#xfe!reader

“Was he real?”

You slowly tore your attention away from the case file in front of you. “What?”

“Your husband.”

For a moment you forgot all about how you’d first come to interact with Peña. He had asked you out. Well, flirted heavily then asked you out. 

“What husband?”

Javi stood as he talked, walking towards your desk and sitting down on the edge of it closest to you. “One day you’re wearing a wedding ring telling me you’re married, the next it’s gone.”

You looked at your hand. “Oh. Yeah.” You decided to admit the truth. “I made him up.”

Despite his constant theories, he was still shocked. “What?”

“I made him up.”

You said it as if you were asking him how his day was. Like it was nothing new. 

“You made him up?”

“You try and be a single woman in this office who doesn’t like getting hit on by every guy who thinks with his dick,” you told him. “See how quickly you make up a fake family.”

He had to laugh. “But I hit on you.”

You looked at him, suppressing an already knowing smirk on your face. “My point exactly.”

“Think I got something.” From the door, Steve came sweeping inside and threw a couple of files down on Javi’s desk. The previous topic was dropped for now but you took a moment to revel in the shock graced on Peña’s face. 

However, a few hours later, it was brought back up again. 

You’d been standing in the evidence locker, looking for yet another misplaced case file. Could people not read in this office? Had they lost all sense of the alphabet? You sighed heavily. 

“How long have you been doing it?”

You jumped and found Peña standing behind you. “Jesus, Peña. Make a noise or something. Fuck.” You turned back to the messy shelf in front of you. 

“So?”

You sighed. “Doing what? This? Feels like hours.”

He shook his head and rounded you before leaning against the side of the shelves. “Not the files. You being married.”

“Oh, uh…” You pulled a few hefty files and handed them over to him before reaching down onto the lower shelf and pulling those files up. “Couple years, I guess. Since before the Academy.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier, or do I need to repeat myself, Peña?”

He shook his head again and put the files down. “No, I heard you. But that’s here. Why did it start?”

You sighed and stopped what you were doing to look at him. “Why are you so interested all of a sudden?”

He let out a small chuckle. “What? Come on, you’re one of the first Agents here to reject me not once, but three different times.”

You raised a subtle eyebrow. “I was married when you did that.”

“The first time, yes.” Javi corrected. “But that was an honest mistake. The second and third time, there was no ring on your finger. And, after this morning, you technically weren’t married at all. Look, just answer my questions and then I’ll drop it forever.”

“You promise?”

He held up his hand. “Scouts honour.”

You gave a questioned hum. “It’s difficult to imagine you as a Scout.”

“Y/l/n.”

You groaned. “Fine. It started because I got asked out a couple of times by this guy. He seemed nice and all but I wasn’t interested. So, when he asked why I kept saying no, I told him I was married. Swapped my rings over under the bar top before showing it to him. He took it well, apologised and said my husband was a lucky fella.”

Peña continued to listen. 

“Then I moved away. The second time I was with someone but this guy just kept hitting on my friend. She went to the bathroom and then he started on me. Told him I was with someone. He didn’t believe me. So, I showed him my wedding band. Said my friend was married, too. He,” you sighed. “Eventually backed-off. After that it just kinda became my go-to. People I interviewed preferred to see a married woman than a single woman being a cop. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t start out my job as married. But the minute the compliments, and the touching and the dates being pre-arranged because they expected me to say yes…once they all started, I started wearing my wedding ring.”

“So why take it off?”

You shrugged. “Guess I must have forgotten. Besides, nobody has tried anything in the last couple of years. We’ve all been too busy.”

For a moment, Peña’s demeanour seemed to shift. “But I’ve flirted with you.”

You smiled a tired smile and stepped back from the files for a moment. “I work with you, Peña. I like you but I think I’m immune.”

“That hurts.” He deadpanned before placing a hand over his heart. “That…wow.”

You laughed. “I think you’ll bounce back.”

And he did. That night he walked out telling Murphy he had a date with the stall girl he’d met a few days ago. 

The following weeks were hectic as different cases made their way across your desk, all with connections to Peña and Murphy’s biggest case; Pablo Escobar. 

From interviewing victim’s families, to interrogations, to the crappy coffee in the break room. Your days and nights were spent looking over files and dealing with your case loads. Until one afternoon in the breakroom led to something you never had expected. 

There was another Agent working at the Embassy. You’d seen him around a few times, shared a conversation or two. But most importantly, he had seen your wedding ring. You hadn’t missed his behaviour over the last couple of days. It started with smiles in the hallway – innocent enough. Then you found him in your breakroom more. Apparently the coffee was better. Then he was sitting at your table during lunch – apparently his partner was out for the day and he felt like some company. You didn’t miss his eyes clocking your hand. 

“Your wedding band. It’s gone.”

You didn’t know why at the time, but the lie fell from your lips. “Oh, yeah, It’s in for a cleaning. It had a couple dark patches and scuffs on it.”

More things started creeping up. Like how he always stood just that little bit closer and not in a comforting way, when you were both talking. Or how his eyes looked you up and down before you got to speaking distance from each other. 

Then in the breakroom, the ‘compliments’ started. How your hair looked – how it always looked. How you always made ‘women’s clothes look so much better’. How he enjoyed spending time with you because you actually talked to him. 

“You know,” he trailed a finger up your arm and you were three seconds away from breaking it and running to take a scalding hot shower. “I was thinking we could get away for a while. After all, we both deserve a break. Maybe take these lunches outside of the office.”

You stepped back. “I’m married.”

“Oh, come on, we both know that’s a sham.” He told you, taking a step closer as you took another one back. “You never bring him to office parties, there’s no pictures on your desk-”

“I don’t need to prove to you or to anyone else that I’m married.”

He laughed. He actually laughed. “You’re not about to tell me he lives in Canada are you?”

“No. He-”

“He’s right here.”

It was safe to say you were shocked, but the agent didn’t seem to notice as he turned round and found Javi standing in the hallway. 

“Peña. I was just-”

“Scaring my wife?”

The guy was turning paler by the second and yet somehow his ego carried him through. “You mean work-wife, because I have to say Javi, that doesn’t really count.”

“How about a marriage certificate? Does that count for you?” Peña finally found you by his side before he whispered to you.

“You okay, cariño?” All you could do was nod, the shock of him pretending to be your husband still settling over you. 

He looked back to the agent who had been hitting on you. “I’m gonna tell you this once and only once. Hit on my wife or scare her again, and I’ll kill you.”

“Javi-”

“I don’t think Messina would be happy to learn one of her best Agents was being sexually harassed.”

He nodded, backing away. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Javi shook his head. “Not to me. To her.”

Awkwardly, the guy looked from Javi, around the room, back to Javi and then to you. “I’m sorry.”

You didn’t move. You didn’t speak. Peña’s your husband?

“You can go.” 

Taking Javi’s instructions, he left. Peña then waited a minute before turning towards you. “You sure you’re okay?”

You nodded. “I’m fine. Thank you, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“But you shouldn’t have done that.”

“What?” He asked, holding the coffee pot in one hand and your mug in the other. 

“Javi…” You looked around the room before looking back at him. “This is gonna spread around the office. You and I -- married.”

He shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Now you’ve got a physical person to pretend to be your husband.”

“Javi.” He handed you your cup of coffee before pouring his own. “Please tell me you are aware of your own reputation? And the fact that we are colleagues? And the fact that I have been making a husband up for god knows how long? People are going to know this is fake and then I’ll be judged – heavily – for it.”

“Why would you be judged?”

You rested a hand on your hip. “This is gonna look like I’ve used you to be my pretend husband and everyone will just feel sorry for me and make a big joke about it with you.”

“Except I’m the one that told him.” Peña pointed out. “If anything, that’s what’s going to spread around the office.”

“Ah yes, I can see the headlines now; ‘Agent Javier ‘slut’ Peña finally ties himself down with a female colleague.’.”

He shrugged. “We don’t have to be tied down if you don’t want to.”

You hit him on the arm. “Be serious.”

“Look,” he set his coffee cup down and took you by the shoulders. “If it becomes anything then we just fake it. We already spend most of our time together anyway, and who hasn’t had an office romance once in their life?”

“I haven’t.”

Peña paused for a second before nodding. “Congratulations. You’ve just lost your office romance virginity.”

“Peña.”

He shook it off. “All I’m saying is, if it becomes a thing, we just…roll with it.”

“Roll with it?”

He nodded. “Roll with it.”

“There’s a chance our careers hang in the balance because I’m pretty sure this breaks at least three rules in HR. And your grand solution is to…’roll…with it.’.”

Javi nodded once more. “We’ll be fine. I promise.”

It was not fine. Neither of you were fine. Especially considering two days later you were both forced into Messina’s office where, before you could spit out the truth, Messina interrupted and said she didn’t want to know. Just that you both had to remain completely professional and that if someone ever caught either of you, you’d both be suspended. 

So, things remained somewhat neutral. You both received a couple of looks from other co-workers. Murphy teased both of you relentlessly, despite being the only one to know the truth since you stopped the elevator when all three of you were inside to tell him as much. 

But then the loud rumours started and people didn’t even try to hide them. 

Whilst pouring you and Peña a cup of coffee each – something you had done almost everyday for three years, you could hear people gossiping. 

“Maybe he knocked her up. Shotgun wedding, you know?”

“I don’t think they’re even a couple. I mean, they never show any kind of affection to each other.”

One disagreed with that statement. “No, I’ve seen him with her a few times. Little touches here and there. Must be their love language. Small touches and simple gestures.”

“That’s cute, I guess. But I kinda expected more from Javi. He was always so…you know.”

The woman beside her sighed, “Yeah.”

You walked away more confused about life than you had been since before you started highschool. 

It was clear the rest of the office ‘knew’ about ‘you and Javi’. And that they each had a different opinion on the matter. And some of them you didn’t even know about, but Javi did. 

He’d heard everything from your marriage to him being a sham because he got you pregnant, to both male and female staff asking him “why y/n?”. Except, it was never in a friendly manner. To the men, it was either because they thought “Javi could have any choice he wanted, and he went for her?”, or because he’d gone for one of the women they had wanted “a shot at” themselves. And to the women it was…much of the same thing, with an added jealous streak wondering why he went for “the one woman who didn’t want” him, when most of the other women who’d worked with him “actually wanted” him. 

Javi’s eyes trailed your every move from the coffee station, back to your desk and then towards him. “You okay?”

You zoned back into reality and handed him his coffee. “Yeah. Fine. What have you got?”

Turning the case file around, he told you. 

Around a month or so later, not much had changed. People were still gossiping about your marriage to Peña, the case was gathering little evidence so the constant reviewing of previous case loads was underway. Between keeping up the lie of your marriage to Javi – despite neither of you having to do much out of your normal routine – and the case work and the constant heart attack you got when Messina would stop walking when stood directly between your desk and Peña’s before humming and moving along, you were running out of energy. 

“Come to mine after work.”

You looked around. People were looking but they were too far out of earshot to hear. 

You took the paper from Javi. 

“Why?”

“You’re tired, and I’m tired watching you eat that shitty stuff from the cafeteria. I’m cooking dinner.”

You looked up at him, shocked. “You can cook?”

He smiled. “Yeah, yeah. After work. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”

Javi tapped your desk twice before walking away and looking around the office. Everyone who had been looking quickly looked away before looking back at you. Once they found you looking, they turned back to their work. 

For a moment, you looked at the half stale coffee on your desk. It would be nice to have a decent meal considering you’d been eating left-overs for about a week and half. 

And he kept his promise. 

Javi had left work an hour before you were supposed to. He’d grabbed his jacked off the hook behind your desk, bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of your head, your body too tired to fight off leaning into him when he did so. You had meant to clock out of work an hour later but staring at words, losing concentration and trying to focus back in meant when you finally looked at the clock, you were getting close to being forty minutes late. 

“Shit.”

Not bothering to drop your stuff off in your apartment two floors up, you found Javi’s door unlocked like he’d said and you walked inside. 

It smelt like heaven. Good, hot food. And Javi. 

It was quiet as you walked down his hallway and eventually found him relaxing on the sofa, his legs thrown across the rest of it. He was watching reruns. 

“Relax,” you could hear the smile in his voice despite not being able to see his face. “Figured you’d be late. Food’ll be ready soon.”

With a relieved sigh, you dropped your bag by the steps and walked around. He moved his legs for you to sit down and he watched you for a moment as you pushed the heels of your hands into your eyes and leaned back. 

“Tired?”

“Exhausted,” you admitted. 

“Come ‘ere.” His voice was soft and quiet as he reached out for you by the shoulder. Looking at him for a moment before silently agreeing, you let him pull you down until eventually you were laying beside him, your head on his chest, his legs tangled with yours. 

It took him a moment, but Javi removed your hair-tie letting your hair loose before running his fingers through it. You relaxed almost immediately, feeling the once growing headache slowly melt away with each touch of his hand. 

You could have fallen asleep but he didn’t let you. “You’ve gotta eat. I didn’t slave over a hot stove for nothing.”

You groaned a little and buried yourself deeper into his side. “How are you this calming?”

“It’s my natural touch.” Javi told you before kissing the top of your head and sitting up. “Come on. Dinner’s ready. Then I promise, you can fall asleep.”

“Hallelujah.” 

It took you a moment but your head eventually stopped spinning long enough for you to sit up and walk over to the table where Javi had set down both of your meals. And it was one of the best you’d ever had; either because he was a great cook, or you were starving enough that any food that wasn’t cafeteria left-overs would taste like heaven at that moment. Though, you had a feeling it was the first one. 

In silence, you both washed and dried. Until you spoke out the pressing question on your mind. 

“What happens if we meet ‘the one’?”

“What ‘one’?” Javi handed you another freshly washed plate. 

“I mean,” you spun it through the dish towel. “To everyone else, we’re married. But what if we end up meeting the person we actually want to date and marry? What do we do then?”

Javi shrugged. “Guess we get divorced.”

“But we’re not actually married.”

“Then we play it by ear. They say when you know you know…maybe when we know, we just…tell them the truth. But I doubt that’s gonna happen.” Javi nearly crapped himself. “For me, not you. I doubt that’ll happen for me.”

You looked at him. “Why?”

For a moment, he was quiet. Thinking. Deliberating. “Back in Texas, I was gonna get married. Lorraine. She was a wonderful woman but…I don't know. I was driving to the church and I just stopped.”

“You left her at the altar?”

“I never made it to the church,” he admitted. “I don’t know. I suppose at some point I’d settle down but…” Javi shrugged. “I can see it happening for you though, so, whenever you do meet him, I can be there to help explain this whole…situation we’ve got going on.”

You laughed a little at that. “Thanks.”

Twenty minutes later, you were half asleep before Javi pulled you over to him once more. The last thing you could remember was you taking a deep breath in, the scent of him, his home and his cooking fill your senses. 

When you woke up, you found yourself still on the sofa, the news playing on the TV and Javi cooking in the kitchen. It took you a while before your brain registered you weren’t still dreaming and you’d fallen asleep not only at Peña’s, but also on him. 

“Hey,” Peña shook you back awake. “Breakfast is ready.”

You placed your hand over his and nodded. “Okay.”

Neither of you said anything when you ate, just listened to the news that passed over the speakers of the TV. 

“Who taught you to cook?” You asked, turning to look at him as he drove you both to work. 

“My dad. My mom helped, but dad was the one who burnt less stuff.”

After eating, you’d run to your apartment to get a fresh change of clothes and run a brush through your hair, only to be greeted by your husband at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll drive us to work.”

So, now you were driving to work with Javi before hopping out of his car and being led with a warm hand at the bottom of your back through the hallways of work before you both finally reached your desks. 

And for the first time in weeks, you finally had the energy to get through your work day. And so did Javi. 

Although things started to change when you got a surprise visit from your mother.

You’d been working for weeks on the same case and in between all of the case work, the fake marriage and the few months that followed, you’d forgotten to write to your mother. 

It was her one agreement with you moving to Columbia. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop you – it was your job and you were good at it, plus, despite all of the gear grinding you had to do every now and again, you loved it. But knowing she didn’t accept your decision to work as DEA in Columbia would have slowly killed you – and her, too. 

Any time she called, you’d either been dead asleep – either at yours or Javi’s – or at work. So, she took the notion to come and see you. 

So when you walked down the hall towards your office and heard your mother’s voice ask you a question, you felt your entire body crash to a screaming halt before realising what and why she was asking. 

“You’re married?” 

“Mom.”

Your mom called your full name and walked towards you. “What this lovely woman just told me better not be true, or else that means I’ve missed my daughter’s wedding.”

You tried your best to remain calm and relaxed. Two emotions you were desperately clinging onto for dear life. “She tells me his name is Javier Pen…”

For a moment, she looked back to the secretary who nodded and whispered his name again for your mother to repeat with full confidence to you. “Javier Peña.”

“Mom, maybe it’s best we-”

Then the secretary spoke up in excitement. “Oh, there he is. Javi!”

Looking up from his own case file, about to turn down the hallway, he found who was calling him before seeing who was standing in front of them. You and, from what he could guess, your mother. 

Shit. Your mother? No. She was back in the States. Maybe he’d remembered her face wrong from the picture behind your desk. 

Walking over, Javi’s hand came to your lower back before he quickly brushed a kiss against your cheek. “Cariño, you okay?”

You tried to remain calm as you said the next sentence. “Javi, this is my mother. Mom, this is my..husband..Javi.”

Then something you hadn’t expected to happen, happened. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs Y/l/n. Y/n’s told me a lot about you.”

“I wish I could say the same.” But she still shook his hand and allowed him to press a light kiss to the back of it. 

Carefully, Javi stepped back and pulled you closer towards him, your mother’s eyes never once stopping to not examine the couple that stood in front of her. 

Javi nodded. “We are sorry about that. But, maybe we can make it up to you.”

You looked at Javi a little panicked. But your mother was already interested. “Oh?”

“I’m guessing you’re staying here for a few days? Come and stay with us. I can make us dinner and we can all get to know each other.”

Then your mom smiled. Apparently Javi already had her approval. “Well…I think that would be lovely. But don’t think either of you are getting off lightly. I missed my daughter’s wedding that I didn’t even know about.”

“Honey, give your mother our address, I’ll ask-”

She shook her head. “No, no. You all seem busy. I can take myself there. And I’d like to see what’s around the market stalls. Is there anything I can bring for dinner?”

Javi shook his head. “No, not at all.”

You smiled. “He’s got it covered, mom. Just bring yourself.”

“Alright then. Well, I look forward to seeing you both for dinner.”

In the space of five minutes you’d all said your goodbye’s and you had ever so sweetly pulled your husband towards your office before closing the door and blinds and turning back to your partner. 

“What the hell are you thinking?”

Javi shrugged. “She’s come down here to see you. We might as well make the effort.”

“We? Javi. We don’t live together. She’s gonna take one look around my apartment and realise I still live there. She’s gonna take one more look at my face and realise everything that’s happened is a complete sham and then she’s gonna parade it around town that I’m still single. She won’t mean it harshly, but she will.”

“So, we don’t tell her and just say we haven’t had a chance to move things since getting married. We’ll be okay.”

You let out a panicked laugh before you started pacing. “I knew this was a bad idea. It’s bad enough we’re lying to people here.”

“You’re the one that started it before I got roped in.”

“Hey! You roped yourself into this. You were the one that said you were my husband.”

“Would you have preferred for Agent Dickbag to keep pushing?!”

You took a breath. “Javi…I don’t know if I can lie to her. What…what do I tell my family when they find out? This was just meant to keep people like Agent Dickbag away…”

Reading the panic all over your body, Javi stood and walked towards you until you were wrapped in his arms. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll keep the secret up long enough to make sure nobody else finds out the truth, and then you can just say we rushed into things. We got a quick divorce and moved on, civilly.”

“I think you missed your calling in Acting.” You told him. “I think my mom already has your seal of approval.”

“Really?” He pulled back a little and smiled. “That’s a first.”

“We’ll be okay?”

He nodded. “We’ll be okay.”

And you believed him. 

Because it was true. 

In the space of about fifteen minutes, you and Javi managed to move some things from your apartment, into his to make it seem more…homely. Like two people actually lived there. Especially since your mom would be living in your apartment for the next couple of days until she flew back home to the rest of your family. 

“Will she really check the bedroom?” Javi called from the kitchen. 

You’d moved some things to the second bedside table. One or two books, a couple of hair-ties, plasters, “stray” pens. You tried your best to make it look believable as possible. 

“You don’t know her like I do. This woman is Jessica Fletcher. Unsuspecting to the world, but in fact sees everything. Trust me, you do not want to end up in interrogation with my mother. Happened to a perp once. She came in to visit my dad but he was wrangling a couple of the officers so she walked around, found the perp sitting in holding and she actually got a confession out of him. Cops had been trying all day and nothing. A five minute conversation with my mother and they got a full written confession out of him.”

Javi gave a low whistle. “Wow.”

“Yeah. So, trust me, what I’m doing? It’s gonna, hopefully, save us some grief.”

Javi was still cooking by the time your mom knocked on his door and you brought her inside. Immediately her eyes scanned the place picking up on the pictures, books and music. 

“It smells delicious.”

“He’s a good cook.”

And for the first couple of minutes everything ran smoothly. Your mother did everything you’d expected her to do. She even passed Javi in the kitchen to look into your bedroom. 

“She really did it.” Javi mouthed. 

“Told you so,” you mouthed back. 

“Mom, do you wanna come and sit down? I can get you a drink.”

“I’ll have a soda if you have it, please.”

You got your mom a soda and poured it into a glass with ice, handing it to her as she stood still examining your home. 

“So, how is he in bed?” She whispered a little too loud to you. 

You felt yourself go bright red. Redder still when you heard Javi chuckle from the kitchen. “Mom!”

“What? I’m allowed to ask my daughter these questions. I need to know you’re being satisfied in every aspect of your marriage.”

You groaned and covered your eyes. “Mom.”

“You’re being careful? Using condoms? You know pulling out doesn’t work as birth control.”

You could have died. “Mom, please. Stop.”

Javi let out a small laugh as he walked from the kitchen and handed you a drink. “Mrs Y/l/n, if you really want to know-”

“Oh no. No, Javi, please. Please don’t encourage her.”

“We’re being safe. Having a family right now probably wouldn’t be the best move for either of us.”

Your mother just graced him with a soft smile. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

“I’m not,” you groaned a little. “Can we please change the conversation?”

“You know, she’s always been like this.” Your mom told Javi who only seemed to revel in your terror. 

“Really? This isn’t a new thing?”

“No,” you mom told him. “She went just as red when I gave her the birds and the bees talk.”

“That’s because you decided to tell me in the middle of my middle school hallway during a Parent’s Evening.”

“And when I took her to the doctors to get her on the pill.”

You covered your face. “I’m in hell.”

Javi’s hand reached for your shoulder and shook you lightly as he sat on the arm of the chair beside you. You leaned into him. 

“I’d finally got it out of her that she’d had sex and next-”

“And next thing I’m being wrangled into an office chair with the doctor having my mother shout from the rooftops her daughter was no longer a virgin.”

Your mom gasped. “It wasn’t like that,”

You leaned into your husband who’d just let out a small laugh. “Please make it stop.”

“Okay, I’ll drop it.”

“Thank you.”

“But I’m glad to know you’re being satisfied. Your face tells me more than you think.”

“Okay!” You stood up quickly and tried to run away, only to feel Javi’s hand reach out and pull you back, spinning you to stand by him. From the light red in his cheeks, he felt a little embarrassed, too, but he seemed to handle it a lot better than you. 

He was chuckling. “Don’t think you’re able to run from this. I wanna know more about you from your mom.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to be here for it.” You tried to make a break for it again, but Javi caught you and for a moment, the rest of the room seemed to slowly disappear from sight as you found yourself trapped in his hands and arms, and his gaze on you, just as yours was on his. And for a moment, you wondered what it would be like if you kissed him. 

Little did you know, he’d been thinking the exact same thing. 

Then a timer went off. 

“That’ll be the food.” Javi kissed a quick peck to your temple before standing and walking towards the kitchen, leaving your gaze to trail after him. 

“You really do love each other,” your mom pointed out from her spot on the sofa. “I can see why you got married. You both need to tell me what your wedding was like!”

And so you did over dinner. With the added linger of whatever had happened when he’d pulled you closer to him. 

You caught Javi looking at you a few times, and subsequently, he’d caught you, too. And, without rehearsal, you’d both managed to bullshit your way through explaining why you’d both decided to get married so quickly. 

From you and Javi, your mother had learned you’d both met when you started in Columbia and you were both ‘friends’ for a while. Not much had to be lied about in that department. Javi’s reputation. Your “ability” to make every man that asked you out believe you were taken. How you’d worked together for a long time before becoming actual friends. Then the lies started…right?

About how you and Javi made a true friendship of sorts over the late nights working, swapping smaller stories until something changed. 

“It was like…my heart had stopped and rebooted itself. Suddenly, everything felt like it had shifted and changed somehow.” Peña explained to your mom. “Nothing had ever been more…clearer and more daunting than ever.”

Then Javi looked at you, and you found a mirrored expression. Sadness? Confusion? Desperation? Fear? Realisation? You didn’t know what to call it, but whatever it was, you felt it. For some unknown reason, everything he’d just said rang true in your ears, your head and even your heart. 

Nothing had ever been more clearer and more daunting than ever.

By the time your mom decided she was ready for bed, you were already fast asleep against Javi. At some point in the evening when he’d sat beside you, he’d slung his arm behind you and between the warmth and familiarity of him, you’d let yourself truly relax. 

“I’ll walk you up.”

Your mom shook her head as Javi led her towards the door. “I know my way and you’re both tired. I’ll be okay. Get her to bed.”

Javi looked back at you for a moment and smiled.

“You really do love her.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Your mom smiled at her supposed son-in-law. “I understand why she fell for you, but I hope you know, just because you’re the first one of her boyfriends, well, husband now. But just because you’re the first I approve of, doesn’t mean I won’t be judging you. You look after her, and you look after her well. Love her everyday. It’s not every day someone gets to spend the rest of their lives with my daughter. I hope you see that as a privilege.”

Javi nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I do.”

Javi was telling the truth and your mom nodded. “Good. And thank you for dinner. Sleep well.”

“You, too, Mrs Y/l/n.”

Javi waited until he heard your apartment door lock before he shut his own, locked it and kicked off his shoes.

His socks padding his footsteps as he walked back to you, he was careful to pick you up before carrying you to bed and covering you up. You were still fast asleep by the time he climbed into bed beside you, but either way, you naturally rolled towards the slight dip in the bed before reaching out for him like you did almost every time he’d carried you to his bed because you’d fallen asleep in his apartment. 

The only times he didn’t was when he fell asleep with you and woke up as the sun peeked through his blinds in his living room. 

With a contented sigh, you slipped into a dreamless sleep beside him and for a few minutes, he laid awake, listening to your breathing. Then he let his mind slip back through the evening. If the funny feeling in his stomach and chest wasn’t what he hoped it was, but rather was what he suspected it to be, then he would have to soak up your actions as a married couple over the next couple of days before everything went back to semi-normal. 

Because if he was right, and he was growing feelings for you, then these days would have to be enough. Your marriage with him and his marriage to you was meant to be for appearances, only. Nothing real was meant to come out of it, was it? 

Because the feeling in his chest as he looked down at you, asleep by his side and in his arms…that feeling sure felt real. 

Waking up in the morning, you felt more comfortable than usual. No creaky mattress spring giving you a sneak attack from beneath your sofa and into your back, no blinding light coming through curtains you’d forgotten to shut, no cold side to your bed as you turned over. 

Instead, you felt warm. You found warmth. 

Asleep on his front but his arm still across you, you found Javi. Fast asleep, seeming as though not even a gunshot would wake him. 

And rather than jump out of bed or rollaway like you usually would when you found yourself in this position with any man, or even him going off the last couple of months. 

You’d found yourself falling asleep countless times at Javi’s and the majority of the time, you woke up in his bed. 

But waking that morning, especially after the night before, had something feeling different. So you took your time. 

For the first time you…studied him. 

You’d found yourself doing it more and more in recent months. How he sat in a chair, the look on his face when he was annoyed, amused, sometimes even scared. 

And for the first time, maybe ever. He looked…

Peaceful. 

As if it was a Sunday morning and neither of you had to get up for work. Like when he’d wake, you’d both spend the morning in bed before relaxing in your home. 

And for a moment, you let yourself dream about that life. A life where there was no fear of maybe never coming home. A life where you could both…be peaceful. Happy. 

Together, maybe?

After a few moments, you felt a gentle touch against your cheek, and slowly opening your eyes, you found Javi’s hand cupping your cheek, his fingers brushing soft patterns into your skin. 

“Cariño…”

You smiled, finding comfort in the common nickname. “Hey.”

“You been awake long?”

You shook your head, softly. “Not long.”

“Good.” Javi then leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. “Come here.”

Granting yourself permission to do as he said, Javi rolled over onto his back and pulled you into his side before he decided to ultimately face you. 

Down your back, he traced a singular line back and forth as you both synced calming breaths and listened to the comfortable silence of the room. 

“We could call in sick.” Javi said after ten minutes. “We’ve built up enough time to take the day off. You could show your mom ‘round.”

“We can’t,” you pointed out. “What about the case?”

“The case will still be there tomorrow. And besides, if something changes, they’ll call us in-”

Then you both heard the front door lock open. 

“Javi-”

Pressing a finger to his lips, he sat up and so did you. Quietly, he moved over towards his bedside table and pulled out his gun before checking the bullets. 

You both heard the door open and just as Javi was about to leap out of bed, you both heard your mother’s voice. 

“Y/n? Javier? You two sleepy heads awake yet?!”

You let out a huge sigh of relief and sat back against Javi’s headboard. “Jesus Christ.”

“Your mom has a key?” Javi put his gun back and closed the draw as he looked back at you. 

“I told you. Jessica Fletcher.” Then you called out to her. “Mom! We’re in here.”

Letting out a breath, Javi sat himself back beside you just as your mom walked into your bedroom. “Mom, you can’t just break in,” you told her, tiredly. 

“I didn’t break in. I had a key.”

“Both of us could have shot you.”

Your mom looked over both of you and gave a coy smile. “Then it’s a good thing I called out then. You both look…well rested.”

It was too early to even pretend what she thought had happened, had happened. So, tearing your eyes from Javi, you looked to your mom. “Why are you here?”

“Because I have made breakfast for both of you since Javi cooked us such a wonderful dinner last night.”

“Mrs Y/l/n, you really didn’t-”

“Hush now. I was happy to do it. Now, chop chop.” Your mom clapped her hands. “There’s plenty of time for this,” she gestured to you, Javi and the bed, “later. Come on. Before the day is gone.”

And as she walked out, you felt yourself collapse into Javi’s sheets, already feeling your face go hot. 

“She really doesn’t hold back, does she?”

“No.” Your voice was muffled through the sheets. 

Ultimately, Javi convinced you to take the day off with him and after a homemade breakfast, yet another awkward conversation surrounding love-making in the shower – to which Javi nearly choked on his toast. Both you and Javi had showered (separately) before getting changed and deciding to show your mom around the different places in town. 

And despite the stories shared by your mother; thankfully not all of them made you want a hole in the ground to open up the floor. 

You also found spending the day with Javi, outside of work talk, to be more than pleasurable. With his hand in yours, or his arm around you, holding your own across your stomach, you’d both walked side by side for most of the day. He told your mom some things about Columbia even you didn’t know before, easily sharing some stories of his own childhood when your mom asked. 

And you felt…glad, maybe? Like for the first time since moving to Columbia you were home. And it wasn’t just because your mom was there, but rather because of the person who stuck by your side all day, letting you see behind the personal walls he had up at work. The ones that, if you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t know were even there. 

Yet, despite the entire day feeling like one giant butterfly in your stomach at every touch, look  and graze you felt from Javi, nothing made it feel like the tornado it was when your mom asked if she could film your ‘first dance’. 

Dinner had been long over and the TV had shut down. In the background, a few different records played until one came on and your mother gasped. 

“Oh, please. Please let me see your first dance. I love this song, and I’ve always imagined seeing you dance to it the way me and your dad do.”

From your side, Javi lifted his hand. It was up to you. 

Looking at your mom’s face, you couldn’t say no. So, you nodded and both stood. Javi started the song from the beginning and turned back to face you. In a matter of moments, you were in his arms, your hand in his whilst your other lay on his arm. You could feel his firm hand at the bottom of your back, holding you up steadily. 

Finally, leaning into each other, you could feel his moustache at the shell of your ear. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

That was when you found out Javi could dance. At the very least, much better than you could. He led you around the small section of the floor, your temple’s still touching and for a small moment, you closed your eyes. 

You’d also both forgotten anybody else was in the room other than you two. Breathing, heartbeats, pulse, chemistry. It all became one. 

And just as the song slowed, Javi lifted his head to look at you. It was like there was a new light to you in the fading sunlight. New features he’d never noticed before. The small freckles dotted across your face, probably having surfaced after a day in the sun. The soft streaks of baby hairs framing your face. The arch and bow of your cupid’s bow and lips. The light flush in your cheeks as for a moment, he caught your eyes doing the same thing he was. 

Looking. Gazing. Studying. All to commit it to memory. 

Javier Peña, for as best as he’d known, he’d never been so scared in all of his life. But there was one final thing he wanted to commit to memory, whether it be good or bad. And if he didn’t do it then, he was afraid he never would. So, for the first time with you, he did what he wanted to do because, and he hoped, by the look on your face, you wanted it, too. 

With the final few notes of the song, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to your lips. It was firm, steady, strong and then softer. The kind of kiss that you feel long after it’s over. Silence washed over the room as the record came to an end and you and Javi found yourselves looking at each other, only realising you weren’t alone when your mom gasped. 

“Oh, that was just beautiful.” She stopped the recording. “Thank you so much for doing that for me.”

You and Javi seemed to step away from each other despite it being the last thing either of you wanted to do in that moment. It wasn’t long after that your mom decided to go upstairs to bed. And once Javi heard the door lock upstairs, he locked his own and took a moment before turning back around to find you. 

But you were already trying to avoid the conversation that came next. 

Javi took his time. You both needed a moment to find clarity. After the faucet had been running for a few minutes, only to be switched off by you as you washed the plates in the bowl of soapy water, Javi stood at the kitchen door. 

He watched you for a moment, wondering what to say. What just happened? I’m sorry? He didn’t mean for it to…be that way? Did you feel it, too? Did you want it, too? Did he cross a line?

Then he realised he didn’t have to say anything at all. 

You felt him before you heard him walk slowly across the kitchen floor and stand by your side. With a gentle hand guiding your arm, he spun you to face him and in the silence, your faces shared a thousand words between each other. 

Javi brushed your hair from your face before gently cupping your face. It took enough time between each of his movements to let you object if you wanted to. You stepped closer into him. 

Then he kissed you. 

Having dropped the sponge into the sink, you felt yourself tumble against him as your own hands came to pull him closer towards you. Things seemed to move slightly quicker than before. His hands moving down your body to eventually lift you up and move you onto the counter top, his fingers pushing their way through your hair as your own pulled him in by his collar to kiss you once more. 

With your legs wrapping around his waist, securing him against you, you let out a small sigh behind your kiss. Javi only chased those small noises more after you made your first one. 

“J-Javi.” You managed to find your voice in between his kisses. “Wait.”

He stopped, forcing himself to pull his lips from yours. And for a moment, all you could hear was his breathing and your heartbeat. Both rapid. Both unsteady. 

“We…we shouldn’t…”

His hands still tangled in your hair and his forehead against yours, he shook his head in agreement. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

All either of you could do was breathe. Slowly. Trying to catch some form of air that was at least a close equivalent to the others. 

Kissing you was like a lifeline, and without you he was dying. 

His eyes finally gazing into yours, he found your own tracing his face, already reminiscing on the kiss, wanting more. 

Kissing him was like life was finally being pushed back into your lungs, letting you breathe clearly for the first time and without him, nothing was in focus. 

“Fuck it.”

His lips on yours again, he began to devour you and your taste. He could feel your hands pulling him closer to you, like if you’d let go of him, you’d drown. 

He needed you more than he wanted to admit. 

But you didn’t want him to hold back. So leaning away from his kiss for a moment, you made sure he focused on you. 

“Bedroom.”

He was still drunk on your kiss. “Javi, I’m not fucking you on the kitchen counter. Bedroom.”

His lips curved onto a smirk as he pulled you towards the edge and lifted you up. 

“Didn’t anyone tell you we’re married? Cariño, it’s called making love.”

You laughed and so did he before it was muffled out by another kiss. 

By the time morning rolled around, you found yourself wrapped in Javi’s arms, his scent swirling around your senses, locking it into a memory you’d never forget. Even if you wanted to move, you couldn’t. From the arms wrapped around you, to the soreness in your legs, your body was too happily exhausted to move. 

For the next few moments, you watched as he slept peacefully. His mouth parted slightly, simply looking at his mustache made you blush at the memories from barely a few hours previous. Tracing the curves of his face, you leaned over and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. 

His arms twitched around you. “Javi, I need to use the bathroom.”

Still half asleep, he returned the next kiss you pressed to his lips before mumbling; “Come back.”

“I will,” you kissed him once more before climbing out of bed and heading towards the bathroom. 

Whilst in the bathroom, you picked up the long forgotten towels on the floor and picked up the tossed body washes and shampoo bottles from Javi and your haphazard entry into the bathroom after the first two orgasms before the third. 

However, you must have taken too long because as you stood at the bathroom skin, a newly familiar pair of arms made their way from holding your hips, to cradling around your waist. 

You could feel the hair from his moustache as he kissed your bare shoulder, making his way towards your neck where you leaned back against his chest and placed a hand behind his own neck to hold you steady. 

“Javi.”

One of his hands slowly made its way under your top before running his fingers from the top of your chest, across your breast and down below the waistband of your shorts. 

“I missed you.” His tongue dampened the graze of his teeth against your neck. 

“Javi.”

“Is this okay, baby?”

You bit your lip, your hips bucking against his fingers, chasing the pressure he was beginning to swirl around your clit. You hummed a response. 

“I need your words, baby. Is this okay? Do you want this? Because I can stop.”

You shook your head quickly and wrapped your hand around his wrist before he pulled away any further. “No. Don’t stop.”

“Whatever you say, baby.”

With his fingers circling your clit and his mouth having free range of your neck, you felt your knees grow weak. “Want me to stop?”

Again, you shook your head. “I need…I need more, Javi.”

“How many, baby?”

“Two, ohh…” Your mouth opened and you threw your head back against his shoulder, reveling in his fingers slipping inside your cunt and his thumb applied pressure to your clit. Then you heard him chuckle. 

“Asshole.”

“You fucking love it, baby.”

You did. You really did. It wasn’t long before Javi could feel your walls pulsing against his fingers, growing tighter for him. And his dick hadn’t even left his pants yet. 

“You’re so fucking wet, cariño. This for me?”

You found the strength to nod. “Just for you, Javi baby.”

But whatever strength or control you had left disappeared as the wave began to crash over you and you chased Javi’s fingers as they pumped deeper and faster inside of you. “Ride ‘em, baby. Take what you want.”

You moaned his name, almost chanting it as you came over his fingers. “Fuck,” Javi growled. “You’re so fucking hot when you come.”

Letting out a breathy laugh, you felt the ache in your legs, still leaning against Javi. 

“Then maybe you should do it again.”

Sharing a look with Javi, he smirked before biting down on your bottom lip, then kissing it better. Pulling his fingers from inside of you, he slowly spun you around by your hips until you faced him. Once he’d tasted everything he could from your mouth, he teasingly made his way across your jaw, down the length of your neck, under your clothing before pulling your soaked shorts down your legs, leaving your glistening and sensitive cunt for him to see. 

Then he tasted the rest of you. 

Pushing you onto the edge of the sink counter, you white-knuckled the edges in fear of gripping his hair too tight to pull him closer to where you needed him. 

You could feel the burn of his moustache against your inner thighs, panty-line before finally his tongue circled your already sensitive clit. 

“Fuck, Javi.”

“You like that, baby?”

You nodded, “Fuck. Yeah.”

“Want more?”

“Y…yes. Javi, please.” Your hips bucked as you chased the feeling of his tongue licking your pussy. “Fuck, Javi.” You let out a gasp as his tongue dipped inside of you for a moment. “Fuck, right…right there.” With one of your hands tangled in his hair, you pushed him closer in order to taste all of you. 

And just as you leaned back to grant him more access, he pulled back. You whimpered, wanting him back. “Touch yourself.” 

“Javi-”

“I want to see how long you can hold it before I fuck you. Touch yourself.”

So you did. All the while watching him take his sweet time watching you as he pulled down his own underwear and pulled a condom on, pumping himself a couple of times before finally settling closer to you. 

“I want to watch you cum again.” And so he did. 

Filling you with his dick, inch by inch, he felt you stretch around him, swearing as you took him in. And then he took his time with you. Reveling in every needy buck of your hips, chasing his dick before he couldn’t hold back anymore. He needed you just as much as you were begging for him. 

Moaning his name over and over as your orgasm hit you, Javi watched as you came over his dick, him finishing not long after you did. 

Sweaty and covered in sex, Javi pushed the fallen hair from your face and kissed your lips after the silence had settled away from heavy breathing and racing hearts. “We should get cleaned up.”

Pulling his cock from inside of you, he disposed of the condom before walking towards the shower and turning it on. And over the next forty minutes, Javi’s hands were all over your naked body before his fingers tugged at your hair as the tiles of the floor made indents in your knees. By the time you’d both finished, gotten washed and finally dressed, Javi was changing the sheets as you placed the ones from the night before inside his washer. 

For the rest of the day, Javi rarely left your side.

Going back out to the markets with your mom, his hands were constantly finding ways to touch you. His hand pinching onto the skirt of your summer dress, his fingers grazing against your hip and lower back as he changed from standing on one side of you to the other. Holding your hand around you, his arm across your shoulders, his lips in your hair, on the shell of your ear as he talked to you. And when you’d stopped inside a cafe, he sat next to you, his arm across the back of your chair which practically was sitting in between his legs as his body was constantly turned towards you. 

And when you’d both finally gotten home, your mom saying she was going for a nap, the moment Javi’s door shut, the bags were dropped and your back was against the wall of his hallway, his lips on yours. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”

“So have I.”

Then a question fell from your lips. “How are we going to keep this up? At work, I mean.”

“They already think we’re married.” He kissed your neck. 

“I’m being serious, Javi.”

“So am I.”

“Javi, Messina already warned us what would happen if she ever caught us. And that was before we were even…”  A couple? Fucking? Dating? Married?

Javi smiled. “So we keep it a secret.”

“Says the guy who can’t keep his hands off me for more than two seconds. You’ll never be able to keep it a secret.”

“Says the woman whose been eye-fucking me all day. Are you sure you can keep a secret?”

“I can keep a secret.” Then Javi noticed your coy smile. “In fact, I’ve been keeping one all day.”

Taking his hand in yours, you pressed his hand to the dip of your hips. He couldn’t feel anything but fabric. Then it hit him. With his chest flaring and his dick hardening, he stepped closer towards you. 

“Mrs Peña…have you been naked under that dress all day?”

You bit your lip. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

His eyes flicking to the hem of your dress, he looked back up at you before slowly dragging the fabric of its skirt up and bunching it in his hand until he could slip his hand under it. And when he was met with bare skin, he swore. 

“Fuck.”

“I’ve been hoping you’d fuck me all day,” you admitted. “I wanted to be ready.”

“Since you walked out of that fucking bedroom in this dress…I’ve wanted to fuck you in it.”

Pulling him closer to you, your voice turned into a low whisper. “Then you better get on with it, Agent Peña. Before I do it myself.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. Capturing your lips on his, his finger coaxed at your pussy, already feeling your wetness build for him. As his fingers began to curl inside of you, you let out a moan before your fingers deftly unbuckled his belt and jeans. Javi let out a small whimper as your fingers stroked down his cock, wiping the pre-cum away with your thumb before finally pumping him a few times. 

“Take it easy, baby. Otherwise I’m not gonna- fuck.”

With one hand, Javi picked you up where you stood, his fingers digging into your ass before he guided his tip in. Letting out a moan by his ear, you told him to start moving. 

“Fill me up, baby.” 

And he did. 

Fucking you against the wall in his hallway, Javi pulled the top of your summer dress down and began leaving his mark across your collarbone and down the bow of your breast, all the while his cock pumped in and out of you before filling you up with him cum. 

“That’s it baby,” Javi told you as you screamed his name as you rode his dick. Then he watched you come. He’d never get sick of that sight. It seemed to get hotter each time. You begging him for more, your moans, his name falling from your lips as he makes you unravel completely. 

But he wasn’t done with you yet. Pulling out from you, he moved you both down the hallway and towards the sofa where he made you come again before moving into the kitchen where he finally fucked you senseless on the kitchen counter. 

Both of you wished it could have continued like that forever, but sadly after your shower, both you and Javi were interrupted by the jingle of keys in the door as your mom let herself in before you and Javi could continue your heavy make-out session on the sofa. 

But that was something you both had to get used to. 

Interruptions. 

From people banging on the copier room door thinking it was jammed, to people walking back into the office after their lunch breaks. But despite the ever growing need to constantly be touching him, or him touching you, you’d both found subtler ways to show how much you not only wanted each other, but also needed each other. 

From the smaller touches when he always found an excuse to stand beside you, to the ever longing looks you both gave to each other as the other one walked away from the desks. There were crappy cups of coffee always being poured, lunches being made and shared, blankets being used to cover up the one that fell asleep first, the knowing looks when a case load became too much, the soft moments spent after a long day of work just laying together on the sofa watching crappy TV and falling asleep, dancing to slower records on down-days, quick kisses goodbye during lunch or during a stakeout for cases, jealous and warning glares being given to those who tried to flirt with the other, and finally slow Sunday mornings that were spent inside the apartment, neither of you leaving unless for a dire emergency. 

And somewhere between all of that, you and Javi had taken a flight to your home where your family and his watched as you both swore actual wedding vows to each other; your wedding party not realising it was the first time for both of you. 

Howard just groaned from under the covers. It sounded like he said “Five more minutes,”. 

“Nope. Not this morning. The Colonel has been on my ass all week about you and I’ll be damned,” you pulled the heavy covers from his body. “If I let my ass get reprimanded because of your ass. So, get up.”

Howard groaned again. 

“Mr Jarvis!” You called out behind you. “You wouldn’t happen to have an ice cold pitcher of water by any chance.”

“Why, yes. In fact, I’m just readying Mr Stark one now.”

That got Howard up out of bed. He practically sprang to the other side. “No. You’re not doing that again.”

“Get up when I tell you and I’ll never do it again.”

“I’m up. Are you happy now, sweet cheeks?”

You deadpanned him before throwing the clean washcloth that lay on his bedside table. Howard was known for washing his face first thing before he got out of bed. According to him, it kept him looking “young and attractive,”. 

“Get cleaned up. I’ll be outside.”

Giving Howard a ride into work, you were both greeted with almost all the SSR members hustling around the place. 

“Is something going on today that I’m not aware of?”

“It’s testing day,” Howard told you as he lay his briefcase over the chair in front of him. 

Meanwhile, you were hanging your coat up on the coat rack, taking the space in around you as Howard walked away. But you couldn’t stand comprehending the super soldier in the corner, blushing as Peggy accidentally touched his hand, or the boys everyone knew had lied on their enlistment form but still allowed it anyway, or the ego-centric scientist washing a hand over one of the girl’s asses, for too long. 

Within minutes of you entering the building, Bucky had found you. 

“How long do you think it’ll take today?”

You jumped a little, holding onto your coat on the rack a little tighter. “Jesus- Do you always have to sneak up on me?”

“It’s not my fault you don’t hear me.”

“That’s because you walk as if you’ve got a secret to hide.” Letting go of your coat, you picked your files up from the main desk, Bucky hot on your heels. 

“Not true. Well, maybe a little. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Well, looking at it now…” You and Bucky paused side by side. 

You found that, often when standing together, there was barely an inch of room between you and Bucky. Which, although you were managing to handle, was doing no good for the crush you realised you had slowly developed over the last couple of months. 

He’d just sat there across the desk, looking tired and all kinds of handsome. You’d seen him sitting like that a hundred times or more, but for some reason that night was when your stomach decided to erupt with butterflies. 

But, you were handling it. 

You thought you already had it handled until three days ago when Peggy cornered you in the ladies bathroom. Josie, one of the secretaries, had sauntered her way over looking all perfect and pretty. She’d touched his arm, leaning in close to him. He’s smiled at her and, despite seeing him smile at plenty of girls like that, even recently. For the first time, you’d been jealous. 

It was an ugly emotion and you didn’t like yourself very much for feeling it. Bucky- James. He was your friend. One of your best friends. Someone you could talk to about anything. There wasn’t a single part of you willing to risk that. 

“I’d say we’re a few months away from something actually happening.”

Bucky scoffed. “He’ll ask her out. He just needs a little coaching, that's all.”

“Coaching?” You laughed. “From who? You?”

Bucky seemed a little offended. “I’ve had plenty of successful dates.”

You tried to not let that sting as much as it did. 

“He just needs some confidence.”

You chuckled. “Okay, Romeo. But I know I’m right. And here.”

You pushed a file into his chest. 

“What’s this?” 

You tried to ignore the feeling that erupted inside of you when his hand brushed yours. 

“Your paperwork. I saw you sneak it into my pile last night.”

You continued on walking, Bucky walking a little further behind you.

“You know, if I knew the army contained this much paperwork, I would have had second thoughts.”

You just threw a smile over your shoulder to him, watching as he sat at his desk. 

Steve’s desk was joined onto his, meanwhile, directly diagonal to Bucky was your desk. In front of you was Peggy’s desk. So, although Peggy and Steve would have to turn a little to look at each other, you and Bucky had a direct eyeline to one another. 

Something else that didn’t help the crush you were harbouring on him. 

There was just something…handsome about the way he looked when he was concentrating. In his own little world, flipping and writing between pages. And for a moment, you’d wonder if that is what it would have been like if you’d gone to school together. 

You’d been with him to plenty of museums and tech conventions. You’d seen the true side of Bucky. One that was rarely seen. His nerdy wonder and enjoyment. 

It was barely two hours before Bucky stood and walked over to your desk. He had tried thirty minutes ago but the Colonel had walked by his desk, stopping in front of him since he’d caught him staring at you across the room. 

The Colonel had just hummed, however, before muttering something to himself. 

“Just as bad as the others.”

Bucky had wondered what the Colonel meant, until he followed his next eyeline over to the map desk where Steve was standing with Peggy. 

Then he moved on. 

Bucky knocked on your desk twice to get your attention. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I was wondering if you’d want to come with me on Saturday.”

“Aren’t we working on Saturday?”

Bucky shook his head. “No. We’re both off. There’s a new exhibit being put on at the museum and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me.”

Bucky had attended plenty of museum and tech conventions alone. But his favourite ones were the ones where you’d attend with him. He got to be closer to you. He’d hear you talk about whatever thing you’d been waiting to talk to him about. He got to hear your laugh and by the end of the night, he got to hold your hand. 

You smiled. “You need me to run the ladies off again?”

Bucky chuckled. “Maybe. Just so long as you stay.”

You looked up at him. This man. 

“Okay.”

Bucky smiled. “Pick you up at four?”

You nodded. “Okay.”

That was when a small alarm sounded and Bucky responded to it. 

“I better go,” he said before running off. But then he came back. “Make sure Peggy doesn’t touch my desk.”

You nodded. “I promise.”

Bucky smiled. “See you soon, doll.”

You smiled, watching him jog down the hall and towards the control room. Meanwhile, Howard appeared around the corner. 

“Y/n?”

You knew that look on his face. He needed your help.

“What have you done?”

Standing up, you left your things at your desk and followed him through the building and towards the basement. 

“I haven’t done anything. Well, not yet.”

You sighed. “Show me.”

Entering the room, it was just yourself, Howard and two of his researchers. “The chemical equation is wrong.”

“Don’t you know how to fix it?”

“It doesn’t need to be fixed.”

You looked at him as you examined his machinery. “I understand you’re incredibly smart, Howard. But you’re not making any sense.”

Howard sighed. “The last time I used it, it worked. My math is never wrong.”

“Then change it.”

“I can’t. Any higher and it won’t just melt the machinery, it’ll melt human skin.”

You grimaced at the thought. “You know, if you boys let women do more of the talking, there is a higher chance that war wouldn’t be taking place.”

“Well, right now there’s a war going on in here. Can you…can you help?”

You took a look at his blackboard. 

“It’s not your math.”

“I know that.”

You shrugged. “Have you tested a model of this size before?”

“That’s what today is for.”

“Uh, Mr Stark?” One of the researchers popped their heads up. “I think I might have found our problem.”

You watched as Howard walked over towards the control panel that had been recently forced open. 

“Well- what is that? Oh, jesus. Is that a bolt? What’s it doing-”

As Howard pulled it out, everyone heard a big clunk!

“Is the building still standing?” You asked after a few minutes of silence. 

Howard looked around at the walls and along the floor. Nothing had cracked the concrete. As far as he was aware; the building was still standing. 

“Yep. Must be one of the inner mechanisms. Hand me that crowbar?”

You spun around until you saw the workstation and picked up the rusting metal crowbar. 

“Military issue. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but she gets the job done.” Howard explained as he began to yank one of the side panels off. 

“We figure, if we can make this thing industrial size, we’ll be able to fit it on top of a tank. That way, if it fits on one, it can melt one.” Howard continued to talk as he lay on the floor and practically got inside of the machine itself. 

You crouched down on the floor, peering inside. There had to be at least thirty main electrical wires, feeding some kind of blue and green substance into tubes. 

“You become more peculiar the longer I know you, Howard.”

From his space on the floor, he looked at you and smiled. “Thanks. Pass me that thing, will you, toots?”

Rolling your eyes, you moved behind you and reached for the socket wrench that had been laying on the floor. You handed it to him before standing up and looking around the rest of the machine. 

“Do I even wanna know when you came up with this idea?”

“Uhh.”

Howard was stalling. Usually when he stalled it was because he had been in another tryst with a woman who was most definitely off limits. 

“Alright,” you chuckled. 

Howard sighed. “You know what, you’re always on at me about my…friends.”

“That’s what you’re calling them now? Not production assistants?”

“What about you and Bucky, huh? I see the way you two look at each other. You’re really gonna tell me nothing is going on there.”

“We’re just friends, Howard.”

“Friends, my ass.” Howard lifted himself from the ground to peek out of his hiding place to look at you. You were standing with one heel across the other, a hand on your hip, staring down at him like you were his mother scolding him for doing something wrong in school…again. 

“You and I are friends. No matter how many times I try to make it something else.” He muttered that last part to himself but you heard it anyway and chuckled. 

Howard was a flirt. A shameless flirt. It just so happened that, before Peggy, you were one of the first to let the flirting comments fall. 

Howard disappeared back under the machine for a moment. 

“You and Bucky, however, are not.”

“Howard-”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“Going to a museum.”

“With?” Howard pressed. 

“Bucky.” 

Finally, Howard stood from the ground and looked at you across the console desk. 

“It’s not what you think.”

Howard just smiled. “You and Barnes are going on, yet another, date. You like him. I know, because every time you look at him, you get the same goofy look in your eyes that Mr Jarvis does when he looks at his wife.”

You tried to hide your embarrassment, but it only seemed to come out as annoyance against Howard. 

“I do not.”

“Yes, you do. And, I also know,” Howard was moving around the console towards you. “That Bucky has deep feelings for you.” 

Howard was standing in front of you. He didn’t have to raise his voice anymore. 

“He likes you, Y/n. And we’re at war. I don’t like thinking like that, but there’s no escaping the truth. We’re at war and a lot more people are gonna be losing their loved ones. Maybe it’s about time you took a chance with yours.”

You just stared at Howard. He had a point. 

“He’d be lucky to have you.”

You took a breath before turning away. “I thought we were down here to start testing, not discuss my…that.”

Howard smiled. “You know I’m right,” he practically sang as he walked away, wielding his wrench like a conductor. 

Ten minutes later, everything was seemingly ready. 

As one of the other researchers left to go and get the Colonel, Howard started the controls up so everything would be ready by the time people arrived. 

Only, as Howard started flicking buttons, you stood up. 

“Howard.”

Something was beginning to shake in the room. 

“Is it meant to be doing that?”

“No…”

Howard moved around the panels to take a look at the dials. Everything seemed normal. 

Then it started to shake even more. 

It was almost like your washing machine had been set onto a fast spin, but this time you were inside of the rattling machine. 

“Howard!”

“I’m on it.”

“What can I do?”

Howard didn’t answer you, but it didn’t matter. Because within seconds, the arm of the machine started going haywire and as Howard yelled at everyone to get down, you felt the wind get knocked out of you. 

As Howard finally shut down the machine from the inside, tearing at one of the wires, the building stopped shaking and the Colonel, along with Peggy, ran inside. 

“Stark! What the hell is going on?!” The Colonel yelled. 

“I wish I could tell you.” Howard stood, his legs still shaking from the movement in the floor. “Something must have come loose.”

“What the hell is that?” 

Peggy pointed and everyone looked at what it was. A smattering of blue dust and what could only be described as a bullet exit wound, cracking into the concrete wall. 

More people joined, running inside asking questions but fell silent when they saw the damage. 

Cracks along the walls, machinery and different liquids on the floor, and a large crack in place of where you had been standing. 

“Y/n? Where’s Y/n?”

“Stark! Where is my Agent?!”

“I…I don’t…” Howard was in shock. 

Peggy sprang into action. Maybe you hadn’t been hit. Maybe you’d taken cover or not been in the room at all. People started following her orders to find you. 

“Stark, where is my agent?” The Colonel asked as he approached him. “Now, she better not be dead or else I’ll have your neck for this.”

Howard shook his head. “You need a body to be dead.”

They both knew that to be true, but considering the fight they were having with Red Skull and a Super Soldier, it was quite plausible to have a death without a body. 

Meanwhile, down one of the hallways, Peggy ran into both Bucky and Steve. 

“Hey, what the hell was that shaking-”

“Have you seen Y/n?”

“I thought she was with Howard.”

Peggy shook her head. “Something went wrong.”

“What went wrong?”

“We, uh, we don’t know yet. But I just…”

As Steve took Peggy by the shoulder, Bucky made a run for it down to Howard’s lab. He saw the Colonel sat with Howard, but his commander quickly stood up and walked over to him. 

“Barnes-”

“Where is she? What happened to her?”

“We’re still trying to figure that one out.”

In the days that followed, Bucky didn’t know his head from his feet. He’d just spoken to you that morning. You were meant to be meeting him for dinner that evening. He was meant to be taking you out that Saturday. 

Nobody could bring themselves to clear away your desk. It was just how you’d left it. Open files, half finished paperwork, scrap pieces of paper with ideas and things written down. 

But when the Colonel got word someone was coming in to replace you, he went to one person. 

“Son?”

It was after hours and Bucky was yet to leave his desk. Mostly, his eyes had been focused on your desk, where you should have been sitting, scolding him for staying too late because it meant you had to stay late. Then he’d tell you, you didn’t have to stay, to which you tell him you wouldn’t let him work alone. 

Bucky looked up and saw the empty box in his arms. 

“Someone needs to clean out her desk and I think it should be you. They’ve got a replacement coming tomorrow.”

Bucky swallowed down his fear; accepting you were gone for good. And he took the box. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss, son.” The Colonel held his shoulder as he stood up. “I know she meant a lot to you. You meant a lot to her, too.”

The Colonel had seen the red, tearful eyes of Bucky for the last few days. The dejected look each time he looked up and found your desk empty, the bow of his head as he’d hide his face every time someone said your name. 

It had taken both the Colonel and Steve to pull him from Howard’s throat. 

And now he was left to clear out your desk. 

And for a while, he managed to keep his emotions in check. Sweeping away your files, adding them to his pile to finish for you. Clipping all your notes together, cleaning away the ink stains of your fingerprints by the edge of your desk. 

Then taking the pictures from your desk, seeing your smiling face, placing them inside the box. 

Then he found a key. 

Bucky had pulled out your chair and sat down before opening up the locked drawer of your desk. That’s when all control over his emotions left him. 

Inside, along with some more of your personal belongings, was a notepad. Each date had been crossed off, as had the things listed under it. Except for the one that you had started at the beginning of the week. 

It was all the things you wanted to talk to him about; at dinner, walking home, and on Saturday. You made a list so you wouldn’t forget or accidently leave anything out. 

And for a second, he smiled. 

Then he cried. 

You’d never get to talk to him about these things. He’d never hear your voice again. He’d never see you smile or roll your eyes or scoff or hear you yell at him. He’d never hear you laugh again.

It was hours before he left your desk and went home, keeping your box of things under his bed in case you came back. Howard was adamant that you would. The blast wasn’t strong enough to kill, but it was strong enough to melt. But, he hadn’t made it to melt human skin. 

So you shouldn’t have died. 

You couldn’t be dead. 

You had to be alive…somehow. 

And that was the thought, for as much as he wanted to kill Howard, Bucky kept with him. 

That you were still out there, somewhere, and that you’d come home. 

But the longer time went on, the harder that idea was to accept. 

People started to mourn in their own ways. Mr Jarvis and his wife set out your favourite flowers on their dinner table on your birthday. The same flowers Howard started growing in his garden a week after you had disappeared. The Colonel had sent Peggy to make sure the gravestone issued for you was just right. Nothing too fancy; after all, there was still hope you’d come back. Steve, along with the other Howling Commandos, raised a toast in your honour. 

But when the day came that Bucky fell from the train…

“But can I help you with anything else?”

Jake shook his head. “N-No, ma’am. Have a nice night.”

You smiled. “You, too.”

Jake kept looking back at you as he walked back to the rest of the Dagger Squad. 

“What’s the matter, Bagman? Crash and burn?” Phoenix asked. 

Jake didn’t say anything. Just walked back and sat on the edge of the pool table, his eyes still on you. Then he felt himself laugh; mostly because he was confused. 

“Yeah.”

Phoenix smiled, holding out her hand to Rooster. “Hand it over.”

Reluctantly, Rooster slapped a twenty dollar bill into her hand. “How do I keep losing to you?”

Phoenix examined the crisp bill. “Because I’m just better.”

Rooster rolled his eyes but Jake’s eyes remained on you. What had he done wrong? 

He’d seen you looking over at the Dagger Squad. You’d even looked in his direction a few times. So, after he went and got his drink, he walked over and struck up a conversation with you. You talked with him. He smiled. You smiled. It was going well. And then…no thank you. 

What had he done wrong?

Pocketing the twenty dollar bill, Phoenix reached for her jacket and handed the pool cue over to Jake. He took it, his eyes still on you. 

What had he done wrong?

“Well, this has been fun, boys, but I’ve got a go.”

Rooster turned to her, Jake finally peeling his eyes away from you. “Where?”

“Meeting a friend.”

“You have friends?” Jake asked her. 

“Funny.” 

However, as Phoenix stepped down and onto the bar floor, she didn’t turn towards the doors. Instead, she walked straight over to you. 

“What’s she doing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe thanking her.”

Jake just rolled his eyes, his entire body suddenly on high alert. But as both Jake and Rooster watched Phoenix with you, they realised rather quickly that this wasn’t your first meeting. 

Then they watched as you packed up your things, throwing your bag over your shoulder. You, and Phoenix, looked directly over at both of them and waved. 

Jake felt a shocked smirk grow on his face as he watched you and Phoenix leave, but Bradley was the first to laugh. 

“Oh, my god.” Bradley clapped him on the back. “She’s never going to let you live it down.”

“Come on, let’s just play.” Jake said as he stood up. But his eyes returned back to you as he did so, watching as you and Phoenix left the bar laughing. 

That’s what he did wrong; he went after Phoenix’s friend. 

And Rooster was right; Phoenix was never gonna let him live it down. 

Jake figured he’d never see you again. He’d never seen you before and Phoenix had never mentioned you so he could only presume you’d come in to visit her. But he did see you again. 

Four days later, just a little after eight in the evening, Jake ran into you. Quite literally. 

Turning round one of the aisles, Jake ran into a shopping cart. 

“Ooh, sorry.”

“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry.”

Looking at who had just ran into your cart, you were met with a familiar face. And he seemed to recognise you, too.

“You…”

Letting yourself relax, you smiled. “Hi, Jake.”

“You know my name?”

“You did introduce yourself and Phoenix has told me a lot about you.”

“All good, I hope?”

You shrugged. “Some stories are more entertaining than others, but…” You saw the flash of panic across his face but then you chuckled. “I’m kidding. I’m Y/n, by the way.”

Stretching over your cart, you held out your hand. He shook it. 

“Nice to finally meet you, I guess.” Jake replied. You laughed a little with a smile, averting your eyes from his for a moment. Jake’s eyes followed yours and landed inside your cart. 

“You throwing a party or something?”

It took a moment for it to click with you. “What? Oh, yeah. No, no. No party. I’m actually- I’ve just moved.”

“Here? To San Diego?”

You hesitated before nodding. “Yeah. Job transfer.”

“That sounds…”

“Stressful?” 

Jake nodded, admitting the truth. “Yeah.”

You nodded, moving your cart out of the way. “Well, it is. But everything is going well so far. Ooh, you wouldn’t know where the bedsheets are? I’ve been in here an hour already and still haven’t come across them.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, they’re just down here. I’ll take you to them.”

So, walking beside him, he walked you across the store. 

“I feel like I’ve been put in a dryer and then put back on my feet. I have no idea where anything is in this store.”

Jake chuckled. “I felt like that. Each store had a different layout than the ones I was used to. But, you make enough late night runs for a box of pens, you tend to find your way around.”

“Figured it would have been for protein powder or something?”

Jake shrugged. “That, too.”

You felt yourself laugh a little. 

“They’re just down here.”

“Fabulous,” you almost exclaimed as you took in the rows of different materials and colours. 

“You’re probably best getting something light. The days are gonna be heating up pretty soon. It can get cooler at night but cotton is probably gonna be your best friend.”

You nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Scanning the shelves, you picked out a few different ones. However, the final one remained on the top shelf. Then it fell onto its back. 

“Shit.”

“Here.” Lightly pushing the cart out of the way, Jake reached up and pulled it down before handing it to you. 

“Thanks.”

Standing in front of you, Jake smiled. “Anything else I can help with? I mean, I probably know this store like the back of my hand by now.”

Looking up and down the aisle, you made a decision. “Furniture packs?”

Walking backwards, a pleasing smile on his face, Jake extended his arm. “If you will follow me, Ma’am.”

For the next thirty minutes, Jake helped you find everything you were looking for in the store. All the while, you both talked. Swapping a few short stories on how you both came to San Diego, where the best pizza places were, and how you’d met Phoenix. 

By the end, Jake helped you pack up your groceries and walked you back to your car. 

“So she just pushed them into the pool?”

You nodded. “With as much force as she could. They never bullied me again, though. After that, we became inseparable.”

“Well, I can tell you, she hasn’t changed much.” Jake placed one of the bags into the back of your car. “I mean, probably less pool pushing. Though, she probably thought about it during training. But, still.”

You chuckled. “Doesn’t surprise me.”

Finally packing up your car and placing the cart back into the shelter, Jake quickly rounded your car and opened your door before you could reach for the handle. 

You smiled. “Thank you.”

“Here to serve, ma’am.”

You chuckled, rolling down the window as Jake shut your door. 

“Thank you, for your help.”

Leaning on your door, Jake shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”

“Guess I’ll see you round?”

Jake nodded, trying to hide his smile. “I guess so. I hope so.”

You smiled. “Goodnight, Jake.”

“Night, Y/n.”

As Jake walked back to his car, he watched as yours rolled away and headed in the opposite direction back down the street. 

Jake saw you again just a few days later when he walked into The Hard Deck. 

You and Phoenix were sitting in one of the booths at the back, talking. The rest of the Dagger Squad were dotted around the place. Some at the bar, some out at the back and some by the pool table. 

And as he walked over to the bar, his eyeline falling back on you as even just the thought of you sent something pounding in his chest, Rooster came and stood beside him. 

“Doesn’t matter how many times you try, Phoenix won’t let you.”

Jake puffed air from his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bradshaw.”

Rooster just smirked, tracking Jake’s gaze from where it kept flicking across the room. 

“I think you do. Or else you really are as stupid as you look.”

Clapping him on the back once more, Rooster disappeared with his beer bottle towards the pool table. 

“Penny, my dear.”

Paying for his drink, Jake seemed to check himself over. 

“You look handsome.” Penny smiled as she dried a bar glass. 

Jake felt himself laugh a little. What was he doing? You were just a person. And you’d already said no. 

With a little more confidence, Jake headed towards the pool table and took up a cue with Coyote. But after two games, his confidence took a shot when Phoenix stood from the booth and you followed her. 

Both of you lent against the fence barrier and watched as they each moved around the table, taking their shots. 

And each time you were in Jake’s view, he missed his shot. 

“Getting rusty, Hangman?” Bob asked, already having noticed what effect you seemed to have on Jake. 

Glaring at Bob, Jake tried his best to focus on the shot. But there was something still stopping him. So, taking another look at you, Jake saw you looking at him. 

You raised your eyebrows a little, silently questioning him. Then you took a slow drag of your beer. 

Standing up, Jake cleared his throat and avoided the looks from the rest of his squad as he moved around the table. It took him a moment, but he finally made a successful shot. 

That continued for another two rounds until Jake found himself unable to even look at you without his stomach doing enough flips to send him dizzy. 

So, pushing Hangman aside, Phoenix took his cue and the game continued between her and Rooster. 

“How’s the move coming along?” Jake eventually managed to find his voice, though his eyes remained on his feet. 

“It’s…coming.”

Jake looked up at you. “That bad, huh?”

You shrugged. “I’m getting there. It’s just taking a little longer than I thought.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Flatpack furniture with no instructions.”

Jake folded his arms. “But it’s a side table.”

You laughed. “It’s got twenty-six pieces.”

“What?!”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

Jake watched you for a moment as your attention went back to Phoenix and Rooster as he beat her. 

“Can’t be better at everything.”

Phoenix laughed. God help Rooster. 

“We’ll see.”

Leaning into Jake, you whispered. “She’s gonna kill him.”

Jake smiled. He knew that to be true. But as they broke in the next game, Jake turned back and looked at you. 

“God, you’re beautiful.” He thought to himself before another set of words left his mouth. 

“I could help you.”

“What?”

“With your furniture. I could help you.” Jake clarified. “I’ve got a couple free days coming up and I’ve got nothing else to do. I could help.”

You peeled back for a moment, your eyes flicking over every inch of his face. You smiled a little. “You’d do that?”

“I know we didn't meet under the most conventional circumstances, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help you.”

You studied Jake for a moment. 

“Okay.”

That was how a week later, Jake had turned up at your home with Phoenix in tow. Once she got wind of Jake offering to help you, she’d already given him a warning. 

“I know you like to flirt-”

“I’m not flirting.”

“But she’s my best friend. So, if you hurt her in any capacity, I will end you.”

Jake shifted in his seat. “Duly noted.”

When Phoenix let herself into your home, she called out for you. 

“Upstairs! Please tell me one of you can read Swedish!”

Looking at each other, Jake and Phoenix realised what they’d got themselves in for. 

Three hours later, the three of you were sitting on your office floor figuring out how to build your wall library. 

“How can something have this many pieces?”

“How can two fighter pilots with engineering degrees not know how to build a library?”

Jake sat with the instructions in between his legs, reading back over the pictures. 

“Wait. I think I’ve got it.”

Phoenix sighed before pushing herself up to stand. “Well, while you get a handle on that, I’m gonna order food.”

As she left the room, going into your kitchen to find the menu, you stayed with Jake. 

In the time Phoenix was gone, you and Jake sat feet to feet across from each other and had built the first half of one bookcase. 

“Will it stay?”

Silently both you and Jake prayed that it would hold as you both let go at the same time. Risking it, he shook it a little. But it remained intact. 

“Yes!”

High fiving, you both continued to build the rest. 

“Alright, food’s ordered. I’m gonna pick it up. Are you two gonna be okay while I’m gone?”

You nodded. “We’ll be fine. Ooh, Nat, make sure they give me extra dip this time. They forgot it last time.”

Phoenix took her orders and left. 

“Do you really have enough books to fill this thing?” Jake asked as he fastened some of the screws down. 

“Yep. Is that sad?”

Jake shook his head, which surprised you. Even before you’d met him, the way Phoenix had talked about him made him sound like the only book he’d ever read in his life had probably been in an English class in highschool. Even then, you doubted he’d have actually read it. 

“No, not at all. I think it’s pretty cool.” 

“Do you like to read?”

Jake looked up at you, a light expression on his face. “You sound surprised?”

“Wha- no. No, not surprised. Just…” You tried to search for a word to use. 

“Relax, it’s okay. I get it. I don’t seem like the type who reads.”

“But you are.”

Jake agreed, starting on the second bookcase with your help. 

“Loved reading since I was a kid. Obviously, I preferred books with planes in ‘em but…it was an escape. A world where I didn’t have to sit in class and be given the future profession of office worker.”

You smiled, finding joy in listening to him. There was passion in his voice as he told you about his childhood books. You even found you’d read some of the same ones. 

“I don’t get much time to read now. Mostly, it’s just textbooks.”

“You’re welcome to borrow one, anytime. God knows I have more than I know what to do with.”

Jake smiled, graciously. “Thanks. And, I promise, if I ever borrow one, it will be returned in the condition I found it.”

“Ah, a true book lover.”

Sharing a pleased look, you and Jake stood and started to shift the book cases around the room. And you tried not to get too distracted at the fact he could pick one up on its own. 

Granted, they were light. But you had tried and the best you, or anyone that wasn’t militarily fit, could do was shuffle it along the carpet in increments. 

With Jake holding the ladder steady, you drilled the hook into the wall before he lifted the bookcase back up and you secured it in place. 

By the time you reached the third one, Natasha had opened your front door again. “Got the food! I’ll set it up in the kitchen!”

Hooking it into place, you admired the finished product before carefully walking back down the ladder. 

“You okay?”

“Yep.”

Both of you stood back and admired the empty cases. 

“Just need the shelves.”

“And the books.”

You smiled. “And the books.”

However, it was downstairs where Jake came to learn of how many books you actually owned. 

Midway through eating pizza, you opened up the walk in pantry door and pulled out a cardboard box. 

“Let me help.” Natasha told you, but with strain in your voice you declined. 

“I’ve got it.”

It landed on the counter with a thud. Opening up the folded lid, you were all greeted with the smell of books. 

What followed was another two hours of mapping out shelves and organising books into alphabetical order. Something Jake seemed to do pretty quickly. 

“Not just a pretty face.”

Thanking them a thousand times over for their help, you watched as they drove back to base and you were left to tidy what you could. 

However, the next day you found yourself with a surprise visitor. 

You were midway through rearranging the furniture in your living room when someone knocked on your door. Opening it, you found Jake stood on the other side. 

“Hey.”

“Hey, sorry. I know I should have called-”

“It’s no problem. What’s up?”

Jake looked at his hands nervously. He was holding a box of lightbulbs. 

“I had some extra in my garage and thought you might wanna use ‘em. They’re only collecting dust and it would save you a trip to the store so-”

You smiled. “If you know how to fit them, I’ll happily accept them.”

“Really?”

You nodded. “I would fit them myself but if my family finds out I went near a light socket, I think they might actually send me to my grave.”

Jake laughed, “Why?”

Inviting him in, you closed the door behind him as you explained the story. 

“It happened when I was 12. I was helping my dad change a couple of the lightbulbs in the house and I'd seen him do it enough times that he trusted me to do it myself. Only, each time I did, I kept getting electrocuted.”

“No.”

You nodded. “You’d think it’d be a fluke. Faulty wiring or something. But, dad tried – he did nothing different. But it worked. I touched a bulb and it blew up. I tried again when I was 17 and it happened again. At college, me and my roommates tried. All worked for them and blew up for me.”

“It’s a good job I know how to change a lightbulb then.”

As Jake got to work doing that, you went back to rearranging your living room. However, when he returned, he stood in the hallway for a moment. 

The sofa was at a diagonal in the middle of the living room. The side tables were at opposite ends, and you seemed a little lost. 

“Do I want it to be cosy, or more open?” You asked, out loud. “Open means there’s more airflow, but it also means I’m left with this massive empty space.”

“Why not try it both ways? If you don’t like it, switch it back.”

With his help, you did it both ways. And neither worked. 

And there weren't many ways left for you to arrange your living room. So, you flipped a coin. 

Open it was. 

Finally moving everything back into its place, you and Jake collapsed on the sofa. 

“Who knew moving could be so stressful?”

“More stressful than piloting a plane going a thousand miles an hour?” You asked. 

Jack nodded. “Okay, you’ve got a point. Hey, when do you start your new job?”

“Technically, I already have. I work from home three days a week. Because of the move, I don’t actually have to go into the building until next Wednesday.”

Jake looked at you. “Wanna do something that isn’t rearranging furniture?”

“Yes.”

Standing up, he held his hand out to you. “It requires standing?”

He chuckled. “I’m afraid so. Come on.”

“Ugh, fine.”

Taking his hand in yours, you did your best to ignore the butterflies you felt float along your stomach. But standing almost chest to chest with Jake Seresin made those butterflies go from floating and fluttering their wings to an entire tornado being created. 

“Grab your jacket. Meet me on the porch?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Two minutes later you locked your front door and walked with Jake to his car. Once more, he beat you to your door and opened it up before he closed it for you and walked around to the driver’s seat. 

Twenty minutes passed before he was pulling up outside the Hard Deck. 

“I don’t think it’s open.”

Jake hopped out of the car, as did you. “It’s not.”

“Then why are we here?”

“You’ll see. Follow me.”

Walking up to the door, it opened up and you both walked inside. Anytime you’d been at The Hard Deck, it had been packed to the walls. But at that moment, it was empty. 

“Penny?”

Walking backwards out of a swinging door, Penny came through carrying a heavy box. “Oh, good. You’re here.”

Without warning, she dropped the box into Jake’s arms. Getting a steady grip, he hoisted it a little higher. 

“I’m picking Amelia up from school. They’re hosting an emergency PTA meeting so I might be back late.”

Jake shook his head. “No worries. We can keep the bar going til you get back.”

Penny smiled. “Thank you.”

As Penny grabbed her jacket and left, Jake said nothing but saw the look you gave him. 

“You’ve wrangled me into work?”

Jake shrugged, a shit-eating grin on his face that he was struggling to hide. “Maybe.”

You chuckled and followed him outside to the back deck. “There’s no ‘maybe’ about it.”

Jake shrugged again as he looked out to the sandy beach and the slow beating waves. “Can’t deny it’s a slightly better view, though.”

You looked out at it. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Sitting down on one of the picnic benches, you sat across from Jake whilst he pulled things from the crate. Napkin holders, sauce bottles and salt and pepper shakers. 

And for the next hour, you both sat in the cooling sun filling each one of them. 

“So how long have you been helping Penny?”

“A while now,” he told you. “It started out as an after-work detention.”

You felt a small laugh rise up. He was a grown man being given detention. 

“Oh, no. What did you do?”

“I left my wingman behind. Mav couldn’t get through to me, so he sent me to Penny.”

“And did she?”

Jake nodded. “Yeah. Well, her and Amelia did. Penny told me more about what happened between Mav and Goose.”

“Rooster’s dad?”

Jake nodded. “They flew together but died after an emergency went wrong. Mav was torn up for months. He’s better now, obviously, but…it stays with him. Then Penny made a point to me; I’ve never lost a wingman. I’ve left plenty behind, but I’ve never lost one.”

You screwed the cap onto the salt and pepper before taking another two and filling them. 

“And then the first full day I spent here – before I’d just spent afternoons or late nights. But it was my first full day. Penny got called away to the docks after she dropped Amelia off at the mall; she was meeting friends for her birthday.”

Pushing some more napkins into the holder, Jake packed it back into the crate and moved onto the next.

“Only, an hour later, Amelia came through the front doors with tears streaming down her face.”

Slowing down with the refilling so you could spend longer with Jake, you continued listening to his story. 

“Her friends had ditched her. One of the other girls had turned up and basically took over everything and made sure to leave Amelia out of it. She didn’t want to call her mom and she knew she’d be busy, so she came to the bar.”

The image of Amelia wiping her tears away as quickly as they fell would probably never leave him. Anytime he’d met Amelia she’d been happy – and she’d been practically bursting with fireworks when her mom agreed to let her go to the mall with her friends. 

“That was when things started to change for me.” Jake told you. “Seeing Amelia the way she was. She’d been left behind on her birthday, of all days. And not one of her friends called her.”

“They didn’t know she’d gone?”

Jake shook his head. “She tried to find them. She searched the whole mall until one of the security guards stopped her. ‘Told her he’d seen a group of them leave ten minutes before.”

“No!”

“I knew it wasn’t the same; losing someone in the air and being left alone on your birthday. But it made me realise something. I was like her friends. If something had happened to my wingman…I wouldn’t have known. It makes me feel bad, the fact it took Amelia being left alone on her birthday for Mav’s message to get through to me, but it worked. Haven’t left my wingman since.”

You smiled a little as you looked at him. “So what did you do when Amelia came back?”

“Well, she sat at the bar top doing her homework for an hour before I managed to get it out of her why she was back early. Then we made a day of it; I made her favourite foods and taught her how to make a cocktail. Penny would never let her behind the bar but after the day she’d had, how could I say no?”

“I’m guessing Penny doesn’t know about this?”

“She knows about it now. Amelia had to make a science project and her mixology seemed a little too advanced for someone who’d never been allowed behind a bar.” 

“And you agreed to make a cocktail?”

Jake hesitated for a moment. “Well, it was a mocktail. I might be a rule breaker, but I am responsible.”

Once you’d both finished restocking, you went back inside with Jake and placed one of each thing onto the tables, whilst he carried the crate beside you. 

“You said this job was after-work detention. Is it still?”

Jake chuckled, lightly, and shook his head. “No. That ended a while back, but I asked Penny if I could stay on. I help out every now and then. Fills my day when I’ve got nothing to do and,” Jake looked around. “I don’t know. There’s something nice about seeing this place calm. Penny’s put a lot into this place and we all respect it.”

Watching Jake admire the place around him, you smiled. His gaze finally landed back on yours and his expression softened as he looked at you. 

You moved onto the next table, and the next, and the next, in quiet silence. 

But as you reached a familiar booth, Jake felt the memory rush back to him. But as you scooted across the seat to place the menus and items together, a question left Jake’s lips before he could fully stop himself. 

“Did you know who I was when we first met?”

You looked back at him a little confused. “What?”

Jake looked around a little just to simply move his feet. Why had he asked? Fuck it. He’d already asked. 

“The day I hit on you. Well, tried. Did you already know who I was? From Phoenix?”

You relaxed a little, realising what he was talking about. “I didn’t know your face, but…yeah. I’d heard stories from Phoenix. She also warned me that if one of you were going to hit on me, it would have been you.”

“Is that why you said no?”

You tilted your head a little. You’d gotten to know Jake over the last two weeks and something told you he wasn’t asking because he was trying to heal his ego. 

“Why do you want to know? Truthfully?”

Being under your comforting gaze in that moment made Jake feel heat rise directly from his feet. 

Taking a deep breath, he told you why. 

“Because I want to know if you said ‘no, thank you’ because of me, or because Phoenix warned you away.”

For a moment, you smiled and Jake didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t mocking, or amusement. 

Scooting out of the booth, you stood in front of him. 

“Jake, I said ‘no, thank you’ because you did what every dude in a bar does. They walk up, no matter how nice their smile is, and expect that after a conversation I’ll give them my number. If Phoenix had wanted to warn me, she would have shown me your picture. If a guy wants to go on a date with me, he should just ask.”

Jake stood there for a moment a little dumbfounded. So, if that night he’d just walked up to you and asked you on a date, you would have said yes? If he’d asked you in the supermarket, you would have said yes? 

Did you still want to-

“She’s telling you to ask her out, idiot.”

Whipping his head to the side, Jake found Amelia at the bar unpacking her school bag. Jake’s eyes flicked over to you for a moment. You were looking at Amelia with a thankful smile before turning back to look at him. 

After nearly giving himself whiplash a couple of times, Jake’s gaze finally landed back on you, a light smirk on his face. 

“Y/n.”

“Yes, Jake?”

“Would you like to get dinner with me tonight?”

“As in a date?”

Jake nodded, and you smiled. 

It happened every time you came back from a mission. For the first couple of weeks, you’d be okay. But once you were comfortable, and safe, your mind decided to start playing tricks on you. You’d wake with the smell of the jet engine still in your nose. The bruises and cuts could have healed months ago, but you’d wake and still fill that pain as if they’d just happened. Once you’d remember where you were, the pain would slowly float away. But in those first few seconds? It was as if no time had passed at all and you were still on the field. Still in your nightmare. 

Your hands smoothed down your wide legged sweatpants as you pulled your legs towards your chest. And for a while, you just breathed. Keeping your cheek on your knee, looking outside to the city that never seemed to sleep, you just kept breathing. 

“Can’t sleep?”

You turned your head to look at the door. You were just thankful you remembered to put your glasses back on when you got out of bed. Otherwise you’d be trying to guess which team member was standing by the kitchen island. 

“How long have you been there?” You asked Bucky. You hadn’t even heard him come in. 

“Not too long.”

“How specific.”

“You still didn’t answer my question.” He started walking towards you, his feet padding across the cold floor before stopping in front of you and holding out a loosened water bottle. 

“Thanks,” you replied quietly as you took it from him. Then he sat opposite to you, one leg propped up, the other dangling over the side to rest against the floor. 

“Still getting nightmares?” He asked you. 

You swallowed the gulp of water as you looked away from him. “Who told you I was getting them in the first place?”

“You did.”

You looked at him, your eyes landing on his. Bucky had this way of looking at people. You blamed it on him spending too much time with Sam. It was like he could see through you. Sam had been through a lot, but some of the darker stuff you could hide from him. Sam would know you were hiding something, but he wouldn’t be able to tell what exactly. 

But Bucky? 

It was as if he could see the tattoos on your heart. Like he could read them, even if they were in another language. He knew. But he’d always wait. He had patience. 

Bucky answered the question you’d asked silently. “You forget your room is next to mine. When your door closes, I hear it. It shakes the wall. I’m a light sleeper, so I notice.”

Bucky had heard how quietly you’d closed the door when you were trying to make sure nobody would wake up. 

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and joined you in looking out to the rest of the city. “Nothing to be sorry for. You wanna tell me about them?”

You shrugged, keeping your gaze focused on the city and definitely not his reflection in the glass. “Just the usual, you know. Re-living the missions, rewriting the endings, seeing all the mistakes and wondering what would have happened if they didn’t happen. Or if they did. They go away eventually.”

“They go away, or they get replaced?”

You shook your head. “You spend too much time with Sam.”

Bucky let out a soft chuckle. 

“What happened tonight?”

You looked back at him. “Why are you awake?”

“Got thirsty,” he told you, holding up his own water bottle. “And you didn’t come back to bed.”

Bucky, again, went on to answer your silent question. 

“I also know when you go back to bed. Woke up naturally to complete silence. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, I’m okay.”

“Are you?”

You nodded. “Yes.”

Bucky sayed quiet for a few moments, his gaze studying every inch of you. And then-

“You’re cold.”

Without another word, Bucky stood up and walked over to the basket of blankets that was hanging on the opposite wall. He pulled one through the bars before walking back over to you. With quiet gestures, Bucky had you lean forward and he placed the blanket over your shoulders.

Then he sat back down opposite you. 

“You know,” Bucky broke the long silence of just watching people turn lights on and off inside their apartments across the city. “If you ever want to talk about it, you can come and find me.”

“Thanks, Buck. But I think I’ll be okay.”

Bucky shook his head. “This isn’t a polite offer. I mean it. Three o’clock in the morning, or three in the afternoon. If you wanna talk, I’ll listen.”

You tried to keep your breathing steady as you looked at him, taking his words in. He did really mean it. But you still tried your best to stay calm. Eventually, you nodded. 

“Thanks, Buck.”

There was another twenty minutes of silence and somewhere in them, you must have drifted off because you felt yourself being lifted up. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re not sleeping against glass all night.” Bucky’s voice was soft in the silence of the room. “Just close your eyes. You’re safe with me.”

“Buck, I can walk.”

You heard Bucky’s breathy chuckle as he held you closer. “I don’t trust you to walk when you’re asleep. That’s like asking Scott to dance after he’s had one too many. Just close your eyes.”

You didn’t know if you compiled because you wanted to, or because your body forced you to but the next thing you remembered was waking up to the sunlight glowing softly in your room. The blanket Bucky had wrapped around you hours earlier was still in its place. 

It was the first time in weeks you felt rested. Not that you’d just slept well, but you were actually rested. 

Eventually you turned your body to look at your alarm clock. 10:02am. 

You were just thankful you had weekends off. 

That was when you noticed your phone. Plugged in, fully charged. You hadn’t done that. Had Bucky?

Then you saw the texts. 

When you wake up, meet me at the coffee machine. 

You took twenty minutes before dragging yourself from bed and heading into the kitchen. That was where you found him, completing his book of crosswords. 

“Hey,” he smiled, briefly. “How’d you sleep?”

“Better than I have done in a while.” You poured yourself a coffee before topping up his mug. He thanked you quietly before taking a sip. 

“Thank you for carrying me last night. I don’t remember anything after Scott having one too many.”

Bucky just smiled. “You're welcome.”

“So?” You asked as you sat beside him. “What did you need?”

Part of you had expected him to say you were getting called into work for something. But no. Instead, he just pushed his crossword over to you. 

“Its theme is Greece. I can’t find the last few words.” 

“You texted me to help you with a crossword?”

“If I text Natasha, she’d just add it to her ‘old-man’ gags.”

You chuckled, taking the pen from him. “Hand it over.”

For the next twenty minutes, you and Bucky sat shoulder to shoulder, sharing the crossword. Artemis had been written diagonally and backwards. Hermes had been written directly across two other words and Aphrodite had been written directly down the middle. 

You and Bucky ended up spending the entire morning doing the next three pages together. And somewhere between the quiet deliberation, concentrated stares and shared laughter, you’d both ended up planning a day together. 

First the farmers market just outside of town. You’d picked up some fresh flowers and fresh food. Bucky had picked a different selection of things from some aged books he could wait to read, to fresh fruit and pies from one old lady’s stall. 

She’d mistaken you and Bucky for being a couple and had started talking about the cute dates her and her husband would go on when they were your age. Then she gave you and Bucky some locations that were practically destined to be date spots. 

Neither of you had the heart to tell her you were both co-workers and friends. And that Bucky, technically, was a lot older than her and her husband. 

So, you both went along with it. 

The hours that followed, you and Bucky ended up walking around the entire town just talking. A little about work, but mostly about your histories. Bucky’s memories of going to the fair with his sister and your memories of being dragged around farmer markets as a kid. 

“I hated it for a long time and then one afternoon in college, I ended up walking to the local one. And I’ve loved them ever since.”

Bucky smiled as he listened to you. You’d known each other for almost four years and despite sharing a bedroom wall and working together most of the time, it was rare he got to share these moments with you. 

Ones where you were completely relaxed. Ones where your mind wasn’t at least a little bit on work. Ones where you could smile and laugh and joke along with him. 

By the time you both got back home, the others walked in to find you and Bucky cooking dinner together. The radio was on, a familiar forties tune coming to an end just as Michael Bublé started to wash over the speaker. 

Bucky was peeling carrots when he looked over at you, your hips softly swaying to the tune as you smiled to yourself. So, putting down the peeler, he wiped his hands on the dish towel slung over his shoulder and reached for your hand. 

You were a little confused initially but once you realised what he was doing, you dropped the knife back onto the chopping board and started dancing around the kitchen with him. Laughter escaped both of you as he twirled you out and around before pulling you back in close. He surprised you at one point, dipping you down before lifting you back onto your feet. 

“We need to get dinner started before they offer us as a sacrifice,” you laughed out as the song eventually came to an end. You patted Bucky twice on the chest and looked away as you felt your cheeks heat. 

“Okay, okay. You might have a point.”

Pulling his sleeves a little further up his arms from where they’d slipped a little whilst you were dancing together, he got back to washing and peeling the veg before you chopped them and placed them into the pot on the stove. 

Throughout the entire time in the kitchen, you and Bucky seemed to be able to silently communicate. As he stepped around you as you reached for one of the spices on the spice racks, he turned the heat down on the hob. He handed you the stirring spoon before you could ask for it. You lifted the chopping board so he could wipe underneath them, he took them from you when he was finished before lifting the pan lid up to stop it from boiling over as you tended to the second saucepan. 

It was an entire dance within itself. 

It was also the first time you didn’t want to throttle someone for being in the kitchen with you as you cooked. 

It was nice. 

It was…

Homely. 

By the time you and Bucky had finished setting the table, everyone had returned from their days out or at work and you’d all sat down and talked over dinner. 

And for the following two weeks, everything ran in a similar way. You also found yourself sleeping longer, and deeper, than you had done in a while. 

All until two weeks later when a nightmare seemed to storm your mind. You had been happy in a dream, in a house you’d just bought, decorating the rooms with your friends until a paint pot got spilt. It had been blue in the can, but as it seemed out, it began to turn red. Then the red took over the room in a light and the paint became a river before it became blood. 

You looked up and found yourself back in your uniform, cuts across your knuckles, pain seeping into the bones of your body. A leaky roof was dripping and mixing in with the blood that was caked into your hair. Your vision turned blurry before you felt yourself beginning to fall. Only, you didn’t wake up. You’d fallen into another room. Another floor. Another punch. Another glare of the sun before a red light took over and a buzzer began to blare over your head. 

You tried covering your ears but it only got louder. Someone’s hands were on you, pushing you down. Pulling you up. Punching your gut. Gunshots started firing. Another room. Another mission. Somebody was yelling. A kid was screaming. There hadn’t been a mission with a kid. Or had there? Did you have to get them out? What was your mission? Another punch. Another room. Another alarm. Another fight. Over and over again. More and more pain. More and more voices. 

“It’s okay. It’s just me.”

Bucky had heard you shouting. You never called out in your sleep. He’d sprung from his bed when he realised it was your voice and not just his imagination. You were in bed, sleeping. You were in bed, getting caught in a nightmare. 

There was a cold sheen across your skin, your covers were getting tangled around you as you fought against whoever was in your head, your face was scrunched in pain and your hands were holding onto your head. 

He tried waking you but it wasn’t working. You needed to be brought back to reality. So, climbing in beside you, his arms wrapped around your body to hold you still. 

Your entire body was shaking underneath him. 

“It’s just me. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

One final throw from your body and you jolted awake, your hands not recognising the arms around you. 

“It’s just me. You’re safe. You’re in the tower.”

“Bucky?” Your voice was almost pleading as it shook. You could only pray it was him. 

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What…what happened?”

“You had a nightmare.”

You swallowed thickly, the previous images flashing through your mind before you pressed your hand against your head. “Yeah…yeah.”

Your breathing was still elevated, as was your heartbeat. 

“Do you want me to stay?”

You closed your eyes and nodded, feeling the tears hit you. “Please.”

Bucky didn’t need to ask twice. His arms already around you, he held you a little tighter as you turned over and curled your arm over his ribs and up his back. 

Carefully, he patted the back of your hair before pressing soft kisses to the crown of your head. “You’re safe. You’re safe.”

You didn’t know how, or when, but eventually you drifted off in his embrace with his thumb wiping your fallen tears away from your cheeks. 

The next morning, you continued to lay in his embrace. You were trying to make sense of your nightmares. Which mission they belonged to, why they’d hit you all of a sudden. 

“How are you feeling?”

You could think of any other word than, “Odd.”

“Talk to me.”

You swallowed once again and shook your head. “I…I don’t know how else to put it. They’ve never been that bad. It’s usually just one or two. But that was…” You blew some air from your lungs. “That was a lot.”

“Then start at the beginning. You need to talk about it.”

You nodded, knowing he was right. So, you started from the beginning. And he listened. He waited through every silence, no matter how long. And he didn’t try to leave or run away. Bucky stayed, holding you close to him.

“How long have you been having nightmares?”

You shrugged. “Couple of years, I guess. But they’re not frequent. Or like…that.”

“Are they always the same?”

“Similar. They’re all about missions if that’s what you mean.”

Bucky nodded. “Do you know what might have triggered it?”

You shook your head. “No clue.”

It was twenty minutes before you both decided to get up and when you did, you started stripping your bed from its covers. 

“I think I sweated through this.”

Without another word, Bucky walked over and opened up your window a little before helping you pull the pillowcases and fitted sheet from your bed. He helped you reach the covers on the very top shelf and helped you fit them back onto your bed. 

He made breakfast that morning as you made the coffee. It got easier through the day but by the time you decided to go to bed, Bucky slipped under the covers beside you without a word. Just quiet stares before you reached out for his hand under the covers and closed your eyes. 

People started running, horses were set loose, bulls were either left or ushered towards their pens. Finding your fellow Wranglers, you all started directing everyone to safety whilst you all started running yourselves. 

Javi helped a four year old who had fallen into the ground, her mom thanking Javi before running along with him. Boone and Lily kept an eye on the kids as they ran towards their parents, grabbing their hands for dear life. 

However, as you ran past the stalls, colliding into Tyler, you spotted a box under the stands. 

It was moving. 

“Come on! We gotta go!”

Tyler tried to pull you with him, but your eyes remained fixed on the box. Maybe it was just the wind. 

But it wasn’t. 

Over the yelling, and the wind, and the tramping of feet, you heard a scream. 

A baby’s cry. 

Breaking free from Tyler’s grasp, you heard him yell for you but you remained focused on the box under the stands. Why was there a baby in a box? Had someone left them? Who would leave a baby in the middle of a rodeo?

Feeling your hand slip from his, Tyler turned and called your name but you ignored him. He tried to run after you, only to be cut off by a horse. 

“Whoa!”

He slipped in the grass but managed to regain his balance just as you came to a stop by a cardboard box. 

The sirens were getting louder, and so was the wind. You didn’t have much time. 

“Y/n! Come on! We’ve got to-”

Tyler stopped talking as he saw what you lifted from the box. Was it what he thought it was?

He didn’t have long to think because in the distance he could see a growing dark cloud, ready to tear everything from the ground. 

“Y/n!”

Finally you looked up and ran towards him. Holding the baby to your chest, he placed an arm around you, both of you ducking as something came flying behind you. 

“Come on, we need to get somewhere safe.”

And you did. 

Reaching a mechanics garage, Tyler looked behind him finding people either running towards their cars. He yelled but they didn’t hear him. 

The tornado was only getting closer. 

So he ran. 

Running and letting the door close, he ran into the pit before crouching beside you. 

You lowered the baby from your chest to take a look at them. They were wrapped in a sage green baby blanket, a note clipped to it which you were yet to look at. 

“Can’t be more than five months.”

“How can someone leave a baby alone like that?”

With a loud crashing sound, you cradled the baby as Tyler turned his body towards you, covering you from the noise. 

The baby cried out and all you could do was wrap the blanket tighter around them and try to cover their ears with your hand. 

“It’s okay, it’ll be over soon.” You heard Tyler say. 

Around you, there were kids no more than seven, cradling themselves into their parents. Some were crying, their parents comforting them; others were trying their best to be brave and seeing Tyler – the Youtube famous Tornado Wrangler – made them braver. Especially when they heard him say it would be over soon. 

From the back, one of the children stood up, shouting out for their mom. Standing, Lily ran towards the back and sat down with the kid. 

“It’s okay, we’ll find your mom. But we need to stay down, okay?” A loud crash came through the top of the garage and Lily covered the child as best as she could. 

You didn’t know how long it lasted. The wind just seemed to get louder and louder, more things flew in and out of the garage before finally the noise stopped. 

Everyone stayed down for a few minutes before standing, Kate and Javi moved to check outside before coming back and helping people up and back outside. 

Most places were trashed. Tents were blown across the field, food scraps melted in with the mud and dirt, and plenty of trucks and cars had been spun and flipped around the place. 

But you still held a baby in your arms. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re safe now. You’re safe.” 

It took a moment but you finally managed to settle the baby before Javi walked over to check on you. “Is that a baby?”

You nodded. “Someone left them in a box. If I hadn’t spotted it…”

Javi placed an arm around you. “Maybe we can find someone. I’ll go with you.”

After three hours and two different phone calls being made to social services and a ton of others being made to local foster homes – most of which had been hit by the tornado, too – you were in the passenger seat of Tyler’s truck as they drove back to Kate’s farm. 

She’d left not long after helping people out of the garage; fearful the tornado would take a turn and head towards her mom. 

The others stayed to help whilst Tyler took you back. He’d resupply and head back once he knew you were okay. 

“Have you read the note yet?”

You shook your head, plucking it from the blanket. “Who can just leave a baby like that? In the middle of a rodeo? What if I hadn’t spotted it? What if-”

“You can’t torture yourself with what if’s. You found ‘em. That’s what matters.”

You took a breath and looked down at the baby in front of you, sound asleep. So innocent, so tiny in comparison to the rest of the world. 

Looking at the paper, you read the cover. 

I’m Sorry.

Flipping it open, you read the short letter out loud. 

To whoever finds her, 

With everyone at the rodeo, I know she’ll be safe. It’s my hope one good family will take her in. I thought I could help her, but I can’t. Maybe you can. 

Please keep her safe 

Tyler looked over at you from where he sat. “What? No name?”

You shook your head. “Apparently not.”

“Is her birth registered?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “No idea.”

“Then we should name her.”

You looked at Tyler. “Can we even do that?”

“We can’t just keep calling her ‘her’, can we?”

“No, I suppose not.” Looking down as the sleeping baby in your arms, you spoke out loud. “What is your name, little one?”

As Tyler pulled into the driveway, he hopped out and rounded the truck to help you out as Kate and Cathy came to the front door. 

“Oh, the poor thing. Kate told me. I’ve set up a cot in the attic room. It’s the warmest room in the house.”

“Thanks, Cathy.”

“What did the cops say?”

Cathy followed you up the stairs, Kate going out to help Tyler load up the truck with fresh supplies. 

“That she has to stay with me for a few days until social services get in contact. Most homes have been taken out in the storm so there’s no-one to take her. And I didn’t like the idea of not knowing what’s going to happen.”

Cathy nodded. “I would have done the same thing. Do you know what you’re doing?”

You sighed. “Not really. I’ve never exactly found a baby in the middle of a tornado before.”

Cathy just graced you with a warm smile. “We’ll all help out. This kid won’t have to worry about anything.”

It wasn’t until just after two in the morning that everyone came back, instantly crashing into their beds. But Tyler waited. 

“She’s up in the attic.”

“Thank you.”

You heard Tyler’s footsteps walking down the hall before the door clicked open. “I’m still awake. It’s okay. Come on in.”

He slipped his boots off by the door before closing it behind him. 

“How is everyone?”

“Tired.” Tyler answered truthfully. “How are you?”

Tyler stood beside the crib where your hand was in between the bars, holding onto the baby’s hand. Gently, Tyler lifted up the blanket that had dipped a little before laying his finger in the baby’s other hand. 

Almost instantly, their fingers curled around his finger. Her head turned towards him before she sighed constantly and relaxed again. 

“I think she likes you.” You smiled at Tyler from where you lay in bed. 

Tyler couldn’t help but smile as he looked back at the baby. “Not a care in the world. Have you thought of a name yet?”

You shook your head. “Not yet. I was hoping the others could help. Cathy says she has a baby book somewhere filled with names.”

Slowly, making sure not to hit the creaky parts of the floor, he walked to the other side of the bed and lay on top of the covers with you. 

“We’ll find a name.”

It was laying in the silence, hearing the content snores from the baby, that sent you and Tyler into a deep sleep. When you woke up, your hand was back on your bed and the baby was no longer in her crib. 

For a moment, you panicked. Until you saw Tyler stood by the dresser, talking quietly to her. 

“You’re lucky I know how to do this, or else I’d be asking Boone for help and as much as he’s my best friend, he’s not the person I’d want to ask.” Tyler said to her. “You know, he once did a backflip off the top of my truck. Yeah, just did it. Right there. And as cool as it was, I did think we were about to end up in the ER. Point is – don’t follow Boone’s idea of backflipping off a truck. It’s very dangerous.”

Clasping the baby grow shut, Tyler placed the dirty diaper into a diaper bag and threw it into the lined trash can beside him with the other diaper wipes. 

Then you saw an image that your ovaries would never let you forget. 

A freshly washed Tyler dressed in a clean white t-shirt and jeans, lifting up a baby before holding her against his chest and walking around the small floor before taking her to the window, showing her the view. 

“You’re a natural.”

Tyler turned his head and looked at you before smiling. “Hey, you’re awake. How’d you sleep?”

You nodded. “Pretty good. How long have you been up?”

“Only about an hour. She woke up like thirty minutes ago. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

You smiled. “Thanks.”

Twenty minutes later, you showered yourself and got dressed before meeting Tyler downstairs where Cathy was teaching him how to properly burp her. 

Of course, everyone had a thousand questions so once the understandable questions were cleared up, you were all sat in the living room, the baby on Kate’s knee, going over baby names. 

“I never knew so much went into naming a baby.”

Cathy nodded. “It sets them up for the rest of their lives. God knows it took me long enough to choose Kate’s.”

“Really?” She asked. 

Cathy nodded. “Your dad and I vetoed a lot of names in the beginning. It wasn’t until the midwife came running up our driveway after her shift had finished that I decided on a name.”

Dexter flipped through the book before offering up a name. Nobody agreed on it. 

It wasn’t until after an entire day of going through baby names, different meanings, past relationships with the different names – some good, some bad – that a name was found. 

Despite having napped, eaten, burped and a fresh diaper, she just wouldn’t settle. Until Dexter took her outside to look up at the stars in the sky. 

By the time you walked out onto the porch, standing beside Tyler, Dexter was pointing up at the different constellations and explaining each one and what they meant. 

“I don’t know how he does it, but he’d settled her.”

“It’s because he’s calming,” you said. “If anyone was going to be calm enough to settle her, it would be Dex.”

Tyler smiled. “Any word from the social?”

You shook your head as you shoved your hands into your back pockets. “Not yet. They’re looking for a home but, in the meantime, she’s stuck with us. They’re sending out a social worker tomorrow to come and look at the place to make sure she’s not in any immediate danger with us.”

Tyler nodded. “We still need to find her a name.”

You sighed. “I know.”

Looking back out to Dexter and the baby, you leaned your head against Tyler’s shoulder.

“And no matter where you are in the world, you can just look up at the sky and know we’re looking at the same one.” Dexter told her. “I don’t know how long you’re gonna be with us, kiddo. But…if you remember us, or need some help, there’s a chance the stars will be able to show you.”

As Dexter looked up into the sky and back down to the baby, the stars reflecting in her eyes, something hit him. 

He turned around quickly. “SKYE!”

You and Tyler stood tall and looked at each other before looking back. “What?”

Dexter walked over to you both. “Skye. Her name. We could call her Skye.”

You and Tyler looked at each other before looking down at the baby. “Do you like that name?”

She definitely looked like a Skye. And by the happy babble she gave, she seemed to agree. 

Tyler looked at you. “Skye it is, then. Guys! Come out here!”

Following one by one, they all appeared on the porch. “Dexter’s found her name.”

They all looked at him, hopeful. 

“Skye.”

They all gave an ‘aww’. “Skye. Hi, Skye.”

Beside Tyler, Boone almost collapsed. “Man, I tell you. Choosing a baby name is hard.”

Tyler chuckled. “Maybe you can find another way to use those post-it notes.”

So, finally she had a name. 

All she needed was a home. 

But from the social worker’s inspection, she had already found one. 

She came over three times in the space of two weeks, surprising everyone each time. But each time, her report came out better than the last until she made you an offer. 

“Now, we can take her into foster care. There are a few homes a couple towns over but there’s no guarantee for adoption. Between the recent tornadoes and the cost of living recently, the cost of taking in a baby this young…it’s rare we’re gonna find a couple willing to take her in permanently. But, myself and my colleagues do believe the best place for Skye is here.”

You couldn’t deny you hadn’t grown attached to her. Nobody could. You’d all found a new routine that easily fitted around her, and deep down, none of you wanted it any other way. But was a Tornado family truly the best place?

“If you didn’t already have a home base, we wouldn’t have considered it so quickly. But…” The social worker looked around. “You’ve got a good home here. Space for her to run around, plenty of people willing to help. So, if any of you would, in fact, wish to take Skye on permanently, I can help you do so.”

With Skye in your arms, you looked around at the rest of the Wranglers. They’d all been in tears for the last two days, figuring out how to say goodbye to her since you’d all been under the belief the social worker was getting ready to take her away. 

“I…”

You looked at Tyler and the others. Then Lily leaned forward. “Can we talk about it, first?”

The social worker nodded. “Of course. This isn’t a light decision to be made. And it doesn’t have to be right away, but until you do make a decision, Skye will be taken into a foster home.”

Then Cathy stood. “It’s your decision. If you choose to keep her…her room is already set up.” Once more, she graced you with a warm smile before inviting the social worker into the kitchen for a drink. Then everyone took a seat. 

“It’s a big decision.”

“Are we sure tornado wrangling is the place for a kid?”

“It’s not like we’d be taking her with us into a tornado.”

“We can all split the duties.”

“But if we keep her, one of us is going to have to adopt her. We can’t all be on the birth certificate.”

“Do we even know what we’re doing? Shouldn’t she be with a less adrenaline driven family?”

“They do say kids have less allergies growing up on a farm. They have more compassion and understanding of the world.”

“And we can help her with her homework.”

“Two of my childhood friends are now teachers at our old school.” Kate mentioned. “So it’s a good school district.”

It was another ten minutes of similar discussions until eventually Dani spoke up. 

“You guys know what we’re doing?”

The other’s didn’t seem to catch on to what they were doing. But you did. 

Looking down at the sleepy baby in your arms, you felt yourself smile. “We’re planning our lives with her. I can’t imagine a life without her.”

“Neither can I.” Lily leaned over, stroking Skye’s arm. 

“Neither can I.” Boone joined, leaning over the back of the sofa. 

Dani was in agreement, then Javi, Kate, Dexter and finally Tyler. 

Crouching on the floor in front of you, Tyler looked at you. “So, we’re doing this?”

You both looked around at the others, them looking back. 

“We’re doing this.”

~~~~~~

The sun had been beating down all day. Yourself and the Wranglers had managed to chase the third EF-2 of the week and were finally putting the data through its paces. And just as the hum of the barn wrapped around you all for the second time that hour, you heard a familiar set of giggles. 

“Momma!” 

Skye giggled and shrieked as she looked behind her before running through the barn and towards you. Sliding away from your desk, you opened your arms and she jumped into them as quickly as she could. 

“Quick, you’ve gotta hide me.”

“Hide you? Why?”

Then you heard Boone’s voice from outside the barn door. “I’m the big, scary monster.”

Skye shrieked again before she wiggled from your grasp and hid under your desk. As you looked at her, she placed her finger against her lips and you nodded before you rolled your chair back towards your desk. 

Boone continued his act of being the big scary monster, calling out for his new best friend he was playing hide and seek with. 

“I’m sorry Mr Monster, I haven’t seen Skye anywhere.”

Boone pouted. “Mr Monster’s sad. He can’t find his best friend.”

Then from under Kate’s desk, Skye ran out and around. “I’m here!”

“Best friend!” 

Boone scooped her up into his arms, her giggles filling the entire barn. You’d never get tired of hearing her laugh. 

“Do I hear a Tiny Tornado in here?”

Skye leaned up high and gasped. “Let me down, let me down.”

Boone set her on her feet. “There you go, kid.”

“Yay!”

Running directly back down to the barn doors, Tyler dropped the pile of rope he was carrying over his shoulder, to the ground beside him. As Skye reached him, he bent down before he lifted her into the air, and he swung her back into his arms. 

“How’s your day been, kiddo?”

“Aun’y Cathy teached me to ride a ‘orse.”

“Taught!” You called out to Skye.

Tyler nodded. “Your mom’s right. She taught you to ride a horse.”

“She taught me to ‘ide and ‘orse.”

Tyler smiled. “Did you enjoy it?”

Skye nodded. “She promised to show me tomorrow.”

Tyler smiled, “Well, in that case, you’re gonna need your own hat.”

From your desk, you watched as Tyler set Skye onto her feet before he reached for something just outside the barn doors. Then, with one knee on the floor, Tyler pulled her to stand a little closer. 

“This right ‘ere. This was my first cowboy hat.”

Skye’s eyes lit up. You could all see her practically vibrating on the spot as she gasped and tried to stay still. 

“And since Cathy tells me you did such a good job with the horses today, I think it’s only right you get your own.”

“Really?”

Tyler nodded. “‘Course, kiddo.”

“So, Boone, you recording this?” Tyler turned back to Skye. “S’ not everyday a girl gets ‘er first hat.”

Boone pressed record as everyone came and stood around her, Dani and Kate giving their own rendition of a crowning ceremony theme. 

And once the hat hit her head, Skye’s eyes kept looking up at it. 

“What’d ya think, Momma?” 

Skye turned to you, her eyes begging the same question Tyler just asked. And you could help but just smile. 

“I think you look wonderful, little one.”

Skye started smiling even wider than before and jumping up and down before nearly knocking Tyler over with how tightly she hugged him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo.”

“Baby, you wanna go and show Cathy?”

Skye stood back and nodded. “Can I?”

You and Tyler nodded and with a hand on the top of her hat, she ran out of the barn and down the field towards Cathy. 

“Thank you for doing that with her, Ty.”

Tyler just smiled. “She’s my Tiny Tornado.”

“You know, she’s not gonna wanna ever take it off.”

And it was true. Skye wore it whenever she could. Running through the fields, eating her dinner, taking a bath; she did try and keep it on when getting dressed, but it got knocked off her head a few times.

The only time she took it off was when she saw Tyler take his own off when he hung it by the door. Coming down the stairs, you saw two cowboy hats hanging by the door and it made your heart melt. 

And it only melted even more when you walked onto the back porch and found Skye cuddled up and falling fast asleep on Tyler’s chest. 

An image like that one was one that you loved to see. It happened almost every night. Tyler was the one she would fall asleep on. Sometimes it would be in Lily’s lap when she played with her hair or when Dexter would tell her all about the stars. 

Skye would fight sleep when she was learning but eventually sleep would win. 

And she’d only fall deeper into sleep when Tyler began to lightly swing the porch seat. 

“Can you believe she’s almost four?” You asked Tyler later that evening as you both folded what was left of the bed sheets and clothes. The others had long since gone to bed. 

It was like that most nights; you and Tyler the last to go to bed. 

Tyler shook his head. “Feels like only yesterday we registered her birth.”

“Before we know it, she’ll be off to college.”

Tyler chuckled. “We’ve still got years before that happens, but…I know what you mean. She’s growing up.”

“She’s learning how to ride a horse. Before we know it, she’ll be taming a tornado.”

Tyler smiled. “I don’t call her a Tiny Tornado for nothing.”

You smiled at a memory. “Did you see she hung her hat up, same as you?”

Tyler shook his head and disappeared into the hallway before coming back. “I think that’s officially the cutest thing I’ve seen today.”

“I know you’re not down on her birth certificate, but…you are her dad, Tyler.” You told him. “She loves you like one, and I know you love her as a daughter. I…I just wanted to tell you that.”

Tyler smiled. “Thank you.”

Forcing your gaze away from his, you looked back to the freshly folded clothes. “We should get to bed. God only knows what time that kid’ll wake up to be outside with Cathy and the horses.”

Tyler chuckled, “You’re right. Goodnight.”

“Night, Ty.”

Tyler watched as you climbed the stairs with the washing basket of freshly folded clothes and he waited until he heard your door click shut before he made his rounds around the house, locking the place up. 

And as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, he wondered if he would ever be brave enough to tell you the truth about his feelings. 

But apparently, the Tiny Tornado had enough courage to do that for the both of you. 

It was a few weeks later, sitting at the breakfast table that Skye asked a question that nobody had been expecting. 

“What’s a romance?”

Swinging her legs over the edge of the table chair as she waited on her cereal, Skye didn’t know what kind of bomb she was about to drop. 

“Why do you wanna know, kiddo?” Dani asked as she handed Skye her bowl of coco pops. 

Skye just shrugged. “That’s what Boone called my princess book.”

“Well, it’s not a bad thing.” Lily assured the little girl. “In fact, it’s something really, really good.”

“Is it?”

You nodded. “Yep.”

As Tyler placed his plate down on the table, he sat down beside Skye. “And there isn’t just one kind, either.”

“There isn’t?”

Javi chuckled from where he was leaning against the dishwasher. “Maybe you wanna explain what a romance is first, before you tell her there’s more than one.”

And so they did. 

“It’s when two people meet in a story and they fall in love. So, like with Cinderella. You know how she meets Prince Charming but he doesn’t know who she is until she puts on the glass slipper and then they live happily ever after?”

Skye nodded at Cathy. 

“Well, that’s a romance. It’s when two people fall in love and live happily ever after.”

For a moment, you felt a pair of eyes fall on you, but when you looked up, he was looking back at Skye. 

“But there’s more than one?”

Crouching beside her, Dani explained. “You know how Dexter has all those books in the back of his camper?”

Skye nodded. 

“Well, think of a romance like them. Each one has a different story.”

“Like Disney Princesses?”

Dani nodded. “Exactly like Disney Princesses. Sometimes they don’t know who the other person is until the big reveal, sometimes they’re childhood friends who fall in love when they meet again, sometimes they’re mortal enemies and think they don’t like each other until something makes them realise they don’t hate that person anymore.”

“Ooh, like Princess Diaries!” 

Everyone, including Skye, turned and looked at Javi. 

“What? It’s a good film.”

“Are there any other romances?”

Dani nodded. “Sure there is. Umm…”

Dani looked around the kitchen for help. 

“Sometimes they’re soulmates who fall in love in every universe.” Skye gave a confused look, so Lily added; “Like the stories in the stars.”

“It can be love at first sight,” you told Skye. 

“Sometimes they can be best friends and not realise they’re in love, even though everyone else can see it.” Cathy mentioned. 

Then Skye dropped a tornado that was far too extreme to deal with at eight in the morning. 

“Oh, like Momma and Tyler.”

The entire kitchen went silent. Javi, mid chew, looked over at Tyler who was turning redder by the minute as he looked at you by the stove, standing incredibly still. 

Skye looked around, a little confused about what she had said. “What? What is it?”

You turned and looked at your daughter, speaking to her just as Tyler did. 

“Nothing, honey-”

Just as you and Tyler locked eyes, the tension sparking from both of you, Boone barrelled through the back door with Dexter not too far behind him. 

“Told you I could run it quicker, man.”

“A car is still faster.” Dexter told Boone. 

Then they looked around, noticing the sheepish looks on everyone’s faces. 

“Hey, what happened here?” Boone asked. 

Lily stood, coming to your rescue. “Nothing. Did you get the-” She looked inside the brown paper bag. “YES! Waffles!”

As commotion started up in the kitchen again, Skye looked up at you from her seat as you handed her a spoon. “Momma, did I do something wrong?”

You shook your head. “No, baby.” Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, you sneaked a glance over at Tyler before forcing a smile back on your face to look at Skye. 

“Eat up, honey. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

“Okay, Momma.”

For the rest of the day, you and Tyler avoided each other. Cathy apologised to both of you for having given the example in the first place, but she made sure to tell you she thought Skye was right. 

“You’ve been pining after her for years.” Cathy told Tyler as he lifted another hay bale onto the back of the truck. 

“We work together, Cathy. Nothing can happen there.”

“The hell it can’t.” Tyler looked at her. “Tyler, you and Y/n have been practically raising a kid together for almost four years. From day one of you getting here, I’ve seen how you look at her. And I know the others agree with me.”

Tyler stood tall. “How do the other’s know?”

Cathy just gave him a look. 

“Either way, the kid is right. You’re both in love with each other, you’re both just too chicken to do something about it.”

Cathy gave a similar speech to you, too, when you came to check on Skye at the stables. 

“And if you’re about to tell me you’re worried about Skye, don’t. Whether his name is on her birth certificate or not; whether she calls him dad or not. He is her dad. She is his daughter. Nothing will ever change that. Ever.”

With a short sigh, you looked out into the field where Skye was carrying a small bucket of water around to each of the garden plots. 

Similar conversations were had throughout the day until the late afternoon rolled in and Tyler and you had to awkward dance-shuffle around each other to get in and out of the house whilst trying to avoid all sense of eye contact, but giving plenty when the other wasn’t looking. 

Unbeknownst to both yourself and Tyler, Skye was standing on the fence bars with Kate. 

The kid sighed heavily. “They’re always like that.”

“You’ve only been here for four years, kid. Imagine being here seven.”

Skye gasped. “Seven?” She tried to count that on her fingers quickly, but needed Kate’s help. Skye gasped again. “That’s bigger than me.”

Kate hummed as she nodded. 

“Is this like one of the romances from before?” Skye sounded out. 

Kate nodded. “I’m afraid so, kiddo. I’m afraid so.”

And unbeknownst to Kate at that moment, Skye was hatching a plan. But she needed her best friend’s help. 

“Can you help me down?”

“‘Course, honey. Ready, three, two, one, jump.” 

“Weeeee.” Holding onto her securely, Kate lifted Skey from the bars and set her down on the ground beside her. 

“Thanks, Kate.”

“Be careful, honey!”

“I will!”

Less than five minutes later she burst through the barn doors and ran towards Boone, yelling out his name over and over again. 

“Slow your roll there, kiddo.”

“I need your help, now, come on.” She tugged Boone’s hand until he was stood up. “Come on, come on, come on.”

Skye dragged him towards the carrot beds before laying on the dirt, telling him to join her. And so they hatched a plan. 

“You’re a genius, Skye.”

“What’s a gen…gen..igus?”

“Genius.” Boone smiled. “It’s like a crazy smart person.”

“Oh, cool.”

High fiving, they got to work. Everyone had their orders to be in bed early. They couldn’t know why, but they all agreed. And Skye’s plan of laying in the dirt worked because the minute she came running through the back door, you caught her mid run. 

“Where do you think you’re going, little miss?”

Skye smiled like butter wouldn’t melt. “To the table.”

“Covered in muck? What have you been doing? Rolling in the muck? Come on, bathroom.”

You ran Skye a bath before shoving her dirty clothes into the washing machine with the rest of the dirty laundry. Twenty minutes later, the mud Skye had collected on her person was washed down the drain and she was in a fresh pair of pajamas. 

The rest of the night ran smoothly enough. Dinner was made and eaten, updates were shared about work, and Skye had asked Tyler to read her a bedtime story. 

He read two stories before she began falling asleep beside him so sitting up, he laid her down under her covers before tucking her in. 

And just as he shut the book and laid it on her nightstand, he opened her eyes and looked at Tyler. 

“Do you love Momma?”

Tyler felt his cheeks heat. “Get some sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“But do you love her? Like in the stories?”

Tyler looked at his daughter. “What’s got you so interested all of a sudden?”

“Lily told me what soulmates means.”

“Did she now?”

Skye nodded. “That’s you and Momma.”

“Skye-”

“Do you love her?”

Looking at Skye, Tyler felt his heart tug inside of his chest. He couldn’t lie to her. 

“More than she’ll ever know. More than I’ll ever be able to tell her.” Tyler admitted, unaware of the presence just outside the door. 

“I think you should tell her.”

The corner of Tyler’s mouth curved into a smile. “Do you now?”

Yawning, Skye nodded. But then Tyler sighed. “It’s not that simple, honey.”

“But what if she floats away like Mary?”

Tyler’s brows furrowed. “Mary?”

“Poppins. Burt never got to tell her he loved her.”

Tyler chuckled. “Skye, your mom isn’t going to float away. Now, close your eyes and get some sleep.”

Leaning over, Tyler kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight, my Tiny Tornado.”

Then he flicked the lamp off; only Skye wasn’t finished. 

“If you love her, you should tell her.”

In the moonlight darkness, Tyler saw the look his daughter was giving him. She was pleading with him. 

And if a four year old could see it and say it…

He leaned back down and kissed her head. “Go to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning. I love you.”

Skye yawned. “I love you, too. Goodnight, daddy.”

It wasn’t the first time Skye had called him that. Usually it happened in moments like this, where she was really tired and already half awake and half asleep. But it made his heart soar out of his chest all the same. 

Quietly leaving the room, he closed the door behind him and waited there for a moment. The lights were off around most of the house since everyone had gone to bed once Skye had said she was. 

But one light was still on. 

And he knew who it belonged to. 

Walking down the hallway, Tyler waited by the edge of the hallway for a moment, just watching you fold some more fresh laundry whilst he prepared what he was going to say. 

“Hey.” 

That seemed like a good start. 

You looked up, a little startled. “Hey. She asleep?”

Tyler nodded and walked further into the living room before taking a seat on the arm of the chair, pulling a few items from the laundry pile to fold. 

A slightly awkward silence settled over you both for a moment. 

“Listen, about this morning-”

“She was right.” Tyler said, looking at you. “Skye was right. This morning, she was right. With everything that she said.”

“Tyler-”

He stood up. “No, just. Just wait. Please. Let…let me get this out? And then if you want me to leave and never talk about it again, I will.” You couldn’t speak so you just nodded and listened as he continued. “Skye was right. I am in love with you. I have always been in love with you. I think I always will be. I know there’s a lot to consider; work, home and, most importantly, Skye. But if…” Tyler took a breath. “If there’s any part of you that feels the same…I think we should do something about it.”

“Finally taking our daughter’s advice?”

Tyler was shocked but a small smile came to your face. “I wasn’t spying or anything. I was walking down the hall and I heard Skye and…thinking about it, maybe I was spying.”

Tyler chuckled. 

“But you’re right.” You told him. “You’re both right. I don’t know when my feelings changed for you, but I know what I feel today, what I feel when I see you with Skye, and what I feel when you look at me. I’m in love with you, too, Tyler.”

“You are?” You nodded. “You’re not just saying-”

You shook your head. “I’m saying it because it’s the truth.”

So, standing in the middle of the dimly lit living room, you and Tyler looked at each other. One of his hands in yours, your other resting on his wrist as he pushed his hand under your hair to cup your cheek.  

“Kiss her.”

The small and familiar voice made both of you and Tyler turn to look at the corridor. Skye stood, trying her best to hide, behind the lamp and the table it sat on. 

Tyler looked back at you with a smile which you both shared. 

“Can’t go against orders, can we?”

You shook your head. “No, we can’t.”

Finally feeling him kiss you was like a thousand dreams were shattering, only to be replaced with the fact that the reality of Tyler was much better than the fantasy you’d granted yourself. 

And, as it turned out, having you and Tyler finally grant yourselves permission to be open about your feelings for one another didn’t change much in terms of routine, save for a few more morning kisses before breakfast and quick pecks to the lips or cheek throughout the day when passing each other. 

There was a week here and there that you’d join the team storm chasing each season. Except, this year’s week of you joining them on the road couldn’t have fallen at a worse time. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re gonna sit here all night drowning your sorrows in crappy beer?”

You shook your head. “I’m not.”

Boone tilted his head. “Oh, not the head tilt. Please.”

“Come on, Y/n. He was an asshole. Forget about him.”

“Little hard to forget when I was the one to walk in and catch them,” you looked back at your beer bottle. The label was practically torn to shreds from where you’d been scratching at it. “It’s like it’s burned into the back of my eyelids.” You took a long swig of your beer. 

Just a little over two months ago, you’d watched as your relationship of three years burst into a ball of flames. You’d come home, smiling as you texted the Wrangler’s telling them the company you’d been pestering for a large donation that, with their track record, would put them out of pennies, had not only agreed to donate but also to host and bring all of their more-than-wealthy partners to the event. 

Only, as you called through the door for your boyfriend, you heard a noise. Had he fallen?

Then you found the trail of clothes leading into the kitchen before another one made its way up the stairs towards your bedroom. 

“Have you tried thinking of something else? Maybe watching a horror movie?”

You nodded. “Apparently finding your partner cheating on you in your own bed, and subsequently finding out they’d been doing that for over a year…is the scariest thing for me.”

“Well…screw him! He never deserved you! And you deserve a good night! And some decent beer.”

You gave a slight smile. “Boone. I like my drink.”

And it was true. You did.

You watched as he grimaced and picked up the other beer bottles. “Don’t know how you can drink that stuff.”

And away he went back to the dance floor with the others. And you turned back to your drink, your thumb still scratching away at the label. 

An hour or so later, Tyler’s eyes found you in the crowd at the bar once more. He’d watched you all night. He’d watched you for the last two weeks if he was being completely honest with himself. 

Since you joined the team, he saw you maybe for two weeks across the entire year. One week storm chasing, and the next seven days scattered throughout the rest of the year. But when he found out of Boone you’d be joining the team for most of the chasing season, something sparked inside of Tyler. 

He was glad to have you aboard, of course. He might not have known that much about you, but he knew you well enough to know you joining the team for longer than a week meant something was wrong. 

And once you arrived, it took him three days to finally figure out why. 

“Are you sure she’s okay?”

Lily looked behind her, following Tyler’s gaze. Though, she could guess who it was. “Y/n? Oh, yeah. She’ll be fine. She’s hurtin’ right now, but she’ll be okay. Dude was an ass! Glad he’s gone.”

Tyler had met him only a handful of times but he could agree with Lily. He was an ass. An ass to you and an ass for letting you go. 

But, as Tyler watched you, he saw something in you change. You’d gone from slouched on the bar stool to…alert. And nervous. 

Confused, he followed the direction of your eye-line until he saw…

Him. 

Stood with some blonde who couldn’t stop giggling into his chest as his arms were wrapped around her in such a way he was being possessive whilst trying to show her off. 

And it was at that moment Tyler realised he wasn’t the only one watching you anymore. Because your ex had spotted you. 

“No.” Dani and Boone told him as the bottom of his chair scraped the wooden floor. “No, let her handle this. She needs this.”

Tyler didn’t look convinced. So, Lily added. 

“And if she’s not ready, then you can go. But they’re right. Let her handle it.”

So, reluctantly, Tyler sat back down. But he was itching to stand. He was itching to be at your side. 

But you handled it. 

Your ex approached you, and he seemed to make some kind of asshole comment about you. You didn’t seem pleased. Then everything about you…became fake. 

One look around you made you realise there were plenty of people still left inside the bar. More than when you had entered with the team, even. If you caused a scene, you’d get kicked out. And your team would follow. But it had been a long week. They deserved a good night. 

So you took it. You took his comments about smiling more, and setting him free and his thank yous for showing him he could have ‘something more with’ whoever the Blonde was waiting at the end of the bar for him. 

And when he patted your arm, you could have thrown up. You never wanted him to touch you again. You’d told him as much when he tried to hug you, not ten minutes after being caught having sex with someone else. 

And when he finally walked away…you wanted to run. But you had no energy left. Seeing him again zapped it all. You had been in love with him once, and believed he felt the same about you. All the memories of your relationship flashed behind your eyelids, before going back on themselves. The pictures told you of the lies he’d made in the last year you’d been with him. 

Tyler watched as your entire body sighed before you started counting the cash in your pocket to leave for your bill.

Your ex didn’t get to ruin your night by being here. He didn’t get to take away your happiness, or your freedom to have fun in your bar. 

“Okay, come on.”

You looked to your side and found Tyler stood there. He took your hand in his and dragged you with him. 

“Tyler!”

“No, no.” Turning to face you as he finally reached the dance floor, he kept his eyes on yours. “He doesn’t get to take your night away. Fuck that asshole.”

“That’s my problem. I did fuck that asshole. And then he fucked someone else.”

“Then let him.” Tyler told you. “You deserved better than him, anyway. You still do. Do you know how to dance?”

You were in shock. You and Tyler were never exactly close. Sure, you’d talked over text, but that was mostly in the Group unless you needed to contact him directly for something about a fundraiser or an appearance at a school to help students when it came to Tornado warnings. 

After a moment, you shook your head. 

He gave a curt nod and stepped closer to you. “That’s okay. I can teach you. Is it okay if I put my hand here?”

You looked to see where he meant. It was around your back. You nodded. 

“Okay, just keep your eyes on me. I’ll make sure you don’t trip.”

With one hand in his and your other on his arm, your eyes fell to the floor as you mirrored his steps. “I think you’re underestimating my two left feet.”

Tyler smiled with a small chuckle, and pulled you a little closer before tilting your chin up until your eyes met his. “Eyes on me, Sweetheart. I promise, I won’t let you trip. And nobody can be a worse dance partner than Boone.”

“You’ve danced with Boone?”

“Somebody had to teach him how to dance. I think my feet are still bruised.”

You smiled. “I’ll try and not make them worse.”

Tyler smiled as your eyes found his own, again. You were relaxing into the music. You were trusting him to take the lead. And before you knew it, the pair of you were two-stepping further into the dancefloor, a bright smile shared between the both of you. 

Four songs, two line dances, and one group square dance later, you found yourself back in the comfort of Tyler’s arms as he held his hand out to you from where you had both sat down at the table. 

With a nod and a genuine smile, you took hold of his hand and let him lead you towards the middle of the dancefloor. Tonight might have been the first time you’d both danced together, but somehow, it felt familiar. Routine. To be in his arms, to have his hand in yours, to have only him in front of your eyes and in your mind as you both softly danced to the slow song that played from the Jukebox Band on stage. 

“Thank you,” you found yourself saying. 

Tyler lifted his head from yours to look at you, and you did the same. “What do you mean?”

“I was about to go home. I would have spent the next twenty-four hours wanting to be alone and depressed. Instead, you did something else no-one has ever done.”

“And what is that?”

You felt yourself laugh a little. “Taught me to dance.”

Tyler’s mouth broke out into a smile before he took your hand and spun you around and back in. “You’re very welcome, but if I’m being honest, I might have had my own reasons. I need my own dance partner and, as much as I love the guy, Boone isn’t the most graceful.”

“So you’re calling me ‘graceful’? Have to say, that’s never been a word people have used to describe me.”

“Really?” Tyler sounded genuinely shocked. “All because you couldn’t dance?”

You felt a small blush heat under your cheeks. “Maybe I was in need of the right partner.”

Tyler felt himself blush. “Maybe you were. But I’d still call you graceful. I don’t know what people have described you as, but- if you don’t mind me saying.”

You shook your head. Coming from him, something in you didn’t mind a bit. In fact, you wanted to know. 

“I think you’re so much more than whatever people tell you.” 

When his gaze locked on yourself, you felt the rest of the room disappearing. 

“You’re beautiful. In your mind, in your heart and in your soul.”

You could feel your heart beginning to race. 

“Nobody should ever make you feel anything less than that. You’re an incredible human being, Y/n. We’re lucky to have you. I-”

Tyler felt the words catch in his throat. He didn’t want to scare you away. But he needed to tell you. He wanted to tell you. 

“I’m lucky to have you.”

You smiled as you watched Tyler. He was one of the kindest men you’d ever met. Maybe he had a wild side, but that was what made him so good at his job. Beneath all of the adrenaline chasing, Tyler had a heart and soul unlike any other. He loved his team, his family, his job and his life. 

Slowly, leaning up, you pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

“I’m lucky to have you, too.”

Tyler smiled and slowly, the rest of the room started to fade back in, slowly. 

“You should come out with us more. Who knows? You might just catch the bug for chasing Tornados?”

You smiled. “Boone has been trying to get me to come chasing for years. What makes you think I’ll change my mind now?”

Tyler smiled. “We’ll go out tomorrow. The data is showing a small EF-1. Just me and you. After all, you can’t stay in the van forever.”

Tyler could tell by your smile you were deliberating it. 

“You know,” you started. “Boone isn’t going to be happy we’re chasing without him.”

Tyler smiled. You had agreed. “I’ll make it up to him.”

Your smile settled onto your face. “Okay then. But just this one.”

Tyler nodded as you both slowly turned around in a circle. “We’ll see.”

Two months later, you’d been more chases than you could count. That morning Tyler had taken you out in his truck, there was a chance you could have called him an asshole (in a slightly more affectionate term) as he drove towards the tornado. 

You’d edited hours of footage but being the one in the passenger seat was something else. 

But the minute you looked up and out of the window and back to him…something changed. Something changed between you and storm chasing. Something changed between you and your job. Something changed between you and Tyler. 

Boone, once he’d been cleared of his hangover, wasn’t happy about being left out from a chase. But Tyler found a way to make it up to him. And since you left Boone to sit in the front for most of the chases, had you made it up to him, too. 

Sometimes you’d stay in the truck with Dexter and Dani but it was becoming much more routine for you to sit in the back of Tyler’s truck as he drove into another tornado. 

And on the rare opportunity. Boone would give you his seat beside Tyler in the truck. You’d get better pictures for socials that way. At least, that was his excuse. It definitely wasn’t to give the Live Feed viewers what they wanted, which was more of you and Tyler together. 

But in those two months, things had just been…teetering. You knew you felt something for Tyler, but you were too scared to let your feelings known in case he didn’t feel the same. At the end of the day, you loved your job and the team. You didn’t want to give them up because of a school girl crush you had on the Cowboy Tornado Wrangler. 

But the others saw the way Tyler looked at you, too. They’d seen it since he first met you. He never made a move considering you were in a relationship, but that didn’t stop his feelings from growing when he saw you or saw your name pop up on his phone. 

And since you started actually chasing with him…he was a goner. 

He looked at you like you hung the moon, and you looked at him in the exact same way. But apparently only the team and the comments section of the videos could see it. 

“I can’t believe the season’s almost over.”

Tyler shook his head. “We’ve still got a month or so left.”

“I know, but…I’m really enjoying it.”

He smiled proudly. “Told you you’d catch the bug.”

You and Tyler, like every weekend, had found yourselves back in each other's arms on the dancefloor, two-stepping along to another song. And being back in his arms was like your two left feet had disappeared. 

It might have also helped you’d both practised in your hotel rooms over the last couple of months. For the last month, you’d both been sharing a room since every motel that Boone and Lily found only seemed to have so many rooms left. And with the others bunking together, it left you and Tyler together. 

“I got a call, by the way. A school just outside of Wichita is wondering if you and the team will come down and talk to the kids. Most of them have seen your videos, but a lot of them are scared and the city’s local ‘what to do in a Tornado’ has scared them all half to death.”

Somehow, Tyler had this magic about him. Whenever he and the team went into school to explain about Tornados, all the kids walked away a hell of a lot less scared than they were when they walked in. In fact, most of them walked away talking to their parents about meteorology and the science behind a Tornado. 

“Of course we will.”

You smiled. “Good. Because I already said yes.”

He figured you might have done. “When do they want us there?”

“As soon as you're available.”

“We could go after this next chase? There might be an EF-3 in the next couple of days. I want to make sure people are safe.”

You nodded with a smile. “We can go after, then.”

Soon the song came to an end. “I’m gonna get a drink, want one?”

Tyler nodded as he let go of your hand and he went towards the team’s booth. “Please.”

Ordering your drinks, you waited for them to be ready. Only, as you did so, you felt the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. There was a familiar smell in the air and it made your entire skin crawl. 

Then you saw him. 

“Aren’t you meant to be in a mourning period or some shit?”

You were taken aback by his abruptness. “Excuse me?”

“We’ve been broken up for less than six months then I come in here and see you trying to flirt your way into some guy’s pants.”

“What? Like you and her over there? Tell me, is she the one from during me, or after me?”

“You bitch. She’s my girlfriend.”

“And that’s different?”

You ex stood straighter and hissed. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She’s my girlfriend. He’s just- What? You’re fuckbuddy?!”

Before you could answer, you felt a much more comforting presence behind you followed by his voice and a hat being placed on your head. 

“Boyfriend, actually.”

You turned your head and looked at Tyler who just winked and you relaxed into his arm that laid across your shoulders. 

“And I don’t appreciate you calling her a bitch.”

“How long have you been fucking him?!”

Then Tyler stepped in front of you. The hand on his back let him know he’d done the right thing. 

“You’re done talking to her now. You’re gonna talk to me. Better yet, you’re gonna listen. The biggest mistake you ever made was thinking you could find anyone better than her. Now, I’m sure your girlfriend loves you very much and I think she came out here to enjoy her evening like everyone else and doesn’t want to be kicked out with her boyfriend who’s just been given a black eye.”

“Are you threatening me? You can’t threaten-”

Then Tyler’s voice lowered, making the conversation strictly between himself and your ex. 

“The minute that hat touched her head, it let everyone know who she’s with and considering I know the owners here, them and everyone in this bar will protect her over some scumbag like you. And unless you’d like to spend a night in a cell with the County Sheriff, I suggest you and your girlfriend find some other place to have a drink and you never even think about my girl again. Do I make myself clear?”

One look around the bar to see if anyone else had seen or heard what had gone on let your ex know they had. And from the looks of the patron's faces, they were more than ready to defend both you and Tyler against the asshole standing in front of him. 

“Whatever, Dude.” Walking away, he called out for his girlfriend, grabbed her hand and walked towards the door, constantly looking over his shoulder. Especially after one of the owners followed him out of the door and watched him load himself into his car. 

Once the owner walked back inside and gave a curt nod to Tyler, everyone went back to normal and Tyler turned back around to face you. 

“I’m sorry if-”

“Thank you.”

Tyler was expecting you to tell him off, or yell at him. Say something that made sure he knew never to do that again unless you asked. 

“What-”

“Nobody has ever done that for me before and, if I’m being honest, I was 90% sure he would have done more than just yell at me whilst I was here. So, thank you.”

“I meant what I said. You should never let anyone make you feel less than what you are. You’re beautiful, Y/n. Inside and out.”

You smiled and turned towards one of the beer bottles that had been placed in between you and Tyler in order to hide the blush of your cheeks. “Nice touch, by the way. With the hat.”

There was a slight twinkle in Tyler’s eyes along with his semi-confused and intrigued look. 

“You know about the hat?”

“You explained it to him, didn’t you?”

Then he realised. “Oh, yeah. Yeah. Right.” And nervously took a long swig of his own drink. 

But then you removed it from your head. “You’re gonna want this back.”

And for a moment, Tyler held it in his hand, deliberating on what he wanted to do, vs what he should do. 

He shook his head and handed it back to you. “Keep it. In case he thinks about coming back.”

“I don’t think he will.”

“Well, if he does. He’ll get the message.”

It took you a moment, but keeping your eyes on his, you placed the hat back on your head. Tyler swallowed another gulp of his drink and turned to face you before he fixed the hat on your head. 

“Better?” You asked. 

Tyler nodded as he looked away. He had to hide his blush somehow. “It suits you.”

Then the next song came on. 

“Come on, let's dance.”

Taking Tyler’s hand, you dragged him back to the dancefloor. 

By the end of the night, you all walked back towards the motel considering it was only a block or two away. Down the road, Lily and Boone were giving each other piggy-back rides, Dani was listening to Dexter talk about everything he knew about Tornados and where Tyler would usually be on his own at this point in the night, he found you right next to him, still wearing his hat. 

“Careful.” 

Tyler took your hand in his as he pulled you away from a deep puddle in the path. 

“Thanks.”

When you’d both finally made it to dry concrete, your hand never left Tyler’s. 

“What are you thinking about? You look like you’re in deep conversation with yourself under that hat.”

You broke into a small smile. “I am.”

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing important,” you shook your head. 

“Try me.”

Looking at Tyler, you took in a breath and looked back at the sidewalk. “Okay. I’m thinking about what to do.”

“About what?”

You stopped in your tracks and looked at where your hand was interlinked with Tyler’s. Then you looked him in his eyes. 

“I know you were just helping me before, with my ex and…everything. But…”

Shit. You cursed yourself over and over again. But you didn’t want to waste any more time in your life. 

Just spit it out. You told yourself. 

“Is..is there a world…maybe…where…” You took in a tough breath. “Where would you want something more?”

“Something more?”

You cursed yourself for a whole other reason now. You’d dug your grave this far. Might as well hope for it to collapse on top of you. 

“Something more between…us?”

The next ten seconds were the longest ten seconds of your life. You were pretty sure you’d died three lifetimes over by the time you felt like you were back in your body again. 

“You know what, forget I said-”

“Yes.”

You felt yourself physically stall. “What?”

“Yes. I want something more. There is a world where I want something more. And it’s this one.”

You didn’t know what to say. The others were long down the street so it was just you and Tyler. 

“I…I don’t know what to say from here. I wasn’t expecting to actually say anything.”

Tyler smiled and stepped a little closer to you. “Well, I’m glad you did.”

“Where do we go from here?”

Tyler thought about it for a moment before looking around. “Come with me.”

Tyler dragged you back down the street, over the puddle and towards a small field just off the side of the road. 

“Tyler, what are you doing?”

“Getting rid of the light pollution.” 

You felt yourself laugh. “What for?”

He pulled you a little further out into the field before the lights faded away over the hedge and all you were left with was the blanket of stars above you and Tyler. And, being back in the comfort of his arms, he danced you around a small patch of wildflowers. 

“Neither of us knew what to do, so I’m taking you on a date. Usually, we would have gone for dinner or I would have brought something with us but since we’ve done that part without knowing where we’d end up…I’m skipping to the end a little.”

“So you’re saying, for our first date, you would have packed a picnic and we would have gone stargazing? That’s…incredibly romantic.”

“Think it’s corny?” Tyler asked and then he laughed. “You think it’s corny.”

Your eyes narrowed a little. “Maybe. Just a little. But, I love it.”

There was no one else. It was just you and Tyler, dancing, under the stars. 

“I do have one question, though.”

“Shoot.”

“Would you have kissed me at the end of the date? Would we have danced under the stars then and would you have kissed me?”

“Now who’s the corny one.”

You blushed a little and laughed. “I’m serious. I’d need to know if you were a good kisser. Couldn’t wear my cowboy’s hat and not enjoy kissing him, too. And before you say anything, I know that might not be the rule. But it does come as a part of mine.”

Tyler felt most if not all of his face turn red at the thought. When you had asked him in the bar…you already knew. He was glad there were no bright street lights surrounding either of you right now. 

“Well, then, since you’re already wearing my hat…I can’t start breaking the rules now…”

With another smile, Tyler’s hand cradled your head as he pressed his lips to yours, letting his free hand hold you flush against him by the waist. 

By the time he pressed a final small kiss to your lips, with his forehead against yours, you felt your lungs scratching your chest to breathe. 

“Yep, definitely didn’t break any rules.”

Tyler let a chuckle leave his chest. “Come on, we should get back. Before the others start wondering where we got to.”

Boone and Lily had had too many beers to be left unsupervised. Last time Tyler had left either of them alone, they’d somehow chalked out an entire Tornado on the side of a motel wall. Even if it was exquisite, the motel owner wasn’t the happiest of people to see it. 

“Okay. But we’re doing this again.”

“What? The date, the kiss or the dancing?”

“All of the above.”

Tyler smiled and reached down, lifting his hat from the ground before placing it back on your head. “Good, because I wasn’t finished.”

With a smile that hurt your cheeks, Tyler took your hand in his and you both hurried your way back down the road, over the puddle and towards the motel where you both found Boone and Lily playing a very terrible version of hide-and-seek. 

But something that neither missed was the way yours and Tyler’s hands were intertwined between you both, or that in the morning and the mornings after, you and Tyler rarely left each other's side. 

And neither of you had to be pushed to share a room. 

It became a routine. Along with the dancing, kissing and storm chasing. 

But he was also banned from stepping foot on your porch. If he wanted inside, he’d have to find a way in through a window. The only time you’d let him step foot on it was when he threatened to pee on your lawn. 

For the others it was annoying; at first. But, when they realised Boone had been playing a secret game with both yourself and Tyler, your rivalry with each other became a form of entertainment. 

Counting how many groans Tyler would give in a minute when you talked, how many eye rolls you’d do until you’d get eyestrain. There was also a bet going on each day for who would crack first and start the long needed argument of the day; you or Tyler. 

So far, you were winning in that department. There was just something about Tyler that got under your skin even when he wasn’t around. Most of the extra argument you had with him had started with yourself against, well, yourself. 

However, there seemed to be an accepted concept that only you and Tyler were allowed to fight each other. If anyone else wanted to argue or start something with you or Tyler, away from those working as a Tornado Wrangler, they’d get an earful. 

The others had seen it. 

Twice in a bar in Arkansas where Tyler had stepped in front of you after two different men on two separate occasions started to get a little more physical with their opinions. Despite what your feelings were for each other, you were still a part of Tyler’s team. He and the others could fight you on different opinions – verbally, never physically – but others had to know where to leave their opinions. 

And three times in diners up and down the interstate. Granted, two of those occasions were because of one specific StormPar analyst who clearly didn’t get the message the first time round; but the second was a complete stranger who called Tyler some things that didn’t agree with you. Not only was he attacking Tyler for his job, but he was indirectly attacking your profession. So you stood up for him, and the other Wranglers. And, indirectly, StormPar. That part you hated, but at the end of the day, you all had the same job. 

But one day, the rest of the Wranglers were met with a scene they never in a million years thought they’d discover. 

You and Tyler, in a kitchen together. Your kitchen. Where the knives, and scissors and other kitchen utensils that could have been used as a weapon were kept. Cooking. Dancing. Talking. Laughing. 

Together.

“Should…” Kate looked around at the others to make sure they were seeing the same thing she was. “Should we do something?”

Dani gave her a similar expression. “I..I don’t know what’s even happening right now.”

“You are seeing what I’m seeing, right?” Boone asked, unable to take his eyes from the kitchen window and backdoor. 

“Uh-huh.” Was the main consensus. 

“Good,” Boone almost whimpered. “Good. Just wanted to check.”

“Do we just…go in?” Lily asked but Dexter held out his hand. 

“N-not yet. I want to see what happens. We might not see this again.”

So they did. For ten solid minutes. 

Neither you or Tyler had heard or seen them, so you just continued cooking. Obviously, they’d noticed a slight difference in both you and Tyler in recent weeks. There were less fights. There wasn’t always complete agreement, but since no fight was made, acceptance was the only thing left to do. 

But never had they expected the recent silences to lead to…whatever the hell was happening to you and Tyler. 

Whilst watching you and Tyler in the kitchen, Lily and Kate let out two small gasps which they managed to cover up with the help of Boone and Javi. 

Tyler had touched you. Walking behind you to get to the stove, he’d laid a gentle hand on your hip, guiding you to the side as you reached into the cupboard. And you didn’t yell. You didn’t curse him out. 

In fact, you smiled. 

You both smiled. 

The rest of the Wranglers continued to watch on in intrigue. 

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, both you and Tyler had no idea of what spectacle was going on outside. 

It had been an odd transition for you and Tyler; going from arguing over almost every little thing to civil understanding and preference of each other. 

And it had all started weeks previously in a crappy motel room in Oklahoma. 

“I’m telling you, we’ve stayed here before. The owner hates me.” Boone said as he lifted his bag from the back of Tyler’s truck. 

“No she doesn’t.”

“She does! Man, I’m telling you, the lady hates me.”

You opened up the passenger door to Lily’s car and stepped out, laying your hand on the roof of the car. “And why would she hate you?”

Boone got a little sheepish. “I dunno. She just does.”

“Maybe because the last time we stayed here you did a cartwheel into her trash cans and woke the entire motel.” Dani pointed out. 

“It could have been raccoons.” 

Tyler laid a hand on Boone’s shoulder. “No raccoon can scream ‘help, I think I’ve made a banana split with my elbow’.”

Moving towards the office, yourself and Kate booked into the last rooms available before handing everyone their keys. There were two twin rooms so Boone and Tyler took one and Dani and Kate took the other. That left you, Lily, Dexter and Javi to the other single rooms. 

Since your room was on the second floor with Tyler, Boone and Lily; Dexter placed your bags by the bottom of the stairs. 

And Tyler was about to carry yours up when you got there before him. 

“I can carry my own.”

He lifted his hand away and picked up Lily’s instead. “Alright.”

You started making your way up the stairs, Tyler hot on your heels. “You know, it’s okay to accept help sometimes.”

“I’m aware.”

“I would have left it outside your door.”

“I don’t need your help. I can do it on my own.”

Tyler held his hands up in surrender, the bags over his shoulders. “Okay. I’m just saying I won’t hurt to just accept help every once in a while.”

You reached the top of the stairs. “But I didn’t need it. I’m a grown adult, Owens. I can carry my own stuff.”

Twenty minutes after getting settled you headed back down to the trucks and sat beside Dani and Kate. The rest of the night went as smoothly as normal. Laughter, stories, petty arguments over how to make chilli, more stories, discussions over which tornado to chase the next day, disagreements over which one to choose, shared hatred for StormPar and not wanting them to get one up on the Wranglers, a few more tales and jokes from Boone before he spotted the owner walking across the parking lot which forced him into hiding in the back of Tyler’s flatbed; all before finally going to bed. 

But as you drifted off into a seemingly dreamless sleep, there was no way to prepare yourself for what you would wake up to. 

Tyler Owens in his pajamas. 

Boone had started snoring almost the minute his head hit the pillow. Sometimes Tyler was envious of how deeply Boone could sleep. Some mornings it took both himself, Lily, Dani and you to wake him up. 

It was usually the only time in the morning where you and Tyler didn’t argue over how to wake Boone up. You’d bicker with him about being unable to wake Boone up before you’d walk into the room and realise why. 

The first time it happened, you’d both bickered in hushed tones over how best to wake him up and that maybe Tyler hadn’t tried hard enough. Then you came to an agreement. 

Dani and Lily went and grabbed a duvet and some extra sheets to lay on the floor before Tyler counted to three and lifted the mattress from underneath Boone with you. 

It was the only thing other than a true tornado siren that could wake him. 

Tyler on the other hand…he was a light sleeper compared to Boone. Though, most people would be light sleepers compared to Boone. 

Usually it took a good twenty minutes before Tyler would be able to fall asleep and if he heard anything out of the ordinary, like trash cans falling, alarms going off, doors opening or closing, or something heavy hitting the ground, he’d wake up. 

And that was why he found himself looking around his room in the darkness when he stirred awake before he heard something heavy hit the ground before a glass smashing on the ground followed it. 

It wasn’t in his room. Boone was still snoring. The lamp was still on his bedside table. The same went for Boone. 

Then something popped into his head. 

The only room he shared a wall with was yours. On the other side was just a very dense wall. 

Then in the silence, he heard a voice. Your voice. 

Whipping the bedcovers from him, he pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and darted out of his room, trying his best to not wake Boone in the process. He couldn’t alert everyone. For all he knew you were still awake and had dropped one of the box files off your bed or something. 

But when he stood outside of your room, there was no light in the window and the curtains were drawn completely. So he knocked lightly, but you didn’t answer. But your voice was a little louder. You sounded…stressed. Panicked. 

So he tried the door handle and when it opened after the third try, he made a mental note to let the owner know the door locks were still shitty. Then he opened it up. 

You felt like your entire body was being crushed underneath the rubble you’d found yourself caught in. Children were screaming and crying for their parents, the sky just kept growing darker until the wind that was howling started roaring together like every King of the Jungle had decided to descend on a small town and take out each building that stood, one by one. 

But just as the pressure of the air started forcing your lungs to your spine, a gust of air was let into your lungs again as you shot up and found two hands on your arms. 

Your legs kicked around, trying to find familiar ground. All the while, your entire body had gone from fire hot with clammy air to freezing cold with the amount of sweat that was being attacked by fresh air. 

And just as you came to realise where you actually were, you came to recognise the voice that the extra set of hands belonged to. 

“Hey, take it easy. Take it easy, it’s me.” Tyler told you. “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, it’s me. It’s Tyler. Look at me, it’s me. Take it easy.”

Finally setting your feet on rough carpet, your vision managed to focus in the dark and you found Tyler in his pajamas crouching on the floor in front of you. 

“Tyler?”

“Yeah,” his voice was soft as he spoke to you. “It’s me. I heard a thud. Are you okay?”

You looked at him but you couldn’t find the words to answer him. Your entire body was shaking from the shock of reality and from the nightmare you’d just been trapped inside of. 

“Sorry.” Tyler quickly apologised. “That was a stupid question. You don’t have to answer that.”

You didn’t know what to do, so you just held onto his hand. 

“You’re shaking.” Tyler whispered. “Here.” 

Standing up, he reached for the top blankets from your bed before he wrapped it around your shoulder, tucking your hair behind your ear before kneeling back on the floor. 

“Just, take some deep breaths.” Tyler took hold of both of your hands. “Follow me. In, and out. In, and out. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry.” You eventually spoke, but Tyler just looked at you both concerned and confused.

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything. Was it a nightmare?”

You swallowed thickly as you nodded. “Yeah.”

Tyler had never heard your voice as weak as it was when you said that. 

“Do they happen often?”

You shook your head before taking a deep breath and tucking your hair back behind your ear. “They used to, but I haven’t had one in a while.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You shook your head, unable to bring yourself to use words. So Tyler just nodded. “Okay. That’s okay.”

Then he went to stand and instinctively, you reached out for his hand. “Don’t…don’t leave. Not yet. Please?”

Looking up at you, Tyler’s expression softened. He could still feel your hand trembling in his, and he could see the fear in your eyes at the thought of being left alone in that moment. 

Tyler shook his head as he stood. “I’m not going anywhere. Come here.” 

Leaning up, Tyler pulled you into a hug and within an instant, you hugged him back. He could feel your fingertips making imprints in his back as you held onto him for dear life. And then he did something that he wouldn’t think about until long into the afternoon the next day. 

He pressed a kiss to your head as he leaned back before he stood and sat next to you on the bed. There, he placed a comforting arm around you as he pulled you inside his side and he pressed a small kiss to the top of your head. 

Then he saw the time on your phone where a weather warning notification popped up. 

“We should try and get some sleep. I’ll stay with you. Let me get you some water.”

You didn’t say a word, but you were thankful nonetheless. 

Tyler pressed a third kiss to your head before he stood and helped you back onto your bed where he lifted up the bed covers before letting them float back down on top of you before he moved towards the bathroom, collecting and replacing your lamp onto your bedside table and grabbing a fresh glass from the tea and coffee station on your desk. 

Tyler sat on the edge of the bed beside you as he handed you the glass which you took with a shaky hand. He took it back from you before putting it down and getting into bed beside you. 

He didn’t say anything else other than; “You’re safe.” when he clasped your hand in his between you both in your bed. 

Waking the next morning, your hand was still in his. 

“How’d you sleep?”

Looking up from where your eyes were focused on your hand in Tyler’s, a small smile gracing your face before you could stop it, you were met with Tyler. 

And, for a moment, all sense of ability to talk left you. If someone would have told you that waking up next to Tyler Owens wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, you wouldn’t have believed them. 

“Good.” You eventually answered him, your voice in a whisper. “Thank you for staying.”

Tyler just smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

You felt yourself smile before you looked away and back at your hand that was still in his. Feeling his fingers float over your skin before he pressed a small squeeze to your hand, your squeezed back. However, just as you felt yourself move closer towards Tyler, his grip getting a little steadier in your hand, a knock came to your door. 

“Y/n! Come on! You’re gonna miss it!” 

Kate’s voice rang through your room before she ran next door and banged on Boone’s door. 

“Boone! Tyler! Come on! Javi’s got a reading! Hurry!”

You and Tyler sprung from your bed and ran towards the door whilst Boone was slowly dragging himself from his bedroom, unaware that Tyler wasn’t in his room with him. 

You and Tyler squinted in the bright light of the morning before looking down the hall and seeing Boone shuffle out of his room wrapped in a blanket. “Tyler, man, Kate-” He yawned. “Kate’s calling.”

“Man, I’m here.”

Boone opened his eyes. “Oh. Kate’s calling.”

With a small sigh, you walked towards the balcony and looked over the edge. “Kate!”

She ran out from underneath it, a wide excited smile on her face. “Come on! Before we miss it!”

Both yourself and Tyler looked at each other before looking at Boone. 

“I’ve got him. Just get dressed.”

You nodded and ran back into your room, hearing Tyler force Boone back around to get dressed. Three minutes later you threw the door open just as Tyler and Boone left their room. 

“Guys! Come ON!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming.” You said as you walked down the stairs. 

Boone yawned again. “What time is it anyway?”

Tyler looked at his dash. “A little after seven.”

“Seven?!”

Kate was rushing behind you, shoving different things into the van. “Y/n, you go with Tyler. I want to catch the data on this one.”

You didn’t have time to respond, but Tyler caught the look of growing fear in your expression. 

“It’ll be okay. You’re safe.”

Taking his word for it, you nodded before hopping into the back of his truck behind his seat whilst Boone crawled into the passenger seat, starting up the video to complain about the time of day but ultimately what they were doing. 

Kate ran past his window in a rush explaining what she and Javi had found. 

Looking in his rearview mirror, Tyler spotted you. 

“It’ll be okay. There’s a harness and-”

You looked at him and nodded. “I trust you.”

Tyler didn’t know what else to say, so he just stayed quiet and smiled. You’d never actually said those words out loud, that you trusted him. You’d also refused to go in his truck with him – even before he banned you from it. 

But he believed you. 

Because you meant it. 

If you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t have agreed to Kate’s offer. If you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t work with him. 

Deep down, if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t have asked him to stay. 

Twenty minutes later, you were all heading towards the town before taking a sharp right and heading straight towards the rolling crop fields. Then you went off road. 

It was bumpy to say the least. Shaking you all in your seats, Boone tried to get some usable footage out of it before you turned to the radio for Kate’s next instruction. 

“Watch out for a dip. Apparently one of the farmers tried to dig a mine out here.” Javi called out over the radio just before you spotted it. 

“Tyler, watch out for the dip!”

“On it.”

Turning the steering wheel, he should have avoided it. But apparently it was a lot wider than it seemed, sending you all rocking out of your seats and back again twice over. In the meantime, your hand had gone from holding onto the back of Tyler’s chair to hold you steady, to holding his shoulder to pull him back down. 

“Hold back, guys.” Tyler called out over the radio. 

“You guys okay?” Lily asked. 

“We’re fine.” Tyler lifted his hand and rested it over yours that remained on his shoulder, his thumb stroking at your knuckles. “Just shook up. Kate, you got any sign of that tornado.”

Two days later, everyone was back at Kate’s farm and you had driven home but not before leaving something by Tyler’s door. 

However, a few hours later, a familiar truck started pulling up your driveway and towards your home. 

Sitting on the porch swing, you were backlit by the warm lights of the living room lamps whilst Tyler was swimming in the blanket of the night sky and stars. 

“What are you doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same thing.” Tyler said before he stopped, six feet short of your porch. “I got your pie.”

“I made it as a thank you,” you said. “You…you didn’t have to stay when…when you did.” Your eyes fell from his gaze to your hands as you picked at your fingers. 

“You don’t have to thank me.” Tyler said as he shook his head, walking forward some more until he was walking up the steps of your porch. 

Then he leaned against the wooden pole. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You looked away again, back at your hands. “They’re nothing.”

“Y/n…” 

With a few moments of silence exchanged in between your shared look with Tyler, you eventually let that wall down. “They’re nothing big. Really. They can just be…intense?”

Tyler waited and listened to every word you wanted to say. 

“I used to get them more but in the last couple of years they’ve just been as common as regular nightmares. Just a little more intense.”

“Does anyone else know?”

You shook your head. “You’re the only one.”

“What about Kate?”

You shook your head. “No. It just…never came up. The other night was the first time it’s been like that for a while.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded as you looked at Tyler. “It was about all of us. We got trapped by an EF-3 but it just kept growing until I was under it. When you came in, a pile of rubble had just been dropped from the tornado.”

“Does something trigger them?”

You could only shrug. “They just kinda appear on their own, I guess.”

Tyler could see the weight that you carried on your shoulders because of it. The way your entire body seemed tense whilst you tried to force it to relax. The way you picked at your fingers, trying to force away the memory of being in that nightmare. 

Looking around your land, he got an idea. 

“Come with me.”

“What?”

Tyler turned around and ran down your porch stairs. “Come on.”

“Tyler-” You had to stand to see him as he ran off back towards his truck. “What are yo- Where are you going?”

Holding something in his hand, he ran to his flatbed before running off towards the side of your house and into the grass field. 

“Just come on!”

With a small huff of curiosity and slight worry that Tyler had completely lost the plot, you ran over and followed him before you found him removing his boots and socks. 

“Tyler, what are you doing?”

“We’re dancing.”

“What?”

Tyler just held a wide grin on his face as he set the tape into the player. 

“You need to relax; get out of your head. So, we’re dancing.”

You looked down at his feet and back again. “Barefoot?”

“Are you gonna keep fighting me on this, or are you gonna join me?”

Pressing play, he turned the dial up and ran out into the grass. You had two options; leave him on his own and remain on the sidelines. Or, take your shoes and socks off and join him. 

You chose option two. 

Curling your socks up inside your shoes and leaving them by his boots, you went out into the short grass field and joined him. 

And you just…

Danced. 

Leading you in a two-step, Tyler spun you around the grass until you found yourself in a fit of giggles. You didn’t know how long you and Tyler danced, but it was long enough for the songs on his tape to transfer towards slower songs that meant you and Tyler were slow-dancing under the stars whilst barefoot in the grass. 

With one of your hands clasped in his, a hand on your waist and your hand on his arm, Tyler leaned into you. His cheek resting against your temple, you both swayed gently with the breeze all the while, blades of grass softened under your feet. 

“Tyler?”

He hummed. 

“I know you said I don’t have to thank you-”

“Y/n.” You could hear the smile in his voice as he said your name. 

You leaned back to look at him. “No, I mean it. You’re the first person to ever do this for me, and given our track record, nobody would have blamed you for ignoring me completely.”

A small smile graced his lips. “I’d never ignore you, Y/n.”

“But no one would have blamed you.”

Tyler just shook his head before turning you out and around, then pulling you back in. “If I ignored you, I’d never be able to thank you for the pie. How did you know apple was my favourite?” 

You felt yourself laugh. “Tyler, I’m being serious.”

Holding you back in his arms, Tyler nodded. “I know. But so am I. I’d never ignore you, Y/n. You’re too important to me.”

“I thought we hated each other?”

Tyler just shook his head. “I’ve never hated you, Y/n. You might have been the biggest pain in my ass for a while, but I never hated you.”

“Not once?”

“Not once,” he confirmed. 

You felt your heart sink a little with guilt. “Now I feel bad.”

Tyler just chuckled. “Don’t be. We were a thorn in each other’s side. Besides, I think it’s been giving the others some pretty good entertainment.”

“You know about Kate and Boone, too?”

Tyler gave you a confused look. “I was talking about Javi and Dexter. Wait, what happened with Kate and Boone?”

“They’ve been running some kind of bet on us for months.”

“Really?”

“You haven’t noticed?”

Tyler shook his head. “No.”

“Why do you think Kate keeps making scores in that little notebook of hers?”

“The blue one?”

You shook your head. “The brown one.” Then you remembered. “Why? What’s happening with Javi and Dexter?”

“Just whisperings. I can’t believe they’ve been keeping score.” Tyler paused for a moment. “Who do you think’s winning?”

Laughing, you pushed Tyler away before he took hold of your hands and pulled you back in with a twist. 

After that night, things started to change between you and Tyler. There were less petty arguments, but some more purposeful ones remained in order to make sure Kate was, in fact, keeping score. 

She was. 

There were also less intense glares, more silent conversations being had, even when a rodeo crowd separated you both. 

And then something else was added into the mix. 

You couldn’t quite place what it was but it was…something. Something that, each time you locked eyes with him, it made your heart jump inside your chest. Something that made you want to see his smile more, and hear his voice more. Something that made you want to be surrounded by him. 

What you didn’t know was that you weren’t alone in the feeling. 

Each time Tyler saw your smile, heard your laugh or felt your hand by his, his heart seemed to want to explode inside his chest. Of course, he wasn’t a stranger to the feeling. He’d had the same feelings for you for a while. 

The first time it happened was when he’d seen a genuine smile spread across your face when sat around the campfire by his truck when Boone was attempting to reenact Lily’s middle school cheerleading solo. 

He’d seen you smile before – though it was rare – but he’d never seen…you. In the glow of the campfire, joy in your eyes and smile, he knew he would wait a thousand lifetimes just to see you smile like that, again. 

Since dancing with you barefoot in the grass, Tyler had only seen your smile more. 

Which only made him fall faster. 

It all came to a head one evening. He’d just parked in your driveway, walking up the steps of your porch when you opened your front door with two tins of paint in your hands. 

You’d been painting your porch since the weather was nice and no storms were expected to develop over the next few days. Since he had some time free, he offered to help.

And sat on the grass, hours later, watching the clouds roll by in the sunset; your fingers and arms splattered with white paint, you and Tyler talked. 

Until, eventually, you both walked over to the tin bucket and began to wipe the paint away. 

“It’s not coming off.”

“Come ‘ere.” Tyler took your hand in his before dunking the cloth into the water and wiping away the stubborn paint on the edge of your palm. 

It was then that the world seemed to get quiet. There were no loud noises from up above, there were no incoming tornado warnings or people bustling about during the rodeo. There were no teammates trying to keep score of words or tones. 

There was just you and Tyler. 

Whether he kissed you, or you kissed him, first would be up for debate later. But until then, all you wanted was to be with him. To have his hands in yours. To have his lips on yours. To have his arms wrap around you in such a way that, for the first time, ever, you felt stable. All noise was drowned away, all worries cut their ties from your mind until all that was left was pure happiness. 

Which brought you to the moment all the Wranglers had agreed to come to your home for the day to take a break from the data, and the science. and the dragging of time being sat on the phone with different companies whose interest only ran so far into meteorology. 

“What time are they supposed to be getting here?”

You looked at the clock on your kitchen wall. “They should have been here twenty minutes ago.”

Tyler’s brow furrowed. “I’ll give them a call.”

And so he did. 

You’d both been together ever since. 

However, it wasn’t until after you both experienced an EF-4 whilst ‘off duty’ that you found something out about yourself. 

You were in love with Tyler. 

Of course, you’d always loved him as a friend. He was your best-friend and had been for years. Except, until that moment, you didn’t realise how deeply. And you couldn’t remember when it had happened. Had it been right away and you just confused it with friendship love? Or was it long after you made friends with him? 

You had a thousand and one questions about it, but something you didn’t question was how Tyler felt about you. Of course, he loved you, too. You were one of his best friends. But that was how he loved you. As a friend. 

And you were happy with that. More so considering letting your new fact be known out-loud might not only cost you your job but also your long time friendship with someone who you considered family.

Except, as time went on, you picked up on more and more things. Like how you always leaned into him, or found yourself by his side at most times of the day. Or like how he threw his arm around you when everyone sat around the campfire, or how you’d fall asleep beside him only to wake up in your bed the next morning. 

Or like how he’d always called you ‘Sweetheart’. Like he just did, when he asked you to hand him the socket wrench. 

“You know, you gotta stop calling me that. People are gonna think we’re together.”

Tyler took the wrench from you with a small chuckle. “But I always call you that.”

“That’s my point. What if someone wants to chat you up but they think you’re with me?”

“But I am with you.” Tyler told you. 

You scoffed and kicked the sole of his boot lightly. “I’m being serious. What if you miss out on meeting your wife? The mother of your children because she thinks you’re with me?”

From under his truck, Tyler rolled out. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Why?”

Everything wasn’t fine, but the less he knew about it the better. 

“You’ve never had a problem with me calling you Sweetheart before.”

You shrugged, trying your best to remain casual about it. “I was just thinking about it, s’all.”

Tyler hummed in confusion before disappearing back beneath his truck. “Okay, I’ll try not to call you Sweetheart in public anymore.”

Though he couldn’t see, you gave a small nod to thank him. You didn’t want to let him know that it was killing you asking that of him. You loved when he called you different nicknames, because that was him. If nothing else was right in the world, you knew he was. 

But the more and more you became aware of who you were when you were with him, the more you started to think about how it would start to affect him, even if he didn’t realise it. 

Except, for as much as he tried, he still slipped up every now and again. 

But the second time you told him to stop calling you that, he’d fully done it with intent. 

Another week, another motel. Only, this time there weren’t enough rooms to go around, with the rodeo in town. So, whilst you stood and listened to everyone fight over who had to share, you searched for some sticks before shoving them into the middle of the group circle. 

“Lily, here. Whoever pulls the short straw shares. I need the bathroom.”

So, you disappeared. 

However, when you came back, you found most of your family disappearing into their own rooms whilst Tyler was still standing inside of the motel office. 

“I think he’s gonna need your help.” Lily told you as she grabbed her bag from her car. 

A little confused, you followed her advice and headed for the office. Only when you opened the door…

“Ty, Lily said-”

“Sweetheart! There you are. Thought you’d gotten lost.” You were about to correct him and tell him to stop calling you when suddenly, you found yourself being dragged to his side. “Molly, this is my girlfriend.”

“She’s not your wife?”

Tyler seemed to panic for a moment. 

What the hell was going on?

“Is everything-”

Tyler looked at you, but something in his eyes begged you not to ask. 

“Well, no. Not exactly.”

“Well,” the owner drawled. “How long have you two been together?”

“Just a little over ten years.”

She almost exploded. “Ten years?! And you still haven’t put a ring on it yet? Oh, honey, what are you two doing?”

Tyler chuckled a little all the while your body became fully aware of his arm around your waist and his hand at your hip. “See, that’s the thing. We wanted to get married but-”

“Your parents don’t approve?”

You practically gave yourself whiplash for how quickly you turned to look at her, an offended look on your face. Okay, maybe you didn’t look your best but you’d all been on the road for six hours and you hadn’t slept the night before. And it wasn’t your fault Tyler looked good at any time of the day. 

Tyler, a little shocked himself, shook his head. 

“Her parents don’t approve?”

“Well,” Tyler seemed to be making it up as he went along. “Her parents don’t believe in marriage.”

You came back to earth. Lying, right. 

You nodded your head. “I’d love to get married but I kinda want my folks to be there. But, we’re getting around them, aren’t we, honey?”

You tried your best to ignore how easily the pet name rolled off your tongue for Tyler. 

Tyler smiled and you could have sworn he blushed. “That’s right.”

The owner looked between you both. “Well, I suppose…that’s okay. Here’s your key. I hope you two have a nice stay.”

“We will, thank you.”

Taking the key, Tyler took hold of your hand before opening the door for you and leading you outside. Once more, your hand was in his all the way towards the car, only having him let go when he climbed into the bed of his truck to grab his luggage and your own. 

“Do you…” You looked to see if the owner was still watching. She wasn’t. “Do you wanna tell me what just happened?”

“She thinks we’re together.”

“That’s my point.” You told him. “Why?”

He hopped down from his truck. “Boone took the short straw and since you were in the bathroom, the others called their own rooms. But, since he’s eaten nothing but spicy tacos for the last three days, I offered to share with you.”

“What a gentleman.”

Tyler smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“That still doesn’t explain why she thinks we’re together.”

“Hey,” Tyler held his hands up. “I was gonna correct her but then she started talking about how nobody who wasn’t wed shouldn’t share a room. So, when you walked in, I just rolled with it. The next motel is an hour away, but the rodeo in town is probably booked up.”

And everyone was tired. Dragging everyone back on the road would just feel illegal. 

So, taking your bag from him, you followed him up to your shared room. With just one bed. 

Considering the owner didn’t like unmarried couples sharing a room, it shouldn’t have been as much of a shock as it was. 

“Want me to take the floor? You already offered to share, seems fair.”

Tyler shook his head. “That bed could fit me, you, and probably a herd of cattle.”

You rolled your eyes before walking inside and dumping your bag on the small bench by the window. 

“We can share.”

Remember; normal. 

You and Tyler had shared a bed a hundred times before. This was no different. Other than your self-aware feelings for him and the fact that you’d been trying to complete less of them ever since. 

“Okay.”

And like normal, you both took your registered sides. Tyler by the door, you by the window. 

Barely an hour later, both yourself and Tyler were lying in bed staring at the ceiling. 

“How many people do you think have lied about being married just to get a room here?”

You shrugged. “Considering there are like, a thousand romance books out there with the main couples doing that exact thing…I guess…a lot.”

Tyler turned to you with a shocked smile on his face. 

“What?”

“You read romance books?”

You furrowed your brows a little. If you had been talking to anyone else, or talking to Tyler before you found yourself harbouring such a big secret from not only him but also yourself, you would have owned it. 

But this was a man you had secretly been in love with for god only knows how long. 

“I read other stuff, too.” You managed to stutter out. 

“I’ve never once seen you read a book that isn’t a textbook.”

“And? Plenty of people read romance. That’s why it’s a genre.”

“So, what else happens in these romances of yours?”

“They’re not my romances.” You clarified. But nothing could wipe that shit-eating grin from his face. 

“Are they all as cheesy as they used to be?”

You found yourself stumped at that question. “Used to be? Wait, you’ve read a romance book?”

Tyler nodded. “Just after I got stomped on by my second bull, I was waiting with the medic. I got bored and she gave me a book to read.”

“And how was it?”

“Cheesy,” Tyler said. “But the cover did have a half naked man on the cover. The doc tried to pass it off as her friends, but since she went bright red in the face, I knew it was her. So, what are yours?”

Then he started listing off different characters, revelling in the embarrassment it was causing you to admit it to him. 

“A hot firefighter who saves kittens from trees? A…18th century Duke from London, England who just so happens to ‘hate’ his sister’s best friend? That was what the Doc’s book was. Oh my god, is it a Prince in disguise who falls in love with the local baker and they win a pie contest together?”

“You’re an asshole.” You told him before turning over. 

“Oh, come on.” Tyler laughed. “Just tell me. If you don’t, I can always ask Boone to go through your goodreads. Maybe I want to buy you one for your birthday, but I don’t know which one you’ve already-”

“It’s cowboys.” You felt like you were shouting. 

“What?” You could already hear the grin on his face, which made you only try and repress yours. But he heard it anyway. 

“It’s cowboys. Bull riders, ranch owners, cowboys. Those are the romances I, mainly, read.”

You managed to build up enough courage to turn onto your back, only to look over and see Tyler’s smile still on his face. 

“Go on, go ahead. Laugh at it.”

“Are any of them Tornado Wranglers?” 

With a laugh behind your voice, you threw a pillow at his head. “Shut up and go to sleep.”

From behind you, you heard him laugh as he fixed his pillow. “Whatever you say, Sweetheart.”

You turned the lamp off. “Go to sleep.”

He was still smiling as he turned his own off. “Night, Sweetheart.”

By the time you woke up in the morning, you were scrambling to find out where you were. 

In your head, you’d been in bed with Tyler. You’d all been sitting around the campfire, listening to Tyler finally agree to tell an actual spooky story. Of course, after scaring the crap out of you, Dexter told a nicer one which…you fell asleep to. Only, you’d woken to Tyler being in your bed. He’d carried you to bed. Again. But, just as you were laying in his arm, you felt the ground beneath you begin to shake before a cold draft came up the back of your neck. 

By the time you turned to look at the window, you saw…

Flying cows. 

Tuning back around, everything went from colourful to dim. Almost black and white. You could just about make Tyler out beneath the covers but each time you took a step, you found yourself unable to move. 

But when you finally did move, a pair of arms reached for you and held you back to the window. 

You woke up with a start, trying to figure out where you were. 

You were in bed. 

With a pair of arms around you. 

You sat up. 

You were in bed. 

In a motel. 

With Tyler. 

You were in bed with Tyler. 

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, you nearly gave yourself whiplash. The window was open a little. Tyler must have woken up in the night and opened it. But there were no flying cows. You made a mental note to not watch The Wizard of Oz, and have it be the last thing you watch, before bed.

Looking down at a sleeping Tyler, you noticed where his arms were around you. Around your back, and since you’d moved to sit up quickly, across your thighs with his hand closer to your hip. 

Trying your best, you tried to ignore how attractive he looked even when he was asleep. You’d seen the same image many a hundred times in the last ten years, and yet it never got old. Of course, at the time you weren’t trying to bury feelings. 

Slowly, you tried to peel yourself from him only to have him tighten his hold on you and pull you back towards him a little. 

“S’everything okay, Sweetheart?”

Sweetheart. Morning voice. Looking like that.

“Every…” You swallowed and forced yourself to look away before he caught the heat on your cheeks. “Everything…everything’s fine.”

Having most of his face buried into his pillow, he opened up one eye and looked at you. “You’re looking a little flushed there, Sweetheart.”

The nickname rolled so easily off his tongue, you knew he didn’t notice how casually he used it with you. 

If you weren’t awake before, you were when he spoke. 

Almost throwing yourself from him, you scooted out of bed and stood up. “I’m fine. Promise. I’m gonna get some coffee.” It almost sounded like a question as you looked around for your jeans. 

From behind you, you heard him shuffle around the bedsheets. When you looked back, you almost melted at the sight. Lay there in bed, watching you with that smile on his face that you could never quite pin a meaning to. One arm behind his head, the other out of the covers and by his side, white tee on, his pj pants that you’d gotten him almost seven christmases ago just visible from the flipped corner of the bed. 

“Yeah. Coffee. You want one?”

“You sure you’re okay? You never usually have this much energy in the morning.” Tyler said. “Sure you don’t wanna wait. Don’t think the diner’s even open.”

“That’s okay.” You grabbed a random shirt from the chair by the small dining table. 

Again, that smile was on Tyler’s face. 

“I’ll be back soon.”

From their own rooms, the others watched as you left your shared room with Tyler, dressed in his shirt, looking like you’d just rolled out of bed. 

Lily: Do you think something finally happened?

Dex: If something did, I don’t think she’d look so freaked. 

Dani: Or be leaving their bed so early in the morning…

By the time Tyler had actually gotten out of bed, showered and had changed, you still weren’t back from your freaked coffee run. 

“Hey, Boone!”

“Yeah, dude?”

“You seen Y/n?”

Boone shook his head. “No. Why?”

Tyler looked…sad. And confused. “Nothing. No reason.”

But rather than wait around, he went and looked for you. And it wasn’t long before he found you. Sat inside a mostly empty cafe-diner, you were waiting on another two coffee’s to go. 

“Hey.”

Tyler could have sworn you’d jumped out of your skin. 

“Oh, hey.”

“Was starting to get worried. Need some help.”

You looked at the two coffee holders. “Uh, sure.”

Tyler watched you. You couldn’t look him in the eye. And you still looked flushed. He was starting to get worried. For years, you’d both been attached at the hip. But in the last six months, you’d asked him to stop calling you ‘Sweetheart’, had stopped leaning into him or even standing by his side when in a group. You’d stopped fighting Boone for riding shotgun with him. You’d stopped falling asleep on his shoulder or even sitting beside him at night. And he was pretty sure if the owner of the motel didn’t make a point of the married couple sharing a room, you would have taken the flatbed of his truck over sharing a room with him. 

“Are we okay?”

That got you to look him in the eye. “What?”

“I just mean…Are you sure you’re okay? In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never even been awake before a diner has opened unless you’ve had to be.”

You nodded and looked back at the drinks. “I just needed coffee, that’s all.”

“But if something was going on, you would tell me, right?”

You forced yourself to look at him, hoping he wouldn’t see through your lie. “Of course.”

Tyler nodded, but something in his gut told him you weren't telling him the full truth. 

Either way, he kept his eye on you for the rest of the day. And the days that followed. 

You’d always go to bed earlier than everyone else, or much later. He’d fall asleep watching you read over data and old textbooks but would wake up and catch a glimpse of you curled up either on the bench by the window or on the bed beside him reading a book he could only guess was a ‘Cowboy Romance’ considering a cowboy hat was just one of the small details designed into the cover. 

He’d smile and close his eyes again, listening to you turn the pages every now and again, gasp quietly or let out a soft laugh every now and again. 

Only, when the morning came round, if he woke up before you, he’d close his eyes, still holding you close because he knew the moment you woke up, you’d stay still for a moment but if he moved, you’d shoot right out of bed. 

It was getting harder and harder each day to pretend you didn’t worry him. And it was getting even harder to ignore the feeling in his chest he got each time he looked at you, or heard your voice or even thought about you. 

But all of that finally came to a head a few days after rolling into town when a tornado hit. 

All the data had shown no tornado was meant to come into town and what with the rodeo on, everyone headed down to it. Walking down there, Tyler could remember when he first brought you to one of the circuits he used to run on. He’d loved to have you there. To have you know of his life before he met you, because in a way, it put you there. Like, even if you hadn’t met til college, you had a place in all aspects of his life. 

And for the first time in months, you met his eye and smiled. Like you used to. Watching the bull riders, and the cowboys and him asking you if you remembered when you and him first attended a rodeo together. 

But just as he looked back at you, your gaze matched his for a second too long and…you looked away. Flushed, embarrassed, then…annoyed. 

Not at him. He knew that look off by heart. 

You were annoyed at yourself. 

But why?

Forcing himself to look back at the rodeo, he tried his best to not think too deeply into why you were annoyed with yourself. But it still worried him. 

But then something else worried him. 

Everyone’s alert on their phones. 

“We weren’t picking up cells this way.” 

One look shared between both yourself and Tyler let the other know what to do. People had to get to shelter there and then. And for the next fifteen minutes, everyone started running, staring up their engines to drive away or running to find shelter. 

You and the rest of the team helped who you could before finding shelter for yourselves. 

“Down here!”

Tyler pulled you closer and followed you down the steps inside the cramped underground shelter before you helped him shut the doors. Bolting it shut before the Tornado could whip them open again, you and him (like everyone else) huddled to the floor. 

With his arm across your back, you turned into him, gripping onto his shirt for dear life. And despite the rattling of the doors, people’s nervous screams and the battered weather outside, you eventually only heard one thing. 

“It’s okay. We’re okay.” 

Tyler’s voice in your ear provided soothing words that eventually started to slow your heartbeat. He pressed a kiss into your hair, his other hand coming around your front, before holding onto your hand that was gripping onto his shirt. 

“We’re okay. I promise. Just breathe, Sweetheart. Breathe with me.”

And you did. 

You didn’t know when the tornado had passed or when everyone felt like they could breathe again. But you did know you’d just fallen so deeply in love with Tyler at the thought of losing him, even if he’d been wrapped around you the entire time, that you were almost paralysed in those moments. 

Slowly, you looked back up and directly at him. Any closer and you both might have kissed. Tyler’s eyes were searching your face just as yours were searching his. He was okay. He wasn’t hurt. No scars. No bruises. 

Instinctively, he let his hand from round your back come to your face, pushing the hair from it all the while letting his finger trace your cheekbone and your cheek. 

If he didn’t fear losing you forever, he would have kissed you. 

“I love you,” he said in his head. 

“Tyler…”

He just nodded. “We’re okay.”

Leaning forward, you hugged him and he hugged you back. 

It was slow getting back to the motel. It wasn’t until early hours. You took turns getting cleaned up and for the first time in a long time, you didn’t scoot to the end of the bed only to make your way over to him in your sleep. 

As he climbed into bed, you turned towards him. 

“Come here.”

That night, you fell asleep in his embrace, listening to his heartbeat inside of his chest. Feeling his lips press a kiss to your temple twice before he locked you inside his hold, warming your entire body. 

And when a lighter morning rolled in, Tyler woke to his name being quietly called. 

You were having a nightmare. 

Holding you closer to his chest, he stroked the back of your head with one of his hands before his other hand took hold of yours. He pressed a kiss into your palm before pressing a similar one to your temple. 

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here, Sweetheart. I’m right here.”

You calmed after that. But you woke up not long after. However, before you could scoot away from him and launch yourself out of bed before your body was ready for it, he told you something.

“You were calling out for me. You were having a nightmare.”

Going off your previous track record, you were about to lie. Tell him you weren’t or that you weren’t even having a nightmare. That you’d been arguing with him or you’d been talking to him and the other Wranglers. 

But you didn’t. 

You told him the truth. 

“You were hurt.”

Tyler was a little taken aback. 

“You were hurt and I needed you to be okay.”

Tyler didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if your nightmare had been frequent or if it was just a fluke after everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. 

So all he could do was say…

“Sweetheart.” 

His voice soft, his touch even softer against your skin and yet secure in all the same aspects, he pulled you closer to him as he pressed a kiss to your head. 

“I’m okay. I promise I’m okay. I’m right here.”

He kissed your hand. “I’m right here.”

All you could do was just…look at him. 

The man you’d been best friends with for as long as you could remember, the man who’d shown and invited you into parts of his life, the man who had invited you to be apart for the rest of it, the man who you’d spent almost every single day with ever since, the man who you’d been and only fallen deeper in love with each day…was right by your side. 

He was right in front of you. 

He wasn’t a dream. 

He wasn’t a nightmare. 

There were no flying cows, there were no more tornadoes (for now at least), there were no elements of anything being fake. 

And the longer you looked at him, the more you realised…

You would always be in love with him. 

And there was nothing you could do about it. 

It wouldn't matter how much you avoided him, or pushed yourself or even pushed him to find someone. You would always love him. 

With his thumb caressing your cheek, Tyler watched you. 

“God, you’re beautiful.” 

He hadn’t meant to say it outloud. But he was glad he did. 

Your other hand came to his chest…but you didn’t push him away. And you didn’t push yourself away, either. 

“Tyler…”

All of a sudden, it was like the only thing either of you could hear was your heartbeats. Blood pumping faster and faster and you got closer and closer, if that was even possible. 

Finally, Tyler made a decision. 

Cupping your face, he moved until you were almost under him, placing the hand he kissed over his heart. 

Suddenly, he was nervous. 

He swallowed, gazing at you. 

“C…Can I…” He swallowed again. 

Except, just as he went to ask, and you would have replied, a booming knock came to the door making both of you jump out of your skin. 

Neither you or Tyler moved, but when it came a second time, you looked at each other quickly before bolting out of bed. You didn’t know what to do. Your mind was still trying to process the last ten minutes.

Whilst you stood on your side of the bed, Tyler took a final look back at you. And when he opened the door, Boone thought Tyler looked like he was guilty of sin. 

Boone had known Tyler long enough to know that look. Anybody who didn’t know him, well, they wouldn’t have noticed. But he did. 

“Boone, man. We were asleep.”

“Shoot. Sorry, dude.” Boone apologised. “Well, we were all gonna get some food before we hit the road to help. Want something?”

“Where’s your phone?”

“Dude! We tried. Tried Y/n, too. I’ve got a charger if you need one.”

Tyler sighed. Right. Dead phone. 

“No, that’s good. We’ll just…get us the usual?”

“And coffee!” You heard yourself add. 

Tyler smiled at the sound of your voice. “And coffee. Wait, here.”

Handing Boone a twenty dollar bill, he thanked him before shutting the door. 

“He’s gonna give someone a heart attack one day.” You said as Tyler finally shut the door. 

Tyler scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. “Almost gave me one.”

Then the silence hit. 

“Well, I, uh…we better….bathroom. I’m just gonna…yep.”

In his heart, Tyler was elated at the thought of what almost happened. But in his gut, it was like a punch to his soul. 

You couldn’t even meet his eye when you spoke and ran towards the bathroom. And when you left and he entered, it had never been more awkward between you both. 

He could only hope he hadn’t lost you. 

He loved you. 

He was in love with you. 

But he didn’t want that to be the reason he lost you. 

For the rest of the day, he only felt worse. 

And so did you. 

You’d almost kissed him. Then Boone had knocked on. And suddenly him being the only other person in the room made you feel like the walls were closing in. No matter how much you wanted to go back to the bed and finish what had almost started…something inside you forced you away from it. 

Being on the verge of telling your best friend who you’d been in love with for years was suddenly a much higher cliff than you’d originally thought. 

Due to the wreckage of the tornado, you and the rest of the crew spent the day helping people, giving them food and water, making sure they were okay. 

However, just a little after two, you looked around for him. And, like usual, you found him instantly. 

By his truck, he was loading a toolbox back into the flatbed. And he turned. He’d seen you. 

He’d been looking over at you all day. And for the first time, you met his gaze. 

He would spend the rest of his life loving you. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind or in his heart about that. And there never would be. 

He could only hope that what had almost happened that morning wouldn’t make you hate him. 

After a moment, you heard your name being called and you forced yourself to look away from Tyler. 

“I love you,” you told him, in your head. 

“I love you,” he told you, in his head. 

Hours passed and every five minutes, Tyler’s gaze would find yours again before being forced away. 

When he wasn’t looking at you, he was thinking about you. Thinking about the tornado, thinking about the rodeo, thinking about the motel room. And watching you from across the wreckage, he made a decision. 

He could only hope it was the right one. 

And getting back to the motel couldn’t come quick enough. 

By the time everyone did get back, it was long after the sun had gone down. And entering your motel room, Tyler tried to get you to talk to him. 

“We need some ice. I’ll go and get some.” 

“Y/n.”

“I’ll be back in five minutes. Promise.”

Only, you weren’t. And when Tyler heard a crash, he practically ran out of his room and down the stairs. 

“Y/n?”

Looking around, he saw you stood at the end of the building scooping ice into the bucket. 

“You okay?”

You looked up. “Yeah, why?”

Tyler looked around. “I thought I heard something.”

You were confused. “I didn’t hear anything.”

But as the ice stopped, you both heard it. Trash cans. 

“This way.”

“Tyler-”

Grabbing your hand, he pulled you round the corner. Neither of you were cast in the light from the motel but rather hid in the darkness beside it. You looked behind you and around the wall whilst Tyler stood in front of you. 

“What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

It happened again and then…

Laughing. 

You physically relaxed and turned back to Tyler with a relieved smile. 

“It’s just people coming back from the bar. We’re safe.”

Only then did you realise how closely you stood together, or how you could feel his weight slowly pressing against you. Or maybe you were pulling him forward. 

Softly, you pressed yourself into the wall as Tyler started towering over you, his hands slowly grazing over your hips as he looked at you. 

It was like what had happened that morning only…more. 

Slowly, your breath tangled with his, your heartbeat steadily rising as one of his hands ran up your body and pushed your hair from your face. 

“Tyler…”

“We should get back inside. Before you get cold.”

You were anything but that, in the moment. 

And when you both got back inside your room, having Tyler carefully take the ice bucket from you and place it on the table, only made you feel hotter. 

“We need to talk about this morning.”

“Tyler…”

“Sweetheart, I mean it.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“We almost kissed.”

You closed the bathroom door in his face before reaching for your toothbrush and paste. Only, you forgot to lock it. 

Opening it back up, Tyler stood by the door, one hand on his hip, the other on the handle. 

“Y/n, will you please listen to me?”

“Tyler, please. Please, just…just stop. Before either of us say something we can’t take back.”

He stood tall. “What if I don’t wanna take it back? What if I want to say it out loud so we can both finally be finished with this…this…this weird awkward…thing between us. In ten years never once has it been awkward.”

You sighed, dropping your toothbrush under the tap before rinsing out your mouth. “Well, whatever it is, you can say it to an empty room.”

Pushing past him, you grabbed your jacket and headed for the door. You weren’t going to stick around to hear him tell you your friendship with him was over. That your worst fear was about to become your reality. 

Only, as you reached for the handle and opened up the door, the next three words that came from Tyler’s mouth, as he stood, still in the opening of the bathroom, stopped you right in your tracks. 

“I love you.”

He’d told you he loved you a thousand times over the years, but it had always been quickly and in the same way and same tone as he told anybody else who he loved. But those three words. They were different. 

They meant something entirely different. 

You could hear him slowly taking a few steps forward. 

“I love you, Y/n. I’m in love with you.”

You physically couldn’t move. Everything inside of you wanted to do…something. Kiss him, tell him the same, tell him he was mistaken, that he didn’t love you, tell him to stop, tell him to keep going.

“And I think…” He took a breath. Not of fear, not of worry, but of relief. Like finally saying these words out loud was a weight off his chest. “I think you’re in love with me, too.”

You didn’t know what to say, so you just waited. 

“Now, you can run out of here. You can leave, if you want. But know that I want you to stay. I want to talk about this. All day, the only thing I’ve been able to think about is you. About the rodeo, about the other morning. About all the other times I’ve wanted to kiss you and to have you be the one I share a room with. Not because we’ve drawn straws but because you would want it, too. Again, if you want to leave, you can. The door’s open. But I’m hoping you’ll stay.”

Tyler couldn’t comprehend what was going on inside your head as he watched you. He could have swore he saw your body move a little. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe you were going to leave after all. Maybe all of it was just in his head. 

But then you let go of the handle. 

The door shut in front of you and suddenly the white noise from outside floated away. You’d made your choice. But you were still scared. 

“I…I don’t know what to do from here.”

“That’s okay.” Tyler moved closer to you until he was directly behind you. Carefully, he took your jacket from you and you let go of it willingly, allowing him to place it on the bed behind him. “We can figure it out together.”

Still behind you, Tyler’s hands lay gently by your sides. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.”

He took another step closer. You could already feel the heat from his body behind you, warming you from the cold draft that had wafted through when you’d opened the door. 

“I’ve loved you since before I can remember. But I know the day I met you, you were gonna be in my life forever.”

Feeling brave, you turned in his arms to look at him. For a moment, he looked scared. Like it would be the last time you’d ever look at him and he’d never see you again. Scared that you’d leave. 

But as your gaze landed on his, that smile came back. 

“What?” 

Still with that smile, he told you. “You look like you love me.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because you get this look in your eyes. Like something I’ve never seen before. And it’s new every time. Do you love me?”

You didn’t have to think about your answer, but the courage you had to build to tell him took a moment. “Yes. I-I don’t know when. But I think one day it just…clicked. But I was scared. I still am…scared. Tyler, what if…what if something goes wrong? What if we lose each other forever?”

“That’ll never happen.”

“How? How can you know that?”

“I just…do. It’s like a tornado. Part science; all the chemicals that go into loving someone. Part religion. I don’t have to physically see how something happens, but I like to believe it’s there. Maybe I don’t have all the answers, but I knew I had to listen to what my gut told me.”

“And what did your gut tell you?”

Tyler gave you that smile again. “It told me that; ‘that girl, right there, under that tree. You need to talk to her, because she is going to be the best part of your day for the rest of your life.’”

You felt the heat in your cheeks rise. 

“You have always been, and always will be, the best part of my day, Sweetheart. No matter how many tornados, no matter how many sleepless nights on the road or how much data we collect. The best part of my day is talking to you. Is looking over at you and having you look back. The best part of my day has forever been, and always will be, you.”

“So, trust me when I say that,” he continued. “Nothing bad will ever happen to us. Because I don’t plan on letting you go just because of fear. I’m in love with you, Sweetheart. And I want to be in your life, for the rest of your life.”

You smiled, “Say that again. The ‘I’m in love with you,’ part.”

Tyler was a little confused, but he would say it as many times as you wanted. 

“I’m in love with you, Sweetheart.”

Watching you blush and try and hide your smile made him realise why you’d asked him to say it again. 

“I knew you liked it when I called you that.”

You looked back up at him. “You know, you’re lucky I love you.”

Tyler smiled. “That’s the first time you’re saying that outloud.”

“Does that mean you’re gonna kiss me now? Or are you just gonna keep talking, Cowboy?”

“No, ma’am.”

Pulling you in closer, Tyler finally kissed you. 

And it was…

Everything. 

Every moment he’d dreamed of finally kissing you, every moment you’d wished he’d do so, every moment you’d both shared, harbouring those feelings, wishing for something more and being too scared to reach for it…

It was a lot to put into a first kiss. 

But it came out naturally.