Jake Seresin X Reader - Tumblr Posts
AverageWriter-InTheDark’s Top Gun Maverick Masterlist
Link to my other Masterlists
Key: 🤍 - Personal favs, ♥️ - popular works, 📝 - series in progress, 💌 - series completed, ⏳- coming soon, 🧸 - OC not y/n, 📨 - requested works (currently open) rules for requests
Lt. Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw
Series
Living Up To The ‘Legacy’ 🧸🤍♥️💌
Imagines:
The Parent Trap 🤍♥️
Lover 📨⏳
My Heart Will Go On | Titanic AU 🤍
Time of My Life | Dirty Dancing AU 📨⏳
Headcanon:
Rooster’s Ballerina ♥️
Social Media au (goes with series/imagines):⏳
Lt. Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd
Imagines:
She’s Still Preoccupied With 1985 🤍♥️
Got Ink? 📨
Headcanons:
SFW Alphabet
In The Name Of Love
Social Media au (goes with series/imagines):
Queen of the Uneven Bars (FHOTB)
The 1985s
Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin
Imagines:
I Want My MTV 📨♥️
Headcanons:
SFW Alphabet
Social media au:
The High Note Princess (IWMM)
Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace
Imagines:
Love Rises From The Ashes 📨
Headcanons:
Fluffy headcanons
Social Media AUs:
Resident Bad Boy ⏳
Lt. Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia
Imagines:
His Reason to Fanboy 📨⏳
Lt. Javy “Coyote” Machado
Imagines:
Hollywood’s Angel 📨⏳
Headcanons:
Fluff headcanons
Lt. Ruben ‘Payback’ Fitch
Headcanons:
Different Type of Runway | Model!reader
Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell
Series
Living Up To The ‘Legacy’ (daughter!OC)🧸🤍♥️💌
Always The One 🧸⏳
Imagines:
It’s A Long Way To The Top 🤍♥️
The Rockstar, Her Husband, & Their Dagger Ducklings
Daughter of Rock N Roll 📨
Strut Like You Mean It 📨
The Doc is In 📨⏳
Social Media au (goes with series/imagines)
Y/n & The Romantics (IALWTTT)
Multiple Characters
Imagines:
Bigger Than The Whole Sky 🤍♥️
Parabellum | John Wick AU 🤍
When It’s Cold, I’d Like To Die
Before He Cheats 📨⏳
Athlete!reader inserts:
For The Gold | Track & Field | Hangman pairing 🤍♥️
Flying High…On The Bars P.2 | Gymnastics | Bob pairing🤍♥️
Winging It | Soccer | Fanboy pairing ⏳
You’re My Grand Slam | Tennis | Phoenix pairing ⏳
Spike It Baby | Beach Volleyball | Coyote Pairing ⏳
Queen Of The Halfpipe | Snowboarder | Hangman pairing 📨♥️
Formula To My Heart | F1 Diver | Maverick pairing 📨
Headcanons:
The Dagger Squad Takes Universal Studios 🤍
Dagger Baby ♥️
The Dagger Squad as the Great Houses of Westeros
It’s Snuggle Time 📨
………….
Tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan, @caitsymichelle13, @poppyalice2001, @cutelittlepotatofry, @luckyladycreator2, @americaarse, @elenavampire21, @back-tooo-black, @wildellaa, @artemissunn, @pinkpantheris
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Many of these fics are 18+. If you are a minor, please do not read them.
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*None of these are mine
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Jake “Hangman” Seresin
Butterflies by @almightyellie
Just Need the Right Partner by @an-unknown-writers-world
You’re Ok by @beauvibaby
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masterlist
✪✩✪✩✪✩
* indicates smut
friends
you’re just friends. but why does he keep sabotaging your dates with other guys?
hey stupid, i love you*
After meeting Jake at the Hard Deck and spending the night with him you never define whatever the relationship between you is. After he returns from a temporary change of station you’re unsure where you stand.
all you had to do was stay | series (ongoing)
Six years ago Jake hit your life like a hurricane. In and out in a matter of weeks. You thought after you get over the disappointment of him leaving without saying a word you’d never think of him again. But then two pink lines change your life forever. Now he’s back and still has no idea that the little girl by your side is his daughter.
down home coming (hopefully) soon…
gym buddy* coming (hopefully) soon…
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”
Tag list: @kkrenae @malindacath @seresinhangmanjake @notanordinaryprincess95 @fangirling-4-ever @shanimallina87 @deeahhmaa @anya7802
masterlist
hi! my name is liv, and i go by she/her pronouns. i am 23, and this is a nsfw account so mdni! i love getting requests, and i will write smut, fluff, and angst. i will also write for poly ships. everything i write is x reader.
my work:
- jake “hangman” seresin
- bradley “rooster” bradshaw
- natasha “phoenix” trace
- robert “bob” floyd
- pete “maverick” mitchell
- tom “iceman” kazansky
- rhett abbott
- tyler owens
- glen powell
- daisy edgar jones
- kate carter
- others
if you request anyone who is not on this list, i still might write it, even if it is in a different fandom. so never be afraid to send a request!
★ | LIEUTENANT SMITTEN . JPEG
PAIRING ! jake seresin x f!reader
IN WHICH you meet lieutenant crash, burn, and disaster or how he likes to call it "your future boyfriend"
another disappointed sigh. numerous planes lined up at your hanger for repairs, or "damage control" in maverick's words. but this has got to be the worst you've seen.
i mean, who in their right mind would accidentally get their plane wing completely destroyed. you didnt care who the pilot was. what they did to end up with this much damage is simply outrageous.
"what the fuck were you thinking! do you know how long it'll take to fix this? MONTHS. IT WILL TAKE ME MONTHS!"
"well in my defense i wasn't thinking. i was taught to just do," a masculine voice replied, completely unbothered.
you were too distracted and distraught with the damage to notice the perfect ken doll leaning against it, completely amused by the gorgeous mechanic before him.
"well then you might as well be careless with your life too!"
finally looking back to the owner of the sweet F-18, that is now almost unrecognizable. he looked infuriatingly stunning. seriously, a reckless pilot shouldn't look this good. not that you would ever admit it. he did, after all, nearly destroy his aircraft.
"if it's you, then id risk it all," jake grinned.
you scoffed, "in your dreams, lieutenant."
"YOU. seriously need to learn how to take care of such a ride. i wouldnt even let you near my car."
"fine by me darlin', can always walk ya home," the naval pilot hummed.
you internally groaned and rolled your eyes at his flirty persona. turning around to further inspect the almost burnt wing. jake eyed the way you delicately traced your fingers on his sweet baby.
"lieutenant whatever your name is, i hope i never have to see you in my hanger ever again," your sweet smile contrasting the sarcastic comment.
"it's jake, jake seresin."
"right.. well, you'll be lieutenant disaster until you've earned my respect." quickly shifting your feet towards your tools to begin repairs.
jake thinks he's a goner. just from your witty comebacks and cold glare, while looking insanely attractive. that's not even everything you have to offer and he'd very much like to know you. for now, he's excited to visit his pretty mechanic every week.
© maiiiwrites — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
We need more fanfiction of the following characters/celebs:
Dean Winchester x reader from Supernatural
Charles Xavier x reader from X-Men
Erik Lehnsherr x reader from X-Men
Robbie Turner x reader from Atonement
Beau Arlen x reader from Big Sky
Soldier boy x reader from The Boys
Wolverine x reader from X-Men
James McAvoy x reader
Hugh Jackman x (daughter) reader
Michael Fassbender x reader
Tony Stark x reader, preferably daughter!reader from Marvel-movies
Clint Barton x reader from Marvel-movies
Avengers x reader, any Avenger at all really.
Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) x reader from Fantastic Beasts
Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) x reader from Fantastic Beasts
Jack Dawson x reader, Titanic
Legolas x reader from Hobbit-movies and Lord of the Rings-movies
Aragorn x reader from Lord of the Rings-movies
Eomer x reader from Lord of the Rings-movies
Faramir x reader from Lord of the Rings-movies
Castiel x reader from Supernatural
LOTR/Hobbit characters x reader
Charlie Hudson x reader from Hudson & Rex
Lord Asriel x reader from His Dark Materials
Nick Ryan x reader from McLeod's daughters
Richard O'Connell x reader from The Mummy movies
Wade Wilson/Deadpool x reader from Deadpool-movies
Richard Castle x reader from Castle
Drover (Hugh Jackman) x reader from Australia
Ronan Keating x reader
Christian x reader from Moulin Rouge
Aidan Turner x reader and his characters x reader
James Bond (Daniel Craig) x reader
Bucky Barnes x reader
Steve Rogers x reader
Obi-Wan Kenobi x reader from Star Wars prequels and Obi-Wan Kenobi-series
Ewan McGregor x reader
Anakin Skywalker x reader from Star Wars prequels
Hayden Christensen x reader
Owen Grady x reader from Jurassic World
Bucky Barnes x reader from Marvel-movies
Sirius Black x reader from Harry Potter- movies
Cedric Diggory x reader from Harry Potter- movies
Draco Malfoy x reader from Harry Potter-movies
Indiana Jones x reader from Indiana Jones- movies
Cillian Murphy x reader
Tommy Shelby x reader from Peaky Blinders
Harry Goodman x daughter reader from Pokemon Detective Pikachu
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell x (daughter) reader from Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick
Tom "Iceman" Kazansky x (daughter) reader from Top Gun/ Top Gun: Maverick
Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x reader from Top Gun: Maverick
Jake "Hangman" Seresin x reader from Top Gun: Maverick
Robin Hood/Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) x reader from Robin Hood
Rafe McCawley x reader from Pearl Harbor
Daniel "Danny" Walker x reader from Pearl Harbor
Eggsy Unwin x reader from the Kingsman-movies
I'll add here more as I remember more characters/celebs. I prefer character x female reader. The ones in bold need more fanfiction.
My masterlist for my blogs mcavoy-girl and callsignmayhem
mcavoy-girl:
Loving and losing Dean Winchester x female reader
We'll be okay Dean Winchester x female reader
Stay with me Dean Winchester x female reader
Till we're grey and old Charles Xavier x female reader
Just like you Charles Xavier x female reader, Erik Lehnsherr x female reader
You son of an bitch Logan Howlett x female reader
Not broken Charles Xavier x female reader
Let me help you Charles Xavier x female reader, mentions of needles, alcohol and drugs used as medicine.
The final act of kindness/I gave them their happiness Robbie Turner x female reader from Atonement
Live without shame Robbie Turner x female reader from Atonement
Come back to me Robbie Turner x female reader from Atonement
The life you lived Robbie Turner x female reader from Atonement
callsignmayhem:
Kisses on fingertips Jake Seresin x female reader
Memories prequel/sequel/continuation to Kisses on fingertips, Jake Seresin x female reader
The letter he left you (kisses on fingertips-universe) Jake Seresin x female reader
Pictures (kisses on fingertips-universe) not a fic but pictures I made for the story
Flyboy and his darlings Jake Seresin x female reader
Others:
List of characters we need more fanfiction written about
Also this song which I think somehow fits both "kisses on fingertips and "memories" (just my opinion)
I might edit my fics every now and then
This is so cute!!! 🥰
Secret Family Recipe - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin
Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x female Reader
Summary: Just married, Jake's mother deems her new daughter-in-law ready to learn the families secret and special recipes. All. Jake has other some more slightly different plans.
Warnings: fluff. Slightly suggestive at the end - use of an innuendo - but otherwise pg
Wordcount: 1.3k
If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging. I don't allow for my content to be copied, translated, or reposted on other websites/apps. Please don't steal my work.
A/N: This is part of @flufftober's Flufftober 2022 as well as my 300 Follower Celebration. Divider's are by the lovely @/firefly-graphics
When she had met and consequently fallen in love with Jake Seresin she hadn’t expected to also fall in love with the way he loved his family, even less so with his family themselves. From the moment he had introduced her to them though, the deal had been sealed. They had welcomed her with open arms, not hesitating to make her part of the family even before Jake had officially done so.
“Now that you are a proper Seresin it’s time to introduce you to all our family recipes.” Jake's mother was excited for all she could tell. The woman had wasted no time to seize her chance and drag her into the kitchen while commandeering her son to go help on the ranch outside.
Now they were here in the huge country kitchen that the Seresin ranch had. It was the dream of every baker and cook. The kitchen island in the middle was littered with assortments of bakeware and ingredients of all sorts. It was an overwhelming amount of things she recognized and things she had no clue about.
First things first, however, they had turned towards the cups and big tea selection Mrs. Seresin curated. Standing beside her mother-in-law she nestled a big cup of steaming tea in her hands, while Jake’s mother stirred her own cup.
“All of them?” she asked as Mrs. Seresin took a sip of her cup. Before the older woman could answer her, they were disturbed. In walked Ellie - Jake’s younger sister - causing both women to look her way.
“Jeez, mum, are we doing disaster prepping now, or are you trying to feed the entire Navy?” Ellie joked upon seeing the huge amount of things littering the workspace.
Jake’s mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. “No. But it’s time to pass down the family recipes to your new sister-in-law.”
Loudly gasping, Ellie turned towards her. “Really?” she asked excitedly, running over to her and bouncing back and forth on her feet. Smiling, she nodded at Ellie and asked, “Do you want to help too?” Ellie started to beam even brighter and nodded her head enthusiastically.
“Yes!” She squealed and raced to the sink to wash her hands, “Where are we starting?” But before Mrs. Seresin could answer Ellie gasped loudly once more and turned back around to eye her up and down.
“You aren’t pregnant are you?”
The question made her splutter and choke on the sip of tea she took. The droplets of sweet tea had made it down the wrong pipe and had her cough violently as she shook her head. Mrs. Seresin patted her on the back continuously.
“No!”, she managed to squeeze out in between the coughs and when the coughing had settled down she added, “Not yet. What makes you think that?” The surprise in her voice was clear.
Jake and she had just gotten married. In fact, they had just returned from their honeymoon, spending now the last of his military leave with his family before they would fly back to where he was stationed. They wanted kids, that was no question and no secret either. But they hadn’t made any plans yet.
Ellie shrugged her shoulders, the disappointed look on her face unconcealed, “Well mum said it’s time for all of them. But going through every recipe at once seems rushed.”
“Ellie!” Jake’s mother scolded, looking rather bashful. “I am simply excited to pass along the recipes to another daughter. She is my only daughter-in-law.”
“Who says that? What if I decide to marry a woman later on?” Ellie’s quip made her mother roll her eyes.
“Fine. She is my only daughter-in-law for now.” With that, Ellie grinned triumphantly and nodded. Satisfied she turned back towards the many ingredients.
“So where do we start?” Y/N asked, eyeing all the things on the table.
In unison both Seresin women answered, “Pie,” to which Mama Seresin added: “Pumpkin pie. I just harvested these from the garden.”
Thus they started making the dough and the filling. Jake’s mother taught her all the little tricks and tips that made the recipe so special. That made the recipe a Seresin recipe.
The first pumpkin pie was already in the oven, slowly baking and browning. The sweet fragrance of the baked good slowly spread throughout the kitchen when they heard the front door open just before the shuffling of someone removing their shoes. Just after Jake came waltzing into the kitchen barefoot. He grinned like a Cheshire cat at the look of the three women standing there together.
“Heya cowboy,” She greeted her husband - still getting used to the term - and smiled brightly up at him from the bowl she was mixing another batch of filling. Jake eyed her up and down before walking over.
He was just about to dip his pinky into the bowl when he was whacked with a wooden spoon by his mother. “Jacob Seresin you wash your filthy paws before you touch anything in my kitchen or so god will!”
Holding up his hands in defense and snickering quietly Jake obliqued. He trudged over to the sink to wash his hands with plenty of soap to get the dirt left from the work outside off of his fingers. Once he was down he came back over to her, to wrap his arms around his wife. Y/N shuddered as her shirt got soaked. Of course, he didn’t dry his hands, the cheeky little ass he was. With a groan, she elbowed him.
“Jake!” Her scolding didn’t impress him the slightest, he only chuckled into her ear and leaned his head on her shoulder.
“What are you doing?” He asked softly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder and squeezing her waist.
“Baking,” she answered with pursed lips causing him to rumble behind her - he could obviously see and smell that. His innocent kiss to her neck quickly turned less innocent as his teeth grazed over the sensitive skin. Goosebumps spread over her body, she nearly dropped the spoon she was holding from the sensation too. When he went so far as to even lightly bite her there, she shuddered against him, once more jabbing him with her elbow. He didn’t care. Of course, he didn’t.
“I can see that, sweets. But what are you baking?”
“Pumpkin pie.”
Jake behind her hummed, “Delicious,” he whispered. The way he said it she wasn’t sure if he meant the pie or her.
Ellie groaned and shot a murderous glare towards her brother, “Shut up or I’ll dunk the bowl of pumpkin seeds on your head, Jake.”
Jake laughed once more, “You wouldn’t dare sully mum’s kitchen like that.” Ellie rolled her eyes and grumbled. He was right. Their mother would have a heart attack having pumpkin innards and seeds strewn through her kitchen.
Once Ellie had turned back to focus on her own task, Jake turned his attention back to his wife. He pressed himself against her back and rolled his hips against her behind. Lowly he murmured into her ear, “Want to sully somethin’ else later? I got some better seeds.”
His words made her feel like she was on fire. Heat crept up her neck and encompassed her cheeks and ears. Gasping, she faltered in her movement, nearly dropping the spoon in her hand into the bowl.
“Jake,” she whined quietly, huffing about his unfairness. How could he say this right now, in front of his family, and expect her to stay calm?
“Wouldn’t you like it if we had our own little pumpkin by next year?” His hands crept around her middle, one sliding under her shirt to rub against her belly. “I’d certainly enjoy seeing you as round as one.”
This is so sweet! It’s beautiful and perfect and exactly what I needed to read today!!!! 💕
Rather Be With You
Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader
Summary: Jake has been away for six months and he just hopes you waited for him.
Warnings: cursing. I think that's it.
Notes: this was inspired by an ask (💐) from a bit ago. Sorry it took so long. So much happened in the last week and a half, some good some bad, and it just got on top of me. Writing had to come second. I have probably written better in my life haha, but I tried.
Words: 1972
---
“You know he's only messing with you, right?”
He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees as he wrung his hands together. Surely it had been a while. For the entirety of the morning, perhaps? Rooster had made his teasing comments at seven a.m. sharp and they were due to dock at noon. Had it been that long? Or had he really managed to shove many hours worth of painful thoughts into just a few short minutes? Somehow, he figured, it was one or the other. No in-between.
When his eyes flicked up, Nat’s face seemed to hint at the former.
It made sense, he supposed. Spending hours thinking about you wasn’t exactly uncommon. Usually, though, those thoughts were a bit nicer, with you naked and smiling, laughing, or whispering sweet words to him. He liked those better than the ones that had plagued him for…well, however long he’d been sitting there.
“He knows what he said isn’t true,” she continued. “He wouldn’t have had the balls to make jokes like that if he thought they would hold any weight. Trust me, no one particularly enjoys pissing you off.”
He wasn’t pissed off, though. He was devastated at the seeds of doubt planted in his head; at the pain and insecurity that came with the twisted knife to his gut. He hated the images forced into his mind at his friend’s words; the ones of you with other men; the ones that made it terribly clear how little you considered or missed him in his absence.
“Jake, she waited for you. I know she did.”
“Yea? How?” he asked.
Phoenix opened her mouth quickly, just as he would have had someone asked him a few hours ago if you loved him like he loved you—ready to confirm with a smile on his face. But if made to think of the answer for more than a half-second, without the hope and giddiness fueling his enthusiasm, he realized he couldn’t actually say for sure if you loved him, just as Nat now could not say with certainty that you had waited for him.
Her mouth closed.
"Exactly. You don't know," he said. "It’s not like I was smart enough to ask her to be my girlfriend before we left. She has no obligation to me, so why would she have bothered to wait six months to have me when she could have anyone?"
The brunette shook her head. “I don’t believe she's like that."
Leaning back against the bench and crossing his arms, Jake just barely held himself back from a scoff. "Like what, Nat? That wouldn't make her anything other than a woman who found someone new to sleep with after the guy she was sleeping with disappeared for half a year.”
“But you didn’t—”
“I know I didn't disappear. But I’ve been gone longer than we’d been together," he said, his voice drifting as he imagined what he hadn't stopped to consider before; a nightmare that, if proven true, would cleanly snap his heart in half. "Joke or not, Rooster could very well be right.”
—
"You're overthinking,” Penny’s voice snuck in from your left.
She reached out to take the beer glass from your hand, polished almost too clean after the twenty minutes you spent absentmindedly running a rag over it. Your mind had been too occupied with troubled thoughts to notice your unceasing drag of the dishtowel around the cylindrical shape of the glass.
It came free from your hand with ease, and as Penny placed it back on its shelf, you spewed, "What if he hooked up with someone? What if he decided six months was too long to wait for a woman that isn't his girlfriend?” You finally faced her just to find her rolling her eyes. “He likes sex, Penny. A lot. There are plenty of willing women and he's practically insatiable."
"When it comes to you, maybe."
The tenseness in your shoulders from well-formed stress was heavy with your exhale, forcing your shoulders to fall forward and your posture to take a hit. "Penny…" you groaned.
"I'm telling you, there's no way he messed around with anyone,” she swore, leaning back against the bar. "Besides, it's frowned upon to get involved with your coworkers."
"You think that's ever stopped Jake?"
She pursed her lips and tilted her head from side to side as she considered. "Ok, fair enough,” she agreed. “Once upon a time, that definitely wouldn't have stopped him. But after meeting you, he hasn't looked at another woman."
You couldn’t say that provided you with any relief. Jake had always presented as an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ type of man. He wasn’t a worrier. Once something exited his periphery, it promptly left his brain, discarded with all past challenges or predicaments. And wasn’t that what you were? An obstacle? He hadn’t asked you to be his girlfriend for a reason. Holding on to you for more than just the night didn’t necessarily make you more special than any of the other women. Perhaps it simply made you convenient.
"You don’t know, Penny. You’re not with him 24/7."
Penny muttered something under her breath. Her fingers rose to rub at her temple and when they dropped back to her side, the stare she shot you was imbued with determination. "Look, my bar is where Seresin used to do his "best work," as he liked to say,” she said, and you made a face. "But the only work he's been putting in since he met you has involved getting you to like him and making you happy after you two started your little…thing."
"You may not pay attention, but I do," she practically scolded. "Now, a month ago you were excited to meet him when he got back, and then you let your thoughts get away from you and it’s fucking everything up."
To your own shame, you couldn't deny that. So you didn't bother, rather opting to nibble on your thumbnail.
"They'll be back soon, so are you coming with me or not?"
—
He didn’t know what he was doing, standing there with his bag over his shoulder. But he felt like a heavy weight, an anchor in a sea of levity. Looking around, the men and women he’d been packed in with for the last six months were thrilled, the room sprinkled with smiles and laughs of giddiness in anticipation of having their families in their arms again.
He didn’t have that.
He wanted to have it, but that was fully reliant on you. Your feelings. Your wants and desires. Your plan for your future. Jake could imagine a world where he had the strength to beg to be a part of your life—to plead as desperately as if fighting for enough air to fill his lungs—but reality made that entirely out of his will and control. So he didn't shove his way forward when they made it home. He couldn't bring himself to jump in front of the others who had people waiting for them upon their return. Instead, he let them file out, his team included, until he was one of the final few to step back on dry, solid land.
As he walked by couple after couple, family after family, his already weak composure began to crumble at its edges. The people milling around him felt like a mocking montage of the life he didn’t have. Men and women kissing their partners or spouses, hugging their children with no intent of letting go, their tears coating the ground with joy.
Jake's chest constricted. He needed to get himself on the other side of it, but weaving through the mass of bodies proved harder than he expected.
His shoulders bumped into theirs, his chest skimming across backs and limbs when he turned to his side to sneak through narrow openings. Little kids ran into his legs like spinning tops on the loose from their wound-up energy finally releasing, though each one quickly recovered and returned to their parents, maintaining the same level of enthusiasm they had prior to smacking face-first into a muscled calf.
With each unintentional nudge, he apologized, but no one so much as noticed, too engrossed in their relief at making it home unscathed or in seeing their loved ones still intact. Somewhere, his teammates were doing the same. They’d found their partners, and he thought he’d found his, but his overconfidence in your feelings kept him from ensuring you were actually together. And maybe it was too late. Maybe he would have no choice but to watch you move on from him.
Finally breaking through the edge of the crowd, Jake took his first deep breath. He didn’t look back as he made his way to his truck. He didn’t turn when rushed footsteps grew closer until they sounded as if right on his tail.
“Jake.”
He paused and sighed. He should’ve known he would imagine your voice. Six months without that lovely sound, his only chance at hearing it being within his dreams, took its toll. It haunted him like a ghost on that ship. Of course it wouldn’t cease just because he was home.
“I was calling you, but you didn’t hear me.” There was a soft chuckle, then, “Well, at least I hope you didn’t hear me.”
He spun on his heel and was greeted with your smile. It lacked its carefree nature, instead just barely failing to conceal a twinge of nerves, but beautiful nonetheless. He couldn’t help but smile back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, taking a few steps closer.
“I came with Penny.” The roundness of your cheeks turned pink from your blush. You lightly shrugged. “I missed you.”
With those words, Jake knew Rooster was deserving of a swift smack upside the head, one he very well may deliver. You cared. You missed him, even.
Fucking Rooster.
“Oh, I, um,” you continued, your eyes falling down to your hand. “I got you these. It feels silly now, but at the time I thought they would be nice, I guess.”
He followed your line of sight to the small bundle in your hand. Five long stems were tight in your grip, the bulbs on their ends made up of layers of silky red petals.
"I was thinking," you swallowed hard and met his gaze, "I don't actually know if you like flowers. And if you do, I didn't know your favorite. I just picked mine." The sweet grin that returned to your face practically demanded he kiss you. Your lips, your cheeks, your forehead, your nose. All of you. Every little bit.
And you weren't wrong. He hadn't had a favorite.
He did now.
Jake swallowed through the tightness in his throat, fighting back the stinging in the corners of his eyes.
He didn't get gifts, and certainly not from the women he was with. But then again, with the exception of you, he hadn't chosen to be with a woman for more than a night or two in the last decade.
"I like the yellow ones but they symbolize friendship and that wasn't really what I was going for, so I—"
"I love you.”
Your smile, your jaw, your hand, fell. "You…what?"
He let out a chuckle and reached for you. "Come here."
You didn't hesitate sliding your hand into his and he quickly pulled you to him, your chests hitting, lips meeting with an intensity that he hoped expressed even just a lick of how much he missed you. You draped your arms around his shoulders and the petals of the flowers tickled the nape of his neck.
"Six months was too long," you whispered when you separated.
He nudged his nose against yours. "Way too long."
---
tags: @wkndwlff @kmc1989 @sagittarius-flowerchild @dempy @oliviah-25 @rosiahills22 @xoxabs88xox @cinderellasmissingshoe @leila22rogers
This is beautiful! I’m still crying but I already know I’m gonna reread this 100 times💕
how you get the girl
Synopsis: The story of how your best friend, Jake Seresin, finally admitted to having feelings for you, only to break your heart shortly after (10.3K). Inspired by the song ‘How You Get The Girl’ by Taylor Swift, written for the 1989 challenge hosted by @laracrofted. Amelia, I love and appreciate you so much. Thank you for beta-reading this, and for brainstorming with me -- this fic would quite literally not exist without you, so, this is for you.
Warnings: This story contains content that is intended to be consumed by those who are at least eighteen years old, such as breaking of promises, heartbreak, deep thoughts about death, angst with a happy ending, unprotected sex, arguments and strong language. Best friends to lovers trope, I guess? Minors do not interact.
Located in the very heart of USS Theodore Roosevelt — the aircraft carrier, on board which you’ve had the pleasure of living for nearly two weeks already —, is a briefing room crowded with naval aviators. Each one of them feeling more nervous than the other, but all of them just as determined to not let it show.
You’re there, too. Standing in between two fellow fighter pilots, who you would do absolutely anything for. Put your life on the line, even — risk yours in order to save theirs. Just like every single other person in this room would risk theirs in order to save yours. It’s a mutual sense of trust and loyalty that is shared between all of you, and it’s unlike anything else that’s out there, outside this very room.
It’s quiet here. The only sounds occupying the space being the breaths of nervousness that are escaping the lips of your colleagues every now and then, despite their best efforts trying to bite them back, and the steady humming of the air conditioning unit, that runs on full speed all day and all night — determined to keep the humidity of the foaming sea that’s surrounding you outside this room’s four walls.
Though no one has yet dared to say it out loud, every single one of you knows that this upcoming mission is one of which someone is not coming home from. Given the circumstances — it’s inevitable.
It’s a strange feeling. Knowing that in twenty-four hours time, some of the people that are now standing alongside you, will no longer be walking on this Earth, but instead walking in the air — chasing a white light, in hopes of it bringing them to eternal peace. Resting in greater tranquility than ever before, as by then they will be free from all the pain and suffering that comes with being held captive inside a living mechanism that’s known as the human body.
It could very well be you too, who gets to be the first one out of the twelve of you to say goodbye to the dream life you have spent years building for yourself. And damn that isn’t a scary thought.
Everyone is afraid of death. Some more than others. You haven’t realized it before, but you sure do now. While looking into the frightened eyes of your fellow pilots, it’s crystal clear — that anyone who says that they’re not afraid of death, is lying.
“This mission will be carried out right after sundown, and the men and women chosen will be expected to be up and ready by 1900.”
You swallow. The lump that sits in your throat doesn’t move. This feeling — this utter, emotional turmoil, that has caught a hold of your entire being, is something you’re not too familiar with. It has got your front teeth sinking into the flesh of your lower lip so hard, that all you can taste is the bitterness of fresh blood and the iron-like tang there is to it. You’re not ready for this — for what you know is to come. You’re not ready for this mission, nor to say goodbye to any of the friends you’ve made throughout the years you have spent serving your country.
Closing your eyes, you silently pray that your name isn’t amongst the ones called out by your superior. It’s selfish, you realize that. But turning selfish seems to be the way a human operates, when placed in a situation like this — where their life is on the line. It’s awful, and you’re not proud of your thoughts, but can’t really help them either.
“... and Hangman. The others will stand by on the carrier for any reserve role that is required.”
A shaky breath falls from your lips. It feels as if the world would have stopped spinning the second you hear Jake’s callsign being called out from the front of the briefing room.
No, you think. Not Jake. Pick anyone but him.
Despite you consciously trying to not think of it much during the past two weeks, a part of you knew all along that this was going to happen. Jake was always going to be one of the four aviators that are being sent for this mission. He’s too damn good of a pilot to not be one of them.
It’s not like Jake to choose a seat from anywhere but the front of the room, let alone from the very back of it, yet that’s exactly what he did today. And there he is. Standing behind his desk, holding his shoulders nice and square, not letting a fraction of emotion show through his hardened features as he patiently waits to be dismissed. It’s what you should be doing too, but aren’t. Instead, you’re looking at him. Staring over your shoulder at the man you care so deeply for — desperate to catch glimpses of that confident and cocky nature of his that you know lies beneath this current, suspiciously composed exterior of his.
Looking at him now — seeing him act all calm and collected even though there’s a storm raging inside of him —, it’s hard not to hate him for being as good of a pilot as he is.
You’re a smart woman. You realize, that you have no right to feel this way. Really, you do. You’re very well aware, that you have absolutely no right to be this selfish, wishing that Jake wasn’t one of the four pilots who got picked for this mission. Just like you know, that it isn’t right for you to look at him the way you’re looking at him right now — with hopeful eyes. With ones that are asking him to promise that he’ll be back in one piece. If not for him, then for you.
“You’re all dismissed.”
If it had been a different type of a mission than the one you just received a briefing for, the room would’ve quickly filled with a familiar, steady clatter. By now, you would all be talking about the upcoming mission in a rather excited manner, and everyone on the team would be wishing good luck to those who got picked out for it. There would most likely be smiles stretching onto all of your faces, too.
Today however, the room only falls into a deeper silence than before. It’s the kind of a silence that almost feels like a weighted, suffocating blanket as it settles upon you, as if in an attempt to make the inner thoughts that are racing through your head the only thing you’re able to hear, even when desperately trying to focus on the noises coming from your surroundings.
As of now, it feels like there is not a singular thing in your life that sits right. And this feeling that has captured your mind and body whole, is something that keeps you up the following night — though, it’s not like you even notice how the night begins to fall only mere minutes after being dismissed. You’re not usually oblivious to these things. In fact, it has been more than just a couple of times, when your teammates have found you climbing up multiple sets of stairs just to get to the upper deck in time to see how the Sun begins its race towards the horizon. Today however, you’re not in a hurry. You don’t care if you get to witness the enchanting, bright red sunset or not. You don’t care, if you get to feel the last rays of the Sun kissing your cheeks before you go to bed tonight or not. None of it matters.
The next time you see Jake, it’s after nearly fifteen hours of radio silence.
After the mission briefing that was held late last night had ended, all pilots — both, the ones that were selected for the mission, as well as the ones that weren’t — headed for their cabins, only to spend the night twisting and turning on a horrible twin-mattress, unable to fall asleep despite their numerous attempts in trying to do so.
You don’t remember the last time you slept as poorly as you did last night. You spent hours rolling around the bed that’s too damn small for an adult to fit into, trying to find a position comfortable enough for you to fall asleep in. Holding your eyes closed for hours at a time, even when knowing that with nervousness having skyrocketed your blood pressure the way it has, there’s not a chance of you falling asleep anytime soon. Not even the slow, fluid movements of the Atlantic Ocean succeeded in its venture of lulling you to sleep the way they usually do — the ocean being one of the only things that under normal circumstances, is capable of putting you to sleep within only a couple of minutes.
Having managed to get in two hours of light sleep last night, if even that, it’s hard to not let the tiredness that has been weighing down your eyelids for the better part of the day not bother you.
You’re sitting on the edge of your bed. Surrounded by nothing but a deep, complete silence. Resting your elbows on top of your slightly parted knees. Still wearing your flight suit. You don’t recall the last time you showered, or changed. Some people would say that that’s disgusting, and remind you of how taking care of your body often makes you feel better mentally, too. You would tell them that none of that matters anymore — that nothing does in the face of death.
You’re not used to feeling like this. You’re not even sure what it is, that you’re feeling. Numb, lifeless. As if everything that ever mattered to you, had been taken away from you. As if all the people you ever loved, would’ve already been killed.
When you try to imagine a life without Jake Seresin — the person you consider to be your most cherished friend —, you can’t. There is nothing. There’s no life without him. Just infinite, ever expanding emptiness. And that’s how you know, that you would never recover from losing him. That’s how you know, that all the therapy the US Government would pay for, would go to waste, as nothing could ever fill the empty hole that losing him would drill into your chest, right to where your heart is located.
You’re jolted from your thoughts, as the sound of three, firm knocks echo through the door. A part of you knows already, despite you not having even opened the door yet, that it’s Jake who is standing behind it, while another part of you wishes that you were wrong — wishes that it was anyone, but him.
Placing your palms on top of your knees, you push yourself up. The bed squeaks as your weight is being lifted off its springs — an awful, rather loud noise that makes you grimace every single time you hear it. This bed too, is one of the many reasons you miss home as much as you do, whenever deployed.
Upon opening the door, you’re greeted with the image of Jake standing in the corridor. He’s still in his flight suit, and his hair is all messy, but damn if he still doesn’t look just as handsome as he always does. Though, you’re certain, that with all that tan skin and sharp features of his, not to mention a body that looks like it has been carefully carved out of clay, it’s practically impossible for him to look like anything less than handsome. Not even when his under-eyes are painted with shades of violet and blue, making it evident that he didn’t get any more sleep last night than you did. And not even when the thoughts that kept him up all night, have decorated the corners of his eyes with tiny little wrinkles — ones, that are not normally there.
“Hi,” you breathe out, taking in his appearance.
Jake doesn’t say anything for a minute. He only stands there, in your doorframe, letting his eyes linger over your frame. Carefully memorizing the way you look right now — the way the only woman he has ever really cared for looks right now, only hours before he is going to be sent on a mission he isn’t too sure he’s coming back from. You, too, are still in your flight suit, he notices. Your hair is all dirty and tousled. Your tear ducts are red and your eyes are all puffy and swollen from the amount of tears you’ve shed. Still, you look so fucking beautiful that Jake doesn’t think that he could tear his eyes away from you, even if he tried to.
Drawing in a deep breath, Jake breaks the silence, “We need to talk.”
Granted that he is right, you still end up giving your head a slight shake. Needing to talk and wanting to talk are two, very different things. And though it’s long overdue — the two of you telling each other how you feel —, and though it’s a conversation that really needs to be held, now is not the time.
“No,” you disagree with him, voice quiet.
Jake frowns. “I—,”
“Don’t,” you cut him off. “We’ll talk when you get back, okay?”
As you stand there, carefully eyeing each other, silence settles upon you. It’s heavy; like an invisible weight — shoving all the things Jake came here to say down his throat, keeping him from saying them out loud. It’s killing him, you can tell.
Biting your lip, you pull the door wide open. It’s a small gesture, and perhaps a mistake too, but it divulges plenty. It dispels the initial hesitancy; lets Jake know that you’ll be alright if he walks through the door now and takes you the way you need him to, even if he can’t promise you that he’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow.
Jake feels his throat growing tight; with apprehension, with arousal — with everything in between, really.
He stays still, hesitating.
But you’re tired of waiting. You’ve waited for so long already — for too long. Years you have spent longing for him in every way a woman longs for a man; longing for his touch, longing for the sense of safety and security he brings with himself to every single room he walks into, and for the love you know you share, but have never dared to show.
So, when he doesn’t move, you step aside. Urging him to come in in a tender, yet still persistent manner.
You watch him walk into the room. Eyes glued onto his back, of course — to all that muscle mass that has got the forest green fabric of his flight suit stretching over its entirety, very nearly making it tear from its seams. Swallowing once, you close the door behind you and lock it.
Feeling more brave than him, you make the first move. Catching a hold of the zipper of your flight suit and pulling it down, before pushing the fabric off your shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, leaving you standing there in a black tank top and a pair of lace panties — doing all of this when he’s still facing away from you.
Jake hears everything — really, everything. Even the quiet, rather gruff sound the zipper makes when you undo it; the sound those little interlocking teeth make whenever they’re being pulled apart. A sound that brings a promise of what’s to come as it travels through the chilled air. A promise of something, that wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
As he turns around to face you, he’s met with a pair of dark, lustful eyes looking back at him. Eyes that are asking — begging — for him to show and not tell you how he really feels about you — how he has felt about you for years, now.
“Fuck…,” Jake mutters, voice tight and husky, as he lets his eyes linger over your frame.
That black tank top of yours doesn’t cover much. Not the perfect mounds of your breasts, that are so very alluringly pressing against the stretchy, cotton fabric. Not the curves of your sides; those valleys into which he has thought about digging his fingers to once or twice before. And definitely not the part of your decolletage in which the ends of your collarbones are only mere inches from meeting, or the spot in between them that he’s dreamt of placing a kiss to every single time he has allowed his eyes to wander a bit further, than what’s considered as appropriate behavior from just a friend.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he tells you, breathless as only the sight of you like this is apparently enough to knock every single oxygen molecule out of his lungs. “So, so beautiful.”
You swallow, hard. Heat creeping up along the length of your neck, settling to warm the tops of your cheekbones.
“C’mere,” you whisper, voice a little more shaky now, as all the bravery that was coursing through your veins only minutes before, has all seemingly dissolved already; turned into dust that you have breathed out of your system, not a singular grain of it existing inside of you anymore. Still, even though you’re feeling all bashful now, you’re proud of yourself. It’s a brave thing to do — to make the first move for the very first time, with anyone.
Not having it in himself to say no to you, though it’s what he probably should do, he fulfills your wishes. With a few, long strides he crosses the distance between you; the distance, that was already too much to begin with. Invading your space and placing his hands onto the curves of your waist, before sliding them down, lower and lower, until he’s able to catch a hold of the hem of your shirt. Tugging the fabric slightly upwards — wordlessly asking for permission.
Bringing your hand up and cupping his cheek, running your thumb over its highest point, you pull him closer. Jake is the only person in the world, who you always feel like is too far away from you. The only person, who you’ll always want to hold onto tighter, who you’ll always want to pull in closer.
“Good God.” All those little muscles that are adorning Jake’s neck and jaw tense as the result of you looking up at him with those sweet, wide, puppy-like, fuck-me-eyes of yours. It’s unfair. You’re not fighting fair. “You sure about this?”
That’s a silly question to ask, you think. Of course you’re sure about this. You’ve never been more sure about anything in your life, than this — him. He’s the only thing that always has and always will remain the same. He’s the only person that has ever managed to capture such a big portion of your heart all to himself and hold onto it, keep it safe. In a way, it’s healing. He heals you. Every time the two of you are together, he’s doing it. He keeps you sane, keeps you going, and he doesn’t even know it himself.
“Yes,” you idiot, you want to add before continuing, but don’t. “I’m sure.”
Closing his eyes, he lets his forehead fall forwards to rest against yours. His chest feels tight. And whether it’s because of the close proximity of your bodies, or because the realization of how this is really happening is just now starting to settle in, he isn’t sure. Nonetheless, it feels as if every single nerve canal inside his chest would have grown so tight, that it almost hurts whenever a shock of electricity flows through them.
It’s funny, really. How Jake, the ladies man, as most of your fellow aviators know him, is more committed to doing the right thing than you.
“Kiss me,” you whisper — whine, almost. “Just kiss me, Jake.”
He does.
And it’s Heaven to both, you and Jake alike. Lips that were always meant to be dancing together finally meeting each other, falling into a harmonious rhythm, moving against each other with a tender urgency.
Your lips are soft and warm, like velvet pillows, and your chapstick tastes like strawberries. And by letting his fingers dig into the flesh of your hips hard, Jake manages to have you part them just enough so that he’s able to deepen the kiss; able to slide his tongue into your mouth, able to swirl it around yours once, then twice.
Soon, you’re undressing him. Fingers working on undoing the zipper of his flight suit, before pushing it off his broad shoulders. Catching a hold of the fabric of his t-shirt, helping him out of it. Allowing him to coax your head to the side and attach his lips onto the side of your neck while you slide your fingers under the waistband of his boxer briefs and push them down.
He is hard and heavy for you. It excites you, makes you chew on your bottom lip, to think that it’s you who he wants so badly.
He undresses you, too. Takes that black tank top of yours that already doesn’t cover much and pulls it over your head, tossing it onto the floor. Unhooks your bra with one, simple and swift movement of his fingers. Snakes his thumbs under the sides of your panties, sliding them down.
And damn if your body — all its hills and valleys, and that endless, silky veil of skin —, isn’t the most beautiful thing Jake has ever seen.
“Stop staring,” you whisper, almost whimper. “It makes me nervous.”
“I can’t,” he tells you simply, honestly. Really, he couldn’t, even if he tried to. Pressing his lips against the delicate skin of your neck again, moving them against it, making it vibrate as he continues, “God, you don’t even realize the hold you have on me, do you?”
You don’t, and neither does he — not fully. It’s something that can’t be put into words. A feeling that has haunted him for years, now. A feeling that almost works like a drug — one that always leaving him longing for more, one that he couldn’t ever get enough of.
“I need you, Jake,” you breathe, a fire already crackling inside your belly; warming up all the blood that’s circling your system, gathering beads of sweat onto your chest. “Fuck—, need you real bad.”
“You’ve got me,” he promises, bending his knees and sliding his hands all the way down your hips, stopping only when reaching the backs of your thighs. Gently, he picks you up, guides your legs to wrap around his waist, and carries you through the small cabin, before lowering you to rest on top of the horrible twin-mattress the US Navy refers to as a bed.
And though his lips quickly find yours again, you still feel the need to curl your fingers around the silver ball chain of his dog tags, still feel the need to pull him closer, because that’s how it is with him; he’s never close enough. He could never be close enough.
“Need more,” you whine in between kisses. “Please.”
“I’ve got you.” He kisses your cheek, your jaw, your neck. Continues to kiss his way down through the valley of your breasts, cherishing your skin with gentle nips as he goes. “I’ll give you everything. Promise.”
He couldn’t really give you anything less, than everything. He likes you too much. He loves you too much.
“Is this okay?” he asks, placing a kiss onto your lower belly; onto a spot that makes the fire burn a bit brighter and hotter inside of you, but that’s still too far from where you need him to kiss you the most.
You lift your head slightly off the pillows, letting your eyes fall down to meet his. Seeing how those wide eyes of his that are normally so clear and vivid with color are almost black now; darkened with lust, with admiration, with love, it really takes everything in your body for you to get the words out, “God, yes — yes please.”
He does it all so well. He makes it all feel so good.
Jake presses a warm, wet, sloppy kiss onto your clit before securing his lips around it. He might get even more pleasure out of this than you, he thinks, letting his eyes fall shut, savoring the taste of you thick on his tongue as he continues to move it in slow circles around your core. It goes without saying, perhaps, but in a span of minutes, he has gone from lusting for you, bad, to being completely, utterly drunk on you. Drunk on the heavenly sounds that slip your lips whenever his tongue grazes just the right spot, just the way you like it. Drunk on the way he feels all the muscles of your thighs tense time after time again, making it evident that he’s invoking a great pleasure within you — one, that you have not felt in a really, really long time.
He runs his fingers through your folds a few times, coating them with a mixture of his own saliva and your arousal, before daring to slide them into your heat. Slowly, one finger at a time, he begins to work you open for him — begins to massage your velvet walls in a way that makes you feel dizzy.
“Shit, Jake—,” you moan, letting your fingernails dig into the flesh of his shoulders while he continues to slowly pump his fingers in and out of you. Even the pace, in which he moves his fingers at, is perfect. He really is like that; too damn good at everything he does. “T-that’s so good.”
You realize it then, when a couple of dozen more white spots appear into your field of vision, very nearly blinding you altogether, that you’re already there; standing on the shore with your feet buried in hot sand, staring into the horizon, waiting for the quickly approaching ten-foot wave of ecstatic pleasure to reach you — to come and crash over you, and to dissolve your body whole.
Just the way you tremble above him is enough to draw a deep, husky groan from him. His breath it hot, feeling almost like steam as it brushes against your core. And that there; that one, singular, sinful noise he makes — the one that he couldn’t bite back, even if he tried to —, is enough to have your orgasm wash over you.
And if Jake wasn’t turned on before, he surely is now. Seeing the way all that pleasure you’re fully immersed in now, has decorated the entirety of your face with tiny little wrinkles that showcase just how good he’s making you feel, and the way you arch your back off that flimsy mattress on top of which he’ll have you for the first time, it’s no wonder, really, why he’s so painfully hard right now.
Climbing up and settling to hover over you, Jake lines himself up at your entrance. God, you look so beautiful right now. A panting mess under him, looking up at him through arousal blurred eyes, having not come down from your high just yet.
Suddenly, there’s a lump in his throat — one, that reminds him of all the things he wants to tell you, the things he needs to tell you. And when he swallows, it doesn’t move, not even an inch, but only grows bigger, only presses against the insides of his airways harder.
“Don’t,” you stop him before he manages to get the words out, voice quiet and raspy. “Don’t say it. Please. I can’t—,” Desperate whines escape your lips in a continuous chain while you wrap your shaky legs around his waist, gently tugging him closer.
“I just—,” he tries anyway. “I really—,”
“I know,” you whisper, running your fingers along his clean shaven cheek. “And I do too. So much.”
Really, you do. You’re so deeply, so fiercely in love with him, that you don’t even understand it yourself. And when he pushes himself into you — slowly, inch by inch, bottoming out — it’s like all of those feeling that you’ve been bottling up for so long, finally catch fire. Body bursting into flames so brilliant and bright, radiating heat into the room, warming up its chilled air.
You squeeze your eyes shut. There’s a stretch; a good one. One, the feel of which falls somewhere in between pain and pleasure. An euphoric sting, so to say. A sensation that while it gently takes over your entire nervous system, begins to draw tiny little stars into the insides of your eyelids, mapping out all different kinds of constellations as it goes.
It being a miracle that your brain is still capable of producing even a singular, coherent thought right now, you can’t stop yourself from thinking about it; about how this might just be the first, and the very last time you get to hold Jake in your arms. The last time when you get to cup his cheeks and pull him into a kiss while he makes love to you; drives himself deeper and deeper into your dripping core with each thrust of his hips, leaving you breathless just by doing it so well — hitting just the right spots inside of you, making it all seem like your body was tailor-made for him and him only.
A thin sheen of saltwater floods your eyes, making your sight more blurry than what it already was. You squeeze your eyes shut again, determined to not let Jake see — determined to not make a scene, to not make a big deal out of it.
It happens soon after. You feel a cold, salty droplet falling onto your cheek. It isn’t yours, you think. Your tears are running down along your temples in steady, thin rivers, getting lost somewhere in your dirty, messy hair. But this tear — it landed on top of your cheekbone. Onto a spot where your tears simply couldn’t fall to, when laying on your back.
You swear your heart stops when the realization hits you; It’s his. Jake’s. The first tear he has shed in front of anyone in years. The only tear he has shed in front of you, ever.
You don’t dare to open your eyes, and you won’t be bringing it up later, but you can’t pretend that you didn’t notice what just happened — like you didn’t feel the salt stinging your cheek, like you didn’t feel his fingers digging into your skin harder; as if you’d disappear if he loosened his grip even the slightest bit. So, you swipe your thumbs across his cheeks, touch tender, almost feather-light, drying his tears before kissing him harder.
And the way you touch him, the way you hold onto him — it’s enough to push him over the edge; to have him falling into a void of ecstatic pleasure. To have your lips muffling the way your name falls from his lips like a goddamn prayer, while his thrusts start to become more slow, more shallow. To have him pulsate inside of you while painting your walls in a sheen of white, in a way that makes you dig your nails deeper into his skin, that makes you arch your back even more.
This moment, right here, is actually quite a beautiful image. Neither one of you know it just yet, but it’s something the both of you will look back at often; a memory you’ll hold dear for the rest of your days, a moment you’ll wish you could relive time after time again.
Clean up is quick, quiet. Neither of you say much of anything. You tell yourself that it’s because all that needed to be said is already shown, but really, you know that it’s because neither of you have the guts to really say anything. It’s all so fragile.
You’re laying on top of him now. The palm of your hand resting open on top of his hairy chest, your head resting on top of his shoulder. Fingertips drawing tiny little shapes onto his skin, mind wondering if Jake is trying to make out whether they’re stars or flowers which outlines you’re mapping.
“A flower.”
“What?” you ask, not really sure if you heard him right.
He hums. His fingers are grazing up and down along the length of your spine now, his touch ever so gentle — like a delicate caress. “Isn’t that what you’re drawing?” he asks, voice just barely above whisper. “A flower?”
“Yeah,” A hint of a smile washes over your lips. “I mean, it’s a tulip, to be specific, but a flower will do. It’s close enough.” It isn’t a tulip. Or it wasn’t a tulip, until just now — until you decided that it is one, though had you been holding a pen in between your fingers, the drawing that would now be adorning Jake’s bare chest now, would look nothing like a tulip.
Not really knowing what to say, but really enjoying listening to you, Jake stays silent. Burying his nose in your hair, breathing in the scent of the dry shampoo you spritzed onto your roots this morning. He realizes it only now, but he loves that scent — he’s loved that scent for a long time now —, and whether it’s because it reminds him of that one time he watched you get ready for a night out with your girlfriends, or because it’s just a scent he associates with you, he isn’t sure. Either way, it’s a scent that makes the smile on his lips stretch a little wider, makes him hold onto you tighter.
“Tulips are my favorite flowers,” you muse quietly. “Did you know that?”
Chuckling, Jake mutters into your hair, “No. No I didn’t.”
“I heard they have tulip fields in the Netherlands. Can you believe that? Like, tulip fields so big that wherever you look, all you can see is flowers,” you’re whispering now, heat settling to warm the tops of your cheeks. “It’s always been a dream of mine to go see them, I guess.”
Listening to you go on and on about these tulip fields you’ve heard of, Jake thinks about it — about how he wants to stay like this forever. About how badly he wants to hold you in his arms, to have your naked bodies intertwined; to have every single part of your body touching every single part of his. He would be happy if it was just this, just you and him, for the rest of his days. You’re all he could ever need, and all and more he could ever want. And he wants to tell you that, too, but knows that he shouldn’t. Telling you all the things he wants to tell you right before he leaves, when he can’t really make any promises of coming back in one piece — it’d be too selfish.
“We should go,” he says.
You tilt your head back, only enough to be able to get a good look at him. “You’d go with me?”
“Yeah,” he hums, running his fingers through your hair.
You fall silent. Only beaming up at him, the thought of Jake taking you to see tulip fields tugging the corners of your mouth upwards. You can see it all so clearly in your head; the two of you standing side by side, your head resting on top of his shoulder, his on top of yours. A sea of tulips stretching as far as your eyes can see — colors so vibrant, so lively that you couldn’t bite back the smile that’s adorning your lips even if you tried to. The Sun kissing your cheeks, your nose, your forehead.
Thinking about it, you can almost hear a pigeon crying far in the distance.
“What if I’m asleep when you get back?” you ask, though you know that it would probably be for the best if you didn’t.
“I’ll come straight here,” he mutters, kissing the top of your head.
You let your eyes fall shut. “Promise me you’ll wake me up.”
He hums again. “Promise.”
The next morning, at breakfast, with the cafeteria still immersed in the hush of daybreak, spirits are much more elevated than what they were yesterday. Of course they are; the word spread out quickly around the carrier — about how your teammates, those friends of yours that you hold dearest to your heart, made it back home safe. About how they managed to pull off something that wasn’t considered to be even possible. About how they put their lives on the line for the benefit of their country, and thus became the heroes of your time. Sort of.
Everywhere you look, you’re greeted with wide smiles and genuine laughs. It’s nice. It’s been too long since the last time such a relieved, happy atmosphere was holding the USS Theodore Roosevelt and all of the people stationed on board of it, in its embrace.
The space itself isn’t anything too fancy. Just a crowded room that lacks of natural light, that has tiled floors and that is decorated with awful, royal blue-colored cafeteria tables that are all placed just a tad bit too close to each other for your liking. Even the chairs are flimsy — crackling whenever weight is being shifted off or onto them. It’s cold, too; so cold that you find yourself pulling down the sleeves of your flight suit ever so often, in hopes of getting your fingertips to warm up.
It’s a steady, rather delightful-sounding clatter that the crowded space is brimming with, ever so gracefully placing smiles onto the lips of those who are not already smiling. It’s a sound you’ve grown fond of over the years — a sound that can be heard only on those mornings, when there are no worries nor fear weighing down the atmosphere.
You’re sharing a round table with three fellow aviators, none of which were selected for the mission, but of which all of them feel just as relieved and proud as you do, knowing that your friends exceeded all expectations, pulled off quite the impossible. You like this about the people you work with — how everything is infectious. Feelings passing from one teammate to another so seamlessly, that if you hadn’t ever paid attention to it, you’d be unaware of it now; of how the happiness of one makes the rest of the team smile too, and how if someone’s feeling down, the others wordlessly catch a hold of them, carrying them until they feel strong enough to stand on their own again.
Holding onto a cup full of steaming hot coffee — a rich, dark liquid that is supposed to lift the load that’s weighing down your eyelids often this early in the morning —, you let your eyes wander around the premises, making it very evident to everyone around you that you’re looking for someone.
“Who are you looking for?” It’s one of your teammates, a feisty brunette who everyone calls Bambi, whose question pulls you from your thoughts.
“Oh, um—,” you start, giving your head a slight shake before offering her a kind, yet still a bit awkward smile. “Jake was supposed to meet me.”
She raises her eyebrows in question. “Really?”
You nod. “Yeah.”
Suddenly, there’s a look that screams nothing but utter pity adorning her features. “Oh, sweetie,” she sighs. “He left already. He and the others got airlifted out this morning.”
“What?” The question falls from your lips, without you noticing it yourself. Eyebrows shooting up, surprise written all over your face as you try to process what you just heard. “He… What?”
“Yeah. I think they got to choose whether they want to go home with us, or leave early,” Bambi explains what she overheard earlier, shrugging her shoulders.
“Oh,” you hum, confused. “Well, I guess I’ll see him when we get back home, then.”
Bambi is known to be a bit of a bitch at times — or more of, known to not really think about what she is going to say, before letting the words roll of her tongue. It’s no wonder, really, why the tone of her voice is as light and airy as it is, as she tells you, “I don’t think so. He and the others got promoted, you know, obviously, and I think they’re being sent to Fallon next week.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He didn’t tell you? Aren’t you guys like, best friends or something?” she asks, and though she isn’t trying to be particularly mean, with her putting emphasis on the words ‘best friends’, it does sound like she is being bitchy on purpose.
You zone out then. Your eyes, that only minutes before saw everything crystal clear, are now staring into the sea full of green suits and bright yellow safety vests, suddenly unseeing everything but a thick blur. The wrinkle that sits in between your eyebrows — an element of confusion — eases, your face falling lifeless as thoughts begin to race your mind with such speed that it causes your breath to get caught in your throat.
Jake just… Left?
The first month following your return home after the nearly three-week long period that you along with your teammates got to spend in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was odd, to say the least. Full of days spent under the covers, shedding tears into the silk of your sheets, not really bothering to look after yourself. Holding onto hope that perhaps it was all just a big misunderstanding — that perhaps Jake didn’t have any time to come to say goodbye to you before leaving, even though in your heart, you knew that he did, and that he just chose not to. You tried calling him a few times, and even left him a couple of voicemails too, while you were at it, still being naive enough to want to believe that Jake wouldn’t just ignore you — that he’d listen to the messages you left him when he had the time, though you knew damn well that he wasn’t busy working, and that he had all the time in the world to return your calls, had he only wanted to.
The second month was probably the hardest, as the realization started to slowly settle in; Jake wasn’t going to return your calls, or listen to the dozen voicemails you left to his inbox. He wasn’t going to read any of your texts either, except for the little bit of them that could be seen in the notification center of his phone, before deleting them altogether. He isn’t coming back to you, like he promised. He wasn’t going to — and really, he never had any intention to — go to the Netherlands with you, to see the tulip fields you’ve always dreamt of seeing in real life. You spent most of your nights up, not being able to fall asleep no matter how hard you tried to, and later not even bothering to try, but heading outside and spending the night sitting on your backyard porch instead, staring at the constellations that were adorning the cloudless night skies. Letting tears roll down your cheeks, to stain the dry surface of your skin, to make it evident that it hurts like Hell — that you’re in more pain than you’ve ever been before, and that you don’t know what the fuck to do about it. Thinking to yourself that perhaps the two of you were never really best friends, or as close as you thought you were, but more of company to each other to fight the loneliness that seems to be one of the many perks that the profession of your choosing comes with.
The third month you don’t remember much of. God, you’re still not sure if you were dead or alive during that time. All the days that passed by were all the same to you; all just a blur. A thick haze. Gray in the sense that it didn’t really matter if the Sun was shining or not, since all the changes in your surroundings went completely unnoticed by you — or, truthfully, you didn’t really care enough to notice any of them. You didn’t feel the raindrops wetting your hair one morning when you left your house to take out the trash while it was raining. You didn’t hear the seagull that cried loud in the distance one evening when you were walking by the beach, the sand scratching the soles of your feet failing to make you smile like it used to before. You didn’t even see the cloud that kind of looked like a fighter jet that one day when you decided to walk to the grocery store instead of driving, in hopes that moving your body would make you feel better, only to realize that it doesn’t — that there’s really nothing in this world, that could ease the aching of your poor, broken heart.
The fourth month was a tad bit easier. You slept better — even managed to fall asleep in less than thirty minutes on most days. You ate better — felt hungry in the mornings, too, which was something that hadn’t happened in a long time. You found yourself smiling more often than not whenever spending time sitting on your backyard porch; whenever you saw a butterfly fly past you, or heard the neighbor's dog bark in excitement when his owners got back after a long day at work. You even started returning your mother’s calls — and told her everything, too. Slowly, you started to come to terms with what happened, and started to accept things for how they were going to be from then onwards. You stopped blaming yourself for being so arrogant and stupid for believing a man like Jake Seresin to keep their promises — accepted that you had made a mistake, and that everyone makes them, no matter how smart or dumb they are.
The fifth month was when you got your glow back. Your smile started to be infectious again, the way it used to be back then, all those months ago; capable of making the people around you smile, too. The creases around your eyes that used to be a permanent feature of yours made an appearance again, adorning the corners of your eyes most days, purely from smiling so hard for hours on end. Food started to actually taste like something — reminding you of all the little things that you used to be so grateful for before, of the things that used to bring you joy. You started enjoying your walks again — God, you started to look forward to them, even. Started looking forward to getting out of your house, getting to breathe in the warm summer breeze, getting to let the scent of saltwater tickle your nostrils, and to let the Sun kiss your cheeks and hairline. You started to enjoy listening to music again, and oftentimes found yourself not really caring what was playing on the radio, but enjoying listening to whatever tune there was playing in the background.
Cut to today. Six months later.
The scene, as well as the way you’re feeling right now, are both much more peaceful, than what you thought was ever possible. Losing one’s closest friend isn’t an easy thing to go through, let alone to recover from, but looking at you now, it’s safe to say that you surely have risen to the occasion.
You’re sitting at the dinner table, with your fingers curled loosely around a steaming hot cup of ginger tea. There are taper candles lit all over your little house — a few of them sitting on top of the oak wood dining table too —, casting a soft, warm hue into the space. Your eyes are glued onto a romance novel that rests open before you, and you’re taking your sweet time slowly going through its pages.
The Sun has already set for the day, making the faint glow of the street lamps the only light that’s pouring in through the wooden-framed kitchen window.
It’s raining outside. God, how you love it when it rains. And not only, because every single raindrop that falls from the skies looks like a tiny jewel, glistening and gleaming as it comes in contact with the dark pavement, but because the rain seems to envelope the places it visits under a great tranquility — a certain type of peace, that is one of the only things that gets the world of today slow down its movements; makes the people walk a little slower, makes them breathe a little deeper.
There are droplets banging against the window, too. Creating a steady humming to the background, that somehow makes you feel even more at home, than what you already do.
Six months ago, after getting back from your last deployment, the US Navy provided you with a nice, two-bedroom apartment. It’s nothing too fancy, but it isn’t shabby either. It’s cute and cozy, the warmth of the old, hardwood floors only adding to its homey atmosphere. You like it here. And whether it’s because you really needed to start fresh, in a place that doesn’t hold any old memories, or because your new home is just that beautiful and inviting, you’re not sure. Either way, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, but here.
A deep, rather content-sounding sigh falls from your lips. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbles.
Lifting your eyes up the book you’re reading, you look out the window. See how the streetlights are glowing, how the raindrops are dancing on the ground. A soft smile tugs on your lips. It’s all so quiet, so peaceful. A little like how you wish your life could be for the rest of your days.
But things aren’t that simple.
You lower your eyebrows, a confused frown appearing onto your features, as you realize that there’s a tall, broad male figure standing on your driveway. His head is tilted forwards, so much so that you can’t really see his face, and you figure that he’s either staring at the ground deep in thought, or keeping his head tilted like that to keep water from getting into his eyes.
Who is bonkers enough to go outside without an umbrella when it’s raining this hard, you wonder, getting up from your seat and heading towards the front door.
As soon as you have pulled the door fully open, your heart stops. Like fully, completely stops beating. Thumbs twice inside your chest, banging against your ribs with such a force that it actually kinda hurts, before freezing in place. As you’re now able to get a little closer look at the man that’s standing outside your house, the realization suddenly falls upon you; that’s Jake. It can’t be anyone, but him. You would recognize those strong arms, those broad shoulders, that blonde hair of his — all of it, anywhere.
“Jake?” you call out to him, voice barely loud enough to be heard over the rain.
He lifts his gaze up from the ground, only to stare at you from afar in silence. He doesn’t know what to say. He thinks that there is really nothing for him to say — the fact that he is here now, standing in your driveway, under heavy rain, drenched from head to toe, tells all that he came here to say, really.
A shiver runs down your spine. It’s cold out here, in the moist air’s embrace, with the cool autumn breeze blowing through the loose knits of your sweater. Crossing your arms over your chest and curling your fingers around your biceps, you give yourself a tight hug — hoping that the gesture would warm you up, even a little.
“Hello?” you try again. “What are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.”
Jake still doesn’t say a thing. Only stands still, letting the rain fall upon him, not really minding how his clothes are pressing down all wet and heavy against his skin. He doesn’t mind how there are strands of his hair sticking to the sides of his face either, or how water droplets are gathered into his lashes.
“I’m not inviting you in, Jake,” you tell him, voice firm. As far as you’re concerned, you refusing to invite him in is everything but unfair. Rather reasonable, really. After what he did — after how he left you, you’d be a saint to invite him in. “So, if you’ve got something to say, you better start talking.”
You sound different than before. And you look different, too, Jake notices.
Your eyes are a lot darker now, than what they were the last time he saw you. They aren’t glowing anymore; not lighting up the way they used to, whenever laying your eyes on him. Though, Jake guesses that it’s only fair for him to see you like this — not happy to see him —, after what he did to you. After how he never answered your calls or texts. After how he cut all contact with you, though he promised to run straight back into your arms after getting back on that damn aircraft carrier on board which he ended up breaking your heart into a million pieces, instead of holding it as if it was made out of glass — you know, the way he was supposed to.
Looking at you now — meeting a cold, lifeless gaze instead of a warm and welcoming one —, it’s evident that you have spent the last six months repairing the damage he did. Months you have spent trying so damn hard to glue your heart back together, though a part of you has known all along, that a trauma like the one your heart has been through, can never be fully recovered from. It’ll always be there, in the back of your mind, showing itself in the form of trust issues and a need for constant reassuring.
“You know, I'd rather have you not waste any of my time, so, if you ain’t got anything to say, please get off my property.”
And though Jake does deserve to hear every single one of those words that fall from your mouth, he still can’t keep from raising his eyebrows in surprise. You have never spoken to him in this manner before. You never felt the need to. You trusted him enough — or, perhaps you were just naive enough —, to not feel the need to set boundaries with him.
“Can we talk?” he asks.
“Talk?” you question him, an unimpressed look rising to adorn your features. “You mean, like the last time?”
Jake clenches his jaw. Perhaps that wasn’t the question to ask you. “No. Look, I’m sorry. I never meant to—,” he tries, only to be cut off by you.
“Never meant to what, Jake?” The tone of your voice is dripping with venom; with a poison so strong that it’s capable of making anyone feel uncomfortable, even when hearing it from a distance. To say that you’re furious with him, would be an understatement. “Never meant to make a promise that you couldn’t keep? Or never meant to make me believe that we had a good thing going on, even though your only goal was to just screw anything with a hole in it for one last time?”
“No, fuck, I—,” he tries. His airways feel tight — as if all that poison your words are laced with would have already entered his bloodstream, slowly, one by one, making all of his organs shut down.
“Or never meant to make me think that you’d actually come back for me?” you go on, not caring to listen to what he has to say. “God, you know I was looking for you like a fucking idiot that morning.”
“I’m sorry—,”
“Oh, you’re sorry now too, huh? So sorry that you didn’t think of picking up the damn phone for the past six months? Seriously? Is this all just a fucking joke to you?”
“No!” Jake rushes to answer, raising his voice now too. “What kind of a person do you think I am?”
You quirk an eyebrow at him. “An ass?”
Your guess isn’t far from the truth. Still, it elicits a defeated sigh from Jake. “Will you please let me explain?”
You draw in a deep breath in through your nose and hold onto it for a couple of seconds, in a desperate attempt to contain your anger, before releasing it out through your mouth with a much heavier sigh than what just fell from his lips. “Fine. You’ve got two minutes.”
“I freaked out.”
Groundbreaking.
“Oh, really?” you ask. “Didn’t see that one coming.”
Jake knits his eyebrows together. You’re certainly not making this easy for him. “Can you please just shut up and listen for a minute?”
It’s then, when you finally fall silent and give Jake a chance to explain himself.
“I never meant to hurt you,” he starts, pretending to not notice the apathetic look on your face. “And I had every intention to come back to you — really, I did —, but fuck, it all being for real from then on scared the living shit out of me. I mean, you know that I don’t do relationships — that I never have.”
“Cool,” you hum, and simply nod in acknowledgement. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that I’m in love with you. And I have been, for like, years now,” he tells you, really meaning it, too — those deep creases that are sitting in between his brows making it evident. “I should’ve told you that a long time ago, and fuck, I’m so sorry that I didn’t.”
Your heart picks up its pace, pumping blood into your veins with such a force that you can barely hear Jake over the humming in your ears. It’s pathetic, really; how all it takes for him to have you feeling this way are only a few, short sentences.
Jake squeezes his eyes shut, runs his hand along his face, thinking hard of what the Hell should he say to you — wondering if there even is an appropriate way to apologize for what he did, for how badly he treated you. “Look, I’m sorry that I didn’t come back to you like I promised, and I know that I messed up by leaving without saying goodbye. I never should’ve done that to you, and I’ll never stop beating myself up about it, but I just—,” he sighs, pausing for a while to look for the right words before he continues, “I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me now, or ever, and I know that me just showing up here is incredibly selfish of me, but I guess I just needed to come see you in case there was even the slightest possibility that you’d be able to give me another chance.”
You’re not sure at which point did Jake walk over to you, but he’s now standing at an arm’s length away. All drenched, with water droplets running along his handsome features. A sincere look in his eyes — one, that tells you that he’s thought about this a lot; thought about you a lot.
You swallow, suddenly feeling an all too familiar lump in your throat.
“You used me.”
It’s a quiet whimper that falls from your lips. Hurt evident in your voice — so much so that it makes Jake’s chest tighten. Seeing you like this is so much more painful than what he thought it’d be. It dawns upon him just then; perhaps he loves you more than what he thought he did.
He shakes his head, wanting to reach out to you, but knowing that he shouldn’t. “No — I’d never.”
“You destroyed me,” you tell him, eyes getting glossier by the second. This is the first time you’re saying it out loud — the first time you’re admitting just how hard the last six months have been for you. “I don’t know if I can trust you again. Like, ever.”
Jake doesn’t feel like crying. He never really does, never really has. Still, the tightness in his chest only seems to spread around his body, soon taking over all his limbs, making him feel like his body is giving up on him. “I’ll take my chances,” he says, meaning every word. He doesn’t expect anything from you. Doesn’t expect you to trust him, or to want to be with him. Doesn’t expect you to tell him that you love him too, though a part of him knows that you both will always love each other, no matter what happens.
“I hate you,” you whisper.
Really, you do. You hate that — even after everything he did —, you still love him, just as much as you hate this stupid effect that he has on you. You hate how he makes your heart beat faster with every step he takes towards you, and the way the close proximity of your bodies always makes your fingertips tingle. You hate how beautiful he looks — even now, that he’s standing there, completely heartbroken too, with tiredness weighing down his eyelids and with water droplets glistening on top of all that insanely beautiful, tan skin of his.
“I know,” he says.
And perhaps it’s another, even bigger mistake you’re making. Perhaps it’ll leave you even more hurt and broken than what you already are. Perhaps it’ll be the end of you — perhaps it’ll crush even the last bits of what’s left of your poor heart into a million, tiny little pieces. Yet still, you do nothing but reach out to him; bring your hands up and cup his cheeks, gently running your thumbs along his skin, brushing the rain out of his face — the way you did his tears that one, fateful night six months ago.
Your touch still feels the same. It’s gentle and loving, and it makes him feel like home. You make him feel like home. You always have.
It’s when he leans into your touch and presses a soft kiss into the palm of your hand, that a soft sigh escapes your lips, right before you tell him, “I made dinner. Come inside — We can talk.”
Authors note: i have been working on this fic so hard for like, weeks and weeks, and so, i truly hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoyed reading this. please let me know all your thoughts :) ily!
Tagging some friends who might like: @callsign-magnolia @mayhemmanaged @blue-aconite @na-ta-sh-aa @cherrycola27 @bobfloydsbabe @wkndwlff @bradshawsbitch @hangmanssunnies @thedroneranger @desert-fern @shanimallina87 @dissonannce @sushiwriterhere @gigisimsonmars @ughthisisntright @briseisgone @clancycucumber230 @sunflowercharlie13 @teacupsandtopgun @ryebecca @djs8891 @topherwrites @gretagerwigsmuse
𝓓𝓪𝔂 5 - An Aggressive Gentleness || Jake “Hangman” Seresin x fem!reader
Masterlist
Summary: Everyone knows Hangman is good, but you'll have a chance to discover that he simultaneously has a bit of a persuasive streak as well.
Warnings: smut (unprotected p in v, spanking)
Word count: 2325
Author: Rouge
A/N: the the prompt for today is: Spanking
Jake "Hangman" Seresin was one of the world's greatest and most successful pilots. He was a known womanizer, and he had as many downed planes as broken hearts among all the women he dated.
Yet, ever since you joined his team, he couldn't take his gaze away from you; you were not only a beautiful, young woman, but you also had a strong personality.
"I know there's a big age gap between you and me, Y/N," he said as the two of you finished the bottle of red wine that night, sitting together on the pier over the ocean. "But I really want to take you out. Would you be interested in having dinner with me one evening?"
As a result, you both agreed to meet for dinner a few days later.
Despite your expectations, the dinner ended up being much more enjoyable than you expected. It sounded too good to be true. You teased, playing with your glass, "Maybe Hangman isn't such an asshole as everyone thinks."
You could feel his knee against yours under the table as you sat there staring and smiling at each other, your hand in his.
Of course, it could have been an accident at first, but when it returned, went away, and then returned again, all doubt was removed. It was done on purpose as a signal, a kind of request, to emphasize the request for a date. Again, perhaps a little old-fashioned, but extremely intimate and alluring.
Jake let out a little sigh, observing your face carefully as he said, "Don't judge a book by its cover."
"If I didn't interact with you on a daily basis and while on duty, I'd say you're an asshole," you concluded, scrunching your face. "You are charming, but you are a total asshole. However, I don't regret our dinner together."
Jake was certain he knew the game because he'd played it before; he was obviously used to dealing with stroppy little bitches like you. He was well aware of what you were doing and what you were up to. He seemed to be able to read you, understand what you were thinking.
He kept gently rubbing your palm and pressing his knee firmly against yours as he looked you in the eyes. "You have the most enticing eyes, Y/N," he murmured as he gazed deep into them.
A cocky smile spread across your face as you made a small yhym sound and rested your chin on your palm. "Just like the last girl, I'm sure."
Since it wasn't the first time you heard those sweet words, you already knew what they meant. This was a popular saying among guys as if it were a kind of spell.
"I can see through your eyes that you are a passionate, intense woman. A woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. I notice a lot about you." As he accelerated, his foot landed on yours and ran up the side of your calf. You were his type, there was no doubt. This became especially apparent when his knee pressed firmly against your closed knees at first, then even more so after a moment or two.
You sighed heavily and decided to stop him. "I have to be honest with you - sweet nothings don't appeal to me at all. I've heard these things too many times to believe them."
Jake drew your hand to his lips. "Come to my flat, Y/N, and let me love you there," he said as he licked the back of your hand and looked you in the eyes.
“If you stop acting so weirdly sweet, I'll go with you."
Jake gave you a brief nod in response.
You took a cab to his apartment. It was a second-floor walk-up flat in a fairly large town house, nicely furnished in that fading elegant style that appeals to the well-to-do and aristocracy.
Hangman turned on one lamp but not the others. The street lights cast a nice, dim, romantic glow on the large lounge. He made no pretense that this was anything other than a sexual encounter. He didn't make small talk, offer you a drink, or request that you sit. None of that was necessary; he and you both knew it. You were there for one and only one reason - to have sex.
As Jake kissed you passionately, he took you in his arms. There was no preamble or asking permission; it was a wonderful kiss. As he held you tight, he moulded your bodies together and his lips found yours. While your lips touched, your mouths were closed, but as you pressed them together they slowly opened. As he licked your lips, he ran his tongue along your gums, over your teeth and into your mouth. Unlike the Hangman everyone used to know, he was patient, slow, methodical, and amazingly erotic. You could feel Hangman's hands running up and down your back.His hands fiddled with your bra strap, the waistband of your short denim skirt, which was just a whisker below your pubis line and the top of your bum crease, and the hem of the white, loose, short-sleeved top.
Jake took your hand and led you to his bedroom.
The room was quite small, but it had a double bed. Although it was dim, you could still see each other. Standing beside the bed, Jake held your hand as you faced each other. Bringing your palm up to his mouth, he kissed its top; he took one of your fingers and softly sucked it, earning a moan from you.
You didn't speak, you'd gone beyond words, they simply weren't needed.
It wasn't long before Jake let go of your hand and stepped back a few feet. With his eyes glistening in the dim light flowing in the room from a streetlamp, he began undoing the button of his heavy, cotton, khaki shirt. Having fully undone his shirt, his fingers were now undoing his leather pleated belt. He was so confident and so assured, which you found very sexy and enchanting. Still, he didn't take his eyes off of you. “You’re so fucking pretty, Y/N.”
Reaching downwards, you grasped the hem of your top. You saw approval in his eyes as his belt came undone and he slowly pushed his zip down. Between the opened edges of his shirt, you could see that his chest was toned and muscular.
You both dropped your tops as if on cue. Jake's eyes wandered over your chest, focusing more and more on your round breasts, almost making you squirm with desire. Through Jake's masterful gaze, you became more receptive to his unspoken persuasions.
The silence was broken by Jake. His erection was evident and clear and gave him absolutely no embarrassment whatsoever. As you dropped your bra, he sighed, "You're so fucking hot, Y/N. What are you waiting for? Go on."
Undoing the brass button on the skirt, you slid the short zip down. The skirt slid down your legs as you wriggled it over your bum and hips. A surge of high-octane arousal surged through you when you looked into Hangman's hungry eyes. You soon pushed your panties down your legs as well.
As Jake took off his boxer shorts, his hardened erection rested proudly against his well-built abdomen.
Seresin reached for your hand, the one holding your panties, as you stood completely naked in front of him. He gently pulled them away from you. His eyes bore deep into yours as he rubbed his nose on the gusset, taking deep breaths as he did so, making animalistic noises at the same time. After that, he used your panties in a rather extravagant manner, rubbing them around his balls and up and down his erection without any embarrassment at all. As if to say don't you dare complain, he stared intently into your eyes before cupping his balls in your panties and rolling them around before pushing the silky underwear back across his chest. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to him, pressing himself against you, moulding your bodies into one. As he cupped your round bum in his strong hands, his cock squirmed against you. Jake squeezed and kneaded your buttocks all the while kissing you hungrily; he stroked your bum, pinched it, rubbed it, and caressed it.
As you got your hand between your bodies, your fingers tingled with desire as they ran up and down his erection. It was everything an erection should be; hard, warm, smooth and slightly throbbing.
You then went to bed.
Jake carefully positioned you on your front and laid beside you. The hand that wasn't tugging your hair had slipped down your back and reached your bum. He stroked it and squeezed it. Jake whispered, "You have the most glorious arse I've ever seen," as he stroked it softly. All he had done when you were standing beside the bed was repeated, but he now focused more on your cheeks. After easing your legs apart, he parted your bottom's cheeks. He spent ages running his fingers up and down that sensual groove, on, over and past your extra sensitive entrance to your anus, on the base of your spine in one direction and into your fully soaked pussy in the other.
All hell broke loose within your body and mind. You could not help but notice as your body shook with the various sensations that you were cumming without any form of penetration, without your sensitive clit being rubbed or your pussy's lips being stroked. “Jake!” You managed to whimper loudly, nuzzling your face into one of his pillows.
Jake smacked your bottom several times. Not that hard and not that much, but enough to make your bum sting and for you to recognise what he was doing. Nevertheless, the combination of the pain from him pulling your hair, the stinging from where he'd spanked your bottom and the pleasure he was giving you with his fingers made you cum, very heavily indeed.
You hadn't even finished your orgasm fully when Hangman turned you over. After what he'd just done to you, your pussy was still tender, and your breasts and nipples were still pulsating. As he moved up and held his cock against your lips, you willingly opened your arms and wrapped them around his hips.
The moment he bucked his hips, forcing his dick completely into your mouth, you wrapped your lips around his rock-hard erection, gagging yourself.
Jake's hand hit your bottom quite hard, so much so that it jerked your head from his cock as Hangman turned you to your side a little, to gain better access to your bum. In a matter of seconds, he hit you twice.
Putting his cock back in your mouth, you grunted. Each thwack and smack was probably harder than the last. He spread them over both cheeks. Pumping his girth in and out of your mouth, you gagged, reaching out to massage his balls.
Jake grunted lowly as he hardened. Seresin hit you several more times after he realized you weren't opposed to what he had been doing. Now he was doing it harder, and it was stinging, but not too painful. It was amazing to see that each time he smacked your ass, and since he'd found a sort of rhythm, his cock began to jerk inside your mouth. His hardening and growth increased with each smack. “Fuck, look what you’re doing to me,” he grunted, taking a fistful of Y/H/C hair, tugging on it a little. He was now spanking you with a steady series of blows that covered every inch of each cheek and occasionally drifted down to your thighs. Between each blow, his hand gently fondled your asscheek.
With that gentleness combined with the aggression of the spanking, you experienced sensations you hadn't felt before. While Hangman grunted and groaned and mumbled how wonderful you were and what a magnificent bottom you had, you sighed and moaned at the pleasure you were receiving, taking his cock out of your mouth with a loud pop sound.
Jake then fucked you. Straightforward, you on your back, him on top, your legs wide open and wrapped around him. Jake’s thrusts were fast and strong; his bed was swinging with each of them. It was quite quick and hard. Like the expert he was turning out to be, he didn't offer or ask for more foreplay. After what Jake had gone on so far there was no need for more and he seemed to be acutely aware of that. He didn't need to get you wet and you didn't need to get him hard, what you'd been doing for the past half hour or so had done both of those necessities.
“Fuck!” You screamed, digging your nails into his back, rolling your head back on his pillow. “Fuck you, Hangman! You’re so fucking good!”
“I’m good, Y/N,” Jake grunted into your ear, instantly turning his head to suck hardly on your exposed neck. “I’m very fucking good.” You were obviously soaked and your lips were bloated from the blood that rushed to them during the previous orgasms. No complaints, just a straightforward hard and fast fuck and that, to be honest, was what you truly wanted.
After cumming together, Jake laid on top of you, pinning you to the mattress with his weight, then rubbed your cheeks and neck with his kisses. “Do you want to stay for the night?” He asked simply, rubbing his nose against yours.
Nodding to him, you slipped your hands into his hair and massaged his scalp. "Yes."
Despite his nakedness, Jake kissed you one last time before getting up from the bed. "I'll bring a pillow and towel for you."
As his thick, sticky cum ran down your inner thighs, you rubbed them together and bit your lower lip. You definitely had the best fuck of your life.
I’m in love w this omggg
MY DARLIN’
Summary: when the daggers are spontaneously relocated in Texas in for a mission and have no where to stay, Jake lets them stay at his place and discover Jake has been keeping a secret from them for a very long time
Paring: Jake Seresin x wife!reader
Word count: 2.09k
“There’s no way Hangman lives here” Bradley scoffed in the passenger seat of the rental car that was trailing behind Jake’s truck.
The daggers had been relocated to Texas for a mission that they all knew very little about. Which would have been all fine and dandy but the order came out of the blue leaving them no time to get their things in order.
Luckily for them Hangman offered his place to let them stay until they got their temporary living situation figured out. Everyone was a little hesitant to agree since it is Hangman we’re talking about but with not much options, they agreed.
What they didn’t expect to see as Bob drove the car into the long drive way was how nice of a house Jake had. Nat thought Bradley thought for sure that he lived in a shack or something.
How wrong he was.
As it turns out in the many years they’ve all known Jake he’s lived on a small ranch isolated by tall trees, not far from the town they just drove through not long ago. The house on the property was a two story home with a wrap around porch and a porch swing near the front door, a garden of flowers all around.
As soon as they all got out of the cars, the first thing Nat ask, just to make sure, “this is your place, bagman?”
“Sure is.”
Without another word Jake strutted his was to the front door, leaving his belongings in the truck with the dagger following after him. He unlocked and busted through the door as quickly as possible, god knows why to the group behind him.
other than Javy who knew exactly why his friend was in such a rush.
“Darlin’, I’m home!” Jake called out into what the others thought was an empty home.
”Who is he talking to?” Bob asked loud enough for the people around him to hear but not for the man of the hour who stood a step into the doorway. Jake crouched to the ground when a golden fluff ball ran into his arm, nearly tackling him to the ground.
Reuben shrugged, ”His dog.”
”Did any of you know he had a dog?” Mickey questioned.
Nat spoke up for everyone, ”Not a clue.”
”I never took him for a dog person,” Javy nearly laughed as he played along.
The group agreed with his statement, all agreeing Jake would be better as a cat person since they all assumed he’d be alone forever after scaring all the women off.
A least that was what they thought until another voice called out from inside the house, ”Jake?”
”Its me. I brought company.”
”I don’t think he was talking to the dog.”
Reuben cursed out his WSO, “no shit, Fanboy.”
”You’re home!”
It was safe to say all the daggers were shocked, jaw dropping shocked when someone joined Jake in the doorway nearly pushing him to the ground with how much force they greeted him. A female someone. A female someone who was now hugging Jake with her face buried in his neck and who happened to be you.
“I'm home,” Jake confirmed, kissing your hairline.
”Definitely not talking to the dog.”
“You’re actually here.” Jake swore he was gonna pass out due to the lack of air with your arms around his shoulders and how tight you were squeezing him but he didn’t mind one bit. Instead he squeezed you back just as tight with his arms wrapped around your middle.
“I’m here.” He spoke against your hair, “gosh, I’ve missed you darlin’.”
“Me too.” You wiggled yourself against him trying to get closer to him than humanly possible to make up for the time you’ve been apart. You only pulled slightly away to place a kiss on his stubbled cheek then his lips and mumbled into them, “I love you Jake.”
“And I love you more,” He of course kissed you back. “Where is she?”
”Napping upstairs.”
You were so caught up in the moment with your husband that you didn’t even notice the crowd behind him until you looked past his shoulder.
“Oh,” you tried to up away from Jake to wave to the group just for him to pull you right back into his arms showering your whole face in kisses. Only when he took a chance to breathe could you get a word out, “Hi.”
The blonde with glasses was the first to wave, “Hi.”
”I didn’t see you guys there,” Jake joked, finally turning his undying attention away from you. Some attention, not all. He turned you around to press your back against his front keeping his arms tightly wrapped around you so you were both facing them.
This man was not going to let you go for the rest of the night, with or without the other Daggers under his roof.
“Everyone, this is my darlin’, my wife.” Jake introduced you to the group you knew so much about and they knew absolutely nothing about you. Everyone seemed to have very different reactions to the news.
”Wife!” You thought Bradley was going to pass out after shrieking so high.
Nat scoffed, ”How did Hangman get married before me.”
But one had a serious lack of reaction to the news. Phoenix asked the man next to her, “How are you not surprised?”
”I’ve known Mrs. Seresin here since Jake and I first got deployed together,” Javy explains.
“And you never told us!”
”Wait! Wait a minute,” Nat stopped the boys from turning against Javy with a moment of realization. “What about all the women you flirt with at Hard Deck?”
Jake seemed to be right for a comment like that because he smiled almost smirked, “you mean the women who flirt with me and in response I tell them all about my gorgeous wife, never leaving the bar with them.”
”actually?”
You almost laughed at the sour look Phoenix made. “Once he showed one of them my picture and called me to talk to her because she wanted to know where I got my hair done.”
Well that was the only time Jake called you as someone was trying to get his number. He’d always call or text after depending on the time at night when they finally left him alone.
Suddenly it dawned on you that you had unexpected company on your front porch in the middle of the day who had been driving and flying all day. “Oh gosh you must all be so exhausted. Come in,” You waved them all in pushing your husband backwards out of the way with your body.
“I'll make you all something to eat.”
Jake took you pushing him as an invitation to struggle you closer, ”No, you don’t have to do that.”
You cracked your neck to look back at him, ”You just drove here from the airport and haven’t eaten in god knows how long. You’re hungry.”
”I'm not hungry,” Jake lied. He couldn’t care less about starving if it meant holding you close.
”Fine. You might not be hungry.” You turned to everyone else who was now in your house taking in their surroundings, “Do y’all want something to eat?”
”God yes,” Bradley praised not caring the murdersom look Jake was giving him behind your back, nothing he wasn’t used to.
”For your cooking I can make myself hungry.”
”Thank you, Javy.”
Jake scoffed at his friend. “You don’t have to slave yourself to make those idiots a feast. They can starve with me.”
“I won't be slaving myself,” you brushed off Jake’s concerns, squeezing out of his hold to lead him to the kitchen for proof. “I already made an apple pie before you showed up. I just have to put it in the oven.”
Lucky the unbaked pie and flower all over the counter was enough to convince him. As you placed the pie in the preheated oven and set the timer, you called out to the group, “can I get you all anything to drink in the meantime?”
After Jake almost had cow over how much you were trying to make your house guest comfortable,everyone gathered in the living room having a civil conversation. One that focused on your relationship with Jake.
You sat next to the blonde man you married years ago, snuggled into his side with your legs in his lap. His one arm was wrapped around your shoulder and his other hand rested on your calf moving up and down as you both got asked another question.
Bob asked, “How did you two meet?”
“My Darlin’ here and I are high school sweethearts.”
Bradley scoffed, “Theres no fucking way you were able to keep a girl that long.”
“Best believe it,” he smirked before warning the man across from him, “Tiny ears, Bradshaw.”
“The dog doesn’t care.”
But Jake wasn’t talking about the dog.
You went on to explain how the two of you met, “I was on the school paper and I had to write a big piece about our football team. With Jake being the captain, we spent a lot of time together and as he says he charmed me.”
“What charm? Bagman is an ass,” Nat jokes.
You laughed, “an ass? He wouldn’t hurt a soul, his mama taught him better than that.” You knew your husband could be an ass when he wanted to but you thought you’d have your fun.
”I did love having my favorite news reporter following me around back then,” Jake peaked the top of your head teasingly.
”You're a news reporter?” Reuben asked.
”was. Now I'm a weather reporter.” You smiled, “living near tornado alley we have lots of shifts in the weather, keeps the job interesting.”
Everyone was far too indulged in the conversation to hear a set of tiny footsteps make their way down the stairs. “Daddy?”
You could have sworn that all the Dagger, minus Jake gave themselves whiplash with how fast they cranked their necks to get a look at the tiny girl peaking from around the corner.
“Hey, munchkin.”
“Daddy!” Your not so baby girl, shrieked still dressed in her teddybear pjs and slipers. You were lucky you moved your legs out of Jake's lap before your daughter bolted into his arms. If it weren’t for Jake protecting himself he would’ve gotten kneed in the groin.
”No way,” Nat gasped.
”I missed you so much, Lottie,” Jake told her as she curled into his chest.
”I missed you too, daddy. Sooo much.”
”Gosh, how long has it been since I’ve been with all my girls?” He thought out loud, placing one of your legs back over his knee.
Charlotte gave Jake a toothy smile, missing the front two. “Three months.
”That’s right and that is far too long.”
”Far too long,” you and your mini you echoed.
“Daddy, who are these people?” Charlotte whispered to Jake. Sadly for her, Charlotte hasn’t yet mastered the skill of whispering and the whole room heard her.
”Everyone, this is Charlotte. Lottie, this is Phoenix, Rooster—“
”Like the bird?”
Bradley finally picked his jaw off the floor, chuckling, “Yes like the bird.”
”Fanboy, Payback, Baby on Board—“
“Bob is fine.”
“Baby on Board and you know Javy.”
“Uncle Javy!” Charlotte lunged out of her fathers arms and into Javys having just noticed then man she’s known her whole life. She was save to avoid moose who was now laying at his parents feet.
”About time my Goddaughter noticed me!” Javy laughed, picking her up “What have you been up to mini Seresin?”
”I drew a picture of me, mommy and daddy and moose in front of the house.”
”You did, I’ve gotta see it.”
”Can I show him, mommy?”
Now that Jake's lap was empty he put your legs back where they were before. ”Of course you can.”
Before Charlotte leaves the room running, she makes her way back to you, peaking at your stomach. “Bye Bean,”
”Why did she kiss your stomach and call it Bean?” Jake asked once she was gone with a raised brow.
“No reason.”
”Really?”
”Nope.” You shook your head.
”Darlin’” The look was giving you felt like he was looking into your soul and you caved. ”I’m pregnant.”
”You’re pregnant?”
”I’m pregnant.” You confirm.
As Jake picked you up off the couch to twirl you around cheering, over it you could still hear ”Are you fucking kidding me.”
Jake reminds Bradley for like the thousandth time that night, ”Tiny ears!”
I love the secret family trope!! With a little twist at the end
jake taglist: @scarletmeii @Itisdediree86 @rebekahjonesx @larema121 @abaker74 @CuriosityTerminated @alexxavicry
Hangman’s First Rodeo
MASTERLIST PINNED
Warnings: NONE
WC: 2.1k
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I put my car in park and let out a long sigh. After a quick check in the rear view mirror, I wonder if I made the right decision wearing no makeup and letting my hair be wild and free. Bradley heard from someone in administration that I got asked to arrive earlier than expected to the North Shore, so he extended an invite to the Hard Deck. When he texted me, I immediately felt bad seeing how often he had reached out just to be left on read. It was nothing personal, he has been one of my closest friends for a decade, I just needed space. I finally decided it was time to stop stewing in my thoughts and take the key out of the ignition.
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The bar is crowded with patrons in khakis. Loud music and chatter fill the room. I scan the room and find Bradley, he motions me over to the back of the bar where there are pool tables and dart boards. He immediately wraps me in a hug, “Rodeo! It’s been too damn long.” I smile up at him, “I know Rooster, I know.” He starts pointing out people in the group and listing names, “This is Bob, that’s Phoenix, Coyote is over there, there’s Yale, and where is .. oh there.. that’s Bagman.” The blonde turns around with a smirk, “It’s Hangman, Bradshaw. And who is this?” Bradley stiffens, “This is Rodeo.” The blonde looks me up and down with the same little smirk, then turns back to his game of darts. I stand near the pool table and watch as Bradley starts a game with Phoenix. Since I regularly work with aviators, making small talk was easy. Once the blonde wins the game of darts, he walks over and stands beside me. He smells like jet fuel and sandalwood. I look at his arms, toned and tan. I tell myself to calm down. I am here for work, nothing else. “Bradshaw here didn’t get you a drink?” I turn to him, “I am fine, but thanks.” His eyes narrow slightly and he smiles, “I am not hitting on you, darling. But I am about to go get another beer from Miss Penny up there.” I chuckle and stare right back into his bright green eyes, “Well I am happy we cleared that up, darling. You aren’t my type and I don’t drink.” I do a very large and obviously fake smile. Hangman furrows his brow and walks away, looking flustered. Bradley walks over and is giggling uncontrollably, “What did you do to Bagman?” I shrug, “I just told him he wasn’t my type and that I don’t drink.” Bradley put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, “Man, I missed you. He annoys the shit out of all of us and somehow you put him in his place within 30 minutes of meeting him.” The rest of the group laughs and chimes in, agreeing with Bradley.
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The night continues on with countless games of pool and darts. We all end up outside, some sitting in the sand and some with their feet in the water. Bradley plops down next to me and bumps me with his shoulder, “Dude, I missed you. You gonna tell me why they moved you here?” I stare at the waves crashing on the sand, “You too, Roo. I am not even completely sure. Thought you had something to do with it because it was Mav who called me.” Rooster raised his brows, “He didn’t say anything to me.” I shrug again, staring at the group of aviators standing by the ocean. Bradley can see the concern on my face and pats my back, “Hey, don’t worry. They’re good. Well, except Bagman.” He chuckles and I hear a familiar voice shout, “Senior Chief Rodeo? Now why is Rooster keeping you all to himself?” I turn and see Maverick walking down from the Hard Deck, smiling big as can be. “Mav!” I run and give him a big squeeze. What I didn’t notice was the group walking back from the water, or that they heard him yell to me. As they reach Bradley, Pheonix asks, “Senior Chief Petty Officer? How the hell old is she?” Rooster faces her, “She is not old. She just works her ass off.” I walk back to the group with Mav, wondering why they are all looking at me. Hangman breaks the silence, “So Senior Chief Rodeo, can you clue me in on your skincare routine? I coulda sworn you were the same age as all of us.” I roll my eyes, “Y’all’s age? No way. I’m 28, what are you .. 40?” I take a moment to watch their eyes bug out, and then start walking back inside with Mav and Bradley. Bradley slaps my back, “You haven’t changed a bit. Still an absolute asshole. Love it.” We pay our tabs and head back to get some sleep. I lay in bed, staring at the blank walls of my little bungalow, wondering what the morning will bring.
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Once I jumped out of my truck on base, I could feel eyes on me. The group from last night were all chatting by the hangar, in their flight suits and aviators. I was in civies and a Longhorn baseball cap. Bradley parked beside me and jumps out, “You are so damn lucky. I swear y’all are never in uniform.” I chuckle, “I know, but hey y’all don’t look too bad in your onesies.” He sighs and throws his bag over his shoulder, “10 bucks they shit themselves when Mav tells them your job.” I put my hand out to shake on it, “Deal. It’s nothing special. I am pretty curious to know why I am here anyways.”
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The aviators are all seated when Mav and I walk into the hangar. Mav claps his hands, “Okay ladies and gents, I’d like to introduce you to my friend. This is Senior Chief Petty Officer y/l/n, callsign Rodeo.” There’s a few “Good morning”s and “Hello”s in response. I wave. Mav continues, “As you know, we have had quite a few missions recently with the SEAL teams. As you also know, we have some areas where we need to green up when it comes to working with the SEALs. So, Coronado was nice enough to lend us Rodeo for a bit. As we go through this training session, she will be your point of reference.” I scan the room and shake my head at the shocked look on everyone’s face. Hangman clears his throat and smirks, “So .. she is some kind of liaison? Works with the SEAL teams?” Mav narrows his eyes, “No, she IS a SEAL and she will be helping us learn how to work better with them.” I meet Bradley’s eyes and pull out a $10 bill. Walking over to his seat, I set it on the table in front of him. I turn back around, “C’mon y’all. I am just a female SEAL, I don’t have three heads or snakes for hair.” There is scattered laughter and Mav clears his throat, “Okay people, get to work. Rodeo will be in the hangar or my office if you need her.” The pilots disperse and I follow Mav to start looking over training procedures and past mission optics.
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The first couple of weeks were exhausting. Work was extremely busy and when I was home, I was unpacking. The bungalow was coming together nicely. It is right by the beach, so I can take daily strolls down by the water. I open up another box and my phone dings.
Bradley: Y/N! No excuses. Bonfire. My house.
Less than ten seconds later it dings again.
Bradley: I am serious. You can literally walk here. No excuses.
I sigh and write back.
Y/N: Okay, but only for a bit. I still have a lot of shit to build.
I walk into my bedroom and do a once over in the mirror. Jean shorts, white tank top, and a baseball cap. I grab a hoodie just in case and head down the street.
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I hear music playing and smell smoke as I get close to Bradley’s house. I open up the back gate to the whole squad in the backyard. Hangman smirks, “Well howdy Rodeo. Fancy seeing you here.” Bradley runs up and wraps you in a hug, “You actually came! What do you need help building?” The squad all starts chiming in before you can respond. “Oh I can help!” “Where do you live?” “Did you walk here?” I wait for the chatter to die down, “I’m right up the street. Only have a few of the bigger things left. Bookcase, bed frame, that kinda stuff.” Bradley throws his arm around your shoulders, “I’ll come over tomorrow and get it all built.” I look up at him, “No! It’s the weekend! You should relax. I’ll get it all done eventually.” The rest of them start offering to come help and before you know it, everyone is planning on coming to your house. The house that is littered with boxes. I cringe and think about all of the tidying I need to do before they arrive. I head inside and grab a coke from Bradley’s fridge. The floor creaks and I whip around to see Hangman. “Sorry darling, didn’t mean to scare ya.” “What do you want, Hangman?” “Well I was just thinking that maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Thought maybe we could start over.” You laughed, “And what had you thinking that?” He shrugged, “I was a total jerk. You can ask around, I am THE unit asshole. But I honestly didn’t mean to be disrespectful. Wasn’t raised that way.” You look up at him, “How were you raised?” He smiles real wide, “In Texas. Yes sir and yes ma’am. Two sisters that dragged me around and told me what to do. You from Texas? Or just a Longhorn fan?” He asks while motioning towards your baseball cap. “From Texas. No college for me, though. Enlisted, boot camp, prep, BUDs. Nothing too exciting.” Hangman chuckled and shook his head, “Yeah, totally, nothing too exciting at all. How long have you been in?” “10 years. How about you?” “Got in right after college, 16 years ago. Remember? I am old.” He winks and I feel heat in my cheeks. He steps a little bit closer, “So are you and Bradshaw.. you know?” I laugh so hard that I snort. The back door opens up and Bradley looks between us, raising his brow. I finally stop laughing, “No. We met at my first duty station. He is the annoying older brother I never asked for.” Bradley rolls his eyes, “Hangman, leave Rodeo alone.” I walk towards Bradley and playfully nudge him with my elbow, “It’s fine. We are just getting to know each other.” Bradley shakes his head, “I know. That’s exactly what I am worried about.” I laugh and follow Bradley back to the bonfire. Hangman comes out a few minutes later and I say my goodbyes to the group. I am met with groans and “No please stay”s. Hangman clears his throat, “Let me walk you back, it’s getting pretty late.” Pheonix whispers something to Bob and they both crack up. Bradley turns, “Bagman, I think she will be just fine.” I nod my head, “Yeah I think I can handle myself, but thank you.” Hangman shakes his head and stands up, “Darling we already talked about this, I am a southern man. Can’t let you walk back all by yourself. Even though you are a big, bad SEAL.” He smiles and opens the gate, motioning for me to walk ahead. Bradley is noticeably angry and I smile at him, “It’s okay, I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”
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Hangman follows me until we reach the front porch. He scans the little bungalow, “Cute place. I’ll see you tomorrow .. wait I just realized I only know your callsign.” I chuckle, “Same. Unless your mother named you Hangman.” He laughs and puts out his hand, “Jake Seresin.” I shake his hand, “Y/n Y/l/n.” I grab my keys and unlock the front door, “Well, thank you for walking me back Jake. See you tomorrow?” He smiles so wide you can see every one of his perfectly straight teeth, “Yes ma’am. You sure will.” He turns and starts back up the street. I walk inside and shut the door, leaning my head against it for a second. I shake my head in attempts to get rid of the thoughts of him. His smell. His annoyingly perfect smile. I text Bradley to let him know I got back safe and head to bed.
Hangman’s First Rodeo part 2
MASTERLIST PINNED
Warnings: Fluff; angst
WC: 2.3k
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After a night of tossing and turning, I roll out of bed at 05:00. I throw on some running shorts and a sports bra. The rhythm of my feet hitting the sand calms me down. After a few miles I am completely drenched, so I decide to jump in the water. I swim against the current, focusing on my breath. “Y/N! Fancy seeing you here!” I swim back to shore to see none other than Jake Seresin standing there. As I walk up, I notice him looking me up and down. Suddenly, I feel self conscious and wish I had picked a matching outfit. “Howdy Hangman, out for a run?” He raises his eyebrow, “Yes, and my friends call me Jake.” I smirk, “Oh so we are friends now?” He nods, “I’d very much like us to be.” “Well Jake, I am usually not friends with dinosaurs but for you I will make an exception.” He laughs, “So you SEALs really do love the water, huh?” I shrug, “It’s quiet in there. Helps me turn off my brain.” I check my watch and gasp, “Oh I need to get back. Y’all are heading over soon and I need to try to make the house look presentable.” He chuckles, “Don’t worry about that darling. We aren’t gonna judge ya.” I wave and start running back to the bungalow, “See ya soon Jake!” He yells back, “See ya, darling!” My cheeks are red and it’s not from the workout.
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There’s a knock on the door right as I finish wiping down the kitchen counter. In a half hour I had showered, picked up some, and turned on the radio. I open the door up to the whole squad, “Come on in y’all. Want some coffee?” There’s a chorus of “Yes”s and I turn on the pot. Everyone splits up and starts working. Pheonix and Bob are in the living room tackling the bookshelf. Payback and Yale head out back and start putting together the patio furniture. Bradley and Jake are in my room and reading the instructions for the bed frame. I pour everyone coffee and head into my room. Bradley motions to the mattress on the floor, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were sleeping on the floor. Would’ve come over and done this weeks ago.” I shrug, “I’ve slept on much worse.” They both laugh. Phoenix yells from the living room, “We gotta get something on these walls. Your house is worse than Rooster’s.” I chuckle, “Not really the decor type, but thank you.” Looking around my room, I see what she means. Blank walls. Basic furniture. Plain comforter on the bed. No decorative pillows. No cute blankets. Bradley drops some screws and opens up the closet door to find the ones that bounced under. Gear starts spilling out, “Shit, I’m sorry!” I run over and start shoving it back in. He finds the screws and throws them to Jake. Just like that, the bed frame is finished. They put the mattress on top as I push my body weight against the door, finally getting it to shut. Bradley and Jake head to start building the next thing, while I go out back to add a screen to my back door. Figured it would be nice to let the ocean breeze in.
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I walk into the kitchen to see most of the squad chatting and drinking more coffee. The furniture is all built and I turn to them, “Thank y’all. Seriously. This would’ve taken me forever.” Bob pats my shoulder, “Hey, we are a team Rodeo. Always here to help.” I smile and notice that Jake is missing from the group. Walking down the hallway, I notice the office door is open. I walk in to see Jake rummaging through the only open box. “Hangman. What the hell are you doing?” He looks up with wide eyes, “I came in here to see if there was anything else to put together. This box was open. I didn’t mean to-“ I feel anger bubbling up inside of me, “You didn’t mean to what? Completely invade my privacy?” He shakes his head, “No, I really didn’t mean to. Y/n, this is so many awards. And medals. Why would they send you here?” The anger spills over, “It is one of your damn business, Hangman. Get out! Now!” He looks up at you like a wounded puppy, “Y/n, I-“ “I don’t want to hear it. Get out!” He walks away sheepishly and I hear whispers in the kitchen. I walk out once I hear the front door shut. The rest of the team is standing there, looking confused and concerned. Bradley walks up and pulls my head into his chest, “You okay?” I take a deep breath, “Yeah. He was going through my teams stuff. I should’ve never even opened that damn box.” Phoenix clears her throat, “I am sorry, Rodeo. He is an asshole. We will leave you be, but please let us know if you need anything else.” She smiles and the team hums in agreement. I smile back, “Thank y’all. See y’all later.” Bradley stays beside you while they file out. Once we are alone he asks, “Are you wanting to talk about it? I understand if you don’t.” I shake my head, “I really am fine, Bradley. I think they just sent me here for a moment to breathe. They couldn’t force me to take leave, but they could force me to come up here for a detachment.” He sighs and rubs his face, “I get it, okay? More than most people. But y/n, you have to have a life outside of the job. You will burn yourself out.” I shrug, “I’ll be okay, Roo. I promise.” He looks unsure but pulls me in for a hug, “I’ll get out of your hair, but come to the bar tonight. Live a little.” I smile, “We’ll see. Have a good day, Roo.” And just like that, the bungalow is empty and quiet.
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The sun is setting so I shut all the blinds and turn on a few lamps. Bradley has been texting me for the last two hours, asking when I am getting to the Hard Deck. I switch my phone to airplane mode and head into my office. Grabbing a deployment journal from the box, I sit down and start flicking through the pages. A knock on the door startles me. I jump up and check the clock, 22:00, I must have fallen asleep reading. I crack open the door to see Hangman standing there, looking down at his feet. “What do you want, Hangman?” He looks up, “Well for starters, I’d like you to call me Jake again.” I sigh and open up the door, motioning for him to come in. Grabbing the teapot, I start boiling some water. “Tea?” He sits down on the couch, “Sure, thanks.” An awkward silence fills the room. Once the tea is done, I hand him a mug. He smiles up at me and I join him on the couch. “Y/n, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have gone in there. I shouldn’t have looked through your stuff. I wish I could take it back.” I take a deep breath, “I am sorry, too. Shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s just.. I don’t talk to anyone about that stuff.” He furrows his brow, “Never?” You shake your head, “Never.” He runs his hands through his hair, “I knew I shouldn’t have looked. Then you didn’t come out tonight and I felt horrible. Bradshaw was yelling at me, telling me how much I upset you.” I roll my eyes, “Roo is just protective of me. I was upset, but it is okay. Come here.” I grab his hand and walk back towards the office. He looks confused and I try to ignore what felt like electricity when we touched. I start pulling things out of the box and placing them around the room. Jake stands there like he is frozen, “You don’t have to do this. Not for me.” I shrug, “I want to.”
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Jake watches intently as I point out what the different piles are, “These are my journals, kept one for every deployment. Those are medals and awards. Right there are all the group photos. And those, those are my mementos. First shell casing, first pair of flippers, that kind of stuff.” He looks around as if he is in a museum. “Y/n, how the hell have you done this much in 10 years?” I shrug, “No family. Never really take leave. The job has always been it for me.” He looks at me with sad eyes, “Your parents?” “Long gone. Had me when they were older. Left me the ranch, but I only go a couple weeks out of the year. The ranch hand takes care of everything for me.” He shakes his head and sighs, “I am sorry, that must be lonely.” “It’s not bad. Honestly, I am used to it. The teams are my family. They’re all I need.” He raises his brow, “You sure about that? No boyfriends in the picture?” I chuckle and pick up one of the photos, “Only one. Years ago, right after I joined. He was with another team. Thought it would be great because he would understand the lifestyle. He left me for a fitness model. Said he needed someone who was around more.” I shrug and laugh, but Jake just looks sad. He sighs, “I am sorry. Same kinda thing happens to me. Pretty much every woman has told me they can’t handle the stress of my job. But you deserve so much better. He didn’t deserve you.” He leans in, just a touch but I notice it. I am hoping he doesn’t notice the heat that I feel rising in cheeks, or the way my heart is racing. His eyes flicker down to my lips and he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. *BANG BANG BANG* “Y/N! Please? Your phone is going straight to voicemail! Are you okay?” I curse Bradley and walk to the front door.
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“What, Bradley?” He stumbles forward and I catch him, walking him over to the couch. He is drunk and rambling, “You weren’t answering. It went straight to voicemail. And you are always so alone. And you scared me and I-“ His eyes got wide and his face got red, “BAGMAN?!?!” I turn to see Jake standing at the entrance of the hallway. Bradley tries to stand up but is too drunk, “What the hell are you doing here? Y/n why is he here?” I fold my arms over my chest, “Jake came to apologize, Roo. We were having some tea and chatting.” Bradley’s eyes narrow, “So it’s Jake now, huh?” Jake walks towards the couch, “Oh c’mon Bradshaw. Grow the hell up.” Bradley glares at Jake, “No Bagman, actually how about you stay the hell away from Y/n! She is my friend! Leave her alone!” I clear my throat, “Shut up! Both of you, stop! Bradley, I am an adult and can choose my own friends. Jake, you don’t need to fight my battles for me. Now both of you, listen up. Bradley, your ass is staying on that couch. Go to sleep. I will take you to get your Bronco in the morning. Jake, you are sleeping in the guest room-“ They both try to cut me off and I put my hands up, “You will stay here because you are drunk and you will stay here I do not want to deal with this lightweight. End of discussion.” Bradley looks defeated and Jake smirks at me. Feeling flustered, yet again, I head back to my room and get ready for bed.
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I wake up hyperventilating and covered in a cold sweat. The clock on my phone says it is only 02:00. Sighing, I get up to grab some water. In the hallway, I run right into a shirtless Hangman. “Oh my gosh sorry!” I cringe looking down at myself, only in a large t-shirt and underwear. He follows me to the kitchen, “You okay? I heard you in there.” I shrug, “Sorry, nightmares.” He puts his hand on top of mine, “I get that. Want to talk about it?” I shake your head, “I am okay, but thank you. I am used to them.” I peek into the living room and see Bradley fast asleep. Jake throws his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. The heat radiating off of him feels amazing. The scent of sandalwood fills my noise. I lean into him, not listening to the voice in my head telling me this is a horrible idea. I look up at him and he furrows his brow, “What’s wrong?” I nuzzle back into him, “Nothing. That’s the problem.” He pulls my face up to look at him, “What do you mean?” “I mean, I barely know you. Then, all of the sudden, I want to show you these things I have always kept hidden. I see you after a nightmare and you calm me down. I just don’t understand it.” His green eyes stay glued to mine and he does one of his big grins, “Maybe that’s the point darling. Some things just happen. It’s not for us to understand why or how.” He pulls me close to his chest and kisses the top of my head before heading back into the guest room. I stand there for a moment, completely frozen in what just happened. Leaving a glass of water beside Bradley, I head back into my room and try to go back to sleep. My nightmare is no longer what’s keeping me awake. All I can think about is how badly I want him to hold me in his arms again.
🌸cherryblossomcowgirl🌸
masterlist
Hangman’s First Rodeo
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Hamgman’s First Rodeo Part 3
Masterlist Pinned
Warnings: Angst; Fluff; Injury; Traumatic Memory; Harassment; Bar fight
WC: 2.1k
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The clock says 07:00 and I am shocked. Waking up all throughout the night had become so normal to me. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, I start a pot of coffee. Jake comes down the hall, “G’morning darling.” I smile, “Goodmorning Jake.” He pours himself a cup of coffee and sits next to me. Bradley stirs on the couch and moans. He stands up and walks into the kitchen, “Morning Y/N. Bagman.” I sigh, “C’mon Roo. He helped me deal with you last night.” Bradley winces, “I may have had too much to drink.” I chuckle, “Oh honey, there is no doubt about that.” He runs his hands through his hair, “Mind if I shower?” “Go right ahead. Towels are under the sink.” Jake clears his throat, “I can drive you down to your Bronco after, if you’d like.” Bradley mumbles as he walks down the hall, “I’ll walk but thanks.” I look at Jake and roll my eyes. Jake smirks and takes a sip of his coffee, “How did you sleep last night? After the nightmare?” I meet his gaze, “Great, actually. I am sorry that I woke you up. But really, thank you. You didn’t have to do that.” He rests his hand on top of mine, “You didn’t wake me up, darling. Seeing you calmed me down.” I smile and rest my head on his shoulder, “Yeah, me too.” We stay like that for a moment, until Bradley clears his throat. “I’m gonna go. I’ll see you at work. Sorry about last night.” I wave, “Bye, Roo. No worries.” Jake just nods in his direction. Bradley walks out of the door, hanging his head.
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We both finish our coffee and Jake breaks the silence, “Do you want me to head home? I don’t want to mess up your routine.” I shrug, “I don’t really want you to leave.” He smirks, “Is it bad that I was hoping you’d say that?” I giggle and feel my phone start buzzing. I sent it to voicemail and Jake looks at me, “You can take that if you need.” It starts ringing again and I shake my head, “It’s okay. Don’t really want to talk to them.” He raises his brow, “Wanna talk about it?” I take his hand, “Why not? Already breaking all of my rules anyway.” He follows me into the office and I cut into another box. “Y/n, you know you don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want to.” I smile, “I know. There’s just something about you. I want you to know.” He smiles so big. I start pulling things out of the box, files, photos, and a glass jar with two shell casings. His smile fades and his brow furrows, “What happened?” I take a deep breath, “4 months ago I was on a mission with the team. We had split into groups of 2, just like we have a million times. My partner, the person trying to call me, was ahead of me. Our comms started flickering in and out. Instead of pulling back and staying side by side, he decided to push forward and hope they’d resolve. Mine went down completely, but he didn’t know that. He was on a walkover about a story above me when he saw movement. They moved too fast and before he could yell to me, I was hit twice. The rest of the team immediately rallied and got me out, but it was our fault. We should’ve pulled back when comms were spotty. Now we know it was the target interfering with them.” Jake’s eyes are almost, watery? He seems upset. Finally he breaks the silence, “Where did they hit?” I look down at my feet, “Abdomen. Left side.” His eyes widen as I start to lift up my sleep shirt, “Y/n, only if you’re comfortable. Okay?” I nod my head and show him. He scans the scars. They are still a dark color, I have just been hoping they’d fade with time. I adjust so he can see my back, “Doctors said I was lucky. They went right through me. Woulda done a whole lot more damage if they stayed inside.” Now I notice that his eyes are definitely watery and he just keeps shaking his head. I take his hand and place it over the scars, “I am okay. Really. I’ve deployed since. I still love the damn job. I think they just sent me here for a change of pace. It has been a long 10 years.” He looks up at me and speaks in a low voice, “Y/n.. I am never going to let anyone hurt you ever again. I almost lost you before I ever even had you.” Tears sting my eyes as he stares at me. He kisses me for the first time, and it is soft and warm. He lays his head in my lap and I play with his hair. I smile and try to stay calm so he doesn’t notice the uncontrollable butterflies I feel. A comfortable silence surrounds us.
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A few weeks of work and quiet moments with Jake pass quickly. We haven’t spoken about this thing between us. Ever since that emotional night with Jake, there has been this unspoken understanding. Most days after work, he ends up on my front porch. I cook, we chat, he cleans the dishes (even though I always tell him not to), and we fall into this extremely comforting routine. He hasn’t stayed over since the night with drunk Bradley. Bradley has kept me at arms length and has barely texted. It’s upsetting to me that he would be this childish about Jake, but I am trying to give him space.
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One night after Jake heads home, there is a knock at my door. I open it to see Bradley, running his hands through his hair. He looks at me and smiles, “Hey Rodeo. I was just on a walk and was thinking maybe you’d wanna join?” “Sure, Roo.” I slide on a pair of flip flops and follow him down to the shore. We make some small talk about work. I take of my flip flops and put my feet in the water. Bradley stands beside me and sighs, “Y/n, I am sorry. The last few weeks I have been a complete asshole.” I put my hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay, Roo.” He shakes his head, “No it isn’t. We have been friends for 10 years. I shouldn’t have let Bagman come in between us. We have just always been at each other’s throats. He is completely different around you. I can’t believe it, but he is.” Bradley pulls me into a hug and sigh, “Thank you, Roo. You had me scared there. I can’t lose you.” He squeezed me tighter, “You won’t. I promise.” He walks me back home and I head to bed.
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The sun is blazing down as I stand outside the hangar. We just got back from testing comms and I am exhausted. Exhausted and covered in sweat. Everyone is checking their planes. Jake is talking to his WSO and I can’t stop staring at him in his aviators. His flight suit is tied around his hips, displaying the fitted shirt underneath. I hear Mav, “Yes sir, she is right over there.” I turn around and feel the blood drain out of my face. Tall, dark hair, blue eyes, my old partner. “Rodeo! Had to drive up here for some paperwork, thought I’d check in since you haven’t been answering.” I take a deep breath, “Hey Playboy, all is good here.” He moves closer to me and his scent washes over me, taking me back to that mission. My heart starts racing and my scars start hurting. He places his hand on my shoulder and meets my eyes, “How are you healing?” I see Jake out of the corner of my eye and he can see the panic on my face. I put on a fake smile, “I am okay. How is the team?” “Not the same without you. When are you gonna leave this place and come back with us? You belong with us.” Jake’s hand lands on Playboy’s shoulder, “Well I can tell you right now, bud, no one here is going to let her go easy. Hangman, and you are?” “Playboy. Rodeo’s partner form the teams.” Jake smiles, “How nice. It has been great meeting you, but you should probably get going. Let the lady finish her work.” Playboy raises his brow, “Interesting Rodeo, I didn’t think aviators were your type.” I roll my eyes, “Playboy, shut up.” He looks at me, “This guy? Seriously? They send you up here to work and you find a booty call? Can’t believe they call me Playboy.” Jake’s face hardens, “I’ll say it one more time, you should probably get going.” Playboy scoffs, “Yeah. Fine. You guys should keep her. A real SEAL would never be okay just sitting around. You never deserved that title, Rodeo.” He turns around and starts walking towards his car. The anger boils over and I scream, “Oh I didn’t deserve that title! Coming from the guy that couldn’t sweep a fucking room and got me shot TWICE! You are a DISGRACE, Playboy. Everyone knows it! And I already heard you aren’t reupping! Everyone should be thanking their fucking LUCKY STARS!” He turns around with rage in his eyes, but one look at Jake and he gets in his car. I turn around and see the whole squad standing behind me. The embarrassment hit, “I’m sorry .. I didn’t mean .. I .. I ..” Bradley walks up and wraps me in a hug, “Screw that guy. Y/n, I am so happy that you are okay.” Phoenix speaks up, “You have helped us so much, Rodeo. We are lucky to have you here.” The group hums in agreement. “Thank y’all, I am going to head home.”
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Jake shows up on my doorstep with a smile that tells me he wants something. “Listen, I know today was rough. Let’s go out. Everyone is already there. You can take your mind off of everything for a bit.” I smile, “Okay.. It really isn’t fair because you know that I can’t say no to you.” He chuckles and I follow him to his truck. When we get there, we join the squad in their usual spot. Jake was right, this was getting my mind off of Playboy. I never had issues with anyone else on the team. Part of me wondered if everyone knew we didn’t get along, so they’d pair us together to try and force it. I tell myself to stop thinking about that and enjoy the night. Bradley has unplugged the jukebox and is banging away on the old piano. My arm is around his shoulder and I sing along with him. The song ends and we stand there, giggling. Then I hear an all too familiar voice, “Wait a minute.. I thought you liked blondie boy over there.. Aviator Ken Doll! So who is this? You must really be getting around up here, huh Rodeo?” I turn around and meet Playboy’s icy eyes, “Get the hell away from me!” He steps closer, “What? I am just saying, back when you were with the teams you always acted like you were too good for me. Now I guess anyone is good enough?” I can see Bradley fuming out of the corner of my eye. A fist connects to Playboy’s jaw. I turn to see Jake, who is jumping on him in a rage. Jake gets right in his face and practically growls, “You don’t talk about MY girl like that!” The squad pulls him off and Bradley starts to carry Playboy out because Penny is ringing the bell aggressively. Bradley comes back in and we all head down to the water. Phoenix giggles as she walks by me, “He called you his girl. That’s cute. He has never said that about anyone before.” I blush. No one ever stands up for me. Usually, they figure that I can handle things myself. Jake runs up beside me and grabs my hand, “I’m sorry. Was that too much?” “The punching him in the face or calling me your girl part?” He shrugs, “Both?” I shake my head, “No Jake, it wasn’t. These last couple of months with you have been completely new to me. The time we spend together means the world to me, I hope you know that.” He stops walking and spins me around, into his chest. I giggle as he pulls me in for a kiss. Gentle and curious, making the butterflies rise in my stomach.