The front door opened with a soft creaking noise as Joaquin winced to himself. You two had needed to fix that for a while now but kept procrastinating it. He hoped the noise didn’t disturb you as he stepped inside, his duffel bag was thrown over one shoulder while his boots clanked against the hardwood as he tried to stay quiet. 

The apartment was dark and it was peaceful in a way he hadn’t felt in weeks. It felt like home, he could see your shoes sitting by the door, your bag thrown on the organizer stand, and the little knick knacks you've decorated the entry way with.

He inhaled deeply, letting the familiar scent of vanilla wrap around him like. Because god, he’d missed you so much. Joaquin let his bag drop to the floor, as he shrugged off his boots and walked quietly inside. He was already smiling, knowing the fact that he could curl up in bed beside you, and kiss you until the mission felt like a distant memory.

A flicker of warm light caught his attention from down the hall, he figured you must’ve turned on a light and forgotten before you had gone to bed. Joaquin walked in and his heart just about melted on the spot. You were curled up on the couch, your favorite oversized hoodie of his swallowing your frame.

You were surrounded by a half eaten bowl of popcorn, some chocolate wrappers, and two fuzzy blankets that had clearly slipped off while you’d been sleeping. Your lips were parted slightly, one hand still grasping the remote next to you.

You must’ve tried to stay up for him. He smiles softly at you and crouches down in front of the couch “Oh Cariño.” he whispered softly as he reached out brushing along your cheeks with his knuckles.

You stirred slightly but didn’t wake up. He smiled softly, his thumb making soothing motions along your cheekbone now. “You fell asleep waiting for me, huh baby?” he murmured quietly. For a few moments he sat there watching you sleep peacefully, content to just see you after a few weeks of being away. This was always his favorite part of coming back, just getting to admire you.

After a few more moments, Joaquin slipped his arms beneath your legs and back and lifted you to his chest as he gently adjusted his hold on you. You nestled into his chest, murmuring something incoherent against his collarbone as your head lolled onto his shoulder. He chuckled softly before quickly whispering “Shh, baby, we’re just heading to bed.”

The walk to the bedroom was short, as he quickly moved to lay you on the bed making sure to tuck the blanket up around your shoulders. He took a quick moment to just admire you, having been missing this for the last few weeks. But just as he went to pull away your hand reached out and caught his wrist. Your eyes blinked open as you blinked slowly, “Quin?”

“Hey, Cariño.” he said with a wide smile on his face as he kneeled near the side of your bed again. “Didn’t mean to wake you.” A drowsy smile spread across your face as you sleepily mutter “You’re home”

“I’m home” he echoed, brushing his thumb across your cheeks. “You were on the couch when I came in, baby.” 

“I tried to stay up, Quin.” you mumbled, already beginning to drift off again.

“I saw, Baby. Nice snack selection by the way.” You giggled sleepily, and the sound made his entire face light up, as you muttered “You should’ve been there.”

“Well, I’m here now. Maybe we can have a movie night tomorrow” he said, gently pressing a kiss to your forehead. You reached up and cupped his jaw, leaning in to give him a real kiss. “Stay?”

The first thing you registered when you woke up was the sound of the birds chirping outside. The birds were loudly chattering away and you knew one thing, that it was annoying.

It filtered in through the window like, the birds had a personal vendetta out for you. Like they knew how little sleep you’d gotten and how comfortable you had been asleep.

The second thing you registered was your boyfriend's voice. Your normally sweet, amazing, a bit annoying at times boyfriend, who currently you wanted nothing to do with at eight in the morning.

“Alright Cariño. Rise and shine, the sun's fully up, the birds are chirping and your coffee is sitting on the counter.” Joaquin said in a joyful tone having been up for a few hours.

You groaned and buried your face further into your pillow whining out a quick “Tell the birds and the sun to shut up, Quin. It’s too early.” 

“Tempting, Baby. But I don’t think I've got the ranks to boss around nature yet.” he says, amusement evident in his tone. 

“Mmm, try harder Torres and get back to me on that. Better yet get back into bed and cuddle with me." You mumble out, your voice muffled by your pillow.

Joaquin chuckled, the bed dipping slightly as he sat near your legs. “You said we were gonna go to the farmer’s market this morning Baby. You seemed real excited about it last night and told me to wake you up and everything.”

“Well, I've decided that I've changed my mind and all I want is to stay in our warm bed and for these stupid birds to shut up.” you mumble out rolling onto your side. He leans down, his lips brushing your ear. “We could get that stupidly expensive honey you like for your tea if you get up right now, Pretty Girl.”

You lift your head as you look up at him. “The one with the pretty packaging, with the bees all over it?” you ask sleepily, your tired eyes blinking open to look at him.

“The one with the pretty packaging.” Joaquin replies, a soft smirk quirked up on his lips. You flopped back down dramatically. “Five more minutes”

“You’ve already said that three times, pretty girl. ‘Five more minutes’ is just a fancy way of lying to yourself at this point.” he said, tapping your hip softly.

“I'm an eternal optimist, Torres.” You mumble out, trying to roll away from your boyfriend's pestering and back into your warm cocoon of blankets. Then there was a long pause, an almost suspicious pause at that, as you closed your eyes and nestled back into your blankets. After a few more moments you hear, “Alright. You asked for it, Baby.”

“What? Hey! Joaquin!” you squealed as strong arms suddenly slid under you and lifted you straight out of the bed. “Joaquin! I swear to god if you drop me, I'm breaking up with you and your stupid pretty face.”

Joaquin snorts loudly as he adjusts you in his arms as he begins to carry you towards the kitchen “I would never drop something precious as you, Pretty Girl.” he said smugly.

“You’re an asshole Quin!” You groan, unable to get out of your boyfriends hold despite your stuggling.

He chuckled before countering “And you're extremely grumpy, yet I still love you. It's time to get out of bed and start the day, Baby."

“This has to be unconstitutional, there were amendments made for moments like this. No quartering in my house and no making me get out of bed at ungodly hours.”

Joaquin snorted loudly, his laughter jostling you in his arms “You can argue with me after we get breakfast and that honey you like, Baby.”

You sighed, finally slumping against his chest in surrender, as he finishes carrying you to the kitchen and puts you in one of the chairs next to the counter where a coffee is waiting for you.

You yawn dramatically, already reaching towards the cup of coffee “No promises that If someone tries to talk to me before this cup is finished, you may have to end up translating grunts, Quin.”

He kissed your forehead, hands sliding around your waist as he held you for a moment longer than necessary, pressing his forehead against yours. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

You smile sleepily, your first smile of the morning. “Have I told you how much I love you lately, Torres?”

Joaquin smiles with a shake of his head and a soft eye roll, pressing another kiss to your head. 

Notes: Based Off Of Tate Mcraes Miss Possessive.

When Joaquin had told you there was a gala event coming up you hadn’t thought much of it at first. These types of events happen all the time now that he works so closely with Sam, and you’re always more than content to stay at home for the night and watch a movie with a pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream next to you.

But then Joaquin had told you he had a plus one, and who were you to deny getting to see your boyfriend in a suit for an entire night. So you obviously decided to go.

His arm was slung casually around your shoulders, warm and familiar as he guided you as you both followed Sam through the entryway of the Gala. It was all chandeliers, velvet drapes, and things that made you feel completely out of your normal comfort zone. You wore a dress that made your skin glow and paired it with simple heels in a color that matched the dress. Your makeup was soft but still more dramatic than you’d typically ever wear in public.

Joaquin had just stared when he first saw you before you had left.  He’d mumbled a low “You’re trying to kill me tonight, Cariño.” In your ear, that had left you feeling giddy inside and had you slapping his shoulder.

But now, standing near the side of the ballroom while Sam chatted with a few defense officials and other people you had no clue what they did, you could just feel the eyes on your boyfriend. You didn’t entirely blame them. Joaquin looked fucking amazing in his suit, and honestly if you hadn’t spent an entirely unreasonable amount of time getting ready, you would’ve tried to convince him to stay home instead.

But it was obvious you were his girlfriend, and his arm had been slung around your shoulders for most of the night.

Sure, you hadn't kissed while at the event, but PDA was something that made you uncomfortable, and Joaquin knew that and respected that. He was often content to just hold your hand, or throw his arm around your shoulder instead. Maybe quickly squeezing your waist or kissing your forehead if you felt comfortable enough.

You watched as one girl whispered something to her friend, both of them giggling as they looked toward Joaquin. And another one eyeing him up and down blatantly. Joaquin wasn’t even paying attention to them. His attention was entirely on you, or Sam. And well, maybe the food being brought out too. But that didn’t mean you weren’t starting to feel some kind of way.

You’d never been the possessive type. Or at least, you didn’t think you were.

You knew Joaquin loved you and you trusted him with your entire being. He loved you like no one had ever before, and he absolutely treasured you. But something about this was just irking you, so you shifted subtly leaning a little closer into his side. Joaquin glanced down from his conversation to look at you with a soft smile, adjusting his grip around your shoulders to grip you a bit tighter as he leaned down slightly. “You okay?” he asked his voice low by your ear.

You nodded. “Mhmm. Just a bit cold.” Of course that was a lie. You were actually rather hot in the big ballroom, but you weren’t about to admit to your boyfriend that you were leaning closer because you were jealous.

A few more minutes passed, and the looks still hadn't stopped. Joaquin was a very attractive man, and you knew that, you'd be blind not to see. And you knew you were damn lucky to have him and have him come home to you. But you couldn’t keep handling these looks. 

So, you did something you almost never do in public. You slid your arm around his waist and your fingers curled into the back of his suit jacket. You leaned against his side like you belonged there. Because you did. And you smirked to yourself, silently hoping everyone would see it, the fact that Joaquin was very much yours.

Joaquin froze for a second, barely missing a beat in his conversation with Sam. But his arm tightened a little, pulling you even closer, as his hand moved from your shoulder to your waist, giving it a soft squeeze. He didn’t say anything about it. Just smiled when you looked up at him and offered you another glass of champagne. And if he noticed the way your eyes narrowed when another girl stared at him as you took a sip, he didn’t mention that to you either.

The gala went on for another hour, and you stayed firmly glued to Joaquin’s side for all of it. You weren’t exactly clinging to him per say. But for someone who usually kept public affection minimal, you were suddenly very comfortable draping yourself on your boyfriend. And Joaquin didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed amused at your behavior. His hand never left your back, his touches lingered, and he kept kissing your forehead the entire rest of the night. But he never brought up why you were being so touchy with him.

By the time you both got home, you were halfway out of your heels, throwing them by the rest of your shoes, as you walked in the bedroom ready to get out of this dress and get ready for bed.  Joaquin walked up behind you in the bedroom with a teasing smile on his face. “So” he drawled out, gently tugging at the zipper on your dress just enough to make you squirm at the motion. “You wanna tell me what that was about, Baby?”

You blinked, as you turned your head to look at him while taking off your necklace. “What was what about?”

He tilted his head, clearly not buying your innocent tone, raising an eyebrow. “You. Hanging off of me all night.”

Your cheeks heated. “I was not 'hanging off' of you, Quin.”

“Oh you so were, Cariño.” he laughed, his hands gently grabbing your waist and turning you around to face him fully before continuing. “You usually only let us hold hands in public, maybe you’ll let me throw a shoulder over your arms if you’re feeling brave. But tonight? You were pressed up against me the whole time, baby.”

You pushed at his chest lightly, as you felt your face heat up. “You noticed that?”

“Of course I noticed.” He said with a laugh still smiling like he knew exactly what had been going through your head the entire night. “Were you jealous, Baby?” You tried to turn away as you were embarrassed but he caught your hand quickly, and pulled you close until you were tucked against his chest. Your voice came out smaller than you had intended. “They were just staring. And I know it’s super dumb, and I trust you with my entire life, but-”

“It’s not dumb.” he said immediately, reassuring you as his arms wrapped around you fully making you feel warm and safe. “But you really don't have to worry, cariño. I didn’t even notice anyone else, besides my girl.”

You let out a soft laugh burying your face into his shoulder. “You looked too good, Quin. Like actually stupidly good. I think we need to ban that suit from anywhere besides the house.”

He chuckled, just wanting to tease you a bit more. “So you got jealous because of the suit?”

You groaned into his shoulder. "Stop teasing me.”

“No, no. I liked it, baby. I loved you being all over me like that. It felt like I was the luckiest guy in the room. Which by the way, I a hundred precent was.”

You looked up at him, squinting. “You sure you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Definitely not.” He said kissing your forehead to emphasize it, before continuing “I mean, sure, it was hot seeing you so territorial. But no one would ever compare to you, baby. You’re my girl.”

You laughed quietly, heart swelling. “I hate that you’re so sweet even when you’re teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing you.” he murmured, his hands gently rubbing soft circles on your back. “You’re mine, Baby. And you’re stuck with me forever. So go ahead and be as possessive as you want to be. It’s kind of sexy anyways.”

You lightly smacked his shoulder as you felt the heat returning to your face again. “Don’t call me sexy.”

“But you are.” He said with a soft snicker as he squeezed your waist, his hand seemingly wanting to drop a bit lower. You raise an eyebrow feeling where his hands trying to lead, and murmur “I will tackle you, Quin.”

“I’d really like to see you try, Cariño.” he teased back before abruptly picking you up in his arms and tossing you onto the bed with a big grin on his face. You squealed in surprise, shouting a soft “Quin! I still have to get out of this dress and makeup.”

You laughed as he climbed in beside you tugging you close again, as he whispered. “I can help with that.” making you laugh even harder, as he started making good on that promise.

Notes: Thank you anon for requesting! This is my first time writing a platonic!reader in a long time, so I hope I did your ask justice, and thank you so much for requesting!!

You weren’t technically breaking any rules. You were an adult now after all.

You had your own key to the apartment Joaquin let you share with him during your first year away from home. And you’d told him about the fact that you were going out with friends tonight.

You’d gone out with friend’s tons of times since moving in with Joaquin, and he never really cared. You were an adult and he trusted you to make smart choices with whatever you wanted to do, plus it wasn’t really his right to boss you around.

But this time you hadn’t really elaborated what time you'd be home, or mentioned the date part of going out with friends.

The door creaked as you pushed the front door open slowly, not wanting to wake up your brother if he had already gone to bed. You toss your shoes off near the entryway, and begin to make your way to the kitchen to get a drink before you headed up to bed.

As you walked to the kitchen and past the living room you heard a voice come out of nowhere.

"You're home pretty late."

You jumped, your hands coming to your chest as you shrieked loudly, reaching out to slam the kitchen light on, before turning around.

And there he was.

Joaquin was wearing sweats and a hoodie, his arms folded across his chest and his hair stuck up in every direction like he’d fallen asleep and jolted awake.

Which given the crumpled blanket you could see on the couch behind him and the cup of coffee on the table that was probably exactly what happened.

"Jesus, you scared the hell out of me, Joaquin! What are you even doing awake?" you exhaled out, your hand pressed to your chest as you tried to catch your breath and calm your racing heart down.

He gave you a look, his eyebrow raised in a way to ask you if you were really going to ask him why he was awake. Considering he always waited up for you to get home when you went out.

"I don’t know kid, maybe the fact that my sister was supposed to be out with friends and then just never texted when she’d come back, and now it’s almost two in the morning.”

“Hey, I never said when I’d be home when I told you I was going out.” you pointed out as calmly as you could, pulling off your jacket.

“Exactly.” He said as he walked into the kitchen and flopped down onto one of the stools facing you before continuing. “Which left a lot of time for your Big Brother to imagine every horrible scenario possible. Car crashes, recruited into a cult, alien abductions. I’ve seen a lot of things, okay?”

You snorted loudly at your brother's dramatics. “I went to dinner and then to a club with friends from my classes and a guy.”

His eyes narrowed slightly and his eyebrow raised again before he asked “A guy?” He crossed his arms before continuing. “Define ‘a guy', Kid.’”

You grabbed a glass from the cabinet, mostly to buy time and try to get your brother off the topic before responding. “Just a guy. From my psych class. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh.” he responded back, his voice quiet and calm.

And to anyone else, they’d think he’d be perfectly fine with it. That, That’s where the conversation would be ending, and you’d both head to bed.

But you knew your older brother, and you saw the way he grabbed his phone and immediately started typing. You narrowed your eyes as you set down your glass of water. “Don’t you even think about running a background check.”

“I’m just saying. If I happened to know the guys full name, birth date, major, and any social media handles, it would save me some time and make me feel a lot better about you walking around out there with this guy.” he defended, hands up like he was innocent.

You rolled your eyes and turned toward the hallway, done with the interrogation and ready to go to bed. “I’m not telling you anything else, Joaquin.”

“Come on, just give me a first name! Or a last name, hell, I’ll take a LinkedIn account if you have that!” He yelled back down the hallway. 

 You rolled your eyes as you opened your bedroom door, “Good night, Joaquin.” 

And right before your door closed all the way you heard him yell “It would make your big brother a hell of a lot happier to know who you’re dating, kid!” You paused long enough to laugh before shutting the door behind you.