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etherealising · 11 months

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interlude one | parle-moi

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summary: a glance into the final couple of weeks of carmy and baby's senior year.

wc: 13.7k

song inspo: parle-moi

please don't let any graphics hinder your imagination of fem!reader/baby, you could imagine her as a fucking smurf for all i care. any pictures used are NOT a representation of baby they just fit the chapter!!!!

also i describe hayden as atj's character in kick-ass because that's what i was watching while writing this chapter but you could imagine him as rasputin or liteally whoever you're into.

but also like atj and jaw are literally the same person just different fonts ya know? happy reading!

May 2013

Carmy watched as you manned the front of house at The Beef, you and Richie working seamlessly around each other as the both of you took turns at the cash register and running food to the customers who had decided to dine in. Carmy wouldn’t lie, he was a little miffed that Mikey had given you a job here but strictly forbade him from even thinking about working at The Beef, but it was okay because he had a plan. Carmy was going to pursue his dream of becoming a chef, not only that, he was going to become the best fucking chef he could be and prove to Michael exactly why he deserved to work alongside him at the family business.

It wasn’t necessarily fair for Carmy to be mad at you for earning yourself a job at The Beef, and he wasn’t. He knew you were only working there to save up money, he knew how badly you and your mom needed it. Things had gotten worse with your mom in the past two years. One of your aunts had come from the west coast to stay with the two of you as you finished up your senior year waiting to whisk the two of you away at the first chance she got. Carmy had met her a handful of times. She was nice he would give her that, but she always looked at him like she knew a secret he didn’t.

Leaning against the end of the counter as he waited for you to go on break, he watched as you made your way back from the dining area to the front, doing his best to capture your features. The slight sheen to your skin from running back and forth and the slight humidity that could be felt in the air. He took notice of the way your hair decorated your head, which pieces looked out of place. Carmy studied you with a curious eye, fingers drumming against the small sketchbook you had got him for his birthday. He had wanted to draw you for a while, and he tried once, but after picking out everything wrong with the drawing he decided that maybe your kind of features weren’t meant to be confined to the lines on a piece of paper.

Carmy watched as you laughed at something stupid Richie said, your laughter singing through the restaurant. Even as you turned to the window of the kitchen to share the joke with the rest of your crew, the large smile still hadn’t left your face.

You turned from the window removing the apron from around your waist as you approached Carmy, the remnants of laughter still on your face. You grabbed his hand pulling him along to the dining area where the two of you plopped down at your favorite corner table. The patrons are still there sending greetings to both of you. You nodded at Carmy’s sketchbook that now sat on the table, his hand lying flat atop it.

“Got anything new for me to look at?” You eyed the small book, always happy to look at whatever new drawing had taken over Carmy’s mind, even if they were of Claire.

Carmy followed your line of sight, a slight blush rising to his cheeks at your intrigue. He usually wouldn’t think twice about letting you parse through his artwork, your genuine interest always pushing him to keep up his hobby. “Uh, I’m not sure if you’ll want to see what’s in this sketchbook.”

Carmy’s fingers began drumming away again, the constant contact with the small book keeping him calm. You sent a teasing smile his way “Why afraid I’ll get tired of seeing your drawings of Claire?” You had meant for the quip to be a joke, although you were tired of seeing Claire’s face staring back at you through Carmy’s drawings, it wasn’t your friend's fault that she had stolen the heart of the boy you had been pining after for the better part of a year.

The frown on Carmy’s face told you that he may have taken offense to the slight joke, your teasing smile dropping as you felt the guilt creep in on you. “I don’t draw Claire that much do I?” The vulnerability in his tone catches you off guard.

You quickly shook your head wanting to appease him, “No Carm, guess I’ve just been around Mikey and Richie too much working here.” You sent him a small smile hoping to raise his spirits, “Word of advice though, some people might find it a bit weird if they knew someone was drawing them without their permission.” You leaned your head on the palm of your hand as you watched Carmy flush even more.

Carmy felt the heat of his blush rising on his neck and painting his cheeks an even deeper red, of course, you would think he was weird for randomly drawing your friend. His lack of experience and newfound fascination channeled into his drawings as he saw no other way to deal with his crush on Claire. He cleared his throat, eyes finding yours again, “Would you?” At the confusion on your face he swallowed, not wanting you to think him any weirder than he already felt, “Would you find it weird if I was drawing you?”

You watched Carmy sink into himself after asking you that question, your own heart melting a bit about the shyness Carmy exuded. “Carmen,” your hands reach out to clasp his between your own, “I would be flattered if you ever decided to draw me. Hell, maybe I’ll even commission you.” The ending joke is made to bring yourself back to reality, if Carmy was drawing you it wasn’t for the same reasons he was drawing Claire.

If it was possible for Carmy to blush even more, he was sure he would’ve looked like a tomato sitting in front of you. You always knew exactly what to say to stave his self-doubt, but recently your words had been more warming to him, something that he couldn’t explain. But he found himself hanging on to every word that left your lips a little bit more.

Before Carmy could get his response out Tina appeared by your table with two signature beef sandwiches for the two teenagers she had watched grow up. The two of you thanked her watching as she made her way back into the kitchen, not being able to spare a minute with the dinner rush starting soon.

You smiled up at Carmy before digging into your food, the warm bread and the seasoned beef caressed your tongue. You let out a sound of appreciation as you swallowed your first bite head tossing back to savor the flavors in your mouth. Carmy let out a small chuckle as he watched you, always finding your reaction to be overdramatic, he wouldn’t lie though, he was excited for the day he would earn that same reaction after you tried his food.

A content sigh escaped your lips as you wiped your mouth with the provided napkin, “I’m gonna miss this when I’m gone.” Carmy could hear the sadness in your voice, his own sense of sadness filling him as he remembered what fate held for the two of you after graduation. The two of you would be separated from each other in what felt like the first time in forever.

Carmy sat his sandwich down, slumping a little in his seat while trying his best not to bring the mood down, “You leave at the end of July right?” His question met your ears as you took in his kicked-puppy look, you remembered how well Carmy took the news when he found out. The betrayal on his face when he found out you chose to go to a college on the West Coast.

You nodded your eyes not meeting his as you tried to lessen the hurt in your heart. It's not like you wanted to be that far from Carmy but it really was out of your hands. Your mom and aunt decided it would be best to be closer to family amid your mom’s ever-declining health. “Yeah Carm, our flight leaves on the 31st.”

You took another bite out of your sandwich appetite dwindling, but not wanting to waste the food you know the crew loved making. The two of you finished your sandwiches in silence, neither of you wanting to talk about the future and more than happy just to sit in the other’s presence.

Reaching for Carmy’s plate you stacked your own on top of his before moving them onto the edge of the table, ready to take them when your break came to an end in five minutes. You sat up straighter in your seat imbuing yourself with confidence as you prepared yourself to broach the topic you weren’t sure Carmy even cared for.

“So Carm, prom is coming up, have you given it any thought?” Carmy knew you were trying to come across as nonchalant, but the gleam in your eyes told him otherwise. Hiding the small smile that graced his lips, he watched as you tried hard to act as though you didn’t care about prom. It was a bit funny to him.

“You know it's not really my scene Baby,” he watched as your shoulders slumped a bit. You had been expecting his answer so you weren’t sure why it affected you so much

You nodded your head, “Yeah, you’re right. Not sure why I brought it up.” You began playing with your fingers, you aren’t sure what you were hoping would be different this time compared to the other times you had brought it up to him. You knew Carmy wasn’t interested in you romantically, and you knew he wasn’t interested in going to prom, but you were holding out hope thinking he might pity you and join you at prom as your friend as one last hurrah before your big move.

Carmy felt bad, he didn’t mean to make you sad. He was just waiting for the right time to ask you. He knew how much prom meant to you, and had listened to you talk his ear off about going to your high school prom after your mom and his mom showed you pictures from their respective proms. He was still working up the confidence to do so though, every time he thought he was ready he would overhear the idiots in his homeroom with their own plans to ask you. Thankfully though you had rejected every advance, and what kind of friend would Carmy be if he asked you to prom at the dinghy sticky table in the back of his family’s business?

“I’ll think about it okay?” It was Carmy’s turn to reach for your hands, to assuage the sadness he could see overtaking your features. Your eyes met Carmy’s not sure if you had heard him correctly, you wouldn’t allow yourself to get too excited at the prospect that Carmy might want to attend the prom.

You sent Carmy a small smile and a nod before standing up from your seat and grabbing the two dishes still sitting on the table, “I’ll hold you to that Bear.” You headed towards the door to the kitchen disappearing from Carmy’s sight.

It was always odd for Carmy to hear you use that nickname for him. You had usually just stuck to ‘Carmen’ or ‘Carmy’ when you were feeling extra friendly. But hearing you call him ‘Bear’ always made his heart beat a little faster, the way the nickname left your lips making him feel warm on the inside. Knowing that such a special nickname had countlessly graced your tongue, a family name just for him that you had felt comfortable enough calling him always made his head fuzzy and his chest feel like it was on fire. The sound of the bell above the door snapped him out of his thoughts, he quickly gathered up his sketchbook, he didn’t know where he was headed, but hopefully, some fresh air would give him the courage he needed to finally ask you to prom.

Your shift ended an hour ago, but you always stayed later to help the crew clean up. Mikey began giving you rides home as you took on more hours, the one plus side of working for your neighbor. At that moment Tina was helping you clean the front of the house her favorite oldies CD popped into the ancient radio, the two of you had created a tradition since you started working at The Beef. Tina would shoo Richie to the back to clean her area so the two of you could catch up.

Tina had taken you under her wing when you first started working there, teaching you what she could in her spare time. Although you had no plans to work in a kitchen anytime soon, you still cherished the time spent together taking what she taught you and using them in your kitchen. Happily sharing with Tina what your mom thought about a recipe she taught you and bringing one of your mom's famous recipes for Tina to try.

Being able to connect your mom and your work mom through food always brought warmth to your heart. The women in your life all doing their best to raise you to be the best woman you could be. As you and Tina finished cleaning up, the two of you headed to the dining area where you would usually wait for Mikey as he finished up whatever he was doing in his office and Tina would sometimes keep you company.

The two of you occupied the same table that had earlier housed you and Carmy. “So did Carmy get his head out of his ass and ask you to prom?” The smile on Tina’s face showed how excited she was to hear about your progress in getting Carmy open to going to prom.

You hid your face in your hands, your big smile hiding behind it, “He told me he’d think about it, which isn’t a no but, I’m too scared to get my hopes up,” You smiled in Tina’s direction watching as she nodded the smile never leaving her face.

“Mama, why don’t you just ask him yourself?” Tina questioned searching your eyes, your smile faltered as you listened to Tina’s question, why hadn’t you just asked Carmy? It would’ve given you a straight answer, and you wouldn’t have had to wait around while he was being indecisive.

Your eyebrows pinched together as you looked at Tina in earnest, “But what if he says no?” The self-doubt creeping in, of course, you would ask him as friends, you didn’t want to freak him out but insinuating you wanted something more, even though you did.

Tina shrugged her shoulders, a small warm smile decorating her features “You can’t control his reaction Mija.” She leaned forward to clasp your hands in hers, “If you don’t ask you’ll never know.” You could always count on Tina’s solid advice to ground you.

And she was right the worst thing that could happen if you asked Carmy to the prom was his swift rejection. But the answer would always be rejection if you never asked. Tina squeezed your hands as you nodded, letting her words sink in as you calculated the best way to ask Carmy to prom.

“I see the way you look at him mama, and listen,” one of her hands shot out to raise your chin so you were looking at her directly. “It’s going to hurt if he doesn’t feel the same way, but you can’t keep living ya life waiting for him. You can be there for him as much as you want, that’s fine ma, but at the end of the day you gotta remember you’re the only person who got you.”

You could feel the tears on your waterline threatening to spill out, leave it to Tina to serve you the most heartfelt advice on a random Thursday night at a dining table at The Beef.

“I’m not saying you gotta let go of your feelings for him, just don’t lose yourself waiting for that boy to come to his senses.” With that Tina patted your hands as she stood from her seat, coming to your side of the table and planting a loving kiss on your forehead.

“You get home safe now ma, a’ight, make sure Mikey ain’t driving all stupid with you in that car.” You laughed at the jab Tina made about Mikey’s driving.

Standing up the two of you embraced each other in a hug, you were grateful to have Tina in your, and you were grateful to have met the Berzattos because without them you wouldn’t have been able to make all the wonderful connections you have now.

You waited for Tina to grab her stuff so you could walk her out. The two of you exiting The Beef you stood outside the entrance watching Tina as she made her way down the street, waiting until her petite figure was officially out of your sight before heading back inside and locking the door behind you.

Venturing to the back you stopped in the office doorway, Mikey sitting in the desk chair as Richie leaned against the desk the two of them whispering fiercely between each other. You gently knocked on the wall hoping to catch their attention, you learned the hard way that being privy to any whispered conversation these two had was never worth it.

“Uh, I’m ready when you are Mikey,” you looked between the two of them, the two giving off a more sketchy vibe than they usually did.

“You uh, didn’t hear anything you weren’t supposed to did you?” Richie’s question caused you to frown. They were definitely doing some sketchy shit that you wanted no part in.

You rolled your eyes before bending down to pick up your backpack on the floor next to the door. “You two are so fucking weird,” you crossed your arms over your chest as you looked between the two of them. Mikey finally rose from his seat and tossed you the keys that were sitting on the desk.

“Hey! That’s rude you know, I think I’m fucking great,” Richie’s response caused a tired smile to form on your lips.

“Yeah Rich, you can be cool sometimes. Goodnight Rich, get home safe.” You sent a small wave his way before leading the way to the car parked in the back of the lot, wanting nothing more than to get home, shower, and bundle up in your warm bed.

You unlocked your door before quickly sliding in and reaching over to unlock Mikey’s door. Silently rushing him along and immediately turning on the heat as Mikey settled into his seat reversing out of the lot.

“What were you and Richie even doing anyway?” You looked over in Mikey’s direction as your hands were placed in front of the vents supplying warmth to your body.

Mikey smiled at you before facing the road again your curiosity was always something he could count on, “Just keeping the business afloat. Nothing to worry over.” You nodded along, no stranger to the many problems The Beef ran into. It shocked you sometimes that it was still up and running, but you knew Mikey always found a way to keep things going.

“How’s school?” The question gained your attention, one of these talks is almost mandatory between the two of you, Mikey checking in on you and in a not-so-subtle way checking in on Carmy through you. You couldn’t pretend you knew why it was so hard for them to just talk to each other, but you guessed any effort was effort.

“Alright, I guess, just preparing for finals. Oh, guess what?” The giddiness in your voice earned a chuckle from Mikey as he nodded for you to go on. “I’m planning to ask Carmy to prom, but like as friends you know?” It was a bit ironic that every Berzatto except the one that mattered knew about your crush, but according to them, you weren’t very subtle about it.

Mikey’s laugh crumbled your resolve a bit, you weren’t sure if he was laughing at you or your idea. You flicked his shoulder sure he couldn’t feel it through his jacket, he raised his hand as a way to ward off your attack. Not that it was doing anything to hurt him.

You watched as Mikey pulled into your driveway never forcing you to cross the street on late nights. His hand reached for the ignition turning the car off as he shifted to face you in his seat.

“You know I’m proud of you right?” you nodded as you listened to Mikey’s words. “You’re gonna do big fucking things, Baby, don’t forget about us little guys alright.” You laughed a little confused about where this topic of conversation was coming from.

“I could never forget about you Brother Bear.” You teased the childhood nickname you gave Mikey pulling his lips into a smile. “I’m gonna write about you one day Mikey, gotta remember you to do that.” You watched as he just stared at you eyes roaming over your face, you reached across the console pressing a quick kiss on his cheek before moving to get out of the car.

Mikey’s hand reached out to grab your arm, “You gonna look out for Carmy even when you leave right?” You nodded at the question, feeling no need to elicit a verbal response. “Just keep an eye out for me will you, you’re good for Carmy.” You had no plans to cut Carmy off after your move, the two of you already discussed the best ways to keep in contact, the best season to catch a flight in.

“Come on now Mikey, you Berzatto’s are stuck with me for life, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” You laughed as Mikey rolled his eyes

“Get your ass in the house, Baby, I told your mom I’d stop bringing you home so late,” you nodded, picking your backpack up from by your feet on the floor. You quickly walked to your front door turning back to send Mikey a wave as he watched you get in safely.

Mikey sighed as he easily parked the car in his driveway just across the street. It was selfish but he needed you to stay in Carmy’s life in whatever way you could manage. Carmy would need you, the role you played in his life making him a better person than he already was. Mikey just hoped for your sake that Carmy put in the effort to keep you in his life, his little brother honing in on the Berzatto family habit of self-sabotage.

Mikey would speak to Carmy about it, if there was one thing he would get his little brother to understand, it was that allowing you to walk out of his life would be a colossal mistake.

Carmy was waiting for you in front of the school. Since getting your licenses the two of you had been taking turns driving the other to school, and today was his turn. He knew it would take you a good minute to make your way to the entrance since your class was located at the back of campus. It didn’t bother him though, it gave him a chance to try and calm his nerves. There was one week left until prom and he still hadn’t asked you.

He purchased the tickets a week ago. You had given him the perfect opportunity at lunch when you decided to spend the period getting help from your creative writing teacher.

Carmy just never felt like it was the right time to ask you, at least that’s what he was telling himself. In reality, he had plenty of opportunities, he just kept losing his confidence. Forcing him to constantly postpone the question he so desperately wanted answered.

For example, when he was visiting with your mom over the weekend and you were teaching him your mom’s famous peach cobbler recipe. He swore he was gonna ask you in the midst of baking, he knew you were into romantic gestures. Not that he wanted to go to prom with you romantically or anything like that. But then the two of you made a mess with the flour while trying to perfect your mom's homemade biscuits, flour getting everywhere including on the two of you.

Carmy decided as he watched you clean your face that right then was as perfect a moment as ever. The two of you were in high spirits enjoying each other's company, but then he watched as the evening light streamed through the kitchen window just perfectly. The sunlight lit up the features on your face he had somehow been overlooking for all the years he knew you. Your bright eyes and cheeky smile were solely trained on him.

And there he was standing in your mom’s kitchen, drowning in the attention you had always allotted especially for him. His smile faltered as he couldn’t help but just watch you at that moment, his breath hitched while his eyes skated over the planes of your face, the ache in his chest slowly dwindling his confidence. And Carmy decided he just couldn’t ask you that day. The timing wasn’t right. The two of you were a mess and he needed to find a bottle of Pepto Bismol asap.

So that’s how he ended up nervously waiting for you to exit school on a random Monday in May. Carmy made sure he was in the regular meeting spot as you two had dedicated it, out of the way of any other students. The two of you weren’t loners, well you weren’t, Carmy didn’t care too much for high school labels. But the two of you were fine being in each other’s presence with no need to include anyone else, and yeah sometimes you would run off with Claire or Hayden and try to invite Carmy, but Carmy didn’t need any of that. He got you and your attention every day of the week whenever he wanted, and for Carmy, that’s all he really needed.

Carmy finally spotted you making your way through the crowd of teenagers who were either waiting for their rides or just trying to prolong the day with their friends. An unconscious smile graced his features he had been waiting all day to finally just get things over with and pop the question. The two tickets held so tightly in his hands they were starting to crinkle. Letting out a deep breath, Carmy straightened up, wanting you to take his inquiry seriously, not sure his usual shyness would exhibit that he truly wanted to go to prom with you.

No longer able to wait, Carmy began walking in your direction, doing his best to avoid the bodies that didn’t care enough to pay attention to him. He made it halfway before the sight in front of him caused him to abruptly stop. Walking next to you was the tall boy he always felt himself feeling insecure around. Hayden had never shown Carmy any ill will and had even tried to include Carmy in conversation in the times he joined the two of you for lunch. But the teenager had something Carmy didn’t have; a reserve of confidence and natural charisma. The two of you had just met this year in your creative writing class and Carmy swore he would never hear the end of it.

Hayden was drinking in all your attention right now, the two of you bouncing ideas off of each other for your creative writing final. You thought Hayden was cool since your first meeting at the beginning of the year. The two of you became instant critique buddies, always asking the other to analyze a class assignment before you submitted it. At times you had thought about inviting him to hang out with you and Carmy outside of school, but you didn’t want to make Carmy uncomfortable, so the two of you remained friends inside the confines of high school.

You laughed at one of Hayden’s outlandish ideas, knowing if he turned in a paper on the topic of whatever conspiracy theory he was into at the moment they would probably withhold his diploma.

“Hey, check it out,” your eyes followed the path Hayden’s finger was pointing at, a small scowl painting your face at the scene playing out in front of you. “Looks like Carmy finally asked Claire to prom.” The words made your ears buzz, and the tickets in your back pocket felt like they were on fire now.

The two of you watched in silence as Carmy and Claire traded shy smiles with each other before he handed her one of the two tickets in his hands. When he told you he’d think about it, you weren’t aware he would think about going with someone else. The hope in your heart immediately died out as you watched the bright smile overtake Carmy’s face. You didn’t blame him, if you had the opportunity to go to prom with your crush, you obviously would have taken it too.

“You good?” The nudge to your arm broke you from your longing gaze, eyes finding Hayden’s through his dorky glasses. You nodded trying to shake the sadness off yourself, Hayden was great at reading people.

“Yeah, actually,” you took a small breath before continuing. “I know this is kind of weird, and you’re totally allowed to reject me. But would you maybe wanna go to prom with me? It doesn’t have to mean anything obviously, just two friends having a good time together.” You slipped the two tickets out of your back pocket brandishing them to Hayden. Even if you couldn’t go with Carmy you still wanted to attend prom and Hayden was a great second choice.

“Hell yeah! I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.” The lame joke caused the both of you to laugh as you shoved Hayden’s shoulder. He took one of the tickets from your hand walking backwards while still facing you. “Don’t sell yourself short, maybe I want to go to prom with you to mean something.” His loud voice catches the attention of the teenagers surrounding you. A group of underclass girls fawning over how cute they thought the scene between you two was.

You watched as Hayden disappeared to his car, a small laugh leaving your lips at Hayden’s antics, a part of you feeling giddy at the idea that someone wanted to go to prom with you as more than friends.

Carmy wasn’t sure how long he stood there staring at the interaction going on between you and Hayden, but it sure did suck the confidence right out of his insecure body. The thought of going to prom with you was just another failed idea as he was sure Hayden would ask you.

“You okay there Berzatto?” Carmy was snapped out of his trance by the presence that made their way to his side. His eyes shot to Claire’s, momentarily widening before he tried to calm his exterior. He nodded his head, giving himself a minute before even thinking of gracing Claire with an incoherent response.

“Ye-Yeah, just waiting for Baby,” his free hand raised to point in your direction as Claire smiled at him, eyes leaving him for only a moment. He dropped his hand not knowing how to continue the conversation, Claire was your friend and yeah he did have his fair share of classes with her, and she did only live down the street from the two of you. But he had never been alone with her on purpose.

The two of them stood in a stilted silence, both overcome by their shyness to say anything. Trying to ease the awkwardness Claire’s eyes landed on the tickets still tightly grasped in Carmy’s hands, finally finding an out to the silence. “I didn’t know you were into prom Carmy,” the statement reminded Carmy of what he had been planning to do in the first place.

One hand raised to run through his slightly grown-out hair, head nodding rapidly in response, “Yeah, Baby seems to be really into it.” Carmy didn’t notice Claire’s smile falter, of course, he was taking you to prom, you were the only girl that existed to him.

Carmy finally faced the girl standing next to him. The least he could do while waiting for you was hold a conversation with her. “Did you want to go?” Carmy watched Claire’s smile brighten, a confused look painting his features. Not realizing that with his overall awkward and shy personality, the girl in front of him thought this was his way of asking her to prom.

“With you?” She questioned the giddiness in her voice, easy to point out. Carmy’s eyes widened this time, this was definitely not his original plan. But he couldn’t just say no and turn her down he would’ve felt bad, plus he did have a huge crush on her, and Mikey and Richie had both told him to stop being such a pussy when it came to girls. So Carmy realized he had his answer.

“Yeah with me, i-if you want to I mean,” Carmy waited with bated breath hoping he hadn’t read the situation wrong. If Claire’s blush and wide smile were any indication he was on the right track. He raised the hand that contained the tickets between the two of them, plucking one out and offering it to Claire.

Their hands brushed as she reached for the ticket, Carmy’s smile matching hers as they fell into polite small talk about their day and their plans for after graduation.

“Don’t sell yourself short, maybe I want going to prom with you to mean something,” the sound of what they both knew to be Hayden’s voice drew their attention. They watched the fading interaction between you and Hayden, Carmy’s attention zeroing in on a laugh he heard over a hundred times.

The squeeze on his bicep removed his attention from you, eyes falling back to the girl he had just asked to prom, albeit accidentally. “They’re so cute! I can’t believe they’re going to prom together,” Claire’s excitement had somehow increased after Hayden’s obnoxious display. “Hey, maybe we can carpool,” It was wrong but Carmy couldn’t get himself to focus on the words leaving Claire’s mouth, too busy watching you watch Hayden.

“Oh hey, my mom’s here. We’ll figure it out later, see ya Carmy.” He sent a noncommittal nod in Claire’s direction, a slight wave sent to her mom who was patiently waiting in the car. Eyes immediately went back to your figure that had finally begun to make its way in his direction, the smile on your face confusing him. You didn’t like Hayden did you?

Carmy watched as you stopped in front of him before your hand reached out to shove his shoulder, “Why didn’t you tell me you were asking Claire to prom?” Carmy wasn’t sure why but your question irked him, the excitement in your voice crawling under his skin. It’s not like he had to run his whole life by you, you obviously didn’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were asking Hayden to prom?” The hostility in Carmy’s tone and the frown on his face confused you, “You just asked him to prom so he’ll sleep with you.” Your eyes widened at Carmy’s insinuation that the only reason anyone would go to prom with you was to fulfill their carnal desires.

You scoffed rolling your eyes at his immaturity, “You have an ugly fucking attitude, Carmen.” The shove of your shoulder into his as you stormed off to the car cooled his anger down.

Carmy had no clue what the fuck had been going on with him, with the two of you recently. But he knew he needed to cool it with these mood swings before you decided to leave him behind for good. He only had you for the rest of the summer before your constant presence in his life would disappear. He didn’t want to give you a reason to cease all contact after your move. Carmy followed after you knowing it would be a silent car ride home.

Prom Night | Saturday

The week leading up to prom had been the most awkward week between you and Carmy since the dawn of your friendship. It's not like you were giving him the cold shoulder, but you sure weren’t as nice and friendly as you usually were with him. You only spoke to him out of necessity that week, your friendship with him on rocky ground after the accusation he threw your way.

It had gotten so bad that you had even begun inviting Claire and Hayden to your’s and Carmy’s self-proclaimed lunch table. You had told Carmy it was under the guise of figuring out the plans for prom night, but you just didn’t want to sit alone with Carmy as he acted like everything was fine between the two of you. And Carmy knew two, and if he was brave enough he would’ve admitted that it hurt to see you so upset with him to the point that you were no longer comfortable in just his presence.

He had even broached the topic to Sugar, hoping she would be able to give him advice since she was a teenage girl at one point, and probably understood your thought process better than he did. He regretted the decision immediately when she explained to him that because of the situation, he should be more worried about the way his words hurt you, rather than his feelings of you distancing yourself from him. She had gone on a long tangent about how you had every right to want space from him, the two of you were longtime best friends, and having someone you trust with your whole life deduce you to just your body would make anyone question the friendship. Carmy learned the hard way that Sugar wasn’t going to tell him what he wanted to hear just to make him feel better.

It was a tough week for Carmen Berzatto and it was nobody's fault but his own. Sitting on his bed he stared at the suit he would be donning tonight, the excitement he once held for prom, slowly dwindling with every smile you saved for Hayden that week. Every time you asked for Hayden’s advice before Carmy’s he felt his resolve cracking, for a constant time in his life your friendship with him was the only thing that truly belonged to him.

He wasn’t used to having to share your attention with anyone outside of his and your family. He wasn’t prepared for the smile he thought was reserved just for him, to so easily graced your lips when speaking with Hayden

You and Claire were getting ready together at your house, you had invited the girl to join you after she explained her mom would be out of town for a business meeting. The friendship between the two of you was still rather new, you wouldn’t go as far as to call her your best friend, but she was your first close girlfriend and you thought that counted for something.

Claire was easy to be friends with. She was a sweet girl with a bright personality and the two of you wondered how you had lived on the same street all this time and never became friends before senior year. Claire was easy to be friends with; that is until Carmy decided he liked her. After that day it was no longer just you and Carmy, it was you, Carmy, and Claire. And Claire was never even actually physically there, she was just a topic of conversation that Carmy couldn’t go a day without somehow bringing up.

You didn’t blame Claire though, how could you? And just as naturally you watched as your new friend fell for your oldest one. It hurt in the beginning to realize Carmy would never speak of you the way he spoke of Claire, but as time went on you got over it, the mantra ‘if Carmy’s happy, I’m happy’ slowly getting you through senior year. But it was agonizing when Claire confessed to you she had fallen for your shy doe-eyed shadow.

Luckily for you though the two of them were too shy to ever do anything about it. And maybe you were a shit friend for not telling Carmy that he did have a chance with his dream girl, but you would’ve been an even worse friend for revealing Claire’s secret behind her back. It was a lose-lose situation. So now you were relegated to being the middleman, lending both of your friends an ear to talk about their infatuations with each other.

And that’s exactly what you were doing right now as you listened to Claire drone on about how sweet Carmy was. And how cute he looked when he asked her to prom, and if you thought he would look good in his suit tonight; which yes, you did but Claire didn’t need to know that. You were almost starting to regret inviting her over, but you had to remind yourself it wasn’t her fault that you were too scared to admit your feelings to Carmy, or that you should’ve just asked Carmy to prom yourself with no hesitation.

“Which color?” Claire’s voice broke you from your pity party, the two of you sitting on the floor in front of your mirror, your respective makeup set out in front of you. You looked at the two eyeshadow palettes Claire was pointing at, quickly pointing at the one color palette that would work best with her blue-green eyes.

“I think these colors will make your eyes pop,” the small smile on your lips encouraging Claire to take your advice. “Can I be honest with you?” You were unsure that you wanted to have this conversation with Claire, but you’d always have Carmy’s best interest at heart.

Claire shifted to face you, your serious tone drawing her undivided attention. “Just be careful with Carmy, okay?” Your eyes flickered between hers to make sure she understood the gravity of what you were saying. “Not in a bad way or anything, it's just…he really likes you. And he’s not that experienced in the romance department, so just don’t expect too much of him,” you paused, eyes going down to watch as your fingers picked at the hem of your robe.

“He’s shy, ya know, and he’s a little self-conscious even though he does not need to be because he’s so cool once you get to know him. But if he seems a little clueless or doesn’t pick up on your queues, just don’t hold it against him okay? I know he’s going to try not to mess things up with you Claire.”

Your eyes found Claire’s face again, a small endearing smile on her lips, “You care about him a lot.” You laughed not meaning for it to sound as sarcastic as it came across, you did a lot more than care about Carmy. “I’m glad Carmy has a friend like you in his life,” Claire’s hand patted your knee, the truth in her words causing your heart to sink a little in your chest.

“Enough about me and Carmy, I didn’t know you were into Hayden!” The two of you giggled about the fact you were talking about boys and getting ready for prom, neither of you thought you’d be in this situation right now.

“I’m not. We’re just going as friends,” you said as the two of you began to paint your faces. “Well make sure he knows that.” You put down the lip liner you were examining, eyes flashing to Claire as she shot you a goofy smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You watched as Claire rolled her eyes at your obliviousness, you threw a makeup brush at her that she easily swatted away. “I’m just saying” the other girl’s hands raised in defense, “Hayden has like the biggest crush on you, he’s just too nonchalant to say anything.”

“Really?” The surprise in your voice stole a laugh from Claire. “Of course! Look, you didn’t hear this from me but he had plans to ask you to prom. You just beat him to the punch.”

You watched Claire for a minute as she resumed doing her makeup. Your own eyes find your figure in the mirror, a shy smile curving your lips. Maybe your head had been so far up Carmy’s ass you were too blind to see that there was another great guy out there ready to make you happy.

You thought of the advice Tina had given you a few weeks back, you would always care for Carmy. But if he was getting his happy ending tonight, it was only fair that you tried as well. As you and Claire sat there chit-chatting and getting ready, you thought about how different your life would be if you set your feelings for Carmy aside, and tonight was the best time to figure it out.

You and Claire made your way across the street to the Berzatto household where everyone was waiting for the two of you. Your mom and aunt left 30 minutes ago, Donna having invited them over for dinner while you all attended prom. You saw Hayden’s car parked in front of their house and couldn’t help but feel excited at the idea of spending such a fun night with him, you had only ever seen him as a friend but maybe tonight could change things.

You were pretty sure Donna was snooping through the windows excitedly waiting for the two of you to arrive because the moment your foot hit the sidewalk Donna threw the door open with a loud voice surprising the two of you.

“Oh my goodness! Look at you girls, you look beautiful!” Donna exclaimed as she made her way towards the two of you pulling Claire into a hug before throwing her arms around you, careful to mind the bulky Polaroid camera in her hand.

Removing yourself from the hug you peered behind her to see everyone else filing out of the house. Your aunt helped your mom as she talked Nat’s ear off about something you couldn’t hear. Mikey and Richie do their best to interrogate a calm Hayden, and Carmy awkwardly follows behind at the back of the pack, his suit hugging him well.

You were quickly pulled away from your assessment of Carmy as Nat made her way to you with a huge grin on her face. “Baby! Oh my goodness!” Her words became muffled as she pulled you into a hug. “You look so gorgeous, Carmy is such a tool. Well, no offense to Claire.” You let out a small laugh as you parted from Natalie, the two of you joining everyone else so the picture-taking could begin.

Before joining Claire and Carmy you stopped by Mikey and Richie to pick up your date, hoping they hadn’t gone overboard with the ‘intimidating older brother’ act. Squeezing in between the two older men you looped your arm around their torso pulling them into a double-side hug.

“Are tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb giving you a hard time Hayden?” The words leave behind a mock pout on your lips. You gave Hayden a bright smile, easily taking his suited figure in, he had forgone his round dorky glasses. But his signature unruly dark curls were in their usual mess atop of his head, and you would admit you appreciated it.

You watched as the once apprehensive look on his face turned into a bright grin at your words, a pretty blush painting his angular cheeks. “Wow, you look uh-”

“She looks what buddy?” Mikey’s tone left no room for questions, his arms moving to cross against his chest widening his stance to appear more intimidating.

“You look pretty.” You weren’t even given a second to respond as Mikey started in again.

“I look fucking pretty to you? Richie, this boy just call me pretty?” Mikey’s eyes never left Hayden’s even as his question was directed at Richie.

You watched as Richie copied Mikey’s stance, your arms falling from their movements. “Yeah Mikey, I think he fucking did.”

“Richie’s a looker too, you gonna call him pretty?” You watched as Hayden fumbled with his words, eyes searching yours for any help.

“Yeah Curly Sue, I wanna be fucking pretty too.” You weren’t sure how the conversation had gotten so out of control but luckily for you, your mom was there to save the day. Pulling Hayden’s attention to a conversation so he could escape your two personal bodyguards.

“You two stop giving that poor boy a hard time.” Mikey and Richie having no defense against your mom, let him join her as Donna came up to the three of you for a picture.

You resumed your initial position with them, arms finding their way back around their torsos. The two of them leaned down to press a kiss against both of your cheeks, a cheesy smile taking over your features as the three of you posed for Donna’s camera.

“Okay Baby, grab your cute little date and take some photos,” Donna motioned you over to where Nat was finishing up the couple photos of Carmy and Claire, now waiting for you and Hayden.

You maneuvered yourself from Mikey and Richie’s grip standing in front of them, the two of them looking at you with smirks decorating their faces. Although you found their antics to be stupid, you were glad to have people in your life who cared enough about you to try and scare your dates away.

“This kid not weird or some shit is he Baby?” Mikey scowled at you, arms finding their way across his chest. You shook your head, you thought you knew enough about Hayden to vouch for him. “No, he’s just a friend. It was a last-minute decision.” The two men stared at the boy who was waiting for you to take pictures with him, the pretty flower corsage in a box in his hands.

Mikey nodded in his direction signaling for you to go and join him, “You guys stop by The Beef after. Don’t want you and Carmy getting into any stupid shit.” You nodded before making your way to Hayden’s side. His smile caused one to grace your lips as well.

“Everybody wants pictures of us but uh, I need to give you this first.” You smiled as he shyly showed you the corsage, you watched as he removed it from its box. You held out your hand as he carefully slipped it on your wrist, surprised to see how perfectly the colors chosen complimented your skin tone.

You couldn’t help but share a small smile with him when the two of you caught each other’s eyes again. “Thank you, Hayden, it's beautiful.” The click of a camera drew your attention, eyes finding Nat’s as she looked at the image on her digital camera.

“Awe Baby! The two of you are so cute, okay give me a few poses.” Carmy couldn’t help but watch as Sugar gushed over you and Hayden, his mom keeping Claire’s attention as they discussed whatever it was they were so enraptured in.

He watched as the two of you took photos as if you were a couple and not just two friends going to prom. The two of you stood in the standard prom pose looking like the perfect match, Hayden standing behind you with his hands wrapped around your waist, the two of you smiling happily at the camera. The position changed slightly as Hayden rested his chin on your shoulder for one shot, slightly turning his head for the next shot so his lips caressed your cheek. From Carmy’s vantage point, you didn’t seem to mind.

Carmy was pulled into Mikey’s side as his older brother wrapped his arm around his shoulder. The two of them watch you and your date in silence for a moment. “Baby’s growing up isn’t she?” The question was not something Carmy was expecting from Mikey.

“Do me a favor and look out for her Carmy alright?” Carmy nodded, no one ever needed to ask that of him. “Better start treating her right before this becomes your feature.” Mikey looked down at Carmy hoping to drill the words into his younger brother, sending one more squeeze to his shoulder and an encouraging smile his way before leaving to join Richie in conversation with your mom and aunt.

Sugar caught Carmy’s eye, a melancholy smile on her lips, “Carmy come, let me get a picture of you and Baby together!” He looked to his mom and Claire, the two of them giving him nods of encouragement. He gently took the Polaroid camera from his mom's hand knowing you’d like at least one Polaroid of the two of you before heading in your direction.

He approached you and Hayden as the two of you were having a quiet conversation, “So if I potentially called you baby non platonically how would you feel about that?” Carmy wanted to gag and was relieved as he watched you roll your eyes at the cheesy pickup line.

“Eww, actually please don’t,” Carmy stood there in silence watching how chummy the two of you were and feeling awkward for just listening.

“You’re right, my girl has a better ring to it.” Carmy’s eyes widened he had no idea where the fuck this kid's confidence was coming from but it sure was starting to piss him off. He watched your mouth hang open partially at a loss for words apparently just as appalled as Carmy.

The hand reaching up to cup your chin almost sent Carmy into a full spiral, “Close your mouth, can’t have my girl swallowing flies.” Camry was about to blow his shit! Who the fuck did this model-looking motherfucker think he was?

“Hey, pretty boy! None of that slick shit in my yard!” Carmy had never been more thankful for Mikey’s obnoxious personality, watching as you and Hayden laughed together looking thick as thieves.

He quickly took his opportunity to squeeze his way into the space Hayden had once taken up. Carmy could feel the tension as he stood next to you, he quickly handed the Polaroid off to Sugar so she could take the picture before making his way back to your side.

Neither of you spoke a word as you got into position standing in a side hug so the awkward tension between the two of you wouldn’t be as noticeable in the final photo. As you fixed yourself to make sure you were presentable, Carmy found himself enraptured with you carefully sliding his arm around your waist.

The way you had chosen to style your hair was something he wasn’t accustomed to. The new style allows the angelic planes of your face to be showcased, the apples of your cheeks and your cheekbones catching his eye. The pretty sparkly stuff on your eyelids catching the dimming sunlight he was almost tempted to touch it. He liked the earrings you had chosen and the way the pearls sat so prettily around your neck he wanted to trace each one.

The square neckline of your dress showcased your perfectly sculpted collarbones. Carmy was so lost in his study of you he hadn’t thought twice about running his thumb across the one closest to him. The touch tickled you enough that your body was now slightly turned into his. Carmy cleared his throat, “Uh…um there was a bug.” He watched as you nodded along with his lame excuse.

Your hand came up to smooth out his pocket square that sat atop his heart. Carmy caught your eye before you could face the camera head-on, he gave your waist a slight squeeze to give himself a boost of confidence. Carmy watched as you stared up at him questionably the two of you just staring at each other for a moment.

Carmy’s eyes darted over your face, taking in your features before losing himself to the shape of your lips for a moment. “I think you look beautiful tonight Baby.” The words left Carmy’s lips with no sense of apprehension, no shyness. He was sure of himself; sure of his statement.

You had leaned into him a little bit more, your eyes rapidly blinking as your brain realized what he said. Carmy watched as a small shy smile graced your lips, his own soon following as he realized just how important it was to keep that pretty smile in his life.

Unbeknownst to the two of you Sugar had watched the whole moment play out, quickly raising the Polaroid to capture the intimate moment between the two of you. A moment she was hoping would finally lead to more between the two of you.

“Thank you Carmy,” Carmy watched as you leaned in slightly before stopping yourself and quickly readjusting so you were facing Sugar head-on. Carmy wasn’t sure what had changed between the two of you in these last couple of weeks but as Carmy forced himself to look away from you, he found himself thankful for whatever ushered in that change.

Carmen Berzatto knew at that moment, he would want for no one else the way he did you. And he would spend every day for the rest of his life proving that he was enough for you.

You and Hayden were leaning against his car as the two of you watched Carmy walk Claire down the street to her own house. Hayden had volunteered to drive you all to prom, and when your fun was done there happily drove you all to The Beef, excited to try the sandwiches you couldn’t stop raving about.

And now the night had come to an end, the four of you all ending back up at your starting destination. You thought the media embellished high school prom a bit, but you hadn’t regretted your decision to go and were happy to have spent such a memorable night with people whose company you enjoyed.

Hayden’s arm was brushing against yours, his suit jacket almost swallowing you up. You were grateful for the jacket, the night growing colder as time went on. The two of you were calmly standing in each other’s presence, the silence not bothering either of you. Tonight with Hayden was fun, you enjoyed how goofy he was. Always doing what he could to make you smile and laugh, you were scared things might have been awkward due to the romantic undertone of the event.

“I had a really good time tonight Hayden, thank you for being my date.” You couldn’t help the shy smile on your lips, you were sure your cheeks would be sore from smiling the whole night away.

Hayden sent you a bright smile of his own head nodding along, “Me too, I’m glad you decided to ask me.” The two of you stood there for a moment just smiling at each other.

In the movies, this was usually the moment a kiss would happen. But you weren’t sure if you wanted Hayden to kiss you, you enjoyed his company and you thought he was a great guy but you didn’t feel anything romantic for him yet and didn’t want a single kiss to lead him on.

You leaned up slightly, your lips caressing his cheek as a form of thanks. “Maybe…we could hang out some other time?” If you were really going to put your happiness first it would be necessary to put yourself out there.

“I’ve got you till the end of July don’t I?” Your eyes find Hayden’s cheeky smile as his hand raised your chin. You nodded eyes searching his face, wondering what these next two months might hold for the two of you.

His thumb began to rub back and forth on your chin, your breath hitching as you watched him lean down. Mind going blank, panic filling you as you tried to figure out if this was something you wanted. You stood still, nerves racing through your body as you were about to have your first kiss.

You watched as Hayden’s eyes flicked to the side before he reluctantly stepped back, thumb brushing your chin one final time before his hand returned to its side. You followed his line of sight to see Carmy approaching, standing a little distance away to wait for you.

Turning back to Hayden you sent him one last smile, the boy pulled you into a hug engulfing you with a slight kiss pressed to the top of your head before the two of you moved apart. You quickly slipped off his jacket before handing it to him, moving back so he could get in his car. You watched as he sent Carmy a small nod in goodbye before his car disappeared down your street.

Letting out a small sigh you turned to where Carmy was waiting for you a shy smile on his face. You smiled back as you approached him the two of you walking up the sidewalk to his front door, you knew your mom and aunt would still be here at this time.

The two of you entered the house greeting the four women that were sitting in the living room having their small party. Questions were thrown at both of you about your time and making sure your dates made it home safe all the usual questions to be expected after prom. You listened as your mom told you that you would be leaving soon. Knowing that when it came to your mom soon could mean in the next five minutes or the next two hours.

Your eyes found Carmy’s as you let out a small yawn, his eyebrows raising in question before nodding towards his room. You made your way to follow him up the stairs too tired to contribute to the conversation happening in the living room.

Entering Carmy’s room you made your way to the foot of his bed to sit down, quickly removing your heels a sense of relief filling you. Dropping your heels you watched as Carmy stood by his door looking as though his mind was racing. You smiled at him patting the spot next to you, a sort of peace offering.

“How was your night, Carmy?” You watched as he made his way to sit next to you, head falling to rest on his shoulder as you awaited his response.

“It was fun, yeah, Claire was really nice.” You watched as he blushed, you might have felt a little sad any other night but right now you were too exhausted to care.

“Why didn’t you kiss Hayden?” The question hit you like a shot of espresso. You raised your head from Carmy’s shoulder trying to find his eyes as he kept his head focused on his clasped hands. “I don’t know, I don’t think it felt right.” You genuinely had no good explanation for Carmy, you didn’t even have one for yourself.

“Did you kiss Claire?” Your question came off a little more hostile than you had intended. Carmy sat up, eyes finally meeting yours as he shook his head. You felt guilty at the relief that flooded through you.

“No, it didn't feel right.” You let out a small laugh at the recycled explanation, a similar one leaving Carmy’s lips as he didn’t take his eyes off of you.

“Gosh we’re such losers,” you giggled, bumping your shoulder with Carmy’s. “I thought for sure you would’ve taken your chance to kiss Claire tonight.” You wiggled your eyebrows in a teasing manner, the ice that had been ruining your friendship this past week seemingly forgotten.

Carmy gulped as he continued to study you. “Maybe she wasn’t the girl I wanted to kiss tonight,” Carmy’s words caused your joking mood to quickly sober up, the smile disappearing from your face completely as you realized just how intently he was staring at you.

“Carmy,” your voice trailed off, not sure what the boy in front of you was getting at. You stood up needing a bit of space to understand the underlying message in Carmy’s words. “Carmy, what are you talking about?”

He followed your movements, the two of you both standing up now, faces inches apart. You couldn’t help but follow Carmy’s tongue as it quickly traced his lips, your own coming out to wet yours. The room was silent as you waited for Carmy to say something, anything. Your heart began to beat faster as the 10 words Carmy spouted in your direction gave you a sense of hope.

Your breath hitched as you watched Carmy’s hand raise, his eyes falling to your neck. You felt his fingers delicately trace the path of borrowed pearls, each touch leaving behind a whisper of something you couldn’t place. You allowed him to continue, too nervous to say anything at that moment.

His hand began to trace its way up the side of your neck, soft touch making your knees weak. He looked to be in a trance lost in the idea of you. A gasp escaped your lips as his hand gripped the side of your neck, fingers gently tugging the hair at the nape of your neck.

Carmy couldn’t explain it, but this, you standing so beautifully in his room right now, lips parted slightly as you waited for him to make the final move felt right. It felt so right it didn’t matter who either of you went to prom with, it didn’t matter that this would be the first kiss for both of you. What mattered was that it was you here with him; you who had always been with him, he would’ve given everything to be deserving of you.

The small nod of your head was the last sign Carmy needed before he surged forward capturing your lips in a harsh kiss. The two of you were so inexperienced your teeth clashed together. The roughness brought the both of you back down to earth, you couldn’t help but laugh at how awkward that first kiss was. You didn’t even think it could even be considered a kiss, more so a smack of lips against each other.

You watched the shy blush rise on Carmy’s cheeks, you could tell he was feeling self-conscious about the whole situation. Your hand raised to gently caress the hand that was still placed on the side of your neck.

Eyes locked you sent him a warm smile leaning in slightly a small whispered “c’mere” breathed between the two of you as you gently pressed your lips into his. Your eyes closed as you felt Carmy relax into the embrace, a sigh leaving his lips as he tugged you closer by the hand wrapped around your neck.

The two of you pulled apart eyes fluttering open as you drank in each other. Neither of you say anything for a moment, the room is filled with the sounds of your soft breathing. You couldn’t believe this was finally happening, all these months of unrequited feelings and secret pining, and here you were kissing Carmen Berzatto in his bedroom.

You watched as Carmy let out a shy laugh, thumb caressing the space behind your ear. Your smile matched his, the two of you watching the other with goofy smiles playing on your lips.

“Can I-,”

“Yes.”

Carmy gave you no chance to finish your sentence before he eagerly agreed and surged back in to kiss you. His lips felt like heaven against your own, you had wondered what this moment would feel like if it ever happened. If Carmy’s lips felt as soft as they looked, what would their natural taste be like?

The kiss continued as Carmy’s tongue poked out to shyly glide across your lips, you smiled into the kiss before parting your own. Easily inviting him in, the two of you languidly moved in sync, no battle to be fought as the two of you enjoyed the caress of each other’s mouths.

You couldn’t help but moan into Carmen’s mouth a hunger you didn’t know you had finally being satisfied. The small tug on your hair caused your mouth to open wider, the kiss becoming sloppy as the two of you gave in to your desires. You felt Carmy’s hand delicately trace your neck, his infatuation constantly leading him back to it.

The bite on your lip caused a harsh gasp to leave your lips, Carmy quickly pulling away at the noise. He looked at you with wide fearful eyes scared that he hurt you, ruining a good moment too soon.

“I - I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Seeing Carmy so worried and vulnerable at the moment sent a thrill of warmth through your body. Your confidence grew as his faded, you took a small step into his space backing him up into the foot of the bed which caused him to resume his sitting position.

You could get used to looking down at Carmy.

You raised the hem of your dress so you could maneuver yourself into his lap, arms going to wrap around his neck. Carmy watched you like a deer in headlights, this new sense of confidence making you feel brave. As Carmy sat there like a statue you gently removed your hands from around his neck to guide his to your waist.

His hands squeezed your hips as you quickly adjusted yourself in his lap, Carmy’s eyes following the hem of your dress as it moved up more exposing your thighs. “Won’t you kiss me again Carmy?” The small whisper bounced off of Carmy’s lips due to your proximity, you watched as he rapidly nodded his head, hands squeezing your hips for dear life. You gave him a small smile before the both of you surged forward eager to be connected again.

As the kiss between you deepened you began unconsciously rolling your hips into Carmy’s the feel of his lips searing into yours making you want more. You listened as a strangled noise left Carmy’s lips before he pulled away again, you quickly stopped your ministrations.

“Is this okay, do you want me to stop?” The question caused Carmy’s head to rest against your rapidly rising and falling chest.

“No-no I-I just need a minute.” You were beginning to feel guilty, maybe you had come on too strong and Carmy was just confused about his feelings. You began moving to get off of his lap not wanting him to be any more uncomfortable than he probably was.

You stopped as a blissful sigh escaped Carmy’s lips, his eyes finally moving to meet yours. You sat there silently as the grip on your hips tightened a sigh parting your lips as Carmy bucked up into you while he guided you back and forth. The direct eye contact somehow increased the sensation between the two of you.

“I-I like it when you move like that.” You nodded along to Carmy’s words, continuing the movements yourself as Carmy’s lips found your neck trailing open-mouth kisses on any bare piece of skin he could. One hand quickly reached up, sliding the thin strap of your dress down, so he could finally appreciate your collarbones in the way they deserved.

In all honesty, neither of you had any clue what the hell you were doing, but whatever it was, it was working. No matter how messy the touches were, or how sloppily you were kissing each other every movement felt right.

Carmy was lavishing your chest and neck in any way that he could, kisses trailing over each collarbone. An impromptu bite in the space where your neck and shoulder met caused your breath to hitch. Your hips created a rhythm against his as the two of you lost yourself to the bliss.

A loud knock at the door interrupted the two of you. Carmy quickly removed his lips from your neck, doing his best to shield your body in case someone walked in. Neither of you knew how long it had been, too caught up in losing yourself to each other, too caught up to realize how far things had almost gone.

The knock sounded again as your aunt said your name, “We’re heading out, meet us downstairs.” Footsteps leading away from the door calmed the nerves both you and Carmy had been feeling, eyes peeling away from the door to match with each other.

No one said a word as the two of you stared at each other, you taking in Carmy’s flushed appearance. As he admired your disheveled figure above him, the confidence quickly left your body as you shuffled to get off of his lap.

The hand on your hip stopped you as you eyed him curiously, he slowly reached up to fix the straps that he had slid off of your shoulders, the slow shy touches caused your head to spin. He helped you stand up before adjusting the hem of your dress. You quickly glanced away as he tried to subtly adjust himself.

The shout of your name from downstairs forced you to rush to his bathroom mirror to fix any obvious differences in your appearance. By the time you came back, Carmy was holding one of his knit crew necks out for you to slip on.

His hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck, “Uhh, it's cold outside.” You smiled gratefully before slipping the crew neck on, quickly scooping up your heels as you made your way to the door. You turned around facing Carmy one last time with a wide smile on your face, you leaned in prepared to end the night with a sweet kiss.

Carmy leaned in pressing a sweet kiss to your forehead, the two of you scoring the intimate moment. Carmy couldn’t help but smile as he watched you leave wearing his knit crew neck, part of him hoping it smelled of your scent upon its return.

Carmy hadn’t expected the night to take the turn it did, but he was thanking his lucky stars that you went along, no questions asked. Neither of you knew what this meant for the future of your friendship, or if this would blossom into something more. But the two of you were both lost in the bliss of your actions to think too long on it for the rest of the night.

Sunday Evening

You hadn’t seen much of Carmy over the rest of the weekend, instead spending the free time with your mom and aunt. You also weren’t quite sure how to approach him, and the fact that he hadn’t approached you either signified you were both at a standstill, neither of you sure how to broach the topic.

It was Sunday evening and you were on your way to The Beef picking up an extra shift after Mikey called to ask if you could come in. Richie had to leave early for whatever the hell he did in his spare time.

As you parked in the back lot, you were surprised to see Carmy sneaking through the back door. Your heart began to thud a little faster, it was stupid, but you hadn’t thought you’d be seeing him so soon. You sat there for a moment calming your nerves, you were sure the conversation wouldn’t be brought up while you were working, but maybe Carmy came here looking for you specifically.

You got out of your car, locking it behind you before entering the establishment. Quickly punching your time card before grabbing one of the spare aprons and heading to check in with Mikey.

The dinner rush would be starting soon and since Richie was gone you’d have to balance working the cashier and running food to the diners. You walked around, head popping into the office to let Mikey know you were there.

The two of you crashed into each other as he was making his way to the kitchen, arms shooting out to steady you so you didn’t fall.

“Thanks for coming Baby, but uh if you wanna go home I won’t stop you.” You watched Mikey awkwardly scratch the back of his head, eyes darting around the kitchen as he watched the controlled chaos ensue. Surprise etching your features, not used to Mikey being the awkward Berzatto in your life.

“No, I don’t mind kind of needed to get out of the house anyways,” you smiled at home before heading to the front to take care of the line that was beginning to form.

Most of the orders were for takeout so you hadn’t been rushing back and forth too much. But the Johnsons, an old couple who ate dinner here every Sunday, was your first dine-in order, the two greeting you before heading back to their favorite table.

You turned to the window waiting for the order you had already given, watching as Tina made her way to you apprehensively.

“I can run this for you Mama if you want me to.” You shook your head sending her a smile before taking the two red baskets from her hand and making your way to the dining area, eyes instantly spotting the older couple.

“Two famous Italian beef sandwiches for my favorite regulars,” you smiled down at the couple setting a tray in front of each one respectively.

“Say, honey, isn’t that your little friend over there?” You watched as the woman subtly pointed at another table, you and her partner both taking in the scene in front of you.

You felt a wide smile spreading over your face as you took in Carmy’s figure, the shyness exuding off of him. His lips brandishing a small smile, it took the laughter of his table mate to slap the rose-colored glasses off your face.

So caught up in your infatuation with the boy you’d been crushing on and finally got to kiss the other night, you hardly noticed Claire.

The two women sitting at the table in front of you sharing a knowing look, guilt seeping through as they alerted you to something you’d rather be ignorant to.

“I’m so sorry honey, I didn’t mean to upset you. Mabel been telling me I oughta learn when to shut my big mouth. If I ain’t listen 20 years ago I sure wasn’t gone figure it out by now.” You let out a sad pathetic laugh at Ms. Sadie’s explanation doing your best to compartmentalize your feelings.

“Shame though Baby, that boys missing out on something good. You looked at that boy like he parted the heavens and earth. My Mabel used to look at me like that, you know, the only thing she looks at like that now is cake and these damn beef sandwiches.” Ms. Sadie’s laugh unconsciously draws one of your own, finally taking your attention from Carmy and Claire.

“Oh hush up now Sadie and let the girl get back to work,” another watery laugh escaped your lips. “Talking this sweet girl's ear off like she wants to listen to you on top of watching the boy she loves on a date.”

Your head shot to Ms. Mabel’s slightly taken aback by her word choice, she settled you with a look. “Don’t go giving me that look now. You may be foolin' that boy and yourself but you ain’t foolin' anyone with eyes baby.” You let her reach out to gently pat your hand, the two women in front of you made it hard to keep your calm facade up.

“You gone on and head home Baby, and if Michael has a problem with it you let him know Ms. Mabel and Ms. Sadie said it was okay.” You let out a real laugh, the sound caught the one boy’s attention you didn’t care for right now.

“And tell your momma to stop by if she’s ever feeling up for it,” you sent the couple a small smile nodding your head. “Yes ma’am, you two enjoy the rest of your night.” With that, you began your journey out of the dining room.

You stopped as you heard Claire call out your name, turning inside the doorway as she sent you a wave, returning a small one as you purposefully avoided giving Carmy any attention.

You made your way into the kitchen no one needed to ask what was wrong as they took in your somber mood. You silently slid into the walk-in, maybe it was unsanitary but you didn’t think you could face anyone as you finally let the first sob wrack your body.

The fact that you knew this incident wouldn’t change your friendship with him irritated you to no end. But you cared for him so much that you just couldn’t force yourself to quit him. Maybe this move was what you needed, the time spent apart would allow you to discover who you were outside of Carmen Berzatto. You would do your best to allow the friendship between the two of you to keep flourishing, but whatever Carmy decided was best for him, you’d just have to live with it.

You hadn’t realized how long you were standing in the walk-in until Mikey entered. Body engulfing yours in a hug as his warmth radiated through you. The older Berzatto allowed you to stain his shirt in tears, neither of you saying a word as the sound of your sorrow painted the walk-in.

The youngest Berzatto’s hand stilled on the door handle as he listened to your faint cries. His own heart broke as he realized that he hurt you again. Head hitting against the exterior of the door, he didn’t deserve you, didn’t know if he ever would. Carmy forced himself to listen to your faint sobs wanting to console you at this moment but not knowing where the two of you stood.

Two friends stood on opposite sides of a steel door, hearts breaking in unison as it felt like everything was fighting against what they both wanted. July would come and they would part ways, promises whispered to stay in contact and remain friends, neither soul knowing what the years apart would have in store for them.

a/n: i apologize if anything in this chapter doesn't make sense or is wonky, i've been editing for 3 days straight and i feel like i can't read english anymore. hope you enjoyed! i also have a whole playlist if anyone is interested!

taglist: @hawkins-2000 @elliesbabygirl @allbark-no-bite @anakinswh0re3005 @rexorangecouny @thecraziestcrayon @fruitcupsworld @nishinoyahhh @lilylovelyxo @ridingthehotmessexpress @noas-ark @jadeittic @hellokittyever @luvr-bunnyy @sxgees @fandomhopped @is-this-a-febreze-commercial @kravitzwhore @chanluuvr @readingwiththereids @chims-kookies @ladygrey03 @ferida-kahlo @wanderlustnightwanderer @how2besalty @armydrcamers @jointherebellion215 @jackierose902109 @blkbxrbie-esther @ajordan2020 @head-slut-in-charge @magnet-girl @thebookwormlife @sevikasblackgf @writers-hes @senassn

unable to tag: @khena @kailyn-g05 @ovaqma @fire-treasure-iii @frequentnosebleeder @gcidrvsh @awatt31 @cauliflowerpatch

#carmen berzatto x reader #carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto angst #carmen berzatto x you #the bear x reader #carmy the bear #carmy x reader #carmen berzatto fluff #all i ever knew only you ₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊#[aiekoy] interlude one #the bear fic #carmen berzatto

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kokoch4n3l · 3 months

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˗ˏˋ stay in my memories ࿐ྂ “‘cause it’s still on my clothes, everything that I own and it makes me feel like dying”

summary: It's been about 10 years since you last saw him. since any of you last saw him. but tonight as you're back from the after-party of Mitsuya's show you walked, Mikey shows up at your apartment. drunk.

notes: based on memories by conan grey. lowkey a self-insert lol. please read the warnings before you read !!

warnings: mentions of past violence, mentions of past sexual relations, toxic relationships, body image issues, oc is skinny!, mentioned/implied eating issues/disorders(ARFID), mentioned and talk of weight issues, alcohol use, weapons(guns), intoxication, Mikey being the bitchass ex that comes back when you're finally healed, insensitive!mikey, not edited

pairing: bonten!mikey x model!oc

word count: 2787

Her back hits the elevator wall as it moves up stories. It’d take a while for her to get to her floor. It was right underneath the penthouse after all. She worked hard for the money so she deserved to live in a nice place like a luxury high-rise building. The penthouse was unoccupied at the time she moved in and the owner had even given her the offer of it but it was huge. The place would go to waste as she lived alone, no longer rooming with Tachibana Hinata who had moved back in with her younger brother. She sighs and stares up the ceiling of the elevator and sighs tiredly. Her body ached but not as much as her feet did in the heels she was wearing. “Fuck” she mumbles and pulls them off her feet

She rolls her ankles as she stands back up straight, holding her heels in one hand. After an obnoxiously long elevator right, she finally reaches her apartment. Typing in the code, she enters and leaves her heels on the rack and locks the door. Her apartment is empty just like it should be. She had gotten used to being alone after middle school ended and everyone was too busy with their lives. It was middle school when Tokyo Manji Gang had disbanded and although she wasn’t a part of the gang(for very obvious reasons), it felt like the world was ending. But that wasn’t the end, a meteorite had crashed down on her when Sano ‘Mikey’ Manjiro cruelly broke her heart a week after the captains buried the time capsule. She never saw him again after that. She didn’t want to. She even declined Kawargi Senju’s request to join Brahman just so she didn’t have to see Mikey. She didn’t care that all of Mikey’s old friends were trying to bring him back or whatever that meant. It wasn’t her problem. Mikey broke her heart and very clearly stated he didn’t want anything to do with her so she wasn’t about to be hard to get rid of. “In today’s news, Japan’s most wanted gang, Bonten, has been—”

She tunes out the news and switches to another channel playing reruns of Naruto. She gets up and heads over to the large floor-to-ceiling windows and draws the curtains open, revealing the vast view of Tokyo in front of her. Another tired sigh leaves her. She’s still in that mini dress Mitsuya made for her for the after-party. Mitsuya held a fashion show for his new line. Many famous people attended and many famous people walked the runway, including her. It was about 5 years ago that Mitsuya had encouraged her to start modelling along with Hakkai. Now both of them were pretty famous. Her life was going pretty well. She had a steady stream of money coming in, multiple brand deals coming her way and she no longer felt like actual shit. So when Mitsuya asked her to be in his show she agreed right away. The show was a success and things were going really well till the end of the after-party when she overheard Mistuya talking to Draken about Mikey not having shown up. They invited Mikey.

Sano fucking Manjiro was a wanted criminal at a high-profile fashion show.

Not to mention that they didn’t even tell her that her ex was invited.

Sure it had been 10 years and even if she was over it, she’d rather not face him again. It was stupid to her that Mistuya had even wanted to invite Mikey especially since put them all in 2-3 day-long comas 9 years ago. But boys were stupid and they always forgave each other even after the biggest of problems. Her and Mikey’s past relationship was probably just a second thought so she didn’t blame him too much and got over it fast(but that didn’t mean she wasn’t pissed). She ended up leaving the after party a bit earlier which is how she ended up back at her apartment. It’s lonely but thankfully not cold. She should probably take her makeup off or maybe eat something but the kitchen seems to far and the view in front of her— even though she’s seen it a hundred times— was too pretty to look away from. She rests her forehead against the cold glass and sighs, her warm breath creating condensation on the glass.

BANG BANG BANG

She groans internally. Whoever was the door might as well be kicking it down with how loud and hard they’re knocking on it. She pushes herself off the glass and starts to walk toward her door, passing by the few frames of pictures from her childhood.

Pictures of Emma and Baji. Pictures of Mikey. It had taken her a while to get over him but it had been 10 years and it no longer hurt to look at the pictures. She hadn’t put up the ones with just him and her in them but the group ones instead. She looks through the peephole first and sees no one. She furrows her brows and without thinking opens the door. She takes a few steps back as someone stumbles in. She doesn’t see their face at first. She’s greeted with the strong scent of alcohol and a mop of white hair. “What the—”

Her door is slammed shut and the intruder looks up. Her heart stops. Well not really but it felt like it. There, barged into her apartment was Sano fucking Manjiro. “Hey baby”

Her heart drops. “Mikey…”

“Uh-huh, it’s me” He brushes past her and walks further into her apartment like he owned the place “Nice place”

She bites harshly at her bottom lip to stop herself from cursing this guy out(which she was going to do until she saw the gun tucked into the back of his pants). “What are you doing here?” She asks, hesitantly following behind him

Mikey heads over to her kitchen and opens her fridge, rummaging through it the same way he would when they were together all these years ago. She watches in silence but also looks around for her phone to either call the police or maybe Draken to come help. “Mistuya invited me to his show… Lost track of time and couldn’t make it” He says and pulls out a bottle of Korean alcohol, peach flavoured Soju

She runs her fingers through her hair. “And what does that have to do with me?” She asks as Mikey slams her fridge door shut and takes a seat on the tiled floor while she stands before him

He unscrews the metal cap and carelessly throws it at her the same way he would when they would go through her dad’s alcohol collection and secretly drink from it when they were together. “Since I missed the show, thought I’d come see the star” Mikey takes a swing and his eyes scan her up and down “Mistuya made that dress f’you, yeah?”

Her heart is beating fast and so hard it’s hurting her ribs. The dress was short. Longer from the back, covering her butt at least but shorter at the front, showing off her long legs as Mitsuya said. It hugged her form with the corset styled lacing at the back of the dress. “Yeah he did…”

There is a moment of silence between them. She needs him to leave. It was so stupid that Mikey was back. Even worse that this guy was cosplaying as Izana. His haired bleached platinum and cut short. He even had that stupid Hanafuda tattoo on the back of his neck. She feels angry but before she could say another, Mikey speaks first “you gained weight… You look good”

She instantly feels sick. “Shut up”

Mikey smirks as he takes a swing from the glass green coloured bottle. “Is that still a sore topic for you? I thought that now that you’re a model you—”

“Please just shut up” She pleads

She’d rather not hear this again. Not after so many years. She used to have a problem with eating. It’s not that she had an issue with how she looked or something like that, she had an issue with food in general. “You’ve got food in your fridge though. You’re eating well” Mikey murmurs, his hand reaching up to hold her thigh “not sickly skinn—”

“Mikey” She mutters clenching her fists “stop it”

Mikey just smiles and it infuriates her. How dare he come back after 10 years and do this? Say this? “Can you leave?”

“No”

“What do you mean, no?”

Mikey is still smiling like nothing is wrong. Through the dim lighting she sees his dark circles and unnecessarily pale skin. He looks like death. “Come sit”

He doesn’t give her much of a choice when he pulls her down. Her knees make contact with the tilted floor making a thud sound and she hisses in pain. Mikey puts the bottle of Soju down next to him and coos gently, putting his hands on her knees and rubs them to ease the sudden pain. “Sorry about that, got carried away” he murmurs, voice all sweet

Now that she’s this close she can smell the alcohol on his and his cologne. Her head spins as Mikey adjusts her position with ease, letting her legs drape over his lap. “You need to leave” She tells him, watching him pick up the Soju again and drink from it, keeping his free hand on her quickly bruising knees, rubbing them

“I don’t think so” Mikey says with a shrug “and it doesn’t look like you want me to leave”

She doesn’t think she’s ever met someone more delusional than him. “No. Actually I want you to leave. You baradged into my house. Get. Out”

“Is that how you treat all your ex-lovers?” Mikey questions, a playful smile on his lips “oh wait, last I heard little miss model has been single since we broke up. Don’t you wanna get back together? Don’t you miss me—”

“Nope”

“You answered pretty fast so I’m guessing that’s a yes”

She pulls her legs away from his lap and scoots back to create some distance between them. Mikey’s eyes darken as she moves away, looking a mixture of disappointed and some other emotion. “I need you to leave” She says more sternly this time

Mikey just takes another swing of the bottle, giving her the same look as he would when they were younger when he wasn’t in the mood to listen. He was a criminal. A ruthless gangleader who had the country under his boot but here he was drinking her soju on her kitchen floor acting the same way he did when he was 14. “Mikey—”

“Manjiro… You called me Manjiro” He cuts her off it makes her mad

“No, Mikey” She says, trying to make her voice as stern as possible

Mikey raises his brow. “No?” he repeats

“No.”

They both stare at each other for a moment. “Why not?” Mikey asks, his blunt nails taping against the glass of the now half empty bottle in his hand “It’s been 10 years, has anything really changed?”

His eyes are glossy red and pale cheeks a bit flushed. She surprised he isn’t drunk yet. Perhaps he built up his tolerence over the years. She shifts, sitting in a side saddle position on the floor so she didn’t put any more pressure on her still aching knees. “It’s been 10 years” She repeats narrowing her eyes at him “You can’t just come back out of nowhere and expect me to welcome you back with open arms… I’ve made something of myself. You can’t come back out of nowhere and ruin it for me”

She feels so angry. He wasn’t allowed to do this. “Please don’t ruin this for me”

Mikey doesn’t say anything for a moment. He’s just staring at her like he’s oblivious to what she’s saying, like he doesn’t understand what she means. Mikey just takes another gulp of the peach soju and her eye twitches. “You had to show up today to ruin things” She says with anger “I wanted to put you in the past ‘cause what you did traumtized me but you’re not letting me do that!”

Mikey is staring at her like a lost puppy, sipping at the soju like it’s water. “I’ve moved on but you’re back here sitting in my fucking kitchen not listening to a word I’m saying”

It was like talking to a damn wall. Mikey wasn’t listening and going off on a rant would just be her wasting her breath. “Drink” Mikey holds out the bottle to her

She’s angry. So fucking angry but the bottle was her own, bought with her own money when she went to Korea a week ago for a photoshoot so she takes it from him and takes a large gulp. It was bitter for some reason. She can taste cigarettes on the rim which was probably from Mikey and it pissed her off even more. Hours pass and it’s soon 1 am. “Mikey I can’t say goodbye if you stay here the whole night” She tells him

They’re still on her kitchen floor and now on their 3rd bottle. She watches Mikey about to light a cigarette but she slaps the stick out of his hand. “No smoking in my house” she hisses

Mikey frowns but shrugs, stuffing his lighter back into his pocket. “But I don’t wanna leave” he murmurs, reaching out to hold her waist, dragging her closer to him with ease across the tiled floor “I want you back”

Her now completely bruised knees make contact with his the side of his thigh and she puts her hands on his biceps in a poor attempt to either pull away or push back from him. Mikey squeezes her waist for a moment then slides his hands lower to her hips then her bare thighs, squeezing her there. “You know you were pretty when we were younger but you’re even prettier now” He says with a sigh “you look so pretty with the weight gain—”

She digs her nails into his clothed biceps. “I don’t want to talk about that”

Mikey cocks his head to the side. “But ‘m complimenting you”

“I don’t like these kinds of compliments”

“You’re a model” He murmurs, his hands sliding back up to her waist and squeezing again “you shouldn’t have become one if you didn’t like people talking about your body”

“No one talks about my body the way you do” She says with a frown “I don’t like how you do it”

Mikey chuckles lowly. The same condescending way when he dumped her 10 years ago. “That’s not a nice thing to say to the guy that’s trying to woo you back”

“You’re not being nice in the first place. You fucking bardged in” she digs her nails more into his clothed skin but he doesn’t flinch “I promise Mikey, the ending between us will always be the same. There’s no good reason in make believing that we could ever exist again”

Mikey still doesn’t seem to hear her. He simply lets go of her waist and slides away from her. When she thinks he was getting up to leave, he surprises her by laying his head on her bare thighs instead. This was infuriating. “Mikey have you dated anyone since then?”

“Yeah” he says, grabbing one of her hands to put it in his hair “But none of them were pretty like you. No one’s pretty like you…”

She doesn’t say anything. “You don’t wanna get back together but can’t we be friends? I missed you” Mikey says, his voice barely above a whisper this time

He sounds sad but she won’t give in. This wasn’t fair. “I can’t be your friend or your lover” Her voice is a mere whisper this time “I can’t Manjiro”

Not with what he did now— it would be detrimental for her career if the public found out she was friends with Sano Manjiro, the man reining terror of Japan and the surrounding countries little by little— not with how he broke up with her, not with how he talked to her, not with the constant uncertainty of if he’d leave her once again. She wouldn’t put herself through that again. “Manjiro I can’t be the reason we hold back each other from falling in love”

She feels something wet on her thighs.

Mikey— Manjiro is crying.

She sighs. She might as well let him stay for as long as it takes.

Just till he pulls himself together.

And hopefully, till then, she doesn’t give in.

#tokyo revengers #mikey sano #mikey x reader #sano mikey manjiro #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers fandom #sano manjiro #tokyo revengers x reader

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sodascherrycola · 1 month

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Instagram Intros (Mikey Way's Kids)

Reese Violet Ellison Way (@reesesway)

DOB: October 1st 1998 Age: 26 years old Hometown: Bellville, New Jersey Nicknames: Ree, Vi, Reecie, Pieces S/O: Daniel Brozowski Kids: Oliver and Rosie Best Friend(s): Lauren Brown and Sicily Morrison Aesthetic: Reese, as the oldest sibling, looks out for her younger sisters all the time. She holds family very close to her heart, since she knows how difficult it can be from having two teenagers raise her. She was always the coolest out of all the girls, very confident and carefree. Her and Mackenzie share the closest bond, being the two oldest, she sees Kenzie as more of a friend and confidante then a little sister. They were always messing around and shared a room for a little while. They used to stay up late and just talk nonsense all night, to a point where Tess would have to go and tell them to sleep like 6 times a night. As for her relationship with Delaney and Juliet, she ususally acts as the mediator in their fights, their personalities clashing sometimes. She adores her little sisters to death, always visiting as much as she can to see the ones that still live at home. She was a big daddy's girl when she was younger, though had to fight Mackenzie for that spot once she was born. You would think her relationship with Sunnie and Emmylou would be strange considering she was already in her 20s when they were introduced to the Way family, but she is absolutely obsessed with them. She loves babysitting them and watching the two interact with her young children. Tess and Mike don't mind because she offers constantly for them to sleepover and give her parents a break.

Mackenzie Lincoln Jane Way (@kennzziiee)

DOB: May 23rd 2004 Age: 20 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Ken, Kenzie, Mack, MJ S/O: Justin Banks Kids: None Best Friend(s): Elena Way Aesthetic: Mackenzie was the hugest girly girl, and learned everything from her mother. She inherited Tess' love for everything feminine and fashion. She loved watching her mom dress up for date nights and award shows, waiting for Tess to do her makeup and hair next. Kenzie loved giving everyone makeovers, whether it be her older sister Reese, her Uncle and Dad, or even the rest of MCR. Her and her mother used to go for regular spa days (home-made when she was younger) and just having a girl's day was the usual for those two. Mackenzie and her cousin Elena were very close growing up, having sleepovers almost every weekend, switching out each other's houses for the host. Mikey and Gerard were used to the girls running around in their mother's heels, and sitting down to watch an hour long fashion show that they decided to do right before the other was supposed to go home. Once Kenzie got her license. the two would drive to the mall every day and were almost never home anymore. Mackenzie ended up getting a job at a fashion magazine local to L.A. and quickly moved up in the company. She would later be the youngest 'Vogue' editor, at the age of 19.

Delaney Robin Belle Way (@laneyway)

DOB: September 27th 2006 Age: 18 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Del, Lane, Laney S/O: Isaiah McLaughlin Kids: None Best Friend(s): Kaitlin Iero and Samuel Hewson Aesthetic: Laney was much more of a tomboy compared to her two older sisters. She was known for following her dad to the studio and dancing backstage at later MCR concerts. He shared his interests with her and they were always up late jamming out on school nights. They had a special bond because Mikey didn't have a son, he felt the most connected with Delaney. Of course he loved his girls equally, but he had a hard time getting into girly things like Tess was able to. She played soccer from a young age and was on a team with Kaitlin Iero and they became best friends immediately. Though Kaitie was much more feminine and interested in boys and parties, unlike Laney. They grew apart as they entered high-school, but still kept in touch at times. When Delaney started having a crush on Samuel Hewson, she realised that she needed to be more girly for him to like her. This of course wasn't true, and her mother told her so, but she still helped Laney out with getting in touch with her feminine side. She felt more comfortable talking to her mother and Kenzie about this, knowing her usual late night talks with dad wouldn't be much help. Tess taught her how to do her makeup, hair, and clothing choices (while still keeping old Laney in there), while Mackenzie involved her in boy talk and flirting tips. They both shared their own experiences with Lane to help her prepare for her first date. Mikey almost had a heart attack when he saw Delaney done up in a dress and pumps walking down the stairs. Sam was surprised too. They went on a date, however it didn't go anywhere and she came home sobbing. Her father ran upstairs to talk to her and helped her wipe off her makeup. They laid in her bed for hours, sometimes talking and sometimes in silence. He had told her that she shouldn't have to change herself to get a boy's attention and that Sam wasn't worth all this trouble anyways. Her and Samuel stayed friends, and she met Isaiah in 11th grade and it took off. Delaney kept up with soccer and her and her new boy bonded over this shared passion for said sport. Mikey was just glad his daughter found a good guy who loves her for her.

Juliet Alessia Hope Way (@juliethope_)

DOB: September 27th 2006 Age: 18 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Julie, Jules, Jay S/O: Dalton Giordini Kids: None Best Friend(s): Zachary Benson Aesthetic: Julie was very close with her Uncle Gee growing up. She learned her love for art from him, watching him paint was something she could do for hours. They used to finger-paint whenever he babysat her and he saw her artistic expression even as a toddler. When she was in middle school, she would walk to his house every day after school so they could draw together. He was the only one who could she her doodles and drawings, something he took pride in. Juliet was naturally gifted at this and Gerard encouraged her to keep up with her art and she would beat him. When she was around 5, he let her design potential album covers and took inspiration from one of them for what would now be known as Danger Days. Gerard even told her that if she stuck with art throughout high school, and if she still wanted to do it, he would pay for her entry to an art school when she graduate. Which did happen. Mikey was always somewhat jealous of her relationship with his brother, not really being used to one of his daughters not hanging off his leg 24/7. He was very obviously proud of his little girl, sticking her pictures everywhere in the house, whether that be on the fridge or a frame photo in his home studio. He was still a bit upset about not sharing something with his baby. Tess noticed this, and reached out to Gerard, who made sure to explain to little Julie that she needs to give her daddy extra loving when she goes home. All of a sudden, Juliet was all up on her dad, and telling him that she loved him multiple times a minute. He couldn't understand what exactly flipped the switch until she ran into his arms one night when he and Tess were going to bed, and she told him that, and I quote "Love you this much more than Uncle Gee Daddy!" with her arms so stretched out that Mikey had to hold on to her extra tight so she wouldn't steer off the edge of the bed. Safe to say he slept pretty soundly that night.

Annie Donna Breanne Way (@annierox)

DOB: November 16th 2009 Age: 15 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Anne, Anna S/O: No One Kids: None Best Friend(s): Kylie Monsen and Izabelle Thomas Aesthetic: Annie was and forever will be her father's biggest hype-man. She thought he was the coolest guy to ever exist, believed he had hung the stars for her and only her. There were many videos and photos going around when she was a toddler of her being seen behind the curtains at later concerts dancing around and running up to her dad on stage. He would of course try his best to send her back to her mom, wanting to keep the limelight away from his daughter as much as he possibly could, but she would never budge. Tess on the other hand found it adorable. Watching her youngest daughter look up to her dad was the highlight of her day, another reason she could pinpoint why she married Mikey in the first place. When he and Tess were going through a rough patch in their marriage around late 2013, Annie was the one to bring him back to life. She hated seeing her dad so low, deteriorate to a sad man when that's not the father she knew. When he was upset so was she. Mikey just then saw how big of an effect he had on Annie. He couldn't stand watching his bubbly, energetic 5 year old become so distressed and frustrated when she didn't know how to help him. He had gotten sober because of her and will forever be grateful for his little Annie. Their relationship did have a breaking point when he had cheated on Tess when Annie was around 13 years old. She turned on him for betraying her mom, betraying her really, and thinking so little of their family. Anne was always very mature for her age, and at that moment he absolutely hated it. Even when Tess and him improved their relationship, worked on therapy and unexpectedly (but happily) welcomed their last daughter Emmylou, his bond with Annie was severed. She never truly got over this rock, but still loved her dad and was working towards fixing up their past relationship.

Madelyn Sophia Joy Way (@maddyjoyway)

DOB: July 4th 2012 Age: 12 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Mads, Maddy, Lyn S/O: No One Kids: None Best Friend(s): Vincent Toro and Milania Floyd Aesthetic: Maddy was very easy-going. She never once complained about having a huge family, even though it could get overwhelming at times. She took up ballet very young and was very serious about her well doing in class. Madelyn was very calm in nature, which may have set her apart from her sisters in a way. There were definitely times where she felt as though she was merely a fly on the wall in her house, sort of invisible. When she was around 6 or 7, she stopped speaking all together. This in turn, worried her parents and they tried everything in the books to understand and encourage her to speak. They later learned that she talked non-stop while at ballet or at school, and that this non-verbal situation was only present while at home. When they took her to a speech therapist, it was revealed to them about how she was feeling and it broke them to pieces. Tess started to bring her out on mommy-daughter days, doing special things with her, which helped Maddy to open up a bit more. Mikey on the other hand, just told her that if she ever needed to talk to him, that he would always be there to listen. He didn't want to force her to do anything she didn't want to. Her sisters also all chimed in and did their part to help their baby sister out too. Reese definitely took up the role of listener like her father did, and she would be probably better to talk to anyways because she wasn't a parent. Kenzie would constantly have Maddy in her room doing her hair and talking about everything and anything, boys, family, friends, you name it. So and so forth. Madelyn was doing quite well until her parents divorced only about 3 years later. She almost reverted back to her old ways. Mikey and Tess didn't know what to do. They had worked so hard to help Maddy but their breakup caused a new wave of this issue. Reese knew that it was down to the fact that during her time of need last time, family was all she had and it was preached to her throughout the whole ordeal, and now it is crumbling down. When Mikey and Tess made the decision to get back together it fixed this problem slightly. She still talked, however now it was less frequent. She still is very quiet, but she is much better now than before, especially after her parents got back together.

Everly Harper Rose Way (@everly.way)

DOB: July 4th 2012 Age: 12 years old Hometown: Los Angeles, California Nicknames: Ev, Evey S/O: No One Kids: None Best Friend(s): Taytum Odell Aesthetic: Everly was very creative as young child. She always found a way to make anything interesting, whether that be over-doing a story she's retelling or randomly breaking out in song and dance. She started to learn guitar when she was around 7 and has been playing ever since. Everly would do anything to share her passion and she would take every opportunity to do so. She would sign up for programs at school, participate in talent shows (where everyone her parents know would show up in support), and even just go to community events to let the whole world know of her music. Her family always encouraged this for her, watching every performance she would give them with open arms. Her father took her to a Taylor Swift concert when she was ten, possibly a peace-offering for his divorce with her mother. Mikey did admit that watching Ev do her thing and sing along to every word was the minute he knew she had something in her. He would let her play around in his home studio, mess with his guitars he never let anyone else touch, and write songs with him whenever she felt like it. Everly's bubbly and loud spirit also played a part in helping Maddy's speech issue. Everly would never let anyone ignore her, so she was one of the first people to get her twin sister to speak up and communicate. This as well, made their relationship grow and made it more special than any other, differentiate them from other twins. In fact, Madelyn was Everly's biggest fan. She would listen to Ev's songs before she would feel up to showing anyone else, and always went to any show she performed at. Even at 12, Everly was already a fantastic singer and song-writer, with many people who don't even know her family praising her for her immense amount of talent.

Sunnie Elizabeth Catherine Way

DOB: March 11th 2019 Age: 5 years old Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Nicknames: Sun, Sunshine S/O: No One Kids: None Best Friend(s): Hattie Rokken Aesthetic: Sunnie was a child that grew up in a tough time. Her parents divorced when she was 3 and so she had difficulty understanding proper family dynamics unlike her older sisters. Though she was universally adored in her family, being the youngest for 5 years, she didn't get to experience sisterhood like her siblings did. She's very hyperactive and fun-loving, her mother indulged in this during her divorce, needing the extra space of sunshine during a hard time for the family. Sunnie had issues with understanding stability, constantly going from her mom's house to her dad's and watching her friends and cousins have good family ties. When her parents subsequently got back together in 2024, she learned reassurance and steadiness in her day to day life. When they picked up and moved to Nashville, it was a dramatic change for her, however she didn't mind it, nor did it alternate her upbeat personality. And let's be real, Sunnie is so a country girl anyways. Sunnie is obsessed with her baby sister, Emmylou. She now has someone sort of closer to her age that she can grow up with, consider that Madelyn and Everly are 7 years older than her, and that she never had anyone to be friends with in her family. This love for her sister prided her parents very much, and they were excited to watch them interact.

#mcr introductions #mcr #mikey way #mikey way x oc #taylor way #taylor mccoy #reese way #mackenzie way #delaney way #juliet way #annie way #madelyn way #everly way #sunnie way #emmylou way

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robinrunsfiction · 2 years

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OTPTOBER - CANDLELIGHT

Oh my beloved idiots 😄 so this one is a bit different! It is a band AU where Lux is the drummer. I have a whole big version of that from when she joins (instead of Bob) and going forward. This is set during the recording of The Black Parade. I dunno if it will get placed into the larger story or just be a random one-off, but I thought it was cute. And besides, they're MY otp, and I say they get to be soulmates in whatever scenario I want them in!

🕯

"Are you fuckin kidding me," Lux groaned as the lamp on her bedside table flickered and then went out. She reached out, feeling around for her lighter before fumbling to light it and igniting the candle sitting beside the lamp.

She was just about to settle back into her book when a soft knock made her jump halfway out of her skin. "Yea?" She called out tentatively.

The door opened slowly and Mikey poked his head around. "Did you lose power too?"

"No, I just read by candlelight for the aesthetic."

"Oh," he looked confused for a moment.

"I'm kidding!" Lux laughed. "Do you wanna come in?"

Mikey nodded, shutting the old wooden door behind him. "Why do you have candles anyway?"

"After that second unexplained power outage, I decided that it would be a smart investment. Which begs the question, who decided that an old ass mansion that frequently loses power would be a great place for a recording studio?"

"I dunno," Mikey replied, sitting at the foot of her bed. "But I'm ready to get out of here."

"Are you," Lux paused, unsure of how to ask her question, until she just decided that straight forward would be the best option. "Are you okay?"

Mikey looked at his hands on his lap, a silence hanging between them. "Not really," he finally said.

"Oh Mikes," she replied, just above a whisper. She climbed out from under her blanket and sat next to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and he let his head fall to her shoulder.

"Gerard has just been so… lost in this album so I didn't have anyone else to talk to. I didn't wanna bother you or anybody else with it."

"I can't speak for everyone, but I can say you can always come to me. I might not be able to, I dunno, express my feelings well, but I can always listen to you and yours."

"Thanks," he mumbled. They sat in silence for a while longer until Mikey finally spoke up again. "Hey Lux?"

"Sup?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Lux's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the candle on her bedside table flickered. "Umm, depends on how hard you're gonna judge me for my answer."

"I won't," he replied.

"Umm, yea, I do. I did even before we came here, but now I really do."

Mikey sat up and looked at her, eyes wide. "Same!"

"The power just doesn't go out like this, even in old houses!" She exclaimed.

"And I've seen shadows, out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was because of the lasik, but now I don't think so."

"Should we get an ouija board and ask them to leave us alone while we're here?" Lux asked.

But before Mikey could reply, the candle on her nightstand went out. Both let out yelps of fear, as they grabbed for each other.

As Lux started to calm down, she realized how tightly Mikey was holding her, not just to comfort himself, but to protect her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, as he stroked her hair.

She pulled back slightly and tried to look up at him before remembering it was pitch black in the room.

"Yea, I'm ok," she breathed. Suddenly the lamp lit up again, and light from the hallway could be seen from the crack under her door. That's when Lux realized how close she really was to Mikey.

"I should let you get back to your reading," he said, not letting her go even a little.

"You can stay," she replied, almost too eagerly she realized. "I mean, in case the power goes out again, I do have candles after all."

Mikey nodded. "That's a good idea. Safety in numbers too."

"Exactly," she said, finally pulling away from him and climbing back up the bed. She rearranged the pillows before patting the spot next to her. Mikey smiled and climbed under the blanket and was finally able to sleep for the first time in days.

#mikey way x lux #mikey way x oc #band au

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miley1442111 · 2 months

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back to chicago part 2- c.berzatto

a/n: part 2!!! i imagined a fem reader and it's mentioned quite a few times but as usual, imagine what you like. SET AFTER SEASON 2

summary: a double date with your boyfriend at the Bear can only go well, right?

pairings: carmenberzatto x femreader (complicated relationship), platonicthe bear x reader, romantic oc x reader

warnings: general angst, mentions of mikeys death, breaking up, bad family relationships, etc.

PART 1

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You

Dinner was delicious. The conversation was good and you had almost pushed the drama of earlier out of your head. You’d stayed till close to continue the talking and only now you were packing up.

“Bug!” Richie called after you as you put on your coat. “You guys wanna have a look at the kitchen?”

John and Emilia nodded and you obliged them as Adrian sighed, squeezing your hand with his own.

“Sounds good Rich,” You agreed and Adrian helped you remove your coat, then put a hand around your waist, holding you close.

“Why do I have a feeling this will end in tears?” Adrian whispered and you shrugged.

“Nothing we can do about it now.”

You got the tour of the kitchen and truly, it was impressive. It was beautiful and clean, and you got to see everyone else. Marcus, Tina, Ebraheim, Neil, and Sweeps. You met Sydney, she seemed nice but reserved.

“This is your boy?” Tina smirked and you nodded. “He’s pretty.”

Adrian chuckled and smiled at her, “Thank you.”

Then it came to Carmy. He smiled at you as your friends introduced themselves, then wrapped you up in a ‘bear’ hug. It shocked you, yet you reciprocated all the same.

“We have some catching up to do,” he said once you pulled away. “You guys are welcome back here anytime.”

You stared at Carmen, his arm around your waist, making this choice for you. Richie led John and Emilia through the rest of the kitchen, out of earshot from your conversation.

“I should really go back with Adrian, I’m tired-” You started but Carmen cut you off.

“It’ll only be a little while, you should stay,” He smirked as Adrian’s jaw ticked.

“Yeah, you should,” Adrian said, ‘challenging’ Carmen. You rolled your eyes.

“Carmen, if you only plan on comparing dicks with my boyfriend right now, count me the fuck out. You said it yourself, we never dated. Now, if you’d genuinely like to catch up with me I’d be happy to get coffee tomorrow, but right now- I’m fucking tired. Goodnight Carmen.”

Carmen looked down, clearly embarrassed. “Coffee tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll come by at 10. Goodnight,” You left his hold on your waist and grabbed Adrian’s hand, stalking out of the restaurant.

“Well he’s a delight,” Adrian sighed, squeezing your hand.

“Yeah,” you sighed.

“I don’t want you to go see him tomorrow,” Adrian admitted, pulling you aside. You chuckled, thinking he was joking. He was never one to be possessive in any way or ask you not to wear or do things. His glaze hardened and your laughter died down.

“You’re serious?”

“Yes I’m serious! He’s a dick! You don’t owe him anything!” He whined.

“He’s practically family,” You said matter-of-factly and dropped his hand.

“Oh and look at how great the rest of your family is!” He snarked, then his face dropped as you felt the stab of deep hurt he’d just caused. “Baby, I-I didn’t mean it like that-”

“Fuck you. We’re done.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carmen

I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. Not when I knew I was seeing you the next day. I had gotten to the Bear nice and early to do all my lunchtime prep so if our coffee dat- thing went overtime I wouldn’t be chewed out by Richie.

“Cousin!” Richie shouted.

“What?!” I shouted back, sweat coating my palms as I wrote down recipes and anticipated your arrival.

“Bugs here! Come on!”

It was 10:02. You were technically 2 minutes late. I got up and out of my office, grabbed my coat and sped to the front of the restaurant, almost tripping myself in the process. And there you stood. Angelic as ever. I had made an effort with my appearance that day, thank god. A cream sweater I’d bought in New York, dark jeans I knew you’d appreciate since you knew about jeans, and I’d washed my hair this morning and put in some products Sugar had gotten me for Christmas, though I’d already sweated it out by 10:02.

“Hey,” I smiled.

“Hey,” You sighed, clearly more sombre than I was hoping.

This was going to be difficult. “You alright?” I asked as we walked outside.

“Great,” you said, sarcasm dripping from your words. “Wonderful even.”

“What happened?” He asked, trying to hold back from the question that wanted to fall out of his mouth so badly.

“It doesn’t matter,” you laughed, but it was humourless.

“Doesn’t have anything to do with that guy then?” I had asked and you had glared at me. I sent my cheeky smile to the floor and held up my hands in surrender. “Just askin’.”

“Yeah, don’t,” We both laughed that time. It felt good. It felt normal. Everything felt right for the first time in years.

“Seriously, what is his deal?”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You

“You mean my boyfriend?” you smirked, not telling him you’d broken up. It was quite the rash decision, something you weren’t used to.

“Yeah,” he shrugged.

“Well, he’s an accountant, we met at a jazz club a few years ago,” you explained.

“Anything else?”

“He’s nice?” you smiled. “He’s reliable.”

“Oh, so you don’t like him,” Carmen smirked and you scoffed.

“Fuck off,” you jested. “It’s complicated.”

“How? The dude is obsessed with you,” he shrugged. “What makes that complicated?”

“The fact that I broke up with him last night,” You admitted, rolling your eyes when Carmen looked at you with a wide-eyed expression. “Do not flatter yourself Carmen. He was being shitty.”

“That’s not what I was saying,” Carmen half-lied. “I just… I’m surprised.”

“I’ll probably go back later and apologise, and we’ll kiss and make up as usual.”

“This happens regularly?”

“No,” you admitted. “But he does do shitty things sometimes, then apologises.”

“Shitty like what?”

“Stuff like…” you didn’t want to tell him. “Look it doesn’t matter, all that matters is us right now,” You smiled at him. “Tell me about the Bear.”

“That shithole?” he joked and it finally made you laugh.

“Yes, that shithole.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

After two hours of catching up with Carmy, you started walking him back to the Bear.

“When are you heading back to New York?” he asked.

“Soon, I guess? I do have clients to get back to but… I don’t know. I love Chicago.”

“You should stick around,” Carmy smiled. “You brighten up the place.”

“I don’t know if my back will survive staying at hotels for too much longer,” you chuckled.

“Stay at mine,” he offered immediately.

“You’re sure?” You asked, shocked at his level of generosity.

“Of course. I missed you. I’ve always missed you.”

You stared at him for a moment, standing outside of the Bear. You weren’t used to this level of emotion from him. “I missed you too, Bear.”

He pulled you into a quick hug and you kissed his cheek, then walked on, much more to think about than before.

#carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto x reader #the bear #the bear fx #carmy berzatto #carmen berzatto fluff

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little-mouse-gardens · 7 months

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Yandere vampire rottmnt au concept/idea

A rottmnt au that popped up in my head (romantic)

Warning: Mentions of violence, blood, unhealthy relationships, manipulation, kidnapping (I do not condone this behavior in real life. I Do not condone anyone to do any of these actions in real life. this is only for entertainment purposes only.

I don’t normally do character x reader writing (mostly because I’m not great at it) I mostly do character x oc stuff.

However I got a random idea for yan vampire turtles au idea?

Thought about this a day or two ago and got some great ideas on discord. Saying thank you and Crediting at @lexiechr and @astral--horrorshow for inspiring some of my ideas!

Reader is an upcoming mystery thriller novel writer seeking inspiration for the next book they want to write who moves into the local village far, far away from the city.

Reader Hear legends about vampires and decided they want to stay a little while longer to write their novel and see what All the fuss is about and one night while they are out and about on some late night errand.

The turtles (separately) spot them and instantly fell in love with their personality, the way their eyes sparkle with emotions and the way they spoke. Making them want to make reader their bride. To love and to cherish them in their castle for the rest of eternity no matter who gets in the way. Suddenly reader notices strange things occurring around them that are quite hard to ignore.

- a local bookkeeper reader was talking to the other day? Suddenly disappears and is later found in the river. The only calling card being the turtles family name emblem carved into the bookeepers flesh. A dire warning to stay away.

- The turtles visiting reader outside their cozy cottage at night, talking with them. Trying to sweet talk them into letting them in and being theirs with equally sweet promises of love and anything reader desires. Though reader is clever enough to not let them in.

- the villagers suddenly being extra nice to reader. Offering them free things to them, letting them have special privileges, life is made easier for them. It’s very confusing to reader, but the villagers know they have to unless the turtles decide to go after them.

Reader, after another string of vampire based murders and disappearances, does their research on each of the turtles and discovers more information about them based on the emblem. Wandering into the local library one late evening and finding a book on them.

The turtles are a bloodline of vampires that dated back for many years.

- Raphael, dubbed as the brawn’s of his brothers and the most feared by the town. Actively known to hunt down and brutally maul people and livestock. Occasionally steals soft things like fabrics and plushies. However he is the only one recorded to have actually spared some peoples life

- Leonardo, the charmer. Everyone in town knows his tricks, he charms and flirts with his victims before delivering the finale blow. Has been known to enter the local tavern when it’s not busy, or even steal from local tailors and jewelers to buy new shiny expensive things to add to his collection or himself.

- Donatello the mad scientist. The second most feared. His methods are simple, grab and torture his prey with his experiments in his laboratory. Villagers will not hesitate to give him the things he needs and or wants for his inventions. Leaving them outside their homes at night in an effort to get him to leave them alone.

- Mikey the artist, he will use his victims blood to decorate the streets with messages to taunt those who don’t give him what he wants. Sweet but not unwilling to cause mass chaos. Every craft store and bakery will always find something missing by morning, and sometimes he will leave different paintings on the walls of the town as a reward for their offerings.

Then, reader leaves the library that night, they are kidnapped by the turtles (separately) and brought back to their castle to be their partner for life. Promising to make them immortal, to give them all the love and joy they possibly can and making the clear vow that they won’t escape them.

However reader is clever and determined to find their way out. Even if it means playing along for now.

- Forcing themselves to Cuddle with raph and accepting his gifts and tokens of affection

- letting Leonardo shower them in compliments, dolling them up in silks and jewels while they compliment him on his attributes

- listening to Donnie speak of his inventions and praising his genius no matter how diabolical it may seem

- painting with Mikey, eating all the treats and snacks he makes them while he paints their portrait

The ultimate sacrifice for reader, other than their freedom, is to let the turtles have a taste of their blood and agreeing to be their partner for life. The turtles (separately) are much more gentle with reader, or at least they try to be.

- they’ll make sure reader comfortable. Each turtle (separately) will praise them for being brave and shower reader with compliments, cuddles, gifts after they finish. Soft blankets, their favorite snack or comfort food, a nice warm bath scented with flowers. Name it and reader can have it so long as the turtles get a taste.

Each yan vampire turtle has a different wing in their castle. Each with a specific set of theme colors and decor. Each place being huge, full of secrets for reader to uncover and secret entrances for them to potentially use so long as they don’t get caught.

Leonardo’s wing = Soft blues. Golds and silvers. Jewels encrusted everywhere you go, silks arranged around as if you were walking through a kings palace. So many drapes and screens that make it very Easy to hide what isn’t meant to be see. All the jewels and fine clothes for him to dress reader in. To shower them with compliments and sweet promises, making sure that his beloved will never want to go looking for the secret passages in the castle

Donatellos wing of the palace = Reader never dares to get to deep into his Lab, lest they find the many remains of the missing villagers turned into something sick and twisted. Donatello prefers to keep his beloved partner close to his side, showering them with endless gadgets and gizmos to impress them. Keep them distracted and their interest away from his sources of food and morbid curiosity that would put victor Frankenstein to shame.

Raphael’s wing = His halls are expansive, almost never ending. A place for the brute of the vampire brothers to wander at ease, lest his rage be incited. Rooms full of soft things and others full of little objects he collects. Objects he will gladly show and shower reader with if it means they’ll stay with him as his bride for all eternity.

Mikey’s wing = All down the halls, throughout every room reader will find art of all kinds. All of which he painted, sculpted and crafted himself with delicate yet skilled hands. He will spoil the, with all the beautiful sights and delicious smells. How can they search for the secret corridors out if they’re too distracted by Mikey’s art and him forcing them to sit for another portrait or sculpture? Or making them try all the fine delicious foods and drinks?

Most of the time reader is able to get alone time, which would be when they leave at night. Though occasionally one will stay behind to watch them, reader mostly spends their time in the ornate guest room or exploring the shadowy halls of the old castle.

Using their clever mystery novelist mind to come up with plans of escape. Writing down things about their captors and potential routes of escape in a journal they keep under a floorboard beneath their bed.Reader is kept in the highest point in the castle. That Overlooks the village and forested mountains below. Reader can only see their freedom from a distance while they bide their time.

Now, if reader managed to escape? All hell would break loose. Reader running for their life and packing any important belongings to get out of town while the loud roars and shouts of the turtles don’t linger too far behind.

- Raphael wouldn’t hesitate to reign destruction upon the village in a blind panic rage. Demanding his beloved be returned to him unless this whole town gets stomped down to the ground.

- Leonardo who is portaling to every corner of the town and nearby woods to get his beloved home safely or even threatening to portal the villagers into the gator infested swamps and wolf infested forests unless someone spills the details.

- Donatello who actively starts torturing people until someone gives him answers on where his darling went to

- Mikey who is literally using his powers to tear apart houses and farms looking for his lover

No place is left unturned, and it wouldn’t shock reader if the villagers came hunting after them to bring them back or snitched about their where about’s and to be honest, reader couldn’t blame them either.

Once and if reader is brought back to them, they are never let out of their sight if they can help it. If reader wasn't smothered before, they’ll definitely be smothered now and the wedding date will be bumped up closer from a year to a few months time.

Anyways, that’s just my random take on it. Hope you guys enjoy!

#rottmnt #vampire au #yandere rottmnt #yandere donnie #yandere donatello #yandere leonardo #yandere michelangelo #yandere raphael #vampire Donatello #vampire raph #vampire Leonardo #vampire Michelangelo #yandere tmnt x reader #rottmnt x reader #headcanon #rise of the tmnt #tcest dni

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trickphotography2 · 4 months

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'tis the damn season | Chapter 6

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

Word count: 5.8K

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

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

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

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

Chapter 5 | Master List | Ao3

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Chapter 6

Drew’s hands gripped Julie’s waist as she straddled him on the couch, his hips lifting and grinding deliciously against her.

“Just go out and have fun. Hot, sexy, sweaty fun with the fuckin’ fire captain.”

Lucy’s words echoed through her head as he drove Julie home from Mikey’s, continuing to feel the eyes of the town on her. And if they wanted a show, she would give them a damn show. For two years, she’s been the dedicated daughter - sweet Julie, who had to move back from the city to take care of her daddy. Poor, sweet Julie, who was orphaned so young.

Poor, sweet, naive Julie who thought that she could keep Jake Seresin.

But no. Tonight, Magnolia got to see exactly who Julie was when she wanted to be. They got to see her flirt with a man and take him home. And she… she got to feel desired and free and sexy enough to sleep with the fire captain. So when he walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight, an offer to go up to Oklahoma to his folks for Christmas of his lips, she pulled him inside.

Smiling against his mouth, she felt his hands slide down her body to her thighs, then slowly make their way back up under her dress. His warm fingers curled into the top of her tights, dipping inside to stroke her skin. She could feel his hard cock, the fly of his jeans rubbing just -

“Fuck,” he gasped, startled at the sudden pounding on the front door. “Who - ”

“Ignore it,” Julie ordered, trailing kisses down his throat. But when it continued, his hands slid from under her dress and back to her hips, lifting her off his lap. Gently depositing her onto the cushions, he stood and adjusted himself. “Drew - ”

“Wait there, honey.” Groaning, she let her head fall back against the couch and put a hand over her eyes. The first time she was even close to having sex since coming back, and it was interrupted by some inconsiderate asshole. It was like a giant cosmic joke. Hopefully, Drew could turn away whoever it was fast, and they could pick up - “Seresin? What happened?”

The concern in his voice catapulted Julie off the couch and across the living room. Putting one hand on Drew’s back, she nudged him aside to see Jake on her front porch. Her heart plummeted at the sight of his tear-stained face, bloodshot green eyes shifting from Drew to her. He looked so… devastated. “Jake? What happened? Is everyone okay?” Her mind went to Ally and the baby. If Will was hurt. Were his parents okay?

“Sorry,” he said, voice hoarse. “This was a mistake.” Turning to go, he hung his head, raising a bloody hand to brush the snow from his hair, fingers curling and tugging hard.

“Jake!” Pushing past Drew, Julie stepped onto the porch and grabbed Jake’s arm. The cold hit her, and she shivered, damp soaked into her tight-clad feet and goosebumps erupting on her bare arms. “Is everyone okay?”

“They’re fine, Cece.”

“Are you okay?” He was silent for a long moment, eyes trained on the ground.

“Go back inside. It’s cold. I’m sorry I bothered you.” She glanced at Drew, who was frowning at Jake’s back. His gaze shifted to her, and he raised an eyebrow. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, watching it mist before her. And, against her better judgment, she slid her hand down his arm to take his wrist.

“Come inside, Jake.”

“‘M fine.”

“I’m not asking.” It only took a light tug to have Jake turn, eyes still on the ground, as he walked the few steps back to the house. Drew stepped back to let them in, and the three stood awkwardly in the doorway. “Take off your jacket and boots, and I’ll be there in a second.” Wordlessly, Jake did as he was told and retreated to the living room. Julie watched him collapse onto the couch, head in his hands.

“Cece?” Drew sighed, glancing at the other man and then back at her. The nickname sounded wrong when he said it. Only one person ever called her that.

“It’s… it doesn’t matter,” she replied, rubbing her forehead. Shaking his head, Drew wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a hug, kissing her temple.

“I know you don’t like people talkin’ about the two of you, but this… stuff like this doesn’t help.”

“So what, I’m supposed to just let him leave?” she asked, pushing away from him.

“Yes.” Julie could hear the kindness and attempt at the reasoning behind Drew’s tone, but it raised her hackles. “Honey, he - ”

“Please don’t,” she cut him off, lifting her chin and crossing her arms. “I understand where you’re coming from, but even before Jake and I were anything, we were friends. And I can’t in good conscience let him get back on the road when he’s like that.”

“I’ll leave,” Jake said, pushing to his feet. “I don’t want - ”

“Sit your ass back down, Jacob Thomas,” Julie snapped. “You and I will talk in a minute.” Turning her gaze back to Drew, she let out a slow breath. “Drew, I - ”

“I get it, Jules. Just… Merry Christmas.” Without another word, he reached past her to grab his coat and slipped on his shoes. There was a blast of cold when he opened the door, and she tensed, waiting for the slam that never came. Instead, Drew quietly closed the door, and once she heard his truck start, she let her shoulders fall. Tears pricked her eyes, but she forced them away.

Whatever was going on with Jake was temporary. Ally told her he was planning on leaving the day after Christmas, so she only had two more days to deal with him being in Magnolia before he disappeared from her life again. And then she could fix things with Drew.

With a steeling breath, she turned toward Jake and scrunched her nose at the feeling of melted snow on her feet. Reaching under the back of her skirt, she shimmied the tights down her legs, rolling them into a ball and tossing the black material onto the coffee table before sitting beside him on the couch. Jake’s wet pant leg brushed her skin, making goosebumps rise on her leg as she shivered. Cold radiated off of him when he turned to look at him, tears in his eyes. “‘M sorry, Cece. I shouldn’ta come here. I-I hope I didn’t screw things up with you and the firefighter.”

“I’ll deal with that later,” she sighed, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over his shoulders. When he lifted a hand to tug the blanket closer, she caught it, intending to examine his bloody knuckles, and hissed at how cold his skin was. “What happened?” she asked, lightly probing his skin. She could see bits of bark embedded and sighed. It had to be bad if he went out and punched a tree - many a night growing up, he’d gotten mad at one thing or another and turned up back at school with a bandage wrapped around a busted hand.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, she caught the way his chin wobbled before he looked down at the floor again. “I’m such a fuckin’ idiot.” She stayed silent when Jake sniffled. “Shayla’s not pregnant.”

“Oh,” Cece breathed, feeling her heart break for him. “I’m so sorry. She…?”

“Lied.

“What?” He shifted, reaching into the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his phone. His lip curled at something on the screen before he tapped it, handing it to her. With elbows on his knees, he hung his head and buried his bloody hands in his hair. Cece read the text screenshots, a hand rising to cover her mouth at the wave of nausea that hit her. “Jake…I…”

“I’m such an idiot.” The couch dipped, and Jake saw Cece setting the phone on the coffee table before shifting closer. Their eyes met briefly before she swept her fingers through his hair, damp with melting snow, nails lightly teasing his scalp and neck in a way he hadn’t felt in so long. Leaning into her touch, his tired eyes drifted closed.

“You’re not an idiot,” she said softly.

“I took her at her word when I knew her word wasn’t shit.” At that, she was silent.

“That’s not…something… people lie about. And if you were…sleeping together, it could have been true,” Cece said after a long moment. “You weren’t an idiot for wanting to do the right thing.”

“I didn’t want to marry her,” he confessed. “But she told me she’d make it hard for me to see my baby if I didn’t.” His tone turned bitter when he scoffed, “And there was never a baby.”

His voice broke on the last word, and Jake cleared his throat. Cece let out a soft hum, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek. His reddened eyes watched as she laid back, an unspoken invitation in her soft gaze. Turning slightly, he followed her, lying on his stomach with his head resting on her chest. The chill from his jeans made goosebumps rise on her legs when he settled between them, unintentionally pulling her dress higher. His fingers slipped under the sleeve of her dress as he inhaled the lingering remnants of her perfume, his body relaxing against her at the familiar scent.

Cece’s words of comfort died on her tongue when Jake tucked his head under her chin, and she felt him shaking with suppressed tears. So she stayed quiet, carding her fingers through his hair. His eyes fluttered closed when she held him, silent tears slipping down his face.

“I wanted the baby,” Jake said so softly she almost missed it.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, kissing the crown of his head as her heart shattered for him. His arm slid under her, and he held her so tightly it was hard to breathe, but she didn’t say a word.

Time seemed to slow and narrow to that moment. Jake’s breath on her skin and his weight soothed her. The feeling of Cece’s fingers in his hair and her steady heartbeat calmed him. The click of the heating turning on was the only indication of time slipping past them.

And then there was a buzzing sound, interrupting their peaceful bubble.

“Your mama’s calling,” Cece said softly, her voice rough with fatigue as she forced an eye open.

“Ignore it,” Jake replied, tightening his hold on her and burying his face into her breasts.

“She’ll be worried.” When he made no move to get the phone, she sighed and stretched for it, her fingertips making it spin. Jake huffed when she jostled him, holding tight to the cushion to pin her in place. “Jacob.”

“I…I can’t…” Shaking her head, she ignored his muffled groan of protest when she stretched for it again, hand closing over the rectangle as the screen dimmed. Tapping it, she saw that he’d set the device to silent, the screen covered with notifications. Cece suppressed an angry sound at seeing how many times Shayla had called and texted him, begging him to call her back. Will and Ally had also tried to reach him, and so had his father. Apparently, his mama had called enough times to bypass the setting.

The phone lit up again with another incoming call.

“Jake?” Mama Serein’s voice was frantic when she answered. Cece knew that he heard it from how he nuzzled into her chest.

“No, it’s me - Julie.” There was a moment of silence before the older woman let out a heavy breath.

“Is Jake there with you? Is he okay?”

“He got here a little while ago. He’s…” she looked down at the man lying on her, tears drying on his cheeks and brows furrowed, “upset, to put it lightly.” His hands flexed around her, and she traced the shape of his ear, feeling him relax again. After a long beat, the older woman sighed.

“Did he tell you what happened?” When she hummed, Mama sighed again. “Bill didn’t want to kick the… woman out in the snow since she doesn’t know how to drive in it. She’s leaving at first light. Will and Ally said that Jake’s welcome to stay with them tonight.”

“I’ll let him know,” Cece said, glancing down at him. “I don’t… if he wants to go there, I’ll drive him. I don’t think he’s safe on the road.”

Mama Seresin’s voice was sad when she said, “We can come get him.” Jake’s head lifted, eyes meeting hers with a wordless plea. They stared at one another for a long moment before she shook her head.

“No, it’s fine,” she said, cupping his cheek and brushing away a tear. He turned, his lips caressing the inside of her wrist. “I…he’s…fine to stay here. If he wants some distance.” There was silence on the other side of the line and a cautious ‘Julie.’ “It’s just one night,” she added quickly as Jake resettled on her chest.

I can survive one night, she told herself.

He was such an idiot. A fucking, stupid, trusting idiot.

He should have pushed harder to go to the doctor’s appointments. Should have paid more attention to the fact that Shayla never felt sick. Shouldn’t have accepted her word that she was pregnant when her word meant shit. But he’d always wanted to be a dad, and who the fuck would lie about that?

And now…tonight, Jake had come to the one place in town where he felt safe - other than his own home - and ruined Cece’s night. He shouldn’t have come here. Shouldn’t have dragged her into this.

“I know. I’ll…yes, ma’am. I understand.” Cece’s voice was soft, and he heard his mama’s worried tone. “I will.” The call ended, and she set the phone on the back of the couch, taking as deep a breath as possible with him on top of her. Her fingers lightly traced the length of his neck and slipped under the collar of his shirt. “Your mama wanted me to tell you that she loves you.” He grunted, eyes closing again. “Come on, Farm Boy. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

The corner of his mouth twitched at the nickname he hadn’t heard in forever. Cece had hated it when he started calling her Cupcake in eighth grade and had started calling him that in retaliation. And, while he’d persisted in calling her Cece until she grew to tolerate and then embrace the nickname, his had fallen away to moments she was especially annoyed or quiet moments just for the two of them. “Don’t wanna move. ‘M comfortable.”

“Too bad.” Lightly pushing at his shoulders, she tried to wiggle out from under him. Jake had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from making a sound as she sat up, his head falling into her lap and his nose brushing her upper thigh as her dress rode up more. Pink tinged her cheeks when he finally moved enough for her to stand. After tugging her dress down, she walked down the hallway toward the back of the house, glancing over her shoulder at him and raising an eyebrow.

Groaning, he stood and followed when she stopped outside of the bathroom. She pointed to the sink wordlessly before continuing down the hall to her bedroom. Blood and bits of bark swirled in the sink as he scrubbed away his stupidity, the hot water making his hands throb with pain. He’d just reached for a towel to dry them when Cece stopped him.

“Here,” she said, pulling a rag from over her shoulder. After depositing clothes onto the toilet tank, she set a first aid kit on the counter and nudged him out of the way. Bracing her hands on the counter, she lifted herself up and put on a pair of latex gloves before holding out her hands. “Lemme see.”

“I can - ”

“Let me see.” Biting back a sigh, he held them out. Cece let out a soft tutting sound, taking his right hand and gently probing his knuckles. With his nerves finally thawing, he could feel the throbbing of his broken skin and the pain of embedded splinters. He hissed through his teeth, left hand falling to her knee and squeezing lightly. Her eyes darted down to it, and he quickly moved it away. “Does it feel broken?”

“No.” She nodded, guiding his hand to her knee before opening the first aid kit and rummaging through it. After retrieving a pair of tweezers and cleaning them with an antiseptic wipe, she took his hand again and lifted it to her eyeline.

“I thought you would have learned your lesson about punching trees by now,” Cece said, using her thumb to manipulate his bloody hand before teasing out a splinter.

“I - ow - don’t do it that often.” These days, punching the weight bag was more his speed.

“Good. Wouldn’t want any more reasons for you to go to the hospital again.” Her eyes darted up to meet his before refocusing on her work. Jake’s stomach swooped as he shifted, wondering if she’d heard about his trip to the emergency room for an x-ray the last time he was home. Pops hadn’t been thrilled, filling out his paperwork while Jake iced his hand after taking his anger and frustration at Cece ignoring him in the grocery store out on a tree on the far end of the property.

The fractured knuckles had been a pain in the ass to deal with when he was on the ground and even worse in the air. His XO had debated grounding him, but thankfully, Jake got one of the flight surgeons to clear him to fly. After it healed, his buddy had taken him to a boxing gym and told him to work out on one of the bags. There, he finally learned how to throw a punch and not break a finger and worked out his frustration. After moving to Lemoore, he'd continued that but hadn’t found a gym in San Diego yet.

“You, uh… heard about that?” Jake asked, grimacing when she wiped an antiseptic pad over his hand.

“Hard not to when everyone said I was the reason for it,” she shrugged. Her eyes darted up to meet his, seeing the unspoken confirmation in his expression.

“I forgot how much everyone talks here.” A wry smile crossed her lips.

“You should have seen it when I first got home. Couldn’t go anywhere without people asking why I was back.” Jake could see right through her forced nonchalance and felt a surge of guilt. He’d had some questions from his buddies on base when she left, but Cece… fuck, she faced all of Magnolia’s busybodies.

“Cece…I…” She shrugged.

“Maybe if we give it another decade, they’ll stop talking about us.” There was a sinking feeling in his stomach, and he forced away the image of Cece in the firefighter’s arms. The kids he’d imagined looking like her running to another man.

“A lot can happen in a decade,” he said softly. When she lifted her head to meet his gaze, his eyes dropped to her lips before darting away. They were silent as she started to work on his other hand, her touch gentle as she cleaned him up. “I’m…uh… the firefighter - ”

“Drew.”

“Drew,” he nodded, “said people will talk about me being here. I… I can leave.” Cece didn’t meet his gaze when she nodded.

“Did you hear what your mama said about your daddy letting… her… stay at the house tonight?” He nodded, and she paused long enough to look up at him. “Do you want me to take you to Will’s?”

“Won’t people talk if I stay? I don’t want to make it harder for you here.” Cece was quiet momentarily before setting his hand down on the counter and stripping off her gloves. Tipping her chin up, he could see the conflict in her eyes.

“I don’t care. People are going to talk no matter what. And I… no matter what happened between us, I’m always gonna care about you. So I’m glad that you came here. And if you want to stay, I wouldn’t be upset about the company.”

Jake studied her for a long moment before asking, “You sure?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Gently, she pushed against his shoulders until he took a step back, and she hopped off the sink. “Take a shower and warm up. I’ll bandage your hands after and drive you to Will’s if that’s where you want to go.”

When she turned to leave, Jake caught her hand. “Thank you, Cupcake.”

The corner of her mouth lifted as she lightly squeezed his fingers. “You’re welcome, Farm Boy.”

YOU WENT HOME WITH HOT AS FUCK DREW PINE?! I need details. All the details.

Julie stared at her phone, debating whether to answer Lucy’s text. An ‘it’s complicated’ could lead to a phone call, and leaving it unanswered would make her think that they were doing… well, precisely what she’d intended when she brought him home.

After liking the message - a happy medium - and glancing at the red notification bubble on TikTok showing that she had over 2,000 interactions with the video she’d posted about the clusterfuck of getting the Mayor’s order together, she plucked the tea bag from the steaming mug. She tossed it into the trash, adding a drizzle of honey to the tea. Turning around and pressing her back against the counter, she stared at her broken oven and tried not to feel a crush of sadness.

She could almost hear her daddy’s voice encouraging her to write her letter to Santa. Hear his laugh when her childish attempts at cookie decorating resulted in her and Mama being covered in frosting. Mama loved baking and made her infamous rum cake and egg nog bread pudding on Christmas Eve. After she passed, Julie did her best to make the orange cranberry scones they’d always had Christmas morning, her parents savoring the biscuits with coffee while she quickly ate it, eyeing her stocking and the pile of presents Santa left.

It was the one recipe she’d never mastered. When she’d decided not to make them last year, too tired from another day of helping Daddy with getting around the house, he’d pushed himself out of the recliner and shuffled to the front door. Only after she agreed to run to the store while he took a nap did he agree to sit back down.

With the perspective of time, Julie appreciated what Daddy was trying to do. Still, at that moment, she’d been so angry. She was tired and hurting, and the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time baking her mother’s specialty in the kitchen, which she had always failed to perfect. But now… now she appreciated him trying to maintain some sense of normalcy for her. He wanted to ensure that the Ryan family traditions continued, even in the hard times. Julie had ducked into the bathroom when she’d woken on Christmas morning to see presents under the tree and her stocking full. She cried in the shower, wondering how Daddy had managed to do it when he had trouble getting out of bed by himself.

And, as much as it hurt to think about doing it now, all the things she needed to make those damn scones were in her pantry. She’d planned on keeping up with the traditions tonight, but life had other plans. Between her broken oven, nearly sleeping with Drew, and her ex-fiancé showing up, Julie’s night certainly hadn’t gone according to plan.

“Hey.” Julie turned to see Jake standing in the doorway, blonde hair damp and sticking up in all different directions. His expression shifted to one of concern when he saw her blink away tears. “You okay?”

“Fine. How’s your hands?”

“I can feel them now,” he shrugged, setting the first aid kit on the counter and holding them up for her inspection. The t-shirt she’d given him was stretched tight across his chest, and the baggy sweats she’d pulled from the back of her drawers stopped at his ankles. “Not sure if that’s good or not.”

“I’ll wrap them, and then you can ice them.” He nodded when she set her mug down and walked closer. She made quick work of it, spreading an antibiotic ointment over his knuckles before quickly looping the bandages over his hands. Jake clocked the familiar t-shirt she’d changed into - a threadbare one she’d bought on one of their Spring Break trips - and shoved away the urge to say something about it.

After declining a cup of tea and grabbing a glass of water, they retreated to the couch. Cece claimed the corner, tugging the blanket over her lap. Jake watched, unsure if she’d welcome him into her arms again, then sat beside her and pulled the blanket over his lap. “You wanna talk about it?” she asked softly.

“No. You?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she replied, picking up the remote and turning on the television. Jake recognized the walls she’d put back up and hated them. After flipping through the channels, she found one playing the original Miracle on 34th Street. She rolled her lips together while tossing the remote onto the coffee table. Her eyes strayed from the screen to her daddy’s recliner, picturing him there. This was her mama’s favorite Christmas movie, and he would try to hide his tears from her every time they watched it.

This year, it was her turn. For all her planning, she’d never expected to spend Christmas Eve with anyone else. Her plan to distract herself throughout Christmas had always ended with spending the evening drunk and lying under the tree. Alone. Allowing herself to think about Mama and Daddy and all those years she’d taken their presence for granted, always assuming that they had more time.

The distraction of the mayor’s party, a night at the bar, Drew’s touch, and Jake’s… being there had forced her into the present, but now, as she watched the movie, those thoughts of how much she missed her parents crept in. Hot tears trailed down her cheeks as she sipped her tea. This was one of the worst things about grief, she’d realized over the last year - how quickly it could sneak up on you. How you could go from feeling fine one moment to wanting to rage and cry about how unfair life - and death - was the next.

Unable to stop herself, Cece sniffled, drawing Jake’s attention. “Hey - ” he said but stopped when she shoved the blanket off her lap and stood. Without another word, she retreated to the kitchen, pouring the rest of her tea down the drain, rinsing the mug, and setting it in the sink. Her shoulders tensed when she heard Jake’s footsteps follow her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Jake sighed heavily. “Don’t do this.”

“Do what?” She turned, startled to see him standing so close. Concern was etched on his face as he looked down at her. Forcing her chin up, she leaned back onto the sink counter and crossed her arms.

“This. What you always do - pretend there’s nothing wrong until it’s too late, and then blow up or walk away.” When she opened her mouth to say something, he raised an eyebrow. Taking a step closer, he settled his hands on the counter, boxing her in. “Talk to me. Please.”

“You’ve already had a rough night. Losing a fiancée and a baby isn’t - ” Pain flashed in his sad eyes, but he shook his head.

“Don’t do that, Julie. Don’t… just talk to me.” His hands slid closer until his thumbs brushed her sides. He watched a tear slip down her cheek and fall to her shirt, chest rising and falling with the effort to contain her sobs. His right thumb rose to gently stroke the soft fabric he’d peeled from her body numerous times. “Please, baby.”

Cece gasped, bringing her hands up to cover her face, and shook her head. “I m-miss my parents,” she whispered.

Hell was seeing her cry and knowing he couldn’t do anything to fix it. Jake felt his heart breaking as he pulled her into his arms, kissing her temple. “‘M sorry,” he murmured. “‘M so sorry, sweetheart.” He could feel her trembling and held her tighter, lips pressed to the crown of her head. When she dropped her hands and buried her face in his chest, Cece’s fingers dug into his back. “I’ve gotcha, honey.”

Jake knew he should have been here sooner. Shouldn’t have waited so long to return home and do this. As soon as he stepped foot back in the US, he should have asked for leave to come back to Magnolia. He shouldn’t have let his hurt feelings get in the way of being there for her when she lost the last of her family.

He should have been there for the girl he’d been in love with since he understood what the word meant.

If he’d done that, who knew what would have happened. Maybe Cece would have ignored him or told him to leave. Or maybe… maybe they would have ended up like this, where she finally let down her guard enough to allow him to take care of her. To be the man he’d promised to be all those years ago when Jake thought girls were gross, but Julie was the exception. When they were naive kids, best friends, pinky-promising to always be there for each other.

And above all, Jake hated that it took them both being in pain to be able to touch her like this. To be able to hold her and be held by her. Because once upon a time, being with Cece had been as easy as breathing, and it had been so long since he’d felt that with anyone.

When she started to pull away, Jake reluctantly loosened his hold. A shaking hand rose to wipe at the wet spot on his shirt, unwilling to look at him while mumbling an apology. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up and sighed at the sight of her bloodshot eyes. Reaching behind her for a paper towel, he held it up for her. Cece ducked her head again while blowing her nose, forehead resting on his chest. “Better?” he asked.

“Not really,” she shrugged, crumpling the makeshift tissue and looking up at him through tear-spiked lashes. He raised a bandaged hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead as his fingers trailed down to cup her cheek. When he pulled away, Cece swayed into him, her eyes slowly opening to meet his gaze. They stared at one another for a long moment. “Thank you, Farm Boy.”

“You’re welcome, Cupcake. And thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Jake watched her eyes dip to his lips, lowering his head almost automatically. He caught himself as his nose brushed hers, her soft inhale making him pause. Neither moved, waiting for the other to make the first move or pull away.

Heart pounding, Cece rose onto her toes and kissed him. A soft, closed-mouth kiss that conveyed comfort rather than lust. When their eyes met again, hundreds of unspoken words and feelings passed between them.

Jake tasted the cinnamon and honey from her tea and the salty remnants of her tears when he kissed her. His hands slid under the hem of her shirt, but he resisted the urge to remap her curves, content to feel the heat of her skin against his palms. Her body pressed to his when she stepped closer.

Cece smiled against his slightly chapped lips, feeling the scratch of his stubble against her skin. His heart beat against her palm when her hands rose to his chest. No matter how much time passed, that was one thing that never changed. She knew she held a special piece of his heart and had staked her claim decades ago, just as he’d done with her own.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you,” Jake whispered against her lips. “Shoulda come home when you needed me.”

“I’m glad you came here tonight,” she breathed. “I hate why, but I’m glad you’re not stuck with that - ” He cut her off with a kiss, not wanting to ruin this moment by thinking about his ex.

Those three words were on the tip of his tongue when Cece’s hand trailed down to catch his own. After tossing her tissue in the trash, she led him to her childhood bedroom, pausing long enough to turn off the television and Christmas tree lights. “Baby,” he sighed as she pulled back the covers. “I don’t think…”

“No,” she agreed, sitting in the middle of the bed. “Just to sleep.” Their eyes met for a long moment before he reached for the back of his shirt and tugged it over his head, dropping it onto the floor. She scooted closer to the wall, giving him plenty of space as he sat beside her and pulled the covers up to his chest.

Jake reached for her, his hand sliding over her hip as he shifted closer. In the darkness, time seemed to slow as they traded unhurried kisses. For a moment, Jake felt like he was thirteen again, stealing kisses and keeping an ear out for one of their parents to appear. Back when kissing was new, and every time, it felt like his heart would beat out of his chest. Cece felt like she was eighteen again, finding pieces of the boy she’d sent to the Naval Academy in the man who had returned, but secure in the knowledge that he was her Farm Boy.

“Goodnight, Jake,” she said softly, eyes fluttering closed as his fingers slipped under her shirt and drew on her lower back.

“Night, Cece.” He kept tracing those eight letters, his unspoken promise, onto Cece’s skin until she fell asleep.

And, as much as his heart was shattered for the future he’d lost, Jake couldn’t help but feel as though a corner of it was already rebuilding.

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

Author's Note: I'm very torn on how I feel about this chapter, but I can't look at it anymore. I had a hard time balancing them both experiencing their grief and wanting to comfort one another, and pushing their relationship forward. Them kissing and sleeping together was more about comforting one another rather than sex, if that makes sense?

Anyway, thank you to @mamachasesmayhem for letting me vent to her about it!

Read Chapter 7

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

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