⋆° ⭒ michelle ｡⋆ ⭒ @honeyylovee - Tumblr Blog

best friend ellie teaching reader how to swim and having a gay panic at how much physically contact and how little clothing is involved in the activity

in too deep 𓂃 𓈒𓏸

warnings : ellie williams x afab!reader. canon universe. oblivious best friends with feelings. swearing. lighthearted. no major warnings! i haven't done requests in so long, i feel kinda nervous eek.

w.c : 3.9k.

𓂃 𓈒𓏸

Summer in Jackson meant days spent by the lake, something that Ellie had participated in a multitude of times throughout her years so far spent in the safe community.

Everyone indulged–some more than others. Lake days tended to be slightly more popular amongst the younger crowd in Jackson, specifically those in their late teens and twenties. When Ellie had been just a few years younger–newly swimming–Cat had helped Ellie out of her shell, allowing her to spread her wings and grasp the idea that yes, Ellie could have fun moments, too.

Ellie had spent her summer of seventeen being kissed by Cat under the gazes of all of their friends, the grassy ground and lapping water serving as an oasis. Not entirely private, but comfortable.

Though things changed as time went on, days at the lake did not. Ellie was no longer being kissed, for Cat was no longer her girlfriend. Amicable still, and respected in quiet that didn’t need to be disturbed–the terms were just fine. Ellie and Cat didn’t really hang out much anymore, or talk frequently… but company would be shared by the water. A given, really, no matter the day or year.

These days, Dina and Jesse typically planned the outings, to which Ellie would be roused from her space to join them. Wyoming summers were pleasant, too, for the most part. The nights still got cold, however–so asses would be put into gear before sundown to make it home in time. As long as they were careful, Maria didn’t mind it. Let the younger ones have their fun, reminiscent of a world with carefree laughter and summers that might’ve been spent on beaches. As long as safety was a priority and job shifts were not flaked on–let there be lake!

This summer in particular wasn’t much different from the others that had happened so far. Ellie was a bit older, and more sure of her swimming skills than she had been at sixteen… but really, not much had changed. Not even the company.

Except for you, which had been the biggest change so far.

You had come to Jackson with a winter storm, though you were truly anything but.

In the midst of the harsh weather, just several months ago, you and your group had essentially been rescued by some of Jackson’s patrol people. The snow storm that day had been unrelenting, your fingers frozen so stiffly that you had genuinely feared potentially losing feeling in them forever.

Even with chattering teeth, and lips that had started to turn purple, you attempted to greet the people of Jackson with a smile. Your gratefulness went a long way, and if simple manners were all that you could offer in return at the time, then so be it.

Getting comfortable can be hard. Trusting safety can be difficult. Despite those things, and the other adjustments that come with joining a new community and meeting new people, you had found your place within Jackson rather quickly.

Found genuine friends, even.

For that, Ellie was grateful. A little disbelieving, too, that some girl–you–had suddenly shown up and liked to look at comics with her. Didn’t mind listening to the same albums on repeat, either. Your falling into friendship with Ellie had been like the warmth of the sun thawing frosted dew on the grass.

You fit into the small friend group like a piece that they didn’t realize was missing until your presence just worked. Plus, Ellie loved not having to be a third wheel anymore, despite how welcoming Dina and Jesse had always been with her. Ellie liked a lot of things about you being around, honestly. She wasn’t completely verbal about it, but it was shown in other ways. There was a photo of you–smiling and leaning against Shimmer’s stall–that was tacked to the board above Ellie’s bed. You had joined the visual space of her loved ones after a few months of friendship.

And now, as it was your first summer spent in Jackson, you were to have your first lake day with Ellie, Jesse, and Dina.

The four of you were lucky to sneak away alone, without any additional people tagging along or also heading there for their own plans that afternoon. The extra company wasn’t necessarily always minded, but it was nice to have some privacy, sometimes. Guards could be lowered, and all that. Jokes unrestricted. Inhibitions lowered.

The afternoon had been a good one so far.

The sun was bright, golden streaks of light reflecting off of the water. Dina had stripped down to her underwear and bra, and was floating peacefully on her back, eyes shut. Jesse idled nearby her, tracing his fingers through ripples on the water’s surface.

You had stripped down, too. Underwear and a tanktop were what had covered your body, though your flimsy attempt at some sort of modesty had been abandoned as you pulled off your top, opting to remain in your bra instead. The feeling of the wet material of the tanktop clinging to your skin had been driving you crazy. Sufficient apparel for swimming would’ve been brought, had any of you known that actually getting in the lake would’ve been feasible on this day. You had figured that the water would still be too cold for a proper submerging, and that the afternoon would’ve been spent lounging in the grass and dipping only your feet in.

The water was cold, but the sun was warm enough to make you all reconsider. You had hesitated, still. Dina had been the first to suggest it, and then to act on it. Fuck it, she had said with a grin. And then Jesse followed her into the water.

The lake was most shallow closest to the grassy edge, though you knew that it dropped off to be deeper near where Jesse and Dina were swimming.

You stayed in the shallow, eyes shut and face tilted toward the sun. Really, you were hardly in the water at all. You sat with your legs stretched out in front of you, leaning back on your elbows. The water lapped over your bare thighs, the tranquil sound mingling with the faint scratching of Ellie’s pencil against pages–taking place just behind you.

Ellie was on the grass–her choppy, auburn strands only half dried. She was bent over her journal, sketching trees that were in her line of sight. She had been in the water earlier, having had a splash fight with Jesse while very deliberately preventing her gaze from flickering toward your form whatsoever. Now, with you just a few feet in front of her, it was proving to be a little more difficult.

Well.

It really wasn’t a big deal, Ellie silently told herself. Over and over.

She kept her eyes fixated upon her sketched tree, and only her sketched tree. It wasn’t a big deal. Dina was half-naked, too. But… Dina was Dina. And you were… you.

“Are you seriously not even going to get in?”

You forced your eyes open, head falling slightly forward so that your eyes could land upon the source of the sudden voice–Dina. She was no longer floating on her back but was instead upright, the water just below her shoulders.

“I am in,” you called to her, to which Dina rolled her eyes and threw her head back.

Her hair had been thrown up into a bun, some dark strands slipping free and ending up wet and plastered to her cheeks. “All the way in,” Dina replied, shooting you a pointed look. “You’re practically on all… grass and dirt. I thought you were excited to come.”

You heard Ellie huff behind you. Your eyebrows pulled together, a slight crease appearing between them as you glanced down at your bare legs. Sure, you weren’t in the water much… but you were still enjoying it.

“I was, I am,” you said. “I’m good like this, really.” Your sentence had started loud to bridge the distance between yourself and Dina, but had softened as Jesse started swimming a bit toward the shallow end, just so that you didn’t have to raise your voice.

“Are you sure you’re good?” he questioned, water droplets flying from his hair as he gave a quick shake of his head. “We can head back, you know. If you aren’t–”

“I’m fine.” You offered a smile–a genuine one. “It’s way too cold to go that deep, you guys are crazy. I’m perfectly fine to stay right here,” you continued, shifting your feet a bit to gently splash them against the shallow water.

“What about you, huh?” Jesse said, directing his words toward Ellie now. “Sulking because you can’t handle a splash?”

“Fuck off.”

A soft snort of amusement escaped you at Ellie’s dry response. You looked over your shoulder to catch a glimpse of her, seeing that she hadn’t bothered to look up from her sketching while quipping back to Jesse. Her pencil was held by her right hand, and she scratched at her chin with her left one–eyebrows furrowed.

Your lips curved on instinct at the sight of her–a soft, fond sort of look. Ellie caught your smile. Returned it.

Ellie’s cheeks were tinted a faint pink, a result of the time spent out in the sun. Something about the sight caused a flutter within your stomach, made your heels dig farther into the ground beneath you. The tops of Ellie’s shoulders had gone pink too, though they were now hidden from you. You had noticed it earlier though, after she had gotten out of the water and before she had tugged her t-shirt back on.

“Whatcha drawing?” you asked, craning your neck slightly to still peer at Ellie from over your shoulder.

Jesse gave the smallest splash in your direction–to which you didn’t even flinch–before wading through the water to move back toward Dina.

It was a detail that escaped yourself and Ellie, but everyone else was privy to it… the fact that it was honestly hopeless to try to engage in a conversation with either one of you once the two of you–yourself and Ellie–began speaking to each other. The world seemed to narrow down within an instant, causing scoffs and knowing eyerolls that you both were oblivious to.

“Mmm, noneya,” Ellie mumbled, giving you a brief side glance before looking back down at her journal.

“Whatcha drawing?” you questioned again.

“The trees. You really aren’t gonna swim?”

You managed a shrug, relieving your neck of the strain as you turned to look forward once more, watching as Dina dipped her hair under the water.

“You said it was freezing,” you replied, pulling up your knees a little and giving them a sway. “Plus, I’m good right here.”

Ellie swallowed, her green eyes flickering to the back of your head. She tucked her pencil within the pages of her journal and slowly shut it, recognizing something within you that she had previously been able to identify within herself.

Within a matter of seconds, Ellie had moved to plop down on the grass next to you. She brought her knees up, resting her elbows upon the tops of them as she peered into the lake. “What’s up for real?” she muttered, hesitating just briefly before deciding against bumping her arm against your own. Normally she would, maybe. But you also didn’t normally have this much skin on display.

“What’s up with you?” you retorted softly. You bumped your arm against Ellie’s as the words left your lips. Ellie nearly shivered. “You’re being quiet,” you continued, gaze flickering over Ellie’s side profile. “All… contemplative like.”

“Contemplative,” Ellie snorted, giving a small shake of her head. “You know this doesn’t count as a real swim? I learned that the hard way,” she said, and then mustered up the courage to give your arm a gentle nudge in return.

You opened your mouth to respond, but all that came out instead was a yelp of protest as yourself and Ellie were suddenly splashed by Dina. She swam closer with a grin, sending another splash in your direction for good measure.

“Don’t be boring. Come swim,” Dina taunted playfully, steadily meeting your gaze as she raised her eyebrows at you.

Huffing, you straightened out one leg, leaving the one closest to Ellie still pulled halfway up toward your chest. “I can’t.”

“You can. The water isn’t that bad. Don’t be a chicken. We’ve waited for this–”

“No, I can’t swim,” you relented, dropping your other leg to sit up straight.

“Wait, really?” Ellie’s eyebrows drew together, her gaze flickering over your face.

“I just never– There was never really a chance– I just haven’t been able to learn. There wasn’t–”

“It’s no big deal,” Jesse interrupted, using a large rock near the surface to pull himself out of the water. “Ellie can teach you.”

As soon as Jesse’s words registered in Ellie’s ears, her eyes widened. She was quick to shoot him a look of protest–a silent shut the fuck up.

“Really?” you asked, your voice pitched with enthusiasm as you focused your attention entirely on Ellie.

“No,” Ellie scrambled to reply, her limbs going slightly rigid.

“Sure you can,” Jesse said casually, sprawling his body on the rock to relax as he dried off.

“No, I actually can’t.” Ellie gritted her teeth, but you were already standing and Dina was beckoning you into the water.

Ellie’s gaze flickered to your back, to which she immediately regretted. She averted her gaze. Quickly. Not a big deal. Ellie just… liked being around you. Liked when she made you laugh, which was a lot, much to Ellie’s own disbelief. Liked the sound of your voice, even on days where everything felt annoying. And she had just… like, never seen that much of your skin before. It was whatever.

“Come on. Like, actually, please? It’s stupid. I should learn. I want to learn, but–”

No, sorry, Ellie wanted to say. Absolutely not, actually.

You stood and stared at Ellie, the water hitting just below your knees. Ellie tried to swallow, but her mouth was too goddamn fucking dry. “Dina can teach you,” Ellie croaked.

“No, I think you should do it, El,” Dina said cooly, maneuvering herself to the same rock that Jesse was lounging on.

“You are such a dick,” Ellie hissed under her breath, giving Dina a sharp glare before she forced herself to face you. “Uh. Fuck. Okay. Okay, sure,” Ellie mumbled, pulling herself up to her feet. She kept her shirt and shorts on before cautiously treading into the water, still keeping a good foot of space between your bodies.

You took a few steps backward, allowing yourself into slightly deeper waters with Ellie now approaching. “When did you learn? To swim, I mean.”

Ellie shrugged, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. She slowly followed your steps, her gaze only flickering between your face or the lake. “Few years ago. Joel taught me.”

You stopped moving through the water once the level hit your chest, your gaze stuck on Ellie’s face as you continued to face her. “How’d he teach you?”

Ellie’s lips faintly twitched, her eyebrows raising as she looked down at the water, taking a step closer to you. “Pushed me in. No warning, or anything. Just–”

She raised a hand to make a pushing motion, causing you to flinch and jerk away from her.

“Do not–!”

“Whoa, whoa. Jesus, I’m not gonna do that to you,” Ellie said, a soft scoff of amusement falling from her lips. Her hands awkwardly fell to her sides, though their submerging in the water did little to prevent the nervous twitch of her fingers.

You narrowed your eyes at her, though your expression of amusement was evident–and enough to cause Ellie to relax slightly.

“I trust you,” you said, almost like a warning. Ellie held her hands up in a surrender as her response.

“Should go just a little deeper,” Ellie muttered, rolling her shoulders back. “Like, just a little.”

You moved backward a bit more, until the water lapped just below your shoulders. “Good?”

Ellie hummed, and gave a jerky nod in response. “You don’t seem… scared.”

“I’m not,” you replied, placing your palms over the lake’s surface, feeling the gentle ripple beneath your skin. “I’m not scared of the water, I’m just not confident about my skill because I’ve never really practiced it. But I know you have to like… trust your body, trust the water, feel the movement…”

Ellie nodded, her gaze flickering over your face as you spoke. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat softly. “Yeah, basically. It’s really just… keeping yourself up? It’s hard when there’s, like, a lot of waves. But this is chill. It’s basically like glass,” she muttered, skimming her fingers over the water.

“Keeping myself up,” you muttered, straightening your posture as you were aware of how much of your body was submerged. “Staying afloat. I can do that. Easy. I just, like, have this weird thing about getting pulled under, and–”

“You won’t,” Ellie interrupted, keeping a tiny space still between your bodies. “This kind of water won’t just randomly suck you under. Plus, it’s like, physics. And–”

“And you’re here, so I’m good,” you finished, your tone soft and quiet as you tilted your head and smiled at her.

Ellie inhaled. Swallowed. “Yeah.”

Your heart did a stupid flutter, so you told yourself that it was nerves. “Let me just float first. Like, feel it. If that’s–”

“Yeah, you can– We can do that.”

“No flailing yet.”

“No flailing yet,” Ellie agreed, the corners of her lips tugging upwards. “If you move onto your back–”

“Feels like setting myself up for failure. Or, flailure.”

Ellie suppressed a snort, her eyes crinkling in amusement as she shot you a glance. “Ha-ha. If you wanna switch to Joel’s method…” she mused dryly.

“No, I’m good. Just… like, don’t let me go, okay? Let me get comfortable with it before anything else,” you said.

You puffed your cheeks momentarily as you prepared yourself, before maneuvering your form and adjusting onto your back. The slight dip feeling caused your breath to hitch, but you forced yourself to relax. You shut your eyes, the brightness of the sun just a touch overbearing like this.

In all honesty, you looked quite natural. Ellie’s head tilted idly to the side as she watched you. She bit the inside of her cheek as her gaze flickered over your form, just once.

“I feel like I’m–” you started to speak, a hint of resigned concern lacing your tone.

“No, you’re fine. It feels weird, but you’re fine. You can kinda… tread water with your hands, I guess. Or do slow circles with your arms.”

“I know. Just feels awkward,” you murmured.

“Great teaching, man,” Jesse called out from where he was apparently spectating on the rock. “Very interesting method of just standing and watching.”

Jesse’s words made you jolt, which ended in a small flail of your arms. “Ellie–” you huffed, realizing that she hadn’t truly made a move to assist.

“I gotchu,” Ellie murmured, ignoring the way in which her cheeks flamed due to Jesse’s bullshit. Her hands hovered just briefly–uncertain–before she tentatively moved them to your back, as if to hold you up.

At the steady support from Ellie’s palms, you relaxed once more against the gentle lapping of the water. Ellie, however, felt impossibly tense. It was a simple touch, really–her palms against the skin of your back. But it was also… a lot. Your body–yours–wet from the lake, relaxed against her touch, made Ellie’s fingers want to curl despite how rigid she was currently keeping herself.

Ellie did not look at Jesse or Dina. She did not look at your half-naked form, not really, and instead focused on the spot of water where her arms had dipped to support you. She was not thinking about how this was the most she’s ever seen of you, or that she’s never really felt you like this, a simple hand on the bare of your back should not be enough to turn Ellie’s brain to static–and yet.

You hummed, content with the simple floating under Ellie’s support.

“Still good?” Ellie questioned under her breath, her voice bordering on being slightly hoarse.

“Yeah, still good,” you murmured.

“This isn’t swimming, you know. Just floating,” Ellie muttered.

“I’ll get to it.”

You shifted just a little, resulting in one of Ellie’s hands to instinctively skim up your back, her finger accidentally brushing the band of your bra.

You shivered. Just barely. Ellie’s eyes–much too alert–caught sight of the goosebumps as soon as she felt them, a body’s reaction that can’t be suppressed. Ellie pays too much attention, and it unfortunately did very little to help her already struggling case.

“You cold?” Ellie rasped, her fingers twitching against your back.

“Nope,” you replied softly.

The ripples of the lake shifted you, your form pulling toward Ellie and then away from her–a gentle back and forth–as her hands remained your beam of support–just in case. Ellie’s fingertips skimmed, adjusting their positioning to what felt natural–call it instinct or the comfortability of helping a best friend–one arm slipped to rest under your knees, the other moving to the backs of your shoulders.

Your breath hitched imperceptibly, more goosebumps, but you were calm under Ellie’s touch. It shouldn’t have made her heart feel weird, but it did. Ellie was helping you, pretty much–of course you would be relaxed. You were floating. It was a nice day. But still.

Ellie tried to be careful about these things. Careful about not overstepping, careful about not reading into things. You could be more nervous about the water than you had let on, and maybe that’s why you had goosebumps. You could genuinely be cold. Or, even if it was due to Ellie’s touch, it didn’t necessarily have to mean anything.

Ellie’s breathing started to match your own, because yeah, yours had changed a little, and she had noticed. Her gaze flickered to the rise and fall of your chest–not to be weird–but to try to gauge how you were feeling. She wanted to make some stupid joke about feeling as though she was doing most of the work, but her mouth felt too dry. And the physical contact felt… nice. Admittedly. Nicer than it should, probably.

Ellie’s fingers flexed against you, the goosebumps still jarring her. It was a mixture of things, really, combined with your skin, soft and slippery and so close–

“Fuck–” Ellie hissed, pulling her arms out from under your form as if she had suddenly been burned.

You yelped at the brashness of it, your body flailing as your support had quite literally been pulled out from under you. Splashes washed over Ellie as you kicked your feet and circled your arms to steady yourself, and Ellie was already a few feet away by the time that you had gotten yourself upright.

“Ellie, what the fuck?” you sputtered, water dripping down your face as you whirled around to her, your face scrunched in confusion and mild annoyance.

Ellie’s chest heaved, her hands hovering awkwardly above the water as though she were afraid to touch anything else. The heat of humiliation washed over her face, and the sound of Dina and Jesse’s loud, echoing laughter from the rock didn’t help either.

“Sorry. I– Fuck, sorry. There was– I didn’t– It’s cold. Are you cold?”

You shook your head, wiping at your wet face with your wet hands, doing little to do away with the water droplets. Heart hammering in your chest, you pushed yourself through the water, moving back toward the shallow end anyway.

Ellie stood frozen as she watched, waiting until you were ahead of her before she forced herself to follow, her pulse feeling uncomfortably quick. “Fucking nice, Ellie,” she grumbled under her breath.

𓂃 𓈒𓏸

& thank you to @letmebeurbaby for helping me proofread <3

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