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justfandomwritings · 2 years

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The Only Thing (Hangman - Part Two)

Pairing: Jake Seresin x Female!Reader; some Rooster x Seresin!OC

Word Count: 11.2k

Summary: Jake Seresin is madly in love with (Y/n). This is not an opinion or a feeling; it is a fact. A law of the universe that will never change. As long as the world is in motion, as long as the sun is in the sky, and possibly even after, Jake Seresin will be in love with her. So why, for the love of all that is good in this world, are they not together? Rooster intends to find out.

Warnings: Angst, Objectively excessive amounts of pining, also Jake Seresin can be an asshole sometimes but so can his sisters, cursing. An emotional amount of found family. Also Christmas is featured, but in a very non-religious celebratory way. Also no Beta-reader, sorry.

Notes: Thank you to everyone who partook in Part One. I hope you all find Part Two, and I hope you all love it. There will be a spinoff oneshot of little tidbits from Jake and Addie's life growing up together and falling in love, etc. etc. If you have any thoughts on particular moments you'd like to see either in that or just in general as blurbs lemme know.

The Only Thing Masterlist

“Not that star! It’s falling apart. Use the new one we bought last year!”

“Seriously Ma, you couldn’t have said that before?” Hangman huffed and readjusted Ronnie higher up on his shoulders. “Bradshaw, get Ronnie whatever fuckin’ star Ma’s talking about.”

Rooster snorted but began rummaging through the ornaments and assorted other tree decorations without much protest. There was a newer looking star topper still in the box at the bottom of the storage bin labeled ‘Tree Stuff’, and Rooster pulled it out.

Holding it up in Debbie’s general direction at the far end of the hall, he asked, “This one?”

“Yes, honey, that’s the one.” Debbie gave him a thumbs up then, satisfied, darted back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

Rooster handed the star up to Ronnie on top of Jake’s shoulders and took the older, beat-up star off her hands.

The Seresins were a very last-minute family when it came to decorating. Mostly, it was that the sisters, Ronnie in particular, considered decorating for Christmas to be a family affair, and they collectively refused to decorate anything at all until their brother was home.

Hangman had, of course, written this off to Rooster as the three of them wanting him to do all the heavy lifting, and while Ronnie and Andy adamantly refused the accusation, Kate nodded along when Hangman’s back was turned. It’d made Rooster chuckle which earned Kate a glare from her brother.

Debbie was milling around the kitchen with Andy, baking and mixing an assortment of things that could be made in advanced of Christmas Day, while Kate draped bannisters in garlands. and Ronnie, Hangman, and Rooster decorated the tree.

They were finally finishing up the tree with the star on top when the front door burst open without any knock or warning.

“I brought candy!”

Rooster would recognize (Y/n)’s voice anywhere by now. As much as he’d heard it over the last couple days with Hangman, he was sure he could pick it out of any crowd.

“I’ll help her.” Rooster quickly volunteered as Hangman was still acting as a step stool for Ronnie to reach the top.

“Thanks,” Hangman bristled as he was forced to walk into the needles of the tree so Ronnie could reach.

With a chuckle, Rooster wandered into the foyer to find (Y/n), arms laden with far too many paper bags.

“Jesus! Did you buy out the whole store?” Rooster rushed forward to take some of the bags out of her hands before a catastrophe occurred.

(Y/n) laughed and pawned off most of the bags on the pilot. “I work at the bakery part-time during the Christmas rush, and Mr. Donaldson always gives me all the imperfect batches that he can’t sell.”

Rooster followed (Y/n) to the kitchen to see what Debbie wanted done with all of it.

“Aren’t you going to keep some of this for yourself?” Rooster lifted the bags of candy in his arms as indication.

(Y/n) shrugged, “No, I'm always here for Christmas anyway. My family don’t really celebrate Christmas.”

“Not Religious?”

“Eh, we all just hate each other. Dad hates my brother. My brother hates me. I hate Mom. Mom hates my brother and me… You get the picture.” (Y/n) waved off Rooster’s question as they entered the kitchen, and Rooster wasn’t sure whether she thought it was unimportant or if she wanted to stop talking about it.

“Besides, why would I want to be anywhere else but here?” (Y/n) loudly announced as she entered the kitchen.

Debbie smiled warmly at (Y/n) as she entered. Her fingers were covered with cookie dough, but she leaned in to kiss (Y/n) on the cheek in lieu of her usual hug. “We wouldn’t want you anywhere else. It wouldn’t be Christmas without you.”

“No cause who else would bring the peanut butter fudge.” (Y/n) turned and eyed the bags in Roosters arms before carefully selecting one in particular and holding it out in her fist as far from her body as possible.

Andy didn’t seem to care about the dough all over her fingers. She greedily snatched the bag from (Y/n) and gave her a one-armed hug in reward, only just avoiding her fingers getting in any hair. “You’re my favorite sister.”

“I won’t tell Kate and Ronnie.” (Y/n) teased.

“Bradley, dear, if you could just set the rest of those on the side table over there.” Debbie pointed to a table that was littered with assorted baking and desert making supplies.

“Of course Debbie,” He’d finally gotten past calling her ma’am, and the smile his familiarity brought to Debbie’s face cemented him using her name.

(Y/n) wandered over to start sorting the bags into different piles. One for fruit candies, one for mint, one for chocolate, etc. She glanced over her shoulder with a faux-sneaky look and passed one of the bags to Rooster. “Try this one. It’s the best candy in the store, and Jake’ll steal it if he finds out I brought some.”

Rooster thanked her, popping one in his mouth. It was some kind of mix of raspberry and chocolate and something else. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it was utterly delicious. The grin on (Y/n)’s face, like school kids who were stealing sweets before dinner, was enough to make him break out in a massive smile in return.

“I’m right, right?” She whispered, stuffing her hand down in the bag and palming several for herself.

“Absolutely,” Rooster quietly agreed, putting an arm around her shoulder and squeezing in what was meant to be a show of affection.

“Hey!”

They both turned, sheepish and wide eyed like they’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Hangman was standing in the doorway with his eyes narrowed in on them.

For a brief, shining moment Rooster was genuinely worried. There was an angry look to Hangman’s brow. Rooster couldn’t tell what it was directed towards, but he had just had an arm wrapped around Hangman’s girl, leaned in inches from her face, as they whispered and smiled at each other. The thought of how it might’ve looked to the other pilot was enough to make him pale.

“Are those the raspberry ones you two are hiding?” Hangman pointed an accusatory finger at the bag half hidden behind Rooster.

“Nope,” (Y/n) stole the bag from Rooster’s hand and took off, shouting unconvincingly as she went, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Hangman rolled his eyes and waved a hand after her. “Little does she know I bought a box on her lunch break that’s hidden in my room, and I’m not sharing.” Kissing his mom on the top of her head as he passed, Hangman wandered over beside Rooster to observe the assortment (Y/n) had delivered to them.

Hangman’s brow was still a bit furrowed.

“Hey, man,” Rooster didn’t whisper, but he did speak under his breath so the other Seresins wouldn’t hear, “I’m sorry if I crossed a line with (Y/n).”

Hangman turned his head and raised an eyebrow, his expression thoroughly disinterested. “You cop a feel or somethin’ I didn’t see?”

“No, never, I-”

“No harm in makin’ friends, Rooster. I know that’s all it was to her. You tellin’ me it’s somethin’ more to you?”

“God, no.”

Hangman turned back to the candy nonchalantly, “Then what are you apologizin’ for? I’m an asshole, but I’m not that kind of asshole.”

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Hangman’s sisters were very invested in his love life. Mostly, they were very invested in finally getting him and (Y/n) together. It was pretty much the first thing Rooster learned about each of them upon spending time alone with them. Kate had pushed him to knock some sense into Hangman. Ronnie had interrogated him to make sure her brother wasn’t seeing anyone else. Andy had taken to calling (Y/n) her favorite sister or sister-in-law when Hangman wasn’t around.

Clearly born out of a deep love for their brother and a want to finally see him happy, they had all seemingly made it their life’s mission to make him see reason, and with Rooster in town, he had inevitably been drafted in to help.

“I think you may have actually got through to him.” Kate dragged Rooster through the house to the dining table where Ronnie and Andy were already sitting. “But Jake needs a lot of hand holding with things like this. He can’t possibly admit he might have been wrong and making himself miserable for years for no reason.”

Debbie was out running errands, and (Y/n) was helping set up the town’s Christmas Eve parade, which of course meant Hangman was helping set up the town’s Christmas Eve parade. So it seemed prime-time for the Seresin sisters to congregate.

“This is the year. I can feel it in my bones, Kate.” Ronnie was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement at the prospect. “This is the year we finally get him.”

“Get him how?” Rooster took the seat across from Kate and next to Ronnie.

Andy leaned across the table with the closest thing to a serious expression Rooster had seen from her since he arrived. “Every year without fail we plot some storybook, romance novel worthy moment for Jake to finally see reason and declare his love for (Y/n), and every year it fails.”

“It’s a Seresin family tradition at this point,” Kate informed him with a matter-of-fact nod.

“We’ve staged them on a blind date with each other.” Ronnie counted off one on her fingers.

“Jake figured it out when he got there, and they just ended up hanging out.” Andy explained.

“We’ve trapped them in elevators. Twice” Two and three.

“The first time she fell asleep with her head in his lap because she was so tired, and the second time he pried the doors open like fucking He-Man or something.”

“We tried to make Jake jealous and set (Y/n) up with the hottest, richest guy we knew.” Four.

“He got so sad that year and said he hoped the other guy could give her everything she deserved.”

“Yeah, that one was depressing. We’re never trying that again.” Andy and Ronnie nodded along in agreement to Kate’s interjection to their list.

“We trapped them at the top of the ferris wheel the year the town rented one around Christmas.” Five.

“It freaked (Y/n) out too much to be romantic.” Andy added, unhelpfully, “She would not be a good fighter pilot.”

“So what are you three doing this year?” Rooster cut them off when it became clear the list was going to continue.

In a simultaneous motion that would’ve been absolutely horrifying in any horror movie, all three sisters looked up and smiled at his question. “See,” Kate addressed him, “we don’t know. We’re hoping that’s where you come in.”

When exactly Rooster became part of some romcom movie, he wasn’t sure. He was unabashed about the number of romcoms he’d watched over the year, with and without girlfriends present. So he felt pretty educated saying that sitting around a table coming up with a plan to set up two people who were already in love with each other was pretty romcom-esque. It’s just usually in the romcom they didn’t realize they were in love yet.

Rooster didn’t see how any ‘plan’ would work. None of them would resolve the real problem.

Hangman and (Y/n) were both very much in love and very much aware of the fact that they were in love. Neither of them needed to be told or reminded that they had feelings for the other. They were even both aware of the fact that the other was in love with them. There was no moment of realization to be had here. They both knew, and it didn’t seem to change anything..

Hangman – shockingly – wasn’t selfish enough to ask her to make the sacrifices it would require to follow him, and at the end of the day, Hangman was still going to be a TopGun pilot, and he was still going to be constantly moving, constantly in danger, and constantly away. No romcom movie moment was going to change that.

And (Y/n)… Well Rooster wasn’t sure about (Y/n). He liked her, a lot actually. He could certainly see why Hangman was in love with her, but he just didn’t know her well enough to know what made her tick, to know why a woman so clearly in love with a man who was so clearly in love with her wouldn’t just say ‘screw it’ and show up at his door in San Diego, why she wouldn’t have confronted Hangman at any point in all their years of being ‘not-together’. He couldn’t see what was stopping her, but something clearly was.

Hangman’s sisters were absolutely convinced that they just needed to get through to Hangman, but Rooster wasn’t so sure. There was something nagging at him about (Y/n), telling him that, if they really wanted to make this happen, he needed to talk to her. Easier said than done since she never left Hangman’s side.

He asked the sisters if they could make that happen, if they could separate the two of them for longer than a couple minutes so he could talk to her, and the trio had exchanged long glances before they all burst out laughing like he’d just told the greatest joke they’d ever heard. Kate, promptly, informed him that while their mother made them go to church every Sunday as kids, none of them believed in miracles.

It was oddly endearing watching the sisters plot and scheme, not for their brother’s demise or embarrassment, but for his happiness. Their words did not match their angry, sinister tones. They said things like ‘Why won’t he just tell her he loves her?’ and ‘She already knows he loves her!’ and ‘Well, why won’t he just let her love him back, that asshole!’ and ‘I just want them to be happy and make babies!’ were snarled like insults. They all spat on Jake’s name like it was a vulgar word, while simultaneously trying to come up with ways to make him smile.

Rooster’s heart ceased up in his chest, and he knew he needed to get out of there. “I’ll be back.”

Andy and Ronnie waved him off, barely noticing as he left. They were still batting around ideas about what to do for Hangman. Kate was a different animal. Rooster could feel her eyes on him as his shoulders hunched in time with his constricting chest.

He made a swift exit onto the patio, inhaling fresh air deep into his lungs in an attempt to open up his chest. He was out there alone for less than a minute before a hand touched his shoulder. He should’ve known it was coming, but it still made him jump and turn around defensively.

“Sorry,” Rooster’s voice cracked slightly on the word, and he quickly diverted his eyes away from Kate.

“Are you okay?” Kate asked, leaving her hand where it fell on his arm. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s just that…” Rooster wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he couldn’t stop the words coming out. It was something in the water, or in the town, or just in the house. Something that made him want to open up. “I don’t know. Seeing the way you guys are with Jake, it makes me think about what my siblings would’ve been like if my dad hadn’t…”

Kate placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, pulling Rooster’s eyes up to hers “Well, you don’t have to wonder if you don’t want to. I know, we all know, we aren’t replacements, and we won’t try to be. No one can replace what you’ve lost. But just because what you’ve lost is irreplaceable doesn’t mean there aren’t… alternatives.”

It was a sensitive subject, and Rooster could see the way Kate’s eyes darted around, searching for the right words. “We don’t need you to think of us as your real family or as replacements for them. If it helps you open up or cope, we won’t be offended by you thinking of us as a backup, Bradley. I know you’ve only been here for a little while, but we care about you. We will be what you need us to be. So don’t think you have to betray your family to stay here, and don’t think you’re hurting us by thinking of your family first.”

She gave his shoulder one last squeeze then stepped away. “We’re all here for you, even Jake. He wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t want you to be part of this, and we wouldn’t be spending so much time with you if we didn’t want it too.”

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It was the Eve of Christmas Eve, and Rooster woke up to (Y/n) already at the Seresins’ frying up some eggs for breakfast. Even on leave, Rooster woke with the sun, yet somehow (Y/n) was already there.

She loudly announced that she was kidnapping Jake so they could go into the city to shop for Christmas presents. Rooster was welcome to join or stay at his own risk.

“Do you want to come? Everyone else will be out, so there won’t be much to do here. But if you really wanna stay, you can use my car. It can’t make the trek to the city, but it gets around town in a pinch.”

When she asked, an image of Kate the night before, ‘He wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t want you to be part of this, and we wouldn’t be spending so much time with you if we didn’t want it too,’ flashed through Rooster’s mind.

Jake brought Rooster here, not just to his family home, but to (Y/n), and as he stood – finally alone with her – in the kitchen, Rooster saw it for what it was: the most open and honest way Jake could place his trust in Rooster. It was as good as if Jake had ripped his heart from his chest and put it in Rooster’s palm.

“Of course I’ll come along. Can’t leave you alone with Jake that long. That would be torture.”

(Y/n) beamed. She had a witty retort, but Rooster didn’t hear it. He was too distracted by the way she turned back to the stove, still smiling away, as comfortable in his presence as she was in any of the Seresins.

She looked as ready and willing to accept him into the family as Kate the night before, and Rooster wondered if the two women, or more likely (Y/n) and Jake, had talked about it. If Jake got her permission to bring him here, or if Jake let her deliver her final verdict when he drove her home after the barbecue. Either way, Rooster knew he wouldn’t still be here if she didn’t want him around. But (Y/n) seemed to go so far beyond tolerance, so far beyond acceptance.

When Rooster thought of his family, of his parents and of the siblings he was sure he would’ve had. He found himself picturing (Y/n). Her open smile and accepting nature. He imagined a hellraiser of a baby sister with a nickname like Adrenaline that he was constantly trying to keep out of trouble. He could picture the little girl’s unbridled chaos mellowing into a mischievous glint in the grown woman’s eye. He could see himself bringing home his Navy buddies and giving them all an earful for checking her out.

Void of a biological family that had any real meaning to her, Rooster could pick (Y/n) up and put her seamlessly in his memories with his mom around the dinner table.

Rooster opened his mouth to speak. If he wanted his moment alone to talk with her, this was as good as it would get.

But before he could say anything, Jake came traipsing into the room. “Something smells good.”

“This is your payment for driving me to the city.” (Y/n) informed him.

“Oh?” Jake clearly didn’t know he was going to be doing that today, but he took the surprise easily in hand. “Sounds fun. When are we going?”

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“Absolutely not!”

“Why not? She would look so nice in this one.”

They’d been in the city shopping for the better part of three hours, and all that was left was to help Jake find one last present for Andy.

Jake and (Y/n) had already gotten presents for each other, or at least Rooster assumed they had because, even after several hours wandering around the mall from store to store, neither of them had picked anything out for each other.

Jake wasn’t really known for being a thoughtful person, and Rooster never would’ve thought he was a romantic or generous person at heart. Before this trip, if he’d have had to imagine Jake buying presents for any occasion, it probably would have been a last-minute whirlwind of boxed chocolates and flowers to get laid on Valentine’s Day. And yet, since coming to Texas, Rooster would bet every dollar to his name that whatever Jake gave (Y/n) was so thoughtful it would make her cry.

(Y/n) was obviously the kind of person who put a lot of thought into Christmas presents. She’d already gotten gifts for each of the Seresin sisters and Debbie before they went out shopping that morning, but her basket was still laden with little knick-knacks that reminded her of each of them. ‘Stocking stuffers’, she waved off the raised eyebrow Rooster shot her as she picked up a set of shot glasses that looked like beakers for Ronnie. He couldn’t imagine her forgetting to get Jake something. She seemed too good at this.

Jake had defaulted to (Y/n)’s opinion on gift giving up to the last moment, but now he’d fallen at the final hurdle.

“There is no way I am putting Andy in that. Addie, they’re all already picturing her naked. We don’t need to encourage them.”

The issue, a debate that was about as close to a fight as (Y/n) and Jake were capable of, centered around a beautiful, though very skimpy sundress hanging off of (Y/n)’s finger. “They will not be picturing her naked. I have this same one in a different color.”

“Yes, and I’ve been to the beach with you in it. All the guys are picturing you naked too.” Jake said with a roll of his eyes, as if it were the most logical conclusion, and he couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it.

(Y/n)’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she suddenly sounded less sure of herself on that fact. “No they aren’t.”

Jake tilted his head to the side and gave her purse-lipped expression that said she ought to know better, “I have to beat the other guys back like flies, Addie. You just don’t notice any of them.”

There was a rule between the two of them, one that Rooster had quickly caught onto, that in each other’s presence neither addressed the elephant in the room. In keeping with that rule, neither Jake or (Y/n) confronted why it was that (Y/n) wouldn’t notice all of the guys staring at her while Jake was around.

“Look, I won’t tell Andy what to wear any more than I’ll tell you what to wear, but I’m not gonna gift every guy on that trip a wet dream.”

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, “It’s really not that bad. You’re exaggerating.”

“No, they will definitely be picturing her naked in that.”

“See!” Jake shouted triumphantly, pointing at Rooster, “Rooster agrees with me! He never does that!”

(Y/n) bit back a laugh at Jake’s excitement. Defiantly, though certainly amused, she shoved the sundress in her own basket. “I’ll have you know I met the one that invited her along as his plus one, and he’s a perfectly nice guy. Practically a gentleman.”

“What branch did you say he was?” Rooster piped in.

“Army… I think he’s Special Forces.”

Rooster chuckled, and Jake fumed. “No. Absolutely not.” He stole the dress out (Y/n)’s basket it and hung it back on the rack. “Next you’re going to tell me Kate needs these art supplies so she can paint some Marine in the nude.”

“Well,” (Y/n) hedged, “he’s not a Marine…” Her tone was teasing, and there was just the right amount of mischief in her eyes.

“Ugh!” Jake walked back passed her towards the luggage section, ringing his hands in the air.

(Y/n) burst into a round of giggles as Jake wandered off, and Rooster couldn’t help joining her with a chuckle of his own. “Really though,” (Y/n) said, still trying to sober up, “What’s wrong with Army guys?”

“Well, for one, if he’s Special Forces, he has definitely already seen her naked.” Rooster spoke under his breath, not wanting to tempt fate with Jake’s foul mood, even if he would never actually unleash it around (Y/n), “And for two, Jake can’t scare an SF guy into line.”

“Well I, for one, think he’s great. And I think that will be totally unnecessary.” (Y/n) led their way through the racks, following Jake towards the matching set of bags he was no doubt going to buy Andy instead.

Rooster shrugged, not that (Y/n) could see from in front of him. “He might be a great guy, but still. Jake wants to protect her. He’s just trying to help.”

“Oh of course.” (Y/n) made a point to turn back so Rooster could see her playfully roll her eyes, “Because we women need a big macho man to help us with everything.” The pair broke out into the wider aisle and began walking side-by-side.

“Aren’t you the same girl I just watched pout her way into getting Jake to carry all of her bags out of the last store?” Rooster grinned down at her.

At the reminder, (Y/n) couldn’t hold back the devilish, gleeful smile, “Yeah, because I needed a big macho man to help me with it.”

Rooster chuckled, “You know when I got here I didn’t get it, but now I do. You and Jake make total sense.”

“I choose to take that as a compliment.”

“It was meant as a compliment.”

“For who?”

“Both of you.”

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Every shop in the quaint downtown area of the small Texas town was strung with twinkling white Christmas lights along its roof. They shown down on the street like stars blinking invitingly to all the parade-goers, drawing them further into the crowd, further into the festivities. The lamps lining the street were all turned off, and the world had taken on a glow of red and green at the street level from countless, lit window displays of reindeer and Christmas trees and Santa Claus.

It was one of those magical scenes from the romantic comedies Rooster always unapologetically watched. Something in the air just screamed excitement and joy. It permeated his skin and filled him with an overwhelming sense of amusement and happiness. He was edging towards belonging, but he drew himself back, fearfully, from the feeling.

Christmas was never a holiday Rooster was particularly attached to. His family had never been particularly religious, and while his mother always made a point to make sure he had the best Christmas she could afford to give him – presents, dinner, family, lights, music – there was always something noticeably absent from Christmas with the Bradshaws. It always rang a little hollow. There was always one too many chairs around the table, one too many servings of pudding, one too many of everything.

But here, in podunk, middle of nowhere Texas, where half the people on the street remembered his name from the cookout and waved and said ‘Hi Rooster’. Where his friend – he felt far less hesitant calling Jake a friend now – walked a few feet ahead of him with the love of his life, and where Debbie clutched his arm and excitedly pointed out every family-owned store in town and raved about the town’s parade and its history.

Where Kate playfully berated her mother for boring him to sleep. And Andy whispered to Ronnie behind him about how she really did like the guy who’d asked her to go on the trip with him and his friends. And Ronnie told her to tell Jake, or Bradley, about the guy just to be safe.

Where he blinked a few times more than was strictly necessary as Andy mumbled that she’d probably talk to Bradley about it later.

“It’s beautiful Debbie,” Rooster barely knew which storefront Debbie was talking to him about this time, but her tone told him she was excited about it.

“Isn’t it just,” She beamed up at him, “The Newman’s always do such a great job. They didn’t make the cookout this time, but when you come back ‘round I’ll be sure to introduce you to ‘em. Their son and Jake were best friends when they were kids.”

Jake seemed to hear what Debbie was saying, and he craned his neck around in their direction, clearly unwilling to remove his arm from (Y/n) long enough to actually talk to them, “His dad used to own the plane, Rooster.”

“Why did you two stop being friends again?” Kate’s question sounded innocent enough, but there was an undercurrent to it that Rooster had come to recognize as common to all Seresin’s.

Debbie leaned around Rooster to give her eldest daughter a playful whack on the back of her hand, “Enough of that.”

The group all laughed.

They soon had to move to a single file line as they hit the town’s main square where the parade actually began, and the street was filling up with people camping out on the sidewalk for the best seats, leaving only a narrow walkway to get around. Kate side stepped in front of Rooster, between him and Debbie.

Rooster took the chance and leaned over Kate’s shoulder, “So why aren’t they friends?”

“Why else,” Kate turned her chin up to say it but didn’t face him, keeping her eyes forward as they duck and weaved their way through the people to keep up with the group, “Newman threw a basketball too hard at (Y/n) in P.E. She fell over, hit her head. Stitches. It was all an accident, but Jake wasn’t so forgiving back then. He’s always been a stubborn ass. They didn’t make up till college.”

“Funny, I thought around here Hangman didn’t have any flaws,” Rooster dared using the callsign. It seemed fitting in the moment.

Kate approved, grinning up at him, “You tellin’ me my brother isn’t an ass?”

“Oh no, he definitely is.”

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“I’m gonna go get drinks. Wait here?” Jake asked (Y/n).

“Course, we’ll hold down the fort.” (Y/n) reached across the bench and patted Rooster on the knee, the last remaining members of the group.

The Seresins’ had secured a bench and the lip of sidewalk in front of it near the back of the circular route the parade would be taking through the big open square. There were people crowded in around them in lawn chairs or sitting on picnic blankets. Groups of children ran around and played in the empty path that was cleared out for the parade, one of them accompanied by Kate.

While they were waiting on the parade to start, Kate had run off to play with her godchildren, a pair of little girls belonging to her high school best friend. Mrs. Seresin had promptly taken that as her cue to abduct Ronnie and make her talk to someone named Taylor that she swore was just perfect for her. Andy had followed along behind snickering the whole way.

Objectively, it wasn’t that many people. A parade back in San Diego would’ve gotten ten or twenty times as many people as this one, but the shouts back and forth between different little families and the way everyone made room for the next group that came along later spoke volumes about the fact that this wasn’t just a collection of people. It was a community.

Rooster was pretty sure that, even if they stood up and completely abandoned their stuff, no one would steal their spots or any of their belongings. ‘Holding down the fort’ was almost entirely unnecessary, and yet it provided him the opportunity he had been looking for.

He watched Jake’s back retreat towards a small makeshift shack that appeared to be some kind of concession stand. If he wanted to talk to (Y/n) alone, this was the only chance he’d get.

“Well (Y/n),” He broached in a gentle tone. He had to be careful about this. (Y/n) didn’t strike him as the tattling or whining sort. If he said the wrong thing, she would probably grin and bear it. But of course, Jake could read her so well. It didn’t matter if she told him or not; Jake would know. So he had to be careful. “Jake’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.”

(Y/n) gave him a sad smile. “So will you,” She added, “we’ll all miss you.” (Y/n) didn’t mean to redirect him. Rooster knew she wasn’t as sneaky as that. His first night in town she’d done quite a bit of redirecting, but all of it was incredibly obvious and usually accompanied by a look to Jake. This was just (Y/n) being (Y/n), welcoming him into the family.

“Of course,” He’d almost – almost – grown used to the Seresin brand of open affection, “but I’m not Jake.”

The smile stayed on her face even while the light in her eyes seemed to dim. “Well, no, you’re not, and I might miss him a teeny bit more if I’m being totally honest with you.” Her chipper, teasing tone didn’t match the sadness that was coming into her gaze, rolling in like dark clouds signaling a coming storm.

“Can I ask you a personal question, (Y/n)?”

“Of course,” (Y/n) shuffled on the bench. She turned to face him and brought her feet up onto the bench, pulling her knees into her chest.

He wondered absently if it was so she could look him in the eyes or if having her legs in front of her was more of a safeguard, a defense mechanism. Rooster had had several open, honest conversations with (Y/n) during his time in Texas, and some of them had actually been quite personal. But the few times he’d gotten her alone had only ever been long enough for a joke here or there, an offhand teasing comment.

He wondered if she could sense the change in atmosphere, in tone, as much as he could. If she could, she didn’t let on any more than the arm wrapped around her knees.

“Why aren’t you in San Diego? You don’t… really seem like you care about Texas that much, and I kinda get the feeling you’d rather be there.”

(Y/n) sighed like a weight had compressed the air out of her chest, a gust that looked and felt more like it was forced from her lungs than actually given freely. She knew this was coming. Rooster could tell from the way her eyes tilted down as she sucked air back in. “It’s complicated. It’s not as easy as just moving.”

“Well no,” Rooster conceded. “You would need… Well, you’d have to be with Jake, I suppose.”

“Right.”

“Why aren’t you?”

Her teeth caught her bottom lip, and (Y/n)’s eyes darted away as fast as the words left his mouth. They flitted along the crowd. She wasn’t really searching for anything. There was no urgency to her gaze, but she still seemed to be looking into every face that she passed. If for no other reason than to not look back at him.

“Is…” It was a wild thought, an impossible thought. But it was truly the only explanation Rooster could think of, “Is there someone else?”

(Y/n) came to a stop. Her shoulders, going up and down with the weight of her breaths froze in a sort of half shrug. Her eyes came to a stop on some unknown face in the crowd and glazed over as she stared through whoever it was into something that wasn’t there. Her fingers, twitching against the denim of her jeans, stilled and flattened against the fabric. It was like someone had a remote to a tv and hit pause.

“(Y/n)?”

Then, all at once, they were in fast forward.

(Y/n) threw her head back and let out an absolutely raucous laugh. If not for the packed bodies filling in the space around them with a buzz of noise, it would’ve echoed into the night. If not for the Christmas music playing in the background of the entire scene from speakers situated at the base of the sporadic trees decorating the square, her laughter would’ve been so disruptive it would’ve drawn the eyes of everyone in town to them. Not that any of them would’ve said anything beyond a cool, disapproving stare.

As it was, her laughter seemed to only add to the merriment of the moment, a merriment that Rooster’s chosen topic of conversation had pulled the pair of them out of.

Rooster let her have several rounds at his expense, going through another bout of quieter laughter then a few rounds of giggles before she finally managed to settle down enough to address him again. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to laugh at you. Just the idea.”

“There isn’t someone else then I take it.”

“No.” She said emphatically, one last chuckle leaving her lips. “And there never will be.”

Rooster shifted himself to face her this time. A knee pulling up on the bench between them, his elbow resting on the back of the bench, propping up his head to stare her down. “Why not?”

The jovial, amused expression coloring her face softened. They were talking about Jake. Rooster made a note of it; her expression softened when she got to talk about Jake. “I believe it was Betty White who said, ‘When you have the best, who needs the rest?’”

Rooster raised an eyebrow. This was shaky ground. “You don’t have Jake though.”

“Bradley,” (Y/n) sighed and brought her knees down, crossing her legs between them. She leaned in, the amusement and merriment of moments ago, the soft loving expression she got when talking about Jake, gone. “You’ve been here for a little over a week now. Do you think there is anyone in this square, anyone in this town, who could ever love me as much as Jake?”

“No,” It was the easiest question Rooster had ever answered.

“Do you think anyone else in this square, anyone in this town… Fuck it, do you think anyone in all of San Diego could ever love Jake as much as I do?”

“No,” The second easiest question.

“I have Jake.” (Y/n) said, matter-of-factly. Her eyes implored Rooster to see her truth. “He’s mine. In every way that matters, he will always be mine.”

“But he’s not… here.” Rooster hesitated to point out, not because he thought (Y/n) would balk at the reminder. She seemed more sure of herself now, talking about how much she loved Jake and vice versa, than ever. Rooster just didn’t want to cause her pain in his path to answers. “He’s gone, and …. Much as I hate to admit it, he’s probably the best pilot at TopGun besides Maverick. The Navy isn’t gonna let him go any time soon.”

“And I wouldn’t want them to.” (Y/n) agreed.

Rooster raised an eyebrow, “Where does that leave you?”

“Waiting.” Rooster had his answer. He thought about stopping there, turning around and laughing at Kate dancing through the parade route with a little kid holding each hand, wandering over to join Andy teasing Ronnie about Debbie’s latest setup attempt… but he couldn’t.

Rooster saw him approaching behind (Y/n) from his peripheral vision. He tried not to focus on him, to not draw (Y/n)’s attention away. His eyes stayed on her even as the blonde head of hair drew close and closer through the crowd.

This was, he thought, his chance. If he was ever going to get one. His chance to finally do what Kate asked and knock some sense into Jake, and his chance to do what he knew needed to happen and knock some sense into (Y/n).

“(Y/n), you’ll have to forgive me.” Rooster’s next words were for Jake, for Hangman. “I like Jake. And I like you, and I like you both together. But he left, (Y/n).”

(Y/n) was shaking her head before he even finished speaking. “He left because I told him to go. He loves flying planes; he loves the Navy. I can wait a little longer.”

Jake was passed the last group now, coming up behind her. Even in his peripheral, Rooster could make out his face now.

“Does he love you more?”

“Of course,” (Y/n) didn’t hesitate.

“Then why aren’t you there with him?”

“I don’t know!”

She shouted then buried her head in her hands. Rooster had never heard her raise her voice before. His entire body drew back. Being shouted at in general wasn’t a pleasant experience, but there was something so much more disquieting about it being (Y/n), about it being someone who was otherwise so unshakably good natured and caring towards everyone. It was his intention to pull the anger and frustration, the sadness, out of her, but he hadn’t realized just how close she was to boiling over.

A few groups near them turned to stare, not just from the volume. Rooster glanced over and saw their faces colored in shock. He saw their eyes flit to Jake, just over her shoulder, and then to him in concern.

They were all right to be concerned.

Rooster made eye contact with Jake and instantly realized it was a mistake. He wasn’t looking at Jake. There was nothing of the mildly mischievous, but secretly kind-hearted family man in the eyes boring into his.

Rooster was staring down Hangman. Hangman with vicious, vengeful eyes. Hangman that could, and had, killed. Hangman that would readily take up a cause as honorable as avenging (Y/n)’s tears with Rooster's blood.

It sent a chill down Rooster’s spine, and for a moment he thought about running, jumping up and sprinting into the crowd for the safety of Debbie or Ronnie or Andy, someone Hangman would never commit a murder in front of. He might be able to duck Hangman’s first blow and make it to Kate and the kids somewhere behind him, but he was also pretty sure Hangman would be willing to commit a murder in front of that particular sibling.

But none of those were really options, and Rooster wasn’t one to run from a fight. There was only one solution here.

“Why haven’t you gone to San Diego, (Y/n)?” Rooster asked, his eyes staring down Hangman’s even as he spoke to her.

Hangman’s hands clenched into fists at his sides; his lips pulling back in a sneer.

“I don’t know,” (Y/n)’s voice, quiet and muffled by her hands over her face, cut Hangman off, “Maybe because… because there has to be a good reason.”

(Y/n) looked up, and Rooster quickly diverted his gaze down to hers.

There were tears welling up in her eyes. She was practically swimming in them, but none had spilled yet. It would probably be Rooster’s only saving grace if (Y/n) didn’t stop Hangman. “Jake has to have a good reason. Right?”

Rooster opened his mouth to respond, to assure her that, whatever else Hangman is, he is in love with her. To tell her she’s right, that Hangman wouldn’t do this without a good reason; it was just a question of whether she accepted his reason. But he didn’t get to say any of that.

(Y/n)’s voice picked up, strength and speed. She was spiraling. “I’m in pain every day, and I hate it. I hate going to friend’s weddings knowing that will never be me. I hate coming home every night to an empty house and an empty bed. I hate that every morning I wake up from blissfully happy dreams about a life with him, and that every morning I have to remember that’s a life I’m not living.”

Rooster chanced a glance over her shoulder.

Hangman was gone.

Rooster didn’t let his gaze linger any longer on Jake than was necessary to ascertain that he was listening. Rooster had tried to get Jake to see sense before, and it had only had marginal if any success. But this was the wakeup call he needed, and Jake was finally hearing it.

“I hate knowing that this is my life until Jake retires from the Navy in like thirty years, but it is. Because there isn’t anyone else, Bradley. There will never be anyone else. I don’t care if that means I have to wait till he retires or if I have to wait for the fucking ocean to dry up. There is nothing and no one that will ever replace Jake for me.”

(Y/n)’s eyes implored Rooster to believe her in a way that was wholly unnecessary. Rooster believed every word she was saying, not just because he thought her incapable of lying about this but because he knew the truth of every word even as she spoke it.

He’d seen it for himself in the way she looked at Jake, the way she smiled at him, touched him, the way her entire body relaxed just at the sight of him. Rooster didn’t need her to tell him how long she would wait for Jake. Rooster had already watched his mother wait.

“I want nothing more than to drop everything tomorrow and buy a ticket to San Diego. Whether there’s a house with a white picket fence or a tiny room with a bunk in an aircraft carrier, I want to be wherever he is. Being without him hurts me every day, but the only thing I know to be absolutely true in this world is that Jake Seresin loves me as much as I love him… and he would never hurt me like this without a good reason.”

“Yes he would.” The words came out broken, as broken as the man who said them.

(Y/n) lurched to her feet and whipped around. “Jake…”

(Y/n) didn’t seem to know what to say.

Rooster felt a pang in his chest at the desperation in her tone. He’d caused that. It wasn’t entirely his fault, but he had staged the moment unfolding before him. He put (Y/n) in position, in the position to stand in front of Jake and falter. Distress didn’t suit her; it wasn’t an emotion Rooster had ever heard (Y/n) express, ever. Certainly, she had never expressed distress towards anything regarding Jake; Rooster doubted she’d ever had cause to even know what distress felt like in the presence of Jake Seresin.

From the corner of his eye Rooster saw Kate take a stumbling step back in their direction. Jake had his back to her, and her eyes were trained on (Y/n)’s face. Kate looked shocked, concerned, possibly even terrified though he couldn’t tell from that distance.

“Jake, I-I can explain. I didn’t… I don’t….” She couldn’t explain.

Jake’s face was in a state of pain Rooster had rarely seen before. Early in his flying career, Rooster had briefly been given a backseater who ejected at too low an altitude and ended up breaking nine ribs. The look on Jake’s face was something akin to that, to his chest caving in.

“It’s not… I mean… Jake,” She sobbed his name.

Whatever else Jake was feeling, he couldn’t stand to hear that. Jake took a slow, deliberate step forward. “There is no reason, (Y/n).”

(Y/n) was struck dumb, and Rooster felt it in the way her knees began to shake that at any moment she was going to crumble. If Jake didn’t explain himself immediately, Rooster was sure she would disintegrate.

Jake clearly felt it too. His hand reached out for hers, but for once, she didn’t offer it freely. He had to take it for himself. Tears streamed freely down his cheeks. Even as people watched, he was completely unashamed to be crying in this moment. He made no move to stop them, no move to wipe them away.

Jake took another step forward, standing chest to chest with (Y/n) and spoke so low that only she and Rooster could hear over the noise of the throng. His voice had a reverence to it that was reserved for religious ceremony – or in Jake’s case, saying (Y/n)’s name. “There is no reason good enough to hurt you, (Y/n). You are the only thing in this world that matters to me.”

(Y/n) flung her arms around Jake’s neck. She buried her face in his chest, and her entire body shook against his from the force of the sobs that overcame her. If not for the arm Jake put around her waist, she would have collapsed against him.

“Please,” (Y/n) mumbled into his chest. One broken, unspecified plea.

Jake’s eyes turned skyward, tears still pouring down his cheeks. “Anything, (Y/n).”

(Y/n) pulled her head back from his chest, and Rooster watched their eyes meet through a web of each other’s tears. They stared at each other for barely a moment. Decades they had waited, but in that moment, they couldn’t wait a second more.

Jake’s hands came up from her waist to cradle her face between his palms as (Y/n)’s hands threaded through his hair and pulled him in.

Their lips met in the middle in a passionate, unhurried kiss, and Rooster smiled. He felt as if he’d put something wrong in the universe right again.

Somewhere in the distance, someone cheered. Rooster thought he recognized it as Ronnie, but before he could turn and find the source, the first voice was joined by a chorus of others and then a resounding, deafening applause.

Jake and (Y/n) hardly seemed to notice at all, their entire beings – as they always were – consumed with each other.

Kate showed up at Rooster’s elbow a tear rolling down her cheek. “Thank you,” She wrenched Rooster into a bone-crushing hug.

The parade started, but in a town where everyone knew everyone and everyone knew everyone else’s business and everyone knew how in love Jake and (Y/n) were, the parade seemed so anti-climactic, not just to the Seresin’s who were practically screaming with joy but to all the onlookers who had also been wondering not if but when.

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

“Rooster, I’m sorry.” (Y/n) held out a Christmas bag to him, “I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

“You…” Rooster stared at the bag in her outstretched hand. “You really didn’t have to, (Y/n).”

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, but her smile remained unshakeable on her face. Rooster was pretty sure (Y/n) would never be able to stop smiling for the rest of her days.

The thought did momentarily cross Rooster’s mind that she might stop smiling one day because Jake might not be at her side anymore, but that thought was quickly quashed as impossible. Rooster couldn’t see the future, but he was pretty positive that Jake would live exactly one day longer than (Y/n) so he never put her through the pain of living without him, then he would promptly keel over and die from the pain of being without her.

“Of course we did. You put up with this one,” she elbowed Jake in the side, “all the time, so we don’t have to. It’s the least we could do.”

“We?” Rooster tentatively took the bag from her hand and glanced between her and Jake.

Jake, with the arm draped around (Y/n)’s shoulders, pointed at the tree in the corner and a small pile of presents underneath it. “Seresin family tradition to sneak downstairs and steal your presents before morning without getting caught by Ma. Those’ll be yours. You’re the only one left.”

“I mean, won’t those be…” He nodded his head towards (Y/n).

“No,” (Y/n) shook her head, “I usually break in, but I stayed in Jake’s room last night so I didn’t have to.”

Unsurprisingly, little had changed around the Seresin now that Jake and (Y/n) were finally together. They were so inseparable, so effectively a couple before, that there was virtually no adjustment needed. The arm around her shoulder, the adoring look in their eyes, the way they couldn’t be separated from each other, it was all almost exactly the same. The only difference was this time no one had to pretend it was normal and that nothing was going on. There was something going on, and now it was perfectly normal.

“You usually what?” Rooster doubled back.

(Y/n) shrugged like it was nothing to say she’d broken into someone’s home. “You have to open them before Ma finds you. It’s tradition, and I’ve never been caught.” She grinned at the second half of her comment.

Rooster turned around to look at the tree. There were about half a dozen small packages wrapped in garish red and green paper sitting under it, and now that he was looking at them, he could see the tag on the top one with ‘ROOSTER’ written in massive letters across it.

His words caught on a lump rapidly forming in his throat. “I-I,” He didn’t know what to say. There really wasn’t anything to say.

He’d never gone a year without a Christmas present. Even when he didn’t feel like celebrating all that much, even when they weren’t on speaking terms and he hated his guts, Mav had always sent Rooster something. A few of those years, Rooster wasn’t even sure how Mav had found him and was positive he’d made Iceman pull strings to find out.

“The top one’s from Mav and Penny.” Jake confirmed what Rooster already knew.

It was the others that he wasn’t expecting. A red and green package that was so clearly a book, folded in the neatest wrap job he’d ever seen with a delicate matching bow on top. One misaligned mess that, judging by the poor attempt at wrapping he’d witnessed from her a couple days ago, was almost certainly from Kate. A weird oval shaped thing that had paper twisted and tied at the ends so it looked more like a piece of candy. Two matching square boxes behind those. And a bag, still dangling off of (Y/n)’s outstretched finger.

Rooster blinked rapidly. It felt like there was something in his eye.

Jake cut the tension. He dragged (Y/n) back into his side and whispered conspiratorily into her ear, “He’s just trying to figure out which one’s mine cause he knows about the stink bomb I put in it.”

(Y/n) giggled and laid her head against Jake’s shoulder.

Rooster turned back with a smile, one that he hoped conveyed everything he was feeling towards the couple in that moment, the depth of love he’d developed for them, for all of them really, in just a week.

(Y/n) was still holding out the bag to Rooster.

Rooster cautiously took it from her hand and gently removed the obstructing paper from the top.

“It’s not much, but it seemed your style.”

Rooster let out a full belly laugh as he pulled out one of the most atrocious tropical shirts he’d ever scene. It was dark blue with waves patterned across it, interspersed with tiny spits of islands covered in palm trees and tiny propeller planes of various makes and models.

“Thank you.” His smile was both grateful and relieved. He didn’t have anything to give her in return. If it had been any more than a gag gift…

“There’s actually more in the bottom.”

Rooster pulled the shirt the rest of the way out of the bag and set it to the side. Down in the bottom was what looked like a picture frame.

“We always give Jake a new one every year because the sun bleaches out the photos.” (Y/n) explained as Rooster pulled it out of the bag. “You don’t have to keep it if it’s weird, but he always seems to like them. So I thought you might too.”

Rooster glanced up at her with a furrowed brow before he looked back down and flipped it over.

“It’ll stick to the dash of the cockpit,” Jake explained.

Most of the small frame was taken up by a large picture of his parents, a familiar picture to him of his mom and dad at the piano bench that Mav had taken not long before his dad died. Smushed into the bottom corners were two tiny group photos, one of the TopGun squad posing on the deck of the aircraft carrier after the successful uranium mission and a candid of the Seresin family, plus (Y/n) sans Jake, having a blast on their patio.

“We won’t be mad if there’s someone else you wanna put in there instead. We just…”

“No,” Rooster cut her off, looking up with a teary smile. “I love it.”

He didn’t have anything to give her in return, and the war going on in his head must’ve been written on his face because Jake gave him a small almost imperceptible shake of the head.

A resounding ‘no’. Rooster didn’t need to give them anything else.

“Open mine next!” Andy came screeching down the stairs into the living room, shouting as she went. “You’re gonna love it!”

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

Fanboy spotted her first. He and Payback had a rule for as long as they’d been flying together, a rule that the rest of the squadron all subconsciously adopted for themselves. Whoever saw her first got to take a crack at her. It wasn’t like dibs, because if the woman said no and was particularly into someone else they were allowed to go for it, but only the first pilot to spot her got to approach. Everyone else had to hope she approached them.

Gorgeous women in a skimpy, flowery sundress walking into a bar like this tended to stand out from the crowd, so it wasn’t surprising that Fanboy clocked her the moment she entered the bar, still standing in the doorway looking around like a lost puppy trying to find its owner in the crowd.

Fanboy whistled, low and long, under his breath and elbowed the nearby Phoenix, nodding in the woman’s direction.

Phoenix appraised the woman appreciatively. Whoever she was, she definitely came here dressed like that for a reason. That dress was the dress of sexual awakenings and wet dreams, and gods Phoenix hoped Fanboy wasn’t her type.

“Good luck, man,” Phoenix leaned over the table, eyeing the woman, “She looks like she’s already got somethin’ on her mind.”

“I bet I can take her mind off it,” Fanboy grinned and turned to walk away.

He brushed passed Rooster on his stool, and Rooster glanced around to see who Fanboy’s latest target would be. For Fanboy’s sake, thank God he had.

“Absolutely not.” Rooster’s hand lurched out and caught the back of Fanboy’s shirt, yanking Fanboy back to the table he and Phoenix were currently occupying.

Fanboy stumbled back to the open barstool next to Rooster. “What the fuck man?” Fanboy shrugged Rooster off with an expression that was more confused than angry. “What’d you think you’re doin’?”

Rooster had already turned away, offering Fanboy a half-heartedly, “Saving your fuckin’ life.” He let out a loud whistle, not of the wolfish-catcalling variety, but a loud clear note meant to get attention as it echoed across the bar.

(Y/n)’s eyes darted towards the pool tables, and Rooster tipped his sunglasses up onto his forehead, not that she really needed the help recognizing him. Even as he was reaching for them, (Y/n)’s nervous, overwhelmed expression was giving way to a wide, relieved smile.

(Y/n) darted down the steps and began weaving her way through the thick crowd. Most of the men turned to appreciate her as she passed them by, but none of them made a move to impede her progress – not in this bar, not with the group she was making a b-line towards.

“Wait, is that… that can’t be your girl?” Fanboy pointed between Rooster and the woman rapidly approaching.

“It’s not,” Rooster agreed, hopping to his feet and moving to stand beside the pole at the corner of the pool area. As he went, he thumped Hangman hard on the back where he was bent over the pool table.

“What the fuck, man,” Hangman exclaimed as he missed his shot, standing up and glaring at Rooster’s retreating back.

“8 o’clock,” was all the information Rooster offered up as he walked past.

Hangman’s eyes followed where Rooster was headed, and he suddenly couldn’t give a damn about the shot he’d just missed.

“I saw her first, Bradshaw,” Fanboy declared. His steps followed Rooster’s retreating back up even with Hangman.

Instinctively more than anything else, Hangman’s hand, still holding the pool stick, whipped out, smacking the long rod hard across Fanboy’s stomach, making him double over around the piece of wood.

“No you didn’t.”

As Hangman completely abandoned the table, (Y/n) finally spotted him, and the second she saw a gap in the crowd, she ran the last dozen or so steps to him.

Rooster wasn’t offended or at all surprised when (Y/n) breezed passed him and flung herself into Hangman’s arms.

Hangman caught her with ease, one arm tightly gripping her around the small of her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips. Her face burrowed into his neck, and he buried his free hand into her hair, holding her there as his fingers wove into her hair.

Fanboy wandered, stunned, to stand at Rooster’s side. “Hangman has a girl?”

“Told you I was saving your life.”

Fanboy numbly nodded his head in agreement.

Rooster knew from experience that the two of them could stay like this for at least an hour without moving, and he highly doubted Penny would appreciate such a prolonged display of PDA. Or Hangman for that matter, because the pilot clearly didn’t realize the way his hand was fisted in the back of her dress was pulling it slowly further and further up, mere inches from flashing (Y/n)’s ass to the whole bar.

“Oi, lover boy,” Rooster leaned forward and flicked Hangman in the ear, “do that on your own time.”

“Fuck off Rooster,” Hangman grumbled, but he gently lowered (Y/n) down anyway.

(Y/n) stayed pressed against Hangman for another second or two before she took a deep breath, seemingly composing herself, and turned.

“Bradley,” she smiled, genuinely ecstatic to see him despite moments before ignoring his presence. “It’s so good to see you,” (Y/n) pulled him down into a hug.

“Good to see you too. Glad you’re here. Jake was getting intolerable without you.” Rooster said the last part under his breath in her ear as he bent down returning the hug.

(Y/n) laughed and pulled away. “Oh I can imagine,” she agreed. Her hand blindly reached behind her, and Hangman stuck his own out, lacing his fingers through hers and dragging her back into his side.

“What are you doing here?” Hangman punctuated with a kiss to her temple.

“Thought it’d be a nice surprise. After all my friend, Bradley here, promised to get me on base since you were less than forthcoming.” (Y/n) teased him.

Hangman smiled, one of his rare, real smiles that Rooster had never seen outside of Texas. “My apologies, ma’am, but I’m a bit of an asshole sometimes if you haven’t already noticed.”

“Oh we’ve all noticed,” Phoenix butted in.

The four other members of the squad at the Hard Deck that night were all crowded in the space between the couple and the pool table. Completely abandoning any semblance of a game in favor of this utterly stunning development surrounding the squad’s resident asshole and the hot, but entirely random, girl. She had marched into the Hard Deck and, without so much as a flirty wave, laid claim to the Jake Seresin, and the Jake Seresin had accepted it without question. The squad looked varying degrees of stunned, confused, and suspicious.

Phoenix most of all. She stuck out her hand, “Hi, I’m…”

“Phoenix!” (Y/n) happily declared, taking Phoenix’s hand and shaking it enthusiastically. “I know. Jake’s told me all about you. Which means you must be her backseater Bob, and Payback, and Fanboy.”

“Guys,” Hangman seemed to realize at this point that introductions were unavoidable, “This is (Y/n).”

Rooster leaned back against the pole and stuck his head out around the pair with a shit-eating grin, “Otherwise known as Addie.”

There were several long moments as realization slowly dawned on all of their faces.

“Is there anything you care about beside yourself?”

“Addie maybe, but she’s probably it.”

“Addie’s off the table.”

“You’re Addie…” Phoenix said it like it was an epiphany she’d just had, not something Rooster had told her five seconds before.

“Yes, I am.” (Y/n)’s head jerked up to look at Hangman, “And why does everyone around here seem to think I’m a plane? At the airport, Omaha said he thought I was a Cessna, and Fritz said he didn’t know I was a person.”

Hangman’s mouth mimed words but none came out as he searched for an explanation.

Rooster, ever the helpful friend, leaned forward and told her point blank, “He talks about you all the time, but since he named the plane after you, and he’s such an asshole, we all assumed he was in love with a plane this whole time. It seemed more plausible than him being in love with a person.”

“Really?” (Y/n) met Rooster’s mischievous grin with one of her own, “But he’s so clearly in love with himself?”

“Ugh,” Hangman buried his face in her neck to hide the heat (Y/n) could feel rushing to his skin as it pressed into hers, “I really hate that you two are friends.”

“We’re not friends; we’re family. Right, Bradley?”

“Right.” Rooster chuckled.

(Y/n)’s fingers instinctually went about carding through his hair, completely unbothered with messing up whatever product he’d lathered in it that day. The prospect of his messy hair didn’t seem to bother Hangman much either when it was (Y/n) doing it. “Really Jake, I think it’s sweet.”

Hangman pulled his face out of her neck and pulled her against his chest, pressing kisses in quick succession to her lips.

“You knew about this?” Payback asked Rooster, gesturing vaguely to Hangman and (Y/n).

“Oh,” (Y/n) turned her head away from Hangman, but he just continued kissing down her cheek to her jaw then her neck, “We only met when he came to Christmas, but I’ve known Coyote for years.”

“For years?” Bob.

“For Christmas!” Phoenix.

“Yeah.” (Y/n) answered Bob, “Since Jake was in training at least. Coyote picked us up from the airport.”

Hangman’s ministrations froze. “Us?” He said into her neck. This time Hangman stepped back. His hands stayed in place on her hips, but his expression was wary.

“Well you know I hate being in planes unless you’re flying them. I wasn’t going to fly out here alone, and really, Andy and your mom were already both going to be out of town. It seemed rude to leave them behind.”

“Don’t look so scared Jake,” Kate’s voice cut through the moment as she appeared at Rooster’s right hand. “We won’t embarrass you too much.”

No one needed to ask who Kate was. The family resemblance struck each of them as hard as it did Rooster the first time he saw her.

“Kate,” Rooster smiled down at her.

“Bradley,” She returned, wrapping an arm around his waist to hug his side.

Rooster threw an arm around her shoulder returning the hug, though he left his arm in place.

“Where’s Ronnie?” Hangman demanded of Kate. His eyes searched anxiously around the room for his middle sister. Not anxious for her safety, not in Penny’s bar at least. Anxious for a very different, far more pressing reason.

“Oh leave her be,” (Y/n) playfully swatted his shoulder. “You know,” She turned to Phoenix, who still appeared to be processing an overwhelming amount of information, “this reminds of one time in sixth grade. Mr O’Connor’s class had a pop quiz in earth science-”

“Absolutely not!” Hangman threw a hand over her mouth and lifted (Y/n) up around the waist. He set her down behind him, putting his body between her and the rest of the TopGun graduates. “You are not making friends with her.”

(Y/n) said something that was muffled by his hand, and Hangman cautiously moved his hand.

“If you stop me from talking to her, who’s gonna stop Ronnie from flirting with Coyote at the bar?” She nodded in that direction.

Hangman’s eyes whipped around. In mere moments, the trio of women had taken him from cocky, asshole pilot to a frazzled hall monitor trying to keep track of too many children. “I hate you,” Hangman murmured down to (Y/n).

“You love me more than life itself.” (Y/n) dismissed offhand.

“I do,” Hangman agreed and kissed the top of her head before he let her go and disappeared to find Ronnie.

(Y/n) turned around with a smug grin on her face, staring down four dumbstruck TopGun aviators. “That was exactly as much fun as I thought it’d be.” She glanced up to look at Rooster, “Wait till he finds out Andy’s trip got canceled for a storm, and she’s outside talking to Yale.”

“I think that’s Special Forces guy’s problem now.” Rooster reminded her.

Kate shook her head. She leaned in closer to Rooster’s side seemingly to reassure him. “Nah, you were right to talk her out of it. He was a nice guy, but they weren’t a good fit.”

Phoenix cleared her throat awkwardly. It would be days, weeks, potentially months, beforte she processed the series of events that just happened. But one thing did stick out in her mind that she was capable of processing right then, “What’s this about a pop quiz?”

Kate and (Y/n) both burst into fits of laughter. (Y/n)’s hand shot out and took ahold of Kate’s.

“Oh I really,” a tear leaked from the corner of (Y/n)’s eye as she laughed, “I really can’t tell you that one, but I promise I’ll help you make Jake think I did.”

Phoenix smiled, “That’ll do.”

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arrthurpendragon · 2 years

Note

My name is Annie and I'm an OC Content Creator!

I started with Harry Potter when I was 14 - and have basically been creating an OC for every piece of media I consume since. I love hiking and reading. My favorite movies are Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, and Jurassic Park. I have a fluffy dog named Bear that is my precious baby boy!

On my blog (I have no others except this one lol), I write fanfic for my OCs, but I also have a list of OC profiles that are available for other people to work with if they feel so inspired!

My current muse is my Top Gun OC Ronnie Bradshaw!

Right now...I really just need more community. People to talk to, to blab about my ideas and OCs too. I've always felt like an outsider in nearly every fandom I've been involved with. People have stopped talking to me often and I've never understood why. Not to get too emotional, but I've been hurt. But I'm ready to engage again!

Thank you for doing this, Kass. You're the best fairy godmother a girl could ask for.

#oc creator spotlight #gumchewer tag #annie tag #ocappreciation #oc fanfiction #oc fanfic #oc fic #oc community #oc fanfiction blogs #oc writers

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inklore · 3 years

Text

— 𝐅𝐀𝐐 ⋆ ˚｡

this blog is strictly multifandom, but that does not mean that i don’t play favorites for certain fandoms/characters. so there will most definitely be more writings for certain characters and fandoms.

requests: are closed, but thots are always welcome!

in no way shape or form should minors be interacting with anything on or posted to this blog. this is an 18+ space. anon hate and celebrity discourse also has no place here, so please respect that. if you are racist, homophobic, bigoted, zionist, islamphobic, judgmental to what people enjoy writing/reading, can’t depict fiction from real life, you will be blocked.

𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞…

rpf, necrophilia, incest, pregnancy, daddy/little play, age play, spitting, kitten, bimbo!reader, foot fetish, animal play, race play, watersports, underage scenarios, alpha/omega, domestic violence, kid fics, male!character x male!oc, i hate the word ‘doll’ as a pet name so i avoid it like the plague.

𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞…

smut (refer to the above list when it comes to this), fluff, age gaps, poly/threesome+, reverse harem, dubcon, noncon, yandere, toy play, cheating (to a certain degree), blood play, knife play, some bdsm, breath play, violence, gore, capture x captive, hunter/prey, praise and degradation, power imbalance, step siblings, supernatural, villainary, choking, mommy/daddy kink (to an extent).

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒.

marvel ↷

miguel o’hara, hobie brown, marc spector, thor odinson, loki laufeyson, peter parker (all variants), yelena belova, joaquin torres, doctor strange, wade wilson, carol danvers, eddie brock, scott lang, hope van dyne, kate bishop, hela, pietro maximoff, logan howlett, wanda maximoff, steve rogers, kraven, cable, druig, makkari, thena, blade

dc universe ↷

dinah lance/black canary, diana prince, clark kent, pamela isley/poison ivy, arthur curry/aquaman, harley quinn, adrian chase, pattinson!bruce wayne, edward nashton/the riddler

top gun: maverick ↷

jake 'hangman' seresin, bradley 'rooster' bradshaw, javy 'coyote' machado, mickey 'fanboy' garcia, natasha 'phoenix' trace, beau 'cyclone' simpson, reuben 'payback' fitch

star wars ↷

poe dameron, finn, kylo ren/ben solo, bo-katan kryze, din djarin, young!han solo

scream ↷

ethan landry, stu macher, billy loomis, chad meeks-martin, mindy meeks-martin, amber freeman, tara carpenter

bridgerton ↷

anthony bridgerton, colin bridgerton, benedict bridgerton, kate sharma, simon basset, phillip crane

house of the dragon ↷

ser harwin strong, daemon targaryen, aemond targaryen, rhaenyra targaryen

american horror story ↷

cordelia goode, tristan duffy, michael langdon, harry gardner, madison montgomery, kit walker, xavier plympton, ally mayfair-richards

etc shows ↷

villanelle, lip gallagher, tommy miller, carmy berzatto, luca (the bear), kate parks, daisy jones, billy dunne, warren rhodes, geralt of rivia, love quinn, max wolfe, olivia benson, roman godfrey, dream the endless, lucifer (sandman), jonathan pine, mira phillips, the salesman (squid game), hwang jun ho (squid game), kim geon-woo (bloodhounds)

movies ↷

john wick, finnick odair, peeta mellark, johanna mason, han lue, cipher, walter de ville, tangerine, dave lizewski, thomas sharpe, james conrad, neil (tenet), edward cullen, millie / molotovgirl, dante reyes, thrandull, steve kemp, charlie swan, marquis vincent de gramont, keys (free guy), akira (john wick), beverly marsh (it two), ben hanscom (it two), keith (barbarian), frank (don't worry darling)

adam driver ↷

kylo ren/ben solo, adam sackler, flip zimmerman, phillip altman, charlie barber, henry mchenry, commander mills, rick smolan, officer ronnie peterson, matt the radar technician, clyde logan, paterson, jude

oscar isaac ↷

santiago garcia, poe dameron, nathan bateman, jonathan levy, william tell, blue jones, rydel keener

pedro pascal ↷

din djarin, javier peña, frankie morales, javi gutierrez, joel miller, dieter bravo

chris evans ↷

ransom drysdale, lloyd hansen, andy barber, ari levinson, frank adler, steve rogers, jake wyler

#faq #who i write for #guidelines #fandoms #dni

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 1 year

Text

the echo (or the answer) - a werewolf au (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Jeremiah Bellmoral is alive. He has taken Ronnie to bate the Alphas into a fight. But will his plan succeed?

Pairing: Alpha!Jake Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 16,542

Warnings: bellmoral being a creep, blood, injury, violence, fighting, gore, angst, parental death mention, EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT 18+ONLY MINORS DNI (size kink, fingering, slight breeding kink, belly bulge, unprotected pinv, creampie, multiple orgasms, sex while injured)

FOUR | FIVE | SIX

-> likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better!

-> thank you to my werewolf love @blue-aconite for beta reading. for helping me with ideas. for encouraging me. for being an amazing friend and creative mind. i am eternally blessed by you. thank you.

-> this is the end, my babies. it has been a wonderful, crazy, sometimes intense ride. thank you all for reading. for engaging with my content. for commenting and reblogging. your love for this series has made me love it all the more and has filled my days with such joy. so please, feel free to come into my askbox at any time with questions, with ideas, with thoughts. i love to hear them all. my love to you all.

It started to rain. The dark sky rumbled and cracked as it finally released the heavy weight it had been carrying upon the world. This deep in the woods, Ronnie could hardly feel the rain. But she could hear it.

The droplets of water pattered softly against the hemlock, spruce, and adler leaves that made up the canopy above. At another time, she would have found the atmosphere calming. The gentle sounds of the rain, the tree trunks stretching before her for miles, the fallen pine needles soft beneath her as she leaned back against a tree. If she had a book and a thermos full of hot coffee, it would be a perfect relaxation spot.

Except she was far from relaxed, calm, or safe. Pale blue eyes watched her every move. Blood dripped from the wounds that marred her face. Her shoulder and hip screamed in pain just sitting there and breathing.

Jeremiah Bellmoral still crouched in front of her. Very much alive and very much amused by her horror. Elbows on his knees and long fingers threaded together as he observed her with a tilt of his head. Not watched, observed. Like she was a specimen in a jar.

He was supposed to be dead. He should be dead. Jake had the power of the Alpha, won it in the challenge against Bellmoral. Tore it from the wolf who did nothing but hurt him and his pack. And that could only occur when the other wolf was completely defeated. Ronnie couldn’t wrap her head around how he could possibly be before her now.

It made it hard to move, hard to think under the calculated, pale gaze of what was surely a ghost.

“Your fear…” Bellmoral whispered as he reached out to her, Ronnie flinched as he ran his finger along her jawline — collecting the blood that wept along that edge. “Smells so sweet.”

He pulled back his hand, pointer finger coated in crimson. Then he put the digit to his lips and tasted it with a groan. Ronnie clenched her jaw tight as her stomach turned.

Get out, run, don’t let yourself become a part of his plot, every instinct inside her screamed as he leaned back on his haunches with a face-splitting grin. She knew she couldn’t just start running. He was clearly faster and stronger than her. If she had any chance, it would be to attack him with something first. Catch him by surprise to give herself a head start. Only the pockets of her fleece were completely empty save for some lint, and it seemed that Bellmoral had taken every stick from the clearing.

As he continued to stare at her, lips now stained with her blood, she tried to move her hands imperceptively on the ground in search of something she could use. Anything.

Her eyebrows jerked up as her fingers caught on the smooth edge of a rock. Just behind her back in front of the tree trunk she leaned on. She glanced up at Bellmoral’s face to see if he noticed, and maybe he did. His head was tilted to one side, his smile fallen from his face. Shit. She needed him distracted if she was going to do this. The more she felt around the rock she could tell that it was buried in the dirt — it was going to take time to dig it out without being able to look at it.

So no matter how much she didn’t want to, she started talking to Jeremiah Bellmoral.

“How did you — ?” She coughed to clear her throat, her voice sounding underused and horse. “Jake’s the Alpha…How’re you alive?”

“I am the Alpha!” Bellmoral roared as he pounded his fist into his chest, then he repeated, quieter. “I am the Alpha. Your mate…Was too weak to finish the job. Left me barely clinging to life — gave me these.”

He ran his fingers along the litany of raised scars on the left side of his face. Ronnie’s nails dug into the dirt around the cold stone.

“But it was enough for the power of the Alpha to go to him. No need to fret, no need to fret. I will be getting it back soon. The power that is rightfully mine, that is wasted on that ungrateful scum.”

This made Ronnie pause, even as she continued to dig out the rock. It was bigger than she first thought. Good.

“How’re you going to take it back if Jake and Bradley are going to kill each other?” she asked.

Bellmoral shook his head at her. “I really thought you were supposed to be smart. You know — you know — I read a few pages of that little book of yours. What did you call it? The Blue River Pack: A Werewolf History?”

A shiver ran down her spine, her blood turned cold. He had been in her house. In her room. Without anyone noticing. She dug into the dirt just a little bit faster, the scrape of her nails more frantic.

“So — So tell me what you wrote, about the Spirit of the Alpha.”

“It’s — It’s the embodiment of werewolf strength and power. It grants the wolf with the ability to hold control over the Betas in their pack and — and turn humans into werewolves with a single bite,” Ronnie explained quietly, eyes trained on Bellmoral’s filthy boots. “It was given as a blessing and a curse to Augustine Bradshaw and it’s passed down from firstborn to firstborn. Or taken in a challenge.”

“But-But, have you ever thought about what would happen if an Alpha were to die with no firstborns…And no challenge won?” Ronnie’s brow furrowed as Bellmoral crawled closer to her. “You see, your family isn’t the only one with ancient texts left for the generations to follow. I found that if that were to happen — the Alpha Spirit then goes into the wolf most worthy of its power. Called a True Alpha, because-because they received the power without birthright or fight.”

The rock finally broke free of the dirt. Ronnie had to resist the noise of success she longed to make. It was as wide as her palm, flat and sharp. The ridge dug into the fingers of her left hand. Finally.

She adjusted her grip on the stone as she said, “So when Jake and Brad kill each other over me…The Alpha Spirit will go to you?”

“See, there you go.” Bellmoral smiled as he gestured at her, both palms turned towards the sky — a few raindrops slipping through the foliage to land on the pale skin. “Now you’re getting it. The Spirit, the power, is mine. By birthright and by the divine. The Moon Goddess…Chose me for a reason. All of this — these six months of torment and your mate running wild — was just a test. Soon, what is mine will be mine again. And you…Veronica Bradshaw…”

She pushed herself back against the tree as he reached for her. As his hand wrapped around her throat.

“Will be able to do nothing but sit back and watch as your life gets torn apart. But really you won’t be able to blame me. They killed each other after all…And maybe…You’ll find some comfort in my embrace when this is through.”

Ronnie screamed as she lifted the stone and brought it down hard onto Bellmoral’s head. He made a sound of surprise as he fell back, his grip on her throat disappearing as he clutched his bleeding face. As soon as he was out of her line of sight, she scrambled up from the ground and took off at a sprint.

White spots danced in her vision but she didn’t care. She needed to get away. Get somewhere safe, find Jake or Brad and explain what was going on. This wasn’t how she wanted any of this to go down. But none of that mattered anymore when lives were at stake. She couldn’t let Bellmoral’s plans come to fruition. Even if that meant telling her brother in the worst way possible that she was mated to his rival.

But she barely made it past the edge of the clearing before Bellmoral tackled her to the ground. All the air was forced out of her lungs as she hit the hard earth with a thud, Bellmoral’s entire weight on her back as she struggled and writhed to get away. She managed to roll over onto her back, the rock she had managed to hold tightly in her left fist raised to hit him again. But Bellmoral had learned his lesson. He grabbed her wrist with a snarl and squeezed until there was an audible pop. Ronnie cried out as a sharp pain went down her left arm, fingers falling limp and the stone plummeting with them.

“You are proving to be — “ Bellmoral rose to his feet, leaving Ronnie stunned on the ground, holding what was surely a broken wrist lightly. “More trouble than you’re worth, Veronica Bradshaw.”

He took hold of the front of her fleece and began dragging her back into the clearing. She struggled feebly, booted feet digging into the dirt as she repeated: “No, no, no!”

She gasped as Bellmoral suddenly yanked her to her feet before him, lifting her until only her tip-toes were touching as he bared his sharp fangs at her. The stone's mark on his forehead and face was already beginning to heal. She whimpered, bottom lip trembling as she tried to lean away from him.

“Maybe I should just rip out your throat.” This only made her struggle more, feet scrambling for purchase as her uninjured hand scratched at his forearm. “Leave you here for Jake and your brother to find. Fighting over your dead body will surely end in the same result.”

“No,” she sobbed softly as she tasted the salt of her own tears on her lips.

Bellmoral perked up, ear turned towards the west. Then he turned back to her with a grin. “Your mate approaches — drawn by your call.”

He set her down on her feet and retracted his hand. She wobbled unsteadily, broken wrist cradled against her chest. Her stomach heaved as reality set in. She couldn’t stop this. Jake was so close that Bellmoral could hear him. Bradley was surely not far behind. His plan was in motion and there was no stopping it.

“If you try to warn him, I will attack…And he’ll watch as I finally get a real taste of your blood.”

After that, he disappeared into the woods. Leaving Ronnie trembling in the middle of the clearing, unshed tears blurring her vision. She could still hear the rain. Pattering against the canopy, rare drops landed softly on her skin. Mixing with the dried blood on her face. She stared out at the trees infinite before her, like a silent audience to her tragedy. Bystanders who just stood there and watched as everything fell apart. No warning. No guidance.

Just silence.

For a moment, Ronnie wanted to scream. It expanded in her chest and filled her throat until there was nothing left to do but open her maw and unleash her shriek upon the world. Her defiance. Her pain. Her call for justice. Her call to a goddess of the moon who had now joined the audience. Who seemed to withhold all Her blessings from a daughter who sat on the fringes of the world She resided over. But the scream got caught in her throat. Threatened to strangle her as she screwed her eyes shut, tears pouring down her cheeks. She gasped and gurgled around it as she fell to her knees.

Do something, she pleaded to the trees, to the goddess above.

Just silence.

Through blurred vision, she saw a large, golden wolf break through the treeline. Despite everything, the fear and the pain of her injuries, relief flooded her veins at the sight of him. Released from her in a sob as Jake shifted before her. Behind him, the rest of Red Sky followed after — noses upturned as they sniffed out anything suspicious.

“Jake!” she cried as he came to his knees before her.

They crashed into each other like tectonic plates that formed entire mountain ranges. He pulled her into his chest with an arm around her shoulders, his other hand threaded into the tangled hairs on the back of her head — holding her to him with that gentle strength. His heart was beating erratically, his shoulders heaved as he assured himself that she was there. His hands snaked under her layers of clothes to feel her bare skin, clammy against his warm palms.

But then she hissed in pain when her wrist bent only slightly and he pulled back to look at her. He inspected her wrist first, eyes still glowing that deep crimson of the Alpha as he touched the delicate bones gently. The flesh was already beginning to swell and turn red. Then he looked up into her face, fingers trailing along the edge of her jaw coated in dried blood. He took in the state of her. The claw marks on her face, the tear streaks in the dirt coating her cheeks. And she watched as his expression darkened. As his lip curled and that crease formed between his brows.

“Who did this to you?” he whispered, voice trembling with barely there restraint.

“I…” For a moment, she considered telling him the truth anyway. Anything to save him, to save everyone. But then she saw Bellmoral’s white eyes flash somewhere in the distance just over Jake’s shoulder and she relented. “It doesn’t matter right now. Can we just go, please?”

“No, we’re gonna find whoever did this.” Jake looked over his shoulder at his pack. “Fan out, they couldn’t’ve gotten far.”

The pack trotted into the trees and Ronnie desperately wanted to call out to them to stop. But she couldn’t. Bellmoral was out there somewhere. And how could she explain without telling the truth, without giving some warning?

Jake helped her get back to her feet tenderly. And as soon as she was stable, he wrapped her up in his arms again, pressing firm kisses into the top of her head. She sagged against him, let him take the brunt of her weight. If only for a moment. The danger was still real and ever-present, but she needed just a moment. A moment of respite, a moment to think, even. She needed to find a way to save Jake, save Bradley, and save herself. But how could she? She was just one person, one unpowered, unsupernatural person.

“S’okay, little one, I’ve got you,” Jake whispered as he ran his hand up and down the length of her aching spine.

It was only a few hours ago that she would have given anything to be with him. But now the only safe place for him was miles away from her.

“Jake…” She pulled weakly away from his chest. “Take me home, please.”

Wherever home was. The hostel? The house in Marnmouth? It didn’t matter as long as he got both of them out of there.

“Okay, if that’s what you want, Ronnie,” he replied.

“Please.”

She couldn’t help the urgency that slipped into her tone, making Jake pause as he looked down at her. It was hard for mates to hide things from one another. He knew her in a way no one else could. There was something, deep inside, that revealed her truest feelings to him. Being only human, it was something she couldn’t experience herself — that connection to him. Her father described the bond once as a place in his heart that was solely Carole, that whispered to him what she needed and what she felt. Ronnie was sure Jake could feel the anxiety roiling around inside her, the urgency, the horror.

“Who did this — ?” Jake started to ask, but was interrupted by the sound of yelping in the trees.

He turned, holding Ronnie behind him as the pack ran back into the clearing.

Closely followed by the entirety of Blue River — absolutely massive in comparison to Red Sky — Bradley at the lead with his lips pulled back in a vicious snarl. Jake’s grip on her tightened and for a moment, she was frozen.

God, this wasn’t how she wanted this to happen at all.

Bradley skidded to a halt. He looked so much like their father in wolf form. Deep chocolate brown, with no fur growing from the pink scars that littered his face and neck. Pete and Bob were hot on his heels, Bob towering above all the other wolves in the clearing. Pretty soon, all of Red Sky was corralled and surrounded on all sides by Blue River wolves.

And Ronnie never felt so hopeless. She promised they wouldn’t get attacked again. But it was because of her that this was happening. If she had just told Bradley sooner. If she just wasn’t a coward. None of this would be happening.

Over Jake’s shoulder, his grip on her waist tight, she watched as Bradley shifted back into human form. His cheeks were bright pink, his eyes fiery red as he approached the two of them with stomping steps.

“Get the fuck away from my sister, Red Sky!”

Bradley spat the pack name like an insult. Jake stood his ground, his arm tightening around her with a low growl. But Bradley wasn’t going to stand for it. She could see his perspective clearly. Entering the scene to see his sister bleeding and hurt, in the presence of the rival Alpha. The wildcard. The threat. It was only logical that he would jump to the conclusion that Jake had done this to her.

Bellmoral’s plan was working perfectly.

Bradley collided with Jake, his growl loud and menacing, and it all happened in a blur. One second she was standing behind Jake, his touch affirming and strong against her, and the next she was falling back.

On instinct, she reached to catch herself. Then she felt the already fractured bones in her wrist crunch and she shouted, gargled and broken in her throat. It hurt all the way up to her elbow, like a freshly forged knife was dragged along the nerves. Ronnie let herself fall back onto the pine needles with another cry of pain, right hand cradling her left against her chest as her head swam with nothing but white-hot agony. The canopy of leaves above shifted and swirled as her mind fought the pain, her stomach swooping.

“Ronnie!” she heard Jake call as she willed herself to stay awake, to grit her teeth and bare it. “Get out of my way!”

Bellmoral was watching, somewhere in the distance. In the back of her mind, she wondered how he was able to cover his scent from all the werewolves present. Not a single one of them, even the ones who would be familiar, seemed to know that he was anywhere near them. He was watching and waiting and puffing up with pride at the way it was all falling into place.

She needed to get up. She needed to stop this. But it fucking hurt. Everywhere. All at once.

Ronnie couldn’t let that happen. She just couldn’t. It didn’t matter that she was just human. That everything hurt. That she had no power and no strength. It was all up to her now. Even with a broken wrist and so much fear.

Rolling onto her good side, she pushed herself up onto her elbow, forcing herself to move despite the discomfort.

Bradley was pushing Jake back, away from Ronnie. Just another thing that was going exceptionally well for Jeremiah Bellmoral. She was injured. Jake was her mate, her Alpha, and Bradley was getting in the way. He was keeping Jake from protecting her, comforting her, helping her. He didn’t know it, but he was pouring gasoline on an open fire that was already more than willing to burn the world down to get to her.

Ronnie sat up completely, gasping when she noticed that she was starting to lose feeling in her hand. That couldn’t be good. Reuben and Mickey knelt down on either side of her, keeping her upright with gentle hands on her back.

Jake’s roar echoed through the trees; Ronnie felt it ring her soul like an ancient bell. And when she looked up, he was shifted into his wolf form. His hackles raised as he stared her brother down with eyes red as blood. Bradley muttered something about killing him for hurting his sister, then he too shifted back into his wolf form. This was the first time she had seen them together. She knew Jake was smaller than Bradley, not by much, but he was leaner — muscles well attuned to fighting rippling beneath his golden fur.

Ronnie knew that Bradley had never fought another wolf in his entire life — not for real. But he was bound to be stronger than Jake with the size of his pack. Every Beta under his control giving him strength. Something that he more than doubled Jake with.

“No! Stop! Please!” she shrieked as she tried to get to her feet.

To get between them somehow, make them stop. But as soon as she knelt on the ground, one foot planted to propel her into the impending fight, a set of muscular arms circled around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She shouted as she struggled against their strong grip, her mind turned to the worst. Bellmoral forcing her to watch. But when she looked back, it was Jake’s second-in-command, Javy, pulling her away to safety.

He dragged her back just in time.

Jake lunged at Bradley first. Growls, barks, roars, and the snapping of great teeth filled the air. It was a haze of gold and brown fur as they moved around the clearing. Rolling and biting and clawing at one another. None of the other wolves attacked, knowing that this was a fight between the two Alphas and the Alphas alone.

Ronnie went limp in Javy’s arms, heart seized in her chest — refusing to pump her precious lifeblood to the rest of her body. It was happening. She wasn’t able to stop it. She really would just sit back and watch as her life was torn apart. As her brother and her mate killed each other over what they thought was the right thing, over her.

She could see, across the clearing, that Dylan and Natasha were trying to get to her. Get her away from Red Sky and back where she belonged. But they were stopped by Pete and Bob, and for a moment she was grateful. And looking over, she saw that she was surrounded by her pack.

Her pack. Not her family’s pack. Not her ancestor’s pack. Not her legacy’s pack. Her pack. Her own.

And it was up to her to save it. Just her in her human strength. In her human wit. In maybe her kindness and truth. Her father always said she was human for a reason. And maybe this was it.

Suddenly, a yelp echoed sharp and clear through the canopy.

Jake lay on the ground, his great wolf body heaving with the effort to breathe. Bradley stepped back from his prone form, posture proud. Ronnie heard the sob she released before she even registered that it was her that made the noise. Wrenched violently from her throat like a rusted nail from stubborn wood. An answer to her mate’s cry of agony.

Bradley turned to her with a shake of his head, looking nearly surprised when he saw her crowded on all sides by Red Sky wolves instead of Blue River. Jake still lay on the ground, soft whines escaping him as he pawed at the earth. He looked like he was about to get up, lips pulled back from his sharp white teeth as another Alpha looked at his pack.

The strong arms holding her back released her before she even had to tell them to. Ronnie walked slowly into the clearing, her own injuries forgotten — numb — as she padded across the pine needles. The rain was coming down harder now. More drops slipped through the foliage to wet her cheeks, make her tears disappear with them. The wind howled through the trees. Its own wolf’s call.

Bradley looked expectant. He thought she would come to him, thank him for saving her, and tell him to take her home. But she didn’t. She walked right past him without sparing a second glance. His massive, furry head turned to follow her movement with a noise of confusion.

Everything felt so slow, as she walked up to Jake’s massive golden form. A single red eye followed her as she knelt down by his head. There was a large gash that started at his neck and went down to his chest, rendering the muscles of his shoulder asunder. Crimson blood poured out onto the ground, but she could see that the wound was already healing. Ronnie placed her good hand on his face and he stilled, his breathing less ragged as he pawed gently at her leg.

“It’s okay, my Alpha,” she whispered softly as she stroked his furry face. “We’re okay. You and me.”

Behind her, Bradley growled with a stamp of his massive paw.

Pete took a step closer, speaking calmly and clearly as he said, “He wants to know what’s going on.”

“Can you stand?” Ronnie asked, hand hovering over Jake’s gaping wound.

He huffed but lifted his head. And, as Ronnie slowly rose back to her feet, so did Jake. He had to hold up his front left paw so as not to put any weight on it, and she found it fitting as she held her left hand against her stomach. Bradley growled again, insistent and impatient.

But any of the agitations on his wolfish face disappeared once Ronnie turned to face him. A sad, understanding sort of smile tugged at her cracked lips.

“We’re mated, Brad.” She didn’t fumble for words, she didn’t even feel any fear as she looked directly into her brother’s chocolate brown fur and beaming red eyes. “And I accepted him — because I love him.”

A hush fell over the world. Nothing but the sounds of rain and Jake’s labored breathing filled the air.

“I knew as soon as he walked into the tavern that night. But I — I was scared to tell you. I almost rejected him I was so scared. And…And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. That I let it go this far. I just — I didn’t want you to hurt them.” She looked over to Red Sky, huddled together like Roman soldiers ready to take on attack, and when she looked back to her brother, she couldn’t help the way her chin quivered. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”

Jake moved in closer to her side, now able to put weight on his leg, albeit gingerly. She felt his blood-matted fur brush against her shoulder and it brought her some comfort. Even as she stared into Bradley’s shocked wolf face. Felt the eyes of every Blue River wolf trained solely on her.

“But I…He was chosen for me by powers beyond our control. At first, I didn’t understand it. Why we would be mated. But I — I choose him, now. I-I irrevocably choose him. Over Blue River. Over the packs’ history. Even over you. Even if you hate me. Because I love him. And I belong with him.

“So if you’re gonna kill him.” Ronnie took one step forward, placing herself between Bradley and Jake. “You’re gonna have to go through me first.”

Just silence.

The audience was gathered to witness the final tragedy. The unhappy ending. Antigone’s brother left unburied and her betrothed doomed to death for his father’s mistakes. The trees, the goddess, the wolves wait on bated breath for the news to come to the hard-hearted king. Everyone is dead, and he would be left to live out the rest of his days praying for the end.

But then applause resounded before the tragedy was finished. A continuous, monotonous, clap clap clap from somewhere deep in the trees.

Ronnie’s heart dropped into her stomach. She reached out to Jake and tangled her fingers in his fur, gripping the golden strands tight. She had nearly forgotten he was hiding in the forest, waiting for his plan to unfold. But she had just thrown a wrench in it, brought it to a screeching nearly-driving-off-the-road halt. There was no telling what he was going to do now. And that terrified her more than anything else. The unpredictability of a man driven mad by the power passed on to him by his ancestors.

Jake curled his body around her as the clapping got closer, as a gentle, hollow chuckle harmonized along.

“Leave it to you, Veronica Bradshaw, to find some way to ruin my plans!” His voice echoed through the trees, distorted, like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere. “The key — you were supposed to be the key!”

“Ronnie, what the hell is this?” Pete asked as he looked around for the source of the voice.

“I — “ she tried to explain.

But Bellmoral cut her off. Somewhere in the trees. His wailing an echo and an answer.

“No! This wasn’t how this was supposed to go! We were going to be okay you and I…After you saw the light. After you saw that I was right all along. He was never meant to have it. It was always supposed to be mine. Which-which meant that you were always supposed to be mine, too. Don’t you see? Veronica?”

Jake pressed around her tighter, growl rumbling low in his throat as his lips curled back away from his teeth.

“And you…Jake Seresin. Ungrateful. Arrogant. Unworthy. I gave you everything. I gave you that family you always wanted, that belonging. On top of that, I gave you a power that you could never even dream of. And what did you do? You spat in my face! You danced on my grave — or at least, what you thought was my grave.”

Bellmoral laughed, the sound ricocheting through the trees — making the few birds that had stuck around take off into the rain-filled sky. Jake went rigid around her, ears flat against his head that was tilted low to the ground. Nearly every hair on his massive body stood on end. Ronnie looked over at the small Red Sky pack as she placed a reassuring hand on Jake’s shoulder. Every single one of them was pale, eyes wide as they stared out into the trees. Like they were encountering a ghost.

Their greatest horror. One they thought was long behind them.

Bellmoral stepped into the clearing with a smile on his face and a tilt of his head. Ronnie could feel, as Jake somehow wound his body around her tighter, shielding her from Bellmoral, that every muscle inside him was wound tight. Ready to snap. Ready to fight or fly or stand paralyzed before the monster who had done nothing but destroy his life, mar and kill those that he loved. She pressed her hand more firmly into him. Jake relaxed only slightly beneath her touch.

“Ronnie, who is this guy?” Pete asked as the Blue River wolves fanned out, each golden set of eyes trained on this new threat.

“Jeremiah Bellmoral,” she answered, voice shaking despite the strength she wanted to show; for Jake and Red Sky.

“A pleasure to meet you all, truly.” He looked around at the Blue River wolves with that Cheshire-cat grin. “I’ve been watching you for months and can I just say…You’re a mess. A mess that I sought to clean up.”

“It’s over, Bellmoral. Enough,” Ronnie snapped, a grimace pulling at her lips and brow.

Bellmoral jerked his head over to look at her, white eyes of the Omega shining. “Is it? Now more than ever — it’s clear to see that the Bradshaw line needs to be broken. I mean just look at him.”

He gestured wildly at Bradley, his skeletal face pulled back in some expression like he was looking at a puppy with only three legs. Doomed to fall and fail as it teetered around the yard. Almost sympathetic, almost pitying. But there was a hidden malice, a rushing river just beneath the ice. The Blue River Alpha stiffened under the sudden attention, head raised and red eyes unblinking as he stared Bellmoral down.

“I can practically see the silver spoon between his teeth. What has he worked for? For what has he toiled? Fought for? I know that — “ Bellmoral turned to look at Jake with lips pulled back into a smirk — whether it was at what he was about to say or the way the Alpha nearly flinched away from him Ronnie couldn’t tell. “Jake would agree with me. I heard you talking about him. It really is not fair. All Bradley had to do was wait for his dear papa to die, and then he got all that power, all those Betas, all that respect! While you, Jake, you had to fight tooth and nail for scraps.

“Little Bradley here has everything he could ever want — and when you want just one thing? His little sister as your own — as the Moon Goddess has ordained? He can’t bare it. He throws a tantrum. He blinds himself to the signs that were there! He refuses to see what was so clear.”

He turned on Bradley, taking a step closer as he roared, “How did you not see it, Bradshaw? How did you not know that your own sister had found her mate? Even I could feel it coming off her the moment she stepped out of that tavern four weeks ago! Sickeningly sweet and bright as the moon! Is it because you would rather keep your sister at a distance, keep her on the outside looking in? You would rather deny her any sense of belonging than let her leave your control — find her own place in this world.”

Bradley snarled and snapped his teeth, great paws digging into the ground as he lowered his head at Bellmoral. Ronnie could see it, however — see the river beneath the ice, the malice under the pity. This was Bellmoral’s backup plan. Pull at all of Bradley’s strings until he attacked, playing him like a fiddle, or a harp, or some other instrument that could very well snap from misuse. And she knew her brother. Knew that those words would reach something at the core of him, touch all his insecurities and make him lash out in some attempt to defend his hurt pride.

It was something she had done before, in their youth. When she really wanted to hurt him but knew she stood no chance against him physically. It was always in that way that siblings do. When she would say something so scathing, and then in the next hour walk close beside him to the corner store for snacks. Then at school the next day when someone said something behind his back she would threaten to knock their lights out.

She wanted to defend him now. Even after all he had done, all he had said. Even if, maybe, Bellmoral was even right. That didn’t matter. Because he was her brother. Her family. Her flesh and blood, with eyes that matched her own and a smile just like her father’s.

“Brad, don’t listen — “

But it was too late. Bradley roared before he dove at Bellmoral, who shifted into his wolf form in an instant. Prepared and ready for Bradley’s attack. Bellmoral’s wolf was nearly as big as Bob — but he was malnourished. His bones stuck out at odd angles, his once brilliant grey fur now matted and balding in places. His white eyes shown great and terrible as his teeth sunk into Bradley’s shoulder.

Ronnie cried out as Jake moved her away from the fight. Shoved her back as gently as he could until she was amongst the other Red Sky wolves. Mickey took her shoulder and pulled her in closer, his fingers dug into the spot where Bellmoral’s teeth had held her and she hissed against the pain. Everything hurt. Her shoulder, her hip, her wrist, her face, her heart. Maybe her heart most of all. It weighed heavy in her chest, spilled into her lungs, making it hard to breathe as she watched Bellmoral pin her brother into the dirt.

Bradley and Bellmoral grappled, teeth clacking and bodies rolling around on the ground. Blue River could do nothing but watch. A fight against their Alpha meant they couldn’t intervene. It would mean that they thought their leader weak, and none of them thought that of Bradley. None of them ever could.

Especially Ronnie. And despite everything, a sob left her lips as Bradley yelped. A sound she knew so well, a sound she had heard throughout her life. Bellmoral had him pinned down by the throat, Bradley’s paws moving feebly to try and get him off. Ronnie took a step forward before she even realized she was moving, but Mickey and Reuben held her back.

She remembered a time when they were as close as could be. When they would sit together on the roof of the pack house and watch the full moon with a kind of longing adventures were born from. When they would ride their bikes to school together. When he let her ride on his back through the woods. When they fought and forgave and hugged and cried and screamed and laughed. But then she went away to college and he stayed put. Then she stopped calling back home as much and he only texted when he needed something. Then she didn’t come home the last two summers, opting to find work in Seattle instead. Then when she graduated and moved back home, she didn’t move back into the family house. She took the hunting cabin their dad had built years ago.

A rift chipped away at both sides. A symptom of growing up. Of wanting different things. Of being different things.

But he was her brother. She was born knowing him. She was born loving him.

“Jake,” she called softly before she could put more thought behind her words. His giant golden head turned to look at her instantly. “Help him…Please.”

He stared at her for a moment. And she could see his reaction written all over his face. The fear at fighting Bellmoral again. The defiance at helping the wolf who moments ago wanted him dead. He was still bleeding, the wound Bradley gave him healing at a slower rate, he could barely put any weight on his leg. Ronnie glanced over his golden shoulder to see that Bradley had stopped struggling, Bellmoral’s lips pulled back as he watched the life drain from him — as he took Bradley’s death slowly.

Ronnie looked back to her mate with a pleading quiver in her lip. “Please.”

Jake turned to the losing battle.

And then he roared.

Bellmoral looked up just in time for Jake to tackle him off of Bradley’s prone form. The previous Alpha of Red Sky stared down the one who usurped him, pale grey head hung low and eyes glowing white. They may have been talking to one another, but Ronnie couldn’t hear a thing. Only Bradley’s hacking as he got back to his feet. Jake and Bellmoral met with a furious growl, raised up on their back legs as they swiped at one another. But Jake was clearly weakened, his shoulder refusing to heal. He landed back on all fours with a yap of pain. But he had gotten his claws into Bellmoral’s face. The grey wolf staggered back as he shook his head, trying to clear the blood from his vision.

Then Bradley came to stand at Jake’s side.

A laugh seemed to spill from Bellmoral’s red lips as he looked at them. The Alphas of two packs who had been warring for centuries. Standing together just to defeat him once and for all. Ronnie wondered, as she leaned against Mickey for support, if he was beginning to worry. If he was beginning to regret.

It didn’t seem like it as he charged at them.

He swiped at Jake as he went for Bradley’s throat with his teeth. But even wounded, the two Alphas together were too fast and too strong for him. In what felt like only an instant Bradley had Bellmoral pinned down at his waist. And Jake had his jaw clamped tight around the grey wolf’s neck.

Then Jake began to pull.

Bellmoral screamed.

And with one final yank, the grey wolf was ripped in two.

Jake arched up with the force of it, up onto his back paws as he pulled the top half of his body free. Leaving behind limp legs and entrails spilling out. Blood sprayed in every direction. Ronnie felt the warmth of it on her face as she stared wide-eyed at the scene before her. Jake spat out Bellmoral’s mauled neck. Bradley got off the rest of the body with a huff.

Ronnie slumped against Mickey completely. A relief-soaked sob echoing in her throat as he steadied her. When she looked back up, Jake and Bradley were shifted back into their human forms. Their shoulders working as they breathed, as they stared down at the body at their feet. Bellmoral was back in his human form as well — shifted one last time in the Goddess’ mercy so they couldn’t be caught in death — torso separated from his legs. Eyes staring unblinkingly at the grey sky. Mouth still pulled back in a smile.

Bradley nodded, a subtle curt thing, at Jake and he nodded back. A thank you. An acceptance.

It was over. It was finally over. Red Sky was truly free. Maybe it wasn’t a tragedy after all. Maybe there was still hope.

A fractured wrist, the bones now held in place to heal back together by a thick plastic brace. Deep muscle bruising to the shoulder and hip. Four gashes to the face, one requiring stitches and the rest held together with medical glue.

They told the doctors it was a mountain biking accident. That she was thrown from her bike when she snagged on a root. That they got her to the hospital as quickly as they could, seeing as they were pretty deep on the trail. Everybody believed it. Nobody even gave it a second thought. The injuries lined up.

And it wasn’t like they would have believed the truth anyway.

Ronnie was discharged around eleven at night with a pain medication ready to be picked up at the local pharmacy by morning, instructions to take it easy for a few days, and teasing remarks about being more careful on those biking trails. She smiled and thanked everyone for their help as she left, Jake’s arm secure around her waist.

Blue River was waiting for them out in the parking lot. Gathered around their vehicles and sipping on beers that wouldn’t inebriate them in the slightest. They all perked up as the Red Sky Alpha and his new Luna approached.

Natasha was the first to meet them — an overnight bag clutched in her fist.

“Figured you might want some of your clothes,” she said as she handed the bag off to Jake.

“Thanks, Nat,” Ronnie replied with a tired smile.

She could see that her friend wanted to say more, but she kept glancing at Jake. Nervously shifting from one foot to the other under the weight of the power he put off. Ronnie gave his hip a squeeze as she looked up into his firmly set expression.

“Go wait in the truck, okay?” she suggested quietly, and at his hesitance to leave her, she reassured him with another squeeze. “I’ll be okay. Just a few minutes.”

Jake pulled away from her reluctantly with a curt nod. Then he stalked off towards his truck parked haphazardly in the spot closest to the door. Natasha instantly relaxed once he was gone.

“Does — Does this really mean you have to leave?” Natasha asked softly.

She refused to look Ronnie in the eye. Hands shoved in her back pockets. The tears caught in her dark eyes reflected in the fluorescent light of the parking lot. It felt like Ronnie’s ribs were too tight as she reached for her friend — but then retracted her hand. Natasha caught it anyway, reflexes fast as she snatched Ronnie’s fingers in her strong grip. She gave a reassuring squeeze as Ronnie took a shuddering breath.

“If I could stay, if I could keep both packs, I would. You know I would,” Ronnie replied, eyes focused on their joined hands. “But I can’t. Red Sky is my pack now.”

“I wish…I wish you would’ve told me.”

Ronnie looked up at her then, at her rosy cheeks and soft little nose, at her dark hair slicked back into a bun and that sad look in her eyes. Reasons pricked at the very tip of Ronnie’s tongue. It all happened so fast. Everyone was showing animosity towards Red Sky. The less people that knew before Bradley found out, the better. But they all died in her mouth, turned to ash, to something sour. None of that mattered. Natasha was her friend. They grew up together. They worked together. Natasha always had, and always would be, a confidant and an ally. Everything would have been so much easier with Natasha at her side, so much lighter — someone to share the load. Tears gathered at the corners of Ronnie’s eyes as she squeezed her friend’s hand tight.

“Me too.”

“I knew that something was off.” Then she laughed lightly. “I thought it was because of Bob…”

Ronnie laughed too.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything, Nat.”

The dark-haired she-wolf shook her head. “None of us made it easy, but…He’s your mate, ya know? And a really fine one at that, like, Jesus Christ.”

They both laughed now. Little chuckles accompanied by shakes of their heads as Ronnie smoothed her thumb over the back of Natasha’s hand. The tears welled up anew, her chin quivering as she looked at her friend. At her friend from this point forward she wouldn’t see nearly every single day. It was all so eerily similar to when Ronnie went off to college. They knew they would still be friends after this. Still connected. But it was going to be different from then on. Morphed into something else. Something more distant. Something more nostalgic rather than present.

“I’m really gonna miss you,” Ronnie said, voice wavering as her tears fell.

“M’gonna miss you too.”

Natasha pulled her into a tight hug, but minded her injuries. Then the friends parted, and over Natasha’s shoulder, Ronnie caught Bradley’s intense gaze from further down the parking lot. Natasha gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go of her completely.

Bradley was leaning against the back bumper of his Bronco. Arms crossed and body cleaned of the blood he had spilled. Bob and Pete stood on either side of him. His face betrayed no emotion, and that was somehow worse as Ronnie approached him. If he looked mad she could prepare for that. If he looked sad she could prepare for that too. But that neutral expression on his face, that blank stare, was nearly painful to her.

Pete met her first. She could see the tears clinging to his lashes just before he pulled her in for a hug. It felt like being hugged by her father. She clung to him tighter, buried her face in his neck as he felt his tears wet her shoulder. He pulled away, and Bob was standing behind him. The bespeckled wolf fidgeted with the edge of his flannel as he flashed her a tight smile. Ronnie smiled at him too. Knowing that Jake was watching, that he was still on edge, she reached out and patted Bob’s shoulder as she passed. Hoping that it would tell him just how grateful she was for all that he had done for her. Bob and Pete moved along, opting to talk with some of the other wolves, when Ronnie finally stood before her brother.

There could have been an entire canyon between them, not just that tiny strip of cracked concrete. An entire continent. An entire ocean. Standing face to face with Bradley now, she never felt further away. She wanted to be close to him again. Like when they were kids and adventure was just around the corner. But she didn’t know if this was a canyon that could ever be crossed. A continent that could ever be charted. An ocean that could ever be tamed.

Bradley finally broke the silence. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ronnie coughed, held up her braced wrist for a moment. “I’m okay. Just…Really tired.”

Just silence. Was this the tragedy she had been waiting for?

“Bellmoral was right you know,” he muttered, eyes focused on the way his boot scuffed against the concrete. “About keeping you on the outside…Keeping you under my control.”

She took a half step forward, longing to comfort, but unsure if she could. “Brad — “

“Don’t try n’ deny it, Ronnie. You know it’s true, too. S’just — “ He huffed, uncrossing his arms to shove his hands in his jean pockets. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, eyebrows furrowed as he searched for the words. “First it was Mom. Then Tom…And then Dad. I guess…I just didn’t want you to leave me.”

He looked up into her face then and there were tears in his eyes. Ronnie tried to swallow around the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She felt her tears flowing freely down her cheeks, surely wetting the fresh bandages that had been put over her cuts.

“Fuck. M’sorry. For all of it,” he said.

Then she crashed into him like a head-on collision. Her arms around his middle tight as she pulled him into her. As she buried her face in his chest. As she wept openly, like sorrow and relief all at once. He was stiff beneath her touch for a moment. Only a moment. And then Bradley caved in. Released. Melted into her hold. His own thick arms wrapped around her shoulder tight, his lips pressed into her hairline. The ocean had been crossed. The continent trekked over. The canyon closed together. Somehow, he felt closer than ever before.

“You’re gonna be an amazing Luna, Ronnie Bradshaw,” he whispered to her as he continued to hold her, continued to love her. “You were born for it. Leading. Helping. More than I ever was.”

She managed to blubber out between sobs. “We’re children of wolf kings.”

It was what their father used to say at the end of pack meetings. On nights of the full moon. When he would sit them down and tell them stories about their ancestors. It was nearly a joke he said it so much. But now that he was gone, they came to some solemn understanding of the power behind it. The faith. The strength. The history.

They were children of wolf kings. Destined for crowns that neither of them thought they could bare.

Prying herself away from him, Ronnie sniffed back the snot that had clogged her nose and wiped tenderly at her cheeks — making sure to avoid her bandages. Bradley quickly swiped at his own face, looking around to make sure no one saw him. It made her smile.

“Where’re you guys gonna go?” he asked, hands back in his pockets.

“The hunting cabin,” she answered, “We sent a few wolves ahead to get it ready.”

Bradley looked at her for a moment, a smile ticking up the corner of his mustache. “You really love him?”

“I know it sounds crazy. I barely even know him.”

“God.” He shook his head as he laughed, something like realization on his face. “You really do love him.”

“I do.”

They hugged again. And then Ronnie turned away. It felt final. It felt terrifying. It felt like walking into darkness and into the unknown. What was out there? What awaited her in the shadows, around the corners, just over the hill? What was in store for her in a world without her family at her side and an entire life to start over?

But then Jake.

Jake stood beneath the yellow light of the parking lot. Hands in the pockets of his jeans as he leaned against the side of his old beat-up truck. He smiled softly at her as she approached. He was her guiding light. Her steady shore. Her foundation and her architect. It didn’t matter what waited for her as long as he was there. He would be with her through everything.

Her mate. Her Alpha. Her love.

She fell asleep on the drive and Jake carried her inside.

The a-frame cabin was small, but nice. Jake smiled as he kicked the door shut quietly behind him. The space was so incredibly Ronnie. There were maps and pictures from her world travels hanging on the walls. With no space for bookshelves with the slanted ceilings, there were tall stacks of paperbacks and hardcovers lining the wall by the couch. Candles were scattered about that had been relit — unscented because they gave her headaches.

“Where’s the bed, little one?” Jake asked as he walked further inside, noting the small hallway further back and the short set of stairs that led up to the loft.

“Upstairs,” she muttered, voice laced with sleep.

Her eyes were barely held open. She felt heavy in his arms, though his muscles didn’t strain. The only thing that kept her awake was the way Jake’s heartbeat directly into her ear.

He carried her up the steps, careful not the jostle her too much as he came up into the loft where the slope of the roof was at its peak. Mickey and Reuben had made the bed, the linens freshly washed and warm as Jake laid Ronnie down in them. He pulled the soft blankets, flannel sheets and down-filled comforter, over her as she curled up on her side. Nearly like a cat. Her long, dark hair was still a tangled mess but she didn’t seem to care. She blinked up at him slowly. A soft, on-the-edge-of-dreams smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she reached up and touched his cheek. Just the tips of her fingers, the majority of her hand covered by the thick brace. Still, Jake leaned into her touch with a grin of his own.

She hummed contentedly as Jake gently placed her hand back to rest at her side.

He pushed the few hairs that had fallen into her face out of the way, tucking them behind her ear. Never before had she felt so comfortable underneath a gaze so intense. He could look at her like that for hours and she would never feel the need to hide.

“Reuben said he left some clothes for me. I’ll be right back,” he said.

“I’ll wait for you,” Ronnie replied.

“You don’t have to — “

“I’ll wait for you,” she repeated, a bit more sternly, her eyebrows set in a way that nearly made Jake laugh.

The bed creaked as he rose from the edge and went back downstairs. Ronnie felt instantly colder without him there. Even though she was under the thick blankets and the heater hummed loudly in the background. Everything felt so heavy yet so weightless. Her eyelids slid shut despite her best efforts. Her body sunk further into the mattress; it felt like she was going to sink right through to the floor. But she was also floating. High up in the sky, above the trees, above the mountains. She was untethered as she teetered on the edge of sleep, detached, falling. Balanced on the edge of a knife.

But then the other side of the bed dipped. The covers pulled back for an instant and she shuddered at the sudden cold. But it was soon forgotten as Jake settled in behind her, pulled her back into his chest. He was so warm. She sighed deeply, some release, as she burrowed further back against him. His chuckle reverberated in her own ribcage. Jake was her anchor, her stake in the ground. Settling her in this plane of existence with a gentle grip around her waist and a soft kiss against her jaw.

Pure bliss. Sunshine incarnate. This was what it must have felt like to burn. Complete joy and complete belonging. This was where she was meant to be. Happily drowning in a golden ocean of pure warming sunlight, wrapped up in the citrus and bonfire scent of her mate. It was like looking into a grain silo on her grandmother’s farm. Mesmerized by the colors and suddenly falling in, surrounded by that earthy scent of wheat that lulled until dying didn’t sound so bad. But as she lay there, held and loved completely, she felt she was coming more alive.

“You love me?” Jake whispered into the place where her neck met her shoulder.

Ronnie, though half asleep, could hear the question bubbling like lava just beneath. You love me despite everything? You love me after what you watched me do? You love me injured and covered in blood and terrified?

“I think I always have.” She smoothed her fingers over the arm curled around her waist. “Even when I didn’t know you. I think I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”

There was that calm confidence again. That assuredness the very foundations of the earth were made of.

“I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. Like I’ve loved you from the moment I started breathing, Ronnie.”

She smiled, a joyful noise humming in her throat, as sleep finally overcame her.

When she woke up, Ronnie wasn’t entirely sure it was morning. The sunlight streaming through the window above the bed was too bright, too powerful to be anything but brought on by midday. For a moment, she just basked in it. Too warm and too comfortable to move.

But the space beside her was empty. Cold.

As she rolled onto her back, her fingers trailed over the rustled sheets. The indent in the other pillow.

Was it all just a dream? The whole of it? Her father’s death. Going to live with Bradley while the dust settled. Finding her mate in the Alpha of Red Sky. She couldn’t decide if it was joy or sorrow that filled her heart at the possibility. To have her father back would be a joy beyond words. But to lose Jake to have him — that was a sorrow unmatched.

Then her broken bones screeched in a sudden pain that made her suck in a sharp breath. That was real. She lifted her braced hand to drape across her middle, fingers rubbing over the tough plastic in some attempt to soothe the discomfort. And if that was real — that injury, that hurt — then the rest of it was real too. It wasn’t just a dream. It was a beautiful, yet dimmed reality. Loss for gain. Her father was gone but that was okay. He might not have been around to take care of her anymore, but she had her mate now.

She had Jake now.

But where was he?

Ronnie sat up slowly, a soft noise of effort slipping from her lips as she pulled herself to sit up against the wall. Every muscle in her body felt tired, used up, and sore. It took some great effort, like Atlas willing himself to shrug with the weight of the world on his shoulders, just to get herself upright. She rubbed at the sleep that still clung to her lashes. Her tongue suddenly felt heavy and dry in her mouth, like it didn’t really belong there. Opening her mouth to flex her jaw, she looked over to Jake’s empty spot in bed again.

Where was he?

Somewhere inside, she knew he was close. He wasn’t too far.

But before she could will herself to get out from beneath the covers, Jake’s golden head of hair appeared as he came up the stairs. All the tension that had wound itself up in her shoulders suddenly relaxed at the sight of him.

His soft smile. That lock of dark blond hair that fell against his forehead. He looked comfortable. Wearing a pair of sweats and a waffle-knit long sleeve, the clothes that the pack must have brought. Ronnie was glad to see him out of the bloodied flannel he had been wearing the day before.

The smell of toast and eggs suddenly hit her and her stomach grumbled. He carried the breakfast, coffee, a glass of water, and her prescription bottle on the tray from her small dining table strictly used for decoration. But she didn’t mind in the slightest as he set the tray down in the spot he once occupied.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she could feel it. The way her throat gurgled with underuse and overuse at the same. The first noise of some greeting barely escaped before she was trying to clear her throat.

“Here,” Jake said as he snatched the glass of water from the tray.

He held it up to her lips as he sat down at the edge of the bed. She took it from him gratefully, taking a few sips to wet her throat. When she pulled the glass away, she smiled almost shyly at him.

“Hi.”

Her voice came out as a croak that made her wince.

But Jake didn’t seem to mind as he pushed her messy hair back away from her face. “Hey, little one.”

“How long was I out for?” she asked quietly, not trusting her voice to get any louder.

“About fourteen hours,” he replied as he reached over and grabbed the pill bottle from the tray. “It’s two in the afternoon.”

“Jesus — you should’ve woken me up.”

“No. You needed the rest. Still do.” He undid the cap and poured out two pills into his palm. “Take these, then I need you to eat.”

Ronnie put up no argument. Her stomach felt like it was eating itself as she eyed the eggs and toast laid out beside her. She took the pills, tongue smacking against the grainy taste they left in her mouth. Jake watched to make sure she did it before handing her the plate and a fork.

“Aren’t you gonna eat something?” she asked around a mouthful of toast.

How did he know just how she liked it? Golden brown and coated in a thick layer of butter. Classic and simple and honestly, in that moment, the best thing she had ever tasted.

“I already ate,” he replied with a smile. “Breakfast and lunch.”

She felt a heat rise in her cheeks as she took the coffee from the tray, leaving it empty. “Sorry.”

“S’okay. I didn’t mind. Got to figure you out a bit.”

“Yeah?” She sipped on the hot beverage. Black how she liked it. “What’d you figure out?”

“That you’re a huge nerd,” he said with a grin.

Ronnie made a face, but couldn’t help but smile knowingly. “I….Am. Yes. I can’t deny it. What gave me away?”

“Well, for starters, you own at least ten books on Greek mythology.” Jake got up from the bed and set the tray on the floor, taking his place beside her with a sigh as he relaxed back against the wall. “And you have the other Lord of the Rings books. No one has those except huge nerds.”

“Okay, okay, number one, sir — I have a degree in Classics and Linguistics so anything to do with Greece or Rome down there is warranted. And second…Tolkien was a master of his craft and he made a fascinating world. You should read it sometime.”

“I’m not really a reader,” he chuckled lightly.

“I’ll read it to you then.”

“I’d like that.” He smiled over at her warmly.

His presence was comforting, safe, and warm as she continued to eat. As she continued to feel like she was coming back to herself. Jake was a part of that now. A part of her that she could never reject or deny. Just as she was a part of him. She leaned into his side and it felt like a consecration. Something holy. Something divine.

But it felt like anticipation too. A string about to snap. A storm looming on the horizon. A finger hesitating over the trigger.

She could feel it in Jake most of all. As she set her empty plate on the nightstand and leaned back into his arm. He was tense. He nearly flinched away from her. Or towards her. She couldn’t tell. When she looked up into his face, his brow was pulled down in some agony, in barely there restraint.

Picking her head up off his shoulder she asked softly, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah — “

He was cut off by his own sharp intake of breath when Ronnie put her hand on his thigh. It was supposed to be a comfort, but his reaction only made her worry increase. Like a weed in a crack in the pavement. She twisted her torso to look at him completely. His eyes were screwed shut, mouth turned down in a grimace.

“Jake, are you sure?”

She turned to him further, nearly up on her knees to inspect him closer. And with her movement, her hand floated higher up his thigh. The soft whimper that tumbled from his mouth was enough to make her pause. His hand, which shook with some effort, shot out to gently take hold of her braced wrist.

His eyes slipped open and they were hazy, his blinking slow as he whispered, “Please don’t.”

Looking down at where her hand had been touching him, she expected some injury that just wouldn’t heal for reasons unknown. But she gasped softly at what she did find.

The outline of his cock, thick and heavy and hard against the fabric of his sweatpants.

Ronnie couldn’t help the way her mouth popped open at the sight. The way a sudden heat and pressure bloomed between her legs. The first few chords of the string were broken. The first drops of rain were falling. The finger was beginning to squeeze the trigger. She looked back up to his face to find Jake already looking at her, his green eyes hooded but hesitant. And now that her pain medication was kicking in and her stomach was full, only one ache remained. One that surprised her still, that throbbed somewhere deep inside her chest.

She knew what it was and knew that Jake felt it too. Felt it stronger than she ever could. Had probably been feeling it for hours while she slept.

“Jake…” She lifted her hand to his face to make him meet her eyes. “How long’ve you been like that?”

“Since I crawled into bed with you last night,” he replied, voice strained. He swallowed something thick. “I — I got up a few times to take care of it myself, but…Nothing’s worked. It just — it won’t — “

He looked guilty. His eyes downcast and his hand moving to try and cover himself up. He refused to meet her gaze, opting to burrow into the palm still resting on his cheek.

Ronnie’s grip became firm as she slowly, her body still sore and tired, pulled herself into his lap. Knees straddling his thighs. She settled down onto him with a huff, relief and effort, and Jake instantly reached out to hold her waist in a firm, yet gentle grip. Like he wanted her to stay but was prepared for her to go.

“It’s okay, my Alpha. It’s only natural,” she assured, her braced hand coming up to his other cheek as her right hand trailed down his neck and chest. “Our mate bond needs to be settled. Your body is telling you so.”

She watched the way his chest heaved with shallow breaths for air as the very tips of her fingers ghosted down his chest and stomach. Watched the muscles there jump beneath his shirt. It made her core clench in some desperate cry to be filled, her slick dampening her panties as she thought of what was to come. The ache that had once been housed in her chest now nestled between her thighs.

Jake took in a sharp breath, his fingers curling into the fabric of her sweater, tugging her closer. “Fuck — I can smell you.”

“Yeah?” she asked softly as her fingertips danced around the waistband of his sweats.

“We — I shouldn’t,” he said, even as his hips bucked up into her touch. “You’re hurt. You need rest. I should…I should be able to control myself. But…Fuck. I need you. I can’t stop thinking about it. R-Ronnie…”

His head fell back against the wall with an audible thud when her palm came in contact with his hard length. His expression looked nearly pained as she continued to feel him, working him through his sweats. He was big. Bigger than any man she ever had before, which were few and far between. For only an instant, she worried about getting all that to fit inside her. About him splitting her open. Then she felt the muscles in his legs spasm and flex beneath her, one knee rose — forcing her to slide further down his lap.

Her cunt, now burning with desire, nudged against his length and she gasped. All her worries were forgotten, replaced by her need to be filled by him. She was made just for him, designed and knit together in the most intimate way. Chest falling against his own, her hand moved to support herself against his shoulder. She nuzzled his cheek with her nose, a hum reverberating in her throat as his hands slid up the length of her back beneath her sweater. His breaths hot and heavy against her ear.

“You can smell it — how much I need you too?” she asked and Jake nodded. She pressed her fingers to the center of his chest, just below his sternum. “Can you feel it, right here?”

“Yes,” he breathed, tugging her closer, pushing her hips down against his own. “It hurts. I can’t…”

Ronnie kissed his cheek again, pulling him into her with a furrowed brow. She shushed him as he whined softly, his legs spasming beneath her again as she rolled her hips against the erection that had been paining him for hours. Having to bite back her own moan at the way the tip caught against her clit.

“I know, I know it hurts. But I want you. Want you to claim me as your Luna.” She drew close, her lips brushing the shell of his ear. “Make me yours. Completely.”

She tried to drag her clothed cunt against him again but he stopped her with a firm grip on her waist, mindful of the injury on her hip that she had long forgotten about.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he confessed, green eyes roving her face for any semblance of hesitance.

Ronnie pulled back to look him in the eye. Tone laced with that calm confidence that world leaders would envy.

“You could never hurt me.”

Jake was on her in the next instant. His kiss hungry and bordering on desperate as his fingers tangled into her hair. It was like he was trying to drink from her very soul as he nudged her to lay back on the bed, lifting her effortlessly and gently. He slotted himself between her spread legs, urging her to wrap them around his waist with a broad palm on her thigh. Ronnie obliged him happily, heels digging into his ass to get him to move against where her cunt throbbed in time with her heart.

Hands sliding over the back of his neck and into his hair, she made some noise of apology around his tongue in her mouth when her plastic brace knocked against his skull. Jake pulled away from her to laugh, breathless and shoulders shaking as his face fell into the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

“I hate this thing already,” Ronnie grumbled, displaying her left hand briefly before letting it flop back against the bed beside her head. “I wanna touch you.”

“You are touching me,” he replied, his eyes fluttering shut at the way her fingers traced over his bottom lip.

“Wanna touch all of you. Hard to do with one good hand.”

Jake groaned as he surged into her again, like water on rock — his kiss powerful but gentle as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Despite just how hot and hard he felt against her, he still tugged at the hem of her shirt. Fingers dancing around the edge of the fabric with a kind of respect that left her breathless as he pulled away to mouth at her neck.

“Please?” he asked quietly against her pulse.

“Yes, yes.” She couldn’t say it fast enough. “I’m all yours, my Alpha.”

Sitting up on his knees, he pulled her sweater up and over her head slowly. Like he was unwrapping something preciously fragile. They struggled to get her sleeve off around her brace and it made them laugh. But the chuckle died in Jake’s throat once he took in the sight of her. Laid out beneath him, having chosen to take off her bra sometime the night before, in nothing but those little shorts. Her nipples pebbled once exposed to the cooler air of the cabin. Her chest heaved beneath his intense gaze, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable or self-conscious. If anything, his attention empowered her as her hips rolled to relieve the ache in her cunt.

His calloused fingers trailed over her pale skin, between the valley of her breasts and down her stomach where the muscles twitched in anticipation. She gasped as the hairs on her arms stood on end, as her flesh pimpled beneath his ghostly touch. His eyes bled with the power he fought so hard for as he watched her body react to him.

“Your skin’s like moonlight,” he mumbled.

Then he reached behind his back and tugged his own shirt off, discarding it somewhere in the small room. Jake was thick and broad. Body carved by years and years of hard work. His chest and stomach were muscled, covered in a thick layer of hair that only made him more inviting. Made him look soft despite all that power. Ronnie bit down on her lip as her eyes trailed over him, taking in the way his hips started a V that disappeared into his sweats.

It felt like her heart swelled to a few sizes too big. It was surely about to burst out of her chest, snap into Jake’s waiting hand. She wanted to say something back. Tell him his skin was warm as the sun and his eyes reminded her of the Spring grain fields she saw in Italy. But the words never made it to her tongue. They were morphed, twisted, until they came out of her mouth in nothing but a moan as Jake kissed her collarbones.

His tongue and his lips laved down the slope of her chest. While his warm palm enveloped one breast, his mouth latched onto the other. Ronnie arched into his touch with a gasp, fingers of her uninjured hand tangling in the strands of his hair. His tongue swirled around her nipple, sucked on the tender flesh until he released it with a soft pop. Ronnie jerked beneath him, hips working in some effort to feel anything against where she needed him most.

“Mm, J-Jake?” she asked, a soft whimper quickly following as he dragged the attention of his mouth to her other breast.

He hummed against her heated flesh, sounding completely content.

“I need — mnh — I need you to touch me. God, please.”

She felt his smirk against the swell of her breast, heard it in the way he whispered, “I am touching you.”

“Touch all of me,” she replied and Jake groaned, loud and deep directly into her sternum.

“God, I want to. All the time.” He rose back up to his knees, leaving her a panting, wreathing mess beneath him. “Wanna do this right — wanna make you feel good, sweet girl.”

Ronnie whimpered at the nickname, at everything. She heard rumors and read tales about Alphas claiming their Lunas in the most brutal of fashions. Archaic and animalistic. But Jake was putting her pleasure first, even if it hurt him. She could see, as he tugged her shorts down her legs — past her bruised knees — that a wet spot was forming in the crotch of his pants. He was achingly hard, and kept that way by his instinct to fill her. It wouldn’t have surprised her if he took what he wanted with promises of making it up to her later. But that wasn’t Jake. That wasn’t who he was.

He was the kind of Alpha that risked his own life to save his pack. That kept his distance when she asked it of him, even though it pained him. That took the smallest room. That respected her enough and cared for her enough to wait until she was ready.

A high-pitched kind of sigh slipped past her lips as he pulled her shorts and underwear off in one go. Jake’s eyes now shown red as rubies as he drank in the sight of her, hands moving up her calves and into the crooks of her knees to prop them up — spread her open for him. He growled, eyes caught on the apex of her thighs. At her glistening cunt, at the dark thatch of curls that framed her.

She squirmed beneath his gaze now, every sense heightened and attuned to the near-desperate need that filled her. Trying to press her thighs together in search of some friction, some relief, Jake’s knelt form sat in the way. Keeping her from that balm. She whined softly, her cunt clenching around nothing at the way he watched her.

Reaching out to him in some attempt to keep her own fingers from slipping between her folds, she called, “My Alpha…Come here.”

He grinned as he lay back over her, forearms keeping him propped up as he kissed her sweet and slow. Gone was the hurried desperation, replaced by nothing but that strong love and longing that had been building upon itself for weeks. One of Jake’s hands slipped down her form, over her soft and bruised skin. Until finally the very tips of his fingers ghosted through the dark curls at the joining of her thighs.

His hand dipped into her cunt and she grunted at the sudden attention, sudden relief, sudden white-hot pleasure.

“Fuck, you’re dripping,” Jake muttered breathlessly, thick digits exploring as he teased at her entrance.

“J-Just for you,” she replied, hands latched onto his shoulders, his grin pressed into the side of her neck.

His fingers passed over her clit and she gasped, hips rocking, trying to get him to touch it again. He moved back over the correct spot and pressed in, her head pushing back into the comforter as she clawed into his back. How could it possibly feel this good and he had barely even touched her?

“There?” he asked against the line of her jaw before kissing feather-light at the burning hot flesh.

“Yes — there.”

Jake hummed as he began to circle her clit, rubbing slow and sweet in a way that made her lungs burn. That made her hands scramble for purchase. That made her back arch despite the dull pain that coursed through her at the action. But, of course, he sensed it — in that spot hidden deep within his chest. He pressed down with more of his weight, keeping her from straining herself. She wanted to say thank you, but all that came out was a wail as he added just a bit more pressure.

“Sound so sweet, little one.” He inhaled slowly at her pulse point, hips rutting against her thigh. “Smells so good.”

“W-What do I — smell like?” she managed to stutter out.

“Like lavender…And old book pages,” he replied, lips moving down the column of her neck, beard scratching at her skin. “Second one makes more sense now.”

She chuckled breathlessly, head spinning with pleasure as he increased the speed of his fingers. A quiet whine escaped her as he pulled his attention away from that little bundle of nerves, but it was short lived as the heel of his hand pressed down into it. Two of his digits instead focused on her entrance.

“Oh.”

The sound echoed around the room before she even realized.

Jake pulled back to look into her face, all movements stopped save for the gentle nudge of his palm against her clit. “Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. It’s just…” Her braced hand lifted to cup his jaw as best she could. “It’s been a long time, for me.”

A heat rose in her cheeks as he smiled gently down at her. Red eyes of the Alpha so soft just for her. He kissed her once, twice, then pulled away to nuzzle her cheek.

“I’ll go slow,” he said, then his hips jerked against her leg. “Need you good and ready for me.”

Ronnie whimpered softly as he slowly sunk two fingers into her, nails digging into his biceps, sure to leave crescent moons in her wake that would fade before she got the chance to see them. He just rested there for a moment, let her adjust. Then he curled his fingers up experimentally and the sound she let out was something primal, something she had never heard herself make before. It made Jake groan, teeth clenched, as he began to pump his fingers in and out of her. Stretching her out with his palm grinding against her clit.

Her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled, guiding him up to kiss his swollen lips. They breathed into each other as her hips rocked into his hand, her eyes barely able to stay open against the mounting pleasure. He curled his fingers up against her walls and with each breath, she was spilling some noise to him like treasured secrets.

Her release was building in the deepest pit of her gut, hot and heavy and begging to be poured out. Her cup nearly filled to the brim. It was a feeling she never wanted to leave but so desperately wanted to take over the edge.

“Jake…” she managed to pant out as some warning.

“Can feel it, little one — squeezing my fingers so tight. Think you can take another?”

She sobbed something frustrated as he retracted his hand, but all of it was smothered into whimpers when she felt the tips of three of his thick digits prod at her entrance. Jake pushed back in slow, moving onto his knees between her legs so he could hold her down with his palm flat against her stomach. Keeping her from taking too much at once. Her walls spasmed around his fingers once he was down to the third knuckle, his thumb pressed into her clit and rubbing tight circles that eased the ache. Ronnie’s chest heaved, the stretch delicious as her hands fisted the sheets until her knuckles turned white.

She cried, nearly a scream, when he flexed his hand. Head thrown back to expose her pale neck and eyes screwed shut. She felt so full, but she knew it wasn’t full enough. It wasn’t him. Jake moaned at the sight.

“Fuck, little one — you look so good like this,” he breathed, flexing his fingers again and watching as she mewled.

“Please, move, Jake — please, so close,” Ronnie babbled, rolling her hips as much as she could under his strong hold.

He began to pump his fingers, never fully leaving her cunt as he curled them against some spot inside her she was never able to reach. She cried out as she was brought right back to that edge, as her cup threatened to overflow, as her pleasure became intense and burning hot inside her.

“That’s it, sweet girl, that’s it,” Jake panted as he removed his hand from her belly, letting her ride his fingers at her own quickening pace. “Feel so good already — can’t wait to be inside this pussy. Claim you as mine. Have me dripping out of you.”

Her cup spilled over. Wrenched from her with a scream and her back arched and her walls around his fingers like a vice — sucking him back in as he worked her through it. It made something like a sob get caught in her chest as she blinked up at the ceiling, trying to come back down from an impossible high. Her bones went limp, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. But Jake kept going, kept curling and pushing. He had slowed down to prolong her pleasure, but he was quickly getting back to that brutal pace.

“W-Wait,” she whined, already feeling herself teetering on the precipice.

“Just one more, gimme one more.”

A feeble sound of protest slipped from her parted lips as she burrowed her face into the wrinkled blankets. But she made no move to stop him as he leaned back over her, lips and tongue hot and heavy against her neck. The muscles in her thighs twitched in time with the press of his palm against her clit.

She came with a soft cry, a moan directly in Jake’s ear, though it was just as intense. Just as brutal. Just as overwhelming. And when it all became too much, she grabbed weakly at his forearm and tugged. He obliged her, pulling his thick digits from her dripping core. Ronnie whimpered at the sudden emptiness. Eyes unable to focus as she gazed up at the wood of her slanted ceiling.

But then Jake took over her field of vision and she smiled. His hair was messed, dangling over his forehead from all her pulling. There was sweat on his brow and his lips were swollen and pink. He looked beautiful. Otherworldly. A true Alpha.

Her fingertips reached and traced the line of his beard across his cheek. Jake’s eyes slipped shut at the gentle, barely there touch.

“Hi,” she whispered.

He chuckled lightly as he pressed his forehead into her own. “Hey, little one. D’you feel okay? Do we need to stop?”

“I feel more than okay,” Ronnie replied, fingers threading through the hairs on his chest. “And if you stop now I might cry.”

“Thank, God,” he laughed, relieved.

A sudden thought occurred to her.

“You should know — I have an IUD,” Ronnie said, hooking her legs around his waist in some subconscious effort to keep him as close as possible. “But, I’ll…I’ll make an appointment to get it removed as soon as possible.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want — “

“I want to. God, I want to,” she insisted, pushing her forehead harder against his own. “Wanna be full of you, my Alpha.”

Jake growled. His hand, still wet with her juices, trailed down her front to ghost over her stomach. His cock twitched against her thigh. No doubt thinking about putting a pup inside her. And she wanted it. She wanted it more than anything. It was what she was made for, chosen for. To give him all the pups he could ever desire, to make his pack stronger, to pass his legacy and power on to. She longed to be full and swollen with him, with her Alpha, with his seed.

But all of that would have to wait for now.

“Ronnie,” Jake whispered into her neck as he drove his hips into her own, his still-clothed length brushing against her.

She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. His eyes, red as rubies, were hooded with desire, but reluctant. She pecked him on the lips once, twice, before nodding against his forehead.

“I’m ready. Make me yours.”

Jake nodded back before jumping up from the bed and ridding himself of his sweats, revealing himself fully to Ronnie who still lay blissed out in the center of the bed. He looked like the muse of an ancient Grecian sculptor. All that muscle, that perfect V pointing down to his cock, erect and perfect. All held up by strong, thick legs. He was golden and hairy and all her’s and the thought of it made her smile.

Crawling back into the bed between her legs, Jake grabbed his shaft and aligned himself with her entrance. The moment his tip stroked her folds, Ronnie gasped, unable to tear her eyes away from his face. Overwhelmed tears began to prick at the corners of her brown eyes as he positioned himself at the base of her core. Then he began to push inward. At first, it felt good, her mouth dropping open and eyes rolling to the back of her head. Then there was an acute and peculiar pain as she widened for the head. But all she did was grimace through the discomfort. She was made for this. It would only last a few minutes. It was the pleasure she would remember, it was Jake’s nearly pained face as he used every fiber of his control, it was the way she heard the sheets ripping beneath his clenched fists, it was the way everything felt like Jake and it felt like home.

He paused halfway inside her, breathing heavily as he bumped his head softly against her own.

“Alright?” he asked gently.

Ronnie nodded, afraid what sound would come out of her if she did open her mouth. But a whimper fell from her lips as he continued to push forward. Oh, God, there’s more? Jake immediately stopped again. Eyebrows pinched in concern.

“Don’t stop,” she croaked, taking a few calming breaths. “I can take it.”

Jake nodded before he finished out his thrust, slowly, both of their breaths ragged. But he stilled once he bottomed out inside her. Ronnie continued to breathe deeply, head tilted back as she adjusted to his size. She felt stretched to the limit, filled to the brim. It was everything she ever wanted and too much and never enough. The overwhelmed tears that had been building in her eyes finally fell. But Jake wiped them away with ease.

One hand releasing from his arms, Ronnie swiped her hand between their bodies — fingers brushing over her sternum and abdomen. Until she found what she was looking for.

The lowest part of her belly bulged around him. It made her moan as she pushed down on it gently.

“Oh — fuck,” Jake hissed as he spasmed on top of her, fist pounding into the mattress.

“My Alpha,” she whispered. “Feel so full.”

“F-Feel so good, little one, so tight. Shit. Could — Could come just like this,” he babbled, mindless, lost in the feeling of her. It made her smile. “Can I move? Unh, please?”

Ronnie nodded as she moved her hips slightly. “Please.”

He pulled out only the tiniest bit before grinding his hips back into hers. She made some noise like she’d just been punched in the gut. It felt like he was holding her heart in his hand, squeezing it to the point of bursting. She could barely breathe. He kept his thrusts slow and deliberate, not wanting to hurt her or go too fast.

“Jake,” she sighed as a heat bloomed through her veins, like the light from a freshly born star — white hot and spreading.

“Feel good?” he asked, voice strained.

Her hands on his shoulders, she could feel the tension there. The restraint. He was holding himself back. Holding back the beast inside him that longed to take what was his. Just for her. For her pleasure. For her pain. She put her hand on the back of his neck and forced him to meet her gaze — meeting him thrust for thrust.

“Let go,” she told him softly, reverently, “Jake, claim me.”

He stared down at her for only a moment. Searching for any hesitence. Any uncertainty. But she knew he would find none as she kissed him soundly.

With a growl, he pulled nearly completely out of her, then slammed back in. The moan she released ripped from somewhere deep inside her. Ronnie brought him down to her for a teeth-filled kiss, sloppy and desperate and noises captured in one another’s throats. The now rough snap of his hips sent her rocking back into the mattress. Ronnie clawed at his back, moaning into his mouth, as she resisted the urge to close her eyes against the mounting pleasure. At just how good he felt as he pounded into her. She wanted to see every expression that passed over his face, every noise that came out of his mouth.

She felt him twitch inside her as he bared his teeth, revealing his sharp fangs that she could never fear. Then he scraped them against the side of her neck, marking her as his and his only. His scent bloomed around her, citrus and bonfires, overwhelming her every sense. Made her dizzy as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

A cry tumbled from her lips, wanton and echoing, as she came around him. As her entire being became electric, a live wire, a roaring flame prepared to burn the world down. Jake’s thrusts became sloppy and rough, stunted as he roared — spilling his seed and coating her walls with it. He gave a few more short rolls of his hips, letting her milk him for all that he was worth.

She smiled as she ran her fingers through his sweaty hair, as she relished the feeling of being his. In every sense of the word. Marked and stretched and claimed and filled with Jake. Her Alpha. His Luna.

Ronnie’s eyes opened wide, however, when she realized he was still hard inside her. He hadn’t gone soft at all.

“Shit, R-Ronnie…” Jake whimpered as he propped himself up further, looking down at the point where their bodies met with a furrowed brow. “It’s not — it won’t — “

She groaned as he started moving again. Her cunt so sensitive after just coming. She could feel his spend leaking out of her and onto the sheets. Jake planted his knees and drew her up into his chest, her legs wrapped around his hips. She choked at the change in angle which somehow drove him deeper inside of her — making him hit something that made her forget everything except his name.

“Jake,” she gasped softly as she tangled her arms around his shoulders, pulled him as close as she could get him.

“I can’t stop,” he replied, his hold on her hips tight as he thrusted up into her at a brutal pace. “Feels too — too good…”

“Jake,” she whimpered again.

Ronnie came sudden and sharp and powerful. Another cry dead in her throat, turned into a choked moan that barely slipped past her lips as she buried her face in her mate’s neck. Then he filled her again with a soft oomf — one arm bracing her lower back as he fell forward onto his hand. Shoulders curled around her as he buried his face in her hair.

He laid her back down on the bed completely, untucking her legs from around his waist and pulling out with a pained sound. All Ronnie could do was grunt at the loss. She now felt so empty without him. But she also felt so incredibly tired. So incredibly happy. So incredibly home.

Something warm was pressed against her aching core and she hummed appreciatively. Then she was lifted, set back down where the pillows were beneath her head.

“Rest, my little Luna,” Jake whispered to her as he pulled the covers over her naked form.

“Wake me up if you need me,” she muttered back, eyes already closed and thoughts already drifting between awakeness and dreams.

He chuckled. “You’d be awake forever if I did that. You’d go insane.”

“What a wonderful insanity it would be, though,” she sighed.

And then she was asleep.

“God, the fire really did a number on this place, huh?” Ronnie asked as she compared the photo Jake had handed her and the structure standing before her now.

In the photo, the log cabin was beautiful. Made by Jake’s own two hands. Months, maybe even years of hard work. There was a front deck. Green tile roof. A chimney made of stone. She could just make out carvings in the stair posts. There was even a pair of rocking chairs sitting out on the deck. She had to wonder if he made those himself too. He probably did.

But what laid before her now was nothing but a foundation, the chimney covered in scorch marks, and the still remaining pieces of the framework. The rest was all reduced to a black and grey heap.

Jake heaved a heavy sigh, hand carding through his hair, as he looked at the place. At what remained of the home he built.

Then he said, around yet another sigh, “Yeah.”

Ronnie slipped the photo into her back pocket before wrapping him up in a hug. He threw his arm around her shoulder, wide palm rubbing up and down the fabric of the flannel covering her arm.

“Just think, we get to build this one together this time,” she said as she continued to look at the frankly pitiful remnants.

But she could see the potential. What they could build together. The new deck with the new rocking chairs. The beautiful kitchen where she could cook hearty meals. The living room where the pack could feel at home. The bedrooms filled with the sounds of children. She leaned into him further as she grinned.

Looking down at her, Jake smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

“I’m only gonna do it though if you let me use the power tools.”

“I’m not gonna let you use the power tools.” He shook his head.

“Oh, come on, please?” she whined, squeezing him just a little tighter.

“Just once,” he relented, and she cheered.

The rest of the pack pulled up the long gravel driveway. Each of them ready to work. They hopped out of the bed of Frank’s truck with toolbelts and buckets and trashbags ready to haul the ash away. To make the place ready for the rebuild.

It was a symbol of a fresh start for all of them. For Ronnie. For Jake. For Red Sky. Gone were the things that held them down, that haunted them, that held them back. They were free. Free to move forward, free to forge their own path, free to grow and soar and be. Together. As a pack. As a family.

“Let’s get to work.”

werewolf!topgun taglist: @blue-aconite @darkestbeforethedawn16 @supernaturaldawning @illisius @hope-love-equality2 @wanderingdetectives @sqrlgrl22 @dempy @theforevermorereject @the-untamed-soul @emandems10 @xxshea-barnesxx @piceous21 @sopheeg @ollyoxenfrees @luckyladycreator2 @newlibrary @himbos-on-ice @gigisimsonmars @agentminnesota187 @indynerdgirl @mellark-studio @smoothdogsgirl @kkrenae @laracrofted @mayhem24-7forever @abaker74

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 1 year

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Come Over Here and Overwhelm Me: an even better life (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Goin' to the courthouse and they're gonna get married - life is even better than either of them could imagine.

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 4815

Warnings: just some old-fashioned tooth-rotting fluff, my babies are getting married y'all, flashforward, pregnancy stuff

EIGHT | NINE | TEN

✎……likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better!

✎……we've reached the end girlies - thank you for coming on this journey with me and maybe getting some joy out of this story i wrote. love you all dearly.

✎……masterlist on pinned

Ronnie smoothed out the skirt of her simple white dress one last time. She was lucky she even had one. Tucked away in the back of her closet with the tag still on. She distinctly remembered that she had every intention of returning it, thinking it too bridal for the backyard barbeque she bought it for.

For just a moment she fretted over not having any nice shoes, but everyone insisted the white pair of Berks she owned were too perfect for her not to wear. Too like her. Too like them.

Then Ronnie adjusted the grip she had on the small bundle of flowers held in her hands. They were nothing special, and she would have been content with no flowers at all. But then Phoenix went outside from where the girls were getting ready at Ronnie’s house, and came back in a few minutes later with the little bouquet. Ronnie recognized the flowers instantly from her neighbor’s yard. A girl needs flowers on her wedding day, Phoenix explained while she put the bundle in a cup of water to keep them fresh.

Ronnie was getting married today.

And according to the clock, she was getting married in less than five minutes.

The thought made a laugh bubble up in her throat. Unbelieving and giddy like she was sixteen and being asked to prom again. She stared at the wood of the courtroom doors practically begging them to open. Jake was the one who insisted on doing at least this part traditionally. With the reveal of the bride and being walked down the makeshift aisle. Let the anticipation grow a lil’, sweets.

So Bradley stood beside her just outside the county courtroom, hands folded in front of himself, looking more nervous than she was. Still in his dress khakis, he had readjusted his ribbons at least ten times since they arrived.

She spent another minute watching his anxious fiddling before he suddenly asked, “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

Ronnie’s eyes went wide for a moment before she guffawed. “What? No! I mean, would that be such a bad thing if I was?”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant. It’s just…Are you sure you don’t wanna… I don’t know… wait?” he asked, looking down at her softly and full of brotherly concern that she missed and hated all at once. “Do the whole ceremony thing with the big dress and the invitations and the party?”

“I don’t really care about any of that stuff.” Ronnie shrugged with a smile. “I just wanna be married. I wanna be married to Jake.”

Bradley laughed with a disbelieving shake of his head. “How can you be so confident just all the time?”

It was meant to be a joke, but Bradley was pretty sure it flopped. There was too much behind it for it to really land. Bradley had always had a problem with hesitation. Waiting too long to act, going through all the variables, taking things slow just in case. While Ronnie had never hesitated about anything in her entire life. If she wanted something she went after it. A medal in surfing, a degree in business, the man that she loved.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, and Bradley felt even worse that he had to explain himself.

“I mean…” He sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he thought of the right words. “If I were in your shoes — I’d be thinking over every single little thing. If I were Hangman I don’t even know if I would’ve found the guts to ask you to marry me let alone just elope. I mean, what if things go bad and you get divorced? What if his family doesn’t like you? What if this isn’t the right choice at all?”

“Well, okay, number one — I’m glad you didn’t ask me to marry you, ‘cause that’s gross and also illegal,” she said with a grin and he shoved her shoulder playfully, rolling his eyes. “But, number two, of course I’m thinking about that stuff. I’m not insane. But…None of that really matters. What does matter is that I love Jake and he loves me. Nothin’ else to it. If I’ve got him, none of that other stuff worries me at all.”

Bradley just looked at her for a moment. Ronnie’s brown eyes so much like his own, so much like their dad’s, that shone with a kind of love he thought was made up for movies. Her in that white dress with the wilting flowers and hair curled. It was a sight he never thought he would get to see — let alone that she would ask him to walk her down the aisle.

Then he shook his head. “I don’t think I could do that…”

“That might be my fault, in all honesty,” she chuckled back. “I definitely was insane as a kid. Made you do all my worrying for me.”

Bradley ran an exasperated hand over his face. “God, remember that time you slid down the roof in a laundry basket and broke your arm?”

“Yeah. Best ten seconds of my life,” Ronnie joked with a nudge back.

There was shuffling behind the oak doors and Ronnie sucked in a sharp breath. The five minutes were up. It was time. Despite his reservations and concern for her, Bradley offered Ronnie his arm. She took it gladly. He was the only one she would ever let walk her down the aisle. It was always going to be her older brother. No matter how much space was between them. He taught her how to tie her shoes, helped her with her homework, and helped her grow into the woman standing before those courthouse doors. She never wanted her wedding day without him.

God, she was getting married today.

“I think these ones are about to take top spot,” Bradley muttered.

Ronnie took a deep breath, her heart racing, and butterflies filling her stomach. “You might be right.”

The doors swung open, the first few notes of some NSYNC song filling the too-large space for so few people. It was just a county courthouse, nothing fancy. All wooden furniture bolted to green carpet and pictures of old judges lining the walls. But none of that mattered.

No, it didn’t matter at all because Jake was standing there in his dress blues with a smile on his face. He had his hands clasped in front of him, but she noticed the way he quickly wiped beneath his eyes as Bradley escorted her down the aisle.

Holy shit, she mouthed to him and he laughed.

Javy was standing right beside him; hopefully, with his mission completed and a ring in his pocket. The portly judge with his wire grey mustache, wearing the black robe was on Jakes other side, grinning like it was his own child's wedding. And standing off to the side was Penny, wearing a pretty pink dress and holding a single daisy.

The rest of the aviators were standing in front of the wooden benches. Mickey held the speaker playing the NSYNC, looking pleased with himself. Ronnie could hear Maverick sniffling as she passed him. She wished her parents could be there to see this, but she was glad Pete Mitchell was.

Bradley let her hand slip from the crook of his elbow. Then Jake reached for her with a gentle grin, held out his hand for her to take. But Ronnie waited. Looked back at her brother one lsat time. And he grinned at her with a nod of his head, a nudge, go on.

She went. She turned to Jake and took his hand with a smile. The judge started speaking but she couldn’t hear a word he was saying. Not when Jake Seresin was looking at her like his life was truly, finally, completely about to start. With her. Only took them five years and a chance reunion to figure it out. It was insane now, standing in that county courthouse and white-knuckling his hand, to think back on the dread that filled her when he walked into the var that day. There was no dread now, no fear. Just anticipation, just love, just a life truly, finally, completely about to start. Together.

“Oh, she’s pretty,” a feminine voice said, crackling like they were on the other end of a phone. “Even prettier than the pictures he sent me.”

“Can you see? She pregnant or what?” a male voice asked.

“Tony! You shush!”

Ronnie tried to focus on what the judge was saying, something about opportunities like this and love and never having so many witnesses to a courthouse wedding before, but she was finding it increasingly difficult with that going on in the background. She just barely caught the judge’s instruction for them to turn to one another. Passing off her flowers to Penny before taking both of Jake’s hands.

The two voices continued to chatter.

“Who’s on the phone right now?” she mumbled to Jake as the judge went on with the ceremony.

“Javy — with my parents,” he replied under his breath. “They’re on FaceTime. Don’t think they know we can hear them.”

“Oh, they definitely don’t,” she chuckled lightly, and he did too.

“May we have the rings?” the judge asked, looking to Javy, who fished the rings out of his pocket and handed them over with a smile.

Then the judge passed off the simple golden band to Ronnie. Her breath stuttered out of her as she took it with a shaking hand. Jake gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. But it wasn’t nerves that made her tremble now. It was eagerness.

“Do you, Veronica, commit yourself to Jake as your husband to learn and grow with, to respect hi min everything as an equal partner, in the foreknowledge of joy and pain, strength and weariness, direction and doubt, for all the risings and settings of the sun?”

“I do,” she answered without hesitation, brown eyes boring into Jake’s with all the love and trust in the world.

“Now repeat after me,” the judge went on, “With this ring…I wed you…And pledge you my love…Now and forever.”

With her last repetition, she slipped the ring onto his finger. And she grinned from ear to ear at the sight. The ring a few sizes too big on him, but it didn’t even matter. Jake Seresin was hers. Truly, finally, completely. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she looked up into his grinning face.

“Holy shit,” she said aloud, mostly to herself, thumb running over the cool metal now adorning his finger.

Distantly, she heard everyone in the room laugh at her proclamation. Even Jake’s parents on the phone. But the only laugh she could truly hear, the only smile she could see, was Jake’s. His eyes watery and crinkled at the corners, and cheeks red as he looked at her like he wanted to spend all his moments in between with her.

The judge handed Jake her mother’s engagement ring. The ring only a few hours ago he asked her to marry him with in the first place.

“Do you, Jake, commit yourself to Veronica as your wife to learn and grow with, to respect her in everything as an equal partner, in the foreknowledge of joy and pain, strength and weariness, direction and doubt, for all the risings and settings of the sun?”

“Absolutely, I do,” he replied with a kind of stern earnestness that even the most vile would believe to the core.

“Now repeat after me. With this ring…I wed you…And pledge you my love…Now and forever.”

“Now…And forever,” Jake repeated as he slipped the ring on her finger for the second time that day.

He wanted her. He chose her. Now and forever. Truly, finally, completely. He wanted to stay. To spend the night, every night. He wanted to hold and comfort as she cried, pick out furniture with her, listen to her singing in the shower, disagree with her over little and big things, know about her day. He wanted her up close and personal and every day. For so long, Ronnie thought no one would ever want her like that. But Jake did. It was written all over his face as he took her hand completely and tugged her in close.

“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Everyone cheered and whooped and hollered as Jake pulled her in and pressed his lips to hers. It was firm and sure and sweet. And it didn’t surprise her at all when he dipped her nearly to the floor. Trusting him completely to hold her up as they both smiled into the kiss.

The chilled Maryland spring air blew through the open window. Despite how much she had complained about the cold East-coast weather the past six months, Ronnie had to admit the breeze felt amazing as she lifted one of the last remaining boxes and began carrying it down the hall to the front room.

It felt like only yesterday they were packing up her stuff in Miramar. But now their time in DC was complete — Jake’s detachment with the Blue Blasters in Oceana had come to a close. They had spent the time making a home together in their cheap rental, attending Navy balls and award ceremonies, and seeing as many of the sights as Jake would allow Ronnie to drag him to. Now, Jake was taking two weeks of leave, the most time he had ever taken since joining the Academy, to get them settled in their new home.

A house built on his parent’s land in Austin, Texas. Ronnie hoped the weather down there would be more agreeable with her. Less cold at the very least. Once settled, he would start his new instructor position at Fort Worth. A brand new training squadron in the heart of Texas. It was amazing the kind of sway he could carry on his requests now that he was a Lieutenant Commander.

As Ronnie entered the front room, Jake came back inside the small house from where he had been putting things in the moving truck.

He hadn’t shaved in three days, a new record for him, and was already sporting a nice layer of stubble. Ronnie regretted it as soon as she told him it looked good, only succeeding in fueling his ego. He had sweat through his grey t-shirt, leaving massive stains on his chest and back. He puts his hands on his hips and sighed when he spotted her carrying the box into the room.

“Hey, I got it, darlin’. I got it,” Jake said as he scooped it out of her arms.

Ronnie rolled her eyes. “I can carry a box, Jake. It’s not even that heavy.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a strong and capable woman.” He kissed her forehead as he shifted the box in his arms.

“Damn straight,” she muttered back with a slight pout.

“Who’s also eighteen weeks pregnant and has a husband who loves her too much.”

She looked down at her bump, unsuccessfully hidden beneath the overalls she struggled to put on that morning. Just another thing that no longer fit — but Ronnie swore still did. She felt her cheeks heat up and butterflies fill her stomach as she glanced up at Jake’s knowing grin. It was a little miracle. One that most days she still couldn’t believe. Her greatest dream finally come true — given to her by the man she loved.

Ronnie looked back up at him now, trying not to smile as she said, “Shut up.”

“No, you shut up.” Jake grinned himself as he leaned down and pressed his lips to her own. Then he nodded his head down at the box. “What’s in this one?”

“Baby stuff,” she replied.

All those onesies she just couldn’t help but buy even though they didn’t know the sex yet. All those outfits Jake couldn’t stop himself from ordering because he’ll look like a tiny adult.

“Okay. This one’ll go in the truck. Then I think we’re good to go.”

He raised his eyebrows at her excitedly before he turned and walked back out the door. Ronnie sighed as she looked around the place one last time. The rental was small and in desperate need of updating. The walls were thin and the grass was perpetually dead. And Jake more than once had to call maintenance and nearly yell at them to get their asses out there to fix something. But it was their first place, their first home, together. Now, all their stuff was packed up save for the furniture they got with the place and were going to leave for the next tenant. The perks of military provided housing.

She sunk down onto that lumpy couch that was being left behind with another deep breath. Okay, she wasn’t going to miss this exactly. But…

Ronnie found out she was pregnant in that bathroom straight out of the eighties. Screaming and crying and running around the house while Jake just watched her with an amused smile. They tried cooking together in that kitchen. Meal kits with easy instructions because they were both terrible at it. She and Jake slow danced in that front room. When they first moved in — because it was Tuesday — after their first prenatal appointment and they heard that sweet hummingbird-like heartbeat for the first time. Maverick and Penny came to visit and they played charades on that back porch. They heard the good news and Maverick cried, thinking about her mom and dad and how they would be so proud.

There were so many memories in that house. Ones she didn’t want to forget.

But home was the two of them, together. Soon to be the three of them. Subconsciously, she put a hand on her belly. A year ago she was alone in her room in Miramar, eating Chinese takeout with some shitty reality show on in the background after a day of surfing and feeling sorry for herself. Missing her brother, missing her friends, thinking that maybe she was incapable of finding someone to love. It amazed her now how she thought that life was good. Satisfactory. Enough. This was a good life — an even better one than anything she ever had before. She had a husband who loved her, a brother who called, and a little one on the way she couldn’t wait to meet.

Jake came back inside, brushing his hands off on one another. He dropped down onto the couch beside her with a groan, slinging one arm up behind her as he took one last look around the place. He smelled like sweat, but Ronnie didn’t mind. She wondered if he was thinking about all those moments too. All those memories they had there. When he reached down and squeezed her shoulder, she knew that he was.

“You ready to go?” he asked quietly, giving her arm another squeeze.

“Uh, yeah. Prolly should go pee again though.”

“Good call.”

But she didn’t get up. She stayed rooted to the couch, glued under his soft touch and the sinking feeling in her gut at leaving. Starting over. Being with his family. She had seen the pictures. Their house was only a few yards away from the Seresin family ranch where his parents lived. They might not be living in the same house, but they were going to be around all the time. Ronnie had never been that close to family, to people in her entire life. And sure, she met Grace Seresin, that good Southern momma who raised an amazing son, and her husband Anthony, when they came to visit DC for a week. They ate at the good restaurants Jake and Ronnie had found and Grace talked about the party she wanted to throw for them, a late reception, when they found themselves in Texas. But then they left. Ronnie had never loved someone up close before. Even with Jake, it was a struggle at first to have him near and tangible and all the time. Uncertainty filled her now, which Jake seemed to notice, his arm curling around her shoulder and tugging her in close to his sweaty chest.

“Do you…” she started quietly, reaching up to fiddle with his dog tags that had slipped out from beneath his shirt. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

Jake leaned out so he could look her in the face with a furrowed brow. “They already love you? You talk to my mom on the phone literally all the time.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…” She sighed, dropping her hand into his lap. “In person is different. And they’re just right there. What if I run out of stuff to talk about?”

“You’re having another Seresin grandbaby — trust me, you’ll have plenty to talk about,” he said with a reassuring grin.

“But you’ll…You’ll be there to help me though, right?” Ronnie tilted her head up to look at him with those big brown eyes and Jake was a goner.

“Of course I will, darlin’.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips. “You know I’m always gonna be there.”

Ronnie nodded before she sunk into him further, burrowing her head into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms as best she could around his middle. Jake chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. It was nearly insane to think that a year ago he was a bachelor stationed at Lemoore, hooking up with whoever just to feel something. Anything besides lonely and scared and angry. Thinking about a girl he left behind because he was too stupid to see past himself. Now, he was a husband. He was going to be a father. A thought that terrified and excited him all at once. All with that girl he left and found again — the best thing that ever happened to him. He kissed her head again, breathed in her scent of coconut and sandy shores, and thanked whatever was out there for giving him another chance.

“Oh!” Ronnie squirmed, the baby who had been still since she woke up that morning now practically doing backflips in her belly. She pried one arm loose to rest a hand on her bump. “Someone finally decided to wake up. Sleepy-head.”

Jake was quick to have a hand of his own on her growing bump, trying to feel what she felt. His touch was firm, assured against her body as Ronnie angled her back against his chest so he could reach better. With a smile, she placed her hand over his and guided it to where the baby was kicking up a storm, feather-light little pulses that had them both laughing softly. Jake kissed her neck as his fingers spread wide, nearly covering the whole bump, content to stroke her through her overalls. And she was content to feel completely held.

“I think he’s telling us we should go,” Jake muttered against that spot just beneath her ear, making her shoulders bunch up.

“He?” Ronnie questioned as Jake untangled himself and rose from the couch with a stretch. “How do you know it’s not a girl?”

He pulled at the hem of his shirt, trying to dry out the massive sweat stains before they rode in the car for ten hours. “Trust me, Seresins are only capable of shooting out boys. Going back three generations.”

“God, now I really want it to be a girl,” she said, scooting herself to the edge of the couch.

Jake came over and held out his hands, which Ronnie gladly took in order to hoist herself out of the cushions. She hoped the couch his mom picked out was easier to get off of at least.

“It’s not gonna be,” he told her once she was standing.

She shrugged. “Okay, well, now you’re just jinxing yourself.”

“Pee so we can go, please?” he laughed with a roll of his eyes, pointing towards the hall. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Yes, Commander.” She saluted playfully and he glared at her before turning towards the door.

A few minutes later, Ronnie was out the door and locking it behind her. She dropped the key in the old metal letterbox still screwed into the drab tan siding so their landlord could pick it up later. She looked at the place one last time. Took in the flowers she had planted herself that were just coming back up for their second season. Took in the chipped paint on the door that drove Jake insane because he couldn’t just repaint and seal it himself (Yeah, I know the landlord’s supposed to do it, but I know how, Ronnie!). She put her hand to the doorframe with an affectionate smile.

“Bye, house,” she whispered before turning and going down the front steps.

Jake stood by the moving truck talking to his brother Darren and his two teenage boys. Ronnie was immensely appreciative that he could take leave and help them get moved. Darren was the only one of Jake’s brothers that she had met so far. He lived in DC, worked in administration at Naval District Washington. Jake joked about him being a Yeoman a lot, but Darren just took it in stride. He was quiet but kind, a sternness about him that really only came with experience. And he loved his little brother a lot. Not to mention, he was attractive. Clean cut jaw and those Seresin green eyes. Ronnie had to wonder if Jake just came from a family of models turned Navy men.

“There she is!” one of Darren’s sons, Isaiah, cheered as Ronnie came down the last step. The other one, Harvey, just stood there and blushed crimson at his brother’s antics. “There’s that hot mama!”

“Dude,” Jake warned his nephew with one hand up in question.

“What? I love it when eighteen-year-olds call me hot mama,” Ronnie said as she wrapped an arm around Jake’s waist. “I’m hot and I’m gonna be a mama — it’s just facts, babe.”

“Yeah, it’s just facts, babe,” Isaiah butted in.

“Whatever, can we just go, please?” Jake gestured towards the car.

“Yep, it’s a long drive, we better get goin’,” Darren groaned, stretching out his back as he pulled the moving truck keys from his pocket.

Ronnie put a hand to his elbow with a smile. “Thanks for doing this again. Be safe, okay? Call if you need anything.”

“Happy to help,” Darren replied.

“See you in Texas, hot mama!” Isaiah called out, already having climbed into the front of the truck with Harvey still blushing crimson.

Ronnie laughed, head thrown back and a hand on her hip. When she turned, Jake was standing on her side of the car holding the door open, looking slightly grumpy. He got rid of his Corvette a long time ago, albeit mournfully. He really loved that car. But it wasn’t a family car. Now he drove around proudly in a Subaru with a large trunk and enough backseat space for at least two carseats. Something he liked to remind Ronnie about constantly. She shook her head as she approached him.

“Why are you pouting?” she asked, only slightly mocking, as she came to a stop — the car door sandwiched between them.

“‘Cause…” When he spoke again it was quiet, delivered with a shrug. “‘Cause you’re my hot mama.”

“Oh, babe,” she laughed, taking his face in her hands and bringing him down for a soft kiss. “Of course I’m your hot mama. Wouldn’t be one without you, so…”

Jake chuckled against her lips before kissing her again. Slow and sweet and filled with so much joy. Then the moving truck’s horn went off and Ronnie nearly jumped out of her skin. The couple turned, and Isaiah was falling back into the passenger seat with a cackle. Jake just flipped him the bird, which earned him a quieter honk from Darren, before giving his wife one last peck at the corner of her mouth.

“Come on.” Jake nodded his head for her to climb inside the car.

And she did, settling into the seat and already getting out a packet of chips to munch on. Jake joined her in the driver’s seat soon enough. And then they were off. Towards a new life, a new home, a new adventure. Ronnie’s breath sighed from her like soft summer rain as she looked over her shoulder at the house one last time, watched it disappear from view as they turned onto the main road. Jake took her hand and gave it a squeeze, reassuring and empowering.

With Jake, she was home. She was loved. She was powerful. She could do anything with him by her side. Even live a life better than anything she could have ever imagined.

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 1 year

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the echo universe: | a werewolf au | (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: After they drop Noah off with Mickey and Reuben, the Red Sky Alpha comes home to nest for his mate.

Pairing: Werewolf!Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 916

Warnings: pregnancy stuff, made-up werewolf lore, nesting and snuggling and FLUFF

✎……likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better!

✎……masterlist on pinned

✎……this is like a direct side-quel to this because i couldn't stop thinking about this concept

As soon as they were back inside the cabin, Jake led Ronnie over to the couch and propped her feet up on the ottoman. Setting her up with a snack and a drink and the remote in case she wanted to watch anything. She laughed as she watched him fuss, rubbing patterns into her rounded belly to try and sooth the pup within.

Once he handed her the chips and salsa that she didn’t really ask for, he looked at her expectantly — practically bouncing in place.

“Go nest, my Alpha,” she told him with a chuckle.

Jake quickly bent down to press a kiss to her forehead before bolting back to their bedroom.

She remembered him getting like this when she entered her last few weeks of pregnancy with Noah. The beast within him filling him with this desire to make her as comfortable as possible as she prepared to give birth. He couldn’t even help it. One morning she just woke up to him surrounding her in pillows and blankets and he looked at her like he had been caught.

I don’t know why, he had said, still knelt by the bed with a pillow in hand. But this just feels right.

She explained what was happening with a gentle hand, watching him continue to search for more blankets and arranging things this way and that. How when the time of the pup’s arrival approached, the parent wolves would nest to prepare for whelping. To keep mother and pup warm and safe from any dangers. Some instinct from a bygone era when werewolves were living in the wild places of the world.

As a human, Ronnie didn’t feel the urge. No matter how much she wanted to help, she knew she would just get in the way. So there she sat, half watching some documentary about ancient Egypt and mindlessly eating chips. While out of the corner of her eye she saw her mate digging through the closets for more blankets and picking the pillows off the couch one by one.

The pup inside her shifted, and she pushed a hand beneath her shirt to touch her skin directly. Instantly calming him down.

“Daddy’s almost done, little pup, just you wait. Then you and me are gonna be real comfortable,” she spoke to her belly softly.

An hour after they came home, Jake finally came back out to the living room with an anxious look on his face. Ronnie found the expression endearing as she turned off the TV to give him her full attention.

“I think it’s done,” he said, pushing a hand through his golden hair.

She held her arms out to him with a smile. “Take me there, my Alpha.”

Jake lifted her into his arms with ease. Her arms dangling around his neck as she rested her cheek against his chest, felt his heart beat right against her ear. Once back in their bedroom, he set her down gently to sit at the end of the bed.

The bed that was now covered in a thick layer of blankets and pillows. All of it piled up towards the edges to make a nice concave shape. Ronnie admired for a moment, taking in his hard work and dedication to her comfort. Then she looked back up at Jake with a smile.

“It’s perfect, Jay,” she said honestly.

The corner of his mouth ticked up in a grin, all anxiousness gone at her approval. Then, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear he said, “Let’s get you into something more comfortable, yeah, little one?”

“I’m pretty comfortable right now,” she replied, looking down at her sweater and maternity leggings.

“I know that’s not what you really wanna be wearing.”

She groaned at the thought, instantly reaching for him to help her up from the bed. “Yeah — that sounds nice.”

Jake chuckled as he took hold of her forearm and acted as an anchor as she lifted herself up. He already had the clothes laying out on their dresser. An old pair of his boxers and a comfortable bralet. After helping her out of her day clothes, he pulled the boxers up her legs while she tugged on the bra. Stopping once they were snug around her hips to kiss the side of her belly.

“God, that’s the stuff,” she sighed, head tilted back towards the ceiling as she scratched at her bare skin.

“Come on, little one,” Jake laughed, nodding back towards the bed and the nest he had worked so hard on.

Ronnie crawled in and laid on her side in the center of the large nest. A pillow already waiting for her head and to support her bump. She sunk into it instantly, feeling completely held and completely comfortable. A noise like a purr echoed in her throat as her eyes slipped shut, legs rubbing together happily.

“Comfortable? Warm?” he questioned, still stationed at the foot of the bed.

She peeled her eyes open to squint at him with a smile. “Not quite.”

“What do you need?”

He looked ready to run halfway across the world for her.

“Just you,” she answered.

Jake huffed, hands on his hips. But he was quick to relent as he stripped off his shirt and pants and joined her in the nest. He curled up right behind her, his chest flush with her back — legs tangled together as he cradled her swollen belly in his hand. The pup pressing into his palm happily.

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#oc: ronnie bradshaw #fic: the echo (or the answer)#fd: top gun #werewolf au #werewolf!jake #werewolf!hangman #alpha!jake #alpha!hangman #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #hangman #jake hangman seresin imagine #jake seresin imagine #hangman imagine #jake hangman seresin x oc #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #jake seresin x ronnie bradshaw #type: drabble

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 1 year

Note

"Well, we're offically a family now." Normal au

this ended up being slightly to the right of pregnancy cause it's post Maisie being born but the scene just felt too cute not to lol

|| prompt list ||

prompt: "Well, we're officially a family now."

au: regular

word count: 1104

warnings: hospital mention, breastfeeding stuff, girl dad jake at full force

It was dark outside the hospital now, but Jake wasn’t entirely sure what time it was. And he didn’t even care. The thought made him chuckle as he sat back in the rocking chair. First time in his life he didn’t know the time and didn’t really know what was going to happen next — and he was completely content. He would stay right there in that moment forever if the world allowed it.

In that moment right then with his wife fast asleep and his newborn baby girl sleeping in the bassinet beside her.

Nothing else mattered besides that. Not the Navy, not flying, not his career that once seemed like the most important thing in the world. It wasn’t. There were more important things.

Jake wiped at his face. He felt tired, the kind that made tears build at the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t want to miss anything. Didn’t want to miss the way that red cheeked baby looked in that hospital issue bassinet. Swaddled tight in that white blanket dotted with suns and pink little beanie on her head.

Maisie Carole Grace — already so loved.

The privacy curtain was drawn back gently. Nurse Taylor smiled as she looked around for who was awake, and her smile widened when she spotted Jake sitting in the rocker.

“Hey, Mr. Seresin. I’m gonna have to wake mama and baby up to try breastfeeding one more time.”

Jake nodded as he got to his feet. “I’ll get Ronnie.”

He crossed the room to the hospital bed while Taylor went around to get Maisie out of her swaddle. Jake smiled softly as he cupped Ronnie’s cheek. She had only been asleep for maybe thirty minutes, and even in sleep he could see she was exhausted. But getting Maisie to latch was important, and when they tried just a few hours ago the newborn had been stubborn, so they needed to try again.

“Hey, darlin’,” he spoke gently and she instantly stirred, nuzzling into his hand with a small noise of protest. “M’sorry, I know. But Nurse Taylor’s back.”

Ronnie opened her eyes as she nodded. Brown irises rimmed red as she sat up a bit straighter. Jake retracted his hand to help get the sleep shirt they brought in the go-bag up and over her head. With Nurse Taylor, Maisie started to cry loudly at being so rudely awoken. Now unswaddled as Taylor lifted her from the bassinet. Ronnie whimpered as her breasts started to leak.

“Alright, here we go,” Taylor said as she placed Maisie in her mother’s arms. “And after this we can do some skin-to-skin time with Dad, huh?”

Jake couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect. A grin stretching his features as he watched Taylor coach Ronnie through the latching process for the third time. He could tell Ronnie was starting to get frustrated, as Maisie squirmed and seemed to purposefully avoid her mother’s nipple all together. She sniffed, glancing up at Jake with tears brimming her eyes as she continued to do everything Taylor was telling her to. Except it just wasn’t happening.

Placing his hand on the back of her neck, he gave it a gentle squeeze. Ronnie looked up at him just as her first tear slipped down her cheek.

“S’okay, take a deep breath,” he told her in a hushed whisper and she nodded.

She sucked in deep, her chest expanding, and then she let it out slow. Then she tried one last time, nudging her breast lightly against Maisie’s parted lips. And then the newborn latched, cries dying in her throat as she began to suckle and paw at Ronnie’s chest.

“Oh,” Ronnie gasped, smile wide as she brushed her thumb over Maisie’s head of blonde hair. “There you go, Maisie babe. God, that feels fuckin’ weird.”

Nurse Taylor laughed. “Yeah, feels different from the pump, huh?”

Ronnie agreed with a nod. Then she looked up at Jake with that same wide grin and he smiled, all warmth and love, back at her. His girls. His loves. He leaned in close and kissed the side of Ronnie’s head as he whispered his praises.

Once Maisie had drunk her fill, Nurse Taylor took back the newborn and looked up at Jake.

“Alright, Dad, if you wanna take off your shirt and have a seat,” she said, nodding towards the rocking chair he was in earlier.

Jake was quick to pull his shirt up and over his head, throwing in the direction of their go-bag without really looking. He noticed, as he strode across the room to sit down, Nurse Taylor look over her shoulder and give Ronnie an approving look. His wife just laughed, and Jake couldn’t help but smirk to himself.

But the expression was quickly wiped from his face as Nurse Taylor laid Maisie down on his chest — draping the sun blanket over them both. She told him how to support her bottom and to lean back in the rocker just a bit. Maisie felt so small laying against him like that. He could fit her in one arm, carry her around like a football. And she was warm, nuzzling her face into his chest. When he looked down, he watched as her tiny hand wrapped around the chain of his dogtags. He smiled through the tears that blurred his vision as he kissed the top of her head.

His little girl. His Maisie Carole Grace.

He didn’t know what time it was. He didn’t know what was going to happen next. But he loved his daughter. He wanted the world for her. He wanted to do right by her. And he knew he was going to screw up, he was only human. But he was going to try his hardest to be everything she needed him to be.

When he looked up, Nurse Taylor was gone. He didn’t even realize she had left the room. And Ronnie was sitting up in bed with her phone camera pointed at him. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she quickly tucked it away with a guilty look on her face.

“S’too sweet a moment not to,” she said, “At least I’m not your mom telling you to smile.”

“Yeah, there’ll be plenty of that tomorrow,” he chuckled lightly, then he looked back down at Maisie with reverence and awe reserved for things most precious in this world. “Well…Guess we’re officially a family now, huh?”

“Hmm, guess so,” Ronnie sighed.

Jake told her to go back to sleep, and he held Maisie against his chest until the sun began to stream in through the windows.

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#annie answers #christel my beloved #writing prompt #oc: ronnie bradshaw #fic: come over here and overwhelm me #fic: what happens in texas stays in texas #fd: top gun #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #hangman #jake hangman seresin x oc #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #jake hangman seresin imagine #jake seresin imagine #hangman imagine #jake seresin x ronnie bradshaw

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

Come Over Here and Overwhelm Me: bradshaws (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Since seeing his sister Ronnie at The Hard Deck, Rooster has been trying to build up the courage to talk to her. Their first interaction does not go according to plan.

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 3856

Warnings: protective rooster, angst, kind of an asshole rooster (sorry my boy), arguing, one punch is thrown, description of blood

FOUR | FIVE | SIX

A/N: likes are great but reblogs/comments are even better!

He could still see her face through the back window of The Hard Deck. Half bent over to retrieve her things, eyes red with freshly shed tears. Her dark brown hair, so like his own, was cut shorter than it used to be. With the crease between her brow and the quiver in her lip, it was like she was seeing her worst nightmare.

And maybe she was.

Bradley sighed as he pushed open the doors to the men’s locker room. Most of the other aviators were already present, getting ready for their day of training. He gave a nod and a smile to a few of them as he made a beeline for his locker. Opening the combination lock, he pulled off his jacket and hung it inside.

Over the course of the last week, he had had plenty of opportunities to find her and talk to her. Only problem was that he was too much of a coward to do it. He couldn’t even bring himself to go anywhere near The Hard Deck since that night — afraid he might be spotted. He was convinced that she hated him. If her face when she saw him again after four years was any implication. And he didn’t blame her for her hatred either. Bradley screwed his eyes shut, fingers gripping the door of his locker tight, as his own words came back to haunt him.

They hugged after his graduation ceremony. She told him that mom and dad would be so proud of him — she meant it. Then she smiled up at him, all bright eyed and smiling, and asked him where they were going next.

And he just snapped.

All of his life he had been taking care of Ronnie. He just wanted a break. He just wanted to do his own thing. And it all came out in a tirade that left her crying and the two of them not speaking to each other for four years. Now, years removed, he thought of better things to say. Kinder things to say. And he wished he could take all of those terrible words back but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even bring himself to write her, figuring that she wouldn’t even open it if she saw his name scrawled there.

Bradley shucked off his pants and threw them into the bottom of his locker with a huff — hoping that no one would ask him what was wrong. He could feel their glances, their shared looks with one another, but all of them were distracted once Hangman strutted through the door.

“Damn, Hangman,” Payback said as the blond pilot moved over to his locker, only a few down from Bradley’s. “That’s the fifth time you’ve performed the walk of shame for us. How’s it feel?”

Bradley peeked around the open door of his locker. It was true. Hangman was wearing the exact same clothes he had been when he left base the night before. Now wrinkled from what Bradley could only assume was an evening spent on someone else’s floor. Bradley rolled his eyes.

Hangman stripped off his pants and shirt, changing it out for a clean undershirt from his locker. “Here’s the thing about the walk of shame, Payback…You gotta feel ashamed in order to do it.”

This got the rest of the boys ooooing and aahhhing. Bradley pulled out his flight suit and tugged it up his legs. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Hangman winking at the other men. Clearly he didn’t feel even an iota of shame. It made Bradley roll his eyes again.

A common occurrence when he was anywhere near Hangman.

“You ever gonna tell us who this girl is, man?” Coyote asked from across the room.

For the past week, ever since they got on base, Hangman had been giving them all little hints about who his new bed partner was. Like it was a game they were all unwillfully participating in. The other pilots enjoyed it. Bradley, however, thought it was stupid, but it was kind of impossible not to remember the facts when they were repeated every time the group was in that locker room together. She was a brunette, she lived in Marimar, they met at The Hard Deck. That was all they were allowed to know. And Hangman was absolutely eating up the attention it granted him.

“Since you guys’re the top one-percent of Navy pilots — figured this would be easy for you,” Hangman said.

“Dude, we fly planes for a living, not playing the Bachelor” Omaha replied, squeezing a laugh from the other men in the room. “Is it that mechanic? The grumpy one with the piercings?”

“No — it’s not her!” Bob suddenly said from his spot seated on the bench, voice louder than he intended as he repeated, quieter: “It’s not Ruth.”

Hangman put his hand out to Bob as he finished shrugging on his flight suit. “Easy there, Baby-On-Board. No, it’s not Ruth the mechanic.”

“Is it one of the female aviators?”

“No.”

“One of the on-base nurses?”

“No, she’s not in the military.”

Coyote’s eyebrows shot up his head. Another fact was revealed.

“Then how the hell are we supposed to know who she is!” Fanboy cried, tossing his hands up into the air. “Come on, man, just give us one more hint!”

Hangman relented with a grin. “Okay, okay, fine! She likes to dip her breadsticks…In beer. “

“Oh, that’s disgusting,” Payback said with a scrunched face.

“That’s not even a real hint!” Fanboy wailed.

Bradley looked over at Hangman, and there was something in the way the blond pilot was looking at him that made him pause. There was a challenge behind Hangman’s eyes, like the hint was made specifically for Bradley. Then he remembered: Ronnie liked to dip her breadsticks in beer. An odd habit she picked up in college that she swore was delicious — but disgusted everyone else who tried it. Bradley narrowed his eyes at Hangman, who had already moved on from the conversation to that day’s training.

Could he really be talking about Ronnie? The thought flared something inside Bradley that made his fists clench. No. It couldn’t be her. She knew how much he disliked Hangman — knew what kind of person he was. He remembered well all those nights he snuck off base to her apartment just to rant about how much of a dick he was being. How she would nod along and agree that he was a real jerk. But, God, it would be just like Ronnie to purposefully hookup with Hangman as some form of revenge. Because she knew that in doing so she would really get under Bradley’s skin.

Or would it be? He honestly didn’t know anymore. He didn’t know his own sister anymore. The boiling fury in his veins was replaced by a slow, trudging sadness. His arteries filled with sap. She used to tell him everything. Even the embarrassing stuff that probably should have been kept to herself. He used to know all the boys she liked, what restaurants she wanted to try, what fears were holding her back. Now he knew nothing about her. He only knew a shadow of her.

And maybe he liked keeping her that way. Hoarding that ghost of Ronnie for himself — untainted, a version of her that didn’t hate him and was still as close as could be.

Bradley sighed as he closed his locker and clipped the lock shut. His hands stilled when the work was done, paused midair as his mind slipped. No longer lingering on what was said but what could be said in order to mend what was broken.

Could he really fix things with her? After all this time?

“Hey, Rooster — you okay, man?” Payback asked from the doorway.

Bradley turned, the locker room was empty. Everyone left without him. He straightened out his flight suit and nodded.

“Yeah, m’good.”

God, Hangman could be such a dick.

Bradley stormed out of the hangar with his Hawaiian shirt barely pulled on over his shoulders. He marched over to his parked Bronco and slid into the driver’s seat with a slam of the door and a huff. He vaguely remembered Tsunami, a pretty pilot with kind eyes, asking him if he was okay as he walked past her. He had ignored her just like everyone else who was looking at him with pity in their eyes and apologies forming on their lips before he could even get a word out.

Hangman just had to use his father against him, against Maverick. Bradley couldn’t tell if it was Hangman’s way of getting Maverick’s ego in check or what, but it crossed a universal line that any normal person wouldn’t dare cross. But Hangman was a rare breed.

He felt like he could finally breathe now that he was alone in his car. The summer heat made the interior boiling hot — but he didn’t even mind. It was cleansing in a way. Like he was inside the box of his aircraft. But now that he was alone, really alone, all he wanted to do was talk.

He wanted to talk about Hangman and his stupid face and his stupid attitude. He wanted to talk about seeing Maverick again after all this time. He wanted to talk about being back at TOPGUN. He wanted to talk about his father and all the ways it still hurt. But who could he talk to? Phoenix wouldn’t understand, not really. Tsunami would be kind, compassionate like she always was — but Bradley could barely get up the confidence to say hi to her during training. Maverick wasn’t even on the table despite his understanding.

No, the only person he really wanted to talk to about any of it was Ronnie. The one person he couldn’t talk to. He recalled many times over the past four years when something would happy and he would think I can’t wait to tell Ronnie about this and then immediately a weight would sink in his chest. But that didn’t happen today. Today he felt something pull at his heart, an anxiety, a thrill — he couldn’t quite tell. She was as close as she had ever been in the past four years. She was right down the road even. Now was his chance to talk to her, to reunite with her, to apologize to her.

To maybe even begin to forgive himself.

He circled around once, twice, three times before he finally pulled into the parking lot. He pulled the keys into his palm with shaking hands. He didn’t even get this nervous when he was thousands of feet in the air, patrolling for enemy aircraft. Of the two of them, Ronnie was always the brave one. Running head first into danger and trouble with Bradley struggling to keep up behind her — trying to make sure that she didn’t die in the process.

There were only two cars in the lot. One of them he thought he recognized but he chose to ignore it. Now was not the time. He needed to formulate at least a semblance of what he wanted to say to her.

For the last four years he had been mulling over what he wished he could’ve said instead, what he wanted his apology to be — but now that he was so close to the actual moment, all of those words escaped him.

With one last smack against the steering wheel, he got out of his car and marched up to the bar’s front entrance.

Don’t think, just do — Maverick’s words echoed through his skull as he yanked open the door. The words would come. He memorized them all by heart a long time ago. All there was left to do now was drop them at her feet and hope that she actually listened.

The first thing Bradley noticed was the music that floated through the empty bar. Some gentle seventies tune that filled the crevices of the familiar space that now felt so liminal without another soul there. Then he heard soft laughter — no, giggles, bubbling overtop of the music.

That was Ronnie’s laugh. It was good to know, comforting even, that that one thing hadn’t changed. That she still laughed loud and hard and fully.

Bradley ventured further into the bar, but stopped dead in his tracks when he finally spotted Ronnie.

She wasn’t alone.

She was dancing — with Hangman.

He should have known.

Her hand was curled around the back of his neck, the other held gently in his grasp. His own hand gripped tightly on her waist as he swayed them both to the beat of the music. Something he said, drowned out by the rushing in Bradley’s ears, made Ronnie laugh again. Her head thrown back and a snort or two pushing through her nose. Which only made the two of them laugh more. Then Ronnie’s hand slipped back along the side of Hangman’s neck until her forefinger and thumb latched onto his earlobe. She rubbed it gently, soothingly, as she smiled warmly up at him.

“Mom!” Bradley called from the living room, Carole Bradshaw walked in from the kitchen to find her two children sprawled out on the couch watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

“What, Bee?” she asked.

“Why’s she rubbing my ear?” he looked over at Ronnie sitting beside him.

Their mom smiled. The pair really were a sight. Bradley wore his pajamas to match the program they were watching before bed. And Ronnie, that absolutely rotten two year old, sat beside him with her sippy cup dangling from her mouth. She was already half asleep, brown eyes drooping as they remained locked on the screen. But her little hand was up, fingers rubbing her brother’s earlobe between her forefinger and thumb.

“She does that to calm herself down, Bee. It’s comforting for her. Like when you used to put your thumb in your mouth,” their mom explained as she tried to discreetly grab the disposable camera from the kitchen counter.

“Oh.” Bradley glanced over at his sister again. She was nearly asleep. “So I should stay here then?”

“Only if you want to help her feel calm, baby.”

Carole snapped the picture just as her little boy settled further into the couch. Content to let Ronnie continue to rub his ear. Anything to take care of his baby sister.

Old habits died hard it seemed. It felt like his stomach had dropped right through to the floor. He felt his fists clench at his sides, blunt finger nails digging into his palms. That was his sister, that was their thing. Every night for nearly fifteen years they sat together and she rubbed his earlobe. Bradley was supposed to be her comfort. Her support. And what had he done?

He pushed her away. He left her all alone with no one. Bradley, her own brother, did that to her.

Bradley wanted to punch something. It itched in his knuckles and bunched up his arms. If anything, he wanted to punch himself. But his fellow aviator, who stepped over a line he was never told not to cross, would have to do for now.

“Hangman!” Bradley shouted as he rounded the bar towards the couple. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The instant his voice, loud and clear and filled with intent, rang through the empty space Hangman pulled Ronnie behind him. Like he was ready to take on some attack. But as soon as he saw that it was just Bradley, he relaxed. Ronnie, on the other hand, remained behind him. Her eyes wide and staring at Bradley like he was holding a knife. God, he wanted her to stop looking at him like that. He could see the way she was twisting Hangman’s shirt in her fist. A silent plea.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Rooster? Bar doesn’t open until five,” Hangman replied with a cock of his head, one hand still reached back to hold Ronnie’s waist.

“That’s my sister.”

Ronnie finally looked away from him when he said that. Her eyes focusing instead on the back of Hangman’s shirt.

Hangman looked back at Ronnie then to Bradley with a smirk. “Oh, really? Coulda fooled me — with the way you’ve been treating her.”

“Shut up, Hangman, you don’t know anything about it,” Bradley punched out through gritted teeth. “You guys’ve been sleeping together for what? A week? And you think you know everything?”

“Oh, you don’t think I do?” Hangman challenged as he took a step closer. “I’ve known her a lot longer than you think, Rooster.”

Hangman’s facade cracked for only a moment. But it was enough for Bradley to see that Ronnie meant more to him than just sex. It nearly took Bradley aback, if he wasn’t so angry.

Ronnie tugged at Hangman’s arm gently. She muttered in warning, “Jake…”

But he ignored her, taking yet another step closer.

“You really don’t think she didn’t tell me about how you called her a burden? How you refused to tell her where you were even being stationed after graduation? How you haven’t talked to her in four years?” Hangman came to a stop right in front of Bradley. “What kinda brother does that exactly?”

Bradley rolled his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at his fellow pilot. “You really just wanna piss me off twice in one day, don’t you?”

“Nah, this one you’re doing to yourself, big boy. Cause I didn’t say all that shit — “ Hangman poked him in the chest with a shit eating smirk. “You did.”

It happened so fast, Bradley didn’t even realize what he had done until Hangman was on the floor and his knuckles ached.

“Jake!” Ronnie cried as she dropped to the floor beside him.

She helped him sit up with one of her hands cupping his jaw. His bottom lip was busted wide open, blood trickling down his chin and onto his shirt. Hangman wiped at his face with the back of his hand as he glared up at Bradley, still standing there with wide eyes and throbbing fingers.

Ronnie got Hangman to his feet. Bradley watched as she escorted him to the bar kitchen with a hand on his back. She said something about cleaning himself up, then she marched back out the door with a look like she just might start throwing punches. Her lips were pressed into a thin line. Her eyebrows were furrowed so low her eyes nearly disappeared. It was that same look their mom used to have on her face when she caught them doing something naughty from across the playground. Bradley even felt like he was a little kid in trouble as she stomped up to him with a finger pointed at his face.

“Get out of my bar,” she hissed between her teeth.

The rage and numbness he felt was suddenly overpowered by a joy he couldn’t quite explain. She was talking to him.

He spluttered and gaped at her for a moment before he finally formulated a string of coherent words, “Y-You own this place? Ronnie that’s — “

“Stop talking Rooster,” she said, exasperated, her chest heaving and lip quivering with barely contained rage. “I did what you said and made something of myself. I got a life. Without you. And I certainly don’t need you now — storming in here…Protecting me when I sure as hell don’t need you to. So get out.”

“Ronnie…” Bradley can’t think of where to begin, what to say.

She finally looked him in the face and it felt like his heart was being snapped in half. There were tears brimming her eyes. Her lip no longer quivered with anger, but instead with something he couldn’t quite place. He wanted to reach out to her. Comfort her, like he did for nearly her entire life. He didn’t even notice his hand, the one with reddened knuckles of violence, was reaching out to her until she backed away from him. He withdrew his hand with a flinch of his own.

When she spoke next, her voice was quiet but clear:

“You’re the one who wanted me gone, remember? You’re the one who just wanted that one thing — to not have me holding you back. Well guess what? You got it. And you were right. We were both the better for it. Bradshaws don’t need to stick together after all.” She pointed to the door. “Now get out.”

She waited for him to move first, defiant and steadfast as she kept her hand up. Bradley looked at her for a moment more. Wanting desperately to say something else, to fix this. But there was no fixing it now. He messed up. Again. And he only had himself to blame. With a final sigh, he turned and walked out the door.

Bradley stood there, staring out at the parking lot, the cliff side and the trees across the road. The sun beat down on him hot and heavy. That did not go how he thought it would. He had been hoping for happy tears, a hug, maybe a shared drink and a bit of catching up over what had happened in the past four years. Instead, he punched Hangman in the face and got his ass chewed out for it. He wiped his hands down his face as he groaned.

Why did he have to be such an idiot?

He didn’t want to go back to base. Before he saw anyone else, anyone who might question what was wrong or ask where he went, he needed to clear his head. So instead of heading for his Bronco, he turned and started walking around The Hard Deck to the beach. A good long walk ought to do the trick.

As he rounded the corner of the building, he couldn’t help but look inside the glass french doors. If only just to catch one last glimpse of the sister that was now lost to him forever.

She and Hangman were at the bar. He was sitting on a stool and she was standing between his spread legs, dabbing at his split lip with a rag. But even Bradley could see that her shoulders were shaking, that her lower jaw was ticking with the effort to keep it together. Hangman gently took the rag from her hand and set it on the bartop just as her body curled in on itself — her face scrunched up in what could only be described as agony.

Bradley had to look away for a moment. He did that to her.

When he looked back up, Ronnie was buried in Hangman’s chest, his arms wrapped around her shoulders tight. The blond pilot kissed the top of her head before he was looking out the back doors — directly at Bradley.

The pair shared a look. Not one filled with anger or resentment or even annoyance. It was a look of understanding. The baton had been passed off. It was time for Bradley to move on. He had caused enough heartbreak.

Ronnie was taken care of. And that was all he could hope for.

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

the echo (or the answer) - a werewolf au (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Everything is coming to a head. The tension between the packs is at its peak. And Ronnie meets a strange man on the road.

Pairing: Alpha!Jake Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 5860

Warnings: language, slight fake dating, bradley being an ass again, kidnapping, violence, blood mention, ANGST, mating things, a cliffhanger

FOUR | FIVE | SIX

-> likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better

-> thank you to my werewolf love @blue-aconite for reading this over and talking through it with me

The water turned cold a while ago. Ronnie couldn’t remember how long she had been standing there, staring at the white tile of the shower as her mind slipped away. Her skin was rubbed raw, red, and irritated from how many times she had scrubbed herself down. But still, she could smell Bob’s scent over the coconut — eucalyptus and wet earth.

Something inside her ached. Made her stomach turn and her head pound. Made it impossible to move even though every fiber of her being screamed at her to run — to run to her mate. He was the only relief she would be able to find now. There was no ignoring it, no brief moments to satiate. Until they were reunited and the bond between them was settled, this deep and irrefutable ache would live within her. Would claw at her like a beast desperate to escape its cage. Her soul howling for Jake and Jake only.

She picked up the loofa again and loaded it down with soap. Her skin stung the moment she pressed the coarse material to it. But she had to get Bob’s scent to fade. It only seemed to make everything worse — smelling like him instead of her mate. Jake would kill him if he caught even a lingering hint of Bob’s scent on her. And Ronnie carried far too much gratitude in her heart for what Bob did for her to let that happen.

So she stood under the cold spray of the shower until she was sure she scrubbed off the entire top layer of her skin. Until Bob’s scent was completely gone. Until she thought of what she was going to say to Bradley.

God, what was she going to say to Bradley?

As she dressed, her mind fumbled over some words that didn’t seem tact enough. It was a secret that she couldn’t keep forever. Eventually, it would get out. Bob was terrible at keeping things from anyone, let alone his Alpha who could simply flash his red eyes and Bob would be gushing like a geyser. And if he didn’t get it from Bob, he would see it in Ronnie herself. See the distress, the pain that being away from her mate caused. Even now, as she walked down the stairs, she was fighting a grimace at the way her insides twisted.

She couldn’t stay away from Jake for much longer. If it was this bad for her, it was ten times worse for him. Even as she went about the start of her day, making coffee and breakfast, she didn’t know if she would last another hour let alone until sundown — or worse, another week.

The front door opened and several pairs of booted feet padded inside. Ronnie poked her head out into the hallway from the kitchen where she was cooking eggs — but she immediately ducked back inside. Bradley was there, closely followed by Pete, Bob, and Dylan. His most trusted wolves.

Fuck.

“Ronnie!” Dylan called as he marched down the hallway. “That smells amazing! D’you make enough for me?”

He sauntered into the kitchen with one of his classic lopsided grins, his hat on backward overtop his long blond hair. Ronnie rolled her eyes as she pointed her spatula at the fridge near the doorway.

“If you help me maybe I’ll think about it,” she chuckled.

“What’re you makin’?” Dylan asked as he opened the fridge.

“Egg scramble and avocado toast.”

He groaned, pulling the eggs and bacon out of the fridge that she had just finished putting away. “Ugh, that sounds so good, right now.”

Dylan Kazansky. That bright-eyed, bushy-tailed wolf who just turned eighteen. He was the youngest in the pack, just a pup. A Born Wolf from the legendary Kazansky line. His father, Tom, had been an integral part of Blue River and a true friend to many. Until he got sick two years ago, and no amount of werewolf healing could save him. In a lot of ways, Ronnie saw herself in that young wolf. Just a kid with expectations heavy on his shoulders — desperately trying to fit himself into a mold that wasn’t made for him.

The rest of the men walked into the kitchen then. Pete gave Ronnie a pat on the back as he went by, opting to hover by the dining room table and not occupy any more space in the small room. Bob moved into the kitchen and she stared at him wide-eyed as he stopped directly behind her.

It took everything in her power not to cringe at his proximity, to not slink away from him as he put his hand on her waist. She screwed her eyes shut when he kissed her cheek gently. Her fingers white-knuckled around the spatula she held, continuing to flip the eggs she was cooking despite everything inside her telling her to flee. But he was only trying to help, trying to give her more time. She saw that in the sympathetic pull of his brow behind his glasses.

“Morning,” he whispered to her, loud enough so everyone would hear — so Bradley would hear.

“Morning,” her reply came out through gritted teeth.

Bob kissed her again before drifting away. She sucked in the gasp of relief that wanted to escape her, covering it up with a cough. Glancing over at Bradley leaning in the kitchen doorway, she spotted the fond smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth. The pride that filled his eyes. His strongest Beta and his most beloved sister. In his eyes, it was a match that surely even the Moon Goddess would approve of.

But Ronnie knew better. She nearly wanted to scream it at him but found the strength to keep her mouth shut.

“How about — “ Ronnie scooped up a plate and scraped the finished egg scramble onto it. “We make enough for everybody?”

Pete and Bradley mumbled out their agreement to the idea of a home-cooked breakfast.

“To be clear, this is not what I signed up for.” Dylan huffed as he set the remaining avocados out on the cutting board.

Ronnie was thankful for the distraction. “Oh, really? What did you sign up for, then?”

“You making me breakfast, obviously.” He grinned even as he pulled a knife from the block and began the process of cutting up the avocados.

Bradley squeezed past and into the dining room with everyone else, the three men taking seats at the table. Ronnie sighed in relief now that his eyes weren’t on her. Now that he was caught up in conversation. But without that fear that Bradley brought about in her now, the ache came back ten-fold. That pained pull between her brows reformed and the slight shake of her hands returned. Luckily, Dylan didn’t seem to notice anything as they moved around each other in the kitchen. Him making the toast while she cooked up the rest of the eggs.

Once the food was ready, they ate in relative silence. Sat around the table with coffees and nearly whispered conversations about the day's plans.

Now Dylan could sense that something was off. His blue eyes darted this way and that as he looked around at everyone. Trying to find the source of the weird. It definitely wasn’t his Alpha, who sat there eating his breakfast with a content smile. So maybe it was Pete, his second-in-command, who was observing with a calculated air as he usually was — trying to find the truth. Or it was Bob sitting nearly rigid beside Ronnie with cheeks as pink as cotton candy. Then there was Ronnie herself, sitting there with her fist clenched on top of the table and constantly moving this way and that like she was in pain.

Dylan decided that this was the weirdest thing of all, even though Ronnie had been hoping he would just drop it.

“You okay, Ron?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

“I started my period,” she blurted out without taking a moment to think.

She felt her cheeks burn hot as the wolves around her ducked their heads. Dylan mumbled out an apology. Ronnie shoved her toast in her mouth to keep herself from groaning at her own stupidity. They bought it, for now, unwilling to prod about something like that further, but she knew for a fact that if she were actually on her period they would be able to smell it. Bradley made sure to remind her of that fact every month when they were growing up — shouting from down the hall that it was disgusting. But then he would always bring her chocolate and the rice heating pad fresh from the microwave.

She huffed as she pushed away her plate.

“M’gonna go take an ibuprofen,” she grumbled as she got up from the table.

As she took the stairs two at a time, she thought that maybe taking some painkillers wasn’t such a bad idea. It couldn’t hurt at the very least if it wouldn’t dull the gnawing feeling in her chest. After downing the pills with some water, she sunk down onto the edge of her bed — arms wrapped around her middle in some weak attempt to keep everything inside.

Bending herself in half to double her efforts, the tears came. Childlike and hot and uncontrollable. She couldn’t take much more of this. Surrounded by wolves that were her family but were no longer her pack. Miles and miles away from her mate and her Alpha — the bond between them unsettled and left to fester like an open wound.

“I need Jake,” she whispered into her knees, soft and broken.

Her bedroom door opened. And for a brief, albite idiotic second she thought her Alpha was about to walk through it. She lifted her head instantly, relief flooding her body like salve to itching sores. But then Bob walked inside, shutting the door behind himself quietly, and she curled back into her knees with a groan.

“M’sorry,” he muttered as he walked further inside the room. “Brad told me to come check on you…”

“S’fine,” Ronnie said, voice muffled by her face still pressed into the tops of her thighs.

Bob sat down on the bed but kept his distance. “Sorry about…In the kitchen. He was watching and before we came inside he even asked if I was excited to see you.”

“Bobby, it’s okay.” She righted herself, pushing her hair back away from her face and tucking the strands behind her ears. “I appreciate you keeping my cover for…At least a little longer.”

The thought of doing this any longer, even another minute, felt like being stabbed in the gut.

“Is — Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked as he watched her rise from the bed and begin to pace, a new type of ache forming in her legs — like her body was begging her to just run.

“Mm, no,” she huffed as she rubbed at her thighs. “Do you know anything about settling mate bonds?”

Bob shook his head, but he had some inclination about what it could entail if the blush that bloomed on his cheeks was any indication.

“Long story short, there’s nothing anyone can do except Jake. Even if he was just close by…That would be better than this. I need to tell Brad today. I can’t do this much longer.”

“I can sense it,” Bob said, his blush deepening to rosy red and down his neck. “It’s-It’s subtle but your body’s putting off something…Like you’re calling for him.”

Ronnie tilted her head towards the ceiling, eyes screwed shut. Of course. It made total sense. Everything inside her screamed for Jake, for her Alpha, for her mate. It only made sense that there would be some pheromone, some signal, coming off of her to pull Jake in. To call him to her so the bond could be settled. In the back of her mind, she made a note to write that down in her book as she had never seen this made mentioned anywhere before.

But at the forefront of her mind was the fact that sooner, rather than later, Jake was going to break. He was going to come find her — no longer able to ignore her body’s natural call for him. And Bob wouldn’t be the only one able to detect it. Sooner or later, someone else would pick up on it.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

Bob fidgeted with his glasses for a second, before huffing to himself and saying, “Y-You should tell Bradley before sundown.”

“Why?” Ronnie narrowed her eyes at him.

“God, he’s gonna kill me.” He shifted on the bed so he faced her completely, pushing up his glasses in the process. “Look, we had a pack meeting this morning — “

That stung. Pain on top of pain. She didn’t even know. No one thought to tell her. Bradley didn’t think to tell her, invite her, include her. Only bringing to light what she confessed to him just days earlier in the pack house. Understanding stood resolute in her heart. Ronnie may have been a Bradshaw, may have been a part of a legacy that she tried desperately to cling to, but at the end of the day, she was still only human. She was still only Bradley’s little sister. She was still nothing but the weakest link. She was always going to be an outsider, always going to never fully understand. No matter how much she helped. No matter how much she wanted it.

With Jake, with Red Sky, all of that was different. With them, she may have been only human, but she was also their Luna. Their Alpha’s love and support and help. With Red Sky, she belonged. With Red Sky, she got what she never could with her own family.

“Brad could smell your Red Sky Alpha from outside. He — He just thinks that he was around the house or something. But…But he said that tonight we’re gonna go to the hostel where their pack is staying and…And make the message to stay away crystal clear.”

Ronnie’s stomach dropped. Her knees buckled as she teetered for balance. No, no, no, no.

She didn’t think, couldn’t, before she bolted through the door and down the stairs. Her mind only alight with thoughts of keeping her pack safe, of keeping her promise to them. Bradley, Pete, and Dylan were still sitting around the dining room table laughing at something when she stormed in.

“You’re going to attack Red Sky? Again?” she demanded as she stared Bradley down, her teeth grinding together to keep the rest of what she wanted to scream at bay.

Stay away from my pack.

“Ugh, Bob,” Brad groaned as the Beta came into the room after her looking sheepish. “Don’t worry about it, Ronnie.”

“Yes, I’m gonna worry about it! That Alpha wasn’t even here! Bob would’ve sensed it if he was,” she argued, “I just don’t want you doing something senseless without taking a moment to think.”

Pete butted in with a calm demeanor. “No, Ron, we’ve thought it over. Brad smelled that Alpha — here — and we don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“Plus, Bobby Boy was apparently a little distracted when that Alpha was around.” Dylan wiggled his eyebrows at the other wolf and Ronnie seethed.

“That other pack is small, weak, you’ve made your point clear enough,” she went on, ignoring Dylan’s comment completely.

“Clearly I haven’t!” Bradley raised his voice and Ronnie flinched back. “If he’s still stalking around our places and going anywhere near you!”

“Ronnie, Brad’s made his decision as Alpha,” Pete said with a type of finality that made her blood boil.

“No — clearly he’s not acting like an Alpha because the only thing he’s thinking about is himself! Clearly, he’s just acting like an insecure hothead who feels threatened by a pack of seven wolves — when his own stands strong at sixteen! He wasn’t here. You’re just telling yourself that as some excuse to show your power.”

Bradley shot up from the table, chair falling back behind him with a clatter. Ronnie stepped back, mouth downturned in a near snarl, as she watched him flash his red eyes at her.

There was no fear now. She leaned in closer, voice unwavering and full of power, “That shit doesn’t work on me.”

Then, she suddenly remembered that there were other people in the room. Dylan sat there with his mouth hanging open, eyebrows raised as he stared at her. Pete didn’t betray a single hint of emotion, but he was watching her like a predator does its prey. Waiting for the patterns to make themselves known, waiting for the weakest parts of herself to break free for him to grab ahold of. And Pete must have found it as she turned from the room and walked away.

She marched to the front door, stopping only briefly to yank on her boots and pull a warm fleece over her head. The only thoughts in her head get out, get out, get out. Get away from Bradley and his anger. Get away from her fear of the truth. Get away from Bob and his kind heart. Get away from everything just so she could breathe. So she could think. Think past the ache in her soul and try to redeem her entire life.

Her past in Blue River and her future with Red Sky.

How could she possibly save it all when she felt crushed beneath the weight of it too?

Pete had followed her into the entryway. With her hand wrapped around the door handle, Ronnie paused at the sound of his quiet footfalls.

“You should tell him,” he said, with that stern gentleness only a father could have.

Ronnie turned to look at him with a downturned mouth, hand still ready to pull open the door. “Tell him what?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I’ve had my guess for a while now, but…Brad smelling him here last night? You sneaking off into the woods during a full moon? The way you’re acting today? Ronnie. I know.”

He took a gentle step forward and Ronnie tensed, her entire face pinched in some effort to keep everything at bay.

Oh, God. Oh, no. He knew. Ice, like the great frosts that would leave Marnmouth in deadlock for days at a time, stole over her very veins. Tears, uncontrollable, fell down her cheeks. He knew about Jake. He knew about the mating. He knew that she accepted it. He knew that she betrayed everything and everyone just to selfishly be with the one hand-picked for her by a goddess of blessings and curses.

She glanced towards the inside of the house, praying that no one was listening in. Pete noticed her worry with a shake of his head. “Bob took everyone out back to cool off. It’s okay.”

“And do you hate me?” she finally whispered, voice trembling.

“No, no — God, no.” He pulled her into a hug as she shuddered, gasped like a man revived. “I could never hate you, sweet girl. But you need to tell your brother before he goes after Red Sky.”

Ronnie collapsed against him, let his arms and his strength hold her up as she buried her face in his shoulder. This was Pete. Her dad’s best friend. One of the last remaining pieces of an entire generation of wolves. And it was in his arms, feeling his comfort and his love, that Ronnie realized just how much she had been wishing her father was there. There to help her, there to guide her, there to tell her that everything was going to be okay even if he didn’t fully understand. But that was the thing about Nick Bradshaw, he always understood. Even when it was hard, even when it went against even himself.

But being held by Pete Mitchell felt like being held by her father. Felt like help, guidance, and understanding.

She took another deep, shuddering breath, fingers fisting the back of his jacket tight. “I’m scared, Pete.”

“I know, I know,” he said before kissing the top of her head, swaying them back and forth. “Bradley may not show it very well at times, and he may need to work on being gentle, but…He loves you more than anything Ronnie. After Nick — it was the first thing he talked with me about. Keeping you safe.”

“And he knows our laws, our traditions, just like you do. He knows that a mating between an Alpha and a Luna is sacred. I have a feeling he may not show it well, but deep down he’ll be happy for you.”

“Are you happy for me?” she muttered into his shoulder.

Pete held her out at arm's length with tears glistening in his blue eyes that he was trying to hold back. It made Ronnie laugh despite herself as she wiped at her reddened cheeks.

Then he said with a sigh, “I’m a little sad. That girl I watched grow up is gonna leave me. But I know that she’s gonna be taken care of — and loved…So there’s nothing more I could ask for.”

Ronnie crashed into him again as the tide to the shore. Fingers clawing at his shoulders in some desperate way to show her appreciation. The ice was thawed, spring had come — sweet relief flooded her veins now. If Pete accepted it, accepted her, then maybe her brother would too. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe her past and her future could still be redeemed.

“Thank you, Pete,” she said softly as she pulled away again.

He brushed back her hair and wiped at her tear-stained cheeks with a small smile. “I know I’m not your father, but…If you ever need me, let me know. You can talk to me.”

Ronnie nodded her head and cleared her throat, hands shoved into the pockets of her fleece.

“I’m just gonna — gonna go for a walk to clear my head.” She pointed her thumb back towards the door. “Try to think of what to say.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” he offered.

“No, I — I think I just need to be alone right now.”

“Okay. Be safe.” He smiled at her before turning away, walking back further into the house.

Ronnie watched him go for a moment. But it was a moment too long, as the doubt and anxiety and Jake clouded her brain. She really needed some fresh air, some space to think.

Even the world seemed to notice that Ronnie’s entire life was hanging in the balance. The sky roiled and rumbled in shades of grey, the sun blotted out in preparation for a downpour. The mountains looming above like shadowed guardians overlooking their charge. She thought the mood of it all fitting as she walked down the road with no real destination in mind. Roaming the streets of the town she knew like the back of her hand.

She walked and thought, mumbling to herself words that could relay to her brother all that she was feeling, all that had happened.

He was going to get angry, there was no doubt about that. She had been hiding and keeping a massive secret from him for weeks. But now she knew, underneath all that anger, was going to be understanding too. As she trekked past the city limits and out onto the main road connecting Marnmouth and Bellmoral, she recalled all those times they talked about how one day they were going to meet their soulmates.

It was before anyone knew Ronnie was fully human. When everyone thought, the full moon after she turned fourteen, she would turn. When she and Bradley would talk excitedly about being werewolves together, one day ruling the pack side by side. Before that full moon came and nothing happened. Before Ronnie screamed, tears streaming down her face, for her father to turn her with the bite. Before she beat his chest with her fists at his refusal to do so. Before Brad couldn’t look her in the eyes for three weeks.

When they were both couldn’t have been closer as brother and sister. Before that distance was created between them that neither of them could control.

He was a werewolf.

And she was just human.

They would sit on the pack house roof and gaze up at the stars. She would ask what he thought his mate would be like. And he would ask her in return. Handsome, kind, funny, good singer — in her head she was definitely thinking about her celebrity boyband crush but that didn’t matter. Because just maybe he was her mate. She didn’t know. Only the Moon Goddess did. She would tell him that would miss him once he had to go live with his mate.

“I’ll miss you too, when your mate comes along. But it’s where we’re supposed to be, right?”

Ronnie hoped he had similar thoughts now as she stared up at the grey sky, legs carrying her further down the road.

Shit. She stopped and looked back behind her. The sign that welcomed people into Marnmouth was no longer visible around the bend in the road. She went out farther than she intended by probably a good mile. Sighing, she turned around and started making her way back toward town.

All of the words weren’t there. But it was enough. It had to be.

The road between Marnmouth and Bellmoral was long, surrounded on either side by dense pine forest. And for now, there wasn’t a car in sight. No one wanted to get out with the impending weather. Ronnie glanced up at the darkened sky, cursing herself for not bringing a jacket or an umbrella or something.

There was a rustling in the woods beside her.

Anyone else would have thought it was just some woodland critter, maybe a bird or a squirrel…

But Ronnie knew better.

It was then that she noticed that the road between the trees was eerily quiet. Like the forest was waiting with bated breath. No birds chirping, no other rustlings or noises heard within the canopy of the trees. There was something out there. Something nature itself knew to hide away from. Ronnie’s heart seized in her chest as she began walking a bit faster. She stared down at her boots, afraid to keep a vigilant eye on whatever could be out there. She knew it wasn’t any wolf from Blue River or Red Sky. This was something else. Something far more sinister.

Something that even the ancient, historied forests of Marnmouth were terrified of.

A bird took flight in the distance and Ronnie jumped. A hand came up to press against where her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She looked towards the source of the noise, wondering what could have caused such a thing.

But when she looked back towards the road that now seemed to stretch infinitely before her, there was a man standing in the center of the road.

Everything felt as white void as she stared wide-eyed at the man. He wore a long, black coat of some kind, a hood pulled low over his face. Like the opposite of the sun, he seemed to sap all the light from the world around them. Casting it all in shadows that stretched and stretched to meet their maker at the center of it all.

Run, a voice inside her screamed.

And so she did. Ronnie turned on her heel and ran — legs pumping beneath her as she swerved into the tree line. She heard a growl, a snarl, and a snap of great teeth. She somehow pushed to run faster as she zig-zagged through the trees, trying to throw whatever that man was off.

The next growl was closer. She could hear the giant paws digging into the ground, stomping and tearing at the earth. In the back of her mind, she thought to scream, call for help — but her lungs burned with the effort to keep her legs moving. Her immediate thoughts only focused on getting away, surviving.

Then something massive, bony, and covered in matted fur collided with her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. The world shifted in shades of brown leaves, grey sky, and dark tree trunks.

And then it was all black.

When Ronnie came to, it was like the world was covered in a thick fog. Everything blurred and shifted at odd angles as she tried to blink it away. Her head swam, thoughts slipping like catching wet soap and dreams only half-remembered.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus one sense at a time. There was something cold and hard beneath her left side. The ground. It smelled like wet earth, rotting leaves, and a freshly put-out fire. She was still in the forest. In a clearing perhaps.

The thought still in the forest confused her for a second as she was finally able to peel open her eyes without the world spinning on its end. Then it all came rushing back to her. The man on the road. The sound of snapping jaws as she ran. Her falling and falling.

Trying to sit up, get her barrings, her skull pounded — like her brain was trying to escape the bone. Then the ache spread to nearly every corner of her being. Four spots on her body screamed in pain as she sat up completely. On her shoulder and hip, and two on her back — each set nearly on top of each other. Like she was pinched between something.

Ronnie put a hand to her shoulder as she leaned back against the tree behind her.

And when her eyes finally focused, snapped into clarity, they brought with it the awful reality that the man from the road was crouched right in front of her.

She jumped back, attempted to scramble further into the great pine tree she leaned against. Let its roots pull her inside the bark to keep her safe. But nothing like that happened as the man grinned something wicked at her.

His hood was down, pooled around his neck — but she knew it was him. It had to be. He was an older man — maybe in his late fifties. His long hair was wispy and grey at the root. His face like leather, pulled taut over sharp, pointed features. His eyes, grey and lifeless, wore deep bags beneath them and were sunk deep into the sockets. The entire left side of his face was mangled with white scar tissue.

“Sorry — about the…” He gestured, fingers and nails long — dirt and blood caked into the cuticles, at her shoulder then around at the small clearing they were in. “Had to get you here somehow.”

Ronnie stared, confused at him for a moment. Then the dots connected, and he seemed to notice as he let out a breathy little laugh and clapped his hands together. He had carried her there in his teeth.

“You know, you know — you should be thanking me. Yeah. You should. ‘Cause, it could’ve been worse. Is all I’m saying. Feeling your soft…Warm flesh between my teeth. Could’ve easily just-just chomped right through ya! Ha!” He sat back on his haunches, arms rested on his knees. “Tasted…Your blood. Bet you taste real sweet — that pure Bradshaw blood. Ah-ah-ah! But I didn’t! I didn’t, so…”

He knew she was a Bradshaw. How did he know she was a Bradshaw?

Ronnie’s voice came out like a croak, rough and dry, as she asked, “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” he asked back, a shout that echoed through the trees. He stood up and began to pace. “Who am I? I meet my mortal enemy and she doesn’t even know who I am! Unbelievable! Ah-ah — mortal. Keyword there.”

Ronnie could only watch as he continued to pace back and forth in front of her. She needed to find a weapon. She needed to get away. Her eyes darted to the ground around her, searching for a rock or even a branch. Just something.

“Oh, wait, key. Now that’s a keyword! Ha! Especially for you, Veronica Bradshaw.” The man suddenly came in close, his face merely inches from her own. “I’ve been working on this plan for six months.”

He counted the points of his plan on his long fingers. “Burn down the forest…Force the packs to be in the same territory…But then you come along.”

He put his large, cold hand to her face and she flinched away from his touch. But he forced her to look up at him, claws digging into her face to keep her right where he wanted.

“The vulnerable, intelligent, brave little sister of Blue River’s Alpha. And I thought, maybe I could use her. But then! Ha-ha! But then, you made the whole thing perfect for me by being the Red Sky Alpha’s mate! It was fate that you would help me take back what’s mine.

“Pulling that tension between the packs until it snapped. And now…I’ve brought you here. Blue River will come once they realize you’re not coming back. And Jake…I bet he can feel your distress — your fear, like a stab to the gut. He’ll — wait. Oh-ho-ho! No! This is my lucky day, isn’t it?”

He shuffled in closer to her, stared directly into her eyes long enough to make her squirm — whimper. Then he sniffed the air around them, took in a great lungful of air before he looked back at her with a massive, nasty grin.

“The bond…Hasn’t been settled yet. I can feel it — festering inside you. You’re calling Jake here without even meaning to. Oh, this couldn’t be more perfect! Thank you, thank you!” He brought his other hand up to cup her face completely, running his fingers through her tangled hair. “I bet you’re causing him so much pain, right now. And soon, he’ll come. He won't be able to resist. And then, your Alphas will kill each other…

“Over you.”

“No!” Ronnie shouted as she tried to squirm away from him.

The man’s eyes flashed white — void of color — as he snapped his fangs at her. He was a werewolf. He was an Omega. His eyes white because he belonged to no pack and answered to no Alpha. Ronnie's chest heaved as she watched his lips pull back into a cruel smile.

“Have you put it together yet? I thought you were supposed to be smart.” He cocked his head to the side.

Her mind raced through everything he had said, every clue he may have dropped. She was his mortal enemy. He set the forest fire. He called Jake by his first name. The scars…Caused by a challenge for power. Take back what was his…

Ronnie’s face drained of all color. Her blood ran as cold as ice. Her insides felt as lead as he released her face — his grin somehow doubling in size as he leaned back on his haunches. She could feel the blood from the freshly formed cuts his claws created well up like tears.

This couldn’t be. He was dead. Jake killed him.

“Jeremiah Bellmoral.”

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

the echo (or the answer) - a werewolf au (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Ronnie needs to make a decision - does she reject Jake as her mate? Or will she accept him despite the consequences?

Pairing: Alpha!Jake Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 9396

Warnings: knife mention, slight love triangle, blood/violence mention, scar description, scent marking, not smut but the lead up so 18+ minors DNI

THREE | FOUR | FIVE

-> likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better!

-> thank you to my werewolf love @blue-aconite for reading this over for me and letting me run ideas by you, you're the best

Ronnie’s sleep that night was unrestful. Her dreams filled with visions of golden wolves, ruby red eyes, and trees rushing past in shades of blue, black, and green. And even when she would wake, staring at her darkened ceiling and praying for some rest, she still saw him. Jake as he hovered over her, held her throat in his hand, as he looked at her like she was the only thing he would ever need but was just out of his reach.

Like a limb lost, and he knew exactly where it was, but he couldn’t get to it.

When she finally couldn’t take it anymore and pulled herself out of bed, it was early. The sun’s edge barely scraped the horizon, grey clouds lined in gold and pink, a low fog clinging to the streets of Marnmouth, the only sound the trill of mourning doves and distant engines as the loggers went off to work.

Dressed in only a sweatshirt and some sleep shorts, Ronnie went downstairs to start up the coffee pot. Caffeine was going to be the only thing getting her through the day without passing out. Exhaustion pulled at the backs of her eyes, dragged her steps till they were sluggish, and forced a yawn past her lips as she entered the kitchen. It was the kind of tired that ached. That nearly made her want to cry.

That also made her blissfully unaware of the bespeckled wolf stretched out on the living room sofa. He was laid back on the cushions, one arm tucked behind his head and one booted foot flat on the hardwood floor. His chest rose and fell evenly, obviously asleep. Baseball cap low over his eyes. But when Ronnie finally registered that he was even there — she yelped.

Bob sat up straight as a pin at the sudden noise, hat falling to the floor and eyes flashing gold before they landed on Ronnie. Standing in the corner of the room with her hand pressed against her chest, now far more awake than she was a second ago.

“Bob!” she all but yelled as she tried to get her rushing heartrate back down. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Brad told me to stay with you,” he grumbled as he took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.

Ronnie huffed. Of course he did. But she couldn’t blame Bob for it. Not when he looked so sweet and bleary eyed, sitting on her couch and looking at her with that soft morning smile. It made something in her heart hurt. Like being pulled in twain as punishment for some sin.

“I was gonna start the coffee.” She pointed towards the kitchen with a sigh. “If you want some.”

Bob rose from the couch, rubbing awkwardly at his jean clad thighs. “Uh, I was actually gonna run down to Main Street for coffee. And maybe one of those breakfast sandwiches you like?”

There was that hurt in her chest again. That tearing. Like someone was squeezing that muscle of life, trying to rip it off her arteries and pull it down into her stomach. Because of course he remembered she liked the breakfast bagels from there. Because of course he would offer to go get them coffee and food. Because of course he would. He was Bob. Kind, sweet, Bob.

Obvious, correct Bob.

“Lemme put on some clothes and I’ll go with you,” Ronnie suggested and he nodded in agreement with a small smile.

Once changed into something more appropriate and hair brushed out, Ronnie found Bob waiting for her at the door. He smiled at her again when she came down the stairs. His hat was back on his head, brown curls peeking out the back. He held open the door as she went out onto the porch. The air was crisp and clean — that Washington chill that always seemed to stick around no matter the season pinking their cheeks. The sky was overcast, light grey clouds blotting out the sun as it rose higher in the sky. A few clouds to the west looked darker than the rest though, a storm rolling in off the sea. Bob walked close, his arm brushing against her own as they started making their way towards Main Street Coffee just three blocks away.

“I — I’m sorry that Brad reprimanded you yesterday,” Ronnie said, “It wasn’t your fault. I just…I don’t know why I did it.”

“S’okay. I know you’ve felt crowded lately. You like to do stuff on your own — I get it.” He shrugged.

Her chin dropped against her chest, eyes focused on her boots as she sighed, “No, it’s not okay. I should have known Brad would freak out. I was being selfish.”

She had to force herself to remember that they were talking about her going on a morning walk rather than the truth. Her staying out all night. Meeting up with Jake. Running with Red Sky. She bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from revealing everything as the guilt gnawed at her insides. As the weight of what she told Jake just before he left yanked on her spine.

“Meet me at the beach tomorrow — I’ll have my decision then.”

It was tomorrow. She didn’t have a decision. But she had to admit to herself that that wasn’t entirely true. She knew what she wanted. But that was different than making a choice that would alter the entire course of her life. Did she reject him as her mate — do the easy, responsible, maybe even correct thing? Or did she accept him — go against everything that everything was telling her? But there were more reasons to fear accepting him now, she knew that. Understood it like a chilled knife pressed to her spine. If she accepted Jake, she would have to tell Bradley. And if she did that, he might go after Red Sky after being so wholly disrespected and challenged.

How could she be so selfish to accept her heart’s desire at the risk of hurting everyone else?

“Ronnie.” In a stroke of boldness that was rare for Bob, he took hold of her hand. Part of her wanted to pull away. “You weren’t being selfish. You’re the least selfish person I know.”

This brought tears to her eyes that she would never be able to explain to him. Right. She wasn’t selfish. And part of being selfless was giving up the things you want for the betterment of others. But the thought wrought something inside her, like a swelling ocean, it’s tides too strong to fight. She looked at Bob for a moment, that soft smile on his lips and his hand squeezing her own gently. Then she looked away, back to the concrete as she blinked her tears away. It was easy. Responsible. Correct. She could make this choice. She had to. Even though it hurt. Even though what should feel right felt so, so wrong.

“Thanks, Bobby.”

Bob didn’t let go of her hand the rest of the way to the cafe, and Ronnie didn’t pull away from him either. Trying to fight the forbidden, wrong feeling that his touch rose in her now.

Bob would be so good to her. He was so good to her. He knew her and she knew him. They understood one another and there was comfort in that. And maybe part of her did like him in that way — or could, eventually. And everyone seemed to like the idea. Ronnie saw the way that Natasha nudged Bob with her elbow as they left the pack house the day before. She understood why Bradley asked him to be with her again today. It would be nice to make everyone happy. To get that one step closer to maybe feeling like a member of the pack.

But Jake.

Jake could be good to her. He was good to her. He knew her and she knew him in a way that neither of them could explain. She didn’t know how he took his coffee or where he liked to get his breakfast sandwiches from but it didn’t matter. They understood one another and there was comfort in that — sanctuary even. And she was already at the line, ready to step over into what could very well be love if she gave it a chance. With Jake there would be no approval. No gentle, teasing nudges or brothers urging them to spend time together. There would only be betrayal in her family’s eyes. But she couldn’t deny that she never felt so whole as when she was with Jake, with Red Sky, even. There was no need to try to belong, no need to inch her way into the inner circle. She was already there.

But she couldn’t bring down more destruction on a pack that was already aching. She just couldn’t.

Bob squeezed her hand one last time before he let go to open the door to the cafe for her. Ronnie didn’t even realize they had made it there until he was nodding at her to go inside first. She smiled at him, if there was a certain sort of sadness in it he didn’t mention it — her mind made up, before she walked through the door.

Ronnie knew what to expect now, and she was ready. There was no need for the revolver she kept stashed under her bed. The only weapon she carried was a silver pocket knife, a family heirloom she had retrieved from a chest in the attic, that she had every intention of only using on herself.

The beach was abandoned, as usual. Salt water and a chilled breeze off the ocean whipping at her face. The sky was dark, ready to burst with fresh rain. She could hear the beginning rumbles of a storm off in the distance over the crashing of wave against rock.

She fiddled with the wooden handle of the knife in her jacket pocket as she walked over towards the rock outcrop that stretched into the water. Her mind was made up. Everything that happened that morning with Bob put a brand on it, set it in stone. The coffee, the accepting silence, the way it was so easy to picture the rest of her mornings just like that. With him. Though it didn’t feel as comfortable as it once did, Ronnie knew that would change the next time she saw him.

It had to.

Pulling the knife out of her pocket, she tapped it lightly against her palm. Drawing blood with a silver blade. It was the only way for Ronnie to reject the mating between herself and Jake. The bond between them would be cut just as her flesh. His urge to be with her gone. The pull from deep within herself no longer a problem. She would be free to continue to live her life in relative peace. Without going against her family, her history, and everything else. It was safer this way. Easier. Jake could find someone else. Someone more equipped to be his Luna. His counterpart in leading his pack. They could go their separate ways and never think about each other ever again.

But she still felt Jake deserved to know. To know that she wasn’t choosing him — that she couldn’t choose him. To know that maybe she would think about him every day for the rest of her life.

She felt him before she saw him. A calm washing over her that she would dearly miss, his scent filling her lungs like a ray of light through dark, stormy clouds. Ronnie turned, and there he was. Coming down the beach with his hands in his jacket pockets. Her heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to stop all together or hammer against her ribcage. A smile tugged at her lips that she didn’t intend to form — a reflexive sort of joy.

Jake looked happy to see her too. Relieved. He looked like he was holding himself back from running to her. His feet picking up speed in the sand the closer he got. He took his hands from his pockets, ready to pull her into him and keep her there.

But then he noticed the knife still clutched in her fingers and he stopped just before he reached her. It was like she had stabbed him with that blade.

“Please.” The word slipped from Ronnie’s lips before she even knew what she was begging for. “Don’t make this harder.”

Jake’s lip curled as he growled, eyes dark. “Is it that wolf you were with yesterday?”

“No! No. He’s not — He’s not the main reason.” Ronnie couldn’t look at him, her brown eyes downcast as she pushed at the sand with her booted foot.

“What is it then?” he asked, taking a step closer to her, she resisted everything in her to meet him halfway. “And don’t give me that bullshit about everyone and everything.”

She looked up at him then. If her eyes could have flashed in some form of power, they would have. Her lips were pulled down in a frown, her lashes stuck together with frustrated tears. Her fingers white knuckled around the knife she wavered on the edge of using now. Dark, nearly raven black hair whipped into her face and she didn’t even care to push it aside. All she could see was Jake and the anger and hurt he betrayed to her — slipped to her like information that would end a war.

“It is everyone! It is everything!” Ronnie finally shouted, tears falling down her cheeks as she raised her hands to gesture wildly at the universe around them. “My brother is the Alpha of Blue River, a pack that has hated yours for literally hundreds of years! I’m a Bradshaw — Blue River is my family, my heritage, it’s who I am. Just because we’re mated doesn’t change any of that. It doesn’t change the fact that this can’t happen. It just can’t.”

Jake stared at her, long and hard for a moment, before he muttered, “What happened to taking it one day at a time?”

“The days ran out.” She shook her head, unable to look at him anymore. “There’s too much at stake. If Brad found out about this he would go after your pack and I can’t…”

“Can’t what?” he asked, taking another step closer.

Ronnie flipped open the knife and held it to her wrist, a warning. He instantly stilled, hands raised like he was approaching a spooked animal. She shifted on her feet as her lip quivered.

“I refuse to be the cause of more Red Sky pain,” she whispered, “Trust me, it’s easier this way. We both get to go back to our lives like nothing ever happened.”

“Ronnie.” The way he said her name made her knees buckle, made her resolve crumble that much further. “I can’t pretend like I never met you. I can’t go back to my life before you.”

“Why not?” The question barely escaped her, afraid to know the answer.

“Because I love you.”

It was a revelation that knocked the wind out of her. Pulled a sob from her mouth as she tilted her head towards the sky. Like it was some prayer whose confessions she didn’t know. This should be a happy moment. Something filled with joy and light and an orchestral swell. But it was none of those things. It was hot tears of frustration, thunder cracking as the first drops of a storm fell, and a knife just about to break skin. Jake came toe to toe with her and this time she had no threats, no words to make him keep his distance.

“I love you,” he repeated it as the rain soaked through his hair, as it threatened to drown out his voice. “I want you — forever. And it’s not just the urge, not the bond, I love you because you’re Ronnie Bradshaw. I don’t care about all the reasons why not. I don’t care that your brother’s the Alpha of Blue River. I don’t care that our packs have hated each other for years. I care about you. Your safety, your happiness, your everything.

“But if being with me isn’t what you want — then I’m willing to let you go. Because all I care about is you.”

Ronnie swallowed the emotion that threatened to drown her with the rain. She readjusted her grip on the knife, looking down at the antique blade like she was finally realizing it was a deadly weapon.

“I-I should do this…”

“But what do you want, Ronnie?” Jake pushed.

“I — “

She couldn’t get it out, even now. Even knowing exactly what it was she wanted but she knew she couldn’t have. Standing on the beach in the rain, she couldn’t say it. It was overwhelming. It was everything and nothing and too much and never enough. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. She wanted to drown in the sea of him forever and swim to some shore that would harbor her. She was sinking. Deeper and deeper into something unknown that clawed at her heart and wrapped itself around her throat. Trapping her in this moment with her mouth hanging open and her lungs unwilling to draw breath.

But Jake.

With green eyes so soft, so full of love they wrote books about, was her shore, her anchor, her solid rock that wouldn’t waver. He was a sea it was a joy to drown in.

He took hold of her wrist, attached to the knife that no longer posed a threat, and pulled her hand away from her flesh. She went easily, like clay before the kiln. His thumb pressed into her tendons and her fingers released the blade, dropping it into the wet sand. Ronnie gasped for air once it was out of her hands. Like it was the very thing that squeezed her lungs, made it hard to breathe. Jake brought her to the surface, brought her out of hiding, forced her to confront all that she was and all that she could be. With him. Together.

It was like she couldn’t say it fast enough.

“I want you,” she said, “I’ve always wanted you.”

Jake growled something low in his throat, a sound of release and desire, before he dove into her. No more pretense, no more waiting, no more uncertainty. Not when all that needed to be said had been and there was nothing left to do but this one final act of devotion.

The way he captured her lips was intense and desperate, nearly knocking her backwards with the force of it. But it was a kiss so easy to melt into. Because it felt right, because it felt like coming home, because it was everything she had been hoping and longing for all of her life. It was coming up for air after the crushing weight of the ocean depths, it was ice on burning flesh, it was release after years and years of pressure. He cupped her face in his massive hands and drew her into him, pressing every inch of him to every inch of her as his lips moved strongly against her own.

There was something between a cry and a breath of relief caught in Ronnie’s chest as she did everything in her power to kiss him back. To try and tell him everything that she felt without words. Her hands slid up his chest, fingers fisting the soaked fabric of his shirt. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip and she whined, soft and broken.

She had nearly forgotten it was raining, a crack of lightening a distant reminder and a warning that neither of them heeded.

Their chests heaved in tandom when they broke apart, lungs desperate for air and burning. He tugged her into him like he was trying to pull her inside himself. Tuck her away in his ribcage so they could never be parted again. And she wanted him to. She wanted to live in his bones, breathe his same air, be awash in his blood. There was no use in fighting it anymore. She was too tired to fight it anymore. She wanted him. All of him. No matter what happened. All there was left to do was fall — be all consumed by him.

“Please don’t leave me again,” he whispered, begged, his face pulled in some broken way that made her heart shatter and come together all at once.

“Not if I can help it,” she replied.

It wasn’t the promise he was looking for. But it was the best she could give. She would have to go home when their time together came to an end. She would have to confront Bradley about what's really been going on. But she didn’t want to think about that right then. Right then was Jake, his hand as it wrapped around the nape of her neck, his thumb as it caressed her cheek, the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked down at her. The steady, reassuring beat of his heart against her hand.

She kissed him again, soft and sweet. A momentary peck filled with gentle smiles and relief soaked chuckles.

“Come on.” He nodded his head back towards the stairs that led up to the road. “Let’s get you out of the rain.”

He took her hand, fingers threaded between her own, before he started jogging towards the stairs. But then Ronnie remembered the knife and she broke away from him. She found it half buried in the wet sand, an accomplished smile adorning her face as she lifted it up and showed it to Jake. Who just looked at her like she was insane.

“It’s a family heirloom!” she explained over the sound of the rolling thunder. “I can’t just leave it!”

Jake shook his head with a smile. “Yes, you really can!”

They laughed as she closed the blade and put it in her pocket. She took back his offered hand, feet sinking in the sand as they trudged their way over to the stairs. The carved stone the stairs were made from was slippery from the rain, and with wet, sand covered shoes, it was easy to fall. But Jake held her up, supported her the entire way to his truck parked on the side of the road.

Inside the truck, it was peaceful. The rain pattered against the metal of the vehicle as Jake started the engine. But it was that kind of peace that simmered with electricty, anticipation. It was over now, the waiting, the longing, the wondering. What did they do now that the choice was made?

“I don’t wanna go home,” Ronnie confessed as she leaned back against the seat, head turned to look at Jake as he pushed his wet hair out of his face.

How could somebody be that damn pretty?

“Then don’t,” he replied, an easy smile pulling at the corners of his mouth that she liked on him.

“Where you gonna take me, then?”

“Uh, Tradewind’s Hostel — where the pack’s staying?” he suggested, uncertainty lacing his tone.

She had met his pack once before. But this was different now. They were in human form, it was daytime, she was coming to them as Jake’s Luna rather than just some girl. This meeting held weight as hard as stone. The pack couldn’t reject her, but they didn’t necessarily have to like her either. This first meeting determined everything. But Jake looked ready, excited, hopeful as he pulled out onto the road. Ronnie reached out and took his hand, pulling it into her lap with a squeeze. She smiled softly.

“I’d like that.”

The drive into town was quiet. But that didn’t matter. Ronnie becoming more and more aware of how wet and heavy her clothes felt. And also more aware of Jake’s hand on her thigh, fingers spread wide to touch as much of her as possible. He kept it there the entire time, fingers digging into the forgiving flesh every once and awhile — almost a reminder to himself. Ronnie understood that, that need to ground himself in this moment. She needed it just as much as him. Without it, this felt like a dream.

The rain blurring the windshield, the sound of it on the roof of the truck, everything that happened that brought them to this moment. It couldn’t be real. None of it could be real. But it was. She was there, with Jake, her hand wrapped around his wrist just to feel his pulse against her fingertips. A dreamy sort of sigh slipped past her lips as she watched him drive. He was trying to concentrate, but he kept glancing over at her, fighting a smile. His hair was darker when it was wet, matched the brown hair of his scruffy beard. She reached out and traced the line of his jaw almost without realizing, watching as the muscle below his temple jumped.

“How do you like your coffee?” she asked quietly.

He answered without question. “Black. Always.”

“Me too,” she hummed as she looked back towards the windshield. “I do like a latte occasionally though.”

“What kind?”

“There’s a shop here that has honey lavender lattes that I love.”

“We’ll have to go sometime.” He squeezed her thigh again.

“Yeah. We will.”

They pulled into the parking lot of Tradewinds Hostel a while later. The hostel was comparable to a long-stay hotel, mostly for out-of-state workers who were only there for the season or backpackers looking for a bit of adventure. Apparently, the Marnmouth government had been kind enough to offer those from Bellmoral who lost their homes during the fire the hostel as a place to stay while their homes were rebuilt. Those Bellmoral residence included every member of Red Sky Pack. It was one of the rare buildings in Marnmouth that Ronnie had never been inside. She hoped it was less dingy on the inside than it was outside.

Jake opened her door for her and helped her down from the truck, his hand never leaving her’s as he lead her towards the front door. Anxiety prickled up her spine the closer they got. What if the pack didn’t like her? It was clear from the night before that they were unsure about her at least. Unsure about the threat she posed as a close member of Blue River, as a Bradshaw. But Jake was with her. They would accept her. She was his mate, his Luna, his counterpart in leading the pack. The weight of that wasn’t lost on her.

He held open the door to the hostel for her and she walked inside first.

It was just as dingy on the inside as the outside. The paint on the walls was faded, the main room smelled like must and years of cigarette smoke. The kitchen didn’t look any better. Appliances from the seventies jammed between yellow tiled countertops and a sink that dripped at a steady beat.

The entirety of Red Sky sat around the dining room table in front of the kitchen. Seven men, most of them young and strong accept for the older man leaning against the kitchen counter. They were playing cards and sipping on coffees. But they all tensed at the sight of her. Smiles turned into thin straight lines and eyes widened in uncertainty. The older wolf picked himself up from the counter with a deep frown. Then Jake walked into the room behind her and they all seemed to relax. Jake put his hand to the small of her back and urged her forward towards the pack.

“So — “ A dark skinned man got up from the table. “You accepted him, huh?”

Jake put his hands on her hips and drew her back into his chest, standing behind her like some ancient guardian sent to watch over her. His presence, his touch, was a comfort in this crucial moment. A Luna meeting her pack for the first time.

“Yes, I did,” Ronnie answered, fighting against the waver in her voice.

The same wolf spoke again. “Your brother gonna attack us again?”

“I don’t think so. He felt threatened, so he let you know your place while you’re still in his territory.” She swallowed thick as she glanced around at the pack, she had never had a group of people pay attention to her so fully. “Keep your heads down and I…I don’t think he will.”

“Would you stop him?” The older wolf asked gruffly, thick arms crossed over broad chest. “If he tried again?”

“Yes.”

She said it without a hint of hesitation, with a certainty that most war generals would envy. It made the majority of the wolves in the pack lift their eyebrows in surprise. A Bradshaw willing to go against Blue River? It didn’t seem possible. But there Ronnie was, a Bradshaw, standing before them no longer as a member of Blue River — but as the Luna of Red Sky Pack.

Jake kissed the side of her neck, his smirk felt against her skin, and she leaned back into him. Eyes trained on the wolves who continued to study her. A new found confidence coursing through her veins as a grin of her own ticked up her mouth.

One wolf, a tall black man with a mustache stood up abruptely. His chair scraping against the wood floors.

“God, both of you are dripping all over the place,” he said, making Ronnie glance down at her feet where a decently sized puddle was forming. “Lemme grab you guys some dry clothes.”

He disappeared down the hall after that. The wolf who spoke to her first nodded over to the living room and Jake let go of her hips with a sigh. Ronnie could only assume that was Jake’s second in command wanting to speak with him privately. She watched him go for a moment, some of that confidence she felt just a moment ago going with him.

Another wolf stood up from the table. A shorter man with dark, curly hair. He came up to Ronnie with a smile, ushering her closer to the rest of them.

“That was my mate Reuben.” He pointed towards the hallway. “He’s kinda the mother hen around here. I’m Mickey.”

He held out his hand and Ronnie shook it lightly, her smile light but unsure.

“You guys are mated?” she questioned as she stepped closer to the table where the rest of the pack gathered.

“Yep. Goin’ on three years.”

“Wow,” she chuckled, fighting the urge to pull out her phone and take notes. “Mated Betas are…Kinda rare.”

“They are?” he questioned with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah. Mating usually takes place between an Alpha and a Beta or an Alpha and a human…” She glanced over at Jake standing in the living room. “In some cases. When were you — When did you know you were mated?”

Mickey shrugged. “Almost as soon as I was turned. Reuben was a part of the pack before me, so.”

She was about to ask how he was turned, but then she spotted it. The massive, ridged scar that covered the majority of his neck. He caught her looking at it and he tugged at the collar of his hoodie. She knew what a scar like that had to be from. The marks of the events of a wolf’s turning never fully go away. They stay with them as a reminder of the blessing and the curse. But Mickey’s scar…Those were evidence of an attack. An Alpha that tried to rip his throat out and left him just alive enough to turn. The thought of it made Ronnie’s stomach drop, made bile rise in her throat.

Bellmoral attacked people in order to get more Betas. Something Blue River hadn’t done in hundreds of years. She glanced around at Red Sky, all of them with their heads down now in some way to hide from her. They were all young. Bellmoral chose them for a reason and gave them no choice. It made her stomach turn again to think that Jake most likely had scars like that too. Some evidence of a night of pure terror, of dangling so close to death, of not knowing what was happening or why.

“You sure know a lot about werewolves, kid,” the oldest wolf in the room said, his voice deep and gruff.

He was leaned back against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over one another again. And he was tall, probably the tallest man that Ronnie had ever seen. His hair was grey, wrinkles creating mountains on his forehead and dips around his mouth — half of his face was shrouded in white scar tissue. Not from the events of his turning. No. That was a wound given by his Alpha that could never fully heal. A warning and a reminder not to disobey. From all that she had gathered about Bellmoral, that fit his MO perfectly.

“Had to try to fit in with my family somehow,” she tried to joke, but it came out sadder than she intended.

Just then, Reuben came back into the room holding a small bundle of clothes. He grinned gently as he handed her the stack.

“I’m Reuben, by the way,” he said.

She chuckled. “I know — your mate told me.”

“Ugh, Mickey,” he groaned as he narrowed his mate with a look.

“What? You ran out of the room how I was supposed to not?” Mickey argued with a fond sort of smile.

The pair continued to argue playfully, no real bite behind any of their words. Ronnie looked up at the older wolf with a smile.

“Are they always like this?” she asked him.

“Yes.” He picked himself up off the counter. “It’s annoying as fuck.”

She snorted out a laugh that she tried to cover with a cough. “You got a name?”

He stared at her for a moment, some kind of debate rolling around his slate blue eyes, then he finally muttered, “S’Frank. The bathroom’s that way — first door on the left.”

He pointed down the hall before he turned and walked into the living room. She smiled after him for a moment. He was a wolf who had seen a lot, that much was clear. But underneath that tough exterior was a soft spot that she was now determined to find. No matter how long it took.

Suddenly remembering the state of her clothes, Ronnie went down the hallway and into the bathroom Frank pointed out. It was small. With a bathtub coated in rings that couldn’t be scrubbed away and a sink with rusted knobs. Even the mirror had a small crack in the upper right hand corner. Jesus. This place needed an upgrade desperately.

She set the stack of dry clothes down on the sink, taking inventory of what she was given. A pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt that was much too big for her, and a pair of socks. She knew instantly whose they were, the smell of citrus and bonfires clinging to the fabric like he was still wearing them. They were Jake’s clothes. The idea of it made her grin as she began to peel off her wet things. She had to roll up the legs of the sweatpants a few times in order to get them to fit properly, and the t-shirt she left as it was. Swallowing her whole and surrounding her in Jake’s comforting scent. For a moment, she just stood in the bathroom with her nose shoved under the collar, breathing it in.

Eventually, she stepped back out of the bathroom, wet clothes balled up in her hands — unsure what she was supposed to do with them. Down the hall, Jake was just stepping out of another room. Wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that he plucked at to make sit right on his broad shoulders. A look passed over his face when he saw her standing there in his clothes. Something between hunger and yearning that made Ronnie’s toes curl.

“I’ll go put these in the dryer,” he said as he took her wet clothes out of her hands, then he nodded his head back down the hall. “My room’s that way — wait for me there.”

She nodded her head, fighting the urge to kiss him again before she walked across the wooden floors to the door he just came out of.

His room was small, and it surprised her. It really was more like an overglorified closet. A twin bed shoved in the corner, a nightstand barely able to fit beside it. A skinny table was pushed beneath the small window opposite the door. She was sure there were bigger rooms in the hostel than this. This felt like the room that was always left empty, that was always left as the short straw that someone was unfortunate enough to draw. But he was the Alpha. Surely the pack insisted he have the best room. Then it hit her like the kickback on a shotgun — throwing her entire body off balance. Jake chose this room. Let his pack be more comfortable while he resigned himself to this tiny space.

When he came into the room, shutting the door behind him quietly, she turned to him with a smile — tears lining her vision as she took him in. His hair was lightening by the second as it dried. Green eyes intense but gentle as he took the few steps to get to her.

He cupped her face in his large hand and swiped his thumb across her cheek, catching the first tear that fell. “What’s wrong, little one?”

“You’re a good Alpha,” she whispered, fingers latching onto his wrist.

Jake’s face crumbled, eyebrows buckling under some massive weight and eyes bunching like she just told him some lie that he knew wasn’t true. He pulled her in closer, setting his forehead against her own with a shake of his head.

“No, I’m not,” he muttered quietly — she almost didn’t hear him.

Her brow furrowed as her hands snuck onto his shoulders. “What’re you talking about?”

“I — I’ve been Alpha for six months and…Things have only gotten worse, somehow,” he said, eyes focused on the path of his fingers down the side of her neck. “We have no homes, we’re in another pack’s territory. I just…I feel like I’m letting everyone down.”

Ronnie didn’t know what to say at first. Didn’t know what words would bring him comfort, would make him feel more confident in himself. She barely knew him. But maybe she knew enough.

“I know I’ve only been here for all of two minutes,” she replied slowly, making him chuckle against her cheek. “But I don’t think you’re letting this pack down. Your circumstances are shit, yeah, but…You’re leading this pack honorably.”

He scoffed, self-depricating and bitter. “I haven’t even been able to turn a new Beta.”

“That takes time. If you do it right,” she said, but then she hesitated around her next works, picking them carefully. “I…I saw the scar on Mickey’s neck.”

Jake went stiff under her touch, his eyes slamming shut against some invisible pain. Her hands ghosted over his shoulders, up his neck to hold his face in her hands. Gently cradling his jaw in her palms as he leaned into her touch.

“Show me,” she pleaded in a soft whisper.

His green gaze caught her own for a moment, pain and uncertainty swirling inside like an endless tide. Ronnie nodded at him reassuringly and he sighed. Breaking away from her, he turned and grabbed the back of his t-shirt before pulling it over his head.

She couldn’t help the gasp that she released.

The length of his spine was covered in massive, white, raised scars. Claw marks and teeth, gnashing and tearing — like someone tried to rip out his spine. She couldn’t even imagine the horror that caused such markings, the carnage, the pain. Jake shifted on his feet, strong muscles rippling as he rolled his shoulders.

He started to explain before she even had to ask:

“Bellmoral popped one of my tires on my way home from the yard. Got out to look and there was something in the trees. He chased me into the woods — attacked me. All I can remember is teeth and blood everywhere and pain. And I was so fucking terrified. Woke up two days later in a cave in the woods. Javy carried me there, took care of me. I — I thought I was dead.”

“Jake…” she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.

“I don’t wanna end up like him,” he confessed.

Ronnie shook her head as she stepped closer to her. The muscles in his back jumped as she ran her fingers gently over a few of the scars. The flesh ridged like his own personal mountain range.

“You won’t.”

No hesitation. That certainty like solid steele in her tone forcing him to look over his shoulder at her. She didn’t break eye contact as she pressed her lips to the scars at the base of his neck.

He shuddered, shoulders going lax as she peppered kisses all along those reminders of his blessing and his curse. Of the pain that Bellmoral caused him. She wrapped her arms around his middle, pulled him in close as she dragged her lips across his shoulder blades. His hands found purchase on her forearms as he sighed beneath her affections.

Then she whispered, lips brushing against the back of his neck, “You’re a good Alpha, Jake Seresin.”

He was on her in the next instant. Spun around in her arms with one hand wrapped around her throat, palms so wide she could feel his fingers near her nape. He kissed her hungrily. Her lips easily parted to let him in, his tongue sinking into her mouth with a sigh. Ronnie grabbed at his hips, latched onto something to keep her grounded to this plane of existence.

Turning them, Jake dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling Ronnie down to straddle his lap. Their lips parted as he dragged his kiss to the edge of her mouth, her chin, down the line of her jaw to suckle at a spot below her ear she didn’t even know was sensitive. She gasped, back arching into his chest as her hands held the back of his head.

“My Alpha,” she whispered breathlessly, mindlessly.

Jake growled into her pulse point, into her blood stream. A sound that hollowed her out and left nothing but the aching feeling between her legs. All of this felt burning hot, heightened, every touch and kiss felt a million times over. An Alpha and his Luna coming together at last. He took hold of her hips and dragged her down onto his clothed crotch, letting her feel how much he needed her too. Ronnie threw her head back as she continued to move against him, desperate for that bit of friction.

“Little one,” Jake mouthed into her flesh as his hands slid up her back beneath his own t-shirt. “Fuck.”

With a desperate whine she searched out his lips again. Feverish kisses between panted breath as she rolled her hips in just the right way against his growing erection. She held his face in her hands, chest flush against his own. One large hand snuck around her ribs to palm at her breast and she broke away from him to moan at the feeling.

His teeth scraped the side of her neck. His scent bloomed, overpowered her. For a moment, she just drank it in, let it calm her and lull her as Jake continued to suck and kiss at her throat.

But then she froze. Hands flat on his shoulders as she stared wide eyed at the terrible painting hanging above his bed. There was only one reason his scent would become so powerful so suddenly. The thought of it made her stomach drop as his hands squeezed her thighs.

“Did you just scent mark me?” she asked quietly, hoping and praying it wasn’t true.

Jake went stiff for a moment, then his head dropped into her collar bone. “Shit. Fuck. I didn’t mean to.”

It all barralled into her at once. She had been gone for hours. She accepted Jake as her mate. She was now scent marked by him — his scent overpowering her own and unable to be covered up, even by deer shit. She couldn’t avoid going home forever. Eventually, she would go back.

She was so screwed.

There was a noise coming from the kitchen when she walked through the front door. She knew it wasn’t Bradley. He was still at work. But a fear, primal and overpowering, clawed at her chest as she tried to just sneak up the stairs. Tried to avoid everything for a few more minutes. Tried to gather some words to explain herself.

But she only made it halfway up the stairs before Bob was coming out of the kitchen.

“Uh, your walk was a lot longer than I thought it would be. You okay?” he asked as she watched him, like a deer caught in headlights, come down the hallway towards the entryway.

He froze about halfway there. His brow furrowing low over his eyes as he looked up at her under the bill of his hat. He didn’t look angry — more than anything he just looked confused, frightened even.

“Why do you smell like that Red Sky Alpha?” he asked quietly. He took long, quick strides to get to the bottom of the stairs, his eyes flashing gold as his fists clenched. “Did he try to do something?”

“No!” Ronnie immediately protested, “No — that’s not what happened.”

“Are you hurt? Did he say anything?” Bob insisted as he started up the steps, eyes already searching her for any cuts or bruises.

“I’m fine,” she said, frustrated tears already building in her eyes.

“God, this is all my fault. I should have gone with you. Brad is gonna be so pissed — “

She cut him off with a shout that exploded from her chest, that was ripped from her like a rotten tooth, “We’re mated, Bobby!”

He blinked, surprised. “What?”

“We’re mated — the Red Sky Alpha and me, we’re mated,” she repeated, voice still raised because she could barely hear herself over the ringing in her ears.

It was out in the open. Someone else knew. It was relief and terror all at once.

Bob continued to blink stupidly at her. Mouth dropped open as the gears behind his eyes worked overtime to process what she just told him. And when she couldn’t take it anymore, she dropped down to sit on the stairs. Head in her hands as a sob shook her shoulders. Once it started it was impossible to stop, hot tears streaming down her face and noises of some sort of release and horror coming out of her.

“Well…Shit,” Bob finally muttered as he slid onto the step to sit beside her. “How long’ve you known?”

“Since the moment he walked into the tavern three weeks ago,” she answered.

“And you…You accepted him?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Ronnie barely lifted her head as she sniffed. “M’Sorry, Bobby. I didn’t mean to…I never wanted to lead you on or — or hurt you.”

“No, no, s’okay.” He shook his head, rubbed at his jean clad thighs. Then he smiled a little bit. “Actually, I’m kinda relieved?”

“Really?” she asked, wiping at her wet face.

“Yeah. You’re a good friend, Ronnie, I like you — but just, not like that. I was starting to think that maybe I could. And Brad was pushing and I thought that I should and I don’t know…”

“Oh, Bobby.” She leaned into his shoulder as they both chuckled quietly.

This was what it was like to be with Bob. Comfortable. Easy. An understanding between them that didn’t need to be made mention of with words. A secret for them to share. Acceptance, because he stood there at the fringes too. There was more relief than terror inside her now. Someone knew. Someone in Blue River knew — and he was taking it in stride. Maybe there was some hope that all of this would go over well. But she just had a feeling that it wasn’t.

After a beat, Bob asked her quietly, “What’re you gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, picking herself up off his shoulder. “I am terrified to tell Brad. He already feels threatened with Red Sky here, and I think this’ll only make it worse.”

“You’ll have to tell him sooner rather than later,” he said.

“I know. But I don’t want him to know just yet. I want to come at this with a plan. Red Sky’s been through enough,” she sighed, pushing her hair back from her face.

Bob cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean?”

So she told him everything. Sitting halfway up the steps, whispering like if she said it any louder it would make it all the more terrible. She told him about Bellmoral killing his Betas, attacking people to get new ones, Jake challenging him, killing him to save his pack. Bob didn’t know everything that came with being a werewolf, what was strictly taboo and some of the more complicated traditions, but he knew enough to look like he was going to be sick as Ronnie went on.

“Then the forest fire burnt down all their homes, where most of them work. They had no other choice but to come here and be in Blue River territory,” she said, leaning against the wood railing. “They came into the tavern that night to try and control their first encounter with you.”

“So the other morning, when we found you in the woods…” Bob spoke slowly, mind churning to process it all.

Ronnie cringed. “Yeah, I was out all night. With Red Sky.”

“Did you rub deer shit all over yourself to cover his scent?”

“Yeah,” she chuckled.

“Quick thinking.” Bob hummed, pushed up his glasses. “Don’t think it’ll work again, though.”

“No, it won’t.”

Bob sat up straight, eyes narrowed towards the front door. Ronnie’s stomach dropped with dread, she knew what that meant.

“Brad just pulled into the driveway,” he said.

Then Bob grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs behind him. He pulled her into her room and shut the door behind them. Ronnie paced the length of the room as Bob listened at the door. Hands shoved into her hair and pulling at the root until it hurt. Breaths coming rapid and shallow as she just tried to think about what to do. She reeked of Jake, his scent on her ten times stronger because of the marking. As soon as Brad stepped inside the house he would smell it. Her brown eyes caught on the window and for a second she thought about just climbing out of it and running away.

But Bob, sweet, kind Bob took hold of her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Can you cover up a scent mark with another one?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I’ve never read anything — “

“Do you think it could work though?”

She stared up at him for a moment. It warmed and wounded something deep inside her that he was so willing to help her. But she knew what he was thinking of doing. Marking her himself to cover up Jake’s scent — give her just a bit more time without Bradley knowing the truth. The thought of it alone made a sorrow well up inside her like fresh cement ready to be poured. To be marked by a wolf while she was mated to another, she didn’t even want to think about how that would feel. The guilt, the betrayal, the pain even.

But if it kept her from being found out by Bradley, just for a few more days so she could figure out how to tell him, she had to do it.

“Maybe,” she finally replied.

“Okay, how do you do it?” he asked, the front door opening with a jangling of keys.

Brad’s feet shuffling downstairs forced her heart into her throat, her brain to go fuzzy with panic. “Uh — I don’t know exactly. It has to be done with intent and-and you scrape your teeth on my neck. Do not break skin.”

Bob nodded as she moved her hair over to one shoulder, exposing her still red flesh from where Jake kissed and suckled on her skin. She couldn’t help the whimper that slipped past her lips as Bob lowered his face down to her neck — his hot breath fanning her skin.

“I’m sorry, Ronnie,” he said sincerely.

And she believed him. Bob knew enough about mates to understand that this was difficult for her, that it was also dangerous for him. Ronnie wasn’t free to be claimed, to be marked by any other wolf. She belonged to Jake. Wholly and completely. And Ronnie, on some instinctual level, wanted everyone to know who she belonged to. To let them know that she was off limits, that she belonged.

She had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep in her cry as Bob brushed his teeth over the side of her neck. Over the same spot that Jake had marked her earlier. Brad’s voice echoed downstairs, then his pounding steps as he took the stairs two at a time to get to her room. Slowly, Jake’s scent disappeared and was replaced with Bob’s scent. Eucalyptus and wet earth.

God, she didn’t think that would actually work.

Bob’s lips hovered over her neck, his hand following some instinct as it latched onto her waist. He growled something low in his throat, a noise Ronnie had never heard him make before. A certain type of longing filled his blue eyes now as he drank in the fact that she was covered in his scent.

“Bobby…” she whispered weakly, tears streaming down her face as she pushed at his chest.

Her voice seemed to snap him out of it. He shook his head as he pulled himself away from her. He looked down at her like he forgot she was even there, a pink blush filling in his cheeks.

Then there was a knock at her door, three light raps before it was pushed open and Bradley came inside. Bob turned to face the door with a jump, his skin now flushed a bright shade of red. But he backed up, hid Ronnie’s crying face behind his broad shoulders.

“Hey, you guys in — woah!”

Bradley reared back as he walked further into the room, eyes blinking rapidly as he took in the strength of Bob’s scent. Then he grinned, some cheeky, knowing thing, at the sight of them. Ronnie could barely even look at him around Bob’s form, her tears unstoppable as the last of Jake’s scent vanished completely. She wished she was still wearing his clothes. Bob shifted awkwardly on his feet as he coughed into his fist.

“Uh, we were just…Uh — “ Bob floundered for some excuse like they really needed one.

But it was already clear that Bradley approved. “No, no, you’re good. I’ll just be downstairs makin’ dinner. I’ll call when it’s ready.”

The pair nodded and Bradley left the room with a proud smile on his face. Ronnie choked on the breath she forgot she was holding, something hollow inside her making her want to rip open her ribs. She walked away from Bob, sunk down onto the edge of her bed quietly.

“Ronnie…” he started, taking a small step towards her. “M’sorry. I don’t know — “

“Please just leave,” she said, voice quivering around unshed tears.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Then he left the room, shut the door silently behind him. For three weeks she was able to ignore the ache inside her. That ache, that itch, that need for Jake. But now, curled up on her bed and smelling like some other wolf, she felt it completely.

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

Come Over Here and Overwhelm Me: karaoke by the sea (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: After a gloriously shirtless afternoon of dogfight football, Ronnie joins the aviators for some late-night karaoke.

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 7224

Warnings: so many shirtless men, hangman being cheeky, slight angst if you squint, background rooster x oc (ji-yung "tsunami" minn), the squad being a chaotic mess

FIVE | SIX | SEVEN

A/N: likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better! thank you all for your lovely words so far. it's brought more than one tear to my eye

It was a Tuesday evening, and The Hard Deck was practically empty. Which meant that Ronnie and Penny could sit out on the back deck while they went over the items the bar was running low on in relative peace. They sat down at one of the picnic benches with the sacred liquor binder which stated all their suppliers and costs, and the clipboard that was usually placed behind the bar for the various bartenders to write down when something was getting low.

“Okay, let’s see what we got,” Ronnie sighed as she flicked through the pages of the clipboard.

“Heard that Pete dropped by last week,” Penny said nonchalantly as she opened the binder.

Ronnie looked up at her partner with a furrowed brow and a smile. “Yeah, what a coincidence that he just knew I would be there.”

“He told you didn’t he?” she asked.

“That you told him I was gonna be at the bar? Oh, yeah — it was like the first thing he said when he walked in.”

“Pete,” she groaned with a playful roll of her eyes. Then she got serious. “How’d it go?”

“It went…It went really well, actually. Better than I thought it would,” Ronnie said, tapping on the clipboard lightly.

Penny smiled bright. “Really?”

“Yeah. We even got dinner over the weekend — did some catching up. It was fun.” Ronnie paused as she reached across the table and took Penny’s hand. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

“Now — “ Ronnie put her hands down flat on the table, eyes focused on the clip board. “Jimmy says we’re running low on the Busted Knuckle porter.”

“Ugh, I hate ordering more of the on tap beers. Always a pain in the ass to ship and install,” Penny grumbled as she flipped the binder to the correct page and marked it with a pink stickynote.

“And the Maple Bourban Cream liquor.”

“I’ll order three bottles to stock up.” Penny placed another stickynote as she glanced up at Ronnie. “Have you…Talked to Bradley?”

Ronnie went stiff across from her. Her mind flashed through the memories in quick succession. The way she twisted the back of Jake’s shirt in her fist — a silent plea for him to make Bradley go away. The backswing and solid thump when Bradley punched Jake in the face, sending him flat on his back with a split lip. The raw feeling in her throat from hours of crying. The way Jake spent the night and held her through it all.

“Um — “ Ronnie coughed, trying to get the emotion and threatening tears out of her voice. “Something like that.”

Penny could see from the look on her face that it hadn’t been a good interaction. Ronnie shifted in her seat, eyes turned towards the table but lost somewhere else entirely. Penny sighed a she took her friend’s hand once more.

“What happened?”

Ronnie relaid every detail to her. Jake’s attempt at defending her — defending them. The violence. The harsh words that she knew were true but part of her still wished she could take back. Jake’s comfort despite his own pain. All while still going through all the alcohol that they needed to purchase.

“And we need more gin — we only have three bottles left,” Ronnie said around a sniffle. Then she wiped at her eyes, dragging her fingers down her face with a groan. “That’s it though.”

“For our order or your story?” Penny asked as she placed another stickynote.

“Yes,” Ronnie sighed, head tilted towards the sky.

Penny closed the binder slowly, then she threaded her fingers together on top of it. “Well…I’m trying to think of a bright side to this — but I honestly can’t think of one.”

“Yeah, neither can I,” Ronnie chuckled dryly.

“I mean…Maybe now that the top layer of ice has been broken, it’ll be easier talking to him the next time,” Penny suggested.

Ronnie rolled her eyes as she grumbled, “If there even is a next time.”

“Don’t give up hope, Ron.”

“What do you want me to say, Penny?” Ronnie groaned, feeling frustrated tears pricking at the backs of her eyes. “It’s not like I had any hopes for us in the first place. He was a dick back then, and surprise-surprise he was a dick yesterday too. It’s none of his damn business who I’m seeing. It’s not his job to protect me or defend my honor or whatever the hell he thought he was doing — “

“That’s the thing though…It used to be his job. Wasn’t it?” Penny asked.

She wasn’t wrong. Ronnie used to go to Bradley to save her from everything. When she took pranks too far in high school and other girls on the soccer team wanted revenge. When she got her heart broken by a boy not good enough for her. When she popped a tire on the side of the highway he was the first person she called. When she fell down as a kid and scraped her knee she never yelled for their mom, she always yelled for Bradley to come save her. So should it have really come as a surprise to her when he tried to swoop in and save her from a man he was convinced would treat her poorly? Who he could only assume was taking advantage of her?

No — it shouldn’t have surprised her at all. But still…

“S’not his job anymore though. He gave that up a long time ago.”

A large group of people rounded the back corner of The Hard Deck. Penny leaned over to get a better view of the group while Ronnie turned with a furrowed brow to see what exactly about them had garnered her friend’s attention. Her eyes widened when they did.

It was the top one-percent of TOPGUN graduates, that talented group of flyboys called back for a secret mission. They all sauntered onto the beach, smiling and laughing, shoving each other like rowdy middle school boys — and nearly every single one of them was shirtless. Ronnie had to wonder if they oiled each other up before leaving the parking lot. They were all sunkissed and golden, glistening with sweat and ripped to high-heaven.

Including their instructor — Maverick.

Ronnie looked back over at Penny, who’s eyes were solely focused on her ex-lover. She had to choke back a laugh when the older woman bit her lip as she continued to stare.

“Do you want me to take a picture, Penny?” Ronnie asked with a chuckle.

Penny finally pried her eyes away with an embarrassed smile and a point of her finger. “You — stop.”

Jake jogged over once he noticed Ronnie sitting at the picnic table, a tube of sunscreen in his hand. Ronnie couldn’t help the grin that overtook her face as he waved at her. Jake was just as shirtless as the rest of them. Well built muscles rippling like he was a Baywatch lifeguard. Sunglasses pulled over his eyes. She could practically see him running in slow motion. Ronnie nearly wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it — but the urge quickly died away the closer he got. His chin was still bruised a light shade of purple, his bottom lip scabbed over black in a thick line.

“Oh, who needs a picture now?” Penny grumbled just as Jake got to the table.

Ronnie shot her a quick, playful glare.

“Hey, darlin’, was hopin’ you’d be here.” He greeted her with a kiss on the forehead before he sat down beside her, facing away from the table.

“This is my place of work,” she replied sarcastically. “What’re you guys doing here?”

She glanced out at the beach where several of the pilots were now stretching like they were about to begin a workout. She tried not to notice that several of the aviators were looking over at them and talking amongst themselves — or Bradley with his back decidedly turned to her.

“Maverick has some training exercise for us. Something about team work and moral or whatever.” He fiddled with the sunscreen bottle in his hands.

“Hmm, sounds like something you should pay attention to,” she said.

He opened his mouth like he was about to protest, but when she simply smiled at him with her head cocked to one side, his argument died on his tongue. Jake dropped his chin to his chest with a huff and a grin of his own. The still healing cut on his lip pulled painfully, but luckily it didn’t open again. She was right, as per usual. Part of him wanted to roll his eyes and protest and tell her that he was Jake “Hangman” Seresin — he didn’t need a team and he sure as hell didn’t need any moral. He was all he would ever require. But Jake knew that part of himself wasn’t telling the truth. In some way he always knew that, but historically he pushed it down, kept his guard up. But Ronnie…She somehow broke his guard down and brought out this side of him he thought had died a long time ago.

“I’ll try,” he finally replied, then he turned his back to her. “Can you do my back?”

He held the sunscreen over his shoulder, wiggling it at her suggestively. Ronnie rolled her eyes as she snatched the bottle from him.

“Couldn’t’ve asked someone else to do it? I’m working,” she said even as she squirted a good amount of the lotion into her palm.

He turned his head to look over at Penny, who was flipping through the binder casually, and gave her a wink when she looked up at him. “Hmm, are you though?”

“I am!” she insisted, spreading the sunscreen across both hands. “Whatever — just hold still.”

Ronnie started at his shoulders and worked her way in towards the back of his neck — making sure to get the tips of his ears because she was sure he forgot to get them himself. His skin was already burning hot beneath her touch. The muscles beneath jumped as she moved her hands lower on his back. Ronnie took note of this with a mischievous smirk.

She leaned in close, breath fanning his neck as she whispered, “Something bothering you?”

He flinched beneath her touch as she squeezed his sides. Then he quickly coughed in an attempt to cover it up before he muttered, “No. I’m good.”

“Mm, sounds like it.” She gave the gave the expanse of his back one last pass of her lotioned hands before she patted him on the shoulder blades. “Alright, you’re all done.”

“Thanks, darlin’.” Jake got up from the picnic table.

Then he turned, hand outstretched towards Ronnie. She took his hand hesitantly, unsure of his motives. But his grip around her fingers was reassuring, comforting — even though the grin that he flashed her was nearly devilish. He pulled her into his chest slowly, his hand trailing up her arm to cup the back of her neck gently.

“Are they watching?” he asked quietly, jerking his head back towards the beach.

Ronnie looked over his shoulder with furrowed brows. Sure enough, most of the other aviators were still looking in their direction, hands on their hips, waiting to see what would happen next. She looked back into Jake’s sunglasses covered face with one eyebrow raised. Then it clicked — and she grinned.

“Yeah they are,” she replied.

“Good.”

Suddenly, they were turned to the side, what they were doing on full display. And Jake’s lips were on her’s in the next instant. Even though she anticipated it, the kiss still caught her off guard — the noise of surprise she released caught between their mouths as he kissed her soundly. She leaned into it, pumping up the dramatics because the other pilots were watching. And Jake wanted to put on a show. Her hands slid up his well defined chest as his other hand gripped her hip tight. Jake slipped his tongue into her mouth with no need to pry for access, dipping her back ever so slightly, his firm hold on her keeping her from falling.

She thought she could hear someone groan in annoyance from the beach. Which only made her smile into his lips.

Jake could be such a little shit.

But so could she.

He finally broke away, leaving her panting and slightly dizzy — drunk on the feeling of him. She looked up at him only to see a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Ronnie gave him one of her own as his hand curved around the side of her neck, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

“You’re a real cheeky bastard, Jake Seresin,” she chuckled softly.

“Gotta let’em know who you belong to,” he replied.

Ronnie wanted to retaliate with some snarky response about how she didn’t belong to anyone. But with the way her stomach was fluttering and her heart raced she could barely even think, let alone formulate one of her classic come backs. She belonged to Jake Seresin. And it felt really, really good. Jake seemed to notice this, just like he always did. With a little smirk and his thumb brushing over her bottom lip softly. She couldn’t look him in the face anymore. Instead she focused on her hands still resting on his chest, her fingers fiddling with the dusting of hair found there.

“You could join if you want to,” he said, again tilting his head towards the beach.

“Nope. Sorry.” Ronnie tapped his chest before pulling away from him. “I’ve got a massive order to place.”

Jake noticed the way she glanced wearily towards the water’s edge. To where Rooster was now throwing the football back and forth with Fritz. He doesn’t mention it, but he knows that there are more reasons besides work that she won’t join their game.

But he decided not to push it as he sighed playfully, “God, you’re no fun.”

“God, I have a job,” she answered, mocking his tone, before picking up the binder from the table. She turned back to him with a smile. “Have fun.”

“Hmm, and have fun with that, I guess.” Jake pointed at the binder as he began to back away.

“Oh, I will.”

“Hangman, come on! Let’s go!” someone called.

Jake flashed her one more smile before turning and jogging back to his fellow aviators. Ronnie chuckled with a shake of her head as she watched him go.

The bar was still relatively empty by the time it hit ten o’clock. Not a lot of people wanted to get hammered on a weekday night — not that Ronnie or Penny would allow anyone to go that far anyway. But it did make for a rather boring night of work.

Ronnie stood behind the counter, wiping down the polished wood for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour just to keep herself occupied. Her head bopping along to the tune bleeding from the jukebox. She wondered if she could convince Jimmy to pick up a game of pool with her. He looked just about as bored as she felt, standing by the kitchen door and chatting with Jay on dish.

But then, as if right on cue, the back door to the bar swung open and three young aviators stepped inside. Ronnie smiled at the sight of them — the small pack was led by a grinning Jake Seresin. No longer shirtless, but definitely dressed to impress in a pair of green pants, a white shirt and jean jacket. He looked good.

After their game finished that evening, the pilots went back to base to clean up and take the rest of the day. But it seemed that Jake was able to convince a few to go out for drinks. Ronnie recognized the other two pilots. They were together nearly everywhere they went. She could only assume it was a pilot and his backseater. She mentally went through the list of names that Jake talked about all the time. This had to be Payback and Fanboy. Though which was which she had no idea.

“Hey, Ronnie,” Jake greeted as he slid into the seat right in front of her.

The other two aviators sat down on either side of him, rolling their eyes when Jake and Ronnie leaned across the bar to share a kiss.

“So you’re the infamous Ronnie,” the taller of the two said with a tilt of his head when the couple separated.

“I wouldn’t call myself infamous,” she scoffed with a grin. “But I am pretty great.”

“Jesus — “ The tall one slapped Jake on the back. “Think you found yourself a keeper, Hangman.”

Jake winked at her. “Don’t I know it.”

“Did he tell you about the game?” the other one asked, elbows leaned on the bar.

“No — what game?” Ronnie narrowed her eyes at Jake.

The tips of his ears turned red and she just knew that wasn’t a good sign.

“He’s been trying to get us to guess who you are for the past week! Givin’ us little hints n’ shit.”

“Sounds like something he would do,” Ronnie chuckled as she picked up her rag again and started moving it over the bartop.

“I thought you guys enjoyed it!” Jake defended, his cheeks now turning a subtle shade of pink.

“Not as much as you did, man!”

She laughed with a shake of her head. “So — what do they call you two?”

“I’m Payback.” The taller of the two placed a hand on his chest, then pointed around Jake. “And this is my WSO — Fanboy.”

“Backseater, huh?” Ronnie looked over at Fanboy with a smile. “My dad was a WSO.”

Fanboy sat up a little straighter as he leaned in. “Really? What was his callsign? Maybe I’ll recognize it.”

“Goose.”

The gears seemed to turn behind Payback and Fanboy’s eyes — all while Jake dropped his gaze to the polished wood of the bartop. Fanboy’s mouth popped open in question, his eyebrows furrowing. The team of pilots looked at each other over Jake’s head. They were putting two and two together, slowly but surely. All while Ronne looked back and forth between the two with an expectant look on her face.

She knew that Jake had brought up her father during training the day that Bradley stormed into the bar. She had to practically force him to tell her what happened — twisting his nipple between her fingers harshly while he squealed at her to stop. Obviously she was upset when he finally confessed. He regretted his lack of tact, but he still stood by the point he was trying to make.

But before Fanboy or Payback could say anything, Ronnie stepped in with a smile: “Can I get you guys something to drink?”

“Uh, actually — “ Payback quickly recovered with a wide grin. “Hangman wanted to ask you something.”

Ronnie cocked a brow at him as he looked around at the other two pilots with a face that could only be read as seriously, guys? He rolled his eyes and asked the question anyway, charm turned all the way up and a smirk playing at his lips, “We were wondering if you wanted to join us for karaoke at the place up the road. The rest of the guys are already there.”

“We?” she questioned.

“Mostly me. Only me. Forget these guys.” Jake smiled.

“Hey!” the pair protested.

Ronnie sighed. “I would love to — but I’m still working, technically.”

Penny, having been standing behind Ronnie behind the bar and trying not to eavesdrop, quickly turned and intervened. She slid in beside her partner, making the younger woman jump at her sudden appearance. Penny only grinned in response to Ronnie’s glare.

“No, you’re shift just ended, remember?” Penny said.

“What?” Ronnie looked down at her watch with a furrowed brow. “No, it — “

“Yes, it did,” Penny insisted.

Ronnie let go of the rag she was using to clean and lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay — fine, I’ll go! Jesus!”

“Don’t act like someone’s twisting your arm, Ron,” Penny said as Ronnie came out from the behind the bar. “You love to sing.”

“I remember that too,” Jake said, pulling Ronnie into his side and giving her waist a playful squeeze.

“No, no.” Ronnie pointed a finger at Jake then at Penny. “You two are not allowed to team up to torment me.”

“We’re not doin’ anything, darlin’,” Jake insisted, though the way he was grinning said otherwise.

“Mmhmm — whatever.”

Jake gave Ronnie a peck on the cheek as he slipped his hand into the back pocket of her jeans, steering the two of them towards the back door. Payback and Fanboy followed closely behind.

The Video Saloon Karaoke Bar was kind of a dump. The couches were falling apart, the equipment didn’t work half the time, all of the songs were dated. But it sold alcohol and had either private karaoke lounges or one large stage area that could be rented out. And if you were a young fighter pilot looking for something fun and cheap to do in Marimar? You didn’t have to look much further than The Video Saloon.

It was dimly lit with neon lights, but the raucous upon coming through the front doors was undeniable. Yale and Havard were already on stage in the main room, holding bottles of beer in one hand and microphones in the other, absolutely belting out the lyrics to Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. So it was a day that the equipment decided to work. Ronnie was instantly hit in the face with the smell of sweat and cheap liquor, every step had her feet sticking to the floor, and the annoyed look the front desk clerk flashed them as they walked by confused her. But it was all drowned out by the feeling of Jake’s hand at the base of her spine, leading her over to where the other aviators were already seated.

They all cheered, various drinks raised in the air, once they spotted the four of them approaching. They were all seated on the couches in front of the stage. Three decrepit pieces of furniture situated like a three sided rectangle — leaving one end open towards the stage. She didn’t see Bradley sitting with them. She wondered if he decided to come at all.

“You got her to come!” one of the female pilots shouted in glee as they came up behind one of the couches.

Jake pressed his lips to the shell of her ear before he muttered, “Told you they all wanted to meet you.” Then he pulled away with a grin, his hands loose on her waist as he announced to the group, “Guys this is Ronnie — Ronnie, everybody!”

The female pilot who spoke earlier patted the spot next to her. “Come sit with us!”

Ronnie turned her head to smile back at Jake. “I guess I’m sitting with them.”

“That’s alright.” He kissed her temple softly. “Whaddaya want to drink?”

“I’ll just have a Dr. Pepper, please.”

He kissed her face one more time before he disappeared in the direction of the bar. Ronnie walked around to where the female pilots were sitting along with a quiet looking guy wearing glasses. She sat down between the two women with an awkward smile.

“Natasha,” one of them said, holding out her free hand.

She was a beautiful woman. With long dark hair braided back away from her face and intense brown eyes. Her handshake was firm and concise even in such a casual setting. Ronnie had to appreciate that about her.

“What’s your callsign?” Ronnie asked.

She smirked before she replied, “Phoenix.”

“Oh, that’s dope!” Ronnie yelled over Yale and Harvard’s key change.

“And that’s my backseater — Bob.” Natasha pointed to the man wearing glasses and sipping on a glass of water nervously.

He waved his hand at Ronnie with a small crooked smile. She waved back as she asked, “Is that your callsign or your actual name?”

“B-Both,” he replied.

“And I’m Ji-Yung!” the other woman said with a kind of cheer that Ronnie thought most people faked.

But not this girl. Her grin was wide and genuine as she held her hand out to Ronnie. She was as adorable as her disposition too. Beautiful skin with long, raven black hair nearly down to her waist — almond shaped eyes bright as sunshine. Ronnie took her hand with a smile of her own, a laugh bubbling up her throat when Ji-Yung shook it enthusiastically. Ronnie looked over to Natasha, who seemed to be the more calm one of the group, to see if Ji-Yung was actually being serious. And just by the look Natasha flashed her she knew it to be true. The young pilot was like this literally all the time. And that definitely wasn’t a bad thing.

“My callsign’s Tsunami — cause you don’t even know I’m coming till I’m already on top of you!”

“Baby girl,” Ronnie said as she placed a hand on the aviator’s thigh. “I know we just met but…That sounds like the tagline to your sextape.”

Ronnie could hear Natasha snort into her drink while Ji-Yung just stared at her with wide, innocent eyes.

“Does it?” she asked quietly, then she turned to Bob sitting beside her and asked again, louder, “Does it? I said that to Maverick!”

“I-I mean, kinda,” Bob answered.

“Oh, this is terrible!” Ji-Yung wailed, throwing her face into her knees as Ronnie and Natasha continued to laugh.

Ronnie patted her on the back. “Sorry to ruin that for you.”

Something cold was pressed into the side of Ronnie’s neck, making her coil away in shock and let out a gasp. Then she heard Jake’s laughter from above her head and she rolled her eyes.

“Jake!” she shouted over the noise, Fitz had gone up to do his solo performance of Weak by SWV.

“Your Dr. Pepper, darlin’.” He actually handed her the drink this time, pushing the cold can into her waiting hand.

“Thank you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek for his service before he walked over to join Coyote on the other side of the couch.

Once he was gone, however, Natasha leaned in closer to Ronnie and asked, “Okay, real talk, how did you two like…Happen?”

“Uh, we met when he was in the TOPGUN program four years ago, actually.”

“So you guys have been together a long time? He’s never mentioned you before.”

“No, no.” Ronnie shook her head as she cracked open her drink. “We were a thing for about a year back then. Only been back together for about a week.”

“Aw, how’d you guys meet?” Ji-Yung questioned, her torment seemingly forgotten.

“I was working at the I-Bar as a bartender at the time. Uh, I’m pretty sure he walked up to me and said Are you a magician? It’s the strangest thing, but every time I look at you, everyone else disappears.” The girls, and Bob, broke out into a fit of laughter. “Or something else ridiculously corny like that. I can’t remember exactly because I literally just ignored him and walked away.”

Ji-Yung gasped through her laughter, tears building in the corners of her eyes, “No! Are you serious?”

“Oh, dead serious. He doesn’t give up that easily though, I’ll tell you that.”

Ronnie smiled fondly at the memory now, though back then she nearly wanted to punch Jake in the face for his persistence. But in the end, she was helpless to resist him. Because the majority of her found him charming, exciting, and maybe a bit dangerous. She was never one to have a one night stand with someone — but she could make an exception for the handsome flyboy who was giving her all his attention. She took that young aviator back to her barely unpacked apartment that night and the rest is history.

“God, how can you stand him?” Natasha asked with a cock of her head. “No offence.”

“Nah, I get it. He’s not as bad as he lets you think he is,” Ronnie said before sipping on her soda.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah.” Ronnie smiled at Jake sitting on the couch opposite her. He was sitting there with a drink in hand, laughing with Coyote and Omaha about something. “Beneath that cold, dickish exterior is an absolute teddy bear.”

“I think that is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard someone say about Hangman,” Natasha said.

Everyone burst into a fit of chuckles suitable for a preteen sleepover. But none of them really cared. And from across the way, Jake watched them with a small smile. Jake liked seeing Ronnie like this. It was just another element that she thrived in. Meeting new people, making a lasting impression. She always left a good taste in people’s mouths, something sweet and savory at the same time that left people wanting more. Whereas Jake was also good at leaving an impression, just never one that people seemed to like. Something sour. It was a flavor that people either loved or hated and he was fine with it being that way. It kept his competition at bay and those that threatened to expose him for what he really was, scared and alone, at a distance.

Ronnie made him want something more sweet than sour though.

Fritz stepped down from the stage to uproarious applause from the other pilots. Jake set down his drink and jumped up onto the raised platform after him, taking the mic and smiling out at the chatting crowd.

“Alright, alright,” he said, causing everyone to shush as they focused all their attention on him. “If Ronnie Bradshaw could please come up to the stage.”

“What? I haven’t even picked a song!” she yelled from her spot on the couch.

“I picked one for you!” he replied into the mic.

Jake watched as Ronnie rolled her eyes dramatically but got up from the couch, Natasha and Ji-Yung cheering her on. She ascended the stage and took the mic from Jake’s hand.

“You’re the worst,” she muttered with no weight behind it, her grin giving her away.

“Don’t worry — I picked one of your favorites.” Jake winked as he gave her ass a tap, then he jumped down from the stage and took his place back on the couch.

Ronnie waited patiently for the song to start playing. From the stage she had a better view of the whole main room of The Video Saloon. The bar was through a little hallway to the right and there was a door off the hallway that led out to the bar’s back deck. Then the speakers crackled to life and the first few chords of Man! I Feel Like a Woman! by Shania Twain started to play — and Ronnie had to pull the microphone away from her mouth so she could laugh.

Natasha and Ji-Yung screamed from the small crowd right on cue: “Let’s go girls!”

And when the time came, Ronnie put the microphone to her lips and started to sing. The pilots instantly reacted. They sat up straighter in their seats, clapped, hollered — Coyote even slapped Jake on the back a few times. Penny wasn’t lying when she said that Ronnie loved to sing. It was a talent and a habit picked up from Bradley.

All that time spent behind a piano with him, singing that song that their dad loved, made her voice soft as velvet and her tone clear. Their mom always joked when they were young that they should form a band and travel the country. Bradley could be on piano singing backup while Ronnie would be the front man. The thought now made her smile as she got into her karaoke performance.

About halfway through the song however, when she was dancing along the edge of the stage to the beat, she spotted Bradley standing at the back of the room. He came. Standing at the edge of the space, near the door that led out to the deck, holding a drink in one hand with his other shoved into his pant’s pocket. He watched her sing for a moment, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Then he disappeared through the back door.

Ronnie stopped dancing. In fact, she went completely still on stage as she stared at the door Bradley had just gone through. No one in the crowd seemed to notice, too caught up in the alcohol and the vibes of it all. Except for Jake who stared at her curiously from his spot on the couch.

She was still mad at Bradley. He had acted like a real jerk so many times. But goddamn did she miss him, too. She missed singing with him. She missed dancing around the bench of a piano while he banged on the keys. She missed riding bikes with him. She missed talking with him in one of their bedrooms, sharing secrets and playing hot hands till neither of them could stand it anymore. He wasn’t the hero or the perfect brother that she always made him out to be when they were growing up. He was falable and he didn’t always do the right thing — he let her down when she thought he was incapable of doing so. She should have never thought that about him in the first place. Bradley was just a person, same as her. Imperfect, flawed, and broken.

She wasn’t ready to forgive him just yet. But she was ready to try.

The song finished and Ronnie put the microphone back on the stand. Everyone cheered as she got down from the stage, but she barely paid attention to it. Her main focus was the back door and Bradley on the other side. She snatched up her can of soda as the girls and Bob clapped for her, then she started making her way over. But not before Jake grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

He looked concerned as he pulled her in closer and asked quietly, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she assured with a small smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Jake glanced towards the back door of the bar. He was a highly observant pilot, of course he noticed that Ronnie’s mood change was caused by Bradley making an appearance at the back of the room. And he knew that she was going to go out there and confront him. He squeezed her forearm, trying to show her his support. And when she smiled up at him he knew that she felt it.

“Alright,” he sighed as he released her. “But you’re gonna miss me and Coyote doing It’s Raining Men.”

“Natasha! Please record that for me!” Ronnie called over his shoulder.

“You got it!”

“See you in a minute,” Ronnie said, then she pulled away from Jake completely.

There was a slight breeze coming off the infinitely dark ocean. The stars shown bright in the sky, and the noise from inside was barely audible out on the rickety deck. It was like being wrapped in peace in comparison to the noise inside. Ronnie couldn’t help the relieved sigh that escaped her as soon as she shut the door.

Bradley sat in one of the adarandac chairs, his head of dark brown hair barely visible overtop of the chipping red paint. He looked out at the ocean in silence, a half-empty gin and tonic spinning gently between his fingers. Ronnie stood by the door for a moment, hesitant. She picked at the tab on top of her can of soda.

What if this was a mistake? What if he didn’t want to see her?

No. That couldn’t be true. Just the day before, she noticed the look of relief and joy that passed over his face when she started yelling at him. He wanted to talk to her.

He wanted to try, too.

And that was enough for her.

Ronnie sat down in the chair beside him. He glanced over at her for a moment before he turned his gaze back towards the ocean. It was quiet. But that was okay. The sounds of the ocean and the slight bass of the songs playing inside filled the void just fine. They sat like that for a while — sipping at their drinks and staring out at the water, watching the foam lap at the sandy shore in the poor light of the deck.

Penny was right, again. It was easier to be in Bradley’s presence now that everything was out on the table — now that she had gotten it out of her system. Like poison drawn from a wound. Now all there was left to do was heal.

“So…” Ronnie started, quietly, softly — afraid to break whatever spell had been put over this porch. “What game did you guys play today?”

Simple. Casual. A start.

Bradley seemed hesitant to respond. But when he finally did it was just as quiet, just as unsure: “Uh, Mav called it dogfight football.”

“Sounds like something he’d make up,” she chuckled, now squeezing her empty can to make it pop. “D’you win?”

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Bradley laughed.

A loud, off-key belting from inside the bar caused both of them to jump and turn to look towards the door. Laughter bubbled in Ronnie’s throat before she asked, “Jesus, what is going on in there?”

“Sounds like Fanboy singin’ I Wanna Know What Love Is,” Bradley replied, then he added, “He sings it literally all the time in the showers.”

“Oh, my God,” she chuckled.

“Yeah, I genuinely can’t tell if he thinks no on else is in there or if he’s doing it on purpose to torture us.”

Ronnie leaned across the space between them and hit him on the arm lightly. “We should put our names in for a duet. Bring back the classic duo.”

Bradley stared at her for a moment as she retracted her hand and leaned back in her seat. Oh no. Had she taken it too far? Was the moment ruined? She knew before she said it that it was risky, but she just couldn’t resist. She wanted a piece of what their relationship used to be back. When they would perform in front of whoever would watch just because they thought it was fun.

Then his lips spread in a small grin, mustache bristling, and it felt like a weight lifted off the entire earth.

“God, what’s that song we always used to sing?” he asked, still smiling.

“You mean the one that isn’t Great Balls of Fire?” She laughed when he nodded. “It was What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes — the band that influenced my entire middle school being.”

“Right, right, because you were also not a blonde,” he said.

“Duh.” Ronnie got up from her chair and stretched. “Come on. Let’s go back inside.”

Bradley followed after her. The noise as soon as they opened the door was nearly deafening. Natasha had dragged Bob on stage in order to sing Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper and both of them were getting into it. Ronnie looked over her shoulder at Bradley and laughed at the dramatic performance. Then she spotted Jake in the crowd, standing with Payback and sipping on a water. She waved once he finally noticed her.

“I’ll go put our name on the list,” Bradley said over the din, a hand on her shoulder as he moved past her.

Once he was gone, Jake was quick to take his place at her side. He slung a lazy arm around her shoulder while her own curled around his middle, her head leaned against his chest.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She smiled as she buried her head further into his shirt. “Yeah, everything’s good.”

The pair swayed to the beat of the eighties power ballad, looking out over a sea of slightly drunk fighter pilots. They all looked happy. They all looked like a team. Bradley had taken up Jake’s spot on the couch next to Coyote, content to cheer on his friends as they finished out their song. Though Ronnie couldn’t help but notice him continuously looking across the couches at a certain aviator…

“Okay, who do you think Rooster’s got the hots for?” Jake said as quietly as he could as Natasha and Bob got down from the stage. “He needs to get laid — bad.”

“Got the hots for — what are you, fifty?” she asked, tilting her head up to look at him properly.

He pinched her shoulder playfully. “I think it’s Pheonix. They’re together all the time.”

“Oh, no, it’s not her.” Ronnie took hold of Jake’s hand and pointed it at Ji-Yung. “It’s her.”

“Who? Tsunami?” he questioned.

“Yep.”

“But he never even talks to her!” Jake argued.

“Exactly. That’s how I know,” she explained, tugging his fingers to thread between her own. “If he actually talks to a girl that means he doesn’t like her. He also keeps looking over at Ji-Yung like a lovesick puppy — it’s disgusting.”

Jake was silent for a moment, letting out a huff of defeat. Then he asked, “How does he ever get a girl?”

“Easy. That’s where I come in.”

Jake watched, slightly dumbfounded, as Ronnie pulled away from him and walked up to Ji-Yung. She told Fritz to scoot over and sat down next to the young female aviator. Jake chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets, as he watched the two women talk. He could see Ji-Yung turn a bright shade of pink from there — her eyes locked on Bradley sitting on the couch opposite her. Ronnie looked mischievous, lips pulled in a permanent grin, but she also seemed genuine, encouraging. And by the time she walked away, Ji-Yung was getting up from her seat and walking over to Bradley.

Ronnie had a skip in her step when she rejoined Jake at the back of the room, her hands held behind her back as she smirked at him. Bradley and Ji-Yung were already talking up a storm.

“Jesus Christ,” Jake said as he took Ronnie’s hand and spun her back into his chest, his hands instantly going to her hips as he muttered into the skin of her neck. “What did he ever do without you?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

“Uh — Bradshaw Squared?” Fanboy questioned into the microphone after a bit of feedback. “You’re up next.”

Ronnie shot out of Jake’s arms like an F-18 from an aircraft carrier. The first few guitar chords played as she and Bradley snatched the microphones from the middle of the stage and then the pair quickly disappeared into each of the small wings on either side. And once the first verse started, they strutted out on stage to whoops and hollers from the other aviators. Jake whistled loud over the crowd.

Bradley and Ronnie sang perfect harmonies like they never stopped singing together. They smiled and danced and interacted with the aviators that now crowded at the foot of the stage. Ronnie winked at Jake who was hovering at the back of the group. He held his hand up to the side of his head, fingers forming the universal signal for a phone, and mouthed call me. She threw her head back and laughed as Bradley took over the next verse.

It was simple. It was casual. And it was a start.

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

Come Over Here and Overwhelm Me: up the coast (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Maverick stops by The Hard Deck to clear the air - then Hangman steals Ronnie away to make his intentions plain.

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 6270

Warnings: hangman being soft for one ronnie bradshaw, mav reunion, lying to wait staff in order to get free food, talks of infertility/sperm banks

THREE | FOUR | FIVE

A/N: likes are great but reblogs/comments are even better!

Ronnie always thought it was fun when bars had a signature drink. A concoction unique to that place that people would drive miles and miles to try. Ronnie had been trying to come up with something for The Hard Deck for months. But anything she tested with Penny was either horrible, too strong, or not strong enough. She didn’t think that making up her own drink recipe would be this hard, but there she stood — behind the bar way before opening, a bowl in front of her and a selection of spirits and juices. Ready to be turned into what she was determined to be The Hard Deck’s signature drink.

She wanted it to be something fruity — but not something that the macho-men who frequented the bar would shy away from. She cut up limes, oranges, lemons, and strawberries and placed them at the bottom of the bowl. Next came the alcohol. A nice mix of coconut rum and peach schnapps. She picked up a wooden spoon and mixed that together before turning to the juices she had selected.

This wasn’t just her wanting to make a good drink, however. She also wanted a distraction from what happened the night before.

Jake kissing her on the beach. Her skin tingled at the thought of it still. She was still deciding on whether or not she regretted it. The majority of her said no. She hadn’t let it go any further than the kiss — and he had respected her wishes. They went to separate beds that night and it felt good on her conscience. But her mind ached at the implications of it all. Of that soft groan he let out at her calling him by his real name. Of the way his lips were soft and gentle and full of yearning against her own. She grinned as she opened the bottle of berry juice — uncontrollable and so powerful it made her cheeks hurt.

She had missed his kiss. The sheer confidence of it, like he was practiced — but that didn’t bother her one bit. She had had plenty of practice too since the last time she saw him. It reminded her of the first time he kissed her all those years ago. He had done it to shut her up, because she was rambling about how much of an ass he was. It was just one peck at first, just like last night. But then she was between the wall of the I Bar and Jake’s body and she couldn’t even remember why she was talking in the first place. She was like putty in his hands, forming whichever way he chose. And she didn’t even mind — God, she didn’t mind at all.

Should it have embarrassed her how easily she fell back into him? Probably. Was she going to actually get embarrassed by it? Absolutely not. She was a grown woman, and Jake was a grown man. Far more grown up than the last time they were together, it seemed. And she was willing, hesitantly willing, to see where this would go.

The front door of the bar opened just as she started pouring into her mixture a bit of pineapple juice. She looked up from what could really only be described as a colorful witch’s brew, expecting to see Jimmy or Jay coming in to start their shifts. But she was taken aback when Maverick sauntered into the bar.

“Uh…” She paused, half-empty bottle of juice still tipped in her hand. “C-Can I help you?”

“Penny said you would be here,” Maverick said as he put his hands into his jacket pockets.

Curse you Penny, Ronnie thought as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes into the back of her head. She knew her partner meant well, trying to give her a gentle nudge towards reconciling with those that had hurt her. But, Jesus, did she have to spring these occasions on her like a sudden tidal wave at sea?

“So, uh…” He trailed off as he lowered himself into the barstool in front of her. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Trying to create my own drink. It hasn’t gone well so far,” she replied curtly, tone clipped and tight as she screwed the cap back on the pineapple juice.

Maverick smiled. “I’m sure it hasn’t been that bad.”

“Oh, trust me, it’s been bad.” Ronnie picked over her selection of juices and decided on the orange next. “Tried this thing with tequila and cream — it was awful.”

“That does sound…That sounds pretty bad, yeah,” he chuckled.

Ronnie sighed, leaning with her palms flat on the bartop as she level Maverick with a look. Eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

“What’re you doing here, Maverick?”

“I got asked back to TOPGUN to train — “

“You know that’s not what I meant,” she said.

Maverick dropped his head with a sigh, hands fiddling together on the bartop. “Right. I came here…I came here to apologize to you. For everything.”

“Uh-huh,” she hummed out.

She couldn’t look at him while he did this. Knowing that if she dared look into his face she would burst into child-like tears. So instead, she kept her head down. Focused on opened up the orange juice and pouring what felt like the right amount into the bowl. As she mixed it with the spoon she had the thought that this was more of a punch than a single serving drink. Shit. This wasn’t going to work either.

“I-I’m sorry that I stopped talking to you — that I abandoned you. I should have been there for you, I should have taken more responsibility. Your dad would have been ashamed of the way I treated you. And I’m ashamed of myself too. I just thought that…What I did to Bradley was unforgivable and so I thought that you would never be able to forgive me either. At the time I wanted to save myself the heartache — so I cut you both out. And I’m…God, I’m so sorry, Ronnie. I really am.”

“I know why you pulled his papers,” she muttered, glancing up at him as she continued to stir her concoction.

“What?”

“My mom asked you to. She always said she didn’t want either of us to fly. Rooster never wanted to listen.”

She finally looked up at him then. There were tears rimming his eyes. He looked shocked at her confession, but also relieved.

“Did you — Have you told him that?” he asked.

“No.” Ronnie shook her head. “He doesn’t need to resent her, too.”

She didn’t want him to, but he caught the meaning behind her tone. “He doesn’t resent you, Ronnie.”

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter now, does it?” She smiled stiffly as she banged the spoon on the rim of the bowl, trying to shake off the excess liquid so it wouldn’t get all over the bartop. “What I’m trying to say is — is that I understood why you did what you did. And I still wanted you around…Even if Rooster didn’t.”

Maverick’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, Veronica.”

Veronica. Maverick was always the only one to ever call her that. Something about how her dad wanted to name his little girl that for the longest time, how it always reminded Maverick of those good times. It made her smile now, tears blurring her vision. She reached out and took his hand.

“I forgive you.”

Maverick released a giant breath, like a weight was finally lifted off his shoulders. Ronnie gave his hand one good squeeze before she ducked down behind the bar. She pulled out two small glasses and coasters for each.

“Now, you wanna try this monstrosity with me?” she asked with a small smile.

“It would be my pleasure,” he replied.

She spooned a good portion into each glass, making sure to pull out a piece of each cut up fruit to go in as well. That was how she would serve it if it was a real drink, anyway. She handed one of the glasses to Maverick and raised her own.

“Cheers,” she said with a grin.

“Cheers.”

They clinked their glasses together and both took a tentative sip of the drink. The rum wasn’t too overpowering, the juices toned it down, and the slightly peachy flavor of the schnapps was just subtle enough to make the drink’s overall flavor more complex.

Maverick pulled the glass away from his lips with raised brows and narrowed eyes. “Oh, that’s good.”

“Really?” she questioned with wide smile, taking another sip of the drink.

“Oh, that’s really good,” he repeated before taking a larger gulp.

The french doors that looked out over the beach at the back of the bar opened. In the quietness of the empty bar, it was easy to hear. Maverick looked over Ronnie’s shoulder to see who it was while she turned to tell whoever it was to get lost. The bar didn’t open until five — just like the sign side. Her mouth was already opening, ready to kick them out, when she spotted exactly who it was that was walking through the door.

Jake poked his head inside, sunglasses pushed up onto his head. “Ronnie, you here?”

He grinned once he spotted her behind the bar. He took a few steps inside. But then he noticed Maverick sitting behind her and his smile dropped. Jake immediately went rigid, hand popped up to his forehead in salute.

“Captain,” he said.

“At ease, Lieutenant.” Maverick nodded his head.

“Jake, go wait outside,” Ronnie told him softly.

He didn’t even hesitate to turn tail and go back out the door. Ronnie turned back to Maverick with a guilty smile, already knowing what expression she may find on his face. And she had guessed correctly. His eyebrows were raised, lips tight — though beneath the surprise he looked amused, glad even. She didn’t have to say anything for him to know what was going on. The look on Jake’s face when he spotted her was all he needed. He set his glass down on the bartop.

“Your brother doesn’t like him very much,” Maverick pointed out after a moment.

“He didn’t like him four years ago either. Didn’t stop me then and it sure as hell isn’t gonna stop me now.” Ronnie set down her glass as well. “Just…Don’t tell him. Okay?”

“Will that make it up to you?” he asked.

“Oh, absolutely not. But it’s a start.”

Maverick grinned. “I can work with that.”

The pair smiled at each other. Something that hadn’t happened in such a long time it should have felt foreign. But instead, it felt like home. It felt like backyard barbeques and family road trips three years after the fact when you’re no longer cramped and miserable. When all you can remember is the good stuff — the beautiful views and the entire family singing along to a song.

“Alright, now, get out of my bar.” Ronnie nodded her head towards the front door, a smile still tugging at her lips. “Come back when we’re open.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Maverick said as he got up from the stool.

“Penny’ll be here tonight,” Ronnie said with a heavy amount of implication and her eyebrows raised.

Maverick stopped on his way to the door, head tilted to look over his shoulder at her. “Will she?”

“Yep,” she replied with a pop of the p.

“Alright then.” With that, he walked out the door.

Ronnie chuckled as she watched him go. Then she turned towards the back door, to the bright blue sky and white sands of the beach. Jake was still out there, pacing back and forth out on the porch with his hands in his pockets. Butterflies erupted in her stomach at the sight of him. Her lips tingled anew.

He was in his civies today. A pair of jeans and a green t-shirt that looked glorious against his tanned skin. He still wore his watch, his dogtags poked out from the collar of his shirt. He paused in his pacing, back turned to her so he could look out over the ocean.

Ronnie slipped through the backdoor quietly. Jake turned when he heard the old door squeak open and shut.

“Did you need something?” she asked gently.

He walked up to her slowly, a cocky sort of swagger in his step as he approached. For a moment, she thought he would press her into the wall and kiss her fiercely. Part of her anticipated it. But he surprised her yet again, in the best way possible, when he simply leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek.

“Do you, uh…Wanna get outta here?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

“And go where?” She grinned, leaning back against the wall of the bar.

Jake took her hand in his, she looked down at their conjoined hands with reddened cheeks — her stomach flipping. How did he make her feel like a teenager again? How had he opened her up so quickly? Climbed her walls and stormed the gates — leaving her defenseless? Had she ever really put up her defenses for him in the first place?

“I distinctly remember you loving this pizza place up the coast.”

“You remember Castallucci’s Albergo?” she laughed.

“Of course I remember the place,” he said, bringing their hands up to play with her much smaller hand. “You told everyone I was about to be shipped out to my death and got our table loaded with free stuff.”

It was towards the end of his time in Marimar, when he was about to graduate. When they were telling themselves that this was still just a casual fling and they didn’t really feel anything for each other. When he just wanted to get away from base and she had heard about a restaurant about forty minutes away. When he had climbed into her truck and she tried not to reach over and touch him the entire drive. When they laughed and told stories and held hands across the table. When it first started feeling like way more than just a fling.

“Yeah — and it worked didn’t it?”

Jake looked down at his boots as he laughed, then he looked back up at her through hooded eyes, a smile quirking his lips. “Wanna see if you can do it again?”

Ronnie narrowed her eyes at him, tongue poking out between her teeth as she thought. She was no fool. She knew that he was going to leave in just a few short weeks for his next assignment God knew where. He had always been adamant about not wanting to be tied down, about focusing on his career, about how he was too much of a catch to be with just one person. But she always had been able to see through that facade. That mask he liked to put on. He was with her, just her, for an entire year. He liked to act like he didn’t need anyone, but she knew better.

Still, here and now, his intentions remained unclear to her.

Eventually, she agreed. “Yeah. Sounds nice.”

Jake smiled, lowering their hands and dragging her off the porch. He barely gave her time to tell Jimmy that she was leaving — that she would be back before close. Then he was pulling her along towards his car parked out front.

He opened the car door for her like a true Southern gentleman, hand on his chest and a slight bow of his head. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she got into the car. The top was down, letting in all that beautiful sunshine that the day had given them. Ronnie pulled her sunglasses from her bag and put them on her face as Jake got into the driver’s seat.

“Can you get me there?” he asked, starting the engine.

“Yeah. Remember how to get to Old 45 North?” She watched as he lowered his own sunglasses from the top of his head to the bridge of his nose.

“Think so.”

“Once you’re on there it’s a straight shot to Castellucci’s Albergo.”

“Cool, cool, cool.”

He pulled out of his parking space and out onto the road. The wind whipped through their hair as he drove, Ronnie giving little hints to get him going in the right direction. Jake assuring her that he knew where he was going. Her not believing him.

It was a beautiful California day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the ocean bright blue and sparkling on their left as they drove up the coast. Old 45 steadily climbed the side of a mountain, working it’s way up to a small town at its peak that overlooked the ocean. Castellucci’s Albergo was an inn style pizza restaurant that just so happened to get the best piece of real estate in the whole town. Right on the cliff face, over-looking the great expanse of the ocean.

Ronnie leaned her head back with a small noise of content, eyes closed, basking in the afternoon sun as they went. Jake watched her out of the corner of his eye. She looked like summer personified. Sunglasses, hair dyed blonde in places by the sun, tanned skin, wearing a blue and white striped sundress that fit her perfectly. Warm and inviting and happy. Really happy.

He could feel some of that happiness rub off on him anytime he was around her. When they talked inside the bar on his first day back. When they went surfing just the night before. It made him long to be with her again and again and again. So as soon as training was done that day, he was out the door and headed straight for The Hard Deck in hopes of seeing her. Everyone had questioned where he was going in such a hurry — but he paid them no mind.

Coyote even asked him: “Man, every single night since we got here you’ve been runnin’ off. Where’re you goin’?”

“That is for me to know — and for you to find out.”

That answer had left Coyote rolling his eyes, but he did back off. Jake didn’t want anyone else to know about Ronnie. Not yet anyway. Not like they would believe him even if he did say he had found someone. They all sincerely believed the arrogant, cocky front he put up for them. A tactic to keep them at arms length. Another layer on top of that was Rooster.

Jake glanced over at Ronnie, keeping his eyes focused on the winding road ahead. He hadn’t heard Rooster say anything to anyone about his sister being in town. Not even to Phoenix who he seemed closest to. Ronnie barely brought him up either. Jake had to wonder if he ever found out about their first relationship, and if he would find out about this one. At this point, with the distance between the two Bradshaws, it seemed unlikely.

But Jake wanted to do this right. And that meant everyone being in the know and okay with them being together.

Together. The thought of it made Jake smile.

They passed a sign that read “CAUTION FALLING ROCKS” and Ronnie suddenly sat up, gasping. Jake jerked to attention, both hands on the wheel as he looked around at the practically deserted road more closely.

“What? What?” he questioned wildly.

“I almost died on this road!” Ronnie laughed. “I totally forgot until we passed the sign!”

Jake put a hand to his chest. “Jesus, don’t scare me like that. Thought we were gonna hit something.”

“No, no — sorry!” she giggled, touching the tips of her fingers to his forearm, then immediately retracting her hand.

There was a pause as they continued on the road, a cliff face rising on their right, the ocean below them on the left. Jake shrugged. “So’re you gonna tell me how you almost died or not?”

“Oh, right. Me and my friend Jackie were taking the drive up here a few months ago. We were absolutely blaring some Taylor Swift — cause you know I love me some Taylor Swift. And the sign said caution falling rocks like it always does even though rocks like never fall around here. So we’re drivin’ and we’re drivin’...”

Jake smiled softly as he listened to her ramble on. Her hands gesticulated wildly as she embellished the details. The point of the story being that a few small rocks fell behind the car. No where close to them, in fact. Jake laughed as she reached the climax of her tale.

“You’re laughing,” she huffed, hands tossed up in the air. “I almost died and you’re laughing.”

“Sorry, sorry. You barely scraped by those rocks…That fell several yards behind you.” Jake stifled another laugh.

“They fell right behind us! It was scary!”

“I’m sure it was. You’re so brave.”

He wasn’t thinking. Just like he did when he was flying. He followed his gut, let his instincts take over — knowing that they were right at least ninety-percent of the time. And just like when he was up in the air, he was hyper aware when he lifted his right hand off the steeringwheel and placed it on her thigh instead. The skin was warm from the sun, soft, the muscle strong and hard underneath from years of balancing on surf boards and skating. He felt her tense beneath his touch for only a moment, and then she relaxed. Giving her flesh a gentle squeeze, he smiled.

“So brave,” he insisted.

Ronnie crossed her arms with a huff. “I am very brave, thank you.”

She folded her left leg under the other, moving her thigh closer to his touch. He wondered if that was some instinct of her own.

When they got to the restaurant, after a beautiful, quiet drive, Jake asked for the best seat in the house. A table for two right next to the western facing windows that had that incredible view of the ocean. He pulled the Navy card in order to get it and Ronnie gave him an impressed thumbs up as they were led back to their table. Castellucci’s Albergo was like a tiny slice of classic Italy. The floors were tiled in white and dark blue, the chairs were plush, the tablecloths were authentic and pristine, the ivy vines growing around the windows trimmed to perfection. It was no wonder it was Ronnie’s favorite restaurant.

Jake pulled out her chair for her, cutting off the waiter from doing so. Ronnie smiled softly as she sat down, heat in her cheeks. They ordered drinks first and told the waiter to come back for their food order. Jake got a water, Ronnie got a blackberry Italian soda.

A question she had been thinking about asking for a long time bubbled out of her before she could put anymore tact behind it: “Why are you doing this, Hangman?”

He flinched slightly at the reversion to his callsign.

“Doin’ what, darlin’?”

“Going surfing with me even though you’re terrible. Kissing me on the beach. Taking me on drives to a restaurant we went to four years ago. I just…I can’t…” She couldn’t find the words. And when Jake reached across the table and took up her hand in his own, she both hated and loved how much comfort it brought her. “I can’t fall in love with you again just for you to leave in a week. I need to know what your intentions are…I need to know this is real.”

He perked up, face bright as he questioned softly, “You loved me?”

“Of course I did.” She rolled her eyes, but her voice was gentle and full of longing as she tacked on, “You idiot.”

“You loved me,” he repeated to himself, almost like a prayer, “Shit, Ronnie — I fell in love with you the moment we started talking in that crusty bar four years ago.”

She chuckled, her thumb brushing over his knuckles. “Didn’t I call you an idiot then, too?”

“Wow, you’re a real idiot if you think I’m gonna fall for that bullshit.”

“Yeah, you did,” he chuckled, “You took me down a peg, and…And I know I need that from time to time.”

“More like all the time,” she muttered cheekily.

“Okay — all the time. I loved you then but I couldn’t…I couldn’t let you in. So I pushed you away.” His green eyes met her from across the table and he squeezed her hand hard, like she was about to slip away. “I — I regretted it as soon as I walked out your door that day. I wanted to run right back inside.”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Jake shook his head. “You know me, Ronnie. Pride got in the way. But I’m not…I can’t let it happen again. I’m not letting you go this time.”

She stared at him, long and hard for moments that felt like hours. Then her lips spread in one of those classic Ronnie Bradshaw smiles that felt like looking directly into the sun.

“I won’t let go if you don’t.”

The waiter came back a few minutes later. They placed their orders, but not before Ronnie went on a tangent about how the man sitting across from her was about to be shipped out on a dangerous mission that could cost him his life. That they were sharing one last meal together — just in case it really was his last. They got a free appetizer out of it. Ronnie tried to hide her grin as she winked at Jake. And as he watched her work her magic, he felt like his insides melting, heating up like lava, ready to be poured out her feet. Some form of living sacrifice, gladly offered.

Jake pulled up to the curb in front of her house and put the car in park. It was dark by the time they got back to Marimar, full of pizza and stories and laughter. Her house was small, but homey, and absolutely screamed Ronnie. The gate was wooden and painted yellow, matching the front door. The siding of the house was a muted green, similar to his flight suit. The thought made him smile as he strummed his fingers over the steering wheel — waiting for her to get out of the car.

“When do you have to be back on base?” Ronnie asked, hand perched on the door handle, not daring to meet his eyes.

“Not until tomorrow morning, technically,” he said.

She glanced at her front door, then back to him with her lip caught between her teeth. “Wanna come inside for a drink? I have less shitty beer in my fridge.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he replied with a smile, turning off the car.

Ronnie got out of the car first, taking a deep breath as she did so. Her fingers slightly shaking as she walked up to the front gate. Jake followed closely behind her, hands shoved in his jean pockets and a small smile stuck on his face. She looked back over her shoulder at him as she reached over the gate and undid the barrel bolt lock on the other side. He could see the nerves lingering in her brown eyes, so he pressed his hand into her lower back. A reassurance and a promise as she led the way up the path to her door. He wasn’t leaving. Not this time.

Inside the house was just as Ronnie as the outside. Cluttered, slightly messy, years and years of nic-naks shoved into every corner and photos nearly everywhere he looked. Most of them weren’t even in frames. It was so similar to her apartment from all those years ago, only this time she chose the colors on the walls and the furniture wasn’t from Value Village. It was hand picked and curated and a place that felt lived in. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he took in the vibe of the space — the smell, the sounds, everything. He had never had a place like this.

He wanted to have a place like this…With her.

“I’ll get those beers,” Ronnie said as she hurriedly cleared some throw blankets off the couch. “Just, uh — make yourself comfortable. Or whatever.”

After that, she scurried into the kitchen and Jake had to chuckle. He lowered himself onto the couch. To occupy himself he looked around at the photos and decorations. There was a picture on the side table of her posing in front of the Eiffle Tower. She went to France? He picked up the frame to study it more closely. She looked beautiful. It was obviously a rainy day in the picture, her large raincoat and hair sticking to her forehead evidence enough. But her smile was massive, radiant — its own sun. Arms stretched wide and hip thrust to one side. He wondered who snapped the photo. He wished it would’ve been him.

They lost so much time together, him and Ronnie. Time spent lonely and apart when they could’ve been making a home together, going on trips together, buying nic-naks together. Jake shook his head as he set the picture back down.

Since when did he want to buy useless junk? God, if it was with her, he would do anything.

His eyes caught on the coffee table next. It was cluttered with take-out menus and bills and —

There was a pile of brochures, hidden beneath a Chinese menu. Jake brushed the menu aside and his eyes widened a fraction. California Cryobank. Fertility Center of California. Fairfax Cryobank. Each brochure clean and crisp, depicting either a joyous pregnant woman or a whole family smiling brightly on their covers. He pried one open then immediately closed it. He could see just from his quick glance that she had circled a few things.

Jake’s brow furrowed just as Ronnie walked back into the room, a chilled bottle in each hand.

He didn’t looked up at her as he lifted one of the brochures. “Are you trying to have a baby?”

Ronnie went rigid as her eyes locked on the brochure he held between two fingers. Shit. Her grip on the bottles tightened, she feared they may just slip out of her hands from the condensation. And she could feel an intense heat rising in her cheeks, no doubt turning her face a bright shade of red. Curse her for inviting Jake inside without doing any cleaning beforehand.

“Uh…” Their eyes finally locked and he didn’t seem mad, if anything, he just looked curious. She sighed, shoulders slumping. “I’ve been thinking about it, yeah.”

He flipped it open and his eyes skimmed through the text and pictures inside. “Why?”

“C-Cause I went to the gynecologist and — Jesus, Jake, I — “ She set the beers down on the coffee table and snatched the brochure away from him, picking up the other two, she folded them up. “Forget it. It was just a thought.”

“Hey, hey — it’s okay. I’m not mad or anything.” Jake reached out as she tried to walk away, his fingers circling around her wrist and tugging her down to sit on the couch. He chuckled as he intertwined his fingers with her own. “S’not something that comes up easily in conversation with your ex you just got back together with.”

“True,” she laughed quietly, eyes focused on their joined hands.

“So…What’d your doctor say?”

“That if I wanna have a baby of my own — I’m running out of time. I thin she said your window of opportunity is closing. Her bedside manner is truly terrible. And, I don’t know…I have a good income, a house. Figured I didn’t need a man in order to be a mom. Not really.”

“You’ve always wanted to be a mom,” Jake muttered with a squeeze of her hand, more to himself than anything else.

Ronnie squeezed his hand back. She was surprised that he remembered her telling him that. She remembered that night well. When he was at her little apartment, freshly changed into a pair of sweats he kept at her place, and they were watching a movie. She couldn’t recall which one now, but it was something to do with family and kids and it had slipped out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying. I want something like that. And in the back of her mind, that night, she imagined that life with Jake.

They were silent for a while, Ronnie biting out chunks of the insides of her cheeks — Jake lost in thought as his thumb moved idly over the back of her hand. He couldn’t remember the movie either. But he could remember the sound of her voice, the soft whisper, the longing that laid beneath. It had sent his mind racing that night all those years ago. A white dress and a baby’s cry, sitting on the porch of a ranch house in Texas. He had pushed away the thoughts then, called them idiotic and insane. He had his career to think about, he didn’t want to be tied down by anyone or anything.

He didn’t like those words anymore. Tied down. Like it was torture. Like he was some bull ready to be castrated. He looked over at Ronnie. Brown hair falling in her face and eyes lost somewhere else as she thought. It wouldn’t be miserable, not if it was her.

“Could you wait a little while longer?” he asked quietly.

Her head snapped over to look at him. From the the look on her face, she knew exactly what he was implying. Tears pooled in her eyes as she asked, “What?”

“I mean, how much longer did your doctor say you had until it was gonna get…More difficult?”

“A few years.” She angled herself towards him, taking his hand in both of hers. “Jake…Your career, I can’t…I can’t hold you back from that. It’s too important to you.”

“My career isn’t everything, Ronnie. Some things are more important.”

Ronnie stared at Jake — eyes wide and glistening with tears. He smiled at her softly, green eyes crinkled at the corners and gentle. Who was this man sitting beside her? Four years ago, he never even would have thought such a thing. He would have stepped over and on anyone in order to get ahead. Four years ago, she was just a bit of fun. Now he was talking about settling down with her, starting a family with her. It welled up in her chest, sudden and overpowering. It squeezed on her throat and made her fingers go numb.

She loved him.

“Oh, I have to go into the other room suddenly.”

She shot up from the couch and practically ran into the kitchen. The constricting feeling in her chest eased a bit when she was out of his presence. But she also wanted to just run back into the room and smother him with all the love she was feeling. Leech some of it off herself and onto him. Because surely he felt it too, right? He had to. He just had to. She put her hands on the kitchen counter and leaned with a sigh, trying to collect her thoughts.

Quiet footfalls followed her into the small kitchen. She squeezed her eyes shut against the noise, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She didn’t even realize she was trembling until Jake wrapped his arms around her waist, stilling her. He pressed a kiss against her neck — once, twice.

Then he whispered, “I’m being serious, Ron.”

“What’ll happen when you leave Marimar? I can’t just…Be left here again. I won’t do it.”

“My next assignment’s stateside — DC.” His hand skimmed under the hem of her dress, leaving a fleeting touch across her thigh. “You could come with me.”

She looked over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of blonde hair and tan skin. “And leave everything behind?”

“You’d have me. You’d always have me if you want me.”

Ronnie turned in his arms. She had never seen Jake look shy before. But there he was, arms slung low around her waist, face inches from her own. And he looked sheepish, anxious even as he studied her. As he waited for her response. Her hands smoothed up his chest, running over the soft fabric of his t-shirt, up the sides of his neck, and came to rest on either side of his face. She held him like that for a moment, studying him, fingers tracing over the soft line of his cheekbones.

He wanted her around. Despite everything, he wanted her to come with him to DC. He wanted her to be there when he got home. He wanted to have a baby with her. He wanted her to see him for who he really was. He wanted her to take on his mess and his joys, his victories and his losses. And she wanted it back more than anything.

“A little life? Just you and me?” she whispered.

The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. “You and me, darlin’.”

“I thought you called everybody that,” she said with a grin.

“No.” He shook his head. “Just you.”

He kissed her and her hands moved to the back of his neck. Slowly, confidently, Jake put his hands under her thighs and lifted her up onto the counter. Without breaking the kiss, without even a hint of struggle.

Ronnie broke the kiss and gasped out like the words were escaping her at last: “I love you.” “I know.” He grinned impishly, so classically Jake, but it made her laugh. “I love you — so, so much.”

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