lex

summary: decided to write a fic based on the archer by taylor swift 🤍 enjoy!

nate sighs, turning the keys on his bike and putting down the kickstand. he dreads the thought of having to go back inside that house again. he feels a kind of guilt for resenting his father, but the again, he didn’t at the same time. it’s the same way he feels about bronwyn. like being around her is tainting that light that surrounds her at all times. god, he loves her.

“easy they come, easy they go.”

he walks inside, flinching at the sound of the creaking door behind him. he walks upstairs, past his father, sleeping in front of the tv as usual. closing the door behind him, his phone beeps. a text from bronwyn. he smiles at the screen, quietly cursing himself for acting like such a little kid. he types a quick answer, shutting his phone off before he can see her response. he lays down in his bed, pushing off a notebook and some dirty clothes in the process. nate finds himself spending his time at home either on the phone with bronwyn, or being left alone with his thoughts. the second being much for dangerous than the first.

“i’ve been the archer, i’ve been the prey.”

he thinks bronwyn, mostly. how ever since she came into his life, things have gotten better for him. he was happier, but there were still those moments. those times when he felt like that little boy he was all those years ago, hiding in the sanctuary of his room while his parents fought downstairs. that’s why, when he finally got to know bronwyn, he almost forced himself to look for things about her that could give him a reason leave. but, he couldn’t find anything. that’s why, at first, he willed himself to stay away.

“dark side, i search for your dark side.”

but the more he pulled, she pushed. she wouldn’t give up on him. he secretly loved that about her. she saw him. she knew who he was, deep down, and accepted him for who he was. she didn’t want to change him. this was new for him. considering he hadn’t ever really had a real relationship, he wanted to hold onto bronwyn as hard as he could. he changed, for the better. for her. he always thought he’d end up like his favorite movie heroes.

“and all of my heroes died all alone, help me hold onto you.”

all alone, spineless in a tomb of silence. but no, he was put back together again, by her. she didn’t look right through him like most people did, no. she held him, and comforted him. she stayed. nate was no longer the prey that he once was. he didn’t have to feed the nightmares that woke him in the night anymore, because she was with him. he didn’t have to worry about what to say or how to look around her. he stayed for her. he loved her just as she loved him.

“you would break your back to make me break a smile.”

“my castle crumbled overnight, i brought a knife to a gunfight. they took the crown, but it’s alright.”

“staring at the ceiling with you, you don’t ever say too much. and you don’t really read into my melancholia.”

“this night is sparkling, don’t you let it go.”

“all the boys and their expensive cars, range rovers and jaguars never took me quite where you do.”

“nothing fucks with my baby, nothing can get her looking, oh my baby.”

“can you let your baby be my girl?”

“the grass, trees, and dew, oh how i just hate you. please turn those headlights aroun.”

“i don’t like a gold rush, gold rush. i don’t like anticipating my face in a red flush.”

“i vowed i would always be yours if we survived the great war.”

“isn’t it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?”

“i’m not worried about where you are, or who you will go home to, i’m just thinking about you.”

“never let me go, never let me go.”

“so what the hell are we? tell me we weren’t just friends, this doesn’t make much sense.”

“staying at my parents house, and the road not taken looks real good now.”

“i’m mr. lover man, and i miss my lover, man.”

“and not a day goes by that i’m not into you.”

“she lives in daydreams with me. she’s the first one that i see.”

“but if we’re talking body, you’ve got a perfect one so put it on me.”

“i’m in a clique, but i want out. it’s not the same as when i was punched.”

“it only hurts this much right now, is what i was thinking the whole time.”

“you’re on your own kid, you always have been.”

“slow hands, like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry. no chance that i’m leaving here without you on me.”

“i want to be your endgame. i want to be your first string. i want to be your a-team.”

“to the voices that implore ‘you should be doing more’, to you i can admit that i’m just too soft for all of it.”

“you two were dancing in a snow globe round and round. and he keeps a picture of you in his office downtown.”

“can i go where you go? can we always be this close?”

“do you think that i’ve forgotten about you?”

“my smile is like i’ve won a contest, and to hide that would be so dishonest.”

“your house of stone, my ivy grows, and now i’m covered in you.”

“i took the stars from my eyes, and the i made a map and knew somehow that i’d find my way back.”

“you’re the reason i believe in fate, you’re my paradise. and i’d do anything to be your love or be your sacrifice.”

“cracked baby, you don’t know what you want. but you know that you had it once, and you know that you want it back.”

“i think he knows his hands around that cold glass make me wanna know that body like it’s mine.”

“please don’t be in love with someone else, please don’t have somebody waiting on you.”

“he was sunshine, i was midnight rain.”

“can i ask you a question? did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?”

summary; after college, nate and bronwyn move to new york to start their life together

this fic is inspired by taylor swift’s welcome to new york of course 💌

“walking through a crowd the village is aglow.”

bronwyn and nate walk, hand in hand. shoes crunching on the snow covered ground beneath their feet. the city was crowded, as usual. an array of people dressed in winter clothes, scarves and gloves scattered through the crowd.

“kaleidoscope of heartbeats under coats.”

the pair smiles at one another as they take in the sights. a small bookstore on the corner of the street catches bronwyn’s eye. golden lights wrap around the door and the windows.

“the lights are so bright but they never blind me”

she tugs on the sleeve of nate’s coat, leading him towards the store. he laughs at her antics. they enter the shop, encompassed by the warmth that was held inside. bronwyn is all smiles, like a kid in a candy shop. nate smiles down at her, hand on her waist as she walks around the shop. bronwyn ends up with two classics, pride and prejudice, and persuasion.

“jane again, huh?”

nate inquires, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as they exit the store.

“of course.”

bronwyn answers, looking up at him through her lashes.

“you know, i really like the name jane.”

bronwyn continues, wrapping her jacket further around herself.

“yeah? what for, hm?”

nate says, lightly tickling her sides as she begins to laugh. god, he loved that laugh.

“oh, nothing, macauley.”

bronwyn responds, fluttering her eyes as they continue to walk to their new apartment.

“sure, rojas. sure.”

nate speaks again, tone dripping with sarcasm.

“when we first dropped our bags on the apartment floor”

the two walked around their unfurnished apartment, looking out the window at their view of the city below them. snow fell on the street. people walked, bouquets of flowers in hand. books on tables and christmas trees in windows.

“hey. what’re you thinking?”

nate spoke, resting his head on bronwyn’s from behind.

“just that this is the best day.”

bronwyn spoke, sighing like a lovesick teenager.

“yeah? what do you think about decorating?”

nate said, kissing the side of her head.

“well, i was actually thinking of putting the couch here, and of course a karaoke machine over there.”

bronwyn spoke gesturing around the room like a true designer.

“really? you got it all planned out rojas?”

nate spoke, walking across the room to follow bronwyn’s path.

“of course, you know me.”

bronwyn spoke, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“i do.”

nate said, kissing her again. it felt right. all of it. the city. them, together.

“i’m exactly where i should be.”

nate spoke, quietly. forehead resting against bronwyn’s.

“i’m exactly where i’m supposed to be too.”

“like any great love, it’s ever- changing.”

she spoke, kissing his cheek, turning on her heel to run to the bedroom.

“hey! where do you think you’re going?”

nate spoke, chasing after her. she laughs ducking under the covers they had put on the bed, the first thing they did when they arrived.

she laughed, limbs twisting in the bedsheets. she turns to lay her head on nate’s chest.

“i have a really good feeling about this.”

bronwyn speaks, nestling into the fabric of his shirt.

“me too, baby.”

nate says, rubbing a hand over her back.

“it’s just missing one thing.”

bronwyn says, tone leading him on.

“what’s that?”

nate responds, playing into her game.

“i think the crib could go over there.”

she says, pointing to the empty corner of the room.

“oh, i like the sound of that.”

nate says, flipping her over to tickle her sides again.