#and when he says Tommy they both give him that Look and he's so oblivious | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

familyvideostevie · 23 days

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time you will not spend alone

joel miller x fem!reader, 18+ mdni romance at the end of the world is this: flowers, lazy nights in bed after long days, and savoring every moment | or, joel makes you something. jackson!joel au, fem!reader, fluff, maybe a bit cheesy but idgaf, ellie cameo cause i can't do a damn thing without her, tommy gets some page time here too, smut (riding, unprotected p in v sex, some finger sucking lol), tenderness, gift giving | 5.7k a/n: i think this is the last part of the just and just as series for the foreseeable future. thank you for reading about this little au and these two lovebirds! i adore them. thank you @frannyzooey and @macfrog for your eyes and support on this. and thank you everyone else for being patient. <3

Spring sweeps into the valley seemingly overnight. The peaks remain snow-capped but the bare branches of trees between the evergreens begin to bud. Chilly mornings lose their bite and frost turns to dew and every day there is more light.

You've always thought Jackson looks its best in winter, but it's a damn sight to see as life and color return. And the latter is your favorite part -- the rolling hills outside the walls and the forest patrol paths are dotted and then overflowing with flowers.

It makes you feel more alive. Patrol isn't a freezing ordeal anymore -- it's an opportunity to see the remaining beauty in the world.

Today's shift is short and easy but you find yourself lingering, running your hands through pine needles and turning your face to the sun. Your horse is happy to munch on a patch of grass in a clearing just off the main trail, but your patrol partner is less than impressed.

"Are you serious?" Ellie moans. "You're stopping again? What the fuuuuuuuuck."

She sags in the saddle. The pout on her lips makes her look like a kid sent to bed without supper rather than an almost-twenty-year-old forced to spend some extra minutes in the fresh air. Shimmer has no problem chewing on some weeds despite her rider's moaning.

"Let me enjoy the sun," you say. "When you get older you'll appreciate the little things, too."

You hop off your horse and Ellie sighs loudly.

"Jesus, you're not that old," she mutters. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

You sweep your arms around you, gesturing at the meadow. "These flowers are nice," you tell her, pointedly. She adjusts the rifle slung over her shoulder. "I think I'm going to pick some and bring them home."

She snorts. "Oh, is Joel suddenly into flowers?"

You ignore her bait and crouch, gaze sweeping over the array of colors in front of you. You tried to learn the names of flowers years ago when you found a book on them in an old bookstore but they never stuck. Purples, pinks, and yellows, large petals and small ones, delicate yet hardy to survive the world past its end.

Joel isn't a fussy man. Young fathers don't get to be, and anyone alive these days sheds that impulse just as quickly. He's happy to wake up every day with you by his side, his kid in the garage out back and walls around everything he loves, keeping it all safe.

It makes it both easy and hard to please him -- you want to give him everything but he seems to want nothing. A perfect paradox, a puzzle to solve.

God, you love him. You love spring, you love Joel. Everything feels good.

So, you start to gather stems, snapping them at their bases, humming as you work.

"How do you choose which ones to pick?"

"Fuck," you gasp, careening forward onto one palm and looking over your shoulder. Ellie is off her horse and much closer than before, standing directly behind you. "Jesus, you're stealthy."

She shrugs, her smirk a pleased slash across her face. "You're oblivious as fuck."

You roll your eyes at her.

"Seriously," Ellie says, crossing her arms. She jerks her chin at the small bouquet you've got in one hand. "How do you make it look so nice?"

"Oh, so we've moved on from the making-fun-of-me part of this?"

She crouches next to you, elbows on her knees.

"I, uh -- " Her cheeks go pink, freckles standing out against her blush. "Dina likes flowers."

You bump her shoulder with yours. "I'm going to be so nice and not tease you."

"Fuck off," she scoffs, tucking her smile into her shoulder.

It's quick work. Ellie follows your lead, balances out the blooms she picks with some leafy weeds. She ties them together with one of the minimum four spare hairbands she has on her person at all times -- bits of cloth, occasionally a rare unused elastic from before if she's found some on patrol.

"Isn't it kinda shitty?" she muses, nimble fingers turning her bouquet this way and that to admire it. "We're killing them. The flowers, I mean."

"Little late to have a conscience about killing," you say lightly. The two rabbits she pulled from Jackson snares hang from her saddle. You've seen her in action, too -- gun raised, hands steady, blood splattered across her cheek. It's not an accusation, far from it. Violence is a language you both speak, one she's known for most of her still-short life.

She rolls her eyes, every bit a teenager. "Whatever."

You sigh. "You're right, though," you say. "There were whole shops dedicated to this before. Selling flowers, making bouquets and centerpieces and all that shit."

She probably knows this, but she lets you describe it. Ellie soaks up bits of the old world like it will materialize before her if she listens hard enough. Joel says it was much worse when she was younger, right after they settled into Jackson. She wanted details about everything and watched every movie she could get her hands on. You think she was satisfying her curiosity, sure, but also that she was trying to understand him better -- but didn't know how to say so.

"Weird," she mutters. "And you just...bought them for other people?"

"Or yourself." You pat her shoulder and stand. Your horse tries to nibble on your flowers before you haul yourself back in the saddle. "It was just a nice thing to do, I guess."

"Killing something to make someone else happy," Ellie says with a dry laugh. She tucks her bouquet in the crook of her arm once she's back in the saddle. "I guess everyone does that these days."

It's absurd when she puts it that way, but it's true. You've all got blood on your hands. You would kill for this girl, for Joel, for pretty much anyone in Jackson. And you have.

The flowers are for Joel, they're for your house, they're for you. Something beautiful to bring home alongside your dirt stains and scarred hands, your haunted eyes and nightmares. No one is spared those.

It's only mid-morning by the time you get back to the wall. You and Ellie left at dawn, short sticks drawn for the early shift. She leaves you in the stables with a mock salute and a shout of thanks, practically jogging to Dina's to give her the flowers.

You're untacking your horse when you hear familiar laughter, a deep chuckle and Ellie's faint indignant protest.

"Mornin'," Joel says from behind you. "Was hopin' to catch you at the gate."

"Can you hold these?"

You blindly extend the hand with the flowers. His fingers carefully extract the bouquet and you return to brushing out your horse.

"Does this have somethin' to do with Ellie runnin' out of her with flowers of her own?"

"Never let anyone say you're unobservant, Joel Miller."

He snickers. You leave your horse with a final pat on the neck and thanks for a job well done.

When you face Joel, he looks tired -- he's been pulling extra long days replacing windows and roof tiles after the winter's damage. God knows that man never seems fully rested, but it's a little worse when the seasons change.

He's told you time and time again that standing two stories off the ground is a hell of a lot safer than fighting some Infected on patrol, but you still worry. Just like you know he worries about you beyond the walls, how he's a little tenser whenever you're not in sight, whenever he hasn't seen Ellie for a few days ‘cause they're both busy. It's just how he loves. It's how you both love.

You make no move to take the flowers from him, instead brushing some sawdust from his shoulder.

"Did you have a job already?" you ask.

"Small one. Fixin' a crooked over mailbox." He looks pointedly at his full fist. "You gonna explain now?"

"They're for you."

Joel blinks once, twice, brows furrowing like you're speaking a different language. Maybe a few years ago you'd start to feel self-conscious, unsure of your romantic gesture and insecure in his reaction. But now, as fully in love and connected to this man as you are, you lean in.

"If you're too manly to carry flowers through town --"

You make to take them from him but he snaps out of his daze and wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you to his chest in a smooth motion.

He also holds the bouquet in the air and out of reach.

"Hey, now," he says. "Hands off. These ain't your flowers."

"I picked 'em," you remind him, poking him in the ribs for good measure.

He flinches just a little but doesn't move. His embrace is warm and familiar and you sink into it. "Gettin' romantic," he mutters and brings the flowers back down to eye level to examine them.

"I'm just trying to catch up to you," you say into his jacket. He huffs and his palm rubs a slow line up and down your arm.

You wiggle out of his embrace to shoulder your pack.

"I am pretty romantic," he muses.

It's true. Even if he's joking and even if no one but you gets to see it, Joel has always made sure you feel loved. Courtship and romance look different these days, but it still comes naturally to him -- loving. Dinner dates, jewelry, and trips to the airport have become a battered paperback, a sharpened knife, and bloody knuckles, but it rings just as true. He loves you and he loves his family the best way he knows how – by keeping you all safe.

And you do your best to convey the same thing. You tell him, of course, but you also mend his shirts and chop wood when his back is acting up, and you look after his kid like she's your own.

Joel deserves to know that he can receive all that he gives, too – the protection, the tenderness, the beauty. Moments of softness and rest where he knows he’s taken care of, thought of, that he matters beyond the things he can do for everyone else.

So, you also do things like bring him flowers.

Sometimes you feel like it will never be enough. You will never have enough time to show him how much he means to you, how he's saved you, how important and cherished and loved he is. How good he is.

Joel reaches for your face with his free hand. He traces the line of your cheekbone with his thumb and smirks when you inhale sharply. Another patrol returns and the stables are suddenly louder and more crowded than before. If you're both free for the rest of the day, you want to drag him up to your bedroom and spend the hours there. You want to show him, for the millionth time, how much you love him.

"Okay, Mr. Pretty Romantic," you say, grabbing his hand and tangling your fingers together. "Let's go home."

___

Joel is hiding something from you.

The flowers last for a week and you watch him eye them and smile every time he enters the kitchen.

But after they droop and go in the compost pile, something shifts. Something subtle, sure, but you spend most of your waking hours looking for or at Joel, so you notice.

He starts keeping his workshop door closed. Normally you'll sit and watch him work, or he'll teach you a few chords here and there on the guitars he's making, but your lessons move to the porch and the upstairs hallway loses the scent of wood glue and stain.

In fact, he actively steers you away from the room altogether. He's all just needs a deep clean and it's messy, is all. It's not rocket science -- he's making something for you, clearly. But giving him a hard time is too fun to pass up.

One night, you and Ellie wait at the bottom of the stairs. There's a dinner and movie night in the old church and you're taking the opportunity to make it a family outing.

"You coming?" you holler up the stairs. You hear the door creak open.

"Gimme a second," he calls back down.

"Jesus," you mutter. You tap the side of Ellie’s sneaker with your boot. "You know anything about that?"

Honesty is important between all of you, but you know Joel and Ellie need to have their secrets. There is too much tangled history between them for you to understand it all. It's important to you that they have a relationship all their own, even if it means they scheme.

Ellie is examining her switchblade with intense focus. "I might," she says with a smirk. "He's a lovesick loser, I'll tell you that."

You lean on the banister and raise your eyebrows. "Do you remember when you asked me how to embroider so you could put Dina's name on her jacket?"

The knife swings closed with a snick and she rolls her eyes at you, cheeks pink.

"Shit, dude," she says. "Why do I tell you anything?"

"She liked the flowers, though, didn't she?"

Ellie crosses her arms and smiles at whatever memory she's seeing in her mind. "Yeah," she says. "She did. Jesse gave me so much shit, though --"

The door upstairs closes and Joel's heavy footfalls cut her off.

"Finally," you grumble. He trods down the stairs, arms half in his jacket when he catches sight of the two of you. "Are you hiding state secrets in there?"

"What the fuck does that mean?" Ellie asks.

"Might be," is all he says. He's got that twinkle in his eye that means mischief but he looks proud of himself. You can let him have this, whatever this is. You trust him and you'll find out eventually.

"Alright," you say, pushing off the banister and heading for the door. "You're going to breathe toxic fumes with the door closed."

"No, seriously," Ellie says. "What kind of secrets would a state be keeping?"

"Ain't nothin' toxic in there," he says lightly. He bumps Ellie's shoulder with his. "C'mon."

She throws her hands up in the air. "You know, it's shitty when you ignore me."

"Did you hear somethin'?" Joel says to you.

You shake your head, swallowing your laughter. "No," you say. "Nothing."

"Assholes." She pushes past you and down the steps onto the street. "I'm going to make sure there are no mashed potatoes left when you get there."

You don't mind letting Joel do whatever he's up to in all of his spare moments. It does mean you have more time to yourself, so you pick up some extra wall shifts.

And when one of those shifts is with Tommy? Well, you can't help but needle him a little bit about it all.

"Do you know what your brother is up to?" you ask him.

The wind today carries some lingering winter bite, so you've got the collar of your coat pulled up around your ears. Tommy’s hair whips around his face when he raises his eyebrows at you.

"Gonna have to be more specific," he says. "My brother is always up to some shit."

"I think he'd say the same thing about you."

Tommy laughs. He's got the reputation for being the more easy-going of the Millers, but you know he's more a match for Joel than most think. Out in the world, they work as one, silent and deadly, always in step when it counts. They still speak a language all their own with just a look and you see so much of them in each other when you pay attention.

"Well, I learned it all from him," he says. He adjusts his grip on the rifle and sighs. "I happen to know what you're talkin' 'bout, though."

"Is he just telling everyone but me?"

"Nah," Tommy scoffs. "Asked me and Ellie for help, s'all. And you know he tells that girl everythin'."

You both smile for a moment at your fondness for them.

Tommy clears his throat. "Does it bother you? Him keepin' a secret?"

You know Tommy won't let your answer get back to Joel. He's asking as your friend, as your kind-of brother. He's asking because he cares.

A patrol crests the hill, green flag waving in the air. They whistle and shout for the gate to be opened.

You step closer to Tommy so he can hear you. "No," you say. "I just like to gossip."

"Don't I know it," he chuckles. "You two are the eyes and ears of this damn town. Knowin' everything."

"Except what happens in my own home," you tease.

He shrugs. "You'll like it, if that helps," he adds.

"I know I will."

You look out at the world beyond the wall and smile to yourself.

Joel has made you a few things over the years. He works wonders with his hands all the time: Beautiful, intricate carvings for the house, for Ellie, for new babies in town. The wall of guitars, not to mention the ones he's made for kids to learn on in school. You're better at sewing than he is, but he's pretty damn good – fixing up pillowcases and blankets and clothes of all kinds. Joel is a craftsman.

Hands that hold you can also pull a trigger, punch until there's nothing left, and craft a work of art.

And he knows you. He pays attention -- there is a reason behind everything he does. If he's making you something, you know you'll love it.

"Strange, ain��t it?" Tommy says. You turn to him, a question on your face. "World ended and here we all are, happy. Makin' shit for each other. Gosspin'."

You sigh. “Took a lot to get here.”

“Damn right,” he says with a long whistle. “Lotta shit behind us.”

“Do you ever regret it?” you ask.

Tommy considers your words. You two talk plenty, but you’ve never really spoken about the past. Joel tells you whatever you want to hear about the years before you knew him, so you’ve got a pretty good picture of their lives after the outbreak.

"Can I tell you somethin’?” Tommy asks. You nod. "Alright. I – I never thought I'd see my brother this happy again. And I wish every damn day that Sarah was here to see it. To know him this way, to meet Maria. To know you and Ellie."

Joel has said the same thing before and it’s an honor greater than you can ever explain.

"When I saw him and that girl a few years ago, I thought --" Tommy clears his throat. "I thought maybe he’d made it through all the shit we did. And I was right. She brought him through it. And now he’s here, doin’ stable life shit we dreamed about before."

"Ellie is a force," you say, a little surprised to find your voice watery. The love between Ellie and Joel is fierce and powerful, evident to anyone who witnesses it. They would do anything for each other, even though they're mending.

"She is," he says. "And so are you.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Shit, I don’t know where I’m goin’ with this. Point is – seein' him love you, too, shows me he’s through it. He's alive again, you know? And I’d do all the shit we did over again just to get us all here. So, no. I don’t regret it."

It’s nothing you haven’t thought before, but the words work their way into your heart and sit there, heavy and warm.

“Damn,” you say. You swallow and give him a wide smile. "If you keep going, Tommy Miller, I will start crying and that would embarrass us both."

He laughs and blinks a few times. You join in, wiping your eyes.

"Alright, I won't," he says. "Jesus, all you did was ask what he's doin' in that workshop."

You clap him on the shoulder. "I won't tell anyone you started blubbering on duty."

He snorts. "Ain't that generous of you.”

Days pass. A week. You almost forget about Joel's project because he spends less and less time in the workshop and more on tasks around town as the days get longer. You're both busy -- chopping wood, planting bulbs for the fall, helping de-shed the horses. There's always work to be done.

After a particularly long day on your feet, you come out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel to find he's gotten home while you were in the shower.

"Hey, stranger," you say. You're mostly dry but some water drips down your back and you shiver. Joel is leaning against the headboard on top of the sheets without his shirt, reading whatever book he's onto now.

"Didn't hear me come in?" he asks. He sets his volume aside and pulls off his glasses.

"I was too busy coming back to life under some hot water." He probably heard you singing off-key to some long-lost song stuck in your head for the millionth time. "And you're quiet as hell, Joel."

He shrugs.

You just look at each other, the intimate gaze of two people who know every inch of each other and never tire of it.

The sleep pants he wears to bed this time of year are lightweight, thin enough that you can see the outline of him from here. His stomach is soft where he's bent at the waist and the trail of hair above his waistband is dark, darker than the rest of what's on his chest.

The golden expanse of his skin just begs to be touched, so you make your way over to him in your towel. He makes room for you to perch on the edge of the bed, the bare skin of your thigh pressing into his pants. His palm rests on your knee.

"I haven't seen much of you lately," you say softly. "’Cause of that damn thing you're working on."

His fingers press into your skin.

"Ain't patience a virtue, or something like that?"

"Whatever magic you're working better be worth waiting for," you tease.

Joel's hand resumes its path up your leg and he smirks.

"I can work some magic right now," he says.

You laugh, throwing your head back as his fingertips edge under the towel.

"That was awful," you say. "I should get dressed in all of my layers right now and go sleep on the couch."

You pull away from his touch so you can straddle him, your towel only held on by one hand at your breasts.

Joel snickers. "But then I wouldn't be able to do this."

Nimble fingers find your cunt between your spread legs and you gasp a laugh, one hand on his shoulder to balance you in his lap.

"Smooth," you manage. His other hand tugs on the towel and you release it, your slightly damp skin breaking out into goosebumps in the air of the bedroom.

Joel drags his lips between your breasts and you feel his smile.

"Christ," he says. "You comin' outta there in just a towel and you expect me to go to sleep?"

He pulls his fingers from you and frames your face with both hands to drag it down to his in a lazy, thorough kiss, like he's savoring each moment.

His tongue traces the seam of your lips and you let him in readily, arms wrapping around his shoulders as you grind down on the hardness you can feel through his pants.

"I've missed you," you say, dragging your tongue along down his jaw. His fingertips press into your bare hips hard enough to bruise, but it's a grounding touch rather than an urgent one. You want to take your time because you have missed him, and you think he feels the same way.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Joel groans, dragging your lips back to his. "It'll be worth it."

You pull back to look him in the eyes. The hazel-grey is almost totally taken over by his pupil, but his gaze softens when you cup his cheek and smile.

"I know," you say, and mean it. Naked in his lap in your bedroom, you mean it. You always mean it. You always trust him.

Joel kisses you once, twice, and you pull on his lower lip with your teeth when he pulls away. His nostrils flare and before you can tug his cock from his pants, he holds two fingers out to you.

You laugh, circling his wrist and bringing the digits past your lips. You swirl your tongue around them and really take your time with it, laving at his knuckles before releasing them with a pop.

His cock twitches beneath you and he huffs.

"You're an easy man to please, Joel Miller," you tell him, tugging down his pants and letting his shaft spring free. You stroke him root to tip and he hisses.

"Nah," he manages. "It's ‘cause it's you."

He follows his words with a circle of your clit from his spit-slick fingers.

"See?" you gasp. "Romantic."

It's a bit crowded, his hand rubbing your clit and yours slowly jerking him, but neither of you rush it. You pant together, dotting lazy kisses on any piece of bare skin you can reach. You breathe him in, the combination of sweat and gun oil and fresh detergent that's just Joel. A rush of tenderness hits you so suddenly your nose stings.

"Joel," you say, a bit ragged. "Joel, can you --"

A gentle hand on your face brings your foreheads together, his eyes on yours.

"Whatever you want," he groans. "Whatever you want, it's yours."

You can't help it -- you laugh. Brightly and happily, almost in disbelief that this man is yours. Real and solid under you right now, beside you every night. Yours to love and cherish and all the rest.

"You laughin' at me?" he grumbles, though you can tell he's fighting a smile.

"I just love you, is all," you say. You probably don't say it enough. You and Joel show each other every day, so much so that you can't imagine he doesn't know. As it is, you feel loved by him with every move he makes, every time he looks in your direction, every time he says your name.

"And I want you to fuck me," you add.

It's Joel's turn to laugh.

"Now who's the romantic one?" he says.

You rise from his lap and settle onto your back on the other side of the bed, stretching with your hands above your head.

His eyes follow the line of your bare body, fondness and hunger recognizable in his gaze.

"Always so damn pretty," he grumbles. "Prettiest thing I've ever seen."

"Flirt," you tease.

He rises to his knees and pumps his cock a few times with his fist. You spread your legs for him, knees bent up against your chest.

He settles between your knees and you lock them around his hips. Joel honest-to-god winks at you before dragging two fingers through your folds to make sure you're slick enough.

"Ready?"

You nod. He enters you in one practiced move and you groan in unison as you adjust. It takes some shuffling but he finds a position he can hold, and you wrap your arms around his neck.

Joel fucks you slow and deep. Each drag of his cock against your walls curls your toes and drags whines from both of your throats. He keeps up his usual babel -- doin' so good, feel like a dream, so damn tight, cunt's a fuckin' miracle -- and you press your hands into his bare back like he's a life raft.

Sweat beats on your brow, your chest, everywhere, and you suck bruises into his neck as his thrusts get a little frantic. Your own orgasm sneaks up on you, the pressure building and building and building until it snaps without warning.

"Joel -- Joel, fuck, I --"

You clench around him and he chants your name, that's it, baby, come on my cock, and buries himself to the hilt to finish inside you.

He hovers above you on trembling arms long enough to press a sweet kiss to your lips before rolling off of you.

"Now I'm ready for bed," you say, panting.

You fling a hand out lazily and it lands on his chest. He intertwines your fingers and his gaze finds yours. You smile as you get your breathing under control.

Joel smooths your brow with a thumb. "Don't forget to --"

"I know, I know," you say. "C'mon, you know this isn't my first rodeo." You get up from the bed and head to the bathroom.

"You sayin' I'm a bull?" Joel calls after you.

"Save a horse, ride a cowboy!" you holler back, cleaning yourself up. "Didn't people used to say that?"

Joel doesn't answer you but you laugh at your own joke. You make your way back to the bed in old pyjamas and find him back in his sweatpants, feet flat on the floor like he's about to get up and go somewhere.

"Joel?"

He sighs, his shoulders moving up and down like he's bracing himself.

"It's done," he says. "Your surprise."

The confession stops you in your tracks.

"Oh?"

You know Joel better than mosty, but sometimes he's still a puzzle. The hesitation, the slight air of anxiety about him as he says it confuses you. Because Joel is good at taking care of people, and he has to know it -- those years he and Ellie didn't speak you know he left her things, know that he took care of her from afar as much as she would let him. It's just what he does, he uses his hands to beat and shoot and bloody – but also to carve and hold and love.

They're the same thing, really.

And he's made you something – one of countless gifts he's given you, tangible and not, throughout your relationship.

But he's nervous. As if you wouldn't love anything he made, anything he does. As if you're not gone over every part of him.

"Hm," he says. "Yeah. Let me --"

Joel gets up from the bed and pads over to the dresser to rummage around in a drawer. You meet him back on the bed and he's holding a square-ish parcel wrapped in cloth.

You gingerly take it from him.

"This is what you've been working on?" you ask softly. He nods.

You unwrap the cloth and find yourself holding leather-bound journal. The hide is smooth under your fingertips, scraped clean by hand and tanned a dark chestnut.The spine is about an inch wide, the whole thing swen together with neat stitches of what can only be catgut. A thinner strip of leather is wrapped around the cover and tucked into itself carefully. It must have taken him ages to make.

"Joel," you gasp. "It's...god, it's beautiful."

He tells you how he found it on patrol a few weeks ago. The cover was fucked but the paper was somehow fine, so he dried out the pages and rebound it with a hide he tanned himself. You run your hands over it again almost like you can feel his fingerprints all over it, the hours he poured into the pages.

The inside cover falls open easily when you undo the tie and you see letters in the bottom left corner of it. Your eyes sting.

Joel has carefully burned your name into the leather, each letter perfectly lined up with the next. You haven't had something with your name on it in years.

He clears his throat. "Ellie said she'd give you some of her pens. Show you how to refill 'em."

You look up from your gift and find so much love on his face you can hardly stand it. He was inside you not that long ago and somehow this is more intimate. You surge forward into his space and wrap an arm around his shoulders, burying your face in his neck.

"I don't know what to say," you confess. "Just -- thank you."

He runs his hand along your spine.

"S'nothin'," he says. "Just saw it and thought of you, is all."

You release him and shake your head in disbelief. This man.

"What should I write in it?"

Joel's cheeks darken a little. Of course he's thought of everything.

"Figured you could write about...all this." He waves a hand in the air like that explains anything.

"All what?"

He shrugs one bare shoulder.

"Life," he says. "Jackson. Folks here. Might be nice, havin' the memories."

You scoot closer to him so you're almost in his lap again.

"You want me to write down the gossip?" You mean it as a joke but Joel nods.

"You pay attention," he explains. "Someone's gotta."

You're not much of a writer anymore, haven't had cause to be in twenty years. But you do like to tell stories. You both do.

The pages are soft under your fingertips as you flip through them again. You're going to fill them with stories -- about this town, about Joel and Ellie and Tommy and the people you love. The people you've lost, too. The memories that hurt like bruises, like fresh wounds. But the good stuff, too. The gossip, the love stories, the plants in the yard and the flowers on the trails.

Joel has given you the ability to record your lives.

You reach over him to set the journal on the nightstand before you frame his face with both of your hands.

"I'm going to write pages and pages about you, Joel Miller," you whisper.

He huffs, cheeks warm under your palms. "That's borin'."

You shake your head and lean in until your lips brush and your eyes flutter shut.

"That's the story," you say. "That's my life. This is my life. You are."

“I love you,” he breathes. “So damn much. Y’know that?”

How could you not? You say so and kiss him firmly but without hurry. You’ve got lots of time. You’ve got forever.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us fanfiction

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honeyedmiller · 7 months

Text

Mystery | Joel Miller

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

warnings: alcohol consumption, teasing, sensual dancing, no outbreak, no use of y/n. 18+, minors do not interact.

word count: 1k+

synopsis: Tommy drags Joel to a club which he detests to, until he sets his sights on you.

if you really wanna catch the vibes for this one shot i highly suggest listening to Black Magic Woman by Santana as this is literally based off of this song

“Still don’t understand why the hell you’re draggin’ me to this damn club. ‘M too old to be clubbin’, Tommy.” Joel shakes his head as he rests it against the headrest of the passenger seat of Tommy’s truck.

“It’s for your own good, big brother. Work’s been stressin’ you lots. Y’need to relax.” Tommy lightly chastised his older brother with a small curl of a smile on his lips.

“What I need is an ice cold beer while I’m watchin’ the Cowboys playin’… at home.” Joel grunts, looking out of the passenger window.

Austin’s nightlife was crawling with young men and women down the streets where they could all bar hop, go clubbing, or grab a bite to eat. Everyone looked to be around Tommy’s age, meanwhile, Joel felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb.

He wasn’t even old, albeit he sure as hell felt like it. Probably looked like it too, to all these youngins in their mid-twenties.

Nerves and anxiety twisted in Joel’s gut. It’d been ages since he’d been out, especially to a club. He truly had no idea what the hell Tommy was thinking bringing him along, but he went just so Tommy would stop nagging him.

Brothers.

Younger ones, to be exact.

Tommy lucked out with a parking spot near the club’s entrance. The two brothers got out of the car, Joel immediately noticing people—women—were looking Tommy’s way. Hell, even men too.

Tommy walked very confidently. He was suave, collected, and knew exactly how to get what he wanted when he had his eyes zeroed in on the lady he wanted to talk to for the night.

On the other hand, Joel was a hell of a lot more reserved. Quiet, kept his hands tucked into his jean pockets, and was truly oblivious to every person who looked his way.

The bouncer knew Tommy well enough apparently, because he let him and Joel right into the club.

To Joel’s surprise, the club was actually playing decent music. There were plenty of people on the dance floor having a good time, and the smoke-ridden atmosphere was rather calm despite it being so packed.

“C’mon, let’s get a drink.” Tommy jerked his head toward the bar, and Joel followed suit.

“Tommy man, how the hell are ya?” The bartender shouts, bringing Tommy in for a quick hug.

“I’m good, Sam. Brought my brother Joel with me this time.” Tommy nods toward Joel, and Sam’s eyes shift to Joel. He stuck out his hand, which Joel shook.

“Nice to meet you, Joel.”

“Likewise.”

“What can I get for you fellas?” Sam asks, wiping his hands on the white rag slung over his shoulder.

“I’ll take a Modelo.” Tommy says.

“I’ll take whatever whiskey you got. Neat.”

Sam nods and pours up both of their drinks, setting them on the counter. Tommy hands over his card to Sam and tells him to keep a tab open.

“So what exactly do you plan on me doin’ here, Tommy?” Joel looks at his brother, taking a sip of his whiskey. It burned so good, making him grimace a bit.

“I already said it, big brother. Just relax. Dance. Have fun. Don’t fuckin’ think about shit for one night, yeah?” Tommy grabs Joel’s shoulder and squeezes it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna head on out to the dance floor to find myself a nice lady to dance with.”

And just like that, Joel is left at the bar all alone. He doesn’t mind it too much. It gives him the opportunity to scope out the place and see what all the patrons are up to. He keeps sipping his whiskey slowly, eyes scanning the dance floor when he immediately stops.

He spots who’s got to be the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen in his life, dancing the night away with her girlfriends.

Something about the way she moved was so enthralling, so captivating.

That woman happened to be you.

Joel couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Just like him, you tagged along with your group of friends to de-stress from the hell of a week you’ve had. Clubbing was your friends’ solution to relaxing. It took you a bit of coaxing, but now that you’re out and dancing, you’re glad you came with them.

“I’m gonna go get a drink.” You wrapped your hands around one of your friend’s arms, notifying them. They nod at you and ask if you want them to come with, to which you declined.

As you made your way across the dance floor, you spotted a man sitting at the bar that was already just blatantly staring at you. You found it a bit odd, but you had to admit, he was extremely handsome.

Rugged features and soft, dark brown eyes. What a mix.

You made it up to the bar and knocked on it twice, as if Sam could easily hear it. Sam saw you anyway and gave you a big smile.

“What’ll it be, sweets?” Sam asked.

You leaned over the bar right next to Joel, wearing a strapless corset top, skinny jeans that showed off your curves in every single right place, and some strap black heels that made your legs look like they went on for miles.

“Whiskey, neat please.” Your voice was sweet, Joel thought. Buttery. Thick and nearly addicting, and you’d only said three goddamn words.

Sam handed you your drink, and you grinned at him. “Thanks Sam!” You took your drink and sat down two barstools away from Joel.

Joel wanted to look at you some more, but he knew he’d be clocked as a total creep if he did that. He just wanted to admire you. Admire your features, the way your hands curled around the glass as you brought the glass up to your mouth, the way your red lipstick painted said glass once you took a sip.

You were a sight to behold, and Joel was fucking bewitched.

The man didn’t believe in love at first sight, but god, he might just believe in it now.

You looked over at Joel who was trying hard not to look at you as he swirled what was left in his glass. He glanced up at you when he felt your stare on him. Your lips were adorned with a soft smile, and he easily returned one.

You slipped out of your seat and into the one next to Joel, crossing a leg over the other as you faced him.

“Noticed you were staring.” You chuckle, and petrification crosses his features. His neck and ears burn bright red, and he looked down at his glass once more.

“‘M sorry. Just couldn’t help it. You’re beautiful.” He said shyly, and he was kicking himself for being so timid.

He just quite literally hadn’t done this in so long. He forgot how to have a normal conversation with someone he found so attractive. How to flirt. How to do anything when it came to women.

It’s like his brain completely short circuited, but you found it charming in a way. At least he wasn’t some douchebag trying to hit on you just to get in your pants.

“It’s okay. Thank you,” You chuckle, putting a hand on his knee. He froze at your touch, feeling like his body was on fire. No one’s ever had this type of effect on him. “What’s your name?”

He clears his throat and reminds himself to stop acting like a total fucking weirdo. To breathe. A gorgeous woman was talking to him. He couldn’t blow it.

“Name’s Joel.” He raised his glass to you, and you grin. You clink your glass with his, shoot the rest of the whiskey down and hop off the barstool. Joel’s mood faltered for a second, thinking that you were leaving him at the bar.

“Nice to meet you, Joel. Come dance with me.” Your doe eyes and pretty pout of the lips was something Joel couldn’t deny, no matter how much he wasn’t a fan of dancing. He downed the rest of his whiskey as well, leaving the glass on the sticky maplewood bar top before taking your hand that you had held out to him.

You led him to the dance floor, facing him as the current song was ending, and Black Magic Woman by Santana started to play through the speakers.

“I love this song.” You say into Joel’s ear, and he grins and you and nods in agreement. His hands find home on your waist and yours on the back of his neck, and the both of you start to move.

You were impressed by how great of a lead Joel was. The man didn’t like dancing much, but he was a hell of a dancer.

You swayed your hips to the beat, Joel easily keeping up as his grip on your waist tightened in the slightest. You stared into his dark brown eyes, a feeling of neediness surging over the both of you.

All you saw was him in that very moment. You both moved fluidly across the dance floor, unaware of all of the wandering eyes coming to rest their gaze on you both.

Once the guitar riff started to play, Joel spun you around so your back was against his front.

Got a black magic woman,

I’ve got a black magic woman

Got me so blind I can’t see

That she’s a black magic woman

She’s tryin’ to make a devil out of me

You leaned your head back onto Joel’s shoulder and reached your arm up, grabbing the back of his neck as your other hand grabbed the other one of his that rested on your hip.

He was feeling on the bolder side, so he slotted his face into the crook of your neck, resting his lips on your warm flesh. He leaves a ghost of a kiss in one spot before moving his lips up to your ear.

“So fuckin’ beautiful.” Is all he says before you look up at him with a saccharine smile, spinning out from him.

Don’t turn your back on me baby,

Yes don’t turn your back on me, baby,

Stop messin’ ‘round with your tricks

Don’t turn your back on me, baby,

You just might pick up my magic sticks

Joel’s grip on your hands was solid as he spun you around twice, catching you by your hips to pull you flush against his body. At this point you two were grinding yourselves into each other while still managing to maneuver around the dance floor, footing in sync.

It began to feel extremely hot in the club as your body moved with his, aware of him and only him. His scent, his eyes on you, the way your body seemed to fit perfectly with his.

You’d only just met the man a mere ten minutes ago, and yet, you found yourself so drawn to him. So attracted to him. He seemed to feel the same, the way he was looking at you like you were the only other person in the room.

Got your spell on me baby,

You got your spell on me, baby,

Yes, you got your spell on me, baby,

Turning my heart into stone

I need you so bad magic woman

I can’t leave you alone

As the song came to an end, Joel spun you around twice more before dipping you down, clutching onto your body so tightly as reassurance to you that he’s got you.

His face was only a mere few inches away from yours. Both of you were entranced, staring into each other’s eyes as your ragged breaths were slowly becoming more normal.

Both of you came back to reality when you heard people cheering for the both of you, looking around at your surroundings to realize that there’s been a space in the dance floor people left just for the two of you.

Joel stood you upright, hands still not leaving your hips.

You smirked up at the man, leaning up to leave a kiss on his pulsating neck, which left a bright, puckered shape lipstick stain in its wake.

“Thanks for dancing with me, Joel.” Your hands pat his chest softly twice before going to walk away from him, but he abruptly stops you by gently tugging on your wrist.

“Wait, darlin’, what’s your name?” He asks, throat going dry as you give him a sultry stare.

Your red lips form into a smirk as you wink at him, turning to walk away into the once more crowded dance floor, leaving him in the middle of the sea of patrons.

He was too stunned to even follow after you. Too stunned to move, think, anything, until Tommy pulled him out of his trance when he gripped his brother’s shoulder.

“Who the hell was that?” Tommy asks, looking just as bewildered as Joel.

“I… have no idea.” He breathed, putting his hand over where you kissed him on the neck.

That night, at the club, after him and Tommy went home, and as he laid himself to sleep, he was praying to whatever god of fates was out there that he was able to find his mystery woman once more.

tags: @ilovepedro ; @party-hearses ; @bastardmandennis ; @tinygarbage ; @nostalxgic ; @cool-iguana

#joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller one shot #joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller imagines #no outbreak!joel miller #pedro pascal imagines #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal one shot #joel miller fanfiction

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tails89 · 24 days

Text

You want me so bad it makes you look stupid

This is a date, Marisol realises with sudden, dawning clarity. Does Eddie know this is a date? “Well, it’s about time,” Eddie tells Buck and Tommy. “Working out how to hang out with you both was getting exhausting. Hey, why don’t we pull another table over?” Oh god, Eddie doesn’t know this is a date. - AKA, the one where Eddie (unknowingly) wants Buck so bad that it makes him act stupid in a restaurant.

Teaming back up with @an-optimist-prime again because we're hilarious.

It starts like this.

Christopher is at a sleepover. Eddie finally has a night off and for once, has no other plans to hang out with Buck or Tommy or anyone else for that matter, and it’s been so long since it was just the two of them.

Alone. They’ve been dating for four months now, and yet it feels like she barely knows him.

So, Marisol suggests dinner and Eddie suggests the restaurant.

“Buck recommended this place a while back,” Eddie explains when they’re in the car, and Marisol looks out her window and rolls her eyes because of course he did. “It’s just like pizza and pasta, but apparently the food’s pretty good and he’s been wanting to try it out.”

“Uh huh.” Nodding along, Marisol decides then and there not to set her expectations too high. Not that it matters, not really. She cares more about finally finding the time for a date night more than the restaurant itself. She’d be happy with burgers if it meant actually spending some quality time with her boyfriend.

So she’s pleasantly surprised when they step into the restaurant, the bells above the door jingling brightly to announce their arrival.

The lighting is soft and warm, the space mostly lit by ropes of fairy lights and flickering tea candles on the tables.

It’s pretty romantic.

The soft hum of conversation swirls around them as Marisol laces her fingers with Eddie’s and they follow one of the wait staff through the dining room and over to their table.

She stumbles, almost tripping as Eddie suddenly tugs her off to the side.

“Buck!’ He calls out, his voice so loud and excited it echoes above the general buzz, drawing the attention of the diners around them. “You two guys are here together?”

He doesn’t wait for a response, closing the gap between them.

“Marisol, you remember Buck, right?”

She almost laughs, like Eddie doesn’t mention his best friend at least once a day, but before she can mention this she catches Buck’s eye and the deer-in-the-headlights stare he’s giving them.

Huh.

“What are the chances?” Eddie grins. “I mean, Buck was just telling me about this place the other week, but I didn’t expect to actually run into you. And definitely not together.” He laughs, casually leaning against Buck’s chair, oblivious to the way his friend has gone rigid beside him. “So what, you guys are finally friends now?”

“We, uh—”

Marisol watches as Buck swallows, his eyes darting back to look at Tommy.

”Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Tommy’s mouth twitches like he’s trying not to laugh as he meets Buck’s gaze, and—

Oh.

Cosy restaurant.

Soft mood lighting.

It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

This is a date, Marisol realises with sudden, dawning clarity. Does Eddie know this is a date?

“Well, it’s about time,” Eddie tells them. “Working out how to hang out with you both was getting exhausting. Hey, why don’t we pull another table over?”

Oh god, Eddie doesn’t know this is a date.

“Eddie,” Marisol says, tugging on his arm. “Maybe we should go find our own table? Just the two of us.”

“What? You guys don’t mind us joining do you?” Eddie asks, and Marisol resists the urge to facepalm. It could not be more obvious that they’re interrupting something. Buck still hasn’t regained any colour in his face, that weird red birthmark by his eye standing out.

Like a stop sign.

Or a traffic light.

That Eddie just casually ploughs through. 3 dead and 47 injured.

Marisol meets Buck’s gaze, wondering if she can communicate ‘I’m so sorry’ in Morse code but all she remembers from middle school is SOS, which still feels appropriate in this situation.

There are now two tables pushed together, and any coded message is lost in the dance of shuffling seats so Buck and Tommy can sit on one side with Marisol and Eddie on the other.

Marisol genuinely does not understand how Eddie cannot see that this is a date. Both men are dressed up, sitting together at a rather fancy and romantic restaurant. She’s not just embarrassed for Buck and Tommy, but also just a little frustrated for herself. All she wants is just one night. Just one night, alone, with the man who is supposed to be her boyfriend. But, once again, that’s apparently not on the cards.

Silence sits heavy over the table as they all regard each other.

“So—” Marisol offers, to break the tension. “How did you two meet?”

“W-work.” Buck stammers.

Marisol nods for him to continue and nothing comes. After a beat, Tommy rescues them with, “we stole a helicopter together, and then flew it into a hurricane.”

”What’s this we?” Eddie cuts in, amused. “Technically you stole the helicopter. Buck and I were just along for the ride.”

Tommy shrugs, his gaze sliding over to Buck. “What can I say? I’m all about grand gestures. “ His hand slips beneath the table. “Especially when I’m trying to get someone’s attention.”

Buck goes red, spluttering into his beer.

“Jesus, Buck.” Chuckling, Eddie passes over a napkin. “What is it with you and choking at restaurants?”

“I’m not—“

”I swear, I can’t take you anywhere,” Eddie teases, handing over more napkins to mop up the mess. “You end up wearing more than you eat.”

”Fuck off,” Buck mutters, but he’s smiling now, staring down at the table.

“S0–“ Marisol cuts in over them. “Helicopters. That’s uh— that’s cute.”

“What’s cute about stealing a helicopter?” Eddie asks, genuinely confused by her comment.

“You know, it’s just— never mind,” she trails off to take a long sip of her table water.

At this point she’s just praying for the ground to open up beneath them. An earthquake or some other natural disaster to take her out of this situation. She just cannot understand how Eddie can be this oblivious.

“So, what other hang-outs have I not been invited to?” Eddie asks, his tone teasing as he leans forward in his seat.

”Just this one,” Tommy says, and there’s a record scratch in Marisol’s head.

Because this…

This is a first date.

They’re on a first date.

Is death by secondhand embarrassment a thing, because she’s pretty sure she’s dying right now.

And here’s the thing. She likes Eddie, she really does, but even she’s starting to re-think her long-term compatibility with someone who is either this clueless or this intentionally obtuse.

“But I’m hoping Evan will want to do this again sometime,” Tommy says, leaning back to sling an arm around Buck’s shoulders. “But next time, I suggest the restaurant.”

Marisol’s lost for a second, because who’s Evan, before realising that Eddie’s frozen beside her.

She turns, catching the exact moment that Eddie realises what’s happening, and what he’s done; that he’s crashed their date.

A series of emotions that she can’t quite parse wash over his face, his expression finally settling into shocked disbelief.

Finally he gets it, she thinks, exasperated. And it’s only taken 13 agonising minutes. At least they haven’t ordered yet.

Eddie’s mouth opens, then shuts, then he says, “You’re not gay.”

Real smooth Eddie, Marisol thinks, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands.

“I’m bisexual,” Buck says, his voice almost a whisper. “I think? Maybe? I’m not actually sure yet.”

“Right.” Eddie nods, like he’s not quite sure what to do with this information. “I, uh—“ he stands suddenly, knocking into the table in his haste. “We should go. I’m sorry for— we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Tommy starts. “We still on for Muay Thai on Thursday?”

Eddie stares at him. “I uh— “ he starts, before bolting from the restaurant.

Marisol stands. “I’m so sorry,” she says, glancing back towards the doors as Eddie disappears through them. “I’ll talk to him. I, uh— I hope you have a nice night.”

Neither of them say anything until they’re in the car.

Eddie’s gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles white, but he makes no move to start the engine.

Minutes pass in dead silence.

“Are you okay, Eddie?” Marisol shifts, turning in her seat to watch him. “You know, I completely understand,” she says when he still doesn’t respond. “It must have been a bit of a shock to see your two best friends dating each other.”

“I don’t get it,” Eddie murmurs. “Why didn’t he tell me? He’s my best friend. I thought— I tell him everything and he couldn’t— I don’t even know how long this has been going on for.”

Marisol nods, but says nothing. Clearly this is something Eddie needs to get off his chest.

”Like, has this been going on the whole time? I can’t— they hated each other, or— I thought they did. But he should have told me. Buck always tells me when he’s seeing someone.”

Eddie’s hands tighten on the wheel again, the leather creaking beneath his fingers.

”And why wouldn’t he tell me he’s into guys? He’s never said anything. Not that that’s a problem—”

”Of course not,” Marisol reassures him, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm.

“—because he’s my best friend, and I’ll love him no matter what—“

Huh?

“—but because we tell each other everything! We trust each other! I mean, I thought he trusted me. Did I do something? God, I was such an idiot in there. He probably thinks I’m homophobic—“

“Yeah, a little,” Marisol admits gently, giving his arm a pat.

He drops his hands from the steering wheel, his shoulders slumping. ”God, I’m the worst friend ever. To Buck and Tommy.” He straightens suddenly, turning to face her. “But also, like, Tommy?” He asks. “I mean, I like the guy, but Tommy? Sure, he’s better than Taylor, but literally anyone is better than her.”

“Uh,” Marisol doesn’t know how to respond to that. She honestly cannot figure out why Eddie is getting so worked up about all of this. “I mean, I thought Buck and Tommy seemed good together.”

Eddie’s head jerks up.

“You don’t know Buck like I do,” he insists. “Buck is— Buck could have anyone. He’s kind and he’s thoughtful and he’s so hot, and he’s always thinking of others, you know? He is literally the perfect package. And I hate that he never thinks that he’s worth anything. But he’s worth everything.”

Marisol is speechless.

Eddie continues. “Buck could do so much better. He deserves someone who sees him, you know? Who sees the way he loves with his whole self and loves him back. He’s so easy to love.”

Suddenly, everything clicks together for Marisol in perfect clarity.

Eddie is in love with Buck.

Marisol can’t even be mad with Eddie for leading her on, because he clearly doesn’t realise it himself.

She massages her temples against the headache she can feel forming. She wonders, not unkindly, if Eddie’s previous relationships didn’t crash and burn for this exact same reason. Nobody wants to be the third wheel in any relationship, and clearly, she’ll never compare to Buck.

“Also,” Eddie barrels on. “Who the fuck does Tommy think he is, calling him Evan? Does he even know how complicated that name is for him? Only I get to do that!”

”The audacity,” Marisol mutters under her breath.

She has enough self-esteem to know she doesn’t want to deal with this. She’s not exactly excited to kick him while he’s down, but also doesn’t see the point in dragging this out. It’s not fair to either of them.

”I’m going to be honest with you, Eddie,” she says, “I think we should break up.”

Her words stop him in his tracks and he blinks, lost. “Wait, what?”

Marisol turns, reaching for her seatbelt. “Can you please just drive me home?”

***

Tommy is fairly certain he’s just witnessed Eddie have a complete meltdown.

And look, they’ve all been there. They’ve all had that moment where they’ve gotten irrationally jealous over their best friend dating someone, and not been able to —or abjectly refusing to— pinpoint exactly why it’s so upsetting.

The whole situation should be hilarious. It would be hilarious, if Evan didn’t look like he was about to cry.

“Hey,” Tommy reassures him. “It’ll be fine. I think we just surprised him a little.” Or a lot. Probably a lot.

Evan stares up at him. “You think?” He scrubs a hand down his face. “I shouldn’t have suggested this place.”

“There’s no way you could have known he was going to show up,” Tommy points out, casually draping his arm back across Evan’s broad shoulders.

“I should have guessed, knowing my luck.” Evan groans dramatically. “This is the worst first date I think I’ve ever been on.”

“Really?” Tommy asks, incredulously. “Worse than the one where you nearly died?” He smirks at the indignant expression on Evan’s face.

”Where did you even hear about that?” Evan splutters. “And yeah, worse than that.”

”Should I be insulted by that?” Tommy asks, mouth twitching in a smothered laugh.

”It’s not funny,” Evan grumbles, crossing his arms.

“It’s a little funny.”

Evan cracks, his lips lifting in a grin and they’re both laughing, and god he’s beautiful, Tommy thinks.

“Maybe I should check on him,” Evan says, after a moment, his hand reaching for his phone. “Make sure we’re okay.”

”Or,” Tommy suggests, plucking Evan’s phone from his fingers and laying it on the table, “we could get the bill and get out of here. You could come back to my place.”

Evan frowns, but doesn’t move to take his phone back.

”You’re his best friend,” Tommy reassures him. “You guys will figure this out.” And maybe they’ll eventually figure out their feelings for each other too.

Tommy’s not blind. He knows this thing between him and Evan isn’t going to go anywhere in the long run, but he’s hot and sweet and Tommy is just happy to see where this goes.

“Come on, come back to my place.”

Evan smiles. “Yeah, okay. I’d like that.”

#911 spoilers #911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #tommy kinard #7x05 crack spec

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sevensoulmates · 18 days

Note

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Tim saying in that recent interview that the choice to bring Marisol/Edy back was Ryan’s. We’ve seen how deeply Ryan understands Eddie, so I’m wondering why he specifically wanted that character back who has less than zero chemistry.

Mmm. Well, there's been a lot of talk going around about storylines being switched up. Apparently, both Buck AND Eddie were in talks for this coming out storyline (which--I'm still mind blown that this is info we even know). So obviously, there had to have been SOME conversations with Ryan about it.

It seemed to me like Tim's original plan was Natalia because he said he wanted to do something with her (not necessarily keep her around for a while, but give them an ending story arc). When the actress declined to come back, I think his second plan of action was Lucy. Okay, Lucy comes back and what? They explore a relationship? Idk. But when the actress ALSO couldn't come back and Tim was looking for someone else, I think the idea of bringing Tommy back led to a question for Tim: do I have him with Eddie or Buck?

Tim also says in the latest interview that he couldn't just have both of Buck and Eddie's love interests fizzle out over the hiatus, which says to me that Tim probably wasn't all that interested in Marisol either. I think that if Natalia had stayed as originally planned, Marisol would've been the one written out.

Lou said that from his first call with Tim, he was aware that his character was going to be gay and getting with one of their two main single men. I think that probably their earliest conversations was about him being with Eddie. And if Tim was talking to Lou about Eddie, I'm nearly positive the conversations had already happened with Ryan.

I think that the original plan from Tim was to have Eddie's arc this season be getting with a man, Buck's being with Natalia, and maybe having Lucy come in to once again throw in a wrench. But no Natalia led to Lucy possibly being his main LI. But no Lucy meant that now Tim was in a lurch with Buck. What can he do with him? Well, if the plan was always to get Buddie together eventually, and to have both characters have a coming-out arc at some point, they can do a switcheroo.

I think most likely Ryan suggested Marisol because he was aware that they were in a lurch for Buck, and probably because he felt the storyline fit better into Buck's story at the moment than Eddie's.

Tommy can get with Buck, and have Buck be the one to realize he's queer first. It makes sense because while Buck may be oblivious to his own feelings, he's not repressed like Eddie.

We still have Marisol around so we can use her as a backup and as a vehicle to have Eddie continue to deconstruct his compulsory heterosexuality, which in the end, Ryan probably realized was a story that needed to take its time to be scrutinized and handled well. He's aware that all of his past love interests (Ana and Marisol) have been "filler" in his words. He probably wanted to suggest that Marisol finally be given a bit more so that Eddie can actually LEARN something from these relationships instead of just the unending cycle of date random woman -> break up with random woman, ya know?

So, to answer your question, no. I don't think Ryan specifically asked for Marisol to come back because he particularly loved the character and wanted her around in his storyline. I think he recognized that there was somewhere his character could go with Marisol that would be interesting and fit his character arc and so he suggested it and Tim agreed.

#911 abc #speculation #press #911 press #buddie #eddie diaz #ryan guzman

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beastofburdenxo · 6 months

Text

A New Friend

You bring home a stray kitten to Tommy; will he accept it?

Cute, no smut. Typical Tommy language. 781 words, short and sweet. one shot.

“Hello love, how was your day?” Tommy asks as he walks through the front door. Taking off his coat and hanging it up, he walks to you sitting on the couch, oblivious to the new being lounging in your lap. Tommy never talks about his day; you suppose as to not burden you and keep you safe from his far from legal doings. But he always wants to know about yours, hanging onto every little detail. Even though compared to his day, yours was quite mundane, he never gets tired of hearing about it. As he comes closer and bends down to give you a kiss, he hears a soft mewing sound coming from your lap. Looking down he sees a small black kitten curled up, looking up at him with big yellow eyes.

“Right, what’s this then?” tommy questions with a puzzled look on his face. You scratch the kitten behind the ears with a chuckle, “it’s a kitten tommy, haven’t you seen one before? I found her on the street while out today and I just couldn’t tell her no.” Tommy takes a breath. “A kitten is the last thing we need love. I know nothing about them. I'm a gangster for Christ's sake, what am I supposed to do with a cat?” Both you and the said cat look at him “Tommy she’ll be my responsibility, you won’t even know she’s here.” he rolls his eyes and kisses your forehead “You said it, not me.”

Days go by and tommy tries his best to ignore the kitten (now called Missy). The kitten on the other hand, is not having it. As he sits in his study after a long day by the fire, he feels something brushing up against his pant leg. “Damn cat,” he mumbles to himself, imitating you, “You won’t even know she’s here, Tommy.” Missy isn’t letting up, demanding his attention. He tries his best to push her away with his foot, she just comes right back, eventually jumping into his lap startling him almost dropping his glass of whiskey. “Fucking hell, what do you want cat?” Missy looks at him, purring softly, demanding to be pet. They share eye contact for a bit, neither relenting. Tommy isn’t used to anything or anyone defying him, much less a four-pound kitten.

“To be so small, you dare and come around Tommy Shelby with your demands, eh?” he asks her as she makes herself at home on his lap, finally content with herself. Tommy sighs, finally realizing she isn’t leaving until she is ready. Just as he attempts to raise his hand in an attempt to touch her, there’s a knock at the door. You quietly walk in, a worried look on your face. “Sorry Tommy, but have you seen Missy? I’ve been looking everywhere?” Just then Missy raises her head, hearing her name. A smile breaks out on your face when you see the two spending time together. “Well look at this, the great feared Tommy Shelby is a cat person.” he rolls his eyes, “More like she’s as stubborn as you, won’t take no for an answer. Come get your silly cat.” Missy mews in protest as she is lifted off Tommy’s lap and into your arms. “Whatever you say dear, but I think she’s taken a liking to you.” You chuckle as you leave the room. “Come to bed when you’re ready darling.”

Many hours pass, his whiskey bottle empty, sleep invading his thoughts as he makes his way upstairs to bed. He reaches your shared room, watching you sleep, thinking to himself how lucky he is. Just as he strips down and pulls back the covers, he hears a soft mumbling sound. Missy has invaded the bed and is on his side, beating him to it. He runs his hand through his hair. “Sorry cat, but you are not stopping me from lying with my woman.” He picks her up and puts her at the foot of the bed, climbing in. You turn to him feeling the bed move. “She was just keeping your spot warm for you.” you mumble softly as his arm snakes around you pulling you close. He smiles down at you “Oh is that it eh?” he asks mouth against your soft hair.

Just as Tommy falls asleep, he feels something nudge the arm he has around you. Sighing, he slightly raises his arm just enough to let Missy in the embrace. “Damn cat,” he groans, “You tell anyone about this, you’ll wind up in the cut.” Missy just purrs in response, pleased that she has won over the big scary gangster. For tonight at least

#tommy shelby #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #tommy shelby x fem!reader #tommy shelby x y/n

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lanaxoxoxoxoxox · 9 months

Note

ALSO CONSIDER ANOTHER BASED OFF A SONG:

kiss you by one direction.

ranboo is crushing, but reader is a teeny tiny bit oblivious. ranboo is always finding ways to hold onto reader, touching them, holding their arm/hand, touching their shoulder, fixing their hair for them, etc etc. one day, maybe after talking to wilbur or phil, ranboo finds the god damn courage to go out with them privately and say "please, just let me kiss you."

SORRY IM BRAINROTTING IN YOUR INBOX ILY /p

, kiss you ! ୨♡୧

ranboo x gn!reader (they/them pronouns for y/n)

warnings: the most adorable fluff you'll eva read ♡

a/n: ladies and gentlemen, joy is now supporting us with some amazing brainrot once again !!! srsly @heiijoy has the best requests /gen go read their works !! ♡

words: 965

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

One thing that was obvious about Y/n was that they were incredibly oblivious and carefree. In times, that was very useful, especially as they were a streamer with a larger fanbase and community. In other times, it wasn’t as.. Helpful. Especially when their best friend of 3 years had a crush on them. And their best friend was indeed, Ranboo.

Ranboo had always considered themselves a “hopeless romantic”, someone who believes in love no matter what relationships or situations they’ve been through personally. Ranboo always tried to be near y/n, doing at least something with him. He constantly tried to give small little hints to y/n that he had a crush on them, but most of the time, those hints would click inside other people’s brains, and not y/ns, leaving Ranboo to get teased by his friends. He would constantly leave very obvious gestures to y/n, but nothing seemed to work.

During Vidcon panels and restaurants, Ranboo would always sit right next to Y/n, purposely making sure that their hands, legs or arms were touching in some way. If Ranboo, Y/n and some other people were walking to go somewhere, Ranboo would also offer y/n his hand or arm to hold onto, and he would be a blushing and stuttering mess if Y/n accepted. Although, y/n’s oblvious self would assume Ranboo was acting that way because of the weather or some random thing.

During a convention that Y/n and Ranboo were speaking at together, Ranboo and Y/n hung out backstage along with Wilbur, Tommy and Niki. Tommy and Niki were talking, and Wilbur was grabbing water to drink before the panel. Y/n was scrolling through Twitter, laughing at the tweets in the Twitchcon panel hashtag from the audience.

“Hey, Y/n, come ‘ere for a second.” Ranboo spoke.

Y/n looked up from their phone and shut it off before shoving it in their pocket. They came a bit closer to Ranboo. “What’s up?” they said.

Ranboo’s cheeks had a bit of a red hue to them, wishing in his head that Y/n couldn’t notice. He reached his hands up into Y/n’s hair, tucking away a few strands behind their ear. Y/n sucked in their breath, and Ranboo swore he saw a bit of tint on Y/n’s ears.

Ranboo pulled away his hand. “There.” he smiled.

Y/n smiled back at the tall boy in front of them. “T-thank you.”

Wilbur looked over at Ranboo and Y/n, moving his eyes back and forth between the two. He finally settled making eye contact with Ranboo and raised an eyebrow. Ranboo sighed and felt blush rise onto his cheeks once again. He looked back over at y/n quickly, and pulled out his phone.

After the panel, Wilbur and Phil texted Ranboo to come meet them in one of the creator lounges, and I quote reader, “In private.” Usually when Wilbur or Phil say something like that, it’s usually meant as “We need to talk/ask you about something” (it’s worse when it’s both of them say ‘in private’!)

Ranboo sucked in his breath and headed over to the destination they were supposed to meet at. Ranboo finally got there after 10 minutes of walking, and saw Wilbur leaning against the wall talking to Phil as Phil drank his cup of coffee.

Ranboo walked over to the two men and cleared his throat. “So, what did you want to ask me.. In private?” Ranboo said.

Wilbur looked over at Phil. “When were you going to tell us that you and Y/n are dating?”

Ranboo’s eyes widened. “U-uh, we’re not dating.” Phil raised an eyebrow.

“I promise you, we’re not together!” Ranboo responded, raising his arms up in defense.

Phil spoke up. “If you’re always acting like that towards Y/n, and you two aren’t dating, then I assume you have a crush on them, correct?”

Ranboo’s mouth tightened. “You can tell us, you know. We’re basically your family.” Wilbur added, smiling.

Ranboo looked at both of them and sighed. “Yeah, I think I do like them..” The smile of the two men’s faces could not be wiped off throughout any of that day when Ranboo and Y/n were anywhere near each other.

Reader, ever since that day, when Ranboo was basically forced to tell Phil and Will about his admiration for y/n, let's just say his head was even more filled with thoughts of y/n. Now, before the conversation with Wilbur and Phil, he already was swarmed with thoughts already. But now, it was even more than usual, to the point where he would tell himself to stop and clear his mind a bit before continuing to whatever he was doing. He knew it was a sign to tell y/n, and he finally brought himself to do it.

Ranboo and y/n were walking alone on the Brighton shore, watching the waves crash along the sand and their feet. The sun was slowly setting into a beautiful shade of baby pink and tangerine with the daisy yellow sun painting the horizon.

Ranboo and y/n both stopped in their tracks and sat down on the rocky floors of the shore and admired the beautiful sunset in front of them. Ranboo sighed and looked over at y/n.

"I love you, y/n." Ranboo spit out quickly, almost tripping over their own words. Blush rose to Ranboo's cheeks at what words he spoke, as he meant to say them a little later on in the evening but couldn't hold his tounge back.

Y/n looked over in surprise.

"Shit, I-I. I do love you y/n. Gosh, I just wanna take you anywhere you like, and show you off to everyone, and j-just-." the boy stuttered.

"Want to what?" Y/n said, smiling.

"Please, just let me kiss you."

"Kiss me, then." y/n spoke back.

And they did, reader. They did.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

oh my garsh this is too cute for me to handle !!!!! 😭 /pos

thank you so much @heiijoy, my very lovely moot, for sending this ask in! its a bit late, so sorry abt that!

my requests are still CLOSED, im just currently clearing up my drafts/inbox and writing whatever i feel like if i have the motivation to do so :]

please support my work by liking, replying, following me, or reblogging! anything helps to continue my writing ♡

love you all mwah xoxoxoxo

#mcyt fanfic writer #fanfiction #mcyt #dream smp #mcytblr #requests closed #wilbur soot #philza #ranboo #ranboo x reader #ranboo fanfic

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maxverstappensflatbrim · 11 months

Text

Show Me Yours | Matty Healy [13]

chapter thirteen, act two: anobrain

masterlist

November 1st 2013

Tommie has always felt like out of all the places in America, New York would be scariest. It's big and that's where all the big American crime drama shows she watches are set, with things like the mafia or random serial killers.

But no, LA, is by far, the scariest place she has visited.

With people screaming as you pass by, strangers trying to sell you CDs and monks handing out bracelets. The dress up characters (something she used to be afraid of as a child), getting handsy as you walk through the touristy parts creeped her out, and if one more person tried to hand her a flower she was going to scream.

Not even Times Square was this bad.

Her anxiety was getting the better of her and the deeper they got into the walk of fame the more she clung onto Matty’s arm.

He’d sensed her anxiety a while back and had kept closer as the other three oblivious men (of course men, what anxieties do they need to have while walking down a street in the night) walked on ahead.

“Do you want to turn back?”

She shakes her head, “I’d rather not go back through all of them.”

He grins as they get closer to the loud music of this pub a friend had recommended, “Almost there anyway, we’ll get a taxi back from right outside when we’re done, yeah?”

She nods quickly, “Okay.”

His hand lifts to play with some strands of her hair, she’d had a shower before they left and hadn’t had time to dry it, so it was a curly wavy mess.

“I like your hair like this.”

“Really?”

He nods, pulling on it and watching the curl bounce back into place, “It’s messy but put together at the same time, like you. It suits you.”

Tommie stuck by him all night, they both shared a drink, they only did one shot, a couple ciders, and had two G&T’s.

About an hour after Tommie had finished sipping on her orange gin and tonic she and Matty had ordered an uber from right outside and gone back to the hotel, leaving the other three in the bar, all of them too far gone with John running around after them.

In the lift Tommie sighs, leaning back against the wall as she kicks off the heels that George’s date for the night had let her borrow.

She leans down to rub at her left foot while struggling to undo the strap of the right one at the same time.

Matty gives a lopsided smile and kneels down to help her, he taps his knee and she holds her weight on the railing so her aching foot doesn’t take all the weight.

It’s a little hard in her tipsy head but she manages to hold herself upright.

He carefully undoes the strap, slides off the heel, and then delicately places her foot back down, his hand following his movements up her bare leg slowly as he stands.

Her shoes now in his free hand until she stands upright and shoves it into the pocket of his skinny jeans.

“God,” She groans and grimaces, “Did you see that one couple?”

He nods, “The ones that were practically having sex on the table?”

She nods trying to rid the image of the girl lying flat on her back with the guy on top of her, “What ever happened to hello?” She wonders.

“Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk — real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious.”

She rolls her eyes, “Stop quoting that book all the time, you twat.”

“Can’t help it,” He shrugs, “Read it so much it's engraved in my brain. Like you with fantastic mr fox. Guarantee you could quote that film word for word.”

“I can’t.”

He nudges her hip with his, “Don’t lie, you definitely can.”

She shrugs her shoulders, “Maybe a few scenes.”

She looks him up and down, “Are you not hot?”

“I’ve been told I am.” He says cheekily leaning to her.

She rolls her eyes, shoving him out the lift when it stops on their floor, “I meant warm, physically, it’s bloody boiling out here.”

“You just think that ‘cause you’re ginger.”

“No, I think that ‘cause I’ve sweat through three t-shirts today.”

She groans as she tries digging around in her pocket, “What?”

“I’m sharing with Ross, he has my key card.”

He pulls his from the back pocket, “I was supposed to be sharing with George until he ditched me for that bird he met a couple days ago, so I have a free bed.”

She smiles, following him inside, “Life saver, you.”

She faceplants the first bed she comes across but he tugs at the foot that hangs off the bed, “Uh uh, my bed’s always the one closest to the door.”

“Why? You gonna fight off any attackers with that pigeon chest?”

He laughs sarcastically, “I was thinking more if anything goes wrong I can run out the fastest.”

“My knight in shining armour, you are.”

He says nothing, just aggressively throws her a pair of shorts an old the cure t-shirt, she’s halfway through pulling it, looking at her tired face in the bathroom mirror that she realises it's her own shirt she lost about four months ago on the tour.

“Hey!”

She rips open the bathroom door and he looks up, “What?”

“I’ve been looking for this top.”

“It’s mine.”

She shakes her head, “No, Adam bought me this when you guys went to that concert a couple years ago. It was my christmas present, my mam spilt wine on it and it stained, look!”

She shoves the stain into his face and he leans back, pushing his glasses up on top of his head.

“Well, it looks better on me anyway.” He says, holding back the smirk.

She grins and pushes him so he falls back on the bed, “Ow, not funny, think I landed on the remote.”

He winces and she feels slightly bad, slightly.

“Pull me up so I can get dressed.”

“Get up yourself.”

“Think it’s only fair after the attempted assault I just endured.”

Rolling her eyes she holds her hands out and he grips them both, he starts pulling himself up but he uses all his body weight to fall back and pull her down with him.

She laughs, bending his arm awkwardly to hold him down, “Tap out.”

“No.”

He tries to twist around but only ends up with her overpowering him even more, “Tap out. I’ll break your arm, Roddy, not even joking.”

He flips her off and they play fight for a while giggles and tickles being passed around until eventually she pinning his arms above his head and panting heavily.

She grins down at him but there’s no humour on his face, his eyes are lidded, head slightly tilted back to stare up at her.

“I won.”

“Mhmm.”

He bites down on his lip and she watches as he has some internal battle behind his eyes as they flicker around her face.

She leans back a little, grip loosening, “Matt-”

He moves forward quickly, sitting up, one hand holding him up on the bed, the other circling around to her back to hold her there as his lips land on hers.

It’s a quick and harsh peck, his bottom lip between hers, their noses pressed into each other's cheeks creating indentations of each other.

He pulls back, doesn’t say a thing as he looks at her, assessing her.

He knows her.

He knows that the softness of her eyes means she at least didn’t hate it. Knows that the crinkle on her one eye means she’s thinking it over.

And he knows that that smile… he knows that that smile will be the death of him.

She moves forward, both her hands in his hair as she brings him closer, leaning backwards until she’s lying flat on her back and he’s on top of her.

His hands are everywhere all at once.

She’s addicting, her taste, her sound, everything about her, he can’t get enough.

One moment his hands are threading through her hair, the next they’re on her face, thumbs rubbing across her round cheeks, then they’re travelling down her arms, down her rib cage, her waist, he wants to touch parts of her no one's even thought of touching before.

He wants to know everything.

He opens his eyes, moving back so he can look, like really look, not like his usual fleeting glances where he’s afraid he’ll get caught.

She lifts herself up on her elbows, trying to chase his lips but he stops her, “Wait, I want to see you.”

She giggles, “I’m right here, Matty.”

“No, I want to see you.” He moves to kiss her cheek, “Explore you,” A kiss on her jaw, “See the way you work, the way you move, hear the way you sound when you cry my name.”

She slaps his chest, but then curls her hand around his white t-shirt to bring his lips back to hers, he mumbles into her lips, “You’re so addicting.”

“That’s just the oxytocin, darling.”

He groans into her ear, biting down on her bottom lip and pulling back, “Call me that again.”

“What? Darling?”

He nods, leaning back to pull his t-shirt off and toss it across the room, “Come here, darling.”

He smiles into the kiss as he pushes her back, their teeth clashing together as he pushes her top upwards.

She doesn’t have a bra on, and he feels himself grow harder when his hands meet her breast.

She arches her back, pushing her hips into his own, “Matty, I’ve-”

He moves his kisses to her neck, “I know. We can stop.”

She shakes her head quickly, hands gripping his shoulders, encouraging his arms to go higher, “No, no,” She shakes her head, the words leaving her lungs in one breath, “Please.”

He moves his kisses to her collar bone, tugging down on the neck of the t-shirt but still telling her, “One word, one word and we’ll stop, Tommie.”

“Just go slow,” She says, chest pushing into his, her hands squeezing his upper arms, “Be gentle.”

“Always with you.”

When Tommie thought of losing her virginity she didn’t think it would be in a hotel room in LA with her cousin’s best mate.

She thought it would be a drunken one night stand with a complete stranger to get it over and done with.

She’s glad it’s Matty.

She trusts Matty.

He finally peels the t-shirt off in a painstakingly slow manner, letting out a low guttural groan at the sigh of her bare chest in front of him, “God.”

His hands move to her shorts, tugging them down and throwing them to the pile, “One word, Tommie.” He says again, moving further down the bed to pull her underwear off too.

She doesn’t say anything, lets herself get lost in the feel of his hands and the fabric pooling at her ankles.

She doesn’t say a single thing until his hands are on her again, “Please.”

He nods, “Gonna go slow, baby,” He kisses her between her thighs, “Nice and slow.”

It was slow, and gentle, but fast and rough at the right times.

It was a mix of his moans and her loud screams of his name as they both allowed themselves to come undone around one another.

It was a mix of hands and mouths roaming each other’s bodies, exploring across freckles like stars on a constellation map.

At one point, when Matty had flipped her over, a pillow beneath her stomach, his hands pushing her shoulder blades down he’d leaned forward and quietly whispered (while still inside her). ‘You have a group of freckles shaped like a moon.’

He’d slowly traced his finger around the crescent shape on her shoulder and then leaned forward to place a kiss there.

“I know.”

Then his lips had moved to the tattoo on the other shoulder, her own words from her poem and coincidentally their song lay there.

He kissed the tattoo, lips slightly open and pushing into her skin before he dragged his bottom lip up towards the nape of her neck.

Only glancing back at the words once more before he pushed himself deeper into her.

‘I love you, don’t you mind?’

But now they lie silently beneath the covers of the bed closest to the door, he pushes the hair from her face, kissing her temple as she allows herself to nuzzle deeper into him.

“Matty?”

She yawns and he carries on playing with her hair, “Yeah, baby?”

“You know what I was saying like oxytocin and serotonin and stuff?”

He hums, “It’s not the chemicals.” She mutters quietly, “Just you.”

He smiles to himself, listening to her breath even out as she finally falls asleep, he pulls back to look down at her, head tilted as he gives her forehead one last kiss. “Good night, beautiful girl.”

Then, shifting further down the bed so he can comfortably rest his head on her chest just above her heart, he allows the sound of her to consume him until he falls asleep.

taglist

@thereisaplaceintheheart

@indierockgirrl

@sofaritsalrightt

@julezs-bl0g

@eaglestar31

@sophinthealpss

@if-my-heart-bleeds

-let me know if you want to be added :)

#matty healy x oc #show me yours matty healy #matty healy x reader #the 1975 x reader #the 1975 x oc

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lowaltitude · 2 years

Text

Assertive | Billy Hargrove

Passive, as told from Billy’s POV.

- Stranger Things

- Passive. Reader’s POV

- x Reader (Y/N)

- Part Two. Part Three.

❪ FEM! ❫ ❪ original prompt: ‘ “don’t you know who i am?” “yup. i just don’t care” ’ ❫

───── ❝ description + disclaimer ❞ ─────

𖥻 Billy Hargrove x FEM!reader, in which William “Billy” Hargrove is pushed to his limit by some girl he just met in his Biology class. OR in which Billy‘s charming act doesn’t fool you in the slightest.

𖥻 No connection to Stranger Things series timeline. 4.9k words

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

With my seat turned towards the back of the classroom, I was talking to Tommy. I honestly didn’t like this kid. He was just another rich prick who thinks he’s the best because his parents can afford to send him to an ivy league school, they’ll have to bribe the administrators since he was dumb as dog shit. Carol walked back to the desk, taking her seat and practically throwing herself at her boyfriend.

Their relationship annoyed me for a multitude of reasons. Carol would flirt with other people and Tommy was oblivious, even when she would do it right in front of his face. Tommy almost always had his tongue down her throat, I am in no position to judge someone’s relationship but I don’t think they’re really a ‘happy couple’ if they only have a physical relationship.

Of course, all my relationships are physical. Dating never seemed appealing to me, why would I need one girl when I can have them all?

Spinning back to the front of the class, I tuned out whatever the teacher was saying and eyed the clock. Getting my lighter from my pocket as I mindlessly drummed my fingers on the table.

Beside me was Fred Benson, I would usually never want to be seen sitting with someone like him. But i’m exchange for not beating on him, he took notes for me in all the classes we had together. He pushed a notebook that had my name scribbled across the front back towards me as if he knew the bell was going to sound a half second later.

Tommy patted my back as he stood and went towards the door, Carol winking at me before rushing after him. I rolled my eyes and held an unlit cigarette between my teeth, flicking my lighter until I finally saw the small flame.

Puffing out some smoke, I rolled my shoulders and grabbed the book. Giving Fred a tight nod before walking out of biology lab.

People in the halls either waved at me or looked the other way, there was no in-between. They were scared or they wanted to be seen with me.

I carelessly threw the book into my locker before slamming the door, a few girls waving at me flirtatiously but I had no energy to sleep with one of them tonight.

It would be easy to pick them up because the girls at this school acted like I was a vibrator and they didn’t have any other sources of relief.

Walking out of the doors I smiled at the sight of my car, it stood out in the parking lot. Perfect unscathed midnight blue paint, and yellow California plates making it a spectacle alongside the beige Indiana plates and majority rusted vehicles.

I leaned against the drivers side door, using my sleeve to wipe some dirt off the side mirror as I smoked and waited for Max. I wanted to drive home and leave her here, she had a skateboard and knew the way, but my dad didn’t like the last time I did that.

I heard the plastic wheels scrapping along the cement and flicked away my cigarette butt. Once I heard her shut the door, I let out an exasperated sigh and climbed in.

The engine purred and my music began blaring, Max reacted to the sudden loud sound but I didn’t turn it down, instead tapping my hands on the wheel before pressing my foot to the gas and speeding as gas as possible away from Hawkins High School.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

This town must have been so dull before I got here, the people acted like I was a hero. Conquering girls day after day. They hadn’t heard from me all weekend and assumed that meant I spent both Saturday and Sunday with a girl, I wasn’t going to deny it. That was much better than the truth, that I had acted as a chauffeur for my step-sister and spent my time alone in the house.

Tommy was sitting alone, the empty seat beside him that Carol would usually take now available for me to sit in. But where was she? I looked around and saw her, she was sitting with another boy and smacking her gum.

Although I think Carol was likely the kind of person to cheat on Tommy, and that he would do the same to her, I wasn’t bothered that she hadn’t sat with him. I walked to the table and pulled the chair out, only for to feeling a hand on my shoulder.

I was in no mood for a morning rendezvous.

With intentions of rejecting the poor girl trying to capture my attention, I turned to look at her and was surprised to see the teacher who’s name I hadn’t bothered to learn.

“Mr Hargrove. Your seat is over there, with your partner” She pointed towards a seat at the back of the class. A girl sat at the table with a pair of headphones on and her eyes glued out the window.

Tommy looked at her and then back at me, raising his eyebrows and waiting for me to either sit or walk away. I wasn’t exactly sure I liked Tommy so I had not issues in sitting away from him, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend today having this girl fawning over me.

I sighed and pushed the seat back in, walking over to the table. I got a better look at the girl, she wasn’t unattractive. Actually, it surprised me somewhat that I hadn’t seen her before. She was definitely one of the more appealing girls at this school, I had already made my way through the ‘hottest’ girls in Hawkins and she was above them in many ways.

Okay, maybe I wouldn’t mind a rendezvous.

“Hey” I smirked, giving her body a quick check to make sure she didn’t just have a pretty face. I nodded my head at her and she kept her eyes on the window. Had she not heard me? Or was there something else she was looking at?

I couldn’t see anything out the window, just the empty football field, trees and cloudy sky. That’s definitely less exciting than I am.

The teacher clapped her hands together and smiled at the class of tired students “Alright!”

The girl beside me took her headphones off and pushed the cassette player away from her slightly, making me raise an eyebrow. She heard that?

I tuned out whatever the teacher was saying, looking at the girl as she slightly pursed her lips and sighed before rolling her eyes and grabbing one of the small plastic disks from the tray at the front of our table.

She pulled the microscope towards her, struggling slightly at the weight of it.

She tucked a piece of hair that fell in front of her eyes behind her ear and looked into the microscope for a second, adjusting the dials on the side.

No headphones, no pretending not to hear me. “Hey” I repeat.

“Hello” The girl kept her eyes on her notebook, scribbling down a few things and not even glancing at me. Scoffing, I wondered what about this plastic was so interesting that I was being treated like I meant nothing to her.

Grabbing the microscope, I looked into it and my confusion only grew. She wanted to look at little specs?

“What the fuck is that?” I muttered aloud, moving so I could look at her for an answer.

She grabbed the microscope, looking in it for a few seconds before picking up her pen again.

“It’s Prophase. The first stage of mitosis” I thought we were learning about Cells? “The topic we’ve been working on for almost 2 months.”

I knew nothing about Biology, but something I knew a fair about about was Music.

“What are you listening to?” I changed the subject, reaching past her to try and see the tape in her player but i’m stopped. Her hand is raised, stopping me from grabbing it and causing my mind to go completely blank. Only able to open and close my mouth as she switching the plastic disk and looked in the microscope again.

“Fourth phase. Anaphase” She says to herself, writing again.

I had jet to move, her hand was so delicate, so much smaller than mine. I wanted to catch it in my own and just compare. I finally move my hand back and she drops hers only her lap, continuing like nothing had happened but it felt like there was a tiny man dancing on my stomach and I hated it.

“Metaphase” She smiled, her smile lighting up her eyes and making my breath hitch for a second. It was a smile that could make a man weak in the knees. She raised her hand and I studied her side profile, watching grabbed her notebook and pushed it towards me.

What did it say? Probably something about where to meet her. Looking down I see the ink smudged slightly and wonder if she had blue marks of ink sneered on her hand. Would I make her wash her hand before, i’m sure our sweat would make the ink transfer to my skin and I didn’t want to scrub my face in a school bathroom.

Reading carefully, I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at the message. Was she speaking in code?

Looking back up at her, the teacher has joined up at our desk and is looking between us carefully. “Yes?”

“We’re done” The girl looks at me, her smile instantly flattering and using her head to gesture towards the open book.

Was this just science stuff? “Uh. 1 was Prophase, 2 Anaphase, and 3 Metaphase.”

The older woman smiles and gives us a nod, pulling away the tray of plastic disks “Nice work, I knew you would be a good pair.”

Beside me, the girl sharply exhaled out of her nose- almost a huff- and takes the book from my hands.. She reaches for her headphone again and I can’t take it anymore.

I wanted to hook up with her, so why wasn’t she trying anything? Was she blind? She slips her headphones back on and presses play but I quickly press stop before my brain can make sense of what i’m doing.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

“Yup.” She nods. Oh. She was going to say it now, tell me how she fantasies about hearing me say her name. “I just don’t care”

The bell sounded and she practically jumped out of her seat, disappearing into the hall and leaving me slightly dumbfounded. Don’t care? But how, every boy wanted what I had, wanted to be me or befriend me. And the girls- oh the girls- They were waiting for their turn, telling their friends every little detail and begging for me to touch them.

She was a girl. So what does she mean she doesn’t care?

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

All day i’d been off my game, not that I had wanted to pick up a girl today but it felt like I couldn’t. I didn’t know what was going on until I looked up during Lunch and saw my biology partner squeezing through the crowd of people.

Somehow, she had gotten in my head and made me doubt myself. She wasn’t the first girl ever to not want me, and I understand that i’m not exactly perfect. Hell, even my own mother didn’t want anything to do with me. But she was a teenage girl, and teenage girls loved me, which means she was probably playing hard to get just so that I would be interested in her.

I rolled my eyes as Carol throw herself at Tommy in front of me, putting my hands in my pockets and looking around the hallway. I saw her, unlocking her locker and watched as she moved a loose strand of hair off her face. It stuck to her lipgloss and I almost smiled at the sour face she made.

None of the group of people around me even noticed as I stepped away from them and towards the girl. I took a sharp breath and leaned down to her ear.

“You don’t care?”

She jumped, not very high but she still jumped. Startling me enough to make me stand up straight, watching as she put a hand to her chest.

“Oh my god. What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“If you’re trying to get my attention, congratulations, you did it.” I’m surprise she wasn’t tired after running around in my head all day trying to get under my skin, she got what she wanted. She was consuming my thoughts and i’m sure she’d be out of breath later anyway.

“What? You’re so full of yourself, I do not give a shit about you or anyone else in this godforsaken town” She harshly turned and began to walk away from me, right out the large open doors and towards the bus stop.

Groaning at how stubborn she was bean, I jog to catch up with her. She’d already gotten what she wanted, me actually running after how. Now can we just sleep together and move on?!

“Yeah, sure. I believe you. I’m in a charitable mood. i’ll throw you a bone, you’re not exactly below my standards.” That was the truth, she was definitely above my standards, especially for Hawkins. Not that I had low standards, I just knew that a lot of the girls here were terribly awful.

“That’s disgusting” She spat, quickening her pace and I stopped walking. She was serious.

This hadn’t all been some flirtatious game to get me to think about her, it was an actual confession that she disliked me.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

Without Biology today, I had to find a time to find her. I’d spent all of yesterday afternoon thinking about what it was that made her hate me. Steve Harrington hated me because I was better than him, Nancy Wheeler hated me because she liked Steve, and that freak Jonathan Byers hated me because he liked Nancy.

I remembered where her locker was from yesterday, and at the end of the day I leaned up against it. Twiddling my thumbs as I waited for her to get out of class.

“Hi Billy” Some girl giggled, twirling her hair around her finger and looking at me seductively. This was how girls treated me, further assuring me that my biology partner was insane.

“Hi” I smirked back at her, she bit down on her lip and I quickly looked her up and down, she was a little taller than i’d like. But she was okay. Long legs that she’d probably wrap around me.

There was a huff beside me and I looked at the girl i’d almost forgotten I was waiting for. “Move” she says harshly.

The taller girl narrows her eyes and throws her hair over her shoulder, opening her mouth to snap at her, but I roll my eyes. Girls fighting is fine, especially if it’s over me, but I didn’t want to be here longer than necessary. Moving off her locker, she swings the door open, letting it hit me in the arm and I growl at her instinctively.

She’s quick to sort her things out, shutting the door and heading off quickly. Not even caring what the other girl had to say, I follow after her. “Let me drive you home, sweetheart”

“I’m sorry— Do you not know my name?”

I scoff, feeling defensive “Of course I do. It’s…”

She stops in her tracks, beginning to tap her foot and crosses her arms over chest. I didn’t know her name. She had consumed my thoughts for 2 days and yet I hadn’t realised that her name still alluded me.

“Goodbye” She spits, walking away again. What is it with this girl and not wanting me around her. I easily catch up with her again, putting my hand to her back and ignoring the shivers that shoot up my back at the feeling of heat emitting from her body. “Stop touching me”

I almost laugh, putting my hand quickly back into my pocket and leaning against the large door. “Never heard that before”

She pointed a finger at me, her face scrunched slightly as she tried to seem intimidating. Smirking, I watched her face getting redder and had to stop myself from thinking about all the other things that could make her blush like that. “You should get used to it, because girls aren’t always going to throw themselves at you. They’re going to realise that you are a self centred idiot who’ doesn’t respect anyone, and that they deserve so much better.”

My eyes adjusted and I saw the bus she had gotten on yesterday closing it’s doors, giving me the perfect opportunity to spend some time with her and make her regret disliking me.

“What?!” She yelled, noticing that her rant had no effect on me.

Pulling my keys from my pocket, I spin the keyring around my finger and gesture behind her. “Sure you don’t want that ride home?”

She raises an eyebrow and look at the bus as it pulls away. Her hair blowing in the slight wind before she runs a rough hand through it and starts to stomp towards the parking lot.

I smiled. A genuine smile. It only lasted a brief moment before I stopped myself and took a few large strides so I could walk beside her. It was only now that I remembered Max.

How could I hook up with the angry girl if I had my step sister with me. Max met my eyes and I nodded for her to get in the back, she sighed and opened the door. Pulling the seat forward and preparing to get in.

“No, it’s okay.” Biology girl smiled, and her smile lit up her eyes again. Why did I so desperately want her to smile at me like that, it seemed like everyone else got that look except me. I could look at any girl in his parking lot and she would smile at me like I just told her the best news of her life but I didn’t want that, I wanted her smile and it was making me feel sick.

“Get in the car” I say to Max, both of us climbing into the car and closing the doors. Quickly, I adjust the mirror so that I can see her face “Where’s your house?”

Max laughs “Are you serious?”

“Shut up” I say to her. She had no right or reason to laugh right now.

“She lives next to us” Max looks down at her skateboard between her knees, using her finger to spins one of the wheels.

Oh. What? So had Max recognised her, how did she know about this girl that lived so close I wouldn’t even need to drive to hook up with her, but I had never seen her face. Smacking my lips and nodding my head, I start the car and begin away from the school at a fast speed.

As i’m drumming my hands on the sterling wheel, she leans forward. Her face right next to mine but not looking at me, she’s looking at Max. I could smell her, I didn’t want to be she smelt so good it was intoxicating.

“I really don’t want to be here, don’t worry” She apologised, what did she have to say sorry to Max for? She hadn’t done anything wrong “I like your sneakers”

Max noticed me staring and I quickly looked back ahead of me at the road, glancing in the mirror again to watch their interaction. “Oh. Thank you…?”

“Y/N” She smiled.

And I almost gasped. Y/N. Y/N! Y/N. Snapping my fingers together I took a deep breath, I didn’t care to learn the girls names when I slept with them but I need her name to make her like me.

Y/N roller her eyes “That’s him learning my name.”

“I’m Max” The redhead smiled softly, and Y/N nodded before leaning back in the backseat and looking out the window as we zoomed past trees houses and empty plots of land. There was nothing exciting to see and I hoped she’d realise that the real view was me driving.

Turning up the stereo, I saw her look at me briefing before shifting in her seat and looking back out the window.

Max looks at me and I raise an eyebrow at her, she just shrugs and looks back ahead like nothing happened.

Our street was long, most of the houses small, well built but often poorly maintained. And I wondered which one Y/N lived in. She struck me as someone who lived in Loch Nora, maybe she was pretty because her family could afford to make her look like that.

Parking, Max gets out of the vehicle and moves the seat for Y/N, she mutters the softest sweetest ‘thank you’ i’ve ever heard and I swallow before unbuckling my seatbelt.

She throws her bag over her shoulder and turns towards the street, making me frown. “Aren’t you coming in?” I stand quickly, resting my arms on the roof of the car.

She doesn’t turn back as she answers me “What part of ‘I DONT LIKE YOU’ wasn’t clear?”

Just because you don’t like me doesn’t mean you don’t want to sleep with me.

“Can I drive you to school tomorrow?”

“No!”

Sighing to myself, I watch her as she walks. Not even noticing that Max is already inside the house. Y/N only walks three houses down, I can still see her as she opens her front door. I was going to make her like me, this was my new form of entertainment.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

I don’t think i’ve ever used my locker for more that 15 seconds since I got here, but finding Y/N at hers was easy. I put my hand on the locker beside her, trying to stand a little taller than her.

“Why do you hate me?” My voice comes out lower than I intended and she notices it, here eyes flash with something but I can’t quite read what she’s feeling because.

“Go away”

No. She’s not getting away that easily. Everyone here, minus a few people of course, likes me. She hated me and we never even met so I was worth more than a simple ‘go away’ from her. “Answer.”

“Because you’re rude, and arrogant, and I saw the way you talk to Max. You’re inconsiderate and treat women like they’re made to serve you.”

Arrogance? Seriously, she didn’t hate me she hated the way she perceived me. “Is that it?”

Her eyebrows knit together and I hear her scoff quietly. With her eyebrows furrowed there a few small wrinkles on her face and I think it’s… cute? “You keep forcing me to be around you when I clearly don’t want to, you—“

Unable to stop myself, I put my finger on the wrinkles. She reacts by practicing freezing under my touch, her eyes wide as she looks at me.

I lick my lips, watching her eyes dart to my lips before coming back to my eyes and I smile. I’m going to make you like me. You’re going to beg for my attention”

Her jaw almost dropped, and she hit my hand away for its position against the lockers.“It seems like I already have it”

“Y/N” I breath, tired of this struggle already.

She shakes her head and puts her palms flat against my chest, making me shudder. Girls didn’t touch me, they wanted me to touch them, it was an unfamiliar but welcome feeling. I wanted to grab her and pull her so we were pressed against one another, I didn’t even want to kiss her just look at her.

I realised that she was trying to push me away, so I let her so that I can try to understand what I was feeling was just hormones since I hadn’t been physical with anyone for- oh my god- Almost a week.

“We’re late for class” Is all she says, walking down the corridor towards the lab. I chuckle, maybe this was going to be fun.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

“Where have you been lately, man?” Tommy asks, scrubbing his body with soap. I was hurriedly showering so that I could get out to beat Y/N to her locker. I wonder if she’ll be angry at me, she’s kind of cute when she’s angry.

“Busy, you know” I shrug casually. This was the first time that I was thinking about a girl in the shower and not being kind of a pervert about it. “Bye”

I turned off the water and wrapped my towel around myself, pulling my clothes over my still wet body as I heard the bell ringing.

There must have been something about me today because girls seemed to float towards me like one of those cartoons when the characters smell something cooking.

Y/N squeeze her way to her locker and I waited, tuning out whatever girl was prattling on about god knows what.

She closed her locker and with a wave of my hand it was like POOF the girls were gone. I smiled as I walked beside her “Hey. Can I take you home?” My home, your home, lover lake even.

“No, thanks”

“Come on, it’ll be fun”

“I think i’d have at least the tiniest bit of respect for you if you understood what ‘no’ meant.”

I understand what ‘no means. I’m not a creep, i’m just very… sexually positive. Besides, I wanted her. I had thought about it too long and now having this little game to play was making me feel excited. I’d gotten bored of the regular routine I had developed with the girls in Hawkins and she was breaking me out of that, giving me a nice challenge.

“Oh sweetheart, you never take no for answer when you want something this badly”

Y/N stuck her tongue out, gagging and making me roll my eyes. Planting my feet firmly on the ground, I grabbed her hand and didn’t let her move away. Maybe this was a little in creep territory.

“Let go” She frowned at me and tried to pull her hand away. Her hand fit nicely in mine, not to small but enough so I could hold it with ease. Her hands were cold too, and I thought about grabbing her other hand and putting them on me again. It felt nice when she was touching me, even if she was trying to push me away. Oh, that’s definitely creepy.

“Don’t get on the bus” I pleaded. Hearing my own voice I felt weak, I was begging her not to go and I didn’t want to be doing that.

She glared at me and my grip on her hand loosened in fear I was hurting her. Was I acting crazy? She was another girl I wanted to use as a distraction a few days ago and now I was enjoying holding her hand.

She pulled her hand away “Billy.”

Had she ever said my name before? It sounded nice, even though she was trying to explode my mind with her eyes. I shook my head free of the messy thoughts and smirked at her.

“Say my name like that again, I like it” Y/N turns away, walking to the disgusting bus again. My car was clean and safe. Even with how recklessly I drove the bus was a bigger death trap.

Sighing and accepting that maybe, I just wanted Y/N around because she was challenging me instead of giving me exactly what I wanted, I got ahead of her and started walking backwards so I could look at her.

“Let me drive you.” I sigh “Please”

Y/N eyebrows only furrowed further, her nose scrunching up and I wanted to reach out and tap it. Maybe it would wriggle like a rabbits nose.

“If you’re trying to prove a point to someone just lie and tell them whatever it is you need to say”

I stop. Y/N almost physically running into me but managing to catch herself “What?”

Did she think I was just going to tell people we had sex? I had never explicitly told anyone about my ‘adventures’, the girls would always tell their friends, who would tell their boyfriends, who would then congratulate me.

I didn’t try to stop anyone from knowing what was going on because if people saw me and a girl walking to my car they could just assume.

“You know, the fucking cliche.” She puts a hand on her hip, inadvertently making me look down at her waist. “Popular hot jock gets dared by his asshole friends to make an advance on some loser. Tell them whatever you want”

Hot?

“Y/N, my friends don’t even know you exist.” That came out harsher than expected. But, it also amused me, it was true and they had no clue since they only ever stayed wrapped up in their own lives. “I just need to make you like me for my own personal gain. Plus, then you’ll beg me to forgive all the times you berated me”

She stared at me, studying my face and for some reason I felt uncomfortable. It felt like there was something on my face that she wasn’t telling me about. Y/N hums and goes the opposite direction, towards my car, giving Max a small wave.

‘Popular hot jock’ Hmm, was that a generalisation or her own thoughts? For reason I wasn’t yet ready to think about, I decided to believe it was the latter.

Smiling, I move so I can duck down and whisper in her ear “You really think i’m hot?”

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

to be continued… !

tags: @im-julessssss @m-rae23 @moonie-brbs @iamaslutforcoffee @kenny-power @billy-hargroves-wife @maackiimoo @reneetje @tayhar811 @harringtonfan4 @jiiisungpark @untoldshortsofthefandoms @theamunson @softbfbilly + i can’t reply to comments sorry

#fanfic #ao3 #archive of our own #ao3 fanfic #stranger things #billy hargrove #ao3 writer #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x yn #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove fandom #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x reader

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moral-terpitude · 1 year

Text

Misadventures - Part 3

Masterlist Series Masterlist

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1,688

A/N: i went for a portfolio review for an apprenticeship the other day, and got to watch a tattoo get done while I was there! I had this wrote first, but the part about forehead wrinkles is no joke! I wasn’t even doing anything and I was tired by the time I left! This took me so long to write and it is so short 😭

so what's left to do · what’s left to say · stop making friends, just us · I'll decompose with you

By the time 7 hours had passed, Quinn was satisfied with the progress they had made. All the outlining was done, and with the wrinkle between her brows now permanently etched there from the face she made when she focused, amongst all the other ways her body was protesting, despite them taking a break every hour or so, the color would have to wait for another day.

“Okay,” she wiped down the irritated skin as gently as she could, which unfortunately was far from gentle, “the saniderm needs to stay on for three days. Any fluid pooling underneath is normal, but if the seal breaks it needs to be removed. Instead of removing it like a bandaid,” she continued giving the memorized speech as she applied the clear film carefully, “stretch the film to break the adhesive so it doesn’t remove any of the ink. Everything else is carefully articulated on those papers, because anything I seem to tell people that goes beyond three days of aftercare, they seem to forget, so, it’s on the paper.”

She heard him chuckle as she finished pressing all the air out of the clear film. Quinn hadn’t noticed until then as he stood there with his head hung, letting her go about her business as she absentmindedly let her eyes wander along the curve of his neck, that he smelled so good. Something warm, woodsy, a hint of vanilla maybe, too.

The music had stopped long ago, which meant the disgruntled grumble her stomach let out, was heard by them both.

Discarding the gloves and all the other tainted supplies into the hazmat bin, Quinn sprayed down and wiped all the surfaces that could possibly be sanitized, before turning off the big light over her workstation.

She stretched, checking her phone before heading back to the closet to retrieve the sweater.

“Here, I should probably return this to its owner.”

“Thanks.” Now with clothes readjusted and redressed, the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth could have knocked the wind out of her.

Tommy followed her to the front of the shop, settling the last thing hanging over their heads for the day: money. Quinn counted the bills, nails clacking against the counter before tucking it away in the safe under the counter.

“So, technically, we could have started on color and shading today, but, that would have been a lot,” she tapped through her phone calendar, not wanting to boot the computer back up to go into the shop planner, “healing time, is about two to three weeks, but I think a little longer would be better,” Quinn looked up to see him nodding intently, “I think six to eight weeks would probably be best.”

“Can we go nine? I know I’m not going to be available at the tail end of that timeframe.”

“Hmm,” she scrolled further through the calendar and the haunting reminder of her sisters upcoming marriage stared at her, nine weeks away, “I’ll have to push it out to ten. Or we can go seven.”

“Ten is good.” Tommy agreed, trying to focus and ignore the way her hips were pressed into the lower part of the counter in a familiar fashion, as they deliberated a date and time before coming to a decision they could agree upon.

“Listen,” she stretched, arms above her head, shirt lifting as she did so for just a moment, “do you want to go get food? Cooking for one person sucks, and I’m starving. My treat. I’ve just got to clean a few things up yet.”

Her eyes were wide with something akin to innocence, maybe just obliviousness, but Tommy wasn’t going to turn her down.

“Sure. I’ve different clothes in the car. I’ll change while you clean, yeah?”

***

They walked in silence for the last of the block as Quinn tried her best to stay two steps ahead of him, leading the way.

She couldn’t have been too much taller than Charlie, Tommy wagered, at 13 he was a little over 5 foot and she looked to be somewhere close to the same.

“December or January Capricorn?” She asked, slowing her pace as she pulled the lip balm for her bag, brushing it over her lips before tossing it back inside.

“What?”

She smiled, taking in the baffled expression he wore, one brow quirked as his eyes met hers.

Raindrops spattered on the concrete around them, enough to color the gray a bit darker but not so much to soak through their clothes.

She held on to her purse strap with both hands, nails drumming along the strap. “The way the major arcana of the tarot deck correlates with astrology, the card of The Devil is the one equivalent to Capricorn, and, I just saw it and figured…”

She trailed off, wondering if she should have kept her mouth shut as they continued to weave in and out through the crowd of people.

“December.”

“Hmm.”

Quinn scooted as close as comfortable to the person in front of them, barely making it under the awning of the carryout only restaurant. Smooshed in the midst of the moving crowd there wasn’t much of a way to be cold, even with the temperature dropping from the rain.

“Fuck,” Tommy sounded exasperated before he even had his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, which was when Quinn noticed it was ringing, “Sorry, I’ve to take this.”

He was already three steps away before she called after him, “Wait, what do you want!”

He shook his head, answering the phone before speaking, “Hold on John,” turning the mouthpiece away, and pausing in stride, “whatever’s good, yeah?”

When Tommy returned Quinn was perched in the center of the bench, tapping on her phone, carefully holding two cans between her legs.

“Lemon or orange?” She hadn’t looked up yet, strands of hair falling in her face as she finished answering an email.

Tommy could see where she had started to peel back the foil lid to the orange can, must have thought better of it, and decided to wait to give him a choice.

“Lemon.”

Quinn relinquished the can, dropping her phone rather unceremoniously back into her bag, “You just look like someone who would drink San Pelligrino.”

“I think that’s supposed to be an insult, innit?”

“I didn’t say that. Saying you look like someone who drinks La Croix would be an insult.” Quinn shrugged, a small shake of her head betrayed by a smile as she offered out two separate items wrapped in foil. “Chicken or Beef?”

“Either.”

“Suit yourself.”

***

“Where the fuck have you been?” Hannah called out as Quinn shut the fridge. She took the stairs one at a time down into the living room, the worst part about living in a split level apartment in her opinion. Her eyes struggled to focus on Hannah in the flashing light from the tv, the only thing that illuminated the living room, until she finally saw her sprawled out under the blanket on the couch.

Gesturing to the two towels she cracked open the bottle of water, taking a long drink before speaking, “I’ve been in the shower.”

“No shit, I could hear your vibrator all the way out here.” Hannah sat up, the small pony tail on top of her head bobbing about as she reached for the remote to mute the TV, “You just never usually get home this late.”

Quinn shifted with a shrug, leaning against the bannister, “Yeah I’ve got more time to kill now since I got that laser hair removal, so I have to do something while I’m in there.”

She took another long swig of the water, glancing up to the microwave to check the time, “It’s not even that late.”

“What, you fuck him in that blacked out Range Rover and find out it wasn’t all that great?”

“No.” She chewed her lip, realizing the answer was a tad too quick, despite being the truth. “We went to Mamoun’s and got food and then he dropped me back off at the studio.”

“Like a date? You usually go to Mamoun’s by yourself.” It had been one of the first places Quinn had ventured alone when she went to New York, not realizing until the second or third time she went that there was one closer than Greenwich Village.

“No, like two people who hadn’t ate all day just being normal people and getting food.” She sighed, rubbing her eye less than gently before retreating back up the steps, “I’m going to bed, wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition when I got home.”

“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, Quinn!”

Quinn closed the door to her room without another word, knowing she had set Hannah up for that without even realizing it.

After finding adequate pajamas in the form of an oversized shirt and underwear, she thought she would crawl in bed and immediately fall asleep, but a half hour later and she was still staring at the ceiling.

It always seemed like she met people twice in her life. A brief encounter, barely really knowing them, before she got to actually know them.

The Hannah she knew from at the MoMA and then at the shop, and now as her roommate, were almost three different people.

Dalton, her best friend from back home who she missed dearly, had first pushed her down on the playground before they became friends in high school.

She sighed, rolling to her stomach and stretching.

She had met Gerard at a party she never should have been at. As if that didn’t set the tone for the whole relationship. Wrong place, wrong time, she pondered.

As she tried to fall asleep she ran through her conversations with Tommy through the day. Clearly, as long as he didn’t bail, she would get to see him at least one more time, but would she ever see him after that?

It wasn’t that she didn’t have a returning client or two, but something about the easiness of being around him made her want to see him more than one more time.

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bonesandthebees · 5 months

Note

Overhearing Tomys talk is so fun. 1. The kid is hilarious. 2. It gives us a lot of insight about how he works. He’s just a kid hanging with his friends. (I hope they do the explosions some time, I want to see Wilbur try and hide the fact that he’s loosing his shit about it).

Side note: [“What else is the point of your dad being a Duke if you can’t get your best friend out of jail?”] and Tobyn to the list of Rose characters I love. (Also, I fear for his life with that execution tag and cannon).

[“You know whose reaction to that I’d really want to see though? Lord Willum.”] on the bright side, Tomys is already thinking about Wilbur and clearly thinks him to be an interesting person. Also, he’s insulted his height twice now, I think someone’s jealous.

And he just got to the quickest way to learn that you should not randomly speak your mind where people could overhear you. Also, we get to see Wilbur thinking on his feet and turning the situation around. Though I’d argue Niki is better at it, but in Wilbur!s defense, she’s didn’t get insulted.

I feel like Tomys half says yes to Niki’ invite because Wilbur clearly doesn’t want him there and he wants to piss him of and half because he looks up to Niki, who is The Heir (or one of the options).

Oh Niki is going to be so screwed when Tomys gets chosen (don’t mind me putting my bets in early). She’ll have no home (in her mother’s defense, there was no other option when she sent her daughter off). Also, having Niki talk about what she actually think of Tomys to then have her be That nice to him is a very good show about her cleverness.

I do love that Niki playing the game does shake Wilbur up about playing it too, and I’m interested to see what he can do once he starts trying, because we already see him starting to drop the etiquette more to get in Tomys good books.

(3/?)

-🎄

god writing that whole convo between tommy and tubbo and jack was so fun. I love their banter so much. they're all just kids!! tommy is a goofy kid who likes to play pranks and cause mischief and is completely oblivious to the violent game he's been thrown into

oh yeah tommy is so jealous of wilbur's height

lol yeah both niki and wilbur do a solid job at turning the conversation around back on tommy, but it's definitely niki who does it better. wilbur still would've been able to do it on his own but niki wins at social graces in situations like that.

in my mind tommy said yes to niki's offer for both those reasons. like, it was definitely at least somewhat because he wanted to annoy wilbur. but it was mostly because niki is the expected heir. she's spent nearly her entire life in the palace. she actually holds the rank of princess. not duke/duchess like quackity, but a princess. technically speaking, she's the second highest ranked person in the palace under sam. tommy is very intimidated by her but also wants to get to know her. also, he might be oblivious to most of the games, but he's not a total idiot. when the (likely) future queen invites you to talk, you talk.

I mean technically speaking niki could go back to Summerdam if things were to go to shit, it just wouldn't feel like home to her. it would keep her safe, but she wouldn't be happy there. partially because of the place, but mostly because wilbur wouldn't be there. he's been her closest friend nearly her entire life so far. she wouldn't do well if she were suddenly pulled away from him.

niki playing the game and inspiring wilbur to do the same was so satisfying to write. again, it's her propriety. she's learned how to be a lady and interact with people she dislikes. while wilbur knows he should do the same, he struggles more with it. so niki is leading by example, and wilbur is able to suck it up and go along with it.

#ask #spruce anon #rose ch 3

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rashaiya · 1 year

Text

Like Real People Do Pt.2

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Ofc

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: the implication of sexual activities

It had been two nights since Tommy had seen Ruth’s face, and most importantly heard her beautiful laugh. Though it had only been it had been 48 hours, Thomas felt as if he was going through withdrawal.

Every thought he took was focused around her. When in front of his family and those around him, he tried to keep thoughts of her at bay. But when he was alone, the idea of her presence haunted him. Ruth appeared when he closed his eyes to sleep at night, her light breaking through the darkness of his nightmares. In a way, he was glad he could finally rest without thinking of the tunnels, but in the same breath, he wanted her by his side.

Thomas sat at his desk. His hand clutched around a pen as he stared transfixed at a betting sheet.

Firefly has eight, no six bets on it. Thoughts jumbled together as he tried to remain focused on the numbers.

A knock at his office door shook Tommy out of his reprieve. He couldn’t tell you how long he had been staring at the horse name Firefly, but he knew it was probably an obscene amount of time. With a slight shake of his head, he called out to whoever was knocking, to enter.

The door creaked open to reveal Polly with a conspiring look directed toward him. Her presence in the room caused Tommy to be on edge as he knew whatever she was there for wouldn’t be good. His face remained impassive as he watched her walk across the room coming to a stop at his desk. Taking a seat in front of him, Tommy was met with Polly staring with he head held high, her eyes meeting his.

“Yes, Pol?” His voice came out much tenser than he had hoped it would.

“Who’s she?”

The thing about his Aunt Polly was that she never beat around the bush. Usually, that was something that he delighted in, as he hated when people dollied; but right now it felt like a curse.

“I’m not quite sure I’m following.”

“Don’t play stupid with me Tommy, we’re both much too smart to run around circles.”

Leaning back in his chair, Tommy tilted his head back as he let a sigh escape him. A frown formed on his forehead as his eyebrows pinched together.

Why did she have to do this today, of all the other fucking days?

“Pol, it would be beneficial for the both of us if you stopped speaking in riddles.” A placating tone underlined his words, further fueling his Aunt’s frustration.

This time it was Polly’s turn to lean back in her chair. Tommy felt hairs raise at the back of his neck as she studied him with displeased eyes. Something she would often do when he and his siblings were younger.

“Alright. Two days you’ve been in a slump. You come and go out of the house in a daze, and don’t give me that crap about business being rocky these days,” She paused, daring him to interrupt her, “ Everyone else might be oblivious, but something is wrong. The only question is what. At first, I thought it was that inspector, but no this is something different. There are very few things in this god-given world that can knock you off your axis. So who is she? What bloody woman is making you look like a fucking kicked dog that comes from off the damn street!”

Tommy tried to reign in his emotions but came up short as his nostrils flared in an obvious sign of anger. It took everything within him not to snap and say something that he would later regret. The reality of it was Polly was right. He was mopping around like he was going through teenage angst.

What am I doing?

A soft hand came to rest on top of his, effectively pulling Tommy from receding too far into the dark places in his mind.

“Tommy, as your family I will tell you one thing. You need to pull yourself together, if I can see something is wrong with you, then one of your enemies probably can too. I only want to set you right Tommy and fix whatever is going on with you. The family doesn’t need another brother that’s completely lost it.”

Her eyes remained trained on his as he took in her words. Polly was the first one to notice things, but her wording made it seem as if people were beginning to talk. Normally he wouldn’t care, but he couldn’t afford for people to think of him as weak. He couldn’t afford for his angel to think he was weak.

A deep breath was drawn in as he tried to figure out what to say. Words failed him as he looked into her deep-set eyes.

“I understand Pol.” Saying those words made him feel like a child, but it was the truth. He did understand.

Polly’s hand left the top of his as she stood up from her seat. Taking a minute to collect herself and make sure her hat and dress were still in order. The heels of her shoes clicked against the floor as she made her final exit, heading towards the door.

“And Tommy you should come by the church tomorrow. I think prayer would be just the thing to clear your mind.”

Tommy couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her sentence, a trace of a smile coming across his face for the first time in a while.

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

It was nightfall by the time Tommy found himself out of his office. Tired eyes looked around the street as tumbled his way through the now empty streets. One drink turned into another as he looked at the books and business deals, his mind appreciating the numbing feeling that it brought him. The moon's light reflected off of the blades in his hat and created an ominous glint.

Sometime in his wandering, Tommy found himself at the church house.

The holy building looked deceiving under the silver globe hovering in the sky. The cross that sat on top of the church’s roof cast a shadow over half of his face. Tommy stood at its doors with no clue as to why he was there. Maybe it was a sign from God, and who was he to deny his almighty lord's will?

I’m at church Polly, isn't that a surprise?

A slight tremor took over his hands he pushed against the sacred doors as he made his way in. Looking past the rows of pews, he could see a small light at the altar. Soft footsteps made their way across the room to the lone burning candle at the front of the room. When Tommy was closer, he realized that there was another person there as well.

A woman was kneeling at the altar in a pious position, with her hands held together near her chest. Squinting his eyes, he noticed a small movement. The woman was holding a rosary. The colors of the beads faded, showing that she used them often. Soft mumbles, that he identified as prayers, could be heard tumbling from her lips. The soft glow of the flame accentuated her brown skin and Tommy recognized the short haircut that only one person he “knew” wore. This was his angel.

It felt as if someone had sucked the air straight out of his lungs. What were the odds that the person of his obsession was right in front of him? Tommy stopped when he realized he was now standing by Ruth and she hadn’t raised her head; or given him a sign that she knew he was there.

Kneeling on his knees, Tommy looked to his side and his gaze automatically was transfixed on her hands. The way her plump fingers took hold of the small beads of her rosary, slowing moving them. He couldn’t help but picture the way they would look in comparison to his. How they would look if they were wrapped around his-. Tommy cut the thought off before it could take root.

A small hum made him shift his gaze from her hands to her lips. Up close he could see the hints of brown that tinged her upper lip. They were in a small pout, and he had to suppress a shudder as he saw her tongue peek out to lick them. Unbridled images of sinful scenarios popped into his head and he had to physically shake himself to banish them.

Clearing his throat, he heard a gasp.

There we go.

“H-Hello.” The girl's small voice came out as a whisper as she blinked. Her voice held an accent that he couldn’t quite place, as it seemed to be a blend of multiple. Though she was talking to him her eyes remained trained on the small flame in front of them.

“Sorry dear, it wasn’t my intention to disturb you.”

His brothers would laugh at the way she reduced him to. Though his voice was its usual compelling self, it took on a gentle undertone.

“No, it's quite alright. This is a public building, after all, Mr…”

“Thomas.”

A smile settled upon her lips as she finally looked at him. “Well, Mr.Thomas.” she was teasing him, he thought unabashed, “You can call me Ruth.”

A small hand reached out to clasp his, and he grasped her hand eagerly. Leading her ample hand to his lips, he kissed her knuckles one at a time. An almost inaudible exhale could be heard from her, and Thomas reveled in the way she reacted to him.

“Ruth, what a lovely name.” He commented as he let her hand fall from his grasp.

It’s not like your name hasn’t been ringing in my ears for the past few days.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

“Ruth if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here all alone? Y’know Birmingham isn’t a safe place for a beautiful woman to be treading by herself.”

“I can take care of myself, Mr.Thomas, I’m not a little girl. Plus I'm fairly certain no one would want to kidnap me.”

“If I was a different man than who my ma raised me to be, I would have kidnapped and kept you as a collectible on my shelf. To sit and gaze upon till my vision blurred.”

Ruby snorted an unladylike sound that made Tommy smile in return. “You’re just saying that, I can assure you no one would want a blind, pudgy woman”

“Eh you may indeed be blind, but you’re ‘pudgy’ from fat. You’re the most beautiful person I have had the pleasure of meeting. Your honey-dipped skin is simply perfection, and what you call fat yourself is beyond the truth. Your curves are something that most women around here envy and I would be damned if anyone says differently. Hell, I count it as a blessing that you’re even considering talking to me. ”

Through his small rant, Tommy had gotten closer to the small woman, until he was mere inches away from her. He could feel the heat radiating from her body, and he half haphazardly wondered if she could feel his too. His voice had changed from its smooth tone to a more of a growl as he grew more passionate in his musings.

Gray eyes flickered awhile before finally coming to settle on a place just above his nose, and only then did he realize that her eyes had glazed over.

“Thomas?”

“Hmmm,” he responded almost distractedly as he looked her over once more, soaking an image of her into his memory like a sponge.

“Can I hug you?”

Ruth’s question paired with her meek, melodic voice made Tommy’s heart squeeze as he gave her his full attention.

“Excuse me,” his voice came out raspy. It had been a long time since anyone had given him affection, much less anyone wanting him to comfort them. He felt his walls building up as he tried to process what Ruth had asked of him.

“It's stupid really, and you don’t even know me but, that might have been the kindest thing someone has ever said to me. Unless you’re just trying to butter me up.” Both she and Tommy shared a laugh, dispelling the tense atmosphere. “So I ask you again, can I hug you?”

“Aye.”

Ruth opened her arms wide for Tommy as he leaned into the embrace. His arms wrapped around her frame, and he felt her slacken in his arms. Tommy wasn’t a tall man by any means, but her short stature made it easy for him to tower over her. Her body’s curves were a soft contrast to his rigid body, but it made Tommy hold her tighter. In fear that she would slip from his arms.

Now that she was in his space, he feared that he would never be able to let her go.

#tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #1920 #black ofc #plus size oc #historical inaccuracies #gangsters #period series #blindness #peaky fookin blinders #cillan murphy #aurtur shelby

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hpurplicious · 1 year

Text

" Our Friend Is A Magician " is a benchtrio-centric AU where Tommy and Tubbo meets an amateur magician named Ranboo in their expedition in the city of Lowelle, who's main goal is to spread joy to the people

But little did they know....there lies secrets that unfold with their unexpected friendship and endeavors they soon face

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

Chapters

Prologue (still a W.I.P)

More will soon to come....if I don't get demotivated hopefully

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

Characters

" The Main (Bench)Trio "

>> Tommy Crofter (he/him)

The youngest son of Phil Crofter and Kristin Crofter. He is not afraid to speak his mind a lot of the times, maybe it's because of his loud voice that people tends to find annoying.

He may seem unapproachable especially with his demeanor, but he has a soft side and is really thoughtful.

He really cares about the people that treat him well, and he knows everyone has boundaries and all that. He just tends to light heartedly mess around at times.

He's, surprisingly, responsible and holds himself accountable whenever he makes mistakes. Whenever he apologizes, you can tell by his low voice that he means it.

Despite that, he can go a bit too far and find himself in deep trouble. Like that one time he fought with a jock back at high school after the guy pushed him one too many times, or when he messed with a demon that cursed him into a frog for being rude. Quite the encounter, one may say.

Did I mention he wants to be the greatest filmmaker one could imagine? He does like some vlogging of some parts of his life and especially his travels with his friends. He loves capturing memories live on his phone's camera and editing them to give them some flare and entertaining bits.

>> Tubbo Briggs (he/him)

Tommy's bestest friend since pre school and the younger brother of Niki.

Bold, impulsive and unafraid is the three things that best describes this brunette. He jumps into action when an idea sparks and will do anything to turn it into a reality.

Sometimes he's too aware or oblivious, there's no in between really. He can spot an evil spirit nearby when he sees one yet an unassuming magical item he found on a stone pedestal could lead him to being in serious danger. Tommy or Ranboo (or both, rarely) would try to stop him in doing so. He became less and less endangered by whatever is out in the unknown thanks to Ranboo's supervisions.

Even with all of that, he makes sure that he doesn't forget his trusty bag filled with necessities he needs to sustain and defend himself or with his friends. He knows that he'll be ready to face whatever encounters they end up with; big or small.

He is a bit loud and energetic at times but sometimes he's just chill. He's quite the silly guy.

And oh yeah, he loves taking photos of his adventures, even the times where they almost got either stuck somewhere or fighting some hostile beast. But he mostly takes photos of the environment, because it looks cool and really nice to look at, y'know?

>> Magician Ranboo (he/they)

Adopted at the age of 5 and raised by two lovely women in a cottage within a forest, who then sets off to become the magician he wishes to be and stumbles upon two boys the same age as them. They befriend the two (it's actually the two trying to befriend him and he just goes along cause he is quite lonely anyways) and ventured alongside with.

He is determined to become the greatest magician to bring joy to the people all around and to show that magic is, in fact, an actual thing and aren't just mind tricks most think it is.

Besides using his magic for his shows, he also uses it for his daily routine. Like when he uses teleportation to get around most of the time or how he makes objects levitate towards him when it's a couple of meters away from him. He is an amateur anyways so anymore complex magic spells are yet to be practiced by him, hopefully he doesn't accidentally use it to destroy or hurt something/somebody. To add on, he uses a magic wand to use his magic. Without it, he's pretty much powerless unless he hones it even without the wand, which takes a lot of training to do.

Did I mention they're an amateur still?

They're still trying to work himself up to more complez and effective spell casting within their journey.

In his show facade, he is seen as enthusiastic and silly up the stage, and when the curtains go down, his personality shifts as he lets out an exhausted sigh. It's fun for the most part to entertain, but god damn it's very tiring. He doesn't like being bothered during his rest times, and when he is, boy you will not be meeting the same fantastical man that was up the stage earlier.

Whenever they see someone oppressed or in trouble, he'll come running and defend the inferior one. They'd try to talk it out first, but once threatened, he'll use his magic to put a stop to it. Unless it is a hostile beast they are facing, he makes sure that neither the victim or the oppressors gets hurt.

Don't want to be imprisoned and receive a terrible reputation to his magician career (as well as other innocent magicians that roam around the world).

They're pretty selfless, putting others before himself in most situations; especially ones that may cost their life. Whether it means saving their friends or striking a deal to make sure his mothers are left unharmed by whatever evil dares to hurt them. They will die for his loved ones if he has no other choice even (but I hope it doesn't come to that)

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

(This is all the characters I can show right now, I'm yet to work on the rest of the people related to them)

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suspiciouslackofclowns · 2 years

Text

The first time it happens is an accident.

Tommy has obliviously forfeited his turn in favor of staring off into space with his pool cue still in-hand, and Billy purposefully misses the winning shot because he can’t get over how sad his friend looks.

When it comes to matters of the social hierarchy at school, Billy doesn’t typically give two shits. He eats with the popular crowd, attends their parties, and participates in all of the other crap that they do, which includes but is not limited to gossiping, petty vandalism, and public intoxication.

Because what else is a rowdy teen expected to do in the middle of nowhere?

Even so, he’s never really cared about pretending to be friends with people that he isn’t friends with. Carol Perkins included.

People typically know whether Billy likes them or not because he’s very transparent about it. Maybe his teasing comes off as a bit mean at first, but when compared to how he behaves when he truly doesn’t like someone, it’s hardly a guessing game.

So when Tommy’s eyes get glassy as Carol’s name leaves his lips, Billy’s jaw tightens.

He knows that Tommy adores his girlfriend, knows that he’ll bite the head off of anyone who breathes a negative word about her, so he doesn’t say what he’s thinking when Tommy offhandedly mentions their latest argument.

How Carol has, out of nowhere, begun to poke fun at him for things like struggling with dyslexia. How she’s taken to calling him stupid when she gets irritated over petty things.

And, god, Billy has a really hard time keeping his mouth shut when Tommy talks about how he hasn’t finished reading one of his favorite books because of it.

He doesn’t really think about it when he does it. Just ropes Tommy into a hug that gets reciprocated easily, squeezing him tight.

“You’re not stupid, you hear me?”

Tommy sniffles and Billy leans away, hands braced on his shoulders. An embarrassed flush rises on Tommy’s freckled cheeks as his tears threaten to spill over, and Billy can’t really think of anything else to do.

He welds their lips together, muffling the soft hum of surprise that escapes Tommy’s mouth.

They part hastily, both startling back an inch or two, but still linger in each other’s spaces. Billy’s heart spasms in his chest and he clears his throat awkwardly.

“Don’t buy into the bullshit, Hagan. You’re smart,” he says.

For a moment, he worries that he’s going to get kicked out of Tommy’s basement, or worse, kicked out of his life. But Tommy merely nods, a little aloof as he stares with his big brown eyes and makes butterflies swarm in Billy’s stomach.

The second time is less of an accident.

Tommy makes a half-hearted joke about how he swiped some of Heather’s cherry lipgloss and how Billy should totally taste it. So Billy stretches across the seat of Tommy’s single-cab truck and slides their mouths together, getting a lick of that shimmery pink cherry on his tastebuds.

Maybe it’s because they’ve been hotboxing for the last half hour, but he swears that Tommy kisses back. Swears that he can feel the brunet giggling against him gleefully.

And Billy kind of loses count after that.

He finds himself sucking at Tommy’s bottom lip more often than he should. Finds that the press of their mouths together is something familiar in no time at all, and that he craves Tommy’s taste when he doesn’t have it on his tongue.

It’s on one night in particular that Billy brings things to a halt.

He has Tommy in his lap, running his pale hands softly over Billy’s shoulders and nudging him into the sofa cushions like the gentle push and pull of the tide. Licking into Billy’s mouth tenderly with practiced motions.

The blond wants to let him keep going, he truly does, but then Tommy rolls his hips downward and ignites a vicious spark between them. Billy can feel the prick of the guy’s boner. He instinctively pushes Tommy back and earns a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“As much as I fuckin’ hate your girlfriend, this isn’t right.”

Tommy tsks and swipes a hand through his hair.

“Kissing’s on the board, Bills, I thought we covered that already.”

He squeezes at Billy’s shoulder and shifts in his lap, scooting forward until his thighs are cradling the blond’s lower abdomen. Until his dick is pressing flush against his stomach.

“This is more than kissing,” Billy huffs. He slides Tommy back a few inches, at which point his discomfort must register because Tommy flushes red and lifts himself up, hovering above Billy’s lap on his knees. “I know this has been, well, whatever, but I think we should stop before it turns into something else.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Billy can’t bring himself to look at his friend, looming over him with a guilt-ridden expression. He can’t look because his heart already aches over what he knows is coming next.

“I don’t think it’s whatever,” Tommy admits softly.

And Billy suddenly can’t not look.

“No?” he asks.

“No.” The brunet spreads a small smile and lowers himself down into his former seat, squeezing Billy’s shoulders with a gentle grip. “I think it’s a lot more than that, actually.” Hands find their way to Tommy’s hips again and he adds, “is that okay?”

Something hot like rushing magma fills Billy’s entire chest cavity, and his face splits into a grin. Tommy mirrors the expression wordlessly.

“We gonna call Carol right now?”

“Yep.”

The basement is filled with giggles as they huddle around the phone. Billy’s never been happier to hear Carol Perkin’s voice than when it comes over the line.

And he’s never wanted to kiss Tommy more than he does when he dumps her and claps the phone back onto the receiver.

#tomgrove #billy hargrove #tommy hagan #this was sitting in my drafts for literal days #sorry if it’s sloppy #these two have been on my mind a lot #I’m considering writing a full fic abt them #my writing #ficlet

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technowoah · 3 years

Note

Wait imagine a fic where Jack and the reader are long distance or something and when Tubbo and Tommy are doing the man hunt irl the reader surprises Jack.

That would be cute I think 🤔

Just One Livestream

You surprise Jack with a spontaneous visit to the UK, little did you know that they were livestreaming.

- Jack Manifold x gen neutral!reader

- Anon Requested!

⚠︎ swearing, fluff!, not proofread

an// I hope yall enjoy! Much love! And sorry it came out so late I have no inspiration rn but imma get it done! Also I used the difference of American hours to London hours so sorry of

Navigation!

"Love, why are you up early?" Jack asked through the phone.

You two were facetiming eachother as he propped his phone up on his dashboard while he started to drive. It was around 1 am for you and 6 am for Jack. Sadly you two were in a long distance relationship. You had met Jack when you were on a college trip to London to study abroad for 3 weeks. You were sad that you had to leave your home country, but this was a opportunity you couldn't oppose.

During this trip you had found a cafe that you would go to often. The first time you sat at the cafe alone you always noticed it was only you and this other man in the cafe. He was always on his computer and sat by a window, he always came early too, even earlier than you. As the days went on you continued to see him around more and he seemed to notice you as well. You made a note to yourself to always try and show up a tad bit earlier to the cafe to stay around the same time as he did.

You two got to know eachother throughout the three weeks you had to stay in London. The small nods became hellos, and the hellos turned into full on conversation by the window. He had told you his name was Jack Manifold and was kind of surprised when you didn't immediately know who he was. To him it was refreshing not to be immediately noticed based on his appearance. You both had exchanged numbers one day and after each morning you two would text non stop even during your classes. Luckily trying to get to know Jack changed your sleep schedule and because of that you always made it to class on time.

Jack was such an amazing guy to you, but during the first week you had developed a small crush on the man, and he had developed a crush on you too. The second week you two had ventured out onto different territory than the cafe. Jack started to call those small outings after class, dates and you weren't opposed to the dates at all you loved them. The second and third week were mostly dates and the night before you left he asked to be your boyfriend and of course you accepted not knowing the pain of a long distance relationship.

You had to answer his question on why you were up so early. "Yeah- Um, Im up because of you." You chuckled. "You changed my sleep schedule ever since I met you."

"Well you're welcome, because before me I heard you were missing classes." Jack payed attention to the road but still talked to you.

"Because I told you! And I am grateful, but there is nothing to do at one am here." You sighed while you started to walk around your room as you lied to him.

Jack was talking to you while you did a clean sweep around your house to check if you had everything for your trip.

Two weeks ago you had decided to pack your bags and take a trip back to London. Right now your flight will be leaving early in the morning and that's why you are up so early.

You wanted to surprise Jack instead of straight up telling him that you will be in the country. You missed him dearly, and this will be a great way to spend time together instead of seeing eachother across a screen. One of you had to make that sacrafice and that would be you.

While Jack continued to talk you checked everywhere to make sure you arent leaving anything behind.

"What are you doing, darling?" Jack asked and that snapped you out of your trance. "Are you even listening to me? Im hurt." Jack faked being hurt.

You smiled at him and shook your head. "Im sorry I wasn't listening. What were you saying?"

"I was saying, when you were ignoring me, that I'm going to the cafe right now and that we should plan a trip soon. I miss you." Jack confessed and you awed.

"I miss you too Jack! I hopw we can see each other soon." You tried to contain your smile as you hid your surprise.

"Me too."

Your plane finally landed as you let out a sigh of relief. You had collected all of your shit fast so you could finally get off of that horrible plane. Every stereotypical airplane scene happened to you in the hours you were on that plane. You had a child crying behind you with a mother who couldn't keep that child calm, you were sat next to a man who snored the whole ride here and you just felt cramped.

Sadly you couldn't return any of Jack's messages or calls that you saw when you were in the airplane terminal. You tried calling him twice but they both went to voicemail while you rolled your bag through the huge building. Finding yourself outside you ordered an Uber and once you did that your phone began to ring showing Jack's name and picture of you two together on the screen.

You quickly answered the phone. "Hey!"

"Hi!" Jack chuckled. "I called like, 17 times!"

"I know! Im sorry. I was busy." You weren't lying getting a plane and basically leaving early in the morning and arriving in the afternoon in London. "So, what are you doing today?"

"I am hanging out with Tommy and Tubbo at the park! Im picking them up now!" Jack responded and you heard him close his car door.

"Which park?" You asked quickly as you saw your Uber arrive.

Jack started to laugh. "Uh I'll text you the park I guess. Why would you want to know?"

"No reason! I just want to make sure you are safe. Dont make me call 999." You tried to joke around and take the attention off of your question.

"I cant believe you still remember 999." Jack laughed.

"I still do!" You said as you got inside your Uber and gave the driver the directions to your hotel forgetting that Jack was on the other line.

"Wait hotel?" Jack questioned through the phone.

"Hotel? What are you talking about?" You acted oblivious.

"I- I thought you were talking about a hotel." Jack hesitated.

"No!" You tried to cover up your mistake.

"Well Im going to pick up Tommy soon. I'll talk to you later okay? Answer my calls this time!" Jack chuckled.

"I definitely will!"

You had recived the name of the park you were surprising Jack at. You began to walk around the parking lot after you got dropped off and noticed his car sitting there. There were tons of people at the park today and you didn't know where he would be. As you walked on the dirt trails of the park your thoughts took over, what if you made a mistake and should've told Jack that you were here in London and wanted to meet up at the cafe?

You looked at people as they passed by you ok the trail wishing that you had that energy that you had before, thinking that you would find Jack easily when in reality you were in a busy part of the park and he could be anywhere.

When you thought all hope was lost you heard some loud voices on the trail to your right. You were already walking aimlessly through the park and your first instinct was to go left and walk away from the loud voices, but then you heard something.

"Tommy this was a bad idea!"

"I dont think it was!"

You stood in the "intersection" of the dirt trails thinking that you heard those voices right. You rounded the corner and followed right to see Tommy and Jack doubled over, out of breath while Tubbo was still standing up breathing heavily. There were far away from you, but not far away that you couldn't see them clearly.

You began to call out to them. "Tommy! Jack! Tub-"

They quickly turned around and took off running. Confused on why they were doing that you took off running after them trying to tell them to stop. They were yelling and you were yelling and getting weird glances from stangers, and you dont blame them. You're chasing after your boyfriend and his two friends in a quiet public park. You continued to hear their groans of tiredness and their speed started to slow down.

"Jack! Tommy! Wait up!" You yelled out of breath as you slowed down as well.

"We give up! We give up!" Tubbo yelled and came to a complete stop while trying to catch his breath. He turned around to finally face you. "Y/N?!"

"Wait what?!"

"You're here?!" Jack ran up to you and gave you a bone crushing hug, rocking you two back and forth.

"I am! And Im our of breath thanks to you three." You said while still hugging Jack.

"M'sorry I thought you were a fan and I took off and they followed suit I guess." Tommy rubbed his forehead.

"A fan?" You questioned and Tommy and Tubbo lifted their phones up gesturing that they were recording.

"We're doing manhunt in real life, darling." Jack kissed your temple and wrapped his arn around your waist, holding you tight.

"Next time look before you run okay." You smiled still out of breath while kissing Jack's cheek.

"Enough with the PDA!" Tubbo yelled still recording you two.

"We havent even started!" Jack yelled back giving you a huge hug. Jack closed the distance between you two and gave you a passionate kiss on the lips while the two boys groaned in disgust.

"I think that's enough streaming for today boys." Tommy sighed.

"Sorry again, love. That won't happen again."

You and Jack walked hand in hand down the streets of London. People had to walk around you two because you were basically taking up the whole sidewalk and you weren't letting go of his hand anytime soon.

"It better not! I dont want to run after you again." You smiled as you bumped shoulders.

"And you wont have to!" He smiled back at you as you two continued to walk and people dodged the two of you.

"Have you ever thought of moving here?" Jack asked out of nowhere.

"I have actually! On the plane ride here I thought of leaving and moving to London." You thought about it constantly. It was nice being close to Jack and it was a major risk.

"Well wherever you're ready, I'll be here for you." Jack kissed your cheek. "And I wont run away when you come here!"

You two finally made it to your destination which was the cafe you two met at. It was busy at this time because it was the middle of the day and not the beginning. You two entered and took your seats by the window where you two usually sat.

"I love you. I missed this." Jack said.

"I love you too! And of course I missed this. Maybe you can show me more places around London and convince me to stay longer." You gave him a proposal.

"Longer than what?" Jack asked.

"Four weeks." You grinned.

Jack grabbed both of your hands and kissed the back of them. "Hell yeah. I get you for more than four weeks?!"

"That's if you show me places to stay longer." You teased.

"Okay babe. You like ferris wheels?"

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