A/N: okayyy hello after a nearly 3 year hiatus WE ARE SO BACK!! i've been working on this fic for an embarrassingly long time because i've honestly been struggling to picture his character from the book alone and i'm hopeful that movie!hank is similar to the way i've written him because otherwise this will be humbling :) ANYWAYS. it's a long fic, the longest i've written, and i hope you guys like it. there is probably a part two coming (perhaps smutty????) lmk if you're interested - although i'll probably write it either way ;)
warnings: one bed trope !!!
word count: 4.6k
summary: you move to new york, have a meet cute (or several) with hank, and then he ends up sleeping over
----
I guess you could say it all started when you decided to uproot your life and move to New York City. You had reasoned with yourself that the move across the country would be your “fresh start” and that you could build a new life for yourself, free of the small-town constraints that had been tying you down since birth.
Back home, you’d spent basically every moment of free time working your ass off at the diner downtown. Given that you worked there for six years, supporting yourself through the later years of high school and then all four years of community college, you had gotten to know seemingly everyone who lived in your hometown. Some (partially true) rumors of a scandal between you and a jock you went to high school with had been your last straw and finally motivated you to buy the one-way ticket to New York that you had dreamt of since middle school.
Upon your arrival in the big city, you got yourself a hotel and immediately began scouring newspapers to find somewhere to live. The hotel room was expensive and would not be sustainable for long. You needed a job… but couldn’t get one without a proper address. You ended up signing a lease on one of the first apartments you toured - a small studio on the Lower East Side. It was relatively cheap compared to the others you’d found and big enough to house yourself and your few belongings.
While moving into the new apartment, you’d caught a glimpse of a man who was so gorgeous, he almost made you drop your things right there on the sidewalk. He looked rough around the edges, with dirty blonde hair tucked under a baseball cap. His gorgeous brown eyes pulled you in and had you stumbling over your own feet. You blushed and readjusted your grip on your suitcases as he brushed past you. Shaking your head, you turned back towards your apartment and ascended to your new home on the fourth floor.
The next morning, you pulled on a pair of jeans and set out to find the nicest-looking top you could find. You settled on a lightweight cable-knit sweater and slung your old leather jacket over it to keep out the chill of the early morning breeze. Today was job-hunting day, hence the search for something that hadn’t obviously been balled up in the bottom of your suitcase for days. Mentally drawing up a map of places to begin searching for a job, your stomach began to growl and you remembered that you hadn’t made a trip to a grocery store yet. You looked out your window and saw a small diner across the street. It didn’t look terribly inviting, with a rundown facade and letters falling off the sign above the front door, but breakfast was breakfast.
You chose a booth on the front wall of the diner, where you could look out the windows and watch people bustling down the street on their commute to work. Looking around, you spotted a stack of newspapers on the counter and decided to borrow one to keep you company until your food came. But as you reached for the paper on top, you bumped the callused hand of another person with apparently the same plan. You pulled back your arm and looked up, only to meet the eyes of none other than the man you’d seen on the street last night.
“I- um- I’m so- so sorry,” you managed to stutter out, honestly starstruck at his beauty up close. He was handsome from afar, but you’d been sure that a closer look would prove that he wasn’t so attractive. You’d been wrong.
“It’s all right baby, you take it.” The man said with a smirk on his face, motioning towards the paper on the top of the stack.
Your heart melted a bit at the pet name. You hadn’t even properly met, and here he was… calling you baby? Normally you’d be pissed at the interaction, but his cool aura and good looks had you blushing. You muttered thanks to him as you grabbed the newspaper and he took the one just below it from the stack. Turning back towards your booth, you tried to remember how to make yourself walk without making a complete fool of yourself. You were mostly unsuccessful.
You spent the rest of your time at the diner trying to keep yourself from staring at the mysterious man and you were only somewhat able to do so. He was just so pretty, it was hard to care. As soon as you finished your food and paid your bill, leaving a handful of crumpled one-dollar bills on the table, you got up and hurried out of the diner and down the street. You’d wanted to talk to the man, to introduce yourself. But you reminded yourself that finding a job in the city was your priority and instead kept your head down. Besides, you didn’t need some strange man you’d never met coming along and throwing a wrench in the gears of your admittedly shaky plan to plant new roots in a city you’d never been to.
—
Sitting on your mattress after a fruitless day-long job hunt, you sighed and looked out the window. You were excited to finally be in the city and attempting to make your dreams become a reality, but worried that you’d fall flat and be forced to move back home. You didn’t even know for sure what kind of job you were looking for. You’d graduated from college with a degree in Business, which was fairly widely applicable. Honestly, you would’ve taken any job for the time being - you needed a paycheck to pay rent and utilities. You only allowed yourself to spiral for a few moments before telling yourself you needed to get out and do something. You could use a drink, so you decided to head back to a bar you’d seen earlier in the day.
You arrived at Paul’s a short walk later. Opening the front door, you hoped this wasn’t a rundown bar with nothing but creepy old men for regulars. Instead, you were surprised to see THE man from the diner working behind the bar. Your knees went weak for a moment as he looked up from his work, towel slung over his shoulder, and made eye contact with you. He winked at you before turning back to the regular whose drink he was making. You finally let out a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding and made your way towards the bar on shaky legs.
Sitting down on the nearest empty stool, you were relieved to see an older woman come up to you from behind the bar instead of the mysterious man. You wanted to talk to him, but you wanted to get a bit of a drink in before working up the courage to do so.
“What’ll you have, sweetheart?” the lady behind the bar asked.
“A greyhound, please.” You said, naming the first drink you could think of. You’d seen one sitting behind the bar and knew one of your friends from college liked them.
“Aww, my favorite! I already have a sweet spot for ya and I don’t even know your name,” the woman cooed.
You blushed a bit and told her your name as she made you your drink. She introduced herself as Lisa and placed the drink on the counter in front of you before walking away to help another customer. Taking a deep breath, you began to sip the cocktail. You were pleasantly surprised by it and made a mental note to order it more often. You’d never been a huge sports fan, but you decided that now, trying to look preoccupied in a bar full of strangers and the hottest bartender you’d ever seen, was a good time to pretend you were. Your eyes planted on the large TV across from you playing a baseball game. You’d never watched baseball in your life. Oh well, better than nothing, you thought.
You kept the male bartender in the corner of your eye as you sat there, nursing your drink. Eventually, half an inning later, he made his way toward you. You were a bit frozen in fear but also honestly relieved that he was making an effort to talk to you. You’d hoped the petname earlier that morning and the wink upon entering the bar had been flirting, but you’d begun to wonder if they hadn’t been.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the newspaper thief from the diner!” the man said, sauntering into your view.
“Ahh.. I thought you looked familiar,” you joked, pretending you didn’t remember the interaction you’d shared earlier that day. You hoped he couldn’t tell that it was all you’d been thinking of since.
“Woooowww. Forgot about me already? I’m hurt.”
You thought he was so pretty when he joked and flirted. You had wanted to wait until you’d gotten settled to find a guy, but the connection you felt with him was unlike any you’d felt back home.
“As if I could forget that face,” you half-mumbled, a bit surprised that the sentence had come out of your mouth. You weren’t used to being so forward.
“Let me put a name to the face… I’m Hank.” He smirked and held out a hand for you to shake before nodding to you, wordlessly asking your name in return. You told him your name.
“Not surprised. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” he said with a grin on his face.
You blushed as he looked you up and down, scanning your face.
“Are you new around here?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you before. I’d have remembered if I’d seen ya.”
You told him about your move to the city and mentioned that your new place was within walking distance. He said that he lived close, too, adding that he lived on the same block as the diner you’d first met in. There’s only one apartment building I know of on that block, you thought to yourself. What are the chances we live in the same building?
“Well I’ve lived here for ten years now, so I know the lay of the land… you ever need anything, you come to me, alright?” Hank told you, a warm smile on his face as he reached out to shake your hand. You quietly thanked him and blushed as he turned away to serve the regulars sitting on the other end of the bar.
Nursing your drink, you began to think about how you were going to get home. You’d walked to the bar, but it was darker now and you didn’t exactly feel safe walking back, but you also didn’t exactly want to get a taxi - you still hadn’t found a job and wanted to save as much money as possible. You were thinking you’d just have to suck it up and get the taxi when an idea came to you. You waved Hank over towards you.
“Hey, when do you guys close?” you asked, looking at the clock.
“In like, an hour, why?” he furrowed his brows.
“ Just wondering… unrelated question, when do you leave?”
Upon hearing the second question, he smiled. “Just a bit after. Why? It’s pretty early to be trying to come home with me.” he said, winking at you.
“Oh my god, no, I just was going to see if you could walk home with me since it’s late, I swear I wasn’t trying to come onto you or anything-” you said, stumbling over your words out of embarrassment. You sincerely hadn’t meant for the question to come off that way… although on second thought, you wouldn’t exactly mind if that’s how tonight ended.
“It’s alright sweetheart, I knew you didn’t mean that. Just joking with ya.” he cut off your ramblings. “I’d be more than willing, if you’re okay with sitting here until closing. I’ll have Lisa take care of my tasks tonight so I don’t keep you waiting too long.”
Your cheeks flushed again at the thought of the two of you walking the 15 minutes back to your apartment. You were doing more blushing tonight than you had in several years. It felt weird.
“Thanks so much. I’m sorry if I’m inconveniencing you, I don’t have a job yet, so I’m trying to save money and I don’t want to pay for a taxi when I only live a couple blocks away.” You tried to explain, but he waved you off with a playful smile on his face.
“You don’t have to explain yourself, I know you just want an excuse to get me alone. Another greyhound?” he asked, pointing at your empty cup. You nodded, laughing. As he handed you your fresh drink, his hand brushed yours and he paused, your fingers touching his. Neither of you pulled away until a couple of seconds later, when one of the other bargoers called his name. You snapped out of the trance you’d been in and realized your heart was beating way faster than it should have been.
—
The next hour went by quickly, with Hank bouncing back over to your side of the bar every now and then to tease you. You continued to sip your drink until Lisa began to ring a bell and shout that it was closing time, everybody out. The other customers all began to slowly get up and mosey toward the exit. Hank shot you a look and signaled that it would just be a few minutes. You nodded and turned your attention back to the TV across from you.
After what felt like less than a minute, Hank came back to you, but on the customer side of the bar this time, wearing a distressed denim jacket. He held out his arm for you to intertwine with his, and smiled at you, nodding towards the door. You hopped off the barstool, put your leather jacket on, left some cash on the bar to pay for your drinks, and put your arm around his elbow. He turned back towards the bar to yell to Lisa that the two of you were leaving and that he’d lock the door on the way out.
“Use protection, kids!” Lisa hollered from the back.
Hank turned to make eye contact with you and you both laughed. You turned your head away before he could see the blood rising to your cheeks. Out on the street, the cold air gave you good reason to have a pink nose and cheeks. The two of you began to make your way towards your apartment.
“So, anything in particular you’ve been doing since you got here?” Hank asked, kicking a rock down the sidewalk.
“Looking for a job, mainly. Gonna need a paycheck if I want to stay,” you said, suddenly remembering that you still hadn’t found a viable job option. You winced at the thought.
“Well, it’s not ideal, but you could work at the bar until you find something better,” he offered. “The pay’s decent and I’d - I mean we’d - love to see you around more.”
You giggled and considered the offer. “I might have to take you up on that if I don’t find anything soon.”
“You should,” Hank said, halfway under his breath.
The two of you walked in silence for a few minutes. Your arm began to go to sleep, but you didn’t want to lose the physical contact you had with him. You wanted to strike up a new conversation with him in order to distract yourself, racking your brain for something to say to him.
“So… tell me about yourself. Where’d you live before New York? How’d you end up here?” you asked him.
He told you about his childhood in California, his success in baseball, and the injury that caused him to stop playing. “I felt really lost after that… I was going through a lot, it was a really dark place for me. I moved here to save myself from the grief and loss I felt back in my hometown.” His eyes began to glass over as he talked about his history.
You felt like he might have been leaving something out of the story, but didn’t want to pry. “Wow, that sounds so hard. It sucks that you had to go through that,” you attempted to console him.
“Yeah, thanks. Honestly I don’t know where I’d be now if I’d stayed.” He shook his head as he said this, seemingly shaking the difficult thoughts from his brain. “Anyways, enough about me, what’s your story? I mean, I know you’re here for a ‘fresh start’ and everything, but besides that.”
You told him about the small town you’d lived in your whole life, and the trapped feeling it gave you. You briefly touched on the scandal that had pushed you over the edge but tried your best not to give too many details. It had been embarrassing, after all, that anyone had found out about your hook-up with the most well-known jock in your graduating class. But for the whole town to know, that was something worse and more humiliating than most things you could’ve imagined. “Basically, I felt completely lost and like I’d never get out of that town. So I jumped at the opening I saw and made it out,” you finished the story.
“Hm. Well, I’m glad you made it here. Otherwise, how would we have ever met, baby?”
Your heart quickened at the petname. You hated that he had such an effect on you but you’d be lying if you didn’t say you also kind of loved it. The two of you were almost at your apartment and you were dreading the end of the walk. Once you turned onto the block of your building, you pointed to it. “This is me,” you told him.
“No way, I live there too!” He smiled, turning to face you.
“I thought you might, after you mentioned the diner earlier. It would be a lie to say that some part of me hadn’t hoped it was your building,” you admitted sheepishly.
The two of you began climbing the steps up to your respective floors. He walked you all the way up to the fourth floor, despite him saying that his apartment was on the second.
“Well, I guess this is good night. I’d love to see you again,” he suggested. “Come find me at the bar sometime.” He said, bringing your hand to his mouth and kissing it before beginning to turn back towards the staircase.
“Of course. Let’s go out soon!” you said in his direction as you fumbled for your keys. You began to unlock your door as you heard him descending towards his apartment. As you finally got the door open and began to walk in, you heard a faint voice down the staircase cursing. “Hank?” you called down the staircase, trying to keep your voice low as you remembered how late it was. “You good down there?”
You heard his footsteps getting louder, presumably as he climbed back up to your floor. “I forgot my fucking keys at the bar. This is so stupid. Now I have to walk all the way back and Lisa’s going to make fun of me,” Hank explained as he came into view around the corner.
You felt bad, especially since he’d probably forgotten them as a result of being in a hurry to leave with you. “I- I mean, you don’t have to go back tonight,” you mumbled.
“What, you think I should break into my apartment?” he asked skeptically, but you could tell that he had begun to genuinely consider it.
“No. I meant, you could stay in my apartment for the night if you wanted. But I don’t have much and it’s kind of a mess right now, so you’ll have to forgive me. And obviously I don’t want you to feel like you have to-” you rambled.
“That’s so nice of you, sweetheart. I’d love to, I mean, only if you’re comfortable with that.”
You nodded as you turned back toward your door, pushing it all the way open and beckoning him inside. You hadn’t been trying to be humble when you said it wasn’t much - you had basically nothing inside. A couple bags of groceries from a nearby bodega sat on the kitchen counter and there were two bar stools sitting next to the kitchen counter. In one corner of the room, an open door led to your bedroom, where your mattress sat on the floor and your suitcases overflowed with clothes you needed to wash. The bathroom was bare except for a flimsy shower liner hanging from the rod. You felt embarrassed that Hank, this new guy who you really wanted to make a good impression on, was seeing your apartment like this. You cursed yourself for not cleaning up before you left.
“I’m so sorry it’s a mess. I haven’t exactly had time to do laundry or unpack yet,” you apologized.
He smiled and put his hand on your waist. “You don’t have to try to impress me... But um, I didn’t realize that you saying you don’t have much meant literally just the one bed. I mean, isn’t it a little early for that?” he asked.
You worried that he was seriously offended until you turned back to apologize and saw the playful smile on his face that you’d seen in the bar earlier. “If you want to walk back to the bar or try to break into your apartment, be my guest. Otherwise, suck it up and share a bed with me for the night. Unless, of course, you want to sleep on the floor,” you told him, winking at him the way he’d done to you all night.
You changed into pajamas and walked out of the bathroom to see Hank already sitting on the edge of your bed, stripped down to his boxers, socks, and a basic white tee. You tried not to smile at the thought that the two of you would be sharing a bed, but it was so hard. He was gorgeous. You didn’t believe in love at first sight, but it was impossible to deny the connection you already felt.
“I feel like I have to warn you…” you started, “I’m a cuddler. Everyone I’ve ever shared a bed with has woken up to me wrapped around them. I can’t help it.”
Hank laughed quietly and shook his head, staring at you. “You are unbelievable.”
“Come on, it’s late.” You beckoned him over as you pulled the covers back and began to roll to the wall side of the bed.
Hank followed, taking his place on the pillow opposite yours. You pulled the blankets over your bodies and sat in awkward silence until Hank turned to you with a sheepish grin on his face.
“You know, if we’re bound to end up cuddling, what if we just save ourselves the trouble and start now? More efficient that way.”
You scoffed and rolled your eyes, but after a moment you scooted yourself closer to the middle of the mattress and nestled into his side, his arm around your shoulders. He leaned over and kissed your forehead as you blushed and hoped that he can’t feel how hard your heart is pounding.
“Good night Hank, sleep tight,” you whisper in the general direction of his head.
You woke up the next morning to the sun streaming through your window. You felt Hank’s arm around your waist and the memories from the night before came rushing back in. You smiled at the thought that something real might be starting between you and Hank and turned your body to face him. He was still asleep, giving you the chance to truly study his face. He had a small scar above his right eyebrow that you hadn’t noticed before. Probably a remnant from his days of being an athlete, you figured.
After about fifteen minutes of laying on your mattress and soaking in the morning sun, you decided to wake up Hank. You didn’t know if he had any plans for the day, and besides, you needed to get back on the job hunt. He’d offered you the job at Paul’s but you didn’t want to feel like a burden or like you owed him, so you’d decided to keep looking.
You shook Hank’s shoulder and held his hand up to your mouth, giving it a small kiss. “Hank, hon, we should probably wake up. It’s close to noon.”
Hank slowly woke up, his eyes fluttering open as he regained consciousness and remembered where he was. A smile washed over his face as his eyes met yours. “Good morning, gorgeous,” were the first words out of his mouth.
“Hank, I have to go look for jobs again. We gotta get up.”
“I told you, come work at the bar. We could always use another bartender,” he slurred, still drunk on sleep.
You smiled at his insistence to have you working at Paul’s with him. “Okay, maybe I will, but I want to at least keep looking around first.” You began to drag your tired body off the mattress. You looked back as Hank, eyes closed, frowned at the absence of you.
It was hard to keep in mind that the two of you had just met the day before. You felt a chemistry with Hank that you’d never felt before and it didn’t hurt that he was so forward with his flirting. You surprised even yourself by letting some flirty bartender into your apartment the night before but you had no regrets. In fact, you felt that it had been a smart move, given that it allowed you to spend more time with Hank in a relatively low-risk way.
“Okay, come on Hank, I’m getting ready and leaving. You should probably get back to the bar and find your keys.”
At this, Hank finally began to get out of your bed and put his jacket and shoes back on. Once ready, the two of you walked out of your apartment, hand in hand. You stopped to lock your door and then walked down the steps with Hank. On the sidewalk, he turned to face you.
“Alright, um, I work again tonight. Come see me? Update me on the job search. Maybe tonight you can spend the night at my place,” he said, winking at you.
You rolled your eyes and smiled. “Yeah, maybe.” You began to walk down the street, away from Hank and the bar.
“Wait, [y/n]. Come back for a sec,” you heard him call from behind you.
You turned around to see him jogging in your direction. Once he was standing in front of you, he brought his hands to either side of your face and leaned in to kiss you. It was honestly the most earth-shattering, heart-stopping, sweep-you-off-your-feet kiss you’d ever had. But before you could process what had just happened, he pulled away with that boyish grin on his face.
“Okay, sorry, just had to do that,” he said, turning away before you had the chance to respond.
You took a step back, leaning on the brick wall of the building behind you. Your cheeks flushed as you tried to wrap your head around the last 24 hours. It felt like you were genuinely living in a dream. Hank was, if nothing else, the reassurance you needed to tell you that moving to NYC had been the right decision.
you can see the pain in his eyes. i don’t want to be one to speculate abt what exactly he might be feeling or going through right now but i hope he’s doing as well as he can be given the circumstances. i hope he’s taking care of himself 🫶
make sure to hold your loved ones close today and every day. our time together isn’t as infinite as we’d like to believe it is. may she rest in peace, my heart is with her family and friends tonight 🕊️
summary: you absolutely can't stand your boss. after one bad run in with him, you decide that he's office enemy number one. so when your mother breaks the news that your ex boyfriend is bringing his new fiancé to your sister's wedding as his plus one, you lie and tell her you'll be bringing your very own boyfriend along with you to greece. the problem? you don't actually have a boyfriend. so when austin butler, your arch nemesis of a boss, offers to be your fake boyfriend, you have to take him up on it. greece is a beautiful place to fall in love, no?
pairings: boss!austin butler x employee!reader
word count: 5,588
warnings/notes: SMUT! in next chapter, alcohol consumption, austin has had a crush on you for a year, enemies to lovers, one bed troupe, and of course fake dating.
masterlist | requests are currently closed.
Light filtered in through the sheer curtains, the fresh morning air gently blowing in to flutter the thin fabric through the window you had left open late last night. Birds chirped loudly from their perches in nearby trees, and if you listened hard enough you could hear the sea lapping against the rocks below your parents home. You knew that you had somehow made it to the guest bedroom last night with Austin in tow, but you were having trouble piecing together the smaller details of the previous night. You knew that at some point that you and Austin had kissed in front of your parents, which hadn’t been anywhere near as mortifying as you thought it would have been. Not only that, but your ex had cornered you in the hopes of upsetting you somehow. Or perhaps Alex had been hoping to tap into your old feelings for him by playing the “nice, concerned old flame” card. You swallowed your stale spit and regretted it almost immediately, still being able to taste the remnants of last night’s tequila shots. Ever so slowly things started to click into place for you. The second that you remembered the late night conversation with Austin from the night before, you no longer felt even slightly tired.
Did you regret it? You tried to blink the sleep from your eyes, trying desperately to come to some sort of a finalized conclusion with this whole mess. He was your boss. This went against every moral code that you had set up for yourself. If you had a list of messy life circumstances you never wanted to involve yourself with, dating a coworker would have been at the very top. Bolded, italicized, and underlined. At the same time, didn’t you deserve this? Austin had certainly gone out of his way to show you that he truly cared. He had been patient with your family, had gone above and beyond to sell the supposedly “serious” status of your relationship, and even took care of you last night when you got a little drunk. Not to mention the fact that he had scared off your hideous ex, standing next to you like a great big shadow the entire night so that the guy wouldn’t try to get you alone again. You hadn’t truly been cared for like this in. . . well. . . maybe ever. Sure, Alex had done the things that all shitty boyfriends were known for. He’d bring you flowers, but only when he knew that he had fucked up. He would sit down and let you cry to him, but only when he made you shed those tears. He owned up to his faults- only when he knew that there was no way out of the lies that he tried to weave.
Austin had listened to you when he didn’t have to. He had asked questions about your feelings when he wasn’t obligated to. He had been careful and sweet around your entire family, but only because he was naturally like that. You weren’t the type of person that had your “dream man” all written out on paper, but if you did happen to do that, you were positive that Austin would check every box. Everyone deserves happiness, so why didn’t you? You had a bad habit of self sabotaging things for yourself, especially when it came to any sort of romantic entanglements after the big break up. After the first date, you would always look for a reason why there shouldn’t be a second one. A sweet, gentle greek god had been served to you by the universe on a silver platter, and what kind of an idiot would that make you if you didn’t take it? With that thought in mind you slowly turned over to your opposite side, nuzzling your cheek against the newly washed pillowcase. Your parents' fabric softener smelled familiar. Smelled like home. It helped you to relax and soothed your anxiety.
The sight before you was wholly unfamiliar though. Austin looked incredibly peaceful when he slept, his glasses haphazardly tossed onto the bedside table behind him. His wavy blond hair caught the light from the window perfectly, even his eyelashes were golden. He had fallen asleep on his side, facing your back, and your heart fluttered as you wondered if part of him had wanted to embrace you last night. His hand was placed on top of the pillow that he had put between your two bodies, as if he was reaching out, wanting to be as close as possible. You took your time looking over the soft planes of his face, and then down the sharp line of his exposed jawline. You made a map with your eyes, taking a note of each place you desired to take your time traveling. He looked like a child when he slept, his lips slightly parted, his perfectly sculpted cupid's bow on full display.
You could very easily fall in love with this man.
The thought terrified you. It made you want to run and hide. Shrink away and deny any further kindness. You were famous for running when things got tough though. Things didn’t disappear if you ignore them, especially uncharted feelings. Slowly his eyelashes began to flutter, his head lifting up and off of the pillow. His eyes squeezed tight, trying to shield himself from the bright rays of sun. His hair looked like a halo, the curls now wild and untamed thanks to the cotton bed linens he had slept on. “Morning.” He grumbled, plopping himself right back down onto the pillow, rolling over so that he was on his back. He stretched, letting out a deep sigh before raising his hands to his eyes. He rubbed them roughly, and for a second you worried that he might poke his own eyes out. You chuckled lowly, nuzzling your face even further into your own pillow. “Good morning.” Slowly he removed his hands, turning to face you. For a second the two of you just stared into each other's eyes, and perhaps he was looking for even a shred of regret about what was said.
He was considerate. Austin must have known how drunk you were last night, and maybe he was worried that you hadn’t meant anything you had said. All he found was your smiling face and flushed cheeks. He was gorgeous. How had you not noticed how handsome he was before now? Had you been so blinded by hatred that you couldn’t even stop to admire him? Sure, you understood that he was attractive, but not like this. His eyes were so blue that it nearly hurt you to meet his gaze. You wet your lips, your muscles tensing as his eyes followed the movement of your tongue. He rolled his own lips as he watched, though snapped himself out of it after a few moments.
“Are you hung over?” He asked, his lips twitching up into a grin. You hadn’t really taken the time to listen to what your body was trying to tell you. You’d been far too preoccupied with giving yourself an early morning pep talk. “Not too bad, no. Just a little sluggish, is all.” You were sure that once you finally stood up though, you’d feel like death. Thanks to Austin forcing water down your throat the entire night, you felt better than you would have expected. You were sure that your sister was a different story though.
She was most likely in her hotel bathroom, upchucking what little food she had eaten last night. “What about you?” You returned the sentiment, your eyes flickering down to look at his hands. He was using his thumb to twist the ring on his pointer finger back and forth. A nervous habit, you realized. “I didn’t drink enough to leave me hung over the next morning, thankfully. I didn’t have a drop to drink after that whole Alex incident. Wanted to be on top of everything, just in case.” You felt like your heart might explode. You bit your lip, remembering his words from last night. “You put your hands on her, I put my hands on you.” God, now you felt like you were about to overheat. No one had ever protected you like that before. The two of you laid in silence after that, just looking at one another. Really looking. It almost felt like you weren’t just seeing him, but understanding him. Looking through him. His honest eyes told you everything that you needed to know. Your legs no longer felt unsteady, and the terrain under your feet finally leveled out. Safe. You truly felt safe with him. Not once had he judged you or your reasonings for even bringing him here. He knew, he understood and he cared. When people stared at you like this, you often found yourself scared that they might be able to point out certain flaws. You tended to shy away from lingering gazes and searching hands, stepping back until you were just out of reach. You let Austin see it all. You gave it up willingly. “Do you. . . Do you regret anything about last night?” He finally asked. You let your eyes flicker down to watch his lips as he spoke. You watched him shape the words, wanting more than anything to lean in and taste them. “No,” You met his eyes as you spoke. “I meant it.” Ever so slowly he pulled the pillow out from between you, moving it so that it was behind him on the large bed. With the barrier between the two of you now gone, Austin reached his hand up, delicately placing his fingers against your shoulder, letting them slide down your arm. You couldn’t help but shiver at his gentle exploration.
“Well then, let’s just take the day for ourselves, yeah? Tomorrow is the wedding, but for now let’s just. . . be us.” No acting. No pretending to be something that you weren’t. You nodded, slowly moving to sit up. He didn’t remove his hand from your arm, rather he sat up too. After a year of knowing one another, it felt like you two were finally part of the same orbit. When one moved, the other did too. “I should probably take a quick shower. I’m sure I look terrible.” The arm that he wasn’t touching moved upwards, your fingers combing out your frizzy hair the best that you could. He was quick to shake his head. “You look beautiful in the morning. I was just thinking about how nice it was to wake up next to you.” He immediately noticed how much weight those words carried, and was quick to physically bite his tongue, dropping his hand quickly. “God, that sounded hor-” “Beautiful,” He raised an eyebrow, and you couldn’t help but chuckle. “That sounded beautiful. Thank you.” You could have stayed in that bed all day and night, talking about nothing in particular, or better yet- nothing at all. Staring at him had already been the highlight of this trip. You climbed out of bed, moving over towards your luggage so that you could pick out an outfit for the day. “The beach.” Austin threw his legs over the side of the bed, watching you as you gathered your travel size toiletries. “Why don’t we go to the beach today?” Your parents had dragged you to the beach during your last visit, but you had been too busy moping around to enjoy the fresh air and sprawling blue ocean. “Good thing I packed a swimsuit.” You plucked it out of your bag as well, turning your head just in time to see his face light up with an excited grin.
You were quick to shower. You shaved your legs as quickly as you could manage without cutting yourself, and scrubbed hard at your skin, wanting nothing more than to wash away the previous night. Today was a fresh start. With Austin. You stared at yourself in the mirror after you had put on your bathing suit, silently thanking the gods that you had managed to pick out your cute one in your rush to get packed. Was this beach trip a first date? It had to be. You didn’t want to think too far into things, but were beginning to get a bit nervous about it all. What if you said the wrong thing and blew it all, making the rest of the trip awkward? You also didn’t want to run the risk of coming on too strong. Guys often shied away from females that came off as being too clingy. You stood in front of the mirror for a few more minutes, combing out your hair and making sure your dress was comfortable enough to wear in the heat. You walked out into the living room after taking far too long getting ready. Your eyes found Austin’s tall form right away, his broad back and long legs on full display. He was wearing a pair of dark green swim trunks and an airy cotton shirt. When he turned around you saw that it had laces on the front, which he had left untied. Why did he have to look delicious in everything he wore? He must have noticed the weight of your gaze, because he flashed you a knowing look, his lips turning up into a small smile. You’d been caught checking him out.
“Austin told me that the two of you are going to the beach,” Your father spoke up from his spot in front of the stove, holding up his french press in a silent offer. “Yes please.” You told him, moving further into the kitchen so that you could grab the mug of freshly poured coffee. “Yeah, we decided we didn’t want to spend the day indoors. This is his first time in Greece, and I wanted to show him around a bit.” Your mother was sitting in the living room, her legs kicked up on the couch. She was sipping on her own coffee, reading a book that you couldn’t quite read the name of from where you stood. “I think that’s a great idea, Y/n.” She spoke up. Your father had made Ladenia- a simple bread made with tomatoes. It was one of your favorite things to eat as a child, and he liked making it because it was both easy and delicious. You cut yourself a slice, motioning towards it as Austin eyed you. He nodded his head, moving to stand closer. Now that you had finally admitted to yourself that you were attracted to him, it was hard to fight off the nervous butterflies. Even being near him, something that should be simple, made you feel like you were going to die.
You felt a little embarrassed over how giddy you felt. It was almost as though you were in high school all over again. Austin Butler had regressed you back into a squealing sixteen year old girl. You were pleased to see that you weren’t the only one that was affected though. When you looked down at Austin’s arm all the hair was standing on end. Jesus- has anyone ever liked you this much? If they had, they certainly had never shown it. “You two better hurry up and eat so that you can get there before it gets too warm. Austin looks like he burns easily.” The man in question swallowed the food that was in his mouth before protesting. “I tan beautifully, Mr L/n.” He teased. Your father chuckled, shuffling out of the kitchen so that he could sit on the couch next to his wife. It was strange how well the blonde blended in with your family, almost as though he had been a part of it for all of his life. He seemed comfortable around your parents, and now that he had finally gotten his work-crush off of his chest, he seemed to be a lot more comfortable around you too. He bumped into you with his shoulder, nodding towards the door. “You wanna go ahead and walk down there?” You were eager to be alone with him, so you were quick to dust the crumbs off of your hand, moving over toward the fridge so that you could grab a water bottle. “We’re leaving! See you guys later.”
For a second the two of you walked in silence, Austin soaking up the sun and the beautiful view. The fresh air felt amazing, especially with the smog that you were used to back in New York. “Your parents were definitely on to something. I could retire here.” He finally spoke as the two of you stepped out onto the sand. You were quick to slip your sandals off, kicking them into a small pile next to the cold bottle of water. You watched as grains of sand stuck to the condensation, realizing that it would probably get in your mouth later. “I could too. It’s beautiful here, and all of the people are super welcoming. Once you get out of Athens, it’s not so much of a tourist trap anymore.” The locals had taken your parents in with open arms, befriending them and teaching them all about their culture. Your father had taken a real shine to it, and it made you happy to see him so passionate about something. A part of you had been relieved when they told you that they were moving. You didn’t want them to be trapped in the same small town for the rest of their life. Thankfully they had broadened their horizons. “If we were here for longer, I’m sure that my father would have given us the grand tour.” You told him, grabbing the bottom of your dress and lifting it over your head. Austin stared at you for a second, and you quickly realized that he had never really seen you out of anything that wasn’t business casual up until yesterday. Now you were standing in front of him half naked. He wasn’t shy about checking you out. He looked you up and down and after what felt like an eternity, he lifted his heated gaze off of your breasts and instead looked at your face. “Then we should come back again soon.”
You weren’t sure what that meant. Was he implying that you two would come back again in order to keep your parents thinking that you were a couple, or was it something that he wanted to do as. . . as an actual item? You didn’t say anything in fear of coming off like an idiot, because what if you were getting too far ahead of yourself? “Yeah. . . That would be nice. Dad really likes you.” Austin slipped off his own shoes, sliding them over next to yours before shrugging off his shirt. Your eyes nearly popped out of your skull. Is this something that should be legal? Guys. . . Guys like this shouldn’t exist in the wild, right? You stared at him for a second, eyes wide and lips parted. You heard him chuckle, and were quick to look away, instead turning your gaze out to the blue ocean. “We’re both physically attracted to each other. Good to know.” You weren’t sure why, but you wanted to hit him. He sounded too smug, all while you were practically melting from embarrassment. You never had been good at masking your expressions, and you had just openly gawked at him.
Austin didn’t give you any extra time to overthink things. Instead he reached out, grabbing your hand tightly in his, and began to yank you towards the water. “Slow down, daddy long legs! You’re dragging me!” You tried to keep up with his long strides, practically running at his side, your feet sinking deep into the sand. He laughed loudly, his nose wrinkling as he looked down at you. His nose scrunches up when he laughs. If he didn’t pick you up and wade straight into the water, your heart might have burst. You screamed as you were quickly dunked in, right up to your neck. You reached out for him so that you could grab his shoulders, pushing him down under you. You blinked away the salt water from your eyes, laughing loudly as he resurfaced, his wild waves now flat against his head. He spit some water out, raising up his hands so that he could wipe at his face. “Unfair.” He was quick to say, reaching out for you with his long arms. You were quick to dodge him, grinning ear to ear. The two of you swam in the water until your fingers and toes began to prune. Austin gathered up shells from the ocean floor, showing you each exciting discovery. Things felt simple; felt good with him.
When he grabbed onto you, his hands didn’t wander. He didn’t say anything crude, like most other men had done during previous dates. It felt like you were with a friend. . . a friend that was openly attracted to you, and wanted to date you exclusively. It was hard to believe that you had ever been able to hate him. The side of himself that he was currently showing you wasn’t the same person that you recognized in the office. You felt special, and that was a rare thing. It made you feel hopeful. After ingesting far too much salt water, the two of you laid out on the sand, soaking up the early afternoon sun. Your conversations throughout the entire day had been light hearted, some flirtatious remarks tossed in every now and again, but none of the subject matter felt too heavy. It was obvious that he was being cautious, not wanting to scare you away. When he started chewing on his lip, a nervous habit that you had picked up on, you knew that there was something on his mind. “Speak.” You ordered him light heartedly, shooting him a grin. He turned to look at you, giving you a sheepish smile before moving his body fully to face you. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I just want to get to know you a little better.” He offered, digging his fingers into the sand.
You swallowed thickly, nervous of what kind of questions he might have, but nodded anyway. “What. . . What happened between you and Alex? I got the impression that it didn’t end on a good note.” The people in your tight knit circle all knew the story, and had for years. It had been a long time since you unearthed the memories that you had buried down deep, but you weren’t opposed to doing it. Because you owed Austin some sort of an explanation. If you two were going to give dating an actual shot, you needed to be honest with him. You couldn’t cover things up with humor like you were used to doing. With a small sigh you tilted your neck back, closing your eyes against the sun. “We dated all throughout high school and into college. It was getting to the point where marriage was on the table, and I was expecting that he felt the same way that I did. He broke things off out of the blue. We were good- I mean. . . I thought we were, anyway. We went on a date earlier that day and when we got home we were. . .” You trailed off, turning to look at him. He winced, balling his hands into fists. “Intimate.” You finished, watching him shake his head. He didn’t seem upset at you, rather upset for you. “God, that sucks.” He muttered, grabbing the bottle of water to busy his hands. He twisted off the top, taking a few sips before passing it over to you. You thankfully took it from his hands. “He was dating a new girl a week later, so it’s safe to say that he was-” “Talking to her already.” He finished for you.
He picked up a shell, using his fingers to break off small pieces. Without looking at you he spoke again. “So my earlier observations were right. He is an asshole.” Despite the serious nature of the conversation, you laughed, remembering the comment he made back in your cubicle at the office. “Yeah. Yeah, he is. What’s worse is that my sister was dating his brother, so I couldn’t escape him. I’d always hear about him or see him at family gatherings. That’s why I moved to New York. I wanted a fresh start.” He looked at you thoughtfully, shooting you a small smile. “Well I guess I should thank him then.” You couldn’t take your eyes off of him when he looked at you like that. His blue eyes looked so soft when they landed on you. “You’re right. And you wouldn’t have that beautiful pothos plant either.” He wrinkled his nose, barking out a laugh. “Is that what the thing is called? I just water it twice every week and hope for the best.” You gave his arm a playful slap, and he was quick to grab your hand while it was still in the air between you two, giving it a small squeeze. “He’s a dick that didn’t realize what he had before it was gone.”
You weren’t broken. You weren’t healing. You had survived and conquered. His words, no matter how simple, helped you to realize that. The look in his eyes said the rest. ‘You’re perfect the way you are.’ With a small smile you leaned down, resting your head against his thigh as you soaked up the comfortable heat from the sun. You felt his muscles tense, but after a second he relaxed, placing a hand on your shoulder. He kept it there, a comfortable silence befalling the two of you. The soft crashing of the waves and birds overhead lulled you, and the weight of his hand made you feel safe. You were being vulnerable in front of a man, and that in itself was the biggest leap of faith you’d taken in years. It wasn’t scary either. Not like you thought it would be. “Don’t you want to take in the view? We leave the morning after tomorrow, and you might miss it.” He spoke softly to you, his sandy fingers moving up to gently twirl a strand of your hair around his finger. You hummed softly, shaking your head. “I want you to enjoy it for the both of us.” There was something so disarming about that statement, and you weren’t sure why. It hung in the air between you two for a few seconds.
“I moved to New York after my mom passed- I was telling your father that last night.” He didn’t want you to be the only one to speak about their past. You kept your eyes closed, nodding against his thigh to let him know that you were listening. “She was the only person that I had ever really loved. She was my best friend, and I miss her every day. I’m kinda like you, I guess.” You licked your lips before speaking. “Everything reminded you of her?” He cleared his throat softly. “Yeah. It did. After a while the sympathy casseroles all start to taste the same. I can’t stand being pitied. For a few months there, my dad was calling every day to check in on me.” Slowly you lifted your hand, placing it against his knee. You rubbed your thumb against the skin, listening as his breath hitched. Slowly you started to sit up, looking out at the water. You could tell that the two of you had probably been out for far too long, and you were beginning to get hungry. Austin must have felt the same way, because he reached out for his shirt, shaking the sand off. “I’m sure my dad is making something for lunch. Do you want to head up?” For a second you were worried that the conversation might have dampened his mood, but when you looked up at him you didn’t see a trace of sadness. “I’m starving.”
After gathering up your things the two of you began to head back up to the house. When Austin reached for your hand you didn’t stop him. You didn’t even think about it. “Thank you for opening up to me. I know that was a big step for you.” And it was. The fact that he could see how much you detested vulnerability made your chest warm and your heart race. He paid attention to you, even when you didn’t think that he was. “You closed your eyes and let me see for the both of us. I’ve never been so touched by an act of trust.” Us. You had referred to the two of you as a unit earlier without even really meaning to.
After lunch there was a knock on the door. An obnoxious knock, which told you everything that you needed to know. “Housekeeping.” Brandon’s sing-song voice filled the house as he stepped through the front door without being invited in. Your sister was close on his tail, smiling when she caught sight of you. Slowly that smile dimmed, then turned into a frown. “Why aren’t you two dressed?” You and Austin turned to look at each other, your mouths filled with food. “Huh?” You choked out, fighting to swallow back the leftover orzo your father had laid out for the two of you. Brandon walked over, giving Austin a pat on the back. “I mean. . . I like the swim trunks, but we’re headed up to Athens for the night.” Austin’s eyebrows furrowed, and he was quick to look down at you. If answers were what he was searching for, you had none to give. “Are you two so loved up that you forgot about the bachelor and bachelorette parties?” Oh fuck! You stumbled to stand up and off of the chair, fumbling to reach out for your sister’s hands, mumbling your apologies. “You smell like feta cheese.” She teased, pushing you away from her before pointing at Austin. “What are you just sitting there for? Go! Go get dressed.” He did as he was told, closing the bedroom door behind himself.
“So. . . did you two make sweet, sweet love when you got back to the house last night?” She wiggled her eyebrows at you, grinning deviously. You were quick to give her arm a slap, ignoring her small yelp. “Lower your voice! Are you crazy? I’m not having sex at mom and dad’s house.” You whisper yelled, looking over her shoulder in the direction of their room, your cheeks a bright red. Not to mention you and Austin weren’t really. . . there yet. Or were you? You weren’t sure. Relationships were confusing, and you were out of the loop. “You’re acting like you and he-who-shall-not-be-named didn’t have sex all the time when you were still living at home. It was part of the reason why I lived in the dorms when I started college.” You rolled your eyes, moving back over towards your food. She was quick to move the plate out of your reach, batting your hands away. “We’re going for dinner! Don’t ruin your appetite!” You groaned loudly, giving your hair a quick tug before relenting. Tomorrow was her wedding. You could cuss her out after she was married. Austin emerged from the room, adjusting the watch on his wrist. He was wearing dark wash jeans, black chelsea boots that had to be vintage, and a white button up. If your sister and her annoying fiance weren’t in the room, you were damn near positive that you would have started drooling.
“I’m a lucky girl.” You spoke up, shooting him a smile. His eyebrows raised at your comment, his face brightening as he grinned back. He breezed over to you, leaning down to place a quick peck on your lips. It lasted for only a second, just like the last one, but it had your knees weak nonetheless. “We’ll be gentlemen the whole night, ladies. We’ll be back home in no time.” Brandon smiled down at you and your sister innocently, and you were quick to scoff. “No strippers and blow then?” He smiled wider, picking up on your blatant joke. “I mean. . . maybe?” Austin was quick to look at Brandon, his eyes narrowed with concern. “Given my position at the company, I do get drug tested once every two months. Besides that fact, I don’t find recreational drug use even remotely pleasurable. Maybe it would be better if I just went with her-” “Yeah, yeah goodie two shoes. Get your ass in the car.” Brandon began pulling Austin along by the shoulder, the man turning to look at you with wide eyes. “Just go with it!” You called out to him, unable to bottle up your laughter as his jaw dropped. “Wait!” Your sister stopped Brandon. “No ‘I love you’s’?” She whined, motioning towards the both of you. “I love you.” Brandon cooed at her, and you couldn’t help but smile as you saw the look on your sister’s face. You’d never seen her so happy in your life. “I love you too.” Austin called out to you from the doorway.
You knew he was just playing along for your sake. You knew that he couldn’t possibly love you already.
But your heart skipped a beat regardless, your hands shaking slightly as you gripped at the hem of your sundress.
summary: after firing the colonel, elvis is headed back home to memphis. it isn't until he makes it to graceland that he learns about the tragedy of the previous night. sitting beside your hospital bed, elvis remembers a promise that you made to him back when you two were young. he's going to hold you to it.
pairing: austin!elvis x injured!reader
word count: 3,103
notes/warnings: angst!, mention of violence. this one is super sad, guys. the usual elvis angst mentions infidelity, which is a topic that i refuse to write- so this is what my brain came up with instead. in usual dolly fashion, this is a super detailed description of elvis going through the emotions of potentially losing you- the only thing that he truly has to live for.
masterlist | requests are currently back open for my 1k celebration!
He understood the words, but couldn’t grasp the meaning behind them. It echoed and echoed; reverberating there in his chest. It hollowed out the space right beside his heart, slowly spreading with each beat. This couldn’t be happening. Shouldn’t be happening. It felt like someone had punched a hole straight through stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs- the life from his body. He tried to speak. He tried to say something, but he couldn’t make a sound. “Elvis- Elvis, you’re going to make yourself faint. Breathe, brother. Breathe.” Joe Esposito was gripping his upper arms, but he couldn’t feel the pressure on his limbs. He couldn’t feel anything at all. He couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, couldn’t function. “God damn it, Vernon! Vernon!” Sonny and Red heard the commotion from the driveway, and were quick to scale the steps of the front porch, eyes wide as they took in the current state of their best friend.
“Son, the doctors said she might pull through. She’s in surgery right now, and we can go see her whenever she’s in recovery.” Vernon had pushed Joe to the side, his hands gripping at Elvis’s shoulders, then moving up to cup his face. It was almost like his father wasn’t standing there at all. He was looking through the older man. His eyes were glassy, his face pale. He couldn’t go through this again. He wouldn’t survive it. He thought that losing his mother was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Part of his soul went right along with her.
You had always been off limits in his mind. Death wasn’t allowed to touch you. He was supposed to be the one to die first, because he couldn’t bear even the thought of losing you. It kept him awake most nights, his limbs tangled up with yours, his chest pressed tightly against your back. You were always so small in his arms. It only made him want to hold on tighter. You were too pure- too good for this world. “Elvis, breathe!” Vernon shouted, shaking the taller man. He felt like he was dying. He hoped that he was. “Joe, go get me some cold water from the tap.” There was movement all around him. Hands gripping, rubbing, shaking at him. He just kept staring. Never blinking. Never breathing.
Someone had hurt you. Someone had hurt you badly, and he hadn’t been there. You’d been alone, and it was all his fault. He should have postponed the show. He should have told the Colonel to go fuck himself. He should have, he should have, he should have. Because he never would have let this happen to you. He would have taken the bullet himself if he could. It should have been him. Vernon reached out for the cold glass of water, and without any warning he dumped all of the contents over Elvis’s head. The cold water made the man jump, gasping in a breath that rattled in his chest. His shirt was soaked, his hair hanging limply down in his eyes, but the shock had helped him remember how to breathe.
“Oh god, why?” Elvis screamed at the top of his lungs, his knees growing weak out from under him. Vernon tried to keep him upright, but he wasn’t strong enough to lift him. Elvis fell roughly to the carpeted floor on his knees, pain shooting up his legs. He didn’t care. He wanted to hurt. He wanted to bleed. He wanted to feel anything other than the crippling fear, guilt, and sadness. He hunched over, bracing his palms against the floor. The wedding band felt heavy on his finger as he threaded his fingers through the fibers of the carpet. “She’s just a girl! Why? Why? Why?” Vernon had never seen his son like this, not even when his own mother had died. He wasn’t quite sure what to do. Elvis didn’t care who was around him. Who could hear his screams or his moans of pure agony. His image didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. A sob ripped through him so hard, and so loud that he felt as though he might tear right in half. “We don’t know why, baby. We don’t know why someone did this to her.” Vernon rubbed his son’s back up and down, his eyes nervously flickering around the room, wordlessly begging for some sort of help. Sonny got down on his knees next to Elvis, lowering his head to catch a glimpse of the singer’s face.
He almost burst into tears himself. Never had he ever seen a man so laden with sadness.
“I can’t live without her, daddy. I can’t.” Another sob wracked his body, shaking his entire form. He gagged, spit pooling in his mouth and dripping down his chin as he let out another loud cry. “We haven’t heard anything yet, Elvis. Don’t start thinkin’ the worst.” Elvis had worked his entire life to provide for his family. He had scraped his way up from the bottom to the very top, all so that he could have the means to look after those that needed to be cared for. Elvis had been good, so why would God forsake him like this? Why would he allow the one good thing in his life to be taken from him? What had he done to deserve this? What bad decision had led to all of this happening? He felt like he was cursed. Elvis leaned down, pressing his forehead against the carpet, sliding his hands and clasping them together tightly, squeezing his fingers so hard that he thought that they might break. “P-please,” He rubbed his nose against the carpet, closing his eyes tightly. “I-I’m sorry, lord. I’ll do anything.” Joe rubbed at his own teary eyes, and unable to see his friend in such a state he turned his back, respecting the man enough to give him his privacy. Sonny and Red turned their heads as well, their lips quivering as they tried not to lose their composure as well. Because Elvis wasn’t the only one that loved you. You were the golden girl. You were the breath to Elvis’s life.
“Son, I need you to try and get a hold of yourself. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Elvis sat up onto his knees, gripping at his hair and yanking as hard as he could. “I hope I do!” And he meant it. If you died, he wanted to go right along with you. He refused to live, even for a season, without you. Because he loved you, and will continue to love you- on his knees with his shoulders drawn back, showing his heels to the headsman, straining his neck- even then. Afterwards- no, even more so afterwards, he would continue to love you. Elvis always thought that you had been sent to him. You were a wish that had drifted down, landing right into his lap. You were a doe eyed angel, all wrapped up in pretty bows and tinsel. Far from being vapid, you contained the sort of depth that was known to sink ships and strand sailors. To make you happy had been reason enough to live, to continue breathing. . . but now what did he have? It felt as though the moon had completely deprived him, its glow so blinding that it blocked out even the smallest of stars that had once graced his sky; all that was left in its wake was a cold daunting darkness. Elvis had once believed that a world ending in fire would be more painful, but he had been wrong. Anything was better than the icy chill that surrounded him. Y/n L/n had completely eclipsed his heart, and without any source of warmth he was left to freeze. Self preservation be damned, Elvis couldn’t be bothered to even picture a life without you in it.
“Somebody. . . Anybody, please take me to her.” Slowly the men turned to face Vernon, silently asking for permission. Slowly the older man shook his son. “She’s in surgery, Elvis. There’s no telling how long that will take-” “I’ve left her alone for long enough. I won’t make her wait for one second more, damn it!” He was always traveling, going from one city to the next. The thought of you, unconscious or not, being left in a hospital room made him want to curl up into a ball and disappear. A part of him was tempted to do that anyway. “Joe, go ahead and take him.”
Time doesn’t exist in a hospital. In that room, your small body hooked up to all sorts of machines, Elvis had lost track of how long he had been sitting there. When staring at your face became too much for him he would look up at the ceiling, his blue eyes searching for any sort of imperfections. He found a few cracks and a few spots that appeared to be a little discolored. When he found it within himself to finally turn his attention back to you- he found none. He never had been able to find something that he didn’t like about your face or body. Every imperfection was perfection. Every freckle or mole he always made sure to kiss twice. Your smile lines reminded him of just how many times he had made you laugh over the years. Every scar on your knees or elbows was a testament to how wild and free you had been as a child. He loved everything; every ounce, every inch, every nook and cranny. The sound of your heart monitor became the only thing that kept him sane. It was the only sound that filled the room for a long while after he had stopped crying his eyes out. Seeing you all bandaged up in that hospital room, your body looking oh-so small in that cot, had been enough to force him to stumble off into the attached bathroom, vomiting up the small lunch that he had eaten on the plane ride back to Memphis. Back to you.
A few nurses and doctors had peaked their head into the room, hearing that Elvis’s wife had been administered into the hospital. He sat silent in the chair beside your bed, his nails digging into the the cheap plastic chairs as he listened to the murmuring just outside the door. “Have you heard about it? The celebrity that was admitted here yesterday? The story has been posted on just about every single news station in the U.S by now. Elvis’s wife was shot. I heard someone tried to rob the poor girl, and she got shot a few times as a result.”
The wedding ring. This was all over your stupid fucking wedding ring. You had told him that something smaller would be fine. That a diamond that big would draw too much attention and make you look greedy. He had been the one to insist on getting you the biggest diamond he could find. Had it specially made for you and everything. That had been the part of the story that tore Elvis apart when he had finally calmed down enough for Joe to tell him the truth of what happened last night.
Because you wouldn’t give it up.
You refused to hand over your wedding ring, and as a result you had been wounded. Possibly even fatally. He would have bought you a hundred other rings, did you not know that? Did you not understand how unimportant something as trivial as that was to him? If it had been smaller, like you wanted, maybe you wouldn’t have been approached. It was his fault you had been alone that night. It was his fault you were wearing that gaudy thing in the first place. It was his fault that you got shot. “M-Mr Presley?” He didn’t look up from your face, but his eyebrows twitched up as he heard his name being called from the doorway. “It’s already six o’clock. We could get you some dinner. You should eat something.” He hadn’t had anything since lunch, and the contents of his stomach had been flushed right down the toilet earlier. The thought of eating something made him feel sick all over again though. If you didn’t eat, then he wouldn’t eat either. “Not hungry.” He mumbled simply, looking down at the needles tapped to your arms. “Is she in any pain?” He finally spoke up, his voice sounded foreign to his own ears. He didn’t sound like himself. The nurse froze in the doorway, looking down at your sleeping face. “No. She’s still sleeping from the anesthesia.” At least there was that. You had been in pain though. You had been awake during the entire ambulance ride to the hospital. Elvis’s lower lip began to quiver, so he took it between his teeth, biting down hard. “I-Is she. . .” He couldn’t say the words, but it was all he had been able to think about. The nurse understood what he was trying to say, and for a second she stayed silent. “The doctor was happy with the results, but she was hurt pretty badly sir. I have faith that she’ll be okay.” Faith and hope had left him.
The nurse had told her fair share of husbands and wives about the unfortunate fate of their spouses, but never had she seen anything like this before. It was as though all of the light had drained from his eyes. He was a shell, half dead himself. “Just keep talkin’ to her,” She offered up, trying to give him something to focus on. “Give her somethin’ to keep fightin’ for.” And with that the woman backed out of the room, eager to get out of the stifling environment. Elvis could tell that she had volunteered herself to offer up dinner, wanting to get a glance at him. She had been the one speaking out in the hallway earlier. Gossiping. Maybe she expected him to carry a conversation with her. To sign a damn autograph. Everybody always wanted something from Elvis. They took and took until there was nothing left of him to give. He wasn’t blind to the fact that even his family liked to bleed him dry, but he pretended not to see. He looked the other way in fear of being alone. In fear of losing the only people that truly loved him and needed him.
But then there was you.
High school sweethearts. His beautiful doe eyed girl with a wide smile that threatened to split her cheeks. You were a jasmine scented daydream. His baby. His love. His life. You never asked for anything. Not even during the holidays. He always spoiled you rotten anyway, but you were humble like that. You were perfectly content with just living with him. Whenever he would beg you for gift ideas you would simply turn to him and smile. “You’re the only gift I need, honey.”
On your one year anniversary you had tried to cook dinner for him. You had burnt just about everything aside from the buttered rolls, and even they had turned out rock solid. He had practically licked his plate clean, and asked for seconds when he saw that you were practically in tears over your mistake. Gladys had told him the night before he had proposed that you had called her five times, making sure that you had the recipe right for the mac and cheese. The sauce had been delicious; tasted just like his mamas. You had forgotten to boil the noodles. Elvis couldn’t help but crack a smile as he remembered how he had nearly broken a tooth when he had first bit into it, but he had savored the taste. Savored the thought and love you had put into it all. He could still remember how your eyes had gone wide the second he took that first bite, hearing how loudly it crunched. It was still the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted, because your anxious little highschool-girl hands had made it for him.
“I love you,” Elvis croaked, staring down at your face. “And I’m not goin’ anywhere. I-I did it. . . I fired the Colonel, just like you wanted. I don’t ever want to step foot in Las Vegas again.” The only reason he hadn’t taken you was because he knew he was only going to be gone for the day, and that things might get ugly. He had quit on the spot. You would have been proud of him for standing up for himself the way that he did. “I think we should fly far away. Wherever you want to go, baby.” He reached out his hand, his fingers gently brushing against your arm. You felt cold. He swallowed back the bile that was threatening to climb its way up his throat. “I think I might die if you leave me. So I need you to wake up and look at me with those great big eyes of yours, beautiful.” He wasn’t sure how he had any tears left to cry, but he tasted salt on his tongue as he spoke. “Remember that promise you made me in eleventh grade? You told me that you’d let me pass first. You’d stick around and follow me right after.” He lurched forward, placing his elbows against the bed as a sob wracked his body. He felt too weak to sit up straight anymore. He wasn’t sure he had much strength left in him. “Damn it, baby. You promised.” He hiccuped, clutching at your hand and pressing it against his chest. “You’ve never lied to me before, so don’t start doin’ it now. Please. Please don’t go.”
He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, hunched over you, his hand clutching at yours as though he could somehow tether you to him. ‘Take me’, he begged. Pleaded. Prayed. He felt like he hadn’t done anything lasting with his life. He didn’t do too much that he could be proud of with his career. But being with you was the one thing he could look back on and truly feel fulfilled with. You two had stayed true to each other, even through all your teenage angst. You two had never fallen out of love. Had never gone to bed angry. He couldn’t remember a single time that he hadn’t kissed you goodnight. You were his greatest achievement. His soaring victory.
“Wherever you go, I’ll follow,” He finally spoke up after what felt like hours. “I’ll be so close that if you hold out your hand, you’ll reach me.”
words: 3,585
ship: austin butler x reader
summary: (request) readers friends are obsessed with austin and reader meets austin out and about. austin is intrigued by the reader’s lack of interest and is determined to get to know you
notes: first request, really excited. thank you! if you do not see your request posted, I promise it’s coming. My writing takes time and I appreciate the patience xo
warning: none
tag list: if you’d like to be added to any of my requested austin x reader fics, please let me know :)
Tipping your head back towards the sky, you take a deep breath into your lungs as you exit the theater with your two best friends. Seeing Elvis for the third time is beginning to grate on your nerves—don’t get it wrong, the movie is incredible. The acting, the costumes, the music, all of it, ten out of ten, you just don’t need to see a film more than twice in theaters. Your friends are giggling like schoolgirls over the lead, Austin, and well—right, he’s definitely pretty but you don’t understand the hype. You don’t think you’ve really seen him in much before this.
“You two are beginning to sound borderline stalker-ish.” You tease over your shoulder, Marie reaching for your arm and forcing you to walk with them.
“I don’t want to hear it; you’ve watched tons of things over again for your favorite actor. What about Charlie Hunnam?”
SUMMARY: You and Austin make your public couple debut at the Met Gala, and it's making you question whether or not you'll be able to handle the industry.
WARNINGS: kissing? mention of vomit, the met gala being chaotic lol- Idk?! If i missed any please inform me <33
A/N: This was so much fun to write omg- Let me know if you'd like a part 2 perhaps? Also can we talk about the fact that this man is the most beautiful human to ever exist like hello?!?! Anyways have fun reading this babes!!
(the gif is not mine!)
'Elvis' has definetly been one of the most challenging projects you've ever been a part of. Now, to elaborate, that wasn't just because of the responsibility that weighed on you (and the whole cast and crew) not to disapoint the Presley family, but also because of a certain someone that roamed around the set and never failed to charm you. Austin bloody Butler, a.k.a. Elvis Presley.
When you first auditioned for the role of Priscilla Presley, you weren't sure you were going to get it. I mean, the film was a huge thing. Baz Luhrmann was finally directing after years of absence and it wasn't any movie, no, it was a film about the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. So, you were quite pessimistic considering the fact that you were auditioning amongst some of the most charismatic actresses in hollywood.
However, when you at last walked in the room all your worries seemed to evaporate in thin air. Standing there before the legendary Baz Luhrmann and looking into his eyes, you knew immidiately that he was intrigued by you. That boosted your confidence so much that you managed to make an impression and land the role of Priscilla, changing your life forever.
Back to the Austin situation. Obviously, in order to make sure that you were the perfect one for the role, a chemistry read with Austin was needed. That's where you met him for the first time, his hair jet black and fingers laced with rings. Baz had informed you about Austin's method acting and incredible dedication to the role, which made you all the more excited to work with him. You and Austin clicked immidiately. Even the first moments of the chemistry read when you just got to know each other went very smoothly. It felt like catching up with a friend from school, like you had somehow known him forever, and that showed.
As the two years of filming elapsed, your platonic relationship turned romantic very quickly. It was something that Baz had instructed you to keep secret outside of the set, not wanting it to look like some publicity stunt in order to promote the oncoming film. The two of you happily obliged, knowing that your lives would be so much better without the cameras following you around every time you tried to get some privacy.
About a month before the premiere of your project, took place the Met Gala. You and Austin, along with the help of your managers, decided that it was the perfect opportunity to debut as a couple, since you were both invited. You were still a little nervous about it as your stylists did their magic in your hotel room.
"Y/n, baby, I got you your coffee" Austin's voice filled the hotel room as he walked in. He was kind enough to walk all dressed up to the coffee shop down the street to get you something to drink. Austin had always been such a gentleman.
"We're in the bathroom, babe" You spoke, trying not to move too much and annoy your stylists. You have been working with them for a couple of years now, but these days they've been running around you every day for fittings and such.
"Oh hi," Austin's head peeked into the bathroom, blonde strands of hair falling onto his forehead. He walked in, placing the cold coffee in your stretched out hand and grinning. Your hair had already been finished, your makeup was almost done as well and he couldn't help but stare at you adoringly. You looked divine to him, how did he get so lucky?
"May, you wouldn't mind me kissing her real quick, would you?" Austin raised his eyebrows at your makeup artist.
"She's all yours, I'm done anyway" May chuckled light-heartedly, placing the lipgloss she just used on you on the counter, since you would definetly need to reapply it several times.
"Thank you, May, you did a wonderful job yet again" You smiled up at her gratefully as she left the bathroom. You got up and twirled around, showing off your look to Austin "What do you think, my love?"
"I think that you look incredible, baby" He grabbed you waist, then allowed his hands to roam around you body as you two kissed. Austin's hands then landed on the back zipper of your dress, playing with it as he pulled away to look at you "Irresistable, really"
"Hey, hey, hey Mr.Butler, this dress costs more than me- Stop playing around" You giggled, your hands resting on his chest as he laughed heartily, hugging your body closer to his.
"I wouldn't say so, Y/n"
"You wouldnt?" You teased, raising your eyebrows skeptically
"Nah, babe, you look like a million bucks right now"
"Yeah, I think this dress does cost a million bucks, Austin- It's costum-made Versace" you said and you both chuckled quietly, enjoying the peace before the chaos that is social events like the Met Gala.
Of course, the peace had to be interupted by a knock on your room's door. Austin pecked your lips one last time and groaned as he walked out of the bathroom and towards the door, you following behind him. When he opened the door, you were faced with your two managers staring back at you.
"Are you ready to leave?"
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
When your ride finally reached the venue, your heartbeat suddenly quickened. You felt yourself getting anxious again but before you could say anything, you felt austin's hand grab yours.
"I know, baby, I'm kind of terrified too" That wasn't because you were embarrased of each other or anything like that but people talk. The both of you were afraid of the comments and the assumptions the press was going to make. Announcing a new relationship as a person in the public eye was a horrifying move, but knowing that you had each other was the most comforting thing.
After a few seconds of silence in the back of the car, you came to the silent agreement that it was time to get out there. You both took a deep shaky breath and walked outside, still holding hands tightly.
The two of you walked up the steps, preparing yourselves for the cameras that will capture your every move. That's where you bumped into the rest of the cast and crew that was involved in the making of 'Elvis'.
"Austin, Y/n!" Baz walked towards you excitedly "My favourite people, how are you doing?"
"Never been better, Baz" You smiled at the man but still holding onto Austin
"I'm so glad, dear- Oh!" Baz turned around, searching for someone in the crowd "Ahh! There she is! Priscilla!"
You froze. You had never gotten the chance to meet Priscilla before production began because of the pandemic. Austin had met her, of course, and he was able to talk to you about her and comfort you at times when you felt like you were doing an awful job. Now, you knew she was going to be attending the Met Gala, and not only that, you and Austin were seated at the same table as her. However, everything was happening so quickly and before you knew it there she was, red hair and piercing blue eyes, staring back at you with a smile on her face.
"I- Oh my god, I'm so happy to finally meet you" You spoke, your cheeks hurting from the smile on your face. Priscilla took your hand in hers as she started talking to you and complimenting your outfit and general appearence.
"Ready for the pictures?" Your manager said, guiding you to the red carpet. You followed your manager, preparing for the carpet and the euphoria that came with it.
Talking a deep breath you walked onto the carpet, immidiately posing for the cameras and showing off your stunning outfit, that had all the photographers shouting your name.
"First time together, eh?" Baz spoke in Austin's ear
"Huh?"
"I said, it's your first time at an event together?" Baz grinned, seeing the pure adoration in Austin's eyes
"Yeah, it's freaking us out a bit" Austin swallowed thickly, his mind being invaded with terrifying scenarios.
"Well, the only way to get rid of your fears is to face 'em, eh Austin?" The gray-haired man raised his eyebrows. He had said the exact thing to Austin the day they began filming. Austin had been so horrified that day, reality crashing down on him, but Baz was always willing to help.
"You're a wise one, Baz" Austin smirked at the man next to him, who chuckled patting his shoulder
Austin walked onto the carpet as well, getting his own photos taken before walking over to you proudly. His arm snaked around your waist bringing you closer to him. The photographers became even more estatic, knowing that they were capturing the latest gossip and the next topic of every article on the internet. Even so, the both of you didn't care one bit anymore. The press could try to ruin and dig into your relationship but you were immune to all of that. You loved each other so much that a silly little article or piece of gossip would never come between you. Getting together with Austin was the best desicion you've ever made and you didn't regret it one bit.
Despite the fact that you were having the time of your lives posing for the cameras, you could hear your names being shouted by different interviewers meaning that you had to split up for the time being. That's why Austin kissed you quickly in the middle of the red carpet, leaving you flustered but still able to locate the interviewer and walk over to her.
"Y/n oh my god, you look stunning!" The woman told you, scanning your look "Please tell us who are you wearing?"
"Hi!" You smiled at the camera and then the woman "I'm actually wearing versace tonight"
"It looks absolutely incredible, Y/n- But tell us, your movie 'Elvis' is coming to theaters soon, how does that feel?"
"Yeah, gosh, um- It feels like a fever dream, really" You chuckled, trying to be your friendliest self "We've been working on this for so long and I'm so excited for everyone to see it- I mean we all worked so hard, especially Baz and austin and-"
"Oh, now that you mention him- What should we assume about you and Austin? Are you a certified couple? Because the kissing surely is promising" The interviewer laughed expectantly
"Well- um- Yeah, we prefer not to be too loud about it, but um- I guess it was time for the world to know?" You weren't quite sure what to say, the questions making you a little uncomfortable.
"Wow, that is great news, Y/n- So, you'll surely be having some fun with Mr.Butler this afternoon" She spoke teasingly
"Yes, of course" You smiled finally feeling relief that the interview was over "Thank you very much" you waved at the woman and walked inside hoping to find Austin
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
That night you and Austin reached your hotel room so exhausted, both of you very introverted and easily drained by social events. You got undressed in silence and ended up in the bathroom, brushing your teeth.
"How are you feeling?" Austin placed his toothbrush back on the holder, leaning on the sink as he looked at you
"Good, yeah, I'm good" You nodded your head, looking as if you were trying to convince yourself. To be honest, you weren't feeling your best. Just the thought of waking up to tweets and articles about you and Austin made you want to vomit. You knew, when you started in the industry, that it would be hard being in the public eye and you thought that you were prepared for it. Perhaps you were wrong, because the fact that now everyone knew about your private life felt unsettling.
"You're lying to me, baby" Austin slightly frowned, rubbing circles on the small of your back
"I don't know, Austin I-" You sighed also placing your toothbrush on the holder "I thought I was ready for this but apparently I'm not- I mean, the fact that everyone suddenly knows about our private life just makes me really uncomfortable"
"It's alright" He whispered, hugging you "It's all going to be fine, my love"
That night you fell asleep, your legs and arms tangled with each other under the sheets. Maybe you didn't know what the future was going to be like but you were convinced that Austin would be apart of it no matter what.
A/N: this one’s short bc i wrote it during class but i really didn’t know how to add on to it so here it is :)
warnings: none, i think!
word count: 550
summary: while austin is filming on a late night, you can’t fall asleep. once he finally gets home, he helps to cure your insomnia.
You let out a sigh as you rolled over to check the alarm clock. 2:17 am. Shit, you thought. Even if I fell asleep right now, I’d only get like 4 hours of sleep.
It was another one of those nights. You’d stayed up a bit later than you meant to and now you weren’t tired. And no matter what you tried, nothing worked. You just couldn’t fall asleep. On top of that, your anxiety was having a hay day, and you couldn’t close your eyes without paranoia setting in. You desperately wished that your lover would be home soon.
Your boyfriend, Austin, was in the process of filming for a new movie. There had been a lot of late nights recently, so you’d grown used to falling asleep alone, but tonight you just couldn’t shake the loneliness. You sat up, hugging your knees to your chest, as tears began to well in your eyes. You just wanted to sleep. But it seemed the universe was against you.
The sound of a car pulling into your driveway snapped you back to reality. Maybe that’s him. You heard a car door open and close, and shortly after, the sound of keys jingling outside your front door. You hurriedly wiped your eyes before laying back down in bed and pretending to be asleep. The last thing you wanted was to make your boyfriend feel bad about the effect these late nights had on you.
The bedroom door opened and Austin walked in, setting down his things before looking over toward you. You must have done a decent job of making yourself look asleep, because he hummed a little and came over to plant a kiss on your forehead before going into the bathroom to shower. You waited to hear the shower turn on before you sat back up, deciding to just wait until he got out of the shower and then pretending to wake up when he came out of the bathroom.
———————————————
“Did I wake you darlin’? I’m sorry if I did, I was tryin’ to be quiet,” Austin told you, a bit of southern twang still in his voice from shooting.
“I mean sort of, but it’s not a big deal. I wasn’t really sleeping well anyways,” you told him, not wanting to lie to him but also not wanting to fully let him in on the extent of your restlessness. “How was your day? Anything exciting happen?”
He told you all about his day and the different types of scenes he had filmed as he got into bed beside you and wrapped his body around yours. He was starting to get a tired rasp in his voice, a sign that you knew meant he was probably going to drift off to sleep soon. You laid your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as you told him about the things you had done while he was gone. He began to stroke your hair, and you weren’t sure if he even knew what he was doing, but you melted under the gentle affection.
Cuddled up in bed with your love, having your hair played with, and half-whispering about the most mundane things seemed to cure your insomnia. Within minutes you were fully passed out. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt so content.
A/N: I just tagged a bunch of people in this in hopes that it'll take off, I could really use that right now with how life's treating me. But if you'd like to be removed from the tags just let me know!
A/N 2: Don't forget to reblog, like, share and comment on your favorite artists works! Anything helps 💛
There she stood, outside of the pop up tent that Elvis Presley had just performed under. She fluffed her hair a bit, a piece of paper gripped in her hand tightly while her arms stayed crossed over her chest in a fight against the cold.
She heard the screams and cries of a herd of women getting closer to her and she stood up straighter as she waited semi-patiently.
"ELVIS!!!!" She heard one girl sob out as a mob swarmed past her making her stumble back slightly, at the front of the herd stood the flock shepard; Mr. Presley, walking at a steady yet quick pace as he held the cap of a pen between his teeth while signing every picture and slip of paper that was shoved into his hands.
A normal human would've been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of screaming, begging, pleading women, but Elvis was not a normal human, that much was for sure. Not with the way he moved on that stage. Not with the way he commanded the bodies of hundreds of people.
"Woah!" Y/n heard a man with a raspy voice call out with a chuckle and she looked up to see young Elvis shielding his eyes from that of a woman's bare breasts. Her mouth nearly fell open at the sight, she couldn't believe the lengths some women were willing to go through for just a taste of his attention. Nonetheless, Elvis reached forward and signed her breasts which caused her to literally faint in front of the man, but luckily her friends were there to hold her up as they quickly pulled her shirt closed.
He kissed a few women, signed a few papers before a large man approached him and shooed off all the women, telling them that Elvis needed to go get his beauty sleep. The girls wept and sighed but left the boy alone anyways. Except for Y/n.
She had waited for the crowd to dissipate before making her move, walking up to the back of Mr. Presley while he stared out into the open space, she wondered for a split moment if she should interrupt him, before she decided she'd just make it fast and polite, chances were she'd never get this chance again and with that, she made her move.
"Um, Mr. Presley?" Y/n spoke out softly, tapping on his shoulder and he turned around to look down at her as a smile came over his face.
"Well hi there, darlin'," He slurred, the toothpick he had in his mouth getting pulled out before he leaned up against the building beside him, "Lose your crowd?" He asked, nodding over towards the crowd of girls whispering and giggling over the excitement they had just experienced.
Y/n blushed deeply as she looked over at the crowd before she bit into her full bottom lip and shook her head no, "I um, I'm not really one for loud crowds of screaming girls,"
He laughed softly as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him, "Let me let ya in on a lil secret?" Elvis asked the absolute blushing mess of a girl in front of him, making his smirk grow wider, "Neither am I," he let go of her chin and she laughed softly as he cracked that joke.
"Oh sure, the Elvis Presley isn't a fan of the hundreds of girls fawning over him," She scoffed gently as her posture relaxed slightly. She couldn't believe she was joking around with Elvis, but at the same time? It felt easy. Natural.
"Well, now hold on," He held his hand out in front of himself, "Never said I wasn't a fan of the ladies, just not a fan of the screaming crowds," He laughed with her for a moment before silence fell over them and they just stared at each other for a minute.
Y/n shook herself out of her trance before she decided to say what she had come here to say, "I just wanted to say that, while I'm not as excitable as some," she nodded her head back to the slowly disappearing crowd, "That your music lights up a fire inside of me. I've never felt so free from just music..." She bit into her lip again while studying the ground beneath her, "You're just amazing Elvis," She looked up at him through her lashes and he stared down at her with a soft and genuine smile.
"Why thank ya, lil' mama," He cooed out reaching out to trail his finger tips over her jaw softly. She was beautiful, he had to admit. Her soft features, her deep, round eyes, her soft hair. The longer he looked at her, the more he began to fear that his eyes would never behold such beauty ever again.
She stared at him for a long moment, starstruck, her eyes filled with lust and wonder, her lips just slightly parted, "I gotta do it," She whispered out, just loud enough for the both of them to hear.
Elvis raised a brow at her and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but before he could even get the first word out, she had latched onto the wrist of the hand that was holding her face softly and she jutted forward to push her lips against his.
At first he was surprised, his stature stiffening before he relaxed entirely under her hold, her fingers gently pushing through the back of his hair while her tongue poked out to tease at his lips. His hands trailing down over her wide hips to pull her in close while he slid his tongue over hers.
When they both pulled away due to the need for air, her eyes stayed shut for a second longer as her arms rested around his shoulders and she leaned against him, his soft chuckle pulled her back into reality and she blushed before she took a step back and pushed her hair back behind her ear.
"I've kissed alot of women. But honey, that was somethin' else," Elvis grinned, impressed with her bravery while he drew a line over his lips with his thumb, chasing the feeling of her against him.
She chuckled softly as she entangled her fingers together in front of herself, paper still held tightly in her hands, "Ya want me to sign that?" He asked sweetly, pointing towards the paper in her hands and she perked up at the reminder.
"Oh um no, actually. This is for you," She smiled out brightly, making Elvis smile himself. She handed the piece of paper to him before grabbing his broad shoulders once more and leaning up to press a quick kiss to his cheek, "Thank you Mr. Presley," She whispered against his ear, giving him one last smile before she walked away with an extra skip in her step and a big smile plastered on her face. She couldnt believe she had actually done it.
Elvis watched her walk away with a smirk on his lips, hoping he'd at some point see her again. He looked at the note in his hands with a gentle smile before he realized he had never caught her name, "Wait! I-" he looked out in the direction she was heading only to see that she was long gone.
Suddenly he noticed a small white square on the ground near his feet, it must've fallen from her note. Something was written on the back but he ignored it for now before flipping it over in his fingers, his eyes widening and jaw dropping as he saw a photo of the woman that had just stood before him, dressed in lingerie, her hair up with just a few pieces falling around her face as she blew a kiss at the camera.
With a dejected sigh he had flopped back against the building he was leaning on before, he looked at the crumpled note and carefully unfolded it, 'Im trouble," Elvis chuckled at the fact that she had quoted his song in her little note, 'xoxo, Y/n'. So that was her name. Y/n. It was fitting, beautiful name for a beautiful lady.
He flipped it back over, looking over his shoulder just to be sure that nobody was watching him and read the dainty writing on the back of the photo, 'Call me sometime' with what he assumed to be her home phone number next to it.
a/n: ahh sorry it’s been so long since i’ve posted! i’ve been so busy lately but i’m trying to get back to writing. sorry about any typos or anything, i haven’t really proofread and i wrote this on my phone at like 1 am.
word count: 1.1k
warnings: panic attack
summary: elvis succumbs to his stage fright right before his louisiana hayride performance, and you’re the only one who can calm him down.
You gazed out the window at the passing cornfields as you drummed the rhythm of your favorite song on the car door with your fingertips. It was a song that your boyfriend, Elvis, would be performing later at the Louisiana Hayride. You were giddy with excitement over the idea of seeing him perform in front of a crowd and on a live radio broadcast for the first time. You knew that he would do great, and you were eager to see how the crowd would respond to him.
“How you doin’ back there, y/n?” Elvis’s mother, Gladys, asked you from the passenger seat. You’d had to ride to the performance with his parents, as there was no more room in the other car after loading all the instruments in.
“Just fine, ma’am. Although I’m ready to be there for sure,” you replied, beginning to get a little tired of the same boring landscapes.
“You could say that again!” your boyfriend’s father, Vernon, joked. The three of you laughed before the quiet droning of the radio once again enveloped the car.
Once Vernon put the car in park, you unbuckled your seatbelt and opened your door. You rushed over to the other car, where your boyfriend was climbing out of the backseat, and you pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so excited for you baby, you’ll do so good. I just know it,” you told him.
“Thank you, darlin, I appreciate it,” he replied, giving you a quick peck on the forehead.
“Elvis, come on, they’ll be expecting us backstage!” You heard Scotty, one of Elvis’s bandmates, yell. Elvis raised his hand in Scotty’s direction and nodded. He grabbed your hand, giving it a tight squeeze before he turned his back to you and jogged up the steps to the back entrance of the building.
You sat with Vernon and Gladys outside for what felt like forever, eventually deciding to go inside and see what was going on. When you got inside, you headed towards the dressing room with the sign labeled “Elvis Presley + The Blue Moon Boys” on the door. You lightly knocked on it.
“Who is it?” you heard the other Blue Moon Boy, Bill, holler from the other side of the door.
“Uh, it’s me. Y/n,” you yelled back, and the door quickly opened.
“Elvis is in the bathroom right now. I think he’s having a panic attack or something, we don’t know what to do. Can you go try to calm him down? We don’t have much time,” Scotty rambled as you walked into the dimly lit room. You nodded and he pointed towards the doorway at the back of the room. You walked through it to see your boyfriend sitting on the floor in the corner of the small room. He had his knees hugged to his chest, and he was slightly rocking back and forth. You could tell he was trembling, and you couldn’t help but tear up at the sight of your lover in such distress.
You hurried over to him, putting your hand on his shoulder and crouching down next to him as he looked up. “Hey, babe, I’m here. What’s wrong? Stage fright?” you cooed, intertwining your fingers in his. He only shrugged as he continued to hyperventilate. You sat down next to him and tried to guide him through some deep breaths, but they clearly weren’t working.
You weren’t sure what to do, but you knew that you didn’t have much time before Elvis had to be on stage. You began to trace small circles on the back of his hand, syncing them with your own breathing.
“Where’s somewhere you’ve always wanted to go on vacation?” you asked him, trying anything you could think of to distract him.
“Um, I-I don’t know. Maybe Las Vegas?” he managed to get out between short, shaky breaths. You knew that the more you could distract him, the quicker his heartrate would slow down.
“What was your last dream about?” you asked, hoping that his last dream hadn’t been a nightmare. He made eye contact with you, furrowing his brows together. “Just try to think about it, please.”
“I think it was about prom. And you were there, and so was my dad. And for some reason he was dancing with you, and I had to fight him to win you over,” he chuckled. “It was a weird dream.”
You laughed with him, hopeful that it would help him to calm down. You were glad that he was apparently feeling well enough to joke about things. After a few minutes, you felt his hand stop trembling as much, and you could see that his breathing had slowed down a considerable amount.
“Better?”
“Yeah, ‘guess so. Thank you so much, baby.”
You didn’t say anything, instead giving him a kiss on the cheek and helping him up. He pulled you into a tight hug.
“As sweet as this is, we’ve got to get on stage, Elvis,” Scotty hollered into the bathroom.
You pulled away from Elvis, allowing him to hurry out of the small room.
“I love you, break a leg!” you called out behind him just before you heard the door to the dressing room shut. You walked out alone, heading back towards the back door you had come in through. Vernon and Gladys were waiting outside for you with worried looks on their faces.
“What happened? What took you so long?” Gladys asked you, putting her arm around your shoulders as the three of you made your way around the building to the front entrance.
“Oh, nothing. Just some technical difficulties,” you replied. As much as you wanted to let her in on what had happened, you knew it would only make her worry, and you wanted her to be able to enjoy her sons performance as much as possible. You knew he’d be amazing, and you didn’t want anything to dampen the pride you knew Vernon and Gladys would feel seeing him onstage. You walked into the venue with a smile on your face, trembling with excitement.
You made it inside just in time, taking a seat with Vernon and Gladys as Elvis Presley + The Blue Moon Boys were announced. You beamed up at the stage as your boyfriend walked out to the microphone, taking a moment to scan the audience. He made eye contact with you and you could almost see the worries melt away as his face lit up. You had no doubt in your mind that he would be amazing.
Let Me Help You, Please [Austin Butler x fem!reader]
A/N: i didn’t proofread this one and i have sick brain right now so i’m v sorry if there are mistakes or my word choices are repetitive :) i couldn’t get this out of my head so i just had to write it anyways i hope you enjoy it :)
word count: 1.3k
warnings: panic attack, talk of intrusive thoughts/self-confidence issues and insecurities, implied claustrophobia
summary: you get overwhelmed while trying on clothes for your birthday, and austin is there to help you out
You huffed as your eyes slowly scanned your body in the fitting room mirror. Some song you’d already heard way too many times droned on over the store speakers and you could hear a mother and daughter talking in the next room over. Must be nice, you thought, having to worry about the color of a dress, not which of your insecurities it will flaunt to the world. This was the fourth store you’d been to today, in search of an outfit to wear for your upcoming birthday. Everything you tried on looked wrong on you. It didn’t matter how many different styles, colors, or fabrics you tried, none of them looked right. All of them seemed to direct attention straight to something you’d hoped to hide. You made eye contact with yourself in the mirror once again, shaking your head and fighting back the intrusive thoughts. The ones that told you that you weren’t good enough, that you were too big to wear anything this nice. You knew they weren’t true, but seeing yourself like this, you almost started to believe them. A knock on the door to your fitting room snapped you back into reality.
“How’s it going in there, y/n?” your boyfriend, Austin, asked you through the wood. He was your biggest supporter, and he always told you that you looked gorgeous in whatever you chose to wear. You knew that he didn’t care what your body looked like, and that he loved you exactly as you were, but you also knew that he wouldn’t be able to understand the way that your brain attacked itself and that it would only break his heart if you told him about the way you saw yourself. You bit your lip.
“Good, Aus, I’ll be out in a minute,” you hollered back at him, doing your best to hide the disappointment and sadness in your voice. This certainly wouldn’t be your first breakdown in a fitting room, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but you’d never had Austin with you when it happened. You almost wished you hadn’t let him come with you in the first place, but he had seemed excited to tag along, offering to take you out to lunch afterwards and everything.
You quietly sighed as you reached for the zipper on the back of the dress. Once you found it, you began pulling it down, but it only moved about an inch before it suddenly decided to refuse to unzip. Your palms began to sweat and you could feel your heartbeat start to race.
“Shit, shit, shit, stupid zipper,” you mumbled to yourself.
“Everything alright in there, babe?” Austin asked.
Although you wanted to let him in so that he could help you out of the dress, you didn’t want him seeing you like this. You told him that you were fine, though by the tone of your voice, it was blatantly obvious that you weren’t. You kept tugging at the zipper, as if that would help anything.
“Okay, it’s obvious you’re not fine, maybe just let me in and I can help you out? Please?” your boyfriend pleaded.
“Really, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that this stupid zipper won’t come undone.”
“Can I try to help?”
Defeated, and beginning to spiral into a panic attack, you unlocked the door and stepped away. The tears began to fall down your cheeks as you helplessly struggled against the zipper in your hands. Austin opened the door and poked his head in, making eye contact with you and immediately rushing in to come to the rescue, closing the door behind him.
“Oh, baby, why are you crying?”
You just let go of the zipper and turned around so that he could have access to it. You weren’t sure how, but he managed to get it unstuck and freed you from the dress. He grabbed you by the shoulders, turning you back around to face him. He held your face in his hands, searching your eyes in the hopes that they would reveal something to him.
“You’re free now, y/n. It’s okay. It’s all gonna be just fine. Do you want to change back into your clothes?” he asked you, wiping the tears from your cheeks. You nodded.
“Do you want me to leave while you do that?”
You nodded again. He kissed you on the forehead as he backed away from you and left the room, closing the door again.
You took the dress off as quickly as you could, making sure to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror. You grabbed your shirt and jeans and pulled them back on feverishly. You put the dress back on its hanger and walked out of the fitting room, leaving it behind. Normally, you’d put it back where you’d gotten it from, but you couldn’t bare to look at it any longer. Austin stood up from where he was sitting against the wall opposite your fitting room, intertwining his fingers with yours and walking back through the store with you.
“Back to the car?” he asked, turning to give you a peck on the cheek.
“Yeah, I guess so,” you muttered back.
Once you were both sitting in Austin’s car, he turned to look at you.
“So… do you wanna talk about it? If not, that’s fine, too. No pressure!” he said as he reached over to place his hand on your thigh.
“I don’t know, I guess I just started getting fed up over the fact that nothing I put on looked right on me. Everything was either too tight, or the fabric bulged in weird places, or it wouldn’t even zip, or it made it hard for me to breathe, or it just generally looked wrong. And then that last dress was kind of just the last straw and then I tried to take it off, but then I got stuck, and I guess it was all just too much for me to handle. It’s stupid, I know,” you rambled. You looked up from where you had your hands folded in your lap and finally met your boyfriend’s gaze.
“That’s not stupid though, you know. And I’m sure you looked great in at least half of those dresses. Personally, I thought that last one complimented your eyes really well. And I think you probably handled the whole zipper thing exactly how just about anyone else would’ve in that situation, so don’t feel bad. Anybody would’ve panicked. I promise you, mama, you’re perfect just the way you are. You don’t need to worry about any of that,” he told you, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of the way you saw yourself.
“I didn’t want to say anything, because I knew it would hurt you to know the way I criticize myself. So I was trying to keep it in, but then I guess it just got to be too much. I just wish I could’ve found something to wear.”
“Honestly, I think you could wear a potato sack and still be the most gorgeous girl in the whole world. But seriously, you are perfect just the way you are. And you are beautiful and I love everything about you. I just wish that, even for a moment, you could see yourself through my eyes. I think you’d be surprised at how different your self-image is from the way I see you. But I love you, no matter what.” he reassured you. Now you were the one with tears in your eyes, yet again.
“Thank you, Aus, I love you too.”
He leaned in to give you a kiss, and then pulled away and started the car.
“Now, does my love want lunch? Because I know I’m hungry.”
“Yes, please. [your favorite restaurant] sounds amazing,” you told him. He pulled out of the parking space and began driving in that direction.
The two of you ended up just getting carry-out and taking it back home with you, settling in on the couch to watch your favorite movie as you both ate. You ended up falling asleep all cuddled up on the couch, limbs tangled together. You were happy.
