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#i know the first one is jimmy but it still counts ^^;
amethystfairy1 · 23 hours
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I can imagine Grian bragging about Scar preening his wings first and Jimmy shutting him up because they weren’t even together then and Scar didn’t know what preening was until Pearl told him
During a preening hangout at Jimmy's apartment one night...
Grian: He preened my wings and everything!
Jimmy: YOU WERE UNDER A COLLAPSED BUILDING
Grian: Sounds like someones ~jealous~
Jimmy: You stupid...how does that...you weren't even dating yet and you had rebar in your wing! And he didn't even know preening was a thing! He didn't even know you were you!
Grian: Still counts.
Jimmy: Does not!
Grian: Does too!
Jimmy: Does not!
Grian: Does too!
Pearl, trying to preen for both of them: I swear to the stars both of you call your boyfriends and go get them to preen your wings if you're gonna keep arguing!
***
Pearl doesn't get paid enough to deal with this 😆
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3 Song Challenge.
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I was challenged by @90sbaby93 to do a 3 song challenge. She asked me to write mini stories with the first 3 songs I hear. I’m a 90’s R&B girl so these songs are what came on. It was a hard thing to do but I tried my best.
Warning ⚠️ none
Word count: 2018 words
Tag list: @mzv11 @whatdoeseverybodywant @crxssjae @yana3sworld @paigereeder @kill-the-artiste @wooahmiri @abadbitchblogs @southerngirl41 @90sbaby93 @mocooper98 @mainthingdoja @jeysbvck @mindairy @strxwberry-milku @niknakbucks92 @alyyaanna @christinabae @zillasvilla @venusesworld
Song Challenge
I’m Still In Love With You By New Edition
I dated Jey for 6 years, we first met in high school and became close friends. I was focused on school so much that I didn’t want a relationship with him. But there was a lot of flirting and we were very close. The day of graduation was here and when I got to the school there was Jey, looking so handsome in the red cap and gown, he had a dozen white roses in his hand which he found out were my favorite and a big smile on his face as I walked over to him.
“What are you smiling so hard for”? I asked him, as my smile matched his. “Well I stuck to my word, and trust me sticking to it was not easy. I did tell you I would ask you to be mine once we graduated. Well today is graduation and these past 3 years being your friend were the best 3 years of my life. Now I want you to be my girl”. My heart started to race and tears of joy fell as I said, “yes, I will be your girl”...
Our relationship was beautiful until he joined the WWE and he was on the road more than he was home. Rumors and photos online of him and other women and I had enough. So when he came home for Christmas break I broke up with him, packing up and moving back home to NYC.
It is now 2024, Jimmy and I are still cool. He called me to tell me he was going to be in town tomorrow with the family because wwe is having a show at MSG. “I would love for you to come by and meet Trin. I know you didn’t come to the wedding because of my brother-
“Yes, I will come by Jimmy as a matter of fact I have some good news to share with you when I see you”. So, Jimmy and I made arrangements to meet up at BBQ’s for lunch. I had been over Jey and it wouldn’t bother me to see him, especially that I have moved on and am getting married in 3 months.
The next day came and I got to the restaurant. Jimmy greeted me with a big smile and a hug, introducing me to his wife and as we were about to sit down, I heard a familiar voice behind me say “Yo Uce”. I turned around and Jey and I eyes met, causing Jey to stop dead in his tracks, my heart was beating in my ears. Old feelings started to rush back and I didn’t like that one bit. Jey looked at me, he was lost for words. “Oh my God Jeannie, how are you”. I smiled and said, “good and yourself?” Jey said, “I’m cool, enjoying being the champ”. I smiled and said, “yes, I saw that match, congrats.” Jey looked shocked and said, “I didn’t know you still watched”. I was mad I put myself out there. Yes, I do watch his matches. Part of me thinks about him from time to time.
“Well, Jeannie said she has something to share, looks like you are right on time Uce”. Jimmy said as he grabbed a chair for Jey.
I hesitated, unsure if this was a good idea. Taking a sip of my pina colada to calm my nerves, I took a deep breath and said, “I’m getting married”! I raised my hand, showing them the ring. Jey’s mouth dropped open, as Jimmy and Trin jumped for joy, congratulating me. “Uh wow, uhm congrats”. Jey said in an obvious unhappy tone. He looked at his phone and said, “I would love to stay, but uhm I gotta meet someone”. I nodded as I watched Jey walk away. My heart sank.
My Wedding Day, NYC.
Jey has been stressed since the day at BBQ’s. He realized that he still loves me and he needed to tell me. He was at the hotel with Jimmy. “I need to stop that wedding. I’m still in love with her, I can’t believe I let her get away from me like that”. Jimmy watched as his twin paced back and forth. Suddenly, an idea came to Jey. “I got it, I’m gonna get my girl back”. Jey grabbed his keys and raced out the door.
I was in the hotel across the street from Jimmy and Jey. I sat on my bed, looking at my wedding dress. “Girl, you are about to get married in 2 hours, why are you not getting ready”? My best friend Carmen said as she walked in my room. I sighed and said, “do you think I’m doing the right thing”? I looked at Carmen who put her hand on her head and said, “you haven’t been yourself since you ran into Jey. Does this have to do with him”?
I nodded. I had absolutely no words. What if I am doing all this thinking and he doesn’t feel the same? He hasn’t called me. But I did catch him lurking on my Instagram stories. I sighed, got up and started to get ready for my wedding.
I got dressed, looking at myself in the mirror, I wasn’t feeling it at all. Carmen said, “it’s almost time sis”. I nodded and said, “okay meet me in the lobby, I just need a few minutes to myself”. Carmen nodded and left the room. I took a few deep breaths, grabbed my phone, scrolled to my contacts to Jey’s name, I wanted to text him. Just then, there was a knock on the door. When I opened it there was Jey, holding the white roses just like he did on graduation day.
“I know I fucked up, it is something I still regret till this day. I’m still in love with you. Please give me a second chance”. I cried, hugged Jey and said, “yes, I will”....
I Can’t Stop Loving You By Kem.
Jey laid in bed, watching me sleep. A smile came across his face as he thought about the day we met. It was at Payback. I was in the front row with my friends and my son. When he came out he went to the corner to do his “day one ish” dance, he looked my way as I recorded him. The biggest smile on his face. He winked at me, making me blush. When the match was over he walked over to my direction, greeting fans. When he got to me, my son asked him if he would sign his poster board that he made of his pictures. Jey smiled as he took the marker from my son, signing it for him.
Jey, not able to take his eyes off of me, grabbed my box of popcorn and wrote something on it. He handed it to me. I looked at it, it was his phone number. “Call me when you leavin’”. I was shocked, and I nodded as I watched him walk away. After the show, I grabbed my phone dialing his number….
Fast forward it is now 3 years later, we are now married and have twin girls and he adopted my son. Our relationship in the beginning had its ups and downs. A lot of arguments and sleepless nights as he was on the road. But our love was strong as well as our bond and nothing or nobody can change that.
A tear came down his eye as he continued to watch me sleep. He was so thankful for me sticking by him through the good and bad. His hand softly rubbed my face, causing me to wake up. “What’s wrong baby”? I asked him as I rubbed my eyes, slowly sitting up. “I was just thinking about us, and I am so thankful for you loving me, and giving me a chance. I know this life ain’t easy”.
I said, “baby, I love you and that will never change, I am in this with you for life”. Jey smiled as he leaned in to kiss me. His kiss always made me weak in the knees. As Jey laid me down, getting on top of me, he whispered against my lips, “for life”....
Kissin’ You By Total
I was in an unhappy relationship, just miserable. I worked for WWE as a stylist, drawing up the wrestlers' new gear. I got to work Monday morning and I noticed a letter from Jey on my desk asking me if I would be able to draw him up a few ideas for new gear for Wrestlemania. He left his number on the letter and asked me to call him. I never worked with Jey as he had his own designer. I grabbed my phone, dialing his number.
“Hey, I just got your note. I would love to draw something up for you. When did you want to meet”? I asked Jey, who laughed and said, “look up”. I looked up to see him outside my office. I smiled and waved for him to come in. He came in, he looked and smelled so good. His grillz showed as he smiled. “Sit wherever you want, let me grab my book”. I said as I stood up, walking over to my cabinet, grabbing my notebook and IPad.
“Mmm” I heard Jey say, which caused me to look at him. I caught his eyes wandering over my body. He licked his lips, making me shiver. I hoped he didn’t notice my reaction. I quickly grabbed my book and IPad and rushed back to my seat.
“So tell me what ideas you have in mind”. I said to Jey, who was still staring at me as if he was undressing me with his eyes. “I want blue and the word YEET across the pants. But I also want to have dinner with you tonight after Raw”. I looked at him, shocked at how straightforward he was. I also knew that he was separated from his wife and had a rep for being a playboy. But, I was also in an unhappy relationship and right now I just want comfort.
“Okay, I will”. I said in a soft tone. “I will get started on your designs and we can discuss them over dinner tonight”. Jey reached his hand across my desk, his hand softly caressed mine and said, “I look forward to it”. My body got hot from his touch.
It was 11 PM, I met Jey at the restaurant at the hotel. We discussed the designs and he picked out 2 of them he wanted. He was a perfect gentleman and didn’t make a move at all. Leaving me confused. But it could have been that we were in a public place and he is going through a divorce.
I worked with Jey almost everyday, working on his gear. There were moments we came close to kissing and that was all I could think of is the day we finally do kiss. I went to bed at night thinking of it, dreaming of it.
It was the day of wrestlemania. I picked up Jey’s gear and called him. “Can you bring it to my hotel room please”? He asked me, and I quickly said “yes”. I rushed over to the hotel, knocking on his door. He opened the door, stepping aside to let me in. As I turned around to hand him his gear, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I dropped his gear on the floor, grabbing his head and holding it as we kissed.
I pulled away, trying to catch my breath. “Did I do something wrong”? Jey asked. I immediately shook my head and said, “you don’t know how long I have been waiting for you to do this”. Jey leaned in closer and kissed me again. Just then there was a knock on the door, it was his twin. I said, “I gotta get back to the office”. Jey said, “we will continue this tonight after the show”....
Author’s note: this had to be the hardest thing to do on a short time period and write to these songs. I hope yall enjoy! Mea Culpa part 2 is coming up soon 🫶🏼💜
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loveroftoomanyfandoms · 20 hours
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Mind the Gap, Chapter 1
Pairing: Michael Kinsella x F!Reader, Matt Murdock & Reader (Platonic)
Rating: E
Word count (per chapter): ~500 (Just to set the story up, future chapters will be longer!)
Story Summary: When Michael gets sent across the pond to fix an issue with the Kinsella clan's drug trade expansion into New York City, he never expected to meet and fall for a pretty law clerk from the office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page. But when she gets abducted by a rival cartel, Michael will have to enlist the help of the very vigilante that's trying to take down his entire operation.
Warnings/Tags: Kin/Daredevil crossover, Canon-typical violence (for both shows), Platonic Matt Murdock/Reader, Smut in later chapters, More tags to come
A/N: After announcing this MONTHS ago, it's finally here -- the Daredevil/Kin crossover no one asked for, but I decided to write anyway. Lol
Note that this is a Michael Kinsella x Reader fic -- there is no love triangle between Mikey, Reader, and Matt.
If you want to be added to the taglist for this or any of my other ongoing stories, or if I was supposed to tag you/tagged you in error, please let me know!
Tag list: @danzer8705 @cheshirecat484 @thornbushrose @shouldbestudying41 @finnishjerseygirl @ednaaa-04 @ebathory997 @beezusvreeland @capylore
Fuckin' hell, let's get this over with, Michael Kinsella thought to himself as he trudged up the driveway to his sister-in-law’s house.
He had just gotten word that the Garda had wrapped up their investigation into his father's and uncle’s deaths and had ruled the case a murder-suicide -- therefore clearing him from further questioning -- when Amanda had texted that she was calling a meeting.
Amanda opened the door before he had even reached it. “Hey,” she said.
Michael walked in. “Hi.”
Amanda closed the door behind him. “Hadn't seen ya in a while.”
Aye, and there's a fuckin' reason for tha’, Michael thought.
As Amanda had started taking over more and more territory and doing whatever she had to in order to stay on top, Michael had realized that it hadn't ever been him that she had wanted, it had been the Kinsella name and the power and prestige that had come with it. 
While he hadn't ever regretted having Jamie, he had regretted sleeping with Amanda when she had come on to him while Jimmy had been in prison all those years ago and again more recently when her marriage had been falling apart and Michael had been dealing with finding out about Molly being engaged.
He shrugged. “Been busy.”
“Wan’ a drink?”
Michael shook his head. What he wanted was to go back home.
Amanda pursed her lips, but before she could say anything else, Birdy arrived.
“So what's ya call a meetin’ for?” Michael asked once they had all sat down at Amanda's kitchen table.
Amanda folded her hands together in front of her and leaned forward. “I called ya over because we're takin’ over some operations in America and I need ya ta go oversee tha transfer. There's been some issues.”
Michael was taken aback. “Me? Why me?”
“Because we're all busy -- I’m tryin’ ta clean up tha mess Bren left while also dealin’ wit' Jimmy's shite, Viking is workin' on getting tha houses reopened, and Birdy's still dealin’ with Frank's estate. Yer’ that only one left who we can trust ta take care a’ things.”
“Plus I think it'll be good for ya to get away for a while ‘till things settle down again,” Birdy added. 
Michael shook his head. “Are ya forgettin’ tha’ I'm a convicted felon? They won' even let me on a plane, much less inta another country.”
“Tha's already taken care of.” Birdy picked up a manilla envelope off of the table and handed it to him. “Everything is in here.”
Michael opened it to find an ID and passport.
He looked at the ID. “Michael O’Brien?”
Amanda shrugged. “Best we could do on short notice. ‘Least ya get ta go by yer first name.”
Birdy cut her eyes over to Amanda briefly before turning back towards Michael. “Flight’s already booked. Ya leave on Thursday.”
Michael sighed, resigned. “Where exactly am I goin?”
A satisfied look spread across Amanda's face as she leaned back. “New York City.”
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macfrog · 3 months
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sweet child o' mine | pt. ii
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hi. this is max's lawyer speaking. please don't get mad at her for this part. she asked me to let you know that she loves you all and hopes that you trust her. sincerely, jimmy mcgill
pairing: neighbor!joel x fem!reader
summary: you're pregnant with joel miller's kid. he's dating someone else. you deal with it.
warnings: reader is literally pregnant so typical pregnancy stuff like nausea (none of the v word, y'all are safe with me), ultrasound scene set in a hospital, anxiety and guilt surrounding pregnancy, description of body change/growth, brief and i mean brief discussion of abortion, joel is dating someone who isn't reader, age gap (late 20s reader, late 40s joel), reader has no physical description save for hair, cursing, genderless use of buddy when referring to baby, joel kisses someone who is not his partner, mention of alcohol, disturbing & semi-graphic nightmare about being involved in car accident, reader has a panic attack, discussion of dead parents, fluff and the beginnings of angst DISCLAIMER: this series covers some issues which i know may be sensitive and possibly triggering to some. warnings will always be as thorough as possible, but if there's ever anything you feel i've missed, please let me know. feel free to drop by my inbox anytime.
word count: 9.2k
pt. i / series masterlist | main masterlist | playlist | follow @macfroglets w notifs on to be the first to hear when i post 🩵
“I know, I know,” Joel holds a palm up, “it’s nine thirty. I know. But I had to lug all this wood over here, and it – You okay?”
You realize when he pauses that you’re gaping at him, wide-eyed and frozen in place behind your front door. Your jaw hinges shut, a gulp like carpet burn down your throat. You didn’t hear a word he just said.
How does he know? He can’t possibly. Did he sense it, from two lawns away? Dream about the binding of cells, the furnace left lit in your body from that night? The embers still floating, just waiting to catch to life again?
Did he do the fucking math, the way you probably should’ve? How does he fucking know?
The minute the question leaves your mouth, you regret it.
Joel’s eyebrows drop. “How did I know what, kid? That you need new closets? Like you ain’t been nipping my ear about ‘em for weeks?”
Your eyes unlock from his and shift to the slats of wood leaning against the balustrade. The toolbox hanging from his fist. The worn jeans and the white dust marks on his thighs. He doesn’t fucking know, you idiot.
Joel steps forward. Takes your wrist. One grounding, steady hand around your thrashing pulse. “You’re freaking me out. What the hell’s –?”
“Nothing,” you chirp, remembering. The closet. The deal. The fucking – the deal. You withdraw your arm. Hidden up your sleeve, quickly slipping out of his grasp, is the news that his life is about to change forever.
Maybe. You don’t fucking know.
“No,” you continue, blinking the burn of sunlight from your vision, “I just – I forgot. Sorry. Come in. Sorry.”
“Quit sayin’ sorry,” he mutters, eyeing you suspiciously. He lifts a foot and hovers it over the threshold, hesitating. Like the first step across a minefield; instinct telling him to tread carefully.
And you swear an oath to yourself, swear it on your own life: if he doesn’t put the heel of his boot in your hallway, if he turns around right now whether because his instinct is razor sharp, or because he forgot his lucky screwdriver, or purely because he needs to take a fucking leak before he gets started – you will never tell him. He will never know.
If his intuition is that good, he’ll turn around and never show up on your porch again. If he has any sense, he’ll forget any of this ever happened. Deal off.
“How’s the stomach?” Joel asks, sole still three inches from wood.
“What?” you bleat, your heel knocking against the bottom stair. It’s a little more panicked than you intended.
“Yesterday,” a crease forms between his brows, “you said you had a weird stomach. That any better?”
Oh, you think, and as you open your mouth to reply, his foot hits the ground. No answer needed. He was coming in whether you tried to deter him or not.
“Oh, yeah. It’s – Well, it’s better than it was. I think I worked it out,” you grimace, tongue curling under the tinge of anxiety and – well. “Thanks,” you add, noticing the brisk cut of your replies.
The heavy thud of his footsteps follows you upstairs, blunt on the carpet as you lead him up. Joel sets the toolbox down and casts your room a quick glance, snapping back to you as soon as you notice him.
You tug on the corner of the bedsheets, a heat bubbling beneath your cheeks. Something shy and self-conscious, all of a sudden. The reality that you don’t feel close enough to this man to share the anatomy of your room with him, mixed with the knowledge that the two of you are, now and forever, bound by the anatomy of something a little more significant than dirty laundry and dusty wardrobes.
A little closer than most humans get, let’s say.
“You want a coffee or something?” you ask, crossing your arms and leaning back against the window sill.
“You havin’ one?”
“Sure. Wait – actually –” Can you have coffee whilst pregnant? A woman at work quit it altogether when she fell pregnant with her son. Fuck. “I’m – No. I’m good. But let me go make you one.”
Joel shakes his head, amused. Screwdriver burrowing into a door hinge already. He flashes you a tickled grin. “I’m good just now, kid. Wait until you’re makin’ one. Thanks.”
You lift a shoulder. “Welcome.”
His eyes flit from the twist of silver to your hunched shoulders, your arms crossed protectively over your chest. “You gonna stand there ‘n watch me all day? You my foreman now?”
“Sure,” you reply, and he laughs. You sniff, twisting your foot into the carpet. The plastic test itches against your skin; you can feel the two lines ripping into your wrist like tiny burns. “I can go, if you want.”
His lip turns, musing. A quick flick of his jaw. “You’re good company, all in all.”
Metal clanking against metal; fingers knuckle-deep in the toolbox. You can hear the harsh sound across your body, like the point of screws and bite of rust are actually scoring your skin. The groan of a near-fifty-year-old man rising to rip a decades-old door from its home. The creak of wood as it splits.
Everything so heightened that it’s actually painful.
Joel straightens up and pauses, turning his screwdriver between his fingers. “Are we –? We’re good, right?”
“Good?”
“Yeah. You’d tell me if things were weird?”
“Why would things be weird?”
His answer scrawls itself across his face. Your response scoffs from your lips.
“I just,” Joel sighs, “I feel like something might be off with ya. Maybe you just ain’t feelin’ too hot. But you’re quiet.”
“Quiet,” you whisper, palms locking heavily against your biceps. More defensive than convincing.
“Yeah. You usually annoy the hell outta me.”
Over your shoulder, Alice Brown waddles down her driveway, eyeing her flowerbeds. She pauses when Diane’s station wagon pulls up across the street; stands motionless as she watches the round figure climb out and totter to her own front door.
“Just – not in a very annoying mood, I guess,” you offer, staring at the white head of hair fluttering in the breeze. The glint of a trowel in her hand.
Joel’s chin lifts. He studies you, tongue tracing the ridges of his teeth. And then he’s nearing you, turning until you’re shoulder to shoulder, two silhouettes stood against the bright square of blue sky inside your window frame. His arms crossed; his stare fixed.
The words begin to boil in your stomach. Violent bubbles against the wall of your midriff. Rising like steam, fading into nothingness over your tongue, the sting of heat where your voice won’t collect them.
Joel moves from foot to foot. It feels like some kind of merry dance, some choreographed moment between you – like a skit in a comedy show. I know something you don’t know.
“What happened – at the wedding,” he murmurs, addressing the polished gold of your bedframe.
Some small sound passes your lips. An affirmative. You’re on the same page.
“We didn’t use – you know. And with you not feelin’ well, it’s…” A deep breath. Chest full of a ghostly bravery. And then he asks, “Are you –?”
Silence swallows the end of his question whole. You didn’t need it, anyway. The stiffness of his frame, his stare shooting straight ahead. The lack of oxygen between you – both holding your breath for fear that something might tear loose from your lungs. He knows. He knows he knows he knows.
You gulp. “…If I was?”
His head cranes upwards, focusing on the cracked plaster of your ceiling. The realization slowly trickling down over his skin. It hasn’t seeped through, hasn’t bled into his brain yet. “Then,” another breath, “then it’d be a conversation…” His voice is halved, split somewhere between knowing and – what is it? Hoping?
Your eyes slip over to the worn sleeve of his T-shirt, stretched around the swell of his bicep; scaling up to his shoulder, the tight set of his jaw. He’s so much taller, he’s so much older. There’s so much life lived and so many lessons learned behind his eyes that you wonder how much the news I’m pregnant would actually crack him.
Your eyes meet. You whisper, “Then – talk,” and his expression softens.
He blinks away whatever’s left of his trying, his polite attempts to skirt around it. He sheds probably a good three decades – turns back into some doe-eyed boy, wonderstruck and terrified. His voice is quiet, and at the same time, the heaviest with emotion you’ve ever heard it. “Are you?” he asks, and immediately, he blurs behind a wall of tears.
Your sentence gets caught in your teeth. It made no sense to begin with. Tangled between your molars, latching at the back of your tongue. Your hand slowly pulls free from your sleeve, the little white test between your fingers.
Joel’s eyes instantly drop, staring at the pale stick with a fraught expression you understand to mean the message has finally reached his brain. The same words now ringing between his ears: She’s pregnant. She’s pregnant. I got her pregnant.
You hold the test out, quivering in the daylight. He takes it in his thumbs, instantly soothing its tremble. Everything muted, every movement steady and considered. And suddenly the sight of that positive test feels less scary, in his hands. Feels like a smaller problem, if that were ever possible.
And he says nothing, and it’s almost unbearable to watch the shape of his lips thin, the shadow beneath his brows darken. Agonizing to stand here and wonder what the next words over his tongue will be.
He stares at it a moment longer. You count the beats of your pulse in your throat. You wrap your arms tighter around your body, holding your skeleton together.
Joel’s lips part. Your breath freezes. Whatever he says, you don’t want to miss a syllable.
“Are you –” he blinks, “– are you feelin’ okay?”
You stare blankly. His eyes finally lift.
“What?”
“Are you feeling okay?”
Your head jerks. “I’m – I’m fine. I mean, I’m fucking shocked.”
He nods. “How long have you known?”
“Took that right before you showed up,” you say, eyes diving to his hands. “Twenty minutes, maybe.”
He’s still switching between you and the test. Checking those two lines are still there, as if they might fade to nothing, and then checking you’re still there – as if you might, too. Might be swept off if he’s not keeping an eye on you.
His face pales. He sinks back against the window ledge. “Jesus,” he breathes, a hand down the scruff of his chin.
And it feels like relief, like a mirror sat before you, presenting the honest truth: you’re fucked, and Joel thinks so, too. It embeds the shock into the cushion of your brain, the weight of it absorbed and laid bare for every particle in your body to pay it a visit. What the fuck do we do now?
“Yeah,” you sniff, “Jesus.”
But then his arm wraps around your shoulder, reminding you you’re still solid. Still whole. He holds you to his side, and when you turn into him, he takes you in the other and pulls you flat against his chest. His lips to your hair. His breathing slowing yours.
“We’re gonna work it out,” he says into your hair. “We’re gonna – Jesus, I did not expect…We are goin’ to be fine, alright? You are goin’ to be fine.”
You’re nodding, the prickle of tears flooding across your eyes again. They’re doing nothing, his words – blunt against your skin and insignificant to the fear swelling around your heart – but it feels better to be afraid with someone. Feels better to hold onto something stronger, something bigger, while you feel yourself beginning to shrink.
“What do we do?” you ask into his shirt.
Joel loosens his grip, pulls away until you’re staring at one another. “What do you wanna do?”
“I don’t…” Your head’s shaking, lips moving quicker than your voice will offer the words over. “I don’t think I want to get rid of it.”
He nods, a hand coming up to hold your cheek. “Alright. Then you don’t have to. You don’t gotta do anythin’ you’re not comfortable with.”
“But,” you sniff, guiltily averting his gaze, “this fucks everything up. Everything’s about to change.”
Joel takes a long, slow breath. “It complicates some things, that’s for sure.” He looks out to the street; Alice Brown now hauling weeds from the edge of her lawn. In his exhale, he breathes a name.
“V…What?”
He looks down. Eyes dance around your damp cheeks. “Vanessa,” he says, clearer now.
“Vanessa?”
A nod. His nose wriggles with an awkward sniff. You push off from his chest.
“Who the hell is Vanessa?”
Joel lets you go; lets you step back. He watches as you brace yourself against the ledge. Runs a hand through his hair while he fixes the right order of words. He’s thinking. Carefully.
Too fucking carefully. He’s taking too long.
“Joel. Who’s Vanessa?”
“She’s…” He sighs. “She’s my ex. From Tommy’s wedding. Vanessa Hart.”
Your jaw slackens. The purple dress. The hair like silk, a halo around her head where the light kissed her perfectly. Her plump lips; the way her head tipped back to laugh. The amount of air you felt her take up the second you laid eyes on her, the second you saw her, arm on top of Joel’s.
“Vanessa,” you whisper, your eyes descending his frame. The memory feels menacing now: her sweet giggle a sneering cackle, and you’ve no idea why. The bulky jewels around her neck, her clawed fingers on his arm.
Joel’s hand sits inches from yours on the wooden sill. Alice is walking back inside.
“We, uh…we swapped numbers the morning after the wedding, at breakfast. I didn’t think much of it, but we’ve seen each other a couple times since.”
This isn’t the time for another it’s a date, it’s not a date argument. What the fuck does he mean by –
“Seen each other?”
“Mhm.” He owes you better than that. He reckons so, too. “Dates,” he clarifies. “We’ve been on a couple dates.”
“Oh.”
Your heart falls to the pit of your stomach. Plummets, dragging with it your breath and your nerve and any other words you can think of. Your chest gnaws at the edges of the cavity left behind. It hurts. It stings.
Though you’ve no right for it to hurt or sting: as far as you were concerned, as far as you think Joel was concerned, that night was a one-off. It meant as little as the alcohol draining from your glasses, the vacant buzz of love and hope loose in the air. Equally as intoxicating as each other.
Cataclysmic, for the first little while. So heavily awkward that you would wait to watch Joel head out in the morning, clear of your path, before you’d set off for work. It felt like the aftermath of some natural disaster – the cleanup of debris and mistake.
But oh, it feels like a punch to the gut. Low, unexpected; a foul move by someone who never meant to hurt or not hurt you. Someone ignorant to every move he made, right up to this moment.
Your arms wrap around your body again, as though tending to the bruise left by the sucker punch shaped something like that tall woman named Vanessa.
Joel scratches the back of his neck. “We were…we were seein’ about starting things up again. Me ‘n her.”
“Yeah,” you nod, “I got you. That’s – I mean, I’m – I’m sorry, Joel, I –”
“Woah, woah,” he’s stepping forward now, “hey, no. No way. This wasn’t you. Well, shoot – it kinda was you. But it was just as much me, right?”
You smile, your face back in the safe hold of his hands. Tears roll down your cheeks, collecting in the corners of your mouth. His thumbs swipe them away.
“This was just as much me,” he repeats, voice soft and soothing.
“But, you know – if you wanted to – just ‘cause I don’t want to get – so if you didn’t wanna have to – that’d be okay, you know that, right?”
His head snaps back, brows low. It’s the first time he looks like his cool has broken all morning. It’s the first time he looks…downright offended. “Are you kidding me?” he asks, and then, “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“I just – I know this ain’t ideal. It’s even worse if you’re tryna make it work with Vanessa. So if you felt like it was too much, then…”
Joel shakes his head. “Shut up,” he says, edged with some kind of groan. “Stop talking, right now. Stop. You gotta take a deep breath, alright? I’m here, ‘n I mean I’m here. We’re in this together. I am not running out on you.”
“Joel –”
What was a mere crack in his cool before, rips through it now like lightning spreading across the sky. He closes his eyes, a sigh escaping between his teeth. “If you think I would leave you right now, to deal with this on your own –”
“I don’t,” you tell him, his vexation powering your sudden animation. You wipe your tears away, shaking your head. “I’m just saying, it’s a fucking lot. I don’t want you to feel trapped. I’m giving you an out, man.”
“I am not interested in taking it. Enough. Conversation over.”
“And what about Vanessa?”
“What about her?” he asks, the question dripping in something akin to anger. He catches himself, draws it back in. “She’ll just – We’ll talk, I’ll explain it. The hell else can we do? One thing at a time, okay?”
“Right,” you nod, “okay. One thing at a time.”
“Let’s just build these damn wardrobes. I sure as hell didn’t lug all that timber over here to not do ‘em.”
“Okay,” you repeat, making for the door.
“Ah.” He clicks, and you turn back. “Where the hell do you think you’re goin’?”
“To get the timber.”
“I don’t think so,” he says, pointing to your bed. “Sit down. Relax. You ain’t getting a damn thing.”
Joel calls it a day at six o’clock.
The skeleton of the closet is up: a smooth, tan frame lining one wall of your room. Much bigger, much sturdier than its predecessor.
You’re in the same spot he left you in: lying across your bed, admiring his handiwork. He’s good at what he does. You told him twice, and the two of you almost heaved both times. Compliments aren’t something you’re used to handing one another.
He left, maybe, three hours ago. Said he had to shower; said he’d be back first thing to finish the job. You sat up to see him out, got struck by a wave of nausea so bad that you fell back to the bed with one hand on your stomach and the other over your lips, and Joel had insisted – demanded – that you stay where you were.
I’ll be back later to check on ya, he assured, setting a glass of water at your bedside. And then he told you to call him if you felt even remotely off – sick, or panicked, or had a tickle in your throat that you couldn’t clear – and that’s when the two of you realized that you don’t even have one another’s numbers.
And you laughed, the both of you; laughed at the absurdity of you carrying his child when you don’t even carry his contact details in your phone. Laughed at how quickly everything has turned one hundred and eighty degrees in the few hours since you woke up. It felt like some form of release, the only way to clear the blockage of tension in both your throats. So, you laughed, until you felt sick again, and Joel swept the hair from your shoulders to cool you down.
The attentiveness is…new. It’s interesting. It’s kind, in the same way that being told to say hi to whoever your grandma is talking to in the grocery store, is kind. Sweet, the same way that answering the door on Halloween to a bunch of kids you don’t know from a street you don’t recognize the name of, is sweet.
Whatever. It’s fucking weird, alright?
You’ve never seen this side of Joel. You didn’t know or even think, in your wildest dreams, that he existed. Let’s face it: you two have spent the entirety of your inhabitance next door to one another, antagonizing each other. Your favorite hobby has always been pissing Joel off – teasing him for having backache, seeing how far down his porch you can launch his newspaper and he’ll still go get it. Playing the same kind of music you heard him playing on his guitar that one time, full-volume from your kitchen window just to fuck with him.
And, likewise: his favorite hobby has always been…well, ignoring you. Doing everything he can not to engage. If it weren’t for that fucking cat lady and her jittery green Chevrolet, none of this would’ve ever happened. She was a catalyst where one was neither needed nor wanted. You would’ve gone about your life, pinning your underwear only slightly more carefully to your clothesline, and Joel would’ve gone about his, doing – whatever the fuck he does.
Sure, it’s weird. But it’s nice. It’s nice to have him on your side, turning to check on you rather than snap at you for something. Nice to have him talk – actual, rounded words in place of grumbles and mumbles and groans and sighs. Nice to hang out with him and watch him work and ask questions about screws and power tools and pretend to be interested just to distract from the weight of queasiness in your stomach.
Your hands trail down, cupping around your navel. Your stomach still feels like your stomach: still soft, still spongey under your touch. If not for the two more tests you’d taken this afternoon, perched on the bathroom counter waiting for Joel to unstick his gaze from his watch and announce, That’s three minutes – both also positive, by the way – you’d have no fucking clue.
You hold the bottom half of your tummy, fingers rubbing gently over the skin that will soon enough grow and swell and protect.
“Hey,” you whisper, staring at the stationary ceiling fan overhead. A pause. An awkward inhale. “…hey, little buddy. I don’t – know you very well, yet. I figure you can’t even fucking hear me, but whatever. Just wanted to say hi. I’m – Ew, no. I’m not Mom, yet. What the fuck. I don’t know who I am right now, so just…maybe go easy on me until I figure that part out. And after, too. Alright? Are we…we cool?
“You can’t tell me, I know. I just have to assume we’re cool. Okay. Well. Keep growin’. Keep…doing your thing. You’re doing great. We’re doing – we’re doing alright.
“Good job, kid. Good job.”
Joel tells Vanessa two days later. She takes it…about as well as you might hope.
He says they talked for four hours. Three cups of coffee and a drive to Taco Bell later, she agreed to meet you. Properly. Not across the cluttered dancefloor of Tommy’s wedding.
She –? Is – is that a good idea?
I don’t know, kid. It’s the best I’ve got.
Meet me? Like, come kick my ass for sleeping with her boyfriend?
Joel had sighed and deadened his eyes on yours. Not her boyfriend, he corrected, passing you a sweater folded a little slapdash for your liking, and wasn’t her boyfriend when we slept together.
You shook the sweater straight again and fixed his work, muttering to yourself that at least he’s a better builder than he is a folder.
Joel heard you, and let it go. Passed you another – unfolded – sweater to sit in your wardrobe. Let’s just see how it goes, alright?
Alright.
We’re really trying this again. It’s only been a couple weeks.
Okay.
And neither of us have had much luck in that department since we broke it off, y’know?
Joel. I said okay.
He held your gaze a moment too long. Okay.
You’re on your porch when he strolls over, wrist blocking the six o’clock sun from his eyes. Newspaper in his fist, wind licking the corners. “Forget somethin’ today?” he asks, meeting you at the top of the steps.
“Came out to get it,” you brace yourself on the railing, “felt sick. This is me workin’ up to it.”
“You want me to toss it back onto my lawn so you can go fetch me it?”
You smile, eyes screwing shut. “Was coming over to ask what time for tomorrow.”
The reminder snaps him from his happy daydream. He says, “I was comin’ to ask you the same thing. Seven work?”
“Seven’s good. Are we getting food?”
“You wanna get food? I figured maybe you wouldn’t be up for it, what with the, uh…” Joel gestures to your hunched position, your head low between your shoulders, your deep, deliberate breaths.
“Maybe just drinks,” you utter, gulping back the sharp taste of bile.
He nods. “Drinks it is. You okay? You need anything?”
“I’m good. Thanks. See you guys at seven.”
Four minutes early, there’s a knock at your door. You pull it open, and there they are. Picture-perfect, like they might be posing for a holiday card. A bottle in his arm, a bunch of flowers in hers. A timid but genial smile between her cheeks, a twinkle in her eye. That same circle of shining light around her head, brunette tresses curled into bouncing waves.
“Howdy,” Joel says, stepping into the space you create. He dips his head, kisses your cheek, whispers a brief, Y’okay? in your ear. You nod quickly, gently shifting him out of the way.
Vanessa lingers for a moment in the doorway. She glances from Joel to you again, blinking in the porch light. Her pale skin lit in an ethereal glow. She’s prettier up close.
Joel addresses you, hand brushing the small of your back, “…this is Vanessa.”
“Hi,” she says, and pushes the flowers towards you – a small bouquet of gypsophila and eucalyptus. Bright, polite. Each sprig laden with the burden of appearing simpatico, but important. Meaningful, in the airiest sense of the word. “Hi,” again.
“Hi,” you echo, and then feel stupid for having nothing more to offer. You can feel Joel’s eyes on you, hot on your shoulder.
But Vanessa takes the weight from your chest. “It’s nice to meet you – officially. I saw you at Tommy and Maria’s wedding. You looked so beautiful.”
“Thanks,” springs from your tongue sooner than the rest of the sentence. Your brain scrams to find more words. “You looked – you looked great, too. Do you wanna –? I mean – Sorry. Come in. Obviously.”
She clicks over the threshold, her pale dress floating into your hallway like she’s part of a dream. She’s just as beautiful in this light, relaxed form – pastel blue and the glimmer of golden jewelry – as she was in the sleeker, more dramatic form you saw her in before. An aura about her which captures and tends to your attention. Intense, captivating, but not intimidating.
You usher them to the living room, offer them a space on the couch while you take Vanessa’s flowers to the kitchen. Joel follows you through, sets the bottle on the counter.
“Nonalcoholic,” he says, unscrewing the cap.
Your eyebrows jump. “Great. Thanks.”
“She’s nervous,” he murmurs, leaning in. “I know you are, too. Y’all are similar like that.”
You slot the stems into a vase of water one by one, carefully organizing a display. “She seems sweet,” you assure him. “She shouldn’t be nervous.”
“Neither should you.”
“Is this…totally weird for you?”
Joel breathes in deep, filling three glasses. “Yeah,” he says, eyes never lifting from the sparkling peach.
“Sorry.”
He angles his jaw. “Stop sayin’ you're sorry. I’ll kick your ass.”
Your head drops between your shoulders, eyes lifting only to his elbows. “Sorry.”
He scoffs, swiping the glasses and stepping back to let you out first.
“I’m trying not to make it weird,” you offer, slipping by.
“I don’t want you to try anything.” He kicks your ankle lightly and follows you back into the living room.
Vanessa sits forward and clasps her hands around her knee when you sit back down, shifting as though to reach for you before she stops herself. “How are you feeling? Joel said you’re a little…worse for wear, right now.”
“I’ve been better,” you say, smiling. “Just morning sickness. Which lasts – all day.”
She nods sympathetically. “My sister had it rough with her first. I actually…” She twists around, reaches for her purse, fishes out an orange packet. “I brought you some ginger tea. Kate told me it helped her a lot, so.”
She holds it out in almost trembling fingers. Likewise, you steady yours to take it from her, thanking her with a shy nod of the head. “That’s so kind,” you reply quietly, eyes darting to Joel. He’s staring at the pack in your hands, watching as you turn it over to read the back.
“And – listen,” Vanessa continues, the acceptance of her offering clearly fueling her assuredness, “I don’t want anything to be weird – between you and I, between you and Joel. I know this situation is…new. It’s, um…”
“It’s kinda weird,” you say, humoring. “It’s okay. I know.”
She breathes a relieved laugh. “It is. Thank God you said it.” She glances back at Joel, who smiles at her, slips his hand onto her knee. “But I guess,” a deep breath, “I guess it is what it is. And we’re all adults, you know? We can make it work, right?”
Your head switches rapidly between nodding enthusiastically and shaking enthusiastically. “Yeah. Yes. No, absolutely. And, you know, me and Joel – there isn’t – we’re not at all…”
“Oh,” she bats the idea away, “I know. I know that. He told me everything. It’s – You know, it’s just a timing thing.”
Joel’s staring down at his hand locked around her leg. Unblinking. Unmoving. His expression doesn’t shift until the two of you settle back into your seats; until Vanessa asks if he’d mind making you a cup of ginger tea.
You barely notice his absence, the way she takes you up in conversation. Like twirling you off in some kind of dance, each sentence strung safely to the next. There are no lulls, no awkward pauses. She asks about work, asks about your family. She tells you stories about her niece, who’s three now, and compares how you’re feeling to how she remembers her sister feeling.
Then her work, and the IT guy her friend hooked up with, and her class at the gym which she’s trying to convince Joel to come along to, and Kate’s hot yoga class every Thursday night, and the new sushi place which just opened downtown and You gotta try it some day; the nigiri is divine.
And you nod along, and you laugh at her anecdotes and tell your own, and Joel tells her to tell you about the jazz band who were playing at the restaurant they visited a couple weeks ago, and you offer to top her drink up and she says she’ll do it herself and she leaves you and Joel alone for the first time all evening, and – it’s weird.
Because – behind the veil of conversation you’re doing your best to uphold, sits an image of this very night – only, in Joel’s house. In Joel’s house, on Joel’s couch, drinking nonalcoholic wine with Joel’s brother. Joel and Vanessa leant against one another on one couch, Tommy and Maria on the other.
You can’t help it – you’re wondering what Maria thinks of Vanessa. How long they knew each other, if at all, before the breakup. Whether they hung out, whether they discussed sushi and yoga, or the housing market, or their Miller boyfriends and their annoying Miller habits.
Maria would’ve liked her, you think. Would’ve found her as lovely as you do. And the idea, the image of them giggling together at family parties and being Tommy’s Maria and Joel’s Vanessa – presses a firm, bullying finger into the bruise you thought had faded some from the other day.
And once they’re gone, once you’re left alone again – lying in still silence, closed in on yourself by the thick darkness of your room, nothing but you and your thoughts and your unborn child for company – it slips out.
“Fuck her, right?” You hold your hands out, addressing your stomach. “She was so fucking nice. Did you like her? Fuck me, I liked her. I hope they break up.”
And then, realizing who you’re talking to: “No. Sorry, baby, no. I don’t hope they break up. I want your dad to be really happy. But – Goddamn. She was so sweet. I thought she was gonna slap me, and she just – she brought ginger tea! Fuck. They look good together, don’t they?”
It’s just hormones. Just the emotional trip that is being four weeks pregnant. Everybody feels like this when they fall pregnant – sensitive, vulnerable, clingy. Right? Right?
Your words sit stagnant in midair. You swear you can see them, heavy and intruding. Awkwardly lingering someplace they don’t belong. Because none of it even matters – the hormones, the emotions. The weird knot burning a hole in your chest, shaped like a clenched fist, knuckles branded by the heat of longing. It can’t matter.
You’re where you are, he’s where he is. A pillow in your arm, Vanessa in his. Feet apart, bricks and mortar and something like twenty years and two dates too late separating you.
Both staring up at the ceiling, wondering who the other’s thinking of.
“At eight weeks, your baby is roughly the size of a raspberry.”
Your knee bounces, breath coming and going in shaky ripples. The rubber sole of your shoe cries against the sterilized hospital floor. Your chest hums anxiously and your throat catches when you swallow and are the lights too bright? The room too hot? You’re sweating. Why are you sweating? Can you breathe right now?
Joel nudges your arm and your eyes roll to the pamphlet in his hand, his finger tracing the words. “C’mon,” he utters, leaning in, “how can anything the size of a raspberry be scary?”
You squint under fluorescent white. “A raspberry that grows into the size of a watermelon, can break my ribs, make me throw up, make me lose hair, and then tear my vagina apart on its way out? That’s pretty scary.”
He smirks. “Not to me it ain’t. My vagina stays perfectly intact the entire time.”
“Oh, fuck off,” you reply, whacking him.
He laughs, swatting your palm away, keeping ahold of your fingers inside his own. “Speaking of – we gotta talk.” He elbows you, waiting until you’re looking again to speak. “We gotta cut the language.”
“Cut the language?”
“Uhuh. Rein it in. And by we, I mean you.”
“Uh,” you scoff, “I don’t think so. When you do the growing, then you can rein your own swearing in. Leave me alone, asshole.”
“Charming,” Joel says. “You know the baby can hear you? You want it to come out swearin’ like a trooper?”
You grin, tipping your head to him. “If it comes out and says anything, we’re rich. So – yeah. Let it.”
He opens his mouth to reply when a nurse emerges from a nearby room and calls your name.
“You’re up, kid,” Joel says, standing beside you.
You turn back, speaking before your brain settles on words. “I’m scared.”
“Hey,” he says, taking your hand. He squeezes it gently, uses the other to keep you facing him. “This is the easy part, right? We’re just going to meet them.”
“Oh, fuck,” you breathe, and wander over to meet the nurse. Joel’s hand a vice grip around yours.
She leads you into a similarly washed-out clinic room, only slightly dimmer with the lights turned out, and yanks a roll of paper across the bed. Tapping it twice, she smiles. “Hop up, darlin’.”
You settle into the crinkly paper, leaning back until you’re blinking up at the speckled ceiling. Another door opens and a woman in a white coat floats in, and you swear that if it weren’t for Joel’s Evenin’, ma’am when she greets the two of you, you’d believe she were a figment of your imagination. Another character in this fucking insane dream.
“Not often I do these past five o’clock,” she says, clicking her mouse and typing on her keyboard and fixing a hair grip back into her bun. Casual. It’s not even a thing to her, introducing parents and children. She does this all fucking day.
Joel tosses half a glance to you and then realizes you’re not currently in the room. He pinches your hand again. It grounds you for all of two seconds.
“Yeah, uh,” he clears his throat, “work commitment. I couldn’t get away any earlier, so we’re havin’ to do this a little late.”
“What do you do?” she asks, staring at her screen. Her glossy brown eyes and rich, dark skin.
“I’m a contractor,” Joel replies, thumb stroking your shoulder.
Something bubbles in your stomach, something akin to jealousy, an urgency to tell her that right now, in this room, he’s mine. No more questions. Something which quickly dissipates when you remind yourself to quit being fucking ridiculous and that right now, in this room, he’s someone else’s, and the thumb on your shoulder is merely to hold you back from fleeing. Nothing more.
The sonographer nods. Her name badge reads Freya. Pretty name. Stop picturing what your kid would look like as a Freya. You are not naming them after the first sonographer you meet.
“Shouldn’t be too long, then y’all can get home for the night. You live nearby?”
“Twenty minutes’ drive. Not far, are we?” Joel asks you.
Your eyes shoot down to his. “No,” you push your cheeks up, telling Freya, “not far.”
She flattens her lips against one another, lending you a sympathetic smile. “You got nothing to worry about, honey. Promise. Gel might be a little cold, that’s about as scary as this gets. We’re just gonna make sure everything’s looking good, check your dates, check your measurements. You’re doing great.”
“You hear that?” Joel murmurs, settling down into the chair by your side. His hand hasn’t left yours. His voice is low, meant just for you, when he repeats, “You’re doin’ great.”
You huff a laugh, some nervous release from your lungs.
Freya smiles, face lit by the faint glow of the screen in front of her. “We ready?”
You roll the hem of your tee up when she motions, bunching it under the wire of your bra. She squeezes a bottle over your stomach, which tenses solid when the frozen bite of gel curls right below your belly button. Freya smiles apologetically when you wince. Told you, she murmurs, and your breath escapes in a slightly more comfortable laugh. Lighter, easier. Scariest part over.
She presses the probe to your skin and spreads the gel, coating the bottom of your tummy in a slippery slick which tickles with each inch she covers. Two buttons pressed, and a dark image appears on a screen opposite you.
A gray fan, speckled like the ceiling above your head. Dark, black shapes growing and shrinking at the turn of Freya’s wrist. She pauses, two blobs onscreen: the larger, black, round, home to a smaller, misshapen one. Flecked with white and silver and moving slowly, gently, but – right there.
“Mom, Dad,” she grins, “meet your baby.”
You and Joel move forward at the same time, drawn closer to the crunchy image as if by some kind of natural magnetism. Eyes never blinking, lips agape. The shapes flutter, the smaller dipping in and out of view.
“You see right here, right in the center?” A white cross appears over the blob’s middle. “That little movement? The kinda – pulsing?”
You each nod. Your nails dig so deep into Joel’s hand that you risk drawing blood.
“That’s the heart. Ticking away.”
“The heart?” you ask, watching the rhythmic flicker in the center of the screen.
“Yep. Perfect, too.”
She hits another key and suddenly the room is filled with a muffled thudding; a steady, energetic pulse in your ears. It matches the movements onscreen, the tiny throb of the baby’s chest, the shape of your womb moving like waves before you.
And suddenly, it's real – all of it: the screen and the room and the sonographer and you, and Joel’s hand encasing yours, holding your knuckles to his lips, and –
And the heartbeat. Right there, right in front of you. Shy, probably as nervous as you are to introduce themselves. Feeling your eyes on them, curled up somewhere safe inside you. Right there.
You turn to Joel, and his illuminated face is staring straight at the screen. Eyes soaked with tears, blinking as they form, cheeks dappled with wet. He draws his eyes from his child only to look back at you, only to mirror your stunned smile, your disbelieving laugh, more tears dripping down into his beard. He sits up, presses his damp lips firmly to your forehead.
Freya mutes the heartbeat, pauses the scan where the image is clearest, and sits back. “I’ll give you guys a moment to yourselves,” she says, wheeling back in her chair. “Take all the time you need. I’m right outside.”
“Thanks,” Joel mumbles for the both of you, sweeping hair from your face.
The door closes on your little bubble – you, Joel, and the grainy image of your baby. The evidence that – yeah, that night happened, and yeah, you’re forever changed because of it. The evidence that you’re about to become a mom, for real, no matter how much the thought makes you feel like your stomach is kicking around at your ankles.
And the evidence that, no matter how scared you might be, how unprepared and unworthy you feel – you fucking adore that little blob already.
Love it as much as Joel does, stood over you, kissing your hair and whispering words you’re only half-listening to. A quiet thank you, a shaky I can’t believe it. Something about showing his brother. And when you look up at him, blinking at one another, inches apart – he takes your jaw in his hands and lowers his lips to yours.
Different. Softer. No want laced through. No urgency. Nothing needed, nor requested, that isn’t already right here in this little bubble of yours.
He kisses you slowly, eyes closed, holding you until you pull away for breath. His nose bumps against yours and you laugh, heads together, eyes low.
“Still scared?” he whispers.
“Terrified,” you tell him.
“Me, too,” he says, and kisses you again.
You lean back against the bed, relief settling your bones and soothing your heartbeat. The notion washes over you that, if you could, you’d stay in this room forever. Staring at the screen, holding Joel’s hand. Whispering fears into his mouth and letting him swallow them in a kiss.
He hands you some paper towel and helps you drag it across your stomach, your eyes still fixed on the little shape opposite. He hooks his chin over your head – the fresh, woody smell of his cologne infiltrating your lungs and throwing you under the haze of something you’re not quite sure how to define.
“Duck,” he says, voice vibrating into your skull.
“Huh?”
“Start saying duck. Make the baby think we’re saying that, then you can say –” he lowers his voice, “– fuck, all you want.”
“The hell would I have to say duck for?”
Joel stands upright and shrugs. “I don’t know. Think of somethin’. A nickname, maybe.”
“Duck?”
He nods plainly, glancing over to the screen.
The pillow beneath your head sighs as you turn from Joel back to the ultrasound. “Baby Duck,” you offer, and he smiles.
Smiles in a way you don’t think you’ve ever seen him smile. Eyes glistening, cheeks swollen. Something innocent and earnest about it. Something pure.
He agrees. “Baby Duck it is.”
Joel insists that you spend the night at his place.
“It’s been a big day,” he reasons, fixing the bed in his guestroom. “Just – let me run around after you for a little bit.”
You fight your corner as much as you can be bothered – I gotta maintain my independence, I’m gonna be a single mom soon enough, you know – but, truthfully, you’ll take any excuse to have him rush around at your beck and call. Some days you open your mouth and he hears the wet click of saliva between your lips, and grabs a glass of water for you before you’ve even voiced the request.
He orders takeout, settles shoulder-to-shoulder with you on the couch, and lets you pick whichever movie you feel like putting him through until the food’s gone, he’s out of beer, and you’ve abandoned Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles for an argument about the best part of pizza.
You don’t like the crust?
Nope.
What fuckin’ age are you?
If it ain’t stuffed, it’s just not worth it.
At eleven, you bid him goodnight and wander upstairs, falling into a sea of navy-blue sheets to be delivered to sleep by the serene silence of Joel’s home. It takes no time for your eyes to flutter closed, the soft sheen of moonlight painted across the wall, sweeping from your view to be replaced in a whir by –
Lights. Overhead and all around and so bright and so close that you swear they’re etched on the inside of your eyelids.
You’re in the backseat, watching them soar by in blurs of white and red and amber and green, and your pulse is rattling through your veins and throbbing between your temples and you can’t focus on any one object for longer than three seconds, before your eyes roll and your head dizzies.
A word, slung from your lips in a half-wakened attempt to stop it. A word you barely recognize at first, don’t understand the meaning of. It’s been years. Why now? Mom.
You’re not sure why, or who you’re even reaching out to. There are two figures in the front seats, heads facing forward. She’s not turning around. She’s not even fucking moving, not reacting to the speed or the lights or your voice. Mom.
You scream it, the syllable ripping violently from your throat, and your tiny fingers reach for her swirls of hair. You pause, staring at the chipped polish on your stubby, kiddy nails. Mom, I’m scared.
The distorted blast of a horn scoops the car up in one motion, hurtling over itself along the freeway. You’re thrown to the roof of the car, plummet back down to your seat; the seatbelt throttles you, rips a burn deep into the skin of your neck. Back up again; your head hits the spongey roof of the car. Your stomach somersaults.
Mom, please, you wail, swiping for her hand. It’s lying limp by her thigh, dark droplets on her wrist. Mom Mom please Mom I’m scared Mom please I’m so scared I –
“Baby.”
His voice is low, earthy. It chews apart the high-pitched squeal of brakes and screaming. The glass smashing. The metal crunching.
You lift from the bed like it’s ice water, gasping when you finally surface back on Earth. Your chest heaves, it’s not sucking in enough breath; you can’t breathe you can’t breathe you can’t fucking breathe.
Joel whips the cover from your legs and you roll from the mattress, feet planting on the floor. You bend forward to grip onto the sheets, a choking rising up your throat, closer and closer until it tugs on your tongue.
“Icantbreathe,” you pant.
Joel’s body curves around yours. “You’re alright,” he’s telling you – urging you; one hand between your shoulder blades, the other holding your wrist for fear you might collapse. “I’m here, you’re okay. You’re at my place, you’re safe, but, kid – I need you to slow down. You’re hyperventilating.”
You work your breathing to the strokes of his hand up and down your spine: in out in out in and out and in and out and in, and out, and in, and…out…and in…and…out.
“That’s it. Keep doing that. You’re good, baby, I got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
In – and out. In – and out again.
The room slowly desaturates back into boring, moonlit blue. Feeling sputters back into your hands, clawing at the sheets once the sharpness dissolves. The cotton pets back, smooth under your quivering touch. Your lips stop tingling, your ears stop ringing. One after another, until your blood settles back to a steady stream and you straighten up.
“Can you sit down for me?”
“No,” you whimper, and Joel nods.
“That’s alright,” he says. “I’m gonna get you a drink, that okay?”
You grab his T-shirt. “No. Don’t leave me. Please. Sorry.”
He cups your frozen cheeks. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere. Just downstairs. You can come.”
He settles you at his kitchen table and shuffles over to the cupboards, rubbing his eyes. You feel the heat of embarrassment and guilt, watching as he settles down with a groan minutes later.
“Ginger,” he tells you, voice rounded by his mug, sliding one of your own over to you.
“Sorry,” you mumble, lifting it with two hands. The smell sharp, cutting up the remnants of gasoline and smoke.
“Many times do I gotta say it?” he asks dryly. “Quit sayin’ you’re sorry.”
You gulp nervously. “You got work in the morning. You’re gonna be exhausted.”
“And if I hadn’t let you keep me up watchin’ chick flicks, I’d be rested. That’s something I can deal with later. I got you to worry about right now.”
You shake your head; the ceramic hits the table with a sharp thud. “I don’t want you to worry about me.”
“Well,” Joel sniffs, “you’re carrying my child. I’ll always worry about you.”
You sit back, the curve of the chair cradling, your heart beating lamely against the wood. Joel’s jaw rests in the cushion of his palm, staring back at you.
“What time is it?” you ask, and he glances over his shoulder.
“Three. Take a sip.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sip.”
You obey, lifting the tea and swallowing harshly.
He watches every move, every shift reflected in his dark eyes, decorated by a tense, stony expression. “Does this happen a lot?”
“Never,” you say. “This never happens.”
Joel cranes his jaw, cracks his neck. “Alright,” he sighs, “that’s okay. Breathe again. You’re doing fine.”
But you don’t feel fine. The dregs of panic sizzle into something thicker, hotter. Anger. Frustration. “Why the fuck is this happening?” you hiss, fingers prodding into your eye sockets. “What the f–?”
“Easy. I don’t know. Hormones? Stress?”
“You sound like my fucking doctor.”
Joel smiles. Amusement, before concern wipes over it again. “Let’s just give it some time to pass, okay?”
You nod, hanging over your drink, the silhouette of your reflection staring back at you. The steam snakes up, seeping into your skin, bubbling under the surface. Wiping clean any memory of freeway or nail polish, like coating over a bathroom mirror. The shapes still visible behind, but blurred. Gone.
“How’s Vanessa?” you ask, an attempt to distract yourself.
Joel adjusts a little awkwardly in his chair. “She’s good. She loved the scan photo. Showed it to her sister. They’re sure it’s a boy.”
“Ha. Joel Jr.”
“Joel Jr.,” he agrees, and then attempts to distract himself. “So,” he says, “Allandale.”
“Mhm?”
“Wonder if I ever saw your mom or dad. When I was there visitin’ Sam.”
You shrug. “Doubt it. I mean, they always lived right next to the elementary school, if that helps. My mom was a first-grade teacher. The two of us used to walk there ‘n back together, every day.”
“First grade, huh? Best one.”
“Yeah. Yeah, and she was the best of the best. She used to go all out for her kids; used to go to Michaels and get all this crafty stuff so they could spend all afternoon making little houses or zoos, or – whatever she could think of. And she’d always keep some aside, bring some home for me to make one, too. One time, she came home with all this blue tissue paper and little foam fish, and we made an aquarium together.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Joel says.
“Yeah,” you say again, nodding eagerly. “She was so cool. And fun, y’know? I just remember her being so much fun. I always felt safe with her, felt loved. I actually used to think she hung the sun every morning, just for me.” You take a deep breath, replacing it with a broken sigh.
“What about your dad? What was he like?”
You frown. “He was…fine. Real quiet, reserved. A little grumpy, I guess. I always got the idea he couldn’t be bothered with me, young as I was. Always wanted to be left alone. I think my mom overcompensated a lot.”
Something flashes across Joel’s face that seems to say he knows – or, at least, he understands. Almost imperceptible, a quick flicker of annoyance. “You miss her?” he asks, switching back.
“My mom?” You almost laugh, gripping onto your mug. Staring at the slow swirl of ginger. A shrug which presents more like a flinch; an animal swatting a fly away. “I miss those parts, when I think of them. The aquarium, the walking to school. Miss the memories. But I don’t think I knew her well enough or long enough to miss her.
“I’ve lived way longer without her than I ever had her. Done everything without her, like –” gesturing down, “– this. But, sometimes…sometimes, I bundle the sheets up behind my back in bed, and I pretend it’s her. Pretend I have a mom, and she’s cuddling me to sleep. I dunno. Maybe that’s what missing her feels like.”
Joel soaks in every word you say, letting the shape of each one settle on the table between you before he speaks again. Letting them be spoken into the dead of night, collected by no one, and letting them fade into silence. Secrets sweeping off into starlight. Nothing you would admit in the daytime.
“What was her name?” he asks, voice timid and gentle in the dark kitchen.
You almost choke on your tea. “Shoot – I’m sorry. That was a lot. Sorry. She, uh – Her name?”
It brings the first genuine smile to your lips; the memory of your mom now clear behind your eyes. Her round cheeks, her fluttering earrings. The deep, dark curls of her hair, thick ringlets twisting and lighting in the sun. The gap between her front teeth, the purse of her lips as she kissed your cheeks, your hands, your tummy.
Her name like a melody in your head; a safe word, a calming mantra when the world becomes too noisy, too saturated, too sharp to bear. Two syllables. Two little beats, like a piece of her still lives in the sound of her name.
“Sarah,” you tell Joel. “Her name was Sarah.”
1K notes · View notes
formulapai · 2 months
Text
YOU’RE PURR-FECT FOR ME !
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scenario: how some of the grid would deal with a cat-obsessed lover
warnings: cat scratches, blood due to scratches, biting, overall just kitty shenanigans
pai’s words: grew up surrounded by cats (and even now, meet Sushi my kitty baby and her VERY BIG FANGS in the first pic !) (she has a teeth condition so her fangs just grow and grow and we have to take her to the vet so they can trim them sksksksk still lives a wonderful life don’t worry) so i have a particular spot in my heart for them 🫶
MAX🍊
- CAT DAD
- jimmy and sassy are his little menaces and he never shuts up about them
- is very fond of all the cat memes you send him and saves them
- rolls his eyes when you nag at him for punishing the cats, even when they did something they definitely should get punished for (aka just max pointing an accusatory at them and slightly raising his voice)
- wheezed the first time you proposed a cats play date but soon realized you were serious and stopped
- knows he can always count on you to watch over his two menaces when he’s away and always makes sure to thank you profusely
- does the same for you when you’re away and sends you pictures and videos of your cats all day long, even FaceTiming you to show you the damages they decided to do to his apartment
- once you live together he has to physically stop you buying every cute cat furniture you see. no, you don’t need yet another litter box just because this one’s yellow with little flowers. no, your cat’s life won’t be drastically better if their food bowls are heart-shaped.
- in the end, he gives in and drives you to the store because he can’t resist you and your love for cats
ESTEBAN🍊
- sends you random cats pictures and caption them with “us ☺️”
- he sees a cat keychain while traveling? he buys it for you. a shirt with paw prints on it ? he buys it too. a box of cookies with the picture of a cat on it ? yeah, it’s going in his luggage too.
- brings treats for your kitties when he visits you and tells you about the searches he did before buying them
- responsible cat dad in law
- smiles SO BRIGHT when you send him videos of the little monsters before his races, it really pumps him up
- is the one sending you shopping ideas for cat furniture and gladly takes you to the store or orders for you
- posts them all over his social medias
- one time, one of your cats bit him pretty deep in the calf and he spent ten minutes trying to free his leg from the murder fangs
- never told you about it because 1) his pride suffered because of the fact that a CAT defeated him 2) he cares about Mr.Chonk and doesn’t want you punishing him
PIERRE🍊
- said many times that he much prefers dogs but deep down, he loves the balls of fur
- annoys them all the time and complains when his arms look like scratching posts
- gives them the dumbest nicknames and laughs his ass off when you complain about it
- the first thing he buys when he goes grocery shopping before coming to your place is cat food, so much that you have cupboards full of it but don’t have the heart to tell him as you know it’s his way of taking care of them
- your cats adore him when he’s not being a pain in their backside
- locks them out of the bedroom and makes fun of you for giving in and letting them inside after they meowed on the other side of the door
- scolds them like he’d scold kids and tells them off about their attitude when he notices their ears going on airplane mode, scolds you too when you take their side and coo at them
- sends you tiktoks about cat clothes and orders it because he knows the cats are going to hate it
- movie night turns into him cuddling “his babies” and leaving you sitting on the floor
OSCAR🍊
- grew up with dogs but is a cat person deep down
- snorts when you send him pics of your cats next to pics of him, or the “polite cat Oscar” memes you find on twitter
- never carries them in his arms because he knows they’ll gnaw on him so whenever he has to lift them off the kitchen counter, he puts his hands behind their front legs and lifts them “Simba-in-lion-king style” which has you wheezing
- sighs when he sees that you bought new cat trinkets
- he lets you change his phone screens and widgets to cat pictures and memes because you were bored and already did yours
- complains when you show him the matching pjs you bought with paw prints all over but you catch him wearing them in a FaceTime call
- you once played with your monsters and ended up with little drips of blood all over from scratches and bite marks (accidental, the monsters can get quite into the games) and he panicked
- you heard him scolding the cats after he cleaned you up and took a video of it. you still teases him about it sometimes
LANDO🍊
- is a dog person but also loves your hairy ankle biters
- asks max about how to woo your cats. max just makes fun of him and leaves him to suffer like a real bestie.
- whenever he opens your front door, he knows he has 0.2 seconds to enter and close it before they come running and try to get out. he once let them out and had to run after them in your building stairs
- loves to come up to them when they’re sleeping and pinch their belly to annoy them
- sends you pics of everything cat-related he sees when he travels, as well as pics of real cats
- his jpg account is filled with his little family (you and your cats) and their crimes (the bite marks adorning his legs and you laughing in the background)
- when you move together, the cats know exactly when he starts streaming and run to the room he’s in, causing ruckus and showing the viewers just how little power Lando has over the cuties
- he closes the door once but immediately opens it when he hears a loud thud, one of the cats running straight into the door because it’s never ever closed. the video of him crying in laughter on the floor as the kitty meows in annoyance gets all over social medias and everyone teases him about being a bad cat dad
- takes the tiny menace in his arms when he’s finally able to stop sobbing and shows everyone they’re fine
432 notes · View notes
luneaticlab · 3 months
Text
AMORE (Chapter 1)
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Pairing - CEO!Jungkook x Secretary!reader (female)
synopsis- Never in a million years you thought you'd end up with your boss, in bed.
Word count- 1.4k
IMPORTANT NOTE - Hey guys, this my first fic. I promise I'll improve. love and feedback are always welcomed.
•I do not own any of the pictures•
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
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"come again?"
hesitantly, you repeated the words you said to your bestfriend a few seconds ago "The last time i got laid was 13 months ago..?"
"Girl, are you fucking serious?" Lena, your bestfriend not-so-aggresively threw her hands in the air.
"What's wrong with it? You know i'm not the type to have one night stands and shit" you justified defensively, delicately caressing your 5 month old persian cat, fluff.
"Dude you are in your twenties, you are hot, rich and single, what's wrong with having some fun before you settle down?" all you did was roll your eyes, ready to nag her about hygiene during sex.
"Don't tell me you still have a crush on your jackass boss" alice appeared from your kitchen, a cup of hot choco keeping her hands warm.
you were taken aback, yes, you did have a crush on your not-so-jackass boss, maybe you still do, no one knows, you are too busy with work to think about that. But something about him just makes your thighs clench.
His thick thighs which you would die to sit on, his tiddies who always threaten to come out(thanks to the buttons which do not let them), and his freaking jawline which you want to hold so bad when he kisses you.
Just to be clear the chances of this happening is 0.01% .
He's the typical rich, young, hot bachelor desired by multiple women and owned by none. Somehow you always managed to keep a very professional relationship with him so far. But what's life without some thrill?
"Jeon jeongguk? go ahead , have sex with him then. A rich man is a rich man" Lena suggests as if she's telling you to pick out some roses from the neighbour's garden.
"sure, find me a now job by tomorrow then" Lena chuckles at your reponse.
"Girl, its not that hard, he's a man and he might have needs too, if you really want him on the top then maybe wear some sexy clothes at work, you guys see each other everyday"
"Yeah yeah i'll think about it" you shrugged off the topic, not wanting to discuss it further.
:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。
"fuck!" You finally found your release , turned the vibrator off, took a shower, slouched on your bed releasing a lazy sigh
Yes ,the vibrator did wonders when you got it for the first time, but you've become too used to it, you knew you needed more and by more you meant jungkook's dic-
you pushed your sinful thoughts out of the way and forced yourself to sleep.
:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。o○:.。..。.。o○:
next day , 7.39 a.m
You got out of the shower, fresh and clean. Done with the skincare and your usual makeup (nude lips are mandatory!) .you were about to pick your grey sweatshirt, Lena's words resonating in your ears.
Fuck it, it's now or never.
you put the sweatshirt right where it belonged. Took out a white tube top which covered half of your tits, wore a black trouser matching with the blazer of the same colour of the trouser. A black nano belt bag from celine completing your look. Quickly wearing your jimmy choo high heels, you stepped out of your apartment, you felt confident.
You were aware of the stares you were getting at the office, you weren't surprised, not your fault you look good with a minimum effort.
You spot your coworker Diana at the cafeteria, she waves at you , her look telling you that she's got something for you
"Hey y/n, I've completed the list of the guests we are going to invite at the company's gala, Do you mind passing it to Mr.Jeon? I got some last minute work to do." She asked holding your hand
Bingo
"Sure, why not , I was about to give him his espresso anyway." you smile at her politely before taking the file.
Quickly making your way upstairs, you fic your hair before you knock his door.
'"Come in"
"Good morning Mister Jeon, the list for the guests for our company's gala dinner has been finalized." You said as you placed his espresso and the file on his table.
He looked up to see you, "Alright, thank you y/n, I hope you didn't forget we have to go to daegu today."
You caught him stealing a glance at your chest.
"Ofcourse sir" you smiled curtly before leaving his office, swaying your hips on purpose while doing so.
Jeongguk and you had to go to Daegu today for the monthly inspection of the company's factory there.
Being Jeongguk's secretary was undeniably challenging, but the salary was enough motivation to continue doing your job.
・。゜・。・o゜・。゜・。・o゜・。゜・。・o゜
3.39 p.m
"Mister Jeon, we are ready to leave." You said as you peeked out your head from the door into his office.
He nodded while fixing his blue Ralph Lauren coat as he walked past you , you followed him behind, making sure everything is on the right place.
You looked at him from behind, good Lord he was so damn hot then you looked at yourself. You guys would make such a power couple in your opinion.
"Did you have lunch sir?" You asked knowing he might not have eaten given the fact that he absorbs himself too much in his work once he starts.
"I didn't have time to"
"I figured, I ordered chipotle for you, will you be okay with a burrito bowl ?" Jungkook liked having light meals on work days and he gets carsick easily so chipotle was the best option.
"Yes, thank you y/n i appreciate it." He said gratefully, flashing you a small smile which you could write a whole thesis on.
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You were driving the car and the ride was smooth, you guys talked about work related stuff. Until,
"How have you been lately, y/n?" Jeongguk asked out of nowhere.you glanced at him for a second before replying "I've been good, pretty much the same since 2 years. working on weekdays, staying at home on the weekends. Oh, and I've got a new roommate – a furry one. Adopted a cat a few months back. It's nice having someone waiting for me at home, you know?"
You have no idea why you are giving a detailed explanation instead of the typical 'I'm doing good' but it is what it is.
"Any special someone in the picture?" He asked, a hint of uncertainty laced in his voice.
You glance at him again in surprise before refocusing on the road, this guy is really picking his moments. "No special someone right now sir, how about you?" He started this.
He chuckled a little,"Not at the moment, not into relationships anyway."
well damn, at least it was worth the try.
You catch jungkook looking at you a lot of times during the ride.
"We have reached, sir." You both get out of the car and head towards the factory.
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7:51 p.m, Daegu.
It was pouring cats and dogs.
"I think we should book a hotel and stay there for the night". Jungkook suggested while looking up. All of the workers were leaving and driving in this crazy rain is dangerous.
"But i don't have any spare clothes."
"Should we buy them on the way?" Jungkook asked finally looking at you.
"I think we should."
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You guys found the nearest hotel, and went to your respective rooms.Jungkook chose a package of 1 night+ dinner because you guys didn't eat anything after lunch.
"Let us change then meet at the dinner hall yeah?" Jungkook said looking at you, your clothes were a little drenched, the droplets on your half-exposed boobs were visible and he can see your bra underneath the white tube top.
"Sure , sir"
You guys literally shoved your faces in the food because the meal was ten out of ten and ya'll were hungry as hell.
When you entered the elevator, jungkook looked at you for a second before speaking " Good day today"
You smiled at him. Damn that smile, he couldn't control himself , he brought his face closer to yours, literally a gap of 2 centimeters between. "Can I kiss you?" He asked , it came like a whisper.
"Please" You practically whimpered.
Just like that, his lips were on yours.
To be continued
565 notes · View notes
cherriesformatt · 1 month
Text
9 months || matt sturniolo part 3
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matt x fem!reader
summary: just how you and matt figured out life during your pregnancy
warings: pregnancy, suggestive, being sick
word count: 2,2k
a/n: guys thanks so much for all the notes 🥹 means a world to me and 100 followers wtf 🍒ily im not that proud of this one. Let me know if I should still keep going with the next part. Didn’t proofread yet!
The doctor said I couldn’t fly till my second trimester. I was really sick and pregnancy wasn’t easy on me. So we decided that we will wait to tell our families because we really wanted to tell them in person. Chris and Nick were great with keeping the secret. No one besides 4 of us knew. Even Laura and my boss didn’t know. I worked from home so I was able to do my job even when I wasn’t in my best form.
I had basically 3 babysitters now. Matt, Chris and Nick treated me like glass and to be honest sometimes I liked it (mostly when I was rotting on the couch and needed a snack) but most of the time I just yelled at them that I really could do everything without them staring at my soul.
When I was so sick all the time Matt decided that I should just stay with them for now. But the next thing I see is him moving my entire apartment here. I was pretty minimalistic so I didn’t have too much stuff. I just didn’t extend my rental and decided that would be for the best now.
My doctor said I was clear to fly when I was 16 weeks pregnant. So we organized trip to Boston. Sooner than later because I was starting to show and also because I already felt better. I gave up and started taking meds to stop being so nauseous. Every time I would try to gave them up everything would just make me sick.
Justin picked four of us from the airport and I took a passenger seat in the van. The flight was pretty good. I was just tired. The car had an air freshener and it’s smell just make my stomach flip.
“Oh no” I said and released I did not take my meds in the plane because I was sleeping. And also I couldn’t find them in my bag.
“Justin pull over …please” I kept my hand on my mouth.
He looked at me and when he saw me he momentarily did pull over to the side and I just jumped out of the car and threw up. I felt my hair being hold and a gentle hand rubbed my back.
“It’s okay baby… just let it all out” Matt said with his voice being worried.
When I was done I rinsed my mouth with water that Matt gave me and looked at him.
“This air freshener gotta go” I said quietly but he did take it out before I got back in.
“What are you pregnant or something, kid?” Justin looked at me jokingly but I only smiled at him awkwardly.
That’s how he found out.
MaryLou, Jimmy and boys grandma found out because Chris couldn’t keep his shit together.
“No she doesn’t drink” Chris said after their dad offered me my favorite wine. I was the only one who would usually share a glass or two with them and Justin. I was also over 21.
“How come? That’s your favorite” Jimmy said but I just looked at Matt.
“O fuck I’m so sorry” Chris said realizing but it just made it worst. We had to tell them now and then.
“So we came here… not only because we missed you but also to share some news with you all” Matt said really calmly.
“We’re having a baby” He aded looking at his parents and I just gripped his hand really hard.
“Oh my…” MaryLou said and she stood up and came to us and just gave us both a hug.
“You won’t believe this… but what I told Jimmy when you went to drop your bags upstairs. I said something is different… and you honey.. you’re glowing” She looked at me and honestly I couldn’t see that but I heard that a lot lately.
“What can I say…. I didn’t expect that so soon but congratulations kids” Jimmy came up to us as well and gave Matt a reassuring shoulder squeeze and I got a big smile.
“Oh Matty… I always knew you’re going to be the first one to give me great grandchildren” Their grandma smiled at us and Matt just went to her and gave her a big hug.
Rest of the night we spend watching their old videos and baby photos and I just cried so many times. Because I realized I couldn’t wait to have the baby here with us.
They took the news so well and I was really stressed about it because at first I was always worried about being older than Matt and now I’m also older and pregnant.
But they just always made me feel like home here and the rest of the trip just went so well. Talking to someone with so much experience gave me just more power to get through it all.
Then we did my family after coming back from Boston. I didn’t want to put myself out for such a long flight. Since my family was back in Europe. So we did what I dreamed about since I saw that commercial back when I was in middle school.
“Everyone…I want you to meet someone” I said while we were on a family group chat FaceTime.
I stood up and Matt readjusted the screen so it was on my belly. Which I swear was just bigger everyday. I felt like weight was lifted off my body, because not telling my mom and siblings about that was hard. Everyone freak out and I needed to answered 100 questions but luckily my mom didn’t make us say we will get married before the baby comes.
Half way through we were just getting really excited and everyone knew. Everyone except the whole Internet. But honestly that wasn’t to hard to keep from. We always did keep our relationships private and I wasn’t that much on social media so it was alright.
Also that was the time when I just couldn’t resist Matt. I honestly felt like jumping his bones 24h and I’m not even kidding. That was his favorite part of me being pregnant.
We also did decide that we rent a house that went in the market in the same neighborhood that the triples lived now. And we got the house so we started to renovate it like we wanted it. Boys were happy that it’s literally next doors but also it’s our own space that we would need to learn to have.
Nick was filming and photographing all weeks of my pregnancy. At first I didn’t like it because I was camera shy. I usually worked behind it. And now when I’m looking at Polaroids he made me take every week. They made me so happy.
“I love the name Noah” Matt said while his head was on my boobs and his hand on my belly.
I smiled. We didn’t want to know the gender till birth so while we talked to the baby we just called it “peanut”.
“I actually love it too… and we could do N O A H for a boy and N O A” I said and he looked at me so happy that I liked his idea.
Me and Madi would go shopping sometimes and all we did was just buying baby stuff. Most of the stuff I got were the ones I’ve learned from birth classes. I was obsessed with reading all the books about newborns and every now and then I’ll see Matt reading them too when he was not working.
One afternoon Chris came back from his meeting and he was so excited. He handed me w bag and I opened it.
“Chris are you kidding me? I’m going to cry” I put two mini sets of fresh love on the table. One was blue and one was pink.
“That’s the cutest thing that I have ever seen” I hugged him tightly.
“That’s from your favorite uncle kid your first outfit” He said looking at my belly and I froze because I felt a movement inside. First time ever so hard.
“Oh fuck… that was so weird” I said.
“What happened?” Chris stepped away from me.
“The baby is moving and I can feel it so well! Oh my gosh it did it again!!”
“Can I feel it?” Chris asked clearly exited.
“Yes..give me your hand” I said and I put his hand where I last felt it. And when the baby did it again I looked at him.
“Did you feel it?” I asked and he just looked at me with his eyes wide open .
“I did… a little.. that’s so weird… bro you’re a hero” he said.
“What’s that screaming all about?” My boyfriend joined us in the kitchen.
“I just made your baby kick!” Chris said.
“Oh my goodness are you just gonna claim it on yourself?” I laughed.
“What?” Matt came up to me and put his hands on my belly.
I readjusted them and looked at his eyes.
“Now…she did it again” I said and his eyes widened.
“That’s… wow” he said.
“I know” I whispered.
“You also just called Peanut a “she”” Matt smiled.
He knew I was having dreams about us having a daughter. That was another thing since I was pregnant. I had so many vivid dreams.
“Oh that was an accident…” I said.
After my 32nd week we had everything ready in our house and we started to sleep there and hang out. I worked there too. I had my little office. But I started to be really tired so I took my time off. Matt was really happy about it. Because we had more time to spend together, just two of us before there was a three people in the pack.
He was just perfect. He would rubbed my feet when they were swollen and give me a massage every night. He talked to my belly so much and just loved us both to the moon and back. All this time it was really hard for us but he made it so easy in the same time.
When I was freaking out the day my waters broke. He just packed a car and kept his cool. He was beside me every second. His brothers and our moms outside the delivery room.
“That’s a nice one if I’m going to have my baby to this song I might actually name it skies” I said in between taking my deep breaths. I let everyone be part of my delivery day playlist. Lil Skies was currently playing for the 7th time.
“Oh please baby” Matt laughed and rubbed my back as I rolled myself on the ball trying to get through my constructions.
When it came to actual pushing I thought I’m gonna kill everyone in the room. I decided that I wanted to give birth in water. So when I was ready we moved to the pool that nurses got ready.
Matt was siting behind me telling me sweet nothings while I was screaming and holding his hands so hard that I’m pretty sure blood couldn’t get to them.
While I heard crying in the room that wasn’t mine. Everything just went away. All the pain. They put the baby on my chest and I hold it.
“It’s a girl…” One of the nurses said and I kissed her temple. She was so little.
“We have a daughter…” Matt whispered as he hold as both. Both of us crying at this point and just couldn’t believe it.
“She is perfect” I whispered and touched her little nose.
“You both are, you’re a hero” Matt kissed my head.
When they took her for check up. Nurses helped me to get myself together while Matt went to take a shower. Took him 5 minutes because he was scared to miss the moment they will bring her back. I actually couldn’t keep my eyes open after they gave me pain meds I just passed out.
When I woke up there were flowers, balloons and gift bags everywhere. And I saw Matt at the corner of the room with little Noa on his bare chest.
“Matty…” I whispered.
He looked at me and stood up holding her. He was so natural about it.
“Look mama is up” He gently placed her in my open arms and I looked at her. I could just stare at her forever.
“Is everything okay? What’s all of this?” I asked quietly.
“Both of you are great, you slept some time, you deserved it, I send everyone home after they saw Noa for a little bit. That’s all form the favorite uncles apparently” He said with a big smile.
“They’re crazy…come here on the bed” I said and moved a little. He did as I said and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Thank you…she’s so perfect” Matt said and kissed my cheek.
“Well we did it together I just had more work” I laughed.
He did too and Noa opened her eyes and looked at us. But didn’t cry. She really was perfect. Well she was a Sturniolo after all.
That’s all I needed. My little family.
377 notes · View notes
jellieland · 3 months
Text
What would you do if you knew you were going to die?
---
“Oh,” says Lizzie sullenly, “you want to talk to me now?”
She shrugs one shoulder.
“I don’t know. Try some last-ditch attempt to survive? Kill someone else?”
She glares.
“Are you happy now?” she snaps. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Now go away.”
-
“Oh, come on,” says Jimmy, looking slightly offended. “Is this targeted? I bet I’m the only one you asked this. Am I the only one you asked this?”
Still, after a moment, he considers it.
“Well, he says. “As long as somebody else goes first, I don’t really care, to be honest. I’d just… do what I like, I guess! Yeah! I’d do what I like. That sounds good.”
-
“Ooh,” says Mumbo. “I would try and take as many people as possible down with me.”
He looks thoughtful.
“That is what this game’s about. Isn’t it?”
-
“You know,” says Tango, thoughtfully, and then immediately breaks into yelling, “I would love to not die in the dumbest way possible! That would be just great!”
He shakes his head.
He takes a breath, lets it out, and is calm again.
“But hey,” he says. “It’s gonna happen sooner or later anyway. Right?”
“Just gotta keep trying.”
-
“I’d stay vigilant!” says Skizz. “Hey, it’s not over til it’s over!
“I mean, maybe I’d try being a bit less nice? See how that works out? But, eh. No regrets.”
“That’s what’s important, you know?”
-
“I would make the most of it,” says Etho. “Do what I can.”
He shrugs, half-smiling.
“And then I would go home.”
-
“Fight it,” says Martyn, wearily. “I guess.”
-
“Die, presumably!” says Bigb, and grins. “Ooh, or would I?”
“Hey, and what about you? What would you do? Just ask people questions? That’s kinda sad, don’tcha think?”
-
“What are you talking about?” says Grian, narrowing his eyes. “You don’t know who’s going to win. Nobody knows that until it happens. You don’t know you’re going to die until it happens. Not really.”
-
Cleo laughs. “Really? You’re asking me?”
After a minute, they shake their head.
“I know what you mean, though,” they say, and shrug. “I would do what I always do. I would hold on. Until I can’t, anymore.”
-
“I mean, see if I could do anything about it!” says Impulse.
He looks away. Gives an almost sheepish smile.
“I- I don’t really want to die,” he says.
-
“Die?” says Bdubs. “I’m not gonna die! What are you talking about, I’m never gonna die! I’m the best! I’m super strong!”
He clears his throat awkwardly.
“And- even if I did. Even if I did, I wouldn’t just let it happen. I have stuff to do.”
He pauses.
“I- ok, maybe I would work on my fighting skills a bit, even though they’re already GREAT! Just, uh, just in case! Just in case I needed to really show off. For some reason.”
He glances over his shoulder.
“Don’t tell Gem I said that. Or Pearl.”
“…Or Cleo. In fact, maybe just keep this to yourself, ok, you little tattletales!”
-
“Kill whoever said that!” says Joel, posture ready to pounce. “Are you threatening me? Is that what this is?”
He squints suspiciously.
“You better not be. I’ll get you.”
-
“Make it count,” says Scott.
-
“I’d have fun!” says Gem. “I would enjoy myself!”
She looks curious.
“Wouldn’t everyone?” she asks.
-
“…Try and make it count,” says Pearl.
-
“What do you mean?” says Scar, confused. “What would I do if I knew I was going to die? Isn’t that everyone? Isn’t that just-”
He frowns. “That’s just living. Right? Am I wrong?”
He looks curiously up at the Secret Keeper, towering above him.
“Is that not just life?”
568 notes · View notes
visionarymode · 5 months
Text
Double Trouble
✧ warnings: smut, language, 18+
✧ pairing: jimmy uso & jey uso x female reader
✧ word count: 7,698
this is the second chapter of this little series with the twins, you can catch up & read part one Seeing Double here <3 this chapter was a lot longer than I expected it to be but I hope y'all enjoy! and yes... there will be one more for the finale 👀
₊˚✩༺♡༻ ‧₊˚✩༺♡༻ ‧₊˚✩༺♡༻ ‧₊˚✩༺♡༻ ‧₊˚✩
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Meet him upstairs in five? Five minutes? Why? What the hell did Jey say to him? Or maybe he didn’t mention anything, he just wanted to see you. You guys did have a hot and heavy make-out session in the bedroom before you got interrupted, by his brother. The same brother that just ate you out in the upstairs bathroom. While Jimmy was standing outside of that bathroom, not a single clue as to what was happening on the other side. Your thumbs hovered over the keyboard to type back, but they couldn’t. You were so confused, drunk, and still racing from that orgasm upstairs. You couldn’t think straight. You felt your heart starting to pound inside your chest and realized you were literally on the verge of an anxiety attack. You pinched Jasmine’s arm twice. It was both of your guys’ secret way of calling for help when the both of you needed the other in situations like this one. She turned to you mid-laugh from the conversation she was indulged in, realizing you needed her, and grabbed your wrist to head out the door. The chilly breeze flew back your hair as she shut the door and walked with you halfway down the pavement. 
“What’s wrong babe? You need the inhaler?” she asked, messily rummaging through her purse before she clumsily dropped it to the floor. 
“No, no I don’t know. I just need air. I don’t know,” you rambled pacing back and forth hugging yourself to keep warm as the wind made you shiver. 
“What happened? Did something happen? Did that bitch do something? I’ll beat his ass!” 
“No Jaz, they didn’t do anything.”
“They?” she asked with furrowed brows. 
You realized what you said and stopped pacing, looking back at her with a “yeah, I fucked up” look. 
“Oh shit. They!” her jaw dropped at the realization. 
“Shut up,” you warned her with a finger feeling her comments about to spring up. 
“I didn’t even say anything!” she laughed taking a mini shot glass out of her purse.
“Girl what the hell is that?” you tried to hide your giggle.
“It’s my customized shot glass what do you mean?” You both busted out laughing, still clearly drunk and easily distracted. 
“So they, huh? Plural? As in both of them?” 
“Yes and no.” 
“Girl how does that work?” she asked with a high-pitched tone. 
“I didn’t fuck either of them,” you whined back at her, impatience adding its way in your already swirling emotions from her questions. 
“So what happened then?!” she semi yelled, still giggly. 
“Made out with Jimmy in the guest room and Jey ate me out in the bathroom,” you quickly splurged out as you covered your mouth acting like you heard that information for the first time yourself. She loudly gasped at your confession and started laughing.
“Girl, I didn’t know you got down like that period!” she shook her head, holding up her hand in the air so you could high-five her.
“What are you- put your hand down this is not a flex!” you hissed, pushing her hand back down. 
“You living every girl’s dream babe, you fucking around with both twins! And they’re fine as hell!” she playfully snapped back. You covered your face at her hard-hitting comments and sighed. 
“So what now? Was it a one time thing? Do you like one better?” she gasped in between questions. 
“Jasmine! I don’t know. I-I like them both. They both make me fucking swoon-”
“Swoon’s a funny ass word,” she laughed. You kissed your teeth about to remark her statement before you heard the sound of the door opening a few feet away. 
“Y’all okay?” Your head snapped to the front door to see Jimmy stepping out, walking towards the both of you. “You leaving already?” 
“No- I just-” you stuttered, your phone slipping out of your hand and falling onto the cement. “Fuck!” you cursed under your breath, picking it up to check for any cracks, and sighed with relief to see that it was okay. 
“Y/N just needed some air. She wasn’t feeling too good, she’s just drunk,” she quickly covered for you and you were so grateful for her saving your ass at that moment. 
“Anyways I’ll see y’all back inside I’m freezing,” she started shimmying back to the door before turning around to shoot you a thumbs up with a wink. 
“You okay? Yo anxiety actin’ up again?” he softly asked, reaching to run his hands up and down your shivering shoulders. The same way his twin brother did literally twenty minutes ago. 
“No I thought I was, but I’m okay,” you hesitantly smiled, still attempting to read his indecipherable face. 
“Come here,” he waved his hand over but stepped towards you instead to wrap his arms around you, his tall figure securely embracing your five-foot body. You sighed, hugging him back tightly, feeling a little bit of relief but that guilt still crept up in your mind.
“You get my text?” he mumbled in your hair. You opened your eyes as that same anxiety that withdrew from your body from his touch started sprinkling back in your blood. 
“What text?” you asked, dumbfounded. 
“I wanted you to come upstairs…” his hand stopped rubbing down your back and you felt your breathing start to escalate again. 
“Jimmy-“ you began to say before he cut you off. 
“Just come upstairs,” he sternly whispered in your ear before letting go of you and walking back towards the door to head inside. You stood there shocked and confused before he turned back around to look at you with a raised brow.
“Whatchu’ doin’? It’s cold out here get inside,” he playfully remarked extending his hand for you to grab. You sighed of relief and grabbed his hand as you both went back inside and up the stairs to the same bedroom you shared an intimate moment earlier. He shut the door behind him and your smile faded away as he almost coldly looked at you, searching your eyes for information as if he knew you did something to fuck up. 
“Just sit,” he vocalized, nodding his head over to the bed. You slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed as he locked the door behind him, taking his sweet time stepping to stand in front of you. 
“Jimmy I can exp-”
“Stop,” he sternly yet so quietly interrupted, still eyeing you below him. You got lost in his intimidating brown eyes for a split second and before you knew it, the alcohol decided to take a leap and you started word vomiting. 
“I’m so sorry. It didn’t mean anything, we were both just drunk and it happened so fast. I didn’t know Jey was gonna come in like that-“ 
“Hol’ up. Hol’ up. Jey?“
You froze at his question, feeling your throat choke up. He had no fucking idea what you were talking about. 
“W-What?” you asked back stupidly. 
“Whatchu’ mean Jey?” 
“I didn’t- Why did you call me back up here?” you switched topics, thinking back to his text to meet you up here. 
“Because I wanted to chill with you? Pick up where we left off…what the fuck happened with Jey?” he spat. Your mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. You felt your heart racing and hands shaking as you nervously fumbled with them in your lap. 
“Nothing I ju-”
“Did y’all fuck?” he blurted with furrowed brows. 
“No! No, we didn’t.” You clarified, standing up to face him but that didn’t calm him any less. 
“Then what happened?” he pressured you, sensing your bullshit answer. 
“I-” you sighed looking down knowing you had to just get it out and there was no going back. 
“I-I was in the bathroom. He came in…everything happened so fast, one thing led to another and he…gave me head,” you mumbled the last part looking back up to see his face filled with anger, then confusion, then hurt. 
“Gave you head?! Was that before or after we were up here together?” 
“After…” your voice broke from his harsh and offended tone. He kissed his teeth and turned his back on you to pace a couple of steps away from you, stressfully running his hand over his beard. 
“Jimmy I-” Before you could finish your sentence he lowly mumbled something under his breath that you couldn’t make out and rushed to the door, snatching the doorknob open. You followed in pursuit but he was way faster than your short ass as he practically jogged down the stairs. 
“Oh fuck-” you quickly realized this wasn’t going to end well and started running down the stairs but it was too late. Jey was in the middle of the room deep in conversation as he laughed, having a great time. That pretty smile was quickly taken away once he turned his head at his brother’s presence, and Jimmy threw a punch at his face. You gasped loudly and so did everybody else as all the men in the room surrounded them, trying to break them up as they started brawling in the middle of the room. 
“What the fuck are y’all doing?!” Solo ran up from the kitchen trying to pull Jimmy off his brother and luckily was successful as he shoved him away from his other brother. Your eyes widened and you covered your mouth in shock looking down at Jey on the floor holding his face, glaring at Jimmy as two of his cousins started helping him up. 
“Bitch,” he mumbled under his breath. He noticed you to the side and his face softened at your presence and worried look, his eyes moving back and forth between you and his brother quickly understanding what happened. He helped himself up and moved his way through the crowd, exiting the front door. You searched for Jimmy and saw him walking up the stairs. 
“What the fuck just happened?!” Jasmine alarmingly reached for your arm, her voice barely heard from the crowd still rambling about what they just witnessed. 
“Fuck,” you huffed making your way through everybody to head up the stairs. You peeked through the open cracks of the doors and then reached the second to last one on the right that was shut. The same bedroom you and Jimmy were in earlier. You lightly knocked twice and there was no answer. You knocked again, no answer. You turned the doorknob to check if it was locked and it wasn’t. You slowly opened it, peeking your head in to see Jimmy sitting on the edge of the bed chugging his beer bottle. You gulped as your anxiety started to rise in your body again, carefully stepping in hoping he wouldn’t kick you out. 
“Can we talk?” you asked with a low whisper. He looked up at you and pointed to the empty space next to him with his bottle in response. You carefully sat down, as if you’d cause more harm just by denting the sheets with your sitting. 
“I’m so sorry. I- I don’t know what I was doing I told you it happened so fast. I didn’t expect to share that moment with you up here and I sure as hell didn’t expect to do…that with your own brother. I’m sorry. I-I’m so drunk,” you sighed, giving up on explaining as your hands flew to your lap. He chuckled at your rambling and you turned your head to the sound in confusion at his reaction. 
“What?” you asked.
“You stay talking too damn much when you’re drunk,” he laughed taking another sip of his beer. A smile slowly crept up on your lips, feeling relief and comfort from his sweet-tempered words.
“I can’t help it,” you mumbled looking down to fumble with your fingers. He noticed and grabbed your hand as they naturally enlaced together. He stared a little too long at your intertwined fingers and pulled his hand away, hunching down to look at the floored space between his legs as he ran his hand over his beard in deep thought. That smile on your face faded again, knowing he couldn’t just easily get over this. He had feelings for you, and you went ahead and fucked around with his twin brother. 
“Jimmy…”
“It’s fine,” he interrupted you, looking back up to shrug his shoulders as if he was unbothered. You wanted to believe him, but you sensed that he didn’t even believe himself. Your mouth opened to speak but he took another swing of his beer bottle, drinking a little extra this time. 
“S-So you’re not mad?” you asked as he shook his head and wiped some dribbles of his beer off his bearded chin. You watched him set his bottle down on the floor as you spoke up again, not understanding how he didn’t seem to care. 
“Are you su-“ you were cut off as he abruptly grabbed your face and shut you up, his lips smashing against yours. You hesitated at first because it was a strong, forceful, hungered kiss…almost as if he was trying to take his anger out on you. But once he pulled you closer by the nape of your neck, sliding his delectable tongue in your mouth, you wasted no time sucking on it, helping him relieve the stress. 
“Stop talkin’ and take these fuckin’ jeans off,” he mumbled followed by a bite on your lower lip as he unbuttoned your pants and zipped them down with lightening speed. You were so turned on you couldn’t even think straight, so you did whatever the hell he told you to do. You desperately panted against his parted mouth, slipping them off before he got up and stood between your legs.
“Get up on this bed and put your ass up for me…” he softly demanded, grabbing you by the throat as he looked behind you to show you where he wanted you. Your eyes didn’t leave his as you scooted back and turned around to get on all fours. Your breath shook as he ran his fingers up and down your drenched panties, his other hand palming your ass cheek before he groped you. He slid off your thong as you lifted each knee to help him. You felt his breath on your inner thighs as he spread open your folds, humming in hunger. 
“This pussy is mine…” he muttered before spitting between your folds. You moaned as you felt his saliva drip down along your entrance before he scooped it back up with his tongue, making your knees buckle. 
“Oh my god…” you gasped as he started lapping his tongue frantically, the loud sounds of it slurping over your wetness ringing in your ears as you quickly fell into a euphoric state. He squeezed your ass with both hands as he groaned, practically motor boating your pussy lips, dipping his tongue back in to lick you up. 
“Shiiiiiit,” you whined as your face fell onto the sheets, your upper body collapsing as your ass was still in his grasp. He spanked you, surely leaving a red print making you clutch on the sheets beneath you tighter. He spat inside your lower lips again, this time more forcefully as you felt his saliva shoot against your hole before he came back to lap his tongue over the same saliva-stained spot. He repeated it over..and over…and over… until you shuddered and almost choked on your breath from how deep his face was buried in your ass, his lips never leaving your mess unless it was to heighten your pleasure with his spit. 
“Jimmy…I-I’m gonna cum,” you first whispered until it turned into a high-pitched whine, making you move back on your hands to grind against his face. He lowly moaned, continuing to make out with your pussy as he spanked you again, jiggling your ass cheeks in his hands. 
“Cum baby…cum…” he mumbled between licks and your orgasm came crashing down, your cries matching the frequency of his slurps as you squirted in his mouth. 
“Good girl…” he moaned in satisfaction  as he dedicatedly swallowed every shooting drop of your nectar. 
“Fuck…” you breathed out as rocked your body away from his face, your head falling back down to your chest from blissful exhaustion. He chuckled at your reaction before you heard rustles behind you as he took off his joggers and boxers. You looked back at the sight, his long, thick, pretty brown dick springing out making you bite your lip and rocking your ass back in his direction. He smirked back at you before he spat on his dick to lubricate it some more. You watched it swirl down onto his tip that mixed with his pre cum, his big hand sliding it up and down his shaft as he leaned over you.  
“If this is whatchu’ wanted you shoulda just told me…” he growled in your ear, as he hovered on top of your heated back, sliding his sloppy tip between your ass cheeks before gliding it further down to your wet entrance, sloshing it up and down your drenched mess. You couldn’t speak as he held your jaw in his hands, your mouth parted open with short, raspy moans rolling off your tongue. 
“Pl-Please…” you begged as he teasingly brought his tip to your hole. 
“Please what? Huh?” he pressured you, his lips grazing your earlobe as he started slipping his thick head inside your hole.
“I need you inside o-ooooh my gooooood,” you loudly moaned as he didn’t let you finish, instead slowly pushing half of himself inside you. He thrusted again, this time shoving his entire length in you. You felt your elbows slip on the bed, your head dropping down from how fucking good he felt. He brought himself back up, smoothing his hand down your back to push your face back into the sheets. His thrusts slowly escalated, and you felt him in the pit of your stomach each time he pumped his big dick in you. Faster, deeper, harder…
The bed started squeaking and the headboard was hitting the wall, surely if people were outside that door they would know damn well what was going on inside. 
“You like that? You like this dick baby?” he groaned in deep pleasure, gripping your hips in place. 
“Yesyesyes…” you moaned before you loudly gasped as he spanked you again, slowing down his elongated strokes. 
“Where you goin’?” he hummed watching you trying to crawl away and grip the sheets above your head as they pulled off the mattress from your tight grip. He grabbed a handful of your hair to pull you back up on your hands. He picked up the steady, rough pace as his dick sloppily slid in and out of you, making your mind swirl with dizziness. 
“Nah, get up you gonna feel every…inch…of…this…dick…” the sounds of his balls slapping against your skin filling the pauses between each word as he continued to pile drive his dick deep in your guts. You started seeing stars as your breath got caught in your throat, feeling your climax climbing up on you. 
“I-I’m-“ you shakily whimpered. 
“Yeah…he can’t fuck you like this, can he?” he lowly chuckled with a deep, sadistic tone that quickly turned into a moan as he felt your walls fluttering around his dick. 
“Mmmm you gonna cum?” he shakily whispered back as he leaned into your ear. All you could do was nod, your eyes were low, mouth dropped open with ongoing cries as he cupped on of your breasts to then slither it down your stomach and over your sensitive clit to rub circles over it. 
“Cum on my dick baby…” he moaned feeling you pulsate around his thick length that didn’t stop pounding in you. His sensual coaching in your ear was the last straw for you and your soaking pussy, your orgasm crashing down as you didn’t control your moan, after moan, after moan…after…
“Oh my-my gooooooood,” you cried as you felt a tear drop fall from your left eye. He fucked you so hard and so good that your eyes stung with tears, failing to keep up with his heavy rocks that practically sent you into a different realm. 
“Fuck…” he moaned as he kissed your cheek, tasting your tear drop. You could feel your messy juices dripping onto the sheets in spurts, as he continued to pump you with his coated dick. 
“I wanna taste you…” you whispered, faintly turning back to look him in the eyes as he held you by the cheeks with his right hand squeezing them open as his thumb shakily grazed your lips. 
“Yeah?” he moaned as he slowly pulled out, jerking himself off as he grabbed you by the jaw again, making you spin around as you sat on your ankles, your legs spread open, playing with your clit as his tip fell on your tongue. He bit his lip watching you look up at him with innocent yet devilish eyes, his hand sloshing up and down his creamy and coated dick. You grabbed his wrist and took over, using both of your hands to stroke him until he let out a low, sexy grunt as his head fell back. 
“Cum daddy…” you whisperingly pleaded, feeling his dick twitch in your palms, shooting white ropes into your mouth and across your cheeks as you moaned swallowing every drop. 
“You’re so fucking sexy…” he groaned, as his hand slowly stopped jerking himself off, watching you taste every ounce of his cum. You wiped the corners of your mouth with your thumb, sucking off the rest as you smiled at him. 
“Why you do this to me, huh?” he smirked grabbing your cheeks to kiss you, your juices blending with the swirls of your tongues.
“Sorry, I can’t help it,” you giggled against his lips as he grinned back, scooping you up his arms to throw you back on the bed. 
✧✧✧
You both cleaned up and decided to stay in the room until everybody cleared out to avoid any awkward and tense conversations about what happened earlier. You texted Jasmine that you’d be sleeping over since Jimmy was staying over at Solo’s because they travel together for the upcoming live events. But he wasn’t the only one apart of their little carpool. Jey was also staying over. You hadn’t seen him since he was on the ground from Jimmy swinging on him. 
You were showered and ready to go to bed. Ready to go to bed yet couldn’t. You kissed Jimmy goodnight as he spooned you in his changed and cozy sheets. He knocked out immediately. You don’t know how much time went by as you delicately caressed your fingertips up and down his sleeved arm that was wrapped around your waist. He was sound asleep but you were wide awake, staring at the darkened space in front of you. You couldn’t sleep. All you could think about was him. The image of Jimmy’s fist hitting his face kept replaying in your mind. You couldn’t toss and turn because you didn’t want to wake Jimmy up. You couldn’t just lay here like this. It was driving you insane. Maybe some water will help. You were thirsty after all, the only drinks you’d been having all night were alcohol. You slowly lifted his arm off of you and placed it at his side as you quietly stepped out of the bed, looking back to make sure he was still asleep. He was clearly exhausted. After the day he’s had, you didn’t blame him. You sighed and checked your phone on the nightstand. 4:10 am. You ran your fingers through your hair and out your face, quietly walking over to the door. You scrunched up your face as if it would silence the sound of the doorknob twisting as you opened it, shutting it behind you. You turned on the flashlight from your phone to head down the stairs. You remembered how Solo let you all know if you needed anything at all, you could just help yourself to his fully stocked fridge. You turned the corner to the kitchen when a silhouette appeared, the fridge light revealing his figure. 
“Oh shit-” you quietly gasped, your hand flying to your chest. Jey turned around, wearing nothing but his boxers, closing the fridge door as he held a water bottle in his hand. 
“I’m sorry I didn’t know-”
“You thirsty too?” he whispered, opening the fridge again to grab you a bottled water. 
“Thanks,” you smiled, grabbing it to open it up. Your fingers stopped twisting the cap as your eyes landed on his very noticeable black and purple eye. You felt that guilt bombard your senses once again as your face dropped at the sight. Worry fell over you as you hesitantly stepped closer to cup his jaw and turn his head to get a better look. 
“Oh my god…I’m so sorry,” you sighed feeling tears sting your eyes. 
“Don’t. It’s not your fault stop that,” he kissed his teeth before gently grabbing your wrist, dropping it back down. 
“Yes it is,” you whispered still looking at him nervously. 
“No it’s not baby,” he furrowed his brows at your statement. You felt your skin tingle at the name. Your fingers were still entangled but you couldn’t let go. He stepped closer to gently wipe the tear falling from your face and pulled you to his chest to embrace you. You hugged him tightly, his warm bare skin comforting you as you listened to his heartbeat. He cradled your head in his hand, running it over your hair. Your fingers gently lifted on his back, running them up and down his soft skin making him sharply inhale. 
“Get some sleep,” he mumbled against your hair, his hands dropping down your back to gently grip your waist to pull you away. Your arms only moved halfway off of him, still looking up at him. You both just gazed in each others eyes, his hand finding its way to cup your cheek. It was so quiet. Yet it was so loud. You could hear a pin drop. But you could also hear the sound of your heart beating inside your chest. The heart that kept beating for him when it wasn’t supposed to. His thumb softly caressed your cheek, as he peered down to your lips that you just licked. You tried to send the message with your eyes. You wanted him to read how desperate and loving they were. You speedily looked from his left eye to the right, trying to see if he received it. And he did. He pulled you in by the nape of your neck as your lips crashed together. You softly moaned at the return of his long, savory tongue in your mouth. The corners of your mouths quickly covered in saliva from the sloppy, needy, and yearning need for one another. You wrapped your arms around his neck as your breathing grew heavier. His panting just as rapid at the millisecond breaks your mouths took to turn your heads in the other direction in your make-out session. His hands dropped to the bottom of your oversized shirt to yank it up to your waist, grabbing a handful of your ass as it peeked out of your cotton pink cheeksters. You moaned in his mouth from his touch and he took that opportunity to scoop you up in his arms, your legs wrapping around his waist. He groaned at the feel of your drenched panties rubbed up against his stomach, hurriedly placing you on the kitchen counter. Your legs stayed wrapped around his torso as you almost fell back from your faces avidly crashing. 
“Jey…” you whisperingly moaned as he grabbed you by the throat with one hand and cupped your breast with the other as he snaked his way up your shirt. 
“Whatchu’ want baby…” he shakily asked between kisses as you continued to grind against his bare upper body, the pressure helping alleviate your need just a tiny bit. 
“Fuck me please…” you panted as he dragged his tongue down your jaw making your back arch. 
“Let’s go to my room,” he mumbled against your neck as he sucked your soft spot. 
“No…I can’t wait,” you whispered as you pulled the hem of his boxers, slipping your hand inside the fabric to feel his hard, throbbing dick. He whimpered at your touch and your fingers lightly brushed the tip seeping with pre cum, making you breathe out another low-pitched moan.
“Mmmm please I’ll be quiet…” you begged in his ear as your thumb circled around his dripping tip. 
“Nah…” he softly moaned as you dropped your hand along his shaft to softly stroke it. 
“I’m gonna fuck this pussy up the way I want-“ he growled before scooping you back up in his arms as he quickly tip-toed up the stairs. You covered your mouth at his quick reaction as you bobbled in his arms as he went up every step. You shut your eyes refusing to look at his door, hoping no one caught you both sneaking off to Jey’s room that was the last door down the long hall. Before you knew it silence in his darkened room took over as he quietly locked his door and pinned you against it as he left sloppy sucks down your neck. You were out of breath as your eyes fluttered, heavily panting in the silence as he covered your neck with his saliva. Your fingers found their way in his hair, lightly pulling on it before a gasp popped out your mouth as he scooted you further up along the door to swirl his tongue along your collarbone and chest. You used your foot to push onto the door and get yourselves moving to the bed as he walked over not daring to remove his tongue off of you. He threw you onto the bed and you let out a giggle louder than you meant to, quickly covering your mouth as you realized.
“Thought you said you were gonna be quiet?” he playfully teased with a grin, as he towered over you, making you lean further back on the bed. 
“Thought you said you were gonna fuck this pussy up?” you teased back against his lips as he slithered his hands under your shirt to cup your breasts. 
“And I will…” he whispered, dipping his head back down to snatch the bottom of your shirt with his teeth, leaning back in your flushed face. 
“Take this shit off,” he muttered with the fabric between his grillz, his eyes hyper-focused on your lips as his forefingers and thumbs twiddling with your hard nipples. A moan rolled off your tongue at his touch, as you crossed your arms grabbing the side hems to take off…Jimmy’s oversized shirt. But he didn’t even cross your mind. You suddenly forget Jey had a brother at all because he had your full undivided, horny, and yearning attention. You threw it across the room, watching his pretty enticing eyes peer from your left breast to the right, licking his lips ready to feast on you. 
“Mmmm, you’re so fuckin beautiful…” he moaned, rubbing his big, smooth hands up and down your thighs. Slowly sliding them over your stomach as it sank in from the tingles, flattening his tongue on your right nipple as he delicately flicked it up and down while massaging your left breast. 
“Oh my god…” your head fell back at the feel of his wet and warm tongue gliding around your nipple as he sucked on it. Your right shin fondled with the bulge in his boxers. The contact made him slide his tongue back up your neck and on your lips as he drove his tongue in your mouth, grabbing you by the waist to push you further back on the bed. 
You cheekily grinned as you bit your lip, watching his long fingers grab his hard-on that was prominently peeking out of his boxers, his bracelet shining right at you as he rubbed up on his bulge. 
“This whatchu’ want baby?” he whispered as he stared into your soul, his hand slipping inside to grab his length as he hovered on top of you, his chain tickling your chest. 
“Yes daddy…” you naturally breathed out, the same name you called his brother just a few hours ago. 
“Slip ‘em off for me baby,” he mumbled against your lips as he hooked his other finger inside the band of your panties to  tug on them. Without a hesitant fiber in your being, you obliged, bucking your hips up to slide them off your legs and toss them across the room. You reached for his boxers to pull them down as he let you. His long, thick dick sprang out as the tip brushed against your tummy, the droplets of his warm pre cum sliding against your skin. 
“This pretty pussy stay dripping for me huh?” he asked as his long, thick fingers found your slick folds, opening them up to roam up and down your mess, the same way he did earlier in the night. 
“Fuck…” you whined as he sped up the vertical strokes suddenly replacing them with his creamy, dribbling tip continuing his up-and-down slides along your entrance. You gasped a little louder this time, the head of his dick inching its way into your hole. 
“Shhhh…” he grabbed your jaw to make you look in his eyes as he slipped his entire length inside of you making you moan once again, louder than you expected. He pressed his lips against yours mid-moan in an attempt to shut you up, but the way his tongue slithered in your mouth only made your noises lose more control. 
“Feel good baby?” he seductively mumbled as he slowly stroked his dick in and out of your doused pussy, his lips swiping on your parted ones with each thrust. 
“Yessss so good…” you whispered as he picked up the pace, creating pleasureful flutters in your tummy with every push inside of you. The legs of the bed were so quiet yet soundable as they rocked against the hardwood floors. He frantically buried himself within you, your arms hooked under his shoulders, your nails digging into his upper back as your eyes rolled to the back of your head. Your walls were already so sensitive from how hard Jimmy fucked you earlier. It felt so so good but you winced a tiny bit at Jey’s similar  aggressive thrusts that it made you croak out a cry.
“You okay baby? Too rough?” he breathlessly asked, his eyes lowly glazing over yours for any confirmation. You couldn’t speak as his dick quite frankly knocked the wind out your throat from your whispered cries, a tear falling down your cheek before he kissed it away. 
“I gotchu’…I gotchu’ bae,” he reassuringly whispered, his hard and quick thrusts slowing down to gentle, deep, elongated strokes that made you shakily moan from this new, different,   out-of-world pleasure that erupted sparks in your body that melted into the sheets. 
“Oh my…gooood,” you moaned, your mind swirling with a euphoric, foggy sensation with how fucking good his slower strokes felt, dragging out the way his length nicely slipped between your walls that contracted around it, not wanting it to slip away. 
“This feel good, hm? Nice and slow baby?” he deeply asked as he nuzzled his face in your neck, a small grunt falling from his lips.  
“Yesyesyes,” your high-pitched, whispered gasp erupted as he hit your g spot ever so slowly with each delicate thrust. He left sloppy kisses down your neck, his grillz leaving little love bites that made you pull on the ends of his blue-tipped mullet. He grabbed your right thigh to scoop his arm behind your knee, giving himself more space to fill you up with every inch of his dick. 
“Mmmmm…Jey,” you moaned, tugging a little harder on his hair as he hovered over you again, his breath hitching watching you in deep arousal. 
“I…I…” you heavily panted as he hummed, almost agreeing with your unsaid sentence. Your right hand rested on the nape of his neck, as your left grazed over his bearded jaw. 
“I love you,” he professed softly, fastening his strokes just by a little knowing that’s all you needed before your climax exploded throughout your entire body, making your legs uncontrollably fondle with his lower back. You felt his dick spasm between your sensitive walls as his forehead fell on yours, his moans a little louder than yours before you decided to shut him up this time as your lips weaved together. Your chests heaved against one another, a faint smile forming on your lips as your eyes barely stayed open. You stayed in the same position for a little while, just admiring each other’s eyes before he softly kissed you again, making your cheeks flush as your fingers grazed his sweaty, glistening back. 
“Don’t tell me this dick knocked you out, wake up baby,” he jokingly whispered, tilting your chin up and forcing you to gaze up at him. 
“I’m awake,” you mumbled with a grin. 
“Man…you’re so perfect,” he complimented, still slightly panting. 
“Shut up,” you giggled, feeling overwhelmed with his loving presence. There was silence before you noticed the sunrise starting to peek out from the curtains as it accentuated his face. The black eye was nothing compared to his vibrant and pretty features. Your thumbs caressed over his lower jaw, his beard hairs smoothly prickling against your skin. 
“I have to go back…” you lowly whispered, feeling a tug on your heartstrings watching his smile fade away as he nodded in agreement. 
“Let me get you a towel first,” he whispered, pecking you before getting up and walking towards the bathroom. You sighed, resting your palm on your forehead feeling a mixture of emotions. You really fucked both of them. You really fucked both Usos. You weren’t gloating, just extremely confused about your feelings. Sleeping with Jimmy for the first time after so many years of light-hearted flirtatious moments was great. The sex was appetizingly filthy, rough, and electrifyingly steamy. But with Jey…it was more passionate, comforting, more so making love to one another. And the three words that fell from Jey’s mouth…made you melt. The twins have always told you they loved you and you’ve always said it back. But this was most definitely different. 
“Psst.” You snapped out of it and turned to see Jey walking out with a towel around his waist, another in his hand as he pretended to shoot his shot at you, literally. You caught it with ease and shook your head at his goofy ass. You cleaned up and slipped your oversized shirt back on, almost feeling dirty, in a guilty way, fucking one brother then putting the other one’s shirt over your head. You tied your hair in a messy bun and tip-toed to the door, the sun’s golden light more luminous in the room as it highlighted his face. 
“You gonna sleep?” you whispered, wrapping your arms around his waist. 
“Nah. Gon’ hop in the shower…you could join me if you want,” he softly expressed, grabbing a handful beneath your shirt. 
“Tempting, but I can’t,” you giggled as he lightly spanked you and scoffed at to answer. You stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like forever before you shared one last flavorsome, soft, and passionate kiss. 
“Yeet,” you whispered turning back around one last time as your hand grabbed the doorknob. He chuckled, holding on to his towel. 
“Yeet,” he threw back with a wink and you departed as you looked left and right in the hallway before stepping out. You reached Jimmy’s room, the door slightly squeaking as you turned the knob, making you curse under your breath. You peeked in, seeing him still asleep. You blew a little air out of your mouth, relieved that he was clueless. You climbed back in, making him stir in the sheets as he grabbed you by the waist to pull you closer. You dozed off, your brain playing hopscotch with the two brothers.
✧✧✧
The following morning the boys had to leave for the airport for their live events. You ended up heading back home after having brunch with his Solo’s wife. The next following weeks were…chaotically indulging. If you weren’t with Jimmy, you were with Jey. If you weren’t with Jey, you were with Jimmy. You spent Sunday and Monday nights in Jey’s hotel room for Raw. You spent Thursday and Friday night traveling to Smackdown with Jimmy. Your weeks consisted of one twin pulling on your hair while you got pounded from behind in his locker room while the other fucked you against the steamy shower walls, both drenched from the hot water. They didn’t know about your rendezvous with the other twin…or so you thought. You picked up on the feeling that they secretly knew, because Jimmy didn’t call you on Sunday or Monday nights. Jey didn’t call you on Thursday and Friday nights. They just knew you were the other. And to think it wouldn’t get even more chaotic, you were at backstage at Fastlane where they both had matches. You were watching on the monitor set up in Jimmy’s locker room as Jey and Cody won the tag team titles, the biggest smile spreading on your lips knowing he was now a 2x undisputed tag team champion. You wanted to so badly find him and congratulate him right after, but you were with Jimmy up until his match. The match were him and Solo lost. Jimmy was crankier than usual, and you knew it wasn’t just because of the feeling of losing that match. That loss hit differently because he felt like he was falling behind his twin brother, not only in the ring but with you. You hated that he was in a mood the night before your birthday. You were throwing a big party, where everybody was invited. And to unintentionally make the situation a little harder for Jimmy, he didn’t expect Jey and Cody to show up with their tag titles gloating through the crowd. 
“They what?” you asked, your jaw dropping at Jasmine telling you what was going on downstairs as the guests started picking up. 
“Yeah girl, Jimmy still sitting in that corner drinking his beer. You gon’ come down or what we waiting on you!” she exclaimed watching you add a touch more of highlight on your nose. You heard her sniff and you looked at her through the mirror, dramatically holding her hand up to her mouth. 
“Are you crying?” you turned around with a little laugh. 
“You look so hot and you’re getting older, do you blame me?” she patted her tear away to avoid ruining her makeup. You giggled getting up from your stool to hug her as you felt tears sting your eyes.
“Fuck now I’m gonna cry,” you choked out before she broke the hug.
“No no no. You worked too hard on this makeup. I’m not crying anymore. Go put that sexy ass dress on so you can come down!” 
You changed in your purple sequined lace-up tube body con dress, fluffed up your hair, and put on your necklace and diamond earrings.
“You can open your eyes now,” you giggled before you gave her a little twirl and she started loudly clapping. 
“Oh my god, bitch you look stunning!” she hyped up. “Now let’s go down everyone’s wondering where you are.” 
“Wait,” you grabbed the shot glass from your dresser and poured yourself some tequila. You couldn’t go down there sober. Not when they were both here. You’re winced from the sizzling burn in your throat. You walked out with Jasmine down the stairs, the music blasting, and everyone was happily conversing and drinking. 
“Heyyyyy there she is!”
You giggled at everyone’s dramatic reactions continuing to walk down the stairs, giving hugs to everyone around as they wished you a happy birthday. You clanked your way to the kitchen to grab more drinks from the fridge, your heels already annoying you. 
“God…damn,” you hear a deep and sensual voice slightly startle you as you peeked above the fridge door still bent down with beers in your hand. Jey stood there with the sexiest smirk on his face, goofily dropping his eyes back down to your ass in the air as it peeked out of your tiny dress. 
“Shut up,” you giggled, closing the fridge with your heel, two bottles in each hand. 
“Let me get those for you,” he walked closer to grab them out of your hand and placed them on the counter before he gripped you by the waist, your lips inches away. Your breath hitched in your throat from his sweet cologne, his wet pink lips that he just licked as he caressed your cheek with his thumb, admiring your beauty. 
“Happy birthday beautiful,” he whispered before planting a nice, soft, and slow kiss on your lips. You moaned as your tongues naturally slipped into each other’s mouths, his hand sliding its way from your waist to your ass to grope you. 
“Thank you…” you breathed out, grinning against his lips. 
“Trus’ me this dress is…mmmmm…but I wanna rip this shit off and bend you over this counter right now,” he mumbled, biting your lower lip causing another moan to escape your lips as his grillz sank down on your glossy lips. 
“Later…” you whispered with a giggle trying to remove yourself from his grasp to get back to the drinks when the kitchen door opened, making you both turn your heads at the interruption. Luckily your bodies weren’t in touch anymore because with the way he raised his brows at the both of you, you figured he knew what was going on. 
“Well well well, what’s goin’ on?” Jimmy asked, clearly drunk as he crossed his arms. Jey kissed his teeth, turning his back on his brother as you let out an annoyed sigh. 
This was gonna be a long fucking night. 
✧✧✧✧✧
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ghostofwriting · 5 days
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Kildare Split Part One: Angel
Chapter One: Angel
Note: Thank you all for commenting, liking, reblogging, and interacting with the KS smau's! I really appreciate you all and thought that I would give you a little treat for being so nice. I can't sleep so here is part one of Kildare Split's story, more specifically y/n and Rafe's. Hope you have fun getting to read about the behind-the-scenes. This is absolutely not edited.
Warnings: none, bad writing, Rafe being mean.
Word Count: 3,710
Synopsis: Everyone has noticed that there's been a shift in how Kildare Split acts around each other. Rafe and Y/N used to be so close, they were always pictured together, and always shared stories of each other and for the last few years, there has been nothing from them. A behind-the-scenes look at what went down between everyone's favorite band.
The audience claps as the interviewer closes out the interview. The four of them stand up and start shaking hands with the man. One of the Jimmys or Seth or maybe even Jack. She doesn’t know. She just wants to leave. She’s so tired. It’s been such a long day of pretending. 
Y/n’s the first one to make it backstage, she breathes deeply, her back against a wooden panel. 
“Hey, you okay?” a voice comes from behind her. She puts on a smile and nods her head. 
“Yeah, Top. Fine.” He nods and gives her a half smile. 
Things aren’t the same as they used to be. They haven’t been the same in so long. Two years? Maybe three. Everything is such a blur. Time mending together. Touring helps a lot. It helps time pass, and it helps distract her. Being on stage helps too, that’s the only moment that she can pretend that everything is okay and believe it. She can look at Rafe and smile at him and it feels like before. 
Topper leaves her alone, he goes back to the guys, hanging back with them as they talk to their manager. She walks into the dressing room, gathering her stuff and waiting for Sarah to text her that they’re ready to go. 
Rafe walks into the room, alone. 
“Good job tonight.” He doesn’t look at her. He just starts shoving his belongings into a tote, grabbing some extra snacks that the show provided them. 
She’s so angry. Even still. Even after all this time. She wants to scream at him, beg him to explain himself but she can’t. So she stays quiet. 
“This has to stop.” He says, pausing his actions, still not looking at her. 
She looks at the back of his head. His hair starting to grow out from when he buzzed it, bleached from his album shoot. 
She wants to speak but she can’t. It’s like the anger chokes her up, this ball of fire stuck in her throat and she can’t get a word out because all that will come out is lava. She wants to hurt him. Wants him to feel a fraction of what she felt. And even then, she doesn’t even know if she’s in the right. Two years later and she’s still mad at him, even if she shouldn’t be. 
Sarah tried telling her to talk to him, to work it all out for the sake of the band. From her perspective, the band hasn’t suffered. The band is doing better than ever and she thinks that she deserves an award for not killing Rafe on stage. 
Sometimes she wishes she could put everything behind her and just try and be his friend again. They may never be best friends again, but she could speak to him at least. She thinks she’s civil with him though. He’s not dead so that says something. 
Rafe just sighs and sits on the counter, pulling out his phone. He’s probably texting her. His girlfriend. No, the fiance. The one he cheated on her with. Or well, sort of.
+++
Rafe and y/n met when they were 10 years old. She was friends with Sarah and always went over to her house. She thought of Sarah as her best friend until she met Rafe. Maybe it was love at first sight or a little kid crush but she grew attached. She would not leave him alone. Luckily for her, Rafe was the same way. He always followed her around, asking her to play when he saw her on the beach, at school, or if their parents ran into each other at the grocery store. 
They became inseparable and soon they added two new faces to their duo. Topper and Barry. It was early on that they knew what they wanted to do with their lives. They would put on shows for whoever wanted to watch. They would sing at the top of their lungs and smash around on every surface they could find. 
Soon after, y/n had asked her mom to put her in guitar lessons. She picked it up quickly but she always enjoyed singing more. She had bragged to Rafe about how fun her vocal lessons were and he convinced his father that he wanted to join too. It was contagious because soon enough, Topper and Barry had each claimed an instrument that they practiced every day after school for hours. They drove their parents insane. 
Rafe said that they couldn’t have two guitar players in the band and Topper refused to drop lead guitar so y/n did. Rafe was mad at Topper first but y/n reassured him that she could pick up bass quickly. They became Kildare Split on a blisteringly hot summer day in Barry’s garage. Sarah, John B, and JJ watching their rehearsal. After that, they played shows whenever they could. Dive bars, small fairs around town, and busking outside venues where established bands were playing. 
It took them from the ages of 12 to 17 to get discovered but they never let up. When they finally got signed to their label, y/n remembers crying in Rafe’s arms. She was so happy, their dreams were coming true and she was doing it with her best friends. 
Little did she know that everything would fall apart so fast. 
Childhood is pretty much lost when you’re playing stingy bars full of drunk people and drugs at 12 years old. She thought that it would get better once they had protection from managers and label heads. She was wrong. It almost became worse. Drugs were everywhere. At 17 getting drugs offered to you by a 50-year-old man who controls your entire career is pretty terrifying. She didn’t think she could say no. The boys didn’t think they could say no. It was intense. Some of them made it out better than others, and the others, well, that’s the downfall of fame at such a young age. 
There was an entire year where she probably spent half of it high out of her mind. She went from doing it out of fear of losing her career to craving it, needing it. Rafe was the same way. Topper had tried to help them both but they were too far gone. She remembers going on talk shows, but not which talk shows or who they talked to or what they talked about. She looks back on those days and feels a pit in her stomach. Losing such a big chunk of her young adult life that she can’t relive hurts. 
That’s when it all started. She was high and drunk, and Rafe was high and drunk and one thing led to another. They had never crossed that line before. After her initial crush went away, she had never thought of Rafe that way. When it happened, it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her head. She woke up the next day and immediately regretted it. She apologized to Rafe, told him that it could never happen again and bolted. 
That’s when she cleaned her act up. She couldn’t risk their relationship, for their friendship and the band. 
One thing she should have known is that Rafe didn’t care. He wanted her and he was going to have her. And who was she to shove all her bottled-up feelings back in their little box? Who was she to deny him?
So they start their little song and dance. At first, they keep it hidden from everyone. If Topper and Barry were to find out, they would be so incredibly upset and they would tell them to stop. 
She can’t stop. She doesn’t want to stop. Not as long as Rafe wants her. 
She gets clean and she tries to help Rafe get clean too. He relapses time and time again, crawling back to her, asking for another chance. She’s been there, she knows how hard it is to get clean so of course she gives him all the chances he asks for. 
They hook up on and off for a year. They never become anything official because Rafe isn’t in the headspace to be in a relationship. He needs to focus on himself and she wants to help him and if he needs her to be his friend, that’s what she’ll be. 
“You’re friends with benefits with my brother,” Sarah says stunned. Topper and Barry had found out and ran to her to get her to talk some sense into Rafe and y/n. 
“It’s not like that.” Sarah looks at her incredulously. 
“Are you or are you not fucking my brother?” y/n doesn’t know how to respond so she stays quiet. Sarah is scary when she’s mad.
“It’s not because he’s my brother, y/n. It’s because of what he means to you.” y/n shakes her head, smiling softly. 
“Sarah, I promise you, it’s okay. Rafe and I have an agreement.” Sarah sighs and looks at her with concern.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She should’ve taken Sarah’s advice. She should have put a stop to everything that minute everyone found out. She was too far gone for him though, she couldn’t leave him, not when he needed her. 
Everyone warned her. Everyone told her that it would end badly. 
“I just want you to know that if he does something, those boys will choose him. You’re the odd variable y/n, know that.” Cleo had said to her one night when they were in the tour bus, the boys off on a run. 
“I am just as important to them as Rafe is.” Or she had thought. 
On one stupid drunken night she tells Rafe that she loves him. He gapes at her not knowing what to say. 
“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.” She understands, of course, she does. It’s not like that between them. 
The doesn’t stop her from crying in Barry’s arms about it. She hiccups and sobs into his chest about how much she loves him and how he will never look at her that way. Barry just listens and holds her. She falls asleep in his arms. She feels so safe with him. Her best friend. 
Shit hits the fan all at once and so fast. 
Sarah sits her down one night after a show. Her adrenaline is still pumping, she wants to go jump around with the guys and run laps around the venue. 
“Sar, can we do this later?”
“This can’t wait.” The tone in her voice brings her back down to earth. It’s serious. 
“What’s wrong?” y/n knows it’s about Rafe before Sarah opens her mouth. She feels it, there’s a shift in whatever the hell universe she’s been living in. Her face feels hot, her ears are ringing, and she feels like she starts to shake. 
“Rafe is seeing someone.” Of course, he is. She’s y/n she’s just his friend.
A friend that he sleeps with. A friend that has stayed up all night with him as he detoxed. A friend who drove him to and from meetings, that drove him to rehab and told everyone that he was on vacation. She was the person that he would run to when any little thing went wrong, she held him as he cried about their career not going anywhere and having to go back to work for his dad. She let him sob in her arms about all the shit that they have been through during the lift-off of their career. She was there for him, always for him and he promised her. He promised that he would always be there for her that it was only her. That he only ever wanted her and when he got his shit together they could be together. He told her that he wasn’t sleeping around. He didn’t have time for girlfriends, he didn’t have time to put in the work on a relationship because he could barely put the work into himself. He told her that she was the only one he was ending his nights with and waking up in the mornings with. He promised her the world and it was all just a lie. 
Just as fast as her body starts shaking, it relaxes, she takes a deep breath and looks at Sarah, the look of concern still on her face. 
“Who?” she asks lowly. 
“This painter, named Sofia.” The name rings a bell. She thinks she’s seen her call Rafe a few times. 
“That’s okay. We weren’t dating.” Sarah’s concern grows so y/n smiles at her. 
“Let’s go back out there.”
“Do you want me to call Cleo?” Sarah asks. 
“I’m good, Sar.”
And she is. Or at least she’s trying to be good. She has no right to be angry. They weren’t dating. He doesn’t owe her anything. 
They walk into the room where the guys are playing video games. Waiting for the fans to leave the venue before it’s safe for them to leave. 
“Hey! Great show tonight angel!” Rafe says looking away from the screen at her. She gives him a short smile, her face pensive. 
Cleo’s words ring in her head, those boys will choose him those boys will choose him those boys will choose him.
She knows all three of them like the back of her hand. Topper's lip quivers when he lies. Barry doesn’t look you in the eyes. And Rafe, Rafe’s ears turn red. 
She has to know if the two boys, men, that she grew up with and calls her family, would keep that from her. 
“So who’s Sofia?” She watches as all three of them tense. She’s looking between Barry and Topper but she sees Rafe turn to look at Sarah with anger between his brows from her peripherals. 
She looks for the cues and hopes that she can’t find them. It’s hard to miss when Barry doesn’t look up from his controller but is frozen, quiet. She looks at Topper, his mouth open, trying to find something to say.
“I don’t know, some person we commissioned probably.” She can’t help the breathy sob that escapes her lips when she sees the quiver on Topper’s. 
She swallows hard, she turns to Rafe, shaking her head at him and backing away. 
“You’re a liar. You’re a fucking liar. All of you are.” She backs into the hallway, her eyes still floating from one to the other. 
“y/n-” Topper moves towards her but she holds her hand out and cuts him off.
“No. Stay away from me. I never- I-” she chokes on a sob. “ I never would have done this to you. Don’t talk to me, don’t follow me, just stay away from me.” She turns on her feet and books it out of the room and hallway, she hears Rafe chewing Sarah out but doesn’t stay long enough to hear what Sarah says. 
Things are awkward, to say the least from then on. She stayed in her bunk and silently cried herself to sleep. She wants to go to him, ask him what she could have done, ask him what happened and when he knew he wanted to stop things with her. He doesn’t come to see her that night, or the next night or the night after that. 
At first, she thought it was because he was giving her time to cool off but on the third night of complete silence from him, she walks into the dressing room of their show in Nashville and a pretty girl with short hair sits on the couch. 
“Hi, I’m Sofia. You must be y/n.” She extends her hand out and y/n takes it. 
“Nice to meet you.” y/n says. 
“You too, sorry about how things went down.” Y/n scrunches up her nose, her head tilting. 
“What?” She asks.
“I mean, I knew he had to choose eventually, he just didn’t get the chance to tell you.” She feels like she’s going to throw up. She wasn’t planning on hating Sofia, but she knew. Sofia knew that y/n existed and she still kept on seeing him. 
She walks out of the room. 
That same night, everything changed. If he had just apologized, if he had told her that he fucked up and he was too drugged up to think clearly, she would have forgiven him. That’s not what happened. 
She runs into Rafe in the lunch area and can’t hold in all her feelings. She needs to know what he’s thinking and wants to ask him to explain himself. 
“Rafe?” He doesn’t acknowledge her. 
“Can we please talk?”
“God Y/n, I don’t want to fucking talk. I’m so goddamn tired of you moping around this place like you have any right.” He explodes at her, his face red. 
“What?” She’s shocked, he’s never talked to her like this. 
“You’re just some girl I fucked okay? I needed to get off and you were always there. You were just a fuck. I don’t care about you like that.” He pauses. His words sank into her like knives. 
“I’m going to get clean for her. Sofia, she’s worth it.” He walks out of the room without saying anything else to her. She feels her eyes start to water, chills running up and down her body.
How could he be so cruel? How could her best friend of so many years say he doesn’t care about her? How could he disregard her feelings and belittle her to be just someone he fucked? She thought they were friends. She believed that they would come out of this situation unscathed but he didn’t even see her as a person. 
The people she thought cared about her most in the world, didn’t care about her at all. They all chose someone else. They didn’t choose her. 
She had never felt so alone in her entire life. And for the first time since they started their journey as a band, she wondered if any of it had been worth it. 
+++
“I don’t think it can stop.” It’s the first time you’ve spoken to him directly and not on stage or in an interview in years. 
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to move out of LA, back home probably or New York with Cleo and Pope.”
“y/n.” It’s not Rafe’s voice saying her name, it’s Barry from behind her. She turns around and looks at him, looks past him and Topper, and then back at Rafe.”
“I think we all know this has been building up and it’s getting really hard to pretend all the time so um-yeah I’m going to go, I need a break after the tour’s over.” She gulps down the ball building in her throat. She needs to get through this. She hates putting the band on the back burner and hates that she’s to blame.
“What are you talking about?” Rafe asks her, getting off the counter.
“It’s just a break. I think we should announce a prolonged hiatus and just do our own thing for a bit.”
“We have an entire third album to record,” Rafe says incredulously.
“I’ll keep writing and you can send me the vocals you want me to lay down. It’ll be fine.”
“You’re breaking up the band over some stupid grudge?” Rafe asks. 
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just need some time.” It’s not a grudge.
“You have got to be kidding me, y/n, come on. I know how much you love touring and making music.”
“I do,” her voice breaks, “I just need time away from all of you.”
“You need a break from us? What did we do?” Barry pipes in.
“You left me alone. You let him,” she points at Rafe, “belittle me and make me feel like nothing. You isolated me for two years.” Rafe scoffs. 
“You did that yourself.” He sounds hurt more than he does angry. He’s different now. He’s better in a way. He hasn’t apologized to her but he’s good now. He’s clean. He got clean for Sofia. Because she was worth it and y/n wasn’t. 
“Because I was hurt, Rafe! You broke my heart. I fucking told you that I loved you, I was honest with my feelings for you and you never said anything back and then you told me you didn’t care about me!”
“I wasn’t in my right mind.” The tears are still gathering in her eyes but she refuses to let them fall. 
“If you had just apologized to me, this wouldn’t have happened but you said some nasty shit and never looked back and I was just so alone.”
“Do you know what it’s like to have no one to talk to on tour for months on end? That’s what I have had to go through for years because I don’t trust any of you! Because you hurt me and never apologized.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s late but I’m sorry.” Topper is the one that speaks up. 
“Thank you, but it’s too late. I need some time. I need to heal so that the band can continue because I don’t think I can do this for much longer if I stay.” Topper nods, agreeing with her. She gives him a thankful smile and breathes in deep. 
“Okay, so we finish the tour, and a week or so later we announce that we’re going on a break. We’ll still write and record and we can even release the album but I won’t be doing press for it.” She looks at all three of them and nods. There’s a finality to her words. No room for argument. 
“And you have your solo album to figure out and do press for, maybe you can even tour it. You’ll be fine.” She says to Rafe, more words than she had said to him directly in a long time.
“I’ll see you all soon.” With that, she walks out of the talk show’s dressing room, towards the exit of the building. She was going to finish up this tour. She could do that and then she could rest.
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threestarsinline · 6 days
Text
Children's Books and Leather Jackets (Part I)
Jason Todd x reader one-shot
Summary: You couldn't love your job more. Or at least, that's what you thought, until Jason Todd started coming into the bookshop every week without fail, like clockwork. And then you form a connection that tilts your whole world on its axis.
Word Count: 13.6K (total of 29.2K)
Category: Lots and lots of fluff. Like, LOTS (plus some mutual pining, idiots in love, slow burn? and friends to lovers, and therefore, what all of that entails, mwah)
Warnings: Jason stealing your heart (and you stealing his)
Author’s note: Well, here's the proof that yes, I was writing hehehe. Anyway, enjoy this monster of a two-part fic, peace and love babes
>Part II
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You loved your job. You really truly did. It might seem like a bold statement to make but when you spend your day to day in a quiet, lovely and vintage styled bookshop owned by the most wonderful couple of old people that you have ever met, who also treat you as their own granddaughter, you know that you could have it a lot worse in Gotham. You often forget that they are technically your bosses, or co-workers as they always corrected you when you referred to them as such.
Rose and Jimmy hired you a long time ago now, when they weren’t able to run the bookshop fulltime by themselves anymore due to the rise of popularity of the place (even though the customers were still just a close community of people from the neighborhood). And also because, after decades of running the bookshop, they wanted to finally kind of retire and do a few travels to places they wanted to see or visit their children scattered throughout the country.
So there you were, practically running all by yourself a small but successful business each week.
However, you weren’t bothered at all, it was perfect for you: working alone with no annoying co-workers or stressful deadlines, a flexible schedule since Rose and Jimmy would replace you here and there whenever you needed it and giving you free days out of the blue. 
It also didn’t hurt that the job allowed you to stay in touch with the thing that you loved the most: books. Pages, full of stories that could transport you anywhere, to any time. Words, creating characters that became your family and made you laugh while also breaking your heart with their tragedies. And the possibility of sharing all of this with the people who came into the bookshop from all kinds of different backgrounds made it all even better.
Let’s just say that you couldn’t believe your luck when you got this job. Your day to day consisted of, among other things, attending customers, organizing the bookshelves, doing inventory and most of all: reading. There were certain moments of the day in which the shop was quite uneventful so you would seize those moments by doing all the reading that you could.
You really thought that you couldn’t love your job more. But that was until a gorgeous and very mysterious young man with a white streak in his hair started coming every week into the shop and giving you a smile every time that he left. 
You got it bad.
And your crush on Jason Todd did nothing but increase. You were sure that that man was going to be the death of you.
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The first time that Jason walked into the bookshop you were surprised to say the least. You had never seen him in the shop before yet he walked towards a section in the bookshelves of the back with firm and secure steps.
He came back to the register with three children’s books to check out. That surprised you even more. He certainly didn’t look like the type of person that you would expect to get children’s books. He had a rough appearance with his tall frame, dark hair and (fake) leather jacket.
But he was nothing but polite as he greeted you and handed you his bookshop card.
The shop also acted as a library with several books, Rose and Jimmy having implemented the idea after there was an attack at the public library that left the place in reforms for months.
It also allowed the people who couldn’t buy books that regularly to still be able to have new books since you only had to pay for the card when you first got it and pay the small fee for the membership every two months. Or every month if you wanted more perks like extended loans or not having a limit on the amount of books allowed to be checked out.
Most of that money was also directly donated to different causes in Gotham like orphanages and homeless shelters. The community loved Rose and Jimmy for all of that, it was like they were their guardian angels, some customers had told you that they were godsent. 
As you proceeded to scan the books that the mysterious young man had brought you, you realized that his card was fairly new and came to the conclusion that Rose must have given it to him the week before, when you had your free day. 
“Do you have The Rainbow Fish? I tried to look for it but I couldn’t find it.” He spoke up and you looked up at him, surprised once more, since most people either loved or hated that book.
“Uhm. If it’s not on the shelf, it must have been checked out. Let me see.” You looked it up on the computer. “Yeah, someone took it a few days ago. We should have it by next week, I can keep it in reserve for you if you’d like.” The information seemed to please him since his face lighted up and he let out a sigh of relief.
“That would be great, thank you.”
“No problem. Have a nice day.” You gave him back the books and his card and as you looked at him you realized that he had a very nice smile. You wondered if he would come back often to the bookshop. 
“You too.” He said as he opened the door.
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And in fact, he did come back to the bookshop rather often, at least once a week and always looking for children’s books. You were very curious about it since it wasn’t very common to see a man like him taking so many children’s books with him.
You couldn’t help but speculate, maybe he was close with kids in his family or maybe he did some kind of volunteering. Either way, you weren’t going to ask, it was out of place and you didn’t know him. 
Then, he started checking out other books, this time fiction and most of all classic literature. He sometimes even bought the ones that really brought out his attention. He would always strike up friendly conversation with you as he came to the counter with new books to buy or check out, asking you about some book or asking you for recommendations.
On your most brave days, not really knowing what you were doing, you would even make a comment about the books that he was taking with him and he answered you with enthusiasm, commenting on them with you.
Soon, you were on a first name basis with him and something similar to a friendship blossomed between you two. You started giving snippets of each other's lives, you telling him about a show that you were watching that you really liked or him telling you about one of his siblings’s latest shenanigans.
Jason coming into the shop became something that you looked forward to and Rose and Jimmy, who some days spend the day in the shop helping you out, also saw how close you two were becoming.
Jason even befriended them too and the owners soon treated him like a grandson just like they had done with you so long ago. Jimmy sometimes shoved in his hand his famous homemade cookies and Rose tried to give him a discount for the books that he bought but Jason, like always, refused to accept it. 
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“What? You’re supposed to leave them inside, it’s on the delivery contract.” You add frustrated.
“Whatever you say. Not my problem.” The new delivery man doesn’t even look at you as he recklessly puts the last of the boxes of new book orders on the sidewalk.
Looking at the now damaged box you grimace. You really hoped that the books inside were okay. They were like your babies.
The man takes his cigarette out of his mouth and puts it out on top of one of the boxes knowingly, looking you dead in the eyes as if challenging you to say something else.
You know that starting a confrontation would get you nowhere, it would be better to file a complaint later that you know would have consequences for him since the delivery service and the bookshop had always had a trusting relationship.
So, knowing to pick your battles, you put on a smile and thank him. The man seems surprised at that, surely used to having excuses to play the bully. He just huffs, gets on the truck and leaves. You nod to yourself proudly, you won. But your small, triumphant moment ends as soon as you see the large number of boxes that you now have to carry inside on your own. 
Oh, how you missed Charlie.
Charlie was the delivery man before he retired. It had been his job for more than fifty years and even now he was as strong as ever and he had always helped you with the boxes and made you laugh with his adventures from his younger years. 
You always gave him a cup of coffee from the machine in the small back room that worked as a break room as he tried to set you up with his grandchildren. Telling you how amazing they were and how one of them was about to become a doctor.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. I’m sure they’re great.” You would always tell him. Because they did sound nice but none of them lived in Gotham. Charlie then would fake a disappointed sigh but the crinkles of a smile around his eyes would always appear.
“Well, let me know if you change your mind, sweetie.” A pause. “Though you should forget about trying here, there isn’t anyone worthy in this godforsaken city.” He would joke.
“Except you, Charlie.” You’d say brightly while winking at him jokingly. And then he would laugh the way only one can when they are satisfied with their life and as happy as they can be, something very rare. 
“Don’t let Mary hear you, I know she doesn’t look like it but she can throw a punch.” His eyes would shine with love as he mentioned his wife.
“I don’t doubt it.” You’d answer.
You are brought out of your memories when a voice calls your name.
“Y/N, hi.” You turn to see Jason and you can't help the immediate smile that makes its way across your lips.
“Hi. How are you?”
“I’m good. I was just about to go in when I saw you out here. What’s all of this?” He looks around at all the boxes that the pedestrians were avoiding.
“Delivery day.” You say as you take one of the boxes in your arms. His eyes widen. With that funny expression on his face he looked cute, which made him even more handsome than usual. It wasn’t even fair.
Focus, Y/N.
“And you always do this alone?” 
“No, the new delivery guy is just an idiot. Charlie always helped me.”
“Charlie?” He raises an eyebrow as he too grabs a box from the floor.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I’m helping you.” He replies without hesitation, you shake your head.
“I can’t let you do that, you’re a customer.”
“It’s no problem. Plus, this way you will finish this earlier and you can recommend me another book after the heartbreak that you gave me with the last one.”
“Sorry.” You say, trying to contain a giggle. He narrows his eyes at you.
“No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not.” You confess, this time laughing freely.
You didn’t know it but Jason thought that you looked beautiful. Even more so than some days, if that was even possible, with the wind carrying your laugh to him and rustling your hair. God, he was in deep.
“So, are you going to let me help you or not?”
“Fine.” You finally comply.
And as you two enter the boxes he repeats his question from earlier. “Well, who’s Charlie?”
“Oh, just the best delivery old man you will ever meet.” You answer, your affection for the man clearly present in your voice.
“Do you collect them?”
“What?” You ask confused.
“Grandparents, old people. You have your own grandparents, Rose, Jimmy and now I learn about this Charlie. Do you collect them?” You smile at his comment. Truth was, he had a point.
“Well, I guess you could say that. In fact, now that I think about it, most of my friends are old people. I mean, it kind of makes sense, my perfect Friday night is staying at home reading with a hot chocolate.” For a moment silence settles between you and you worry that you might have overshared and that you were creeping him out. 
“You’re an old soul.” He finally says. And the way that he does so makes you stop, like he admires you for it, as if he likes the peace that comes with such a statement.
“Maybe.” You reply, resuming your step.
“I wish I could do that.” You arch an eyebrow. “Stay at home at night during the weekends and just relax.” He adds.
“Why’s that?”
“I work nights.” 
“Oh. It must be hard.”
“Yeah, sometimes it is.” After saying that his gaze gets lost, as if for a moment he wasn’t there with you anymore, but deep into his thoughts and memories.
“Do you have any? Grandparents, I mean.” You say to distract him and bring him back.
“Just one, Alfred. Although he is in more the middle of being a father and a grandfather. He raised me along with Bruce.” As soon as he says that, you know that he is just as surprised at himself as much as you are at the confession since it is by far the most personal thing that he had ever shared with you.
It is also clear that there was a lot of history behind that statement. It seems a serious matter and the other times that you two talked, he mostly kept it lighthearted with you.
The mysterious man that had first entered into the bookshop had let you see a crack in him. He trusts you. Or at least, he was beginning to do so in a more personal way. You only feel lucky that you are being able to get closer to him.
You sense how his instinct to flight was about to strike, clearly not used to this kind of situation and being awkward about how to manage it. So, you decide to change the topic, in what you think is a smooth way, to relax the ambience and to selfishly see if you could keep him at your side just a little bit longer.
“Well, I can share Rose and Jimmy with you then. As long as you don’t steal my spot as their favorite bookshop grandkid.” Just as you finish talking you see him visibly relax, his tense shoulders acquiring a more loosen stance.
Then, almost unnoticeably, a small smile forms on his lips and another one makes its way to your own.
“Deal.” He ends up saying.
After you both bring in all the boxes, and you check them into the inventory, you open them to put the books in the correspondent shelves. You turn to thank Jason for the help but he's already passing you some of the books for you to place them.
“Thank you, but you don’t have to do this. You already did too much.”
“Nope. I’m not leaving.” He just hands you the books in his grasp and grabs some more. You stand there stunned. Where did this gorgeous kind man come from?
“Okay. At least let me give you a coffee.” You go to the break room and not even a moment later, after quickly asking him how he liked it, not even giving him the option to refuse it, you return with a cup in your hands. He whispers a thank you and when you hand it to him, his fingers so lightly graze yours, making your breath hitch in your throat. 
“You don’t want one?” He asks, seeing that you had only brought a single cup.
“Oh, I don’t like coffee much.” He nods and then you get to work, looking at the books, classifying them and ordering them.
Jason keeps passing them to you and sipping the coffee in the comfortable silence. He’s glad that you’re so concentrated because that way you won’t notice how entranced he is with you. He watches you and just by your movements he knows that you’re in your element. It was clear that you enjoyed what you did.
At some point, you start humming a repertoire of the songs from Beauty and the Beast, probably without realizing it. Jason doesn’t mention it, knowing that most likely you would become ashamed and stop.
So, Jason lets the moment pass by, your company and the peaceful atmosphere of the bookshop making a warm feeling wash over him. Making him feel safe and relaxed. Something that didn’t usually happen to him, but that being in the bookshop and in your presence, always made him feel that way.
When he eventually left, you didn’t even realize that he had done so without taking any book with him.
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“Hey.”
The sudden voice makes you stumble on the ladder that you were on to return a book to its place in one of the top shelves. You know that there is nothing that you can do to prevent your fall but still in a hopeful attempt, you drop the book that was in your hand to the floor, and extend your arms to try and gain some balance. 
All of this happens in milliseconds and even then, you have time to exclaim “Jesus!” from the surprise, preparing yourself in any way you can for your imminent fate. 
However, just as fast as it all happened, a hand settles on your waist to stabilize you and another one grips the ladder to stop its wobbling. And just like that, you’re back on your feet again. You look down and there he is.
Your knight in shining leather jacket.
“Not exactly but close enough.” Jason can’t help replying to your previous exclamation. It had never crossed his mind before but now that he thinks about it, he realizes that he has something quite peculiar in common with the biblical figure. With all the ‘been dead done that’ stuff. The weird coincidence and his own comment making him chuckle to himself. 
You also huff out a small laugh, not at his comment, that you couldn't possibly fully understand, not yet, but at your own clumsiness. Laughing being almost always your immediate reaction whenever you fell or, like in this case, almost did. 
“Oh my god, thank you.” You say relieved with a thankful smile on your face.
“It’s nothing. I’m sorry actually, you almost died because of me.” 
“No, don’t worry, you just surprised me. Plus, me and high places have never been a great combination.” He chuckles at your comment and you smile in return.
Much to your disappointment, he lets go of your waist, but it doesn’t last long as he holds out his hand for you to help you come down from the ladder. You know that he’s just being polite and that you should finish what you were doing on the ladder but after the brief scare you’d like to put your feet on firm ground again for even just a small bit.
That, and the fact that you would take any chance that you could get to be close to Jason and hold his hand. Honestly, who wouldn’t?
So, you accept his hand and, just to be even more safe and avoid any possible risk of course, not for any other reason, you support yourself on his shoulder on the way down. He leads you to the ground with a small smile on his face and then sadly, lets go of your hand.
You miss the contact instantly.
“There we go.” He says, so low, that it’s almost like a whisper.
You take a moment to address him and look him over, the feel of his strong shoulder under your hand still tickling your fingers at your side. And for a split second, just a tiny little one, you wish that you had actually fallen from the ladder so that he could have caught you in his arms.
Damn it.
Now that the idea had occurred to you, you would think about it for days. 
Jason leans down to retrieve the book that you had dropped earlier and with an ease and balance that you could only dream of, he returns it to the open spot that you had been reaching for on the top shelf. It makes you both jealous and in awe of the way in which he can almost effortlessly do so. Even though even he had to step onto the first step of the ladder to reach it.
Stupid tall attractive people.
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Jason enters the bookshop excited to see you. He hadn’t been able to come by for a few days and he did not like it one bit. Coming to see you were the best parts of his week, because if he was being honest, the books themselves had stopped being a motivator a long time ago.
Probably the second or third time that he had visited the bookshop.
He was just thankful that you didn’t seem to notice that you were the main reason that he came by. You would probably think that he was being creepy. However, much to his dismay, Rose and Jimmy were very much aware of how much he liked you.
They always had that knowing smile whenever they saw you two talking and they definitely knew about the insane amount of books that he checked out weekly as an excuse to see you. Books that were impossible for him to read from one visit to another in such a short amount of time and that just spent several days stacked in his house.
Thankfully, for the moment, they had never said something to you or directly commented it to him either, as they wisely knew that you two needed to take things at your own pace.
He closes the entrance door behind him and his brows furrow in confusion not seeing you behind the counter, where he would usually find you reading or taking care of a customer. Maybe you’re in the bathroom, doing something in the break room or organizing the shelves.
But then, Rose emerges from the break room behind the counter greeting him.
Oh.
A slight feeling of disappointment settles in him. It’s not that he didn't like Rose, he really enjoyed chatting with her, he just really wanted to see you. And if Rose was here maybe you weren’t working today. But it couldn’t be, you always worked Thursdays.
Not that he had paid any attention to your schedule or anything.
Then it suddenly occurs to him that maybe you have taken the day off. He’s as happy for you as much as he’s disappointed. Everyone knew that you worked too much for your own good.
Still, the selfish part of him wanted to spend just a tiny little bit of time with you.
“Good afternoon, Rose. How are you?” Jason finally greets back.
“I’m good, sweetie, just checking day. And you?”
“Glad to hear it. I’m fine too. Just came in looking for…” Damn it, he didn’t even prepare an excuse of a book. A few seconds trail on and Jason still doesn’t say anything.
“For a…” He had been caught like a deer in headlights. He avoids Rose’s intense gaze that was still set on him waiting for him to say something. This is so embarrassing. And he was supposed to be one of the daring vigilantes of Gotham?
Pathetic. That’s what he was.
He could face villains but he couldn’t come up for an excuse to see you. Jason clears his throat.
“For a…” Jason’s starting to worry that he has entered some sort of self loop and is about to facepalm himself for his own stupidity when Rose’s lips break into a wide grin and she chuckles. She was messing with him. Like always, she definitely knew what exactly he was in there for. Jason smiles and lets out a sigh of relief.
“She’s on her break.” Rose says, nodding his head in your direction, towards the shelves. 
“Thank you.” Jason turns to go find you when Rose speaks up once again.
“Oh and, by the way, since you’re on it, can you get her for me please? I want to tell her something and I’m about to meet Jimmy for lunch.”
“Of course.” He answers while Rose gives him a thankful smile.
Jason starts to pace through the bookshelves, looking for you, but you’re nowhere to be found.
Until he passes by between a couple of them and sees something on the floor. He takes a couple of steps back and there you are, sitting on the floor with books about to be shelved, he supposes, and a book in your own hands that must have had you so immersed and distracted that you hadn’t heard him come in, nor his conversation with Rose.
A fond smile makes an appearance on his lips. He loved seeing you like this, in the place that you loved most, doing what you loved most, lost in a book. He realizes that he would never get tired of that sight. Still, it’s an intimate and private moment for you and he doesn’t want to linger too much on it and intrude. Plus, Rose was looking for you.
“Hi.” He says softly as to not startle you, after the scare from the last time. Which by the way, had been replaying in his head over and over again, the electrifying feeling of your hand in his forever engraved in his mind.
“Y/N.” He tries.
Nothing. That book really had you in a trance. He huffs a small laugh and takes a couple of steps closer to you, hands in his pockets. 
“Earth to Y/N.” You let out a small hum to acknowledge him but your gaze is still fixed on the ink. He’s about to call you again when you finally get out of your trance and steal a quick look to see who had talked to you.
Your eyes widen like plates, probably realizing that you had spent too long reading on the floor. You quickly get up and Jason notices how even in your distressed state, you close the book with care and slightly organize the mess around you, your hands treating each book carefully.
He wonders if you would treat him with the same carefulness and affection. For a split second, he even wishes it was him that your hands were treating and not books. Jealousy over books. Huh, that was new.
He also couldn’t help but wonder if you were that way with everything. If even when you weren’t at your best, or going through something, treating things, people, the world around you with care and kindness came as second nature to you, sometimes without even realizing it. He had a feeling that the answer was yes.
And once again, he realizes how much the dark part of his life clashed so much with yours. But before he can get too much into his own head, once more, just like several times before, you bring him back. 
“Oh my god, Jason, I’m so sorry.” You start, taking the few steps that separated you from him. “I don’t know how it happened, I swear. God, were you waiting a lot?” He doesn’t like the worry settled on your features one bit, like always, making him feel uneasy. Like the other previous few times that he has seen you like this, he makes it his mission and his top priority to change it.
“No, not at all. Don’t worry.” You nod while your tense posture finally seems to relax a bit. “You okay?” He adds.
“Yeah, yeah. I just… Got a little bit distracted.” You say as you retrieve the books from the floor and your head motions towards them. Jason smiles at you, knowing the feeling of being so engrossed in a book that everything else faded away.
“Rose was looking for you by the way. She was about to head out to meet Jimmy.”
“Oh, right.”
When you both go back towards the counter and you take your usual spot behind it, Rose is already putting her coat on and about to leave.
“I’m so sorry Rose, I got myself carried away and…” You start but Rose stops you with a shake of her head.
“It’s okay, honey. Just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving now.” You let out a sigh of relief. You really have the best bosses in the world.
“Okay, have a nice lunch.”
“Thank you, darling. Goodbye kids.”
“Goodbye.” Both you and Jason say. And just before Rose closes the door behind her, she winks at you and you feel your cheeks warm at the unspoken insinuation. Enjoy your time alone. You steal a quick look at Jason, hoping that he hasn’t seen Rose’s wink and sigh in relief when you see that he’s already turned towards you, facing away from the door.
Though, now that you think about it, you could swear that it was Jimmy the one that was supposed to meet Rose at the bookshop today, not the other way around. That woman was too smart for her own good.
“Well, what can I do for you today?” You ask Jason once you turn towards him.
“I…” Quick, Jason, think. “Could you extend my loan for the book from last week?” Nice save.
“Sure.” As you click on the computer, Jason takes a look at the stack of books that you had brought back with you from the shelves and that you have left on the counter.
“What got you so entranced back there?”
“Oh.” You say and you turn to the stack of books. Your eyes shining with excitement now. “We just got these new Jane Austen hardcovers and they’re just so gorgeous, look.”
You take the one on top of the stack, the one that you had been reading, and hand it to him. Pride and Prejudice. He takes it from your hands, your fingertips slightly grazing one another’s. Jason looks at the cover that feels soft yet sturdy in his hands. It was simple with just the title of the book and Austen’s name but the intricate and beautiful designs that decorated it made it, as you had said, a gorgeous edition.
“Wow. These are great.” He says with childlike wonder lacing his tone. He opens the book and his eyes skim over the pages and passages that he has read so many times before.
“I know, right? I was just admiring them one last time before putting them on the shelves and I just opened one to read a couple of paragraphs but next thing I know, I was ten pages in. I swear I didn’t mean for it to happen.” You confess. Jason laughs softly.
“Don’t worry, that’s just the Jane Austen effect. I get it, it happens to me too.” You can’t help but stare at him for a few seconds, blinking slowly, processing the newfound information. Thankfully, he’s still engrossed in the book.
This man likes Jane Austen? Is he trying to kill you or something? As if you couldn’t like him even more.
“You like Austen?” You ask, still a bit in disbelief, though it doesn’t really surprise you, since from the very beginning you had noticed how he was a very cultured person and how he had a great taste in books.
How sexy is that? To you, very. Very sexy.
“I love her. Basic, I know, but this one’s my favorite.” He answers as he puts the book back on top of the stack. As if anything in him could be basic, as if you don’t find him to be one of the most fascinating persons that you have ever met in your entire life.
“It’s not basic, it’s great. I love it too but I think that I prefer Northanger Abbey.” You pause. “Or Persuasion.” You pause again. “Or Emma.” You pause to think once more and Jason looks at you amused, loving how passionate you are when talking about it. “Or… Okay well, I love all of them! I can’t choose just one.” Jason smirks.
“Perfectly valid and understandable answer.” He says. You both look at each other for a second too long and then his phone starts ringing, breaking the moment. You give a slight jump and busy yourself going back to finish renewing his loan on the computer.
But to your surprise, he just takes it out of his pocket, looks quickly at the screen and directly hangs up. You raise an eyebrow but continue with your task, a small smile making its way across your lips, flattered that he prefers to keep talking to you rather than picking up his phone.
“Well, done. You have another week to…” You’re interrupted when his phone rings again. Jason huffs annoyed and silences it again.
“Sorry.” He says. You shake your head.
“It’s okay.” The phone rings a third time. It must be really important. “Though I think you should take it.” Jason looks at his phone in his hands, then at you, back at his phone, and then at you again, still doubtful, but you nod encouragingly. He seems torn and undecided, but he finally nods to himself and gives you an apologetic look before answering.
“What?” He says annoyingly, taking a couple of steps away from the counter as you pretend to check things on the computer and try (and fail) not to eavesdrop.
He’s going to kill Steph. He really is. She never calls him and now there is something so important that she has to call him three times and interrupt his talk with you? It better be good. 
“Heyyy. Jaybiiird. My bestieeee, the best vigilante in Gotham that there is.” Jason can already start to feel a headache forming, he brings a palm to his face and then runs it through his hair. You watch the gesture with envy. How many times had you daydreamed about doing the very same gesture? Probably too many.
“I can’t talk right now.” He quickly glances at you, still at the computer. This is stupid.
“Pleaseeee, I need your help.” At her pleading tone Jason sighs tiredly and pinches his nose, even though he knows that he shouldn’t be listening. With the way that she’s talking it’s probably a stupid favor or something, he would much rather be talking with you.
“Steph, what do you want?”
Steph? At that your head perks up slightly. His girlfriend, maybe? Your shoulders deflate thinking of the possibility. He had never mentioned having one but you also had never asked. Why would you even ask? You’re just friends, or something like that, it would seem like it was coming out of nowhere. As your thoughts keep spiraling and you stare blankly at the screen in front of you, Jason carries on with his conversation.
“You’re going to laugh…” Steph starts.
Jason rolls his eyes, catches your eyes and mouths my sister. You just nod and your spiraling thoughts stop abruptly. Thank god. Although the possibility of him having a girlfriend is still there, now that you don’t have to face it directly, you decide not to linger too much on it. Keeping the thought away and trying to ignore it, just like you had been doing since you met him. That’s a future problem for future you.
Jason changes his phone from one ear to the other as he listens to Steph stumble through her words. If she’s going to keep beating around the bush, he might as well hang up.
“Okay, bye.” He’s about to end the call when Steph speaks up again.
“I lost Damian.” Jason’s eyes widen as he turns to his other side.
“You what?” He whisper-shouts into the phone. 
“Okay so, Damian is grounded, okay? Something about driving the batmobile without permission and then…”
“Steph.” Jason warns through gritted teeth, clearly meaning go to the point.
“Okay, okay! So, I’m on babysitting duty alright? And Damian had been talking non stop about this new limited art exposition in the museum that he wanted to go to and that it wasn’t fair that he was grounded and blah blah blah.”
“Okay, and?”
“And… Well, there was this new season of this show coming out today and I just got distracted for a bit and then he kinda… Disappeared?” God. Jason closes his eyes in frustration. His family really knew how to be the most infuriating at the worst of times. He stays silent for a moment mentally cursing them before opening his eyes again.
“Told you you were going to laugh…” Steph repeats at his silence and Jason sighs, making you giggle quietly at the sibling interaction. Jason smiles at the sound.
“So what? Just go to the museum after him.” He finally answers.
“That’s the thing, I am at the museum and I just can’t find him. Damn that kid and his ninja training.” Steph hisses through the line. “Can you come and help me find him please?” He could hear her pouting.
“Why me?”
“You’re the only one that picked up.” And now he was sure that she was smiling innocently but full of mischief. Jason huffs. As soon as he saw Steph’s name on his screen he knew that he shouldn’t have picked up.
“No.” He says.
“Come on, pleaseeee. I’ll owe you one. If I don’t find Damian I will be the one that’s grounded next.” Honestly, who had put her on babysitting duty? Who had even grounded Damian to begin with? It was impossible to try and control that kid.
Damn it, Bruce.
“Bruce can’t ground you.”
“Oh yes, he can. I’m sure he’ll find a way. He’ll make me go supervise Condiment King or something! Please, Jason, please." Jason sighs. “Please, please, please, please. I’ll do all the research that you need for a week!” Mmhm. That’s interesting. That would certainly leave him with more time to see you.
“A month.” He counteroffers and sees you smiling at his bickering, making his insides feel giddy. Steph groans.
“A month? You know that’s too much.”
“Do you want my help or not?” Silence.
“Arrrg, okay, okay! Well, we’ll talk about it, now, can you please come here?” 
“With pleasure.” He says amused. Even though his family can be infuriating at times, he had to admit that they had their good moments and he enjoyed annoying them just as much as they did him.
“You’re so arrogant, oh my god. I pity whoever decides to put up with you.” Steph says and Jason can’t help but steal a glance in your direction.
“Just remember that you owe me a big one.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just come here. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”
“Okay.” Before he hangs up, he hears Steph speak up again.
“Hey Jaybird.” Jason hums. “Thanks.” He rolls his eyes playfully.
“Bye.”
“And say hi to Y/N for me-!” He hangs up before you can hear Steph’s loud teasing voice. He knew that talking about you in front of his family wasn’t the best of ideas but he just couldn’t help it. You occupied his thoughts a lot more than what he was willing to admit. 
“Sorry.” He says as he approaches the counter once again and puts his phone in his pocket.
“It’s okay. Sibling drama then?” You ask playfully as you raise an eyebrow.
“You have no idea. It was Steph, she used to date one of my brothers. Tim.” You look at him confused.
“I thought you said she was your sister?”
“Yeah, I mean- it’s… It’s complicated. That was how we met her but she’s like a sister to me now.”
“I see.”
“Sorry, we’re quite a mess.” He chuckles awkwardly, running his hand through his hair and the white streak once again. The movement, like always, has you hypnotized. It should be illegal. Jason thinks that he should just stop talking, now he has weirded you out with his stupid and crazy family.
“Aren’t we all?” You say softly as you tilt your head in the cutest of ways. Honestly, the more that he told you about his family, the more you realized how peculiar they were. But they seemed really close to each another, which was what really mattered.
“Yeah… I guess so.” He trails on as he gets lost in your eyes again. You nod and he shakes out of his daze. “Well, I should get going. Duty calls.” He adds as he nods towards the door and taps his fingers against his side of the counter nervously.
“Okay. Hope everything goes well with whatever it is.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you next time.” Something about the security of knowing that he will always come back, and that there will always be a next time with him, raises goosebumps on your skin.
“Yeah. Next time.” You both look at each other as he walks towards the door.
Something lingers in the air, as if both of you want to say something else but do not dare to do so. Do not dare to cross the invisible line in your strange friendship usually defined by the safety of the counter that almost always stayed between you two in your interactions.
Jason grabs the door handle and holds it open for a moment as you speak one last time.
“See you soon then?” It’s a stupid sentence, already remarking what you both have already said, but it’s as good of an excuse as any to make him stay just a few seconds longer.
“See you soon.” Jason nods smiling at you and then, the door closes behind him.
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You’re reading at the counter when the bell on top of the door jingles. You look up, hoping to find green eyes but are met with a stressful boy looking around the shop. As if in his distressed state, he can’t find you behind the counter.
“Hi.” You say as you bookmark your page. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Oh. Hi. Yeah.” He says as he quickly approaches you. He shakes his head to move the hair out of his blue eyes and takes a piece of paper out of his pocket. His hunched posture and shaky mannerisms tells you that he hasn’t caught a break in a while. This poor boy needs a rest.
“I’ve been looking for this book everywhere and I can’t find it anywhere. It’s my boyfriend’s birthday tomorrow, he loves mysteries and conspiracies and I need to find it. My brother told me that this is the best bookshop in all of Gotham and that you can find anything here.” He rambles as he gives you the piece of paper. You take the paper and look at the boy as he slightly bounces on his feet looking around the shop.
You raise an eyebrow. A distracted boy that seems to always be running and a brother that recommends the bookshop? Sounds quite familiar.
“Tim?” You can’t help but guess, though you’re still a bit unsure. Jason had mentioned him a few times and how his younger brother always seemed to be doing a hundred things at once. At that his bouncing stops abruptly and finally looks at you for more than a few fleeting seconds, suspicious of how you know his name.
“Sorry, hi. I’m Y/N. Jason comes here often and has mentioned you a few times.” You say nervously. The information seems to take a little bit longer than usual to register due to his distressed state but then when he finally recognizes you, his alert posture relaxes.
“Oh, Y/N! Hi, yes. I’m Tim. Nice to meet you.” He says as he holds out his hand and you shake it. “Jason talks about you too.” He adds. You feel your cheeks go warm.
“Well, nice to meet you too. Are you okay? You seem a bit stressed.”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just that I’ve been putting together this party for my boyfriend and the gift is being so hard to find it’s giving me headaches. Please tell me that you can help me.” 
“Of course.” You say. “But first, take a deep breath.” He looks at you as if he doesn’t know what you mean. “You need to rest and relax a bit if you want to make it to your boyfriend’s birthday tomorrow without dropping from exhaustion.” You nod encouraging him and then take a deep breath yourself so that he can imitate you. Thankfully, he does so after shaking his shoulders to release tension and then stays with his eyes closed, taking a moment.
“Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” He answers, opening his eyes.
You nod. “No problem. Let’s find that book.” You look at the piece of paper and type in the title and author of the book on the system. It’s a limited edition of a book about the old history of Gotham and thankfully, you have one copy in the storage room. “Got it. I’ll be right back.” Tim sighs in relief as you leave the counter.
When you come back, you bring the book and a cup of coffee from the break room with you. 
“This is so that you can get home to rest until tomorrow without dying on the way.” You say as you slide the coffee towards him.
“Oh thanks, but it’s not necessary.” You stare at him, having clearly seen how the idea of coffee almost had him glowing.
“Okay, okay.” He chuckles as he goes to take the coffee but you keep the cup in place.
“Promise that when you get home, you will rest. Do not take anymore coffee so that you can keep organizing things.” Tim looks at you, your firm tone and kind intentions making him clearly see why Jason is so smitten with you. He can also easily see himself trusting you and becoming friends with you.
“Promise.” He says honestly. You nod, letting go of the cup. "If you want more milk or sugar-" You can't even finish the sentence as he shakes his head, having already taken the cup into his hands and taken a sip.
“Mm, not necessary. This is great. Thank you.”
You smile. “You’re welcome. Do you want to wrap the book?”
“Yes, please.” He says.
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“The Rainbow Fish? Again?” You say chuckling as Jason puts it on the counter for what probably was the third or fourth time. You really were starting to run out of options wondering why he always checked out so many kids’ books. But it just felt very intrusive to ask, he never said anything more about it either, probably not wanting to talk about it much.
“Yeah.” He says as you scan the book and pass his card on the system. 
“I loved this book when I was little.” A nostalgic look on your eyes as you gaze at the cover of the book, remembering the silver scales of the arrogant fish that he had to give away in order to be accepted instead of just being a nicer fish.
The message of the book in the end was good: not think of yourself as superior to others. But there was something about having to give up something that you were proud of and that was special about you in order to be accepted that always felt a little off putting to you when you grew up, especially when being kind could have just resolved everything.
“Though it sure as hell began my people pleasing problems.” You add giggling a bit without thinking. But when what you have said registers, you freeze, hands on the book and blank stare on them, not daring to look up at Jason. 
Where the fuck did that come from? 
You shut your eyes, praying to whatever was out there to let you die of embarrassment. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You had definitely freaked him out. That’s it. He would walk out of the bookshop and never come back. Why would you even say that? You weren’t thinking, that’s it. It had just slipped. You had become so used to being able to be yourself and talk about everything with Jason that it just felt so easy and comfortable to say whatever was on your mind. 
Finally, you decide to sentence your fate and just end with this terribly awkward conversation as soon as possible.
“Sorry.” You say. “I honestly don’t know where that came from.” Jason just chuckles though not in a mocking manner, but in an understanding way.
“Don’t worry, I get it.” He assures you. You look back down, missing Jason’s look of appreciation, loving your honesty and how flustered you were. He found it endearing. “Well, thanks.” He says as he goes to take the book on the counter.
Your whole body then tenses in alarm when you see the state of his hands, which until now, had been hidden in his pockets. Without thinking, once again, (seriously, what was wrong with you today?), you take his hands to take a closer look at them.
Jason lets out a small gasp as you do so and mentally smacks himself for letting you see his wounded knuckles, now him being the one that wanted to die of embarrassment. It was only so much that the gloves of his Red Hood gear could do to protect them.
“What happened?” You whisper, worry etched onto every single one of your features. 
Fuck.
How had he been so careless? He should have bandaged them, hidden them better or put make up on them. He just wasn’t used to having someone worry about him and his wounds like you were right now. At his silence, you try again:
“Jason.” Now he was the one avoiding your gaze. But you persist, finally making eye contact with him. “What happened? Are you okay?” He wills himself to get out of his stupor and even though deep down he doesn’t want to, out of the soft touch of your hands too, bringing his own back to his sides.
“It’s nothing. It’s just… I do boxing.” He says as he shrugs his shoulders. “It happens.” You raise an eyebrow, suspicious. It feels like something doesn’t fully add up.
You know that there are things that Jason isn’t telling you. He has made some strange comments before but you always let it go. You know that eventually, if he wants to, when he’s ready, he will tell you. God knows that you have your own things too.
But if there is something that you have learned about your growing friendship with Jason is that you both like to take things at your own pace. Trusting and becoming close with each other slowly but steadily.
Letting time do its work. Not forcing the flow of things. And you like it that way. Life is always everchanging so to have something so solid and safe like what you have with him, you want to treasure it and nurture it. Although all of that of course, doesn’t stop you from worrying about him and wanting to take care of him.
So, you just nod, accepting his explanation, but not without having a little bit of fun.
“I thought that in boxing you were supposed to wear gloves to avoid that very kind of injuries.” You say with a playful smile.
Shit.
Jason wants to facepalm himself. He really seemed to just have one brain cell whenever he was around you. At his lack of response you shake your head.
“Come, let me patch that up at least.”
“Oh, no, no. It’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Jason.” You throw him a glance.
“Y/N.” He maintains your stare. Finally, a small smile escapes your lips and you put an end to the staring contest, rounding the counter and taking his hands once again and guiding him to the break room. Allowing yourselves this moment since there aren't any other customers in the store right now. Jason lets you, knowing that in the end, he will never be able to deny you anything.
Once in the break room, you sit him down at a chair by a table and leave for a moment before you return with a first aid kid. You sit down in front of him and look at him softly.
“Can I?” You motion towards his hands. Jason swallows and only finds the courage to nod slowly.
The knuckles are far from being the worst that they have ever been and Jason always tries to take care of them but he had just arrived home from patrol the night before so exhausted that he had only managed to clean them before passing out on his bed. Right now, they’re mostly just reddened with a couple of points in which the skin is broken.
Jason then finds out that he was right. When you take his left hand and start treating the wound, cleaning it again and applying some antiseptic on it, he sees that you treat him with the same care and thoughtfulness that you did with those books all those weeks ago.
Almost as if he was something delicate, something precious. If not more.
The beat of his heart quickens and he wonders if in the silence of the room, you can hear it.
This is the very first time that Jason has been back here, the setting of your interactions always being the open part of the bookshop and this change of scenario makes it seem like something has shifted between you two. Like you weren’t just employee and customer with a friendly relationship anymore but like you have a real friendship and a deeper connection.
The whole time, as you treat his other hand too and then slowly bandage both of them, Jason looks at you. He’s glad that you’re only fixed on his hands because that way he can take all the time that he wants to admire you.
The concentrated look in your eyes, the way that your eyebrows furrow in concentration, how you put a strand of hair that has fallen out behind your ear, and the occasional and very tortuous moment in which you bite your lip in concentration, being extra careful in not hurting him.
And that's when the weight of how much he feels for you falls on him. He was already aware of it before but now is when he can really feel the weight of it all. How what he feels for you is not just an infatuation or a crush, but something deeper that runs beneath his skin, crawling into him, taking root. Settling and making a home there.
“Done.” You whisper. And as you retract your hands from his, Jason wishes that he never had to part from your touch.
You put all the things that you used back into the first aid kit and try not to think about the impulse that you had, but that you thankfully had managed to repress, of kissing his knuckles when you finished bandaging them.
“Be careful, okay?” You say. Jason nods, admiring your work but when you don’t take your eyes off of him he answers:
“Yeah. Promise.” You nod satisfied. Then Jason remembers another promise that he had made. “Tim wanted me to thank you by the way. Bernard loved the book.” He says.
“Oh, that’s right! It was no problem, it was really great to meet him. How was his boyfriend’s party? Bernard’s I guess?” You say excited.
“Tim said it went great. And that thanks to you he didn’t fall asleep during it and was actually able to enjoy it.” You giggle in response when suddenly, Jason’s phone beeps and he takes a quick look. Firefly alert downtown. He jumps out of his seat.
“Sorry, I have to go. Thank you, really.” And faster than a bullet, he’s gone.
You sigh, shaking yourself out from the intimate moment and when you return to the counter, you see that in his hurry, Jason forgot to take The Rainbow Fish with him. You take the book and put it under the counter, keeping it for him for next time.
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You’re running some errands when you see two large men crowding a little girl. She can’t be older than six and she’s clutching onto a teddy bear for dear life. 
Anger and fear for the little girl rage inside you, it is broad daylight and there are quite a few people on the street, yet everyone seems to carry out their business ignoring the men trying to talk the girl into going with them. You knew how Gotham was but it seemed like the city always found a way to surprise you.
“Come on, your mommy told us to come get you.” You hear one of the men say to the girl as you quickly approach them.
“I don’t have a mom.” The girl manages to say, distrustful. And even though hearing that makes you sad, you admire the girl, you can tell that she’s smart.
“Can I help you?” You hiss as you put yourself between the two men and the girl, putting an arm out to keep her behind you. You see the two men exchange a look, clearly discussing if it is worth it to cause a scene in the middle of the street.
“No. We were just leaving.” One ends up saying, giving a clap to the back of the other, directing them away from you and the girl. As they turn to leave, they try to give one last look to the little girl but you move to block their line of sight.
When they turn the corner at the end of the street, you finally let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the confrontation didn’t escalate to anything more.
You knew you didn’t actually stand a great chance against them physically, and seeing how people were ignoring the situation before, you’re not sure that anyone would have helped you.
Adrenaline is still pumping through your veins as you turn and kneel on the floor to be eye level with the girl, who takes a step back in fear but you hold your hands up, trying to show her how you’re not a threat.
Now that you can see her clearly, you see how scared she really is. She is shaking slightly, still clutching her worn out teddy bear with tears in her eyes. Her clothes aren’t in the best state either and her shoes are two steps more from falling apart. Just by looking at her you can tell that she has to have spent nights on the street. 
Your heart breaks. It really was unfair how many unfortunate people and kids lived in such dire situations in Gotham. Of course you knew that there were people trying to change things and do better like the vigilantes or normal people like you, that even if it was in the smallest of ways, always tried to help somehow. You did so by either giving away the clothes that you didn’t use anymore or doing donations whenever you could. But sometimes it still seemed like the bad outweighed the good. 
“Hi, honey.” You say in a soft voice to try and calm the little girl. “I’m Y/N. What’s your name?”
She stops backing up against the wall of the building, sniffs and rubs her eyes, before looking at you, deciding whether or not to trust you.
“Lily.” You hear her squeak out. Her grip on the teddy bear relaxes and she starts playing with its ear, still not looking directly at you.
“Hi Lily, it’s very nice to meet you.” You say as you extend a hand to her, wanting to give her some sense of normalcy. She slowly takes it and you give her a soft shake. “You okay?” She nods. “You know Lily, you were very brave standing up to those men.”
“They were bad” She says. You nod. “Jay always says not to trust strangers and much less big scary men.”
“He’s very right. Is he your brother?” Maybe you can help her get back to her family. If you managed to do so, it would be much better than bringing her to the police and then, sadly, most likely than not, forgotten in the foster care system.
“No. A friend. A very good friend.”
“Okay, good. That’s very important.” You look around, trying to see if somebody is looking for her. “Do you live nearby?”
“I think so.” She says shyly, you give her an encouraging look to see if she can give you any more information. “I was chasing a cat but I think that I took a wrong turn.”
“Okay. How about I go with you and try to find your way back?” You say as you stand back up. You’re happy to see that Lily doesn’t look scared anymore. Instead, she looks almost… Excited?
“Yes, please! I don’t want to miss it!” She says as she grabs your hand and starts walking in the direction that you suppose she came.
“Miss what?” You ask, but she’s already telling you everything about her teddy bear, who seems to be Batbear at night, fighting crime and kicking butt like the heroes in Gotham.
Turns out that Lily’s home was thankfully a lot closer than what you had expected. After asking her if she remembered a couple of streets and stores, she was able to find the right way back.
You finally reach an open space between two buildings that seems to work as a playground, with a rusty basket to play basketball on one side and several boxes and crates littering the corners. Several kids run around playing and chasing each other, most of them in the same condition as Lily.
A group of them surround a bench and you hear him before you see him.
“What do you mean Lily’s not here? Where is she?” He’s running a hand stressfully through his hair, looking around worriedly.
“Jason?” You ask transfixed.
Jason locks eyes with you and freezes, just as surprised to see you as you are to see him.
“Y/N.” He says breathlessly.
“Jay!” Lily’s excited voice filters through the air. You feel her dropping your hand and Jason’s eyes turn to her, relief washing over them. As she runs towards Jason, she extends her arms and he scoops her up and settles her on his waist effortlessly, Lily hugging his neck.
“Lily! Oh my god, where were you? We were all so worried. You’re always here when I arrive.” He says to her.
“I know, I'm sorry! Some bad men tried to take me. But don’t worry, Y/N helped me! She’s a badass!” Jason’s eyes widen at the new information and you see something in them that you had never seen before, a kind of anger that promises danger.
But as soon as that look comes, it disappears, and it makes you wonder if it was ever really there in the first place. He then looks at you, thankful but with a small tint of worry. You just give him a reassuring nod, telling him that everything is okay.
“Why don’t you go with the rest for a bit? I’ll be right there.” He says as he turns to Lily once more.
“Okay!” He settles her back down and she runs off to the other kids.
Jason approaches you quickly in a few strides, it feels like he wants to touch you, take your hands to make sure that you’re okay but he stops himself.
“You okay? What happened?”
“Yeah. I’m okay, don’t worry.” You tell him what happened and you can see how the anger returns to him in the way that he clenches his fists. “But we’re fine and they left so that’s all that matters.” You conclude.
“Where was it?” He asks firmly. You tell him the street where it all happened and Jason seems deep in thought for a moment, like searching for something in his mind. When he finally finds it, he nods resolutely as if he just made a mental note to do something later.
The determination in his eyes sends a chill running down your spine.
“Thank you for helping her.” He says then. “But be careful please, I don’t want you to be in danger.” The very thought makes him shiver, he doesn’t even want to entertain the possibility.
“I know. I am. I just couldn’t stand by.” You respond and he nods, knowing that that was how you were, always looking out for others.
“Anyway, thanks again.” He adds and you nod before looking around you once more.
It then dawns on you that this is the very first time that you are seeing Jason outside of the bookshop and it just feels so strange. When he first entered the shop, it seemed like he stood out like a sore thumb, with his tall frame, rough appearance and black leather jacket against the cozy backdrop of the shop. But now, after so much time, you couldn’t imagine him anywhere else. Now it was like he didn’t fit into any other atmosphere other than at the bookshop.
“Well, and what are you doing here?” You ask curiously.
“Oh, I…”
“So you’re Y/N?” Interrupts a young teen with a knowing smile, followed by a group of other kids, including Lily, clearly having told them her latest adventure. You nod.
“Are you his girlfriend?” Asks another boy now, looking up at you. You let out a small laugh at the way Jason’s eyes widen almost comically at the kid’s boldness.
“No.” You respond, and for a second, you can’t help but wonder what it would be like to answer otherwise.
“We’re friends.” Jason says.
“Very good friends.” You can’t help but add and when you steal a nervous glance at Jason, you find him nodding, agreeing with you. Because saying just ‘friends’ feels too simple to describe your relationship with Jason. And what you said still doesn't cover it.
“Really?” The teen boy from earlier asks again with a raised eyebrow. “Because he-” Jason grabs him and puts a hand over his mouth before he can keep talking, smiling innocently at you. You look at the chaotic situation amused.
“Are you staying for the reading?” Lily asks.
“The reading?” You ask confused.
“Yeah! Jason always reads to us and acts out the stories!” Another girl says. And then it clicks.
Jason buys and checks out so many children’s books for them. For these kids. Street kids. Like him. Not only that but he also reads the stories for them. Regularly. You feel like melting into a puddle.
You turn to Jason, an amazed look on your face. As if this man could be any more wonderful. He blushes and looks away in embarrassment. A small smile makes its way across your lips.
“Really? I didn’t know that.” You say, turning to the kids once more.
“Yeah! He’s great at it.” Chirps the same girl.
“Are you staying then?” Lily insists.
You immediately turn to Jason. You would love to but there is a reason for why Jason hasn’t told you about this. It feels like this is something very important to him and that he holds very dear so you don’t want to intrude on that. But Jason is already looking at you, scared yet hopeful, as if he does want you to stay but is afraid that you may want to leave now.
“Well, I would love to. If I’m not a burden of course.”
“Never.” Jason says without missing a beat.
You don’t think that you have ever smiled more brightly.
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You end up having one of the best afternoons that you have ever had in a while. Rival only to the other ones in which Jason visits you in the bookstore. You stay and listen as Jason reads them the books that had been sitting on the bench and that you recognize from the bookstore out loud, using different voices, doing exaggerating gestures, and acting out scenes.
You watch as the kids laugh and look at him mesmerized. If you had been able to look into a mirror, you would have found that you had the very same look of admiration as them, maybe even a tiny little bit lovestruck. You can tell that they love him, look up to him and consider him a role model. You can’t help but think that they made an excellent choice.
The crowd is mostly made of small kids, the older ones, in their teenage years, although a few of them listen, most make as if the activity doesn’t interest them, but you can see how they linger around the group while they play basketball or pass by. 
You see how what Jason is doing with these kids is a light for them. A moment of escapism, fun and happiness from their lives and problems in the worst neighborhoods of Gotham. Kids forced to grow up earlier to survive. Holding onto whatever source of innocence that they can.
Eventually, they all rope you into reading too and you end up sharing the spotlight with Jason. There are laughs, questions from the kids about yourself, funny comments and the snickering whispers from the older kids at the back about the two of you, having obviously heard about you before.
Jason prays that you can’t see them when they start teasing him and making kissy faces to which he just rolls his eyes. He also prays that you can’t see how he looks at you as you enjoy yourself and laugh at what the kids say. The utter adoration and longing that lay in his eyes.
It isn’t until almost a couple of hours later, when the sun has already disappeared beyond the horizon and the orange hue of the sky has turned purple, that the reading does come to an end.
The kids say their goodbyes, not before inviting you to reading time again and wondering when you will come back. A lot of them already give you a hug as they go, and you see them leave back towards their homes. Most of them go to the adjacent buildings but there are also a few, mostly the older kids, or at least accompanied by them, that go towards the street.
Lily thanks you for your help and even gives you a kiss on the cheek that makes you want to melt and give her a tight hug before she leaves towards the closest building, a girl a few years older than her guiding her by the hand.
And then, after all the chaos and laughs, with the night starting to settle in, it’s just you and Jason once again.
You sit back down on the bench next to him and you both stay there for a moment, enjoying the quiet and the silence of the chill Gotham air.
When you turn to Jason, his green gaze is already on you.
“Thank you for staying. The kids loved having you here.” He whispers as to not disturb the peace that has settled over you both. “I hope that it wasn’t too much.”
“What? No, it was lovely. Really, I had a great time. I’m sorry if I intruded.”
“No, not at all.”
“Now I know why you always check out so many kids’ books. Good to know that you’re not a psychopath with kids in cages or something.” You joke and Jason huffs out a laugh.
“Yeah, maybe I should have explained that earlier. It would have been too strange to explain at the beginning but then we became friends and it dragged on and it felt too weird to explain now. I don’t know.” He just didn’t know what you would have thought of him.
“No, no.” You shake your head. “I didn’t mean it like that. This was clearly something very private to you. It’s perfectly understandable not wanting to share it with anybody.”
“You’re not anybody.”
You’re sure your heart stops beating for a moment.
The intensity of his gaze makes you look down at your hands. You can’t remember if anyone has ever looked at you like that.
It’s scary.
In a good way, but still very scary.
“Well, anyway, thank you for letting me be a part of it.” You end up saying and he nods.
Silence settles over you two once again. Neither of you wanting the day to end.
“You hungry? I know a great spot.” He speaks up.
Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
“I’m starving.”
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You love the place as soon as you see it. It’s a small, yet very cozy and lovely diner. Through the outside windows you can see that the color pattern is mostly blue and white with bright pink neon letters announcing that it’s open.
Jason holds the door open for you and the warmness inside the place drastically contrasts with the cold from outside. The delightful smells from the kitchen make your stomach ache with hunger.
“Hi, sweetie! We’ll be right with you!” The old woman at the bar with a brightly tinted red streak in her hair says excitedly.
“Sit wherever you like!” A voice yells next from the kitchen. From the open window that looks into it from the dining area you can see another old woman with a bun.
“Thank you, ladies.” Jason greets.
Your mouth hangs open.
Jason leads you to a booth that stares out into the street. His usual spot, you suppose. As you sit in the comfortable booth and you two take off your coats, you close your mouth and look at Jason with a raised eyebrow. He looks back at you feigning innocence, though you know well that he knows why you’re so surprised.
“What?” He says with a teasing smirk that makes you want to kiss it away.
“You little liar.”
“Hey.” He responds amused. “What did I do now?”
“Looks like I’m not the only one with practically adoptive grandparents that just so happen to run a business.” You say with your arms crossed.
And when Jason laughs, you might as well be addicted to the sound with how much you love it everytime you hear it. 
“I knew you were going to say that.” He says and you scoff playfully. “In my defense, I will say that I wasn’t fully ‘officially’ adopted until after we had that conversation. I hadn’t come here enough times for that yet.”
“Mmhm, sure.” You say suspicious as you take the menu from the side of the table and take a quick look over it. “And you wanted to take Rose and Jimmy away from me.” You add, muttering under your breath.
“Excuse me?” Mock outrageousness in his tone.
“What you hear.” You’re trying too hard to hide your smile.
“You know that was never my intention.” He answers and you just hum, pretending to read the menu. “Okay, as an act of peace, you can have Millie and Ruby too.”
“Mhm.” You pretend to think it over.
“I’m sure they’ll love you in no time anyway.” The lightness with which he says that, as if anyone who met you couldn’t help but love you, makes you drop the menu onto the table and look back at him.
“Deal then.” You finally say and you both let out a small laugh.
After that, the woman with the red streak approaches your table and greets you both.
“Good evening kids, how are you today?”
“Good, Ruby, and you?” Jason answers.
“You know, same old, same old.” She says, waving her hand. Then she turns fully to you. “And who might this lovely lady be?” She asks with a knowing smile and an arched eyebrow, almost as if she already knows the answer and knows a secret that you’re not privy to.
“I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”
“The Y/N?” Ruby says while throwing Jason a look. He just looks away in embarrassment and the neon sign of the window really makes you wonder if the red tint on his cheeks are a reflection of it or not. “Oh, it’s so lovely to meet you dear! We've heard so much about you! We’ve been telling Jason to bring you non-stop. Oh gosh, I gotta tell Millie. Millie! Honey, come here!” She screams towards the kitchen.
Your lips curve into an amused smile, but you also feel heat rush to your face, not really knowing what to do with all the attention and the fact that Jason has been talking about you, what seems to be quite a lot, to other people. Not only his brother, but also the kids and these women.
Millie appears and when she learns who you are, she greets you just as enthusiastically as Ruby has.
“Let me tell you sweetheart, this boy here talks about you-” Millie starts but then she clears her throat as Jason throws her a warning glance. “I mean, about your bookshop all the time.”
“Well, you can drop by anytime.” You offer.
“We will.” Millie assures you. It seems as though both Millie and Ruby want to stay and ask you millions of questions but they see how Jason is begging them with his eyes to leave you two alone, and after taking your orders, they leave with a smile.
“They seem really great.” You say. Their loud nature sign of a joyous life. And even though they seem more energetic, vivacious and chaotic than the calm and quiet way in which Rose and Jimmy carry themselves, you know that they would get along very well. Especially with how all of them seemed to be thoroughly entertained by the interactions that you and Jason have.
“Yeah, they are.” Jason confirms. “But sorry about that, they can come off as a bit overwhelming sometimes.”
“It’s okay. It’s nice to be greeted so welcomely.”
As the night goes on, you find that it is just as easy to talk to Jason outside the bookshop as it is over the counter. It doesn’t surprise you but the underlying fear that your connection only works surrounded by bookshelves finally leaves you.
As you both eat the delicious food that Millie prepared, Jason tells you more about the kids per your request. How he tries to read to them at least once a week, how he brings them food whenever he can and how he has even taught a few of them to read. You also immediately offer up the bookstore to hold the readings but he shakes his head and smiles sadly.
“Thank you, really. That’s very kind of you. But it’s not very viable since the neighborhoods are not very close. Most of the kids have people relying on them and can only make it to the readings from time to time. The playground is also the more common ground, the older kids can’t go very far due to the responsibilities and it’s not safe for the smaller ones to go on their own.”
You nod, but your heart clenches at how these kids can’t enjoy a normal childhood.
“I understand.” You stop and think for a second if you should say what you want to say next, worried about overstepping. 
You decide to go for it anyway.
“I’d like to come back for the readings, if that’s okay?” Your voice comes out lower and more unsure than what you had first intended, your hands playing nervously on your lap.
Jason looks at you, as if he can hardly believe you’re real.
“Of course you can. I’m sure they’d love to have you back.” I’d love to have you back. But Jason doesn’t want to scare you or make the whole situation come off too strong. “But are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured, if their insistence-” 
“No, no! Really, I had a great time and I would love to be able to see the kids again. Help in any way I can.”
“Okay, then.” He says with a smile pulling at his lips.
The evening stretches on and you two stay at the dinner until closing time. There is a moment that will haunt you for days, as you told him a story, he leaned his arms on the table, giving you his undivided attention, and the way in which his bicep flexed under his sleeve… Nothing has ever been so distracting. Your eyes had been instantly drawn over to it. You really, really hoped that he didn’t notice. You would die of embarrassment otherwise.
You even finally, finally, give each others’ numbers to match schedules for the readings (and to just chat in general of course), since you won’t be able to make it to all of them due to the bookstore hours and so that Jason can let you know if he can’t attend one. You can’t believe you didn’t even have it before with how often you two already talked at the bookshop.
It feels like another shift in your relationship. A stepping stone.
Another brick on the long yet sturdy building road.
Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
>Part II
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simp4wom3n · 1 year
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Celebrity Crush
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Pairing: Jenna Ortega x Reader
Requested: Yes/No ~ request @meimei-a
Summary: Y/N has been simping over Jenna for years. What happens when Y/N finally gets noticed by her celebrity crush. (Y/F/M = your favourite movie) ~ Word Count: 2,190 ~ Warnings: swearing
A/N: Hello everyone!! Idk why these keep getting longer and longer but hopefully you guys still like them. Obviously because they are longer they take longer to write but my schedule has loosened so I have more time to write so hopefully the next one will be finished soon <3
Part 1 ~ Part 2
“And here to promote her new movie, the newest star of Hollywood, the amazing, and beautiful, Y/N L/N everybody!!” Jimmy announces with his iconic smile plastered on his face, his hand gesturing towards you as you walk out. Dressed in an extravagant pantsuit and heels, you wave to the audience as you make your way towards your chair. You greet Jimmy as you sit down, taking a moment to take in your first late night show, sat across from Jimmy Fallon, in-front of a large audience, cameras covering you on all angles. Sure you had done press before but this was something else.
Whilst you are undeniably nervous, the excitement of another ‘I made it’ moment overshadows any of your anxiety as you finally face Jimmy as the cheers of the audience diminish. “Welcome Y/N it’s amazing to finally have you on the show. How are you feeling?” he starts with a warm smile, instantly calming your remaining nerves. “Thank you so much for having me. This is definitely a dream of mine so a little nervous.” you explain, earning a nod from Jimmy. “I’m used to being in the audience so it’s still sinking in” you add, gesturing and glancing towards the audience, still unable to grasp the fact that your here.
“Well you have definitely earned it, I mean your incredible.” he commented, earning a chorus of cheers from the audience. A tight lipped smile of appreciation crosses your face as you reply, “Thanks Jimmy thats mean a lot”. “Now… your new movie Y/F/M, am I right in saying its your first lead role in a blockbuster film?” “Yes it is” you reply with a nod. “Now I know they are really strict on what you can say but is there ANYTHING you can tell us.” he asks with genuine curiosity in his eyes.
Despite wanting to go on and on about the movie and reveal every little detail you can, your director says otherwise meaning you can’t say a thing. “I hate to break your heart Jimmy but my lips are glued shut. All I can say is I’m really proud of it” you answer solemnly, giving both Jimmy and the audience a small smile of apology. “It’s annoyingly ironic. Like I have to sell a movie without actually talking about it.” The solemn look on Jimmy’s face is quickly replaced with one of pure elation as he leans back in his chair, letting out his signature laugh, instantly bringing a smile to your face. 
He took a minute to settle down before he moved on, “I had a feeling this would happen so I prepared a little game for you” he started with a mischievous look on his face. You matched his energy, playfully glaring at him, “Ok…” you replied with concern earning a chuckle from the audience. “So I had my team go through your twitter and try to find any common topics you talk about” At the mention of your twitter account you could feel your cheeks warm as you realise where he is going with this.
“Oh god…”. Despite having a decent following, you essentially used your twitter as a dumping ground for all of your opinions on films, actors, food, basically everything. Which also meant you tweeted a lot, and I mean a lot, about your celebrity crush. The breathtaking Jenna Ortega. You practically worshipped her. Your initial film reviews of her performances soon turned into you straight up thirsting over her, so much so you had been asked about it before in previous interviews. It was impossible to deny so you would always openly admit your crush, quite passionately if you might add.
“And it would appear there is one VERY prominent subject” he continued, attempting to hold back a chuckle after seeing the mix of concern and acceptance on your face. “Mhm” you hum as you rest your head on your hand, waiting for him to just say it. “Jenna Ortega”. There it was. You closed your eyes attempting to compose yourself as a smile grew on your face just at the mention of her. “So I thought we could take a look at a few of the more recent ones and you could explain them to us all”, he finishes with a look of satisfaction, knowing he had struck gold. “Really trying to expose me aren’t you Jimmy.”, you chuckle as you straighten your posture and face the screen, “Your lucky I’m passionate about this.” you add causing Jimmy and the audience to laugh.
“Ok first one”. A screenshot of a tweet you posted in January 2022, the day that ‘The Fallout’ premiered for streaming, came up on the screen. It read ‘Just watched ‘The Fallout’ for the first time. Jenna Ortega everybody🧎🧎🧎’. You chuckled as you listened to Jimmy read it out to the audience. “I mean it’s pretty self explanatory” you start, reflecting back on that day. “I didn’t get the chance to see it beforehand so I had been waiting for it to come to a streaming service and when it did… OOO Jimmy you have no idea.” you explain whilst the audience bursts out laughing and you just shrug your shoulders. “What can I say. Not only was her performance Oscar worthy but DAMN she looked good doing it.” you fall back in you chair with a massive smile on your face whilst they all cheer and laugh around you. 
“Ok ok next one” Jimmy says through his laughter. A new screenshot of a tweet from a week or so later, right after you had seen ‘Scream 5’, appears on the screen reading, “I’m not one for horror, but did I just binge the entirety of the Scream saga to see ‘Scream 5’ with Jenna Ortega? Absolutely. P.S it was so worth it”, Jimmy read it out as you and the audience laughed whilst your hand hid your massive smile. “Lets just say I would do anything to be able to watch her.” you say with a smirk on your face as you try to suppress your giggle. “I actually really don’t like horror that much. I hate jump-scares with a passion. I was also praying the entire time that Jenna’s character didn’t die. That was basically all I cared about.”
“Ok final ones” Jimmy states as he pulls up a tweet from only a few weeks ago from after you binged ‘Wednesday’ is one sitting. “Guys someone explain to me how Jenna played a literal psycho but was still incredibly attractive AND girlfriend material.” Jimmy read as he also pulled up another one from a few days ago, ”These bts photos from Wednesday… Someone take them away from me I need this girl as my girlfriend ASAP” you chuckle as he finishes reading them out. “I mean look I think we can all relate to a show being that much more enjoyable because an actor you love is it in right?” you question, looking at the audience who respond with nods and cheers “Right so when I saw that Jenna was playing Wednesday I legitimately counted down the days until it aired and I watched the entire show in one sitting” you finish with a laugh. “That first tweet was right after I finished it and the second one… I mean guys have you seen those photos how could I not be in love”
Meanwhile…
The Tonight Show was a show that Jenna frequently watched. She had been checking Instagram to see who would be appearing on the show when she stumbled across you. She noticed someone who she instantly found attractive, and their name sounded familiar although she wasn’t sure where from. ‘Y/N L/N…. where do I know you from’ she thought as she googled your name in an attempt to connect the dots. Browsing through your movies and tv shows, nothing seemed to trigger any realisation despite having seen some of them. ‘Weird’
Jenna set her phone aside, sat down on the couch, and took out her TV remote, turning it on and switching the station to start the show. Turning it on just as Jimmy announces you, she watches you walk out and her eyes widen slightly as her cheeks warm ever so slightly. You were gorgeous. She sat there speechless as she watched you smile and wave to the crowd, and she couldn’t help but smile with you as you sat in your chair.
If she was being completely honest with herself, she was entirely distracted by your beauty and hadn’t been listening to a majority of what was said, that was until she noticed you glaring at Jimmy. Snapping out of her trance, she listens to Jimmy explain the ‘game’ he wanted to play with you, something about looking through your twitter. ‘Wait have I seen her on twitter?’ Jenna briefly thought as he continued explaining. Her eyes shot open as she unexpectedly heard her name. ‘Wait what’, her ears immediately perking up, her attention now entirely on Jimmy.
As soon as the first tweet came on screen, Jenna’s mouth dropped open as she was suddenly hit with the realisation of where she had seen you before. She wasn’t one to frequent twitter, but whenever she did she would always notice a large amount of tags and tweets relating to you. The ones she had seen were just her being tagged in the comments of your tweets but she thought nothing of it and just presumed it was the fans messing around. She was obviously mistaken.
As you continued talking about your tweets and your love for her so openly on live tv, her cheeks burned as she sat there on her couch in pure disbelief. “How could I not be in love” is what you had said. That was all she needed to hear before she decided to binge almost all of your previous interviews, and to her surprise, and delight, you mentioned her in almost every one.
‘Holy shit’ she whispered as you wrapped up talking with Jimmy, saying your goodbyes and promoting your movie one last time. As she watched you stand she thought ‘fuck it’ as she reached for her phone, immediately opening instagram and going to her DMs.
Back at the studio…
You had just left the stage and were taking a moment to relax and think about how everything had gone. ‘I really just said that on live TV’ you thought to yourself as you chuckled and headed back to your dressing room to get changed and head home. The first thing you did was change out of your outfit because, despite how beautiful it makes you feel, your one and only real love—aside from Jenna—is an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Once you had changed you grabbed your phone off the table and took a glance at your notifications, the number of which multiplied significantly since before the show. ‘Oh wow ok’ you mumbled as you scrolled through them seeing if there were any of significance.
You were about to put your phone down before a DM notification caught your eye, your breath hitching as you read the name. ‘Holy shit no way’. It was from fucking Jenna Ortega. ‘What the actual fuck… oh my god ok’. Deciding to wait until you got home to answer it, so you don’t seem too unbearably desperate, you grabbed your things and walked briskly to your car. As you drive along the quiet streets late at night, your mind is racing as all you can think about is her. ‘Oh my god does that mean she watched the interview?’ ‘I can’t believe she actually knows who I am’ ‘How am I going to respond to this oh god’. 
When you finally arrived at your apartment, you hurriedly got out of the car and made it to your floor before you almost crashed through the door with excitement. Not bothering to do anything else, you instantly collapse onto your couch and open you instagram, saying ‘Fuck it’ and opening the DM. “Hey cutie” it started, instantly making you blush. “I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you. I would love to get to know you better so I was wondering whether you wanted to maybe get dinner with me sometime this week?? Absolutely no pressure but I would love to meet you in person :)” You sat there speechless for a moment. Jenna Ortega, your celebrity crush, wants to go out with you?!? ‘This is too good to be true’ you thought as your fingers hovered over the keyboard. You eventually decided to just go for it, “Are you asking me out on a date?? ;)” you typed quickly and sent before you could start overthinking it. 
You were shocked when it was read in just a few seconds, and you waited eagerly for her reply “How could I not ask such a beautiful girl on a date <3”. Here you were, on what you thought would be a regular day of press, instead being asked to go on a date by your celebrity crush. This was an ‘I made it’ moment on a completely different scale.
Part 2
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jjsmaybank20 · 3 months
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Celebrity News 2
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Jenna Ortega x GN!Reader
Summary: Once again, everyone thinks that you and Jenna broke up. In reality, you just wanted to cause some drama.
Warnings: literally all fluff, and my shitty writing
Word Count: 706
A/N: woooo part 2 cause I couldn't help myself. also, im back from the dead! for a bit. i have midterms right now which are whooping my ass so... wish me luck!
Part 1
navigation  celebrities (romantic) masterlist
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2,628,553 Likes
Y/N_Y/L/N: Sadly, after 1 ½  wonderful years, Jenna is not my girlfriend anymore. We are still on good terms, I promise, but I just thought I would let you guys know.
User57: WHAT?! THIS CANT BE REAL
User32: This is not happening. What the actual fuck.
y/n&jenna4life: No i refuse to believe this
arianagrande: I’m so sorry, Y/N/N!
jenniferlawrence_: dude that sucks! Hope you’re doing okay
>Y/N_Y/L/N: i’m okay, thank you for thinking of me
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THIS IS NOT ANOTHER FALSE ALARM: ACTORS JENNA ORTEGA AND Y/N Y/L/N HAVE REPORTEDLY SPLIT
According to an instagram post Y/L/N posted last night, said actor and Wednesday star Jenna Ortega have split. A couple months ago, there was a false alarm in the end of the two’s relationship, caused by a hilarious dispute over a game of Monopoly. Well, this time, it seems that no one will be laughing. Ortega and Y/L/N are scheduled to be on The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon tonight, so maybe they will provide some insight as to why the seemingly perfect couple has split. 
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“You guys are on in 5!” A stage attendant calls into the dressing room, prompting you to stand up at the same time as Jenna. You grab her hand and bring it to your lips, pressing a chaste kiss to it. She smiles at you, blushing, before squeezing your hand and making her way out of the room. You follow closely after Jenna, excited to talk about your new movie with her. 
The introduction music begins to play, and you hear Jimmy Fallon calling out both your name and Jenna’s. Jenna walks out first, waving to the crowd, and you follow behind, buttoning your suit jacket and winking at some of the people in the  audience. 
As the two of you take a seat, Jimmy jumps right into the interview. He asks you questions about your roles, and just about the film in general. He also asks Jenna some questions about the second season of Wednesday. Finally, he gets to what he had been wanting to ask the most. 
“You guys were absolutely amazing in this film, but I have to say. It must have been difficult working together, at least for a little while.” Jenna gives him a confused look, and you fight the smile that is trying to make its way onto your face as best you can. “Why do you say that?” Jenna questions.
Jimmy gives her an odd look, explaining, “Well, because the two of you broke up, right? At least, according to Y/N’s Instagram post.” You still manage to keep a straight face, even when Jenna whips her head around towards you. “What the hell did you do, Y/N Y/L/N?!” 
You look around as if you can’t see her before turning back to Jimmy. “You know, sometimes I can still hear her, nagging me as if she were my girlfriend or something.” She finally breaks, letting out all of the laughter that she had been trying to hold in. Jimmy and the rest of the audience laugh with her, but they are clearly confused. 
Jenna rolls her eyes at you, ignoring your laughter. She turns to Jimmy to explain. “Ignore this little shit, they think they’re hilarious. So what happened is, Y/N is not my partner anymore.” Jimmy becomes even more confused, exclaiming, “So what is it?!” Jenna holds up her hand, revealing the glittering ring that you had purposed with only a short while ago. “They’re my fiance.” 
Jimmy gasps, not expecting this at all. “Oh my god! Congratulations!” You have finally recovered from your amusement, and you thank the man for his kind words. As soon as you fully sit up, Jenna smacks the back of your head. You wrap up the interview, and you and Jenna head home.
As you get ready for bed that night, Jenna turns to you. “You’re a fucking dick, you know that?” You just grin at her, replying, “But you love it. You love me.” Jenna can’t help but smile at you. “Fine. I do love you. So much.” She presses a kiss to your lips before heading into the bathroom. You just stand there in your room smiling. Life couldn’t get much better than this.
---
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suzukiblu · 2 months
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WIP excerpt; weird Kryptonian bonding rituals.
“This just not how I expected to become a dad,” Lois mutters under her breath, putting her hands in her hair. “Seriously, I was going to get a Pulitzer first. How am I supposed to be a dad without a Pulitzer?!” 
“You were ever expecting to be a ‘dad’?” Jimmy asks, raising an eyebrow at her. Lois glares back at him. 
“You know what I mean, Jimmy!” she hisses. “A parent! Any kind of a parent!”
“What’s a Pulitzer?” Conner asks curiously. 
“The Pulitzer Prize!” Lois says, gesturing dramatically with both hands and starting to pace. “It’s one of the most distinguished awards in journalism! It’s been going since 1917! It’s a huge honor and a major achievement and–!”
“What’s it have to do with being a dad?” Conner interrupts, wrinkling his nose with a puzzled expression. Lois . . . pauses. 
“Um,” she says. 
“Probably nothing,” Jimmy says with a shrug. “Like. Almost definitely nothing.” 
“Then why’s it matter?” Conner asks, still looking puzzled. Lois puts both of her hands over her face. 
“Oh my god, I am my dad,” she says despairingly. “I think my career matters that much? Seriously?! Conner’s not gonna care if I have a Pulitzer or not if I’m a bad dad to get a Pulitzer! Oh my god, what am I doing with my life?!”
“Having a crisis, apparently,” Jimmy says. “And, like, some serious reprioritizing.” 
“I don’t think taking pride in your work is a ‘bad dad’ thing,” Clark says. Though having a kid is a reprioritizing-level situation, he thinks. Definitely when they’re a surprise kid. “That’s setting a good example for Conner, really. Just, you know . . . don’t ignore him to kidnap and illegally detain people because you think they might have something to do with a theoretical invasion, and I think you’ll probably be fine? Probably?” 
“Yeah, the invasion thing really seemed important to, like. Everybody who was working on me,” Conner says as he sneaks another honey bun. He’s adorable about it, so Clark doesn’t stop him. “They kinda suck, though, sooooo . . . I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you were gonna invade them a little. Just saying.” 
“No one’s doing any invading,” Clark says immediately, then feels awkward because, well, technically–“I mean, I don’t think anyone’s doing any invading. I’m not! I’m very much not doing any invading! Ever!”
“Are you sure?” Conner looks disappointed. 
“No alien invasions until you’re eighteen,” Lois says. “. . . or until we figure out how old you should count as being.”
Conner pouts. 
. . . they could probably invade just one dubiously-ethical lab, Clark thinks, if Conner really– 
“No, Clark,” Jimmy says. “I know that look, man. We don’t need any more angry government dudes or MIB-types after you, we’ve got enough of those already! Like, way too many!” 
“I think any is ‘too many’, in this case,” Lois says, looking sour.
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aalyssah · 10 months
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Protect You
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Pairing: Jey Uso x Wife!Reader
Warnings: Angst/Fluff!
Word Count: 2,419
Summary: When you cause Jey and Jimmy to lose their titles, Roman confronts you, making a physical altercation occur, and Jey promises to protect you.
A/N: It’s not as fluffy as I wanted it to be, but I still like it. Hope You Enjoy!
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It was the most important night for wrestlers. WrestleMania night and it was night 1.
This was a huge thing for the Bloodline considering almost all of you were fighting. The Uso's fighting Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and Roman against Cody Rhodes. (Poor Solo)
You on the other hand had a match against Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women's Title. You've fought hard over the years to get to where you are and now you're ready to make your friends and family proud.
You took a deep breath, bouncing your leg slightly. "Hey, baby." You looked up seeing all 3 brothers and Roman enter. "Hey." You gave him a small smile. "You nervous?" You nodded your head, looking up at the TV, watching John Cena and Austin Theory.
"Hey, look at me." You made eye contact with him. "You're gonna be fine. Win or lose, I'm gonna still be here for you." You leaned into him, hugging his chest. "Thank you, babe." Jey continued holding you while rocking side to side.
"Sorry to break you two lovebirds up, but you're about to be on Y/n." You broke away from Jey nodding your head. "Alright, wish me luck!" You gave Jey one last kiss and left to the gorilla. Jey let out a breath, sitting down on the couch. "I hope she wins."
Roman put a hand on his shoulder. "She's still your wife. She's blood no matter the outcome." Roman's words had Jey feeling a little better.
-
When he saw Charlotte lock the Figure 4 Lock, he knew it was over. The pain on your face as you squirm and scream, trying to listen to the fans calling your name, telling you not to give up.
Unfortunately, you tapped repeatedly on the mat, indicating you quit. Her music played as the referee gave her the title. You could only sit there, holding your leg in pain, looking up at her celebrating.
You felt like a failure as you walked backstage, knowing you would have to face the disappointment from your team. You walked through the door, silence taking over the room.
You crumbled instantly, tears flowing down your face. Jey was first to come to you, engulfing you in a hug. "It's okay, baby. You did amazing out there." Jimmy came up to you, rubbing your back. "Yeah, you did your best, and that's all what matters."
With everyone comforting you made it somewhat better. "You think she did amazing?" Everyone's attention turned to Roman sitting in the corner. "You think she tried her best? That was nothing. You are nothing, but a disgrace to the Bloodline!"
You jumped at his booming voice, looking down at the ground. "Hey, don't talk about her like that, she tried for the Bloodline and unfortunately didn't come through. At least have some respect for her!" Jey stood up to his older cousin, yelling just as loud as him.
"Do I have to remind you who you're talking to, Jey? Because I can bring this back to 2020 if I have too." Jey let go of you, standing chest to chest with Roman, a death glare in his eyes. "Jey, stop." You sniffled, grabbing his tattooed arm.
"He's right, I didn't do good." Jey turned around to you, shaking his head. "No baby, he's so wrong. Like Jimmy said, you tried your best, but it wasn't your luck tonight." He guided you out the room to comfort you somewhere quiet.Roman grumbled under his breath, "Amazing my ass."
-
It was now 1 hour later and The Uso's were ready for their match. Jimmy and Jey stretched in the small corner backstage while having a small talk. "Bro, Roman was not happy after you left with Y/n." Jimmy informed Jey, stretching to the side a little.
"Yeah, well he can be as mad as he wants, but that's my wife and no matter who you are, I'm not gonna let you talk shit about her." Jimmy nodded his head in agreement, knowing he would do the same for Naomi.
Just as they finished their conversation, you came along in fresh clothes. "You feeling better?" You gave him a smile. "I'm alright, but don't worry about me. You have to defend your titles." Jey smiled looking at the title on a nearby crate.
"Yup, and I'm gonna win it back for you." He began an attack of kisses, causing you to laugh. "There's that laugh I love." Jimmy playfully rolled his eyes at how lovey dovey y'all were being. "Y/n, you wanna go out there with us?"
You looked at Jimmy shocked at his question and then at Jey. "Can I?" Jey smiled. "Of course. I need my good luck charm out there with me." Before you could continue your conversation, Staff Member came by, letting y'all know they were up.
As you stood at the gorilla, waiting for the music to play, Roman, Paul, and Solo came by. "Look, y'all need to go out there, beat some ass, and win those titles back. We need to keep the gold, unlike some people who can't even win one." Roman said, specifically looking at you.
You downed under his stare, looking around. Jey gently pulled you to his side. "Don't start." The tension between the two was thick. "G-guys, maybe we should go out." Jimmy agreed, walking first while Jey and you followed up.
You were stopped by Roman grabbing your arm. "Woah, where do you think you're going?" You looked up at him, with wide eyes. "Uh, out there to accompany them?" Roman chuckled, shaking his head.
"You think you deserve to be out there with them, let alone show your face after losing your title shot?" Jey pulled you back, pushing Roman's chest. "I already told you to step off her. I'm not gonna tell you again. Whether you like it or not, she's coming with us." Once again, they stared at each other with some much anger.
"USOS!"
Their theme started to play, causing Jimmy to tug at Jey. "Come on, bro." Jey stepped back, not breaking eye contact with Roman until he was behind the curtains.
-
The match was going as planned, big moments happening in between, fans cheering for the wrestlers, everything well. At one moment Kevin and Sami hit Jimmy with a 1D, instantly going for the pin. Jimmy kicked out, causing Kevin to beat the mat in anger.
You then noticed how he whispered something to Sami before leaving the ring. Sami distracted the referee while Kevin grabbed 2 chairs from under the ring. You were quick to get up on the apron, yelling at them, but the referee was on you, telling you to get down.
As you were arguing with him, you missed seeing Kevin and Sami doing an Edge and Christian classic, crushing the skull of Jimmy. Jey tried defending him, but Kevin and Sami were quicker, cracking the chair over his body. They threw the chairs out and went for the pin.
"1 2 3"
*DING DING DING*
"Your winner of this match, and the NEW Undisputed Tag Team Champions, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn!”
You could feel your whole world crashing down, as the fans cheered and some booed. Everything was out of vision except for a hurt Jimmy and Jey lying in the ring. You slowly crawled in, touching their arms. "A-are yall okay?" A groan came out of each of their mouths as they sat up.
You closed your eyes, wondering how it was gonna be when Roman gets to you. You helped them out the ring, walking backstage to the medics. They took some X-Rays of their heads while you held Jey's hand. "I'm so sorry." You cried out, head hanging low.
"You're okay, you didn't do anything." You wiped your tears away. "If I never got up on that apron, y'all would've-" Jey cut you off, shushing you. "Y/n, please stop blaming yourself. You tried to stop them for us and I'm glad. I don't give a damn about those titles."
You thought back to Roman, thinking of how possessive he is about everyone having a title. "But Roman-" Jey's eyebrow cocked up in question. "What about him? If he wants the titles so bad, he can collect all 4 since he's the 'Head of the Table.'"
You smiled at his joking tone. "Can you please go pack our bags? I think I'm gonna need some sleep." Jimmy yawned, rubbing at his head. You smiled, placing a kiss on his forehead before walking out to the locker room.
It was quiet as you folded some clothes, placing them in the bag. You were alone until you heard the sound of the door open. You turned around to see who it was, but Roman pushed you against the wall, pinning you underneath him.
"You're stupid. So fucking stupid." You whimpered, trying to get out his hold. "You think you're gonna get away from making them lose their title?" You whined at how tight his grip was. "I didn't mean to." You explained, avoiding eye contact. "Didn't mean too? You meant everything, you were so jealous that you lost your title opportunity, so you sabotaged their defense."
You shook your head, disagreeing with his statement. "I love him, I would never!" Roman's grip tightened around your wrists. "Oh, you love him, but make him lose his titles and now he's in the medic room."
You pushed him back with all the strength you had. "Stop being such a controlling bitch! You go around here demanding people how to do their job when-" You didn't get to finish your sentence when Roman's hand wrapped around your throat, cutting all your air circulation off.
"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, talk to me like that again. You hear me?!" You squeezed at his wrist, trying to get him to loosen up. "No wonder Seth and Sami back stabbed you. You deserved it all." A loud slap was heard around the room as your head turned to the side.
Roman just hit you.
Roman pushed you back, your body sliding off the wall onto the floor. "Know your fucking place. Jey should've never married you." He then spit on you, watching as you jumped. Paul knocked on the door and entered. "My Tribal Chief I-"
He stopped mid sentence when he saw you shaking on the floor, looking up at Roman with such scared eyes. "Come on Paul, we do not talk about this." Paul gave an apologetic look before walking with a Roman. You sobbed as you slowly picked yourself up and continued packing the bags.
-
It is now night 2 and the one match everyone's been waiting for is here. Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes.
Fans were eager in their seats as the show came near the Main Event, waiting for Cody and Roman. The whole Bloodline sat in the locker room, listening to Roman give a speech.
“Tonight, I'm gonna show y'all how to WIN a title and DEFEND one!" You jumped at his loud voice, getting a mini flashback from yesterday. He shortly left out with Paul and Solo, since they were his 'most trusted' ones.
“Man, this is stupid. I’m not gonna watch him." Jimmy admitted, getting up. "Anyone wanna go to the catering and talk with some friends?" Jey shook his head, eyes trained on the TV. Jimmy looked at you with a teasing smile, making you get up. You both walked to the catering, meeting up with friends and talking.
It was all normal, everyone laughing and fans cheering, but when everyone saw Jey walk out to the ring, they thought, 'Oh another Bloodline member here to show respect to their Chef.' Oh, how wrong were they. Roman had Cody on the mat, setting him up for a spear.
Roman successfully hit it, but before he could pin Cody, Jey slid in the ring, hitting him in the back with a chair. Cheers and Gasps were heard around the arena, as loud as Sami's betrayal. Paul's mouth hung open while for the first time, Solo broke character, mouth open in shock.
Jey brutally beat down Roman, hitting every body part he could. Jimmy dropped his drink backstage while running to the ring.
He put Cody’s body over Roman’s to pin him and that's it. A new Undisputed Champion was crowned that night. Jey continued his assault, punching and kicking at Roman. "You think you can beat on my wife?!"
Everyone was silent and shocked as Jey yelled. "Huh? Spit on her?" Another punch to his face. "Choke her?! You're nothing, but a coward!" Solo and Jimmy grabbed at Jey, holding back to the corner. "No, that bitch is gonna get what's coming to him!"
Jey fought against their hold, trying to get to the conscious Roman. "Uce stop, just go to your wife! Leave him alone!" Jey stopped, thinking about how scared you must've been. He broke out their hold, running backstage to you.
You were already crying in the locker, knowing you just ruined a family. Jey pulled you in for a hug, silence around the room except your sobs. "I-I-" You couldn't even make a word out as your cries over powered it.
“Shh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't come sooner." You pulled back, looking up at him. "Can I see it?" His hands tugged at the turtle neck sweater you wore, covering your neck.
With a nod of your head, he pulled it down, taking a deep breath to control his anger. The print of a hand wrapped around your throat had him feeling some type of way. "How did you know?"
"Paul told me and god did it take more than 5 people to hold me back before I beat the shit out of him right there. When I heard of what he did to you, I-"
Jey cut himself off, not wanting to think other. "Why, did you do it? You just ruined your Bloodline because of me." Jey looked at you like you were crazy. "Y/n, do you not know who you are to me? We are married."
He said, thumb brushing over your ring. "I promised your family and god to protect you." He kissed your forehead, burying you in his chest. “But your team, our family. I just ruined it.” Jey’s hands gently scratched at your scalp, distracting you.
“I don't care who puts their hands on you, I'm gonna alway protect you."
618 notes · View notes
sluttywonwoo · 8 months
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love the heat || h.wj
pairing: hong woojin x reader
summary: you indulge your boyfriend in his biggest fantasy
warnings: swearing, blood mentions, smut (18+ ; minors dni)
additional warnings: a lil exhibitionism, oral (f receiving), face sitting, cumming untouched, absolute pussy fiend woojin
word count: 3.2k
“Hey, Champ!” 
Your voice echoing throughout the empty gym makes Woojin perk up and turn around, eyes searching the arena for you. He spots you by the door and his face lights up. His trainer, on the other hand, looks significantly less enthusiastic about your unannounced appearance. Woojin doesn’t seem to notice, though. He beckons you over, lifting the ropes so you can duck into the ring with him. 
He wraps you into a hug, despite your protests of him being sweaty, and only releases you once you return his embrace. 
“Don’t call me champ when you know I got my ass handed to me yesterday,” he mumbles. 
“You’re my champion. Doesn’t that count for anything?” you ask.
“Of course it does,” Woojin surrenders momentarily, swooping down to kiss you chastely on the lips. “But ranking first in your heart doesn’t do much for sponsors.”
You put your hands on your hips, trying to look stern. “Weren’t you only practicing yesterday? What’s with the dramatics? It’s not like it was a televised fight.”
“And even so, Geonwoo still hit me so hard I blacked out for a couple seconds.”
“He what?”
Woojin hadn’t mentioned that part last night in the debrief of his day he always gives you when he calls to say goodnight. 
He shrugs it off. “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to hit me that hard.”
You frown, cupping his face to get a better look at the damage. “And he split your lip? Jesus, Woo, do I need to have a chat with him?”
“No, no. It’s fine, babe. It happens all the time.”
“Still, he needs to be gentler when you’re just sparring. I don’t want to taste blood every time I kiss you.”
“I guess only one of us doesn’t mind the taste of blood,” Woojin quips with a smirk, pulling you closer to him by slipping two fingers into a belt loop on your jeans. 
“Woo!” you scold, shoving him away. You nod in the direction of his trainer who is still standing less than ten feet from the both of you.
He holds up his hands defensively. “What! I was talking about my own blood.”
“Yeah, ok,” you mutter before turning to the other man in the ring. “Hi, Jimmy.”
He nods. “Always a pleasure.”
You manage to keep yourself from snorting at the blatant exaggeration, if not flat-out lie, and nod politely back to him. 
“I’ll be over on the bench until you’re finished,” you say. 
“I can be finished right now,” Woojin blurts.
“No, you can’t be. I heard Jimmy saying ‘three more sets’ when I walked in. And you have to cool down after.”
Your boyfriend’s smile wanes but his trainer mouths a silent thank you to you behind his back. 
“I’ll make them quick, then,” he promises. 
“I’m not in a rush.”
“Well, I am,” Woojin murmurs, pulling you close again. “You smell nice, by the way.”
You drop your voice to a whisper and will yourself to take a step back. It’s so tempting to just yank him out of the ring and drag him to your car but you’re the one with more restraint between the two of you so you have to keep it together for both of your sakes. “Keep it in your pants, Hong. I’ll be over there.”
He pouts. “You’re not going to give me a kiss for good luck?”
“Isn’t this just practice?” 
“Wow, so you hate me.” 
“Yes, that’s exactly the conclusion you were meant to draw from that,” you deadpan. 
“Can I get a kiss or not?” 
“Yes, you can. But next time just ask for one. Don’t use luck as an excuse.” 
Woojin opens his mouth, you predict to argue back about how he had done no such thing, but you kiss him before he can get a word out. He lets out a surprised “hmph!” before relaxing his lips against your own. You pull away before he can take it any further, smiling only a little at the whine that escapes him when you do.
“Good luck, Champ.”
-
Woojin does fight better when you’re around. He’s always called you his good luck charm, and honestly, you thought he was full of shit at first. He was just a good fighter, period. His talent didn’t have anything to do with you. But then you had to take a trip overseas for a few weeks a couple of months into your relationship and you changed your mind. 
His matches were televised so you watched all of them, setting your alarm for ungodly hours or simply pulling all-nighters to be able to tune in live. 
The first fight you weren’t able to go to went horribly. You almost had to stop watching because of how bad Woojin looked by the end of it. You still remember crying to him over the phone about it afterward. 
You thought it was a fluke. Everyone has bad days. Then the pattern continued. The other matches weren’t as bad as the first one, thankfully. Woojin even won some of them. But he was off his game the whole time. 
Geonwoo told you he had never seen anything like it. He had never seen his best friend so... distracted before. 
Both boys begged you to come home as soon as possible. And when you did, his streak of bad luck immediately ended. 
He won the title of the first tournament you were back for. It was the first and only time he’s beaten Geonwoo, who tackled him in a hug as soon as the ref called the match. Woojin had to physically push his best friend off to get to you. Geonwoo was almost offended until he saw you standing behind him, waiting for your boyfriend’s attention. It was not the first nor would it be the last time Geonwoo forgot about your existence. You don’t mind, mostly. It’s only ever for a second and he always apologizes profusely. 
Your presence hasn’t affected his performance that dramatically since then, but he does fight better when you’re there cheering him on. It’s proven when you hear a punch land with a resounding “oof” from Jimmy, and a comment from the trainer about how he’d finally gotten past his block. Jimmy lets your boyfriend off a couple of minutes early, evidently tired from the beating he was taking. Woojin rounds the benches where you’re sat, grinning at you like he’s just won the lottery. 
“Ready to go?” you ask, handing him a towel.
“Just about,” he answers as he wipes the sweat from his face. “Gotta hit the showers first. Wanna join?”
You scoff, peeking over his shoulder to make sure Jimmy hadn’t heard him. “This is a public space.”
Woojin checks his watch and smirks. “Only for about seven more minutes. Then it’s closed. It’ll be all ours.”
You roll your eyes. “Except you’re not the one with the keys to lock up, Jimmy is. Do you really think he’ll want to hear that?” 
“He won’t mind.”
“He most definitely will.” You push Woojin’s thigh with your knee. “Now hurry up. The faster you shower, the faster we can get out of here.”
-
You picked up takeout on the way back to the apartment Woojin shares with Geonwoo. There was enough food for all three of you and now the empty containers lay on the coffee table, long forgotten as the credits to the movie you’d put on in the background roll. 
Geonwoo had already gone to bed. He left halfway through, claiming to be too tired to watch the whole thing. You knew he had probably looked up the ending on Wikipedia and decided he’d rather play games in his room instead but you didn’t question him when he dipped.
“What do you want to watch next, babe?” Woojin asked as he gathered up all of the plasticware and rinsed it out in the sink. 
“Whatever,” you answered noncommittally from where you were laying on the couch. 
“Are you feeling tired, baby?” Woojin asks once he’s returned from sorting the containers for recycling. He kneels by the couch, petting your hair gently.
You shake your head. “Not really.”
“No?”
“Uh-uh.”
“What’s on your mind, then?”
“Something like this.”
You lift your head from the sofa’s armrest and lean forward, meeting Woojin with a kiss. He hums against your mouth like he’s pleasantly surprised and deepens it without further question. You let him slip his tongue into your mouth, moaning as he cradles the back of your head with one of his hands. It gets heated fast. One second you’re laying down on the couch making out, the next you’re on the living room floor with your boyfriend who’s working a hand down your pants. 
“Wait, wait, wait- Geonwoo is home, babe,” you whisper after breaking away from his embrace. 
Woojin looks mildly miffed, curls in disarray as he pouts at you. “So? He’s in his room.”
“Yeah, and his room is right there,” you hiss, looking over your shoulder at his door.
“He’s asleep.”
“We don’t know that.”
“He said he was going to sleep,” Woojin points out. “Are you uncomfortable out here? Because we can go somewh-”
“No, it’s not that, I’d just feel bad if he suddenly walked in on us.”
Woojin shrugs. “He’s seen worse.”
“That’s not the point. You know that’s not the point.”
“It’s not like he doesn’t hear us going at it when we’re in my room. We share a wall.”
Well, that was a slightly mortifying bit of information that you had not previously been aware of. You knew they shared a wall, obviously, but you hadn’t thought about the way sound traveled through said wall. And now that you were thinking about it, you could hear Geonwoo yelling at his game sometimes. Fuck. 
You scramble to your knees and push yourself back onto the couch. Woojin puts a hand on either of your thighs and spreads them apart, looking up at you 
“It’s a little hot if you think about it,” he says. You purse your lips. “Look at you, you can’t even deny it!”
“Just get up here.”
You don’t give him a chance to make another snarky comment before you’re yanking him up by the collar of his T-shirt and kissing him again. Woojin doesn’t protest. He simply makes a sound of satisfaction against your mouth, like he’d won. 
There’s a bit of push and pull. You trying to tug him up onto the couch, him trying to drag you down back onto the floor. But the game of tug of war persists for just a moment before your boyfriend overpowers you and pulls you onto his lap. You knew he had only been humoring you for the sake of the bit.  
“Baby?” he asks when you start to kiss his neck, sounding a little breathless. 
“Hm?”
“Will you sit on my face?”
You pause and sit up properly to look him in the eyes. “What?”
He swallows thickly, looking desperate. “Sit on my face, please?”
Woojin loves your pussy. Loves the taste of it, to be more specific. He loves the feeling too, of course, but he’s spent hours with his head in between your legs making you see God over and over again. He eats you out every single time you have sex. He eats you out even when you don’t have sex sometimes, just because he’s craving you on his tongue. 
But you’ve never sat on his face. In all the months you’ve been dating it just hasn’t come up. He’s had you in practically every way possible except for this one. 
“Please, baby. Don’t make me beg.”
He was kind of already begging but you weren’t going to point that out. You looked towards Geonwoo’s door again and then back at Woojin.
“Here?”
“Yeah, right here,” he pats the spot on the floor. “Just get on top of me.” 
“Alright, help me get my pants off.”
You’re still in your outfit from work because you don’t like to change before you shower and you don’t like to shower unless you’re going to be in bed for the rest of the night. You’ve argued about Woojin eating you out after a full day of work before but he insists that he could not give less of a fuck about the state your pussy is in as long as it’s in his mouth. 
You only let him do it because you know he means it and he makes you cum so hard that you can’t even find it within yourself to be self-conscious. 
Your work slacks are tight but Woojin manages to get them off in record time. He folds them neatly and places them on the couch before getting into position and motioning for you to join him. 
You wiggle out of your underwear and set them on top of your pants. Woojin’s already on his back but he props himself up on his elbows to get a better look at you. He smirks as you step over him, straddling his waist with your ankles instead of your thighs. 
“You look so fucking hot like that,” he mutters. “Kind of just want to watch you stand there and look disappointed in me all night.”
You scoff. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously in love with you.” He winks and clicks his tongue.
“You’d really rather do this instead of... the other thing?”
“I never said that! I’d rather do the other thing. Definitely the other thing.” You snort and shake your head at him. “But we can file this away for another day?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is what I want.”
“But what you want more...”
“Is for you to sit on my face, yes. So come here.”
-
Woojin knows you’re not teasing him on purpose, but it definitely feels like you are. You’re still out of reach, hovering hesitantly above his mouth. You seem nervous so he doesn’t rush you but he’s dying for it. 
It also seems like you don’t quite know what to do with yourself. He thinks about asking you if you’ve ever done this before but then he decides he would rather not know the answer to that question. 
“Here, baby,” he murmurs and puts his hands on your hips to guide you down onto him. 
“Remember, tap me twice if you can’t breathe or something,” you remind him. 
He won’t need to do that but he nods in acknowledgment to ease your mind if nothing else. 
Woojin coaxes you down a little further, close enough for him to taste you if he cranes his neck so that’s what he does. He lifts his head and sticks out his tongue to trace the shape of you. Immediately, you shudder and Woojin uses your clumsiness against you. He raises his shoulders as soon as he feels your legs begin to shake which makes you lose your balance and fall onto him completely.
Your boyfriend moans into you, making you whimper in turn. He’s instantly convinced this is what heaven feels like. All of his senses have been overtaken by you. All he can taste, smell, see, and feel is you. And all he can hear are the sweet sounds of pleasure he knows you’re trying to hold back. 
You’re sort of just sitting there on his face, and to be fair that’s what he’d asked you to do but he knows it would feel even better for you if you moved a bit so he encourages you to rock your hips by pushing on your ass. You get the message and start to grind down on him, earning praise in the form of a thumbs-up.  
“Fuck, so wet,” he compliments, hoping you can understand him. 
“Yeah, well you know what watching you box does to me,” you sigh defensively. 
Woojin tries not to smirk because he knows you’d be able to feel it but he can’t help himself. You smack his shoulder in retaliation. Yeah, that’s pretty much what he thought would happen.
“Taste so good, baby. Thank you. Than- mph!”
You’d threaded your fingers into his hair and yanked him by it, using your newfound control to push his face even deeper into your cunt. 
“Fuck yes... does it feel good?”
“Feels fucking incredible, Woo. How are you so good at this?”
Woojin doesn’t want to admit that it’s all he’s thought about since he met you. Doesn’t want to share the fantasies that have kept him up at night with a hand around his cock, sometimes with you sleeping right next to him. He’s wanted you to ride his face since before you started dating, and once he’d actually tasted you, it was over for him. Just like it’s over for him now.
He doesn’t think he’s ever been this hard in his entire life. It hurts and he’s been thrusting into nothing for several minutes now, and he’s almost certain his sweats are already ruined with the amount of precum he’s leaking. 
He loses the ability to speak when he starts fucking you with his tongue but he figures his mouth is being put to better use like this anyway. Besides, you do enough talking for both of you. You’re still trying to keep your voice down since Geonwoo is in the next room but it ultimately doesn’t matter because the most obscene sounds in the room are coming from Woojin making out with your pussy.
His nose nudges your clit over and over each time you glide over it like it’s a credit card, and it makes him wonder what it would feel like for you to ride his nose. He’s gotten a few compliments on the shape of his nose so he’s confident that it would feel good for you but in order to do that you would have to turn around and he’s enjoying having his tongue inside of you way too much to give that up. 
“Woo, fuck,” you gasp suddenly.
Your thighs squeeze tighter around his head and he whines, wishing it were somehow possible for you to crush his skull and still live.
“Close?”
“Yes, I’m right there, don’t stop...”
He holds you down as you cum, absolutely drowning himself in the arousal that gushes from you as you do. He laps up as much of it as he can, but he can’t quite get all of it and what’s left runs down the sides of his face onto the rug beneath him. He can’t find it within him to care, aside from being slightly jealous of the carpet.
You’re saying something but all he can hear is white noise as his body goes taut and then relaxes. When he comes to, you’ve already climbed off of him and are laying on the floor spent. 
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he sighs.
You lift your head curiously. “Did you just-”
“Yeah.” 
He grimaces and sits up to assess the damage. His sweatpants have a dark wet spot right over his dick. Predictable. He hadn’t wanted to cum like that but it was simply unavoidable. Anyone in his position would have done the same thing. Probably. 
“The rug,” you groan, staring at the stain.
“I’ll send it off to be cleaned,” Woojin assures you. 
“You don’t have rug cleaning money!”“Then I’ll clean it myself. There’s a twenty-four-hour convenience store down the street. We can go there to get the stuff. After we do that again.”
finally finished this bad boy ;-; lmk what you think i always appreciate feedback!!
bloodhounds tags: @sluttywoozi @kimanniexxx @icyb3rry
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