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kneelingshadowsalome · 10 months

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I Never Missed You 1/3 (Bodyguard!Ghost x F!Reader)

Word count: 3.5 k

Tags/warnings: 18+ only. Romance, eventual smut, fluff, light angst, banter, pining, flirting, minor injuries, major character death, HFN ending. Lady/Knight dynamic. Unequal pairing trope. Bodyguard AU. Reader is a rich bitch (how else could she afford a PPO?)

Summary: 1/3 You hire a bodyguard to protect you and hunt down the one who's been sent to take your life. This man was your lawyer's first recommendation, and you never even looked through his file because you had better things to do. But it soon turns out that this man – this Simon Riley – is very talented... Talented in driving you crazy.

A/N: A three part fic based on this request. The first chapter features banter and pining. If you're here for smut, stay tuned. There is an entire chapter of it coming right up.

Your lawyer says it would be a good idea. He even dares to look at you from under his brow like you're a child who doesn't know what's good for her.

And you don't.

Because that's exactly how you feel like: a grown woman who's stunted to a kid, now being supervised by adults.

The bodyguard they assigned you - the one you accepted because he was your lawyer's first choice - is exactly the broad, brooding type you have always imagined bodyguards to be like.

But he's not wearing sunglasses, and he's not wearing a suit. He says the point of a bodyguard is that they don't look like a bodyguard.

The first thing you actually pay attention to is the milky-white eyelashes. Only days after you hear that this man rarely shows his face. You were given a file on him, but you never peeked inside it because you were pissed that such drastic measures had to be taken in the first place. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now you pry it from the pile of papers you buried it into, open it, and the first - and only - photo you see is a perfect portrayal of what Death looks like.

He's the Reaper himself when adorned with that human skull. Keen but emotionless eyes stare from the pits of the sockets to somewhere in the distance, but that look is a stare into the past. The photo raises thousands of questions, and not only the need to know why this man prefers to wear human bones when he's shooting people.

Because apparently, that’s what he used to do before he became a bodyguard. He's buff, that you already know. But in that picture, he looks even more packed, with what you suppose is a bullet vest beneath that blouse. He’s holding an ugly-looking gun – not a pistol, but a rifle of some sort. The gear on him no doubt weighs something close to 60 pounds. His sleeves are rolled up and expose the crisscross veins on his forearms along with war-ugly, crude tattoos, and you swallow.

Were you really looking at a picture of a barbaric soldier like it was some peculiar soft porn now?

You flip the file closed and toss it on the table, rather disgusted with yourself.

The next time you see him, you look into those brown eyes a moment longer. That stoic stare is the only thing you recognize as that of the man in the picture. That, along with his size, although photos really can't convey how this brooding grunt makes you feel: small and insignificant. Nor do they illustrate how the man looks like he’s the most graceful bull in a china shop when moving inside your house.

You suppose he grew up poor, the way he looks at your furniture, your half-a-mile bookshelf, and the latest art piece you got last month in your living room. He's judging you.

You're posh. And clueless. And a child.

And this brute lives with you, for now. He's placed downstairs until the target is neutralized. And he's not just a bodyguard: he's hunting the hunter while you're the bait.

It should give you a thrill; your friend giggles when you two gossip about him over a lunch while he's standing only a few feet away. But this situation does not give you a thrill. It just makes you pissed.

And it's not just the situation, it's this... Simon Riley who makes you pissed.

Couldn't they teach manners, some conversation skills at the bodyguard school or wherever the hell this pale, emotionless Hulk came from?

You recheck his file and snoop some more details about his past. He didn't go to bodyguard school (of course he didn't); he used to work for some PMC. The brute's a cold-blooded, cold-hearted mercenary. To put it more eloquently, he's an elite soldier of some tactical unit. But all of that is classified, as is almost every other detail about him. The only thing you are left with is that he's British through and through, but you can already tell that by his accent - the thick Mancunian that makes your stomach and heart flip.

It's gruff – of course it's gruff – and sometimes chafes your ears like they were being grated with the softest grater. You find yourself thinking about him while you're in the shower, when your fingers start to drift and wander.

And for the love of god, you are not thinking about that accent and those eyes while you're masturbating. You're not going to mourn the fact that he never rolls his sleeves when he's with you. When he's at work.

"I saw your file," you start to chitchat over breakfast one day.

"I reckon."

He won't even touch the coffee you poured him but proceeds to drink almost all the tea. The delicate china looks miniature in his hands as he pours the Earl Grey into his cup. The cups are dainty, too – this savage would prefer a large, black mug, perhaps, from which to gulp his tea.

"So. What made you become a soldier?"

"Joined the SAS when I was 17."

And another thing he won't do is look at you when you speak. No manners at all in this man, only rough, sharp edges. He sits as far from you as he can, at the other end of the table, as if you were in a meeting. Or a war council.

"That's not what I asked."

"I know."

You roll your eyes. Conversation skills, god. Just give this man at least some charm…

"I'm going to do some shopping," you declare. "You can stay here."

Finally, he raises his stare. It's full of tired distaste.

"Nah. That's not how this works."

You rise from the table, gracefully and with a neutral face, indicating that you are an adult and won't be needing a babysitter at a store.

"Lady."

The command is dark and stops you before you have taken one step from the table. It's a slur, almost.

He rises from the table too, and you almost feel sorry, noticing he hasn't yet finished his toast.

"You hired me. And I'm gonna do my job."

He looks big and broad, like a beautiful storm, with that piercing stare and the most alluring lashes you have ever seen on a man. Your voice turns into a meek, pitched attempt to reason with a giant.

"...I'm just going shopping."

His head tilts with a mock: you're only a child in his eyes.

"Then let's go shopping."

…......…......

Sitting next to this giant in a taxi must be a hilarious-looking scene. A charming, vibrant lady and a sullen, intimidating Theseus – what a pair.

You've also never been this close to him. The man always sits with a wide spread. One heavy thigh almost touches your knees, which you have turned towards him for some unfathomable reason. You were taught to sit with knees closely set together, and that’s what you’re trying to do now: make yourself as small and feminine as possible. It only accentuates this man's size compared to yours. There's a pile of shopping bags between you two, and your gaze is directed outside the window, but you can feel his presence like there's a thrumming monolith beside you.

And he's always dressed in black. You kind of enjoyed how you two looked at the store: you in your heels and a pearl white suit, he in black, tactical ripstop and boots. You wouldn't define the man well-dressed… but he is sharply dressed in his own field, that's for sure. Even a commoner like you could see that.

He had complained about your clothes. White draws too much attention and makes for a bigger target. You had brushed him off with a scoff. You’re not going to change the way you dress because of this.

"You're from Manchester, right?"

You're only trying to make the journey home more enjoyable, but feel like you're snooping again, this time from the man himself. The less you know about Simon Riley, the more you want to learn who he is. It is only natural to get a little curious when his file barely had two paragraphs and a photo. You suppose even that single picture was taken and given forward with reluctance.

And the only thing you learn is that small talk is a completely foreign concept to this man.

"You're quite the Sherlock," he mutters with that fat accent that gave him away the minute you two shook hands. You Sherlock about some more, look at the left hand that rests on his thigh.

There's no ring. Not even a tan line. He must be lonely: no relationship could stand working hours like these.

"Do you still live there?"

"...No."

"Do you miss the place?"

"No."

The short answers are guttural and spoken from the back of his throat. You don't know if he's doing it on purpose, or if this Simon is like this with everyone. He's not annoyed, though, not the way you're beginning to be.

"Aren't you a chatty one…" you mumble while watching cloudy London pass by. You figured he might hear it, and perhaps that was your purpose, even if your voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm not here to talk. Ma'am."

…......…......

You are told to stay away from the windows. The dinner table is moved so no one can aim at your head through a glass. And even then, most curtains must be closed at all times.

He goes through doors first, and advises against going out at all. You get a list of things you should take into consideration if you do go out.

And you’re not going to give in to fear.

You simply take different routes to your friends and family, have lunches at different restaurants than usual. He says you should get an armored car, but you don’t have a license. Of course your brooding bodyguard could drive, but what will you do with some armored tank after you're finally through this thing?

What's far more interesting is that it turns out this Simon Riley is a smoker.

Disgusting, you think at first, then think about him all sweaty and grimy after some gunfight, reaching for a cig, curling those thick fingers around a pure-white coffin nail. No, wait – he had gloves in that picture; he wouldn't bother to take them off before he smoked, he would just lean on his gun and on some crumbling wall and sigh from the joy of being alive, of being bloodied and dirty and victorious before taking a long drag from his cigarette.

Ugh.

Reluctantly you agree that perhaps there is an odd charm to this man after all. Either that, or then you are in need of some serious therapy.

Breakfasts are torturingly quiet with Simon, and you can hear the slow roll of eyes every time you make plans to go to a party or an art gallery.

Once, a zipper gets stuck and you have to ask him for help. It’s mortifying, and he doesn’t say a word, only mocks you with his eyes as you turn around for him to place a warm hand on your hip and another on your back to pull up the zipper you had fought to reach and drag up by yourself for at least 10 minutes.

A week passes, and he’s buried in work, not only because he’s guarding your body 24/7, but because he’s trying to locate the hitman. The fact that Simon Riley is technically speaking a hitman too - to think that you have hired a killer - is something you don’t have the mental strength to delve into right now.

"Found the one who's hunting you."

Another file is dropped before you at the end of the week. The man marches into your office like there's no door there at all. Doesn't even bother to knock.

This isn't what you meant when you politely told him to make himself home…

You roll the glass of water on your temple and sigh. The file reveals another photo, this time of a man who looks like an executioner.

"Goes by the name König," he says and clasps his hands over his crotch while taking a wide stance in front of your desk. "Austrian war criminal. Skilled with knives… Likes to torture people first."

Nice. More brutes.

"Why are you telling me this?"

You're tired, there's a headache approaching, and you really don't care to go over some details about a professional lunatic killer right now. But Simon Riley - codenamed Ghost, you’ve lately learned - looks down at you like a storm cloud over a carefree meadow.

"Because you clearly don't understand the danger you're in."

He adds "Ma'am" as a footnote. Purposely forgotten...

And you wish he would forget that silly, overly courteous term.

"Well–" you sigh your frustration in the air between you two, then realize that perhaps you're being treated like a child because you behave like one. "What are you going to do about this man...?"

"Gonna kill him," he simply shrugs, the eternal, distant look in those eyes gaining a smug tone to them.

He enjoys this. Enjoys killing, but what's even worse, enjoys seeing how his ruthlessness makes you shift uncomfortably in your chair. Or perhaps he just likes shocking you with that file with an image of a lyncher in it. You know perfectly well that you're in trouble and under threat. That's what you've tried to forget, but no one lets you forget.

Simon takes a deep breath before placing his humble petition before you.

"Ma’am. I'm gonna need your help."

And nothing in this man is humble. Even though he rarely speaks and never shows his talents, not to talk of showing off, he reeks of pride and testosterone.

You set the glass on the table and straighten the file to align with the leather pad on your desk. Your fingers are not trembling. Yet.

"What do you mean?"

He gives a hoarse laugh. The sound drills straight to your core and starts to bloom there. You realize you have never seen him smile before. And he's not smiling now: the short laugh is just a dark chuckle that mainly stays inside his chest; it only makes those stocky shoulders rise and fall.

"Not like that," he looks down at you with a tad of mercy. "You're gonna serve as bait."

"Isn't… that what I've been the whole time?"

"Yeah. But this time, we're gonna lure him in."

The way he talks makes your thighs rub together without your consent. You wonder what it would feel like if you were trapped between that solid chest and a wall, what it would be like if those hands woke you up with a calloused caress of a thigh.

You don't quite understand the difference between bait and a lure but find yourself willing to do whatever you can to help him. Help Simon…

"Sure... I'll help you," you say as if this man wasn't on your payroll.

"That's the least you could do."

That barely hidden bite in his dry retort doesn't escape you. This man's audacity buries whatever odd want you have started to feel for him and replaces it with searing, womanly fury.

He could be a little more sensitive.

You're the one who has a target on their back. You're the one who fears going to sleep at night and feels lucky they're alive come dawn. If he wasn't so crude and uncaring, you would've asked him to sleep in the same room with you from the start. But he has to be a brute, has to follow and mock you with those ink blot eyes at every turn.

You rise from the chair when he turns and walks toward the door. It's almost a snappy jump, an attempt to reclaim your power. You're sore and thoroughly peeved.

"I never wanted this," you tell him with an annoying timbre in your tone. He stops right before the door but doesn't turn.

"Neither did I."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Could be somewhere warmer with no damsels giving me their cheek."

The BDU blouse you saw in that picture was yellow, burnt yellow. Desert wear… He wants to be in a hot desert with a cold gun in his hand. Dropped straight from some plane, working alone, in a place where damsels aren't giving him their cheek. Where there are no damsels at all.

You're relatively sure there is no Mrs. Riley. No woman could stand this man.

"Then go somewhere warmer," you snap, almost stomp your heel on the soft carpet. This man is simply intolerable. The way he never reacts to anything makes you want to throw things at him.

He must be trained to be so calm, but you're not. You're used to making men a little stupid and flustered. You're used to men eating out of your hand. He's not behaving at all like he's supposed to. Simon Riley is just a mountain without emotion.

He turns with that eternal, downgrading look in his eyes. There's a flash of amusement there, too.

Soddy bastard…

"Nah. Not until I've done my job."

His voice is warm now; the gruff and gravel make way to a smoothness that goes directly to your knees. Your lips part, and his eyes fall on your mouth just before he lifts his chin a hair of an inch.

"Your job…" you breathe, too furious to even rage or shout.

Your fucking job.

Why did you even want this job if it's so–

"Yeah. My job. Some people got one."

You have to take support from the table with your fingertips.

"Excuse me?"

There's the tiniest curve at the corner of his mouth before he takes his leave.

"Good night, ma'am."

…......…......

The next day, you start the breakfast by apologizing.

You barely slept that night, first because of this man's utter nerve, then because your wrath eventually cooled down into a bleeding consciousness of how you must look in his eyes.

He has accepted this job, something different from what he usually does, for reasons unknown to you. He might not be on some faraway battlefield where bullets fly past, but this is no less risky. The picture he showed you, the file on König, haunted your restless sleep last night – when you finally did get some sleep.

You have been running around like everything’s normal when it’s not. The man’s just trying to do his job.

And you're the one who hired him. Not your lawyer.

"I want to make peace," you coo while spreading some jam on toast. You expect Simon to finally melt a little. You might even get a smile. You secretly hope your reward is that this brute turns into a tamed lap dog you can feed some treats every now and then.

The situation is thrilling: the beefiest man you have ever seen is going to kill someone for you. Even if he's being paid to do so, he is prepared to die for you. There's something incredibly sexy about that.

But there is silence at the other end of the table. Only the crunchy sounds of toast getting sugar on top can be heard.

"That so?"

He doesn't sound like he's melting. He doesn't sound at all domesticated. He only sounds more and more amused.

"Yes. I'm happy that you're here," you put the toast down and turn to look at him with angel eyes.

He laughs. When he stops, he looks you up and down, then laughs some more, a silent, shoulder-shaking chuckle.

"I'm… I'm serious," you hurry to add. "I mean it. I haven't been treating you the way I should–"

"That's for sure."

You see more warmth in those eyes. But it's not because of your humble apology.

His eyes are trekking down the neckline of your blouse, and to your horror, you notice – feel – how one of the top buttons has opened, revealing much more than just some skin. You're pretty sure he gets an ample view of the fuchsia bra you're wearing underneath.

If you reach for that button now, you underline that he's not supposed to look, even if it's your mistake that you're so obscenely exposed. If you close it now, you tell him he's not allowed to look. And that's not entirely true.

"Will you forgive me?"

You feel like you're offering peace, or at least a truce, with more than just that peepy question. Because your breasts swell inside that blouse. They rise and fall with your breaths, your nipples grow hard from that look that stays down a bit longer before drifting back up.

"There's nothing to forgive," he says, voice dropping a note or two.

"Good," you swallow. The following sentence comes out so weakly that it's almost a whisper. "After all, I hired you."

"Ain't that the truth."

The dim glint in those eyes still holds you as a prisoner, and his tea is growing cold.

"Are we going shopping today?"

"No," you utter, dreading the next inevitable question.

"What then?"

"I… I have a yoga class."

"Of course you do."

…......…......

Taglist: @cumikering

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thiswaytwoinfinity · 2 months

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it's a bad idea, right? — sneak peek

can't two people reconnect? i only see him as a friend (the biggest lie i ever said)

I'm still working on this one but I'm really excited about it so I wanted to share a little sneak peek at it because Jake Seresin definitely needs a warning ;)

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“Sorry about that, ma’am. I thought those beers were mine. Didn’t mean to steal from you,” his low, twangy drawl went right through you, settling warm and comfortingly in your stomach. “I’d offer to buy you a drink to make it up to you, but, well …”

Texas. That’s where that accent is from, you thought, instantly being transported back to your nursing school program in Austin. How many wannabe cowboys had spoken with that same drawl, trying to charm you and your friends during a night out? Not too many of them had succeeded with you, especially not after —

“Jake? Jake Seresin!?”

It had to be him. You’d know that smile anywhere, had seen those green eyes in your dreams for far too long after you both had moved on.

He was bigger now, muscles more pronounced and jaw more defined, more of those cheeky smile lines creasing around his eyes. His voice was deeper too, some of his accent smoothed out after years in the military, but it had to be.

He swore under his breath, eyes widening as he made the connection as well.

He practically whispered your name, as if it felt a bit rusty on his tongue, but the second you nodded, he repeated it louder, warmer, like he was slipping back into his favorite jacket.

“Shit, how long’s it been?” Jake wondered aloud, looking you up and down as if to make a note of every infinitesimal change that had occurred since you last saw each other. “You look great, honey. Beautiful as ever.”

You rolled your eyes but felt your cheeks heating up at his compliment. Jake always had a way of making you feel like the most special person in the room — but then again, he made everyone feel that way, as you later found out.

“You look good too, Seresin. Like a proper, respectable Navy man,” you admitted, though the words don’t sound nearly as begrudging as you hoped.

You’re rewarded with one of those thousand-watt grins and for a second, you’re back in a Texas dive bar, flirting with the most handsome man you’ve ever seen to the tune of some cheesy country-rap remix.

“I am good,” Jake promised, eyes locked on yours, and you think he might be back there with you, leaning up against the jukebox, the floors sticky under your feet. “I don’t know how respectable I am, but I am definitely good.”

His voice drags out that sentence, low and flirtatious, and butterflies fill your stomach the same way they did all those years ago.

You could practically feel the ghost of his big hands on your hips, your lower back, caressing your cheek as the world disappeared around you that night, just the two of you creating your own little world in the corner of that dingy bar.

Your lips parted — to say what, exactly, you’re not sure — and you see his eyes drop to them for just a moment before —

The woman behind the bar called out “Hangman!” with a tone of voice that makes it clear that it’s not the first time she’s said it and you both startle and turn to see her holding four bottles of beer out towards Jake, a look of exhaustion on her face. He jumped forward to take them, apologies pouring from his lips and he pointedly shoves several bills into the tip jar in order to earn an eye roll and a small smile from her.

Two sweating bottles in each hand, he turned back to you and almost seems a bit relieved that you’re still standing there. (As if you’ve ever been able to walk away from him.)

“I have to drop these off with my friends,” Jake said, nodding to a table somewhere behind you, “And you should probably get those drinks to the people who sent you over here. But do — do you wanna catch up? There’s a deck out back with some tables, it’s usually pretty quiet this time of night.” He waited for you to nod, before pressing a quick kiss to your cheekbone. “I’ll meet you in five minutes.”

With one more charming smile, he’s off into the crowd and — not for the first time in your life — you’re left speechless and a little stunned, staring after Jake Seresin.

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Tagging some people who asked to be added: @tvshowgirl81 @redbarn1995 @stoneyggirl @keepingitlokiii @averyhotchner

#tgm fic #jake seresin fic #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #jake hangman seresin #top gun hangman #hangman x reader #hangman fanfiction #jake hangman fic #fic sneak peek

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storydays · 2 months

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Overture: Part 2

(3rd POV)

*With Charlie*

"Hello? Creepy..." Charlie called into the building as she looked around, walking towards the front desk. "Oh!" Charlie watched as a scroll and quill came in front of her. "Also, creepy." she smiled awkwardly, as she signed her name. A door opened up into a dark room, and Charlie walked in, calling out again, "Hello?"

" 'Sup." A male voice startled the demoness, making her fall on the floor. "Holy shit!" She yelped. Light had came on to reveal two angels, one sitting and the other standing behind the first.

Standing up, Charlie pushed her bangs back. "Hi! I'm Charlie, and my brother has sent me to meet you." "Yeah, I know." replied the yellow angel, lazily. "Okay, well, it is nice to meet you." Charlie held her hand out to shake, the angel leaning forward to shake it, "Totally, nice to meet you too." Charlie gasped when her hand passed through his.

"Ha! I fuckin' got you! DId you fuckin' see that?!" He cackled to the grey angel beside him, who nodded at his answer. "Good shit." He laughed to himself.

"Uh, so wait, you aren't here?" wondered Charlie. "No, you think I'd come down there?" He laughed again.

"No, I mean, I love the vibe, totally; I love your tunes. Pretty fuckin' hardcore, don't get me wrong. But it's such a bummer, man. Everything down there, is so..eugh, ya know. Ew." He cringed at the thought.

"Right..so I'm happy that we got this opportunity to meet! There's a project that I've been working on that I really want to talk to you about--" Charlie eyed the angel as he shushed her.

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down. We got time; how about we get to know each other, mm? How about some lunch? You hungry? I got you!" The yellow angel held up a plate of ribs, offering it to the demoness. "Here's my personal favorite. You'll love it."

Charlie smiled politely. "Um, thanks." As she reached for some, her hand went through it. The angel laughed loudly. "I got you again, bitch! Haha! Fuckin' hilarous! Haha!" The princess laughed sarcastically, annoyed by his childishness.

*Back at the hotel*

Vaggie had gathered everyone in the main foyer. Angel had his legs on (Y/N)'s lap again, and was enjoying how flustered the prince looked. The blond tried to ignore the spider but was failing miserably.

"Okay, Charlie's doing something very important, so while she's gone, we are making a new commercial." Vaggie smiled, thinking of her energetic girlfriend, before holding her hand out expectantly. "So, we need a camera. Alastor?"

The deer demon snapped his fingers and an old fashioned camera meant for photos appeared. "A video camera." snapped the Latina woman. "Hmm." Alastor hummed before giving her the requested item. "Alright, let's do this." Vaggie grinned.

"Aaand action!"

" 'Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. Can I help you?' " Husk read from the script, from where he was standing behind the bar.

"I've been a bad boy, and I need a big, strong Daddy to put me in my place....on the path to redemption." Angel started sultrily, purposely stretching his body out, showing himself off. (Y/N) snorted behind his own script; that spider was such an idiot sometimes.

"Well, you come--" Husk started before being interrupted by Angel's moan of , "Oh yes!" (Y/N) started laughing harder, as Husk continued his lines through gritted teeth, "To the right place."

"Cut!" Vaggie sighed, putting the camera down and turning towards the men.

"Okay, Angel, I need you to be less horny, if possible. (Y/N), stop encouraging him. And Husk, can you not have the script right in your face?" Vaggie commented. Husk bristled, clearly angry, "I ain't no act! I can't memorize this shit!" He slapped the paper in his hand as Angel leaned in closer.

"Well, we could improve this shit, babycakes. Rawrr." The Italian spider purred seductively.

Husk frowned and pushed the spider into (Y/N) who wasn't even paying attention, and sent both men to the floor. "Oof," grunted Angel as he landed on (Y/N), knocking his glasses off and--

"Fuck, my nuts!" groaned (Y/N), curling in a fetal position.

Angel had accidentally kneed him...right where the sun don't shine.

"Whoops." Husk winced; he'd only meant for the spider to get out of his personal space. (Y/N) was really one of the only people he'd gotten along with. "My bad, (Y/N)."

"I could do something with your nuts, (Y/N)." Angel teased, but shivered when the prince shot a icy glare in his direction. "Or maybe later," he muttered, rubbing (Y/N)'s back soothingly as he waited for the pain to stop.

"Guys, come on." Vaggie sighed, as Husk picked up a bottle and started drinking again.

*Back with Charlie*

"So I was playing this gig, and for some fucking reason, this virtue chick was diggin' on the drummer and it's like, do you know who I am? I'm fuckin' Adam! I'm the original dick. All dicks descend from me! You think you want drummer dick? No way! I'm the fuckin' dickmaster!" Adam obnoxiously slurped on his ribs before continuing his story.

"So anyway, we fucked and it was awesome. What'd you do this weekend?" He asked a very bored looking Charlie.

"Wait, your name is Adam? Like the first man, Adam? That means you--Ohhh, that explains so much." Charlie realized. "I know, I fuckin' rock." Adam sent the princess a 'rock on sign'. "Well, Adam, sir. Mr Adam, sir--"

"Call me dickmaster." smirked the angel.

"Adam," Charlie emphasized, clearly done with Adam. "You seem like a smart--well, stand up guy."

"Uh-huh." Adam agreed as he picked his teeth.

"And I know you are the leader of the Angel Army and you are a big thinker, a revolutionary, a--a genius," Charlie complimented.

"I mean your words, babe." Adam was clearly enjoying the compliments.

"Who would really love to put his name on something." Charlie kept revving Adam up. "Fuckin' love puttin' my name on shit!" Adam stood excitedly. "Shit's the best!"

Charlie nodded along, "It's a solution to our biggest problem!"

"Ohh, herpes! Yeah, that's a bitch." Adam cringed.

"No! Our other biggest problem." The princess tried hinting at again.

"Oh, uh, ugly people? Math? Global warming? Nah, wait, that's Earth's problem. Umm...." Charlie blinked at the Angel...there was no way he was this stupid, right?

*Back at the hotel*

Niffty giggled as she chased a bug with a giant needle in her hand. "Hehehe, stab, stab, stab!" "Alright, Niffty." Vaggie called before turning to kneel in front of the cyclops. "Niffty. Niffty? Niffty! Your line is, 'We have the cleanest rooms.' Okay?" Niffty nodded excitedly, "Got it! I'm ready!" Vaggie grabbed the camera and started to record. "And action."

Niffty's smile dropped immediately and she zoned out, her pupil shrinking to a little dot. Vaggie stopped recording and lowered the camera,as she, Angel and (Y/N) stared at the cyclops with wide eyes. "Uhh...cut."

Niffty smiled, "How was that?" "Well Niffty, you have to actually say the line. Let's try again."

Same results as last time.

Angel leaned down to whisper in Vaggie's ear, "Yo're doing great Vagina." He whispered, mockingly. "Cut! Alright, um, maybe we can try to fix it in post." Vaggie thought aloud. "Do you even know what that means?" asked (Y/N). "I'll figure it out." the white haired woman snapped, not noticing the looks that the two men exchanged.

Vaggie went into a room and groaned in annoyance as the TV showed a lot of static,and barely audible sound. "Seems like you're having a bit of trouble there, eh?" Alastor grinned as he watched Vaggie.

"Ugh, este pendejo. " She cursed, before turning to the deer demon. "Why are you even here?"

Alastor sat on the opposite couch of Vaggie, his shadow crouching behind him with a sinister smile. "I came here because I love seeing wasteful souls struggle to accomplish something meaningful and fail spectacularly, like you are doing now! Good job!" He mocked cheerfully.

Scowling, Vaggie turned the camera on, and started recording, "And here is Alastor, an egocentric piece of shit--" She yelped as the camera shorted out from the demon's power. "I wouldn't try that, my dear. This face was made for radio." His eyes changed into radio dials, his mouth changed to a speaker,and his body began changing in bendy ways, as voodoo symbols floated around him.

Vaggie narrowed her eye at him. "That's it! I don't care who or what you are. If you're staying here, you are going to make this work. Because it won't be so 'entertaining' to watch over a empty hotel, will it shitass?" She snapped, walking back to her chair.

Alastor's eyes and smile narrowed before he shrugged.

"Fair enough. I'll tell you what: let's make a deal." Scoffing, Vaggie flopped back into her seat.

"You think I'm that stupid? Making a deal with a demon like you?"

"Not for your soul." The Radio Demon rolled his eyes before continuing, "Just a simple deal: I do this for you, and you never ask me to engage with this frivolous television technology again." He narrowed his eyes at the television. "Or...Charlie comes back to absolutely nothing!" The deer dropped the radio effect from his voice as he turned to smirk at Vaggie, "Your choice."

Sighing heavily, the purple demoness agreed. "Fine." She handed the video camera into Alastor's waiting hand, sealing the deal.

"Now then!" Alastor clapped his hands, and the hotel occupants and a camera crew appeared with equipment. With another snap, the Hotel company were all dressed in outfits from the 1920's.

"Alright, let's make a fucking commercial."

*Back with Charlie*

"When you take her out for the fifth time, and she still expects you to pay the check, but you're like, 'Hey, I thought you want equality/'?" Adam mocked a woman's voice. "NOO! Our shared problem of overpopulation in Hell!" Charlie snapped, a desperate look in her eye. "Ohh! Well, that's not a problem. We've got that covered. Lute, how many demons did you kill this year?" Adam asked the silent lieutenant.

"Got a good 275, sir." she replied, coldly.

"275?! Woah, badass! Awesome job, danger tits! Pound it." The two angels shared a fist bump.

"Uh, no, that's not awesome! Those are my people, you know that, right?" Charlie stood, worry written on her face. "Ohh, yeah....That must suck for you! Hahaha!" Adam laughed.

"But these are souls. Human souls, just the same as you have in Heaven." the blonde frowned. "They are not the same." Lute said bluntly, "They had their chance and they earned damnation."

"You're wrong!" Charlie disagreed. "Sinners made mistakes, sure, but everyone makes mistakes." "ANGELS don't make mistakes." hissed Lute. Charlie crossed her arms, "You really think that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I know that." replied the exorcist.

"Yeah, I've never made a mistake in my fuckin' life." Adam agreed as Lute circled the princess. "The only reason you're still here, is because Daddy gave you and your Hellborn kind, a pardon from an exorcist blade. How's that you feel? To know how little you matter." Lute said coldly, returning to Adam's side.

"Oops! Almost out of time. Guess we should get into it." Adam sighed lazily.

"Oh fuck!" Charlie face palmed, and rushed closer to the two angels."Okay, I've got a lot to get through and not a lot of time." Charlie summoned a stack of paperwork. "And I feel like you weren't hearing me before, so here it goes."

"Awh, shit!" Charlie cursed banging on the door from where she was thrown out.

*Back at the hotel*

Charlie walked into the hotel sadly, before being greeted by her brother, who was sitting at the bar, with paperwork and a another strawberry Daiquiri in front of him, glasses perched on the edge of his nose.

He looked up at the young woman and smiled, waving his hand to send the paper work away, and taking his drink in his hand, before going over to Charlie. "Hey, sis...how'd it go?"

As he got closer, he noticed his sister's bubbly demeanor was gone, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Charlie opened her mouth before being interrupted by Vaggie hugging her. "Charlie! How'd it go? Did they listen?" Vaggie looked at Charlie hopefully.

"They sure did...hear it. But um,--" "Oh! Come here! We have something exciting to show you!" Vaggie excitedly dragged Charlie to the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Alastor pulled a few limbs, and it's about to air." (Y/N) grinned as he came to stand in between Husk and the Radio Demon, as Charlie and Vaggie sat on the couch by Niffty and Angel Dust who lounged on the floor.

"I pulled a few limbs, too!" Alastor laughed. (Y/N) shook his head at his antics.

"Wait, the commercial? You all made a new one?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, one of my better performances if I do say so myself." Angel smiled lazily as Charlie teared up, holding her hands over her heart.

"That's amazing." She said, tearfully, before Angel shushed her. "SHH! It's startin'" He growled.

On screen, we see the hotel members dressed up; Angel blowing kisses to the camera and at (Y/N) ,who was fighting the urge to blush, before sending smirk at the spider followed by a playful middle finger. Husk was drinking his cheap booze, Niffty staring at the camera, and Alastor wasn't even facing the camera, and glitching slightly.

Vaggie smiled at the camera, "Welcome to the Hazbin Hot-" Suddenly, it was cut off to reveal a news story.

Vaggie and Angel both shouted in their native languages at the TV and the royal demons' eyes changed to their demon form eyes, both barring their teeth in anger.

"Breaking news in Hell today! We have just received word from the Heaven Embassy that the next extermination is happening sooner than ever before! Do you know what that means, Tom" asked the female reporter, turning to her co-host.

"What does that mean, Katie?" Tom asked with a head tilt.

"It means we are all royally fucked." Katie replied as the screen showed the clock changing the days to 176.

"Wait, what? Why" demanded Angel.

"Charlie...." (Y/N) turned towards his sister, "That'd be the kind of thing that's important for me to know before hand." "Sorry, got distracted by the commercial." Charlie sighed, placing her head in her hands in dismay.

*meanwhile*

A angelic hovercraft was scanning over the rummage of the remains of the extermination.

"We found the body, sir. They've never managed to kill one of us before. We should just go down there now and destroy them!" Lute hissed, her wings fluttering in anger.

"No,no. We can't risk them catching on. But don't worry, when we come back, there won't be a demon alive to pull a stunt like this again!" Adam yelled, smashing the projector, before smiling wickedly.

*With (Y/N)*

With a groan, the prince of Hell flopped back onto a couch. Bending over paperwork for hours on end, did nothing for his back.

Fuck, he was only 225, why did his back hurt so much?

(Y/N) sighed, closing his eyes as the little cat from earlier came over, and curled up on his arms, purring loudly.

"Hey, KeeKee. Hey pretty girl," he cooed, running his hands over the cat's soft fur.

"Ugh, my back." He groaned, feeling his muscles protest at the movement.

"Hey, sweetcheeks." A voice purred in his ear, making him lazily open his violet eye to peek at the spider who grinned widen seeing he had his attention.

"Mm, not now, Angel, my back his killing me."

"Oh, as much as I'd love to take you in position, big daddy, I was actually coming to offer another one of my services." Angel held up a bottle of oil. "Being bent over something for a long time can really be hard on the back. Lemme help?"

(Y/N) eyed the spider, looking for any of his usual antics, but found sincerity. "Okay, let's go to my office. I have a spare bed, for nights I don't feel like going to my room." He used his magic to transport himself and the spider, before lazily walking to the space bed.

Angel looked around the office, smiling softly at all the photos of the prince and his family. "Take your shirt off, and lay on your belly. Don't worry, I'll be careful with your wings." He waited patiently for (Y/N) to take his shirt off, smiling as he took in the view of the blond's body, clearly he took care of himself.

"No funny business." (Y/N) said, groaning softly at the pain in his back. "No funny business," agreed Angel before he straddled (Y/N)'s butt, causing him to blush slightly. "Um, what--" "I won't be able to properly massage you from the side. I swear, no funny business. Just wanted to help ya," Angel waited until (Y/N) nodded.

Angel poured the massage oil in his ungloved hands, all four, and warmed it up in his hands, before getting to work.

(Y/N) sighed softly, enjoying as the Italian spider worked out his sore muscles, being sure to include the demon's wings as well.

"Thanks, Angel."

"Qualunque costa per te, bambola."

(Y/N) smiled to himself, deciding to keep the fact that he knows every language in the world to himself as Angel hummed an old song from his childhood.

The two sat in silence as unaware as Charlie closed the door, smiling, letting the two be.

'They would be so cute.' she grinned to herself.

#hazbin husk #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin angel dust #x male reader #hazbin charlie #hazbin vaggie #hazbin niffty #viziepop

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wonwoosthetic · 26 days

Note

Finding something to fight for update coming back anytime soon…? Love this story 💜

a/n: i looooove writing for this series so so so much, thank you for enjoying it so far!! Here I have part 2 of how the reader and Joel met! Yes, there’s not much romance going on (just yet! the next part will be about their first few dates) but a lot have asked for a part 2 and since Joel is a single father who was left by his wife, I can imagine love for a random woman wouldn’t come easy to him ˙ᵕ˙ I still hope you and everyone reading this will enjoy and stay tuned for future chapters! Thank you for reading and thank you for sticking around to see more of their story unfold!🫶🏼

Btw: I changed the name of the series, I hope people won’t be too confused! <3

You’re Lonely. I Can Fix That. Pt. 2

pairing – Joel Miller x female!reader; Tommy Miller x female!reader (platonic!)

word count – 16.2k (don’t even get me started, this is starting to feel like a slow-burn😭)

warnings – fighting, tiniest bit of cursing, bad writing of southern accents (somebody pls teach me)

synopsis – part 2 of this request; slowly but we’re getting there ˙ᵕ˙ the reader and Joel are getting closer🤭

series masterlist

1999

You did, in fact, not find a way to contact him. At least none that wouldn't require you to jump over your shadow and contact Tommy Miller first.

Every afternoon you had to spend in your parents' restaurant mostly consisted of you standing by the counter, and your head shooting up at the sound of the door opening. None of those times had it been either one of the Miller brothers - but each time you had hoped it would be. Praying and pleading that the universe had some last specks of luck left for you. But it seemed like destiny was not on your side at that time. Or maybe it was. How could you possibly know if he was as good as he pretended to be? Maybe the kindness Joel had shown you was just his way of holding up a normal conversation with no ulterior motives after all. Asking you about your future plans and dreams, telling you about his daughter, and driving you home seemed to be just the naturally kind gestures of a Southern gentleman... Or maybe it was just an act and in reality, whoever was up there was saving you from a big mistake before it could even happen.

'I think that if he was a real gentleman and if the looks he gave you were real, he'll find a way to contact you.'

Maria's words were once again haunting you. Even with your hopes already slowly vanishing in ever seeing the oldest Miller again. He was a gentleman, no doubt. He had to be... right? There was almost no possible way he had put on a mask before entering that bar. But...

You shook your head. Your best friend might be a good people reader, but she's also well-known for her delusions. It was fun and made life much more exciting, that you had to agree with. Having a campus crush and calling him 'your man' when all he did was thank you and call the essay you wrote a 'great piece of work', was how you kept life interesting. It was easy entertainment. Normally, it was all fun and games, something you could tease each other with, but this was different. Because with Joel, you noticed it too. You may not have noticed the 'looks he gave you', but what man would just 'like to make sure you got home safe'? Or maybe you were potentially just looking too much into it. Maybe Maria had already infected you with her delusions.

'It's a small town, it can't be that hard.'

Well... it seemed to be very hard because it had already been close to a month. And neither of you had found a way or were interested enough to look for one. At some point, you had to get the fantasy of Joel Miller you had made up in your mind out of your head. There was no way a man could possibly occupy such a big part of your brain and control how you'd act at work.

There was only one man in the past who had the same kind of grip on you as Joel Miller now had. And that guy broke your heart when he admitted to cheating on you and getting Chlamydia from the college girl he fucked. Fun times...

Other than that, the topic of boyfriends hadn't ever been more than just plain and simple entertainment for you. You didn't use them. And you never would, because, after all, you were a lover girl at heart. But they just didn't make you nervous. Usually.

You could vividly recall each and every time you managed to make a man bring you to his house and let you spend the night, just as much as the number of times you barked at them to leave you alone in a club. Yes, they were big and scary men, but you were a woman raised by an older sister who inherited the generational trauma from your mother and anger issues from your father. If you didn't want them near you, you wouldn't let them.

Crushes came and went, and the ones that stayed, you were usually able to turn into something as serious as a few fun nights or even take it a little further and turn them into the two relationships you have had in the past. But that was it. 'Chlamydia boy', as Maria had baptized him, was the last one you had let occupy your mind as much as he did.

That was until Joel goddamn Miller, in his 6ft, wide shoulders, itty bitty waist, rough hands, curly hair, shaggy beard, and grungy voice glory, just had to walk into that bar. Now you were daydreaming about a 30-year-old construction worker and single father all while he was probably just enjoying the evenings off-duty he got to spend with his daughter, looking forward to the next parent-teacher conference where the other mothers would be gawking at him and drooling while following him around like lost puppies.

That's how you found yourself. A birthday and a whole month later, in your family's restaurant just like almost every afternoon. You had finished another small exam and were finally able to enjoy the first rays of sunshine that were peeking through the clouds during the colder winter months on the way to work. But even the big windows couldn't even to some extent let you feel the freedom and fresh air from the outside. Sometimes you wondered if you should at some point regret coming back to Texas to help your family.

Back then, you had been ecstatic about the mere thought of moving away, seeing more than what that small town you grew up in had to offer. That's why you decided to study out of state. You started building your life out there. A new life. But one call from your mother, asking you to come back was all it took. You couldn't tell her simply 'no'. Not when she was explaining that your father, due to his age, was advised not to work normal shifts on his legs anymore as they were slowly giving up on him. So, you listened to her. You packed your bags and came back. You found a place of your own and a roommate to share it with. You were accepted into the college you so desperately tried to avoid during the application process back in high school and continued your studies only 30 minutes away from the house you grew up in and the garden you used to play in.

You weren't allowed to regret your decision. Not if it meant helping your parents keep the restaurant alive they had worked their entire life for.

"Where's my daughter?" The frantic voice of your mother made you sigh out loud as you made sure to fix the name tag on the right side of your shirt. "Is she here already?" Her quick footsteps echoed through the kitchen until they stopped in the doorway of the small staffroom.

"I'm here, Mom," you answered her with the slightest hint of annoyance. The simple sound of her stressed-out sound and heavy breathing could get your blood pumping in an instant. She has always been a stressed person - making situations much more hectic than needed.

A heavy huff fell from her lips. "Y'are late," she simply stated.

With a roll of your eyes, you passed her, putting your hair up in a ponytail just like you usually would. "I'm not late, I had an exam. I told you that."

"I guess, I forgot... 'bout that...," she thought out loud. "Anyways," she was quick to change the subject, hot on your tracks, following you up to the counter overlooking the somewhat empty tables. You only could sigh again. "I'll have to leave earlier today. I need to go to the pharmacy before it closes. The doctor gave ya dad a new prescription," she explained. Another new one... was there ever going to not be another medication this man would be put on? The medical bills were already piling up - you remembered the stack of letters addressed to your father you had seen just the day before when you came over for the usual Sunday family dinner.

"Y'are okay with closing? Jimmy might stay with ya if I ask him." Jimmy, the head chef of the kitchen behind you and a long-family friend. He was in his fifties and had a wife and three kids waiting at home for him each night.

You shook your head, "No, it's fine. I... I think I can clean up by myself, but thanks," sending her a tight smile that got a big grin out of her.

"Great!" She grabbed your shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze. "I'll leave in a bit, alrigh'?" You nodded as an answer, your eyes already on the notes for the day your mother had put on the counter, out of eyesight from customers. And with that, you got to work.

Mondays weren't all that busy, usually. The construction workers from around the area would come in and order their usual big servings that had been keeping the family business going. Some teenagers spent their lunch break by the tables, working on their homework and having a quick meal. Just like every other day.

With a sigh, you pushed through the swinging door, separating the kitchen from the counter area of the restaurant. Three plates filled with the extra portions some of the construction workers asked for balances on your hands and left arm. In moments like this, you were thankful for the low number of customers. You rushed over to bring them their food in a respectful time, getting a round of charming 'thank you's in return, to which you nodded politely.

Just as you were about to get back behind the counter, hoping to find the next thing to focus on until new customers would come in, your eyes found a familiar face, sitting in a booth all by themselves. You smiled to yourself, watching the little kid's head buried in the book in front of them as they frantically continued to write something down with their right hand.

It was the Parker's son, Miles. A young, very bright boy, who was way too mature for his age of only 10. The first time you had seen him in your parent's restaurant, you thought somebody had forgotten him. But no, he just enjoyed the background noises of the diner in the background while doing his schoolwork. He usually showed up a few times a week, would take a seat quietly and not ask for anything unless a waiter or waitress came over to him first.

As you began working part-time, you took on the responsibility of being that exact person. You'd approach him and ask him for his order, adding a free hot chocolate or lemonade to whatever he desired - you paid for it out of your own pocket by the end of the day.

"Well hello, young man," you walked up to the boy with a soft smile on your face. The sound of your voice made him look up, pushing his glasses back up higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Hi, Y/N," he grinned at you shyly. It was only then you realised how much you had missed his rosy cheeks.

"I haven't seen you in so long. I got worried already," you admitted. It was the truth. You hadn't seen him in a good three weeks, which was very much out of the ordinary. In a small town, you would've expected to hear rumours and chatter about every family, but the Parkers seemed like a mystery to most apparently.

Miles shrugged, his eyes back down to his book. "I'm okay."

The tone of his voice told you otherwise. He wasn't a very expressive kid, to begin with, so the change in his tone stood out.

"Are you sure?" You quietly sat down on the opposite side of the booth. You were in no position to interrogate him, and neither were you the best with children - at least that's what you thought. But you were a good advice giver and could read a room usually pretty well.

It took a few seconds of silence before he spoke up again. "Mommy and Daddy are getting a divorce."

Oh.

The instability of his family was no secret - your mother had caught you up with everything going on behind their closed doors as she and Miles' grandmother were part of the Saturdays' flea market in town. And that woman had no filter when it came to the 'monster of a husband her daughter had married'.

"I see," you nodded gently. "And... you're okay with that?" It was a stupid question, yes, but how else were you supposed to not just let him sit in misery, the thoughts of his parent's divorce occupying way too much of this little kid's mind.

"I think so, yes." Miles looked at the side of the table, his pencil gliding over a crack in the wood, "Grammy said it's good. And Mommy has been crying less. So... I think I'm happy."

Your heart shattered just hearing his words. No child should ever have to go through something like that.

"Daddy said I'm not allowed to come here anymore." You glanced at him with a slight scrunch in your eyebrows. "But now I live with Mommy and Grammy, and they don't really care where I am after school, so I came back," he sent you an innocent bright smile. His bright face almost sent tears to your eyes.

"They do care where you are Miles," you tried to explain to him, not even knowing if it was the truth, but why should a child even dare to think that the authority figures in his life didn't 'care' about him. "They just... they probably know how happy you are whenever you're here. That's why they let you come over."

You noticed as he tried to avoid your eyes, glancing out the window as he spoke, "But I'm only happy when you're here too," he admitted.

Pressing your lips into a tight line, you took a deep breath, about to give him an answer back, wanting to let him know how much brighter your day got whenever you got to see him, but he beat you to it.

"That's Sarah Miller," his finger was pressed up against the glass. "With her dad." Unfazed, he turned his attention back to his notes. "His name's Joel."

"What?" You accidentally muttered out, your head snapping to the window. The black pick-up truck came right into view. The one he brought you home in. Your eyes followed his every move as he opened one of the back doors, helping his daughter out of the car. He held out a hand for her to take, but she ignored it and jumped with a big smile. A whole goddamn month it took for you to finally see his face again. 30 days, if not more. Just as you had been on the verge of forgetting about your encounter with the oldest Miller brother, he suddenly decided to show up. At your family's restaurant out of all places.

Frozen in place, you couldn't help but stare, forgetting about the fact that a window worked both ways. You got lucky as he seemed to not have seen you, passing by and walking over to the front door while Sarah was skipping around the parking space in excitement. The pounding heart in your chest made you gulp.

"How do you know them?" You suddenly asked.

Miles continued to write in his notebook. "Sarah's in my class. She's nice."

"And-"

"I told her about this restaurant. Told her I like you and the food. And the free drink you always bring me," he sent you a quick grin, making you chuckle. The smile vanished quickly though as the sound of the bell above the entrance door rang through the room. To everyone else, it was just another customer coming in, but to you, it was the desperate crush on a 30-year-old man, who had no business occupying your mind as much as he did. There was no time to continue your daydream of finally seeing him again as he and his little one walked further into the restaurant, looking around to see which empty table they'd claim. Joel proposed the one in the corner right next to the door, which Sarah seemed to be okay with after taking another quick glance around the open space. They'd be waiting for someone to come and take their order. And that someone should be you. It had to be you. There was no other waiter on shift for this afternoon.

"I'll be right back," you quickly excused yourself, making Miles glimpse at you in slight confusion at your rushed tone, but the notebook in front of him was much more interesting anyway.

With a few deep breaths, you strutted across the floor, brushing over the apron covering the front of your thighs. You passed the register area to snatch the small notepad you used during your shift before finally making your way over to the duo.

Just before you were close enough to their table to stop, you heard the girl's faint voice mumble, "He said he'd be here." Her head turned upwards to grin at you as soon as you came to a halt, pen and paper in your grip.

"Hey, what can I get for you, guys?" You clicked the back of the bullet point pen.

Joel snapped his head up, his brown eyes staring at you as soon as your voice registered in his head. His lips parted, stopping for a second before he spoke up.

"O-Oh- hey," he sat up straighter.

"Hi," you smiled at him, slapping yourself internally at greeting him a second time when you literally just did that.

"Hey," he nodded, his lips curling up just a bit. "Y/N... right?"

While the name Joel Miller had branded itself onto your brain, he seemed to not even be sure about your first.

You nodded with a tight smile that was close to disappearing, but you had to keep a professional face on, "Yeah- yeah, Y/N," and pointed to yourself like an idiot. His eyes didn't leave your face, almost dragging you in, but you were quick to snap back, the sound of someone clearing the throat to your left catching you off-guard.

"Introduce me, Dad," Sarah tried to whisper, holding her hand to the wrong side of her mouth, where you could still clearly see her lips moving.

"Hm?" Joel's head turned towards her, "Oh- that's... that's Sarah. My daughter."

With a wide grin, the girl reached her hand out to you, which you gladly accepted, shaking it with a similar facial expression.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah."

"It's very nice to meet you too, Y/N." Once she dropped your hand again, her gaze quickly flicked over to her dad, who politely coughed into his elbow. "Do you know my, Dad?" She suddenly wondered.

"I- ehm...," you were quick to open your mouth before you could even come up with a full reply, wanting to kick yourself in the shin.

Thankfully, Joel decided to answer her, "She's a friend of Uncle Tommy."

Sarah gasped, her eyes widening, "You know Uncle Tommy too?" She gazed up at you in amazement, making you chuckle. Calling you a 'friend' was much easier than explaining your relationship with him to a 9-year-old, so you accepted it.

You nodded, "I do. I met him a long time ago." Not a lie.

"Cool," she said out loud, looking down at her intertwined fingers on top of the table. "What do you-"

"Babygirl, you wanted to eat, didn't you?"

The voice of her dad made her lift her head to grin at him, "Can I get pancakes?"

Joel put the menu he was holding down with a soft sigh, but a kind curl to his lips, "You can ask Y/N if you want to."

Quickly, she whipped her head towards you, "Can I have pancakes, please?"

You couldn't hold back a subtle chuckle. "Of course." The fact that pancakes were on your breakfast menu was unimportant. If the girl wanted pancakes, you'd get her her pancakes, even if it was close to 5pm. "And for you?" You turned to the man on your right.

"Can I get a simple turkey sandwich? And a black coffee?"

You nodded, writing down just quick abbreviations to remember their order. "Coffee's free here," you added.

"Oh, great," he commented, putting his hands down on the table, "That's all then."

"Alright, I'll be right back."

"Thank you," Joel gave you a nod and a grin, his attention back to his little girl as soon as you turned around and heard her whisper.

"Why do you know so many people?" Making you chuckle.

In the kitchen, you handed over their orders to Jimmy, who glanced at you with a frown, re-reading your handwriting on the piece of paper.

"Pancakes? At 5?"

"Can you do that? It's for a little girl, she's really sweet."

With a wink, he moved over to the stove, "'Course I can, no worries."

You grinned, "Thanks, Jimmy."

Getting a, "No worries, kid," in return.

Just as you were about to leave, you made a stop at the fridge, opening it to get the glass jug of homemade lemonade. Along with three clean glasses from the cabinets right above your head. You filled them up equally before putting the lemonade back and heading out to the counter again, balancing all three on a tray. You didn't expect the man standing right across from you, making you stop in your tracks.

"Hey," Joel smiled at.

"Hi," you copied him. Again, feeling the need to slap yourself. How many times have you now said these two words in exchange to each other?

"I...," he started, looking around the empty bar area. His hands glided into the back pockets of his jeans before he locked eyes with you again. "I'm sorry, I... Sarah- she forgot to order a drink. Is it okay if I- can I do that here?"

"Yeah," you nodded your head frantically, putting down the tray, as your eyes landed on the filled-up glasses. "I- I was actually just about to bring two of these over to you guys." Taking them into your grip and lifting them to his eyesight.

"Oh- did she-"

"They're like a... signature thing here. I thought you'd... might want something to drink." You placed them down on the bar top, "On the house."

"Oh no, I can't let-" he started, but you were already shaking your head.

"No worries. A little welcome gift," you brushed him off, your fingers slowly digging into the wood below you.

Slightly hesitant, Joel reached out for the two lemonades.

"Gotta keep the customers coming back somehow," you added with a soft chuckle, getting a humourous laugh from him in return.

"Yeah... well..." he turned back to take a quick glance at his daughter before looking back at you, "we might be coming back more often anyways. Sarah got a recommendation from a classmate... and she's been really beggin' me to take her here. And we were in the area, so..."

"Miles, yeah... he- he told me," you nodded along with his storytelling, fidgeting with the dainty bracelet on your wrist - an older Christmas gift from your sister.

Joel raised his eyebrows in interest, "You know him?"

"Yeah," you nudged your head over to the left side of the diner, with the boy in the only occupied booth, "He's sitting over there."

"Aah...," he took a deep breath in, "Gotta make sure to tell Sarah," he mumbled slightly more to himself, but you were still able to catch it.

"Are they friends?"

Joel slightly shrugged his shoulder, "I guess so, yeah... they're both in an advanced Math course for middle schoolers, so... yeah."

"Advanced Math?" You wondered in astonishment. He hadn't told you all too much about her back in the car a few weeks ago, so this was news to you. You knew Miles was in that course, Christ, he had proven it to you many times before whenever you asked if he needed help with his homework, but you didn't know Joel's daughter went the same path. "A little genius."

"Yeah," the older Miller brother chuckled, looking down at his feet, "Kinda like you," he met your eyes. "I mean- not like you... really... because, you know, not... College level, but... she- she's interested in it too. But I- I guess... I don't know if she's really interested in it, but she seems to enjoy it so far, so..."

If your eyes and ears weren't playing with you, you could almost hear a slight added raspiness to his voice as he tried to avoid your gaze, talking on and on about his daughter. The grin making its way onto your lips was only an indication of your amusement at his rambling.

"I understand," you laughed. "Smart girl."

He nodded gently to himself, "That she is... she sure is..."

Your awkward chuckle was followed by a second of silence. Maybe a few seconds, actually. Joel could've excused himself to go back to the booth they chose, but he didn't even move an inch. Not even made an indication that he wanted to leave. Your eyes travelled around the counter, trying to look for something to busy yourself with, but there were no notes left, every other customer (there weren't a lot) seemed to be happy, so there was nowhere to go for you. You were stuck to stand still across from him, forced to bring the conversation to a halt as neither one of you knew what to possibly say next. Not until you went through each line that had spilled from his lips, remembering-

"You said you were in the area? Do you live here... or...?" What a smart move. Ask the stranger if he lived close to where you're working, fucking creep.

Joel cleared his throat, politely holding up a fist to his lips. "No no, she- Sarah... she has soccer practice every Monday 'round here."

"Oh," your eyes lit up, "At the old Ramson's field?" The corners of the man's lips curled up at the mention of the area that was once a strawberry farm. It was sold years ago by an elderly couple, the Ramsoms, to give the kids a place to run around freely. Somebody took the chance and turned it into a local soccer team's training ground.

"Yeah, exactly that. You know it?"

You nodded excitedly, "My sister used to go there. She was really active. Always the sporty one in the family, you know..."

For a second, Joel pursed his lips, smiling to himself before he answered. "So... sister's the sporty one and you're the smart one? Your parents got lucky."

"Well...," you talked down his compliment with a soft chuckle, "I don't know if I'd say I'm the smart one...," thinking about your next words for not longer than a second, "I did get in the car of a basically stranger who took me home while I was definitely intoxicated, so... don't know how smart that really is." Smirking at the mention of the evening.

The older Miller's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Why would you do- Oh." Stopping himself before he could continue. He shook his head with a laugh, "Right... yeah..." Just for a second, he had forgotten how truly unfortunate, or maybe not so unfortunate, your first meeting actually had been. "But," he took a deep breath in, "You got home safe. So it was a smart move, I guess."

"I got home very safe, yes," you agreed, a dreamy smile playing on your lips, as you pulled your hands back to yourself, feeling the chipped wood digging into your fingertips. "Thank you, again... really."

"All good," he gave you an assuring nod, "Rather getting in the car of a stranger than hangin' out with Tommy's group of... whatever they are."

You couldn't hold back the laughter coming from your lungs at his clear dislike of his younger brother's group of friends. Already back in the bar, it was clear to tell Joel was not a fan of them or the comments they made or truly anything about them all together, and he seemed to like making that very clear. He joined in your laughter with a slightly softer one, only to be interrupted as a voice from behind you suddenly shouted out.

"Pancakes and a ham sandwich!" Jimmy came through the swinging doors, the two plates in each of his hands as he stood next to you.

You turned to the side, giving him a quick smile.

"Oh- you were quick, thanks."

"I can take 'em," Joel was about to reach out, wanting to take his order, when you stopped him.

"No, no, it's fine. I'll bring them over," you assured him. "In a second."

"You sure?" He asked you cautiously.

You nodded, your lips pressed together tightly. "A girl's gotta work," you shrugged with a smile.

Joel gave you a quick nod before taking the two glasses of lemonade and going back to his table, the eyes of the little girl waiting for him getting big as she saw what he had brought along. You grinned at the sight.

"Y'sure you wanted to make the girl happy or the dad?" The old man's voice rang through your ear. Your head snapped towards him, taking a step in defence back.

"'Xcuse me?"

Jimmy shook his head in amusement, putting down the two plates of food. "I was in there tryin' to avoid interruptin' you two, but Lord..."

"What?" You wondered, a slight edge to your tone as you were interested in hearing what he was about to say.

He glanced at you with a soft smirk. "It was painful listenin' to that poor attempt of a flirt."

"A flirt? By who?"

"Y'know damn well by who," he pointed a strict finger at you, the smile still evident on his face as you tried to hide your own.

You arrogantly lifted your head, making sure to stick your nose up extra high as you crossed your arms. "I have no idea what you're talkin' abou'," purposely copying his very Southern accent badly. "That wasn't flirtin'."

"Damn right, it wasn't."

"Oh, I'm sorry that I don't have forty years of flirting experience," you bit back jokingly, about to snatch the two plates off the counter.

Jimmy scoffed with a shake of his head, "I wasn't talkin' 'bout you, darlin'." And with those words, he left through the doors again, going back into the kitchen.

You stopped in your tracks, hurriedly following him.

"Wait-," you called out, "You think he was flirting with me?"

"A poor attempt of a flirt," he corrected you, his back already turned to you as he started cleaning the counters. Before you could say anything more, he stopped you with a raise of his hand, "Go back to work, sweet pea. We'll talk about this later," giving you a last wink.

Joel and Sarah got their meals, and you brought Miles his free lemonade as well. It was already past 7pm, almost closing time as you usually locked the doors at 8pm. Most customers had left, besides a few teenagers you decided to hang around for a bit, enjoying the cheap prices of the food. The father-daughter duo in the corner had split up, leaving the oldest Miller brother to sit alone at the table, his finger furiously trying to type out a message on his phone, only to give up with an annoyed sigh and switch to calling the person. His little girl had joined Miles at his table after her dad had told her that he was there.

It was a rare sight. You had never seen the young boy interact with people his age. Or really with anyone but you or your mom. Other adults had tried to make a few conversations work, only to be met with silence from him. He didn't enjoy talking to strangers much, understandably so. The sound of the two giggling brought warmth to your heart and a smile to your face. He hardly ever grinned as much with you as he did right at that moment with her. You had no idea he even had people around him that could make him this happy. He didn't even smile at his mother when you once saw her pick him up. It was a one-time-only experience, he usually took the bus home alone. Sometimes you accompanied him, just out of fear and worry as to who would even think to let their own child travel by public transport in the dark. But maybe that was your big-city brainwashed mind talking and small-town parents saw the world completely differently than you did.

"We got any new ones?" Jimmy's smoker voice brought you back to the present and made your eyes leave the two kids to look at him.

You shook your head, "No, I think that was it for tonight, you can start closing up." You rarely ever got any new customers past 7:30, so you gave him the o.k. to clean up in the back while you started at the front.

Rounding the counter, you passed the tables, now empty, to get the last few plates and glasses that were left by people who had left merely a few minutes ago. Some others noticed you cleaning, handing you over everything they didn't need any more along the way. With full hands, you came back to the bar area, placing each dirty plate, glass, and mug on the window sill, between the front area with the kitchen. Jimmy gave you a grateful smile as he got a hold of them.

As you turned around, you were once again faced with the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty of Joel Miller standing in front of you. He had stacked their two plates together, with the cutlery right on top, and the now empty lemonade glasses right next to them.

"Oh-," you chuckled, "Thank you," taking them off the counter to turn around and put them on the sill as well.

"It was really good, so, thank you," he commented with a tight smile.

"I'll let the chef know."

"The chef knows!" The older man shouted out from the kitchen, letting his head peak out the window with a big grin. His facial expression made both of you chuckle.

You turned back to face the oldest Miller, glancing up at him slightly shyly, not even trying to hide it. "You're leaving?"

Joel nodded, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "Yeah... Tommy needs to get picked up. And Sarah's got school tomorrow. Gotta check if the homework's all done." You nodded along to every single word dripping from his lips, even daring to take a few quick glances down to see each movement and curve of them. "I mean- she always does them, I don't... I don't think she'd ever not do her homework, she'll even do them in short breaks or... in the car or something. But..."

"Just to make sure," you grinned at him, blocking his further rambling.

Joel nodded, a heavy breath falling from his lips, "Exactly... yeah..." He opened his mouth just a bit one more time, but wouldn't dare to speak, making you wait in silence, begging he would continue whatever his mind had come up with next.

He cleared his throat, looking over at his little girl, before switching back to you. "I- I should get her."

You gave him a hasty nod, "Yeah, yeah, of course."

Just as he passed the counter to walk over to the two kids who still seemed to be as giggly as they were 30 minutes ago, Joel turned back around.

He called out your name, making you whip your head around with hope.

"Yeah?"

"D'you know if his parents are gonna come pick him up?"

Not the question you were desperately waiting to come out of his mouth, but at least something.

You shook your head, "No, he usually takes the bus. I'll go with him after closing."

Hesitantly, but still, he nodded, mumbling a quick, "Alright," before continuing to make his way over to the other corner of the diner.

In the meantime, you got back to wiping down the front counter, before moving onto each table in the room. Even the ones that hadn't been used that day, you made sure to clean. In the position you were in, you could see Joel and Sarah heading for the front door, only to stop and wave at you.

"I'll see ya," the oldest Miller smiled, "Have a good night." You waved back, chuckling as Sarah excitedly waved as well.

"Bye, it was nice to meet you, Y/N!"

"You too, Sarah. Good night."

Your eyes didn't leave their forms until they were back in the car after Joel opened one of the doors on the passenger side in the back, waiting for his daughter to jump in. You couldn't help but grin at the sight. Other customers who passed you, said their goodbyes, making you walk over to their tables to collect the money they left for the food they had eaten. Arrived at the table the father-daughter had occupied merely minutes ago, you glanced at the money, counting the bills with your fingers only to realise the generous tip Joel had left for you. Damn it, there you were smiling again.

Miles was entertaining himself outside, still in the same booth while you joined Jimmy in the kitchen. Every table had been swiped over, the counter cleaned to perfection, the cashier counted and the money stored safely in the safe. You had found a comfortable place on top of one of the counters in the kitchen, a mug of the last bit of coffee that was in the pot now in your hand. Just as you were about to take a sip, a groan fell from your lips as the memory hit you.

"Huh? What?" The older man looked up from the floor he was sweeping over.

"I forgot to give him his coffee...," you mumbled out loud.

Jimmy's thick brows furrowed, "Who?"

"Joel..." He had ordered a black coffee. You had even told him it was free, and he never got to taste it... but then again, he didn't ask you a second time...

He seemed to think for a second before the corners of his lips curled up, "Aaah, Sir Handsome."

Your head shot up in confusion, "What? Sir Handsome? Really?"

Jimmy just shrugged, "That's what I'm gonna call him."

"His name's Joel. Joel Miller."

"Miller?!" He stopped in his tracks, coming to a halt with the chore, almost dropping the broom to sit against the counter. "From 'round here?"

You nodded.

"Miller, like Thomas Miller?!"

You glanced at him in confusion. "You mean Tommy Miller?"

The man rolled his eyes, "Whatever that punk's name was," and went back to cleaning up. His reaction got a chuckle out of you.

The name Tommy Miller, or like Jimmy sacred to call him, Thomas Miller, had embranded itself onto the entire staff of the Diner. Even past employees knew about him. Hell, even the food inspectors that used to come around once a year knew about him - he had the fantastic idea of following the lady around the diner like a lost puppy, flirting with her the entire time. The fact that she was well over 30 and he just a good 18 years old was so not important to him at the time.

He and his entourage were well-known around the area for multiple reasons. Their bad reputation had followed them all throughout their teenage and young adulthood, leaving a memory of their presence with each and every one who had ever come in touch with them.

"Yeah... they're... brothers."

With a clearly unamused facial expression, Jimmy glared at you, making you sit up straighter in an instant.

"Joel's the older one. And he's nothing like Tommy," you assured him. "I promise."

"And how d'you know that, young lady?" He popped his hip out to the right side, leaving the broom to lean against the counter as he took in his stance.

Jimmy might not be your father, but he's someone's. And you can tell. Your dad had been sick for longer than you'd like to remember, leaving Jimmy to take on the role of the next best thing of a male parental figure with a slight touch of a close friend.

"He- We...," you sighed, looking at the booth behind you to take a quick peek at Miles, colouring some pictures you had given him as entertainment. "I was at a bar-"

"When?" He nagged.

"Not too long ago."

"When?"

"A few weeks ago," you answered him with a sigh, trying to continue the story, when he interfered again. He shook his head, sighing your name out loud as he ran a hand over his face.

"Jimmy-"

"I won't tell your Mom, don't worry," he raised his hands in defence. "Just wantin' to know you were safe."

"I was," you told him, "partially thanks to Joel." Making him frown. "So. As I said. I was at a bar and Tommy, Joel's brother, was there with his group of friends-"

"Oh, Lord, help me...," Jimmy mumbled.

"Not his teenage friend group!" You called out, "I don't think so at least... I don't know," you brushed off the thought, "Anyways, I was there and Tommy invited me to sit with them. And at first, I wasn't really sure, but then Joel came too and I was like... why not, you know?" The older man gave you a knowing smirk. "But that quickly turned into a mistake because his friends, high school friends or not, were jerks, so I wanted to go home, but I had a few drinks, so Joel drove me home."

"You gave a random man your address?!"

"This is a small town!" You defended yourself, "If he was bad news, everyone would know!"

"That's not the point-"

"The point is!" You interrupted him, "I only got into his car because he was genuinely nice and the only one of them all that listened to me and actually seemed like he wanted to talk to me at that table." The part of your best friend technically forcefully reserving you a seat in the passenger side of his car was left out.

"Yeah...," Jimmy shook his head with a sigh, "You know who else was this charismatic?"

"Who?"

"Ted Bundy."

"Jimmy!" You threw your head back with a big laughter erupting from your lungs.

The audacity to even compare these two men.

"Dark hair, dark eyes, nice smile. Sounds like Ted to me." Like he knew the guy...

"You can't say that," you scolded him, wiping away the tear that had fallen from your eye in the middle of the fit of laughter. He joined you with a wholehearted chuckle, coming closer, to stand right across from you.

"So, what about him?" He suddenly turned serious, crossing his arms in front of his small beer belly.

You shrugged. "I like him," thinking for a second before continuing. "I only met him once- well, twice now, and I think he's really handsome. But... I don't know. I don't think he looks at me like that. This crush might be one-sided."

"Why not? Y'are a pretty lady!" He called out with another frown. It would let people believe he was mad when only compliments kept falling from his lips. "Ya smart, good with kids, polite. Why wouldn't he like ya?"

"He didn't even remember my name from the last time we met!"

Jimmy couldn't hide his smirk of amusement, "Sweetheart..."

"What? This isn't funny! I'm in a crisis."

"Y'are wearin' a name tag."

Your right hand immediately flew up to your chest and onto the plaque you always wore on the right side of your shirt. Glancing down, you saw the piece of plastic staring right back at you. How could you even forget that you were wearing that thing?

"But why..."

"I told ya," the old man shrugged his shoulder with a chuckle, "A poor attempt of a flirt."

You scoffed with a roll of your eyes, hopping down from the corner to take off the apron and mentioned tag. "That's really what you call flirting?"

"I think, he's a man probably somewhere around his thirties with a little girl by his side. How much female attention ya think he's been gettin'?"

"Have you seen him?" You stared at him with wide eyes. "I think quite a lot."

"Okay, how much female attention ya think he's lettin' get to him? This man probably hasn't even spent a night with another woman in YEARS. Where's the mom anyways?"

You shrugged, "Izzy said she got pregnant in college and everyone just thought he left her. But he has a daughter now and I hardly believe he would let his high school sweetheart alone with a baby while keeping one from another woman."

"Ya really thought a lot 'bout that, huh?"

With a smirk, you looked up at the ceiling before glancing to the side, trying to avoid his eyes as you mumbled, "Maybe a little..."

"If ya asked ya sister 'bout it, I doubt it was a little," he chuckled, noticing how riled up you were getting about the subject as you threw your apron on the counter.

"Alright! I thought about it a lot, okay?! I don't want to come off too strong when he has a whole family waiting for him at home. But so far... I don't think he has... but... I don't know." You crossed your arms in front of your chest. "I have to get my information somehow."

"Could also just ask him, ya know?" Jimmy tapped your head as he snatched your apron off the counter after taking off his own and heading towards the employees' closet.

"I feel like that's rude. Imagine just talking to someone, kinda 'cause you're forced to do it and suddenly she's all up your business, asking you about romantic partners and whatnot." You came to a halt in the doorway, leaning against it as you watched him pull out his jacket and hand you your own.

"I don't think he'd be flirtin' so poorly with a girl if he had someone at home. "He sent you a stern look, "And if he has and still does that, he's a piece of shit." Making you chuckle as you put on the piece of outerwear.

"Can you stop saying poor flirting? He was talking. Maybe he's trying. He was telling me about his daughter."

"Jesus, sweet pea, he told ya her entire life story. Ya could write her autobiography with all the ramblin' he did today," Jimmy joked, shaking his head in disbelief.

You laughed along with him as you grabbed your bag and headed back to the kitchen. "You're overreacting."

"Am not!" He told you. "The last time I sounded like that was when I tried to get to sweet talk my beautiful Betty." Your lips formed into a smile at the mention of his wife. This man could talk about her for HOURS. He's a true role model for the upcoming generation, and you were hopeful for his children getting to watch a couple truly in love right in front of their eyes.

"Plus," he added, "I have a cousin. Jeff. Single dad for three years. He's been tryin' to get himself out there again, and good God... Jesus help him. This man knows nothin'. Nothin'. That Joel kid reminds me of him a little," he stopped for a second to look at your blushed cheeks that had started to heat up. "Like I said, I didn't want to interrupt ya, but it was painful. Just like with Jeff."

You shook your head in defeat. There you had your confirmation. If what Maria had told you wasn't already enough, you better trust the wise words of a fifty-year-old man, married to the love of his life for a good thirty years.

"So," you cleared your throat, taking a deep breath in, "You think I have a chance?"

Jimmy sighed. He shook his head. After a step forward, he stopped right in front of you, placing both of his hands on your shoulders, only to cup your cheeks right after.

"My dear," he made sure you were looking him straight in the eyes. "I think ya could make a man build a castle with his bare hands for ya. And I think ya know that too."

You smirked, retrieving a small memory from that night in his truck. "Well... he is a constructor."

Jimmy gave you a laugh with his whole heart, pulling your face in to place a warm peck on the top of your head. He let you free again, giving you a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Just give that man some time. Y'are a beautiful lady. He's nervous." With a final nod, he left through the back door of the diner, leaving you alone in the kitchen. He knew you'd be taking the bus to make sure Miles got home.

Speaking of, the last sounds echoing through the empty area were your beating heart and the scraping of the coloured pencils getting dragged over the paper by Miles. Your head turned to the side, and with a smile, you watched the young boy.

Just give him some time.

A week later, on Tuesday, you saw him again.

Monday had passed and there had been no sign of Sarah or him. Miles had been at the diner, entertaining you with some casually fun stories from school, including the young Miller girl in a few of them, but never anything else. And you weren't going to pester him about why she hadn't visited the diner after her practice on Monday.

But there he was, strolling into the room on Thursday, 6:30 in the evening. You were writing down the order of a group of teenagers when you heard the bell above the door. Right after you lifted your head, just wanting to call out a quick, "Welcome!", your breath got caught in your throat, making you cough out loud awkwardly. With a hand in front of your lips, you tried to cover it up, going back to writing down the order before disappearing into the kitchen.

"He's here!" You shout-whispered at the cook, who whipped his head around.

"Who?" He wondered, answering you quickly, but as soon as he saw your wide-eyed stare, he got the message. Jimmy smirked as he placed two finished plates on top of the counter. His eyes drifted from your form over the open window out into the restaurant, his smile dropping in an instant.

"Fucking Miller," he cursed out loud. You turned around to follow his gaze, finding not only Joel but also Tommy taking a seat in a booth right across from you. The older Miller's head seemed to notice your stare, glancing up, only for you to quickly turn around again.

"What do I do?" You continued to whisper, now even more careful about the others possibly hearing you as they were only a few feet away and an open window wasn't much of a sound barrier.

The cook rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove. "Get that punk out of the restaurant."

"Wh- Not Tommy! I don't mean him," you explained. "Joel."

Jimmy looked back at you, "Just be yourself, Jesus," grumbling something to himself that you couldn't quite understand.

Defeated, you took a deep breath in, reminding yourself of who you actually were and trying to get your act back together. If Maria could see you, she'd be filming you for a future Comedy sitcom - she'd have a field day with the state you were in. Nervous because of a man...

Just as you turned around, ready to face the outside world again, Jimmy's call out of your name made you stop.

"Huh?"

"Give me that," he nudged his head towards your hands.

"What?" With a frown you glanced down, seeing the order you had just written down, already long forgotten again. "Oh- right," you ripped the piece of paper off the block and put it on top of the counter before trying to walk away again. But there he was, the older man stopping you one more time.

"What?" You asked him, clearly on edge now, slightly amusing him.

"I swear to God, I'll spit in his food. Don't matter what he'll order." You knew exactly, who he was talking about, making you roll your eyes with a chuckle.

You pushed the swinging doors, taking a quick look around the space, trying to see if anyone needed something for you, but it was, just like the last few times, barely packed. Going past the counter, you crossed the floor to the other side of the restaurant, already noticing one side of the handsome face you had been so desperate to see again.

"Hey, guys," you approached them with a smile, stopping right by their table, now also finally getting a peek at the younger Miller. Both men were still in some type of work attire and you noticed the slight shine and curl to their hair. Tommy's was longer and darker, but you prefered Joel's.

"Hey, girly," the youngest grinned at you before slapping his older brother's arm that was perched up on the table. "See, I told you, she'd be here," he turned back to you, "How have you been?"

You nodded, "Good, busy. The usual, you know. You?"

"Good, good," he continued, "Getting back into the American lifestyle, chasing the American Dream." You didn't notice the roll of the eyes from Joel.

You couldn't help but chuckle, "You're chasing the American Dream?"

"Sure am," he answered you proudly. "Might not be as smart as you are, but a man's gotta try."

"'Course, why not," you shrugged, a smile still on your lips, hoping your answer would be enough.

"So," he huffed out a big breath, taking the menu into his grip, pretending to read over it. "I heard your turkey sandwich and pancakes are still as good as I remember."

You had to admit, the thought of Joel and Sarah telling him about their dinner at the diner warmed your heart a bit.

"I mean," you smirked, "I might be a bit biased, but I'd say so, yeah. Jimmy's still making them as good as always."

"Jimmy's still here?" Tommy wondered, making you nod a take a step to the side, letting him take a quick peek into the kitchen. "Ey, Jimmy!" The old man turned around, meeting the young Miller's eyes with a glare. Tommy lifted his hand for a wave, but the cook's attention was already back on the food he was making.

"Still doesn't like me, I see," he mumbled, shaking his head slightly as you laughed.

"Wouldn't be surprised if he spat in your foot." Joel suddenly spoke up. You looked over to him, giggling at the comment, making his lips curl up in return.

"He offered," you let him know, getting a chuckle out of him,

"Well," he shot his brother an annoying smirk, "Aren't you a treat for this town."

Tommy looked up at you, a hasty response dropping from his lips, "Tell him I decline. Gladly." Before scowling at his older brother.

Suddenly, you felt like you were interrupting something between the two. With a deep breath, the younger Miller brother was back to his old self, fixing the fit of his jacket. "Well, then... I'll take the turkey sandwich and see if it's still holdin' up to the good ol' times."

Your lips curled up into a teasing grin, deciding to just throw out the comment tickling your tongue. "You're doubting Jimmy's talent?"

"I would never," he quickly told you, making you chuckle and gently shake your head before you diverted your attention to the older brother, seeing him already looking up at you. The menu was barely in his grip as his fingers played with the laminated corners of the paper.

"I'll take the same," waiting for you to be done writing it down asking Tommy to pass him his menu and handing both over to you.

Before you turned around to get the orders over to Jimmy, you asked, "Coffee?"

Joel nodded, "Sure, thank you," intertwining his hands on top of the table as he looked at you. He didn't comment on the fact you forgot about that the last time he was there. You sure wouldn't forget it this time.

"Make that two, please," Tommy quickly added with a thankful nod after you assured them to be right back.

Trying to keep your eyes off the man was harder than you had hoped it would be. While you were able to busy yourself with taking orders and repeatedly cleaning the counter - you swear, it had never been cleaner than that day - you couldn't help but let your eyes wander over to the seat right by the window.

Joel and Tommy were sipping the coffee you had brought them, munching on their sandwiches, hopefully, oblivious to the internal fight you had going on with yourself. Miles was almost finished with his free lemonade and you were actually close to getting him another one, just so you had something to do. You couldn't just lurk around the counter like you usually would, otherwise, you'd find yourself staring at one of the brothers for too long.

During your little cleaning frenzy, you were able to let not only Jimmy's words but also Maria's re-run in your mind again. The evening, right after Joel and Sarah had spent their evening time in the diner, your best friend got every single detail from you, the moment she stepped into the apartment at 4am. Yes, you had stayed up to tell her. The session ended at around 6, the sun lighting up the living room being the indication to finally go to bed, where you found yourself awake for another good 40 minutes, just begging for a good dream to finally find you.

You had recalled the entire few hours he was in the same room as you. The moment he and his daughter stepped into the diner, the brief conversation you guys had, the coffee you had forgotten, up until the moment he had to basically verbally drag Sarah away from Miles' booth to get her home. Maria's screeching and excited jumps on the couch made you smile to yourself as you remembered the evening. It came close to a miracle that you got away without a single purple mark on your arm, considering she was repeatedly hitting you, smacking the naked skin of your upper arm each time his name fell from your lips.

She had put extra emphasis on the "I'll see ya," Joel had left the diner with. To which you sadly had to explain to her the casual meaning of those few words. It was a somewhat polite way to say goodbye to someone you know, not necessarily meaning that you'll see each other again. Maybe indicating it, but definitely not meaning it word for word - but Maria stood her ground.

You had also told her about your gossiping session with Jimmy afterwards. She had only met him a handful of times, her own working hours not leaving her much time to come and visit you at the restaurant, so told tales would have to do it. But even without really knowing the man, she agreed to each and everything he had said.

"You know, there's not a lot that I would believe coming from a man or even listen to. But if anyone knows about a man's poor flirting techniques, it would be another man."

You had hidden your face in one of the pillows on your couch, the heat shooting into your cheeks being almost too much to bear, resulting in another few slaps to your arm from her. Jesus, could could start giggling and kicking your feet right now too, just at the mere thought of there being some sort of truth to their words and Joel's actions. But there was a barrier of reality still right in front of you. Not only had Jimmy mentioned his 'poor attempt of a flirt' but also the fact that your not-so-silly little crush was a 30-year-old father, with possibly very limited dating experience in the past few years. It wasn't something you had even tried to consider before Jimmy mentioned it. Add the unnecessary comment from one of Tommy's friends back at the bar, and it suddenly made sense.

"This poor man probably has no idea that you're even interested in him," Maria had whined out loud, "He's trying his best, but God..." You chuckled at her voice in the back of your head.

You ditched your daydream the moment the coffee pot was fully filled up again, the coffee machine making its usual sound to let you know it was done. With that, you began your usual round within the diner, passing each person who was holding onto a cup, asking them for a refill. Most happily accepted your offer, leaving you with a half-empty pot once you reached the two brothers.

"Another cup for you two?"

Tommy smiled up at the sound of your voice, "Sure, thanks, Y/N." You made sure his mug was properly filled up before turning towards Joel, who politely declined.

"Not for me, but thank you," nodding his head at you.

"Still trying to cut down?" His younger brother wondered, speaking over the brim of the mug he had brought up to his lips.

Joel took a deep breath, "If you had a 9-year-old lecturing you about the effects of caffeine each morning, you'd start thinkin' about it too." The explanation got a chuckle out of Tommy and made your lips curl up into a smile. Before you even thought about turning around to walk back behind the corner, you decided to continue the conversation. Taking every shot you could, just like Maria had told you.

"How is she?" You asked, "Sarah."

The older Miller brother lifted his head with a somewhat surprised expression on his face, but you just continued to smile at him. Tommy continued to hold his cup up against his mouth, hiding the smirk forming on his lips.

"Good," Joel let you know, "Very good. She... She had a test today. Lot to study yesterday... so we couldn't come over."

"I see," you humed, "I was wondering where you guys were."

A brief moment of silence followed your comment, almost making you regret admitting to the longing. Thankfully, the younger Miller got up from his seat with a clearing of his throat, making Joel perk up.

"Where are you goin'?"

"Gonna take a piss. You wanna control that too?" Sending his older brother an unreadable facial expression, almost glare, before he disappeared to head towards the toilet.

You frowned when a sigh escaped Joel's lips. "Everything okay?" You asked him, eyeing the older man carefully as he ran a hand over his face.

"Yeah," he mumbled, "Just... Tommy being Tommy."

A chuckle fell from you, making you cover your lips with your fingers. "Sorry," you excused yourself as he lifted his head, "Just... if I had a dollar for every time I heard those words from someone with that expression... I wouldn't be working here anymore."

Joel laughed. You managed to get the scowl off his face to replace it with a genuine laugh. He looked down at the table, shaking his head, but you could see his shoulders shaking and the unmistakable sound of joy coming from him. You tried to hide your amusement, the moment he locked eyes with you again.

"I thought you worked here because you were a good daughter," he commented. He remembered the conversation in his truck. On the way to your place, you had briefly mentioned the reason you had come back to Texas. And he remembered.

You grinned, "Oh, I'm a great daughter." Joel chuckled. "But I wouldn't mind the extra cash." Your own words let a thought flash into your mind. "Speaking of," you started again, "Thank you for the tip... last week. It really- you... you didn't have to do that."

"All good," he sent you a quick smile, "Good service needs a good reward."

"Even though I forgot your coffee," you sheepishly admitted, just getting another chuckle out of him.

"We got good food and free drinks, so you won't find me complaining," he simply told you, making you smile and look down at the pot of coffee you were still holding onto.

"Well," you had started to tap around with your fingers, trying to look for the next words to say, "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"'Course," he nodded at you before you turned around to get behind the counter again.

Only a few minutes later, the two brothers decided to call it a day and stand up to leave. You were just coming back out from the kitchen when you found them standing at the register, both smiling when you came to a halt.

"Just wanted to say goodbye," Tommy grinned at you, gently smacking his hand on top of the counter.

You chuckled, "Bye, have a good evening." 'Night' would've probably been more suitable as it was pitch black outside. A quick look towards the clock would also tell you it was already 7:51pm - almost closing time.

The younger one turned towards the exit door while Joel stood still, waiting for your eyes to lock again.

"I'll see you next week. Goodnight," he simply said with a smile, turning around without another word. His soft voice lingered in your head even after he was already through the doors and on his way to his beloved pick-up truck.

You quickly pulled yourself back into the presence. With a swift turn around, you rushed back into the kitchen. Even before the door was fully closed again, you were jumping around the space, getting a shocked facial expression from Jimmy in return.

"He said 'See you next week!!" You squealed in exactly, your arms moving around in the air as you got closer to the chef.

With a tight grip on his arm, you shook him, "He said 'SEE YOU NEXT WEEK'!"

The older man just grinned at you, shaking his head as he watched you dance around the kitchen.

"How much joy just a few words can bring to ya, kid," he softly spoke, throwing the dishcloth over his shoulder to cross his arms and lean against the counter.

"Just a few words?!" You stared at him, stopping your movements, "He just promised me that he'll come back next week! He WANTS to come back!" Reality hit you for a split second. "I sound really delusional, but I. Don't Care." Before starting your little happy dance around the space again. Jimmy's deep chuckles bounced off the walls.

"Can't remember the last time I've seen ya so happy." He admired the pure happiness spilling from you, filling the room with nothing but joy. With a sigh, your spinning around came to an end.

"I'm happy because I get to see a good-looking hunk of a man again! Can you blame me?"

"Hunk of a man?" Jimmy laughed out loud, his entire upper body shaking as he walked around the corner to push you towards the door. "Get to locking up and then ya can tell me all about Sir Handsome again."

"Okay!" You squealed again, pushing out the door, the echo of his laughter still in the background. Suddenly, getting through the rest of the week seemed to be much more enjoyable than before.

On Friday, one of the only days, you had gotten off of work at the diner, you decided to join Maria in the bar. While she was working, you were enjoying your time sitting at the counter once again. You were sipping on your second drink of the night, drinking slowly as you weren't looking for something wild tonight, but rather just enjoying a nice calm evening. It was around 11pm and even though you had been sitting there for a good 2 hours, there was not a massive amount of alcohol rushing through your body as you had asked your best friend to keep the drink mild. But some people had other plans that night.

"Well, hello there," a deep voice slurred next to you. With slight confusion you turned to the right, eyeing the man that had tumbled up to the bar counter.

You sighed, "Hey." Nothing against drunk people, hell, you were one of them from time to time, but God... sometimes you can just tell, you know?

He blinked at you, "A pretty little girl so alone in the middle of a bar in the middle of the night?" His dirty blonde hair was roughed up and the plaid button-up hung loosely around his frame. It seemed to be a size too big.

"Yeah," you nodded, "And I'd prefer to keep it that way, to be honest." For tonight, there were no plans. You were waiting for a beautiful man on Monday, that was plan enough.

The guy chuckled, holding onto the counter as he stumbled back, "I'm Cody and I'm sure I could change ya mind. I could show ya good time, I promise."

"You're trying to sell yourself here? I'm not interested, thank you," you simply told him, internally begging for Maria to come back to the front, but she was being kept busy in the back apparently. Nobody else seemed to be interested in what was going on between you and the drunk fuck next to you.

With slight confusion written across his face, he continued to stumble over his words. "Who says anythin' about sellin'? I ain't sellin' myself. Ya can get this here for free," pointing towards himself.

"As I said," you repeated yourself, making sure annoyance laced your voice, "Not interested." Just as you tried to get up and move, hoping to get behind the bar and into the backroom, you felt a tight grip on your arm.

"Listen," the man stopped you, "You don't know what ya missin' out on here, sweetcheeks."

"And you don't know what you're getting yourself into if you continue to talk like that to me. Let go of me," you hissed at him. You were taught how to use your words, not your hands though, so you didn't really know what exactly you were threatening him with.

A disgusting sarcastic chuckle came from him while his grip just tightened. You glared into his eyes with a hint of fear as he let his face get closer to you, "Look, I don't wanna do this another-"

"Hey, what's goin' here?" Never would you have ever thought to be thankful to hear that voice. Whipping your head to the left, you found a wondering Tommy Miller, glancing between you and the drunk guy. A sigh of relief tumbled from your lips. "You two are lookin' awfully close."

"Get back to ya own business, cowboy," the guy spat at the younger Miller brother, his eyes raking over his frame when he found the boots Tommy was wearing. "I'm just talkin' to the pretty lady 'ere."

"Well, but I know that pretty lady, so it kinda is my business, you know?" He simply answered him, daring to take a step closer. Tommy glanced at you, "You know him, Y/N?" He asked.

You shook your head with a gulp, to which he just nodded, but before he could even say something, the drunk, still holding onto you, beat him to it.

"She's lyin'! I just introduced myself!"

"You know, I believe her," Tommy stopped him, raising his hand to place it on top of his that was gripping your arm, "So how about you take your-"

"Get your fucking hands off me!" The other guy snapped at him, pulling his hand off you, reacting to Tommy's touch like it was fire.

The younger Miller could just laugh at the reaction. "What?" He chuckled, "So you can put your hands on a random woman but as soon as I do it it's uncomfortable? A bit ironic, don't you think?"

"What are ya tryin' to do here?" With a few steps, the guy was head to head with Tommy, making you take a quick jump back. "Ya think ya gotta prove you've got some big balls here?"

"Me?" Tommy pointed to himself with a chuckle, "Nah, I just wanted to know if I gotta play translator." His comment got a look of confusion from the man in return. "I didn't you understood the English language because I'm pretty sure she said she wasn't interested, but you just... ignored that?"

"Ya makin' fun of me?"

"Am I?" Tommy continued to nag at the guy, making you take a step forward, trying to reach for him.

"Tommy, don't-" only to get pushed back by the dirty-blonde man.

"Get the fuck away!" He shoved you, making you stumble backwards, hitting the back of another guy, to whom you quickly excused yourself.

The younger brother looked at you in concern, but as soon as he saw you safe on your feet, his attention was back on the drunk in front of him.

He sighed, "Look," he motioned towards you. "Now I have to hit you. Because you just hit her."

"I didn't hit her," the guy scoffed, "I barely even pushed her."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you did that," with a strong force, Tommy pushed into the guy's chest. "Maybe even a little harder, like this," and repeated it with some added strength.

In clear annoyance, the drunk man shoved Tommy's hands off of him, only giving it another second before he let his fist swing. The Miller brother was quick to react, moving out of the way before landing the first official punch to the guy's side. The blonde groaned at the impact, only letting it affect him for a split moment before pushing Tommy further away. It gave him the time and space to land his own first hit to Tommy's face, making you gasp out loud.

The entire's bar attention was now on the two fighting men, creating some space for them as they stumbled across the floor. You could only hear a few mumbles around you as your eyes were fixed on the fight in front of you. You tried to look for Maria but a crowd had formed right in front of a bar with mostly men, taller than you, hiding the counter area.

One punch made Tommy land on his ass as the other guy whipped his hand over his lips, you guessed there was some blood. You took the opportunity, to get down on the floor, your hands on the Miller's arm.

"Come on, stop this, don't waste-"

But before you could finish it, somebody shoved your body away from Tommy, making your back hit the wooden pole right behind you. You groaned out loud, closing your eyes for a second.

"Y/N!" You heard Maria's voice as she suddenly appeared, standing in front of the crowd with a glass bottle in her hand. In the next moment, she held the bottle up, swinging it to let it hit the back of the drunk guy's head before he could land another punch to Tommy's face as he straddled him. The man fell to the side, right by your feed, making you flinch away.

"Are you okay?!" Maria was right by your side, crouching down as she helped you up.

You nodded, "Yeah, yeah," you had only hit your back, which would definitely leave a mark, but not much else. Your worry lay on the guy who hadn't gotten up yet. No, not the clearly drunk one.

"Tommy," you rushed over, watching him as he groaned, blood rushing down from his nose. You couldn't even tell if there was blood coming from his mouth as well.

He huffed out, "Ah, fuck," trying to steady himself with his hands on the floor as he pushed himself up.

"Jesus Christ," Maria whispered out loud. The hushed voices around you got louder, making her raise her voice, "Everybody either get back to their table or out of here! There's nothing to see here!" After the first guy went after her demand, the rest followed.

"Tommy," you sighed, "I think we should get you to a hospital."

"Are you okay?" He suddenly asked you. You nodded quickly,

"I am. But you don't look good."

"N-No... no hospital," he told you trying to stand up more, making you stumble up as well as you tried to hold onto him even though he was putting half of his weight on you already.

"You have to, Tommy. Your nose is probably broken."

"If only the nose," Maria commented, suddenly having an ice pack and some paper tissues in her hold. "You wanna take my car? Get him to the hospital... I'll see what I can do about... this one," she nodded towards the guy on the floor that was slowly coming back to consciousness. "Probably have to call the police."

"Did that already!" Out of nowhere, Steven suddenly shouted out from behind the bar, making your best friend roll her eyes.

"Where the fuck were you before?!"

"I can't let... I...," Tommy groaned, not finishing his sentence as his mouth seemed to hurt.

"Take my car," Maria quickly told you, handing you the ice pack, tissues and the keys from her bag pocket, "And call me once you're there. I'll handle this here." She also got your bag for you.

You smiled at her, "Thank you," to which she nodded, giving you a soft touch on the back before you tried to move Tommy towards. He seemed to be okay walking, but his face was clearly in pain as he held his head down. The walk towards Maria's car was quiet, only his groans and moans filled the air between the two of you.

In the car, you put on the radio, trying to let the silence not become awkward.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked you again.

You nodded, "You asked me that already. I'm okay. Only hit my back."

"Fucking idiot...," he mumbled, mostly to himself probably, but you shook your head.

"You too," you told him, "Why would you start a fight like that? I thought those days were over."

"I ain't lettin' a man talk like that to a woman, no matter what. And I know you, so I'm definitely not walkin' past that," he defended himself, almost raising his voice, but the situation told him not to.

The rest of the ride, the two of you listened to whatever was coming from the radio.

At the hospital, the two of you were told to wait in the waiting room as his injuries were not severe enough for him to be put in the emergency room. If it wasn't as late as it was, you would've started something with the personnel, but you already had enough of that for one night. They did offer you a new ice pack though and some more tissues.

You took a seat in one of the uncomfortable chairs next to Tommy, trying to find a bearable position. "Should I call Joel?" You asked him, knowing how close the two seemed to be.

Tommy groaned, throwing his head back and closing his eyes, "Fuck..." He thought for a second before continuing, "No... let's not do that. Unless you really wanna see him." One quick glance to the side, you found him smirking at you, giving you a quick wink. Even with all the blood on his face, this man was still able to joke around...

"You...," you shook your head in disbelief, "You're in the hospital. This is about you. I think he should know about his little brother being in the hospital," you snapped at him, but he only continued to smile.

"But you want to see him again, right?"

"Tommy-"

"I heard you in the diner."

Your head snapped to glance at him. The annoying grin was still plastered on his face.

"What?"

He chuckled. "I left my hat in the booth. When I came back to get it I saw you dancing around the kitchen singing that he'll see you next week."

With a pout on your lips, you crossed your arms in front of your chest and turned your head to look away. You knew there was no blame on him for this situation and all the blame was to be put on you, but you couldn't help but feel sulky towards him.

You scoffed, "It's not nice to listen to other people's conversations."

"But now I can help you," he nudged your side, hissing softly as he moved. You stared at him, trying to figure out if he was in serious pain and if you needed to get a nurse. He seemed fine as the smirk returned.

"Get your nose fixed first, then we'll talk."

With another groan, he sat forward, suddenly reaching into the back pocket of his jeans before falling back into the seat with a groan. He handed you his phone.

"Call him."

"Tommy, you didn't want him here. I'm not-"

"He'll be pissed at me, yes. But y'all can talk while I'm in there," you glanced at you, "Get to know each other a little better," wiggling with his eyebrows. You couldn't help but roll your eyes, your lips curling up against your will. He nudged the Nokia closer to you, giving you no other possibility but to take it.

"I'll be right back," you mumbled, getting a giggle out of him.

"Start the call with 'hey babe'!" He shouted after you, putting on a fake high-pitched voice to mock you. A harsh 'ssh' from one of the nurses made him sink back into the chair and you turned around and threw him a quick middle finger before disappearing further into the corridor.

You pressed the buttons to get to his contact list, not finding anyone under J that wasn't a girl's name, so you decided to just look through the entire thing, starting with A, until you finally reached B.

Barbara, Beatrice, Billy, Boobs-

He had a contact for 'Boobs'? You shook your head.

Brother Old.

This could either be someone else, an old number of Joel or, as you had hoped, Joel's current number. You pressed to call it, putting the phone up to your ear. After four rings, somebody on the other side picked up.

"What?" An annoyed groan erupted through the speaker. The familiar roughness to his voice was unlike any other's.

"Hey Joel, it's Y/N," you answered him. Some shuffling around seemed to happen in the background before his voice rang through your ear again.

"Y/N? What's going on? What happened?" He hastily wondered.

You took a second of silence to form a good sentence, just thinking about what he was currently doing or even just looking like. It was in the middle of the night, and just taken from his voice, you'd say you had interrupted his sleep. Did he sleep in a pyjama set? No, he was a dad. A true dad wouldn't sleep in much else but some shirt and boxers. Or maybe he's not wearing anything at all to sleep. You were drifting off.

"Ehm... So... Sorry for calling so late-"

"It's okay, don't worry," he quickly assured you with a heavy breath.

Out of habit, you bit down on your lip before continuing. "I'm calling from the hospital. Tommy got into a fight."

"God damnit..." Joel cursed under his breath. There were more incoherent sounds in the background as he spoke. "Which hospital?"

"St. David's."

"Alright, I'm on my way," he told you.

You nodded even though he wouldn't be able to see it, "Okay, we're in the waiting room right at the reception."

"Good, thank you."

"You're welcome, bye."

With a sigh, he put the phone down, ending the call and making your way back into the waiting room.

Tommy lifted his head at the sound of your footsteps getting closer to him.

He grinned at you. "And?"

You shook your head, handing him his phone back. "He wasn't thrilled."

"Ah," he brushed off your answer, "I bet your face will make him happy."

"Joel- Tommy, I mean-"

"I'm already getting confused with him? Wow, I'm honoured," he nudged you as soon as you sat down, the smirk still evident on his face.

"Shut up," you rolled your eyes, not even trying to hide your amusement. "It's late."

"But you do like him."

"I barely know him," you defended yourself.

"But you find him attractive," he continued to nag further.

You nodded. There was no reason to hide it from him if he had already caught your burst of excitement back at the diner. "But I think half the female population of Austin would too."

"But half of the female population of Austin isn't you."

His comment made you turn your head in interest.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" You squinted your eyes at him.

Tommy smiled. "I think I know my brother well enough to notice when he finds someone attractive."

You laughed at his answer. "Wow, you're just gonna out him like that?"

"Somebody's gotta do it," he shrugged, "What else he got a younger brother for." You shook your head in amusement.

You may not be the closest to Tommy, but this was the most time you had ever spent with just him. Plus, he had just admitted to noticing his brother's attraction towards you. That brought a thought to your head.

"Can I ask you something?" It probably wasn't the ideal situation, but oh well, if you already had him sitting right next to you, confined to a chair, why not. Shooting your shots.

"Sure."

"Is there... you know... I mean... with Sarah, I was thinking about like... her mom?"

He shook his head, "Don't worry 'bout that," he let you know, turning to meet your eyes. "It's not my story to tell, but... she's not in the picture."

You almost felt stupid. You had only seen this man a total of three times, yet he had managed to enarmour you and let you think that you suddenly had the right to know everything about his personal life.

"Why?" He asked with the smirk back plastered on his face, "You wanna ask him on a date?" The question took you by surprise, making you open your mouth, ready to defend yourself, but nothing came out. Your lips quivered as you tried to come up with an answer, but Tommy just laughed at your surprised reaction. The rose blush to your cheeks gave you away.

"You should," he told you, "It's been like... God, I don't even know, like... two or three years. Christ, maybe even four."

"Since his last relationship?" You wanted to be careful with your questions, but there was no way when Tommy played open book to you.

He shook his head, glancing at you. "Since his last date."

"Oh..."

So Jimmy was right.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded to himself, "You'd be surprised how many women get scarred off by the whole dad thing." Your lack of answer made him look over again. "But not you."

"Hm?"

"You ask about Sarah. He likes that."

"Well... she's his daughter, so... kinda obvious to ask about her," you were taken aback by the disinterest of the other women he had mentioned.

He shrugged, "Yeah, but like I said... not many care 'bout that."

A few moments of silence followed. Neither one of you seemed to have any will to continue your conversation. You didn't want to keep nagging further and you were pretty sure Tommy had started to doze off in his seat. It gave you some time to think, but a sudden jolt from the man next to you brought you back. He was about to sit up straighter when his eyes caught something behind you making you flinch and duck into the chair again, groaning at the impact.

"What?" You wondered, turning around to only find two police officers in the hallway, talking to a nurse. With a frown, you turned back to the Miller brother. "What?"

"They can't see me like this."

His reaction alarmed you immediately. "Why not?"

He seemed to think about his next answer before spilling out, "I know those guys. And they don't like me. If they see me like this, I'm fucked."

"What?"

"I just got a new job, I can't get another mark in my record."

Your eyes widened, "Your criminal record?" To which he just nodded. "Tommy!" You shouted-whispered at him, making him shush you. "How many fights did you get in."

"A few, okay? Just," he put his finger up to his lips, signing for you to keep quiet. You dropped back against the backrest of the chair with a sigh, shaking your head as you ran both hands over your face, mumbling to yourself.

From the side, you tried to watch the two officers as they passed you, hearing a relieved chunk of air leaving Tommy as he sat up again. You couldn't believe it. You knew he wasn't an angel and you remembered his troubled time as a teenager. What you didn't know was how that time had continued to chase him into adulthood.

Noticing his still slightly on edge stance, you decided to change the subject, hoping to give him some kind of distraction. And it just so happened that you had an actual topic of interest for you personally.

"You think I should ask him out?" A gulp followed your question, unsure if dropping that would reveal itself to be a mistake or not.

"On a date?" Tommy's voice was steady again as he looked at you, his lips curled into a soft smile. You nodded, making him chuckle. "Give him some time and he'll ask you himself."

"You think?"

He nodded but continued. "I mean, you can ask him. I... I don't know how he'd react, to be honest, but he wouldn't leave you hangin'. He's just... he's a traditional southern-"

"Gentleman," you said in union, chuckling together.

"I mean," Tommy started, "You know, if a woman offered herself to me, I would never decline-" You stopped him with a soft shove to his arm, making sure not to be too harsh since you didn't know how severe his injuries were. "But," he pushed your hand away from him, "Joel's a bit more old-fashioned in that way."

"I see," you nodded understandingly. Hearing this in connection to any other man would've probably made a chill run down your spine and the sick feeling of pure disgust bubble in your stomach, but for some reason, it didn't when it came to Joel. Tommy spoke so softly about him being s traditional gentleman, he made it sound good and proper. Not conservative and old.

A nurse's voice, calling out for Tommy made you look up as he tried to get out of his chair. You offered to help him, but he brushed it off, telling you to 'wait here for Joel' with a wink before following the nurse down the hall.

Only a few minutes later, heavy footsteps stomped through the corridor, coming to a stop at the reception. Before the older Miller brother could even ask for information on Tommy, his eyes found you. Curled up on a chair, your eyes closed and your shoulders lifting and dropping in an even beat. With the time now being well over midnight, you had given into your body's pleas for sleep and found some form of comfort in the waiting room chair.

He tried to be as smooth as possible, getting into the chair right next to you, previously occupied by his brother, but even at the slightest sound, you jerked up, lifting your head to find him.

"Hey, sorry for wakin' you," Joel excused himself, brushing his hands over the top of his jeans. He had thrown them on even though they should probably already be in the wash and the shirt was wrinkled as he had fallen asleep in it. His unruly hair, messy and curly, showed the sleep you had woken him up from. But even in this state, which most would describe as dishevelled, he still managed to look good. He looked comfortable. Warm.

You shook your head with a tired smile, covering your mouth as a yawn escaped you. "It's okay."

"How long have been you here?"

"Ehm...," you tried to look around for the clock on the wall. 12:05. "Not too long, like 40 minutes or something."

He nodded, letting a sigh fall from his lips. "What happened?"

You rubbed your eyes, forgetting about the makeup you had put on a few hours before, but it probably was already smudged either way. Unsure if the story Tommy would tell would hold any truth or if he'd make up something, you decided to tell it in whole.

"There was a guy," you started, continuing to explain the entire situation to Joel, meeting his eyes a few times during the story, watching him go from annoyed, to concerned, to slightly irritated. He let you finish before asking further questions.

"Are you okay?"

You nodded, "Yeah. Just hit my back."

Joel frowned, "How?"

"I tried to get to Tommy after he got pushed to the floor, but that idiot threw me against a pole," you let him know, the scowl on his face only deepening. His wrinkles weren't just a sign of age. This man had been frowning too much in his life. Yet, it somehow suited him.

"You don't wanna get that checked? You sure you're okay?" He asked you further, but you just continued to nod.

"I drove here. I'm fine," you shrugged it off. Joel just sighed again, looking around the room before he continued.

"Anyone called the cops?"

"Probably," you answered him honestly. You didn't know for sure, but there was a high chance that you just got out quick enough. His deep breath in and out made you remember the reaction the two officers brought out of Tommy. "But I don't know. Maria said she'd handle it. My friend at the bar," you quickly added.

Joel glanced at you, his elbows digging into his thighs. "That's nice of her. Thank you." But you just nodded again.

Carefully, you decided to get closer. "Tommy mentioned something about a new job..."

"Yeah," the older brother sat himself up straight, letting himself fall back into the chair, "I got him a job at the company I work at. Just carpenter stuff, but... if they find out he was involved in a bar fight," he shook his head, "I don't know. My boss already took him in just because I practically begged him to."

"I see," you answered him, just letting him know you had been listening.

"Thank you for staying here with him. And for bringing him. And thanks to your friend for handling the whole police-" Joel began to ramble, but you were quick to stop him, subconsciously just putting your hand on his upper arm.

"It's okay," you smiled up at him, getting a thankful nod and soft smile in return.

It was only then it hit you.

Not only did this man have the responsibility of raising a nine-year-old girl, but he also was taking care of a man in his mid-to-late twenties. Letting him live with him, making sure he had a job, and picking him up from a hospital after a bar fight. You could see the tiredness on his face, and it didn't only have to do with the fact that he had to get up in the middle of the night. It was years old tiredness. You know it from your father. Carrying the world on his shoulders, dragging him, not letting him live to his full potential. The constant instinct to care and worry following his every step.

On one side, you couldn't help but find it attractive, his primal instict of protection, but on the other, you felt deeply sorry for him, you realised. If he hadn't been a met-three-times 'stranger' you would've offered him a hug. He looked like he could need one.

joel taglist: @corvusmorte @aniia-x3 @skysmiller @lizlil

pedro taglist: @leslieelainetrask @sidelnes

#tlou #the last of us #series #couldn’t love more #Joel miller x reader #Tommy miller #Joel miller #hbo!joel miller #Pedro pascal #x Reader #Pedro pascal!joel miller #fluff #pre-outbreak!joel #hbo!tlou

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orecana · 7 months

Text

To reach you

Lee heeseung x male reader

hello everyone! this is a new fic and i hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who read and like my fic.

this fic and title is inspired by (To reach you from memory fabricators from produce 48)

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING FIC CONTAINS

DEPRESSION

ANGST

MENTIONS OF DEATH

PHYSICAL AND VERBAL ABUSE

ATTEMPTED ARRANGED MARRIAGE

If any of the following triggers you in anyways, please click off the fic. thank you for your understanding. now let's get into the fic

"YOU ARE SUCH A FAILURE!"

a resounding slap was heard through out the house as a man slap a young boy extremely hard making him fall down. The woman gasps and tries to help the young boy but the man punches her in the face so hard it knocks her out. a sickening crack was heard as the woman drops onto the floor with blood everywhere on her face. drops of blood fell from the man's hands as he approaches the boy and grabs him by the collar.

"I'LL END YOU AND THAT WOMAN TONIGHT!"

He raises his fist and hits the boy.

*Gasps*

a boy woke up from his nightmare. His eyes were red and puffy with eyebags surrounding it. his skin was pale as snow as he gets off the bed. he reaches for the remote on the table besides his bed and turns on the tv.

"1 2 CONNECT! hello, we are enhypen!"

The young adult smiles as he watches his favorite idols do hilarious things and participates in fun games. Unintentionally, he reaches for the dark blood album that he bought months ago. He opens it and picks up a photocard. Even though it brings him great pain from remembering it but he still loves him even after all these years being far apart.

Lee heeseung

he shed tears again just by seeing his photocard. He cries bitterly as he reaches for the book sitting near his bed. It was a diary.

He opens it to see all those moments from when they were young and naive. when they became best friends. when they promised to always remember each other when heeseung moved away.

especially, when he fell for lee heeseung.

"Today, we have a special event for our fans! we are actually very curious about our fans. So you guys can submit random videos of something that you are good at doing and we'll do a live tomorrow to see most of it."

jungwon stops mid second before putting on a poker face.

"but please, don't put anything that is not appropriate. we will not hesitate to ban you."

He then changed back to his usual happy self.

"Goodbye, engenes!"

All of the enhypen members says goodbye before tuning off.

y/n sits there with a thought on his mind. He wants to do it but at the same time he doesn't want to because he's not sure if heeseung will remember him. After a while, He stands up and takes a shower. after changing out of his pajamas, He sits on his desk and opens a code locked drawer. in it was a paper filled with lyrics.

This is the only chance y/n can talk with heeseung even if it's only through video. If this doesn't work, then lee heeseung will no longer be in his life.

"i hope it reaches you heeseungie."

heeseung wanted to sleep but i can't. I'm really anxious for tomorrow. Will he submit a video or not? will he try to communicate with him or not?

Even though they have been separated all these years, heeseung still remembers y/n. There was never a time when he forgets his childhood friend or his case, crush.

he couldn't help but fall for the boy at that time and even begins to make advances. However, his mother was not happy with this development even going as far as to arrange his future marriage with some random girl that heeseung was sure he wanted to send to the depths of hell.

Luckily, His father was more supportive and gradually convinces his mother to drop it. She reluctantly agrees but only on the condition that y/n won't break his heart.

Heeseung was extremely happy about this. but the dreaded news come that their mother had an offer overseas. They couldn't let heeseung's mother go alone so the entire family had to go. He wanted to say goodbye but they were in a rush so he couldn't even call or text the other boy.

Heeseung felt a tear roll down his cheek as he shook out of his mind. he wipes it before trying again to fall asleep.

Unexpectedly, he felt someone caresses his back. he looks back to see jungwon who gives him a look of sadness and worry.

"are you thinking of him again, hyung?

He looks down. He wanted to deny it but nothing escapes jungwon's keen eye.

"yes."

"don't worry, if he's really your irreplaceable friend, he will come and support you. i'm sure he's looking for a way to talk to you as well."

Heeseung felt better after jungwon calmed him down.

"thanks, jungwonie."

"It's nothing hyung, what are friends for?"

Jungwon goes out of the room into his own room as heeseung is finally able to fall asleep with only one thought in mind.

to see y/n again.

"1 2 CONNECT! hello we are enhypen!"

"just as we have promised yesterday, we will now look at our engenes videos and get closer to you guys." jungwon says

"We won't be watching every clip so if your video isn't included in the live then we apologize in advance." jay reminds engenes

"without further ado, let's get into the videos. the first one is from (name)." jake says

*timeskip*

"some of these clips are pretty funny but some of our engenes are really talented." sunghoon states.

"oooh, this one is very interesting. It's a song cover of to reach you. There's also a message. it says (will you come for me, prince ethan?" sunoo announces.

Hearing that make heeseung freeze. His body was moving on its own and goes in front to make sure that the message was real.

There it was, the message really was attached to the video.

'did you really come y/n?'

"c-can you play it sunoo?"

sunoo nods and plays the video. (credits to original owner)

youtube

cheoreoptteon uri eorin nare yaksok (The promise we made when we were young) geu mari saenggagi na (I’m thinking of those words) jjalbatteon manyang haengbokhaetteon gieok (Short but happy memory) yunanhi geuriun nal Oh~ Yeah (I’m missing you today)

sarangiran geureon heunhan mari (A common word like ‘love’) uriegen jogeum teukbyeolhaetji (Was special to us) seotulgo eosaekhaedo baraman bwado (Even if you are clumsy and awkward,) Oh~ Baby

heeojimdo ashwiumdo (Saying goodbye, and regrets) geugeonmajeodo geuriweo (I miss everything)

It really is y/n. even after all these years, heeseung can never forget that sweet voice of his childhood crush.

Hearing these words made heeseung thinks of the time when they were still young (no pun intended) of those times when they were still friends who would play hide and seek and venture recklessly into the unknown. The promise.....

"Heeseungie, when we grow up i want you to be my prince!"

"what? but you're not a princess though y/n"

"So? I love you and you love me right? you don't need a princess when you have me right?"

past heeseung smile. "okay, i promise to be your prince y/n."

"Heeseungie..... where are you? i'm here...... why did you leave me?"

past y/n cries when he heard that heeseung moved from there.

jeonhaji mothaetteon geu mal neoege dakireul (The words I couldn’t say, I hope they reach you) seoroga aetatteon geu mam ijeneun dakireul (I hope our feelings reach each other) birok meolli itjiman han (Even though we’re far away) georeum deo dakireul (I hope we can get one step closer) neol weonhago weonhaetteon nae mam (I wanted and wanted you) neoege dakireul (I hope my feelings reach you)

suturutu suturutu suturutu neoege dakireul (To reach you) suturutu suturutu suturutu

eottae neon? neodo geureon saenggak hani (What about you? do you feel the same?) uri cheoeum mannatteon nal (The day we first met) gakkeum nan neoreul kkumsogeseo manna (Sometimes I meet you in my dreams) ajikdo itji mothae (I still think about you) Oh~ Yeah

Heeseung unconsciously slips tears while listening to y/n's voice covering this song making the fans go crazy in the comments, asking why heeseung is crying. some of the members also notices and niki gives him a slight nudge but heeseung didn't budge. He was too busy thinking of their times apart. It's crazy how this song truly expresses how they felt right now.

ibyeoriran geureon heunhan mari (A common word like ‘goodbye’) yunanhido naegen jidokhaetji (Was so painful for me) jinagan shigan soge neol mannagireul (After all this time I still want to meet you again) Oh~ Baby

dashi mannal seolleimdo (The anticipation of seeing you again) geugeonmajeodo geuriweo (I miss everything)

Heeseung also remembers when he was on the plane with his parents to another country. He couldn't say goodbye to his y/n, he cried during that plane ride because he thought he broke their promise and left without saying goodbye.

meollimeolli jogeum orae shigani geollyeodo (Too far, too long even if it takes some time) cheoeum bwatteon geuttae geu nalcheoreom (Like the day I first met you)

gieoknani? seotulgiman haetteon neowa na (Do you remember? you and me, we were so awkward) maemdolgiman haetteon urideure jinannaldeul (We only circled around each other all this time)

Heeseung looks at the other members who were also entranced by y/n's vocals, some were even holding back their tears. He chuckled a bit at this part. Their first meet was something else. They met when y/n somehow got his head stuck in one of the kid slides. Heeseung had to pull him out and they went tumbling all over the playground. after that y/n avoided heeseung because he was embarassed but they soon became best friends after heeseung offered to play with him.

eonjena yeogi seo isseul geoya geurae (I’ll always be here, that’s right) Oh~ Yeah! geu nalcheoreom (Just like that day)

(Woo)

jeonhaji mothaetteon geu mal neoege dakireul (The words I couldn’t say, I hope they reach you) seoroga aetatteon geu mam ijeneun dakireul (I hope our feelings reach each other)

aetatteon geu mam (hope our feelings) birok meolli itjiman han (Even though we’re far away) georeum deo dakireul (I hope we can get one step closer) neol weonhago weonhaetteon nae mam (I wanted and wanted you) neoege dakireul (I hope my feelings reach you)

suturutu suturutu suturutu neoege dakireul (to reach you) suturutu suturutu suturutu nae mami dakireul (I hope my heart reaches you)

even though the song has already ended, the members were stuck for a bit, entranced by the song. Jungwon was the first to snap out of it and announces that this will be the last one they will watch today.

" it has been a fun day and we have seen what engenes can do" jungwon giggles

"We're gonna end the live now, goodbye Engenes!"

jungwon turns off the live and looks at his eldest hyung.

"you can go and rest hyung."

heeseung looks at jungwon and smiles, grateful at his leader.

"thanks wonie, i'll go get some fresh air."

heeseung exits that room and wanders around. He gets out of the dorm for a sec and takes a deep breath.

"Boo~"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"Heeseungie. if you shout that loud you're gonna make my ears bleed."

That voice.... Heeseung couldn't believe it but he look at his left to see the person that has been the cause of his problems right now.

"y-y/n?"

"your mom contacted me after she saw the song, said that she's getting sick and tired of seeing her son mope around."

y/n giggle showing his ever beautiful smile that heeseung cherished so much. Heeseung walks toward y/n and cups his cheeks with both of his hands. y/n looks up meeting heeseung eyes as they stared at each other admiring the others visuals. They lean in closer, their mouths centimeters apart and they can feel their breaths against each other.

"Can i kiss you my dear y/n?"

"Of course my prince."

They kissed as a bright flash flickers from behind heeseung but they couldn't care less not when they have each other in their arms.

heeseung pulls back and smiles at y/n who only return a smile.

"i'm sorry i couldn't say goodbye, but now i can fulfill our promise."

Y/n giggles as heeseung pecks his lips before turning around.

"i'm heading back in the dorm, I'll see you when i have a free schedule my dear."

"I will wait for you then, my prince. I love you."

y/n walks home after his lovely time with heeseung as he blushes and squeals like a high schooler in love.

'I'm glad i covered that song. Now our hearts are connected with each other.

unknowingly, heeseung mutters the same words.

"My feelings have finally reached you my dear/prince."

#Youtube #lee heeseung x male reader #enhypen x male reader #enhypen fluff #enhypen #lee heeseung #park sunghoon #yang jungwon #kim sunoo #nishimura riki #park jongseong #sim jaeyun #kpop male idol x male reader #male idol x male reader

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lavenderlegends · 6 months

Note

sterek + “And you can't see me wanting you the way you want her, but you are everything to me”

you are everything to me

ao3

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice comes, forcing Derek to tear his eyes off the dance floor to look at Lydia's raised eyebrow. He leans his back against the bar.

"Nothing," he mutters. "Just waiting for your drink."

"You mean... the one in your hand?" Lydia asks, looking pointedly at the drink he's holding.

"Oh! Right. Here." He shoves it into her hand. "Leave it alone, Lyds."

"I didn't say a word!" she protests, but they both know. His eyes slide across the room to the dance floor.

Stiles fucking Stilinski dances with Caitlin, his head tossed backwards in laughter, as he slips his hands around her waist and pulls her closer.

"But," Lydia says, interrupting again, "... if I were to say something, it'd be this: you should just tell him how you fucking feel."

Derek scoffs. "I don't know what you mean."

"You do. You're just too stubborn and scared to do something about it." Lydia hums before she says, "I'm going back to make-out with your sister."

"Lydia, god!" Derek says, cringing. He shakes his head, and watches as she sways to the music while she walks back to their table. He should join everyone, but they can be so overwhelming sometimes. And he really doesn't want to watch Lydia and Cora make out. Derek sighs before turning back towards the bar. At least he can pretend to be interested in the hockey game playing on the screen. It's a recap of the game from earlier, but that doesn't matter.

He takes at least three shots of tequila before he makes his way back to the table.

"Derek!" Erica exclaims in excitement when he sits down beside her. She throws her arms around his shoulders, and he can smell the alcohol on her breath. "Did you know that Boyd is going to propose to me soon?!"

"What are you talking about?" Derek asks, carefully tugging Erica off him. He glances around, but Boyd's at the other end of the long table talking with Scott and Isaac.

"Call it a girl's intuition," Erica says, grinning. She winks at him. "And I may have found the ring in his underwear drawer when I was looking for my favourite pair of his boxers."

Derek forces a smile on his face. "That's exciting, Erica."

"Isn't it?" she asks, beaming. She looks over at Boyd, and the love is clear as day on her face.

He can't help but admire their relationship. Even if he usually feels jealous. It's hard to be anything but happy for them. They haven't always had the easiest of paths - when Erica came out as a woman, a lot of people in her life had a hard time adjusting. But Boyd was at her side, steady as a rock. He calmly explained to ignorant people, punched a guy or two, but not once, did he ever waver in his obvious love for her.

Derek tunes out when Erica and Kira start giggling. He tries not to look at Lydia making out with Cora, as promised, and lets himself have one more moment.

He watches as Stiles moves his hips closer to Caitlin. They've been messing around for a few weeks now, Derek thinks. He's not entirely sure how serious she is about Stiles, but he's pretty sure that Stiles is serious about Caitlin. He keeps talking about how she just 'opened up his world.'

A hand clasps Derek's shoulder suddenly and he looks up to see Jackson towering over him. "You good, man?"

"Yeah," Derek says, trying to repress the urge to sigh again. He gives Jackson a tight smile. "Just not feeling like the drinking scene tonight. Might grab an Uber home."

Jackson squeezes his hand on Derek's shoulder before saying, "Do what you gotta do, man."

"Thanks."

Jackson swings around to the other side of the table to sit beside Kira. He gives her a small kiss on the cheek, something only they really do in their group of friends. Derek doesn't get their friendship, or even how they got so close considering they'd only met Kira a few months ago, but he's not going to question it anymore tonight.

He stands up, staggering a little, and gives the table a small nod. "I'm heading out. Early day tomorrow."

"Really?"

Derek startles at the sound of Stiles' voice. He turns and shrugs. "Yeah. Looks like you're having fun on your own anyway."

Stiles glances at Caitlin grabbing water at the bar before he says, "Oh, right. Sure. Um. See you later?"

Derek nods and, without another word to anyone, despite their protests, leaves.

○○○

"You really should just tell him," Lydia hisses at their friendsgiving a month later.

"Tell him what, Lydia? That I'm obsessed with him? That I replay every interaction over and over in my head? That I can't get his lips out of my head?" Derek snaps. "Because I think the fact that he brought a date to friendsgiving is a good sign that it's not going to happen. He doesn't see me like anything but a friend."

Lydia takes a small step back, and quietly says, "But... what if he's just messing around because he thinks you're not into him?"

Derek snorts. "Yeah, okay. Not sure what universe you're living in."

Just then, Stiles bounds over to them. "Hey, guys! Have you heard from Danny yet? He's flying back in from New York to surprise Jackson."

Derek shakes his head, glancing at Lydia who checks her phone.

"Nope," she says. "But speaking of Jackson, I need to talk to him. Excuse me."

Lydia walks away, back towards the living room, leaving Derek and Stiles alone in the kitchen.

"How are you doing?" Stiles asks, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Fine, I guess. You?" Derek asks, bringing his whiskey glass to his lips. This is painful. He can't even be normal around Stiles anymore. It hurts too much.

"Fine, I guess," Stiles echoes. He frowns, his eyebrows coming together. "What's been up with you lately? You're so... distant. I feel like we never hang out anymore. And like, no offense to everyone else, but you're kind of my best friend, dude."

Dude. Derek takes a deep breath and says, "Nothing. Work's just been busy, that's all. Besides, you've been glued to Caitlin's hip."

Stiles tilts his head. "Wait, what does Caitlin have to do with this?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Derek steps forward, ready to brush past Stiles, but then Stiles puts his hand on Derek's shoulder and he freezes at the touch.

"Derek, c'mon. You can trust me. Tell me anything. I promise." Stiles' eyes plead with him.

"It's really nothing," Derek mumbles. He closes his eyes briefly before adding, "Like I said, work's been busy."

"Oh. Okay." Stiles lets him go. And just like that, Derek's heart breaks all over again.

Derek makes his way back to the living room, and accidentally, gets caught up in a small group with Caitlin. He tries to politely excuse himself, but before he can, Caitlin says, "Do you all know if Malia is single?"

He freezes.

"No, she's not. She's actually dating Kira," Erica says, glancing curiously at Derek. "Why... why do you ask?"

Caitlin pouts. "Oh. No, I just... had a crush on her. No biggie though. I'm not here to step on any toes."

Derek would scoff if his mind wasn't racing. Before he can stop himself, he blurts, "Aren't you dating Stiles?"

"Stilinski?" Caitlin asks, before she bursts into laughter. "What? Oh my god, no. He was just trying to help cheer me up after a brutal break-up. He doesn't even know that I've been eyeing his friend."

Derek can't catch his thoughts.

It's been two months. Two months of Stiles and Caitlin being so close. Two months of Derek mourning what could have been. Two months of him breaking his own heart over a misunderstanding and an assumption.

"Excuse me," he says, ignoring Erica's confused expression. He turns and immediately, his eyes lock onto Stiles' from across the room. Stiles' eyebrows come together. Derek nods towards the kitchen door and Stiles doesn't say a word to Laura and Cora as he leaves them.

"What's wrong?" Stiles whispers once he's in the kitchen behind Derek. Derek turns around, his eyes wide.

"Are you single?" he asks.

Stiles jerks his head back in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Hello? Have you met me? No one wants to put up with this ADHD mess of a human. Besides, I've been told I talk too much, and I'm just... y'know, too much in general. And--"

"Stiles," Derek interrupts.

He stills, staring at Derek. "What? Why did you ask anyway?"

"Stiles, I..."

"Wait. Did you think I was dating Caitlin?"

Sometimes, Stiles is too quick for his own good. Derek drags a hand through his hair. "Well... yeah."

Stiles scoffs. "Is that why you've been so distant and weird?"

"Sort of. I just wanted to give you space," Derek mumbles. "I mean, before she started hanging around us... you and I used to spend every minute together. And... and, I don't know!"

"Derek," Stiles says, quietly. Derek freezes again. "Why... why would you care?"

"Why?" Derek mutters. "What a great question. Why. Why would I care. I don't. I mean, I do. But I don't--I don't know, okay?"

"Yes, you do."

And here he is, doing it again. Stiles always knows how to push Derek's buttons. And maybe that's a good thing. Derek swallows, and quietly says, "You're my everything, Stiles. I...I gave you space with Caitlin because I couldn't handle seeing you two together. I couldn't--it just--it broke my heart, and--"

Stiles' smile could light up the whole goddamn city. Derek's heart pounds. "Derek. You know I'm in love with you, right?"

"Wha--"

"Have been since I was sixteen." Stiles shrugs. "Haven't you noticed how little I bring people around to the group? It's because no one ever measures up to you. It's because you're my everything. I just figured you'd never look at me like that."

"Wait," Derek starts. "My brain is trying to catch up."

Stiles laughs, and it's a beautiful sound. Perhaps Derek's favourite sound.

"I love you, you idiot. You. No one else," Stiles says. He says it with so much confidence that Derek allows himself to believe it.

Just this once.

Derek leans forward, but is pushed back when Stiles tackles him and his lips. They're kissing. He's kissing Stiles fucking Stilinski. Derek almost laughs in joy and surprise and confusion and pure delight. But the sound is muffled by Stiles' kisses.

"Oh my god, finally!"

They break apart to see Lydia standing in the doorframe. She clasps her hands together and smiles. "Y'all, Derek and Stiles are making out!"

"Lydia!" Derek hisses.

She sticks her tongue out while there are cheers and calls from the other room. Lydia winks. "I'll leave you two boys to it. When you come up for air, can you check on the pies? They're warming in the oven. Okay, love you, bye!"

And she slips back into the living room.

There's a moment of silence.

And then Derek finds himself laughing. And Stiles is laughing. And together, they laugh in between kisses, and everything feels right for the moment.

○○○

thanks for reading! I'm rusty, so please forgive me.

#text #sterek #sterek fic #sterek ficlet #stiles stilinski #derek hale #taylor swift lyrics #my writing

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candied-heartss · 11 months

Note

Hello! :D

I was wondering if you could write edward nashton x fem!Reader where everyone in the office at the place he works at doesn’t believe he has a girlfriend at all because everyone knows him as “edweird” and don’t interact with him as much mostly the outcast of the office, but one day one of his coworkers see pictures of the reader on his desk and think it’s just a woman he’s weirdly obsessing over and thee coworker ends up telling most of the office.. like no way edward could have a girlfriend right? BUT! one day the reader comes in to his workplace since he forgot his lunch in a hurry and everyone is turning their heads because what is such an attractive lady doing there? THEN BOOM. all of them are shocked to see “edweird” actually has a girlfriend

I would love to see what you do with this! Thank you and have an amazing day :3 <33

you got it! here it is!

𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄?

(ᵉᵈʷᵃʳᵈ ⁿᵃˢʰᵗᵒⁿ ˣ ᶠᵉᵐ! ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

𝖽𝖾𝗌𝖼𝗋𝗂𝗉𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇: 𝖤𝖽𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖽'𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗅𝗎𝖼𝗄 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝗅𝗎𝗇𝖼𝗁 𝖽𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗆𝖺𝗒 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗅𝗅.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳, 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀, 𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗲/𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀, 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆

Edward heard the whispers, the chattering that his coworkers did behind his back when they believed he didn't hear them.

"Look at him! What's with the picture on his desk?"

"Maybe it's some girl he's probably stalking."

"What? That can't be right. Edweird being a stalker?"

"I mean, the guy's a total freak, so who's to say that it isn't possible?"

He heard the same things, day after day after day, the talk of him being some sort of creep, some sort of perverted freak who stalked girls and kept pictures of them framed on his desk. He usually ignored their snide remarks and sly comments, but at the end of the day, they always managed to get under his skin.

Edward usually kept calm and collected at work, but when he came home, you always heard him complain under his breath about the "shitty people at that shitty job". You tried to cheer him up, constantly assuring him that he was too good for those people and that you were sure that he was smarter than the majority of them in that office.

But, nothing seemed to shake the population of his office from making crude insults towards him, even if he did try his hardest to ignore them or tune them out.

And what seemed to make the day worse for him was the fact that when everybody went to go have lunch, he seemed to have forgotten his at home. Groaning in frustration, he put his head down on his desk and sighed. Could this day have gotten any worse for him?

So when he heard the familiar tapping of your Mary Janes hitting the floor of his office, he lifted his head to find you standing at his desk, holding a small paper bag and wearing a smile on your face.

"Hi, honey! How was your day today?" you asked him in your ever-so-cheerful tone, catching the attention of some of his colleagues, as the whispering began.

"Who's this girl?"

"Is she a family member?"

"You don't actually think that that's his..."

"No fuckin' way."

Edward smiled, how he always did when he was around you, and almost immediately, he felt his mood shift.

"Hey, sweetie. What are you doing here?" He asked, leaning against the desk and looking up at you. You laughed sweetly and held out the bag before gently placing it on the desk, "Why, I'm dropping off your lunch, silly! You left it at home and I didn't want you to go starving."

The people in the office watched in shock and awe at the interaction between you two, clearly surprised that Edward even managed to have a girlfriend at all, let alone someone so attractive as you.

You then came closer and looked at him with nothing but love in your eyes as you reached out and fixed his glasses, which were sitting crookedly on his nose, "Y'know, I missed you loads this morning. I can't wait to see you when you come home tonight."

He blushed slightly. It was odd to have you be so forward with your public display of affection for him, but he figured that was due to the people you two were surrounded by.

"Can't wait to see you too, sweetheart." He muttered, looking flushed and wearing a small smile on his mouth.

As you stood up straight and turned to leave, you quickly turned around, cupped his cherubic face, and gave him a quick, but passionate kiss before turning away and skipping out of the office.

"Bye, Eddie!" Your voice called out as you left the building, leaving him and the rest of the office sitting there, stunned.

So, it was true after all. Edweird Nashton actually did have a girlfriend.

#paul dano #the batman #the riddler x reader #danocel #jay okja #danonation #joby taylor #klitz x reader #the riddler smut #edward nashton #percy dolarhyde #thaddius

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mercurygray · 1 month

Note

watching the rain forrrrr Fred & Brady?

Oh, this was a good one. Thank you for giving me an excuse to write them!!

It was bound to be quieter, out here with the rain.

She hadn't joined the Red Cross to be the center of attention - it was true enough that you got some of that being one of four girls in a truck, but that wasn't the same as having the spotlight on you for an unscheduled one-woman episode of Command Performance using a borrowed guitar.

Sadly for her, though, it looked like her usual seat was already taken. John Brady rose from one of the crates, his pipe giving him an almost patrician air. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't think there'd be anyone out here," Fred said, turning to go back inside.

"Plenty of room here for whoever wants it," Brady offered, gesturing to a second crate with his pipe. "If you don't mind a little company, that is - or the smoke."

"Reminds me of home, actually," Fred said, smoothing down her jacket and sitting down. Her grandfather had smoked a pipe - usually out on the fire escape, so the apartment wouldn't smell too awful. The smell of it calmed her. "It was getting a little loud in there for me."

"The sound of earnest appreciation," Brady said with a smile. "You made that guitar sound better than Jimmy does."

Fred blushed. It had been Curt's idea, because wasn't it always? Now, now - I think I'm owed a little treat for making it home in one piece, eh? Now where's - where's Fred? I wanna hear her sing me something. I know she's got a real sweet voice and we ain't all heard it yet.

She'd tried to beg off but Curt wouldn't take no for an answer, so they'd chivvied her up on stage, and Jimmy Hobart had handed over his guitar and pulled a stool out, and she'd tuned it up and asked Curt what he wanted to hear. Somethin' nice, he'd said with a grin. Somethin' sweet.

She wasn't about to go singing him a love song, so she'd pulled out one of those cowboy ballads she thought she'd be singing so often, I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences, Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses, Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences, Don't fence me in.

She'd done that one, and another by Gene Autry, until Egan had joined in and gotten the whole club singing, and then Hobart had come back and she'd been able to sneak out the back door, back to the rain and the smell of Brady's pipesmoke.

"Not all of us studied music in college, Lieutenant Brady."

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you called me John," he offered quietly. "Curt's not Lieutenant Biddick, is he?"

Well, Fred, you walked into that one. "Curt excels at making himself an exception. There are rules I'm supposed to follow - and up until I got here I was pretty good at it."

"What do you think changed?" Fred looked over at Brady and found he was watching her with careful, considerate eyes - an armchair philosopher with his pipe.

She snorted and looked out into the night at the rain. It was a good question - what had changed? She was still the same person who'd left Madison twelve months ago - still had the same parents, the same college degree, the same training. Was it this place, or these people? The answer came back very unannounced, and she smiled to herself about it. "Apparently flyboys are very persuasive."

Brady chuckled. "On behalf of my fellow flyboys I will accept that compliment. So do you have any other tricks in those uniform sleeves of yours, Miss Fred? You dance, you sing, you play the guitar, you charm hardened pilots out of their seats, you make excellent donuts and a hell of a good cup of coffee. Is there anything you don't do?"

Now it was her turn to laugh out loud. "I also play a pretty good game of cribbage."

He didn't have time to respond to that, because just as she'd said it the door was opening again and Curt, listing a little bit to starboard, joined them outside. "John Brady, are you getting my best girl a drink?"

Brady sat up a little straighter, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "I can be, if she needs one."

"Hey, what is your drink, by the way?" Curt had turned his attention to Fred. "The next time I phone in I'll know what to ask for."

"A whiskey soda." Fred looked over at John, a little impressed.

Curt clapped him on the shoulder. "He remembers! See, this is why you're never gonna leave us, Fred, because we spoil you. And do you know why? Because we know a good thing when we see it. And you, Fred, are a very, very good thing."

"Maybe even the best thing?" Fred asked, getting up from her crate. Duty called - somewhere in her mind she could see the shift supervisor tapping her wrist. She'd danced too long with the same soldier, and there was no more time for quiet.

Curt was laughing at that, pulling her back inside and saying something about the jitterbug and showing Blakeley what was what and who was who. And Fred couldn't help but notice the feeling of Brady following them, resuming his seat on the stage and his clarinet, the smell of rain and his pipesmoke lingering on her jacket.

#asked and answered #basilone #i have written a thing #mercurygraypresents #freda torvaldsen #masters of the air oc #john brady x oc

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jjongscardigan · 1 month

Text

PAPER RINGS₊ ⊹⟡ — p.jongseong

11. collective thirdwheeling

note: Hi, friends! Sorry for my absence. 😅 School's been a pain in the behind. And I was busy with other stuff (watching 2000s rom-coms also counts, yes!) I'll finish this story soon though, no worries. I have an outline of what's coming up so I'll probably write the next few 'chapters' this weekend. Have a nice day (or evening depending on where you're from). 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

"Hi, kids" you wave at the camera as Jay appears behind you. You raise the camera a bit higher and he grins while waving as well. "Today we're going to explore an adult shop. I got the idea because Yunjin and I walked past it one time. I was scared because there were muzzles and collars. We quickly ran out of that part of the street. BUT curiosity killed the cat and in this case cats because Jongseong-ie is joining me."

"But before we go explore… the adult shop…" You whisper the last part, "We're going to do a mukbang segment first because that's what I stand for. Right, Jay?" He nods and puts an arm around your shoulder. You make eye contact and look away quickly. "Let's go look for food!"

"I'm craving lobster, not going to lie," Jay says as he leans over your shoulder to look at your screen. "No, we had that last Wednesday. Can you eat something other than seafood, Mr Park." You pat his cheek and refocus on looking for food. "What about cream malaxianguo? With fried shrimp dumplings" you ask as your mouth starts to water at the thought of the food. He nods and grabs the camera to turn it off.

There is a montage of you and Jay just sitting there waiting for the food. Then it turns to you guys sitting neatly facing the camera with the food set out in front of you. "Thank you for the food! Eat well, kids!" You start with the dumplings and immediately widen your eyes in awe. "This is so good" you exclaim as Jay hands you a tissue, almost in automatic mode. The mukbang speeds up and then you're done eating. "Thank you for the food" you hear Jay say.

"Let's go!" You start skipping down the footpath and humming the baby shark tune. "Guys, she's officially lost it. Who sings a children's song while going to a [bleep] shop?" Jay shakes his head and follows you with the camera. When you arrive, before Jay, you stand in front of the door and wait for Jay to rejoin your side. "Let's go, BFFs"

"Y/n, I'm scared…" Jay whispers as you guys make your way in between the isles. He points at what looks like a ribbed dildo. "That can't be enjoyable. Ain't no way." You giggle as you guys go even deeper into the shop. "Guys, they have blow job bibs" You point the camera at the item and zoom in with a funky little noise.

Suddenly a woman approaches you guys. You pan the camera away to not show her face. The screen turns black and the words 'video gone wrong' appear in bold red letters.

"Not very customer service-y, guys," you say outside the shop. "We got kicked out, haha" Jay is shaking with laughter in the background as you recount how a worker told you not to film and kicked you out. "Let's go to Tesco" Jay huffs with exhaustion from laughing so hard. "Y/n, never again. Please, I beg" You pull him along while muttering to the camera. "No promises"

"Okay, next segment and last segment is another mukbang because food is life. Literally. We went to Tesco and got lots of candies, so let's try them." Jay sits down by your side and scoots a little closer to inspect the candy you're observing. "It's sour apparently" You give it to Jay knowing that you can't stand sour candies. His face scrunches up and you laugh.

"I'll eat the gummy bears." You put a handful in your mouth and start choking. Jay taps your back and you wipe away the tears. "Let's not anymore." Jay takes away the package and gives you the sweet peaches. "Man, I love these," you say while swallowing the candies. Jay fondly shakes his head and giggles while handing you a glass of water.

"Lovelies, tschüs! I'll see you in the next video" Jay waves and puts his hand on the lens.

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___________________________________________

taglist — @jayjongie @eclipse-777 @haechansbbg @luvnicho

Do NOT copy my work, thank you!

©jjongscardigan 2024

#enhypen #enhypen jay #kpop #jay smau #kpop moots #park jongseong #enhypen heeseung #enhypen jake #enhypen jungwon #enhypen smau #engene #enha #enha smau #enha jongseong #enha x reader #enhypen x female reader #PAPER RINGS — PJS #jjongscardigan

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bteezxyewriter12 · 10 months

Text

Only You/ 13

Pairing- Yoongi x Named Reader

Word count- 3.5k

Includes- protective boyfriend Yoongi, brief mentions of mental health, plane sex, bathroom sex, cock sitting, clit playing, choking, squirting, multiple orgasms, fluff

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxxmine @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@borntowalkaway @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @seokwoosmole @meowmeowminnie @realisticnotes @effielumiere @jintheastronaut

Masterlists- check out for more fics

📝Series Masterlist 📝Masterlists

📝BTS Masterlist 📝Yoongi Masterlist

Yoongi POV

"Stay next to me jagi", I tell her, gripping her hand hard, "Don't let go of my hand ok?"

"Ok naekkeo", she says softly

Getting out of the car first, she follows and I lead her to the entrance of the airport

The media is here, flashes of their cameras going off in my face

Her grip on my hand tightens and she moves closer to me

Fans are yelling at her, calling her, some saying mean things, others asking questions

"Yoongi", she murmurs, panic in her voice

I let go of her hand, moving that arm around her, pulling her as close to me as possible and holding her hand with my other hand

"It's ok baby", I murmur, leading her quickly down the hall

The police are there, making sure the barriers stay up, controlling the crowd

She holds onto my shirt hard and I know she's scared

I'm used to this, the crowds, the media, the shouting, the camera flashes

She's not and I know it's overwhelming

The other guys are waving and smiling at the fans and normally I would too

But I'm not letting go of her

After the vlive, ARMYS know that she comes first for me

I smile and nod at them, that's all l can do

"Almost there jagi", I tell her, TSA check in close

Once we get past there, we'll be ok

No more crowds, no more media

The guys are already at the TSA when we get there but they haven't gone past it yet

Hobi looks annoyed but I can't deal with him now

"You guys go first. Get away from the media", Jungkook says

They surround me and her, ushering us through

From there everything moves quickly- our passports are checks, our carry on bags are scanned and we're in the main part of the airport

"You ok jagi?", I ask, as we wait for the guys to get through airport security

"Yeah naekkeo", she answers, moving into my arms, hugging me, her head against my chest, "It's just...a lot. How do you deal with that all the time?"

Holding her, I run my fingers in her hair, "I'm just used to it jagi. When we first started, this is what we wanted. What I wanted. To be famous, to be recognized. And after that I got used to it"

Sometimes I can even tune out the fan's screaming

"Doesn't it ever bother you? All those people following you? Everywhere you go?"

"Sometimes. If I'm really exhausted and I just don't want to deal with it. But I suck it up and deal"

"That must be why you're cranky sometimes", she teases, giggling

I chuckle, "Yeah baby it used to be. But now you're the reason I'm exhausted"

"Me?", she questions, smirking and giving me innocent eyes

"Yeah you", I laugh, "Someone wants sex all the time and constantly wakes me up with the best kisses in the world"

"It's not only me! You wake me up too!", she pouts

I smirk, shrugging, "I can't help it that my girlfriend is the sexiest woman on the planet and I can't get enough of you"

She bursts out laughing, "You're too much naekkeo"

She stands on her toes, kissing me softly and it feels so good

"Ok cut it out and let's go", Namjoon mutters as he passes us

I roll my eyes but we separate, I take her hand and we follow the guys

We're immediately taken to the terminal and ushered on to the private plane

"Where do you wanna sit jagi?", I ask

"Wherever baby. I just don't want to be next to the window"

I nod, leading her to two seats that are next to each other

"Here's good jagi?"

She nods, "Yeah baby"

We settle down in the seats, pulling out our headphones, tablets, anything we want for entertaining

I stand up, getting into the overhead compartment, pulling out two pillows and a blanket

It's a long flight to L.A.

"Here baby", I say, handing her the pillow as I sit down

"Thanks naekkeo"

Reaching into my bag, I take out her motion sickness meds and a water bottle

Apparently she gets sick on the plane

"Take the meds baby", I tell her, handing her everything

She puts the pills in her mouth ,then throws back some water, swallowing

"Thanks baby"

"Sure jagi"

Twenty minutes later the plane is ready to take off

When the plane moves, I feel her stiffen next to me, her hands gripping the arm rests, her eyes squeezed shut, face pale

I'm a bit alarmed

I've never been on a plane with her before

The staff normally flies on regular planes and meets us at the locations

"Baby?"

"Hate take offs", she says quickly

I had no idea

Nothing about flying bothers me

I just assume she was like that too

"Does that make you sick too?"

"Nauseous"

The plane starts to speed up and she whimpers, her knuckles turning white from how hard she's squeezing the arm rests

"Come jagi", I tell her, gently taking her hand off the armrest between us, shoving the armrest up and pulling her into my arms

Her head lays on my chest, her hand burying in my shirt, twisting it

"It's ok jagi", I tell her, "I have you baby"

The plane takes off and she murmurs, "Oh god"

I hug her tightly, running my fingers in her hair, repeating "it's ok", over and over

As the plane levels out and continues flying, her hand slowly loosens on my shirt

"Ok baby?"

She nods, opening her eyes, looking up at me

She doesn't look so good

She looks nauseous, sick

"This happens every time you're on a plane jagi?"

"Yeah", she whispers

This isn't good

She has to travel with us a lot

When we're on tour we go on planes very often

I had no clue she was suffering like this

"Jagi, I think you should go to the doctor about this. When we get back to Korea. Maybe they can give you something to help"

"I have naekkeo. They say it's anxiety and motion sickness. They gave me Xanax and told me to take over the counter motion sickness meds"

"So why don't you take the Xanax baby?"

She shrugs, "I guess I think I should just deal with it"

I get that mental health and anxiety is still not something talked about or looked at in a great light, especially in Korea but she knows everything I went through and she knows I'd never judge her

"Jagi, I think you should take it ok?", I tell her, "Anxiety isn't something you should have to deal with. Especially when you go on planes a lot for your job. Maybe you should try taking xanax once and see how it is"

I don't want her to suffer every time she gets on a plane

That's insane

She's silent for a few seconds then says, " Yeah I'll try it"

"Alright", I answer, kissing her forehead, "Do you want to sleep? Are you tired?"

I know that the motion sickness pills make her drowsy

She's told me she sleeps through most of the flight because the pills knock her out

"Yeah", she nods

"Ok jagi"

We both get out seats reclined and I put the blanket over us

"You don't have to sleep if you're not tired", she says, yawning

"I don't mind baby laying down with you baby", I assure her, "Besides if you fall asleep and I can't, I'll just move you into your seat"

She's a heavy sleeper and it's hard to get her up

She's worse than I am

"Ok Yoongi. I love you"

"I love you Jo"

I press a soft kiss to her lips, then get her in my arms

She cuddles into me right away, her eyes already closed

I don't know if I'm going to go to sleep but I do know that I'm not letting her go anytime soon

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

Movement against me wakes me up and I hear a soft "Yoongi"

Slowly opening my eyes, I look down at her, her eyes open, sleepy look on her face

"Yeah baby", I mumble

"Mmmm", she whines, turning away from me and backing into me

I move her hair away from the back of her neck, leaning against her as I wrap my arm around her

She keeps wiggling around, trying to get comfortable I guess

But her ass is against my dick and all the rubbing is making me hard

I can't help it

Just seeing her naked gets me hard, so her movements against me definitely affect me

"Jagi", I whisper

"Wah", she whines

"Baby, please stop moving. You're making me hard"

She looks behind her shoulder at me, more awake than before

Should of known that would get her attention

She presses her ass against me and I bury my face in her neck to drown out the moan I can't hold back

Jesus, she feels good

"Fuck Yoongi", she whispers

Fuck is right

This is a problem I'm going to have to take care of

It won't go down by itself

"I need to go to the bathroom jagi", I tell her, pushing the blanket off me

"I'll come too"

I stop moving, staring at her, "What?"

She smirks, "Want you"

I blink in surprise, "But....the airplane...everyone's here. They'll....hear"

"Not if we're quiet"

"How are we going to fit in there?"

Why the fuck am I asking so many questions

My girlfriend is willing to fuck me in an airplane

I need to shut up and take it

"Ride you", she whispers

I nod, not questioning anything else, "Yeah. I uh...I guess come to the bathroom in a few minutes?"

She shakes her head, "We can go together. Pretended you're helping me get there because of my motion sickness"

Right, forgot about that

"Are you ok to do this with the motion sickness?"

She nods, "The meds are working. I'm fine but they don't know that"

She's an evil genius

I love it

"Ok jagi", I agree

"You go out first, then help me up. When we walk, keep your arm around me to steady me. Make it look real"

"Yeah baby"

I get into the aisle, quickly glancing around

Everyone is asleep

Still, I'm gonna keep up the ruse just in case

I help her sit up, then stand, putting my arm around her waist, letting her lead on me as I lead her towards the bathrooms in the back of the plane

Thankfully, no one wakes up as we pass

Getting to be bathroom, I open the door, getting inside and pulling her in with me

The bathroom is slightly bigger than a normal plane bathroom because this is a private plane

But it's still tight and I'm too big for it

She faces me, her arms sliding from my waistband, up my chest, wrapping around my neck

She pulls me down to her, kissing me softly

Keeping my lips against hers, I run my hands down her body as I kiss her

When I get to her pants, I pull them down, along with her panties

She doesn't break the kiss as she kicks her shoes off, getting out of her bottom clothes, her hands now at my sweatpants, pulling them and my boxers down

They fall to my feet and before I can get anything off, she pushes me back, onto the toilet seat cover

Breaking the kiss, I turn her around, bending her over my arm

"Sit baby", I murmur, holding my dick to her pretty wet hole

She does, taking me in slowly, whimpers coming from her mouth

Her little slit bursts open the more of my cock she takes, the sight so pretty

When she bottoms me out, I pull her onto my lap, her back hitting my chest, her head leaning against my shoulder

Turning her head to me, I crash my lips to hers, kissing her hard as I feel her pussy throb around my length

Feels fucking good

I can't fucking get enough of her

We've only been together a few weeks but I want to be with her all day and all night

After that first night at the dorm, I stay at her apartment for the most part where there's no one to bother us

We're all over each other from the second the door closes

We spend more time naked than clothed

And the sex has just gotten better and better and it's constant

Eat, sleep and sex has been our life and I don't see that stopping

And it's not just fucking although we do get wild at times

There's love all the time

But it's more than sex

It's being together, it's how close I feel to her when we're together

The little touches, the kisses, the squeezes, the way she touches my face, the way she plays with my hair, the way she holds me, the way she looks at me with so much love

I've never been so happy in my life

Spreading her legs over mine, I move my hand down, pressing my fingers against her clit, rubbing quickly

She moans softly in my mouth, turning me on

Her cunt clenches even tighter on me with every move of my fingers

Breaking the kiss, I press small kisses to her cheek

"Feels good baby?"

She nods, breathing hard, her eyes closed, her head back against my shoulder

"Mm jagi, you feel so good. Buried so deep inside this pretty cunt. Pulsing around my cock so well. Such a good girl for me"

"Yoongi", she moans a little too loud

"Shh baby", I whisper in her ear, "You have to be quiet baby girl. Or I'll stop playing with your clit"

"No don't", she says louder

"Shush"

"Sorry", she whispers, already fucked out

"It's ok baby girl. I know it feels good right? Feels good to sit on your cock?"

She bites her lip, nodding

"I feel you getting tighter jagi. You wanna cum don't you?"

She nods again, whimpering

I increase the speed of my fingers and I start grinding up into her, making sure she feels my head against her spot, her small body shaking

"Why don't you be a good girl and cum for me?"

As soon as I finish talking, she moans loudly as her orgasms runs through her

"Jagi-", I choke out through the pleasure

"Yoongi!"

She's being way too loud

"Oh f-", she starts, but I do the only thing I can and cover her mouth with my hand to drown out her noises as she continues to cum all over me

It's so fucking pleasurable and I bite my lip hard to keep from making sound

When she finishes, I slowly move my hand from her mouth

"Good jagi?", I ask, deciding not to say anything about her making so much noise

She was in pleasure, I understand it was hard

"Another one?", I ask, kissing her cheek softly

"Yeah. Then you cum in me baby"

"I will baby. If that's what you want"

She whines, nodding

"Ok baby. Let's get you coming on my cock then"

I go back to rubbing her clit and she clenches down on my cock so much, sparks of bliss hitting me hard

"Yoongi", she moans again

Without thinking, I slide one hand up her body, wrapping it around her throat

She shivers against me, her pussy immediately flooding my lap

"Oh yeah, you like this, right baby?"

She nods, panting

"Well you're in luck baby because this is the only thing that will keep that big mouth quiet"

Her eyes closed as she whimpers, her legs closing against my hand

"No no jagi. Legs wide open for me. I'm not done playing with my pussy yet"

The more I play with her and squeeze her neck, the tighter she gets and the more she creams my cock

I'm pretty sure it's dripping down to my pants and staining them

Which is fine by me

"So close baby", I murmur, sweat soaking my hair and my shirt

Her hair is all sweaty too, against my neck but I don't care

I just care about getting her off

She grips my arm hard, trying to bounce on me

"What's the matter baby? Not enough for you?", I tease

"It...it is", she chokes out, "But...but...want you to cum"

I get it

She thinks I need her bouncing on me to get me off

Not true

"I don't need you to bounce baby. I just need to feel you cum all over my cock for me to finish inside you", I whisper, squeezing her neck, "That's how good your pussy is baby"

She lets out a soft sound when I let go of her neck, making me smirk

"Oh you like that huh? Hearing how much I love your pussy wrapped around me?"

She nods, her nails digging into my arm, the pleasure intense for the both of us

I'm so close, I just need her to cum

"Well I love being inside you baby. Your pussy is the best I've ever been inside of. I can't get enough of you"

"Yoongi fuck"

"Gonna cum like this for me?", I ask, tightening my hand slightly

"Yes", she whimpers, "Yes Yoongi"

"That's my girl"

Choking her harder, I rub her clit and she explodes, shaking hard against me, squirting all over my dick

Ecstasy explodes on my body and I cum hard into her squirting cunt, forcing myself not to scream

My hand loosens around her neck, but she grabs it, putting my hand over her mouth as she yells into it

As we finish, both our bodies relax against each other's, our breathes labored

"Fuck naekkeo", she pants

"Yeah", I agree, wrapping my arms around her, holding her

We sit for a few minutes until we're both ready to get up

"You go first baby", she says, "I have to clean up"

"Sure jagi", I tell her, kissing her hair

She moves off me, her legs pressed together to keep my cum in

That could get me going again if I let it but I push it away

We just had sex, at the expense of being caught

It's better not to push our luck

Standing, I pull my boxers and pants up, noticing how soaked they are

I'm going to have to change them

We maneuver around, switching places so I can get to the door

Leaning down I press a kiss to her lips, "Take your time jagi"

She nods, "Yeah, ok"

With that, I turn and open the door, slipping out as she closes it

Moving back to the main part of the plane, I'm a little surprised to see Hobi staring bullets at me and Jin awake

"Really?", Jin whisper yells as I walk by him

"What?", I glare

"What do you mean why? Your seriously fucking your girlfriend on a plane with us in it?"

Shit, he heard it

"I didn't-"

"Don't lie", Jin snaps, "I heard her moaning your name. Seriously Yoongi, keep it in your fucking pants until you're alone with her. I don't want to hear that shit. You're lucky only me and Hobi heard it"

Shut, Hobi heard

That's why he's giving me a death glare

Fuck

"Next time control yourself"

I just roll my eyes but nod, then head to my seat

When I get there, I open the overhead compartment and take out my carry on bag

I always take extra clothes with me on a plane in case

Getting boxers and pants, I put everything back then start heading back to the bathrooms

Going in the next one, I quickly change my wet clothes, use the bathroom and wash my hands

She's already back in our seats when I get back, looking at me worriedly

"What happened baby?", she asks as I sit in the seat, throwing the wet clothes on my bag

"Nothing jagi", I whisper, "I just had to change my pants and boxers"

"Why?"

"You kinda soaked them when you squirted"

Embarrassment fills her face as she turns red, hiding her face in her hands, "Oh my god. I'm sorry"

Chuckling, I pull her to me, hugging her, "It's ok jagi. It's not a big deal. It's actually really hot"

She lowers her hands down so I can see her eyes, "Really?"

I nod, "Yeah baby. Knowing you can squirt that much. Fuck baby"

She giggles, "Don't get hard again naekkeo. Some of the guys are you now. We can't sneak off again"

"I'll behave", I promise

I decide not to tell her about Jin and Hobi hearing us right now

I don't want her to feel embarrassed, especially since we're still stuck in the plane with them

I'll tell her when we get to our hotel room later

"Come jagi", I tell her, laying down again

"You're still sleepy?", she asks, cuddling into me, her head on my chest

"Not yet", I answer, playing with her hair, "I just want to rest and hold you for now. If we can't sleep then maybe we can watch a movie in a little while"

"Ok naekkeo", she agrees, hugging me tightly

I sigh in contentment, happy I can spend some time relaxing with her in my arms

#only you fic #bts yoongi fanfic #min yoongi fanfic #yoongi fanfic #bts suga fanfic #suga fanfic #bts yoongi smut #min yoongi smut #yoongi smut #bts suga smut #suga smut #bts fanfic #bts smut

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miyuhpapayuh · 11 months

Text

nine.

Waking up to the sun peeking through the blinds, as well as the soft snoring in her ear, Zora’s brain instantly became flooded with the juicy details of her and Leon’s night.

She had expectations, and he exceeded every last one of them. Her mind was blown. She'd say she was in love.

Okay, relax.

His long arm tucks around her waist, subconsciously pulling her back against him, his face finding the groove of her neck.

She smiles to herself, tracing the vein that starts from his wrist and splays out towards his pointer finger, finding herself drifting right back to sleep.

Only to be woken back up a few hours later, by the smell of breakfast wafting down the hall and the faint sound of Leon moving around in the kitchen.

Sitting up and stretching, she looks around the room and hums a laugh at the way their clothes are thrown about.

Pulling on the t-shirt he'd placed on the bed for her, she slides out of the comfy bed and stands up, the dull ache in her thighs brightening her smile by a million.

Collecting herself and thanking god she had a tie on her wrist to pull her wild hair up, she makes her way down the hall to see about her man.

Turning the corner, she sighs at the sight of him, shirtless, humming a catchy tune that she can't place.

Knocking on the nearest wall, she smiles as he whips his head in her direction, that blinding smile spreading across his face.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

“A good morning, it is.” She responds, tucking the shirt underneath her thighs, before sitting at the island.

“I made your favorite,” he says, adding another pancake to the plate on his left. “It's almost ready.”

“Aw, so sweet. Thank you.”

Soon, they're cutting into extra fluffy pancakes and eggs, stealing glances at each other. He's still humming.

“How'd you sleep?” He asks.

“Like a baby. How about you?”

“Same. That was a guarantee, the way we went at it.”

Her face runs hot as she turns her gaze back to her food, softly laughing to herself.

If walls could talk, they'd be just as speechless as she is.

He smirks, covering it with a sip of orange juice.

“Can I tell you something?” She asks, her eyes still on her food.

“Only if you look at me,” he replies, giving her another smile once she does.

“That was the best sex I've ever had.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” she breathes, giving him a signal that she wanted it again.

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

After making each other's toes curl for a second time, the couple cuddle up underneath the covers, thankfully not having to go anywhere for the day.

“You like this movie?” He asks, as they half-gaze at Pretty Woman.

“Eh, everybody likes this movie, don't they?” She asks back with a laugh.

“I mean, it's Julia. I'll give you that.”

“What you know about Julia?” She asks, looks away from the screen, giving him a quizzical look that makes him smile.

“My mama loves Julia Roberts. I personally like her brother, Eric.”

“Oh, that Hawaiian shirt wearing, psycho ass doctor that's got like seven million of the same movie on lifetime!?” She asks, making him laugh.

“That's the one!”

“I saw one where he was driving and in the backseat, talking to himself. He kicked himself out of the car and drove away… leaving himself to walk down the road. Like is that fever dream or something? He should get checked out, no?”

“He's a nutcase for sure, but I haven't seen that one.”

“You need to! It's very comical.”

“I'll put it on my list.”

She nods, sinking back down in the bed and kissing him for the millionth time. He lazily wraps his arms back around her.

“Can we stay like this all day?” She asks.

“Yeah, baby. We can.”

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

“Y'all did what?!” Nique screams, making Zora snicker up a storm.

As soon as Leon left to grab them some food, Zora immediately facetimed Nique to fill her in.

“Oooh, your fast ass!”

“Nique, if you're gonna be judgemental, I'll just keep it to myself!”

“Okay, okay! How was it?” She asks, palms under her chin as she gives her undivided attention.

“Ugh, it was the best sex I've ever had!”

“The best?? Oh, wow! Even better than—”

“Way better. I know that's what kept me tethered to that fool, but Leon knocks him outta the park.”

“Oof! To be a fly on the wall.”

“Girl,” she fans herself, getting flashbacks. “It's like he knew exactly what I needed.”

“To be knocked on your ass?” Nique asks, already nodding.

“Man, he put it down. I won't lie about that.”

“So, how many times have y'all done it? Cause I know you.”

She gasps in faux outrage, not phasing her friend at all.

“Girl, please. Save that for someone who don't know your freaky ass.”

“Fine. We've been on and off of each other all day long,” she laughs.

“See?! A freak.”

“Who's met her match!” She squeals.

“I'm so happy for you, dude. We all need dick like that.”

“It's not just about the dick, dude. It's him.”

“You're right. He makes it worth it.”

“Boy, does he!”

Before she can say more, his front door unlocks and he walks inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Hey boyfriend!” Nique yells, earning a laugh from Leon as he puts the bags on the table and leans over the couch, where Zora's sitting.

“Ah, my favorite person. How ya doing?”

“Not as good as you two,” she replies, making Zora throw her a crazed glance, while Leon just smiles.

“Alright, that's enough. Bye Nique.”

“Alright, okay. I'll talk to you later!” She says to Zora, blowing a kiss before hanging up.

“Sorry about that, she's ridiculous.” Zora snorts, welcoming to kisses he places on her face.

“It's cool, baby. Who wouldn't brag about the best sex ever?”

“Oh, don't hold that over my head.”

“It's a couple things I could hold over your head,” he mumbles, placing a couple kisses on her lips.

“Don't get me started,” she pouts.

“Alright, alright.” He chuckles, moving to grab the food, rounding the couch to sit beside her.

“I got your favorite,” he says, while she looks inside the bag and dances in her seat, pulling the loaded fries from the bag.

“Ugh, you know me so well!”

“I sure hope so!” He laughs, digging into his own bag.

Cutting the tv on, they fall into a comfortable silence as they eat. Cartoons being the soundtrack to their evening.

“So,” Leon starts, turning towards Zora. “I know that you don't like talking about your ex… but I've got a question.”

“Yeah, he was the first person I've ever slept with.” She answers, earning a soft smile in return.

“How'd you know that was my question?”

“Wasn't it?” She asks.

“Yeah, but how'd you know?” He chuckles.

“I saw the curiosity swirling in those eyes, earlier. I knew it was coming.” She smiles.

Not knowing what else to say, he just takes the moment to look at her.

“Explains a lot, doesn't it?”

“Hey, I won't judge you baby. You've heard my story.”

“I know you won't, but it pieces it together. Sex was our trauma bond. It was where things weren't bad. Where the aggression made sense, and only then, did I feel like he loved me.” She sighs.

He frowns, and she reaches up to caress his cheek, putting his worries to bed.

“I've done a lot of work on myself, and I know that it wasn't love that kept us together. It was our own selfish vices, his more so than my own, but I take accountability for letting him keep me in such a dark place. It's not like that with you and me. I mean, I've never felt the ways I feel now. I know love isn't here yet, but when it does come, I'll get to actually experience it for what it truly is.”

“It's pretty damn close, mama.” He assures, pulling her in for the most tender kiss she's ever had.

“I know,” she smiles, wiping the tiny tear before he could do it himself.

Ch 10

@sheabuttahwrites @blackerthings @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @thegifstories @nayaxwrites @cecereads209 @twistedcharismaaa @abeautifulmindexposed @blowmymbackout @chaneajoyyy @soufcakmistress @theficplug

#mochaff #miyuhpapayuh #poc writers #blackwriters #black romance #yahya abdul mateen ii #zora x leon

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suhojunmyeons · 2 years

Text

A Guy Called Joshua

pairing : joshua × fem reader (ft. mentions of mingyu)

genre : fluff , strangers-to-friends ? / strangers-to-lovers!au (ig) with a twist! haha

word count: 1.3k -ish if u don't count the lyrics lol

warnings: mentions of alcohol and that's pretty much it

A/N : it's my first time writing fluff pls be nice :'> and please do tell me what you think! since i'm not that good at writing fluff hehe.

The windchimes by the door made a light tinkling noise, signaling that a new person came in the pub. The woman was greeted with nods and smiles by the bartenders and waiters of the place, and she gave them a small smile, sitting by the bar.

It was a tiring day at work and summer just came in. Even at night, the cold breeze can't be felt.

All she needed was an ice cold beer to relieve her from everything.

The dim orange lighting of the place dampened her mood even more as she swirled her bottle by the neck, releasing a sigh.

She was bored of everything, feeling like her life was dull and she's just moving by itself like a machine. She always felt like there was something missing but she never bothered looking for it, because she doesn't know what she's supposed to look for.

A plucking of guitar strings cut her away from her thoughts. The people up front started hollering, making her turn her attention to the commotion.

A guy that was standing on the small stage at the front was tuning his guitar, head leaning down to focus on the sounds of each string as he carefully turned its knobs.

When he finally got the right tune, he gave one of the staff a thumbs up, signaling them that he was good to go.

Suddenly there was a small buzz filling the room. He tapped the microphone in front of him, checking if it was on.

"What's your name and who are you?" A guy shouted from the crowd.

"I'm a guy called Joshua," he said.

"Yeah, Joshua!" Another guy cheered, making Joshua chuckle.

"And I'm originally from L.A."

Joshua started strumming the chords of the intro of the song, and everyone started clapping along the familiar beat.

She finds herself swaying along with them.

Sunday morning, rain is falling.

The moment she heard his voice, her heart started to pound.

She doesn't know why but his voice sounded familiar to her the moment he sang.

Joshua was happily singing while smiling at everyone up front. Then he looked her way.

She didn't want to assume he was looking at her but she was alone at the bar, and the bartenders were facing their backs, busy making drinks for other customers.

Her cheeks started to feel warm. She didn't know if it was from the beer or from the way that guy called Joshua was looking at her.

That someday it would lead me back to you.

He smiled while singing the word 'you,' as if he was singing it to her. His eyes turned into crescents as he sings the chorus, never taking his sight off her.

That maybe all I need, in darkness she is all I see.

People were singing along and swaying with their hands up through out, completely drunk.

The men filming him at the side were singing louder than him, making her giggle.

Everyone was feeling good by his singing and so did she, forgetting that she was sad in the first place.

And I never want to leave.

Strumming the last chord, Joshua finished singing Sunday Morning.

Evryone cheered, giving him a round of applause. Some were even chanting his name and whistling at him.

He shyly thanked everyone and stepped down the stage, making his way towards the bar.

She quickly faced the counter again and started look busy, pretending to be interested at the print of the beer bottle. But she felt his presence beside her.

Of all the stools he could've sat on, he sat next to her.

"One stout, please," he ordered from the bartender.

At the corner of her eye, she saw him reach out in his pocket and pull out his wallet.

The bartender placed his drink and just as Joshua was about to hand over his card, she interjects.

"It's on me," she said abruptly, making the two men freeze. "Please put it on my tab."

The bartender gave Joshua a look, mentally asking him if he wants to accept.

"Okay then." Joshua gave the bartender a nod, putting his card back into his wallet. "Thank you."

He lifted his glass and clanked it to hers before taking a sip.

"Nah, thank you for that amazing performance."

Joshua laughed at her compliment, his head throwing back a bit and covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he did so.

'Cute', she thought.

"Well I'm glad," he said with a smile, and she felt her heart skip.

It's like one of those scenes in movies where a guy flashes a groups of ladies a smile, and they faint from it—yeah it felt like that.

She was so mesmerized by him, staring at his face, while he animately talked about something.

He's so beauti—

"So are you from here?" His question snapped her out of her thoughts, almost slipping from her seat.

She quickly sat up straight and leaned her arm on the counter, regaining her composure.

"Oh, yeah, I'm from here. I actually work nearby."

She mentally cursed herself for giving out such a personal information to a stranger.

A beautiful and talented stranger.

"So, how's life treating you lately?"

She didn't know what it is, she really can't pinpoint it. But there was something with the way he asked her that suddenly made her feel comfortable around him.

The night went by so fast, the two of them didn't even notice the time was nearing 2 a.m.

They talked the night away, discussing almost everything they could think of, their forgotten drinks turning warm.

She poured out everything on him as it felt like he was this long-time friend trying to catch up after not seeing each other for years.

"Sorry to interrupt," a tall guy chimes in, breaking their conversation. "It's getting late and we still have a flight to catch." He apologetically reminded Joshua.

Joshua looked at his wrist watch, wide-eyed, seeing the time.

He looked back at her, seeing that she's already looking at him with sad eyes. But her lips still formed a polite smile.

His heart broke. He wanted to stay here with her, wishing everything would just stop and freeze, never leaving this moment. He finally got to spend time with her but their time was limited and sadly, he can't stay.

"Hey it's okay," she reassured him. "I had a great time. It was nice meeting you, Josh."

The moment she said his nickname, it pulled his heartstrings.

He wanted to combust right then and there.

A smile slowly crept up to the corner of his mouth, trying his hardest not to show how much saying his name affected him.

"Want to exchange numbers? Or usernames?" She offered.

"So, how did it go?" Mingyu finally asked as the lights turned red, stopping the car.

"She's the same like before. She never changed," Joshua found himself smiling at the thought of her.

Mingyu looked at Joshua's way, shaking his head and laughing at how giddy his friend was right now.

"Do you think she'll remember you?" Mingyu cautiously asked, tapping on steering wheel as he stares at the stop light, waiting for it to change colour.

He knows not to bring that topic up, but tonight's events made him curious as he saw everything unfold from afar.

"I don't know," Joshua sighed but his smile never left his face. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I guess it's better if we start anew." He shrugs.

Ding.

The message alert got Joshua scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket.

Mingyu snorted in laughter, never seeing his friend act like that before.

A huge grin appeared on Joshua's face as he read the message Y/N sent him.

"I think she likes me," he murmured happily.

"Of course she does!" Mingyu chuckled.

The light finally turned green and Mingyu continued driving, attention going back to the road.

She may not remember the past she and Joshua used to have, but even though the circumstances are like that, he knew that someday it will lead her back to him.

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440mxs-wife · 3 months

Text

Treasure Quest, Chapter 9: The Truth Comes Out

Pairing: Captain Dean x Rhaya Payton (OFC) Other Characters: Captain Crowley, Lucifer, Benny, Jack (mentioned). Lord Darius Payton, Lord Ashton Kane, Damon Sharpe, Connor (OMC's), Captain Keira, Carissa Payton, Darcy (OFC's).

Word Count: 4921

Warnings: A bit of swashbucklin' in the church, defending honor. Mention of murder (Carissa + Isabella's backstory). Some separation anxiety leading to a bit more of Rhaya's self-doubt and self-isolation, Karma finally comes around for Stepmother and Annoying Fiancé. (also some great nicknames for the Annoying Fiancé).

Series Summary: Rhaya Payton is the daughter of the governor of Ochana. She grew up listening to her father tell her stories of pirates and treasure maps. At a gala one night, her stepmother, Carissa, announces Rhaya’s engagement to Ashton Kane, a wealthy nobleman. Only problem is, no one checked with Rhaya first. After overhearing plans made by her fiancé, Rhaya decides to go on the run and stows away on Captain Dean’s ship. What will happen when he finds her?

This Chapter: So, who is it under the veil....?

Lots of secrets are revealed in this chapter, both with Lord Ashton and Lady Carissa, starting with a nugget of truth from an unlikely source. Captain Dean and Rhaya inch ever closer to each other, each learning that their feelings for the other are not unrequited. After a short reunion, Captain Dean has to leave Ochana, but promises to return. As the separation goes on longer than expected, Rhaya begins to doubt Captain Dean's word. Her father grows worried for her, then receives notice that a new player has emerged, and decides to throw a banquet in his honor. Who is the new mystery man? Tune in to find out....Enjoy!

A/N: To all of you who have read, liked, reblogged, commented, or interacted with this story in any way: thank you. There will be one more chapter to wrap things up for our favorite captain and governor's daughter. It has been my pleasure to bring this story to life for you, and I appreciate you all. ❤️

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"WHERE IS RHAYA?!?" Ashton thundered.

When the veil was lifted, the bride standing at the altar was not the same one who had fainted earlier and stopped the ceremony. No, it was Darcy who had taken Rhaya's place, wearing the horrendous wedding gown chosen by Carissa. And she only hoped that enough time had passed to allow Rhaya and the others involved to leave the church.

Ashton grabbed Darcy's arms and yanked her forward until they were almost nose-to-nose. "Where is she?" he demanded again.

"Let. Her. Go. NOW." Lord Darius glared at Ashton until he released his grip on the young woman's arms. "Darcy, I need you to tell me where my daughter is," he pleaded.

Darcy debated whether or not to tell the governor about his daughter's location. Though she was dependent on the governor for her livelihood, the safety of her friend was more important. Thus, she remained silent and did not respond.

"Please, Darcy. I need to know if she is at least safe and hasn't been kidnapped," he implored.

"Lord Darius, I can assure you that she is safe and in good hands, though she is no longer in this building," she revealed. "Please understand that I hold you in the highest respect and consider you my family. But for her protection, I will not reveal her whereabouts."

All parties glared at each other in silence while they tried to decide on the next move to be made. Amused laughter broke the stalemate, as necks craned to determine the source. Lucifer rose from his seat and sauntered over to where the groom and his future in-laws were gathered. As soon as Lord Ashton's eyes landed on Lucifer, his anger exploded.

"YOU!! You were supposed to keep my bride from escaping, yet she managed to give you and your men the slip! What the hell kind of pirate are you anyway, that you can't seem to keep track of a woman for crying out loud?!? Your reputation makes you out to be some kind of ruthless sea captain who'll do anything to get what he wants. 'Ruthless'? HA! I'd say more like, 'worthless'," Ashton spat out.

Lucifer's hand moved quickly to the grip of his sword, but he did not draw it. "Have a care with your words, Your Lordship. As I recall, you sought me out when your bride left you the first time. Therefore, if anyone should be worried about a 'reputation', I'd be concerned about your own," he pointed out. "Lest you find out firsthand exactly how ruthless I can be," he added darkly.

"Oh come on, Lucifer, we all know you're not going to waste your time teaching a lesson to some pompous, arrogant jerk," a voice called from the church's open doorway. "He doesn't deserve a woman like Rhaya anyway."

Ashton's head whipped around at the comment, determined to learn who made it. His eyes narrowed as they landed on Captain Dean Winchester, whose arms were crossed over his chest. A lazy smirk graced the captain's face, almost daring Lucifer or anyone else to make a move against him, but knowing that no one would.

Dean was wearing a black leather jacket, left open to show off a crisp, white tunic under it. The shirt was loosely laced at the top to show off the medallion hanging from a solid gold chain. His black trousers were tucked into his knee-high boots, and a red sash was tied around his middle. A brown leather belt was buckled over the sash, with his sword securely fastened to it and a knife tucked into a thigh holster.

"Who, exactly, are you and what business do you have here?" Ashton demanded.

"I am Dean Winchester, captain of the shipping vessel The Black Diamond," he declared. "My purpose here is to ensure the safety and well-being of the governor's daughter, Rhaya. We met when I discovered her as a stowaway on my boat. In the time we spent together, we became such good friends that she confided in me the reason she ended up hiding on my ship."

A glimmer of understanding crossed Ashton's face, which morphed into a sneer. "Ah-ha! You mean you kidnapped Rhaya and held her for ransom on your ship, away from her loved ones," he retorted. "Your only goal was to keep her long enough to collect on the 50,000 gold pieces, except Lucifer beat you to it."

"I didn't ask for any ransom and don't know anything about 50,000 gold pieces. None of that makes any difference to me. No, I know she ran away on her engagement day because she overheard her fiancé reveal his true intentions for her. Such as, once married, it was his plan to steal some treasure map from his father-in-law and collect on it. Then, at some point, he would arrange for his new wife to meet with an 'accident'. One from which he would make sure she would not survive," Dean explained coolly.

"Lies! Absolute fabrication, and I will suffer this indignity no longer!" Ashton shouted, drawing his sword. "Defend yourself, sir, as I will with my blade. Mark my words, I shall be vindicated against such slander!" He lunged forward, slashing at Dean's midsection, the tip of the weapon narrowly missing him.

Dean drew his sword as well, with the intent to protect himself against Ashton, but not to inflict any lethal wounds. He was mostly successful in blocking Ashton's attacks, only sustaining superficial injuries as the two of them roamed about the sanctuary.

In one particularly heated exchange, Dean turned quickly and lost his balance, then fell on his back into the front pew. Ashton lunged forward, his knee on Dean's chest pinning him down to the bench. The nobleman hovered over Dean, his blade aimed straight at the captain's chest. The two men stared at each other, Dean noticing the extreme level of anger and hatred in his opponent's eyes.

"ENOUGH!!" Everyone looked up to see that Rhaya and Keira had returned to the church in time to prevent the fatal blow from being struck. While everyone was distracted, Darcy snuck out of the church to let her know what was happening inside. "Get away from him, Ashton," she ordered.

"Rhaya," Dean whispered. He took advantage of Ashton's momentary distraction to shove his opponent away and scrambled away out of range of his sword.

As he hit the floor, Ashton broke out of his trance and hurried to his feet in an attempt to re-ignite the conflict with Dean. "NO! He told everyone in here a preposterous story about me stealing from your father and then arranging to have you suffer a deadly fate. How could you believe such lies, Rhaya? You know I'd never do anything to hurt you," he pleaded.

The sound of someone clearing his throat drew everyone's attention to the side door of the church. "I don't think that's entirely accurate, Lord Assbutt," Crowley smirked. "I have someone here who can corroborate Dean's version of events." He moved aside as two members of his crew stepped forward, with Damon Sharpe being held in restraints between them. "Caught him trying to sneak out of here to avoid prosecution."

After recovering from the initial shock of seeing his daughter returned to him a second time, Lord Darius approached Crowley's prisoner. "Is this true? Did Ashton plot to steal from me and kill my daughter?" he demanded.

When he didn't answer, Crowley forcefully nudged Damon's shoulder, nearly making him lose his balance. "Yes, it's true, and Lady Rhaya was smart to run away. Ashton hired Lucifer to find Rhaya and bring her home, only he wasn't too specific as to how it was to be accomplished," Damon remarked. At this detail, everyone looked around for Lucifer, but he was nowhere to be found.

Damon continued. "After your daughter ran away, we searched through your study. We found where you'd hidden the map, but it had already been removed."

"That's because once I overheard you two idjits and your plans, I had to make a break for it. I knew all along where my father had hidden the map, and I took it with me when I fled the mansion. I intended to find the treasure on my own. Instead, I made a deal with someone I trust a hell of a lot more than Lord Assclown. I have no doubt that by now, the treasure has been found and is long gone from its hiding place, but in good hands," Rhaya assured the group. She caught Dean's eye and gave him a soft smile, which he returned.

Lord Darius raised an eyebrow at this turn of events, only barely suppressing a smile and filing the information away for later. While Damon was relaying his part in the scheme, the governor's guards were slowly positioning themselves to arrest Lord Ashton. With a nod from Lord Darius, his men grabbed the groom and dragged him to the dungeon, kicking and screaming the entire way. Damon was escorted as well, but with much less resistance.

Carissa whipped around to face Rhaya, her face full of fury. "Do you realize what you've done? You made your fiancé look like a fool, this time by leaving him at the altar, and now he's been arrested!" she screeched.

"What I've done? What about what you've done?? You announced my engagement without consulting me first, so of course I ran away. When I was forcibly returned by Lucifer, you moved up the wedding date and chose that--that--hideous wedding gown for me to wear. Then, as if that's not enough, after everything you've heard about Lord Pain-in-the-Ass, you still take his side?"

"You are a selfish and ungrateful brat, just like your mother!" Carissa seethed. "We used to be friends before she got married and moved away. It was then that I realized she never cared about me. She only pretended to be my friend until she got what she wanted, no matter who got hurt along the way."

"You're lying, Carissa! My mother would never have intentionally hurt anyone!" Rhaya vehemently defended.

Carissa scoffed. "Believe what you want, but I knew I had to get even. I arranged an invitation to the governor's mansion as a respite from some 'personal issues' in my life. That allowed me to get close to Isabella and your father so I could drive a wedge between them. I wanted her to lose that which was most precious to her. At first, nothing I tried was working. Therefore, I had to resort to more....aggressive measures."

Lord Darius' face grew pale. "What are you saying, Carissa?" he whispered.

"I made sure I had access to Isabella's meals, drinks, and snacks when they were served. Little by little, Isabella started to get sick from what I was adding to her food and drink. From there, it was only a matter of time before her illness reached the point of no return." A dark smile twisted her lips as she recalled her endeavors.

It was one thing to suspect her stepmother of such a horrible act of murder. However, it was quite another to have the perpetrator confess her crime and show no sign of remorse. "Y--you poisoned my mother?" Rhaya gasped, to which Carissa simply nodded. "How could you do that?? I loved my mother, but you don't care, do you?? Because for you, it was all just a means to an end! If you had only gotten over your stupid jealousy and let her and my father live out their lives together," she sobbed.

"Now Rhaya, dear, you know I could never have done that. I had to get your mother out of the way so your father could see her true character. And with you being so stubborn and unladylike, I had to find someone who was willing to put up with you long enough to get you out of the picture. Thus the engagement to Ashton, who assured me he could keep you on a tight leash. Although you made a mess of that too, didn't you?" she growled. "I see I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands once again."

With a loud snarl, Carissa lunged forward, her hands outstretched to try and grab Rhaya by the throat. At the last minute, the governor's guards seized Carissa around her waist and pulled her out of reach. They dragged her to the dungeon, with a wild, crazed look in her eyes as she howled to be let go.

Dean rushed to Rhaya's side, both to comfort her and keep Carissa away from her. As soon as he got within a few steps of her, she flung herself at him. He quickly caught her and closed his arms around her and held her against his chest. One hand rubbed up and down her back to soothe her, while the other stroked the back of her head. He whispered in her ear how he was here for her, that she was safe, and he wouldn't let anything hurt her.

Lord Darius quietly observed their interaction as the captain comforted his daughter. It was clear that they had become quite close in the time she spent aboard his ship. He made a mental note to meet with Dean in private to determine the nature of their relationship.

As Rhaya's father, he wanted to know the captain's intentions towards his only daughter. The governor smiled, feeling as if he was witnessing the beginning of a new love story, and decided that it deserved to be celebrated. At some point, though, he would also have to deal with his own feelings about Carissa's betrayal, but that was a problem for another day.

"Well, if there are no more criminals to be hauled off to the dungeon, I say we should all return to the mansion and sort some things out, hmm?" Lord Darius suggested.

Everyone chuckled and murmured their agreement as they climbed into the waiting carriages. Dean opened the door to one of the cabs and grinned when Rhaya slid her hand into his so he could help her inside. At first, she sat on one seat, while he sat on the other. Once the carriage was underway, Dean moved to sit beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she nestled into his side, closing her eyes when she felt his lips softly brush her temple.

As the carriage traveled the road between the church and the mansion, Rhaya tilted her head to catch Dean's gaze. "I've missed you so much," she murmured. "All those nights we spent together, staring up at the stars and talking?" She snuggled deeper into his side. "Mmm. It's been far too long since we've done that," she sighed.

"I've missed you too, sweetheart. And....I'm sorry," he mumbled against her skin.

Rhaya pulled back in surprise. "What on earth do you have to apologize for?" she asked.

Dean's gaze dropped to the floor. "Because I....I didn't protect you, which allowed Lucifer the opportunity to grab you and force you to come back," he remarked.

"There's nothing you could've done to stop Lucifer. I gave in because they were going to hurt Jack and Kelly if I didn't. I was returned home, unhurt, to my father, where I was safe. Except for Carissa, anyway. I suppose the worst part of it all was having to listen to Lucifer for the entire voyage home," she muttered.

Dean laughed at her assessment of the situation and tucked her into his side again, with a bit tighter grip around her shoulders this time. He heard her sweet sigh of contentment and closed his eyes, with his head resting on top of hers. The movement of the carriage lulled them both to sleep, one which the footman was reluctant to disturb. The creaking door caused Dean to stir in his seat, then he gently nudged Rhaya awake.

Upon exiting the coach, Dean held his hand out to assist Rhaya as she stepped down. Her hand was still in his when they walked into the mansion and were greeted by several of the staff. They had heard about what happened in the church, and were secretly glad that the wedding did not go through. Lord Darius had already arrived and given instructions for the staff to prepare rooms for his guests.

Captain Crowley was escorted to his own room, with his and Dean's crew members bunking together in pairs or threes. Rhaya had already left for her room to freshen up, when Dean was approached by a staff member, informing him that Lord Darius wanted to speak to him. He agreed and followed the path to the governor's study.

***

The evening began with a feast in honor of Dean and Crowley, to whom Lord Darius was grateful for their assistance. Ashton, Damon, and Carissa were in the dungeons for the time being, with their fates to be decided at a later date. Lucifer was long gone, with Connor's guards confirming The Red Dragon's departure.

Dinner gave way to dancing, where most of Rhaya's dances were saved for Dean, to no one's surprise. She twirled around the floor with Benny, who was a surprisingly good dancer. Jack was a little more awkward in his movements, but Rhaya didn't seem to mind. There were a few dances with her father, but as expected, the majority of her time was occupied by Dean.

The festivities lasted until just after midnight, at which time everyone said goodnight and retreated to separate quarters. Lord Darius gave his daughter a hug and a kiss to the top of her head and bid her goodnight. Over her head, he caught Dean's eye and his stern gaze softened before giving him a wink and heading to his room.

Holding hands, Rhaya and Dean walked to her bedroom door. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Dean. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing with you. Had no idea you were so talented," she teased.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, sweetheart, but I'm sure lookin' forward to showing you," he replied. One hand rested on her hips, tugging her closer to his body until it was almost flush against him. His other hand trailed up her side, his fingers ghosting their way up her arm until his hand was cradling her face. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, which drew Dean's attention and he was overcome with the urge to kiss her.

Dean began to slowly lean closer, his eyes constantly searching Rhaya's for any signs of resistance and finding none. He paused a fraction of an inch before their lips would be touching, still allowing her the chance to back away, but continued to hold his attention. With an almost imperceptible nod from Rhaya, Dean smiled as he prepared to close the gap and find out exactly how soft her lips are.

"Hey, Rhaya, Dean--oops," called Keira from in front of her room. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt....whatever. Goodnight!" With a knowing smirk, she dashed inside her room and hurriedly closed the door behind her.

Muffled from his head resting on Rhaya's shoulder, Dean groaned. "Goodnight, Keira," he ground out. This caused Rhaya to giggle and when Dean lifted his head, he was grinning as well.

"I'll make sure and get even with her sooner or later," she promised. "See you in the morning?"

"Absolutely, darlin'," he remarked. "I'll have to meet you down at the docks, though, because I need to return to Alcaria. There are some things I must take care of; however, my word is my bond that I will come back to Ochana for you."

Rhaya's face fell at the mention of another separation from Dean. "You're leaving? But you just got here," she pouted. "Do you really have to go so soon? How long will you be gone?" she asked, tears threatening at her lash line.

"It shouldn't take more than a couple of months to put everything in order in Alcaria, then I swear I will be back for you, my angel," he vowed.

She thought for a moment or two then gave him a sigh of acceptance. "Two months isn't too long, I suppose," she conceded. "You won't forget about me if some other woman comes along, right?" she wondered.

Dean hooked his finger under Rhaya's chin and tilted her head up so he could see her face. "Not a chance, sweetheart, because you are absolutely impossible to forget. And there is no other woman in the world for me except you," he finished softly.

Rhaya gave him a watery chuckle. "There's no other man in the world for me except you," she responded. After several more seconds passed, she pushed up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Dean," she whispered before stepping around him to enter her room. She gave him one last shy smile before closing the door.

Dean's fingers brushed his cheek, which still tingled a bit where Rhaya's lips had kissed him. A goofy smile broke out over his face, knowing the woman he loved returned his affections. With a spring in his step, he continued on his path to his own room, eager to fall asleep and dream of Rhaya.

***

Early the next morning, Dean and his crew made their way down to the docks and prepared to sail home to Alcaria. Hugs with Benny and Jack were exchanged, with each man reluctant to leave Ochana so soon. The chefs were kind enough to send baskets full of breads, muffins, cookies, and other treats, which were appreciated by all.

Saying goodbye to Dean was the last thing Rhaya wanted to do, but she knew he had to leave. As she lay in her bed that night after the banquet, she realized how much she had grown to love him in their short time together. In her mind, he was a part of her future in so many ways, and she couldn't imagine her life without him. However, because she loved him, she had to let him go. She had to have faith that if he returned, then he would be hers forever.

Dean had done some soul-searching that night in bed as well. When he'd first met Rhaya, he thought she was some spoiled and entitled member of the so-called ruling class. Every day, every moment spent with her since then has been the real treasure. She wasn't brought up to be a fragile, delicate, wisp of a woman who needed a man to cater to her every whim. She was an independent woman, strong yet kind, a testament to the way her parents raised her.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Rhaya remarked, her voice thick with emotion.

"I know, darlin', I wish I could stay and spend more time with you," Dean replied. "But I will be back in two months. I have some business matters to settle in Alcaria, then once that's all out of the way, I will return, my sweet girl," he whispered. His hand cradled her face, his thumb caressing the apple of her cheek. He gave her a soft smile as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

The two of them stood on the docks for what seemed like hours, with Dean gently swaying with Rhaya in his arms, her head resting on his chest. He never wanted this moment to end, because it felt perfect to keep her close to his body and in his warm embrace. Finally, Benny reluctantly approached the couple. He informed his captain that they needed to leave soon if they wanted to sail during the most daylight. He gave Rhaya a quick smile then left her alone with his captain.

Rhaya gave Dean one last squeeze then pulled back a bit out of his embrace. This time, it was her hand that reached up to caress his stubbled cheek. "Hurry back, hmm? I'll see if I can maybe send messages through Keira. Hopefully your paths will cross at some point, right?" she gave a watery chuckle.

"I promise that if she stops by Alcaria, I will make sure that she doesn't leave without a message from me to you." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are the absolute best thing that's happened to me in such a long time. I am so happy you came into my life, Rhaya. I will be back for you, darling."

"I'll be waiting," she whispered. She closed her eyes as Dean pressed a kiss to her forehead. He gave her one last embrace before backing away from her. A shiver went up her spine at the change in temperature without him by her side. She watched as he walked up the gangplank to the ship and handed off his bag to Jack. He hurried to the rail to catch one final sighting of her, his face breaking into a smile when he finally made eye contact.

As the ship left port, Rhaya stood rooted in her spot on the docks. She was determined to remain in place until she could no longer see Dean waving at her from the stern of the ship. Tears continued to streak down her face, but she made no effort to wipe them away. At some point, Darcy joined her in watching The Black Diamond sail away, her arm draped around her dearest friend. Eventually, the ship disappeared into the horizon, and the two women solemnly returned to the comfort of the mansion.

***

The first few weeks without Dean seemed to pass quickly, mostly because her father kept her occupied with business matters for Ochana. He sought her opinion on certain subjects and she was allowed to sit in on a few meetings with his council members. Darcy tried to keep her busy as well, doing whatever she could to shift Rhaya's focus away from Dean's absence.

In the beginning, Keira was able to pass along a few messages between the captain and her sister. The missives helped to banish the melancholy feelings they each held at being apart from one another. However, as the weeks seemed to drag on, fewer and fewer letters were passed, until at one point they finally stopped.

When that happened, Rhaya tried to ignore the doubts creeping through her mind, the ones telling her that Dean forgot about her. She fought them back, replacing those thoughts with the memories of being in his arms and sharing tender kisses with each other. She remembered how it felt to dance with him at the party given by her father after her wedding to Ashton fell through.

As time wore on, it was becoming more difficult than others to banish the fears. Especially the ones that told her that the reason he hadn't yet returned is because he found someone else to make a life with. The time they'd spent together on his ship and the memories made there were becoming more distant in her mind. She confined herself mostly to her room, only emerging for meals, or the occasional council meeting when her father requested her presence.

Around the two and a half month mark, Lord Darius was becoming more and more concerned about his daughter's self-imposed isolation. He quickly called a meeting of the heads of staff, Connor, Darcy, and fortunately, Keira was due to arrive any day. He suspected that Rhaya's misery had quite a bit to do with a certain green-eyed sea captain. His thoughts drifted back to a conversation he'd had with Dean about his daughter.

>>>Flashback<;<<

The governor poured himself and his guest a glass of whiskey, then took a seat in the wingback chair opposite of the captain. Dean had a feeling that this meeting with Lord Darius would have occurred at some point; that it was less a question of "if", rather than "when". The governor's opening volley got straight to the heart of the matter. "So, Captain Winchester, tell me about your relationship with my daughter."

Dean chuckled nervously at first and after taking his first sip, he gave the governor a rundown on how they met and got to know each other. He talked about his first impression of her and how it compared to what he thought of her now.

"I'll admit, we didn't really get along at first, but eventually we found our way. She's amazing, Lord Darius. Kind, hard-working, eager to learn, and is okay with not being the smartest person in the room. Although we know she usually is." They shared a laugh.

"She's my first thought when I open my eyes in the morning and my last when my head hits the pillow at night. Of course she's a gorgeous and enchanting woman, anyone can see that. But her inner beauty is only equal to or greater than her outer beauty. And I love her," Dean admitted.

Lord Darius hummed in response. "And how do you plan to support her? I know the life of a sea captain means long stretches of time away from home and doesn't always pay very well."

He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "Sir, if she'll have me, your daughter will want for nothing. My business is solid and profitable, thus, I am able to support her well." He leaned back, a shy grin on his face. "Though I'm hoping that I won't have to leave her behind very often, because she'll want to join me out on my ship. She's a very capable and intelligent woman, thanks to your encouragement of her education."

>>>End of Flashback<;<<

A fond smile briefly tugged at the corners of the governor's mouth as he recalled the conversation that occurred nearly three months ago. He wished for Keira to arrive soon, since Rhaya was out in town on a few business matters for him and would soon return. He hoped that there would be some news to share, that Keira had made contact with Dean and carried a letter from him.

A knock at the door broke Lord Darius out of his reverie as he opened the door to let Darcy in. Keira followed having just returned from her important mission. He invited both ladies to join him in some afternoon tea and fresh chocolate chip cookies. Darcy took care of serving, while the governor discussed the assignment and news from Alcaria.

"Everything is in place, Lord Darius. He'll be arriving here in two weeks, though I'm sure if he could be, he'd be flying here right now," Keira grinned. In her last visit, she learned that Dean had been made a duke, courtesy of his newfound wealth. "I think we should have a reception to announce his new title and formally introduce him as our newest trading partner."

Lord Darius stroked his stubbled chin as he considered her suggestion, finally nodding in agreement. "Two weeks should be enough time to plan for his first 'official' state visit," he replied. "We'll need to alert the staff, set the menu, make sure we have everything cleaned from top to bottom, and arrange the accommodations."

Darcy volunteered to coordinate with the various staff members, while Keira promised to keep her sister busy. Formal gatherings were never Rhaya's forté, invariably opting to keep her nose out of the process as much as possible. This time, her father arranged for her to be fitted with a new gown for the occasion. Then she would stand where she was told and greet the visitor with full charm and grace, as expected.

But this would be no ordinary state visit by a foreign dignitary and his entourage. The festivities were being held to introduce the new Duke of Rosevale, both to the world and as Ochana's latest trading partner. Not much was known about him, other than he was only recently granted his title due to his enormous and vast wealth. However, within two weeks, everyone would know the identity of the Duke of Rosevale.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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#pirate!dean x ofc #pirate!dean au #treasure quest

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