Jake Hangman Seresin Imagine - Tumblr Posts

Shattered souls

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x expilot!fem!reader (no use of YN)

Summary: One mistake, three destroyed lives, a lost love, they will have to rebuild themselves. This is the story of two shaken beings.

Warnings: angst, death, physical wounds, trauma, swearing, very long post, maybe inaccurate things about the Navy (I really don't know much about it sorry), English isn't my first language so for sure grammatical mistakes

"Jake!"

She felt a weight crush her chest and jerked upright under the pain, her heartbeat ringing in her ears. The presence of the sheet under her hand reminded her that she was in her room. Staring at the darkness in front of her she tried to regain her normal breath. A quick glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table to her right told her that it was only five o'clock in the morning, eighteen minutes to be exact. Her sigh broke the silence that reigned and with one hand she removed the sheet before getting out of bed. Grabbing her robe from the chair in the corner of the room, she left it to go to the kitchen. She didn't need to turn on the light, the coffee machine's indicator light was bright enough for her to use. While the coffee was brewing, she leaned against the counter of the central island, slipping her cold hands into the pockets of her bathrobe to warm them up. Staring blankly into the darkness and silence of the night, her dark thoughts found their way, that they knew all too well into her mind. The beep of the machine indicating that the coffee was ready made her raise her head, she took the cup with both hands to enjoy the warmth of it and leaned on the central island, leaning on her elbows, facing the window observing the streetlamp on the other side of the street whose light was oscillating.

"Alright alright! I'll bet you twenty bucks that she'll turn you down before the end of the night!" She giggled as her friend and navigator jostled her by pushing her on the shoulder making her stagger to the side and bump into someone.

"Be careful pretty, I hope you don’t fly as you walk." Mocked the blond Ken that she collided before resuming his way. She looked at him moved away taken aback.

"Who's that one? I've never seen him on base." She turned her head to Billy who shook his head signifying that he didn't know who it was either.

"This one is Hangman." Said Shark who had slipped up behind them without them feeling him coming and startled them. "He just arrived, replacing Sunrise who broke his arm."

"Wait what, how did he do it?"

"He wanted to do trampoline at his little nephew's birthday party. He jumped too hard and ejected and landed against the fence, well actually going through the neighbor's fence to be exact."

The pilot and her navigator looked at him in surprise, a completely stupid look on their faces.

"So he's the one who's going to replace him, Sunrise isn't here to come back at the moment. Jake Seresin, that's his name, that guy is arrogant, nobody can stand him where he comes from." He continued.

"What a beautiful portrait, it makes you want to know him."

The three went back to their planes. As they were about to take their seats, their superior came trotting up to them.

"Touchdown! Sunshine!"

"Yes sir."

"You must have heard that Sunrise wouldn’t be with us for a while, nothing changes for you, his replacement takes his place as a wingman."

The two looked at each other sharply, how stupid had they been not to make the connection when Shark had told them about him a few minutes earlier? From the top of her ladder ready to take her place at the front she saw Jake further away wink at her with a sly smile. It was promising.

Turning off the shower faucets she grabbed her towel and tied it around herself, went to the medicine cabinet above the sink to get her cream, and ran her hand over the foggy glass once it was closed. She looked at herself for a moment in the mirror, swivelling her chest to observe the huge scar that had been part of her for two years now. She brushed it with her fingertips before lowering her eyes and going to her room to get ready.

As she did every Wednesday morning, she went to the local church for the meeting that took place in a room adjacent to the religious building. As usual, she warmly greeted the men and women who, like herself, were attending the meeting, some of whom were just partners in suffering, others had became friends who had found each other and created a bond based on mutual suffering. All the people present at this meeting had suffered a trauma in their lives, all as varied as each other, but which allowed them to understand and help each other in the painful ordeals that followed.

She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair, the same chair for the past two years, a creaky old folding chair with a cracked brown leather seat. Always in the same place, in the same circle, surrounded by the same people.

"Sunshine and Touchdown? Where do you get names like that?" Jake's voice came over the radio and Billy could feel his friend rolling her eyes. "Come on what, we're going to get really close over the next few weeks, maybe months. How about we get to know each other."  The young woman winced at the word "months", she wanted her wingman back, her habits, she hated change and especially, new things. Yes, Sunshine was a person who was perfectly happy in her habits and her comfort.

"Billy was one of the best players on his college American football team, and he's a big fan to this day." Her melodious laughter filled the cabin and the radio as Billy took offense, the pleasant sound making Jake smile.

"One of the best?! I was THE best, the handsome player, I could have been a star myself ma'am."

"And Sunshine where did that come from?"

"She's the sunshine of the base." Billy cut her off as she was about to retort. "A real ray of sunshine that little piece of woman."

"Stop it Billy, that's not true."

"Of course you do! You're always in a good mood, always smiling, and everyone finds it a pleasure to hear your cheerful tone and laughter over the radio when we're on mission."

She felt her cheeks catch fire and put her cold fingers on her cheek to cool down.

"Embarrassed Sunshine?" Jake's mocking tone rang in her ears and she turned her head to the left to see his plane next to theirs, a perfect but mocking wide smile on his face and she flipped him off for any response which made him burst out laughing.

Contrary to what she could have thought from the portrait that had been drawn of Jake, the young woman supported him rather well, obviously with a point of exasperation in certain moments, but she had to admit that he had a certain charm that she wouldn’t have known for all that to describe, but the Texan didn’t leave her indifferent. The two pilots spent their time sparring and jabbing at each other, mostly with a smile, until one day one of the spats ended unexpectedly.

"You are so condescending and lacking in discernment!" She exclaimed exasperated by his behavior.

His legendary cocky smirk on his face, his hands in the pockets of his flightsuit, following her on her tail through the corridor.

"Would I have lacked discernment with you sweetheart?"

She made volt face what he didn’t expect and had just the time to stop himself not to enter in collision with her, and she was now almost against him. She raised her head to address him because he was a good head taller than her. Their two faces were only a short distance from each other. An impassive air on her face, a soft glance and a smirk on his.

"Why do you always have to look so flirty Seresin." Her voice was low, giving a certain intimacy to their closeness.

"Always, you sure?"

"I've always seen that look on your face, a face I often hold back from hitting."

"Maybe you've always seen me with that look on my face because that's the one I'm willing to give you." His seductive tone provoked shivers in her neck and she rolled her eyes ready to turn her heels to move away from him. Nevertheless before she could make any gesture he brought a hand in her neck and put his lips on hers. Surprised, she widened her eyes and felt Jake smiling against her lips. He was insufferable, but at the same time he attracted her like a magnet. Her hand slid down his neck and she stood on tiptoe as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She would have let herself choke for lack of air not to have to break this kiss. A throat clearing was heard and they parted in surprise, but not without Jake pulling his arm from her waist. She looked at Billy who was with a few meters of them and who had just surprised them, then her glance settled on the arm of Jake that she pushed back abruptly.

The three of them looked at each other not knowing what to say and then finally Billy broke the awkward silence.

"Okay I'm definitely not a fan of what I just saw to be honest and I hope to erase it from my memory soon." She bit the inside of her cheek, why did she feel embarrassed? She was of age and vaccinated, right? She could do whatever she wanted. "But if it means you'll be watching over her even more she's in the air, that's fine with me." He finished before passing by them to continue his route, gently squeezing the arm of his friend while passing by her.

Hands clasped on her knee, legs crossed, her gaze fell on the person in front of her, a newcomer, someone who had been unlucky, someone who would be scarred for life, someone who would never be the same. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head towards Denise who leaned towards her.

"Would you join us for coffee after the meeting?" She whispered to her and when she looked up her eyes caught the faces of Barry and Shirley behind her neighbor who were watching her waiting for her answer.

"Sure." She whispered in turn causing smiles on all three faces to which she responded with a slight smile and returned her attention to the newcomer who was finishing telling his story.

The door at the back of the room creaked and a cold wave swept into the room, Curtis, who was leading the meetings and had been absent a few minutes before, hurried back to the middle of the circle, he glanced at the young woman, playing nervously with his fingers.

"Please excuse me, I was with a newcomer." He cleared his throat and turned to the door as a figure rushed in, Curtis desperately searched for her gaze and when he caught it, addressed her with a silent "I'm sorry." she frowned not understanding what he meant and was struck with dread when she saw the face of the person taking his place in the circle.

Sitting on the right side of the row next to Billy she saw Jake, sitting on the left a few rows ahead turn his head and wink at her, holding back a smile she pretended to look away which only widened the pilot's smile as he returned his attention to their superior.

"This is a reconnaissance mission prior to the decision of a possible attack. You will take off, perform your reconnaissance and return to the aircraft carrier. Touchdown, Sunshine and Hangman, that's for you, you'll board in two hours."

The pilot and navigator exchanged glances before getting up and leaving the room. As they left to retrieve their equipment wandering through the building, she felt a hand reach between her loins and Jake appeared beside her.

"It's all about reconnaissance. We'll be back as soon as we're gone." Said Billy.

That's what it should have been, a simple reconnaissance patrol.

Her heart was beating so fast and yet she had the feeling that it was no longer irrigating her brain. She sat back in her chair, resting her back against the backrest, her hands still crossed on her knee. She wasn’t able any more to think, wasn’t able any more to keep her attention on what it happened around her, the memories for which she put so much energy to keep buried in her went up to the surface, she knew this moment by heart. It lasted the moment of a flash but she felt it as if it had lasted for very long minutes.  

"Thank you Ben for your testimony." Curtis' deep voice brought her back to the moment. It was his turn now, her gaze quickly found his to get lost in it, as if no time had passed, as if they had seen each other the day before, as if they hadn't gone through the horror that had knocked them both down.

When the meeting came to an end, everyone stood up and after greeting each other, headed for the exit.

"Don't wait for me, I'll be there as soon as I can." She addressed the small group that was waiting for her to go to the café, the one on the corner where they used to meet. They nodded and headed for the exit, leaving only the two of them, face to face, hands in his pockets, her fingers around her scarf, revealing the white knuckle of her fists clenched around the fabric.

"What are you doing here?"

What was ironic was that spending so much time on aircraft carriers, she still hadn't been able to get over the seasickness, ironic, right? For someone in the Navy, even though her role, fortunately, was to spend more time in the air than at sea.

"Shall we do karaoke night this weekend? Just so I can introduce you to Naomi, we'll do duets. You and Ken and Naomi and me." She laughed at Billy's naming of Ken for Jake, they had been dating for several months and Billy, moderately liking Jake, making an effort for his friend, still couldn't bring himself to call him by his first name.

"Maybe you could start by making an effort and calling him by his name." He pouted, which caused her to roll her eyes. As she was about to climb on the plane she heard Ken trotting towards her.

"Hey hey hey. You know we never leave like this without saying goodbye." She giggled.

"Jake we literally fly together, and we talk to each other over the radio." He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"That's no reason, we may be together up there, but we're not physically together."

"God, he's even more annoying that way than when he's a dickhead”. Grumbled Billy who took his place at the back of the plane rolling his eyes of exasperation, what Jake didn’t pay attention to, too busy to scrutinize his girlfriend.

"I got your back." He added before placing a furtive kiss on her lips and joining his plane.

"Hey Cinderella, do you care to come up?" Billy called out to her, she looked up at him and grabbed the ladder to climb up.

"Why should I be Cinderella?"

"Hangman do you see anything?" She glanced to either side of the plane.

"Nop. All seems quiet. We do have the coordinates listed though."

"I don't like it." She muttered to herself.

"A hunch?" Asked Billy, who had learned over time to trust his friend's hunches.

"Yeah, and not a good one."

"Relax, everything will be fine, it's just a reconnaissance." He tried to convince her as much as for himself.

"I know a good way to relax." Jake's voice came over the radio, which had the effect of making her giggle and Billy mime a vomit. Her joyful laughter echoed through the radio to Jake's delight. Flying with them, he had quickly understood what the navigator had said the first time. A melodious, joyful, infectious laugh that had relaxed many on missions. Jake considered himself lucky to be able to enjoy it outside of these moments and better, to be the reason for her laughter even in some cases.

"If you're laughing that means it’s okay. I'm unbuckling myself to look further."

"Jake no, don't." Her laughter stopped short and she looked around for his plane.

"Everything is going to be fine sweetie, there is nothing to report obviously." He wanted to reassure her.

"Hangman you're a pain in the ass, don't do this to us."

"My presence reassures you Touchdown?" He teased.

"That's the whole point of your role dickhead." He replied scathingly.

"I'll be back in a flash." He steered to go in an opposite direction leaving them two, a hint of insecurity rising in her, Billy fulminating in the back.

"I swear, once we get on the ground I'm going to punch him in the face."

"This is the excuse you've been waiting for for months. Do you see anything?"

"No nothing." She sighed continuing her monitoring when Billy stirred behind her. "Shit."

"What?"

"We have two bandits coming our way."

He barely had time to look behind him when he saw two planes heading straight for them.

"Touchdown talk to me."

"There's one coming at five o'clock." He looked across the canopy. "The other one at seven. Shit! Hangman what the hell are you doing bringing your ass in!"

Everything happened very quickly, surrounded by the two, not being able to avoid them being on each side, she accelerated and tried to maneuver not to be hooked hoping that Jake intervenes very quickly. 

"Hangman!"

"Sunshine I'm coming!  I see them, I lock him, I shoot!" Jake, who had managed be on the tail of one of them, was able to stick to him and lock it  before making a strike, but this one had time to shoot before being hit. By the time he could react, the second one had caught up with them and fired instantly, hitting its target in the heart. The first missile hit one of the engines which caught fire, the lights started to flash like a Christmas garland, and Sunshine tried as best she could to regain control of the plane without much success.

"I can't control it! I can't straighten!"

"Eject!" Jake yelled into the radio.

They didn't have time to do so as the second missile hit them dead center, taking out the end of the plane and the second engine, the back of the plane went up in flames, and she heard Billy screaming behind her, desperately trying to pull on the ejection seat suspensions.

"Request backup, request assistance, Touchdown and Sunshine are hit! Damn it hurry!"

"Billy! Billy!"  Overwhelmed by panic her heart raced and tears began to blur her vision, raging on the suspensions. "Why isn't it working, Jake! Jake!"

Her laugh would never echo through the radio again.

When she woke up she was dazzled by the brightness of the room and had to blink several times to adjust. She felt a sharp pain run down her back and let out a groan of pain.

"Sweetheart."

That familiar voice was Jake's, who walked around the bed and came to stand next to her pressing a button on the headboard.

"It's morphine, it will help."

"Where am I?" She tried to look around her but her field of vision was restricted, lying on her side, she looked up at Jake who showed a serious face. Suddenly all took place again in her mind, she tried to straighten up abruptly and a cry of pain of her part pulled a grimace of pain to Jake devastated to see her in this state. The pain forced her to lie on her side. He sat down on the chair facing her and took her wrists in his hands, the palms of her hands being bandaged. In a last effort she had pulled as hard as she could on the suspensions that burned her palms before being ejected.

"You... You were able to eject in time. But the flames that had already reached the device burned your back.” She looked at him frightened, she didn't remember having the burning sensation in her back, maybe it had been because of the adrenaline. But if flames were so close to her to burn her, what about Billy?

The worried look she gave him made him understand what she was wondering and he shook his head silently. Tears began to stream down her face and she began to sob violently. Jake didn't know what to do, he leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her head, a tear rolling down his cheek and crashing into her hair.

She wasn't sunshine anymore.

Her hard gaze met his, which she couldn't make out, was he sad? Sorry? Full of regret? All three at once?

"What are you doing here Jake?" She repeated wearily.

"I ... I don't know. This wasn't a good idea." He began to walk away with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"You know what wasn't a good idea?" He stopped short and lowered his head knowing very well what was coming next.

"That you're dropping us on this mission." He stared blankly at the ground. "That you leave me when I needed you the most after this."

"You were mad at me..."

"And you think that made it better?!" Her tone grew louder and more aggressive than she would have liked.  "I would have learned to get over it Jake, you made a mistake, maybe it would have made a difference if you had stayed, or maybe they still would have had the upper hand, maybe we thought there was no danger, there could have been no danger." He lifted his head and pivoted toward her. "But you left me alone after that. I needed you Jake."

"I was so angry with myself that I couldn't inflict my presence on you every day. I thought it would be better for you, not to have the face of the man who killed your best friend constantly in front of you."

"It wasn't you who killed him Jake."

"But it's my fault."

A whirlwind of emotions formed inside her. It had been two years since she had seen him, she was torn between giving him a slap, ignoring him, throwing herself at his neck, screaming at him, it was perhaps the difficulty in choosing between all these possibilities that nailed her to the ground and that she was unable to move. Not even taking a step back when he came closer.

"I'm so sorry. I feel so bad if you knew."

And she realized that she wasn’t the only one to have suffered these last two years. But she had been lucky enough to be able to surround herself with people to learn how to rebuild herself, had he been able to do the same?

She was struck by his reddened eyes and tired face features, never had she seen him like this, he who had seemed so strong with her in the times that followed, before he left, and now he had the face of a man crushed by remorse. He who always had a cocky look and a frank smile.

"I hope you can forgive me one day, because I can't." His voice became weaker and almost died out at the end of his sentence. "I lost you, and it's probably the biggest disaster of my life.” He took a step closer to her only being a small space away forcing her to raise her head to look at him. "I need you, do you think you can ever forgive me?"

When he saw her raising the arm he closed the eyes expecting to receive a deserved slap. But she didn’t, with an unexpected softness, she put delicately her hand on his cheek that she caressed with her thumb, wiping a tear which traced its way. He opened his eyes to see her showing a light smile, filled with sadness. He took her hand in his to deposit a kiss inside her palm. Then when she passed her arms around his neck to tighten him against her, he buried his face in her hair and she slipped a hand in his as one comforts a child.

Two years had separated them, and despite any resentment she might have had towards him, it was all gone in an instant. They were two beings in love and torn, who had suffered and who would have to learn to heal, together.

Little Things

Pairings: Jake Seresin x female reader. Synopsis: Jake takes care of his girl when she has her period. Warnings: mentions of period symptoms, infertility, depression. This is inspired by a lovely request I got from @callsignmaverick5

You groaned in agony, rolling onto your side and tucking your legs up so you were in a foetal position, hugging your knees close to your chest. The pain grew spreading across your lower abdomen and causing you to tense your muscles and wait for the pain to subside. Your period had been late which had you a little worried for the last few days, it wasn’t that you didn’t want kids. Both you and Jake really wanted kids but your period had come with a vengeance and now you were paying for it. You hadn’t been especially trying for kids, you and Jake had a great sex life, that man was like a horny teenager and could barely keep his hands off you. Closing your eyes slowly you willed the discomfort to stop, easing yourself further under the bed covers as the pain continued. You had been so caught up in your affliction that you didn’t hear Jake and the others come home, all piling into the living room chatting loudly to each other.

“Hang on a minute guys I’m just gonna check on her, make yourselves at home,” Jake said, making his way down the corridor to your shared bedroom. “Darlin’ are you in here?” He pushed open the door and was met with an empty room, minus a crumpled bed with a small figure hiding beneath the covers. “Baby girl, are you ok?” Jake perched on his side of the bed, leaning across and pulling the covers back to reveal your small, hunched form. “Oh, Darlin’,” he cooed, pushing the covers back the rest of the way and pulling you against him, immediately slipping his hand down to cradle your lower abdomen. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be this month,” he said looking down at you through hooded lashes. You could tell he was disappointed and you wanted to apologise to him but another wave of agony ripped through you and you doubled over, leaning into Jake’s side and whining. You could hear the others chatting amorously downstairs and Jake sighed. He had to admit he’d been looking forward to movie night with the gang, but he loved you more and right now you needed him.

“Don’t worry about me, Jake, I’m fine. Go spend time with the others. I know you’ve been looking forward to it.” You shuffled away from him and pulled the covers back up to your chin.

“Not a chance, Babygirl. I'm here for you Darlin’, remember ‘in sickness and in health’,” he used air quotation marks as he quoted your wedding vows, causing you to let out a small giggle.

“Right, I’ll kick the others out and then I’m getting paracetamol, a hot water bottle, ice cream and Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock and then I’ll be right back, Baby.” You watched as Jake hurried away with his mental list of all your sickness supplies. You heard Jake talking quietly to the others who all complained loudly until Phoenix gave them a piece of her mind and they all went silent, departing your home respectfully and leaving you in peace. Jake was crashing around in the kitchen before reappearing in the doorway with a tray stacked high with all your essentials. He placed the tray down and moved over to you, helping you shuffle forward so he could place more pillows behind your back. He handed you the hot water bottle which you accepted gratefully, placing it onto your abdomen and immediately relaxing into the soothing warmth. Jake set up the DVD and sunk back onto the bed next to you as the titles for ‘While You Were Sleeping’ began playing through the small tv on the wall. It had always been your comfort film, ever since you were a kid you and your mum would watch it whenever one of you was sick and this had been a tradition that Jake had adopted too. He handed you a mug of hot chocolate and two paracetamol, giving you a small kiss on your forehead. “Better?”

“Much better,” you told him, snuggling into his side and cracking open the ice cream, it was triple chocolate which just so happened to be yours and Jake’s favourite. As you ate your eyes fixed on the screen, Jake’s large hand coming down to rest on your abdomen, holding the water bottle in place for you. Hs other arm was wrapped tightly around your waist, holding you impossibly close. These were the times you cherished most with your husband, not the grand gestures or great outbursts of love but the little things like comforting you on your period, doing the food shopping so you didn’t have to, making sure the laundry was done, cooking dinner if he was home early, these were the most thoughtful tasks Jake could perform in your eyes. Now snuggled into his side watching your favourite movie you couldn’t have loved him any more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tag list: @callsign-phoenix @imjess-themess @averyhotchner @mayhem24-7forever @green-socks @alexxavicry @a-reader-and-a-writer @maggiescarborough @callsignmaverick5 @ssprayberrythings @smoothdogsgirl @xoxabs88xox @luckyladycreator2 @abaker74 @elenavampire21 @classyunknownlover @okiegirl24 @flashyourgreeneyesatme @sunlightmurdock @airedale17 @callmemana @shadowolf993 @t-nd-rfoot @topguncultleader @flyboyjake @wkndwlff

so it goes... ; jake "hangman" seresin

"met you in a bar, all eyes on me, your illusionist . . . all eyes on us."

so it goes . . . - taylor swift

warnings: pwp, dom/sub dynamics, begging, praise, rivals to lovers, misogyny from external characters, SA, angst, smut. very cheesy ending. not proofread. 18+ MDNI.

a/n: i honestly don't know where the plot came from this was supposed to be straight smut if i'm honest <3 there's no description of the character, I just find y/n and 2nd person extremely corny when writing

word count: 7.6k

-

It was absolutely no secret that Ivy hated Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin; from the moment they met and he gave her his signature “I’ll make your panties drop” smirk, she was ringing the bell on him more times than most people could count. On nights the pilots went to the Hard Deck with him, some didn’t even bring their wallets, knowing that they would be getting drunk on his dime. It never stopped him though. Their playful rivalry was seemingly never ending, but both knew that if Ivy put her foot down and told him to stop, he would, no questions asked. It started as her ignoring his advances and trying to continue serving him normally before it eventually turned into her pouring everyone else shots but him, purposefully leaving him for last then leaving Penny to serve him before going on break. After he learned her tricks and waited for Penny to go on break before approaching the bar, that’s when the bell ringing began. She was no stranger to the bell - oftentimes men would start making comments about her when she turned around, leading to the group of aviators (often led by Jake himself) to surround the man and herd him out of the bar.

The first time she rang the bell on Jake, he had leaned his elbow onto the bar, his cellphone slipping out of his jacket pocket and onto the wood. Ivy all but lunged for the bell, causing a roar of cheers to erupt around the bar. The Lieutenant rolled his eyes and placed his card on the counter; it was the first time he had ever seen her smile at him, even if it was dripping with sarcasm as she swiped the card on her kiosk, opening a tab before turning around and grabbing three bottles of tequila to begin pouring out. A few times after that, she served him without a fight, but on the night he forgot his card at the bar after picking up four shots in his hands with a “thanks, sweetcheeks,” she called out his last name. The whole bar nearly fell silent as they watched the girl yell to him that he forgot something. He slowly turned around, making sure to not spill any alcohol, only to see her fake reaching into her coat, pulling out a middle finger instead before dropping to hold his card up.

This Saturday in particular was busy - the Fourth of July festivities were in full swing, bringing people, both regulars and newcomers, from all over San Diego to the Hard Deck. Ivy and Penny were so swamped that they had to keep telling the other “I’ll go on break later, when it gets less busy.” Ivy’s UCLA shirt was wet from sweat and from the bottle of top shelf vodka she had accidentally spilled on herself while she kneeled on a barstool trying to reach them. Her hair was pulled back into a claw clip, baby hairs plastered to her forehead and neck from sweat. The AC was never able to cool down the room with the constant opening and closing of the door, the whole room heavy with humidity. Penny and her took turns “getting more ice” from the freezer which was just code for standing there with the door open to cool down.

The night officially won the award for worst shift ever when she had been flagged down by a table of newcomers as she was finishing cleaning off a table. They ordered a round of beers and vodka sodas to be delivered, handing her a heavy tip to compensate her for leaving her post at the bar. When she returned with the Miller Lites in hand the group twisted their caps off with their shirts, but the one to her right let the cap fall to the floor, making it seem like an accident. When she squatted down to pick up the trash, the one to her left landed his hand to her ass and squeezed. Ivy shot up, an angry gasp leaving her throat, and, without thinking, grabbed one of the vodka sodas off the table and threw it into his face and swung her tray into his side full force. The scrape of the chairs from all of the men getting up caught the attention of the Top Gun pilots who were engrossed in their game of dirty pool. Ivy realized her mistake in attacking a person who was about half a foot taller than her who had 4 more people for backup. She took a small step back, but bumped into a strong chest. Scared it was a 6th member of the group, she quickly turned around, instead seeing Hangman standing there, backed by Fritz, Fanboy, and Coyote, with a few others approaching. Her view of him and the other pilots didn’t last long, as she was yanked by her hair to the space behind the group of men, hitting her head on the corner of the table and falling over one of the chairs as she went down.

There were strict rules on fighting in the academy, but there was an unspoken agreement amongst the group that the tale of this fight wouldn’t make it out of the room. There were some situations that only violence could fix. So, that’s how each of the group of men ended up with their heads similarly banged up and on the gravel outside. Other than the scuffle that was happening, no one made a noise - newcomers watched, aghast, and regulars stood by on the ready. If Ivy didn’t have blood pouring into her eye from her cut, she would’ve seen said regulars standing in pairs near any exits to stop any men who dared to make a run for it from escaping.

Phoenix had her hands placed under Ivy’s arms, helping her up and to the bathroom. She helped Ivy run her head under the faucet, the clear water turning crimson as it went down the drain. After a few minutes, and with her eye flushed clean, Phoenix helped her up from her near-upside down position under the faucet to standing up, the water droplets making the blood still producing from her cut make its way down her face even faster. When she looked down at her shirt, a drop of blood fell and dotted the “i” on the BRUINS written on her shirt in gold. Phoenix helped her apply pressure to her cut while she turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was nearly falling out of the clip, her shirt collar darkened still from the sweat and vodka from earlier, now accompanied by the water and blood. She was paler than usual and the brown paper towels held to her head were darkening, “When I said I wanted to get more up close and personal with medicine, this is not what I meant.”

“What better way to succeed as a premed student than to experience everything you learn about firsthand?” Natalie led her over to the stool they kept in the bar bathroom for tipsy girls to sit on while their friends did their business. Hygienic? No. But appreciated by patrons? Yes. “I should check your eyes, see if you have-” She was cut off by a knock on the door. When Phoenix asked who it was, her hands still on her friend’s shoulders to make sure she stayed upright, she received a response that Phoenix had been expecting since the sound of the fight outside had subsided.

“It’s me,” Hangman’s voice was undeniable. Ivy’s gaze shot up, looking between her friend and the door, silently begging her not to leave her. Phoenix gave her an awkward smile before standing up and unlocking the door, letting him in. He pushed past his fellow aviator, coming to a kneel on one knee in front of the stool Ivy was sitting on, putting his hand behind her neck to keep her in place as he checked her for any harm aside from the obvious.

Ivy swallowed hard, not sure what to say, opting to keep their rivalry going because she wasn’t sure how to even go about thanking him, “You did good for being the same height as them.”

Jake normally would have laughed and said something along the lines of, “It’s my ego that did the heavy lifting,” but seeing the paper towels soaked with blood had his mind far away from banter and cemented in the moment at hand.

The silence was eating at Ivy’s ears, causing more words to spill from her to keep it at bay, “At least respond to the momentarily blinded girl.”

His jaw tightened for a moment, “How the fuck are you joking right now?”

She shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze, “Come on, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a cut. It’s only bleeding so much because it’s on my temple. At least it’s an excuse to get me out of the rest of this God awful shift.”

“What were you thinking? Starting a fight with someone like that - he could’ve smashed a glass in your face.”

Ivy scoffed, slapping away his hands with her free one, “Oh, so I’m supposed to just let whoever waltzes into this bar grab a handful of my ass? I’ll keep that in mind for the next shift. Might show up naked.”

He let out a breath through his nose. He wasn’t positive about what happened prior to Ivy’s retaliation, but he knew it was most likely something along those lines, but hearing her confirm it just made his blood boil even more, “No! You get someone and let them take care of it, not hit them with a plastic tray.”

Ivy pulled away from him again as he applied pressure to her wound, “I’m not a fucking child. I’m going to stand up for myself. I’m not going to hide behind some man. You can’t seriously be blaming me for this!”

“That’s not what I’m saying! I’m-” He was cut off by Phoenix saying his name sharply. Her eyes met his before flickering down to Ivy, a cue for him to focus on the real problem.

He stood, pulling a few more paper towels from the dispenser. Phoenix pulled the trash can away from the door and closer to Jake, allowing him to dispose of the bloody wad before dabbing at the cut on her temple with the towels he had run under the water. It was silent as he ran his thumbs across her head and through her hair, checking how far back the cut went. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches, but you need to go to the ER in case you have a concussion.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa - absolutely not, Seresin. I have much bigger problems on my plate right now than a possible concussion. One of my summer classes ends next week and I have 5 more shifts after this. I’m going home and sleeping this off.” She stood up, annoyed at his belief that he could tell her what to do. When he went to protest her refusal, he found himself lunging to help balance her as she wobbled after standing. He and Phoenix each had an arm and helped her back to the seat. He looked over Ivy’s head and mouthed for Natalie to go get her a bottle of water and something to eat before handing her his truck keys for her to bring it around. She took the chance to leave the tension filled room with pleasure and almost flew out the room. From the pressure he had applied earlier, the bleeding had mostly stopped.

“After that attempt to walk, I’m taking you to the ER. If you don’t have a concussion, then I’ll take the blame. If you do, I’ll never forgive myself for letting you sleep on it. That’s final.”

Ivy rolled her eyes, “Fine. But We’re taking my car, not your ecological disaster of a vehicle.”

He helped her up and had an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. His size dwarfed her, his large hands wrapping around her upper arms easily. “Your car’s so small that I’m going to have to drive from your backseat.”

“You seem like the type to be a backseat driver, so I guess all your training’s paid off.”

He did his best to hide her from the crowded bar, and she kept her gaze down. The night air was cooling down, the breeze from the sea sweeping across the island. Fireworks popped in the distance. Ivy dug in her pockets for her car keys, lighting up her small prius at the back of the lot. Jake knew her car, as he often was volun-told to walk her back to it after the Hard Deck closed, so he could tell something was off when he saw the interior light on. The two walked a little faster, Ivy mentally scolding herself for not checking if she had properly shut the door when she locked her work bag in the backseat. The crunch beneath their feet that sounded different from the rocks that made up the rest of the parking lot made the pair look down, Ivy taking her phone out to turn on the flashlight. It was glass. Car window glass - Ivy’s car window glass.

The sound of Phoenix calling for them in confusion made them turn around, seeing her jogging to them, his keys dangling in the air as she held them up, “I thought you guys were taking Hangman’s?”

Jake delicately thrusted her back into her friend’s arms, “We definitely are now. Take her to my truck.”

Phoenix looked confused before looking past the pair and seeing the broken window, immediately taking Ivy and leading her back towards the front of the parking lot. She opened the passenger door to the F350, helping her step in before shutting it and getting in the driver’s seat, allowing her better vantage to see anyone trying to approach.

Jake reached through the broken back window and unlocked the car, ducking his head down to be able to kneel on the seat, a few pieces of glass digging into his knee. Her backseat was strewn with clothes that were clearly from the bag that had been emptied. There was a tilt to the car, telling him that one of her tires was slashed. The contents of her glove compartment were strewn about the front seat. He circled the car, trying to find something that had identified her to the group of men - there, on the inside of her windshield, was a UCLA parking pass. He took pictures of everything, intending to get a list of everything that was missing once she was medically cleared. When he switched places with Phoenix, he threw his phone in the cup holder.

Two 400mg Ibuprofens, multiple butterfly bandages, and confirmation of a mild concussion later, Jake had opted to show her the photos on the drive back to her house after practically forcing a pair of sunglasses onto her face. She zoomed in and out of the photos, trying to identify anything that was missing. Ivy felt her face flush with embarrassment as she realized the item that was gone; she couldn’t help the burning feeling in her throat or the tears that pricked at her eyes. Her new silence made Jake glance over to the passenger seat. Her hand was quick to wipe away the tear that escaped, but was nowhere near fast enough to not be seen by him.

“What? What is it?”

“I- I, um,” She swallowed, her voice breaking every time she went to speak. “They, uh . . . they took my underwear from my bag. It’s the only thing missing.”

Ivy may have been the one with blood in her eyes, but Jake saw red in that moment. He vowed at that moment to track them down and make them regret ever making Ivy feel unsafe. The rest of the drive was silent; Ivy pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes staring vacantly out the windshield as she gave him directions. Her driveway was empty, despite the house being advertised for rent for 2 people. She’d had a roommate for the first 3 weeks of the summer, but the girl fell homesick and moved back to Maine, opting to pay the rent and be with her family than pay it and be alone. Ivy was absentmindedly picking at her nails, the polish chipping off in tiny bits of purple, when Jake pulled into her driveway. The truck was silent, save for the AC running on max. Ivy still didn’t look his way, too scared to see any pity in his eyes, “I- um, I don’t know how else to thank you than just saying it.”

His response was immediate, “Don’t.”

She reached her hand back and pulled the claw clip from her very tangled hair, allowing her to run her hands through it and give an excuse as to why she wasn’t looking at him. “No, really. You didn’t have to do any of this. And I was a dick to you when you were just trying to help. I know that I shouldn’t have done it - that I should’ve just . . . let someone else handle it or kick them out or something. But I’ve lived my whole life being afraid, being forced to ignore the way men act around women - around girls. I’ve carried pepper spray for longer than I’ve carried a house key. For fuck’s sake, I can’t get into my car without having to check the backseat with my flashlight because I’ve read too many stories about girls in this country getting murdered. I’m a bartender, and I’m too scared to drink alcohol in public because I’m afraid someone will roofie me. I just - I wanted at least one man, just one, to understand that women aren’t their toys. I wanted someone to understand there are consequences to their actions. And, well, look where it got me.” She held her hands up, “Mildly concussed and prius-less. Even with their heads knocked into tables, they still had to violate me in the most disgusting way. Touching me wasn’t enough because they felt like they were owed it. They went out of their way to find which car was mine and left everything but the one thing they knew would make me feel sick to my stomach. Hell, even now, I’m scared to be in my house. I didn’t have a key that they could’ve stolen in my car, but there’s so many ways they can break into my house. And the fact that it’s not even insane for me to think that they tracked down my house is so disheartening, because stuff like that happens all the time. It’s just - so exhausting being a woman, I wanted to be able to say I did something to protect myself. And I’m sorry for dumping this all on you, and I know you’ll never fully understand, but I need you to know I didn’t do it because I’m stupid or something. I needed to do it for me.”

Hangman was silent. Ivy expected that. If someone spilled their guts out to them like she just did to him, she also would be silent. Her thumbnail was bare at this point.

She opened the passenger side door before climbing down, giving him a small, brokenhearted smile after she took his glasses off and placed them in the cupholder. “Thanks again. Drive safe.”

She cringed at the sound of the door shutting, her brain pounding in response. Once she made it to the door, she struggled to find her house key, the limited light from the streetlamps making it hard to identify. She was too scared to use her flashlight; the nurse at the urgent care was adamant about reducing light hitting her eyes. Her struggle was stopped by a hand, making her jerk back and drop her keys, stumbling back a bit, scared it was one of the men. When she tilted her head up and saw Jake instead, her worry disappeared, but her heart was still hammering. She rested her forehead against the doorframe to catch her breath before she dropped to pick up her keys. “Jesus Christ, don’t do that.”

“I’m sorry.” Those words made her look up at him as she rose back up. They way he said it was more than just an apology for scaring her. It was an apology for everything she had confessed back in his truck, an acknowledgement that he would never understand, but he would try his best to - an apology for the way he acted towards her, even if both knew it was never really serious. A promise he would be there to back her up. He pulled her into a hug, cradling her head against his shoulder, making sure her cut was facing outward instead of against this uniform shirt. Her throat was tight once again, a few more tears escaping. She didn’t wrap her arms around him, but both knew it was because she was just too tired to do so. “Do you want me to stay? I’ll crash on the couch.”

She nodded against this chest, too scared to talk, not trusting her voice.

He took the keys from her hands, unlocking the door. He made sure to keep her behind him on the way up to her bathroom connected to her room, where they split off and he searched the rest of the house while she cleaned up; he left to get a bag of emergency clothes he kept in his backseat. Once he heard the water shut off, he made his way back to her, seeing her emerge with new bandages and a set of oversized sweats. In silence, she showed him the way to work her shower, not noticing the way he was staring at her rather than her hands.

When he left the shower, he opened the door to the sight of her asleep on top of her bedsheets. He walked over, taking the blanket that was folded at the corner of her bed for decoration and covered her with it before leaving a crack in the door and making his way downstairs.

-

The next few days passed by in a blur. Jake spent the nights he wasn’t required to stay on base crashing on Ivy’s couch - and eventually her bed. Ivy finished her summer class and got so black out drunk in her living room that she fell asleep sitting next to him, her head falling onto his shoulder. On top of driving her to and from the shifts he could, he took her back and forth between the mechanic, standing behind her with his feet planted and arms crossed, his face stoic, to ensure that the workers there wouldn’t upcharge her simply because she didn’t know any better.

The third or fourth time he had fallen asleep in her bed, he woke up when he normally did: before the sun. Even when he wasn’t required to be at the base, his sleep schedule was punctual - he couldn’t sleep in if he tried. The streetlights were still lit, but soon to disappear. The sky wasn’t pitch black anymore, more of a purple with a thin sliver of yellow very close to the horizon. He was shirtless, a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He was on his back, his arm wrapped around her, pulling her onto his chest. He could hear her breathing in and out, deep in sleep despite his awakeness. Her TV was in sleep mode, the DirectTV logo bouncing around the screen from when they paused My Cousin Vinny the previous night because he made her laugh so hard she couldn’t breathe. They spent the rest of the night talking, leaving the TV paused, too engrossed in each other.

He directed his gaze down to her, taking in the light ring of yellow from the slowly disappearing bruise on her head and around her eye. The bruises across her thighs from where she fell over the chair on the way down had a little longer to go in the healing process due to their size, but they were getting there. He tightened his hold around her, making her stir before she tucked her head further against his chest.

-

Ivy was dizzy with the way he was kissing her, like he was sucking all the air out her lungs while simultaneously being the reason she was able to breathe. Every touch of their lips was euphoric and she could feel herself slowly slipping away from the present into a place that only the two of them occupied. She had never been more thankful for Maine being on the other side of the country than now. His hands were under her shirt; his calloused thumbs were rubbing her stomach while the other fingers splayed across her back. He was also keeping her hips from rolling against his from her spot on his lap. His mouth attacked her neck, leaving her gasping as she buried her hands in his hair.

“Oh, yes - Jake,” her words were almost whiny with need, her hands switching to run down his torso to the bottom of his shirt and tug. “Need you. Need you inside me.”

He leaned back against her headboard, his stupid smirk on his face again. His right hand came up to cup her chin and bring her to make eye contact with him, “Oh, sweetheart, I gotta get you ready first.”

He hadn’t even touched her and her brattiness that coaxed every conversation along was already diffusing from her, “No! No - I can take it. Please.” Without his hand to hold her in place she took her chance and rolled her hips against him, her flimsy sleep shorts allowing her friction against his clothed cock. She was willing to try anything, so the words fell from her mouth without her brain okaying them, “Please, lieutenant.”

Her grip on her chin tightened, his eyes darkening and his smirk dropped. Ivy’s heartbeat picked up as she saw his face change, but before she could react, he was flipping them over, leaving her back to the mattress and him using his forearms to hold his hover over her. Her hips bucked of their own accord at his display of strength, her thighs pressing together for friction. His gaze flickered down before using his knees to push her legs apart, keeping her from having any relief that wasn’t delivered by him.

“Say it again,” He commanded. His pupils were so blown out that the blue of his eyes was almost invisible.

“P-pleas-” A sharp smack to the side of her ass made her gasp, his hand rubbing it slowly to soothe it before coming up to push a piece of hair out her face.

“Now, sweet girl, say it like you just did. All needy-like.” 

She did as he told. He went back on his haunches, looking down at her splayed beneath him, running his fingers so lightly up the sides of her legs that she squirmed from the ticklish feeling. His fingertips ghosted under her shirt again, his eyes silently looking up to her for confirmation. She nodded quickly, helping him rid her of the shirt. His quickly followed, leaving him in nothing but his sweatpants. He groaned at the sight of her breasts; there was no reason for her to sleep in a bra, leaving her fully naked up top once her shirt was gone. He slowly ran his hands up her sides, his thumbs ghosting over her ribs before landing under her boobs. The feeling of him palming at her tits was driving Ivy crazy; her whimpers were filling the room as he leaned down to kiss and suck at them. Her back shot up in an arch when his teeth grazed her left nipple before his tongue came down to soothe the pain, repeating his actions on each breast before Ivy was practically crying from need. Her hands were grabbing onto any part of him she could reach - his hair was already a disheveled mess and his shoulders and biceps were littered with crescent moons from her nails. Both of their necks and upper chests were already starting to bruise.

“J-Jake, please. Please touch me, fuck me, anything! Or let me suck you off, I just need you so fucking bad.” He was taking pictures of her in his mind right now. She was so frazzled and the most he had done was kiss her tits. He swore that if a breeze came by she would fall over the edge.

He kissed the apples of her cheeks before looking back down at her, “I told you, I gotta get you ready for me. Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Is it as big as your fucking ego, lieutenant?” She thought maybe being bratty again would get her what she wanted. “Having a big ego doesn’t make up for dick size.”

At that, his fingertips tugged her shorts down, taking her panties with them. He didn’t give her a moment to prepare before he was diving down, her thighs on his shoulders and his hands holding her hips down, eating her out like it was his last meal. She let out a scream when his tongue circled around her clit. Her back arched and her hands flew to his hair, wrapping in his blonde. He groaned into her cunt, making her moan out his name. He pulled back, lowering one thumb to pull her pussy apart. Her wetness gleamed in the morning sun that was shining through the window, her hole clenching around nothing. He looked up to her, his tongue running across his bottom lip, “Ask me to continue.”

She threw her head back onto the pillow breathlessly, a frustrated, needy “fuck you,” coming out before she adjusted her hips as best she could with his other hand still holding her down, trying her best to give him a better view of her pussy. “Please, please, lieutenant Seresin, eat me out ‘til I cum on your face so I can be ready to take your cock. You know what’s best for my pussy.”

He definitely was not expecting that to come out of her mouth - he was expecting a “please continue,” not something that made his dick harden even more than he thought was physically possible. “You want me to continue? To help you finish?”

Her head was nodding so much she thought she was going to reconcuss herself.

“How can I deny my sweet girl when she asks so nicely?” He lifted his hand to tap on her lips which she immediately parted to suck on his fingers. She moaned around them, thinking about the possibility of them inside of her. Her dreams came true when he pulled them out, a string of spit connecting them to her mouth before it broke. Jake lowered his hand and pushed two fingers inside of her. Her gasp was loud enough to alert anyone else in the house as to what was going on had anyone been there. Her fingers grasped the sheets below her, twisting them in her fists. Her whole body shuddered when he added his mouth, leaning down to suck on her clit again. Her ears were ringing, preventing her from hearing how loud she was, but that volume was spurring Jake on more. He switched from sucking to blowing to spelling his name on her clit. When he added a third finger and curled them inside of her, she fell apart. Her vision went white, her throat almost raw with how loud she was being. Her eyes were in the back of her head. Her hands went to run through his hair to pull him off from her sensitive core, but he grabbed her wrists in his free hand, pinning them to her stomach as he continued to ride her through her orgasm before bringing her to another. Her legs were shaking, her hips bucking, thighs tightening around his ears to try and escape his mouth and fingers. After her second orgasm, he relented, pulling away at her strangled “Jake, I-I can’t.”

She looked up at him as he removed himself from between her legs, keeping eye contact with her as he slipped his fingers from her pussy and sucked her cum off of them, groaning around them. “Baby, it’s a shame I’ve never tasted your cunt before. Fucking delicious. Gonna have to deploy me to keep me away.”

Her already unbrushed hair was even crazier from the way she was writhing under him, but he found her as intriguing as ever. Her lips were plump from their kissing and her biting; her cheeks were flushed. He once again tucked a piece of hair away from her face, wrapping his hand around her neck to pull her into a kiss, his thumb rubbing against her jaw as the coldness from his dog tags made her shiver as they passed over her bare chest, leaving goosebumps in their wake and leaving her nipples hard. He smirked against her lips as he heard her gasp at the metal. He leaned back once more to slip his tags off of his chest, slipping them over her head, letting them rest in between her tits. His thumbs passed over each nipple, breathing out a “perfect” as he watched her slightly arch her back at the touch, giving him a full view of his tags sitting perfectly at home in her valley. He never wanted to be discharged from the service so badly just so he could see that everyday instead of having to take them back later.

After his few moments of admiring her, he began to kiss from her sternum down to pussy again.

“I-I don’t know if I can handle an orgasm like that again,” she admitted, making him give one last kiss under her belly button.

“Oh sweet girl, that was just the start. I told you, I was getting you ready.”

Her gaze snapped back to him, abandoning the hole they were burning into the ceiling. Jake started to slide his sweats off, showing his lack of underwear under them. When they were far enough down, his cock sprung up, finally escaping. He finished riding himself of his pants before taking her hand delicately and pulling it to her mouth. “Spit.” Once again, she did as he told without question, eyes following her own hand as she sat up. He led her hand down to wrap around his dick, her thumb and middle finger not touching as she wrapped her hand around it. She slowly began to jerk him off, rubbing her thumb over his slit to spread the precum around. He threw his head back as she worked him, “Fuck.”

“Fuck my mouth lieutenant, please.” Her mouth dropped open as she began to move forward. His hand dropped to her shoulder to stop her. She looked up at him through her lashes, making his dick twitch in her hand.

“As much as I want to fuck your mouth, the only thing I’m fucking right now is that sweet pussy of yours.”

Her eyes widened a little, her eyes flickering between his eyes and his dick that she was still slowly stroking. “I don’t  . . . I don’t think that will fit in me.”

That stupid smirk was back. He cupped her cheek, using his other hand to stop her motions on his cock and guided her down on her back. “I thought ego’s didn’t make up for dick size? Isn’t that what you said baby? But it’s okay, this pussy was made for me, of course it’ll fit.”

She nodded, trusting him, but didn’t say anything.

“Do you wanna do this? Just say the word and we stop, no questions asked.”

“Yes! Yes, yes I want this. I trust you.”

His jaw clenched at those words, determined to make this everything she wanted. It was already everything he wanted. He wasn’t expecting this, honest - the two of them just thought it’d be easier for him to stay there that night since he promised to bring her to her shift that afternoon. Never did he think it’d end with her calling him lieutenant in a way that wasn’t designed to ignore him. He wasn’t prepared for her glossy eyes that looked at him like he created the universe.

He lined himself up, his face hovering above hers as his weight rested on his left forearm. He looked at her for confirmation once more, her bottom lip between her lips as she nodded. He pushed the tip in, his head dropping to rest in her neck. He groaned into her ear as he went in, her sharp whine filling his senses as she clawed into his shoulder blades. He pushed in a little more, her nails scraping down his back. She let out a low moan paired with her cry of, “Fuck yes, Jake. Feels so good. So big. Filling me up so good.”

He couldn’t help the small laugh that came out of him despite the absolute euphoria he was feeling being in her. He ran a hand over her hair before pulling himself out of her neck where he was busying himself with giving her another bruise. “It’s not all the way in yet, baby.”

Ivy’s eyes widened again, “How much left could there possibly be?”

He responded by pushing all the way in. She swallowed hard as she felt him hit a place inside her that had never been touched before. He watched as a small bulge protruded at the bottom of her stomach. He led her hand to rest over it - once again leading her hand to feel his dick, but this time through her own body. He pulled out before slowly pushing back in, “You feel that, sweet girl? That’s me. That’s how deep I am in you. I told you, this pussy was made for me.”

After a few more thrusts of letting her feel the way he moved inside of her, once again rendering her speechless, he leaned down to capture her lips again before picking up his pace. He broke the kiss but only to lift one of her legs to rest on his shoulder, his lips pressing a kiss to the inside of her ankle. The bed posts were hitting the wall so hard her nightstands were shaking just like her legs were. Her hands were once more locked in the sheets, her eyes rolling back with every thrust. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck - yes,” she couldn’t stop the few tears that rolled down her cheeks. He was enamored with the way she looked - naked, beautiful, his tags jingling every once and a while when he gave a particularly hard thrust. He was using her leg as leverage to fuck her even harder.

“That’s it baby, come on, you’re doing so well for me. You heard? You’re my good girl.”

She let out a moaned sob that was interrupted by a particularly hard thrust, “Yes, lieutenant, wanna be y’good girl.”

He cooed at her, “Look at you, can’t even talk right cause I’m fucking you so well. If you wanna be my best girl, show me what you cumming around my cock would feel like.”

She reached her hand down to rub her clit, but he swiped her hand away, placing it back on the bulge that was protruding, pushing down on her hand so that she was pushing down on it. It was like a damn had broken, her entire body seized up, tightening every muscle as he continued to thrust home, watching her eyes disappear behind her eyelids, her mouth opened in a shattered moan of his name mixed with “yes”es and “thank you”s. He had to hold her leg to keep it from shaking off of his shoulder. The way she was squeezing him was enough for him to feel his own high approaching.

He gently let her leg down, planning to pull out and cum into his shirt that he had discarded, but Ivy clearly had different plans. Her hands grabbed her tits, massaging them together. “Make me pretty, lieutenant. Please, please, make me pretty. Wanna be covered in you.”

“Fuck, you’re gonna kill me.” But he couldn’t deny he wanted to see it too. He stroked himself a couple of times, looking at her fucked out state beneath him, her tongue out to catch anything that made it that far. With a groan as she begged him once more for his cum, he finished onto her torso. Ropes of his cum covered from her lower belly to a few drops on her tongue. Most of it landed on her tits, and by proxy, his tags. She made sure to keep eye contact with him as she lifted the metal and licked his cum off of them, humming as she did so. She dipped a finger in cum on her chest, dipping it into her mouth as she moaned around her own finger at the taste of him. “So good, lieutenant, You made me so pretty. Only you can make me pretty like this.”

He dove back in for another kiss which started heated, but eventually turned deeper, both of them trying to show the other how much they enjoyed what just happened. When she pulled away for air, he kissed the tear tracks on her cheeks and climbed off the bed, picking her up and leading her to the bathroom. He sat her on the edge of the bathtub as he started to fill it up, not trusting her legs to keep her upright while they showered. While it was filling, the sound of the running water and the intense orgasms had her in a dreamy state, her head resting on the arm he was using to keep her up. Once the water was high enough and hot enough, he helped her get in and sit down, cupping his hand to take some water, directing her to swish it and spit it out so that her mouth wasn’t a desert anymore.

“Get in,” her sleepy voice let out.

He kissed her forehead, “Gotta make sure you’re taken care of first. Come back to Earth with me, sweet girl.” He continued to coax her out of the haze she was in, bringing her back to coherent thinking.

He then cupped the hot water over her shoulders before standing and climbing in behind her. It was awkward for him due to his size, but eventually they were able to settle into a comfortable state. Jake continued to cup water over her shoulders, making sure to keep her warm, massaging her shoulders and thighs every once and a while to release any tension as he soaped her body. When he finished washing her hair, he noticed how limp she was. Looking down, he was met with her asleep figure. Sensing that was her body trying to tell him she wanted her bed, he finished washing himself before waking her up and getting her out, wrapping her in a towel and sitting her in her chair in the corner. He wrapped his own towel around his waist, stripping the sheets and having her direct him to where there was another set. He made the bed as she was cuddled up in the towel, her hair dripping beads of water down her shoulders.

Jake pulled himself back into his sweat bottoms, foregoing the shirt for now, rubbing the water out his hair with the towel before disposing of it with their clothes heap. He helped her into a standing position, grabbing a pair of underwear for her to change into, turning away as she did so.

“It’s not like you haven’t seen everything.” She let out a laugh that turned into a yawn.

He turned back once he heard the drawers close, but instead of seeing her in one of her oversized sleep shirts he was so accustomed to, he instead saw her in the white Hanes t-shirt she had nearly torn off his body earlier. He couldn’t help the way his eyes traced her figure - wet hair, no pants, his shirt, sleepy smile. She went to give his tags back, but he shook his head, “Not yet.”

“Come on,” she nodded towards the bed, getting into one side as he got into the other. He reached over and pulled her into his chest, placing a kiss on the top of her wet hair, his fingers absentmindedly scratching up and down her bicep. She listened to his heartbeat as she reached her hand out to intertwine with his fingers. “I said ‘fuck me’ not ‘ruin any man for me ever again.’”

She felt his chest rise with the laugh he let out. “Oh sweet girl, if another man who isn’t me touches you, I’ll kill him.”

She hummed a laugh, sitting up on her elbows, one eyebrow raised, “Lieutenant Seresin, is this you asking me out?”

“Though that was clear, baby,” She leaned down to kiss him before laying back onto his chest; his thumb rubbed over her arm again. “But two things.”

“Yes?”

“One: if you call me lieutenant, you can’t be upset if I try to jump your bones immediately. Two: don’t call me Seresin unless you plan on letting me call you Mrs. Seresin.”

Ivy bit her lip to stop her laugh, “Yes, sir, lieutenant Seresin.”

When we were young

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x original female character (Carey Davis is you)

Summary: Jake and you had been friends since you can remember but as time goes on you can’t help yourself for falling for Jake. Because of fate and some other reasons Jake ends up marrying Melissa, your best friend, and your friendship with Jake falls apart. Years later, you and Jake find each other again and things haven’t changed as much as you thought, for better or for worse.

Childhood friends to almost lovers to strangers to lovers

Tw: Curse, drinking, smoking, shitty dad, mentions of divorce, bad writing and mistakes since English's not my first language.

Italics: Flashbacks

Part 2

1. When we were young

“My God, this reminds me, of when we were young”

You hear someone call your name, but the loud music and the noise of your friends laughing and talking doesn't help you to find whoever's calling your name. You frown lightly as you look around and when you can't find the person who's yelling your name you return your attention to the conversation your friends are having.

You take your glass of beer to your lips and you give it a drink. When someone taps your shoulder you can't help to jump slightly and you notice your friends’ eyes on the person behind you.

You rub your hand on your lips wiping away the trickle of beer that fell from your lips as you jumped. You turn around, only to find “BRADSHAW!” standing there wearing a hawaiian shirt and with a beer on his hand.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He yells at you since the music’s loud and with a huge smile on his face that he manages to infect you “I’m living here actually” you yell back and he leans his head closer to you so he's able to hear you right “Guys!” you yell at your group of friends and you grab Bradley by the arm “This one here’s Bradley, Brad, those are Penelope, Chris and Jackie” you say pointing at each one while you introduce them to Bradley, they nod at him as a greeting and Bradley raises his beer.

Bradshaw leans down a little again to whisper on your ear “Wanna get out of here?” You nod at him immediatly and respond with an almost unhearable yup. “Be right back” you yell at your friends, they nod at you and Chris blows you a kiss that you return to him.

You follow Brad as you both make your way through the crowd, you get to the stairs of the house and when you go down you start to hear the music further away. As soon as you step on the huge garden of the house you sigh and you put out the cigarrette against the wall and throw it in the trash can next to the door.

“How long have you been living here?” Brad asks you making you return your eyes to him “Six months, six months and a half maybe” You shrug and after taking a sip of his beer Bradley offers it to you which you gladly accept “You were definetly the last person I expected to find here” you take your hand to touch your chest and you fake being hurt “Ouch” He laughs and shakes his head “No, I mean like... the last time I saw you, you seemed so settled on Texas, wait! Are you still with Gareth?” You nod at him “I’m still settled, just not in Texas, and yeah, he’s actually here... somewhere” You point at the house when you explain that to him and he nods before making a gesture telling you to follow him.

"There’s some people I want you to meet," he says and you walk beside him. You basically go around the whole house to get to the other side of the patio where there is a group of guys sitting at a table drinking and laughing out loud. You approach them and the first to notice you is a tall guy with a mustache "Rooster, you've got my beer, right?"

Brad tenses a little bit and before he says anything the guy speaks up again “No worries, Bradshaw, who’s your friend though?” He points at you and you crack a smile “Carey, Payback, Payback, Carey” You're extend your hand and he shakes it nodding at you respectfully before turning his head to look at the crew "Anybody want a beer?"

The only woman on the table raises her hand and holds up two fingers on the air and Payback nods at her before making himself towards the entrance of the house. Bradshaw and you get closer to table and as if you were someone extremely important Bradley makes an anouncement to introduce yourself to the group.

"Guys, this is Carey. Carey, those are Phoenix, Bob, Fanboy, Fritz, Coyote and-" he stops pointing at them and clears his throat, trying to call the attention of the guy turning his back to you while he's talking to a woman, the guy doens't seem to care so Bradley points at him and calls his name, well, his callsign "And that's Hangman"

The blonde tall guy finally turns to pay attention to Bradley and when he looks at you, you notice his lips parting and you cross your arms raising an eyebrow.

"Melissa, you need to calm down" you were telling your friend Melissa while you were walking next to each other towards the football training yard "How am I supposed to be calmed? What if he doesn't like me?" You rolled your eyes at her "It's possible" Melissa stopped walking at turn to you bringing her hand to her chest, you giggled at her action "I'm kidding, Mel, I mean, Jake's an idiot but never a bad person" Melissa seemed to relax after you told her that and sighed "Don't joke about that, Carey"

You giggled again and started walking again with her following you. You got to the football yard and make your way through the already seated people on the bleachers. You ended up sitting on the third row covering your faces with your hands since the sun was exactly on you.

There were eight minutes left of the match and while you waited for it to end anxiously sitting and moving your foot, Melissa spent those eight minutes cheering the "team" when in reality she was cheering Jake, and Jake only.

The bell rings and that's when you know that the game's over. You noticed Jake jogging towards your direction and you waved at him, when he approached you he went for the hug but you stopped him quickly "Not sweating like that, Seresin" He rolled his eyes and without a warning attracted your body to his hugging you. You pressed your hands against his abdomen pushing him away and after a couple seconds he finally let you go "Jake! You're disgusting!" He giggled and then winked at you "You adore me"

You rolled your eyes at him giggling too "What the hell are you doing here, DVD? This isn't your natural habit" You rolled your eyes at the stupid nickname he used on you and then you pointed at Melissa "Jake, this is Melissa, she's my best friend... Melissa, this is Jake, but you already know that" You said the last part in a whisper, making Melissa laugh awkwardly and she waved at Jake, who gave her a smile and returned to look at you

"I thought I was your best friend" You touched his left shoulder and looked at him directly in the eye "You're not special, babe... Ew! I forgot your sweaty!" You quickly took your hand away from his body and he laughed at you making you laugh too "Anyways, I just wanted you to know each other"

Melissa was standing awkwardly beside you and for someone who usually speaks A LOT she was extremely quiet, Jake on the other hand was starting at you while he cleaned the sweat off his face with a little towel "You should come home for dinner tonight, you haven't visited us in three days, the family's started to worry" You rolled your eyes jokingly at him and nodded "Yup, I'm in"

Jake gave you a genuine smile and you smiled back "Okay, you better go... To clean yourself and we-" you grabbed Melissa by the arm "Should get going to class"

"Yes ma'am" He nodded at you and then stepped closer with his open arms to hug you making you stepped back raising you arm in front of you, making a stop sign "JAKE! STOP!" He only laughed and then said "Fine, I'll hug you tonight"

You giggled before turning around and started walking away with Melissa on your side, you didn't know exactly what it was but something made you turn your head to look at Jake once again, who was still staring at you as you were leaving.

///

You weren't exactly sure why you did it, it probably was the fact that she begged you the whole day, but there you were walking towards the Seresin's house with Melissa on your side

When you stepped on the porch of the huge house you noticed Melissa fixing her dress and you whispered to her "I told you to wear jeans" she shook her head in denial "How am I supposed to make a good impression on my future in laws wearing jeans, Carey?" You rolled your eyes jokingly as you scoffed and then you rang the doorbell.

Jake's youngest sister Leslie opened the door and as soon as she saw you she threw herself over you "CAREY!" You giggled while you hugged her and when you separated she turned to look at Melissa and you began to explain "She's Melissa, my best friend" Leslie hugged her too and then looked at me again, frowning "I thought my brother was your best friend"

"He is also my best friend, Les" She nodded at you, understanding, and then moved from the door so you could get in. It didn't matter how many times you've been here, it didn't ceased to surprised you how huge and gorgeous their house was. It was a huge rustic wooden house with some modern touches to it.

You went straight to the kitchen, knowing exactly who you'll find there: Jake's middle sister, Lauren, and their mom, Maria, hurriedly cooking dinner "Can I help you with something?" Both of them turned to look at you with a huge smile on their faces "DVD!" Lauren said excitedly making mama Seresin hit her lightly on the arm and you moved your lips telling her "It's fine", Lauren giggled and mama Seresin started speaking "You forgot about us, Carey"

You shook your head in denial still smiling at them "I didn't, Jake stopped inviting me" Mama Seresin moved to the sink to wash her hands "You know he doesn't have to, you're always welcomed" You smiled at her widely and she smiled back before moving closer to Melissa and she extended her hand to greet her, Melissa shook it smiling nervously at her "Ma, she's Melissa, Melissa, that's the one and only Mama Maria Seresin" Mel smiled at her and Ma said"It's a pleasure to meet you, Melissa"

"The pleasure's mine" She responded. You noticed Lauren struggling with a cooking pot so you spoke up "Let us help you, ma" You were sure Ma was going to answer with a "nothing" like always, but this time she put two cutting boards, two knives and a bunch of veggies on the bar of the kitchen "Can you help me cutting these?" You and Melissa nodded at her and sat on the bar chairs to start cutting the veggies.

It surprised you when Melissa finally said something "Why did you call her DVD?" Lauren laughed at her question "Y'know how her name's Carey Davis? Well, her initials are CD and where do you play those?" Melissa seemed to got it pretty fast and answered "DVD" Lauren nodded at her still giggling and even though the whole nickname was pretty stupid, you all laughed at it.

You heard the back door opening and you didn't need to look to know that Jake's home. He was wearing shorts, a black T and a cap, that he took off when he entered the house "Carey! Oh... Hi Melissa" He awkwardly waved at Melissa and she didn't hesitate for a second before waving at him back. Jake was confused, you could tell and you gave him a smile, almost like saying sorry for brought her over, considering that everytime after dinner you had a night talk before you went back home.

Jake cracked a smile that you read as it's fine and pointed at you "You owe me a hug" You turned in the chair and he made his way towards you and hugged you as soon as he was close enough to you, you graped you arms around his body and he leaned down his head a little bit and whispered on your ear "She's so in love with me, Carey" you put your mouth against his shoulder to avoid laughing out loud "I know, so don't be a prick with her" You didn't see your face nut you were sure that he rolled his eyes and then you broke the hug.

"What are we eating, Ma?" Jake asked her mom approaching her to give her a kiss on the forehead and then he messed up Lauren's hair, making her punch him on the shoulder "Chili, with veggies, that I hope are cut by now" You sat down on the bar quickly to finish cutting the vegetables and you noticed that Melissa finished cutting them already and was staring at Jake and she was not being subtle about it, making you giggle.

///

You brought the last pot to the table and sat down on the dining table at the same time as everyone else. You sat between Lauren and Leslie and Melissa was sitting next to Jake and in front of you. Mama Seresin was between Melissa and Lauren and John Seresin between Jake and Les. You noticed Jake tensing when his dad sat next to him and he looked for your eyes, you gave him a reassuring smile and Ma broke the ice "Well everyone, go ahead"

The rest of the dinner went pretty well, Jake's sisters were asking Melissa a lot about her and she was gladly answering them and somehow John Seresin wasn't throwing his classic hateful comments.

We were eating dessert when Melissa turned to look at Jake and then looked at me "How did you two become friends?". Jake looked at you and seemed to be waiting for you to respond first but you were waiting for him to respond, so when you responded, you did it at the same time

"When he hit me with a ball!"

"When we were in elementary!"

You both looked at each other and started laughing at the same time, he told you with his eyes to go on and you did "When we were on elementary I went to the restroom one day, and in our school to be able to get to the restroom, you needed to cross the sports patio, so yeah, I was walking towards the bathroom and I saw a group of kids playing basketball and for obvious reasons I moved to the other side of the patio to avoid being hit by them, but it didn't work anyway because when I was about to get into the bathroom I didn't saw a ball coming my way so it hit me exactly on the face-" you stopped for a second and you laughed at your own anecdote

"And well, it hit me, hard. My nose started to bleed and one of the kids ran on my direction and asked me if I was fine, I said yes although my nose was bleeding big time, he told me that I didn't look fine and after insisting a lot he took my to the nursing. He was so worried that he waited for me to came out even after the nurse told him it wasn't anything serious, he took me to my classroom after that and at the end of the day he waited for me on the entrance of the school, he apologized again although by that point I told him that I was fine for the eleventh time and he still didn't seem to accept it so I told him that if he was really sorry he will walk me home, he accepted and little did we know that we lived on the same street"

"That kid was Jake, obviously, and after that day he started waiting for me so we would walk to  school together and we've been inseparable since"

Jake looked at you with an expression you never saw in his eyes before, it was almost as if he was admiring you and when he noticed you staring at him, he shook his head and rasped his throat "She just can't get away from me" You rolled your eyes at him making him laugh

"Also, Carey is his only friend since my son is incapable of having male friends, he's like having another daughter" John Seresin spoke up for the first time on the whole evening and you noticed how Jake's jaw clenched and looked down at his hands under the table, you moved your left foot to touch his leg and he looked up at you forcing himself to smile.

Lauren broke the uncomfortable silence by saying "Let's pick up the table", you nodded at her and stood up taking one of the pots with you as Lauren was picking up the plates and cutlery, Ma was about to stand up too but Lauren stopped her and she mouthed a thank you at you, then Jake stood up too and took the other pot from the table, ignoring the fact that his dad was looking at him with a quizzical expression.

When you got to the kitchen you found Jake leaning against the bar with a glass of water on his hand "Jake-" he cut you off, not in a rude way though "It's fine, Carey, it's not like I care anyway" he was looking down at the glass of water but still you tried to catch his eyes "But you do care, Jake" he didn't say anything else and you didn't either, you just walk towards him and hugged him.

It took him a second to adjust and accept the hug but once he did he graped his arms around your waist and placed his head on your shoulder. You weren't sure how long you stayed like that but you separated abruptly when Lauren got in the kitchen, she looked at you and laughed "Geez, calm down" You were scratching the back of your neck and Jake took the glass of water on his hands again. Lauren walked out of the kitchen and you followed her, not without giving Jake one last look before going back to the dinner room.

“Jake Seresin” you say as he stares at you, completely surprised at your presence “From beyond the grave” He scoffs and walks towards you, he gets close to you, but not too close “Hi” he says and you give him a clearly fake smile. He opens his mouth to say something else but he’s interrupted by Bradley, who's seems to be confused at your interaction “You know each other?” You look at Bradley again and he's frowning. You both respond him at the same time.

“We were in school together”

“We were best friends”

Jake and you look at each other and if you knew him still, you would say that he was hurt by the way you described your relationship with him, but you don’t know him anymore so you can’t really tell.

Bradley’s looking at you both intrigued and with a playful smile on his face “You should rehearse that” he says playfully and leaves you to joins the rest of the guys on the table. Jake takes the beer on his hand to his lips and he frowns when he realizes that it’s empty “Want a drink?” He asks you and you nod at him as a response.

He starts walking to the house and you follow him, noticing how he’s turning his head to look at you until you get to the kitchen. Once you’re in it, you notice how the music is quiter than before and how the kitchen is not as crowded. You take a sit on the coffe table on the corner of the room. Jake opens the refrigerator and takes out two beers and opens them with the bottle opener embebbed on the wall, he extends his hand towards you and you grab the bottle, not without thanking him first.

He leans on the wall with his shoulder against the wall and you take a drink “So, how do you know Rooster?” You swallow the beer before responding him “He’s a friend of a friend, we were introduced a few years ago and we’ve been friends since then” Jake nods and takes a sip of beer “I assume you fly with him?” Jake nods again “Yeah, I do, but we’re not really friends” You’re the one nodding now and you’re unsure about what to say about that, but you don't have to think much because Jake speaks up first "How do you know I fly though?" He asks you and you scoff "Jake, I might not be your friend anymore but that doesn't mean I'm not close to your family anymore"

He raises and eyebrow "You're still close to my family?" You nod "Pretty close actually" He has that surprised expression on his face again and you begin to explain before he asks "I asked them not to tell you, if that's what you're wondering" he shakes his head slowly, like processing what I'm telling him and then he speaks again "So you live in Texas again?"

"I lived there for a while after college, but a few months ago I moved here with my boyfriend" He nods again and his expression is an unreadable one "And where is he?" He asks me and you make a hand gesture "He's in this party, somewhere" You take a drink of your beer again and you notice Jake's evading looking at you "What about you, Jake? Where's Melissa?" He turns to look at you abruptly when he hears that name.

"How would I know?" He says that with a cutting voice and it surprises you making you frown, he continues speaking "For you being pretty close to my family, it surprises me that you have no idea" You still have confused written all over your face so he finishes his explanation "We're getting divorced, Carey"

Your lips parted lightly and you feel your eyes opening in shock "I'm sorry, Jake" He scoffs "Are you really?" You roll your eyes at him and stand up ready to leave when he shakes his head and grabs you lightly by the arm "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that" You place your hand in top of his to take it away from your arm "Whatever, Jake, you clearly haven't changed" He shakes his head again and you speak again "I'm going to go find my-" You're cut off by an arm graping around your shoulders and a kiss on your forehead, Jake stops grabbing your arm and you realize who it is

"I was looking for you" you say making your clearly drunk boyfriend blush "And I was looking for you" he says and tips your nose with his index finger, he leans down to kiss your cheek and whispers on your ear "Are we leaving?" You nod at him and turn to look at Jake again "Jake, this is my boyfriend Gareth, Gareth, that's Jake Seresin"

Gareth opens his mouth exaggerated and points at him looking at you "He's Maria's son?" You nod and Gareth extends his hand to shake Jake's, which Jake shakes reluctantly as he asks "You know my mom?" Gareth nods "All your family, actually, I met Carey through Lauren" he slurs his words and you put your arm around his body to give him equilibrium. Jake looks at you, more confused than before and you just shrug.

"Anyway, I'll-” You correct yourself "We'll see you around I guess" Jake only nods and you turn around and start walking away almost dragging Gareth with you

You hear Jake's voice calling your name as you're stepping outside of the kitchen but you pretend to not hear him and you keep walking away.

When we were young

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x original female character 

Summary: Jake and you had been friends since you can remember but as time goes on you can’t help yourself from falling for Jake. Because of fate and some other reasons Jake ends up marrying Melissa, your best friend, and your friendship with Jake falls apart. Years later, you and Jake find each other again and things haven’t changed as much as you thought, for better or for worse.

Childhood friends to almost lovers to strangers to lovers 

Tw: Curse, drinking, smoking, mentions of divorce, hangman is secretly a softie but he’s also a jerk, mentions of protected sex in like one line lol, bad writing and mistakes since english’s not my first language.

Italics: Flashback

Part 1

2. Somebody else

“I don’t want your body but I hate to think about you with somebody else”

As soon as Jake opens his eyes he has to close them shut immediatly again since the way his head is hurting is insufferable. He grunts and curses under his breath as he squeezes his head with both of his hands. He rolls on the bed turning his back to his room’s wondow only to find a blonde woman, completely naked, sleeping next to him.

he lets out a heavy sigh and turns around again, half opening his eyes because of the light that’s entering his room. He sits on the edge of his bed for a while he tries to remember how he ended up on his partment with a girl but the only thing he seems to remember’s that he saw you again and then you left with your boyfriend and that’s about it.

He slides up his boxers and starts walking towards the kitchen.

Jake doesn’t waste any time and as soon as he gets to the kitchen he turns on the cooffe machine and leans on the kitchen island, dialing his mother’s number. It only rings once before he hears her mother’s characteristhic “JAKE!” and he can’t help himself to crack a little smile “Hey Ma!”

“How you doin’, baby?” Ma asks him as she cleans her kitchen and Jake yawns covering his mouth before answering “I’m fine, how’s everyone there?” 

“We’re all good, hun, we’re having a barbecue today” God, he misses that “God! I miss that” His mom smiles through the phone “And I miss you, Jake, we all do” Those words make him feel like he’s being hug by her and it feels great, especially because he really needed to hear that.

“Ma, can I ask you something?” Ma scoffs shaking her head “I knew you called me for something” Jake shakes his head too and lets out a quiet laugh “No, I mean, I did call you for something, I called you because I love you and I love talking to you” His mom rolls her eyes and articulates a simple “mmhm” waiting for her son to continue. “Why didn’t you tell me you were still in touch with Carey?” He doesn’t say it as a reproach but it still causes his Ma to tense after hearing the question “How do you know?”

“She told me” He responds and Ma can’t avoid cracking a smile “So you did find each other” Jake frowns at that, confused about what she said and what she means by that “What?”

“Well, I know she’s been living in San Diego and when you told me you’ll be stationing there I started to hope that you’ll find each other again, I just didn′t expect it to happen so fast though... How is she?”

Jake sighs “She’s got a boyfriend and she hates me, I think she’s fine”. Ma sighs too and even thought Jake can’t see her, she was giving him a pitiful smile “Rightfully so, Jake... and yeah, Gareth, he’s a good guy, did you meet him too?” Jake responds with a simple “mmhm” and Ma continues “If it makes you feel better hun, she always felt happy for your success, no matter how hurt she was with you, the least you can do is be happy for her”

He nods slowly, understanding but still processing the fact that he’s just finding out that you never stopped cheering his success even after what he did to you. His mother’s voice takes him out of his thoughts “Did you tell her about Melissa?” she asks and he puts the phone on speaker as he pours the hot coffee on his cup “I did... and I fucked it up after that”

“Of course you did, hun, you always do” Jake chuckles and gives his coffee a drink as his mom speaks up again “Are you going to see her again?” He shakes his head in denial and feels an undescribable pain on his chest that he tries to ignore by clearing his throath “Nope, I doubt we’ll bump into each other again”

“Hun...” She starts saying but Jake cuts her off “Nah, it’s fine, I mean, don’t I deserve that?” Ma frown slightly, not sure about what he meant exactly “What do you mean?”

Jake sighs again “I broke not only her heart but all of her like it was nothing, maybe the least I deserve is her hating me forever” Ma stares at the phone unable and unsure about what to say so the only thing that comes out of her mouth is “She doesn’t hate you, Jake”

Jake rubs his face with his hands before speaking up again “Anyways, Ma, I need to get ready and send Melissa the papers, can I call you later?” Ma nods slowly “You know you always can, hun, I love you”

Jake smiles while he says “I love you too, Ma”

He cuts the call and as he does he notices a text message from phoenix

Phoenix: Dinner tonight with the team, you in?

“It took you like two hours, Jake!” You said as Jake returned to the table with a tray full of ribs and mac and cheese “Well, it took you two hours to get ready to come here,so I guess we’re even”. You rolled your eyes at him and you were about to answer when your stomach roared, loud, making Jake and Melissa, who was sitting next to you, laugh “Geez! Someone’s hungry”

You kept your straight face for a second, pretending to be mad but it didn’t last long because you lost it and laughed along them “Can we eat now, pleaaaaase?” you asked and Jake nodded as he slipped into the sofa, sitting in front of you and Melissa.

He served you some food on a plate and put it in front of you, staring at you as you were concentrated and ready to start eating. You grabbed a rib and took it to your mouth.It was amazing, so amazing that you rolled your eyes as you were eating it and the only thing you were allowed to say was a “mmmmmm”

Melissa turned to look at Jake and he looked at her quickly before returning his eyes to you and you just shrugged. When you finished eating it you cleaned your mouth and spoke up “This is fucking good”. Jake nodded “Told you this ribs are the best” well, he certainly wasn’t lying, you thought

Melissa finished chewing and spoke up, for the first time in the whole afternoon “I have to admit that this is my first time eating this”. Jake, who had his attention on the rib on his plate, turned to look at her abruptly with his eyes wide open

“Are you serious right now?!” Jake asked, looking directly at her and she nodded nervously “Yeah... my mom’s not really a fan of meat” she said and shrugged as Jake was nodding slowly, like processing what she just said. “I just can’t believe you never tried ribs before, are you even a texan?” Jake asked her, with a serious face and you couldn’t help but giggled about it.

“Actually no, I’m from San Diego”, Jake looked at you and then at her again with a raised eyebrow and he seemed fascinated and curious about that fact “Why did you move here?” he asked her and you turned to look at your friend, who was failing to hide her exciment about being noticed and questioned about her by Jake “A few years ago my dad was stationed here while my mom and I were still living in California and my dad kinda fell in love with this city and asked my mom to move here, so we did”

“Wait, wait! Stationing? Your dad’s a pilot?” Melissa chuckled and nodded and you noticed how Jake’s eyes lightned up, then Melissa spoke up again “Yeah, how do you know?”

“I want to be a pilot too” he said causing you to opened your eyes abruptly and you frowned your eyebrows, it was surprising to you, but it wasn’t that he wanted to be a pilot that surprised you, it was the fact that he never told you that, and you knew that he didn’t have to tell you everything that he does but you couldn’t help to feel hurt about it “Do you” You asked and he guided his eyes to look at you

He shrugged “I mean, I’ve been contemplating the option for a while, but I’m still not sure” he said and you just nodded watching him returned his attention to Melissa and you weren’t exactly sure why but all of a sudden you were mad with Melissa althought you weren’t sure why

“My dad could help you with it if you want, I mean, he could clear some of your doubts and things like that” Melissa said and Jake nodded with a huge grin on his face “Yeah, that-that would be really cool actually”

Jake turned to look at you and and gave you a smile and you returned it, then he spoke up “Carey could give me your number so I text you about it”. He was staring at you and you forced a smile and nodded but you were feeling irritated about this whole thing but again, it was your idea to introduced them and you knew that Melissa was head over heels for Jake, so why were you feeling mad about it? 

You didn’t know and you also didn’t know why you stopped listening to them as you watched them talked like they’ve been friends since forever and decided and put all your atenttion on the food you had in front of you 

Were you jealous? No, you couldn't be, Jake was your friend, your best friend and you were his, you couldn't be jealous, also, you loved Melissa and you wanted to see her happy, right?

You shook your head and slipped out of the coach as you said “I’m going to the restroom” but none of them seemed to heard it.

///

After dropping Melissa off her house Jake turned to look at you as you had your atenttion on the road “She’s cool” he said taking you out of your thoughts and making you frown “What?” you said as you turned your head to faced him and he was the one that had his eyes on the road now

“Melissa, she’s cool” he said rolling his eyes and you simply nodded and looked at the road too, he didn’t say anything else and you didn’t say anything either. You both spent like ten minutes in silence until you noticed Jake slowing down and parking the car on the side of the street, you looked at him only to find him staring at you “Are you okay?” Your frowned, completly confused as why he parked the car and why he was asking you “mmh, yeah, I’m fine, Jake, why did you stop?”

He shook his head, causing his hair to messed up a little bit “No, you’re not, what is it?” he asked and you frowned even more “I have no idea what you’re talking about” he cracked a playful smile and you rolled you eyes “C’mmon, tell me”

“There’s nothing to tell you” You said and you were starting to feel annoyed at this whole thing, he must’ve not noticed it because he kept going “Wait! I know what it is, you’re jealous”

“I’m not jealous”

“You are jealous, Carey’s jealo-”

“I’M NOT FUCKING JEALOUS!” you cut him off, louder than you expected and he stared at you with opened eyes and then he shooked his head again “I-I’m sorry, I was just teasing” He said it with a sadness on his voice and you felt guilty “No, I’m-I’m sorry Jake” You rushed to say and he nodded without saying anything so you kept going “I’m not jealous, it’s jut that- why didn’t you tell me you want to be a pilot?”

He returned his attention to you and you gave him a little smile that he returned before speaking up “I was going to, you were going to be the first person I’ll tell once I was sure”

You turned to look down at your hands as you were playing with them and you quietly, almost unhearbly said “But now I won’t be the first” Jake frowned and he wasn’t sure if he heard you correctly “What?” You shook your head and faced him again “Nothin’, nevermind”

“No, what did you say?” You rolled your eyes again “Nothing, Jake, it doesn’t matter, can we go now?” He shook his head in denial and took the keys out of the steering wheel “It does matter to me, Carey!”

“You know what, I’m gonna walk” you said as you grab your bag and opened the door, heading out, and Jake followed you “Are you serious right now?” he yelled as you were walking away and you didn’t stop nor turned to look at him, but you felt him walking behind you “Carey! C’mmon! I dont’t even know why you’re acting like this”

“THAT’S THE PROBLEM!” You yelled at him without stopping your walk and you weren’t exactly sure when or why there were tears forming on your eyes

You step out of the car and fix the jumpsuit you’re using before starting walking into the restaurant. The girl on the entrance approaches you and asks you if you have a reservation, you shake your head in denial and tell her that you’re coming with Bradley Bradshaw. She nods at you and grabs her notebook, when she seems to find him on the list she says something like “Yeah, he’s on table 4, it’s outside on the terrace” and she points at the huge glass door that leads to the terrace.

You thank her and star walking towards it, you’re like an hour and a half later so everyone must be here right now, even Gareth. As you approach the table you noticed every single one of the guys, and girl, that Brad told you would come, except that there’s someone he certainly didn’t mention

JAKE SERESIN, again.

He probably wasn’t expecting you either because when he notices you his lips part a little bit. You’re not sure how long you stare at him but it’s like you get caught in the moment, and that moment is stopped by Bradley’s arm wrapping around your shoulders.

You notice that Jake’s also taken out of his thoughts by the shaven-head guy sitting next to him when he hits his ribs with his elbow causing Jake to throw his elbow away and giving a drink to the glass he has on one of his hands.

“You made it!” Brad says and you look at him smiling, kinda faking that smile “Yeah, I almost- Oh sorry guys, hello, hello!” You say as you wave at everyone on the table and they all return the waved and some of them say things like “Hi” and “How you doin’?”. You move your eyes seeing all of the people there and when your eyes get to Jake he nods at you as a greet and you do the same. You return your eyes to Brad “Where’s Gareth?” you ask him

“He left because he thought you weren’t coming” he answers you with a serious face and you’re not sure if he’s joking or not “Really?” you ask with your eyebrows frowning causing Rooster to laugh at you “Nah, he’s in the bathroom”

You roll your eyes while you giggle too and he guides you to your chair, luckily for you, you were sitting between Phoenix and Gareth and Jake was sitting on the other half of the table, at least it’s not going to be that awkward you thought. 

Like five minutes later Gareth returns to the table and gives you a kiss on the cheek before sitting next to you, you turn to look at him and he gets closer to your ear “When did you get here?” You move your head so your mouth’s on his ear now “Like five minutes ago” you whisper and then you both return your atenttion to the anecdote one of the pilots is telling.

You’re unsure about how long it’s been in between laughs and anecdotes told but you notice that the sky’s dark now, and because of all the drinking and eating you excuse yourself to go to the restroom.

When you get out of it, you don’t return to the table right away, instead you walk towards the exit of the restaurant and you turned around the corner of it, leaning your back on the wall and lighting up a cigarrette that you had in your bag. You exhale the smoke as you shigh throwing your head back

“Since when do you smoke?” he asks you and you don’t need to look at him to know who it is “Since when do you care?” shit you think after those words come out of your mouth, curtly and more agresive than you intened “I’m so sorry, that was-”

He cuts you off while he shakes his head and stands next to you with his back leaning on the wall too “Nah, it’s fine, I deserve that I guess” You don’t know exactly what to say and you also don’t know exactly why your heart’s beating faster than before, so you just put the cigarette in front of his face as a question which he responds to shaking his head lightly and moving your hand and the cigarrette away from his face “I don’t smoke”

You shrug and give it a smoke again, returning your atenttion to the sea, even though it was pretty dark outside and you can’t barely see it. You feel Jake’s stare on you but you try to ignore it, he returns his stare at the sea and like three minutes later he moves his head to stare at you again, this time you turn to face him “Jesus Jake, just say it!”

He scoffs and takes a second before speaking up “I didn’t know you’ll come, I promise” he says pretty fast and throwing his hands on the air, making you scoff quietly and nodding at him “Yeah, I figured”. He doesn’t say anything else so you turn to see at the sea again. It feels funny how you’re just as awkward as you were back then and how even though you both are silent it doesn’t really feel uncomfortable.

Jake takes his eyes to you again and just stares at you, without saying anything for a couple of minutes “I missed you” he finally says and it’s not the fact that he said that what surprises you, it’s the way your heart jumped as you heard that what surprises you and it takes you a microsecond to adjust at the way your heart’s beating at this point, you try to shake that feeling and act as if you feel nothing about it and sarcastically say “Yeah, right”

You look at him and his expression is serious and he doesn’t have that cocky smile on his lips “I mean it, Carey”

“Well, it sure didn’t seem like it, Jake” You say, letting all those feeling you thought you got over overcome you and your voice and throws his head back, frustraded and sad maybe? “But I missed you too, Jake” You don’t know what posseses you to say that but you do clearly shocking Jake or at least that’s what his face says. He clears his throat before speaking up again “I’m sorry”

Your frowned, confused about what he’s apologizing for “Huh?”

“I’m sorry... for everything, I-” He stops himself “I shouldn't have been scared and I shouldn't have done what I did to you, you-you didn’t deserve that”

You shake your head trying to stop the tears that are forming on your eyes and you feel your chest being punch and hurt by all the memories that are coming back to you as he says that. You stare at the floor, knowing damn well that if you look at him you’ll cry 

“I know you want nothing to do with me, I get that and I promise you that after tonight I’ll stop bumping into you but I really need you to know that I’m sorry for everything and if I could I would totally go back and make things right, but I know I can’t and again, I’m sorry”

He says that pretty fast, almost as if he was on a rush and you feel a lump creating on your throat and you notice a tear falling on the floor. Those were the words you wanted to hear from him since you were younger and now that you heard them you’re not exaclty sure how to feel about it. At this point the tears are coming out of your eyes non-stop and you star blinking fast to avoid them.

Jake’s never really been good with emotions so he spins on his heels nervously, wondering what he should do. He steps closer to you and places a hand on your shoulder, rubbing it slowly “I’m going back inside so they don’t suspect anything weird, is that okay?” He asks you with a soft voice that you haven’t heard in a while and you only nod, still looking down at the floor.

When he takes his hand away from your skin you feel your shoulder cold and empty, he’s about to return to the restaurant when he stops after hearing you calling his name “Yeah?” He asks and you finally stare directly at him and you find funny how the way the light from the restaurant’s lighting him makes him look like a god, even though he’s more like a devil “Thank you... for saying that, it means a lot”

He nods and cracks a little smile that you try to return, then he turns around and returns to the restaurant.

You weren't sure for how long you’ve been rolling back and forth on your bed so you grabbed your phone to check the hour: 2:44 am

You grunted annoyed about the fact that you couldn't sleep and you had classes tomorrow. You rolled again to put your phone on the night stand again when it started ringing

Jakey 

You didn’t even hesitated before picking it up “Jake?” You asked whispering and he answered you with his raspy voice “Were you up?” You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you and you answered him with a simple “mmmhm”

“Fine” he started saying in a whisper too “Do you want to talk?” you made another “mmhm” sound and moved on your bed to sit with your back against the backrest “I’m sorry for today, well, yesterday, I don’t know what happened”

You couldn’t see him but you were sure he was nodding before speaking up “Yeah, it was a strange day... but I really liked it” you didn’t know why you smiled at the but you did “Did you like it? Did you like seeing me losing my shit?”

“I like seeing you doing anything to be honest, even losing your shit” Your heart stopped for a whole minute and it wasn’t until you heard Jake’s voice again that you realized that you were still alive “I’m sorry, what did you say?” you asked him since you weren’t sure you really paid atenttion to what he said before “I said that you don’t have to feel jelaous about Melissa”

“Oh my god, are we going there again?” You heard Jake giggling through the phone and you smiled to yourself “Okay, let’s pretend you weren’t jealous today, yesterday I mean, but what I’m trying to say is that you should never feel jealous about anyone because you’ll always be my best friend and no one’s gonna change that, okay?”

“Geez Jake, you’re so corny” You heard him laughing laughter then and you laughed too covering your mouth with your hand “I’ll never tell you anything nice again, dvd”

“Noooo, I’m kidding Jake, I adore you too” you said in between laughs causing Jake to laugh along you

“Fuck!” Gareth grunts as he comes and gets outside of you, taking off the condom and throwing it in the trash can next to the bed, he gives you a kiss on the lips before grabbing his phone, you sit on the edge of the bed and you put on your panties and Gareth's shirt.

You stand up as you grab your phone from the little table next to the bed “I’m going to the kitchen, you want anything?” you say and Gareth shakes his head in denial still looking at his phone “No baby, I’m good”

You serve yourself some water as you get to the kitchen and lean on the island of the kitchen with your phone on the other hand, should you? shouldn’t you? You keep staring at the number, unsure wheter it’s a good idea to call him or not. FUCK IT you think and click on the green button. You’re shaking your feet anxiously as it rings for the third time and you start to regret calling before you hear a grunt on the other side of the call and a raspy voice saying “Hello?”

You feel nervous? for some reason and your mind goes blank so the only thing you’are able to say is “Jake?”

He wakes up completly after hearing your sweet voice and you feel your heart racing as you wait for him to respond “Yeah, it’s me, is everything okay?” He asks with an extremly quiet and soft voice but you catch a glimp of worriedness on his voice “Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just that... I really like seeing you today”

He stays silent for a moment and then he says “Well, technically it was yesterday but-” you cut him off by giggling and you hear him chuckling harder on the other side of the line “Shut up, Jake!”

“Okay, okay, sorry, go on” You shigh and keep going “It’s just that I was thinking about... yesterday and it remind me of how much I miss having you in my life and-” you stop yourself and scratch the back of your neck nervous, you’re not sure wheter you should say it or not and Jake’s not sure where you’re going with this but he can’t stop smiling at the fact that he’s hearing your voice “Would it be too crazy to ask you if you want to be in my life again?”

Jake’s smile got wider, he actually had not smile like this in years and you could feel him smiling when he finally speaks up “Nothin’ would make me happier, Carey”

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