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#bartender!reader
devinedoll · 8 days
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rafe cameron frequently needed a reminder that it was okay to live a little. and in the bahamas, where no one knew him, you were just the girl for the job.
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“seriously,” rafe questions, “right here?”
you press his back against your vintage bronco, and drop to your knees in front of him. the two of you are hidden behind your beloved car, but you’re still out in the open. you’d taken him to a secluded beach in an unfamiliar part of the island, rafe was grateful for the tour, but he was even more grateful for the generosity of the tour guide.
you blink up at him, doe-eyed and horny, “c’monnnn rafe!” you say, hands pulling at his belt to unbuckle it, “let’s have fun!”
he stares down at you, “something tells me this isn’t your first time doin’ this kid.”
you grin when you pull his white boxers down, “i’ve had my fun.”
he shakes his head at this, “you’re 19, how much fun could you have had?” he questions, curling his fingers in your hair when you begin placing open mouth kisses up the side of his shaft, “actually, don’t answer that.”
you giggle at this, looking up at him through your lashes as you trail your tongue along the underside of his cock.
you grip his thigh with your small hand, wrapping your lips around the tip with a small hum, your tongue hit with salty precum. you flick your tongue at him, taking him deeper when he applies pressure to the back of your head.
“shit,” he breathes, “that’s it.”
he tilts his chin, looking down at you. he watches as you bob on him, one hand holding him for stability while the other jerks his base. there’s spit bubbling at the seams of your lips, and he can’t help himself from bucking into you, “god.”
you smile at this, pulling off of him with a pop to mumble out a thank you, polite as ever. he keeps his eyes trained on yours, the way you look so eager to please. rafe grits his teeth when his tip hits the back of your throat, ears perking like a dog at the wet gag that follows.
“good fuckin’ girl.” he groans when you pull off, his other hand coming down to caress your face gently. there are tears on your face from the gags you released, your mascara smudged beneath your wide eyes. you look like a slut, he thinks. his slut.
he lets out a strangled moan when you latch back on, mumbling out a declaration about being close.
your lip quirks at this, happily taking his cum in your throat, swallowing his release with a satisfied smile.
“see?” you chirp, wiping your lips with your thumb, “that was fun.”
rafe laughs slightly, pulling you up to kiss you. you were good for rafe, whether he knew it or not.
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omgrachwrites · 4 months
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Heather - Chapter One
Pairing: Lip Gallagher x Bartender!Reader
Summary: You’ve fallen for the smart college kid who frequents the bar your work in. The only problem? He has a girlfriend.
Warnings: fluff, swearing, angst, mentions of drugs
A/N: For reference, the reader is 21 and Lip is 20. Hope you guys enjoy this and please let me know what you think. I love you all! xxx
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Chapter One
The door to the bar was pushed open, letting in the chilly Chicago wind, you heard the brothers before you saw them. The youngest one let out a high pitched giggle and you heard the older one chuckle and say something you couldn’t decipher. Then you saw them, you saw the gorgeous young man holding his baby brother in his arms.
Lips’s cheeks were rosy from the cold and he glanced up at you with a grin as Liam shifted in his arms.
“There’s my favourite boy! Hi, Liam,” you smile, waving at the little boy who gave you a toothy grin as he waved back.
Lip smirked as he walked up to the bar, “and what about me?”
“Hmm,” you pretended to ponder as your eyes roamed up and down the length of his body, “you’re alright I guess.”
He laughed as he slid onto a stool as he balanced Liam on the one next to him, “rude. Can I study here? At this time of day, it’s quieter than the library,” he ran a hand through his curls, leaving them even more tousled.
“Sure!” you laughed, resting your hip against the bar, “but I’m not serving you any alcohol until next year.”
“Oh, Y/N,” he pulled a face.
“My bar, my rules,” you grinned at the smallest Gallagher as you made him a diluted juice.
Lip scoffed as he took his college work out of his bag, “it’s your parents bar.”
You rolled your eyes as you poured him a glass of coke, “yeah and they want nothing to do with it, so it’s mine,” you laughed as you put the glass of soda in front of him.
He narrowed those gorgeous blue eyes at you but he thanked you all the same, while Lip got to work you entertained Liam by watching a Disney movie with him on your phone.  It was a random Tuesday at 2pm, the bar was very dead so you could spend as much time as you liked with the Gallagher brothers.
You didn’t realise Lip was watching you until he spoke softly, “you’re good with him.”
You glanced up at him, his eyes were warm and he was giving that soft smile that showed off his dimples. You laughed as your cheeks warmed up and you stood up straight, raising an eyebrow, “so are you.”
Lip laughed as he ruffled Liam’s hair as the little boy looked up at him with adoration, “he’s my little brother.”
You smiled as you took a sip of your soda as you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “do you guys want some pizza rolls?”
Lip groaned and pulled a face, “that’s sweet but for the past week, I’ve had cold pizza for breakfast.”
You laughed as you nodded, “fair enough. Are you doing much tonight?”
At your question, Lip’s easy smile fell from his lips and he started fidgeting with the drawstrings of his hoodie, “I’m meeting my girlfriend’s parents.”
Your heart dropped like a stone but you managed to keep your face under control as you stared at him. The pressure in the bridge of your nose swelled and you knew you were moments away from crying. You looked away from him and started cleaning the front bar – even though it was spotless – and you finally trusted your voice to speak.
“Didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”
He scoffed, “yeah, I’m pretty sure her family didn’t know she had a boyfriend until recently, it’s been going on for a couple of months and I think she’s barely said a word about me,” he shook his head as he glanced up at you with a small smile, “what about you? What are you doing tonight?”
You smiled, happy for the slight change of subject, “dinner with my parents.”
Lip laughed as he ran a hand through his hair, “wow, so you’ll be having just as much fun as me.”
You nodded with a roll of your eyes, you hated having dinner with your parents. The dinners were nothing more than a chance for your parents to remind you just how disappointed they were in you.
“Something like that. Is Liam going back home when you’re at your girlfriend’s?”
Lip shook his head as he scrawled something in his notebook, “no, my sorta roommate is taking him.”
You scoffed, normally you withheld your judgement but this time, you couldn’t stop it, “so you’re gonna leave him with someone you barely know instead of leaving him with your sister?”
“My roommate didn’t nearly kill him with a stash of cocaine, Y/N.”
“Lip, surely it was an accident, maybe you should give her a chance.”
Lip looked up at you, a crease forming in between his eyebrows, “for once, Y/N, just stay out of it,” his voice was unnaturally harsh that you almost flinched back. His eyes went wide with guilt, “Y/N, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, you’re right, I shouldn’t get involved.”
“Hey,” he closed a warm hand around your wrist, “I like it when you get involved,” you smiled as your cheeks flushed.
Lip studied for about half an hour more before he checked the time and told you he had to go, “good luck for tonight.”
Lip grinned at you as he dressed Liam in his coat, “thanks Y/N. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
You nodded, with a smile, pretending like you couldn’t wait when in reality, you couldn’t think of anything worse. At the end of your shift, your best friend and bar manager, Jessica came to relieve you. She grinned at you as she pulled you into a hug.
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
You scowled at her as you slipped into your jacket, “he’s not my boyfriend.”
Jess quirked an eyebrow “oh yeah? Then how did you know who I was talking about?”
You sighed, “he has a girlfriend.”
“What? How? I mean that boy looks at you like you put the stars in the sky. You know it won’t last right? This girl is probably someone he fucked and now he’s too nice to tell her he doesn’t want to be with her.”
You laugh, “hopefully. I’ll see you later, I’m having dinner with the assholes tonight but I’ll try and get out of it early.”
“Okay, babe. I’ll see you later.”
You smiled at her as you leave the bar and headed home. As soon as you started working at the age of 16 you began saving for your own place, you didn’t want to live with your parents any longer than you had to. As you got ready, you had two glasses of wine, there was no way you were showing up to your parents’ house sober.
You got an uber over to their place and it was your dad who opened the door with a roll of his eyes, “you decided to show up did you?”
You scoffed as you walked into the house, “wait, I had a choice?” your dad didn’t reply which was so like him.
You walked into the dining room where your mom was setting the table. The set up looked fancy, fancier than usual, and that was saying something. Your mom glanced up at you as she poured wine into a couple of glasses. You only had wine on special occasions.
“I hope you won’t embarrass us tonight, Y/N.”
You scoffed as you leaned your hip against the doorframe, “no promises. What’s the special occasion?”
“My boyfriend is coming over,” your sister replied as she walked into the room. She looked beautiful in a dress of green lace that complimented her red hair.
Your eyes widened, “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face, “you know my whole thing that as soon as I tell people, it all goes to shit. I really like this guy, Y/N.”
You gave her a warm smile and you knew she was telling the truth; she was the only one in your family who was ever happy to see you. Before you could say anything the doorbell rang and you walked back through the hallway to get the door. You pulled the door open and fell into silence when you saw who was at the door.
Lip’s jaw fell and all you could do was stare at each other, both of you as shocked as the other.
“Y/N! Are you gonna let him in or what?” Heather giggled as she came to the door and pulled him inside.
You had to turn away when Heather pulled him in for a kiss, tangling her hand in his curls.
When they pulled away, Heather gestured at you, “Lip, this is my sister, Y/N.”
Before Lip could say anything you spoke up, “nice to meet you, Lip.”
His jaw clenched as he stared at you with hurt in his eyes, “yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.”
It sounded like you were underwater as Heather introduced Lip to your parents, she went off to the kitchen to get him a beer and your parents attended to the dinner. With a sigh, you turned and walked straight outside as you lit a cigarette.
“You’ve been driven to smoking now?” Lip laughed nervously as he came outside with you.
“I smoke when I’m stressed.”
“Y/N, look,” he started but you cut him off.
“Are you cheating on her? She really likes you Lip, and I know your track record with women.”
Lip scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair, “no, Y/N. Of course I’m not cheating on her. You mad at me or somethin’?”
“No, I’m not mad, I just,” I wish I were Heather, “I just want you to be good to her.”
“If I’m not you have full permission to kick my ass.”
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writinginthetwilight · 5 months
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You Look Good In Green.
Eddie Munson x Bartender! Fem! Reader.
>>Summery: Between a deli and a laundromat in down town Indianapolis, a bar sits unassuming. Almost derelict looking from the outside, to the untrained eye. But by night shes a different beast.
>>Author note: This is my first ever time posting my writing and I am terrified.
But this story has been floating around my head for at least 18 months and I've finally gotten the courage to get it down.
I'm dyslexic as shit so I'm sorry if their are any mistakes, but sometimes even spell check and Grammerly can't help me. Enjoy.
>>Series warnings: 18+ only, strangers to friends to lovers, jealous!Eddie, jealous!Reader, fluff, pining, angst, drinking, smoking of the devil's lettuce, strong language, eventual smut, upside down does not exist, slow burn.
Chapter 2
MASTERLIST
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Chapter 1 - Late
As late September arrives, so does a yearly nostalgia. The unforgiving summer sun gives way to cool fall air and it filters into the days with muted colours and spiced smells. 
A whisper of a suggestion of what's to come. Promises of long nights and short days, curled up indoors hidden from the elements. 
But late September is a trap. 
A trap you are currently caught in, a trap of an unnecessary amount of layers as you rush down the street, weaving between people and ripping the olive green knitted hat from your head, sweat beading at your hairline. 
Quiet curses come from you as your bag slips down your arm, sending you twisting off kilter and stumbling forward. 
This wasn't how this morning was meant to go. 
This wasn't the plan, you had wanted a leisurely breakfast, shower and moisturise, maybe fit in a few errands on the way to work. 
But now you were late and warm, the deceptive cool air vanquished by a clear day and the midday sun. 
Turning the corner you rush towards the bus stop, with just enough time to join the last of the passengers  as they board. Letting out a sigh of relief your chest burns with the excursion as you finally settle for the first time today. 
Sweet soft hazy waking had been ripped from you with a punch of adrenaline at the sight of your radio alarm clock. 
Plain bread straight from the packet, mismatched clothes, a gargle of mouthwash, spilt kibble scittered across the linoleum floor and then you were out the door. 
The bus hissed and took off. You shed the rest of your layers and placed  soft headphones over your ears, closing your eyes you let Iron Maidens Wasted Years calm you. Light dancing behind your eyelids, stuttering between the buildings that pass. 
The first stop comes and you feel yourself  jostling to a stop, the increase in chatter on the once sparsely populated bus is muted behind your music and you eyes lazily open to glance at the new passengers. 
A woman with a tight perm, dressed head to toe in soft pink boards. Her mouth moves quickly talking to the driver as she rifles through bags, gathering her things and turning, her eyes survey the bus. She catches your eye and you look away quickly, but it's too late.
From your peripheral you see movement and before you have a chance to process, pink clothes and plastic grocery bags are encroaching on your 20 minutes of rest. Bewildered, you look up and back away from the woman, pulling you headphones from your head.
"-and it's just so lovely-” she says, shoving a bag into the ever decreasing space around your knees  “- I can't resist you know." She slumps heavily into the chair turning to face you expectantly. 
"Yeah." you say unsure as to what you're agreeing to, she beams and pats your knee.
You twist awkwardly against the inordinate amount of grocery bags which have been stuffed into the space around your legs. You're not an ass, if the bus is busy and somebody needs the space next to you, you don't mind polite chit chat. 
But you weren't prepared for this.
You thought the empty seats surrounding you and headphones would be enough to guarantee 20 minutes of solitude. Enough time to mourn the morning you had wanted and collect yourself. Evidently you were wrong. 
June she's called, but her birthdays in 3 weeks, she informs you with a chuckle. She smells of rose soap and jingles when the bus goes over speed bumps. She has three grown sons and her Liam would just love you. 5 grand kids and a pocket full of cloudy white hard candies that click against her teeth when she talks.
 You can barely get a word in, so stop trying, and as the heat through the bus window prickles your neck, you get antsy, over-stimulated and finally you stand abruptly.
“This is my stop.” you say stumbling awkwardly trying not to trample over the woman's bags as you escape the seat next to her 
She makes no effort to move. “Oh, oh okay honey, well you take care now.” you  give her a quick tight smile pulling the cord and quickly making your way off the bus to the street below.
This isn't your stop.
You stare up at the clear sky, jacket and bag fisted in your hands. With a sigh you fish out your tape deck and begin to walk.
...
Gus's bar sits squat and unassuming between a deli and laundromat in downtown Indianapolis, no sign or name other than the red neon open sign which sits askew in the right side window. When you finally arrive after the 15 minute walk, which you really didn't need before a 10 hour shift, the door squeals as you make your way indoors.
The usual low lights of the dark wood interior are off in favour of the bright main ones and you frown in confusion as you make your way over to the bar. Dumping your belongings atop, a toolbox and loose bolts lay haphazardly beside them. That's when you recognise the distinct lack of bar railing. 
You're drawn to the light filtering in under the door at the end of the bar and the low murmur of music gets louder as you approach.
“Afternoon.”  Gus gruffly greets you without looking up as you push open the door.
The poor excuse of an office, more of a cupboard really, is already overfilled. Stuffed floor to ceiling with stock and files, broken pitchers gathering dust and fading post it notes that were here long before you. 
Now the mountain of a man before you has dragged in the brass railing which sits across his lap, almost scratching the ceiling.
He glances up to you when you don't respond, pushing up his glasses to the top of his head. 
“What are you doing?" you say from your place leaning against the door frame.
He shrugs. “Decided to give it a polish up.”
“And you're in here because?”
“ Chairs in here.” he says simply as he leans back into the peeling red leather seat with a groan, as if to illustrate his point. 
“But why did you remove it? “
“Jazz darling, if I get down out there I ain't getting back up.”
“But you had to get it off so, surely you would have to- You know what it doesn't matter, next time wait for me.” 
He hums, your lateness is unmentioned but obviously noticed, he glances you up and down. 
“You look like hell.”
“Thanks” you say dryly and make your way to the back of the room, squeezing behind his chair, ducking your way under the railing as you go
“So, what's the occasion”you say flipping through an order file, “these guys special or something.”
Gus snorts, “If Angie's last pick is anything to go by. No.”
You grimace at the memory of the letchy men who had arrived last week, faces painted and loud. They had  wailed KISS while you and Gus watched on with pained smiles until he finally stopped them, and told them he'd be in touch. 
“What time are they coming?”
“Two, got deliveries due soon though”, you nod, taking that as your cue to get on and make your way out. 
He catches your arm gently before you can leave, tattooed hand holding you back.
“You good?” he says and his face holds a softness he doesnt dole out to many.
You deflate slightly, releasing the tension you were still holding onto. 
 “Yeah” you say smiling at him, he looks at you for a beat, nods and lets you go.
You busy yourself with signing for deliveries and putting them away, the weekly tasks that are muscle memory now, working in tandem with Gus in a rhythm made over the past 4 years. Music and banter fills the gaps. Footsteps echoing around the large space, which despite what it may look like from the outside sprawls back and out, well kept and clean.
It's a different beast in the day. Quiet and still, shadows that usually hide at the edges and corners laid bare.
....
Thursdays night have been your baby for around 18 months now. Gifted to you after a particularly nasty fight, where Angie demanded Gus give you more responsibility. A balm for the fact that he spent every night at the bar, and although she loved the place, she wants time alone with him, or at least the option.
When Gus had been satisfied that you could handle the place with the help of a couple of extra bar staff if needed and the door man George, he had agreed, in theory, to let you plan the nights as you wanted. As long as he was kept in the loop. 
College kids and people who worked the weekend shift appreciated your deals on drinks and open mic nights. With new regulars and enough turn over to rival the weekend Gus had tentatively agreed to finding you a regular band to play.
It had all been duds so far, heavier bands you sought after out of town or only passing through. Others already had a place in rotation at the weekends and they didn't much like the idea of downgrading to a Thursday. The other, just, hadn't been great.
Around quarter to two you and Gus set up the stage, which was really more of a oversized box step, and waited. 
For 45 minutes, they were 45 minutes late. Gus had eventually gone back to his office grumbling to let him know if they showed up, and as 3 o'clock approached you would soon be opening up so you went about getting the bar ready to serve.
You heard them before you saw them, the dishwashers cycle coming to and end in tandem with the last of a raucous argument which petered out the further through the door the voices came. You poked your head out from the back and spotted them looking around the space as they spoke at a more tempered volume.
“Can I help gentlemen?” you walk out behind the bar to observe them. They all turn and one separates, raising his hand to the others as he approaches you.  Long dark curls frame his face and he makes immediate eye contact.
“Hi sweetheart” he starts with a tip of his head. There's a familiarity in his eye which confuses you but you only raise your eyebrows in response. He straightens eyes searching yours. “we're here to see Gus.”
He's pretty, and once upon a time the charm which obviously rolls off him would have made your face heat and voice stutter, but now, well, you've met a lot of pretty faces.
“And we are?” You say with a small smile and his face falls for half a second but he recovers quickly. Smoothing his hands over the bar, large rings on his fingers softly scraping the wood. 
“Corroded Coffin”
You lean on the bar towards him and he grins back at you, “You're late.”
He falters fully now and  the rest of the band comes to his rescue. 
“We’re sorry about that, we got turned around and the traffic was terrible”  one of them says coming up on the right, he has dark skin and sincere eyes and you watch as the other two members come in on the left one stocky, pale with tight curls and the other looks a little younger, more flustered and they nod their heads quickly in agreement. 
You look over them all, your annoyance diminishing slightly at the realisation that they all look flustered. Pot kettle black you think and lean away from them. 
“Gus! The talents here!” 
They all jump back at the sound of Gus appearing into the room
“ Boys!” his voice booms in a timbre which fills the empty bar. 
They all scramble to greet him, spilling apologies and exchanging four of the most awkward handshakes you've ever seen.  Introductions are made and you give a small wave as Gus tells them you run Thursday nights so your opinion will be equally as important.
They look small next to Gus for all their leather and chains,  but at six and a half feet most do. 
“So, we've only got around 20 minutes before we open up so let's get this started” he says with a clap of his hands and they all nod and head over to the stage.
You watch them amused as Gus sits himself on the opposite side of the bar and claps his hands again, “Okay boys when you're ready.”
The opening bars to War Pigs has you holding the urge to roll your eyes, but Gus gives a satisfied nod and you wonder if Angie had possibly given a few pointers for the songs they should play.
“Generals gathered in their masses. Just like witches at black masses”
The opening lines have you and Gus turning to each other with wide eyes.
This guy has pipes. Their nerves are still evident but they start to relax into it as you and Gus nod along with the beat.
About half way in, Gus holds up his hand and cuts the song short. “We maybe don't need the whole 8 minute rendition today.” he says with a chuckle.
You smile at them and Eddie stammers “Yeah. Hah, no, yeah, of course." Shaking his head he turns back to the band. They all communicate silently and the start of Metallicas For Whom The Bell Tolls rings out. 
Gus, does not with hold his eye roll when he turns to see you grinning. Angie's definitely had a word. The boys see your face and they all exchange a look as they get into the meat of the song. Gus's head bobs despite himself but when his arm goes up to stop them again you slap it down mouthing don't at him. 
They end with a flourish and you give them a small round of applause to which they bow.
“Okay boys we got time for one more.”
This one, you don't recognise, and you assume its an original and has obviously been chosen to show each of them off. Guitars shredding, drums crashing, it's shorter but impressive nonetheless.
When they finish you both give them another small round of  applause before Gus slaps his knees and stands, arching his back with a crack. 
“Well boys you've definitely got some talent,” he makes his way over and they beam at him “give me some time to think. I'll be in touch.”
It sounds dismissive and from the smiles dying on their faces, you know they hear it too, it makes your chest ache. Gathering up their belongings a silence falls over the bar.
You lean forward on the tips of your toes gripping the opposite side of the bar “Get their number” you say with a quiet hiss.
“What?” Gus says,with a look on his face you can't decipher, either he doesn't know why you're saying what you are or he genuinely didn't hear.
Regardless you say a little louder “You haven't got their number.”  they all look over at you this time and Gus’s face says he heard you the first time.
As he walks over to you, you can't help the satisfied smirk, he scowls and plucks the pen you offer from your fingers. 
When all is said and done you wave them goodbye with a tight smile on your face the door squeaking closed behind them. 
Gus turns, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.  “That needs oiling.”
...
As the afternoon bleeds into evening so do the low lights and regulars who prop up the bar. The jukebox and clacking of pool balls are background noise to your pleads.
“They play one Metallica song”, Gus says as he heaves a barrel out of the back. 
“Well Gus, they played it well.”
He hisses holding his back and turning to you as you stand arms crossed and frowning.
“Dave and the boys-”
“Don't come in on thursdays!” you say throwing your arms up in exasperation.
As if summoned, Dave gingerly moves to the bar. “Can I get another Jazz?” Gus takes this as his escape slipping out from behind the bar and quickly across the room disappearing into a booth.
You grit your teeth “Yeah coming up Dave”. You except defeat.
The evening moves on and Gus stays in place with Dave and Phil appearing from drinks which you serve to him in silence. Sulking you busy yourself with polishing glasses.
“How'd my boy do!?” Angie's voice appears from behind and you turn to see her leaning on the bar. Eyes shining bright and mischievous. 
“Your boy?” you say moving to fix her a drink
“Eddie, long hair” she says combing long purple nails through her own dark curls.
“Intense eyes?” 
She clicks her tongue at you and winks “How'd they do.”
“Good actually, really good.”
“Yeah?” she claps her palms excitedly “I told him!”, she looks around “where is the big grizzle.”
“Hiding.” you say sliding over her dink and popping a cigarette between your lips.
“Hiding?” she half laughs “Why?” You give her a knowing look and she rolls her eyes in annoyance.
“Where is he?” she says, looking around and spotting him, his head’s ducked back facing her.
“Hey Angie.” Phil says brightly and Dave elbows him as Gus winces at the mention of her name. 
“What the hell.” she grabs Gus by the shoulder forcing him to look at her and his two friends slip out of the booth quietly.
“Ang.”
“Don't you Ang me. Those boys are good and don't tell me they're not because I know you ain't a liar.”
“They're kids” he defends and she throws her head back.
“My boy is 24 years old and the others ain't far behind.”
“Exactly” he says and she looks at him frowning, making a sweeping motion to you and you look over, confused. 
“they weren't wearing face paint!” You yell over making Gus bark out a laugh while Angie sends you a glare that makes you duck away. 
She settles in beside him and places her hand over his “Give them a shot.”
“They were almost an hour late Ang” he whines and she bristles beside him.
“Almost an hour?!” She bites her lip and squeezes his hand.
“One night, a trial run, unpaid. Please.”
He sighs scrubbing his hand over his shaved head. 
“One night.”
....
The drive home had started fine but turned sombre as the adrenaline faded, arriving home to their shared apartment with little to no conversation the band split off into their respective rooms for the rest of the afternoon.
Eddie lays staring at the water mark on his ceiling. Mind a skipping record. 
They had played well, he knows that.
But between Gareth losing his mind over trying to find his lucky drumsticks ten minutes before they needed to leave, and a wrong turn which meant they had to loop round half the city, he'd sworn to the guys he knew the way almost boasted, he'd been there before. But in daylight the roads were congested and if Jeff had said ‘ we’re going to be late’ one more time.
Then you hadn't remembered him, it was stupid, you'd barely spoken before really, but. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. He couldn't face Angie tomorrow. 
A soft rapping on his door pulls his attention, without a response it creaks open and a solitary hand appears into the room, a joint placed between the fingers. 
He huffs a laugh and scrubs away at the sting of frustrated tears.
Opening the door Grant stands mouth twisted to the side and Eddie plucks the joint from his fingers mutely and walks to the living room knocking on his other two housemates on the way. 
In slow succession all the boys seat themselves around the small TV, splayed out on beanbags and the threadbare second hand couch they had hauled up the building just last week.
Blue light bathing over them they lazily pass the joint around and finally the silence is slowly broken with ribbing comments and contagious laughter.
The sudden shrill ring of the phone has all the boys stopping stock still, minds catching up with themselves, looking at one another. It rings again and they all scramble up and over to it.
Eddie grabs the phone, knuckles white as he grips it “Hello?”
The bar is a low murmur in the background for a beat “Hi are the uhh-,” Gus’s voice trails away and it has Eddie's heart pounding, he grips his hair at the crown of his head as the rest of the band huddle in. There's muffled voices and he swears he can hear you and Angie's voices faintly “ Is this the corroded coffin boys?” Gus tries again.
“That's us”  he almost yells, hand releasing his hair as he winces.
Gus chuckles and it vibrates down the line “You boys free Thursday?”
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hauntedhokage · 1 year
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Seated at the Bar
Yamato/GN!Reader (no pronouns or y/n)
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Summary: Yamato’s got a crush, Kakashi finds that out when he’s sent on a personal favor to the Hokage to help the shinobi who she thinks might be developing an alcohol problem. But the nervous jonin needs a bit of a nudge, and Kakashi is happy to provide the support. Fluff. Cross posted to AO3
Word count: 1.2k
“This isn’t a high level mission by any means, but I’m worried about Yamato.” The request from Lady Tsunade was clear, and Kakashi sighs as he looks inside the bar where he knew Yamato would be. The younger man had been coming here on an almost daily basis over the last couple weeks, which had those who knew him concerned. His mission here was to see if he could support Yamato before he truly developed an alcohol problem.
But what he sees when he actually walks inside is not quite what he’d expected. Yamato is there, of course, but sitting at the bar with a look on his face that Kakashi could only describe as dopey while he sits. Whatever he was here for, it likely wasn’t the alcohol and that makes Kakashi feel better while further confusing him as he makes his way in and takes a seat at the bar beside the younger man. 
“What’s your drink of choice, Tenzō?” The question startles his friend, who immediately turns to look at him in shock. “Y’know, I’ve never been here.” 
“It's a relatively newer establishment,” Yamato mumbles, looking up when the bartender approaches with his glass and thanking them quietly. It’s then that Kakashi puts two and two together, smiling behind his mask when he realizes that his friend came here so often because he had a crush on the bartender. That was water in his glass, and that dopey look was a dopey lovesick look. 
“So, have you talked to the bartender you’ve been staring at?” Kakashi asks, already knowing the answer but enjoying how the man beside him turns red and chokes on his water. “Really, you’re here almost every night for two weeks and you don’t talk to the reason you come here?”
“I say ‘good evening’, and order my drink-”
“Your water?”
“-and I say ‘goodnight’ and ‘thank you’ when I leave.” Yamato finishes, watching as Kakashi shakes his head. “Look, it’s hard. I want to introduce myself and get to know them, but the introduction is hard when my name is subject to change. Plus everything else going on with me being a shinobi, I’m just not a suitable bachelor.” 
“That’s not something I expected to hear from you, Tenzō,” Kakashi comments, and Yamato sighs as he drops his head. “Usually you’re a bit more optimistic about potential outcomes.”
“I just- I don’t think it’s fair to endanger a civilian all because I have a crush.”
“And I don’t think it’s fair to yourself to keep doing this. If you don’t want to try anything then stop coming here every night. The Hokage thinks you’re developing a problem and I don’t know how to tell her that you simply have a crush.” 
“How do I introduce myself?”
“You say ‘Hi, I’m Yamato’.” Kakashi said it like it was nothing, and that has Yamato sighing as he finishes his water. “It’s just an introduction, you’re not proposing.”
“No, I can’t do this,” Yamato sighs, ready to get up but instead Kakashi has one hand gripping the neck of his vest to keep him on the stool while waving for the bartender with his other hand. He feels himself start to sweat as you approach, time feels like it’s slowed down considerably and he wants to leave but wants to stay and the indecision is killing him. Why didn’t he plan for this when Kakashi had figured it out so quickly? What was he thinking? He needed to go, but now you were standing in front of him and Kakashi was still holding onto his vest so he couldn’t exactly move without making some sort of a scene so he just sits and offers a smile when you greet them before asking what they were having. 
“Something other than water for once?” you ask with a smile, leaning against the bar as Yamato’s cheeks flush and Kakashi chuckles while ordering sake for the two of them. You nod, still smiling as you look between them once more before turning to go retrieve what had been ordered. 
“What are you doing?” Yamato asks, and Kakashi’s shrug tells him that he wasn’t going to get an answer that he liked out of his former captain. “Look, Kakashi, I-“
“I’m not letting you give up before you can even try. If you introduce yourself I’ll let it go.”
“Why is this so important?”
“Because you’re a friend and I care. Don’t let me down, Tenzō.” Well, even if Kakashi wasn’t his superior anymore, and order is an order and Yamato wasn’t in the business of disappointing Kakashi. This is why he sits up straighter when you make your approach with the two glasses and bottle of sake. He knows Kakashi is watching closely as you set the glasses down in front of the two shinobi, and he takes the chance. 
“I’m Yamato, by the way,” he introduces as you pour his glass, and you look up at him with a smile that felt much warmer than the one you’d given him earlier. 
“I’ve been waiting to hear what your name was.” The comment has Kakashi chuckling, Yamato stammering, and you’re grinning now at how flustered he was. “Yamato, I like it.”
“See, you did fine,” Kakashi praises as you walk away, and Yamato looks at him in exasperation. “I think they like you.”
“Y-you do?”
“Sure do. The way they looked at you was very telling.” Perks of looking at a civilian, he supposed, most people who aren’t trained to be shinobi aren’t trained to carefully mask their expressions so as to not reveal too much. “The smile was also different from the first one they gave. Why else would they wait so long to find out your name?”
“Now that I’m never going to live this down, I think it’s time for bed.” And so Yamato requests the bill, completely avoiding eye contact with you or Kakashi as you slide it his way with a wink before continuing to attend to your other patrons. There was a bounce in your step now and, as much as he wanted to think it was because he had introduced himself finally, he was more than certain it had to do with the fact that he ‘d be leaving. Which was fine, he supposed. He tried and that was what mattered. 
Until he actually looked at the sheet of paper.
‘Yamato- 
Tea house in the market district, 10am?’ Is neatly written on the bill, and Yamato turns red when he realizes that you’re asking him out on a date. With Kakashi reading over his shoulder as icing on the cake. 
“I’ll let Lady Hokage know that you’ll be busy tomorrow morning when I report back and let her know that you’re not an alcoholic. Thanks for the drink, Tenzō.” 
“Hey- wait, Kakashi!?” But the elder jonin is already gone, and Yamato is fishing for his wallet. Somehow he always ended up paying, and he knew he’d be paying tomorrow morning, too. Only he wanted to pay for your drinks. 
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thebardisabird · 1 year
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NSFW continuation of this post here:
The gap was finally closed, with the affluent bachelor sealing his lips over yours in a searing kiss. All of your resolve was stunned to stillness, shock and surprise being the only things to occupy your headspace. His tongue slid across your bottom lip, and when you didn’t part your lips fast enough, the fingers locking in your hair did it for you. The kiss snapped you back to reality, but the moan you let out when his slick appendage came to dance around your own had melted you into the beginnings of desire. Karamatsu slid an arm behind your back and suddenly the room was spinning. Within seconds you were splayed out over the lap of the second son, thighs stretched open by his own; enough for your skirt to have ridden up at a wildly immodest height. Embarrassed by your sudden splay of skin, your fingers tried to busy themselves with pulling the garment back down, but the hands that caught yours had stilled your movements. Questions upon questions rattled in your mind and yet you could bring yourself to bring none of them to your lips. Karamatsu smoothed fine leather up the expanse of your exposed thighs, settling finally at your hips. You were hoisted higher up in his lap, allowing him to adjust his angle and release your lips. The sudden movement had you latching your arms around his neck - a reaction that slid a smirk on his face. “Sir please,” came your sheepish whine, “What are we…” you couldn’t even bring yourself to finish the question. Gripping your hips a bit tighter now, Karamatsu rolled you hard over his lap. Sheer, solid, friction slid hot and heavy between the juncture of your thighs - and your fate was coming into clarity a little more now. A blush was evident on your face at this point; your mind screamed at you to say something, but the words were dying in your throat with even the simplest of his touches. He leaned forward as he rolled you toward him once more where his lips were busy, determined to map your neck in kisses. You were heating up fast. Your nails dug into the shoulders of his button down, so desperate to suppress any noise he was intent on pulling from you. The flat of his tongue slid over your collarbone before he bit down on the junction of your neck and shoulder - this rightfully made you yelp. Karamatsu’s breath fanned hotly over the cooling saliva on your skin, and it made you realize he was also succumbing to the same heat you were. Raspy and low, Karamatsu rumbled, “I told you before, didn’t I?” This time he paid your barely clothed sex another stroke of friction, “I’m done playing cat and mouse, mon cher.” Your eyes snapped shut when his lips returned to your neck, paying the tender flesh an exchange of heated kisses and pointed nibbles. In the midst of your slow descent to passion, you failed to feel the nimble fingers at your blouse. A quick tug had buttons and fine linen tearing wide open. You’d have screamed at the suddenness had his mouth not closed over yours to swallow it. Cool air wisped over your warmed flesh in a flash, leaving you shuddering briefly before the man. Thankfully you needn’t worry about that for much longer as his hand snaked behind you to pull your chest closer to his face. “You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited for this, wanted this,” said he, hungry eyes drinking in how deliciously your tits sat in the lace garment, “You’ve eluded me too long, flower.” A kiss pressed to your cheek, “You think you’re invincible.” A kiss pressed to your jaw, “So willing to deny me at every step behind the safety of your work.” A kiss pressed to your collarbone, “But now look at you…” His hands dug just under the wiring on your bra, effectively lifting your supple flesh out of the cups and spilling in full display in front of the man. He licked his lips, a hand cupping your breast and savoring the weight of it in his palm. Chestnut eyes hooked your flushed gaze once more as he purred out, “Heh, I’ll tame you yet, my fiery minx.” With his mouth enclosed around the sensitive bud of your nipple, it was then you could hold your whines no longer. Hands slid over your ass, restarting the ministrations of him grinding his clothed length across your heat. “Mr Maahhh!tsunoo” the need evident in your cry, your fingers now digging into his dark locks. Briefly he lapped at your nipple, tongue lithely circling around the delicate bud and gently taking it between his teeth. The sharp snap of pain went straight to your pussy, and you couldn’t help but tighten the grip of your thighs on him. At the rate he was electrifying your body - you wouldn’t last long. Karamatsu relinquished your chest with a soft pop, running his tongue over his lips once more and grinning like he’d just licked a bowl of ambrosia clean. With some show of strength you were lifted off of his lap and placed carefully on your back. Soft clanking rang in your ears - the sound, you recognized, was him unbuckling his pants. Deciding to reclaim your spine if only for a moment, you slid your thumbs under the waistband of your panties and discarded the fabric without much cognizance. Your thighs welcomed him now, a fire being lit deep in your belly by the man above you. Time was not to be wasted, which is why Karamatsu didn’t bother removing his own vest and button down - all he needed was to free himself enough to give you exactly what you needed. An arm was laid carefully next to your head, allowing the raven debonair to hold himself upright over you. He grasped his cock, groaning at how painfully hard he was in his palm. You drew in a breath, preparing yourself for your final undoing, but he stopped just before you. The heat of his length right up against you made the anticipated shudder in your spine palpable. “I want you to understand two things,” his deep voice cut the heavy air, “One…you will call me Karamatsu from here on. I won’t hear you refer to me as anything else.” You bit your lip at that; the implications that that statement alone held such a heavy weight over your head. Professionalism was crumbling at mach speeds with this encounter, and you leaving this room knowing that you were to refer to who was essentially a man with great authority over you by his first name was the key to completely demolishing your work relationship. Your eyes flitted in the direction of his bar, “But…K…Karamatsu, sir…” One of his hands found their way to your cheek, pulling your attention to the sincere, impassioned countenance he held. He ignored your plea as he continued,  “Two: I know what this means, flower - I know it changes everything for you…” you watched his eyes darken with an ardor that seared you inside, “But I will let no one else have you, do you understand me?” The wave of warmth that washed down your entire body pulled any semblance of a response right out of you; the best you could give him was a simple nod. Leather traced the plush of your lips, “...Good.” And that was the last of your warning before he kissed you hard, simultaneously slipping inside you in one thrust. Virginity was a far cry away from you at this time in your life, but the torrid stretch from his cock filling you burned so good. You mewled into his mouth, your hands finding purchase at his back. Muscles stretched and pulled under your fingertips as his hips established a rhythm against your own: Slow. Hard. Deep. It astounded you how quickly bliss was brought to you in the form of being fucked so intensely - Karamatsu tangling the fingers of his left hand carefully in your locks - his right, wrapping behind your back to hold you in place. His powerful grip and the way he fed your body pleasure thrust for thrust told you exactly how he planned to take and take and take - but his words in your ear were far more gentle, “Goddd, you don’t know what you do to me,” he growled, choosing to pant heavily into the crook of your neck, “I’ve wanted you since day one, fuck,” his hold on you tightened, Karamatsu driving into you faster now, “A thing of beauty like yoohhh shitshitshit - I had to have you.” You were dizzy in ecstasy, desire causing your pussy to clamp down on him at his confessions - you were sure you were going to set aflame any moment now. Instinctively your back arched, pushing yourself even that more closer to him, nipples rubbing harshly against the fabrics of his vest. Lips pressed hard into your pulse point, your whimpers and moans dripping in wanton lust as Karamatsu sheathed himself into you with repeated fervor. The coiling in your belly was winding ever tighter, your toes curling, voice teetering into another octave. This had your lover groaning in graveled tones, “That’s it, mon amour, come undone” Karamatsu dragged your body down onto his own, fucking you even deeper, “Give nghh, g-give it all to me.” You would have no time to react, your entire body seizing with an explosion of white hot heat, his name an unwavering mantra of babbled speech flying off your lips. The nails in his back gripped Karamatsu impossibly tight, and he would reward your hold with one more devastating kiss. Your senses were wrapped up in him: the heat of his mouth, the flex of his back under your hands, the smell of him mixed with the scent of sex in the air and the ever still stroking of his cock locked heavy inside you. Wobbling tears brimmed at your lashes, the overstimulation of his persistent thrusts starting to set in. As soon as he parted from your lips you sobbed out in a licentious plea, “Karamatsuuu” That would be enough to send him over the edge. In a loud broken moan, Karamatsu’s hips stilled, with him bottoming out inside you. He spilled hot and fast, a sensation that pulled a shaky moan from you. It would take some time before he untangled himself from you, but that would not leave you without him. Instead Karamatsu pulled you down to lay you on top of him, his arm coming around you to keep you close. The steady beats of his heart brought you comfort as your body hummed post orgasm, though your mind was still plagued with some uncertainties. You were sure you would be able to ask questions later, but for now, you were content laying with him like this. “So…” came Karamatsu’s tired voice, hoarse with overuse, “Perhaps we should renegotiate your workplace, hm?” You looked up at him, initially surprised, but then realizing you’ve had this same conversation with him a thousand times already. A short huff followed by your coy smile, “In your dreams, Karamatsu.” He matched your smirk, “There’s my spitfire,” and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head, “Heh, worth a shot at least.” You were his now either way.
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Part 2 is ready to post. Should I post it now or tomorrow morning….
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morwap · 2 years
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𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋’𝐒 𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄— give me a character and an au + an ANGSTY/HURT 2 COMFORT concept/scenario and i’ll write a blurb for it! boxer!remus x bartender!reader, Remus’ opponent doing something illegal and knocking Remus cold and her grabbing a liquor bottle and running on that ring while trying to throw while being held back him waking up and grabbing her boot weakly holding her back too (imagine these boots https://pin.it/60eirIW if you could )
( sorry i just copied it )
no need to say sorry bby
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you had a bad feeling about barty, always have since the time you saw him years ago do something that was borderline illegal, that when you first starting bartending at a place that was pretty underground. 
for the past week you’ve been on remus’ ass about not fighting in and just backing out if it, anytime you saw him you begged for him to not do it but remus was stubborn and you knew whatever you told remus it wouldn't change his mind. 
today was the day...you saw remus getting ready for the match, the guy behind him whispering in his ear and remus was nodding. you shook your head at him as barty got into the ring. you noticed people coming up to you, so you put on your best customer smile and got them their drinks. 
your attention was brought back to the ring when you heard the whistle blow hard and people gasping and yelling. you jumped up to see over peoples heads and saw remus on his back with his nose bloody. you listened to the whispers and heard bits and pieces of “barty” “oh no” “what the fuck” “is he okay?” “wasnt that illegal?” and your heart stopped. 
you could see barty’s smile from where you were standing and the anger rushed through you quickly. you without thinking, grabbed a bottle then rushing to the ring. you could hear remus’ trainers yelling at barty’s as well as the referee. the cutman was attending to remus, you were about to through the bottle right into barty’s face when you close enough but a harsh grip on your ankle stopped you. 
groaning as you looked back, not seeing anyone till you looked down. it was remus grabbing onto your boot. blood still stained his skin as the cutman was checking his neck and eyes. 
remus didn’t let your boot go even if you tried to yank it from him. you crouched down beside him and he smiled a bit knowing you were there. remus looked over at you and whispered that he was fine.
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duuhrayliegh · 5 months
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consequences
a/n: I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS CAME FROM BUT HERE YOU GO
also i'm more than happy to continue this if yall want more, just LET ME KNOW
other works
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“You want to what?"
"To open our relationship."
You stare at him in disbelief, clutching the soft blanket in your hands. There's a sharp ringing sounding through your eardrums and everything around you slows. He keeps talking, his voice breaking through the barrier of fog that encompasses your senses.
"I want us to remain honest with each other, but this is the only way to keep our relationship healthy."
He steps away from the kitchen counter, wearing the sports jacket you bought him for your sister's wedding.
"I want the both of us to disclose when we start dating someone else. That's the main boundary, we can hammer out all the ground rules later. Right now, I'm going on a date, so uh," he pauses as he checks his reflection in the mirror beside the door one last time, "don't wait up."
You try to focus on his words, but no matter your efforts you weren't able to process anything. His keys jangle in his grip and you faintly recognize the sound of the door slamming closed and his footsteps echoing down the empty corridor of your apartment.
"I still can't believe he said that to you."
The singular ice ball hits against the sides of your glass with each tilt of your wrist. You take a long drag of the dark liquor before laughing sardonically.
"It's been six months of him parading his dates around." Another sip, your work skirt digs into your thighs painfully. You distract yourself by reaching for a peanut from the nearly empty bowl. "And what's worse is that he still expects me to be the doting wife that he comes home to every night!"
The bartender refills your glass while you sneak another peanut. You card your fingers through your hair as you continue to rant. A dull throb radiates in between your brows so your eyes slide closed as you take deep breaths.
"Well, I can't imagine you're doing so bad yourself."
You hum questioningly at the man, focusing your gaze on the dark-haired bartender, his stubble dusting his sharp jaw as the muscles work beneath the skin. His eyes haven't left you since you sat down in front of him.
"I see you in here." You begin to pick at the skin around your nails and he nudges a bowl of peanuts in your direction. "Men come up to you all the time. You've been on dates too, right?"
You reach for a peanut and crack open the grainy shell, biting the inside of your cheek. Your bartender laughs incredulously and then presses his hands into his side of the counter to lean over toward you. The cloth he tosses over his shoulder must be damp because the fabric of his white button-up is darkened there.
"Focus on me, Peanut."
Your eyes snap to his, unable to keep the overflow of expression from brimming beneath the surface. Your heart cracks further as he visibly softens, crumpling against the counter to cover your hand with his. A tense silence stretches between the two of you, charging the air with unwelcome emotions.
Your bartender’s spare hand cups your jaw and swipes away the glistening tears fleeing down your cheeks. Sniffling loudly while straightening in your seat, you pull away from his touch—effectively stopping yourself from melting into him.
You’ve worked so hard to make this shitty dive bar your safe place, you’ll be damned if you ruin it with a fling.
“I don’t even know why I’m wasting tears on this whole thing.” You take three deep breaths—whiskey and apples invade your senses. The man in front of you tilts his head to the side while drying a few crystal glasses.
“You’re avoiding my question, Peanut.” He turns briefly and you try to figure a way out as the cups clink softly. “You have been dating too, right?”
Your teeth trap your bottom lip, peeling off the thin layers of skin. You purposely avoid his eyes, doing less than nothing to hide your answer.
“Jesus, Peanut. What’s stopping you?”
You huff, focusing your attention on the patrons around you. There’s noticeably less than there were when you first arrived. The bar guests go about their business, underlying emotions kept close to their chest and out of sight to everyone else. You wish you could be that way, instead of sewing your heart to your sleeve for anyone to rip pieces from.
“I--" You hesitate, twirling your glass, watching as the ice fights to keep up with the sudden movements you force on its surroundings.
"Some small part of me still loves him. No matter how much he hurts me with this whole open relationship bullshit. I'm still thinking that one day he'll wake up and remember that I've been his loving wife and partner for the past six years. This can't be my new reality. It just can't. He's meant to be my partner for life, not my partner who has really good friends. Not my partner with a girlfriend or some fuck buddy across town."
This is the can of worms that you'd hoped to keep locked away from the Commando's dive bar. What you've held close to your chest every night you slink past the blonde bouncer, Steve. The information you never let slip to the six-foot-five bartender with the metal arm. And now, you can't seem to stop the words from leaving your mouth.
"He's supposed to be my husband. Why isn't he my husband? Is it me? He said that we would talk about what the reason was, but I can't get him to sit down with me. I can't even get him to reply to a text, much less answer questions about our relationship."
You spit the last word before downing the rest of your drink in one go. Bucky stands patiently as you let loose every emotion that you've bottled up for the past six years. Further in the bar, someone shouts for the last call.
"Why don't I date? Because I love him. Because outside of him, I don't know who I am. I don't date because I've been with the same man for almost a decade and I wouldn't even know where to begin. I can't see past where I'm at right now. There is no future for me outside of the hell that I find myself in now. I can't date because I want to be there for when my husband remembers that I exist. I want to be there for him like he wasn't for me because I know the novelty of his flings will wear off soon enough. And maybe that makes me worse than him, but I don't know if I have the energy to care anymore."
There's now a heavy silence covering you and your whole body slumps because of it. Despite feeling the biggest breath of relief of getting those emotions out in the open, you now have to deal with what they mean. You were always taught that saying your emotions out loud would only lead to more issues, but here you fucking are. Sometimes these things are unavoidable.
"I call bullshit."
Your jaw drops as your bartender rocks away from the counter. You flounder as he starts performing closing duties. You stare at Bucky's back, slightly distracted by the muscles working underneath the tight material.
"Did you just bullshit my feelings?"
Bucky turns halfway, eyebrows raised, "Yep."
Your bartender plucks the glass in front of you and drops it in the sink on his way to the cash register. If you were in a whole state, you'd smack back with a witty comment, but you're tired.
"You can't bullshit my feelings."
He holds a stack of twenties in one hand and he pins you with the same expression as before.
"Uh, yeah I can."
He continues to count the register and tosses a goodbye to the other bartender. A long lull stretches between you. Now it's just the two of you in the bar, and that must have been what he was waiting on because it's only now that he really talks.
"Peanut, how long have you been coming here?"
You furrow your brow at the question, not sure where he's taking his line of questioning.
"I don't know, four months?"
“Four months, twenty days."
Bucky's retort is quick and final. A fact. Something he's committed to memory. You're taken aback by the heavy tone he layers between the syllables.
"And for those four months and twenty days, I've stood behind this counter and watched you wallow. I've watched you turn down proposition after proposition. I've had Steve throw out dozens of men for how they speak about you. I've sat back and tried to be the listening ear that you need because you're clearly going through a really difficult time. I've never been in the position that you're in and I'm not going to pretend that I understand the half of it."
He slams the drawer closed and rounds the countertop. His boots thud against the floor violently, stopping beside the barstool next to you. Your bartender leans down and swings your stool to face his before taking a seat.
"I've stood behind that bar and was able to listen to quite a bit. But what I can't have is you thinking that you're the issue."
His hand slips into yours, his thumb tracing the knuckles of your fingers. Tears begin to brim at your waterline again, but you refuse to let them fall.
"Peanut, you're the most loyal person I've met in recent years. You love fiercely and you hurt even harder. Hell, you've been with this guy for almost ten years and he's been fucking you over for the past six months and you're sitting in this bar defending him to a relative stranger!"
"But he--"
"You're husband took the decision away from you and then framed it in a way that made you out to be the bad guy. He put you in a nearly impossible situation because he knew you were too loyal to him to do anything about it."
"He didn--"
"Yes, he did."
Having it laid out like that by the one person you wanted to be kept away from all of it was eye-opening. Your shoulders crumple and a new wave of tears threatens to escape.
"Now, this isn't the best time, but I feel like in a situation like yours there's never going to be a 'right' time."
Bucky sits up straighter and sticks his metal hand out to you.
"Hi. I'm Bucky Barnes. I'm a retired Army Sergeant and I now work in the Howling Commandos bar. I've been your bartender for the past four months and twenty days. Over that time, I've grown to care for you, more than a bartender should. Because of that fact, I want to take you out on a date."
You suck in a breath sharply, immediately going to deny him, only for Bucky to cut you off.
"You don't have to give me an answer right now, Peanut. Just think about it and whenever you're ready, I hope I'm your first call."
You chew on the inside of your cheek, gnawing on the idea. You have grown fond of Bucky. He's become a sort of safety net for you these past few months. Going home has proven to be more and more of a chore so you spend hours on end in the Howling Commandos.
What if you and Bucky go on a date and you hate it? What if you date and you have a huge falling out? What if you--
"I can see the wheels turning, Peanut." He taps your temple with a cold metal finger. "What are you thinking?"
"What if we end up not working out?"
"What if we do?"
The question hangs. The implication is clear. You could spend hours going through the what-if scenarios, both positive and negative. You'll never truly know until you take a leap of faith.
"What would your boss think of you dating one of your new regulars though?"
You're grasping at straws, but you're really trying to convince yourself that taking that leap with Bucky would be the worst thing in the world.
"Peanut, I'll sell the damn bar before someone other than you tells me that I can't date you."
Your eyes meet his and all you can see is the adoration and sincerity in them. His thumb is still working over your knuckles, but it's also expanded to tracing aimless circles into the back of your hand. The cool metal is the only way you've grounded yourself to reality.
A slow smile spreads across your features, the first of its kind tonight and you both know what it means.
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venuiscmind · 3 months
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Bartender!Ellie & Co-Worker!Ellie <3.
Just some headcannons for the 3-5 part series im cooking up since I finally have time to write!!! Please show some love for this as it will really motivate me to write more for this. Smut below!
read this.
w.c 1.1k
Bartender! Ellie who has you stunned the first day you see her in her all black, tight, fitted uniform. Sleeves rolled up to her veiny, tattooed forearms, dripping with the syrup from the cocktails she was shaking over her shoulders. Dark, black pants that fit her legs perfectly as she moves around the bar.
Bartender! Ellie who keeps her eyes fixed on you while you bend down to hear a customer's order in the busy and loud bar. You turn feeling eyes on you but only see Ellie turning back to pour a drink for a customer.
Bartender! Ellie who gradually opens the buttons of her black shirt during her shift when it gets too hot, showing off the pale but flushed and sweaty skin underneath, adorned with glinting silver chains.
Bartender! Ellie who flirts back with all the pretty girls who press themselves against the bar trying to give her their number. (She throws them out after every shift because they’re lacking something she can't place).
Bartender! Ellie who is immediately in the face of a man who has stepped a little too close to you and has gotten too loud and rude for her liking.
Bartender! Ellie who drives a pretty, sleek car to work and is constantly offering you rides to and from work because you shouldn't have to worry about driving yourself.
Bartender! Ellie who keeps you up till 5am after your shift texting you about anything and everything she could think of to keep you talking, all because she liked hearing you talk.
Bartender! Ellie who pull off her shirt over her head and immediately sinks against the heat of the shower but can't get you out of her head for some reason.
Bartender! Ellie who is constantly offering to make you drinks after your shift when the bar has been closed down, leaving only the two of you to lock up together.
Bartender! Ellie who has to keep her eyes focused on pouring your drink instead of looking at the curves of your form sitting up on the top of the dark marble counter. Her heart (and other places) flutter seeing you like this.
Bartender! Ellie who's tattoo flexes while she clenches her fists when you're not looking, trying to keep herself grounded while she watches your legs cross atop the bar, something she would never be able to catch if she hadn't secretely swapped shifts to be able to lock up with you.
Bartender! Ellie who takes off her apron and button up shirt to change into a loose dark hoodie that makes you swallow hard. She pulls up her hood letting loose tendrils of hair fall out of it before manspreading and turning her keys in the ignition.
Bartender! Ellie who keeps on the silver rings she wears during her shift to clench the steering wheel as she speeds into your neighbourhood blaring music with the windows open at 4am after work. (She later swears she wasn't even driving that fast).
Bartender! Ellie who has to take a breath when you invite her into your house which is impossibly tidy and she actually offers to take off her shoes because of this.
Bartender! Ellie who has to hold back her questions of whether she can marry you or not when you offer her glasses of water and bits of food you can scrounge up for her.
Bartender! Ellie who stares at you, feeling her pupils dilate and her breathing turn rough just looking at you standing in your kitchen.
Bartender! Ellie who stands up and hooks her arms around your middle and rests her head on your shoulder as you do the dishes at 5am.
Bartender! Ellie who begs you to "please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like this because I can't keep ignoring this because fu-".
Bartender! Ellie who is shocked when you turn around to put her face in your hands and smile at her, inches from her face, stroking lovingly. When she slowly moves forward you pull back an inch wanting to savour this look on her face, basking in the mutual desire that you both felt.
Bartender! Ellie who whispers " are you sure"? against your lips with her green eyes boring into your own. You nod, and murmur "Yes ellie, I've been sure for weeks" and press your soft lips into her soft and slightly chapped lips.
Bartender! Ellie who has to move her hands from your hips to the counter to steady herself once she allows herself to give into the sensation of kissing you. She can't think with her hand and mouth full of you, and only you.
Bartender! Ellie who pulls back and finds herself being pulled into your bedroom, your fingers interlaced with hers, never leaving her seperated from you again.
Bartender! Ellie who sits back on your bed, watching in awe of the woman before her, as you strip off your work shirt and pants, leaving you in your soft underwear in the light of dawn, peaking through your curtains.
Bartender! Ellie who grips your hips like her life depends on it when you climb into her lap and lies back against the sheets, face and skin turning pink as you press yourself against her toned body.
Bartender! Ellie who lets you strip her down in kind and lets you kiss down between her tits, pawing at them as you press your lips against the soaked spot on her black boxers. She has to remember to breathe when you pull them down leaving her in nothing.
Bartender! Ellie who feels exposed and vulnerable, shaking underneath you while you lick and slurp against her soaked pussy, tasting her like she was the sweetest thing in the world.
Bartender! Ellie who groans out "oh fuck me, right there"- and holds your head gently against her clit when you suck on that spot that has her arching off the bed, her eyes rolling back into her skull. She wraps her legs around your head and shoulders and begs, actually begs you not to stop because she is so fucking close to cumming all over your tongue.
Bartender! Ellie who forgets to breathe again when she feels your fingers press against her slicked and soaked entrance and push into her causing her to melt, shake and press against you to push them deeper inside of her.
Bartender! Ellie who cums when you suck just at the right time with your fingers pushing in and out of her, hitting that sweet spot in her over and over.
Bartender! Ellie who pulls you up by then chin to kiss you, and taste herself fom your mouth and brings your hand up to your lips to taste her again. She then kisses you deeper than you had ever been kissed, tongue invanding your senses until all you can think of is her and her only.
LOL i actually got so horny writing this but hope you enjoyed!!! more to come very soon i promise <;3. - Venuis!
Btw asks and submissions are open so give me some inspo plsplspls xxxx
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wrongplacerighttime · 20 days
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bartender!harry x you
your favorite bartender names a drink for you, and you're almost convinced its the end of the world, until your heart leads you back to him.
featuring: soft!harry, an apology, and a cat named Sylvester.
tw: 18+!!, mentions drinking, angst, lots and lots of fluff, soft smut, small itty bitty breeding kink if u squint really hard.
wc: 5k
marigold
A typical Saturday night for you looked like this: 
One too many whiskey shots, karaoke with your friends, and passed out on the way home in the uber someone ordered.
This Saturday wasn’t any different so far.
You had just gotten off the stage, out of breath from singing Strawberry Wine a little too loudly with your friends. You wove your way through crowds of sweaty bodies and made your way to the bar in the back. 
And there he was. Your favorite person on earth.
The bartender.
It wasn’t because he was the most attractive man you’d ever seen in your life, or the fact that he listened to you whenever you were spiraling wistfully through your drunken thoughts. 
It mostly just came down to the fact that he made really good drinks. 
Harry knew exactly how you liked your whiskey, at what point in the night you’d want a margarita to cool off with (usually after the karaoke), and he knew when to cut you off before you regretted it the next morning.
So when you stumbled over to the bar looking for his signature smirk, he was already sliding the glass across the lacquered surface, placing a lime on the rim once you settled yourself on the barstool across from him. He went back to washing glasses, biceps flexing and relaxing between motions under the sleeves of his black tee as you sip on your drink.
He watches you out of the corner of his eye, keeping you within earshot while some prick named Garret flirts with you. It almost hurt his feelings when he didn’t hear you rejecting his embarrassingly cheesy advances. He knew he could treat you better than any other asshole in this place, so it always surprised him when you would leave with one of them. He just wanted you to be safe, and he knew that the men that frequented his bar weren’t some of the finest to grace your presence. He would try his hand at flirting with you, tell you how nice you looked, and use his pick up lines that worked with so many others. 
But they never worked on you...or so he thought.
You were an enigma to him, a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. 
“Leave me alone, Garret. I’m not leaving with you tonight.” He heard you mumble, however, Garret was persistent. He glances over out of the corner of his eye and sees that Garret has you cornered in your seat, his arm around the back of your chair and the other steadied on the bar as he leaned into you. You were trying to create space, but he was practically pushing you up  against the wall and Harry didn’t like that. He threw the towel over his shoulder and turned to face the situation. 
“Garret, she said she wasn’t leaving with you. I suggest you get lost, unless you want to be barred from my establishment.” He says calmly, but firm. He leans his weight into his own arms placed on the bar, muscles flexing and veins popping, cocking an eyebrow upwards as he watches Garret intently. Harry's eyes never leave Garret as his flick between the two of you. He mumbles expletives under his breath before pushing from the bar and stumbling away. Harry hears you breathe out a sigh you had been holding in and when his eyes meet yours you smile. 
“Thanks. He’s relentless.” You pause. “Sometimes I go home with him so he’ll just leave me alone.” You confess and he’s never heard you say anything like this before, he's not even sure you understood what you implied. Instead of replying immediately, he listens. Listens to you ramble about Garret and every other guy that attempts to win you over with their drunken pick up lines. He was scrubbing a glass, lost in his thoughts, thinking how it would look to have you upstairs in his apartment, dancing around the kitchen with each other when you clear your throat, plucking him from his daydreams.
“I asked you a question, Har.” You giggle as you sip through the straw in your glass.
“Sorry, flower. I was a little distracted.” He peeks over, smirking. “What did you ask?” “I asked if there was anyone special in your life.” Curiosity getting the better of you, because he always listens to what you have to say and you're tired of talking about yourself. He'd never talked about a girlfriend before and you're not sure how someone as beautiful as him could be single.
“If you count my cat, Sylvester. Otherwise, no.” He informs you and you widen your eyes. 
“You have a cat?” Your words slur together in disbelief and he nods. 
“Does that surprise you?” He asks with a chuckle.
“Just don’t strike me as the cat type.” You pause, thoughts swirling through your head. “I want to meet him.” 
“I promise you don’t. He’s a terrorist.” He jokes, laughing between his words. “I found him outside under the dumpster when he was just a baby…I haven’t known peace for a single day since.” He says in a serious tone and it makes you laugh. He brings down bottles of liquor and mixes and juices from the shelf above his head and mixes up concoctions, tasting them before pouring them out. To you, it seems like a waste. You let him go on for a while longer before you decide to interrupt. 
“What exactly are you doing?” 
“Just been working on a new signature to add to the menu. Can’t get the ratio quite right though.” He mutters and you watch as his hands move expertly around the bottles, mixing exact ratios without having to measure them out.
You chat for a while longer, enjoying his company until your friends find you and they’re ready to leave. You tell him goodbye and he watches you until you disappear out the door, wishing he had the guts to tell you how he feels outright instead of dancing around the topic, and how he only has eyes for you every time you come in here.
You’re the sole reason why he works on Saturdays.
He’ll never forget the first time he saw you at his bar. He was upstairs in his apartment reading when he looked at the clock and noticed it was nearing closing time, an hour or so left until the straggling patrons would be forced out and he knew that last-call had already been announced. He went down to see if the bartender working needed help with anything before he turned in for the night, and when he stepped in he saw you laughing with your friends at a high top table. 
It was over for him then. 
He hung around for the next hour, nursing a draft in a glass he poured himself and fighting the sleep begging to take over his body. Your group wasn’t paying attention when all the lights came on, brightening the dimmed room, you didn’t notice you were the last ones here and if he was waiting for an excuse to talk to you…that was it. He made his way to you, weaving through chairs and tables and when you looked at him, finally, he almost lost the words he wanted to say. Stuttering over them, he felt embarrassed as you smiled at him and you and your friends hopped from your stools and left, but not before he mustered the courage to ask you if you were coming back anytime soon and you nodded, informing him that you and your friends had been coming every Saturday for a few months now, his bar quickly had become their favorite spot. He felt guilty that he hadn’t paid attention before, but he made sure he was the one behind the bar every Saturday since then. 
Now, here you were. Walking out laughing with your friends, like you did every Saturday, without a second look back at him…even though he willed it to happen every time. 
Yet, he couldn’t wait until next week to do it over again. 
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Next Saturday comes and it’s unfamiliar territory for you this time. It was your turn to be the designated driver, you and your friends trying not to pay excessive amounts for rideshares anymore. While your friends make their way to a table, you detour to the bar and when your eyes meet Harry's, his hardened expression turns to something lighter as you approach. He’s smiling, a toothy grin that has you biting the inside of your cheek and looking at the floor. 
Maybe it was the lighting…or maybe it was the idea of him. You had never really seen him while you were in a sober mindset and this was a different dynamic. He knew the drunk you, the one who was confident and not afraid of anything. 
Truth be told, you were a little nervous to talk to him. He always pushed shots towards you when you walked in, and you were grateful for the confidence boost it gave you because otherwise you didn’t think you’d even approach him. 
But it’s hard to remind yourself that you don’t need to be nervous, it’s just Harry. 
“There’s my flower.” He greets you with the nickname he penned for you after a few weeks of chatting and getting to know you. He pushes the shot towards you but you shake your head as you hop up onto the bar stool and he cocks an eyebrow at you, confused at your refusal. “Are you sick? Do I need to take you to the ER?” He jokes and you laugh. 
“No, actually. I’m just taking on the role of designated driver tonight.” You rest your chin in your hand and sigh. He replaces the whiskey with a glass of ice water feigning hesitation, mouthing a “sorry” as he moves down the bar to take other orders. 
He’s busy for a while so you sit and watch him sling drinks and pour drafts. He’s comfortable, he’s confident, and you feel a sense of longing for him, willing him to come back over and talk with you…and you wonder why you’d never accepted his advances before. It could be that you were scared, not thinking he was serious and that he was just being a friendly bartender. You were always drunk and the alcohol clouded your judgment slightly. 
But you always knew when he was flirting. He would clear your tab, and you would walk out paying literally nothing more often than not. He wouldn’t even let you tip him because he refused to take your money and he insisted that he made enough. 
As if he could read your mind, he came back over and was breathing heavily out of breath from trying to keep up, the amount of people in the bar nearing capacity. Still, he smiles at you and as he’s catching his composure he grabs bottles from the shelf above him. 
“Remember that drink I was making last week?” He asks and you search your memory to pinpoint the moment he was talking about. You faintly recall him mixing drinks and tasting them before dumping them down the drain, so you nod. “I think I finally got it right.” He says while pouring the concoction, placing it in your view once it was complete, then he perches an orange on the rim and slides it towards you. 
“I said I wasn’t drinking.” You joke, knowing a sip won't be enough to have you feeling any effects, bringing the glass up to your nose and sniffing, the scent of citrus and schnapps filling your nostrils and when you sip, there’s a hint of something floral that you can’t quite place. It’s perfectly layered, the orange fading into yellow seamlessly like a sunrise left unblemished in a cloudless sky, shimmering just slightly in the low lit atmosphere. 
And it’s so good.
“Do you like it?” He asks, waiting for your response and shifting his weight nervously. He needed it to be perfect for you…because it was for you. You nod, swallowing and meeting his eyes. 
“It’s delicious. What are you calling it?” You ask and the corner of his mouth pulls up in a half grin. 
“I think I’m going to call it a Marigold Sunrise.” He says, the volume of his voice almost getting lost in the chatter around you both and you could’ve sworn you misheard him. 
“I’m sorry?” You almost choke, sputtering over your words. “Marigold?” “Yeah, actually. I remember one night you told me they were your favorite. I added the floral notes, I think that’s what it was missing. It's yours. I made it for you.” 
Your head spins momentarily at his words. He remembered? You were sure that conversation happened over a year ago. You stare at him, blinking with a blank expression painted over your face. You don’t know how to react. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a drink. 
Except your mind convinces you this makes things more complicated than they need to be. He’s just the bartender at the bar you frequent, this meant you were going to have to find somewhere else to go, because you couldn’t actually spend your time here anymore knowing he probably expects you to give him something in return.
But he’s not just a bartender. He’s Harry. The reason why you come here. The reason why your friends tease you incessantly on the way home every Saturday…because you’re always watching him when he isn’t looking, slotting yourself behind the bar with him in your doe-eyed daydreams. Daydreams you thought would never come to fruition. 
“Harry, this is…too much.” The words tumble from your lips before you really think about them. His brows pull together, confusion lacing his eyes.
“What? I thought—” “Whatever you thought, save it. I don’t want this. I didn’t ask for this.” Your tone is harsher than you wanted it to be. You push the glass away and gather your things, walking away from him without so much as a glance back. You find your friends, apologizing for ruining their fun but that you would take them somewhere else, wanting to be anywhere but here. 
Harry stands behind the bar, dumbfounded and lost on what he did wrong. He watches you leave, holding the door for your friends. Your head moves slightly, and he can just make out the outline of your profile. He thinks you’re going to look back at him, come back and explain to him what he did to make you react this way. 
But you don’t.
This time he doesn’t know if you’ll come back.
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The street was quiet and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, blue hue taking over the dark of the night. The bar was dark except for the light left on behind the bar and the neon hanging on the walls. He might even already be in bed. After you left earlier, your friends requested a bar on the other side of town and you drove them there on autopilot, sitting at a table staring blankly at the wall, the sounds around you muffled from lack of focus on your part. When they were ready to leave, you got them home safely and aimlessly drove around with no destination in mind. You let your mind wander, and after you finally placed your feelings you found you had subconsciously made your way back to him, back to the bar. Like your heart was making your decision without you even realizing. Like it knew where you needed to be. 
So you forced yourself out of the driver's seat and timidly made your way to the door. You didn’t know if he would be able to hear you, but you knocked on the glass of the front door anyway. You hug yourself around your torso, the chill of the night air making you shiver slightly. After a moment you’re about to give up, but you see him come around the corner and his eyes widen at the sight of you, his expression reading that he very much was not expecting you to show up at this time, or even at all. The bar closed at 3:00 AM and it was nearing 5 as you stood there waiting for him to open the door. 
“Come in, it’s freezing out there.” He says as the barrier between you swings open, the bell above ringing in your ears. You step inside, finding reprieve in the warmth of the bar. You watch him in the afterglow of the neon. It feels out of place, being here in the early hours of the morning, neither of you having had any sleep yet and he rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. You look towards the floor, fiddling with your fingers and you feel terrible that you’re keeping him from sleep, which you’re sure he’d rather be doing after the way you left him earlier. 
“I’m sorry, I’m interrupting your rest. I should just go, I don’t know why I came.” You say sheepishly, gesturing a thumb towards the door and you almost turn around before he grabs your arm before you get the chance. 
“No, I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re here. I was almost asleep.” He yawns, stretching his arms over his head and you shake your head. 
“This can wait, really. I’ll let you go back to—”
“Flower, I said it was okay. I want you here.” His eyes search yours for a moment before he looks away, towards the stairs that lead up to his apartment. “Do you want to come up? I’ll get you some water.” He nods his head behind him and you nod wordlessly, following him as he takes you to a peek inside of his personality. You stay silent as he grabs a glass from his cupboard and moves through the small kitchen. You allow your eyes to wander around his space, and it’s not anything like you were expecting. You would never think a bar owner lives here, and if you had to describe it, it would be something like a masculine dark academia with a modern twist throughout the interior. He sits the glass in front of you before leaning against the opposite counter and you feel your nerves bubble in your throat when you remember why you’re here.
“Harry…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run away like that earlier. I really am flattered that you made your new signature something for me.” You pause, collecting your thoughts for a second before speaking again. “I’ve just never had anyone make anything for me before, I’ve never had some grand gesture done for me.” You motion with your hands, ultimately letting them fall against your lap again. “I know it sounds silly, and that might not be grand to any normal person, but I got scared…” Trailing off, you look down at your hands in your lap. “I don’t even know why I got scared. I really like you, and I don’t want to scare you away.” 
The silence is deafening, the clock ticking on the wall counting the seconds as dawn creeps into the sky. You think he isn’t going to say anything. 
Then he clears his throat.
“You could never scare me away.” You force your eyes to meet his. He comes around the counter, closing the space between you slightly. He stands in front of you, searching your face for anything he can find, as if he’s memorizing every freckle, the dip of your nose, the pink of your lips, everything he never wants to forget. “I want you…all of you. Everything you’re afraid of. Every good, every bad, everything in between. I want it all.” He steps forward and takes your hands between his, bringing them to his lips and kissing over your palm once. Resting his cheek against it, you cup his face, tilting your head slightly and biting the inside of your lip to keep your emotions at bay. 
You’re both silent for a beat, conveying feelings through subtle glances ghosting over each other's features. You’d never seen him this close before.
He’s right here. 
And he’s yours.
“Can I kiss you?” He asks, his voice barely above a whisper and you nod once, slightly sucking in a breath, preparing for him to surge forward. He shocks you when he doesn’t.
His touch is gentle, featherlight over your jawline and your exhale is shaky, nervous like you’ve never been kissed before. 
Your mind wants to wander…wants to get lost down the memory lane of bad lovers and all the times your subconscious thought of him, how it manifested him in your dreams. 
His lips brush over yours and pull you from your thoughts. His hand wraps around the back of your neck, tangling in the hair at the nape of your neck and he pulls you closer. His tongue darting out to wet his lips before he presses them to yours…and you melt, sighing against him as you fist his shirt. He was hesitant, like he was testing your boundaries. 
You wanted him to know you were all in.
He pulls away just far enough to meet your eyes and if he were being honest, he thinks you’ll run from him again. 
You’re thinking how the kiss didn’t last nearly long enough.
“Kiss me again. Please.” You whisper, and he doesn’t hesitate, bringing his lips back to yours like there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing. This kiss is more than the first.
More desire…more eagerness…more everything. 
His hands find your hips and pull you closer to him, dancing lightly under the hem of your shirt and your skin burns under his touch as you part your thighs and he slots himself between them. Your arms link around the back of his neck, pulling him closer and arching against him. His hands splayed across your back, feeling his want for you growing between your bodies and it makes your belly flip. Your hands drop from his shoulders, running over the expanse of his biceps and mapping their way to his waistline, dipping below the band of his sweats and palming over the fabric of his briefs eliciting a groan that transfers from his mouth to yours. He pulls your wrists from his body and pulls away from your lips, looking at you with dark eyes and his chest rapidly rising and falling trying to catch his breath. 
“We don’t have to—I don’t expect you to sleep with me. I hope you know that I’m not just doing this to get myself off.” He places your hands against his chest, holding them there. “I meant it when I said I want all of you.” 
“I know. I want all of you, too.” You whisper and he smiles. “I just want to show you how much.” You fist his shirt again and pull him back down to you. “Please let me.” You mutter against his lips, pecking lightly and he nods. He tugs at your hand, pulling you to a stance from your place at the counter and he leads you into his room. 
Once there, he pushes you gently onto the bed and climbs over you planting kisses over the sensitive skin in the crook of your neck pulling a whimper from your mouth and he travels lower. He pushes your shirt up and runs his nose along the skin of your stomach leaving goosebumps in its path before you pull it over your head and throw it across the room. He smiles against you, crawling up and finding your face while peppering small kisses over your cheeks and the tip of your nose. His forehead meets yours and your eyes flutter closed.
“Can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of having you like this, flower.” He mumbles and you hum, a dopey smile playing on your lips.
His fingers caper down your torso, finding the button of your jeans and flicking it open with a certain expertise. You help him push them off your waist while your lips meet his once more, the naturally sweet taste of his tongue like candy on yours is something you would crave for the rest of your life. He disrobes his own clothes, barely breaking from your lips to pull his shirt over his head and tossing it towards the same general area as yours.
He spreads you open with his fingers, trailing a digit through your arousal and you shudder at his gentle touch. He teases your aching hole, petting over it continuously, drawing a whine from your throat. 
“Tell me what you want, angel.” His voice is low, gravelly in the back of his throat. “Already know, just need to hear you say it.”
“You. Just need to feel you.” The intonation in your voice is nothing short of begging, and he’s not wasting time. He doesn’t want to play, doesn’t want to tease any more than he already has—barely has. He’s just as impatient as you are, fisting his cock and pumping once…twice before he drags the tip through to collect you all over him. 
The feel of the most intimate part of him against you sends fireworks bursting through your belly. He lines up, pushing himself in and you both release a sigh, something just felt like it was falling into place. Like it was always supposed to be this way. 
He halts when he’s fully in, pausing briefly to let you adjust to the stretch. Your hands grip around his biceps, indenting the muscle beneath his skin and he sets his pace…slow and sensual. You can feel it all, a fire igniting in your heart at every grunt and every groan he doesn’t hold back from you. You let your hands wander down the length of his torso, wrapping around his back and leaving the shapes of crescents in his skin. The sensation forces him to drop his head into your chest, licking and kissing down the valley between your tits as you arch your back, wanting him impossibly closer than he already is.
His pace picks up, his hips meeting yours with more fervor than before. Your eyes flutter closed again and he supports his weight above you on one arm. His movements never falter as he wraps one hand around the back of your neck and forces your mouth on his, teeth clashing and his tongue slips in. He moans into your mouth, the sound so sinful that you clench around him. 
“Fuck, if you keep squeezing me like that m’not gonna last.” He mutters with a shaky breath. You smirk, taking his bottom lip between your teeth and sucking lightly before letting the plump skin bounce back into place. He chuckles and you push his sweaty curls away from his forehead. You pull him down to you, your mouth just over his ear and you taste the saltiness on his skin as you lick a path up his neck and he swears under his breath. 
“Want you to cum for me, Har. Please. Need to feel it. Need you to fill me.” You whine into his ear and he mutters something incoherent. 
“Need you to first, flower.” He pants through gritted teeth. His thrusts become hurried. He’s hitting every spot that you need him to, pulling his cock all the way out to the tip before sliding back into you in a way that has you so close, your resolve dancing on the thinnest of tightropes. He brings his hand to his mouth, spitting on his fingers before slotting it between the two of you, petting slow circles over your clit, and you tumble over.
“I’m gonna cum.” You say, your voice fading into a whimper when you feel the familiar burst of pleasure dance down your spine straight to your core. Your walls flutter around him, willing for him to spill inside of you. The stimulation sends him falling from his own cliff, his hips stutter before you feel his cock twitching and the warmth of him painting you and he drops his forehead to your collarbone, riding out his high slowly. 
The both of you lay there, catching breaths for a moment while you run your fingers through his hair and down his back and back up again. Your thighs were still wrapped around him, but you let them fall to the bed and he hums as he slides out, laying beside you and tangling his fingers with yours. You turn towards him and smile
Wordlessly, you revel in each other's presence. He traces your jawline with the back of his hand, you poke his cheek with your finger and he laughs. He stands, pulling you with him into the bathroom. He starts the shower, pulling you to his chest and kissing you lazily while the water heats up. 
In the shower, he spoils you a bit, washing your hair for you while you lean into his touch, your back pressing against him as he works his fingers on your scalp deliciously. He takes special care of washing over your skin with sudsy soap and if you weren’t so tired you probably would’ve entertained him with round 2 in the shower. Instead, when he rinses you off he sends you on your way and informs you what drawer he keeps his shirts in while he cleans himself. 
Clad in an old, washed-out band shirt, you flop onto his bed and under the covers, exhaustion quickly setting in. You hear the water shut off, but not before you feel the mattress sink from some other presence in the room. Your eyes open and see who must be Sylvester coming closer to you and you grin, extending your hand to him and he sniffs before nudging his head against your fingers. He makes a spot beside you, curling his tail around himself as Harry steps from the bathroom. 
He dresses himself and joins you, a look of confusion passing over his face in the orange glow of the rising sun filtering in through the window. You mirror it back to him and he laughs.
“He doesn’t even do that with me.” He informs you, gesturing to Sylvester fast asleep by your legs and you smile tiredly. “Now you really can’t leave.” He whispers, planting a kiss to your forehead before finding his own comfort under the duvet. 
And lucky for Sylvester, you didn’t plan on going anywhere.
664 notes · View notes
devinedoll · 24 days
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the first time - rafe x bartender!reader in the bahamas
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while you drive rafe cameron around, it’s very easy to forget he’s a stranger. he tells you about his past, that he came to the island for business, that he’s all alone and has no one waiting for him back home. he has this way of carrying himself, he’s confident and charming, you feel like you’ve known him forever.
he feels the opposite about you, he likes how different you are, how young and excited you seem. it’s been a long time since he’s enjoyed the presence of someone else, he’s glad you seem just as eager.
you remember he’s a stranger when he enters your bedroom, meeting his piercing eyes as you turn on your soft twinkle lights. he looks around the room, observing the various girly decorations you’ve placed about, posters and furniture and pillows, rafe smiles softly.
your cheeks flush at the exposure, “s’not much,” you speak referring to the beach cottage you’re renting, “but i love her.”
rafe’s smirk doesn’t falter, “no it’s cute, definitely suits you.”
his words make you calm, you wrap your arms around his neck. you push forward and press your lips into his. his hands are grabby at your waist as he pulls you against him, trying to keep you as close as possible.
you pull back only to remove your tank top, he licks his lips when it falls to the floor. he does the same with his shirt, removing your jean skirt as well.
if he wasn’t staring earlier, the flimsy pink bikini you wear now has definitely captured his attention.
you press your body back to his, kissing him on the jaw before connecting your lips once more.
your skin feels hot, yet you shiver when you feel rafe fighting the urge to undo your top. thick fingers toying with the strings behind your neck.
“pull em’” you giggle into the kiss, and he smirks back at you, tugging the string until the cups fall.
he pulls back only to look at you, hooded eyes fixated on your chest, “oh shit,” he breathes, reaching out and resting his hands on the curve of your waist. his hands trail up until they rest beside your breasts, thumbs coming out to brush against your peaked nipples, “look at you”
his head lowers to kiss at your chest, cock twitching at the breathy sounds of pleasure falling from your lips.
he lifts you and gently places you on your bed, pulling back momentarily to capture a mental image of you topless, splayed out against your comforter, “fuck me” he breathes. he’s not sure how he’s supposed to go back to anyone else after this. you find yourself wondering how he’s not taken already.
you giggle, hand reaching out to pull him back in for a kiss, “that’s the plan.”
he removes your bikini bottoms, lifting your hips and discarding them with the rest of your clothes. his eyes are focused on your pussy, hands coming down to pull you apart, licking his lips at your soaked hole, “look at you all worked up”
you almost shut your legs at the words, your ears burning under him.
his fingers stroke your core, your eager hips pushing up into his hand. he looks up at you, eyes thin, amused as he teases you.
you’re not sure when he discards his shorts and boxers, but when you open your eyes again, they’re gone.
his cock sits heavy in his hand, the tip pink and leaking clear fluid that makes your mouth water. you want it in your mouth.
another time, you think.
he places the tip of his cock against you, letting out a low groan as he pushes in, “fuck.”
your breath catches in your throat as you take him, pussy spasming as it adjusts to the hot stretch, “s’big” you whimper.
he nods, pupils blown out as they focus on where the two of you are connected, blinking roughly when he pushes in further.
it’s short thrusts until he’s fully inside of you, and you relax a bit when he finally is. your pussy loosens to his shape, but continues to clamp down regardless, “god you’re tight.” he groans, “y’ready for more?”
he almost laughs at the eager nod you give him, before his begins fucking into you.
you’re moaning like a pornstar, body moving in tandem with his for each thrust. he’s filling you as deeply as he can, and the wide eyes you look up at him confirm his earlier thoughts:
this is exactly how he knew he would fuck you, rough and dirty. from the moment he laid eyes on you he knew you’d love it.
“fuck fuck fuck” you whine as you meet your high, cumming around him and leaving a milky ring at the base of his cock.
he has both your wrists pinned above you, zoned in on the way your tits bounce as he continues driving into you. you cry as he continues, overstimulated and sensitive, but loving the intense pleasure nonetheless.
“that’s it, good girl.” he hums, “take this fuckin’ cock.”
the strangled noise you release has him thrusting harder, on the cusp of his own release. it’s only confirmed when you open your mouth once more, moaning out a request,
“want it in my mouth please!” you beg, “cum in my mouth”
he grunts, a low and deep noise to signal his high. he pulls out from you quickly, one hand gripping your jaw as the other jerks himself into you.
you close your eyes when you feel him fill your mouth, sealing your mouth around the tip to drain him before swallowing obediently.
you bat your lashes up at him, wiping your lips with your thumb, “what?” you ask in reference to his dumb expression.
he scoffs, “you’re trouble.”
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omgrachwrites · 4 months
Text
Heather - Masterlist
Pairing: Lip Gallagher x Bartender!Reader
Summary: You've fallen for the smart college kid who frequents the bar your work in. The only problem? He has a girlfriend.
Warnings: fluff, angst, swearing, mentions of drugs, smut
A/N: so, I've seen more than 3 episodes of Shameless lmaoo, I'm on season 6! Please let me know if you guys want to be tagged. I love you all! xxx
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three - coming soon
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loveshotzz · 7 months
Note
for your blurbs:
‘bent over a table while something bakes in the oven.’
with my favorite bartender. maybe it’s his birthday or somethin’ :)
Hi bf 🥰 I hope you enjoy your boyfriend being a birthday boy menace.
A/N: this blurb is with bartender!eddie from my whatta man au, but can be read as a stand alone. just know it’s your bartender boyfriends 32nd birthday.
wc: 1.9k
warnings: 18+ for smut,fem!reader, dirty talk, mild food play, spanking, cream pie for days
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“I thought I wasn’t supposed to see the cake before the party babe?”
Eddie’s voice echoes down the hall from your bedroom, an annoyed sigh escaping from between your lips when you stop stirring the chocolate icing you’d just ask him to come try.
“That’s the bride before the wedding, and you weren’t supposed to be hereeee.” You call back in an irritated song when you remind him of his three a.m. decision to come and see you after his shift at The Foxy Lounge using the significance of today to get you to say yes. “But since you are, I want the birthday boy to tell me if this is sweet enough for him.”
You wipe your hands on your sleep shorts that you haven’t been able to change out of yet, turning around only to be crowded against the counter in a blur of black and ripped denim by mister thirty two himself. Your palms land flat against his chest as his full lips start peppering kisses all over your face and the giggles he gets only encourage him further. The hard formica pressing against your back becomes smooth against the bottom of your thighs when he lifts you up to sit on it instead. You squeal his name when he pushes himself between your legs with the kind of smile that gives you butterflies like the first night you met him.
“I really like it when you call me birthday boy.” Wiggling his eyebrows, you can still see the dimples that poke his cheeks under his scruff, while big ring-covered hands find a home on the curve of your ass pulling you closer to the edge. The silver chain attached to his wallet that dangles from his belt is cool against the skin of your calf from the A/C when you wrap your legs around him.
“I’m not surprised in the slightest,”You grin, unable to stop the way one of your hands fluff’s out his freshly washed curls. The softness from your deep conditioner is evident against your fingertips. “Now are you going to try this frosting or not before Steve takes you away.”
“I also really like when you’ve got a lil attitude like this,” Eddie teases, nudging the round end of his nose with yours as he leans to try and steal a kiss only for the plush softness of his full lips to hit your cheek instead and it actually makes him whine a little, “come on, it’s my birthday.”
“Try the frosting and maybe I’ll reconsider.” Crossing your arms over your chest, you catch the way he has to physically pull his eyes away from your now pushed up tits.
He sucks the skin of his teeth, looking at you with a narrowed stare before raising his eyebrows at you in a silent challenge. Nodding before shrugging a little too casually, he dips his index finger into the rich velvet, the boars head that dons it catching in the sunlight.
“Fine, I’ll try it. No problem baby, anything for you.” His tone is the only warning you get before the chocolate that matches his eyes is smeared sloppily across your lips.
Eddie doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of your open mouth when you gasp, doing what you asked of him while also still getting what he wants. His hand reaches up, cupping your cheek in his palm letting the pad of his thumb coax you open for him with a swipe of his tongue collecting the chocolate from your bottom lip before meeting yours in the middle with a low groan. It’s a battle for dominance before he sucks yours gently, getting your back to arch and fingers to bury themselves in his curls, melting into him just like the sugar.
He grins into the kiss when the heels of your feet start to dig into the curve of his butt, your irritation from before forgotten with a roll of your hips. He smacks his lips against yours once, twice, three times before he pulls away more than proud of himself when you look at him with a dazed smile and glazed over half hooded eyes.
“Mmm, I think I need another taste. What do you think?” His nose ring bumps against your heated cheek when he kisses you again, this one softer, his teeth nipping at your bottom lip while his finger makes its way back into the bowl of chocolate by your hip.
“I think it’s your birthday, you can do whatever you want.” The double meaning in your words doesn’t go unnoticed, black pupils taking over coffee ground eyes.
The sarcastic remark he has about your attitude just minutes ago is quickly forgotten when your hand wraps around his wrist bringing his frosting covered finger to your lips. He can feel the warmth between your thighs that lock him in place, cock twitching against the seam of his ripped jeans when you lick a long stripe up the side before bringing it entirely into the heat of your mouth. Hollowing out your cheeks as you suck, his eyes hit the back of his head with a muttered ‘fuck’ and a rock of his hips in search for the kind of friction only you can give.
You release him with a loud pop that bounces off the walls of your kitchen and you’ve never been more thankful for your roommate to be out of town. There’s a hunger in his stare that wasn’t there before when it meets yours and the fingers spread across your ass grab at the soft flesh pulling you closer. The evidence of your teasing makes you moan when it presses against your clit.
“Gonna let me bend you over then?” The gravel in his voice is unmistakable, leaning his forehead against yours as he looks at you from under thick lashes.
“Uh huh” you nod, letting your top lip connect with his bottom one in a dare, a deep exhale blowing through his nose when he smells the chocolate on your breath.
“That’s my sweet girl,” he grins, stepping back just enough for you to get off the counter, both of his hands finding your sides to help you down, “just like your icing.”
Your eyes don’t leave his as you make a show of letting your body slide down the length of him with a smile. Nipples hardening under your tank top as they rub down his chest. He curses under his breath, licking his lips when you turn around to press your ass firmly against the throb in his jeans. A teasing thrust from him has your palms find the counter top for support, while his hands wrap tight around your curves.
“Fuck, look at you.” He’s mesmerized by the dip of your back as you arche for him, the hem of your shorts stretching over the fat of your ass, riding up just below your cheeks. He wants it to be his birthday every day.
“Better hurry up before Steve starts callin’” You tease looking back over your shoulder with a wiggle of your hips.
“Hmmpf '' Eddie huffs with one more thrust, ringed fingers curling around the sides of your shorts, stepping back just enough to let them pool at your feet. “He can wait, this is more important.”
He grabs a handful of your ass, spreading you apart to reveal just how wet you already are and the sight of it makes him groan. He works on the button of his jeans, metal clinking when they fall to the floor.
Dripping for him, he slides the tip of his cock along the seam of your cunt with ease, catching against your clit making you keen. You push back for more and the heat of his palm connects to your cheek with a smack, the metal of his rings adding an extra sting that makes you gush.
“Don’t be rude baby, I’m the birthday boy.” He reminds you, watching how your ass jiggles the way he likes.
“Don’t get cocky - ohmygod” The air is taken out of your lungs when he lines himself up with your entrance and pushes in without warning, the stretch when he bottoms out with his chest to your back makes your eyes pinch shut with a whine.
“I think you like it,” His words come out right next to your ear in a breath of peppermint and chocolate that make goosebumps rise along the back of your neck.
He doesn’t wait for you to respond before he stands up straight, fingers digging into the dough of your hips when he pulls almost all the way out before filling you back up to the hilt. Circling his hips, his tip bullies the spot that makes your toes curl and the flutter of your walls encourages him to start his unrelenting pace. The first three strokes make your jaw go slack, fingers curling around the edge of your countertop, the ends of your nails scratching against the wood underneath.
“Always feel so good baby, Jesus - sucking me in like she can’t get enough.” The lewd sounds of your slick and the slap of his hips against your ass fill the quiet of your apartment, a low whine pulling from your throat when he adjusts hitting a different angle.
“Eddie - fuuuck.” You can’t find it in yourself to care how pathetic you sound, not when two calloused fingers start playing messily with your swollen bundle of nerves.
“Yeah sweet girl? That feels nice?” Hunching over you, his strokes get deeper the tip of his nose nudging the shell of your ear.
“S’good” you manage to get out, pushing your hips back meeting his.
His hold on your waist becomes bruising as he keeps making circle eights with the pads of his finger to your puffy clit, while the pattern of his thrusts start to get sloppy when he feels the way you tighten around him like you're close. The slow burn that started deep in your gut starts to become all consuming like this, one of your hands releasing its grip from the counter to cover on top of his between your legs. A low chuckle vibrating in your ear when he picks up the pace.
“Yeah, it’s like that?” You can hear the grin in his voice, and your smart mouth from before is gone. All you can do is nod, your arousal coating both of your fingers and leaving them to slide messy in a way that has your chest tighten, and your mouth fall open.
“Give me my present then baby, come on, give it to me then. Wanna feel you on me all day.” He grunts nipping at your earlobe, and it’s enough to get him exactly what he wants.
“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!” Your eyes squeeze shut when you scream his name, your orgasm washing over you in a burst of heat as he thrusts into you hard enough to push you on to the tips of your toes with every one.
“Shit - that’s it, that’s fuckin’ itttt.” The feeling of your walls constricting around him so much that they try to push him out only makes him bury himself deeper as he paints your insides white. Muscles tensing with his release before they go limp when he melts back into you, huffing out a laugh that fans against your neck.
“The icing is great sweetheart, I can’t wait for the cake.”
1K notes · View notes
bangaveragewhitewine · 8 months
Text
crazy-mad for you
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Eddie Munson x Reader (bouncer x bartender, frenemies to lovers)  - Happy Hours series
Chicago, 1991. When you’re not pouring beers and shaking cocktails behind the bar of Jackie’s, you’re fighting flirting balancing banter and bite with the metalhead bouncer on your break.
A busy Friday night changes how you see Eddie Munson. Maybe you were wrong about the bouncer with his silver tongue and Bambi brown eyes...
This is 18+. If you’re not 18 please hit the back button and read something else.
Word count: 16.7 K
Contents/Warnings: Frenemies to lovers. Misogynistic comments; objectification, men being men. Some violence; Eddie gets in a fight. This is an 18+ fic. Smoking, alcohol consumption & drug use. Oral (reader receiving). P in V sex. Excessive use of pet names. Eddie & Reader are mid to late twenties. Reader is written as AFAB and uses female pronouns.
Author’s Note: One minute you’re daydreaming about cherry margaritas and Eddie Munson, and the next you’re writing 36 pages of how you fall in love with him... Just girly things? This is my first attempt at writing Eddie ❤️
I do hope you enjoy it, I had fun writing it! Thank you @specialagentmonkey for beta reading / being my hype woman.
Once again, this is an 18+ fic. Please do not repost my work to other sites.
Dividers by me ✌️
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The cold fizz of vodka soda lime prickles your throat with a pleasant burn. 
It’s August and it’s warm, too warm to be crammed in this little dive bar with too many bodies and not enough of them wearing antiperspirant. Way too warm to be working, slinging cheap drinks to the thirsty Friday night crowd crushed into Jackie’s. They can be stingy with their ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’ but the tips are good at least (thanks to the pulled-low hem of your tank top showing just enough and the hug of denim on your hips). 
Jackie’s was a popular little dive you had visited during your first week in Chicago; a drink with your new roommate and some friends ended with you charming the owner Frank and promising to return for a trial shift the following evening. That was almost a year ago and you had settled in well, stepping up to be a supervisor after six months. 
Now, bone tired and wishing just a little bit that you worked a nine to five, you long for a cool shower and something fried and crispy and maybe cheesy (not particularly in that order). You’re here until close, two a.m last call followed by another hour of cleaning. Then you’re home free. Until tomorrow night anyway.
You tip back the last of your drink and crunch the ice between your teeth. Those last few minutes of your break are dwindling and soon you will haul yourself back, to fill beers and shake-up cocktails, all tits and teeth and aching feet. The music from the bar is loud as you perch on your stool at the back door, but you hear him over it hum-singing something way more Billboard Hot 100 than his usual taste. It makes your lips curve into a smirk, your head leaning back against the cool brick wall. 
“Don't you know, hmmhnn change. Things'll go your way. Hmmm hmm Hold On for -”
“Hey, hotshot.”
The small startle that shakes Eddie’s black-clothed body makes you laugh more than it should, particularly when he attempts to brush it off and play cool. 
“Fuckin’ Christ, I should’ve known you’d be here.” His voice is a groan, head tipped back with hammed-up exasperation. 
“Careful, Ed. They’ll revoke your metalhead licence if they hear you’re singing Wilson Phillips these days.” Your voice is a conspiratorial stage whisper as you cross your legs, stacking one over the other. His usual leather jacket has been swapped out for the hot summer nights, black denim over his usual tight black t-shirt and Dickies. 
He rolls and flicks his lighter to set the cigarette between his lips aflame as he meanders toward you. You can hear the crackle of burning tobacco as he takes a long drag, eyes never leaving you. “Not shaking your tits for tips, sugar?”
“Aw, been thinking about me while you’re asking cute girls what their star sign is?” you snark, missing the shadow of something that passes over Eddie’s face as your eyes roll. 
You switch your focus to the night sky above as Eddie comes to loom by you. The smoke swirls around him as he offers the cigarette out to you. Before taking it, you reach back and leave your empty glass on the sill behind you and swap a chilled bottle of Budweiser for the smoking cig. 
It’s not an olive branch, just part of your usual ritual; trading acidic barbs, mean words, shared smokes and free drinks whenever you’re scheduled on the same shifts (which is most nights). 
Eddie uses his keys to uncap the bottle and takes a long pull, head tipped back to show off his pale throat. A sliver of silver glints around his neck. The beer is almost half gone when he rips a truly boyish burp. Gross. 
You take a drag, sighing the smoke into the warm air. 
“What’s the sigh about, princess? Did someone not say please when they asked for their Cosmo? Your little apron tied too tight?” Eddie plucks at the wrap of black fabric around your waist. The way it hugs the curve and flair of your hips is certainly not lost on him.
You blow your second drag of smoke directly at him for that one. “Well if you could make sure we’re not packing the place out and breaching health and safety, that would be fuckin’ fantastic.” 
“Simmer down, princess. I’ve got it handled. You just pour your little drinks and wink at the boys and we’ll get through tonight just fine, ‘kay? Leave the crowd control to me.” Eddie tilts his head, dripping condescension like the total asshole he is. He’s way closer than you even realised and you can smell the spicy Fahrenheit behind the smoke. There’s heavy silence as you both glare at each other in the back alley.
The heat and hectic night make your banter especially snarky but Eddie’s the first to break, nudging you with a little smile. You barely catch his gaze dropping to your lips as you take another drag from his cigarette.
“No one giving you any trouble tonight?” he asks. 
“No more than usual. Just absolutely slammed in there. Just got done changing kegs again - they’re drinking us dry and it’s only Friday.” You roll your neck, sighing again when it cracks. 
“Tips good?” He seems almost genuine until his mean little smirk returns,  “Your tits are probably doing the real heavy liftin’ but..” 
“Listen dickh-”
Just as you’re about to cuss him out, there’s a burst of music and crowd noise as one of the other bartenders comes to find you. Michelle looks between you and Eddie before rolling her eyes. “C’mon, you’re really pushin’ that ten-minute break tonight. Sorry to break up whatever this was,” she flaps her hand between you and Eddie (who’s grinning like a wolf as he finishes his beer), “but we have a bachelorette party in line and it’s already crazy in there.” 
“Bachelorettes?” Eddie pushes off the wall and steals the smoke back from your fingers, “Sounds like I should probably get back to work. Ladies.” He winks before sauntering off, leaving you almost simmering with something like anger until Michelle scoffs and drags you back inside. 
“The sooner you two just bang and get it out of your system, the better,” Michelle tuts. 
“Ew. Pass.” You scoff and pause at the dingy mirror to fix your hair and pat the sweat away with a rip of trusty blue roll, scooping your breasts up in their cups and adjusting your top before scurrying after Michelle again. If you’re going to be busy, you may as well make it worthwhile and rake in the tips. 
The bar is louder than loud but you’re energised from your vodka soda and little sparring session with Eddie and easily fall back into step with the other bar staff, working together like a well-oiled machine - despite the annoying rusty hinge manning the door.  
Eddie rejoined the staff with his buddy Jeff in tow after they had spent some time on tour with their band. You had barely contained your eye rolls when the loud metalhead had waltzed into one of Frank’s staff meetings (conducted over pizza and pitchers of beers) unannounced and kicked his feet up on a table like he owned the place. Everyone was happy to see him (adding a round of shots to toast his glorious return) but you stayed wary of the flirty metalhead with a silver tongue and big brown Bambi eyes. Yeah, you felt warm all over when he looked you up and down and smiled like a wolf but you knew his type - total flirt, make a girl feel special and then move on to the next one. You didn’t move your entire life to a whole new state to get fucked over again, so you and Eddie settled into trading catty comments while you watch out for each other, allowing the occasional flirtation for balance. Getting under each other’s skin in whatever way seemed most annoying and fun? It worked, made the slow nights bearable, the busy ones more fun. Whatever it was. 
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An hour later the small of your back is nearly soaked with perspiration. The bachelorettes are in full flight, meaning you have been pouring shots and mixing cocktails non-stop. They’re sweet at least, good with their excited ‘thank you!’s for all the fruity drinks you made them - cherry margaritas, blue lagoons and strawberry daiquiris going down an absolute treat. 
You’re shaking another batch of lemon drop shots for a girl's night group when you become hyper-aware of two yuppie finance bros with their gaze firmly fixed on your chest, trading little smirks and comments with each other behind their glasses. You’re overcome with an overwhelming sense of ick. 
It’s nothing new, but it doesn’t make it any easier to ignore sometimes - even when you’re up-the-walls busy and the kegs need to be changed. You refocus and fix your gaze on the glowing EXIT sign, thinking about how many more cocktails you will make before close. Your eye is caught instead by Eddie standing by the door, already looking at you while he’s supposed to be making sure none of the patrons are being too dickish. 
When your eyes meet he tilts his chin in a nod. Eddie smirks as he shimmies his chest at you, to which you mouth a very easily recognisable ‘FUCK YOU’ with a cheeky wink for good measure. 
He shakes his head and you pour the line of shots, earning yourself a nice big tip and a rake of compliments from the drunk girls who make you promise to do a shot with them later. Not a promise you can definitely keep, but their enthusiasm is a balm for your soul.
As they shuffle away to give each other pep talks in the bathroom (gosh, you love them), one of the men who had been eyeing you up steps into their place. You don’t miss the way he drags his eyes over their bodies before his snake-like stare is fixed on you. You have already made plenty on tips so you dial back the smile, giving him a barely polite brow raise in place of a ‘What’ll it be?’
“Two whiskeys, top shelf. Whatever’s expensive in this dump,” he says, speaking to your chest rather than your face. You can smell the sour of his breath across the counter. 
You square your jaw and suppress an eye roll that would surely render you sightless for the rest of your days. “If you don’t like it, the doors over there. Ice?”
He grunts affirmative and you pour the drinks from the barely touched bottle, slamming the glasses down just hard enough to startle him before you give him his total.
“There’s an extra fifty in it if you give me a smile,” he says, leaning his elbow on the bar with the crisp note in hand. “You been given’ out a lot more for a lot less all night. One little smile for me?” The man nods to your cleavage, and you refuse to feel self-conscious. 
You can’t summon the effort to even fuck with him, come up with a comeback that his Neanderthal brain couldn’t possibly comprehend. You give him his total again along with your best deadpan glare. “You’re holding up the line. Pay up or am I going to need to cut you off, buddy?”
His face turns sour, acidic anger bubbling up. “You’re a hard little bitch, aren’t ya?”
You smirk at that, plucking the fifty from between his thin fingers to cash up before dropping his change back on the counter. “I am, thank you so much for noticing.” Your voice is nearly saccharine, and you play up the airhead facade for a moment before turning to the customer next to him. “Next please!”
His curses blend into the background as Michelle hip-checks you with a grin and wink, which you return while beginning to pour beers for your next order. If you let every slimeball get to you, you would have given up a long time ago. 
On such a busy night, it was easy to be distracted and forget all about him, but the sharp brown eyes standing by the door saw everything - and he wasn’t so forgiving. 
Almost another hour passes; another keg change, more cocktails to shake, another few visits from your favourite group of girls (who you take a shot of tequila with when they bat their lashes at you - you’re a sucker when it comes to girls who give you compliments and smell like vanilla).  
The crowd thins a bit and you take a turn collecting empties, happy to have an excuse to get out from behind the bar and stretch your legs again, even if it is to balance too many glasses on a too-small tray. The ever-changing obstacle course of the floor on a Friday night is one you’re well practised at, dodging stray elbows and dipping in between patrons to take their spent glasses from the sticky tables, maybe chat a little if it’s not too loud or busy. 
Paradise City is pouring through the speakers as your arms begin to protest the load they are carrying. You know your limit and pick up two more stacked pint glasses, catching Eddie’s eye as he bids goodnight to some regulars. His boot is already halfway out the door after them when you see his face change into something you can’t fully comprehend. Not because you can’t read him - you absolutely can - but your body is careening forward and down toward the floor before you can catch yourself. Your foot had caught on something that hadn’t been there before you met Eddie’s stare, sending you flying forward. 
There’s a thud, crash, smash as you hit the deck alongside every single glass you had expertly balanced. The sound feels huge, ringing in your ears and it’s like the air is sucked out of the room, your body is winded by the unexpected impact. The music cuts and everything hurts - part ego, part ‘that’ll bruise tomorrow’ pain. 
You wish for the sticky floor to just swallow you up as patrons form a little circle around you, crunching broken glass under their feet. A familiar pair of boots stops right by your head. Eddie. He crouches to kneel by you with one hand heavy on your shoulder and floods your already overwhelmed senses with his smoke and leather and spice. 
He says your name, edged with panic until you open your squeezed-shut eyes. You manage to push yourself up with a small wince, hauling yourself with his help to sit on a quickly-vacated low stool. His hands feel huge as they cup your face, you hadn’t noticed how long his lashes were (unfair) or the freckles dusted across his nose. 
“M’okay, Ed. Jus’ need a minute,” your murmur, head ducked to hide your hot cheeks and embarrassment. He stands and puts his arm around you, without thinking you rest your head against his hip but miss his slight intake of breath as your coworkers calm the crowd and start sweeping and gathering the glass, and thankfully turn the music back on. 
Eddie bends a little to speak to you, low and quiet, “Just sit there a sec, okay? ‘Chelle is going to bring you to the staff room.”  
You nod and take a few breaths before taking his hand to stand and be passed safely into Michelle’s care.
“I’ll be back to you in a sec. Don’t go gettin’ in any more trouble, ‘kay?” Eddie’s softness has an edge now, his eyes zeroing in on the man who had given you shit at the bar earlier. The one Eddie had been glaring at ever since; he had seen him stick his foot out to trip you. 
You’re just about to push through to the back hallway when you hear raised voices. Eddie’s voice is louder than the others. You turn and see him squaring up to the slimeball who asked you for a smile earlier, not looking as clever or slick now that Eddie’s up in his face.
“Oh, what the fuck,” Michelle murmurs, pausing behind you to watch. 
“I saw you fuckin’ trip her man. Get the fuck out.” Eddie is incensed. “Been givin’ her shit all night.”
Trip her? Oh. He means you.
“I wouldn’t touch’er. That bitch? Fuck off man, get out of my face.”
There’s a scuffle, another broken glass. More shouting before it really kicks off, fists swinging. Through the horrified crowd, you see knuckles connecting with Eddie’s pretty face. It hurts when you yell out his name, adding to the noise as Jeff rushes in to get the men under control. 
Eddie lands his own punch, rings slamming into the man's jaw, raising a collective ‘ooof’ from the gathered crowd. Despite the blood on his face and hands, Eddie manages to haul him out into the street with Jeff, some beefy regular marching the second man out by the scruff of his neck. 
“What the fuck…” you breathe, realising that you were holding on to Michelle’s arm way too tight. You apologise and she steers you back to the staff room in a daze of pain and confusion (more from the fight than your fall). The room is little more than a box with a wall of beat-up lockers, a sink and counter, a table with cracked Formica and creaky chairs and a squishy old two-seater. It’s cramped but it can be a haven on a busy night. 
As you ease yourself into the corner of the squishy sofa, Michelle pours you a big measure of whiskey for the shock. She kneels in front of you, looking you over for any cuts or scrapes from the glass, and checks your pupils for good measure. You’re just shaken up and feeling the impact of the fall. 
“You dizzy or anything?” she asks, squeezing your knee. “You’re gonna have a big fuckin’ bruise, babe. Remember when I spilled that pitcher, slipped and fell on my ass back before Christmas? Black and blue well into New Year.” She squeezes your knee and encourages you to take a sip of your drink. 
The whiskey burns but you barely feel it. 
“Why did Eddie hit that guy? Did.. did he trip me? The floor was clear, I just… I didn’t see... My foot caught something but..” Your voice shakes from the adrenaline, the shock of the last few minutes. 
She shrugs with a little smile. “I didn’t see either. You’ll need to ask Ed yourself.” A little frown etches between her brows. “He doesn’t… he doesn’t get pissed like that for no reason. He’s a good guy, babe. He looks out for everyone, staff and the drunks. He wouldn’t do that without a good reason. I know you get up each other’s ass but..-” 
As you take another sip, the door swings open. 
Eddie. Eddie with a bloody nose, lip swollen. Eddie with his jacket off, draped over his arm as he flexes his bloody knuckles around a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pint glass of ice in the other hand.
“Hey, you okay?”
His brown eyes are wide, but he’s trying to play cool despite the adrenaline coursing through him too. Eddie feels like his entire body is buzzing, not in a good way like when he plays a gig or when he gets you riled up at him, when you roll your eyes and give him that smirk - bad like when he used to get in fights in school, when a teacher would assume he was the troublemaker and send him to detention or the principal’s office. 
You look at Eddie and he looks right back at you. You can’t look away from each other. It’s like your fall and his punches caused something to shift; you can’t name it but it weighs on you, both of you. 
Michelle squeezes your hand. “I’ll leave you two to patch yourselves up. Be good.” A kiss is dropped to your head and she squeezes Eddie’s arm as she passes him by. 
It’s just you now. You and Eddie, both hurting. 
“Ed…”
He takes a long pull from the bottle of Jack and drops into the seat next to you. 
“Eddie, what the hell was that?” Your voice is quiet and your eyes shine when you look at him. He is a ball of frenetic energy, knee bouncing. You take in the black ink on his arms, see the veins and muscles twitch beneath. His nose and mouth are stained bloody, knuckles and rings too. 
He looks over you, sees how you’re holding yourself carefully after your fall. “He tripped you.” Eddie’s voice is quiet, not something you hear often. He’s loud and he’s brash, hear-him-before-you-see-him kinda guy. 
“Oh.”
“Oh? He’d been giving you shit all night, you could’ve called me. Or Jeff.” He sips the whiskey again and tops up your glass without another word.   
“Yeah, he was a creep. Nothing new there. If I come crying to you and Jeff every time someone gets fresh with me I’d never be behind the bar. People are assholes. I can handle myself, Ed.” 
“And how’d that go for you tonight? You could’ve been really fuckin’ hurt.” His eyes blaze, nostrils flare. 
Your jaw drops, “You’re blaming me?” 
“No. No, fuck,” he growls in frustration. “I know you can handle yourself. That’s why you’re fuckin’ great at your job. If I had just taken him out when he gave you shit at the bar then maybe -” 
“Jesus Christ, Eddie I don’t need you to save me or protect me! Shit happens! This was shit. It happened. You didn’t need to do that.”
“I know. But I wanted to... I want to..”
The air between you is charged and heavy. 
I want to. What does that mean? 
Eddie covers himself quickly. 
“It’s my job. I want to make sure you, everyone here, can do their job without some fuckin’ guy with halitosis making it worse for you, waving his cash in your face like that.” Eddie nudges you gently, “I just want to do somethin’ right. I like working with you, even when you’re a pain in my ass.” 
You scrunch your nose up, “Sap.” It’s easy to both fit back into your normal routine, ignoring the lingering something more that had just become quite clear to both of you. 
“I might like working with you too. Don’t let it get to your head, I’m not sure your ego needs to get any bigger, Munson.”
He smiles, but the throb of his nose makes him wince and swear.
Eddie has made no attempt to put that glass of ice to good use so you ease yourself up to grab two clean bar towels, tipping the ice into one before wrapping it up. You pass it back to him before filling the empty glass with water.
“Thanks, princess.” Eddie flexes his fingers as the ice soothes the burning with cool unpleasantness. 
You ease yourself back into your seat, facing Eddie now. “C’mere. Let me clean you up.” 
He pauses, looking at you from the side of his big brown eyes before turning to face you. “It’s not broken. Just a little blood. You should see the other guy..” Eddie grins when you roll your eyes. 
“My hero,” you deadpan, though you do kind of mean it. 
With the damp corner of the rag, you gently begin to wipe the blood from Eddie’s face, sitting closer than you have ever really been to him. It’s silent between you, the quietest you have ever seen him. He’s too busy watching you, your focused face and how seriously you are taking your task. 
“Very gentle,” he murmurs. 
“Mm, don’t try me, Munson.” You’re quiet again, concentrating on wiping the blood and not looking into his eyes. “Not your first bloody nose after a fight then?”
“M’nope. High school… Mosh pits. Few angry drunks. The usual.” He doesn’t mention his father’s temper, his first bloody nose from a beer-soaked backhand. The whiskey tastes sour in his mouth at the memory.
You lean back a bit, assessing your work before wetting another edge of the towel. Eddie crosses his eyes, looking down his nose. “Am I pretty again?” He gives an extra cheesy grin for emphasis, making you laugh. It makes his heart soar; that sound, how you duck your head. But he sees your pained wince, bringing him right back to earth. 
“Shit, sorry.” “It’s fine. I’ll live.”
You bring your hand back to his face and wipe the last of the blood-stained around his mouth, taking one last slow swipe over his too-plump-to-be-decent lower lip. That was more for you than for him, though the spark of fire in his eyes said otherwise; it was the same spark lit low in your belly since you had first laid eyes on him and started your incessant teasing of each other. 
“All done.” Your voice is just above a whisper, neither of you making any move backwards. 
“Thank you, nurse.” You can feel the warmth of his breath on your face. “Hey, can you... wear one of those little white dresses next time?” 
He’s grinning again when you shove at his shoulder to put some space between you, the skin beneath almost burning hot under your hand even through the black cotton of his t-shirt.
“No next time. You hear me? Your groupies will come for me if that pretty face gets all bashed up.” There’s that smirk of yours that sets the embers burning low in his stomach alight. 
He rolls his eyes at you, stealing your move. “You heading home?” he asked, watching you again as you drained the last of the whiskey in your glass. 
“Mm, soon. I’ll check if I can help close and clean, then I’ll go.” You lean your head against the back of the battered sofa and close your eyes briefly. You think you might just sleep here until your stomach growls like something from the seventh circle of hell.
Eddie’s big brown eyes shine with mirth, astounded at the inhuman noise that just came from your curled-up body. 
“Shut up. I’ll make cereal or something when I get home.”
“Nuh-uh. You like fries?”
“Who doesn’t like fries?” you peek one eye open to look at him.
“Let’s get some and I’ll make sure you get home safe.” Eddie checks his knuckles and swipes some of the blood from his rings, acting far more nonchalant than he felt. 
“You don’t need to.” Fries and a shake did sound amazing. Walking home while I felt like a human embodiment bruise? Not so much. 
“I know. But I’m going anyway, and you need to eat. So let me.” 
He pokes your arm as he speaks; you think fleetingly that you might let Eddie Munson do anything if he asked you nicely, spoke to you with that hushed husky voice. You think that you definitely must have hit your head when you start thinking about his eyes…
But he can’t know that, so you settle for an eye roll. “Ugh, fine.” 
With far too much energy, Eddie pushes himself up and empties the ice into the sink along with the red-tinged water. He potters around the little staff room, chucking rags into the bag for the laundry and rinsing glasses. You watch him, curious and a little confused until you realise you are staring and don’t want to be caught. 
You sit up and unlock your tiny locker, taking off and balling up your apron to throw in your bag, spraying deodorant under your arms before shutting and locking it again. Eddie’s got his jacket back on and you carry your own too-big denim jacket over your arm. You give him a nod, ready to go, and head out to the bar to check with Michelle that it’s okay for you to call it a night 
The crowd had thinned to a few stragglers who were almost ready to call it a night. Jeff has the door under control and the bar staff are already cleaning tables and glasses. You promise Michelle you will call her tomorrow, that you will stay in bed if you hurt too much, and accept her gentle hug after she passes you your tips for the night. 
“Get home safe. No more getting into trouble,” she says, eyeing you and Eddie together with interest (and some smugness). 
“No promises. See ya tomorrow ‘Chelle,” Eddie says with a wink before you both head out toward the black ‘86 Dodge Daytona parked a little down the street. It’s still humid and warm outside and you walk in silence until you see him unlock the nice car, opening the door for you. Your stomach flip-flops when he gives you a slight bow. He’s only being nice because you made an ass of yourself at work, you tell yourself. 
“Jesus, being a rockstar really pays off,” you tease and throw your bag into the passenger footwell before easing yourself in. “Or did you steal this?” 
You knew he had worked in a garage before moving to the city, and you force the thought of Eddie in a grease-marked tank top out of your head.
“Nah, my days of grand theft auto are long behind me.” Eddie winks and closes the door before rounding the shiny bonnet to sit in the driver’s seat. His keys jangle before he turns the ignition. 
The radio blares Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast so loud that you just about hear Eddie’s swearing over it until he gets the volume down. “Oops.”
“Dude, mind your fuckin’ ears. You’ll be deaf by thirty.” Your own ears are ringing after the onslaught of noise. 
“Huh?” He holds his hand up to his ear and smirks stupidly before revving the engine. 
You sink back into the low seat and shake your head; your own smile reflects at you in the window as he peels away from the curb. “You better not murder me, Munson. I’ll haunt the fuck out of you if you do.” 
“Once again babe, kidnap and human sacrifice are also long behind me.” 
He drives a little fast, but you don’t hate how you feel sitting in the passenger side of his car. He has a faded Black Ice Little Tree hanging from the rearview mirror alongside a skull keychain that cackles and glows red when you push a button on the back. The cramped back seat camouflages balled-up band shirts, a pair of beat-up Chucks, amp leads and guitar strings - a random accumulation that gives you a glimpse of who Eddie is outside of work. It’s easy for your mind to wander; Eddie, a back seat, what kind of girls he usually brings for a ride in his baby. Instead, you wonder about all you don’t know about the guy you spend a good part of your week with, the man currently driving you to get diner food at 2 a.m. after he punched a guy who was mean to you.
“Feelin’ okay?” he checks, flexing his knuckles on the steering wheel as he takes a left.
“Yeah.” You roll your head to look over at him. “Tell me something.”
Eddie glances across at you, brow raised under his bangs. “What?”
“Something, anything. A secret, a story. You always have something to say, so tell me something.” 
“Mmm. You gonna laugh at me?”
“Probably.”
“Shit okay. Um... Okay. I almost got kicked out of my high school graduation. My friends were disruptively loud, like obnoxious motherfuckers - love them to death. And I flipped the Principal off instead of shaking his sweaty little hand.”
It does make you laugh, just a little - more of a really amused smile. “That’s fuckin’ cool, Munson. Were they your little Dungeons and Dorks friends?”
“Rude.” He pauses. “Dragons. Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Nerd. You’re from where, like Ballsack, Indiana?”
“Close. Hawkins - just north of Ballsack actually.”
“Can’t say I know it. Home of the Metalheads or..?”
“No. Definitely not. S’why I left.”
Your lower lip juts out just a little at the loaded confession.
“Your turn. One secret, please. Dirtier the better.”
“Perv.”
“Witch.”
You smirk, leaning your head back. “Been called worse tonight.” 
You don’t see Eddie’s knuckles twitch while you think of a secret. Hearing that guy call you a bitch reminded him of all the times he had heard his poor mother called the same by the deadbeat he called Dad. 
“Okay, you’re going to piss your pants at me. I used to work at this kinda fancy cocktail place before I moved here,” you say. “Totally lied about my experience before starting. Think… wannabe jazz lounge for yuppies. The menu was like this leather folder thing. Anyway, my first week and this like.. rich lookin’ guy comes in and asks for a Roman Coke.”
You see Eddie glance at you as he indicates and swerves the car smoothly to park opposite a little diner not far from where you live. 
“I’m a few days in, super eager to get it all right. I’m like, ‘Yes, of course, coming right up’ and can I remember what the hell is in a Roman Coke? Fuck no. It’s not on the menu so I think ‘Hey this guy must know better than dumb little me’. I’m flipping through the recipe cards, everyone else is busy and kinda mean anyway so I stare at the liquors for like two minutes before I go back and ask him ‘What’s in that again?’.” 
Eddie’s biting his lip. He knows where this is going. He sees how you light up when you tell your story, begs the butterflies to calm their swooping and swirling behind his ribs as you deliver the punchline. 
“Rum. And Coke.”
His head falls forward, rests on the top of the steering wheel. His shoulders shake with silent laughter.
“Eddie. He was the owner.” 
He cackles. That throaty yell of a laugh you hear ringing through the bar or from the staff room when he’s goofing around instead of working. 
“Oh no..” He’s wiping tears from his eyes as you cringe in his passenger seat. “Oh princess, that’s fuckin’ terrible.” 
You sit together in his parked car until you settle, faces hurting from smiling until your stomach growls again.
“Jesus, the woman needs fries - stat.”
“And a Coke?”
“And a Coke.” 
Eddie is out of the car and opening your door before you even have your seatbelt off. He offers you his hand to help you out of the car, careful of your sore body after the fall. 
“Feeling okay?” he asks, still holding your hand. 
“A bit achy. I’ll have a hot shower and take something before bed.” You lift his hand to check his knuckles. “Sore?” 
“I’ve had worse.”
He squeezes your hand gently before you let go and cross the street to the hole-in-the-wall place glowing with neon Coca-Cola signs. 
“You get in a lot of fights then?” you ask as he holds the door. 
“Not anymore.” Eddie shrugs and leads you to a little table, nodding politely to the waitress filling coffees at the counter. She says hi to him by name and you think about Eddie coming in here alone, or not, after his shifts.
The backs of your thighs catch on the red vinyl and you know you will need to peel yourself up later.
Eddie sits opposite you, looking immediately at home as he relaxes back in the booth. In the bright diner lights you can see where his lip is still swollen and sore, the lingering specs of blood in his nostril despite your careful clean-up.
The waitress, an older woman with thinly drawn brows, comes over and pinches Eddie’s cheek with motherly affection. “Hi hon, you two know what you’re havin’?”
Eddie scrunches his nose like a bunny. “Hi, Marie. Usual for me, and a big basket of fries and a Coke?” He looks at you for confirmation, and you nod. “Please and thank you.”
She eyes you up with a little smile as she writes the order. “I was wonderin’ when Eddie was going to bring a nice girl for me to meet. Make yourself at home, sweetheart.”
By the time you both open your mouths to set Marie straight, she’s already gone. Eddie’s cheeks tinge pink, but he shrugs it off. “Hate to have to break her heart and tell her you’re not a nice girl.”
You gasp in mock offence and put your hand to your heart. “I am so nice.” You can’t even keep a straight face as you say it. “Slandering my good name, Munson. I thought you were all about protecting my honour.”
Your close-to-the-bone teasing keeps the rosy tint on his cheeks. 
“I never told you, your face when you fell? Fuckin’ hilarious. Should’ve taken a picture to put behind the bar.”
The jab puts you even again, not that either of you keeps score but it’s all about balance. Can’t be too nice, don’t want to be too mean. 
You rest your head against the back of the booth and close your eyes for a moment, feeling the exhaustion from a busy and unpredictable night wash over you. 
Eddie takes the opportunity to just look at you for a moment; even under the too-bright lights of the diner, he thinks you might just be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 
“Tell me something else,” you say before opening your eyes. When you do, you catch a fleeting dreamy look on Eddie’s face and lean forward to rest your chin on your hand as Marie drops over your drinks and food; fries for you, a burger with oozing American cheese and crisp bacon for Eddie. 
“So nosy,” he teases, shoving a straw into his fizzing Coca-Cola. 
You shrug, feeling a burn in your stomach; maybe you were overstepping. “You don’t have to. You can sit and stare at me if you prefer,” You take a long sip through your own gently placed straw and raise your brows at him. 
He can’t and won’t argue with that one and stirs the ice as he thinks, takes a sip. 
“One of the first gigs I played out of our hometown, we had like thirty people instead of the usual five drunks in the Hideout. I tried to crowd surf, thinkin’ I was hot shit. Broke my wrist.” 
Your eyes blow wide as you eat the best fry of your life - it’s perfectly crisp and fluffy, salted just right - but the punchline of Eddie’s latest confession had you wanting to know more.
“You want half?” Eddie asks, nodding to his burger. 
“No, I'm good, thanks. Hold on, reverse to the breaking your wrist after thinking you were Iggy fucking Pop.” 
He’s already a bite in but holds his wrist up before he flips you off. “See? Good as new,” he says, pausing his chew. 
The fries are too good to waste so you push down the urge to throw one at him. 
“I was eighteen. Stupid kid. S’the reason I didn’t graduate that year.” He sips his Coke again and watches your reaction from beneath his lashes. 
“That’s shitty.” You feel the frown deepen between your brows, angry on his behalf about something he was long over. “No wonder you flipped the principal off.” 
You share your fries with Eddie and eat until your stomach feels warm and full. You share another secret too, tell him about the time you got so scared in a haunted house that you punched some guy dressed as a zombie and got kicked out. He almost choked on a fry at that and laughed so loud that Marie looked over and shook her head fondly at her favourite customer. 
It’s easy to drop the charade that you and Eddie don’t get along. A diner at fuck o’clock in the morning exists a world away from the little bar that pays your rent and bills. When you see him get excited telling you a story, letting you see Eddie beyond the bar, you know you got him wrong - he’s funny as fuck, sweet too. 
Midway through a story about how his friend Robin had dragged him to do (very) drunk karaoke last week, Eddie catches you staring and scrunches his face a little. “Am I rambling? Fuck, sorry.”
“No. Well, a little, but I like it.” You sip the dregs of your refilled Coke and smile a little. 
He smiles back, ducking his head just a little and he catches the time on his watch. His Bambi brown eyes blow wide when he realises. “Jesus, I oughta get you home. The sun will be up soon.” 
You didn’t realise either, but you also don’t care. You’re still tired, still aching, but you feel lighter than you have in months, like a long-dead spark might just be coming back. The warm glow is dampened just a bit when Eddie gulps down the last of his drink. 
He pulls his jacket back on and insists that he helps you put yours on when you wince. He settles the bill, kisses the back of Marie’s hand and promises to come see her soon. Neither of you let her down when she says she hopes to see you again sometime. 
It’s cooler outside now, but the warmth in Eddie’s car and his gentle singing along to the radio rocks you into a light doze as he drives the few blocks to the address you gave him. It kills him to wake you once he’s parked outside. 
The small frown lines on your forehead tell him you’re still in some pain after the tumble you took. The ache in his knuckles felt like nothing in comparison to the twisting anger in his gut when he saw that prick’s foot shove out into your path and you watched as you fell in slow motion.
He gives it a minute, tries not to stare like a creep, before reaching over to shake your knee gently. 
“Hey.” He says your name so softly, so gently, and taps his fingers against your knee. 
You startle slightly and realise where you are. “Sorry, Thanks for the ride, Eddie,” you say quietly. “And the fries. And everything.” 
He smiles again, a gentle curve upward of his lips as his fingers rest on your knee. “Any time. We’re like two or three blocks from each other.” 
Neither of you wants to burst the already waning bubble you have been in since you left the bar. For a moment, you just look at each other until the air becomes too thick, too heady to breathe easy. You’re not entirely convinced that you didn’t hit your head, that this whole night hasn’t been just some dream of yours. The heat of his hand on your leg tells you it’s real. This is something real. 
And still, you make the first move. Pop the bubble. Too much. Too scary. 
Your seatbelt clicks open and you grab your bag as Eddie does the same, coming to open your door and offering you a hand to get out. 
Neither of you let go of the other’s hand, eking out the last of whatever this was before you have to go your separate ways and think about what it could turn into if you only had the bravery. You’re both standing so close and you watch the shadow of his stupid-long lashes under the street light. 
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Today. Whatever. At work.” You want to slap yourself for stuttering. 
“Only if you feel up to it. Don’t be a hero, princess.”
“That’s your job, Ed. I’ll see you at work. Thank you, again..”
You squeeze his hand, he squeezes back.
You walk to your door and Eddie rounds the car again to the driver's side. He raises a hand to salute you as you turn to give him one little wave before closing the door. 
“Fuck,” you sigh with your back pressed to the wood of the door.  “Fuck.” Eddie growls as his head drops against the roof of the car. 
You both take a minute. Need a minute before you can move on. 
You drag yourself up the stairs and let yourself in, quiet enough to not wake your flatmate. Eddie waits to see your light come on before starting the car and driving the two blocks to his place. 
After popping some painkillers you crawl into bed. Even your racing mind and pounding heart can’t keep you from falling into the deepest sleep you have had in months. Your dreams echo with Eddie’s happy throaty laugh, the gasp from the bar when he threw the first punch, the sound you made when you saw a fist crash into his pretty face.
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You sleep late through the Saturday morning city sounds as they turn to afternoon and float through your cracked open window. You sleep until your flatmate knocks to check you made it home and are still breathing, then doze off again while she makes brunch for you both. 
Over eggs and bacon, toast and fresh fruit, coffee and Advil, you tell her everything from last night and show her your bruises. She runs to CVS to get arnica cream and more painkillers while you strip your bed, shower and do laundry, keep busy to keep the recurring thoughts of Eddie from your head. 
While you are folding clean clothes from earlier in the week back into your drawers, you come across a guitar pick Eddie had left on the bar one time before your shift started; once lost from his pocket, found again amongst the collection of shirts and shorts and jeans you wore to work. You had meant to give it back, then he had called you a brat for something stupid. Maybe he had burped too loud in your direction, and so you didn’t bother. As you run your thumb over the smooth curve of it, you think maybe he’s been at the back of your mind for a longer time than you even realised.
You’re sore all over but you call Michelle and let her know you will be in for your shift. You don’t tell her that you stayed out extra late with Eddie talking about stupid shit and laughing until your face hurt - you're not sure you could handle her sweet smugness over the phone. 
After a long bath to soak your muscles and a huge plate of pasta for dinner, you get ready for work. Denim shorts, a tight black t-shirt tucked in, and your trusty Dr Martens (despite the heat). You add some jewellery, spritz your perfume, and fix your hair up off the back of your neck to keep cool. You swipe some Raisin Rage on your lips before wiping it off in favour of a slick of cherry flavour Chapstick. At the last minute, the lipstick makes its way into your bag - just in case. 
It’s just after six when you step back into Jackie’s to help cut wedges of lime and lemon for drinks, make sure the barrels and kegs are hooked up properly, the mixers ready to go. It’s almost time to open up and you haven’t seen (or heard) Eddie yet. You chase your disappointment with a quick smoke break with one of the summer hires before Frank pulls you aside, making sure you’re okay after last night (and that you’re not thinking of suing the bar or anything).
“My wages wouldn’t cover a lawyer, Frank. Even with the tips,” you smirk before stepping from his office out into the hall, running straight into black denim and spicy cologne. 
“Woah, easy there.” Eddie’s hands steady you, two wide palms on your arms that squeeze gently when you look up into his smiling face. “You’re a fuckin’ liability, honey.”
Your cheeks feel hot but you shove his chest gently. “I was wondering when you’d arrive. It was so peaceful and quiet, what a shame.” 
Back to normal. Except Eddie’s hands are still on your arms, his thumb circling on the round of your shoulder. “Feelin’ okay?” he checks, speaking quietly just for you. 
You nod and lift your hand, taking his chin between your finger and thumb, feeling brave alongside the little intake of breath Eddie just about hides. “No bruises. Good.” 
There’s a beat where you and Eddie aren’t quite sure what you mean, what to say next. You’re glad that Frank calls for Eddie from his office, wanting to have the same chat with him as he had with you. It gives you both a good excuse to let go of each other, figure out what the fuck that was before your shift starts.
He squeezes your shoulders and gives you a little smile before letting you go. “Be good. Don’t get in trouble.” 
“I’ll try, hot shot,” you say quietly, giving him a wink before going to join Michelle and the other bartenders for a quick pre-open meeting - but not before you dip into your locker to pat a layer of lipstick on. 
The crowd begins to trickle in, slow and steady until it’s packed full and the music blares just loud enough. They’re a fun crowd tonight, and everyone is in good spirits now that it’s not quite so oppressively hot outside. You don’t have time to think about much else in between chatting to customers and mixing drinks; shaking cocktails is a bit more laborious when your body aches but you don’t complain. 
It’s almost eleven before you take your break. You take another Advil before slipping past the Staff Only door. The air is tinged with smoke as Eddie leans against the brick, waiting. 
His face lights up when he sees you and the two glasses you’re carrying. “Double fisting?” he asks, taking another drag. 
“One for you, one for me. Mines the water.” You extend out the dark fizzing highball glass to him, which he eyes suspiciously. He passes you the nearly burnt-out smoke as a trade-off. 
“What’s this?” he asks, “The witch's potion? I knew you’d take me out by poisoning me.”
You prop yourself on your stool and sip your ice water, smirking into your glass. “It’s a Roman Coke.” 
Eddie’s laugh rings through the alley and he holds up the glass. “You fuckin’... Wow. What an honour.” His free hand covers his heart, silver rings glinting in the light. It would be easy to think he’s being condescending or playing around, it’s what you do. But Eddie is genuinely a little bit touched and a whole lot smitten. He can feel his heart beating faster under his palm. 
You pass him a paper-wrapped straw before watching as he takes a curious sip of your special mix. You take a drag of his cigarette and watch his eyes blow wide as he computes the flavours. 
“D’you hate it?” you ask carefully.
“What is in this? It’s insane! I really like it,” Eddie says, grinning. 
His smile makes your tummy flutter. 
“It’s rum - but like, a coffee-infused rum - and Coca-Cola, with Sambuca,” you list off the ingredients that had been turning over in your head all evening. 
Eddie nods as he takes another sip, letting the flavours wash over his tongue. “Mm, I like it. You’re a real little alchemist, huh? Get it on the menu.”
You laugh and pass him back his smoke. “Nah. That’s an Eddie special. Just to say thanks..” 
Eddie looks at you, watching your teeth sink into your stained-dark lip as you wait for him to respond. He’s a shade softer than the usual tough-but-fun guy who works the door, softer than when you’re usually tearing strips off of each other for fun on your breaks. 
“Careful,” he says, voice quiet. He looks almost bashful. 
You frown a little. Your gut twists uncomfortably. Had you read it all wrong? 
“I don’t know what to do with myself when pretty girls are sweet to me,” he says, sipping his drink pointedly. 
The knot in your stomach swoops. He thinks you’re pretty. Eddie thinks you’re pretty. Eddie who flirts with dolled-up girls all night while he’s checking IDs.
You look back at him, see how the light and shadows play on the slope of his nose and those long lashes. “You have plenty of practice, Ed,” you say, so quiet. “You always know what to say.”
He smiles just a little and shakes his head. “Not with you. S’why I say stupid shit. Anyway, no one’s as pretty or sweet as you,” he says. “Even when you’re mean. Especially when you’re mean - so fuckin’ pretty then.”
Your laugh is almost involuntary, cheeks feeling warm. “That was smooth, Eddie,” you say, teasing him again; that was comfortable, less scary. 
“It was? Oh good. I’m fighting for my life here.” He laughs and leans against the wall beside you. 
He’s taller than you as you sit on your stool, tuning your body sideways to look up at him. “Putting the moves on me, Munson?” 
“Is it working?” Eddie raises his brows, pushing them up under his choppy fringe. There’s a playful twinkle in his eyes, hopeful and yet apprehensive. 
“Yeah, I think it might be,” you whisper, biting your lip again. He wants to bite it for you, soothe the pinch of his sharp teeth with his silver tongue. 
You reach a hand out, sliding your fingertips up over the back of his hand and wrist until they slip under the cuff of his sleeve. You bring his hand down onto your thigh, warm and bare in the summer evening heat. 
You’re feeling brave. Eddie is too. 
He leaves his drink on the sill next to your water and steps closer, his hand huge on your legs as he feels the smoothness of your skin and the frayed hem of your denim shorts. Eddie crowds closer, smelling the sweetness of your perfume as his leg slots between your knees. His eyes flick from looking at your lips to searching your gaze for any hesitation or hint that you’re just fucking with him. He finds none and feels braver than ever. 
He dips down, brushing his nose against your cheek and hears your intake of breath, that little gasp he wants to swallow and consume. His lips press a kiss to the corner of your mouth, begging sweetly without a word. 
You turn your head just a fraction to close the minute gap, bringing your lips together. With your hand on his neck, you feel his pulse race in time with your own beneath the stroke of your thumb, sliding down the strong tendon to where it meets his shoulder. 
Eddie’s lips press and slot with yours, plush and gentle and tasting sweet like Coca-Cola. He kisses you slowly, savouring the feeling of your lips on his. You pull him as close as you can, your warm breaths mingling as he sneaks a look to make sure you’re real. 
He is gentle behind the bawdy jokes and leather and silver rings. He’s softer than anyone can see. But you can feel that sweet softness in the way he cups your face before kissing you again. Eddie strokes his tongue against your lower lip to ask for permission he doesn’t need. It makes you shiver as that smooth-talking tongue slides with yours, making you gasp. 
Before it can build pressure and turn any steamier, he slows it back down and kisses you in slow pecks again before leaning his forehead against yours. He can’t stop himself from smiling and doesn’t even try to pretend he’s not elated when he feels your shy smile too. 
Behind that smile, you’re aching for more. You want to run your fingers up through his curls and tug, be kissed breathless by him. You want a hundred more soft kisses, feel his smile on your mouth. You want to feel him everywhere. 
“You okay?” he whispers, and can’t resist pushing another kiss against your cheek before moving back to look at you again. 
“More than okay.” You bring your thumb to swipe the lipstick transferred over from your lips to his. You want to see every shade you own smeared around his mouth. 
Eddie kisses your thumb, before pretending to nip it to make you laugh. “Are you going to be able to go back to the bar?” 
You shake your head, smiling before sighing over-dramatically and fixing a pout on your face. It drives him mad in the best way. “Mm, maybe give me one more for luck?” you whisper. 
He puts you out of your misery with one more long lingering kiss. “I’m not done kissing you. At all.” Another peck, because he cannot simply stop himself. “I’ll wait for you after work.” 
Your smile is too big to hide, rendered speechless by his confession. So you nod, giving his lower lip one last swipe to remove the evidence before patting his cheek. 
Eddie reluctantly backs off for his own good. He had thought about pressing you against the bricks and kissing you stupid too many times to be decent. He still will - it’s at the top of his bucket list - but just not now.
He grabs his drink, downs it, and gives you a wink. “Don’t go sharing that recipe, okay? That’s for me only, sugar.” 
“Cross my heart,” you tease, sitting on your hands so you don’t drag him back against you. You think he might just be okay with it if you did. 
“Later…” As if he can read your mind, he backs away with absolute mischief in his eyes. 
“Later.” You wiggle your fingers at him and laugh when he almost walks ass-first into the stacked crates of empty bottles. He swears at them and flips them off before throwing one last wink your way. 
Once you’re sure Eddie has turned the corner of the building you cover your face with your hands and smile into them, murmuring ‘What the fuck, what the fuck’ as your cheeks heat up your palms. 
When you have just about gathered yourself, you head back inside and fix your smudged lipstick. You tap Michelle’s hip when you get back, signalling for her to go take her break. 
She looks you over, suspicious of where exactly that coy little smile came from. As she throws one last look over her shoulder, she sees Eddie at the open door, looking just as dreamy and pleased with himself.  
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The rest of your shift passes without incident, which is a miracle because all you have been thinking of is Eddie Eddie Eddie. Eddie’s lips, Eddie’s hands. Eddie’s strong inked arms and his sturdy thighs. His lips (again). 
You caught each other’s eye a few times during the night, and it made you feel hot all over. Especially when he was being a total gentleman to some pretty girls, telling them to get home safe. You had felt his dark–chocolate stare on you as you laughed with customers, and shook up cocktails while he watched the strength of your arms and the subtle bounce of your breasts. Knowing Eddie was watching, thinking about how he might kiss you again later, made you slick with desire and excitement. 
You ring the bell for last call at 2 a.m. as your feet burn, and arms ache. There’s a flurry of orders while Jeff and Eddie close the doors and stand inside shooting the shit together, bidding customers good night as they leave in pairs and groups. By three it’s kicking out time and the few reluctant stragglers take recommendations for pizza joints and all-night diners to soak up the alcohol. While the bouncers do one last sweep of the place, you work through your checklist with a singular motivator; kissing Eddie Munson. 
With anticipation buzzing in your chest, you wipe spills behind the bar, refrigerate the mixers and hand-wash the muddlers and stirrers from the cocktails. The younger guys fill the dishwasher with glasses and barware. You thank your stars that it’s not your night on bathroom duty, refilling the straws instead and making a note for Frank of what’s running low before he does his full inventory and stocktake. It’s a well-oiled machine and your duties are finished in record time... 
Eddie made himself useful, staying out of your way (but watching closely, in absolute awe of you) in favour of picking up a broom and keeping the music going to keep morale up. He leans on the clean bar, chin on his hand as he looks at you standing with your hands on your hips. “Wanna get out of here?” he asks, tilting his head toward the back door. 
You nod, “Gimme two.” You restrain yourself from running to your locker (a quick walk is sufficient and unsuspicious). You fix your hair, blot your shiny face and spray deodorant and perfume again before opting for cherry flavour Chapstick. Extra lipstick this late? Far too eager. 
After a quick round of goodbyes, you notice Eddie and Michelle have both already gone and you rush around to meet him by the door. One taste and you are hooked, needing another kiss like your next breath. When you can’t see him, it’s like your lungs shrink. There’s no lingering scent of his cologne or swirling smoke, no glowing cherry or loud laugh in the back alley… 
Breathe. In, out. Calm the anxious flutters. Is he already at his car? 
Just as you’re about to round the building, the back door opens and an almost frantic-eyed Eddie nearly catches you with the door... “Hi,” he breathes. Relief. A sigh you both share before the smile, the relief. 
“Shit, did I get you?” He puts his hands on your shoulders and squeezes when you shake your head. His hands skate down your arms to squeeze your hands. “Sorry, got distracted inside. Can I... Can I drive you home?” 
Your nod is far too eager and you squeeze back, your rings tapping against Eddie’s. You drop each other’s hands but stay close to each other. This is new and unnamed and you don’t want the work crowd throwing questions at you before you have even figured it out yourself. 
Your hands and arms bump as you round the building together and for once neither of you know what to say. When you look up, Eddie is already sneaking a glance at you; he smiles when you catch him and you both dissolve into laughter. 
“What the fuck, you’re literally never this quiet,” you tease, elbowing him gently. “Say something.” 
Eddie takes your hand again, swinging his arm with yours. “You looked hot tonight. Like, hotter than usual.” Eddie licks his lower lip and it makes your stomach flip. 
“You think so? It must be the drink I made you. Pretty strong…” 
“Maybe. Maybe it’s ‘cause I couldn’t stop thinking about you, how you kiss.” He’s so smooth and it makes you feel warm all over. 
Close to his car now, you slow your stroll and lean against the passenger side. “Yeah? Maybe you should kiss me some more then, seeing as you can’t stop thinking about it.” 
“Oh, I’m gonna.” He grins and crowds you against the shiny black metal, bracing one hand on the roof as the other loops around your middle to press your body close. 
It’s like stars bursting behind your eyes when you feel Eddie’s lips on yours again. This kiss is eager and almost needy after hours of trying and failing to not eye-fuck each other. The hand lying low on your back slips lower and Eddie uses the leverage to step his thigh between yours with a delicious press of pressure. When you gasp he takes the opportunity to dominate the kiss a little more, licks his tongue against yours in a dirty slide.
You haven’t been kissed like this in a long time, all tongue and pulling soft gasps from each other. It has been even longer since you have been heckled while you’re kissing someone; Michelle breaks that streak as she wolf-whistles at you from across the street as she walks to her own car. 
“Get a room!” You don’t see her grin and salute as you laugh into Eddie’s chest, hugging your arms around him beneath his jacket. He kisses your forehead and holds you after flipping Michelle off with a rosy-cheeked smirk.
“She made me late, by the way. Gave me the talk in the office.” 
You rest your chin on his chest, pulling your eyebrows together. “The birds and the bees? Where do babies come from?” You laugh when he pokes your ribs and holds your squirming body closer still.
“Ha ha, jokes on you. That’s next week.” 
You muffle your laugh against his black t-shirt. 
“No, just that I better treat you good and not fuck around. Don’t want work to be awkward, blah blah.” Eddie squeezes your hips. “She also said ‘It’s about damn time’.”
You nod slowly, remembering her quips over the last few months about how you two should just shut up and get over yourselves, bang it out or something. It seemed like it was obvious to everyone but you and Eddie just what was going on behind your little frenemy routine. 
“Well then…” you say quietly. 
“Well then indeed…” Eddie echoes. 
There’s a lot for you to figure out. You can’t just kiss your co-worker and expect everything to stay the same, but inside you think that maybe you don’t want that and Eddie doesn’t either. That’s something you both need to figure out, but right now you just might die if you don’t kiss him again soon. 
“Eddie?” 
“Yeah?”
“Can I come to your place?” you ask quietly. 
Eddie nods, eyes sparkling. “Yeah. Yeah, fuck. I’d like that a lot. Are you sure you want to? We don’t have to...”
You rock up on your toes to kiss him again. “I want to. Let’s just... See where it goes?”
A little breathless, Eddie nods and roots for his car keys to unlock the door. He pecks your lips again before you both get into the car. This time he keeps his hand on your knee while he drives through the dark streets, only moving it to change gears. You keep it there, smoothing over the rings he wears with your fingers. 
You recognise Eddie’s street - there’s the bagel place you go to, the camera store where you get film developed. You can’t believe he’s been this near all along. 
He swings the car into a little parking garage under the building and takes the spot reserved for apartment 8. You twist in your seat to face him and see he looks a little lost in thought. “I can go home if you prefer?” you say. 
“No no. Please, don’t. I’m just.. thinkin’ about how messy my room might be.” He twists one of his rings and you cover his hand again to stop the anxious little movement you recognised from your own fidgeting.
“I don’t mind. Being nocturnal can be pretty shitty for keeping your place clean,” you say. 
Eddie nods, shoulders deflating now that he’s less worried you’re going to think he’s a total animal.
You pull his hand back over to your lap, fingers intertwined. “Anyway, I’m not here to snoop at your stuff, Eddie.” You shrug a little, hiding your smile as he thumps his head against the seat. 
“You’re going to be the death of me, I know it.” 
“You should be so lucky.” 
Your lips meet again halfway across the centre console, smiling mouths and ringed fingers grasping at each other, wherever you can reach. A rogue elbow hits the horn, making both of you jump - Eddie yelps - then dissolve into a fit of giggles which Eddie gladly smothers with one more kiss. 
“Lemme get your door, princess,” he says, lips brushing your chin and cheek one more time before freeing you from his hold to hop out and round the bonnet. You could get used to this… 
There are more kisses in the small shaky elevator, crowded to the mirrored wall as Eddie’s lips get acquainted with your jaw and neck, finding that spot below your ear that makes you moan his name quietly, tug him closer by his belt loops. 
You drive him crazy in the best way, he makes you feel wanted - perhaps craved is more apt - as his hands run over the flare of your hips and dip to your behind.
The elevator stops, dings, and you drag Eddie’s mouth to your own again to taste his tongue before he takes your hand and does his best not to drag you to the door marked with a brassy 8. 
“Shit,” he mutters, fighting with his keys to find the right one as you slip a hand up the side of his t-shirt, feeling the trail of hair below his navel to scratch through. 
“You’re a demon. An actual devil woman,” he hisses, resting his forehead against the door as he lets you distract him for a second. Before you can tease him anymore, Eddie turns and takes your face gently in one hand. “You actually want to come in or am I going to need to put you over my shoulder and bring you back to the car?” 
His eyes are burning with want, lips pink and puffy from your kisses. He watches your pupils blow wide and sees the gulp in your throat. 
“You gonna behave?” 
All you can do is nod, brain static with want, accept a kiss on the pout he’s placed on your lips, and try not to swoon or combust on the spot while he wins his battle with lock and key. 
Eddie flicks the light on inside and throws his keys in a saucer sitting on a little table inside the door. There’s a short hallway with a fairly full junk closet before you step into the apartment proper. You told him you weren’t here to snoop, but the urge to look around and soak in all you can about Eddie Munson is too good to pass. 
A typical boy's apartment really - an open plan kitchen/living room with a second-hand sofa and mismatched chair, a coffee table cluttered with an empty mug and a full ashtray, a fresh pack of cigarettes and a forgotten Coke can. There are some amps stacked in a corner, framed posters yet to be hung as they prop against the wall. It’s kind of exactly what you expected. 
Eddie twists a piece of hair around his finger, watching you look around. “Can I get you a water…?” he suggests, “Hungry?” 
“Mind if I use your phone? I want to leave a message on my voicemail so my flatmate doesn’t think I died or got in another bar fight.” Sense prevails over your desire to get your fingers back under his shirt, find out what other ink he has hidden beneath. 
“Sure, good idea.” Eddie points to the phone on the wall by the little breakfast bar. You notice a Garfield mug which makes you smile a little. “Back in a sec.”
While you’re leaving a message on your answer phone, Eddie stuffs dirty and clean laundry into some approximation of where they should be. He fixes the blanket and duvet on his bed - thankfully freshly changed - and strums his Sweetheart before hearing you hang up the phone. He takes a peek in the mirror after removing his jacket, shakes out his curls and gives his arms a quick flex before telling himself he’s an idiot - being friends with Steve Harrington has definitely altered his brain chemistry in some sort of way. 
Meanwhile, you have already given your own armpit a sniff and fixed your hair in the reflection of Eddie’s microwave before you hear his boots on the wood floor again. 
“Did you get prettier while I was..?” he looks between you and his left-ajar door glowing with the bedside lamp he had left on. 
You roll your eyes at him before following him to sit on the sofa, leaving your bag and jacket on the well-worn cushion of the armchair next to it. He flicks some music on low and relaxes back into the cushions, watching you decide where to put yourself. 
“Any time you want to go, just say. I’ll drive you home,” he says quietly. You can feel the warmth of his arm where it stretches across the back of the sofa.
Scooting closer, you turn your body to face him a little more. “Thank you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be, Ed. Promise.”
He nods and welcomes you back under his arm, pressing his lips to your head while one big hand squeezes the top of your arm. “You smoke?” he asks, nodding to a little box like the lockbox you have for petty cash at work. When he flicks it open, you see some pre-rolled joints, papers and a bag of green. 
“Oh shit, you’ve been holding out on me, Munson,” you tease, poking his ribs before he sits back next to you with a joint and his Bic lighter. 
Eddie flashes his brows upward as he sticks it between his lips to light up. “Something something… Not mixing business and pleasure?” he says, muffled by the joint. He takes a hit before offering it to you, fingers brushing as you raise your brows in turn. 
“Oh yeah? I think we’re doing plenty of that tonight.” You take a drag with a smiling mouth as Eddie’s eyes darken and flash mischief again. 
“Yeah, think so. Been thinking about it a lot longer than I’ll ever admit though,” he says, watching how your breath catches and you cough a little. He tuts playfully, “Am I going to need to show you how, or are you pretending so I’ll shotgun you?” 
You fan your hand in front of your face to give yourself some air before flipping him off. “Be nice, s’been a while.” You tap your fingers against his knee. “Wait, go back. How long have you been pining over me?” You’re more careful when you take your next hit, raising your brows expectantly at Eddie.
Eddie rolls his eyes as he takes the joint back; after another hit, he taps the ash off the end. “Not your business.”
“Absolutely my business. Go on. Was it when I wore that little dress to the Christmas party? Oh no, I bet it was when I spilt that pitcher of beer on my stupid white shirt… Fuck, I forgot that.” 
Eddie remembers both vividly (especially the little dress) but no, it was way before either of those incidents. “You going to keep annoying me ‘til I tell you?” 
“Yep.” You grin and watch him take a long slow hit. His lips wrap around the end and his cheeks hollow, showing off those sharp cheekbones. “Tell me,” you sing. 
He holds the smoke in before sighing it out with his head back against the sofa to look at the ceiling. His head turns to look at you instead. “Maybe like… the first shift we worked together? Maybe the second, either way, you were shaking up spicy margaritas or somethin’, had this little smirk on your face. Then later you asked me for a cigarette and the rest is history…” 
Your cheeks heat at his confession and Eddie’s do the same. He’s embarrassed and you feel like an idiot for letting your hang-ups get in the way of really seeing Eddie and giving him a chance. 
“Jesus, Ed.” You squeeze his arm, just below the flurry of bats tattooed there. 
His arm sizzles where you touch him - well, that’s how it feels to Eddie anyway. “We got a good thing going though, I mean I really do enjoy it. Making you huff at me and roll your eyes. Fuck.” His smile is cheeky, a little dirty as he licks his lower lip. 
You laugh together and let him bring the joint to your mouth. Your eyes slip closed as you inhale before opening again to see Eddie watching you. It reignites the spark low in your gut as you begin to feel nice and fuzzy around the edges. 
Eddie takes one last hit before saving the rest, stubbing the joint in the ashtray on the arm of the sofa. His eyes don’t stray from yours as you crawl into his lap. 
You twist one of his curls around your fingers; his hair is soft and the curls springy. “Guess it was like…perverse flirting or really long foreplay?”
“Mm, hot.” He squeezes your thigh. “I’m good with both of those. That is if you let me take you out. A real date.”
You pretend to consider it, though you are already in his lap, in his home, ready to give him anything he asks for. “Yeah, I’d like that. Last night was real nice, just talking with you. Just… get me some flowers instead of punching a guy next time?” 
He copies your faux-consideration and nods, “Deal.”
Said deal is sealed with a kiss; this one is sweet and warm, soft even. You both know you are skipping ahead of your date, but as you smile against each other’s mouths, Eddie thinks he might just keep you in his lap forever if you let him. 
Your lips press and slide, tongues tangle and tease as the intensity simmers to a boil again. His hands roam up your thighs and around to grasp two handfuls of you, pulling you close as you press yourself against him. You can feel the hot breaths through his nose against your cheek, and Eddie wants to groan at the feeling of your breasts pushed up against him. Your bravery builds in tandem with how much you want and need him and you start up a slow roll of your hips. 
Eddie swears against your mouth, “Shit, you feel good.” He squeezes his hands and pushes his own hips up, letting you feel how thick and hard he is for you. 
Your whimper makes him crazy-mad with lust, Eddie’s lips feeling the vibration as he kisses your throat and finds that spot on your neck again. He wants to mark it, hear what noise that would pull from your pretty, kiss-bitten mouth. From the corner of his eye, he sees the flutter of your lashes, the way your mouth drops open. He thinks you are so pretty and it makes the ache in his chest pulse like a bruise. 
You direct him back to your lips with a gentle tug, opening your eyes before you press a kiss to his lower lip before leaning back enough to untuck and pull off your t-shirt. Eddie’s jaw twitches as he feasts his eyes on the black lace cups you fill out so perfectly, the glint of your necklace beneath the hollow of your throat. 
He moves both hands back to your waist where the denim cuts in, fingertips skating the bare skin above. “Can I?” he asks, looking up to your eyes. 
Instead of answering, you cover both hands with your much smaller ones, guiding them upward until you feel the warmth of his hands cover and cup the weight. 
“You’re gorgeous,” Eddie whispers, looking at your face again as his thumbs seek and stroke the pebbled nipples beneath. 
Eddie had never been subtle when he checked you out at work; he made playful and bawdy comments his cover story to get away with letting his eyes linger a little too long on your chest. You let him away with it every time, knowing you would get him riled up another way later that shift or on the next one. 
When you look down, the sight and feel of his guitar-scarred hands on your chest make you bite your lip hard. Your palms skate over the gooseflesh of Eddie’s arms, over the bulk of his biceps and shoulders as he learns how to make you keen for him with just his hands on your breasts. You pull him in for another filthy kiss and blindly glide your fingers down his chest to the top of his trousers. You have already felt how hard he is under the roll and grind of your hips, but it’s not enough. Eddie deserves to be touched and tasted after all this time, pining over you. Not because you pity him, you want to make up for lost time. 
His hips press upward, seeking out your touch; you adjust yourself to straddle one of his thighs and flip the hem of his t-shirt up to get at the button and zip. Your eyes are fixed on the hard line of him pushing up against the fabric; your fingers brush over it before undoing the fastenings, making his breath catch in his throat. 
“I want you so bad,” he murmurs, tilting his head up to kiss your jaw again. That makes you pulse right between your legs; you relish the firmness of his thigh pressing against you there as he kisses his way back to your lips. You pull away only to push the black work pants and tartan cotton boxers down enough to get at him, to see him. 
Eddie watches your eyes flash when you see the thick length of him, brushing your fingertips up and down to watch it kick with arousal. You nuzzle against his cheek as you take him in your hand, telling him how big and pretty his dick is before beginning to stroke him. In your mind, you’re thinking about how he will feel inside you and in your mouth, but you try to focus on kissing his neck and learning how he likes to be touched. He’s rock hard and weeping at the tip, it makes your mouth water.
“You think about me when you do this for yourself?” you ask, pausing to lick your hand before grasping him again. The tinge of salt on your tongue makes you want more. 
Eddie nods, eyebrows pinching together. “Fuck, I do. Tried not to, but I can’t help it.” 
That makes you feel hot all over and you rock yourself against his thigh to relieve the pulsing between your legs. “M’here now, don’t need to pretend anymore, Eddie.” Your lips brush his jaw and the way he moans, the way he pulses with arousal in your hand, it makes you giggle. 
“You’re literally gonna kill me,” he groans and rests his forehead against yours, eyes squeezed shut. 
“I’m not. Promise. Just want you to feel good,” you say, and kiss him again when your hand picks up the pace. 
Eddie’s hips rock upward into your fist. His hand stills your arm and he has to take a few breaths before looking at you - his chocolate-button eyes are consumed by dilated pupils. “This’ll be over real fast if you keep that up, baby. You’ll never let me live that down.”
His head dips to kiss across the tops of your breasts before running his nose up along your throat. His head tilts toward his room. “Can we? Been thinking about you in my bed.” 
You nod, keep cool even though the butterflies in your stomach are back with a flurry of vengeance. Eddie grins, which sets you off too, and you tuck him back into his boxers before moving to let him stand. 
He offers you a hand and twirls you once. “Hold on. Let me just..” 
Eddie pauses, looks you up and down and you know he’s up to no good. Before you can figure him out he has you over his shoulder with a surprising show of strength. You squeal-laugh, slapping your hand on the back of his thigh. “EDDIE!” 
His laugh is throaty and rough - like an honest-to-god gremlin - and he just about manages to keep his pants up as he carries you to his room. “You seemed to like the idea of that earlier, what you complainin’ about, baby?” 
You can only laugh in response until you’re deposited onto his bed with more care and gentleness than anticipated. You lay back to catch your breath, cheeks warm and aching as you grin up at Eddie. You’re certainly not unimpressed by his ability to fireman-lift and carry you. He kneels to untie your boot-laces, then his own. You sit up and pop the button on your shorts before Eddie takes over, removing them along with your shoes to leave you in your only slightly mismatched underwear and bra - they’re both black, and Eddie doesn’t notice or care. All he sees is you, in his bed.
His t-shirt and pants are left in a heap with your clothes and in a moment he is with you, laying you back to kiss you everywhere. His hands and lips map your body, kissing freckles and stretchmarks, nuzzling the red mark your bra left around your middle when it’s removed and lost to the floor. He notes the ticklish spots on your ribs, saves them for later, and lavishes kisses on your bare breasts. 
As Eddie lays his body between your spread legs, you wish you had longer to see the new ink revealed to you but take the chance to stroke his hair like you have been wanting to. He practically purrs and chases the relaxing motion, leaning against your hand when he breaks his trail of kisses to the band of your underwear. The light is too dim to see how soaked they are, a darker shade of black between your legs caused by him, but Eddie knows it’s there and teases his fingers over the damp heat. He smiles when your hips jump up at the friction. 
His chin rests on your hip bone while he looks up. “This okay?” he checks, dipping his fingertips up past the elastic around the top of your thigh. He goes no further until you nod, breathe out ‘yes, please’.
You get the feeling that if Eddie was still wearing pants, your undies would go right in his back pocket. The thought of that alone makes you throb as Eddie looks at the feast in front of his eyes. 
“Oh she’s pretty,” he murmurs, biting his lip. “And so wet f’me…” 
You gasp when he finally touches you, stroking his finger down the seam of you. He swears and shifts his hips against the bed when he feels your wetness and watches his finger come away shiny. 
He pushes one kiss below your belly button before getting comfy, manoeuvring one leg over his shoulder with his arm around for good measure. His curls tickle against your leg but all you can focus on is how his tongue strokes and licks, how his lips suck and press. 
His name bounces off the poster-clad walls, your voice gaspy and ragged when his tongue circles your clit before pushing its way inside you to seek out your soak. 
“So sweet, I knew you would be.” His voice is a murmur against your cunt, there and gone again as he seals his lips around your clit. 
“Fuhhh- Eddie.” 
One hand balled in the duvet, the other a crown atop his dark curls as you shift your hips and help him find the angle that is just right. He is rewarded with a scalp-burning tug and a guttural moan you can’t even begin to be embarrassed by as he feasts on you like a starved man. 
His fingers squish your doughy thigh before he slows to a pause - it’s brief and yet you whine in complaint. You feel his breathy laugh against your folds, his murmured ‘easy, baby’. Eddie stopped only to remove the rings on his right hand so that he could push one, then two, deep inside seeking out your g-spot before you can comprehend that his rings are on your fingers for safekeeping. 
His eyes are fixed on you; your heaving chest and breasts, the blissed-out expression on your face. He knows when he has found it, feeling you gush in time with a wet, wobbly moan of his name and the pained-by-pleasure look that graces your pretty face. 
“That’s it, huh? Good girl,” he murmurs. He earns another loud moan as you arch your back to chase absolute bliss. 
Eddie’s hips roll against the mattress - if you had the brain capacity to notice you would surely die on the spot. Your heart already feels like it is about to leap from your chest, blood pounding in your ears as he keeps up the pace and pressure. He can hear and feel how close you are as your voice gets higher, begging brokenly ‘yes, yes! Eddieeee!’ when you free fall over the edge. 
Your body goes tense and then boneless as he works you through it, not letting up until you nudge his head with your thigh. “Too mm-much,” you slur, hips twitching. Eddie presses gentle kisses and murmurs words of praise against your sensitive sex; he leans into how you stroke his head while you come back to the land of the living. 
“Y’okay?” he asks, smiling up at you with shiny lips. He eases his fingers out, marvels at just how soaked they are in the golden glow of the bedside light before kneeling up and licking them clean. “Knew you’d be sweet, sugar.” He winks and you curl in on yourself as you shake with laughter. 
“You’re a menace, Munson. Remind me how you've been single all this time when you can do that?”
You take his hand, pulling him down so he is lying on top of you. He’s hard against your hip, but isn’t pushy with getting you to do something about it as he lies with you, holding you as you bask in the afterglow. 
“Guess I had this really big weird crush on a pretty girl, got me in a dry spell,” he teased. He smacks a smooch to your cheek and makes a pleased little noise when you pull him in for a proper kiss, taking your cheek in his ring-less hand. 
You let yourself feel a little smug as you drag your fingertips up his back, swirling and stroking until they brush the band of his boxers. “Do you have condoms?” you whisper against his lips, hoping that the dry spell won't ruin your plans.
Eddie nods and peels himself away to kneel up and reach over to his messy bedside table, digging an almost full box from the top drawer. He squints at the date and takes one from the packet with a pleased grin, “We’re in luck.”
You reach out to palm him through the straining cotton, feeling the growing damp spot and smiling up at him as his tongue darts out to lick his lower lip. You sit up, pushing his boxers down with both hands. They join the rest of the forgotten clothes on the floor while you get your hands back on Eddie’s body. You see more ink usually hidden beneath his clothes; you want to look at each tattoo, study it and ask him what it means, listen to him tell you more stories and secrets. But there’s plenty of time for that. 
Eddie smiles against your mouth when you wrap your fingers around him again, chancing a glance to watch your hand - your hand heavy with his rings - stroking him. His hips jerk almost of their own volition; his brain has most certainly gone static. “Jesus, fuck,” he murmurs. 
You catch on a moment later and giggle against his shoulder. “That got you going, huh? Me wearing your rings…”
“You get me going. That’s just extra hot.” His voice catches when you squeeze him again, and he calls you a devil woman one more time. You’re getting used to it, kinda like it. 
The foil packet crinkles under Eddie’s knee. You push his chest gently, sending him to sit up against the headboard so you can make his lap your throne again. Without hesitation, you tear the foil and roll the latex down over the diamond-hard length that’s weeping for you to sit on it. He steadies your hips as you hold the base of him, sinking down through the stretch and pinch eased only by how soaked you still are. 
It’s intense, the burn and the closeness. Eddie’s forehead against yours as you watch him watching you take him inside. The lingering tendrils of the weed you smoked together make it all so deliciously fuzzy and warm. Neither of you makes a move, settling into the tight heat and fullness of Eddie inside you. 
His fingers stroke your hips while yours twirl the ends of his hair, touch his silver chain and brush up his neck so that you can cup his jaw and kiss him again. You hold on to each other tighter as you begin to raise and roll your hips, savouring the stretch until your body tells you to move faster, harder. 
“Look how pretty you are,” Eddie murmurs, taking in the bounce of your breasts and the way your jaw hangs open as you move in his lap. “Yeah, that’s my girl. Are you my girl, baby?” 
You whimper, holding him tighter and closer as you nod. “I’m yours, Eddie. All yours.” Your voice wobbles but not because you’re unsure, you’re just feeling so good, so full. 
Eddie groans deep in his throat, squeezing your hips and ass tighter as he helps you to bounce. You pause, focusing on rolling rather than rising to ease the burn in your wobbly thighs; it makes you whimper against his neck. It’s so much but not enough; so good, it’s frustrating.
“Shhh, I got you. You’re just feelin’ too good, huh?” he murmurs, nodding with you when you give a small ‘uh huh’. “Yeah, good girl.”
Your brows crease as you keep rutting your hips. “You feel so big. Fuck, Ed…” 
“You gonna let me do the hard work, hmm? You just lay back and look pretty for me, princess.” His voice is like hot honey, making you drip in his lap. He feels you pulsing, making his hold on your hip tight enough to leave a bruise as he gathers his composure. He’s wanted this so bad for so long, refuses to let himself (and you) down by busting early like a teenager. 
You nod, blissed out as he runs his hands over your warm body. Eddie is careful, so gentle, as he helps you to move up and off of him. He guides you to lay back, comfy on the pillows that smell just like him. You can’t resist nuzzling into them as he makes his way back between your legs. 
“Comfy?” he asks, palming your thigh as you hook your legs over his hips. He watches your eyes, sees that you are a little more with it now, with him. He can’t wait to see you dreamy-eyed and blissed out beneath him. 
You nod and squeeze his hips. “Very comfy.” He sees how your lips pout, asking for a kiss without words.
As if he could say no, refuse you the very thing he himself is craving. 
Eddie leans forward, arms braced on either side of your head and presses his lips to your cheeks, nose and forehead. He laughs quietly when you scowl all mean before you soften at the brushed blessing of his lips against yours.
He reaches down and takes himself in hand, stroking a few times before rubbing the tip against your cunt. He imagines how this would feel without the condom, feels the hot winding pull in his abdomen at the thought before your voice brings him back. He smiles and nudges his nose against yours, mirroring the rub down below.
“Please,” you whisper, lips catching Eddie’s. “Fuck me.”
The eye contact is almost too much, a burning intensity, but you feel hypnotised to keep your eyes on him as he pushes inside. 
You squeeze your lips together, feeling that stretch again, and watch how Eddie’s brows pinch. 
“You feel unreal, baby.”
He rolls his hips and pushes the rest of the way in. Lashes flutter and your jaw drops open. He feels so deep, it’s like he’s all the way in your chest. 
After a moment he begins to thrust slowly, dragging himself halfway out before pushing all the way in again and again and again. Eddie drinks in the little whines and moans that spill from your lips. 
“Don’t go shy on me now,” he whispers, brushing your hair back. When his hips rock again you feel him press against that spot that makes you see stars and there is no way you can keep quiet. 
“There we go, is that it?” Eddie asks, repeating the motion. Your back arches and he hikes your leg higher, almost folding you in half as his thrusts get harder, faster.
You can feel tears pricking your eyes, feeling almost overwhelmed with pleasure. Through the sting, you see Eddie’s clenched jaw, the meaty cord in his neck straining and the rosy glow on his cheeks. 
“Eddie, m’so close,” you whimper, almost tearful as you squeeze his forearm.  
“I know, sweetheart. I can feel it. Fuck.” He huffs through his nose when you flutter around him and he leans over you more, spreading you wider still as he begins to pound his hips into you. He is barely holding on, feeling hot all over as he fucks you, wishes it could last longer but you’re both so tightly wound.
There’s a perfect press and drag against your clit that winds that cord of pleasure inside you tighter and tighter. Your mouths press together; barely a kiss, more a shared moan. One particularly hard thrust brings you to your climax with a broken moan against Eddie’s chin. Your nails press into his rear and pull him in to rut against that spot, fucking you through the most intense orgasm of your life as he meets his own peak with a husky throaty groan.
You feel like you're floating, fallen over the edge in each other's arms.
The weight of Eddie on you brings you slowly back to earth, breath huffing against your neck as you stroke up his back and up into his curls. You take a deep breath in; when you exhale it's shaky and wobbly almost like a quiet sob. 
Eddie summons the strength to press up and look at you, seeing your dazed smile and warm wet cheeks. “Hey,” he wipes the tears gently, “Oh shit. Did I hurt you?” he asks, panic spiking the glowy daze. 
You shake your head, almost giggling when you speak. “No, no. Fuckin’... amazing.” You pull Eddie back down and wrap yourself around him, holding each other as you come back to earth. A few more tears escape and Eddie wipes them away with such reverence. You stay quiet until you can string a sentence together. “That was incredible.” 
He smiles, cupping your face, and kisses you before carefully rolling you onto your sides to face each other to run your fingers over each other's warm bodies and share more kisses. Once he is sure you’re actually okay, he excuses himself to throw the condom away and returns with water and a damp flannel. He spends a moment cleaning you up as you gulp the water down, then finishes the rest and fills it again before closing his bedroom door. 
“You want a t-shirt?” he asks, pulling on a pair of clean boxers before throwing his hair into a low bun.
Despite the blanket, you feel a little shivery and accept the offer. 
He helps you into a well-loved Dio t-shirt before pulling the duvet over you both. Your legs are tangled together as you lie together, as close as you can. Outside, past the closed curtains, the sun is already starting to peek on the horizon.
You hum tiredly against Eddie’s shoulder when you remember the weighty silver on your hand and tap his hip gently. “Hey, Romeo. Your rings.” Your hand comes up in front of his face, wiggling your fingers. 
Eddie smiles, a lazy curl of his lips, and kisses the tips of your fingers before taking them off for you. He reaches back to drop them on his bedside table.
You want to stay awake, stay in the bubble of bliss, but the pull of exhaustion is too strong. 
“Sleepy?” Eddie brushes a kiss on your forehead and flicks the lamp off when you nod. 
“Eddie? Tonight was amazing,” you whisper against his chest.
He smiles in the dark, squeezes your hip. “Yeah, it was. I’ll make tomorrow amazing too if you’ll let me, but you gotta sleep first. Bet you’re really grumpy when you’re tired.”
“Shut up,” you laugh, hiding your face in the pillow. In the dark, you can just see the outlines of each other, shapes and shadows. “Lemme sleep and you can take me for breakfast. Like a date or somethin’.” 
He hides his grin poorly, you can see his teeth flash even with your eyes almost closed. “Nah, breakfast is part of the package. Lemme plan something for our date.” He gives you one last kiss, “Sleep now, sugar.” 
You feel warm, so happy and safe in his arms as you fall asleep. If Eddie asked, you would never leave his arms, leave his bed. And Eddie? Eddie lingers on the precipice of sleep, ready to drift once he knows you’re sleeping soundly. He kisses your forehead one last time before closing his eyes, both holding each other in an utterly blissful sleep. 
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oneforthemunny · 29 days
Text
take as needed |bouncer!eddie munson x bartender!reader|
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prompt: a hectic week at the hideout has you burnt out, fed up, and on the path of destruction. eddie is in your path, and tries to course correct.
contains: minors dni. smut. dom!eddie x sub!reader tones this time. soft!dom!eddie. emotional release spanking. masturbation male. angst, fighting, they're kinda mean to each other but ends in fluff. based off this blurb from a while ago.
"Behind you." Veronica held the beers over you, shimmying through the crowded back area towards her customers at the end of the bar.
It was way too busy for The Hideout- for Hawkins. College was out for the summertime, all the college kids that fled as fast as they could after graduation were dragged back for the summer. Most of them would rather be at some stuffy bar that with their families, and you couldn't blame them, so they found there way here. On a Friday night, slammed and the karaoke machine in full effect from nine til midnight. Thankfully, you got off at ten, only an hour of enduring the screeching off note wails of the drunken patrons.
"Great song choice, man. Super metal." You looked up to see Eddie, all black even in the summer heat, sliding behind the bar, fist bumping the drunk kid who'd belted Welcome to the Jungle complete with the filthy moans into the mic. It had made everyone laugh, hoot and yell out encouragements at him. Everyone but you, it just irritated you.
"Hey there, pretty girl." Eddie muttered, grabbing your waist while he slid past you. "When you get a chance, can you make me a drink, please?"
"I'm super busy right now, Ed." You huffed, fishing a pen out of your back pocket, setting it on the bar for the drunk sorority girl to sign.
"I know, baby," Eddie cooed, ringed hands rubbing down you arms gently. You knew the act was to soothe you, calm you down, but it did nothing to relax you, only pissing you off further. "Whenever you get a chance. 'm on my break. You need any help? Wha'dya need me to do? How can I help?"
"No." You grit, shoving the ice scoop into the clumped, melting ice with a rather hard shove. "Can you just get out from behind here? It's crowded enough, Ed. 'M boiling and you're in my way."
"Easy, ease up." Eddie frowned at you. "Just trying to see if you need any help."
"I'm fine." You slammed the glass down on the counter, Veronica's eyes cutting over towards you carefully. You'd been on edge all night, frustrated and annoyed from the moment you walked in, such a contrast to your usual very sweet and bubbly demeanor. The customers seemed to notice too, seeing as your tips were practically cut in half, even on a busy night.
You tilted the bottle up, not even bother to properly measure the amount of vodka you were dousing into the drink. Veronica raised her brows at Eddie, shaking her head gently. You pressed the lemonade tap before turning to him. "I'll make your drink if I have time."
"I got it." Veronica offered, pulling two glasses out. "What do you want, Ed-"
"-I can make it, Veronica." You sneered, jamming a straw in the drink and adding it to the tab. "Just gimme a goddam second."
"Hey," Eddie's eyes narrowed at you. "What's gotten into you? Take a fucking chill pill and relax."
"I am relaxed." You sneered, slamming the drink on the counter in front of the wide eyed girl. "You are pissing me off."
"Hey, the both of you," Ellen huffed from her place behind you. "Why don't you both go on your fifteen." She suggested. "Cool off, alright?"
Eddie didn't give you a chance to protest, wrapping his arm around your bicep lightly, dragging you back towards the kitchen. You grumbled the whole way, whining about your tips, scuffing your feet along the sticky tile, until Eddie pushed the back door open.
"...and fucking Veronica has been taking all the regulars tonight, and I get all these young fucks who don't tip. Fucking bitch, like, she knows that's not fair-"
"-What is your problem tonight?" Eddie frowned.
You blinked, a scoff leaving your lips. "Me? What's my problem? Are you- are you fucking serious?"
"Yeah. You're being mean tonight. What's going on?" Eddie's jaw clenched, teeth grinding together.
"Oh, fuck you, Eddie. I am not being fucking mean, you're such a-"
"Hey," His ringed hand caught your jaw easily, light but firm. "Enough of whatever you're pissed about, alright? You gotta get yourself together. You're being mean to everyone. Not a good look. Killing the vibe, babe."
Your lips pursed, shoving him off of you. "You're a fucking piece of shit, you know that?" You sneered, reaching for the handle of the door. "I'm killing the vibe- fuck you! I'll kill the vibe if I want to."
Eddie's hand smacked onto the door, shutting it before you opened it completely. "What has got you acting like this?" Eddie demanded. You shoved him again, reaching for the handle. "Hey, stop it. I'm being serious, alright? Did someone mess with you? You're supposed to tell me or Ellen. I'll take care of them you know I will. Won't let them mess with you. Just- Can you tell me what's going on with you. Why are you being so mean tonight?"
"You're so fucking annoying." You huffed. "Nothing it wrong with me. You're just pissing me off."
"Yeah? Well, you're pissin' me off, too." Eddie snapped. You faltered at his biting tone. "Pissing me off, and everybody else off with your horrible little attitude."
"I don't have an attitude." You mumbled.
Eddie scoffed. "Yeah fucking right. You've been awful all night, and honestly, I'm sick of it. So is everyone else, so you better stop it now. Alright?"
It was your turn to scoff, a heavy eye roll accompanied. "Yeah? Or what? Huh? What the fuck are you or anyone else gonna do huh? Send me home? Cut me? Please, be my fucking guest."
Eddie moved, pinning you to the door, hands on yours, closing around them firmly. "If you don't quit acting so bitchy and mean, then I'm gonna treat you mean. Give you a taste of your own medicine." Eddie growled, eyes pointed in a fiery glare that had your knees buckling.
"You got me? Keep this shitty little attitude up, and I'm gonna drag you to the back and give you an attitude adjustment. That what you want?"
Your heart jumped at the threat, tummy flipping and pooling with warmth. "Y-You're not going to-" Your voice shook, Eddie's challenging look cutting you off further.
"No? You sure? You really think I won't? Keep it up." Eddie snarled, letting your hands go. "I'm sure everyone would love to see you get put in your place after how awful you've been tonight."
You let out a shuddering breath, watching him reach for his reds, sifting through the pack, curls falling in front of his face. Eddie turned to you, cigarette around his lips. "What?" He asked, flicking the lighter. "You want one?"
Your nose scrunched, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open furiously. Eddie rolled his neck, inhaling deeply. It was going to be a long night.
Though your attitude subdued through most of the night, enough that at least you weren't so hateful outwardly, not slinging mean comments. Instead, you took to glaring, shooting daggers at Eddie. Thankfully, the bar died down enough for the two of you to go home in time, Ellen giving Eddie a wary look over your head while you wrote your time.
"Fuckin' asshole." You sneered, sifting through the wadded bills, flicking the cash into the drawer.
"What's wrong?" Ellen asked, passing the check to the group of girls across the bar.
"That jackass only tipped a dollar." You grit, tucking the singular bill into your bra. "Six beers and four shots, and he tips a dollar? What a piece of shit."
Ellen's lips pursed. "Well, maybe if you were nicer-"
"-I was nice." You snapped defensively.
Eddie's shoulders tensed at your tone, even from his place by the door he could hear it, much clearer now that the place had started to clear out.
Ellen's brow raised, looking at you then to Eddie. He could feel his face flush, mortified at your attitude. "You know what? It's died down, and you..." Ellen shook her head. "Veronica and I can close up tonight. You can go home early."
You scoffed, dumping the glasses into the tray. "I don't have a ride. I came with Eddie. It's fine, I'll start the-"
"-No, Ed!" Ellen waved him over. "You two go home early, alright? Last calls in an hour, it's dying down. We got it."
Eddie wanted to die, melt into the floor. He felt like he was in grade school again, getting in trouble because someone was talking to him, grouped in with the trouble when he was innocent.
You didn't argue, huffing when you split the tips in the jar, stomping away towards the back. "Ellen, hey, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with her tonight. I think she's just in a bad mood-"
"-That's an understatement, Munson." Ellen grumbled, eyes rolling. "Did you two fight or something on the way here?"
"No, we didn't-"
"-Because I'm glad you two are together. I think you're real cute, but if it's going to effect your work like this. I'll have to stop scheduling you two together." Ellen gave him a pointed look. "And that's really gonna be a pain in my ass."
Eddie swallowed, hands buzzing, twisting his rings nervously. "No, I get that. It won't- You don't need to do that. I'll get it under control. This was just a one time thing. She's just having a bad day."
Ellen held his gaze, a stern glare that had Eddie's heart picking up, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I hope so. I'm choosing to believe you because I agree, that," Ellen waved towards the back where you were no doubt sulking. "Is out of character."
Eddie nodded, muttering a sigh filled apology. Ellen waved him off. "Hey just make sure you two are good on Tuesday, alright? We'll start fresh. Have a good weekend."
"You too. And you, Veronica, thank you." Eddie waved, pushing the swinging doors towards the back.
He found you next to the lockers, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, foot tapping in annoyance. "What took you so long?" You snapped.
Eddie flinched, blinking back at you in disbelief. "What?"
"I've been waiting. It took you forever." You huffed. "You usually run out of here and tonight, when I'm already in a bad mood, you take forever? Are you just trying to piss me off?"
"Are you?" Eddie snapped. Your eyes widened, face falling at his tone, furious, annoyed.
"What?" You swallowed.
Eddie shook his head at you, grabbing the lock on his locker, spinning the combination. "You're..." Eddie scoffed lightly.
"What? I'm what?" You clicked your tongue in annoyance.
"You're being a real asshole tonight." Eddie looked over his shoulder at you. "Embarrassing, acting like this. Getting sent home early? How are you not embarrassed?"
Heat filled your chest, heavy and suffocating, different that the bubbling rage from before. "I thought you'd be ready to crawl in a hole after Ellen sent you home." Eddie flung the metal door open, letting it hit the others with a loud clank! that had you flinching.
"Then you get me sent home too, and you've got the fucking audacity to be mean? To talk to me like that?" Eddie glared at you over his shoulder. Your frame shrunk, heart pounding in your ears. It was the most subdued you'd been all night.
"I-I didn't get you sent home-"
"-The fuck you didn't." Eddie scoffed, grabbing his keys, his wallet out of the locker, smacking it shut. "You wanna know what was taking to long? I was talking to Ellen. She was telling me if we can't keep our personal life out of work, we can't work together. I was trying to tell her that we didn't get into a fight, and she didn't believe me."
Eddie took a step towards you, time card in hand. "She couldn't believe you were just mean like that unprovoked." Eddie shoved the card in the clock. "So what? You mad at me? Is that what's going on?"
"No." You muttered, looking down at your beat up sneakers, covered with sticky stains from the night.
"So what then? Care to tell me what's wrong? I mean, shit, we're getting sent home now. Feel like you should let me in on what's goin' on." Eddie threw his hands up, keys rattling between his fingers.
"Nothing's wrong-" You sneered, barely registering the ringed hand that caught your chin. Fingers squeezing your cheek in a firm grasp, pulling your gaze to Eddie's.
His eyes lidded, nostrils flaring down at you. "You better watch it." Eddie gritted. "Keep this shit up, and I'll lock that door and fix that attitude in here."
Your tummy flipped, swallowing thickly around the lump in your throat. Agitation fizzled into arousal at the threat. You cursed yourself for feeling that way.
Eddie's eyes squinted, head tipping towards yours slightly. "That what you want?" He huffed, hand still firm on your cheeks. "You acted like this because you wanted me to be mean to you-"
"-No." You sneered, wiggling in his grasp, scared he could feel your cheeks burning with embarrassment. "That's not why."
"So tell me why." Eddie's hand loosened, eyes still pinning you with his gaze. "Tell me what's goin' on."
Your chest sunk with a heavy guilt. Burnt out from tireless hours of work, cranky from lack of sleep, annoyed that Ellen let Pat off for the week when the place had never been busier. All of it eating away at you throughout the week until you finally snapped.
"I just wanna go home." Your tone was softer than before, still teetering on huffy. "I don't want to be in this place for another second. I'm so sick of being here."
Eddie nodded, tongue sliding over his teeth. Keys clenched in his hand, he stayed silent. The car ride uncomfortable silent, neither of you speaking first, the hum of the radio the only refuge.
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"You gonna tell me what's going on?" Eddie broke the silence after nearly an hour. The two of you had gotten back to his trailer, going your separate ways to cool down. He finished a cigarette on the steps, let you do whatever you needed to inside.
He found you by the sink, scrubbing your makeup off. Mascara and eyeliner smeared down your lids, normally, he'd laugh. Squeeze your sides and tell you how metal you looked, silly and playful until you were giggling with him.
Not tonight.
A part of you wished he would have. It would have made you feel better.
That gnawing feeling of uncomfortableness was eating you alive from the inside out. Had your chest feeling tight, skin crawling with irritation. It had only grown worse, now that you were left to reflect on the night- on how you acted.
Eddie moved into the mirror behind you, pulling his shirt off, tossing it in the hamper. You brought the wash cloth back to your face, cleaning the smeared makeup from under your eyes.
Eddie's shoulders slumped. "C'mon." He sighed, softer this time. "What's wrong, baby?" His hands slid over your arms, pressing a small kiss to your shoulder. "Tell me what's goin' on. I know something's wrong."
Your nose burned, pressing the warm washcloth to it. "I don't know." You muttered, opening the mirror, plucking the faded lilac case from the shelf.
"I just... I don't know." Your eyes rounded, locking with Eddie's through the mirror. "I just- I don't know how to describe it. I just feel off?"
Eddie nodded slowly, hands resting on your back gently. "Off, how?" Eddie hummed, arms wrapping around your body, pulling you into him. You didn't fight him, melting into his embrace instead. "Tell me what's wrong, honey. I just want you to feel better."
Your head tilted back to his chest, his arms heavy over your frame. "Just off." You muttered. "I feel like I need to just get everything out. Hit the reset button because I'm just so- so, bleh."
Eddie's lips curled gently, swaying you lightly in his arms. "I just am, like, unsettled. I'm so tired from work, but then I get home and I can't sleep, and then people are so fuckin' rude-"
"-Who's rude to you?" Eddie pressed, frowning behind you.
"Just the kids." You roll your eyes, shoulders tensing. "Snotty college kids. They think they're better than you or something."
"So come get me when they do that." Eddie's chin hooked over your shoulder lightly. "I'll take care of them. Kick 'em out."
"Then we'd have nobody." You shook your head lightly. "It's just- I don't know. I just feel really off." You paused, craning your neck to look at Eddie. "I feel like I need to get it all out."
Eddie stilled. "You-You want me to help you with that?" He knew what you were asking. "You want me to... To spank you?" It wasn't the first time you'd done this, still his cheeks burned at the word.
Your sex life was far from vanilla, teetering on outright debaucherous at times. He was no stranger to being mean to you in the bedroom, just like you weren't to him. Still, when you'd asked him the first time, to give you emotional release in this way, it felt a little odd to him at times. To bring pain to you, even if you asked, when all he wanted to do was smother you with affection.
Still, he'd do anything for you. You knew that, he did too.
It was why he swayed so easily. Your eyes rounding, lashes batting so sweetly up at him. "It really would help me feel better." His heart skipped, a sweet tone he'd been longing for all night. "I really think it would help."
Eddie nodded, hands sliding down your arms again, squeezing your elbows gently. You picked the hairbrush off the counter, handing it to him, taking his free hand and guiding him to the bedroom.
He let you settle over his lap, wiggling until you felt comfortable, a pillow under your face. Eddie twirled the hair brush in his hand, fidgeting while you settled. It was still new. How hard did he hit in this scenario? Did he soothe you? Scold you? Say anything at all? When you were playing, it was easier. In a headspace that came naturally with the moment.
"Ok," You hummed, turning to look at him, cheek pressed to the pillow. "'m ready."
Eddie hesitated. "You- And you're gonna tell me, right? When you want me to stop?"
"Yes." You nodded gently. "Just don't stop until I'm crying."
Eddie's cock throbbed, a roller coaster like drop in his stomach at your words. "Baby, I'm serious-"
"-I am too." You frowned. "Eddie, I promise I will tell you if it's too much, but... just please? Until I'm crying then you can stop."
"O-Ok," Eddie's breath stuttered, hand smoothing over your pantie clad ass, cheeky cotton panties that had his brain trailing off. "I'm gonna, I'm starting."
You settled back into the pillow, Eddie's hand rubbing down your back soothingly. Your free hand snaked up, folding over the middle of your back, fingers wiggling at Eddie's. A sweet gesture that made his heart swell, interlocking his fingers with yours, pinning your hand gently to your back.
The hair brush's smooth wood pressed to your ass, tapping in a warning that had your hips clenching lightly. Eddie hesitated, bringing the hairbrush up, then lower, readjusting his aim, before letting it fall. A soft clap met with a tiny grunt from you.
"You can do harder than that, Ed." You muttered.
"Harder? Are you sure?" Eddie hoped you couldn't feel his heart beating. "I don't wanna hurt you when you're not feeling good, baby."
"You're not hurting me. You're helping me. I swear." You said softly, squeezing his hand gently, reassuringly. "You can do harder than that. I'll let you know if it's too much."
Eddie brought the hairbrush higher, sending it soaring down with a firm smack that had your breath hitching. He waited, your hips squirming in his lap.
"That was good. Just like that, Ed." You whispered, taking a deep breath in through the burn in your nose.
Two identical hits fell to each of your cheeks, a tiny squeak of a cry coming from you. Your grip tightening against his hand with every fall of the hairbrush. Eddie was more confident, fell into a rhythm that felt more comfortable.
Hips wiggling, tiny whimpers and cries coming from you, rotating from cheek to cheek, lower then higher. Eddie brought the hairbrush down, a flick in his wrist that was sharper, stinging against your skin.
A tiny hitch, a sniffle that sounded watery had his ears perking. Eddie paused, feeling the hitch in your chest. "Keep going." You gritted, a white knuckled grip around his hand. "Keep going, Ed. Please."
Eddie brought the hair brush down again, twice, sharp flicks that had you crying out- a real cry, broken and breathy. Unsure, Eddie shushed you sweetly, letting the hair brush fall onto your upturned ass again.
"Shh, it's alright. You're doin' good, sweetheart. Let it out." Eddie rasped, cracking the hairbrush down again. "Doin' good for me."
The next fall of the hairbrush had a cry breaking though your throat, tears springing in your waterline, threatening to fall. The bubble in your chest filling fuller and fuller, close to bursting with the building irritation on your ass.
"You're doin' good. I know you've got to be feeling better." Eddie soothed. "You still good? Need me to stop."
"No," You cried, shaking your head. "K-Keep going, Eddie, please, keep going. D-Do it fast. Fast ones."
Eddie let the hair bursh rain down in quick successions, all over your ass, sharp smacks that had you gritting your teeth in irritation, eyes clenching shut until finally, you felt a wave wash over you. Heavy with emotions, it crashed into you, body shaking in sobs.
Face pressed into the pillow, you cried into the soft cotton, rubbing your face against the pillow case to soothe yourself. Eddie slowed, stopping when your hand loosened in his, body slack and shaking with sobs.
Eddie held you, arms tight around you though it felt like it was more for him. Soft coos and whispers, a hand rubbing down your spine. He hoped you couldn't feel his erection pressing into you. He felt torn, arousal he couldn't help but felt wrong when you were crying. Sobs so deep, stuttering in your chest and rocking your frame.
He hadn't realized how exhausted you were, a pang of guilt ringing through his chest when you started to slump in his arms. Usually, he'd get you calmed down, finish off the night between your legs, to make you feel better or maybe him.
Tonight, he let you settling into the mattress, rolling you onto your side, tucking the pillow under your knees, how you always slept. He wasn't sure how it was comfortable, teased you about it the first time he saw it. "It helps with my back, I swear." You had giggled, hiking a leg up over the pillow and settling into the mattress. Eddie didn't care how you slept, honestly, if it meant you'd sleep next to him.
Settling you under the blankets, Eddie carried the hair brush back into the bathroom, setting it back on the vanity's counter. He pulled the Jergens off the shelf, hand wrapping around his length, relieving himself. Tomorrow, he'd take care of you, spend the day in bed with you if you wanted, hopeful but certain that you'd be better in the morning.
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moonstruckme · 2 months
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you talked about bartender!sirius in a previous post and omg i can't stop thinking about it!!! could you do a fic with costumer!reader and him being all flirty and stuff (maybe even angst where reader is really drunk or has come to drink all her problems away or someone icky is hitting on her or smth?? idk i trust your judgement<3)
litterly giggling and kicking my feet just thinking about it😭🤭
Thanks for requesting gorgeous <3
cw: alcohol
bartender!Sirius x fem!reader ♡ 1.4k words
There are three people working the bar, and you have basically no hope of ever capturing one’s attention. You’re not as assertive as the other patrons vying to get their orders taken, not willing to lean across the bar or shout like they are and perfectly willing to let yourself be pushed out of the way when one of them decides their cause is more prevalent than yours. It probably is. This pub is noisier and more rowdy than you’re accustomed to, and you’re not much of a drinker to begin with, only trying to pay your tax to sit with the friend that invited you here. You’re considering abandoning the endeavor entirely when the next man shouldering you out of the way gets waved off by the bartender nearest. 
“Oi, she was here first.” 
The bartender’s gaze fixes pointedly on you, which is kind of a lot. He has sharp gray eyes paired with superblack hair—like, the kind of black no light can penetrate—and a crooked smile, a handsome and somewhat menacing combination. He leans across the bar, lowering his voice as if he can tell that’s what you’d prefer. 
“What can I get you, doll?” 
You fumble for your tongue. “Um, can I have a citrus spritz, please?” 
He grimaces. “Wish you could,” he says, “but we just ran out of that gin. Got a second choice?” 
“Oh, uh...” You’d only found your first choice after perusing their menu and asking your friend what each thing was, so no, you do not. You take a step back from the bar, yielding your time. “Sorry, I’ll have to—” 
“No, come on, it’s alright.” The bartender doesn’t move, but his voice is loud enough that it reaches you, gets you to turn around. He’s on you with that smile again, one hand beckoning you towards him. “We’ll figure something out for you, sweetheart. Come back here.” 
You step up to the bar stiffly, more than aware of the irritated looks being shot your way by other patrons. 
“What do you like?” he asks you. 
You feel your eyebrows pinch, shaking your head helplessly. Your face feels like it could heat a small home. “I don’t—I’m not sure, sorry.” 
“You’re alright,” he promises, grin vanishing for a moment as he cuts a glare towards a man trying to talk over you. It’s back before you can miss it. “A sweet kinda drink, yeah? Fruity? D’you want something else with citrus?” 
“That sounds good,” you manage.
He winks and pushes off the bar. “Stay put, babe, I’ve gotcha.” 
You do your best, keeping your front pressed to the bar even as everyone else moves around and into you. You feel like a rock in a stream. With no one else to talk to, you watch him work behind the bar. He grabs a bunch of bottles at once, pouring without measuring or counting or hardly even looking, and when he starts shaking it all in a metal cylinder you have to look away from how his tattooed biceps bulge from the short sleeves of his shirt. You’re scanning the rows of liquor behind the bar when he gets back, trying to will the warmth away from your face. 
“Give this a try.” He sets the drink down in front of you. You notice it’s got a bit of dried fruit on top, and then he sets a small shot glass of something bubbly and transparent down next to it—you wince. A garnish and a side; probably not as cheap as you were hoping for. “If you don’t like it,” he says, glancing between you and the drink expectantly, “don’t tell me. Just bring it to the bathroom and flush it. My ego can’t take the rejection.” 
You press your lips together into something you hope approximates a smile and take a careful sip. It is sweet. You can barely taste the alcohol. You rub your lips together as you set it down, hoping you haven’t gotten foam on your mouth. 
“It’s really good,” you tell him honestly, and he grins in response. You raise it to your lips for more. “What is it?” 
“A pornstar martini.” 
You nearly spit foam right at him, somehow reversing at the last moment so you take in a hearty sip instead. His grin widens, showing canines, like he knew the effect the name would have on you. It should make you feel childish, but he doesn’t seem like he’s laughing at you so much as with you. 
“It’s good,” you say again, taking out your card. “Thank you.” 
He holds up his hands, stepping away from your credit card like it’s a weapon. “Put that thing away,” he says. “You’re insulting me, dollface.” 
You let your card hover in the air between you, unsure. “I can’t let you—”
“Sure you can. You have to,” he insists, setting both hands on the bar and leveling you with a significant look. You can’t look back for more than a second before your gaze flees downward. “If I can’t comp a pretty girl’s drink, what am I doing here?” He lowers his voice, leaning across the bar so his face is just a few inches from yours. “And if I can’t add a pretty girl’s drink to a tosser’s tab—” he flicks his gaze over to the man who’s been especially persistent in trying to get his order in over yours since you’ve come up “—then I may as well quit.”
You press your lips together, trying desperately to keep from looking as flattered and flustered as you feel. 
“You don’t want to leave me without purpose, do you?” 
“No.” You smile down at the bar, privately rolling your eyes. When you glance back up, there’s a waggishness in his eyes that suggests he saw. “Thanks.” 
“Thank you. Have a good night.” 
“You too.” 
You turn, starting back for your table, but stall a couple of steps in. Your seat’s been taken by a man around your age, all smiley and nodding as your friend talks. They’ve both got their elbows leaned on the table, eyes locked like they’re in some sort of competition. And you may not spend a lot of time in pubs, but you know enough to stay away when two people are looking at each other like that. 
You stand awkwardly on the fringes of the bar crowd, looking around for another empty table, but it’s too crowded tonight; there are none. You consider dropping by to tell your friend you’re leaving, but now you’ve got this full drink in your hand. Maybe if you finish it quickly…
“Hey!” You pivot, and the same bartender is looking at you again, craning his neck to see you over the crowd. “Hey,” he all but shouts to be heard, “come here.” 
You’re nothing if not obedient, working your way through the crowd with murmured apologies and your eyes on the ground to ensure you don’t step on anyone’s toes. When you get up to the bar, he’s waiting for you, holding up a hand to pause the man—the tosser, he’d dubbed him—trying to talk to him. You wonder if he’d halted his order halfway through. 
“What’s going on?” he asks, eyebrows twitching together. “You looked lost over there, babe.”
“Sorry,” you say, though you’re not sure what for. “I just—my seat was taken, so I was just trying to figure out—”
“You can sit here.” 
You blink, and he motions to the stools tucked under the bar in front of you, the ones nobody’s using. “I mean, you don’t have to,” he says, the closest thing to hesitant you’ve seen from him yet, “but you’re welcome to. I could use some good-looking company. We’re severely lacking over here.” 
“Fuck off,” says another bartender, skimming behind him to grab a bottle off a shelf. 
“Not counting you, Marls.” He shoots a sharp-edged grin towards the blond woman before fixing it back on you. His eyebrow twitches slightly in question. 
“Okay.” You pull a seat out. “Okay, thanks.” 
“Don’t thank me, doll, you’re doing me a favor.” He sets his forearms on the bar, leaning towards you like you’re having a far more private conversation. “I’m Sirius.” Something about him softens when you tell him your name in response, and you get the sense he’s been waiting for it. He repeats it back to you like it’s something special. “Alright, y/n, enjoy your drink, and I’ll try to be as decent company as I can while dealing with these pricks.” He makes no effort to keep the man beside you from hearing, then turns to him with an extremely false-looking smile. “Hi, what can I get you?” 
Even as the man starts giving his order, Sirius’ eyes flicker your way to see if he made you smile. He did.
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