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trickphotography2 · 4 months

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'tis the damn season | Chapter 4

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Julie/Cece (OC, no physical description)

Word count: 6.5K

Synopsis: After six years away from home, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin was finally going to make his parents happy and surprise his family by spending Christmas in Magnolia, Texas. Introducing his pregnant fiancee to his family is a culture clash, with rural Texas meeting California influencer. Though unhappy in his relationship, Jake knows he has to buckle down and do the right thing with a baby on the way.

The last person he expected to run into was his high school sweetheart and the one that got away, Julie.

The holidays are already going to be hard enough for Julie. Her home baking business, which had started as a fun side project, exploded after a few TikToks went viral. Just when she was getting the hang of juggling her job and business, tragedy struck. Facing her first Christmas as an orphan, the last thing Julie expected was to hear that once familiar nickname - Cece.

After almost a decade apart, Jake and Julie can't help but feel that old familiar spark. Even with the realities of their lives pressing in, they can't help but wonder what might have happened if just one of them had fought for their relationship all those years ago.

Chapter 3 | Master List | Ao3

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Chapter 4

A benefit of military training was that Jake could now fall asleep anywhere and under almost any circumstances. After months on a carrier listening to hops overhead, shaking his bed, collapsing into a steady twin-sized mattress wasn’t an issue.

When he closed his eyes, he could only see Cece’s shocked expression after they’d kissed. But when he drifted off, he dreamed about holding her, pressing kisses to the nape of her neck as she decorated her cakes before lifting her onto the counter and standing between her knees. The unhurried kisses they’d share as she ran her fingers through his hair the way no one else seemed to be able to do. Her soft mo -

“What are you doing?!”

Jake bolted upright at the sound of raised voices, feet hitting the floor before he was fully awake. Not pausing to grab his shirt, he ran from the bedroom and flew down the steps, jumping the last few as Ally yelled again.

“You inconsiderate b - ”

“Inconsiderate?! I’m helping!” Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, Jake stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.

“You’re ruining it!” The back door swung open as Mama stomped to clear the snow from her boots.

“What’s going on here?” she demanded. Cool hands brushed Jake’s bare skin, and he glanced down to see Cece trying to get past him.

“What…” her exhausted voice cracked, taking in the scene before them.

The counter was littered with crumbs. Bowls of ganache and buttercream had knives resting on the rims. The macaron shells that Jake matched were scattered about, some with filling that spilled past the rims of the small cookies. A few cupcakes Cece had carefully decorated and boxed were sitting back on the cooling racks, icing swiped from the sides.

And, standing there with flour artfully brushed on her cheeks with her phone set up on Cece’s tripod was Shayla. A red-faced Ally glared daggers at her from across the counter, one hand resting on her stomach while the other clenched into a tight fist. “You need the get the fuck out of here RIGHT NOW,” Ally snarled, “before I knock you on your ass, you selfish - ”

“Allison Rae Seresin,” Mama snapped, toeing off her boots and stepping inside. Her eyes quickly surveyed the damage, widening the more she took in.

“Jake, you’re going to let her talk to me like that,” Shayla demanded, planting her hands on her hips. It took a minute for him to realize that she was wearing Cece’s discarded apron.

“What were you thinking, Shayla?” he asked, attempting to keep his voice steady but unable to stop the anger from creeping in. His eyes darted to Cece, who stood silently beside him, a shaking hand pressed to her mouth. Shay’s gaze shifted from him to her, and he could have sworn something flashed in his fiancée’s eyes.

“I was just trying to help. I know you and Jake were up all night, and I’m going to tag you in the video so you’ll get plenty of viewers from it.”

“Y-you…I…” Cece stuttered before pressing her lips into a thin line. Jake could see the gleam of tears in her tired eyes and felt his heart break. But when he reached to touch her shoulder, she jerked away from him. The anger faded from Ally’s face as she turned to Cece.

“I’m sure we can salvage some of it,” she said. Shaking her head, Cece forced a smile onto her wobbling lips.

“I-it’s fine. I can fix it. I…I just need to go to the store.”

“Shayla will pay for the damages,” Mama said, glancing at the woman in question. When she opened her mouth to say something, Jake cut her off.

“Of course. I’ll go with you - ”

“No.” The word was loud in the near-silent kitchen, but Cece wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“I’ll go,” Ally said, glancing at her watch. “I don’t have any appointments this morning, so I can help out - ”

“No.” It was softer this time but just as firm.

“Julie - ” Mama said softly, walking toward the trembling woman who took a step back. Her shoulder brushed Jake’s chest, but she took another quick step away when he reached to steady her.

“Please don’t. I-I need to go. The ganache needs at least two hours to set b-before I can use it.” Without another word, she turned on her heel and brushed past him, working hard not to touch him before darting upstairs.

“You fix this,” Mama ordered, hard eyes meeting his before following Cece upstairs.

“Get out of the kitchen,” Ally demanded.

“You can’t - ”

“In case you didn’t catch on,” she cut her off. “This is my family’s house. This is my future house. And just because my brother-in-law had the misfortune of knocking you up and putting that gaudy ring on your finger before any sense was knocked into his thick skull doesn’t give you any right to stand here until your last name is Seresin. So get. Out.”

“Jakey!” He scrubbed a hand down his face, turning to watch Cece barrel down the stairs and out the front door.

The grocery store parking lot was empty when Julie parked in a spot closest to the door - it wouldn’t open for another fifteen minutes. With a sigh, she leaned the seat back and stared up at the car ceiling, willing away the tears that pricked her eyes.

She was so tired. And hurt. And mad at herself.

The idea of going back to the Seresin house - one of her safe havens - made her stomach twist with guilt and dread. A small part of her wanted to call Lucy to see if she could use her kitchen. Still, the rational part of her knew it would be a huge imposition to ask her best friend to give up her kitchen with two little ones running around, and she would never get the work done.

But working with Jake again couldn’t happen. Julie had let her guard down last night, lost in the nostalgia of spending time with the boy she’d loved and learning about the man he’d become. It had been too easy to slip back into the familiar, trading long-forgotten inside jokes and teasing one another. His warm laugh had kept her going, and she’d even trusted him enough to watch over things and take a short power nap on the couch. She’d been too comfortable with the casual touches they’d traded, his hands on her hips to gently move her out of the way to wash his hands or how his fingers had curled around hers when they high-fived when the macarons finally came out right.

And when they’d kissed… it had felt like finally coming home. Like stepping into a hot shower after a long day, letting the warmth wrap around you and ease all of the tension from your body.

“Baby, I missed you.”

Those words echoed through her head, bruising her heart.

There were few things that Julie regretted in life, and leaving Jake in Virginia wasn’t one of them. For the first time, she had put herself first. She’d stood up for herself when he kept lying to her face. Julie needed time to figure out who she was when she wasn’t waiting for Jake Seresin to accomplish his goals.

What she did regret, though, was ignoring his text message after running into him seven years ago.

It had been a shock to see him two years after breaking off their engagement and moving back to Austin. Ally had texted her to ask for bar recommendations since she and Will were going to the Texas versus A&M rivalry game, and she’d given her favorite local spot. After spending hours in the sun, screaming for her team to kick the Aggie’s ass, she and her girlfriends had retreated to their watering hole to celebrate their win. The last thing she had expected was to see her ex-fiancé standing at the bar, the black Longhorn hat she’d bought him years before on his head as he ordered a beer. When his green eyes had lifted to find hers across the crowded room, she’d been pinned to the spot.

The night had ended with them sneaking away from the group and fumbling with the bar bathroom door lock, unwilling to stop kissing long enough to secure it. She could taste beer and longing on his tongue, and she let herself get lost in the feeling of him and the nostalgia of the Spring Break nights that had ended just like this. Once the lock clicked into place, he backed her against the walls, his hands sliding under her burnt orange skirt as he mouthed at her breasts through her white t-shirt. Guiding her legs around his waist, he’d lifted her, pressing her against the wall while tugging her panties to the side.

“I missed you,” he panted against her neck as he slid home.

A month later found Julie in her apartment bathroom, staring at the pregnancy test on the sink. Jake had texted her a few times, and they’d even spent one night talking into the early hours. Still, ever since realizing her period was late, she had limited contact. Just that morning, he’d texted asking if she was alright.

A small part of her wanted to tell him she might be pregnant. But the last time they’d been in this predicament, he’d made so many promises, and she wasn’t sure if she could do the same. The memory of sitting on the phone with him during their sophomore year of college, waiting for the timer to go off as he promised he would drop out of the Academy and move home, and enlist in the Navy rather than commission as an officer so he could take care of her and the baby, was too much. As much as she still loved Jake, Julie wasn’t sure she could promise to move back to Virginia if she was pregnant this time. Those two months had been a black hole of loneliness and depression, and she’d only clawed herself out of it by coming back to Austin.

So when the test was negative, Julie promised it was over. And she kept that promise when she’d seen him in Magnolia the following year when she visited her daddy for Christmas. It had been hard to speed walk out of the store, ignoring Jake calling for her, but it was for the best.

And now… now he was engaged and had a baby on the way, exactly what he’d always wanted.

And who was she to derail that? Even if the woman he chose to spend the rest of his life with was evil? That was his choice. There had to be something good in her if Jacob Thomas Seresin chose to spend the rest of his life with her. For all of his faults, Jake was a good man who would do anything for the people he loved. And if he loved Shayla, that had to mean something. So kissing him was now on the list of regrets.

It did mean that she needed to distance herself from the Seresins. As much as she loved them, it wasn’t fair to Jake, Shayla, or their baby for her to be around. Once she left Magnolia, it would be easier to separate herself. It would hurt to lose her family, but it was the right thing to do. The idea of this being her last Christmas with them was…a sob caught in Julie’s throat, and she pressed a hand to her mouth to keep it from escaping. She’d already promised to be Tyler’s godmother - she could still make sure to have a close relationship with the little boy while keeping his uncle at arm’s length.

The grocery store lights turned on. Sitting up, Julie took a few deep breaths, brushing away any tears that had escaped her tight control and ignoring the dark circles that seemed permanent these days. After gathering her purse and putting her coat back on, she exited the car and hurried across the parking lot, mentally reviewing her shopping list.

The tears started to escape again when she stood in the baking aisle, trying to find more than one bag of almond flour. There was no telling how many macarons she needed to redo, and only having a bag and a half made her anxious.

“Jules?” Taking a step back from where she was moving bags of flour on the shelf, she looked up the aisle to see Drew smiling. It slowly faded as he took in her appearance, and he quickly walked toward her, his cart wheels rattling loudly. “Hey, everything alright?”

Maybe it was the genuine concern in his voice or the way his brown eyes softened as they took her in. It could have been the familiar firehouse uniform that her daddy had worn or just the exhaustion of the last week, but Julie couldn’t fight the tears any longer. When the first sob escaped, she clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle it, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing the floor would open and swallow her whole. “Aw, honey,” Drew murmured, shifting his radio over his shoulder before tugging her into his arms. His blue fire jacket held the faintest whiff of smoke and muted cologne, and she found herself burying her face into his chest as she cried.

Julie wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but Drew didn’t seem to mind her using him as support during her breakdown. Instead, he held her tightly, telling her it would be alright. That whatever was wrong, they would figure it out. And when her sobs dissolved into hiccups and sniffles, she pulled away and wiped at the dark spot she’d left on his uniform. “S-sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s fine,” he replied, ducking to try and catch her eye when she wouldn’t look at him. “What’s wrong, Jules? Talk to me.”

“I-it’s just been a spectacularly shitty last few days.”

“Yeah? What happened?” And that was how she found herself spilling everything to him - overextending herself between work and baking to try and block out the fact that this was the first Christmas without her daddy, not sleeping for more than a few hours per night over the last month, her oven going out, and waking up to find out that Shayla ruined a lot of the hard work she’d done overnight. “So let me get this straight, honey,” Drew said, brows furrowing. “You’ve been runnin’ yourself into the ground and not sleeping. And your oven went out, so you went to the Seresin’s. And your ex-fiancé’s new fiancée is a bitch who messed with the stuff that you need for the mayor’s party tonight?”

“That’s the gist,” she nodded. A soft smile crossed his mouth as he brushed away her tears with his knuckle. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Drew had only been in Magnolia for about four years and hadn’t had a front-row seat to the saga of Jake and Julie that some folks in town still liked to gossip about. Gossips like Betty, who pushed her rattling cart past them, not even bothering to hide her curious stare.

“Mornin’, Mrs. Roberts,” Drew said, tapping the bill of his cap.

“Mornin’,” Betty said. “Everythin’ alright, Julie?”

“Peachy,” she lied, forcing a smile and trying to ignore that her face was probably red and splotchy.

“Jules was just helpin’ me pick out the best stuff for pancakes. Gotta get back to the house and make sure we get one last good breakfast in before shift ends.”

“Of course,” Betty said, glancing in their baskets. Her gaze caught on the dark blue spot on his jacket. Drew reached up and twisted the radio belt, so it covered the spot, hand resting on the radio to hide it further.

“Merry Christmas,” Julie said, turning her back on Betty, reaching for a bag of all-purpose flour, and putting it into Drew’s cart. “You should do them from scratch rather than using the box stuff.”

“Right. Just figured it’d be easier for the rookie,” Drew said, turning his back on the older woman. The rattling of the wheels alerted them to her departure, and they both glanced over their shoulder to see her hurrying down the aisle. “Ten bucks says she calls someone from the parking lot.”

“Twenty says she calls someone before getting to the register,” Julie countered, reaching into his cart to retrieve the flour.

“You can leave that. What else do I need for pancakes from scratch?”

“Baking powder, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter. You sure you don’t want to go the easier boxed route?”

“I have a feeling we’re gonna need a good breakfast to get through all the work we have to do.”

“I thought your shift ended soon. Expecting any fires?”

“You never know,” Drew grinned down at her. “I’ve been known to start a kitchen fire or two when trying to make something. Good thing there’ll be a professional on hand to supervise.” At her confused look, he shrugged. “Come use the kitchen at the firehouse.”

“I-I… Drew, that’s - ”

“We’ve got a huge kitchen, the guys can help out, and you won’t have to worry about seeing the bitchy fiancée or ex-fiancé.”

“All my stuff is at the Seresin’s place.” He shrugged again.

“Not an issue. I can run over and grab it while you take a nap.” He held up a finger when she opened her mouth to say something. “Honey, I hope the next words out of your mouth are some form of ‘yes’ or ‘thank you,’ ‘cause I don’t think we have a whole lot of time to argue. I got one of those invitations to the mayor’s party, and I know that we’ve got about” - he glanced at his watch - “thirteen hours until the party starts, and I’m sure you want to be done before that. So we don’t have time. Unless you want to go back to the Seresin’s.”

Julie paused for a moment before speaking, “Thanks, Drew.”

Jake carefully wiped the paper towel over the macaron shell, removing as much of the ganache as possible before setting it aside. Shayla had only managed to make about forty of the cookies before getting caught, so even if he couldn’t salvage all of them, at least Cece wouldn’t be starting from scratch. It was the least he could do.

After Cece had left and Ally kicked her out of the kitchen, Shayla stomped up to the guest bedroom. He reluctantly followed, finding her throwing things into her suitcase and demanding to leave. “I’m happy to drive you to the airport, but I’m not leaving,” Jake had said, crossing his arms over his chest. Shayla spun on her heel and glared at him, putting a hand on her stomach.

“You would abandon the mother of your child? On Christmas Eve?”

“If you want to go, that’s fine. And we can talk about this when I get home - and we are going to talk about this, Shayla.”

“About what?!” she spat, throwing her hairdryer into the suitcase so hard that the attachment flew off. “For trying to help some little bumfuck creator wi - ”

“Stop!” It was rare for Jake to raise his voice to her, so it shocked Shayla into silence. “You have no idea how hard Cece worked last night. You had no right to do that.”

“Oh, because it’s precious ‘Cece’s,’” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Funny how everyone else calls her Julie, but you call her Cece. ‘Cause she’s just an ‘old family friend,’ right?” Cocking an eyebrow, she smirked. “We’re even, Jake.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I saw you.” Jake felt a jolt of panic and fought to keep his expression blank.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I saw you kiss her.” The smile that graced her face could only be described as vindictive as she rubbed her stomach. “We both screwed up, but we’re gonna put that behind us for the sake of our baby, right?” When he didn’t answer, too stunned to respond, she walked closer and cupped his cheek, guiding his hand to her stomach. “Right? Because we’re a family. And I forgive you - ”

“Shay - ”

“As long as you don’t see her again.”

Gentle chiming woke Julie, and she blindly slapped for her phone to turn off the alarm. Her body ached for sleep, and she indulged by hitting the snooze button. Rolling onto her stomach, she buried her face into the pillow and inhaled an unfamiliar scent while tugging the blanket higher over her shoulders.

There was a gentle rapping on the door, and Julie groaned when it opened. “Jules?” Drew said softly.

“ M up,” she grumbled, forcing one eye open.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m back with your stuff. Did you want me to get the oven going?”

“I - ” she yawned, slowly sitting up. “Can do it.”

“Watch your eyes.” After pausing to let her cover them, Drew flipped on the room light. Squinting at the sudden brightness, she caught the fond look he gave her at the sight of her sleeping in one of his shirts and pair of sweats before schooling his expression. “Coffee’s ready whenever you are.”

“Did… did they say anything when you got to the house?”

“Well,” he said, leaning against the doorframe and scratching his chin, fingers rasping against the stubble. “Mrs. Seresin wanted to make sure you were alright. Mrs. Roberts called her to let her know about… uh… you were upset.”

“Well, at least we know who she called in the dairy section,” she sighed, rolling her eyes - Drew had handed her a crisp $20 bill after checking out.

“Yeah. Didn’t see Mr. Seresin or Will, but I met Jake.” Julie gripped the mattress, somewhat dreading what he would report.

“And?”

“He, uh…” Drew scratched the back of his neck. “Wanted me to tell you that he tried to save as many cookies as possible. And that he’s sorry.”

“Any sightings of the wicked witch of the West Coast?” she asked, pushing to her feet. The floor was cold, and she quickly shoved her feet into her sneakers.

“Thankfully, no,” he chuckled, stepping aside as she neared. “I can grab my shampoo and stuff if you want to jump in the shower before starting.

“You trying to politely say I’m lookin’ rough?” Julie teased.

“I’d never say that about a beautiful woman.” Blushing, she dropped her gaze and shook her head.

“Daddy told me about the water pressure here. I’ll wait ‘til I get home.” With a nod, Drew tilted his head toward the kitchen.

“I just tossed your clothes in the dryer, so they’ll be done soon. And I may have stashed some of the leftover bacon for you.”

Stepping into the main room, Julie was greeted with a round of hellos from the firefighters on shift. She quickly made the rounds, hugging some oldtimers who had worked with her daddy and trading smiles with the rest. In a town as small as Magnolia, she regularly saw them at the store or work and - except for a few - had gone to school with them. Drew handed her a coffee mug when she stepped away from a conversation with Travis, whose wife wanted a cake for their fifth wedding anniversary.

“Let’s see the damage,” Julie sighed, glancing at the tray of paired macaron shells. She quickly spotted the damaged ones, even with Jake trying to salvage them. A handful were cracked, and the silver cookies were stained with chocolate. All told it looked like she would maybe have to do four trays - much less than expected. Thankfully, it looked like Shayla had only messed with six cupcakes, which had been extras, so she didn’t need to touch those. Mentally revising her to-do list while sipping coffee, Julie realized that she would have plenty of time to finish all the work, even with testing the new oven.

“What’s the plan, boss?” Drew asked, leaning against the counter and watching her.

“I’ll whip up some macarons to test the oven, make some royal icing for the cookie kit, and decorate the macarons. The ganache should be set by then, and my stuff will be up to room temp for the buttercream. I can fill macarons pretty quickly, and after that, it’s boxing and doing the sugar cookies.”

Which was exactly what she did. It only took three rounds of tests to get the macarons right, by which time she had an audience sitting around the kitchen. Drew, who had been observing from the table while doing some paperwork, put them to work after raiding the EMT truck for gloves. They quickly assembled her packaging and placed her advertisement stickers on the cupcake boxes. After doing a small drizzle of icing on the macaron shells to make it look like the Christmas bulbs had a cap, she stood back and laughed as they doused them with edible spray glitter.

With their permission - which she enthusiastically received - Julie set up her tripod and filmed. And it was the most she laughed in a long time. As much as the guys were messing around, they ensured their assigned tasks were done. Given how much counter space there was, she made the sugar cookie dough while the macarons dried before baking. Once rolled, there was some good-natured shoving to see who would get to cut out the cookies while Julie worked on filling the macarons. Drew volunteered to package them, his arm brushing against hers when he reached for one of the finished cookies.

Somehow - miraculously - everything was done by 3:00PM. The guys were already off shift but stayed back to help her finish up, and the second shift also joined in. When she started to plan on moving everything to her car, they helped her wash and pack her equipment but insisted on her coming back to get the baked goods before the party so she wouldn’t have to repack the car again in a couple of hours.

“I’ll come by,” Drew offered. “Gonna be headed to the party anyways, so I can help you set up. And then maybe you’d like to stick around with me?”

So, just before 4:00PM, Julie trudged back into her apartment, collapsed into bed after setting an alarm, and quickly passed out.

“Get up,” Will said, throwing open the door to Jake’s bedroom. “We’re goin’ out.” Lowering his phone, Jake looked at his older brother and sighed.

“Don’t feel like it.”

“I wasn’t asking, squirt. Get your ass up and get in the truck.” Rolling his eyes, Jake shifted onto his side, turning his back to his brother.

“Later, Will. I’m - ” A hand clamped around his ankle and tugged. Caught off-guard, he scrambled to catch the mattress as Will pulled him onto the floor in a tangle of blankets and limbs. Hands on his hips, his older brother glared down at him.

“Get your fuckin’ shoes on. We’re goin’ to get a beer.”

Which was how the Seresin boys found themselves at Mikey’s on Christmas Eve, staring one another down over a beer while country versions of Christmas classics played on the jukebox. The bar was moderately full of folks catching up, those - like Jake - who had moved away from Magnolia and came back for the holidays, greeting those who had chosen to stay behind. He’d seen more people from high school tonight than since graduation when he and Cece had snuck out to a field party. That night, he’d slipped his class ring on her finger, promising they would get married as soon as he graduated from the Academy, celebrating their commitment in the backseat of his truck. After too much to drink, they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms in his truck bed and woken to multiple missed calls from her daddy. Mr. Ryan had tried to ground Cece, only for her to put her foot down that she was an adult and wouldn’t miss time with Jake the last few weeks he was home.

After catching up with another former classmate, Will took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and pushed his glass away. “Jake.”

“Why do I feel I’m not going to like what you have to say?”A smile tugged at the corner of Will’s mouth before he schooled his expression.

“‘Cause you can be moderately intelligent when you’re not thinkin’ with your dick. But yeah, you’re not gonna like it. We need to talk about Shayla.”

“My fiancée? Jake asked, sipping his beer and raising an eyebrow.

“Not many other Shayla’s around here,” his brother shrugged and sighed. “Ally told me about what happened this morning, and I’m sure Mama told Pops.”

“She has. You saw the way he looked at her at dinner.” It had been a tense affair, with Ally choosing to stay home rather than join while Mama kept her answers clipped when asked anything. Will and Pops had carried on the conversation, and Pops had pointedly told Shayla to put her phone away when she tried to film them eating. Jake had taken it from her and put it in his pocket, only returning it when the meal was over. When Will grabbed a plate of leftovers to take home for his wife, Pops stopped him to ask if Ally would be joining them for breakfast, to which Will said he wasn’t sure. Jake had caught the irritated look that Mama had thrown at Shayla.

Will nodded, crossing his arms over the table. “Yeah. She’s not making it easy, especially doing that to Julie.” Jake took a sip of his beer to avoid giving his brother more reason to hate her. If he found out that Shayla had done it intentionally to hurt Cece for his mistake, there would be no coming back from that.

“She’s… not comfortable here. She’s not like this when we’re home.” Raising an eyebrow, Will gave his brother an unimpressed look. “She’s not. Shay is...complicated.”

“So uncomplicate it for me. Why are you with her? Other” - he cut Jake off when he opened his mouth - “than because she’s pregnant.”

“I love her.” The words sounded hollow even to his own ears. “She’s…she’s…”

Sitting up, Will counted on his fingers. “Ally’s the love of my life. She’s funny, smart as hell, feisty as shit, protective of the people she loves, and is one of the most caring people I’ve met.” Holding up his hand, he sighed. “Five things about the woman I love in less than 30 seconds. It’s not a trick question.

“Shayla’s funny in her own way,” Jake said, holding up his thumb. “She can be caring. Um…She’s good at what she does, and her fans love her.”

“And time,” Will said, glancing at his watch. “Just for comparison's sake, if I’d asked you that question about Julie back when you were together, would you have been able to answer it?”

Jake gave his brother a flat stare. “It’s easy to say good things about someone you’ve loved since seventh grade.”

“Should be even easier to say it about the woman you’re gonna spend the rest of your life with.”

“What do you want me to say, Will?” Jake demanded. “That I don’t want to be with my fiancée? That I wish I hadn’t been stupid and slept with her one more time before breaking up? Because I’m not going to say that. Not about the woman who is having my baby.”

“Ja - ”

“I’m going to marry her. We’re going to be a family, and we’re just going to have to…figure out how to…”

“Be happy?”

“I am happy,” he snapped.

“Then maybe tell that to your face.” It had been years since his last bar fight, but it took everything in Jake not to deck his big brother. Scowling down at his beer, he forced himself to take a deep breath. And then another. Sighing, Will shook his head. “I’m not tryin’ to piss you off. But you don’t have to marry her just ‘cause she’s pregnant.”

“If Ally’d gotten pregnant when you were dating, you would have married her.”

“You’re right. I would have married her because I love Ally, and we already talked about it. But if you think that stubborn woman woulda let me marry her out of some sense of obligation, you don’t know my wife.”

“It’s not…” Jake ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. “I have an obligation. And I’m not willing to risk not being part of my kid’s life just because…”

“You don’t love their mother?”

“I’m having trouble trusting her,” he finished, glaring at the other man. “If I don’t marry her, I might not have access to them.”

“You can set up a custody arrangement if you need to,” Will suggested.

“But I’d still miss a lot. And what happens if I get orders? No court is going to make her move so I can be close to them. I only get to see my kid grow up if I marry Shayla.”

The doors opened, letting in a cold blast of air, and Jake sat up as Cece stumbled in laughing, snow dusting her hair and shoulders. She turned, looking up at the man he recognized from earlier at the house, who grinned back at her and nodded toward the bar. Taking his hand, she led them through the crowd, taking up a vacated spot.

Will followed his gaze as Jake watched him help Cece take her coat off, folding it over his arm. She wore a tight green dress that clung to her curves and a pair of black tights, snow coating her black boots. Jake's grip tightened on his glass when the guy reached up to brush the snow from her hair. And then his view was obscured as Will shifted to block them. “If you’re set on marrying Shayla, maybe you shouldn’t look at your ex like that,” he said gently. Jake forced his gaze down onto his beer.

“How long’s that been going on?”

“Ally said that Drew’s asked her out a couple times. He’s a good guy - worked with her Pops and was there for her when he…But I think this is the first time they’ve gone out.” Jake’s eyes shot up when he heard her laugh, watching Cece tap her beer glass against his. Plucking a pretzel rod from the dish before him, he crushed it to dust over a napkin, tracking the two as they retreated to a table. Drew pulled out her chair and pushed it in before draping her jacket over the back.

“He deserve her?” Will lifted his beer, pausing for a moment before taking a sip.

“Jake, you gotta let her go. It’s not fair to you or her or Shayla.”

“Easier said than done,” Jake muttered. His brother glanced over at the two of them and sighed.

“I don’t see it going anywhere. Julie talked to Mama and Pops about looking after the house when she leaves if she doesn’t sell it, and I don’t see her staying for someone.” Jake let out a sad huff, downing half of his beer.

“Yeah, she tends to not do that.”

“Don’t start that shit,” Will said, his tone sharp. The brothers traded a look before the younger shrugged.

“She’s the one that left.”

“After she waited for your dumb ass for years, and you lied to her.”

“What? I didn’t - ”

“Let her know you were deploying?” Jake froze, eyes darting from Will to Cece and back again.

“What?” Wills’ eyebrow rose.

“Julie found out you were leaving after she moved up to Virginia. You didn’t know?” Dread pooled in Jake’s stomach as he looked back at the woman he’d loved for most of his life. He’d tried to figure out what had been the breaking point for them for so long, but he’d never…

It had been the hardest secret for him to keep when they’d planned for her to move. Once he’d gotten his orders, Jake called Cece and told her they were Virginia-bound. It wasn’t until he was in processing into the unit that he found out they were scheduled to head to the Middle East six months later for seven months. By then, she’d already given her notice at work and packed up her apartment. He had gotten approval to fly to Austin and drive the 23 hours back to Virginia Beach with her.

There had been so many times during that drive that he could have told her, but he didn’t. He let himself enjoy getting so much uninterrupted time together, laughing and getting to know her again. And, once they got to their new home, he wanted to let her settle in. There was plenty of time to let her know.

But then his hours got longer as they prepared to deploy. It was his first time going into combat, and - even with all the training he’d gotten in flight school and TOPGUN - he was worried. And he couldn’t talk about it because Cece didn’t know he was leaving. So he went out with the guys to the bar and spoke to some older pilots, trying to get advice from them about flying in a warzone. At home, he tried to avoid talking about the wedding. Cece wanted to plan it so badly, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he wouldn’t be there to do everything a groom was supposed to do.

Four months. Jake had to let her know, but as the days ticked by, he found it harder and harder to say anything. The minute he told her, he knew she would be crushed. So he waited for the right time, but there never seemed to be one. And he watched as little by little she shut down as she struggled to find a job and a group of friends. But things only worsened after they went on a beach day with some of the other junior officers. He’d hoped that she could make friends with the other spouses and they could help her find her footing. Then she’d asked him that fucking question.

“If I said I wanted to get married today, what would you say?”

He’d known that he couldn’t marry her without telling her. That it wouldn’t be fair to her. But he didn’t want to lose her.

And in the end, that’s exactly what happened.

Jake watched Cece follow Drew onto the small dance floor, laughing as he spun her before pulling her in close. Her hand rested on his shoulder as they swayed to Please Come Home for Christmas, his hand spanning her lower back. They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying, but he could see she was giving him that sleepy, happy smile she’d gifted him so many times.

And then Drew looked up and said something, and Cece did as well. Jake followed their gaze and saw they were dancing under a sprig of mistletoe. Cece’s smile turned shy, and he could see her blushing. He said something, and Jake watched her nod.

Drew spun Cece again before pulling her back in, leaning down to brush his lips against hers. She dropped his hand, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him again, his hands wrapping around her hips and tugging her closer.

Jake stood up, hitting the table and making Will’s beer slosh over the rim. Ignoring his brother’s curse, he yanked his jacket from the back of his chair and stormed toward the door. Snow pelted his face as he stomped down the street to the truck, forcing away the memory of his first kiss under the mistletoe at the Winter Formal with the woman he’d once thought he’d spend the rest of his life with.

-----------------------------------------

Author's Note: A huge thank you to @mamachasesmayhem for letting me run so much of this chapter past her while writing, and helping flesh out some of the story points. You're the best!

Taglist: @mamachasesmayhem; @buckysteveloki-me; @fanficfandomlove; @maeleeme; @djs8891; @kmc1989; @justenoughmadness; @shanimallina87; @lynnevanss; @dempy; @emilyoflanternhill; @midnightmagpiemama; @sordidfairytale; @vivalas-vega; @eloquentdreamer; @roosterforme; @mizzzpink; @memoriesat30; @dizzybee03; @itsdesiree86; @yuckosworld; @sorchathered; @boisewaffles

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please comment below. I do check that readers are 18+

#top gun fic #top gun maverick #jake seresin #Hangman top gun #soft!Jake Seresin #hangman fic #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #'tis the damn season fic

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bonefall · 5 months

Note

are there any differences when it comes to starclan worship and beliefs among the clans? considering how you’re taking a christian-flavored approach to their religion, there’s gotta’ve been some kind of “great schism” or “protestant reformation” religious discourse. especially when it comes to wind “we-sleep-under-the-stars” clan and sky “gone-for-the-past-50-years” clan

The most significant difference is between SkyClan and Forest Four worship. Between the four, it's mostly superficial ritual differences.

Traditional Forest Four religion is centralized. Clerics are both healers and religious leaders. There is a stricter concept of both blasphemy and dark magic that discourages personal worship of StarClan, so when you're given a strange dream or omen, you are supposed to bring it to your Cleric to interpret it.

By contrast, SkyClan has lived several generations on the lam. The closest thing to a Cleric they had was the Hub like Skywatcher, who was more of an "official networking expert" than anything. The Leader is the strongest spiritual authority and a Cleric is more of a doctor than a priest, so SkyClan cats nurture a more personal connection to Skypelt than Forest Four do with Silverpelt.

SkyClan's practices do not sit well with Forest Four. It's no wonder they have a demon like Brokenstar in their pantheon. Heretics, the lot of them.

As for Forest Four...

ShadowClan will surprise you with how pious they are. They have a deep connection to the Dark Forest with Ripplestar, Brokenstar, and Tigerstar in their recent past, so they fear the influence of demons more than other Clans.

So, their warding rituals also tend to be the best, and they're the most vocal about blasphemy. Clan cat AU of The Exorcist would have the priest come from ShadowClan.

WindClan is loud. The wind howls and so do they. They sing songs, chant as groups, and act notably performative about their piety. Visiting the Cleric regularly is a social expectation-- else you must be hiding something!

They have this practice of "counting their blessings," (Clanmew: "Pos shayu shai Laalha; For starlight I-lather") which basically means they like to point out the blessings StarClan has given WindClan. Usually this has to do with glowworms, an abundance of snails or rain, shiny things in general, a bountiful hunting week, etc.

ThunderClan does a lot of honoring. Sacrifices, dances, feasts. They have the most productive territory and make use of that. You'd think they'd get along with WindClan best, but they both find the other insufferable lmao

Leaftail: "bunch of shineless tailtasters over there-- they think they can just EAT FOOD and that means they're devoted to StarClan? I do that ANYWAY."

Shellfur: "maybe if they ate some more food over there they wouldn't have to visit their Cleric every 3 days. Your stomach growling isn't an omen bitch you just don't partake in StarClan's earthly delights."

Leaftail: "RICH coming from a TUNNELBUN BITER"

Shellfur: "MAAAAAAD that I eat YOUR food BETTER THAN YOU"

"SHUT UP"

"AND IM DATING YOUR COUSIN AND THERES NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT"

And, lastly, RiverClan.

They take things slow and try to recognize the blessings present in their world. When something is acknowledged as having "personhood" in Clanmew, it's given a warrior name. RiverClan gives a lot of things warrior names.

They have a lot more rituals than other Clans, but they're little ones. Superstitions, really. Like saying prayers before meals, putting an intentional flaw in their crafts, throwing every 5th fish of a hunting patrol back in the river. Stuff like that.

#better bones au #clan culture #BB!StarClan #Piety #Skypelt #Silverpelt

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bigtreefest · 1 month

Text

Chapter 3: Save Me The Trouble

From: Bigger Houses Series

Pairing: Mountain Ranger! Ari x Reader

Summary: People need to be more careful and watch where they’re going. You could run into a handsome stranger and get asked on a date!

Word Count: 1,821

Content/Warnings: oblivious walking (once again), like one swear, internal self-doubting monologues that hopefully still indicate a healing process, female reader, it’s pretty much fluff

Author’s Note: I’m so grateful for all that have been reading. I hope you enjoy this new part, a cute little bridge. Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks are sooooo welcome and appreciated!!

Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Here is the song this is based off of loosely, good song, listen if you please.

< Prev | Series Masterlist | Next >

You were finally settling into your new job and your new life in town. Your schedule was all figured out, and to get to know the area a little better, each day, you had started going somewhere different over lunch, driving down the mountain and into the quaint little town.

After a hectic morning, coffee seemed like just the thing to lift your spirits, so you set up your navigation to a little mom and pop shop on Main Street, cruising there with the windows down to soak up the sun and the breeze. Town was beautiful and surprisingly empty today, so it caught you by surprise when you were pulling into the parking lot and saw a khaki smear coming out of your blind spot. You stood on the brakes as soon as the tall figure took a step in front of your vehicle. A man in…were those…ranger shorts and a hat?….slammed his hands down on the hood of your car. It was him again.

You leaned your head out through the window. “You trying to make a habit of me almost hitting you? I thought you were a bear….again. Seriously, you’d think I’m out here trying to take out the nation’s wildlife if it wasn’t you walking out in front of my car every time.”

He let out a sigh as he hung his head in relief, his heart still beating fast at the near-death experience, and made his way over to your window. As you pulled yourself back in the car, he rested his elbows at the bottom of your window and leaned forward.

“I really am sorry. I’m not sure why that keeps happening. My head was kinda in the clouds.” He grimaced slightly and let out an awkward laugh.

You wanted so badly to be angry with him, but his genuine response, paired with his eyes that reflected the sky had you melting. “I-I’m not sure if I accept your apology yet.” You said then bit your lip, caught up between your slight frustration with the stranger, yet your want to believe anything he said. “You’re gonna make a reputation for me around here as ‘that girl who almost flattened the mountain ranger…twice.’”

He let out a genuine laugh. “I promise your secret’s safe with me and it won’t happen again. And I’m sure I can think of a couple people who wouldn’t be too bothered by that.”

You let out a giggle at his joke, it wasn’t too often people who looked like that had a good sense of humor to pair. The two of you sat there awkwardly for a second before you spoke up. “Well I, uh, kinda need to park, I’m on my lunch hour and was planning on getting a bite to eat.”

“Oh yeah, of course.” He pulled away from your window, walking a few paces behind the vehicle as you pulled into a spot. “You know, there’s a nice little coffee shop around the corner. I’d love to make up that whole ‘not paying attention’ thing to you. Lunch on me?”

You pulled your keys out of the ignition, stepping out and looking up at his towering form. Maybe he really was a bear. “I suppose, as long as this isn’t your way of secretly trying to lure me as bait for the mountain lions as a revenge plan.”

“Ah, no, that’s only on Tuesdays.” He shrugged.

“Today…is Tuesday….” You looked at him with mild concern as he smirked at you.

“Well, I guess you’re just gonna have to trust me. I’m Ari.” He held out his hand and you introduced yourself. He nodded at you and his eyes sparkled when your hand met his. His hand was callused, but warm and comforting, almost embracing yours. “Alright, let’s get to it, you said you’ve only got an hour?”

You nodded as his hand made its way to the small of your back and he guided you along the sidewalk into the shop.

You laughed as you sat there stirring your second drink: the free refill the shop offered if you sat and stuck around. Ari had just finished telling you about the time his pants had snagged on a tree when he was miles away from any sort of refuge or spare clothing, leaving his cheeks in the breeze until he could run the two miles back to the cabin to change. Your face began to grow red, you could feel it. You knew you’d never be able to get the thought of his ass in those ranger shorts out of your head, or better yet, out of those ranger shorts.

He spoke through his own hearty laughter. “Yeah, learned that one the hard way. From then on, I vowed to always keep at least two sets of backup clothing in the truck, and in my duffel if I’ve got to respond to a call.”

You laughed and stirred your drink again before taking another sip, while something stirred deep in Ari’s core. He was staring at you so intently and hung onto every word you said. Part of you wished he’d keep those pretty blue eyes to himself, while another part of you wanted to lean closer and fall into them.

Over the period of your conversation, the two of you had somehow shifted closer to each other. Everything was just flowing so well.

“I can relate to that too easily. It was probably three months into me getting my SUV I’ve got parked out there and I was visiting my mom. On the drive over, it was sunny with clear skies, so I had the windows down and sunroof open when I parked it in her driveway.”

Ari giggled. The gruff tree of a man in front of you giggled and you couldn’t help your gaze that dropped to his pink lips. “I can already see where this is going.”

You snapped yourself back, laughing distractedly. “Oh yeah, as soon as I got in there and convinced myself I had definitely closed the sunroof, the sky opened up. When I left after dinner, I was greeted by soaked seats and full cup holders.”

Ari’s jaw dropped. “Yeah, yeah, that’s not even the best part. Besides the fact that I had to sit in a soaked seat on the way home, when I took the first big turn on the drive, water started leaking out of the overhead lights. You know the ones up by the rear view mirror? I don’t even know how it got in there!”

Ari was snorting at your story. Your genuine nature charmed him and he appreciated how you were able to laugh with him over silly mistakes. He noticed how long it had been since he’d taken this much joy in human interaction, heck, he realized it’s been so long since he’s really interacted with another person, period. The bartender and the other rangers didn’t count. Ari’s eyes continued to roam your features as you passionately told your story, a reminiscent smile on your face. A lace of humor that could retrospectively cover the embarrassing moment.

“Ever since then, I’ve carried at least three towels in the trunk. And also a change of clothes, just like you. It took all night for me to dry out the seats my garage. Had to open all the doors and run a box fan.”

Ari laughed and shook his head. “Well, cheers to learning from mistakes and always being prepared.”

You nodded, eyebrows raised in agreement, as you raised your coffee cup to meet his. “Amen to that. I knew you were a ranger for a reason. And I’ve been told I was a boy scout in another life.”

The two of you sipped your drinks and laughed together. You were surprised how a conversation as mundane as this could be so entertaining. Seriously, who took up twenty minutes just to note how prepared they were by keeping spares of everything possible on their person?

Wait. Twenty minutes on that one subject? And you’d discussed several before? What time was it!?

You checked your watch and your eyes got wide. You’d been sitting here with Ari for two hours. “Oh my gosh. I didn’t even realize how much time has passed! I really have to go and get back to my actual life. I should’ve been gone an hour ago!”

You frantically started gathering your things.

Ari stood from his chair, causing it to skid against the floor, watching you pack up and unsure what to do. “Wait, can I see you again sometime?”

“That’d be great but I don’t have time to exchange numbers.” You debated chugging the rest of your coffee, opting for the smarter decision of just carrying it back with you.

“There’s a bar two blocks down from here. Share a drink with me Friday night?”

“Perfect.” You threw over your shoulder as you rushed out the door and back down the sidewalk.

You didn’t have it in your to tell a guy like him ‘no’ to a request as simple as that. Ari looked like the kind of guy who would just love and leave, but his behavior said otherwise. Through your entire time together, he only ever indicated that he cared about you. His eyes never left yours, he asked you questions about the stories you told him. But was it too good to be true? Maybe you should just save yourself the trouble you thought as you got back into your car.

No. You’d played with fire like this before, but this time, for some reason, you didn’t fear you’d get burned.

Ari flopped back down in his chair after you left. He should probably get back to the ranger station soon, but he needed time to gather his thoughts.

He was finally relearning himself, and he had no plans on adding someone else back into the equation. Was it too soon?

He wanted to let you in, let you uproot his life from the inside. But he didn’t think it’d be wrecked. It would be rebuilt, regrown like the flower buds on the trees in spring. Everything about you seemed to shine so bright, like the rays from the sun he loved to watch filter through the leaves and hit the forest floor. Even through the clouds, his and your own that you both seemed to carry, something was glowing and warming up, he could feel them dissipating.

This feeling, the whole day and time with you, it felt like a movie he’s seen, but he didn’t believe it could be true. For a second, a tinge of doubt crept into Ari’s mind. What if it didn’t work out? What if this put him back where he started? Alone in that bar drinking doubles. He was quick to push it away, though. That heartache belonged to somebody else. Someone he never wanted to know again.

Next >

Series Taglist:

@patzammit

@hawkeyes-queen

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kellykidd · 8 months

Text

Baby Severide - Chapter 3: Naming Baby Severide

*Gif belongs to its rightful owner, it is not mine*

Pairing: Kelly Severide x reader

Summary: Baby Severide is finally here and you and Kelly are tasked with naming her.

Words: 874

Warnings: Doctors, hospitals, angry moms

Read on Ao3 here

Next Chapter: Chapter 4

Notes: Chapter 3’s posting is kinda a surprise but I like this chapter tbh. This is likely the last chapter I’ll post before vacation, but I may queue chapter 4 sometime next weekend! As always, a Reblog on any chapter of the fic means you will be tagged in any new chapters! Enjoy

Tags: @district447 @keabbs @storiesofsvu @marvelcharactersxreader @carnationworld @witchywinchester99 @treehouse-mouse @skullcupcakes @whatismypurpos

——

“She’s almost here,” Dr Calhoun announced, “just a few more minutes and you’ll meet your little girl.”

“See baby? You’re doing amazing,” Kelly beamed, kissing you on the cheek.

“I didn’t think I’d be this nervous to be on the table,” you chuckled.

“And she’s out,” Dr Calhoun announced, rushing the baby to the warmer behind her.

“Why isn’t she crying? Kelly, why isn’t she crying?” You asked, a worried tone to your voice.

“Dr Calhoun? Is everything okay?” Kelly gruffly called over.

“Just clearing the mouth and nose and taking some measurements. Nothing to worry about,” she replied, “the nurses will take her final measurements and bring her over while I close your abdomen.”

You heard a loud wail come from across the room. You were both okay.

“We’re bring her over now, Mrs Severide,” a nurse told you as she brought over your baby and set her on your chest.

“Baby, she’s beautiful,” you started to tear up.

“She gets it from her mama,” he replied, brushing back your hair and kissing your forehead.

As Dr Calhoun finished stitching you up, the team got you ready to head into post op.

The trip to your recovery room was long, but your new baby made it feel short.

Once you and Kelly were settled in your recovery room, a nurse knocked on your door.

“Mrs Severide?” the nurse asked, “two firefighters are here to see you.”

“Send them in please,” you replied.

A few moments later, Casey and Boden walked through your door.

“How’d it go?” Casey asked you.

“I’m okay. Baby is perfect” you replied, a smile stuck to your face.

“Glad to hear,” Boden smiled, “the rest of 51 will be by after shift.”

“We just figured the two of us would come by for now, keep the knuckleheads at the firehouse,” Casey laughed.

“Knock knock,” Dr Calhoun said, pushing the door back, “is now a good time?”

“We’ll leave you guys be. I’ll bring Sylvie by tomorrow,” Casey smiled.

“Thanks Matt,” Kelly replied.

“Thank you guys for coming. It’s good to know she already has 51 looking out for her,” you smiled, wiping the tears off your face.

Casey and Boden left the room, as Doctor Calhoun made her way over to your bedside.

“The surgery went well. We’ll keep you here for a few days, then you both should be good to go home,” she smiled.

“That’s great news,” Kelly smiled.

“The best thing now is establishing some skin-to-skin with both of you. I’ll leave you guys to it, but a nurse will be outside if you need anything.”

Kelly helped you unbutton the top clasps on your gown, exposing the top of your chest. Feeling your brand new baby breathe on your chest was a surreal feeling, something you’d never thought you’d get.

Doctor Calhoun left your room. Kelly leaned over your bed and kissed you.

Looking over at you with your brand new baby, Kelly said, “I guess we should name her now, huh?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” you chuckled.

“Which are?” He smiled.

“Well, for starters, I would like it to mean and honour something. I know we’ve talked about it before, but I think her middle name should be Shay. Leslie is a big reason we’re together and if we weren’t together, this little girl wouldn’t be here.”

“Baby,” Kelly’s eyes started to fill with tears, “I love you- I don’t even know what to say.”

“So that’s a yes to the middle name?”

“Of course it’s a yes.”

“Ok so first name ideas?”

“Alexis.”

“Alexis?”

“Your sister would’ve hopped on a plane as soon as we found out you were pregnant if it weren’t for losing her at 28. If she can’t be here, we should find a way to honour her memory. Alexis would’ve loved meeting her niece.”

“Alexis Shay Severide?”

“So it’s settled?”

“It’s settled. Ready to hold your daughter?”

“Never been so ready.”

“Take your shirt off then, mister.”

“Damn, I missed you saying that,” he laughed.

Picking up Alexis and handing her over to her father, your husband. It still didn’t feel real.

“She really is so beautiful,” he smiled.

There was a knock on the door and a blonde woman with glasses poked her head around the corner.

“We should call your mom,” Kelly reminded, “she’d want to come meet Alexis.”

“Can you FaceTime her?”

“Of course, babe. Do you want her back?”

“Well I mean, if you’re offering,” you chuckled.

You took Alexis back from Kelly and he grabbed his phone to call your mom.

“Hey mom, I’ve got someone who I think you’ll want to meet,” you laughed, Kelly tipping the phone down to see Alexis.

“Honey! You didn’t tell me she was arriving early! What’s her name? When was she born?” Your mom gushed.

“That’s actually why we’re calling. We figured you’d want to come meet her in person. She was born late this morning, then we picked her name a few minutes ago. Meet your granddaughter, Alexis Shay Severide.”

“Alexis? Like your sister?” She sighed, “why would you do that?”

“We thought it would be a good way to honour the life of my sister. Is there something wrong?” You felt yourself become stressed.

#kelly severide x you #kelly severide imagine #kelly severide fic #kelly severide x reader #kelly severide #chicago fire fic #chicago fire #chicago fire x reader #one Chicago #one chicago fic #Baby Severide fic

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frank1nsaint · 2 months

Text

Franklin Part 4

Warnings: Use of curse words and N-word

As expected Franklin did indeed figure out who approached you, what shocked you was how quick he was able to figure it out. You hear rumors about their disappearance, beatings and/or shootings either way you don't see them around anymore in the following weeks. The more you thought about it the more scared you got because either one of them could put things together and come for you or they were actually dead and you can't decide which fate you feared most. You spent some time looking over your shoulder afterwards.

On top of that you had your own personal shit to deal with, you couldn't figure out which stung more Franklin lying to you and playing you or him moving on like you meant nothing. You heard about him going back to Melody fooling with her and with other girls from different blocks. Brenda, Keisha, who else? You had no beef with them, you caught a glimpse of one of them once when Harmony dragged you to a party, tired of your pity party.

“Fuck!” You complain to yourself wiping your tears away while trying to focus at work. You had just stepped away from a patient's room to get them water and now at the fountain, you were fighting back against your tears but failing. You rush to the bathroom to calm down.

“Maybe you like him more than you think?” your mind Replays Harmony’s comments

“What is wrong with me?” You look at yourself in the bathroom mirror

You didn't want to admit it to yourself that you did indeed like Franklin and you were pissed he played you. A long time had passed between your break up with your ex and Franklin's date. You forgot how much you actually missed getting attention from a guy. And Franklin’s attention was a breath of fresh air and suffocating at the same time. When he looked at you his eyes never left you. You remember blushing so much at the fact that he actually paid attention he was present in all the conversations.

You take in a deep breath “okay enough!” you scold yourself, a small pep talk “you got this! Room 5 still needs water, 12 needs blankets and another gown, and room 19 wants something to eat“ You say to yourself as you read down your list. The rest of your shift you force yourself to focus on work and nothing else. It was for the best anyway. It was best if you two just didn’t try to pursue each other.

School, work, home, work, school, home. Your life returns to its norm, finally after you stop feeling sad for yourself you fall back into your routine. You have 3 semesters remaining from getting your general studies degree. You were so close you could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

However tonight was a girls night, it was your idea to make it a girls night, surprising Harmony in the process. You look at your watch Harmony and LaShay were supposed to be coming down from Sean's house the three of you were going to the Prince concert downtown and the way this was the concert of your lifetimes to date so you needed them to hurry the fuck up or traffic would have you all missing the show.

“Shit!” you grumble to yourself, as you grab your purse and keys you had to go rush them out or you three two would be fighting over this concert

You don't bother to knock on the door, instead walk into the house full of men. Franklin's men? Maybe Leon's? Acquaintances looking to make a buck? Who knows you didn't know them well enough to care, you didn't want to either.

“Damn you be walking into people's cribs like that, no knocking?” one of them jokes

“Shut up! Where's Harmony and LaShay?” you were not in the mood

“Yo Shay! Harmony!” he shouts

“What?” you hear Harmony’s voice over the music

You walk in further into the house

“Oh hey Y/N!” Lashay greets as she rounds the corner

“Hey!” you return the greeting looking her up and down

“I'm ready girl!” she chuckles noticing your mood

“HARMONY! “ Lashay calls to her

“WHAT?”

“YOUR COUSIN HERE!”

“Y/N?!” You see her head poke out the door “Hey girl i'm almost ready!” she says noting your expression you knew she was the culprit

You sigh hoping she was telling the truth “Hey how y'all doing?” you wave and ask as you look around the room

A round of greetings go around the room. You don't spot him at first but as soon as one of the men moves out of the way you two make eye contact for a few seconds

“So y’all going to that Prince concert?” you hear another guy ask

“If Harmony hurry’s the fuck up! HARMONY! HURRY IT THE FUCK UP!” you complain

“I’M COMING!”

“Damn!” He chuckles “I didn't know you were mean Y/N”

“Yea Louie already on her way with her homegirl!” Jerome comments

You roll your eyes “Lucky her”

You turn your attention to LaShay, you both spend time complimenting each other’s outfits. From your peripheral you take in his posture on the chair, legs wide open man spread to the max going over details on what looked like the city map. You turn your body to avoid your eyes drifting slowly to him.

There's a silence that takes over the room, minimal chatter, and music playing. You feel eyes on you and choose not to acknowledge it. You and LaSshay were not supposed to be there they were discussing privy information if Harmony would just get the fuck dressed. You hear heels clicking down the hall and you couldn't be happier. You 3 say your goodbyes before making it to your car with a promise to Sean and Dreads you would be bringing their girlfriends back to them safely.

A part of you silently envied them, lucky bitches had men looking out for them but tonight was not the night to lick your wounds tonight was the night to see Prince in person have a good time dance, drink, sing till you lost your voice and that's what you did.

You're later than expected but you make it back to Sean's house eventually, again LA traffic was no joke and it seemed like the entire city made their way to this concert. You and Harmony grab Lashay and make your way into Sean’s house. The house was still full. Instead of the city map you see beer bottles and cans on the table. You quickly scan the room and don't see Franklin. You sigh in relief you always felt exposed to him.

“She can lay in the spare bedroom” Harmony says as Dread’s grabs an arm

“I got her” Dreads says picking her up taking her from both of you

“Damn yall must have had fun!” Sean comments giving Harmony a kiss on her cheek

“YEA I’M SURE THEY DID!” you hear Louie laugh

You both turn to find her “Louie, how'd you get here before us?” Harmony asks as you follow her towards the sound of laughter

She stood in the kitchen with Jerome and some of Franklin's men. “Girl by that last song I was walking out the door. You know how LA traffic is” she speaks over the music

You shoot your cousin a look she had insisted you guys sit for a moment before leaving still awestruck from Prince

“Sorry” she mouths to you

“Alright I'm gonna go home” you say “goodnight y'all” you say turning to leave

“Y/N!” you hear before feeling a soft grip on your hand when you turn to look back you see Franklin with that fox smile you had failed to scan the kitchen thinking he was gone you should have, why was he always in the cut somewhere?

You glance down at your hands for a split second “Oh! Hey Franklin!” you greet as he pulls you closer leaning against the counter

It felt like all eyes were on you but in reality it was just Franklin's there he goes again once his gaze was fixated on you there was no escaping. You give him a light hug damn he smelled good you think to yourself

“You look good!” he says to you

“What ?” you say motioning to your ear “I can't...”

He pulls you in even closer, leans down to ear level “I said you look good!” he had analyzed your outfit from earlier, lilac dress, cut right about your knees, deep v cleavage in the front, gold accessories and heels. He noticed the stares around the room, and couldn't help but feel the bite of jealousy

“Thanks Franklin!”

He missed hearing his name roll of your tongue

“Can we talk?”

“Oh!” you take a step back to look up at him this was unexpected, now you were unsure of him being so close you were sure you smelled like a mixture of perfume, hairspray, cigarettes (from LaShay chain smoking), and sweat

He looks at you gauging your reaction “No time like the present” he adds

“Sure” you nod he had yet to let go of your hand as he pulled you through the crowded kitchen towards the back patio

You glance at Jerome who had a smirk on his face and when you turn to find Harmony she's grinning. Was this a set up? He still doesn't let go of your hand until he closes the kitchen door leaving you two alone outside taking in the cool night you're glad for the breeze.

“Shit didn't know it was this cold here” he begins to shrugs off his jacket

You put your hand up to stop him “It's okay Franklin feels good out here!” the house was hot or you were still hot from carrying Lashay up the steps

He stops and rolls his shoulders back. He watches you take a seat on the steps of the patio, Sean didn't have any outdoor furniture so the only place to sit were the steps he follows suit and sits next to you. You were close enough that you could touch him but he was far enough that your bodies were not touching

“You look beautiful tonight” he compliments again

You giggle nervously “I know you told me Franklin”

He smiles “Wanna make sure you heard me”

“I did thanks feet hurt though” you say looking down at your feet

His eyes follow, looking at your feet as well “I can rub your corns for you” he offers

You shove his shoulder and laugh “fuck you nigga I don't have corns”

He laughs along with you “my bad! my bad! I know that pinky toe screaming though!” you roll your eyes in response “A nigga can't even offer to do something nice!”

You chuckle and look down at your feet he wasn't wrong you're sure your pinky died tonight

The laughter dies down and an awkward silence takes over

You begin count to backwards from 100 internally if you got to one you would wish him well and go home (‘33’) you count “Im sorry?” you say as you realize he was speaking

“I wanted to apologize to you” he repeats

“Oh it's...”

He interrupts you “Nah it was fucked up the truth is I didn't ask you out for no bet. The bet was just the extra push I needed”

You look at him “Push?”

“Yea I was nervous” he confesses

You make a face “Nervous?!”

“Yea!” He turns to face you “what? a nigga can’t get nervous?”

“No I just didn't think you would be” you say softly

“Well I was!” he defends “You're beautiful and as far as I can tell it's like every nigga who ain't got a girl looking at you”

“Ohhh” you feel flustered and look away

You hear him exhale “anyway I wanted to let you know I was being genuine during our date and I'm apologizing for hurting your feelings I didn't think I had snitches in my crew but thats not the point I fucked up”

“Thanks Franklin I accept your apology” you smile at him

He smiles back. The awkward silence is back

You look down and notice his scarred hand. He must have been in a fight recently. Without thinking you grab it and run your fingers across his knuckles and reality comes crashing down when you hear an argument erupt. You both instinctively look back you turn and face each other and smile awkwardly

“I'm sorry” you say noticing you still his hand still in your hold his returning it to its original spot

Franklin puts it back in your hands “It's cool”

The silence returns

(‘Don't do it!’ you speak to yourself ‘don't fucking’) “What would you do?” (‘you stupid hoe’)

“Hmm?” he hums

You distract yourself with his hand again also to keep the full grown butterflies in your stomach at bay “If it was you” you speak slowly “what would you do?”

He closes his hand on your fingers. You feel your heart race waiting for his response not wanting to make eye contact because anyone with two brain cells wouldn't even ask that question let alone entertain the idea of a second chance...Right?

He moves closer, your bodies are now touching you still haven't looked up at him. The embarrassment was too strong.

It takes him a moment to think “Honestly” you hold your breath and immediately look up glad he wasn't looking you but looking ahead “I don't know Y/N” he answers truthfully he turns to face you “I don't know I can't tell you”

You return a half smile and look away “thanks for being honest Franklin”

Silence returns for a moment before you decide to loop your arm around his and lay your head on his shoulder “So what if we take it slow?” you propose

“Slow?”

You look up at him “Yea slow but like snail pace slow”

He hums and smirks “I wouldn’t mind that”

You face away hiding your smile “Okay” you say softly. It feels like immense pressure has been released from your body. Instead of fighting against his pull you just succumbed to it. This felt right, it felt like this is what it should be.

Franklin wraps his arms around you pulling you closer to him, you look up at him, and there it was again his intense stare, one hand reached and pushed your hair out of the way so he could see your face

In a hushed voice he says “Snails pace?” he confirms

“Yea” you whisper back while nodding, with shallow breaths, heart racing as you watch him inch closer thumb caressing your cheek

“Come'ere” he whispers, hand gently pulling your face towards his before planting a soft kiss on your lips. He sighs into the kiss releasing the tension he was holding onto as well he pulls away leaving lingering pecks on your lips “okay gorgeous”

You blush and roll your eyes “here we go Casanova”

He chuckles before kissing you again “mmmm” he moans “I could get used to this” he says once he pulls away

You hear more commotion again “we should get back you got to lay down the law or they gon shoot each other”

“Stupid mothafuckas” he grumbles standing up and holding his hand out

You giggled as you stood up “be nice”

He smacks his lips at your comment “Got goosebumps talking bout you ain't cold here” he says draping his jacket over you

“Oh no I'm good Frank..”

“I wasn't asking” he interrupts you while he pulls it around your shoulders and pulls you closer

“One more” he says before leaning down and kissing you

You smile into the pecks and he does the same

“Whatchu blushing for?” he teases you shake your head and turn to look away “Let's get you outta here” he takes hold of your hand and pulls you through the crowd

“I know you idiots not fightin’ over no damn cards!” he comments once he finds the commotion

There's a slight silence before the room erupts in laughter and Franklin chuckles in response

He walks you to your car you give him a hug, not wanting to let go, he gave good hugs

“Here” you say trying to shrug off his jacket

He stops you “Hold it for me”

“Kay”

“Page me when you get home”

“Kay”

He opens the door for you “Drive safe gorgeous” he says with one last kiss to your forehead

“Stay safe” he nods and closes the door for you

Authors Note: Feedback is much appreciated. Please reblog, comment, and like just don't plagiarize

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shaibonbon · 2 months

Text

Hi there, you can call me Shai, Xary, bon or whatever name you have met me. My pronouns are whatever. I have lived +18 years on this planet (not telling my specific age or gender). I'm portuguese. Started drawing as a hobby in 2021 and this blog is the place I'm gonna post my stuff. You can check my arquives, all my art goes to shaibonbon tag, plus there are other tags that help organize the place.

I use other socials medias. I got a twitter, devianart and bluesky accounts but not very active on those. My name there are same as here, Shaibonbon.

Don't be afraid of doing asks. I do warn, If it's a drawing request don't be surprised if I don't respond. I only draw as a hobby and my time is limited... Things I like are...bunnies, cats plus playing videogames. I love space too. I'm extremely shy person (yes, name being Shai wasn't a coincidence), nor very social. I do like to talk with people, I try my best. After this lackluster introduction where I told basically nothing about me. Here the actual interesting thing I assume u might wanna know. BonBon! Or Bonbon, or just Bon...

So who is the purple Bunny? She is between an OC and persona. Basically a lot of her personality defects are based of me but amplified, double or 3 times the amount. While there are characteristics that I took from me and just inverted. Mini Bon is the younger version of Bonbon (-18), her age depends on each drawings but she usually is early/teen age. Mini Bon whole personality has basically nothing to do with me irl. Or at best it's the complete opposite. Here what you can say it's the "ref sheet" of Bonbon and mini Bon

If there's lore? Oh there is lore! A lot of lore that I keep in my head and never tell anyone. I wanna draw it tho. So I will say the obvious. Mini Bon is the happy silly girl with no care of the world around her. She just wants to have fun and do what she feels like it. While Bonbon is the grown up version of her that got her hopes and dreams crushed by reality of life. Living with the burden of failed expectations, the crushing weight responsibilities and all the physiological affects that brings, like anxiety! It must feel great.

Ty for wasting your precious time reading this. Much love to ya.

#shaibonbon #shai rant #ignore shai #shai doesn't know what it's doing #shai being shai

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bellaireland1981 · 1 year

Text

Stubborn Hearts | 4

Summary: Reader (Firecracker, Sunshine) has been in love with Bradley since she was a young girl. Growing up the two were inseparable, apart from short periods of time when she was on the West Coast with the Kazanskys. One faithful decision by her dad to block Bradley from going to the Naval Academy resulted in a huge rift between father and daughter and left her without Bradley in her life. Now all grown up, she’s called back to the west coast at the same time as her father and Bradley. Her mission, according to her dying godfather, is to mend fences with her dad and Bradley. Can stubborn hearts be healed?

(I suck at summaries for real).

This will have multiple chapters… this is 4 of ??

Characters: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mitchell! Reader, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x Daughter! Reader, The Dagger Squad, Shay (OC), Penny, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky

Word Count: 4584

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Death of character, TGM Spoilers, Illusions to Smut (later on ), Turbulent relationship with parent, Friends to lovers, …Please let me know if I’ve missed any!

A/N- This is my first time writing for TGM. I do not own the characters or plot lines from the movie. I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO COPY OR REPRODUCE MY WORK ON THIS OR ANY OTHER PLATFORM! Reblogging is always welcome! Feedback is MUCH loved and appreciated. THANK YOU to @waywardodysseys for all support and bouncing ideas!!

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3

Tags below ! If I forgot anyone, please message me! If you want to be added, let me know!

The next morning when you came downstairs, you must have been wearing your emotions because your aunt immediately picked up on your emotional turmoil. It hadn’t taken much for you to open up and let it all spill out. After, she simply held you and let you cry it all out before reassuring you that things in life do happen for a reason, and not to close any doors. You were pretty sure that door had been slammed last night already.

You caught a ride to the Hard Deck later in the afternoon with Shay to pick up the Jeep. You made sure to go though, when you knew the rest of the aviators would be in training so you didn’t run into Bradley.

“Penny requested our presence inside.” Shay said, “She has lunch waiting.”

The two of you headed inside to see Penny had ordered burgers from your favorite diner. To your surprise, your dad was also inside. He was in his service khaki uniform so you assumed he was just here for lunch which meant it was a classroom day as opposed to a flying day.

“Hey, Firecracker.” He said gently, obviously having been brought up to speed on the night before.

You didn’t even hesitate, you walked straight to your dad, wrapping your arms around his middle and laying your head on his chest, the same way you did as a kid when you needed to be comforted. Without missing a beat, he wrapped his own arms around you and rested his chin on your head.

“Why do men have to suck so much?” You asked, “Why does this hurt so bad?”

“It hurts because you love him, my sweet girl.” He replied, softly, “I’m sorry, Y/N. I know this all started because of what I did.”

“It may have started that way, dad, but it’s been long enough now… it’s his own asshole self causing this.” You said. “I told him I wasn’t his ‘Sunshine’ anymore and gave him back the necklace.”

“Well that would explain some of today’s events.” He sighed, stepping back, and guiding you to the table. “I actually dismissed them all for the day, so they may actually be in here earlier than normal, Pen.”

“What happened today?” You asked, grabbing a burger from the pile and a handful of fries.

“Tensions were extra high as it was. Some of the perimeters of the mission have changed and we were going over the terrain again.” He said. He couldn’t give much detail due to it being classified, but you knew enough to know changes this late in the game were bad. “Then Hangman decided today would be a great day to point out that my old WSO was in fact Rooster’s dad, and it explained the issues between the two of us. This was of course, after he made known his thoughts that Rooster doesn’t have what it takes to successfully complete this mission.”

“Not that I’m defending him, because that was a shitty thing to do and say…” Shay said, “But after you left, Y/N, Jake tore into Bradley for making you cry. He was pretty angry. Jake really likes you, he said you remind him of his sister.”

“Well I always wanted a brother.” You smiled softly, trying to lighten the mood, “Tell him thank you for the thought, but not to be a jerk to Bradley please. Bringing his dad into things was a low blow. Even though Bradley didn’t seem to mind bringing mine into the argument.”

“I’m really fucking proud of you, Firecracker.” Mav said, smiling, “You grew up to be this amazing woman…despite everything… you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. I love you, kid.”

“I love you too, dad.” You said, warmth spreading throughout your whole body.

The four of you ate lunch, catching up and filling each other in on funny stories you’d missed over the years. It was nice to take a break from the emotional turmoil currently filling your life. Once you were done you all made your way out to the back patio on the beach with your beverages. There was a pretty intense game of beach volleyball happening between a group of pilots. Thankfully for you, none of which looked familiar.

“Cyclone told me to build a team.” Mav said, watching the players. “But, despite my best efforts, I can’t get them to work together. If they’re not leaving their wingman out to dry, they’re being too cautious and making mistakes.”

“What about a team building game…” You said your eyes on the game on the beach. “Get them out of their jets and out of the classroom. Bring them somewhere… here maybe… get them to work together, but let them have fun and let off steam.”

“What kinda game?” He asked, intrigued with your thought process.

“What part of the mission do they need to work together the most? To really have one another’s backs?” Shay asked.

“In the event of a dogfight.” Mav replied, trying to stay vague. “They need to know they can count on each other.” You were glad you didn’t know much about this mission because you knew it would only make you worry more.

“What about a football game?” Shay suggested, “It requires the most amount of teamwork and communication.”

“Football, but both sides are on defense and offense at the same time…” You suggested. “Two footballs in play… each team having to defend their own ball and try to score while at the same time preventing the other team from scoring.”

“Dogfight Football” Penny threw in, laughing. “It’ll build teamwork and they’ll let off some of that pent up energy and tension. You may find it helps them focus better too, Pete.”

“I like it.” He agreed, “I am surrounded by very smart women.”

“Don’t you forget it either!” You laughed.

“Ok, I’m going to text them all and have them report to the beach tomorrow for team building. Then, Penny, I’m taking you out on a date tonight. You will not be working.” He informed Penny.

“Just so happens, I had already planned to be off tonight, so I guess I’ll let you take me on a date.” She teased.

“So…what time is this team building happening tomorrow?” Shay asked, “Just…out of…curiosity.”

“Sure… curiosity” You teased, “Curious about what Jake looks like without a shirt, running around a beach getting all sweaty?”

“Now that you mention it, I think I need to know what time this is happening as well…” Penny agreed, “So I can make sure to have cold drinks for everyone that is.”

“Uh huh..” You laughed, “Neither of you are subtle.”

“I’m thinking I’ll get them all out here mid morning.” Mav said, shaking his head at the other two.

“Count me out.” You said, “As much fun as that sounds and all…”

“No!” Shay exclaimed, “You have to come, Y/N! You helped develop it! And… things are still really new with Jake, so I could use the moral support.”

“I’m sure you’ll be just fine on your own, drooling over Jake.” You assured her. “It really is best for me just to stay away.”

“At least think about it, Kiddo.” Penny said, “Don’t decide right now.”

_______________________________

You ended up deciding to go check out the Dogfight Football game at the last minute. It was your uncle who convinced you to go in the end, saying it was your dad that could use the moral support.

The game was already in progress when you made your way around the building and down onto the beach. You quickly found Shay and Penny camped out in beach chairs, with one left open for you. Amelia was laid out on a beach blanket with airpods in her ears, checked out from the action.

“Y/N!” Shay said, looking up as you approached the trio. “You made it!”

“Probably not the best of my decisions, but Uncle Tommy said dad might need the moral support.” You replied, “And of course my new weakness is apparently my dad.”

“He’ll be glad you’re here for sure.” Penny said, “I’m guessing so will another certain aviator.”

“I think the sun is getting to you, Pen.” You quipped dryly. “I’m personally hoping someone tackles his ass into the sand. That would be entertaining.”

“‘I’ll try to get Jake’s attention and suggest it.” Shay laughed, “He’d be all too willing to oblige that request!”

“I don’t doubt that, but that would probably serve the opposite purpose of team building.” You replied. You pulled off the shirt you’d had over your bathing suit top and draped it on the back of the chair before sitting down. The warm sun felt good on your skin. You made a mental note to take time to sit in the sun more often.

Penny passed you a bottle of water from a cooler she had next to her.

“So who’s winning?” You asked, eyes on the chaos in front of you. You had to admit, it looked like a mess of people running amok but it did look fun.

“I don’t think they’re actually keeping score.” Shay said, “This was definitely a fantastic idea though. I don’t know if it’s working for team building, but it’s so hot to watch.”

You almost choked on the water you’d just taken a drink of, laughter overtaking you. She wasn’t wrong though. With the exception of Bob and Hondo, all of the male aviators had their shirts off. You took a minute to enjoy the sight of all the muscled, shirtless men running around. There was no shortage of abs in this group that’s for sure. The fact that your eyes immediately sought out Bradley and locked on him wasn’t missed by Shay or Penny. They looked at one another and smirked while you continued to enjoy the sight of a half naked Bradley, who was now doing a little victory dance.

“It’s not fair that he’s that stupid hot but also that stupid.” You complained.

“I hear you, kiddo.” Penny replied, dryly. “I hear you.”

“Stupid maybe, but pretty to look at.” Shay said, “Jury is still out on Jake. I have a date with him though tonight.”

“WHAT?” You exclaimed, loudly, turning your body to face her. “You lead with that, Shay! Do you know where he’s taking you?”

“Sorry” She laughed, “I was distracted. He’s taking me to dinner, that’s all he’s shared with me.”

“I expect details tomorrow.” You demanded.

“I promise.” She replied.

The three of you watched as the game continued in front of you. After a while your dad opted out of the game, coming up to sit down in the sand next to you Penny. The game continued without him, the aviators enjoying themselves.

“It appears our plan is working.” You remarked, “Nobody is trying to kill anyone else and they are working together.”

“For now” Mav agreed, “We will see if this translates to the sky.”

“What exactly is going on? You’re supposed to be training them for a mission.” You hear a voice coming behind you all. “You have them playing on a beach?”

“You told me to make them a team.” Mav replied to Cyclone. You’d never really cared for the guy. He always seemed to have a stick up his ass every time you’d seen him. Even at barbecues at your aunt and uncles. “They’re playing dogfight football. Both on offense and defense at the same time. They have to work together to score and prevent the other team from scoring.”

“Well, who’s winning?” Cyclone asked, looking at the rowdy group ahead of him.

“I think they stopped keeping score.” Mav replied.

“I expect everyone back on base and in the training room or in the sky first thing tomorrow morning.” Cyclone stated, turning to head back to his car.

“Well isn’t he just a ray of fucking sunshine.” You said, rolling your eyes. “I can see why you two do not get along.”

“He’s… something.” Your dad replied. “I’m glad to see you here though, Firecracker.”

“It’s been entertaining.” you admitted. “Worth the trip to the beach.”

“For what it’s worth, you’re proving quite the distraction to one of my aviators.” Mav said, smirking at you over his sunglasses.

“UGH!” You grumbled, “Why does everyone keep insisting on seeing something that clearly is not there?”

“He’s not wrong.” Amelia said, taking her airpods out and joining the conversation. “I’ve been watching and Bradley definitely keeps looking this way when he thinks you’re not looking. He’s gotten tackled a couple times because of it.”

“Damn, I missed him getting tackled.” You replied, “But way to take sides, Aims.”

“Just calling it like I see it.” She smiled, “Are you still coming to dinner this weekend?”

“I sure am!” You replied.

“Cool.” She replied, “Mom, can I go down the beach a bit? My friends are meeting up there.”

“Sure.” Penny replied, “Come up to the bar when you’re ready to go.”

“Bye!” She said, wasting no time in gathering her stuff and heading off to her friends.

You could see the game was breaking up, everyone worn out from the intense competition.

“I should get going too.” You said, “I think I’m going to head over to the hangar today and get some air time in.”

“Want company?” You dad asked. Since he’d given the squad the day off after the team building, he also had the rest of the day off.

“I’d love some company” You replied, not wanting to miss an opportunity to fly with your dad. You’d always loved flying with him as a kid. You were also excited to show him the plane you were quite proud of owning.

“Let me run home and shower and change and I can meet you over there…or I can come pick you up.” He said.

“How about you meet me over there?” You said, planning on running through to grab a sandwich somewhere and talk to Frank quickly about possible charter jobs.

“Sounds good. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.” he answered, “Penny, I’m still planning on taking you out tonight. I’ll pick you up at 7.”

“Damn, everyone around here has a date tonight.” You commented, “I may need to join a dating app.”

“Who’s joining a dating app?” Jake said, coming up at the end of the conversation. He was dripping water everywhere, so he’d clearly decided to cool off in the ocean after the game.

“Y/N, apparently” Shay said, smiling at Jake. “Although, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Absolutely not.” Jake agreed, “Those apps are filled with creeps, not deserving of our girl. We can do better!”

“Better at what?” Phoenix asked, joining the group.

“We can’t let Y/N join a dating app.” Jake said. You hung your head sighing. This was turning into an out of control game of telephone.

“No way!” Phoenix agreed, “Not happening, Y/N. Leave it to us!”

“Actually…” You said, finally getting a word in, “I was totally joking about the app. I have zero interest in dating anyone right now. I need to figure out life first.”

“That’s an even better idea.” You dad piped up, “Not the figuring your life out part… you’ve got that, I mean the dating part. You can skip that.”

“Wow.” Penny laughed, “That was the most ‘dad’ thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Well, better late than never right?” Mav replied. “Firecracker, l will see you in a little bit. The rest of you aviators, bright and early tomorrow in the training room and be ready to fly the course.”

“Yes, Sir!” Jake replied.

“On that note…” You said, “I’m hitting the road too. Have on your dates tonight. Jake.. I expect you to treat my friend like the queen she is.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” He said, already making heart eyes at Shay. They would make a great couple. You were definitely rooting for them.

“Bob and I are going to catch a movie if you wanna join.” Phoenix offered.

“Thank you, you’re sweet to offer.” You replied, warmly. “I’m going to stick close to home tonight and spend time with my family I think.” While going out with them sounded fun, you really did just want to soak up as much time with your uncle as you could before it was no longer an option. Each day, his light seemed to dim a little more.

“Understandable” She said, “We can hang out another time. Maybe even leave all the guys behind and do a girls night.”

“That sounds fabulous.” You replied.

You pulled your shirt back on over your swim top and picked the sandals laying on the sand before saying goodbye to everyone.

As you approached the parking lot you saw Bradley pulling a shirt next to his Bronco. You mentally slapped yourself for not getting out of here sooner or not staying behind to talk to the others longer. Your timing definitely needed work. Determined not to have a repeat of the past two conversations with him, you kept your head down and walked faster to the Jeep, hoping with everything you had he wouldn’t see you.

Apparently your luck really did suck because just as your hand reached for the door handle of the Jeep you heard him yell your name as he started in your direction. You felt your whole body tense up at the sound.

“Bradley, I’m really not in the headspace to go another round,” You sighed, “Nor do I have time. I’m meeting my dad to go flying this afternoon.”

“I don’t want to fight,” He replied, “I just… Y/N, I can’t leave things the way we left them. I’m so sorry for lashing out. I didn’t mean what I said. Can we just try again to talk? Third time’s the charm… please, Sunshine?”

“I’m sorry,” You said quietly. “I… can’t”

You opened your door and got in, firmly closing it, creating a barrier between you and Bradley. You nearly broke when you saw the raw emotion on his face. You didn’t want to hurt him. Even after everything, you loved him and wanted to comfort him.

He stepped back allowing you to back the Jeep up. You glanced in the rearview mirror as you left the parking lot, he hadn’t moved at all and was starting after you as you drove away.

___________________________

Being at the hangar was the distraction you needed after the more recent interaction with Bradley. You were conflicted. On one hand you were determined to protect your already shattered heart, not wanting to endure any more turmoil. On the other hand, Bradley really did seem to want to talk and to find some solid ground between the two of you. Could you two move past everything that had happened and salvage your friendship? If you could…could you settle for being his friend, having been in love with him since you could remember?

With so much swirling around in your head you knew being in the air was exactly what you needed today. You threw your purse into the pilot’s seat, then headed to the office to find Frank.

“Hey Frank” You said, walking into the office. “I’ve got copies of my licenses and paperwork for you.”

“Great!” He replied, “I’ll get this filed and then we can add you to the list of charter pilots here. We’ll need to have you fill out some paperwork so you can get paid and all that important stuff, but we can do that whenever.”

“Sounds good. I also need to file flight info for today. I’m going to take the plane up with my dad.” You said.

You handed him the flight information, planning a similar route as last time. He entered your plane info into the computer and got you in the lineup for a runway. Once you were done, you made your way back to your plane to do all of the preflight checks while you waited on your dad to arrive.

_________

Flying with your dad as a kid was always fun and like an adventure. Flying with him as an adult with you in control, was a whole new experience. It was nerve wracking but exciting at the same time. You wanted to make him proud as flying was a huge part of him. You were happy to show off your skills. You knew you were a good pilot. Not at the same caliber as your dad, but you were skilled in your own right.

“This is an odd feeling” Your dad laughed, his voice coming through the speaker on your headset. “Now I know how WSOs feel.”

“Good odd, or bad odd?” You asked, glancing over at him. He looked relaxed in the seat next to you.

“Good.” He replied, “I’m proud of you, Firecracker. You’re a damn good aviator.”

“High praise coming from a Top of the Top.” You beamed, then admitted “Even when I was being stubborn and mad, flying helped me feel closer to you.”

“It makes me really happy that you love flying” He replied, his voice choking with emotion, “You could have become resentful of planes and flying growing up as a Navy Kid.”

“Between you and Uncle Tommy, there was absolutely zero chance I’d hate flying or planes” you laughed. “I probably have jet fuel in my blood.”

“You’re in great company then.” Mav laughed, “Feel like heading off course just a bit? I’ve got a hangar and a small runway a little southeast of here. I’d love to show you the plane I’m working on.”

“You have your own hangar and runway?” You asked, “Why am I not surprised by this?”

“It’s where I end up staying most of the time when I’m not on base.” He said, “What can I say? I live and breathe aviation.”

“Tell me where I’m going. Let’s check out this home away from home.” You answered. Once he gave you the coordinates and landing points, adjusted your direction on your plane and headed towards your new point.

The landing was smooth, the runway in good condition. You didn’t expect anything less from your dad. Once you’d taxied to the hangar, you shut down the plane, and jumped out to join your dad as he opened the large hangar in front of you.

“You have a P-52 Mustang!” you exclaimed once sunlight flooded the hangar.

He smiled at your enthusiasm and guided you in to show you the plane.

“I got this one a few years ago” He said, “She’s the one I prefer to fly when I’m not in a jet.”

You ran your hand along the side of the plane, soaking in the details and beauty. Growing up, you’d gone to airshows often, and the Mustang remained your favorite.

“I think I just fell in love.” You said, laughing. “Who needs men when there are beautiful planes like this in the world”?

“That’s my girl” Mav laughed, “Come on, let me show you the one I’m fixing up.”

He walked you over to where he had another plane partially dismantled. His time to work on it now was limited due to training at Top Gun. You knew he’d spend all of his free time once he was done with this mission back here fixing up the plane. Hopefully he saved some time to also spend with Penny.

“That’s the part I still want to learn.” You admitted, “I can do basic maintenance on my plane but I’d love to learn more about fixing planes and being able to rebuild them.”

“Well, you’re in the right place then, Firecracker.” Mav said, “Anytime you want to come out and help me, I’d be honored to teach you what I know.”

“I’d love that, Dad.” You replied, smiling. You looked around at the hangar noticing that he did indeed probably stay here often. There was a fridge and microwave with a heating plate to cook food, and a small seating area with a couch to crash on. On the back wall where he kept various tools he also had a display of pictures hanging. You wandered over to take a closer look, smiling as you saw various pictures of you and Bradley growing up as well as pictures of your dad, Goose and Uncle Ice when they were younger at Top Gun. What surprised you was Bradley’s service picture in his dress blues hanging on the board. You didn’t think your dad had followed his career.

“Lots of memories on that board.” Mav said, coming up behind you.

“You kept track of him didn’t you.” You asked, “Even after…”

“I did.” He replied, “He’s my godson. I didn’t pull the papers because I didn’t love him. I was honoring his mom’s wishes. I still wanted to see him succeed.”

“If you had it to do over again, would you make the same decision?” You asked, “Or would you be honest with him and let him make the choice?”

“Knowing how it all turned out and the hurt it caused…” He replied, “I would ask Carol to talk to him about her fears and I would tell Bradley to follow his heart.”

“Maybe you should try talking to him and being completely honest with him now.” You suggested, “Give him the whole truth and let him do with it what he will.”

“I don’t want to taint his memories of his mom.” He said, “It’s easier for me to bear the brunt of his anger. He already blames me for his dad’s death.”

“I don’t think he really means that.” You said, “I think that’s the hurt talking. You were his hero growing up, Dad. He loved you so much, he wanted to be just like you.”

“And now he won’t talk to me.” He sighed. “He’s respectful enough to not be insubordinate in training, but I could be any instructor off the street as far as he’s concerned.”

“Maybe just give it time.” You offered, “Then try again. You’ll eventually wear him down.”

“Time isn’t really in our favor.” He said. “After this mission, new orders will be given. They all have permanent squadrons they’re attached to.”

“Possibly…” You reasoned, “But there is this amazing new technology called a cell phone… It's really easy to use too. Even better, you can take it with you wherever you go!”

“Smartass.” He laughed, playfully nudging you with his shoulder.

“Guess that’s another trait I inherited from you.” You quipped.

“We should head back.” Mav said, noticing the time. “If you don’t want to pay for a hangar rental you can always keep your plane here.”

“I may take you up on that.” You replied, “I am supposed to pick up some charter flights from Frank as he needs me, but I don’t know if a hangar is included in that, since I’d be using his planes.”

“Whatever you decide.” He said, the two of you climbing into the plane after closing up the hangar. “Offer is always on the table.”

“Thanks, Dad,” You said smiling.

“Let’s turn and burn.” He said, pulling on his headset.

“Wrong kinda plane, Dad.” You laughed.

The flight back was just as smooth and before long you were taxiing off of the runway back into the hangar. Your dad helped with tying the plane down so you were back in your Jeep on your way home in no time.

A/N- Is Bradley getting ready to redeem himself?? We’re getting closer to this stubborn pair letting their guards down :)

Taglist: @gracespicybradshaw @memoriesat30, @khaylin27, @snekssss, @shanimallina87 @atarmychick007 @jstarr86 If I forget anyone please message me!

#bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #top gun fanfiction #miles teller

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lizaluvsthis · 4 months

Note

can i say BR doesn't feel like your normal SMG34 fic normally the couple gets together fast or one dies and they dont end up together heck i have seen some toxic way of writing the pair. BR feels so thought out and has so much love in it im not surprising its spreading around in the SMG4 fandom

Yeah BR is not normal it's 'silly' 🤓 (a masterpiece)

Thats what other people get hungry to look for something they'd want to eat (angst or fluff)

But the story from this fic plays out differently in the end so you guys just have to "WAIT AND SEE."

(Wait what do you mean toxic way of writing the pair... now thats new to my ears- I havent heard of it before)

I'd be the one to blame for making this au cuz of its style and design from the clothes (COUGH- the uhhh romance and stuff from the story <3<3)

Well I'M SUPRISED. even Shay is too because we both had NO IDEA this got popular (AND HAS BEEN SPREADING AROUND LIKE ANT COLONIES.)

Cough- guess we'll have to expect the unexpected for what happens next- :>

I'll send some signs from the fic but before that you guys will have a lil something ^^

But thats just a hint <33

Thanks for telling us ^^

(Ah man- I wish Shay would get more ask box than I do I don't want to keep flooding my post with asks about BR TuT)

#lizaluv #smg34 #smg4 #smg3 #smg4 smg3 #mario #smg3 coffee n bombs #shygirl4991

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virgo-mess · 12 days

Text

The Birds and the Bees

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Chapter List

1.Alexithymia- The Inability to Express your Feelings Parts 1 and 2

2.The Woes of Adolescence/ What the heck Happened that Summer

3.Caught in a Summer Storm/ What the heck Happened that Christmas.

4.Summer Bluffs? Part 1

5.Disco, Strippers, and Margaritassss Part 2

6.Sleepless in a Hotel Suite Part 3

7.Shades of Pink

8.The Things I’ve Dreamed Part 1

9.Renewal Part 2

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

TW: Again, nothing too bad really, mentions of child abuse and DV but nothing graphic, mostly just Cash being a little simp and thirsting after the girl next door, oh and CUTENESS BEWARE

Alexithymia- The Inability to Express Your Feelings Part 2

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"You're my first love, and I never had the courage to tell you. My love for you is pure, ageless. I knew it the first time I saw you bob for apples at your ninth birthday party. I've known it all our lives, and my love for you has grown as we've grown together, apart, and back together again" - Trudy Stiles

Cash’s Pov

Cash stirred early the next day to the comforting sound of waves crashing on the sandy shores of Manomet beach. He couldn’t really hear the waves of the Hudson River from his apartment back in Jersey City and that was one of the things he had missed the most about coming back home over the years. The golden streams of summer sunshine poured in through the open window of his childhood bedroom. The soft morning breeze swirled the pair of sage green curtains hung above the window gently, while Cash peered out it with a content smile on his face. Mornings like this always reminded him of Shay but then again, almost everything reminded him of her somehow.

Shaylee Harris the girl next door, his childhood best friend, and his first crush. Though looking back on it all now even Cashton Ewing could admit it was so much more than that. Shaylee Harris had single handedly been occupying his thoughts and dreams since he was fourteen, but really even before that because what seven-year-old comes up with a nickname like that for someone they don’t love even a little bit. His heart seemed to know he loved her before his brain did, he still remembered that Valentines Day back in eighth grade when he picked her up to go to the movies and the realization dawned on him, hit him like a freight train actually.

All it took was her floating out the front door in white frills of lace adorned with little pink cherry blossoms, the dress Cash had gifted her that Christmas because she stopped to look at it every time they went to the mall. Her hair was longer back then, her cascading curls of warm blonde were tied up halfway with a little pink ribbon and her green eyes looked captivating with the mascara coating her long eyelashes. Cash swore he felt his heart stop beating for a second though, as she got closer his heart was pounding so hard he was surprised Shay couldn’t hear it. It was the first time he felt butterflies in his stomach, the first time he ever felt nervous in the presence of his best friend, Shaylee Harris. He couldn’t take his eyes off her the entire drive to the movies, all he could think about was how pretty she was, how much he wanted to hold her hand, and how foolish he’d been for never appreciating holding her hand prior or looking at someone that beautiful. Cash to this day couldn’t figure out why his brain hadn’t noticed it before, though now it seemed his brain never wanted him to forget it. The onset of adolescence hit him with all its awkward buddings of more intense feelings, first love, sexual awakenings, steamy dreams and Shaylee Harris had single handedly sparked it all. Suddenly Cash didn’t just want to hang out with her, he wanted to kiss her, be with her, and touch her in ways he never had before, and no amount of time or distance ever made that go away. In fact, as the years passed by and Shay kept Cash at arm’s length his yearning for her only intensified, all-consuming in the deepest sense.

Cash sighed, taking a moment to stretch and glance at the clock while he dried his gray hair with a towel and walked over to his suitcase to pull out a pair of dark jeans and a shirt, a navy-blue button up with white stripes and short sleeves. Shay always said she liked it when he wore blue because it brought out his eyes; Cash thought it might help her get over the fact, he was waking her up so early. Shay hadn’t been a morning person her entire life and he was honestly surprised she picked a profession that required her to dedicate countless hours of her time. Especially because there was a point in time where they talked about their dreams enough for Cash to know the world of investment banking was never a world Shay had expressed a desire to be in. Of course, Cash knew Tyler, the scumbag, was most likely to blame for Shay shelving her dream but there was a small part of him the thought maybe he was to blame too.

Cash fumbled around his room, slipping into his clothes for the day and straightening out a few of his damp gray strands of hair. Cash crept out of his bedroom pointedly being as quiet as possible, he was sure his mom wasn’t up yet and really, he preferred to keep it that way if he could. He wasn’t prepared to receive another pep talk about telling Shay how he felt about her. Jo Ewing was too nosy for her own good, she, Shay’s mom, and Daisy’s mom had been Plymouth’s local gossipy hens for as long as he could remember. Cash had been hoping with Daisy and Pete’s childhood sweetheart wedding buzz, his and Shay’s ‘Will They, Won’t They’ romance would be overshadowed enough for it to blossom on its own, but it seemed everyone in Plymouth had other meddlesome plans in store for them….

Cash whistled softly to himself and swiftly buzzed about the kitchen. He pulled a bag of coffee grounds and a can of coco powder out of one of the cabinets and waltzed over to his mom’s new espresso machine. Still whistling, Cash grabbed a gallon of milk from the fridge and carefully slid Shay’s delicate coffee mug off the cup rack. He’d gifted her a set of two for her birthday one year, two ombre style pink cups with two artfully placed cherry blossoms on the side. Cash wasn’t sure what happened to the other one, but this one had a permanent home right here, much in the same way Shay had a permanent home in his heart. Cash hit the power button on the espresso machine and gently placed Shay’s cup underneath it while he got to work on frothing the milk, mixing the coco powder, and adding strawberry syrup while he waited for the espresso to brew.

Cash had picked up a thing or two from his high school barista days, though he and Shay hardly saw each other during those summers she was working as a line cook at one of Daisy’s parent’s restaurants down in Cape Cod. Cash still made sure to have a latte ready for her each one of his shifts, chocolate covered strawberry was always one of her favorites and over the years Cash had figured out how to make the foam pink just for her. Hopefully, him showing up at her window with her favorite latte and a plate full of pastries would soothe some of her inevitable morning grumpiness because Cash didn’t want her to completely dread spending time with him today or any of the other says they were sure to busy sorting out wedding details. They were supposed to be getting a head start on all of Daisy and Pete’s quite purposeful, last-minute wedding planning. When Shay asked him yesterday if he had anything to do with Daisy and Pete ditching them, he said no and, it hadn’t been a total lie. They didn’t tell him they were planning to ditch them before lunch was over, but Cash did, however, know all about Daisy and Pete’s cupid play because he’d been in on it since Daisy showed up at his apartment three months ago. The same day she asked Shay to be her maid of honor, Daisy Martin made a stop in Jersey City to all but hound Cash into finally doing something about his twelve years long crush on his first best friend. Daisy all but broke down his front door in fact and given all the intense stuff that was going on the last time he’d even seen her, Cash expected as much. They hadn’t really had a chance to talk that time because Cash was in the process of being put on suspension for what he’d done to Tyler in the Plaza lobby…

Cash poured the rest of the ingredients into the freshly brewed espresso and gave it a good stir before pouring his now, pink steamed milk into the mug. Cash took the time to artfully pour the pink liquid in the shape of a heart before grabbing a breakfast tray and carefully setting the fresh latte on top of it. He quickly put everything back in place before grabbing one of his mom’s little porcelain plates and piling it with an assortment of macaroons and spring pastries. Cash carefully picked up the tray and made his way out of the back patio door, stepping out into the warm morning sunshine and the sound of crashing waves, he casually made his way to the back of the Harris house to Shay’s large window.

Cash couldn’t recall a time he ever actually used the Harris’ front door aside from the occasional holiday party. Crawling through Shay’s window and spending the night was such common practice for him, Maggie Harris always had a plate ready for him at the breakfast table. A fact which Cash still found hard to believe because his crush on Shay was so obvious towards the end, he found it strange neither his mom nor her parents seemed to care they cuddled and slept in the same bed unsupervised until they were teenagers. Awkward, shy, hormonal teenagers that were too self-conscious for their own good but still hormonal teenagers none the less. Though as he was recalling bits of his mom’s pep talk yesterday it would seem she and Maggie had been rooting for him and Shay to be together for some time now. She was rather vague, but Cash got the feeling there were bets placed on which kid would be walking down the aisle and with whom…

Cash peered through Shay’s large window still whistling softly to himself and let his knuckles rap against the glass obnoxiously, though he was mindful not to tip the tray in his other hand. Sometimes it took a little persistence to get the sleeping beauty up and moving, she was sure to be grumpy but to Cash spending the day with a tired grumpy Shaylee Rose was better than not spending the day with her at all. Cash pushed up on one of the white sills of the window and then the other only to find them both locked. He wasn’t sure what he expected, seen as how Shay hadn’t been home in two years but part of him hoped she’d at least remember to leave it unlocked for him the way she used to. Sometimes it felt like he thought about her way more than she ever thought about him even though Daisy tried to assure that wasn’t the case nor was it the reason Shay had pushed him away…

“Wakey wakey Cherry Blossom, we’ve got things to do and people to see! I made you your favorite” Cash said knocking on the glass a few more times with a slight blush on his cheeks. He wasn’t lying, Daisy did send over a pointedly, absurdly long list of tasks for them to complete, half of which purposefully involved taking a trip up to Boston. He could hear the loud, annoyed groan Shay gave him in reply even through the glass as she sat up in bed and glared at him through her half-drawn window shades with tired green eyes and adorable hair rollers in her golden hair. Cash bit down on his lip as he watched her shuffle out of bed in a cropped navy-blue pajama set with little white polka dots, looking very much like a little barbie doll. He hadn’t missed how curvy she’d gotten since the last time he’d seen her, having finally regained all the weight she lost being strapped to that dirt bag two years ago. She was practically glowing when he saw her step out of her car yesterday in that little green dress that just barely covered the curve of her now very plump ass and her breasts had gone up at least three cup sizes. Not that Cash cared all that much anyway, her body had always been a sight to see for him but all the extra stuff she had for him to grab now left him feeling particularly…FERAL. To put it simply.

Shay grumpily threw her shades up a bit further before unlatching her window and throwing it up to give him the most adorable attempt at a menacing glare he’d ever seen.

“Good morning beautiful, your pretty feathers shouldn’t be this ruffled first thing in the morning I dropped you off almost twenty hours ago. Any hangover symptoms should be out of your system so why are you so worked up?” Cash asked in a playful tone watching Shay roll those pretty green eyes at him.

“Gee, I don’t know, might have something to do with the Jolly Green Giant beating down my window at the butt crack of dawn” Shay said jutting out one of her childbearing hips in the most teasing way. Cash repressed a chuckle as he skillfully, threw a long leg over the windowsill and still managed not to tip the tray even the slightest bit. Before taking a careful seat on her window bench with a teasing smile on his face.

“It’s hardly my fault you forgot to unlock your window in your cocktail daze yesterday, Cherry Blossom. You know I always come in through the window, besides I brought you something, see” Cash said in the same playful tone, holding up the breakfast tray with an almost coy smile on his face. He took a minute or two to admire her skimpy yet oddly adorable set, up close. Her stomach was still toned in that feminine sexy type of way, but her hips and thighs now looked like plush little pillows Cash wanted nothing more than to bury himself in, in every way possible.

“Do you think my parents just leave unlocked lower-level windows around their house, Cashton. What do you got there, hello, are you listening to me?” Shay said pulling him out of his inner ramblings by snapping her fingers and raising a cute eyebrow at him. Cash smiled at her almost sheepishly as he felt his cheeks grow hot and his cock twitch adamantly against his thigh…

“What, yeah, I mean no, but I expected you’d leave it open for me like you used to Shaylee Rose. How else would I be bestowed the honor of being greeted by your pretty face in the morning? To think I made you this chocolate covered strawberry latte and everything” Cash said, tearing his wandering blue eyes off her perfect body and settling them back on her just as perfect face to throw her a suggestive wink. Cash watched Shay’s sun kissed cheeks tint a cute shade of pink under his gaze and her plump lips curved into a coy smile. Cash felt his heart and cock flutter in tandem the way they only ever did for her.

“You could use the front door like a normal person. Thank you for the latte, Cashy” Shay’s voice came out at him a bit softer this time and her green eyes looked amused rather than annoyed with him for the first time in ages. Aside from the little anonymous flirtation session they had yesterday, Cash hadn’t intended on dragging it out as long as he had but having her laugh and smile at him like she used to, was something he’d missed dearly as sappy as it sounded. Something about her felt so different when she came back to Plymouth after spending that summer with her aunt in LA but even before that really. Cash remembered the way she locked herself in her room the last day of school in eighth grade and how she didn’t come out for a whole week, Shay kept insisting she just didn’t feel well, and his mom and her mom assured him that it was just something teenage girls go through. That she’d eventually come around and things would go back to normal, but they never really did, she was distant and closed off. Cash thought for sure he had done something to upset her, though she insisted he hadn’t. She was right next door, right next to him even, but she felt worlds away…

“We both know I’m not a normal person Cherry Blossom. Silly girl” Cash chuckled, rising to his feet to give her a playful bop on the nose with his finger. Shay let out a soft, breathy giggle and rolled her still very amused misty, green eyes at him in a way only she could. Part of him couldn’t help but feel special, almost loved even, when she acted this way with him because moments like these were so far and few between them these days. Cash smiled down at her adoringly before walking past her to set the tray down on the coffee table she had in front of her couch. The couch and coffee table weren’t there back in those days when he regularly used to crawl through her window. After she’d gotten back from LA Shay, for whatever reason, had decided to redo her whole room over in soft mature shades of blue, white, and gray. Sometimes Cash missed the bright shades of pink and orange that once blanketed the room in all its floral splendor.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet? Have you even picked out an outfit for today?” Cash asked, steering their conversation in the direction he needed it to go. He watched Shay take a seat on the couch and look down at the coffee and the mug it was in with glossy eyes. “Are you okay?” Cash asked with concern swirling in his blue eyes as he looked down at her.

“Yeah, I’m fine Cashy, this coffee just looks too pretty to drink… I didn’t pick out any clothes because I thought we’d be doing our planning at a reasonable hour.” Shay said, Cash could tell the smile she gave him was forced and watched the way she rapidly blinked the tears brimming her pretty green eyes away. Part of Cash wanted to push her to tell him what was bothering her but another part of him told him it wouldn’t be a good idea.

“How on earth did you make it in the world of investment banking if you can’t handle me waking you up at 8:30?” Cash said in a teasing tone, Shay cracked a genuine smile, and he was happy to see her start to nibble on one of the macaroons.

“The stock market doesn’t open until 9:30 and I’m on sabbatical, sleeping in is a right when you’re on one of those, you know. Maybe you should give it a try Officer Ewing” Shay said coyly, Cash chuckled under his breath and made his way towards her walk-in closet.

“I’ll only give it a try if you promise to be by my side when I do it, Cherry Blossom. You never did get around to showing me New York or NYU, you know. As long as you remember to leave the window unlocked for me, I promise I won’t force you out of bed until 9:30.” Cash said once more in a teasing tone before walking into her closet and skimming through the few things she had hung up from her suitcase.

“I’m holding you to that Cashton Micheal, if you’d have told me, you were in Jersey City, I would’ve given you the grand New York experience if you’d only asked.” Shay called after him. Cash heard the faint sound of her phone buzzing somewhere back out in her bedroom as he pulled a pretty, little white floral sundress with a very revealing halter neckline off her closet rack. Cash couldn’t help but bite his lip at the mere thought of her in something so innocent looking but somehow completely tantalizing all the same. It also just so happened to fit the dress code of the restaurant he was going to take her to, before they got a start on their to-do list. Although Daisy and Pete had encouraged him to talk about his feelings for Shay, Cash didn’t see any harm in also showing her how he felt about her. Cash had never really been good with words when it came to him and Shay in the later years of their friendship. She didn’t really seem to respond that well to his overt flirting and lighthearted teasing over the years so he’d resulted to small displays of affection, like making her a latte every one of his shifts or buying more boxes of her favorite candy at the movies than she could eat. Today his romantic display of choice was taking her to one of Boston’s top rated, romantic restaurants. Cash made his way back into her bedroom to find Shay skimming through her phone as she let out a long sigh.

“Everything okay?” Cash asked curiously, peering down at her to see she had finally started taking a few sips of her latte. Shay nodded her head and met his gaze with the faintest blush on her cheeks.

“Um, yeah, just sweet old Daisy adding another thing to our obnoxious to-do list. Looks like we’re heading up to Boston if that’s alright with you. Apparently, Daisy forgot she had an order to pick up at Wacoal when she and Pete were up there yesterday. You know, because they got…busy in the car…” Shay trailed in a slightly, sassy tone. Cash bit down on his lip as he recognized the name of the shop embarrassingly fast, though how could he forget that a great deal of Shay’s teasing little pajama sets had been purchased there. He should’ve figured Daisy would plan something like this to torment him into a confession, it would probably work too, just imagining Shay among enticing rows of lace and frill had his head spinning already.

“Sure, she just happened to forget to pick up her wedding night babydoll…Here put this on for me.” Cash said slightly breathless as he held up the sundress with an obvious blush on his cheeks. Shay raised her eyebrow at him again adorably, taking a longer sip of her latte and another nibble out of the pastel cookie.

“Hmmm, how did you know Wacoal sells wedding night babydolls, Cashton? That dress is a little fancy to just go shopping, are we going somewhere special?” Shay asked, her green eyes looked curious and sheepish as they met his but the hopeful tone that came out in her voice towards the end made Cash’s heart melt. It amazed him how Shay could be so fully self-aware and amazingly quick-witted but still not know Cash would die to make even the smallest thing feel special for her. Cash wasn’t sure why such a thing surprised him because their spat at lunch yesterday confirmed she didn't remember the fact that they had talked and seen each other two years ago…

“Yeah, I’m taking you out for brunch darling, so go get ready alright…” Cash said softly, trying not to let his brain get lost in such a hurtful memory. He focused on the pretty, yet sheepish smile she gave him before bouncing off to her bathroom to change. Cash let out a deep sigh and took a seat on the couch. Shay emerged from the bathroom sometime later, with her blonde hair in voluminous waves, her bangs cascading over her forehead and her makeup effortlessly applied, the floral sundress fit her new figure perfectly. Cash couldn’t explain it, but she looked like summer to him, soft, delicate, and warm in a way that evoked nothing but love and happiness within him. Cash forgot where he was for a second as he watched her walk towards her closet to fetch a pair of shoes.

“Pick the closed toed Gucci wedges, the restaurant apparently has a thing against sandals” Cash said with a small smirk on his face, Shay poked her head outside of the closet door for a moment and cutely arched an eyebrow at him from across the room. Cash chuckled under his breath, already having a general idea of what stopped her so abruptly in her cute tracks.

“Cashton Ewing knows designers now and yet, chooses to dress like a cute little mechanic.” Shay said with an amused note of disbelief in her voice before disappearing into her closet and reemerging with the shoes he had recommended. Cash couldn’t help but blush under her gaze, but it was mostly because the only reason he knew designers like that was because he’d seen her shopping on fifth avenue a few times… or trailed her there, its all the same to him really, no need to get technical…

“I’m a man of many talents Cherry Blossom. You and Daisy made Pete and I go to the mall with you almost the entirety of eighth grade, I was bound to learn a thing or two. Do you really think I look like a cute mechanic?” Cash said in a teasing tone, watching Shay’s cheeks tint a delightful shade of pink as she focused her attention on strapping on the designer shoes.

“Oh boy, I think I just saw your head grow three sizes, remind me to never use the word cute again. I know you went shopping with me and all, but you didn’t seem to like it, so I’m still allowed to be surprised Officer Ewing. I think I’m ready to go.” Shay said as she finished strapping on her shoes, Cash watched her rise to her feet and straighten out her dress before grabbing her purse off her nightstand. She looked absolutely breathtaking, and Cash found his eyes wandering all over her body again with a newfound hunger.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that….and I, um, didn’t like shopping, but I liked being with you, so it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I’m assuming I’ll be making the same sacrifice later this afternoon. The mall with all the designer stores is like ten minutes from the restaurant, you know Cherry Blossom.” Cash said, forcing himself to focus his wandering gaze back on her face. Shay gave him a very timid smile in reply to his compliment.

“Thanks…It’s really all Daisy’s fault if you think about it, if she hadn’t forgotten her skimpy wedding night attire, we wouldn’t even be in the general vicinity Cashy.” Shay said with the same timid smile on her face. Shay wandered over to her bedroom door and gently pulled it open before shuffling out into the hallway and made her way toward the kitchen.

“Yeah, you’re right, it really is all Daisy’s fault” Cash chuckled, following her out of her bedroom and through the empty kitchen of the still Harris house. They quietly walked out of the front door into the warm summer air and walked down the front porch steps. Cash couldn’t help the sheepish grin that spread across his face when Shay gazed up at him with an amused but knowing glint in her green eyes.

“You can drive my car if you want…” Shay said in a cute, pointed tone as she gazed up at him with a coy smile and another cutely arched eyebrow. Cash looked down at her, feeling a touch bashful under her gaze.

“Are you sure, Pete dropped my truck off last night after I tore into him for ditching us, it’s just in the garage” Cash said softly with a bashful blush spreading across his cheeks. Shay nodded her head as she stared up at him with a large amount of amusement swirling in her pretty green eyes. Cash always loved the way her green orbs sparkled in the sunlight and the way they tinted a unique shade of teal when Plymouth’s deep blue water reflected in them on those long days they used to spend at the beach.

“Yeah, parking will be easier with my car, so here you go Cashy” Shay chuckled, handing him her keys with a coy smile on her face. Cash gladly accepted the keys from her small hand, but he found himself resisting the urge to wrap her up in his arms and twirl her around like a ragdoll.

“Alright, after you princess” Cash crooned, bounding down the driveway. Cash opened the passenger door of the slick green Audi with a giddy grin on his face as he gazed over at Shay adoringly.

“Princess? “Shay chuckled softly, Cash watched her make her way down the driveway and plop down onto the car seat with a giddy looking grin of her own. Cash bit his lip and gazed down at her for a moment before making his way to the other side of the car and slid into the driver’s seat.

“You’ve always been my passenger princess Cherry Blossom, don’t act so surprised” Cash said in a soft playful tone as he slid the key into the ignition and started the car. Shay looked over at him with a soft blush on her cheeks, Cash gave her a teasing wink and began to back the car out of the driveway.

“That was because Pete and Daisy were always trying to swallow each other in the back seat, and you were the first one to get a car out of the four of us.” Shay said gazing up at him from her spot in the car. Cash flashed her a reassuring smile and switched the car into drive to begin their short trip up to Boston for the day.

“Don’t get me wrong Shay, I loved having you next to me, you know. I’ve had no one to tell me when I’m going the wrong way for seven lonely years. I’ve missed you; you know. I’ve missed you a lot Cherry Blossom” Cash admitted sincerely, his blue eyes were soft and a bit vulnerable when they met her green ones briefly, from across the car. Shay gazed back at him in silence for a long moment, her eyes felt like they were trying to see inside of him, but her lack of response made Cash think he might have said the wrong thing too soon…

“I missed you too Cashy” Shay finally replied, just above a whisper after her green eyes seemed to find whatever it was they were searching for. Cash practically beamed at her as he turned the car on to the expressway. Shay smiled back at him, and Cash took note of the way her green orbs seemed to sparkle at him the same way they usually sparkled in golden beams of sunlight. As they began their short drive Cash couldn’t help but wonder if the sun was ever really the reason, they sparkled to begin with...

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The drive up to Boston was relatively quick but Shay made more small talk with Cash on the drive up than she had in years. Cash could tell she was excited by the way she rambled on and on about her favorite places to grab food while she was in Manhattan, her excitement made his heart swell. Though, Cash couldn’t tell if she was excited about going shopping later or if she was excited to spend as much time with him as he was with her. Both were welcome reasons to him though because just talking to her still gave Cash butterflies and made his heart flutter. He had missed the way it was when things used to flow this easily between them. Something that hadn't really happened since that Valentine’s Day back in eighth grade, it marked the beginning of his crush on Shay but also the start of her no longer expressing her feelings to him openly.

Cash still remembered walking out of the theater and into the lobby to find Shay with red puffy eyes. She wouldn't tell him why she was crying but she sure looked happy when Cash asked her if she wanted to go ice skating with him instead. They ditched Pete, Daisy, and annoying Opal May and went to the local ice rink where they giggled and shared hot chocolate like they always did. He still remembered how the wind caught ahold of the dainty pink ribbon in her golden hair, sending it swirling through the evening sky and how the pair of them chased after it until they fell.

They laid out on the ice for some time, laughing so hard they were on the verge of tears and yet, all Cash could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. Then it started to snow, and the rink lights swirled around her in a way that made her look so much like an angel to him, Cash thought maybe he died. They eventually collected themselves enough to sit back up just as the dainty pink ribbon floated down from the sky and pooled in his lap. By then it felt like Shay was staring into his soul and he got too nervous to kiss her the way he wanted to. Before he knew it, they were eating pizza in her bedroom while they watched some Harrison Ford movie on her TV, the same routine they’d had for years but something about the way they held each other that night felt different. Nothing ever quite beat the feeling of Shay falling asleep on his shoulder after that night. At least until today…

From the moment Cash stepped out of the car it felt like everything between him and Shay seamlessly fell into place, and they found themselves in a familiar, yet comfortable little spot they hadn’t quite been in since they were teenagers. Cash knew Shay must have felt it too, because she let him hold her hand all the way from Contessa’s entrance up to their intimate roof top dining room. Cash wished he had his camera to capture the adorable, awestruck look on Shay’s face when they stepped off that elevator and ventured into Contessa’s elegant upscale waiting room. The look on her face only got better when they were led through the sun-soaked dining room and were sat at an intimate half circle booth overlooking the Boston Public Garden upon his request. They laughed and they talked, then they drank, and they ate in a carefree way that reminded him of the movie nights they shared with pizza in his moms’ basement. Only instead of his mom’s basement, they just so happened to be at one of Boston’s top rated romantic restaurants overlooking the very cherry blossom trees Cash named her after. Sadly, the trees weren’t in bloom but as brunch progressed smoothly, Cash got the feeling that maybe his and Shay’s “Will they, won’t they” romance was…

As brunch went on, they managed to steer away from their small talk topics and actually start catching up with one another. Cash wasn’t sure what it was, but something about this meal and this conversation suddenly made him feel closer to Shay than he had in twelve years. And it wasn’t just because Shay had gotten comfortable enough to throw her small legs on top of his halfway through, though he was very much enjoying having her practically on top of him. Cash had somehow managed to get Shay to talk about what pushed her to take a sabbatical in the first place, much to his delighted surprise. She was rather forthcoming about the teensy tiny mental breakdown she had at work a few weeks ago when one of their clients asked her, in her opinion, the dumbest question she’d ever heard. Cash couldn’t really blame her; he’d encountered his fair share of dimwitted customers in those fleeting days he spent behind a coffee counter in his youth.

“If you think that was a stupid question you should try explaining to a disgruntled soccer mom why the iced coffee she ordered had ice in it. I spent twenty minutes explaining the fact that I couldn’t make our hot coffee cold without adding ice and, she tried to get me fired.” Cash chuckled, Shay giggled and took another bite of her French toast with a small smile on her face.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you become a fancy VP of investment banking anyway? As I recall Cherry Blossom, you always talked about wanting to be a fancy chef, you were pretty darn good at it too, I still have dreams about that Brown Butter and Sage Squash Risotto you used to make with the, umm, little round pieces of fish things...” Cash trailed, looking over at Shay with a faint blush on his cheeks, he always seemed to forget basic English whenever he was around her. It didn’t help that Shay’s pretty green eyes were practically sparkling at him again. Cash couldn’t help but admire the way the golden mid-morning sun streamed in through Contessa’s large windows all around her because it made Shay look more ethereal to him than ever.

“…The scallops…” Shay chuckled with amusement swirling in her eyes as she gazed up at him. “Yeah, the scallops, but that’s not nearly as fun to say. So, I think I’m going to keep referring to them as ‘little round pieces of fish things” Cash said playfully, Shay shook her head at him and giggled softly to herself in a way that reminded him of that night at the ice rink all those years ago.

“Yeah, you asked me to make that dish for you a lot, Cashy. My mom still complains that she can’t get the smell of thawing scallops out of her fridge, but dad won’t let her buy a new one because it still works. And you’re right, I never wanted to be a VP of investment banking, but I didn’t get accepted into that culinary program I wanted and it’s kind of hard to practice in a college dorm room kitchen. Doesn’t matter now anyway, I don’t really cook anymore…” Shay admitted, Cash nodded his head though there was a big part of him that seriously doubted she didn’t get accepted into that program. Especially if she didn’t get any of the letters, he’d sent over the past seven years…

“The place on Wall Street was just the first place to offer me a job after I graduated, so I took it and now here I am, highly doubting I’m even going to go back.” Shay sighed; her green eyes looked heartbreakingly defeated to Cash as they stared back into his blue ones. Cash gave her a reassuring smile, tightening the arm he still had snaked around the small of her waist while his free hand ran down the length of her small shoulder and arm in soothing motions. It had been so long since Cash had been presented the opportunity to comfort her in such a way. She looked much too frail for him to touch that Thanksgiving they talked in his bedroom.

“Well, what’s stopping you from applying to another program Cherry Blossom, if you’re really unhappy with the job you have now?” Cash asked softly, continuing the soothing passes he was making on her arm as he gazed at her with soft blue eyes. He saw a faint blush spread across her cheeks, but Shay made no effort to pull away, in fact, she leaned further into him. Almost like she was contemplating whether to give him a hug or to move onto his lap completely. The mere thought of her doing either of those options had familiar butterflies fluttering in Cash’s stomach. Part of him wanted to do both, to pull her onto his lap and hug her forever but given their little spat yesterday, Cash wasn’t sure if Shay would be open to it.

“I don’t know, I guess I just don’t know if it fits who I am anymore.” Shay replied softly. Cash gazed deeply into her green eyes for a long moment. He halted the soothing passes on her small arm and reached up to stroke her cheek with a tender sort of affection. Shay, once again, leaned into him and his touch the way she used to when they were just two kids seeking comfort. Cash remembered the day he vowed to always let Shay seek comfort in him, that night he crawled through her window wailing at the top of his lungs when he was only nine. It was the aftermath of his father’s worst alcoholic rage to date, the one that finally landed him behind bars though Cash was too battered to remember most of it. All he remembered was crawling through her window and the way both of them clung to each other so tightly. They screamed every time someone tried to separate them, both of them wholeheartedly refusing to let each other go. Shay ended up riding with him in the ambulance and spending the night with him in his hospital bed…

“You still seem like the same Cherry Blossom to me.” Cash crooned, dragging his thumb along the slope of her cheek gingerly because she deserved all the tenderness, he could muster for being the light in such an otherwise horrible memory. Shay’s green eyes softened a bit at him in a way that felt like she could see his soul the same way he saw hers.

“Is that a bad thing…” Shay said, her voice sounded vulnerable this time and her eyes looked unbearably fawn like as they stared back at him. Cash shook his head, still stroking her cheek with his thumb, he let a reassuring smile dance across his lips.

“Not at all, it means you were perfect to begin with Cherry Blossom. I think you should try your hand at cooking again, Shay, take this sabbatical as a sign that maybe New York just wasn’t what fit. They have a culinary school just over in Cambridge you know, you could move back home, follow your dream, and start over.” Cash said, never letting his smile waver or his thumb stop its passes over the soft skin of her rosy cheek. Shay’s plump lips curved into a soft smile and her eyes glittered with the slightest trace of amusement.

“Well, aren’t you just full of compliments and flattery today. Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to start with starting over, I haven’t been in a real kitchen in seven years.” Shay said, her voice was soft enough for her words to come out like a soft hum. It reminded Cash of the nights Shay used to sing under her breath when she thought he had fallen asleep. Cash may have feigned being asleep on more than a few occasions just to listen to her pretty voice. Of course, then he’d actually fall asleep because the lull of her voice was so soothing to him back then, Cash bet it still was.

“I’ll cook with you while you’re here, can’t promise you I’ll be any good, but I’m more than happy to help you out Cherry Blossom.” Cash said a bit over zealously, but it was enough to earn him one of Shay’s adorable giggles and one of her more tantalizing, coy smiles.

“I’m not so sure I trust you in a kitchen Officer Ewing.” Shay said teasingly, Cash chuckled softly under his breath and halted stroking her cheek for the briefest second to give her one of his playful bops on the tip of her little nose.

“That’s rude Cherry Blossom, bad girl” Cash chuckled, Shay rolled her green eyes at his playful antics, but her coy smile had spread into a full-on grin by the time her eyes locked with his once more.

“I’m kidding, mostly…. If my memory serves me correctly, I’m not the only one here that didn’t end up with their dream job, as I recall you wanted to be a photographer. So how did you end up being a cop Cashy?” Shay asked with curious looking green eyes. Cash let out a soft sigh as he started to recall the interview, he missed at The Art Institute of Boston that summer before Shay went off to NYU. Cash had been trying to find the will to ask her to stay and put off her big city dreams for just one semester so she could apply to a school in Boston, but he didn’t want to be the person to hold her back. Truthfully, he only decided to go to the academy because he thought he could move to New York after he finished to be closer to Shay a lot sooner. That he’d be the one to shelve his dream instead because being with her was worth more to him, it didn’t matter though, by the time he saw her again, that Christmas, she was already dating Tyler.

“The same as you really, somewhere along the way I lost the passion for it and I didn’t think I was good enough at it to make a decent living, so I went to the academy…” Cash said softly, it wasn’t a total lie. After Shay left and started dating Tyler, he didn’t have the drive to go back to school and do what he wanted to.

“That’s not true Cash, you were more than good enough to make a decent living if you wanted to. You won the school photography show case three years in a row, you are very gifted.” Shay said with sincere green eyes that made Cash’s stomach do happy little flips. He could tell by the look in her eyes and the lull of her sweet voice, she meant every word and that was worth everything to him.

“Look who’s full of compliments and flattery now.” Cash said teasingly, he wondered if Shay had noticed all the bashful blushes, she had coaxed out of him today. Or if she could hear the way his heart was pounding again.

“I’m serious Cashy, they don’t just hand out first place awards to anyone you know. You should pick up a camera and take some pictures while you’re here. I have no doubts you’re still extraordinary.” Shay’s tone was surprisingly overzealous when she spoke to him this time and Cash couldn’t help but feel incredibly smitten. It was like he was fourteen again, blushing and hanging on to her every word like it was gospel.

“I won with pictures of you every year Cherry Blossom, I don’t think they were awarding the man behind the camera half as much as they were the pretty girl in front of it. Can’t say I blame them; you were my muse after all.” Cash crooned, finding that he was once again overcome with an almost primal urge to kiss her the same way he wanted to at the ice rink when he was fourteen. Cash cupped the side of Shay’s face in the palm of his large hand and gazed at her for what felt like an eternity, grappling with the idea but ultimately deciding it would be too much, too soon…

“Cash, if you agree to take a few pictures while you’re here, I’ll agree to cook something with you…” Shay said softly, her green eyes looked like they were searching his blue ones for something again. They always seemed to be doing that and Cash so wished he could ask her what it was she was looking for…

“Promise?” Cash asked, though the coy smile on Shay’s face was all the answer he really needed. Shay nodded her head in reply slowly, Cash felt his heart skip a beat when one of her small hands moved to mirror his action. He felt the soft skin of her delicate palm brush against the slope of his cheek in the same tender, affectionate caress he had hers.

“Promise” Shay said just above a whisper,

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

After brunch, Cash and Shay set out to complete the tasks on Daisy’s Boston list. The two managed to maintain the harmonious dynamic they had fallen into back at the restaurant. They didn’t delve much deeper than that talk they had about their dreams, but Cash certainly thought it was a good start. At least he knew Shay didn’t dread being with him all that much, in fact she had confessed on the car ride up that she had missed him. Probably a fraction of how much Cash missed her but at least, she missed him. Which gave Cash enough hope that maybe there might be something between them after all and that maybe them working together might not all be for nothing. They mostly just laughed and talked about the past, the way you only do with an old friend with whom you share so many memories with. They ventured in and out of shops, ate ice cream, crossed a few of Daisy’s busy bee tasks off the to-do list. and walked up and down scenic Boston sidewalks before heading to that fancy mall with all the designer stores. Cash quite enjoyed watching Shay flit around the stores like a chipper little fairy as she tried on outfits and bought more stuff than she needed. Cash insisted on paying for at least part of it because Shay’s birthday just happened to be a couple days before Pete and Daisy’s over the top wedding.

Shay timidly declined Cash’s offer to pay for anything with the cute excuse that “Brunch can be my gift Cashy, don’t worry.” Cash knew what she was doing though and promptly replied with

“You’re not going to trick me out of buying you a gift Cherry Blossom, I’m a cop not a peasant. I can afford to buy you something nice, trust me.”

And Cash did just that as soon as she slipped into the next dressing room. They eventually got around to discussing plans and ideas for the bachelor parties again but ultimately didn’t come to a consensus, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Luckily Shay seemed to be on the same page, she didn’t try to push Cash into agreeing to her idea, just yet… but both of them knew from years of experience, Cash was bound to cave eventually. At least where Shay was concerned that is. They decided to make the drive back down to Plymouth just before rush hour. When the golden late afternoon sun was high in the cloudless blue sky. The atmosphere on the car ride back was a bit different this time around, Shay was quiet, but Cash didn’t get the feeling she was upset. It was more along the lines of that comfortable silence they had fallen into at lunch the day before when it felt like everything that needed to be said was said. Obviously, Cash knew that wasn’t the case, they still had so much to talk about, so much baggage to unpack, so much that was left to be said. Cash supposed he could sum it all up for her, with three simple words. And he could, because they were true, and they reflected how he felt about Shay his entire life but for some reason those three words just didn’t feel like enough…

“Alright, I’ve got the bags princess” Cash said in a teasing tone that cut through the comforting silence, just as he turned Shay’s car back into the Harris driveway. Shay let out a soft chuckle and shook her head at him with a coy smile on her face.

“I don’t think you realize what a slippery slope you’re on, Officer Ewing. Today you took me to brunch, chauffeured me around, carried my bags all day, and tried to talk me into letting you buy me gifts for my birthday. You won’t be able get rid of me if you keep pampering me this way you know” Shay said coyly, Cash chuckled and turned the key out of the ignition before turning to gaze at her adoringly.

“Oh no, the most beautiful girl in Plymouth is going to attach herself to my hip! What ever will I do. You forgot, made you a latte with a pink heart in it, that you, didn’t even compliment.” Cash said with a mock pout on his face, Shay scoffed at him though her smile never faltered.

“That’s not true, I said it looked very pretty and I really did appreciate it Cashy. I’m still holding you to your promise to not wake me up before 9:30 however.” Shay said, giving him a pointed look before she opened her car door. Cash chuckled again, opening his own door before scooping up all of Shay’s new purchases and stepping onto the driveway.

“I have every intention of keeping that promise Shaylee Rose, as long as you hold up your end of the deal” Cash said following her up the Harris porch steps with an amused smirk on his face. He could hear Shay giggling under her breath at him as she unlocked the front door and held it open with an amused smirk of her own.

“And what was my end of the deal again?” Shay said in adorable mock confusion, Cash rolled his eyes to himself and walked into the still quiet Harris house. Cash made his way towards Shay’s room on a wave of familiarity and instinct, he sat all her shopping bags by her closet door before turning to look at her one more time. Shay looked at him, seeming to fall back in her sheepish proclivities from earlier this morning and a brief awkward silence hung in the air.

“So, I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow at 9:30 then…” Cash trailed, Shay nodded her head in acknowledgement but appeared to be lost in one of her daydreams. “Alright, then see later Cherry Blossom” Cash said having the sudden feeling that he was intruding. He made his way towards her window in long strides though he was well aware he could use the front door, using her window just felt right. So, Cash pushed the familiar white sill up and started his short journey home…

“Cash, wait” Shay’s voice came out sharply and suddenly, with enough tenacity to make Cash jump in surprise before he whirled around to look at her. Shay looked over at him with a bashful blush spreading on her cheeks.

“Yes princess?” Cash chuckled to himself, feeling both bashful and smitten under her gaze the same way he’d felt under her eyes since he was fourteen. Shay appeared to bite back a sheepish smile.

“Do you, uh, want to order a pizza and watch a Harrison Ford movie with me?” Shay asked, still looking incredibly sheepish. Cash nodded his head, over zealously again because he felt those familiar butterflies fluttering in his stomach when he turned to shut her window with a big grin on his face.

“Of course I do darling.”

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

#thomas ian griffith #friends to lovers #cash x oc #cash ewing #summer romance

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merrycrisis-if · 8 months

Note

replayed merry crisis out of boredom.. qiu and shay have deep grips on my soul how can u make me CHOOSE… i was so set on shay then ch 4 happened and replaying has just made me more conflicted!!

i swear to god if nat is the surprise guest in ch 5… *head in hands*

oh joony .. she is my one true ally in this madness

BWAHAHA.

i swear to god if nat is the surprise guest in ch 5… *head in hands*

Oh anon, all I can say is... I think you already know how my brain works <3

#merry crisis #if #interactive fiction #asks #nat #qiu #shay

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trickphotography2 · 4 months

Text

'tis the damn season | Chapter 3

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Julie/Cece (OC, no physical description)

Word count: 6.7K

The last person he expected to run into was his high school sweetheart and the one that got away, Julie.

Chapter 2 | Master List | Ao3

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Chapter 3

“Lookin’ good, cowboy!” Shayla called, phone held up as Jake cantered back to the barn. The mare he was riding - Starlight - tossed her head, and he couldn’t help but smile. It’d been too long since he’d been in the saddle.

“I didn’t think you’d be up,” he replied, gently tugging the reins to stop Starlight beside her.

“Your mom was vacuuming the hallway,” she shrugged. He chuckled - he’d been wondering how long Mama would let her sleep in until 10:00AM before getting her out of bed. Apparently, guest privileges lasted two days. Shay stepped back, panning the camera to follow him as he dismounted, patting the horse’s neck before taking her bridle and leading her back into the barn. When he glanced over his shoulder, she was still filming. At his raised eyebrow, she giggled. “Sorry, you’re just so fucking sexy. This is gonna get a ton of views.” Facing forward, he clenched his jaw to keep from saying anything. Leading Starlight into her stall, he removed her tack and gave her a quick brush before tossing a blanket over her back. Shayla stopped him when he moved to get a treat from the feed barrel. “Can I?”

“Sure,” he shrugged, retrieving a carrot and handing it to her. She shoved the phone into his hands and looked at him expectantly until he lifted it to film her feeding the horse. As soon as it was gone, she spun towards him and threw her arms around him, pressing her lips to his. Jake kissed her back, willing himself to feel something as her tongue traced his lips. Her hands fell to his waist, slipping into his jacket and tugging his shirt from his jeans. “Shay,” he said, catching her hands.

“Come on, Jakey,” she cooed. “I miss you.”

“I - ”

“Jacob THOMAS Seresin!” Jumping back as though he’d been scalded, he turned to see his mother standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and green eyes flashing.

“Ma’am?” he frowned, watching as her eyes shot to Shayla and her scowl deepened.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“Ma’am?” he repeated.

“Do you. Have. Something. To tell. Me.” He glanced at Shay, who gave him a shy smile.

“Uh…”

“I’d like you to explain to me, young man, how it is right for a mother to find out that her baby is having a baby on the internet. Why did I get a text from Betty, whose daughter found it on TikTok, instead of hearing it from you? Hm?”

Jake whipped around to scowl at Shayla, stepping back from her. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I… may have dropped a hint in the last video. It was just us getting here.” He ran a hand down his face, remembering how she’d filmed herself with her hand on her stomach in the car. Turning to face his mother, she said, “Sorry to have you find out this way, but surprise! Looks like you have two grandbabies on the way!”

Taking a deep breath, his mother closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. After a moment, she squared her shoulders and pinned them with a heavy gaze. “I’m happy for you, but you need to tell your father before he finds out this way. We deserved to hear it from you directly, not from some video about you coming into our home and sneaking around with the news.”

“Yes, Ma’am. We’ll do that right now.” Jake sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Mama.” She stared at her youngest son, her face the picture of disappointment, before nodding and spinning on her heel, leaving the barn. When she was out of sight, he reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his phone.

“Ja - ”

“Stop. You’ve already made this bad enough,” he cut Shayla off while pulling up her account and looking at the newest post. She’d done a voiceover explaining that they were visiting his family to share some exciting news and had filmed herself standing behind his family. He watched as she collected eggs with his mother, when his father had taken her on a tour of the milking barn, and Ally and Will exercising one of the horses on the walker. In each clip, she had her back to them, her hand on her stomach, and winked at the camera. “Did you even ask them if they were okay with being in your video?” Jake demanded.

Her silence spoke volumes, and he glanced at the stats. It already had over ten thousand views and hundreds of likes and comments. “I’m sure they don’t - ”

“My family is off limits,” he snapped. Without another word, he stormed out of the barn. The cold air cooled his flushed face, and he pulled off the Longhorns hat he’d found in the back of his closet to run a hand through his hair. “Fuck!” he growled, throwing the cap onto the ground in a moment of frustration. After snatching it up and dusting it off, he folded the bill, slipped it into his back pocket, and headed toward the milking barn where he’d helped Pops and Will drive the herd. After swapping his shoes for wellies, he stepped inside.

“ - Alright, I’ll be there in a bit,” he heard his father say, frowning as he spoke into his phone. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” Jake glanced at Will, who raised an eyebrow.

“Everything alright?” Will asked as soon as he hung up. Bill Senior glanced at his sons, gaze lingering on Jake momentarily before nodding.

“Need to head into town for a bit. You two able to take care of all this?” he asked, motioning to the cows. Will nodded, raising an eyebrow - their father was always supervising milking, only taking a day off when their mother forced him to stay in bed sick. With a firm nod at his sons, Bill headed out.

“Sir, can… I need to tell you something,” Jake said, hurrying after him after trading a look with his brother.

“Make it quick, son.” Standing before his father, Jake suddenly felt like he was 16 again, telling him he wanted to join the Navy instead of following the family farming tradition.

“Sir… Pops…” Bill pressed his lips together and glanced at his watch. Taking a steeling breath, Jake straightened his shoulders. “Shayla’s pregnant. I…I’m going to be a father.”

The older man wasn’t expecting that. His eyebrows shot up, and his mouth fell open. The two stared at one another for a long moment before Bill smiled and pulled his son in for a hug. “Congratulations, Jacob. I’m happy for you.”

It was on the tip of Jake’s tongue to admit his fear. He was worried that he would never feel for Shay the way that Pops felt for Mama. That he would be a horrible dad. That he would screw up his kid by trying to force himself to fall in love with their mother. But instead, he simply hugged his father back, clearing his throat before saying, “Thanks.”

Julie forced herself not to turn and investigate the screeching noise, instead continuing work on her batches of buttercream frosting. Taking a deep breath, she checked the consistency. She tried not to panic at how much her oven going out was throwing off her carefully created schedule to complete the massive order for the mayor’s Christmas Eve party.

By this time, she should have already had nine pans of macarons cooling and another two baking. The morning had started normal enough - she’d taken the day off of work but was up at 4:00AM to bring her ingredients to room temperature and get through some emails. A bride she was working with for a mid-January wedding was debating her flavor choices again. Julie hoped she didn’t need to add updating a contract to the list of tasks.

The first few hours were spent prepping and portioning out her ingredients. The mayor had asked her to make 8 heart shaped cakes (one for every year they’d been in office) as well as party favors - about 300 macarons in assorted flavors in small boxes, as well as 100 cupcakes and a cookie decorating set to keep the kids entertained. With a day and a half to get everything done, it shouldn’t have been a problem, especially with the plan of getting up early and staying up late. It was her last big order before calling it for Christmas baking.

That was until her oven started acting up. It had taken forever to heat up yesterday, and the first cake had been undercooked and tasted sour. After checking her ingredients and confirming that everything was still fresh, she had a sinking feeling when her oven turned off.

A muttered curse followed a bang, and she turned to see Bill Seresin scowling at the back of the oven. When their eyes met, she panicked - those warm, familiar brown eyes were hesitant. Turning off the mixer, she turned to face him fully. “I’m afraid to say it, but you need a new oven.”

“What? No! It’s… it’s just acting up, right?” Julie said, stepping closer and placing a hand on the cold stovetop. “There’s a loose connection or something. Has to be.”

“I’ve taken this thing apart, and I’m not seeing it. You can call Joey to take a peek, but from the looks of it, this thing’s ready for the scrap pile. I’m surprised it lasted this long.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Dropping her head into her hands, Julie felt tears prick in her eyes. She could not get an oven purchased and delivered to meet the deadline. She would have to call the mayor, apologize profusely, and refund her the total cost. And be out the cost of ingredients and a new oven.

There was a shuffling noise, and Mr. Seresin pulled her into his arms. “It’s alright, honey. We’ll get this figured out. I’ll have the boys haul this out, and we can head to the store this afternoon to get you a new one.”

Julie mentally ran through the calculations. Financially, her bank account could handle the unexpected expense. But even if they could get Jake and Will here to haul it out right away, it would be a three-hour round-trip drive to the nearest appliance store. If they had the oven she wanted in stock - a big IF - getting it back and installed would take even longer. And then there were the practicalities of breaking in a new oven - learning the hot spots, figuring out if the display temperature was the actual temperature, the timing, etc. “Even if I get a new oven, I’ll still be too far behind schedule,” she huffed, forcing herself to straighten.

“Alright. Pack up your stuff. I’ll let Kerry know that we’re on our way.”

“What?”

“You need a kitchen, and we’ve got one. You get to gatherin’, and I’ll let Kerry know we’re on the way.”

“I… it’s not that simple,” Julie said, glancing around her kitchen. The idea of packing up everything and moving to another location was…And even then, she would need to figure out the nuances of the Seresin’s oven.

“Julie, you either bake at the ranch or call the mayor. What are you going to do?”

“Jake, Will - go help your father,” Kerry said, glancing out the kitchen window to see her husband pulling into the driveway. Jake glanced up from his lunch and frowned.

“What’s he need help with?”

“Carrying things in. Now go.” Both men pushed away from the table at their mother's brisk tone and wiped their mouths on their napkins. Shayla glanced up from her phone momentarily before scrolling her comments. Jake caught Mama’s irritated look - she hated phones at the table. After slipping their shoes back on, they descended the steps just as he pulled to a stop.

“Good. Hurry up and get this stuff inside,” he said, opening his door.

“Need to go to the barn?” Will asked.

“Kitchen. Put the bowls in the fridge and everything else on the counter.” The brothers shared a look and circled the truck to see the back seat stuffed with boxes and bags.

“What the hell is this?” Jake asked.

“Julie’s comin’ to use the kitchen. She had to run to the store to get more stuff, and I told her we’d set this up for her by the time she got here. So quit yapping and get movin’.”

“And she needs all this?” Bill and Will shared a look before shoving a box of cookie sheets into Jake’s arms. “I’m missing something.”

“Yeah, dumbass,” Will muttered. “Julie’s a baker.”

“Since when?”

“What part of quit yappin’ and get movin’ didn’t you understand, Jacob?” His father snapped, adjusting his grip on a tote containing a mixer and another with some other machine. Flushed, Jake turned and walked back into the house. His mother was already wiping down the counters.

“Put that right there. Julie’ll get everything where she wants it when she gets here.”

“Since when is Cece a baker? I thought she worked at the bank.”

“She does both,” Mama replied, peeking into the box when he set it down. When he was about to ask another question, Pops entered the kitchen and nodded.

“There’s more that needs to come in.” Dismissed, Jake went back outside and completed an additional three trips.

“Is she moving in?” Shayla asked, smirking at the bags and boxes currently cluttering the kitchen.

“If that’s what she needs to do, then absolutely,” Mama said, glancing at her. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Shay stood and yawned before putting a hand on her stomach.

“I’m gonna go take a nap. The baby’s making me tired.” She cast an expectant look at Jake, who glanced at his parents. When Shay took his hand, he let himself be led upstairs to the guest bedroom.

“You feelin’ okay?” Jake asked while shutting the door behind him. “Other than tired, I mean.” It dawned on him that he hadn’t asked her how she was feeling with the pregnancy.

“Ugh, I’m just ready to go home,” she replied, flinging herself onto the bed. “I miss my comfy blankets.” Pushing away the surge of irritation at her insulting his mother’s quilting, he crossed the room and sat beside her. Hesitantly, he reached out to put his hand on her still-flat stomach. It was crazy to think that in 7 months, there would be a little them. Shayla’s hand covered his, and his eyes rose to meet hers.

“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

“A girl. You?” He shrugged, thumb lightly stroking.

“There hasn’t been a Seresin girl in a couple of generations, so the odds are it’s a boy.”

“Well, if that’s true,” she said coyly, running her fingers along his leg and sitting up. Her nose brushed his cheek before whispering, “I guess we’ll have to keep trying until we have a little girl.” Shayla kissed him, licking into his mouth as her fingers traced his cock through his jeans. When she tried to undo the button, he stopped her. She pouted while pulling back. “Jakey!”

“Not at my parent’s house.”

“But it’s been forever!” she whined. And she was right. They hadn’t slept together since the night of the Halloween party. As determined as he was to ensure they worked things out for their kid, he found it hard to forgive her for making out with someone else. She’d assured him that it was just a drunken accident, but he was struggling to move past it.

“Not at my parent’s house,” he repeated. Standing, he moved to the window to shut the blinds, glancing down at the driveway. He watched as Cece pulled up, and his mother walked out to greet her. As soon as the car door was closed, Mama took her hands and squeezed them.

Cece frowned and then smiled at whatever Mama said, shaking her head. Jake recognized the concern on his mother’s face as she reached up to brush a strand of hair behind Cece’s ear before cupping her face and saying something. The younger woman nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug.

“Come lay down with me, at least,” Shayla huffed. Reluctantly, Jake closed the blinds and laid down beside his fiancee, closing his eyes and thinking about the future.

“Julie Louise Ryan!” Pops yelled as they sat around the dining room table waiting. Ally smirked at Will before quickly sipping her water to hide it. Jake lifted a hand to cover his mouth, exchanging a look with Mama.

“Sorry,” Cece apologized, stepping out of the kitchen. “Just needed to get the cakes in the fridge.” The only open seat was between Shayla and Pops, and she quickly dropped into it. A smile tugged at Pop’s mouth as he nodded and clasped his hands, bowing his head. Everyone followed suit.

“Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this food we are about to receive to nourish and strengthen our bodies. We thank thee for our family seated around this table and for another day on this blessed land. We ask for a special blessing for Julie as she works tonight. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” Everyone echoed the amen. Opening his eyes, Pops reached over and covered Julie’s hand, squeezing gently before nodding at Mama. She took the platter of roast beef she’d made in the crockpot to ensure that the oven was open all afternoon for Julie and passed it to Will.

“How’s it going?” Ally asked, reaching for the dish of cooked carrots.

“I’m still behind schedule, but the cupcakes are done, and I’ve got three more cakes to do. The cookies and macarons will be the worst,” Cece replied, handing the salad bowl to Shayla.

“Can we help?” Mama asked.

“No, I’ll get it. I just need to figure out the system for the macrons since they’re the most temperamental. It’ll be a lot of trial and error, but I grabbed more almond flour on my way over, so at least I’ll have that.”

“Well, you’ve got plenty of taste testers,” Will added. “I still have dreams about that bourbon bacon cake you made for my birthday.” Cece smiled and accepted the roast beef Pops handed her, spearing some onto her plate.

“Thankfully, there’s nothing that fancy this time. Just doing gingerbread, cranberry, peppermint, and eggnog.”

“If you want, I could include you in one of my videos. Maybe get you some more attention outside of here,” Shayla offered. “I’d just want to get a couple of shots of myself helping you with something. Maybe frosting one of the cakes?”

“Oh.” Cece glanced at Jake, who raised an eyebrow at Shayla’s unexpected offer. “That’s…that’s generous, but I’m good. I…uh… film for my own account.”

“How many followers do you have?” Shay asked as Jake’s eyebrows shot higher. Beside him, Will nudged him to pass the mashed potatoes.

“Four hundred thousand, last I checked.” Smiling a bit more pointedly, Shayla chuckled.

“I remember when I had that many. I’m at 3 million or so. If we collab, I’d tag you so my followers could find you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Stay up with me for a 22-hour workday! Between my day job and baking - ” Jake tapped his phone screen as Cece’s video looped, pausing it as she buried her face in her hands while leaning on the kitchen counter. He’d been scrolling her page for about an hour, working backward through her content.

He was impressed and exhausted just watching her. A lot of her videos documented going from her job at the bank right into the kitchen and ending with her in the car for a delivery. It was clear why she was always busy - Cece was talented. Jake had never been interested in watching cooking videos. Still, he was glued to the screen, watching her smoothing icing, decorating, and pouring ganache into bowls. There were also a couple of brand partnership videos.

But it was the video announcing Mr. Ryan’s death that broke his heart. Jake had watched it three times. There were clips of them working together in the kitchen, her father helping her package her treats, tasting flavors, and bandaging up her finger when she sliced it with a knife. And then Cece was alone, sitting on the floor next to the oven with her back against the cabinets as she sobbed. “My daddy always told me that I needed to start living for myself, so that’s what I’m gonna do,” she said in a voiceover while breaking a peanut butter cookie in half and popping it into her mouth. “I promised him that I’d follow my own dreams for once, so I’m putting it out into the universe that I’ll be a full-time home baker one day. Hell, maybe I’ll have my own bakery.”

Sighing, he set the phone on his chest and ran a hand down his face. When Mama had called to let him know about Mr. Ryan, Jake had almost picked up the phone and called Cece. But after nearly seven years without talking - only exchanging ‘Happy birthday’ messages on social media - calling out of the blue seemed like a lot. Especially when she was mourning. The family had ensured he knew how Mr. Ryan was doing, and he wasn’t surprised when Cece moved back to Magnolia. As much as he loved her life in Austin, she was a daddy’s girl through and through. She never would have let him go through treatment alone.

Jake reached for his water glass and frowned at finding it empty. Shit. Knowing that Cece was still working, he debated calling it a night but was still wide awake and thirsty. Grabbing his shirt from the dresser, he crept into the hallway. Light shone from Shayla’s doorway, and he quickly darted past it to the stairs, hoping to avoid another confrontation after sending her back to the room earlier in the evening.

“Shit, god damn, motherfucker,” Cece hissed, setting another tray of macaron shells onto the countertop. Her head whipped up when she heard Jake snort, a blush creeping across her cheeks. “Don’t tell your Pops.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. He’d wash your mouth out with soap,” he chuckled, walking to the refrigerator. It was filled with wrapped-up cake layers, chilling bowls of filling, and cupcakes. Turning, he glanced at the counters covered with unbaked trays. He could see her phone set up on a tripod, recording her as she worked. “I’d ask how it’s going, but I get the feeling it’s not good.”

“Nope,” she replied, tugging the pot holder from her hand and running her fingers through her hair before turning off the camera. “I’m on my sixth tray of these and can’t get the fuckin’ oven figured out.”

“What’s the issue?” he asked, glancing at the tray of cracked white cookies before her.

“It’s too hot, and there’s a hot spot in one of the corners.” Picking up one of the cookies, she turned it over and glared. “It doesn’t even have even feet.”

“Feet?”

“The shells rise a little bit when they bake.” Tossing the shell back onto the tray with a huff, she turned to the oven and lowered the temperature. Jake snagged one of the overbaked cookies and ate it.

“’Face good, dough,” he said, breathing out steam as he burned his mouth. Cece raised an eyebrow at him and smirked as he chugged half of his water. “Damn, that was hot.”

“Overcooked and straight out of the oven. I thought you were supposed to be smart, Seresin.”

“You know better than to put something you made in front of me and not expect me to try it,” he shot back. She rolled her eyes and walked to the sink to wash her hands, drying them on the towel thrown over her shoulder.

“At least try something that’s not burnt,” she prompted, grabbing a plate with cake scraps. Jake cocked an eyebrow and took a piece of the brown cake, groaning at the rich gingerbread taste, making her grin.

“Jesus, Cece, this is great.”

“Thanks. I had some extra gingerbread cupcakes, so I figured I’d decorate those for your parents as a thank you for letting me take over the kitchen today.”

“I think my parents would agree with me when I say you don’t have to do that, and you should focus on your order so you can get some sleep.”

“I’ll sleep tomorrow after I deliver this,” she shrugged, setting the plate down and lightly running a finger over one of the uncooked macaron shells. Apparently satisfied, Cece nodded and opened the oven, peering inside. “Okay, let’s hope tray seven is a winner.” After sliding it onto the rack and setting a timer for 13 minutes, she turned to face him, glancing at her camera. “Do you mind if I… I’ll keep you out of the frame and edit you out.”

“Yeah, sure.” She nodded and repositioned the tripod before picking up an icing bag. Jake watched as she piped wreaths onto five of the smooth, white tops of the cupcakes in individual boxes before picking up a pair of tweezers and placing sprinkles. The timer went off while she was working on the third one.

“I’ll get it,” he offered, grabbing the pot holder and quickly shutting off the alarm. Making sure the hot tray wasn’t close enough to burn her, he held it out and watched her scowl. “No?”

“Better, but still not it. Would you mind dropping the temp another 5 degrees?” Setting the tray down, he did as she asked and sat on one of the kitchen stools to watch her. Cece looked up at him through her lashes as she resumed decorating. “What?”

“Nothin’. Just… I didn’t realize that you were doin’ this.”

“Baking?”

“As a business.” At her shrug, he sighed and motioned to the phone. “And the whole… How long have you wanted to do this?”

“I’ve always wanted to be a baker.” When he let out a huff of surprise, Cece set down the sprinkles and quickly closed the cupcake boxes, stacking them at the end of the counter.

“You never said anything about it.”

“I didn’t think it was an option.” Jake watched her check the oven before putting another tray in.

“Why wouldn’t it have been an option?”

“It takes a long time to build up the skills and even longer to build a client base. If we were going to - ” She cut herself off, and Jake felt a jolt in his stomach. “I didn’t think I would have time to do it.”

“And you do now?”

“The internet helps. I do a lot of orders out of state, so I drive a lot. And I’ve figured out how to ship so I can get some cookies out. But yeah, I’ve had more time to focus on building my business.” Assembling five more boxes, she dropped cupcakes into them and picked up the piping bag again. “What about you? How’s life in the Navy?”

Lonely was on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. When he’d moved to San Diego, he’d gotten closer to the Daggers, but since Shayla had entered the picture, it felt like they’d regressed from friends to coworkers. Nights at the Hard Deck were rare, and he was unlikely to have much time to hang out with a baby. “Fine,” Jake shrugged. Pausing to twist the bag, Cece raised an eyebrow.

“Fine? After all that work and excitement to finally fly, it’s just ‘fine’?” For something to do, he grabbed the cupcake boxes and assembled them, setting them to the side.

“I love my job. It’s just… all the other stuff.”

“Well, you’ll have a new adventure to keep you occupied at least,” Cece said, intently peering down at the cupcakes. “With the baby and all that.”

Jake froze, the kitchen silent except for the faint crinkle of the piping bag. “You, uh…I didn’t realize that you knew.”

“If you thought that Betty, the biggest gossip in town, wasn’t going to call me as soon as she found out to ‘warn’ me” - she lifted her fingers to do air quotes - “then you’ve been gone from Magnolia for too long. Plus, your Mama told me as soon as I got here.” Forcing her gaze up, she smiled, trying to banish any trace of sadness from her expression. “I’m happy for you, Jake. You always wanted to have kids.”

Saved by the timer going off, he pushed to his feet and walked to the oven. The flash of heat when he opened the door gave him a cover for why his cheeks were flushed. Taking the pan out, he pushed away the memories of lying in bed together and trading half-conscious hopes for the future. “How are these?”

“Not quite. Another five degrees?” He nodded, placing the pan on the stovetop and lowering the temperature before returning to his seat. “Can I do anything to help?”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t feel like you have to stay up - I’ve got this covered.” Ignoring the dismissal, he continued to assemble the cupcake boxes, sneaking glances at her as she worked. As the pile of boxes grew, he opened the fridge to count the cupcakes she’d be making.

“Where are the finished ones going?”

“I have a bigger box in my car that I’m going to put these in,” Cece explained, glancing at the growing pile of finished cupcakes as she placed sprinkles.

“I’ll get it.”

The clock was edging towards 2:00AM when Cece was finally satisfied with the macarons and was ready to work on the shells. Jake started another pot of coffee after finishing the first in the two hours they’d been working. While he stacked the finished cupcakes into a large box, she measured the ingredients, tossed them into the mixer, and prepared her cookie sheets.

“Skip,” Jake called out as Achy Breaky Heart started to play in his earbud.

“No appreciation for the classics,” Cece muttered, a smile tugging at her mouth as she tapped her earbud twice. The opening strings of Neon Moon started, and she couldn’t help but start to sway at the counter as Kacey Musgraves covered Brooks & Dunn. Jake heard her singing softly. “I think of two young lovers running wild and free. I close my eyes and sometimes see you in the shadows of this smoke-filled room. No telling how many tears I've sat here and cried or how many lies that I've lied, telling my poor heart he'll come back someday.”

The song faded into the next as she hand-finished mixing the meringue to ensure consistency. They started laughing at Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off. “Damn, I haven’t heard this one in forever,” Jake chuckled. Moving closer, he tapped her phone, pausing her recording, and pulled up the playlist to scroll through the songs. It took a minute to realize that it was a recreation of one of their road trip playlists from when they would drive the seven hours from Annapolis to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break. Pink dusted her cheeks when he glanced over at her, almost as though she was remembering those long drives, singing along with one another and brimming with the anticipation of finally being alone in their hotel room. No matter how much his buddies always wanted to split the cost, Jake and Cece had made sure that they had privacy at the end of the night to lose themselves in drunken kisses and hot showers. Those five days at the beach were stolen time that they needed.

Back then, they thought one week together was enough to sustain a relationship.

Cece shimmied while lifting the spatula to test the consistency. Satisfied, she brought the mixing bowl to where her piping bags and tips were prepped, blowing a strand of hair from her eyes. She flicked her head to clear her sight when it fell back into place. Unwilling to strip off her gloves, she attempted to brush it away with her shoulder. “Hey, look at me.”

“Huh?” Jake smiled and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Goosebumps erupted on her skin when his fingers trailed down her neck, eyes widening as they met his. He watched her cheeks flush, her breath stuttering against his wrist. “T-thanks.”

The song ended, fading into a slower ballad. “When I first saw you, I saw love. And the first time you touched me, I felt love,” Shania sighed. “And after all this time, you're still the one I love.”

Cece dropped her gaze and tapped her earbud, changing the song without looking at him. Jake hesitated a moment before changing it back. “Can’t skip Shania,” he said gruffly.

Widening her eyes, Cece blinked hard as she smoothed the icing of her last cake. It was Christmas Eve and the sun had already risen over the Seresin ranch, and she could hear muffled footsteps upstairs. Cooling racks covered all available space in the kitchen, and the dining room table was covered with boxed cakes and cupcakes. Pressing the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn, she glanced over at Jake, who had his head resting on his arms as he closed his eyes after matching the 600 macaron shells for her. Thankfully, they didn’t need to make too many extras. They only required a little decoration - before baking, she’d shaped the red, green, and silver cookies like Christmas ornaments, so a little drizzle of icing and a spritz of edible glitter would be enough to make them look shiny and finished.

“Jake,” she said softly, smiling when he grunted in response. “Go to bed - you’ll be more comfortable.”

“’ M awake, babe,” he mumbled, sitting up. Cece felt her heart clench at the slipped term of endearment, but Jake didn’t seem to realize he’d said it, so she also chose to ignore it. Rubbing his eyes, he reached for his cold coffee and drained the mug as they heard the stairs creak.

“Morning,” Mama Seresin said, tucking her robe closer as she entered the kitchen. “Did you two sleep at all?”

“Mornin’ Mama,” Jake said, his lip twitching when his mother leaned to kiss his cheek. She circled the counter to do the same to Cece. “‘Izz it time for chores?”

“Not for you,” the older woman said, giving her son a fondly exasperated look. “I think it’s time for bed.”

“I’m on the final stretch,” Cece yawned. “Just need to finish these two cakes, and then I’ll do the macarons and call it.”

“You’ll finish the cakes and then go to sleep, Julie Louise.”

“Yeah, Julie Louise,” Jake echoed, his smile fading as he lifted his empty mug. Narrowing her eyes, Cece plucked a candied cranberry from the tray drying at her elbow and lobbed it at him. Reflexes dulled by fatigue, the berry hit his forehead and fell into his lap. Grinning, he popped it into his mouth.

“Jacob.” The warning tone in his mother’s voice made him try to stifle his grin, but he was unsuccessful. Setting aside her icing smoother, Cece picked up the tray of cranberries and dropped a handful into a dish of waiting sugar, shaking it to coat them. The Seresins watched - Cece flushing at their joint attention - as she arranged the berries along the edge of the two cakes before ripping apart rosemary sprigs and placing pieces. Taking a step back, she rubbed the back of her hand on her cheek as she studied them, debating adding more berries. “They’re beautiful, Julie. I’m sure the mayor is going to love them.”

Without a word, Jake retrieved cake boxes from the dining room and assembled one while Cece did the other, trading a tired smile. She glanced at her watch as soon as they were slid into the boxes. Still behind schedule, but the macarons should only take about three hours between the decorating, assembly, and boxing. The sugar cookies would take another two hours to roll and bake, with another hour and a half to make the decorating kits. But as she stripped off her gloves and opened her mouth to say she was okay, Mama Seresin pinned her with a look. “Bed.”

“But - ”

“Bed. Both of you. You have plenty of time to get the rest of this done before this afternoon, and I’ve already made up the guest bed for you. Now get.”

The stern expression left no room for debate, and neither did the hand she wrapped around Jake and Cece’s arms and guided them out of the kitchen. Jake paused at the foot of the stairs to allow her to climb before him, watching her heavy footsteps as fatigue seemed to drag her down. Without thinking, he placed a hand on the small of her back to ensure she didn’t tip backward.

Cece’s shoulder bumped his as they walked down the hall, and he nudged her back. Her tired eyes darted to meet his, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth before she hip-checked him. His lips curved into an answering smile as they paused outside the second guest bedroom. “Thanks, Jake. I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much done tonight if you hadn’t helped,” she said, voice rough with exhaustion.

“It was fun. Feel like I got a masterclass in making macarons.”

“You were a pretty great assistant. Might hire you on for the next round of Christmas baking.”

“Not done yet. You gotta show me how to get the ganache in them, and I’ll put the boxes together.”

“You really don’t - ”

“I’m gonna help. I feel like I’ve earned at least tasting one of the finished macarons.” Chuckling, she shook her head.

“Maybe even two.” The playfulness disappeared from her expression as she looked up at him, “I’m serious, though. Thank you.” Jake nodded, catching the fleeting moment of hesitation before Cece stepped forward and hugged him. His arms wrapped around her, hand coming up to cup the back of her head and holding her tighter. Without thinking, he pressed a kiss into her hair. Her head lifted from his chest, and he spied sugar crystals on her cheekbone. Jake brushed them away with his thumb before lifting it to his mouth to lick away the sweet taste.

Cece’s breath caught, gaze narrowing to the flash of tongue behind his parted lips. His chest brushed hers with every breath. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. Confusion and something so familiar swirled in those green eyes. She took a step back, only half surprised when he followed to pin her between the wall and his body. Her fingers curled in his shirt, and she wasn’t sure if it was to pull him closer or shove him away. His hand rose, hesitating a moment before curving around her cheek.

Jake’s lips were soft against hers, a tentative brush that she could have imagined if it wasn’t for the rough scratch of his stubble. Her grip on his shirt tightened as he planted a hand beside her head, boxing her in as he pressed against her. The move made her whimper, and his breath caressed her skin as he laughed before they kissed again, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips and sliding against her own. Cece dug her nails into his back, inhaling sharply when he moaned against her mouth, his hips pressing against hers. “Baby,” he panted. “I missed you.”

The words were like a wave of cold water thrown over her, and Cece shoved him away. Jake stumbled back, catching himself on the opposite wall. “Shit,” she breathed, pressing a hand to her mouth.

“Cece?” Jake reached for her before letting his hand drop when he realized what they’d done.

What he’d done.

The door to his parent’s room opened, and - when he turned to meet his father’s gaze - Cece darted into the guest bedroom. “Son, everything alright?” Pops asked, frowning at his youngest.

“Y-yes, sir. Just headed to bed,” Jake replied.

Julie leaned against the door and hung her head inside the room, blinking back tears. “Fuck,” she whispered.

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Read Chapter 4

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#top gun fic #top gun maverick #jake seresin #Hangman top gun #soft!Jake Seresin #hangman fic #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #'tis the damn season fic

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emkay512 · 1 year

Text

Show You Off

Set at Liam and Riley’s first wedding anniversary, and they are trying to come up with ideas to celebrate each other. - Another OUAT one shot

Song inspiration: Show You Off by Dan + Shay

A/N 1: This is participating in @choicesflashfics week 8 and I’m using prompt 3: “I’ve never done something like this before.”

A/N 2: I’m grateful for this prompt cause it got me to actually want to finish this by the end of the prompt week. And I want to thank @queenrileyrose for pre-reading this, just earlier today!

I’m also including the designs that I also created, just cause… I had fun making them and wanted to include a visual, as basic as it may be 😅 I hope it’s not too off putting!

Warnings: Tiny bit of language and just a mention of 🍋

Word Count: 2,445 (my longest yet! 😬)

Tags: Sorry if I missed anyone, let me know if you want to be added or removed @queenrileyrose @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @ao719 @kat-tia801 @sincerelyella @charlotteg234 @neotericthemis @kingliam2019 @iaminlovewithtrr @amandablink @iluaaa @jared2612 @sfb123 @twinkleallnight @tessa-liam @secretaryunpaid @ladyangel70 @gkittylove99 @texaskitten30 @shanzay44 @ofpixelsandscribbles @sarcastic01lily

The king and queen of Cordonia were enjoying a peaceful breakfast together in their personal quarters at the palace. Their first wedding anniversary was fast approaching, and they hadn’t discussed any plans. Riley was a ball of excitement for their upcoming milestone, but to her surprise, Liam hadn’t brought it up at all. She knew there was no way he’d forgotten, but she couldn’t hold in her excitement a minute longer.

“So..” Riley, broke their comfortable silence, “A pretty big day is coming up for us..”

Liam looked up at her with a smirk on his face, “I must say, I’m very impressed with you.” Riley had a very quizzical look on her face with his response. “I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up, here I thought you would have been talking of nothing but our wedding anniversary for the last month.” Liam smiled very brightly at the topic. Riley hurled a piece of toast at him for picking on her.

“Well excuse me for not interrupting the king’s schedule.” She laughed, completely relieved for his playful response. “So, tell me, what should we do? I’ve been dying for you to tell me there’s some great Cordonian tradition that we mustn’t be the first ones to break.”

“Heh, you always have been one to catch on quick, haven’t you, Love?” He reached over to grab her hand and peck it with a quick kiss. “Well there is one tradition, but it’s not centuries old or anything, and most certainly not something we have to do.”

“Please tell me.” Riley replied with wide excited eyes.

“It’s simple. It’s the idea that we exchange a sort of gesture rather than a gift. Like planting a tree or something of the sort for your partner.”

Riley instinctively scoffed, “I think I can do better than planting a tree for you!” Liam laughed at her instinct to declare she could do better than a tree for him.

“I take it you like the idea?”

“I love it, let’s do it.”

Liam stood from his chair and leaned down to Riley to seal the idea with a deep kiss. “Yes, let’s.”

The next day, Liam found himself in his study, wracked with thoughts about how to fulfill his end on this grand gesture tradition. He had a specific idea in mind. Something very un-Liam and the more he researched, the more he liked it. He knew his wife would be filled with shock and delight over it. He was quickly becoming more convinced on it, but he just needed to find the right design.

Suddenly, there was a quick knock on his door, and Liam called for them to enter. Drake walked into Liam’s study to catch up and check in on his best friend. Upon his entrance, he noticed Liam had laser focus on his computer screen. Liam glanced up, and once he recognized Drake, he adjusted his attention back to his desk. “Oh, hey Drake. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. What can I do for you?”

Drake did just that, but he couldn’t ignore his instinct to inquire on Liam’s current fixation. “Uh, well, you can catch me up for starters.” Drake had no idea what had him looking so serious. Liam didn’t respond assuming Drake would have no trouble helping himself to whatever he needed. “Dude! What’d you got porn on there or something? I’ve never seen a man stare at a screen so hard.”

“What? No!” Liam snapped his head up at Drake with the slightest and feigned look of offense at the comical suggestion. Drake had poured himself a finger of scotch from Liam’s bar cart and motioned, asking Liam if he’d like to join, which he did. Drake handed Liam his drink and sat down opposite him willing Liam to explain. “Well, Riley and I have our first wedding anniversary approaching, and I’m trying to figure out what to do.”

“Uh, huh. And so you’re.. online shopping? Doesn’t seem like you to simply buy something.”

“Astute as ever, Drake. I’m not online shopping. Riley has decided she wants to keep with tradition and exchange gestures instead of gifts.” Drake was interested and still curious where this was going. “I have an idea in mind, but.. it’s very permanent and I’m struggling to find the just right design.”

“Ok, so just exactly what is this very permanent gesture you are so unsure about?”

“Oh, I’m sure about it. I just want it to be right... Let me just say this, what is the one dare Leo gave me that I could never actually do?”

Drake shot straight up in his seat with immediate understanding and total shock. “No way! You want to get a tattoo!?”

True to form, Riley had enlisted Maxwell to help her plan this gesture gift exchange that she and Liam had agreed to. When they came up with the idea, she thought it was the brightest and best idea ever, but now here, in her own private study, she was struggling to come up with an idea. Even Maxwell had completely gushed over the tradition when she told him, but now even his over the top brain was drawing a blank. “And you’re sure you’re totally against the crotch-less panties idea?” He asked very seriously.

Riley side eyed him hard, but after a minute long stare, she shrugged and replied with a sigh, “I’ll call it plan B.” Maxwell nodded at her with pride that she put the idea on the table. “I just.. want to do a huge gesture, but also subtle.. something eternal.”

Maxwell slapped his hand and arm down on the table in a stroke of genius. “I got it!” Riley looked up at him with intrigued eyes. “You should tattoo his name on you!” Her eyes fell immediately with disappointment.

“Maxwell, I’m not even allowed to wear colorful nail polish. There’s no way I could get a tattoo.”

“Well then, get the tattoo on your ass.”

“Honestly, what am I going to do with you?” Riley said although she was secretly letting her mind wander. It’d be kinda perfect. The ass placement would be a little less than romantic as she wanted. But, his name permanently inked on her, she actually liked it. “So… just exactly where would we get all the bodily image regulations, anyway?”

Maxwell clapped his hands in excitement, “I sure as shit don’t know the official rules, but I can bet we know who does!” The next thing they knew, Riley and Maxwell found themselves in front of Bertrand.

“My dearest brother, I don’t know why, but I have always dreaded this day. Somehow, I just knew you’d lure our queen Riley into some drastic shenanigans. Little did I know you’d encourage her into a tattoo!”

“But it’s a gesture of love! And a Cordonian tradition! It’s their first wedding anniversary. And our queen wants to permanently honor our king. Hello, it’s true love!”

With Maxwell’s over excited attitude, Bertrand could only concede. “Lady Riley, if you wish to proceed, I must tell you, there are actually no restrictions on Royal bodily tattoos. You are permitted to a subtle ink job.” Riley couldn’t stop from withholding her excitement. She’d get Liam’s name tattoed on her as soon as possible, she loved the idea. She just needed to put a plan in motion.

For Liam, his plan fell into place quite easily. With Drake’s help, they found a tattoo artist that was more than willing to discreetly meet the king at the palace to get the job done. The timing worked out perfectly, three days before their anniversary date, Riley was due in Valtoria for a ribbon cutting ceremony. A usually quick appearance, but she very conveniently announced she’d stay overnight to prevent exhaustion from the quick travels.

She even assured him she’d take her time in Valtoria, and include time to make casual appearances around the area to visit the residents. It gave Liam more than enough time, it was perfect.

For Riley, she quickly finagled a side quest into her already existing planned visit to Valtoria. Maxwell was already scheduled to attend the event with her to continue with House Beaumont’s standing alliance and connection to the crown. He would help find a local shop for Riley to discreetly dip into.

Liam had already agreed to her extended stay under her guise of visiting the residents. Sure she would, including a visit to a well kept tattoo parlor. It gave her more than enough time, it was perfect.

On the day of Riley’s trip, she hastily began her travels after exchanging her affectionate goodbyes with Liam. Once Liam felt like a comfortable amount of time had passed since Riley’s departure, he had Bastien contact Mara to confirm their safe and steady passage. All seeming to be part of normal security protocol, which was of course part of Liam’s intention, but he also wanted to get started on his appointment.

Liam had decided to use his office for his in-home tattoo parlor. Drake was there to offer his moral support, and to actually see this take place.

“Are you nervous?” Drake asked, he was still in disbelief this was happening. Any time Leo wanted to win a good ‘dare-off’ with Liam, he’d end it by daring Liam to get a tattoo. Any tattoo. But Liam would never take that dare. To him it was too reckless to permanently modify his body on the whim of a dare.

“Not at all,” Liam answered with a smile.

They were cut off with a knock at the door, and Bastien entered with the tattoo artist in tow. The man was covered head to toe in ink and was extremely professional while he set up his designated station and sanitized his tools. After a while, Liam provided the design he created and showed where he wanted it placed. Liam positioned himself in the chair and the artist began his work.

Riley had finished her appearance, and she and Maxwell started to wander down the beaten path in Valtoria. Riley was relying on Maxwell to lead the way as he assured he found an appropriate place and made arrangements with the owner to accommodate the queen.

“I have the address, but aren’t we supposed to find some bright neon sign that says tattoo? I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for it”

“I wouldn’t know, believe it or not Maxwell, I’ve never done something like this before.” Riley answered with no surprise that he would be looking for something as ridiculous as that. Once Riley stepped in with navigations, they quickly found the parlor that was eagerly awaiting her arrival. The staff greeted her and directed her to the booth and artist that would be working on her. She handed over the final draft of what she wanted and laid out where she wanted it and they got started.

Liam and Riley each woke up the next morning, missing each other, but grateful for the night apart to keep their tattoos under its covering without having to explain it. Liam went into the bathroom to clean his hands and carefully uncover his tattoo with plenty of ointment available to keep the area from getting too dry. He was ecstatic with the finished work and now just had to think of how to conceal it when his wife returned home.

Riley couldn’t wait to uncover her fresh ink. She sat up in her bed in Valtoria and quickly peeled off the covering. She loved it and gently touched it to make sure it was real. In the thrill and excitement of getting the tattoo, she had momentarily forgotten what to do next with it and surprisingly, it was Maxwell that reminded her of the needed new tattoo care.

To both Liam and Riley’s surprise, it was fairly easy to conceal the gestures they created for one another. The two were usually unable to keep off each other and they both worried that their singular desire for a little more distance would raise an immediate red flag. But neither said a thing, not wanting to encourage an annoying line of questioning.

The night of their anniversary date had arrived and they enjoyed a very romantic and intimate dinner out in the capital. They were both eager to finally reveal their gestures, and Riley insisted she go first. For some reason, she was a little nervous.

“Ok, I wanted to do something to show you how proud I am of you, to be your wife, your family, your queen. I want to be with you for forever, and I want to show you that you’ll always be with me.” She raised her left hand with curled fingers up to cover her mouth. “Ready?” She asked, and then she slowly twisted her wrist outward to display the fresh ink in the form of a beautifully scripted and ornate “L.R.” on her wrist.

Liam’s eyes went wide with utter shock and delight, the very reaction he expected out of her. He was already moved with her touching declaration and his heart was bursting with affection at his initials adorned on her body. “Do.. do you like it?”

“Like it!?” His eyes darted from her wrist to her eyes, “I absolutely love it, Riley, I never imagined someone doing something like this for me. I am in awe of you.”

Riley was thrilled with his elation, but now it was her turn. “What.. do you have for me?”

“Heh, well considering what you did for me, I think you’re gonna like what I did for you.” He removed the oversized watch he had been wearing on this left hand, and set his elbow upright on the table, displaying the fresh tattoo on his wrist that read “Riley” with a gold crown just above the name on the end.

“Oh my…. Oh my God, Liam! You didn’t!” Riley couldn’t stop from covering her mouth with her hands in complete and total shock. She grabbed his wrist and pulled it to her face. “How did you…. How did you know!? Was it Maxwell, did he spill my surprise? Liam how did you possibly know? This is amazing, look at us! We match! I love it!” She was squealing with joy and excitement.

Liam laughed heartily, “I promise I did not know, it seems we share more than just a heart, we share a mind as well.” Liam got up from his seat and pulled a hefty load of cash from his wallet to drop on the table to tip the staff, and he reached and pulled Riley from her chair. “Now, we are getting out of here, and I am putting a baby in you tonight.” He said with the most devilish grin Riley had ever seen.

#choices trr #king liam #choices #the royal romance #trr #liam x riley #choices trh #choices flash fic #liam rys #cordonia

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