So you told him that.

“Joel. I just came harder than I ever have in my entire life.” You figured he needed to hear it, and his answering grin told you he appreciated it. “I can’t feel my legs, either.” He laughed, and you tracked it across his face. Beautiful. “It was so fucking perfect. I was having the best dream about you, I guess because of what you were doing to me for real, and then suddenly the dream and reality came together and I— fuck.” You closed your eyes against the memory of that moment. “I’ve never felt anything like that.”

“It was fucking beautiful to watch,” he murmured, eyes traveling over your face and chest. “Never seen anything like that, either.” 

You smiled. “In my dream you were fucking me from behind, and it just… melted into real life. I felt like I fell back into myself and couldn’t tell up from down in the best fucking way.” You bit your lip. “Every morning, huh?” He winked at you. “I dunno, if you make me come like that every day I might not make it to work.” He laughed, and finally reached for you again. You went easily as he pulled you into his chest, pressing your bodies together. You sighed, sinking into him happily. 

“You fit so well in my arms, sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss to your hairline. “Let’s just stay right here, for a while.”

You hummed, agreeing, nuzzling your face into his shoulder. You were both quiet for a moment, just letting the moment wash over you, when you felt him tense.

“Joel?” You questioned lightly, wondering what he was thinking. 

“I, um,” he cleared his throat. “Just want to make sure of something, honey. You were, well, the crying. Was that… ok?” He sounded so careful, so worried, it made your heart clench.

“Yes, Joel. That wasn’t just ok.” You tilted your head back to meet his eye so he could see the sincerity on your face. “It was exactly what I wanted. It was perfect.” He relaxed, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Sometimes I cry during sex. Not all the time, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing when it happens. Like just now, it was a really, really good thing.”

“That’s what I thought,” he nodded, “but I wanted to make sure I was reading you right. Would be a pretty upsetting thing to get wrong.”

The two of you nestled back into each other, holding tight, breathing in deep together as you came down from the intensity of the sex you’d just had. It had been beautiful, and rough, and exactly what you wanted, and now you were worn out. In his arms was exactly where you wanted to be.

After a while you started to doze off again, but you didn’t want to sleep the morning away, so you shook yourself back awake. You stretched, idly, and you felt Joel’s gaze on you. You looked up to find him admiring your legs as you stretched them along the bed.

“See something you like, cowboy?” 

He smiled. “You know I do, gorgeous.” 

“Want to get up, grab some breakfast, maybe?” Joel smiled and nodded, but pulled you in rather than letting you get up.

“Maybe in a few minutes.” 

You smiled.

…

Joel drove you to a diner about halfway between your apartment and his house. You’d never been there, but had driven past it many times, and told him so.

“This is a favorite of ours,” he told you as you both climbed out of his truck. “Sarah usually demands it at least once a month. We have family breakfast with Tommy.” You smiled at the thought.

Breakfast was easy, full of easy conversation and light teasing. Joel snuck some of your food and you retaliated by drinking some of his coffee. His feet nudged yours under the table as he grinned at you, and you rested your chin in your hand to watch him watch you across the table. It really drove home for you how much you liked being around Joel. The sex had been mind-blowing, obviously, like always, but you’d also spent weeks circling each other before finally starting to get to know each other over lunches and coffees and now dates. Every moment you spent with him showed you there was something more, here. It was in the way he couldn’t look away from you, the way he listened so carefully, like he always did, as you told him silly stories about the diner in your hometown. The way he remembered tiny details from everything you’d ever told him. You felt yourself falling, just like you’d told Beth. 

It was scary, but it was also pretty wonderful.

...

a/n: 😏

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tag list: @harriedandharassed @jupiter-soups @ilovepedro @auteurdelabre @anoverwhelmingdin

@myloveistoolittle @iknowisoundcrazy @beezusvreeland @screechingphantommaker @bigboiseason123

@joelalorian @untamedheart81 @ashleyfilm @jessthebaker @jeewrites

@fluffygoffpanda @paleidiot @mithicakurogo @theclairvoyage @lizzie-cakes

@islacharlotte @syd-djarin @copperhalfcent @vabeachazn @spacedoutdaydreamer

@littlevenicebitch69 @secretelephanttattoo @pigeonmama @vickie5446 @verymiraclemiracle

#joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fic #tlou fic #somnophilia #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM

[burntheedges-updates]

600 Followers Celebration

Y’all!! This is wild. I realized the other day that I started writing my first fic in my notes app on my phone on 4/11/23. I posted the first chapter of that fic in July last year! I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I get so emotional every time someone reads one of my fics. Thank you for being here and being amazing. And I’m so glad you all like fandom bingo (which is still open)!! 🧡🧡🧡

I wanted to do something fun to celebrate. There are two parts -- vote and ask! I'll tag every post for this celebration with #bte600.

💗 VOTE: vote on the poll under the cut!!  A week or so ago I did an ask game where people sent me made up fic titles and I told you what I would write for them. Well, I got a little carried away and came up with some ideas I'm actually pretty excited about. So now I want you to vote on which one I should actually write next! The poll will be open for a week.

🧡 ASK: Send me any of the emojis below – send me as many as you’d like! But please send one at a time.

❣️shout out Spread the love around and tell me about a fic, author, fan art, or artist on here that you love!

📜fic rec Give me a fandom and a direction and I’ll give you a fic rec. I’ve got more than 9000 bookmarks on ao3 lol bet I can find something! let me know preferences about ships, ratings, content, etc.

(fandoms I’ve read a lot in over the years: all the Pedro boys, Inception (Arthur/Eames), Captive Prince, LOTR/Hobbit, MCU, X-Men, 00Q, Star Trek (various ships), Mass Effect, The Raven Cycle (pynch), Teen Wolf (lol), Stranger Things, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Check Please!, The Witcher, The Sandman, Sherlock, Stargate Atlantis, RWRB, Merlin, ATLA… and more?)

❓question Send me any question, FMK, ask about a headcanon, ask about one of my fics, how I write, ask for commentary on a scene or line, whatever you’d like – I’ll answer it!

Remember, 💗 vote on the poll under the cut!! 

Let's vote! Which one of these ideas should I work on next? (see more about each at the link) I had to cut one so I cut one of the Frankie ones that was very similar to something I just wrote.

🧡🧡🧡 thanks for being here!

tagging some mutuals for funzies:

@katareyoudrilling @beardedjoel @maggiemayhemnj @goodwithcheese @djarins-cyare

@jupiter-soups @undercoverpena @tightjeansjavi @morallyinept @trulybetty

@gasolinerainbowpuddles @huffle-punk @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @jay-zzle @sheepdogchick3

@joelsgreys @davnittbraes @ghotifishreads @iknowisoundcrazy @jobean12-blog

@punkette1026 @macfrog @skittlesfics @morning-star-joy @futuraa-free

@sempersirens @theywhowriteandknowthings @pr0ximamidnight @janaispunk @toxicanonymity

@chronically-ghosted @beefrobeefcal @ladamedusoif @ilovepedro @javierpena-inatacvest

@kiwisbell @iamasaddie @mrsmando @corazondebeskar @minimeiser

@mermaidgirl30 @kedsandtubesocks @covetyou @nedgooel @wildemaven

@secretelephanttattoo @theclairvoyage @sawymredfox @julesonrecord

...

#followers celebration #i love y'all #joel miller x reader #frankie morales x reader #marcus pike x reader #javier peña x reader #din djarin x reader #marcus moreno x reader #dieter bravo x reader #ask me anything #bte600

[burntheedges-updates]

maintenance request ch 19 preview

a/n: what's this? kink negotiation? tags/warnings: kink negotiation 😏

main post & chapter list

...

“There is something I wanted to ask you about, honey.” You turned to look at him where he was washing a pot as you dried your plates.

“Oh? About what?” You saw a tiny smirk in the corner of his mouth and narrowed your eyes.

“Just about what you said, when we were in bed after our first date.” You flushed, feeling the heat enter your cheeks. But you also appreciated that Joel was bringing this up while you were doing something so totally unrelated to sex. So you could focus. Or try to, anyway.

“Yeah, I remember.” You bit your lip.

He cleared his throat. “Ah, well, did you, um. Can you tell me more about what you like?"

...

a/n: that's right, it's somnophilia week this Friday on Maintenance Request! don't forget to tune in 😏

tag list: @harriedandharassed @jupiter-soups @ilovepedro @auteurdelabre @anoverwhelmingdin

@myloveistoolittle @iknowisoundcrazy @beezusvreeland @screechingphantommaker @bigboiseason123

@joelalorian @untamedheart81 @ashleyfilm @jessthebaker @jeewrites

@fluffygoffpanda @paleidiot @mithicakurogo @theclairvoyage @lizzie-cakes

@islacharlotte @syd-djarin @copperhalfcent @vabeachazn @spacedoutdaydreamer

@littlevenicebitch69 @secretelephanttattoo @katareyoudrilling @pigeonmama @vickie5446

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #tlou fic #joel miller fic #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Park

Dieter Bravo x gn!reader | 1.5k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: You come upon a strange man while spending your day at the park.

a/n: as I said in the masterlist for these, to all of my followers and mutuals – I love you! Thank you for being here. I wish I could have written one for each of you individually. (I am just one person who needs to sleep.) So I wrote this one for all of you, based on this poll — surprise! The secret is out. 🧡

tags/warnings: flirting, drink mention, reader walks and sits at a park but is otherwise not described

...

It was a beautiful day – warm but not too hot, nice breeze, enough clouds to provide some shade when you needed. You’d taken one look out of your window that morning and knew you needed to get outside.

You finally found time later that morning. You slipped into comfortable walking clothes and sneakers and headed to your favorite park with a book and a blanket. It was one of the larger parks in the city, with lots of places to sit and relax. You knew it would probably be crowded, but that was ok – the people watching might be more entertaining than your book. 

The park drew all kinds – families, couples on dates, packs of teenagers, college students working off a hangover, runners, frisbee enthusiasts. It always made for truly excellent people watching, especially when you wore sunglasses.

When you arrived you found that it was crowded, but not too crowded, and you set off down one of the paths that led to a meadow you particularly liked. You enjoyed the short walk to get there, looking around at the people you passed and letting your surroundings start to relax you.

You turned the corner into your meadow, already thinking about setting up your blanket under the large maple tree, when you were brought up short by the unexpected sight in front of you. 

There was a man in the meadow.

That wasn’t remarkable, on its own. He wasn’t even the only one. But he was the only person lying on his back, limbs out like he was making a snow angel, snoring in the sunlight. You trailed your eyes over him, taking in the details of his mismatched outfit. He was wearing a lurid green robe, plaid pajama pants, and a ripped t-shirt. His shirt and pants were absolutely covered in paint splatters. He had on sunglasses and his hair looked like he’d stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He was wearing one sock and the ugliest pair of crocs you’d ever seen. And he was extremely handsome.

As you observed him, he let out a truly impressive snore, started, and relaxed back into sleep, arms and legs still flung out at different angles. He looked like he’d wandered out of his house and decided to take a nap in the sun.

You blinked. You glanced around and noticed that people were giving him the side-eye but leaving him alone. There were a couple of teenagers whispering and pointing at him, but you shrugged it off as typical teenager behavior. You decided you’d set up nearby, glad you’d brought an extra bottle of water and sunscreen, just in case. You had a feeling he might need it.

You set up under your maple tree, only about 15 feet away from the mysterious sleeping man. You cracked open your book and managed to read for about half an hour before he drew your attention again.

With a sudden start, he snorted and flew to a sitting position, arms windmilling around him. You watched, concerned, as he started patting at his clothes before groaning and running his hands down his face under his sunglasses. His shoulders slumped and he threw his head back, mumbling something under his breath.

You kept an eye on him and were surprised to see him look around and then turn towards you. 

He scooted forward on his knees a few feet, and then twisted his hands together nervously. “Um, excuse me,” he started, shoulders curling inward. “What time is it?”

You turned towards him and read him the time from your phone. He groaned again.

“Shit. Um, thank you, I mean. Ugh,” he flopped back onto his back dramatically. “Can’t believe I did it again…” he trailed off, throwing his arms over his face. You decided he seemed pretty harmless (and a little pathetic).

“Um, are you alright?” You marked your place in your book and set it down. 

He moaned. “No, I’m not alright. I just accidentally fell asleep outside. Again.”

You blinked. How does someone fall asleep outside by accident?

“You…” you started, unsure of how to ask. “Do you regularly fall asleep outside? In public?” You tried not to sound judgemental, but what?

He sighed and fell back into his starfish pose that he’d been sleeping in. “I try not to. I swear, I was doing so well! But sometimes I need inspiration and I come out to look at the night sky and then whoops, it’s morning.” He moaned again. “And I don’t even have my keys.”

You studied him as you took in this new information. “Do you want some water?”

He perked up suddenly, lifting his head to look at you. “You have water? I would die for some water right now. I’ve never been so thirsty in my entire life.” He really put the drama into it, and you started to smile.

“Well, you can just have it, no need to do anything like die for it.” You tossed him the water bottle and he watched it fly towards him. He let it land in the grass next to him without moving to try to catch it before grabbing it and starting to drink from it like he hadn’t had a drink in days.

“You’re an angel,” he gasped when he came up for air. “Are you an angel? For real? Usually when I wake up in the park there are strangers taking pictures of me and laughing.”

You felt a pang of anger that people would do that rather than offer help. “That sounds shitty, I’m sorry–”

He waved off your words. “It’s fine, I’m used to it.” He took another long drink of water.

Used to it? You shrugged. He must really do this a lot. “Still shitty.”

He shook his head and turned his body towards you, about 5 feet away on the grass. “Yeah, probably. I barely notice.” He shrugged again, and you frowned.

You decided to let it go, since he was apparently unbothered. “Inspiration for what?”

“Huh?” he replied, mouth open. You smiled a bit at how much he let whatever he was thinking show all over his face.

“You said you come out here for inspiration. Inspiration for what?” You tilted your head, curious.

“Oh!” he wrapped his arms around his knees and curled into a little ball. “Painting. I paint. And I usually can’t sleep, so I paint at night. And then,” he gestured around him with one hand before returning it to its place around his calves, “this happens.”

You snorted. “You need to, like, tell someone where you’re going, next time. Or bring someone with you.”

He smiled, wistfully, and rested his cheek against his knee. “No one to tell, I guess. And my agent is sick of me.” His smile twisted into a frown. “And I think it would make her worry. But I’ve never run into an angel doing this before. Or anyone nearly as nice.”

You felt a pang for him, this mystery man who didn’t have a close enough friend to keep him from sleeping outside semi-regularly. But you didn’t really know him and weren’t sure what to say.

“You could always tie yourself to the bed.” You tried for a joking tone, but as soon as you said it, you regretted it. You could feel your cheeks start to burn, but then you realized he looked delighted.

“Well, angel, I’d much rather have a partner for that kind of thing.” He grinned and raised his sunglasses up to wink at you. It was silly, but it also gave you the chance to realize he had beautiful eyes. And that you recognized him.

“Oh!” You said, startled. “You’re Dieter Bravo!”

His delighted expression immediately shifted into a grimace. “Err, yes–” he hesitated. “I am.”

You suddenly understood why people would take pictures of him sleeping outside, and it made you angrier than before. “Don’t worry,” you hurried to reassure him. “I’m not going to tell anyone I found Dieter Bravo sleeping in a public park.”

He looked like he maybe wanted to smile again, but wasn’t sure. “No? People usually do. The paps are bored with it now, though, just so you know.”

You shook your head and smiled. “No, I promise. It’s not their business.” You introduced yourself and he let himself smile again.

“Well, angel, this is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me in this park.” You laughed. “Any chance I could use your phone to call a ride?”

You nodded and handed it over. He scooted closer on the grass until he was half on your blanket. You started to gather your stuff as he made his call – it was probably time to head home.

“Oh, are you leaving?” He looked put out.

“Aren’t you leaving, too?” you asked, confused.

“Well, yeah, but not for about 20 minutes. Could we–” he swallowed and twisted his hands in your blanket. “Do you want to, um. Talk?”

You smiled. “I’d love to.”

Dieter grinned. “Amazing.” He lifted his sunglasses to rest in his wild hair and winked at you again. “And, um. I might have put my number in your phone. If you wanted to hang out again.” He winked. “Or maybe revisit the idea of figuring out how to keep me in bed at night. If, um. If you want.”

You laughed, charmed, and leaned closer. “Alright. Let’s talk.” You let your hand creep towards his on the blanket. “And we’ll see.”

...

tagging because you're amazing and this is for you:

@joelsgreys @msjarvis @jennaispunk @schnarfer @thesluttylittleknee

@harriedandharassed @ilovepedro @auteurdelabre @anoverwhelmingdin @silenceindminor

@myloveistoolittle @iknowisoundcrazy @beezusvreeland @screechingphantommaker @bigboiseason123

@joelalorian @untamedheart81 @ashleyfilm @jessthebaker @jeewrites

@fluffygoffpanda @paleidiot @mithicakurogo @theclairvoyage @lizzie-cakes

@islacharlotte @syd-djarin @copperhalfcent @vabeachazn @spacedoutdaydreamer

@littlevenicebitch69 @pigeonmama @ravensmadreads @sheepdogchick3 @sixhours

@nedgooel @dancingtotuyo @vickie5446 @ezrasbirdie

(sorry tumblr is fighting tags right now)

#dieter bravo x reader #dieter bravo x gn!reader #dieter bravo x you #dieter bravo fanfiction #dieter bravo fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: New

Javier Peña x f!reader | 1.8k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: Fed up with unpacking, you decide to get out and explore your new town a little bit. There’s a handsome surprise awaiting you at lunch.

a/n: happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange, Megan! @goodwithcheese I hope you like this little meet cute with Javi. There’s texting so I sort of vaguely shifted him forward in time a bit. 

tags/warnings: flirting, food and drink mention, meet cute, pet name (hermosa), reader walks and drives, otherwise not described

...

On your third day in your new town, you decided it was time to venture out.

You’d barely gotten started on unpacking and the pile of still-sealed boxes in your living room taunted you as you breezed past them, keys in hand. You knew you should probably stay and at least try to get everything put away before you started your new job the next week. But after two full days of organizing and breaking down boxes you couldn’t face another minute of staring at your new walls.

You had to go somewhere. Anywhere. You hopped in your car and remembered that restaurant you’d seen on the way into town. It was only a mile or so away, and it was probably a good idea to get a feel for the neighborhood by checking out the local spots. See if their lunch was any good. Right? 

As you pulled into the parking lot, though, you felt your shoulders hunch up by your ears. You wanted to get out, sure, but suddenly you realized you were going to have to show your face in front of a bunch of strangers, in a relatively small town, where you were obviously new. 

You shook your head and took a deep breath. There was nothing for it. You had to get out sometime, they’d all see you sooner or later. Might as well be now. You twisted your hands around the steering wheel as you parked and took it in.

It was cute, at least. Very ‘50s, with a silver facade. You could see slightly run-down red cushions on the booths inside and a bartop by the kitchen service window with round silver stools arranged in front of it.

You nodded to yourself and got out of your car, shaking your arms out. As you walked up to the door you decided you’d sit at the bar. That’s what people eating alone did, right? In the movies they did, anyway. 

“Welcome!” The server behind the bar greeted you and you noticed there wasn’t a host stand. “Come on in,” she said, waving you forward. “You want a booth or you just gonna sit up here?” She gestured at the empty bar and you nodded. “Great. Coffee?”

You nodded again, even though drinking coffee at this time of day might come back to haunt you later. She was already pouring it as you sat in front of her on a cushioned stool. She slid the mug in front of you and you read her name tag – Janice.

“New in town?” She asked as she slid a menu towards you.

You smiled, hesitant. “Is it obvious?”

Janice laughed good-naturedly. “No, honey, it’s just that I’ve lived here my whole life and know everybody already. Welcome! I’ll be back to take your order in a minute.”

You nodded and thanked her. The menu was bigger than you’d expected and it took you a minute to figure out what to order. By the time you were done and looked up again you realized more people had come in and it was starting to fill up with the lunch rush. 

There were a couple of new families and groups in booths, but the bar seating especially was getting more crowded and somehow you’d been too engrossed in the menu to notice. Three old men who’d obviously come together and had the air of regulars were laughing together down at one end of the bar. Other than a couple of women down at the opposite end, everyone else was on their own. 

The one who immediately caught your eye seemed to be alone, anyway.

He was two stools away, to your left. You had no idea how you’d missed his entrance because you were certainly looking now. You let your gaze dance over him out of the corner of your eye, trying to keep your face forward so he wouldn’t notice. He was looking away from you, talking to Janice, so you took the opportunity to look a little more closely.

He was wearing worn-in cowboy boots, tight jeans, and a blue button up short-sleeve shirt that your eyes lingered on, taking in the way the sleeves clung to his biceps. His hair was neat and thick, with a bit of curl to the ends. He had a well-trimmed mustache and a jawline that made something inside of you start to squirm.

And he was looking at you. Shit.

You realized as soon as your eyes returned to his face that his were already waiting for you. He had a little smirk playing at the corner of his mouth that you only barely glimpsed before turning away, embarrassed. You kept your eyes forward, cheeks burning, but you could feel him looking at you. You wondered if he was checking you out the same way you’d just done to him. You resisted the urge to straighten your clothes.

“Here’s your coffee, Javi.” Janice returned and turned to you. “Did you decide, honey?” You nodded and managed to give her your order with a mostly steady voice. “And I’ll bring you your regular.” She waved your menu at Javi as she said it. “Have you met our new arrival, Javi?” As she walked away she told him your name and you bit your lip.

Suddenly alone again, you were afraid to look at him. Was he still looking at you?

You let your eyes slip to your left and found his warm dark ones waiting for you again. He was smiling. You sucked in a small breath, but he was already moving. He turned towards you and propped his right boot up on the footrest of the stool between you.

“New in town, huh?” 

The question made you huff out a laugh. “Yep. Janice clocked me immediately.”

He smiled at you and tilted his head. “Well, we all just know each other already. Town’s too small. I’m Javier. Call me Javi.” He reached out a hand for you to shake and you did, tentatively. His thumb brushed lightly over your wrist as he pulled away and you shivered. “Here for work?”

You nodded, and told him a little about your job that you’d be starting the following week. He knew the place, and some of the people there, and told you so.

“I’m a rancher, just outside of town.” He gestured towards the west of town and you nodded. “Had to come in town this morning to pick up some supplies.”

Janice appeared with your food and informed you that Javier, aka Agent Peña, apparently used to work for the DEA as well. 

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Well, sounds fancy, Agent Peña.” He shook his head, furrowing his brow.

“Nah, nothing special.” You could tell the answer might be more complicated than that, but didn’t push. 

He cleared his throat. “You know anyone in town?” You shook your head and he ran his thumb along his bottom lip as he considered you. “Well, I’m happy to give you a tour. Show you all the good spots.” He winked.

You smiled at him and let your gaze drop and linger on the open neck of his collared shirt again. When you met his eyes he was smirking at you. “Is that right?” He nodded. “Well, I think I might enjoy that.”

He slid his plate and coffee mug towards you and then followed, settling himself onto the stool immediately to your left. “Hermosa, I know I’ll enjoy it.” 

Javi spent the next 15 minutes or so giving you an overview of the town’s highlights (and not a little of the recent gossip, too).

Around the time he was finishing off his coffee, he reached over to brush his fingers lightly against the back of your left hand. “Can I get your number? So we can schedule that tour.” He winked.

You smiled, charmed. “You put the moves on every new arrival, Javier Peña?”

He kept his eyes locked on yours as he shook his head. “No, and you can ask anyone. They’ll tell you the same. I’m the town grump.”

You breathed a laugh, a little incredulous. Him, a grump? He’d done nothing but flirt in the 20 minutes you’d known him so far. “Sure you are.” You knew you sounded skeptical, but come on.

He nodded, grinning wider. “I am.”

You shrugged. “Don’t seem much like a grump to me.”

Javi leaned in, closer than he had so far, and whispered in your ear. “Got no reason to be grumpy with you, hermosa. You brightened my day the moment I walked in here and saw you.”

You eyed him, unconvinced. “What makes me so special?”

He ran the back of his fingers down your arm and you felt goosebumps form in his wake as he replied, “hard to be a grump when a beautiful woman checks me out the way you did.” 

Your mouth dropped open and you made an indignant sound. He grinned, unrepentant. 

“Alright, Javier Peña. I’ll let you show me around.” You grabbed a napkin and wrote your number on it, then folded it and tucked it in the breast pocket of his shirt.

He perked up and winked. “I’ve got to get back out to the ranch, but are you busy this weekend?” You shook your head. He smiled and placed a hand on your shoulder as he stood. He squeezed gently. “Good. See you soon, hermosa.” 

You watched him walk out of the diner, a bit breathless from the whole interaction – it was a nice view. 

Janice cleared her throat behind you, shocking you out of your stare. You spun around to find her eyes were serious. “Careful with that one, honey.” 

“Why’s that?” You were worried, suddenly, but hoped you weren’t about to find out he had a reputation for hitting on the new girl in town, despite what he’d said.

She shook her head. “I don’t mean for you. I mean for him. He’s had a rough time. He likes to act all tough, but that boy’s soft as a marshmallow inside.” She clicked her tongue. “Don’t let him fool you.”

She moved away and you looked thoughtfully down at your breakfast. You’d gotten way more than you bargained for, with this spur-of-the-moment escape from your house. But the mystery of town-grump-slash-marshmallow Javier Peña had captured your attention and you didn’t think you’d be looking away any time soon. 

As you were standing up to leave a while later, your phone buzzed in your pocket and you grinned at the message you found waiting for you.

[unknown number]: hey there. You free on Saturday? The Town Grump Tour Company opens at 8am.

You saved his number and typed out your reply.

you: maybe you’re grumpy because you’re getting up so early on the weekend

Javi TG: that’s the life of a rancher, hermosa. 

You smiled, already looking forward to Saturday.

#javier peña x reader #javier peña x you #javier peña x f!reader #javier peña fanfiction #javier peña fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Cake

Joel Miller x gn!reader | 1.2k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: It’s May and you’re on the hunt for a cookie cake for your niece.

a/n: @trulybetty happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange! Listen — I have no idea where this came from, I was aiming for a meet-cute. Then I thought about how I had to get a cookie cake for a friend’s kid’s dance recital and I couldn’t find one anywhere – where did they go? are we out on cookie cakes, now? – and then this happened. (I did find one in the end but we didn’t even eat it.)

tags/warnings: flirting, cursing, pet names (beautiful, darlin’, handsome), food mention, reader walks and pushes a shopping cart but is otherwise not described

...

You turned the corner towards the bakery section, saying a quick prayer to whoever might be listening that you’d find the thing you needed without having to visit another grocery store. You needed a cookie cake for your niece’s elementary school graduation party – your sister had forgotten to order one, since there was already going to be an actual cake. But your niece and all of the other 11 year olds loved cookie cake, and so here you were, three hours before the party, on the hunt. 

You tried to take a deep breath as you pushed your cart past the bakery displays. If you didn’t find it here, you’d probably have to get something else. Could you make a cookie cake in three hours? How hard could it be? You hoped you wouldn’t have to find out. 

As you approached the last display before you reached the dairy case, you saw them – a display with only five cookie cakes left. You locked your eyes on them, quickly checking the selection for the one you needed. Your heart rate picked up when you saw it – there, at the far end of the row, one cookie cake with sprinkles and icing balloons decorating half of it. It was perfect. You started to smile as you reached for it – finally, you thought – but your hand never made it. You made contact with something else instead.

You found your fingers suddenly tangled with larger, tanned fingers that accidentally slotted between your own as you both reached for the same cookie cake. You startled and whipped your head to the right, accidentally curling your fingers around the stranger’s and, in your surprise, locking your hands together.

The man was looking at you, too. He had broad shoulders, dark curly hair, a scruffy beard, and soft brown eyes. You blinked. Shit, he’s hot. You felt his arm pressed up against your own and realized he was strong, too.

He cleared his throat and tugged on his fingers where they were tangled with your own. “Ah, sorry, darlin’. Didn’t mean to bump you.”

Darlin’. You blinked again.

“Oh! Er, sorry.” You realized you were still holding his fingers and released them suddenly. “I didn’t even see you, I was just trying to grab that cookie cake.” You reached forward again and stopped. 

You both had a hand on the plastic box of the cookie cake. You’d reached forward at the exact same time. You looked at your hands, holding onto opposite sides of the circular box, and then looked back at the (extremely handsome) man.

“Um,” you started, not sure what to say. “Sorry, I’m just getting a cookie cake for my niece.” You tugged the box a little bit towards you, hoping he’d give in.

He sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, darlin’, but I’m gettin’ one for my daughter.” He tugged lightly on the box, too.

“It’s for her graduation party,” you argued, tugging again.

“My daughter’s graduatin’ too,” he returned, tugging back.

“She’s obsessed with cookie cakes,” you tried.

“She said it’s not a real party if she doesn’t have one of these,” he replied, eyebrows raised.

“This one is perfect, though,” you complained.

“This is the third store I’ve been to today,” he said.

You stared at each other, unmoving. Against your will, you felt the corner of your mouth start to lift into a smile. This is ridiculous, you thought, a bit hysterical. The perfect cookie cake was within your grasp, and apparently you now had to face off with the most attractive man you’d ever seen in order to keep it.

As your smile grew you watched him start to smile back at you, eyes crinkling. 

“Well, darlin’, it seems that we are at an impasse.” He was outright grinning now, and you tried not to be dazzled by the effect of it.

“It seems we are, stranger.” You bit your lip and his eyes dropped to your mouth. “Any chance your daughter would be happy with one of these other cookie cakes? My niece gave me strict instructions to get one with balloons on it, because balloons are for parties.”

He laughed and nodded. “Same problem. Sarah requests one of these for every birthday and holiday, and she has strong opinions about the right kind of cookie cake, with just the right amount of icing.”

You snorted, charmed. “Well, shit. What are we going to do?”

Joel eyed you, still smiling. You realized your arms were still touching all the way from shoulder to wrist as you stood next to each other, hands on the cookie cake box. It probably looked absurd to any shoppers passing by but you didn’t want to move away. You leaned against him a little bit and his smile grew wider.

“Well, let me introduce myself, first. Joel Miller, darlin’. I am very pleased to meet you.” He nudged your shoulder with his own and winked. “Even if we are in a bit of a tussle, here.” 

You laughed and introduced yourself. “Pleased to meet you too, Joel. Even under the circumstances.”

He tilted his head and seemed to make some sort of decision. “I have a proposal for you.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “I’d love to hear it.” 

Joel turned his body towards you as much as he could without moving his arm or releasing his grip on the box. “I’ll let you have this cookie cake if you’ll give me your number.”

Your eyebrows raised. You were surprised he’d give up that easily, even if you were interested. “Oh yeah? But what about Sarah?”

He shook his head, smiling. “I can get one of the other ones and bust out my cake decoratin’ skills. I did it last time, was just hopin’ not to get made fun of by my daughter for my wonky balloons again. But I’m happy to take the teasin’ if it means I might get to see you again, beautiful.”

You smiled at the line. “Well, Joel Miller, I do not have any cake decorating skills to speak of, and so I am desperate to buy this cookie cake. I’ll take your deal, as long as it doesn’t mean I’m depriving your daughter of the perfect icing-to-cookie ratio.”

He laughed and released his grip on the box. You slid it towards you on the shelf. “If you ask me, she likes way too much icing,” he said. “Not a lot of cookie under there.” Joel seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then said, “you know, you don’t have to give me your number, if you’re not interested – don’t give it to me just because you need this cookie cake.”

You tucked the box safely in your cart, and then turned back to Joel and grinned. “Let me say that again. I’ll take your deal, as long as it doesn’t mean I’m depriving your daughter of the perfect amount of icing, and because I think I’d like to see you again too, handsome.”

He grinned back at you and leaned against the display table, arms crossed. “Well, darlin’, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

You nodded, agreeing. You had a good feeling about this one.

...

a/n: this is sort of what I was picturing for the cookie cake, only the ones they sell without the message so you can pipe it in yourself. And more balloons. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x gn!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Rope

Din Djarin x gn!reader | 18+ | 1k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: Din ties you up for the first time.

a/n: happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange @davnittbraes! I’ll admit I asked @katareyoudrilling for advice on what to write for this one (and she immediately knew what to do, of course). I hope you like it 🧡

tags/warnings: in depth description of rigging/rope bondage, established relationship, kissing, brief mention of sex, pet names (cyar’ika, mesh’la), the Razor Crest lives, reader kneels and can put their arms behind their back, otherwise not described

...

You steadied yourself with a deep breath. You were nervous, but not in a bad way. Just nervous, full of anticipation, almost vibrating with it where you knelt, completely bare, on a soft cushion on the floor of the ship. It was cold, but a bit warmer than usual with the heating systems turned up. You smiled at the thought of him taking such care for your comfort.

The cargo area of the ship was present in your mind, though you couldn’t see it behind the blindfold. To your right, a few crates, some other things tucked out of the way. To your left, a blanket with supplies that he’d slowly placed with great care before inviting you to kneel and gently covering your eyes with the blindfold. He’d run his hands lightly over your shoulders before promising to be back soon and stepping away towards the fresher to prepare himself. 

Your mind danced over the supplies he’d chosen and your heart rate picked up as you traced the shape of the rope in your mind. Remembering the way he’d run his fingers over the entire length of it, just checking, just to make sure, before placing it carefully on the blanket.

You shivered.

The rope, a knife, a ration bar, some water. He was meticulous in his preparation for this, for your first time.

He’d whispered it in your ear a few weeks ago. You’d been blindfolded then too, unable to see him of course, but you’d felt him everywhere. He’d gathered your wrists in one hand and lifted them above your head, and he’d noticed the way you moaned when he’d asked you to keep them there. As he had pressed his body against yours he’d murmured, “would you let me tie you up, cyar’ika? Let me put you where I want you and keep you there, just for me?” His voice had been dark and deep and you’d almost come from that alone. You’d nodded, whimpering.

Later he’d held your hands gently in his as you talked about it, as you’d put into words what you both wanted and what you both needed.

And now here you were, in your own cloth darkness, waiting for him to come back and make it real.

The door of the fresher hissed open and your breath caught. You could hear his footsteps coming towards you steadily, and it took you a moment to realize he didn’t sound the way he normally did. He sounded… softer, somehow. When he spoke, you put it all together.

“You look beautiful like this, cyar’ika.” He spoke quietly into the stillness of the hold and you felt pressure at the back of your eyes at the wonder in his tone. His unmodulated tone. “Mesh’la.” He whispered the praise in Mando’a as he came to stand right in front of you. You could feel the heat from his body radiating off of him; he wasn’t wearing his armor.

You tilted your head back towards his face even though you couldn’t see him.

“Are you ready, cyar’ika?” You felt the air shift and then his fingertips landed lightly on your cheek, trailing a soft path down and tracing the shape of your lips. 

You smiled. “Yes, Din.” Your voice was breathy. He kept his fingers at the edge of your mouth as you spoke. 

“Good.” You could hear the smile in his voice, too. “We’ll start slow.” You nodded. You remembered what you’d agreed.

Din trailed his fingertips over your chin and around your neck as he moved behind you. You felt him kneel just before his hands closed over your elbows and he gently tugged your arms back, turning them so that your forearms were tucked behind your lower back, uncrossed. Your palms were facing backwards towards him and your forearms rested on the back of your hips. You twisted your shoulders gently but realized the pose wasn’t uncomfortable – you felt a gentle stretch in your shoulders. 

“Mesh’la,” Din murmured again, and you smiled. “Stay just like that.”

You felt him lean to his left behind you, one large hand still keeping both of your wrists in place. You pictured it in your mind, wondering if he was grabbing the rope. 

The soft hiss of the rope as it ran through his fingers confirmed it. He began to wrap the rope around each of your wrists, securing them in position behind your back. You felt 3 or 4 loops around each wrist before stopping and gathering the two loops together in the middle of your back. He pulled upwards on the gathered loops gently and held them there, putting gentle upward pressure on your forearms, while his other hand looped the rope around your chest twice. It felt loose, until he did something that attached the loops around your wrists to the tightened loops around your chest. You could feel that he was tying them together somehow but couldn’t picture it in your mind.

You felt his hands fall away and gasped. As soon as he was no longer gently tugging at the rope and supporting your arms, you realized that your upper body was completely restrained with only a few loops and knots. Your arms were tucked securely behind your back. You couldn’t move them apart or forward, couldn’t hunch your shoulders. The gentle stretch of the restraint made your eyelids flutter as you sucked in a sharp breath. 

“How does it feel?” Din’s voice was deeper than you’d ever heard it. He traced his fingertips down your arms. You could feel the way he was admiring your body in this position that he’d put you in and it made you feel like you were going to float right off the ground.

“Good,” you whispered, and then cleared your throat. “I feel…” you trailed off, trying to put it in words. “Secure.”

Din hummed, and leaned forward to press gentle kisses along your shoulder. You shivered.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured against the bare skin of your shoulder. “Let me show you how beautiful you are, cyar’ika.”

He did.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x gn!reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin fic #x reader #ropebondage #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Tease

Joel Miller x f!reader | 18+ | 1.6k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: Joel just can’t deal with you in cutoff shorts.

a/n: happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange, Jamie! @mermaidgirl30 I hope you like this. I was thinking about the meet cute you wrote with the carousel and then ended up here. This is set in Jackson but it’s vague. You can imagine any age gap you’d like lol but this is, in fact, the one you guessed was Joel last week on WIP Wednesday. 😂

tags/warnings: kissing, grinding, semi-public sex, groping, fingering, dirty talk, pet names (darlin’, sweetheart, baby, good girl), underwear used as gag (consensual), p-in-v sex (no condom, this is the apocalypse, but no creampie), established relationship, f!reader wears shorts and sits on a table and is otherwise not described

...

“Shhh, darlin,” he murmured in your ear as he slid his hands behind your thighs. He used his grip to hoist you up and onto the wooden table in front of him, scattering various cleaning supplies backwards as he did so. “Don’t wanna get caught, do you?”

You shook your head and clapped a hand over your mouth to muffle the moan you almost let out when he hitched your hips forward, directly into contact with his own. You could feel the hard length of him in his jeans and you bit your lip. Your free hand came up to grasp his shoulder for support.

“I know I already told you, but you look real pretty tonight, sweetheart.” His voice was low and deep and raspy and it sent a shiver down your spine. He scraped his teeth down your neck and bit your collarbone lightly. “‘Course you always look pretty. But there’s somethin’ about these shorts–” 

He cut himself off and sucked lightly to worry a mark into your collarbone, right next to the one he’d left just this morning. You squeaked, the sound slightly muffled behind your hand.

He lifted his head up to look at you. His expression was wry, eyebrows raised, eyes twinkling darkly. “Thought we were keepin’ quiet, hmm?” He slid his hands back and over your ass until his palms covered both cheeks. His fingertips toyed with the frayed edge of the shorts, which had ridden up and exposed part of your ass. You could feel it, now bare against the table. 

You closed your eyes at the sensation. You nodded, and whispered, “sorry, Joel.” The shorts were having even more of an effect on him (and you) than you’d hoped, when you’d found them on patrol last month. You’d immediately gotten lost in a daydream of him slipping his fingers inside them. A daydream that was about to come true.

“‘S’alright, darlin’,” he mumbled against your lips, kissing you firmly. “You know I love the pretty little noises you make.”

You sighed into the kiss as he deepened it. His tongue brushed against yours and you squirmed, tilting your hips forwards into his again. He pulled back and chuckled. 

“Oh, she wants it bad, doesn’t she?” He slipped a hand around your hip to the front and cupped your pussy firmly. “Shit, baby, you’re already wet.” He kept his hand there but slipped his index finger sideways to toy with the inside hem of the shorts, right along your upper thigh. 

Your breath hitched. “Always, Joel,” you breathed. 

He shook his head, smiling. “Seems like you enjoyed teasin’ me, hmm? If it got you this wet.” He tapped his fingers against the seam of the shorts over your pussy with a mock serious look on his face, and you grinned. He leaned forwards to press his forehead to yours, and whispered, “well, you know I like it when you’re naughty, baby.”

You felt his fingers slip up your thigh, inside the hem of your shorts and start moving inward. Your grin widened and you knew you probably looked a little smug. When his fingers reached just far enough, he stilled.

“Joel?” you questioned, tone guileless, eyes wide. Nothing to see here, no sir.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Darlin’, have you been walkin’ around town all day with no underwear on inside these tiny little shorts?”

You grinned and slipped your hand down into your back pocket, slowly revealing your underwear that you’d removed about fifteen minutes ago in the bathroom of the Tipsy Bison. You’d gone back out to the bar with your panties burning a hole in your pocket and teased Joel mercilessly with the shorts until he couldn’t help but tug you inside this supply closet.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He raised one eyebrow and snatched your underwear out of your hand. “Well, thank you kindly, darlin’. I was just wondering how I was going to keep you from screamin’ my name when I fuck you.” He balled up your underwear and tucked it in your mouth, raising his eyebrows at you to check in. You nodded quickly and he smiled, reaching for the button of your shorts.

He hummed, satisfied. “That’s my good girl.”

As he eased your zipper down, your breath hitched and you looked down to watch. He spread the front of your shorts wide before running the tips of his fingers down your slit.

“Shit, darlin’, you really worked yourself up, didn’t you?” He smirked at you as he teased you with his fingers. You whimpered, but it was muffled. “Aw, listen to you, baby. You need it, don’t you?”

You nodded, sucking in a deep breath through your nose. Joel finally pulled your shorts down your legs. 

“I really do like these shorts, sweetheart.” He stepped back between your legs and you thrust your hips against the bulge you could feel in his jeans. “Sure am glad you found ‘em.” 

You smiled as much as you could around the gag and he grinned back. You felt his fingers teasing at your entrance again and shivered.

“Let me see how wet you are for me, baby.” Two fingers slid in like silk and you moaned. “That’s what I thought. Still nice and open for me, aren’t you?” You nodded. “Maybe I can just slip right in there. ‘S mine, after all.” 

He twisted his fingers inside of you and you moaned again, nodding. You realized your chest was heaving as his words washed over you, making the air around you feel thick with desire.

“Yeah?” he asked, watching you. “It is mine, isn’t it?” You nodded again. He grinned, slow and wicked. “‘Course it is.”

Joel slipped his fingers from you and you let out a muffled whine. He sent you a look as he quickly undid his jeans and pushed them down. His cock sprung forward, hard and already leaking. You tried to swallow around the gag and coughed a little.

As he moved his hips back in contact with yours, Joel reached up and tugged it out of your mouth. “Wanna kiss you, baby,” he murmured against your lips before doing just that. You felt the head of his cock press against your entrance at the same moment he opened his mouth to yours and you moaned again.

His cock slipped forwards easily and in just seconds you went from empty to full, as close to Joel as you could get. You both froze, momentarily overwhelmed at the sensation.

“Fuck, darlin’,” he murmured, voice low. “You always feel so fuckin’ good.”

He started to move his hips and you tried not to cry out. “Yes, Joel,” you whispered. He grabbed your hips in both hands and tugged you even closer.

“Shit, baby, just like that.” He ran his teeth down your neck as his hips began to move faster. You urged him on by tangling your hands in his hair. “You know how many times I wanted to drag you away today and fuck you? Because of those tiny little shorts?” He wrapped an arm around your waist and hitched your hips at just the right angle so that his next thrust felt amazing. “Almost dragged you ‘round the back of the barn. Wanted to bend you over a saddle in the tack room, press you up against the wall of the dining hall.” He growled the words into your neck. “Would’a ripped those shorts off you anywhere you like, baby.”

You could feel your orgasm rushing towards you with every thrust of Joel’s hips, and you knew he could feel it, too. He slipped his fingers between you and began to make tight circles around your clit. You clapped your own hand back over your mouth when it made you cry out. 

“Shhh, baby,” he murmured against your neck. “Let me have it.” He picked up the pace with his hips and his fingers and you felt the table start to rock underneath you. “C’mon, sweetheart, give it to me.”

You felt it, then, the tidal wave coming to wash over you and you moaned his name into your hand as you came. You heard ringing in your ears as he worked you through it, not easing up until you relaxed against him.

“Fuck,” he muttered, pulling out slowly. “You are so gorgeous when you come, darlin’.” He reached down but you swatted his hand away, making him laugh. You wrapped your hand around his cock and started to work him with the same rhythm he’d just used to blow your mind.

“C’mon, Joel,” you pressed kisses to his face as you worked his cock. He groaned. “Come for me, baby.”

His hips stuttered forward as he came, all over your exposed pussy. He moaned your name as he did and you smiled.

You were both breathing heavy as you leaned into each other, coming down from your highs. He dropped his forehead against your shoulder and sighed.

“Shit.” He chuckled lowly. “Tommy’s gonna yell at me again.”

You shrugged, jostling his head, and he laughed again. “Tommy needs to get out more. Maybe he and Maria should try a little supply room sex, sometime.”

Joel picked his head up and grinned at you. He cupped your face in his hand and you pressed your cheek into it. 

“Don’t know how I’m supposed to resist, anyway. Not when you’re wearin’ those little shorts.”

You snorted. “Joel, you said the same thing about every other outfit I was wearing when you tugged me in here.”

He smirked. “And I meant it. Every time.” He slid his hand down and started to run his fingers through his cum, teasing around the edges of your pussy. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Joel dropped to his knees in front of you with a grin and you reached for your underwear, rolling it back up into a gag. You were going to need it.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou fic #x reader #bte frienship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Leap

Jack Daniels x gn!reader | 739 words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: You’ve got a day off and you’re ready to rest and relax when a handsome cowboy shows up at your door unexpectedly.

a/n: happy gift exchange, El! @secretelephanttattoo This was obviously inspired by your leap day asks. I hope you enjoy it. lol

tags/warnings: flirting, surprise cowboys, food and drink mention, reader walks around their apartment and wears shorts, otherwise not described

...

You were settling in for a cozy day off at home — warm drink, soft blanket, comfy clothes and hoodie all present and accounted for — when you were interrupted by a knock at the door. 

You sighed. Now? You were just getting comfortable.

Brow furrowed, you moved slowly towards the door, wondering who it could be. You checked through the peephole and found an unfamiliar man standing in the hall of your apartment building. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a cowboy hat. You squinted at him. Who’s this? You could see even through the warped view of the peephole that he was devastatingly attractive.

You opened the door and the moment he laid eyes on you, he smiled. It was too charming. 

“Well hello there, darlin’! I’m Jack.”

Nothing else seemed to be forthcoming, and you tugged nervously on your sweatshirt. “Um, hello. Can I help you, Jack?”

“I’m here for leap day!” He said it in such a way that you could tell you were supposed to know what that meant. You didn’t. 

“Leap day?” You questioned. You were lost.

Jack frowned a bit and dug in his pocket. He pulled out a crumpled form and showed it to you. As you read it, your eyes widened, and you remembered the ad you and your friends had seen at the bar last week. 

Lonely on leap day? Not this year!  Book a leap day date - February 29, 2024 - Call now! Spend the day with a charming, flirty, oh-so-sweet person of your dreams! Call ###-###-#### or visit leapdaydate.com today!

You stared at the form that clearly stated your name and address and that Jack had been booked as your leap day date for 12 hours. 12 hours??

You looked back up at Jack. “I’m so sorry, my friend must have booked it. We saw the flyer last week and talked about it. I had no idea.” You remember your friend Sarah had heard about the company from a coworker who had raved about it, which at least made you feel a bit better right now. You knew they had rules about how the whole thing worked.

Jack’s winning smile didn’t waver, but you could tell he was surprised. “That’s alright, darlin’. We can do whatever you’d like, if you want to keep the date.”

You realized you were keeping him in the hallway and stepped aside to invite him in. “Can you tell me a little more about what we’re supposed to do?”

He took off his hat and fixed his hair as he stepped inside. “Well, like I said, we can do whatever you’d like. Stay in, watch a movie, go out, have dinner. It’s up to you.”

That’s too many options, you thought. How could you choose from anything and everything?

“Are there any rules? Or things you don’t like to do?” As you said it, you realized it sounded like you were asking him about something you were pretty sure wasn’t on the menu and your cheeks burned. He grinned and winked. 

“Nah, darlin’, I’m easy.” He winked again. On anyone else it would have been absurd but somehow he made it work. “But technically anything naughty isn’t part of the package.” 

You hid your face in your hands and groaned. “That’s not what I meant, I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to be bored.”

You looked up to find him smiling at you again. “Darlin’, something tells me I’m going to have a great time.” 

You smiled back, tentative. “Well let me get changed and we can figure out what we’re going to do.”

He glanced down your body and you felt your cheeks heat again. “Aw, you can’t keep wearing these cute little shorts?”

You bit your lip. Flirty, the flyer had promised. You tried not to read into it. “Not if we’re leaving the house. I might flash someone.” Why did you say that?

He grinned at you again and ran his tongue across his bottom lip. “Now, who’d complain about a thing like that? But no darlin’, I want you to be comfortable. You go get changed and I’ll prep the paperwork. Might put you at ease a bit.”

You smiled and nodded and headed to your room. A date with Jack? You glanced back at him and got an eyeful of his ass in those jeans. You smirked. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have your cozy day at home interrupted after all.

#jack daniels x reader #jack daniels x you #jack daniels x gn!reader #jack daniels fanfiction #jack daniels fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Glow

Joel Miller x gn!reader | 589 words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: you’ve had a long day, but you’re lucky – Joel is waiting for you at home.

a/n: happy gift exchange, Jeanne! @maggiemayhemnj This was inspired by our chats about that everyday, lasting kind of love. I hope you like it. Also I was the anon who sent you the question about Marcus or Joel (lol) I couldn’t decide who to write about! (I’d pick Joel, too.)

tags/warnings: reader has a long day, comfort, established relationship, food and drink mention, pet names (sweetheart, baby, darlin'), reader walks around and is otherwise not described

...

You unlocked your front door and took a deep breath as you stepped across the threshold. It had been a long day. Not a bad one, necessarily, just long – your boss had been late so you’d had to cover for them, and you’d had enough meetings that you were just tired of talking. You felt done with talking, for the day. For several days.

You closed the door behind you and let your bag fall onto the shelf by the door as you slipped off your shoes. You felt your shoulders drop with relief at being home. You dropped your keys in the dish and continued towards your bedroom and the promise of more comfortable clothes, even though you could hear Joel moving around in the kitchen.

There was a bright yellow sticky note waiting for you on the bedroom door, and you smiled as you tugged it down.

Get comfy, sweetheart. I’ll meet you on the couch.

Joel’s tidy handwriting and the wonky heart in the corner made you grin. You’d texted Joel earlier to complain about your day, and you knew he knew that you liked to leave the day behind with your work clothes as soon as you got home. You stepped into the bedroom and crossed to your nightstand. Inside your top drawer you found your tidy little pile of yellow post-its, right where you’d left them. The top one said, “Have a great day at work, baby.” You smiled and set the new post-it on top of the others. As you ran your finger over the pile you felt the weight of the day lift off your shoulders.

By the time you were changed, you were feeling more yourself. More present. You headed back to the living room and the comfort of the couch. The kitchen was at the other end of the house, so you couldn’t quite see Joel, even though you could hear him. You went ahead and dropped onto your favorite corner of the couch, covering yourself with the soft blanket you kept there.

Closing your eyes, you let your head drop against the back of the couch, sinking into the feeling of being home and well cared for. You listened to Joel moving around and smiled when he started humming along to the soft music he had playing. You could see him, in your mind, keeping time as he stood in front of the stove. 

It felt like only a few minutes passed, but you might have fallen asleep. You opened your eyes to find Joel poking his head around the corner of the kitchen door, smirking at you. You realized he had just said your name.

“Hi, darlin’,” he repeated. He looked at you with such warmth. You could never look away. “Dinner’ll be ready in a few minutes. You alright?” You nodded, feeling better now that you were home. With him. “Ok, just hold tight, I’ll bring it out to you soon.”He returned to his humming and you closed your eyes again.

Joel had worried, early in your relationship, that he wouldn’t be good enough with words, unable to express himself the way you might need him too. You’d told him then what you were thinking now – you weren’t worried about words, not when Joel showed you his love in his actions. Your home glowed with the warmth he filled it with and you smiled, sinking back into it. It was always easy coming home, even after a long day, when Joel was there waiting for you.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x gn!reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Vent

Din Djarin x f!reader | 935 words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: Din, in a vent. Or, an attempt at an extra scene from very early on in Be-All and Endor, one of my favorite fics of all time! If you haven’t read it, SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

a/n: I hope you like this little fic, @djarins-cyare – as you know, I find the entire idea of Din in the vent hilarious. Thank you for letting me play in your sandbox. 😂 happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange!

tags/warnings: tight spaces (Din is in a vent), Din being just a little bit creepy (gotta work on those social skills, Djarin)

...

Din looked around the corner and gauged his next move. He was lying on his stomach at an intersection, hands flat next to his head on the bottom of the vent, toes propped up. He knew he had to be almost there, at this point, maybe one or two rooms away from his destination. 

But he had to move silently, and every slow and careful movement in this kriffing air vent took three times as long as normal. 

He drew in a deep breath, careful not to let his chest plate shift against the bottom of the vent. He rose up until his weight was balanced on his toes and hands again and began to creep forward. He turned carefully and propped his left boot against the far corner of the vent junction, using that as leverage to turn himself to the right without brushing any of his armor against the metal walls surrounding him. Once in position facing his new direction, he began to crawl forward again on his hands and toes with slow, careful movements. 

As he got closer, his helmet told him that the person he was tracking was, in fact, in the next room. He lowered himself carefully and tapped his vambrace to change what he was seeing, just for a moment. Below him there was nothing, which he already knew — that room was empty (of people, at least). But next door, just ahead of him, he could see a few heat signatures moving around the front of the large space off to his right, with only one heat signature seated and seemingly working over a table to his left. 

It was her. 

Din could tell, even without his helmet’s confirmation that this was the person he was tracking. Somehow in the less than 24 hours he’d known her he’d already memorized the shape of the outline of her body. 

He felt his heart speed up but he blinked and took a few slow breaths. He couldn’t afford to get sloppy now. He quickly changed the settings back on his vambrace and lifted himself up again. 

As he crept across the boundary between rooms in the air vent, he came to another intersection. He looked to the left, towards where she was sitting, and noticed a grate just a few feet ahead that seemed to be perfectly positioned right above her work station.

He couldn’t believe his luck. 

Din forced himself to maintain his speed as he angled himself around the corner and turned once more. He took slow, steady breaths as he covered those last few inches between the junction and the grate, and then slowly and carefully lowered himself to rest on his belly right above her. He angled his head carefully until he could look through the vent, quietly thanking the universe for the fact that his helmet would blend in with the metal around him, in case anyone happened to glance up. In case she happened to glance up.

And there she was. 

She was bent over a desk, carefully inspecting some sort of readout on a screen in front of her. Her brow was furrowed and she bit her lip as she examined the numbers. He studied the depression left in her lip by her teeth for a beat too long before tearing his eyes away. A glance told Din the data had something to do with the projection focusers, though he didn’t know exactly what, yet.

Having gathered what information he could from the screen, his eyes darted back to study her face again. With a pang he realized that she looked tired. Exhausted. She definitely hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. He mentally shrugged away the tiny pinch of guilt he felt at the realization. It probably didn’t have anything to do with him, after all. At least, he hoped not. She barely knew him. He barely knew her. It was unlikely that she was thinking about him as much as he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

She leaned forward and Din resisted the urge to lean forward with her, even though he had no room to lean anywhere inside the vent. She squinted at her screen and sighed. He watched intently as she rubbed her fingers over her brow, massaging her temples and running her fingertips back and forth over her forehead. 

His careful inspection of the path of her fingertips against her skin was interrupted by the low groan she let out in frustration. Every muscle in Din’s body tensed and he sucked in a sharp breath. He blinked and willed himself to relax, trying not to make a sound or move his hips as he grit his teeth against the mental image of another, better reason she might make that sound. For him.

Suddenly she looked up and snapped him out of his distraction by calling out to one of her coworkers. Din thanked his years of training for how still his body remained even though mentally, he startled. It seemed she was going to have some parts brought down to check them out here, at her work station. As she described what she wanted, her careful words and instructions drew Din’s focus again like a magnet. It was immediately obvious that she knew what she was doing, that she was the expert in this room. That the other workers deferred to her.

Before the other workers moved away, he watched with growing interest as she entered commands at her workstation that would bring two of the focusers offline without affecting their overall operations. 

Impressive. 

He needed to know more.

Din settled into as comfortable a position as he could and waited to see what she would do next.

...

a/n: thank you for letting me play in your sandbox! I love Be-All so much. 🥰

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x f!reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin fic #be-all and endor #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Dance

Joel Miller x f!reader | 956 words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: A gorgeous man buys you a drink and asks you to dance.

a/n: happy @swiftiscruff gift exchange, Erika! @kedsandtubesocks This is obviously inspired by our shared belief that Joel Miller can absolutely dance. I hope you like it! 🧡

tags/warnings: flirting, dancing, drink mention, the bar is warm and they’re sweating, pet names (darlin’, baby, cowboy), reader dances and is otherwise not described

...

You were laughing as you slid onto the stool at the bar, perching on it sideways next to your friend Kelly. She squeezed in between you and the guy on the next stool.

“I need a drink,” she breathed, fanning herself. “It is way too hot out there.” She gestured towards the dance floor, and you nodded. 

“I need a break, too. If anyone touches me right now all they’ll feel is sweat.” You shook out your top, trying to create a breeze. “Why’s it so hot in here, tonight?”

The bartender popped up right then and she looked miserable. She was wearing a tank top and shorts but even then she was visibly sweating. “It’s just so hot out tonight, the AC is doin’ it’s best.” She shook her head. “My manager will be back in a few minutes with some big box fans, ‘n try to create a cross breeze. It’s boilin’ in here.”

You nodded, feeling terrible for her. “And we’re all here with our body heat, making it worse.”

She laughed and waved you off. “Nah, you two looked great out there! What can I get you?”

You both asked for waters as well as new drinks. When she came back with them, she winked at you. “I was about to say I can’t believe no one has asked you to dance, but I spoke too soon. These are from the gentlemen at the end of the bar.” She nodded to your right.

You heard Kelly say, “ooooooh,” as you turned to look, curious. The first thing you noticed was shoulders. Your eyes traced over the man’s broad shoulders, taking in his gray UT Austin t-shirt and muscular arms. He was holding out his drink in a toast to you and Kelly. You swallowed as your eyes finally moved upwards towards his face.

He was gorgeous. You tried not to look as stunned as you felt. He had curly brown hair, dark eyes, a scruffy beard, and a half smile that made something inside of you squirm. You started to smile back.

“I know without asking that you want the hot older guy,” Kelly teased from behind you, “but that’s ok because the younger one with the hair just winked at me.” It was then that you realized there were, in fact, two of them. The hot older guy was still staring straight at you, eyebrows raised. You glanced to his right and finally noticed the younger one, who did, in fact, have longer hair. He seemed to be looking straight at Kelly.

“Deal,” you breathed, finally responding to her, as your eyes darted back to meet “hot older guy’s” gaze. He winked at you and stood to walk around the bar towards you, friend trailing behind. The stool to your left was suddenly free and Kelly sat down just as the two men arrived. You both swiveled around to face them.

The one with the hair spoke first. “Hey there, ladies,” he smiled at you both. “I’m Tommy, this is my brother Joel. We saw you dancin’, you two were really somethin’ out there.”

You looked from Tommy back to Joel and found he was already looking at you. Kelly introduced herself and Tommy replied, locking the two of them in conversation. You realized belatedly that you and Joel were staring at each other but neither of you had said anything yet. Joel raised his eyebrows and you introduced yourself finally, a bit sheepish.

Joel smiled. “Nice to meet you, darlin’.” He leaned forward to rest his right hand against the edge of the bar so that he was leaning into your space. 

You bit your lip. “Thanks for the drink.” 

“My pleasure. Saw you dancin’ and, well.” He leaned a little bit closer. “Had to at least try to talk to you.”

You smiled at him, eyes locked on his. “Oh yeah?”

His eyes traced over your face and he nodded. “Couldn’t take my eyes off you.” The back of his left hand brushed against your knee and you shivered. “Would you dance with me, darlin’?”

“You know how to dance, cowboy?” You couldn’t help but tease him in response. 

Joel grinned. “I know my way around the floor.”

You looked around and realized Kelly was gone, out on the floor with Tommy already. They were moving quickly and you thought if Joel was even half as good as Tommy seemed to be out there, you’d probably have a good time.

“Alright, cowboy. Let’s dance.”

Joel pushed off the bar and caught your hands in his on the way up. “C’mon then, darlin’.” He tugged you off the stool and you slid to the floor, inches away from him. You took a deep breath and your chests almost touched. Even in the warm air of the bar you could feel the heat of his body so close to yours. Joel smiled and slipped his arm around your shoulders, turning to lead you out on the floor. 

A few minutes later, as Joel guided you across the floor in a two-step so fast it left you breathless, sending you into a spin and catching you at the other end, you laughed at yourself for your earlier thoughts. Joel was easily twice as good at this as anyone you’d ever danced with. 

He pulled you around and into his arms again and your eyes danced over his face. “You’re pretty good at this, cowboy.” You realized he was watching your mouth as you spoke and you grinned. 

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, baby. Let me show you what I got.”

(And he did – on the dance floor and later that night in your car, on your couch, and finally, in your bed.)

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: NSFW

Joel Miller x f!reader | 18+ | 1.6k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: A handsome stranger looks over your shoulder at the worst possible moment.

a/n: This one goes out to all of the folks on Discord who know the terror of opening the wrong channel in public. Happy @swiftiscruff exchange! I'm tagging you all at the bottom because the list is long lol!

tags/warnings: food and drink mention, flirting, reader gets caught looking at smutty gifs and images in public, smutty images of: p-in-v sex, manhandling, oral (f!receiving), reader walks and sits at a cafe (otherwise not described)

...

You sank into the last open seat, thankfully one of the ones by the window that wasn’t too cramped. It even had an outlet. You sighed as you stretched out your legs under the table. The walk to the coffee shop from your office wasn’t too long, but at the end of the day it was tiresome. You were lucky to find this seat, even if it was at a long table with other patrons already sitting around it. 

You started to set up your area with your coffee, laptop, and phone arranged just how you liked. You’d decided on the way here to treat yourself to your favorite snack, too, and you’d managed to snag the last one from the display case. 

As you settled in, you glanced to your right and noticed he was back. The guy. Sitting right next to you.

He happened to look up at the same moment you looked at him, and he met your eye. You smiled, shy, and he smiled back, nodding in recognition. You looked away, flustered.

You’d first noticed him almost a month before, and at least 4 or 5 times since. He was sometimes there at the same time as you, and you couldn’t believe you missed him at the table as you dashed to this last open chair. You’d never spoken to him, but you’d definitely had a few moments of lingering eye contact. You were thinking you might have the courage to talk to him… soon. One day soon. Definitely not today. 

The thing was, he was almost absurdly attractive. He had short, messy curls that tumbled over his forehead and your fingers twitched with the urge to brush them back. His scruffy beard begged for you to touch it, too, to cup his face between your palms. His t-shirt stretched around his biceps in a way that caught your eye and held it until you started to feel like a creep. 

And his ass always looked good in his jeans.

You didn’t know a lot about him. He usually had paperwork with him, sometimes a book. You knew he was nice to the baristas, at least. You’d caught him sliding some money into the tip jar on more than one occasion, and once you’d even seen him step between the barista and an angry customer in a suit. After a few moments of tense conversation that you couldn’t hear, the angry guy had stormed out, and he had turned to comfort the barista. 

You bit your lip as you grabbed your phone, trying to distract yourself and catch up on your notifications. You’d never sat this close to him before and it was making your head start to spin. He was barely two feet away from you and you were hyper aware of him and his warmth, like it was radiating off of him, all down the right side of your body. You tried not to glance at him too much, but he seemed to be engrossed in his work. You took a deep breath and shook out your shoulders.

Soon enough you were idly scrolling Discord, chin in hand. You sighed as you clicked through the channels you needed to catch up on, and without thinking about it, you clicked on the “NSFW inspo” channel.

Before you could second guess the choice to check this particular channel in such a public place, the channel loaded and you hastily tilted your phone towards the window. If you were going to look at this channel, you weren’t going to do it where he could see you. You curled forward over your phone, trying to make sure no one could look over your shoulder at your screen.

You were met with a gif of a man and a woman lying on a bed, facing the camera and caught right in the middle of having sex. He had her leg pulled up around his hip, opening her pussy to your view as he thrust inside with his (extremely large, you noted) cock. Her head was thrown back and his eyes were locked on her open mouth. You tore your eyes away from the gif to read the messages above it. 

“I’m writing smut and I’m stuck. it needs… something. Inspo?” “I got you”

You snorted and moved your thumb to start to scroll past the image. The next few messages were people agreeing, and then another gif – a close up on a woman’s hips from the side as a man’s large hands came into view and slowly bent her legs towards her chest. You couldn’t even see their faces, but his hands were so big. You felt your breath hitch. You blinked.

In the next one, the camera had come in close to focus on a woman’s pussy from a high angle with her legs spread wide. You could see a man’s knees as he knelt close to her. With a firm grip at the base, he rubbed his cock up and down her slit, teasing at her clit before sliding it back down. He thrust his cock inside of her cunt and then slowly pushed all the way forward. You felt a shiver go down your spine when their hips met. 

You scrolled slowly through a few more gifs and some fan art – and damn was the person who needed that inspiration getting what they asked for, including some very risque fan art of a certain Mandalorian with only one area exposed – when your attention was caught and you paused, staring, unable to look away.

It was another side view of two people, and in this gif the woman was lying back on the bed, clutching at the sheets. Her back arched and her mouth opened wide as she tried to look down and catch sight of the man. Your eyes trailed down her body to find him with his head between her legs, eyes locked on her face as he licked a stripe up her pussy with the flat of his tongue. 

Something about the intensity of his eye contact and the way he held onto her thighs made you stare. You were caught, lingering over the gif as it repeated, watching the way he licked at her pussy over and over and over again. 

You didn’t notice at the time, but you were so mesmerized that you’d stopped being quite so careful about the angle of your phone screen.

Suddenly you felt the slightest puff of air against your right ear, followed by a low voice, murmuring, “you sure are brave, darlin’, to be lookin’ at somethin’ like that in public.”

You gasped and almost threw your phone in the air, whirling to the right. Your phone tumbled to the table and landed screen-up, thankfully shielded from the rest of the table by your open laptop.

But not from him. 

You met his eyes and realized his gaze was dark and intent, but he was smiling at you. In your peripheral vision you could still see the movement of the gif on your phone screen but you couldn’t look away from him. 

“Shit,” you breathed. “I mean, um, sorry? Let me–” you reached out towards your phone, but he caught your hand and placed it on the table. He squeezed once, gently, before resting his hand next to yours. 

“No need to apologize. I will say I was surprised to glance over and see just what had you starin’ like that, though.” He raised his eyebrows at you and you felt your cheeks burn. “You know, darlin’, this isn’t exactly the way I was plannin’ on talkin’ to you, but I couldn’t resist.”

You blinked, feeling like you were a step behind this entire conversation. “You were planning on talking to me?”

He tilted his head and settled his left hand on the back of your chair so he could lean even closer. “Was it not obvious? Thought you’d caught me starin’ more than a few times.”

You smiled and nodded. “Well, then you must have caught me staring, too.” 

He grinned. “Sure did, beautiful. But then I looked over and saw that,” at his words you both looked down and saw the gif still playing on your phone screen. You made a wordless noise and tried to reach for it again, but he stopped you. Again. “Well, just had to say something. Hard not to think of how much I’ve been wanting to kiss you when I look over and you're watching that, after all.”

You weren’t sure your brain was still functioning. He was leaning in close, and all it would take was for you to cross the few inches between you and you could be kissing him. Right then. “You want to k– kiss me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, darlin’, I do.” His voice got even lower and quieter. “I’ll kiss you anywhere you’d like.” He leaned forward and put his mouth right next to your ear. Your eyes caught on the gif, still looping, and you stared at it as he murmured, “figure any woman who’s starin’ so hard at something like that in public must be mighty interested. Bet she knows just what she likes, too. Well, let me tell you something, darlin’ – I would love to give you just that. Do it right, how you like. And I don’t mean to boast, you know, but I know my way around.” You shivered and your mouth fell open. As he leaned back, you met his eyes again and you had no idea what your face was doing.

“Name’s Joel Miller. Can I take you out tonight, beautiful?” 

You grinned wide and introduced yourself. “I’d love that, Joel Miller.” He darted forward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth, and you sighed.

“Good. And then maybe afterwards I can have some dessert.” He winked and you laughed, finally reaching for your phone to turn off the screen.

...

For @beardedjoel @gasolinerainbowpuddles @huffle-punk @jupiter-soups @whxtedreams

@noxturnalpascal @pastelnap @janaispunk @covetyou @chronically-ghosted

@jobean12-blog @punkette1026 @dilfspitdrinker @futuraa-free @skittlesfics

@ashleymsnodgrass @joelsflannel @thefrogdalorian @100ottersonaplanecalledgerti

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #tlou fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Flat

Frankie Morales x f!reader | 1.5k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: You get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere (ugh) but a handsome man comes to rescue you (yay).

a/n: happy gift exchange, Jo! @undercoverpena I hope you enjoy this little Frankie fic. He’s inspired by your fic the book of love, maybe just a couple universes over from that one. @swiftiscruff

tags/warnings: flat tire, reader is briefly worried about being alone with a stranger in the middle of nowhere, cows, flirting, pet names (hermosa, baby), reader walks around but is otherwise not described

...

“UGH!” you yelled, kicking your tire in frustration. You yelled again when it actually hurt. You groaned as you sank down onto the little grassy area by the side of the road and dropped your head into your hands.

You’d decided to take the slow and scenic way home, for some godforsaken reason. You were still new in town, you’d told yourself. You needed to explore, to get a feel for the place. And what was your reward? A flat tire on the side of a two-lane highway, with no one around for miles.

You stared at your flat tire. 

It stared back.

You’d known it was bad, the second you drove over that bump. You’d felt it, somehow, and when you pulled over and saw the flat, it hadn’t been a surprise at all. Even if it was unwelcome.

You sat up a little and looked back down the road the way you’d come – nothing. Just fields. And some trees. Well, there were a few cows. You’d named the big brown one that was watching you Bessie at first glance. Not that they were much help.

You sighed and stood up. You shielded your eyes with your hand as you turned in a slow circle, looking for signs of anything like people anywhere around. 

No luck. Just fields, trees, and more cows.

You reached into your pocket, already knowing what you’d find as you looked at your phone again.

No signal. 

So here you were, flat tire, no cell service, nothing around but you and Bessie and her friends. As you stood there, frozen, one of the cows let out a low moooo that made you sigh. Relatable.

You pictured the inside of your trunk in your mind, the empty space inside that meant you were stuck here.

No spare tire.

You’d used it, just a few months ago, and hadn’t replaced it yet. And so you were stranded.

You could feel the hysteria creeping up on the outside of your mind and you shook your head, willing it away. No. What was that going to get you, anyway? You’re stuck. Figure it out.

You sighed and moved back towards your car, hopping up to sit on your trunk so you could look back the way you came. Maybe someone would drive by soon? At least you still had daylight for a few more hours.

Please, universe, you whispered in your mind. Please, I promise I’ll replace the stupid spare this time. I swear. You leaned back against your rear window and closed your eyes. 

Just as you’d resigned yourself to actually having to get up and walk, you heard it.

It started as a low rumble you mentally attributed to the cows. But then it got louder, loud enough for you to recognize the sound of a truck engine coming up the road in the distance.

You shot up, hand back over your eyes, squinting in the sun. It was real. A dark red truck, kind of old, kicking up dust as it rattled down the highway towards you. You grinned as you jumped off your car, landing in the grass and starting to wave your arms.

It occurred to you as you did so that maybe you didn’t want to talk to this stranger – you were alone, after all. Well, with Bessie, but what was she going to do? Moo at them? But it wasn’t like you could hide anywhere. The driver had probably seen you well before you’d seen them.

As the truck got closer your trepidation grew, and you tried to will yourself into being calm. You took a deep breath.

But thankfully your worry was short lived, because then the truck got close enough for you to recognize it. Hard not to, when you’d seen it just a few hours ago, parked outside your bookshop. You’d shared a lingering glance with its owner and traced the outline of his shy smile, watched his hands as they’d removed his cap and smoothed down his unruly curls. Bit your lip as your gaze dropped when he walked away.

You would have known that truck anywhere. 

Frankie Morales pulled up next to you and rolled down his window. You grinned, so fucking relieved to see him. He smiled back, slow as sin and smooth as molasses. He slipped his sunglasses off and met your gaze.

“Car trouble, hermosa?” He winked. “Or were you making some new friends?”

You laughed. He’d teased you earlier that same day about being new in town and needing to get out more. You’d hoped he was going to ask you on a date, but he’d left shortly after. “Who, Bessie?” You gestured in her direction and she obliged you with a low moooo. “No, we go way back.”

Frankie snorted and shook his head before pulling his truck off the road in front of your car. You heard it turn off before he slipped out and came to meet you by your troublesome tire. 

“Well, I’m glad I found you. Not much service out here, you know.”

You nodded and waved your phone at him. “I’d noticed. Me too, I’m so happy to see you. I was just about to the point where I was going to try to walk back to town.”

He smirked. “Long walk.”

You groaned again and let your head fall back. “I know. So you really are rescuing me.” When you looked up again you found that he was blushing and you smiled, charmed.

Frankie cleared his throat. “Well, what’s the problem? I could help you put the spare on, but I remember you told me about changing your tire the other week. So that must not be it.”

You shivered. He remembered. That had been one of your first conversations, weeks ago at this point. It made you feel warm to know he’d been paying attention. 

“You’re right. The problem is there isn’t a spare. I haven’t replaced the old one.” You tried not to look embarrassed, but you felt it.

He just smiled at you. “Well, then we probably can’t fix it now, but I can give you a ride home, at least. And bring you back with a new spare. Or to meet a tow truck. They probably won’t be able to meet you until tomorrow, at this point.”

“Oh, you can just take me home, that's ok–”

“Hey,” he reached out and put his hand on your upper arm. He squeezed, gently, and your breath caught. “I’m happy to help, hermosa. I want to help.” He looked at you so intently you couldn’t look away.

“Ok, Frankie.” He smiled at you. “If you insist.”

“I do.” He squeezed your arm again and then slid his hand down and held yours lightly. “Grab your stuff.”

You did, and soon enough you were sitting next to Frankie in his truck as he turned it back onto the highway.

“Do you drive this way a lot?” You were marveling at your luck, in having Frankie come along. Of all people.

“Most days,” he agreed. “You know I live over by the river. It’s a little bit longer of a drive, but nicer to look at.”

You nodded. “I remember you told me that. It’s why I went this way.”

“Oh, no,” he glanced at you and reached out to hold your hand again. “It’s my fault? Shit, hermosa, you got stranded because of my idea?”

You laughed. “It’s not your fault, Frankie.”

He smiled a little and shook his head. “Still. Sorry my idea didn’t turn out so great for you.”

You turned towards him a little, looking over his face and his shoulders, watching the muscles move in his arm as he turned the truck at the next road. 

“I don’t know,” you mused, squeezing his hand. “Think it might have turned out pretty great after all.”

You watched as a grin took over his face and felt a matching one on your own. 

“Yeah?” he breathed the question in a low voice, turning to look at you as he arrived at a stop sign. There was no one around and he didn’t immediately move to continue driving. “Why’s that?”

You swallowed hard and straightened in your seat. “Well, Frankie, I promised myself I was going to say this the next time I saw you, and here you are.” He watched your mouth as you spoke and it was all the encouragement you needed. “Do you want to have dinner? Together. Maybe tonight? Or soon.” You were rambling now. “It’s ok if you’re busy. I mean–”

“Hey, shh,” he hushed you gently. “Not um… Not as just a thank you, right?”

“No!” you hurried to reassure him. “No, Frankie. I was sort of hoping you’d ask me out earlier, when you came by the shop.”

He smiled and lifted your hands to press a gentle kiss to your knuckles. “I almost did. Chickened out at the last second.” He pressed another kiss to the back of your hand and you bit your lip. “Hermosa, I would love to get dinner with you. Tonight.”

With that, he put the car in drive, and turned left. “Now let’s get you home, baby. And then I’ll pick you up at 7.”

You laughed. “Perfect.” 

And it was.

#frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x you #francisco catfish morales x reader #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales fanfiction #x reader #bte friendship exchange

[burntheedges-updates]

Passing Notes: Ask

Marcus Pike x gn!reader | 1.2k words | Passing Notes masterlist

summary: You've made a new friend on tumblr.

a/n: happy gift exchange, @katareyoudrilling! I’m really glad we found each other on here and that we’re friends. 🧡 This is sort of inspired by your Marcus-as-your-assigned-FBI-agent fic, sort of inspired by your year of asks… for the @swiftiscruff gift exchange 💕

tags/warnings: flirting, banter, reader walks around their apartment and is otherwise not described

...

You sigh as you drop onto your couch. It’s Friday, finally, and you sink into the cushions with relish. You let the comfort coax you into relaxing and close your eyes, trying to think about anything but the week behind you. 

It helps.

But as soon as you stop thinking about your week, you start thinking about something else. Someone else. In the back of your mind you can feel the excitement building, now that you actually have time to consider it. After just a few moments of rest you’re leaning forward to reach for your laptop. 

He might have sent you a new ask, after all. It’s been three weeks. He has to be back by now. You have to check. 

You feel your heart rate pick up as your laptop whirrs to life and you take another deep breath. It's ok if he didn’t, you tell yourself. He might not be back yet. And you don’t even know him.

But as soon as your tumblr homepage loads you’re grinning, wide. There’s a single notification next to your inbox. 

You click, trying not to hope too hard, but you see the messy paints of his profile picture and let out a delighted laugh. He’s back. 

Hey! Sorry I was MIA, had that work trip. But I did have time to come up with some new questions. :) First, if you had to pick any famous painting to take home from a museum and hang over your couch, which would you pick? I ask because I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw an ad for a new exhibit at the art museum downtown. In the ad they had a Renoir hanging over a bright red couch and it looked so bizarre I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I need your opinion. I hope you’re doing well!

The opening lines make you bite your lip. He was thinking about you on his trip. He came up with questions, just for you, in the three weeks he was away.

Part of you tries to tamp down the excitement – you don’t even know this guy. All you know about him is that his name maybe starts with a P and he’s in his 40s. His profile says just that: “P | he/him | 40s | art nerd” and that’s it. You know that he likes art and stories about art and has amazing taste in art… and he seems to enjoy sending you asks. And answering asks from you. About art, and anything and everything else.

And just before he left on his trip, he started… well. There’s only one word for it. 

Flirting. 

He started flirting, in his asks. And then he even sent you a message, not an ask. The message was about a book you’d just finished, carrying over your discussion from the replies on a post to a private chat for the first time. You grinned like an idiot as you bantered and joked and flirted with him. 

give-me-arts: I can’t believe you didn’t like that book! you: It was slow! Soooo slow. give-me-arts: but that’s what made the payoff so good! you: but what good is it if I have to slog through all of that to get there? I’m too impatient.  give-me-arts: sometimes patience is worth it in the end 😉

But then he broke the bad news — he had to go on a work trip, probably for at least two weeks, and he wouldn’t be able to get online at all. You rolled your eyes at yourself, a bit, for how sad it made you. But whatever. It doesn’t matter now. He’s back! 

You start to type your answer to his ask, but your eyes stray towards your messages. You bite your lip. What could it hurt?

you: Welcome back! Just saw your ask. How was your trip?? give-me-arts: Hey! Way too long. I might have come up with a long list of asks for you in my down time 😉 you: Just for me? I feel special. ha give-me-arts: You are.

Your eyes widen. That is definitely the most direct he’s been so far, with flirting or anything else. What happened on that trip? You take a deep breath and ask about something else, shying away from his reply for the moment.

you: Did you finish the book? give-me-arts: I did! I liked it. I supposedly have the next one in the series waiting for me but I haven’t picked up my mail.  you: Go get it! Read it tonight! give-me-arts: haha ok fine. Let me go grab it. 

You smile and turn back to your draft of your answer to his newest ask. But before you can really get going there’s a knock at your door, just a few minutes later. 

You open it to find Marcus Pike, FBI agent and your (very attractive) neighbor, waiting on the other side. He looks tired and a bit rumpled but he has a light smile on his face, as always. 

“Hey neighbor. Here for your mail?” You invite him in as he nods. 

“Yep. How have you been? Thanks again for grabbing my packages.” You wave a hand at him and shrug. 

“It was no big deal. And I’m fine, nothing new around here. Did your trip go long?” He told you he would be away for at least two weeks, but it was closer to three. He nods.

“The case took a bit longer than we thought. I’m glad to be home.” He sighs, clearly tired from traveling.

You gesture towards the small pile of packages next to the table by your door. “Well, I piled your mail over here–” 

You are rudely interrupted by a notification from your laptop, and you feel your cheeks heat when you realize it was from tumblr. You glance over and see that your screen is angled towards the door and the page is clearly visible. Your eyes dart back to meet Marcus’ but to your surprise, he’s smiling. “Tumblr? I have one, too. It’s great.”

“Really?” Your eyes widen and you tilt your head at him in surprise. “Are you in any fandoms?”

He shrugs, a bit sheepish. “Is liking art a fandom? But you already know how much of an art nerd I am. Comes with the job.” 

You laugh, and nod. “I like tumblr, too. It’s fun.”

Marcus nods and starts gathering his mail into the tote he brought with him, smiling. “Yeah, and I’ve met some cool people on there. It’s nice to just talk to people about art and books and movies, even if I don’t know them in real life. Helps me relax after work.” He straightens, bag full, and smiles at you again. “Thanks again for this. Can I buy you dinner sometime this week? To say thanks?”

You bite your lip. “Sure, Marcus. That would be nice.”

He grins, and it’s as attractive as always. “Great, I’ll text you. But I’ll let you get back to your messages. Have a nice night, neighbor.”As you sit back on the couch after Marcus’ visit, your tumblr messages catch your eye, and yor thoughts turn to P again. How funny, you think, that I have a neighbor who loves art and I seem to attract the same kind of internet friend. You shrug and dismiss the thought before reopening your draft. You need to respond to P’s ask.

#marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x gn!reader #marcus pike x you #marcus pike fanfiction #marcus pike fic #x reader #bte friendship exchange