In that case... making out with Mel before the wilderness behind her family's back and she's sooo nervous she's practically trembling in your arms, you ask her if she wants to stop but she says she's never felt more alive in her life... maybe her parents said something about the way she dressed today, maybe she just needs you to reassure her there's nothing wrong with her (Mel with a praise kink before the wilderness??) in between kisses...
» melissa hat x fem!reader.
— warnings: no-crash au. established relationship. making out, so some slightly suggestive content. the l-bomb is dropped in this one. homophobia. implied religious trauma. hurt/comfort.
melissa is, whether she’s even aware of this or not, making all those little, breathy noises against your lips, letting them slip out between kisses: happy sighs vibrate against your mouth, only swallowed as you lift your head from the pillow & press yourself impossibly closer still. despite having checked multiple times and confirming that you are, indeed, home alone, you’re thankful for the fan (conveniently placed right in front of the open window to let some fresh air in) and, more importantly, the sound it’s making: the whir is not only filling the room and occasionally stirring the thin curtains, it’ll hopefully also be enough to cover up melissa, should somebody come home unexpectedly.
you don’t even want to imagine the utter hell that would break loose if mel’s mom were to overhear this, let alone walk in and find her daughter in bed with another girl. you really are only that, on the bed, both of you still fully dressed (although you aren’t wearing much, that’s for sure, the summer heat only allowing for shorts and crop tops and a lot of skin left on display), and not doing anything else except kissing, but knowing the household your girlfriend comes from, ‘just’ kissing a girl already goes against everything her family, her mother, in particular, believes in.
you have never met the woman, and doubt you ever will, but from what you’ve been told about her by melissa, more often than not because you had to comfort her after her mother said yet another cruel thing to her own daughter, you have no intention of ever changing that. it is all the more reason why you’re taking a massive risk by doing this here, in melissa’s room, under that woman’s roof, where you’d met up under the guise of working on a project together.
to give credit where credit is due, you’ve at least bothered with the textbooks, though they only lie haphazardly at the foot of the bed, a pisspoor cover should anyone actually catch you in this position: pinned beneath melissa, whose knees are sinking into the mattress beside your hips, her long, blonde hair falling into your face & glowing golden in the sunlight that spills in through the window.
it’s technically much too hot for her to be in your space like that, sweat gathering even in places where there aren’t any clothes pressing against your skin, but with her for once kissing you in an actual bed (not, say, in the cramped back seat of a car, or locked in a bathroom at lottie’s), it is too rare of an opportunity for you to tell her to get off. besides, you couldn’t if you tried, with melissa’s lips moving against your own, and she knows it, too, closing the distance again within seconds after parting for breath to steal more kisses from your smiling mouth.
she’s still a bit clumsy about it, like she was the first time you kissed her, unsure about the motions & how much pressure to apply. it’s mostly the nerves, because melissa isn’t a bad kisser by any means, and you’ve been together for long enough to know that. sometimes she will get in her head about it, though, the fact that she’s actually here, kissing another girl, let alone you.
as if on cue, melissa’s nose bumps yours at a head tilt too far to the left. “ow,” she mumbles, not bothered enough by it to properly pull away. you can’t help smiling, and now it is your turn to mess up, melissa’s lips pressing into your front teeth with your mouth open like that. “don’t laugh!” she complains.
“i’m not.” quick to put on a mock serious face, you run a hand up melissa’s back, over her neck & into her hair to pull her against yourself. “come here, you’re doing great.”
embarrassed, melissa lets her forehead fall to your shoulder, and stubbornly shakes her head as your fingers comb through her hair. “you are,” you insist, tugging her back up by the blonde strands.
thankfully, melissa gets the message: kissing you right on the mouth again, your lips move in sync, and your hands run up & down her arms as her breathing grows heavier. soon, melissa’s lips are slick with your saliva, and you really do just want to stay like this forever, let the summer of ‘97 drag on and on so that you can spend the rest of your life right here, under melissa, whose tongue is now involved, too, experimentally moving against your own.
“god,” she says which, ironic, but sure, “i love you.” and while it is not the first time, considering how easily those words slipped out, it still evidently makes melissa nervous, given how quickly she pulls away from there. “uh, i- well-“
“no, i know.” your hand finds her cheek, rubbing circles with the pad of your thumb, not giving melissa time to overthink it. “i love you too.”
“yeah?” she asks, a sheepish look on her face.
melissa ducks her head, hiding a grin against your neck before starting to press kisses against your skin there, looking up at you as she puts her lips to your bare collarbones. “o-okay.”
melissa shrugs, blushing, “i guess it’s, uhm, nice? hearing you say it?”
once again, you use the hold you have on melissa’s hair to pull her in, so her head is looming over yours and all you have to do is crane your neck to kiss her, barely managing to fit another, mumbled: “i love you,” between kisses.
“okay, okay,” her smile has grown so wide she can hardly kiss you back properly anymore, one hand slipping into your own, resting on the mattress and as you kiss, melissa’s fingers thread with yours, letting you feel the calluses along her palm, cold compared to the heat of the room around you.
one more kiss to the corner of your mouth, then she begins to trail lower, except this time it is without a doubt intentional, a ragged breath falling from your lips as melissa’s mouth passes along your jaw. sliding your free hand up under the ends of her hair, you scratch the back of her neck, pleased when melissa sighs against your skin, “that’s- that’s cheating,” she whispers, “you know i like that.”
humming, you only chuckle when she nuzzles her nose against your pulse point, keeping most of her weight propped on her arm so as not to crush you. it really should not be this rare, for the two of you to be 100% at ease with one another, basking in the warmth that spills in from outside, right along with the sound of the cicadas buzzing away in the bushes behind her house, and how perfect would it be, if all your summer days could be like that?
you try to push realitly the thought away, let yourself at least relish this moment for as long as you have it, when melissa reaches out & uses her fingertip to trace the lines of your face, from your brows down the bridge of your nose. wrinkling it under the featherlight touch, you tilt your head on the pillow. “what?”
“just looking,” she whispers, the pad of her index now at the corner of your mouth. you’re about to open it, say something in return, when suddenly, there’s a noise from downstairs. with the door to melissa’s room shut and locked for good measure, it’s muffled, but a noise all the same, and with it, whatever had been building between you is over in an instant.
in a matter of milliseconds, melissa has jerked upright, the movement so frantic she bumps her head against the wall behind the bed in her hurry to put a normal amount of distance between you. it stings; the lengths she’ll go to to avoid being seen, but you know damn well that this is hardly melissa’s fault. in fact, you’re both better off not being found out.
“fuck!” she curses, rubbing the spot even as she continues to jump off the bed. with her weight no longer pinning you down, you sit up as well, looking after her as melissa scrambles to her feet. that alone, the fact that one single sound can disturb you quite this much, is all the more evidence of how fragile what you have is, to this day.
not paying you any mind for the time being, she only holds up a finger, signaling for you to be quiet as her chest rises & falls with shallow breaths, listening out for any more signs that you’re no longer alone. “hey,” you push yourself up onto your elbows. “what is it?”
“they’re home,” melissa’s gaze remains glued to the door, having gone wide with panic whilst the rest of her body stays frozen in place. “fuck! t-they weren’t supposed to be home yet!”
“i checked.” at this rate, she’s mostly talking to herself. “i- i fucking checked before you came over, you know i wouldn’t-” melissa’s hands have started trembling as she fidgets with the books on the sheets to rearrange them into a presentable way that will, hopefully, make her parents buy into the fact that you were truly just studying up here. “fuck, fuck, fuck…”
she tries fixing her hair, too, simultaneously pulling her shirt back into place over the sliver of stomach peeking out where it had ridden up. “i’m sorry. i’m so, so sorry. i’m sorry, this shouldn’t- i should’ve-”
it isn’t often, but this is also far from the first time that you see melissa like this: every time it has happened before, and much like right now, it had something to do with her parents, and your heart breaks a little more, seeing the state just the prospect of being caught (and what consequences would come with it) has your girlfriend in.
“melissa.” finally, she paces close enough to where you’re kneeling on the bed for you to reach out and grab hold of her wrist, her bewildered eyes dropping to where your fingers have wrapped around it, “look at me. i’m gonna check.”
“hey, it’s okay,” not wanting more panic to rise, you swing your legs over the edge of the bed & stand to walk to the window. you’re not quite as careless as to just head downstairs, which melissa was seemingly expecting, and instead rise onto your tiptoes to peek past the fan and into the driveway, relief washing over you at what you see (or, rather, what you don’t see) there. turning back to her, you find melissa still frozen in place, eyes fixed on the door. “come here, mel.”
despite the reassuring tone you try to give her, she’s still visibly reluctant, so you opt for outright telling her: “there’s no car.”
“in the driveway,” you clarify, pointing over your shoulder to the window. “your parents took the car, right? then they can't be back yet.”
that sets melissa into motion, and she rushes past you to check for herself, craning her neck as she looks out into their driveway as well. “oh…” she murmurs. reaching forward, you brush a strand of hair behind her ear & lean in so you can rest your chin on her shoulder, careful not to crowd her now that she’s finally stopped moving. “you’re okay.”
melissa shakes her head, sheepish, albeit the panic not yet having fully subsided. “i think,” she starts, “that was the washing machine.”
“maybe.” you give her hips a gentle squeeze where your hands have settled over the waistband of her shorts, “you’re safe, okay?”
upon hearing that, melissa lowers her head and stares down at her bare feet against the hardwood floor as she whispers: “i’m sorry.”
“i didn't mean to…” she rubs the back of her neck, “…fucking freak out like that.”
“you don’t have to apologize.” shaking your head, you press a kiss to the back of melissa’s shoulder and tighten the hold you have on her, arms wrapped around her middle
“god,” she lets out an awkward laugh, the sound lacking any real humor. “i- i heard that noise and just-” melissas throat bobs when she swallows, the sentence trailing off, unfinished.
slowly, you release her, if only so that you can step around and face melissa. knowing how on edge she must be, and well aware that, in situations like these, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, you ask: “can i hug you?”
rather than a verbal response, melissa only bites her lip & nods, lifting her arms for you to wrap her into a warm embrace. this time around, her chin comes to rest on your shoulder, and she buries her face in the crook of your neck, letting you feel the deep breath she draws in there. “i really thought they were home.”
“i checked, i don’t even know why i…” melissa shrugs, “sometimes i just panic.”
putting your own cheek against the top of her head, you kiss her temple. “it’s okay.”
“it’s embarrassing,” melissa exhales, the air puffing hot against your skin. “it’s all so fucking stupid. you know how my mom is. she’s always…always commenting on how i dress, or act, or-” stepping out of the hug, melissa gestures down at herself like there’s anything wrong with the oversized t-shirt (stolen, without a doubt, from one of her brothers’ drawers, but so what?) and the jorts hanging so low on her hips that the waistband of her boxers peeks out. “just me.”
“you know, the other day, she said no guy is ever gonna look at me twice if i keep making myself look like this.” melissa lets out a bitter laugh, like guys and how they may or may not look at her even matters. to her, it doesnt, but knowing her mother....none of this is new, per se, but you’re getting the sense that she has to let some of it out right now, get it off her chest, and although your heart breaks even more for her when she adds: “she said i’d grow out of it eventually,” you continue to listen until she’s done talking and averts her gaze back to the floor.
“mel, hey,” she still won’t look at you, not until you reach for her, gently cupping her cheek & tilting her face up to yours.“there’s nothing wrong with you. nothing.”
melissa sniffles quietly, perhaps wanting to muffle the sound altogether, considering her lips are drawn into a hard line. “i just- hate being so scared all the time.” she admits.
“i know.” your other hand joins the first, cradling her face. “but there’s nothing wrong with you, you hear me?”
“yeah.” hesitantly, melissa nods.
“none of this is wrong.” you repeat sternly, and with another stroke of your thumb over her cheekbone. although melissa’s eyes well up again at that, she at least dares to hold your gaze before she pulls you in for a hug, seemingly not done with being held yet. you gladly let her, staying exactly where you are, one hand even rubbing across the middle of her back as you wait it out together, letting the shock subside.
only when melissa’s grip eases do you let go, too, wanting her to be the one to step back before you let your arms slip from around her shoulders. “better?”
“a lot,” melissa reaches for your hand, watching as she lets her fingers slot between yours. “so, since they’re not back yet....” she mumbles shyly, “can i, uhm, can i kiss you again?”
you smile. “i was hoping you’d ask.”