Never want kids, but oh my GOOD FUCKING GOD SIMON SAYING HE PUT A LITTER IN YOUâŚâŚ I would cum untouchedâŚ.
heâs nastyy
itâs what simonâs good atâbullying his cock in to nudge at the pucker of your cervix before cupping your belly with his big hand, crooning and teasing and all sleazy when he rumbles out, âyâfull oâme yet?â
if not that, then simon sits you on his lap, holding you up with a firm hold on your cheek and another teasing you from your sternum, then brushing a thumb on your nipples, only to stop just underneath your bellybutton. he breathes in, and it sounds like a coo, before he presses his thumb down like he could feel himself past the fat of your stomach. then he laughs, meanly, and sings, âyâr sâ stuffed wâmy cum, hun. sâtight up here, isnât it?â
simon takes pleasure at seeing you cry out, your blunt nails raking up his back as you try to tether yourself from the pleasure because heâs rightâyouâre stuffed; youâre filled. youâre fucked full.
âł author's note: this has been sitting in my google docs since december of last year. so i'm posting it now because i've become stuck and can't figure anything else out with it
The mountains had never appealed to Simon; he preferred the asphalt jungle of London; the glittering beetle eye concrete of New York City. Easier to disappear into, the pulsating feel of the crowds giving him a sense of anonymity. But at discharge, the doctor's told him to take it easy - to enjoy retirement.Â
"You're not exactly a young man anymore Mr. Riley," the military doctor said, a silver wedding ring glittering on the back of her clipboard. "You're being medically discharged - you need a plan to keep yourself healthy."
A new identity. A retirement account. A generous do-over to a life filled with one time only regrets. His heart had been grafted over with a piece from a soldier who died in the same blast that nearly killed Simon. He'd told the doctor when he woke up that he could feel it squeezing his heart, but the doctor told Simon that it was just psychosomatic - he knew there was a new piece to his heart and so he felt it.Â
It took a year of rehab before they finally got tired of him, and another six of bureaucratic hell before the paperwork was finally processed.Â
The relocation specialists asked him where he wanted to live - Simon didn't know what to say. He'd been all over the world, and yet the name of a singular town couldn't crawl towards his lips.Â
"You can just point at the map," the specialists had said, fingers twirling a pen. "Some guys do that."
So that's what he did - the clock ticking in his ears growing louder and louder as he stood, stupidly, staring at the map on the wall. He tried to count the seconds. How many had passed? Two minutes? Three? His eyes scanned the map, looking for places that he hadn't been to before, places that didn't leave a bad taste in his mouth.Â
And then he spotted it - a little dot on the map nestled in the Black Hills. No where he'd even been before, or nowhere he had a memory of. But that graft on his heart squeezed when he saw the name, and before he could think, he was tapping the map with his fingernail.Â
"Alright - I'll have you a place in a week."
The compulsion to walk starts the moment the last box is moved in; the pile of boxes pathetically small in the little house the military bought for him. Or maybe it was once a safe house - Simon didn't know and he didn't care. The walls are faded and the porch sagging, but it's a fresh coat of paint on the water stains that have plagued him. Simon can sense the neighbors peering out at him from behind their curtains; they twitch back into place when Simon steps out onto the porch, the wood moaning beneath the weight of his boots. The sky threatens to spit snow onto him; the first snowfall of the year comin' soon the movers had quipped to him. Simon hadn't replied, just grunted as he passed over the two hundred dollars he owed for moving everything in.
The air bites at his exposed face. When was the last time he was exposed like this? When was the last time he was allowed to show his face like this? Something like self-consciousness presses against him, making it hard to breathe until he tugs his hood over his head and he can breathe again.
The grass crunches beneath his feet, curled brown to protect itself from the oncoming storm. He doesn't look at where he's going, just lets his feet take him where they want to go as the sun slips beneath the treetops. The town falls to sleep around him as his boots carve patterns into the concrete.Â
The music stops him short. It's entirely out of place on the starlit street - the notes tripping over one another to spill out onto the asphalt with a gentleness that rolls through the darkness. It makes him sick to his stomach with something he can't place, some feeling on the edge of his tongue that he hasn't felt since Johnny's funeral, since he heard gunshots and saw the way Price's hand shook as he shook the hand of Johnny's mother. The absence of something he refuses to name. He's sure he's never heard it before, but it pulls him back to sand beneath his boots and to the hum of Blackhawks above him.
The street is devoid of life; light spills out of the windows and onto the streets, little jewels that hang onto the rough and cracked concrete of the sidewalk. The music is faint- a radio turned down so a conversation can be heard. The entire street is frozen with him, the little flurries that were attempting to collect on the street cracks hang heavy in the air, breathing with him.Â
Simon doesn't know how long he stands there, hands in the pocket of his jacket and letting the music wash over him. But it stops eventually, and the entire street lets go of the breath it's been holding; the flurries start to fall again, faster to make up for their pause with Simon.Â
It suddenly occurs to him that he must look like a fucking freak, standing there on the sidewalk, David beneath Michelangelo's hands. It takes every bit of strength in his body to keep his boots moving, moving away from the last notes that linger and swirl around him.
He walks all night, finally falling into the bed with no sheets when the sun starts to peak back out.
He gets a job as a mechanic. His references - names all made up and cell phone numbers that lead forgotten CIA workers whose only job is to answer and read a script- give him the best recommendations, and the old man running the garage doesn't really need Simon to know how to do anything other than change spark plugs and change the oil. The man looks Simon up and down, and Simon catches the POW-MIA embroidered on the man's hat, and that's that. There's something that passes between the two of them that neither of them speak about, but they recognize it in each other's eyes. He starts the next Monday.Â
He doesn't need the money. Between all the years of hazard pay that wasn't eaten away at by daycare fees or wedding bands, he has a small fortune to practice spending, but he needs the distraction from the walls that should be holding up his military honors, but instead hold blank emptiness. He hasn't been able to unpack anything. He just digs through each box when he needs something, slicing his hands against the knives and sharpened memories.Â
He walks his path ad nauseum. Each night there's a new symphony that washes over the little town. He tried, more than once, to not be a fucking creep and stand in the middle of the street listening for ten, twenty, thirty minutes. But even across town he could still hear the music creeping its way through the buildings and beneath the cars.Â
It stalked him beneath the street lamps until he was pulled back towards the street, trying to figure out which house the sound was coming from.Â
The snow is thick on the ground, being pounded flat each night by his boots by the time he discovers which house it's coming from. The curtains are pulled back, light spilling further out onto the street than usual. The window is pushed open and the music doesn't pour out, but rushes over itself angrily. He finds himself drifting towards the open window - the music is a siren song to him. He knows it. He knows.
He knows this song. He doesn't know how he knows it, he just knows that it pulls on his grafted heart in a way that's painful.
She plays with the kind of look a person has after years of practice. Simon recognizes it as the same one he has when he cleans his gun - the look you have when you don't need to fully pay attention to what you're doing because your body knows it by memory. The song ends abruptly - the last note wrong. It stops Simon in his tracks - 15 yards from her window. He suddenly panics, thinking she's going to look at and see him standing there. She must have stopped playing because she finally caught the stalker who's been standing on her street each night.Â
But she doesn't.
Instead she stands, and reaches across to slam the window shut. The house shutters from her anger, and she pulls the curtains closed. A moment later the sliver of light that was left is extinguished and Simon knows then, he needs to move.Â
He's getting too comfortable. He spends too many nights outside her house listening to her play - too many nights getting closer to the window until he's found that he can stand right on the sidewalk and see her through her curtain when it's closed.Â
He learns the pattern of each song by heart until one night when he passes by and the street is silent. There's no light in her windows - he immediately thinks the worst. The gun at his waist feels a thousand pounds; he reaches back to grab it as he walks up her steps.
The front door is cracked open, and his heart jumps to his throat.
Each room is empty - nothing seemingly misplaced. When he clears the final room, his shoulders sag, his gun finds its place back in its holster. He suddenly feels like creep being alone in her house.
Her.
He doesn't even know her name, and he's standing in her living room. A decrepit calico cat meows angrily when he walks by the couch, and then bounds out from its hiding spot beneath the couch to rub against his leg - completely unafraid of Simon.Â
The place is empty - almost depressingly so. It mirrors his own house, no relics of family or friends. The only thing that looks used regularly is the piano. He runs his hands across the top, and it spooks him.Â
He leaves, making sure the cat is left sleeping on the couch and the front door is shut tight.Â
He finally figures out her name when he sees her standing in her driveway, kicking the shit out of the passenger side of her car.Â
Hands tucked tightly in his pocket, he stops a respectable distance away before speaking.Â
"Car trouble?"
She jumps, swinging around to face him. Her face is closed, guarded from him as she takes in his face and he wishes he had his mask back - wishes it wasn't strange to wear a mask out in the civilian word, wishes -
"Yeah it won't start; the piece of shit."
Simon keeps his spot on the sidewalk as he speaks, worried that if he moves towards her, she'll move away.Â
"I work at the shop in town if you want me to give it a look."
She's shrewd; she looks at him like she's waiting on him to say something else, and he knows she's used to men hitting on her. But he can also tell she's desperate, and he can see the argument inside herself as she debates letting him look at her car.Â
"I'd like that."
Her starter is completely fried, and he tells her that. She kicks the tire, but this time all the fight is removed from it, and it's a pathetic kick.Â
"Thank you for telling me," she says as if the words are bitter on her tongue.Â
"I can fix it for you this weekend if you want."
"I can't afford it. And I'm not sleeping with you to pay for it."
Simon snorts in spite of himself.Â
"I'll get a recycled part - don't worry about it."
The argument inside herself is written all over her face, and even when she reaches out to shake his grease stained hand and tells him her name, the fight is still written across the wrinkles in her face.Â
It's still there when she hands her phone to him, tells him to put his number in and to text her when he's on his way back over.Â
"I can't afford this, you know."
Simon can barely hear her as she speaks over the engine, her words crawling between the houses and housing of the innards of her car to reach straight up to him.Â
"You can pay me later."
"I just told you I can't afford this."
Simon's mind lingers on the emptiness of her house that he'd seen the week before - he knew better than he wanted to how little she had at the moment. But he can't let her know that, can't let her know that he's traced the inside of her house while she was gone.
When he's satisfied with the noise of the engine, he slams the hood shut. She's leaning against the driver door, her breath fogging around her - it crosses Simon's mind that he could corner her right here, tell her what repayment he wants. but he's not a fucking freak.
He's not.Â
So instead he wipes the grease and dirt from his hands onto his jeans where it mixes with the grease and dirt from work and mirrors her lean.Â
"Cook me dinner?"
The hint of a smile starts to creep on her face, but she bites it back. She picks at an invisible piece of lint on the sleeve of her sweater before she answers.Â
"You want me to cook dinner for you? How do you know I can cook?"
"I'll take my chances."
She chews on her chapped lips before sighing, boots kicking at her tire.Â
"Come by tonight, alright."
He doesn't own anything fucking nice. He's pushed all his clothes around - in the back corner his dress blues hang sadly, and everything else has a grease stain on it.Â
"This is ridiculous," he growls to himself, annoyed with everything all of a sudden. He reaches into his back pocket to his phone. He's just going to fucking cancel. This is fucking stupid. This is-
She's sent a picture. He doesn't know what he's going to see when he unlocks his phone, but a little piece of him has some hopes. It's a chicken in the oven, surrounded by oranges like something out of a magazine his mother would have flipped through in the grocery line.Â
Hope this is enough to repay you :)
"Fuck," he says to his pants that hang limply, and they say nothing back to him.Â
He chooses the jeans with the least amount of stains.Â
She's wearing a skirt with a slit dangerously high when she opens the door.Â
You shouldn't wear that around the wrong men, he wants to tell her, but he is the wrong man, and he knows that, but she doesn't. He doesn't want to be the first person to tell her that about him.
His repaired heart knows the curves of her - somehow he knows that if he were to run his hand up the part of her thigh the slit is showing, there's going to be a scar there, he knows -Â
"Are you alright?"
"'Course. The smell stopped me."
"That bad, huh?"
"Terrible."
She wears a hint of a smile as she steps to the side to let him in; he catches a whiff of her perfume, vanilla and tobacco and whiskey, and he's got the sudden urge to lick the base of her neck. He holds himself back, hands held behind his back as he follows her through the living room, past the piano, and into the kitchen.Â
The scruffy cat comes out of the shadows to intertwine around his ankles like they're old friends. A pot boils on the stove and the chicken is on the side, steam pouring off the golden skin.Â
It scares Simon how at ease he feels in her kitchen, how the kitchen table's chair is so comfortable to him. She's tense - he can read it in the tightness of her shoulders, in the way she taps her nails against the counter.Â
Simon's heart beats too fast watching her flash around the kitchen and nearly jumps out of him when she places a plate in front of him.Â
It feels familiar in a way that terrifies him.Â
He's like a stray dog - she fed him once, and he keeps coming back. She only complains once.Â
"I'm a teacher, you know. I don't make enough money to keep feeding a big man like you."
Simon buys her groceries after that, his own refrigerator growing empty as he spends more dinners at her house. He knows they both feel it - they both feel how fucking weird it is that they can orbit each other so easily despite knowing nothing about each other.Â
He reads in the evenings. She doesn't have much, but she has more books than one person should, and she plays the piano and he pretends not to know the pieces. He pretends that he hasn't stood outside her house night after night committing each song to memory.
If she finds it suspicious that he hums along too fast, picks up the melody too fast, she doesn't mention it.Â
"I was married once," she says, like it's a dirty secret. She taps her fingers against the glass of her beer, a sharp staccato that increases in speed like it's her heart.Â
Simon doesn't say anything, just takes a drink of his own beer to quell the storm that's conjured in his chest. Married once? He doesn't know what he's supposed to feel, but it can't be this, can't be this anger that suddenly starts beating against the architecture of himself, the anger that unhooks something in his blood.Â
"It wasn't very long," she continues, the rhythm of her ring getting faster, "We only were married for a year before we divorced."
Simon's beer hits the countertop with a little too much force.
"Why'd you divorce?" He doesn't mean for it to sound so eager, so fucking needy, but if she hears the edge to his voice she doesn't say. He needs to know what led to the destruction of her first marriage, so he doesn't make the same mistake with her.Â
"We were kids, you know. We shouldn't have gotten married to begin with, but neither of us had anyone else. And there was no one there to tell us it was a bad idea."
"Where's he at now?"
"He's dead."
Her ring stops tapping.
"He died in a bomb blast almost two years ago. He was in the army, and he was deployed. There was nothing left of him for them to ship back to me. I didn't even know that he listed me as his family."
Simon's mouth is suddenly dry, and he feels like he's going to choke. She's still not looking at him, her eyes are still trained on the red neon sign behind the bar, so she misses the way he presses his hands into the bar to keep them from shaking.Â
"I just thought I should tell you," she says, half turning in her chair to finally look at him.
The ground beneath him has shifted, he's off tilt and he doesn't know what to say. I might have his heart in my fucking chest and that's why I feel this way about you.Â
"Can you take me home, please?"
There's a million things he wants to say, a million ways he wants to take that request. He swishes them around in his mouth with the last of his beer.
"'Course, love."
The two beers are nothing to him, but she's a different story. She stumbles on the ice in the parking lot, and steadies herself on his elbow. She doesn't let go until he opens the passenger door of his truck for her and he helps her climb in. Her foot bounces as he pulls out of the parking lot. It's a three minute drive back to her place, four for him to put the truck into park.Â
He expects her to unbuckle, to climb out. But her hands don't inch towards the buckle. She seems to steel herself for what she's going to say next, and he's waiting on her to tell him that she noticed how weird he's been - she doesn't want him to come back.Â
"Do you want to fuck?" She asks suddenly, and the abruptness of it takes Simon off guard.Â
"What?"
"Do you want to fuck?"
Simon's hands grip the steering wheel so hard he's surprised it doesn't shatter beneath his grip. He waits just a moment too long, and she scoffs, unbuckles the seatbelt and has her hand in the door handle before he can react.Â
He reaches across to grab the handle from her, keeping her from opening the door. She won't look him in the eye, instead pushing roughly on the door to try and shake it loose from his grip.Â
"I didn't say no." The gentleness in his voice shocks him, but it's not enough to get her to look at him.Â
"You didn't say yes either."
She breaks the door from his grip and slides out, her skirt hiking up high enough that he catches the edge of her curves.
His stolen heart beats, trying to escape his chest as she disappears inside - to get the fuck out from behind the steering wheel, to knock on her door and explain that his timing is bad, he doesn't know what to say and when he's supposed to say it. He tells himself he's going to leave when the light from her bedroom turns off - he just wants to make sure that she's safely asleep before he leaves.Â
But the light doesn't go out.
His watch creeps past midnight before the front door opens again. The nightgown she has on makes his hands sweat - it peeks out below the heavy jacket she's thrown on top. She veers towards the passenger door and when she climbs in, Simon's hands start to shake at the amount of thigh that flashes him.
"Why don't you leave?"
"I wanted to make sure you were safely asleep."
"You saw me walk into my house."
"You never know."
And she doesn't ever know. She doesn't know what kind of horrors could be around each door. Simon wants to explain that to her - explain what he's seen to her, but he doesn't know how to do that. He doesn't even know how to broach the subject of the million things that he should be telling her.Â
"Why didn't you want to have sex with me?" She asks in a small voice that Simon hates, and he hates himself for being the reason she sounds like that.Â
"I didn't say I didn't want to."
"Then why didn't you say yes?"
"I don't want to just fuck you."
Her knee bounces nervously.
"Alright. We can do the other stuff."
He almost tells her, more than once, about the heart that beats in his chest. Once, when he had her folded over the piano, and again, when she tangled their legs together in her bed and the ancient cat was purring on his chest.Â
best friend!simon âghostâ riley x single mom!reader
NSFW 18+ MDNI
You knew Ghost would be upset with you once you returned home. Not just because you had tricked him into coming, but because you had tricked him forced him into babysitting. Your best friend that has always insisted he hates children, babysitting your 1 year old.
However, he decided and stay to help you out. After all, you were his best friend. He would do anything for you. Even if that meant spending time with the thing he hated the most.
Once you were home you quickly made your way to the nursery, expecting an angry grumpy ghost to deal with. Instead you were met with the big man sitting in your rocking chair, holding your little one in his strong arms.
You were shocked to say the least. Not just because of his usual dislike for children, but because you had never seen him so domestic. The look in his eyes was soft, just as his voice while he whispered to your child. âIâve got ya, sweet thingâ
For a moment you stood frozen in the doorway. Not necessarily out of shock, but taking in the moment. It looked and felt so right. It was unexplainable, but Simon Ghost looked like a natural.
Though the second he noticed you his demeanor shifted, back to his usual bluntness. He was quick to get up, gently putting your baby back down in their crib. âYâre late. Donât ya dare ask thiâ of me again. You said yaâd be home by midnightâ
He would never admit what this awakened in him. Not even to himself. But he could never avoid where his thoughts wandered off to as he fisted his cock, wishing he could fill you up with his cum and get you pregnant again. He wouldnât just pack up and leave, heâd be there for the entire ride. He wouldnât mind seeing you sick and swollen (the latter might turn him on) with his child. The thought made him finish instantly, cum spurting all over his stomach and hand.
Soap is the last person anyone would expect to want a wife as desperately as he does but oh. Does that boy think about marriage more than anything else.
He thinks about his wedding and the full highland regalia he's going to wear and how hard he's definitely going to cry when his bride walks down the aisle. He DEFINITELY has a specific wedding night fantasy he goes to for wank material.
He thinks about his wife casually mentioning a shelf set she's interested in and surprising her by building it for her. He thinks about watching his wife reading or cooking or gardening when she thinks he's not looking. the craft room she's going to want in their house and how he's going to nearly electrocute himself wiring up better lighting so she's not straining to see at night when she can't sleep, so she gets up to make something.
He thinks about baths together (more wank material). Sunbathing together in the summer. Evenings together after work, curling up with her on the couch, turning on the telly to watch a movie or a show or whatever rugby match is on. Weekends cleaning house together where she's in her rattiest clothes and she's never looked more beautiful. Date nights where she gets all dolled up and he falls in love all over again.
Sometimes he thinks about his and her laundry mixing, stealing a pair of her dirty panties when he can't get the real thing (she's at work/out of town) so he can smell her as he jerks off. Thinks about all the videos he's going to make just for her, just for them, no one elseâtheir secret little world together.
A soft warm body in his bed to wrap himself around every night. Someone he gets so close to, sometimes all it takes is making eye contact to have an entire conversation. Inside jokes. Holding her when she cries. Resting his head in her lap when everything is too much, and her hand stroking his hair being all the comfort he needs.
You, the butchers daughter, end up stalking your father's new hire.
The first time you see him, heâs hauling a side of beef off the truck like it weighs nothing, muscles taut beneath his apron. His broad shoulders stretch the fabric, veins running thick down his forearms as he grips the meat hook. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, revealing strong arms marred with faded scarsâsome thin and clean, others jagged, stories youâll never hear. His hands, wrapped in black gloves, are steady as he works, but you wonder what theyâd feel like bare.
Then thereâs the mask. Black, snug, covering everything from the bridge of his nose down, leaving only his sharp, calculating eyes visible. Dark and unreadable, they barely glance your way. Youâve tried to catch him slipping, maybe when he wipes sweat from his forehead or adjusts the apron strings that crisscross his powerful back, but heâs carefulânever lets you see too much.
The tattoos peek out beneath his sleeves and creep along his collarbones where his shirt dips. Flames coil around his wrists, swallowing skulls with hollow eyes. A soldier, masked like him, grips a rifle among the chaos. A bomb mid-fall, grinning shark teeth, dog tags suspended in inkâeach piece a fragment of something unspoken. Youâve glimpsed ink curling over the tendons of his neck, bold lines, and intricate designs that hint at a past you arenât meant to know. Itâs all war, death, and destruction, an unspoken story carved into his flesh. When he moves, the shadows shift over the ink, making it seem alive. You want to ask, to pry, but heâs as unreadable as the art on his skin
He doesnât talk much, just nods when your father gives orders. The others joke around, laugh, make noiseâbut heâs silent, methodical, unsettling in the way he moves like heâs done this before. Like butchering meat is nothing new to him.
But what frustrates you the most? He never looks at you for more than a second. Never lingers, never smirks, never acknowledges the way you watch him. As if youâre invisible. And that, more than anything, makes you want to figure him out.
At first, it was just curiosity. No man had ever outright ignored you beforeânot when you batted your lashes, not when you "accidentally" brushed too close, not when you lingered just a little too long in his space.
But him? He barely acknowledged you. A nod if you were lucky. A grunt if you spoke directly to him. Most of the time, he just kept working, muscles flexing under his apron, strong hands wielding a cleaver with practiced ease.
The othersâyour fatherâs old hands, the regulars who came in for their weekly cutsâwouldâve tripped over their feet to get your attention. They always had. You were used to the lingering stares, the awkward compliments, the way men fumbled through conversations just to keep you talking. So why didn't he?
It was maddening.
So, you did what any sane young woman would do.
You prodded. You poked. You tested.
You stood too close, pretending to inspect the marbled meat he was slicing, only for him to shift away without a word. You asked him pointless questions, just to hear his voiceâlow, rough, with an accent you couldnât quite placeâonly for him to answer in as few words as possible before returning to work.
It became a game. You knocked things over in his path just to see if heâd catch them (he always did). You âforgotâ something near his station just to have a reason to come back. You even tried teasing, playfully calling him mystery man under your breath.
Nothing.
Not a flinch, not a smirk, not even a flicker of amusement.
That should have been the end of it.
But then you started watching. Not just at workâno, you started watching him.
The way he left every night at the same time. The way he took the same route, never straying, never rushing. The way his head tilted slightly whenever he passed certain corners, as if he was listening.
It fascinated you. And when fascination turns to obsession, wellâŚ
Thatâs when you started following him.
You followed himânever too far, never too closeâalways careful, watching him move through the streets with an air of confidence that seemed to thrive in the quiet of the night. For weeks, this had become a routine, one that started innocently enough. Just a few blocks at first, just enough to ensure that he was who you thought he was. But over time, the habit deepened. Each night, you followed him further, until it became something you couldnât help but do.
Yet, despite your best efforts, he never made any stops, never took any detours. He just kept walking, heading toward some destination that only he knew. And every time you reached the point where you would turn around, you still didnât have any answersâno clue what he was up to or where he was going. Just that he moved through the night like someone who belonged there. Unfazed, untouchable.
Then one night, the weather turned.
The rain hit hard, cold droplets splattering against your skin, soaking through your jacket in seconds. Youâd stopped for a split secondâjust long enough to get the damn zipper up, to pull the hood over your headâbut in that moment, he'd vanished.
Your heart thudded in your chest as you cursed under your breath, glancing quickly down the wet street, searching for the familiar outline of his tall frame. But there was nothing. No sign of him.
âWhat the hell?â you muttered to yourself, your voice drowned out by the downpour. You couldnât let him slip away. Not now, not after all this time.
You started to jog, your boots splashing in the puddles as your eyes darted left and right, scanning the alleyways and storefronts. Your breath came faster as you pushed yourself harder, frustration building. You werenât going to lose him now.
Then, suddenly, your body was jerked backward, your breath caught in your throat as a strong hand pressed over your mouth. The air around you was thick with the scent of rain-soaked pavement and something darker, something more familiar.
Before you could even react, you were shoved hard against the cold brick of an alleyway wall, your back colliding with the rough surface, your head snapping back slightly from the impact. Your pulse spiked in your ears as panic started to claw at your chest, but the firm grip on your mouth held you silent, still.
For a second, everything went still. The rain beat against your jacket, heavy and relentless, but there was no sound, no movementâjust the suffocating pressure of his hand over your mouth and the close proximity of his body.
You felt the heat radiating off him, the sheer strength of his presence as if the space between you was no longer your own. The tension in his arm, holding you against the wall, was undeniable. He was in control.
Your heart raced, but it wasnât from fear. It was from the frustration, the adrenaline coursing through your veins, the urge to finally break the silence between you. You had followed him, hunted him, and now here he wasâthis close. The tension was suffocating, and you couldnât decide if you were going to scream or say something sharp.
But before you could gather your thoughts, his voice broke through the storm. Low, smooth, with an edge of something dark. âThought youâd lost me, didnât you?â His words came muffled through the mask, but the tone was unmistakable.
He didnât seem in a rush, like he knew you were trapped in the moment. You didnât even know how long heâd been standing there, or how heâd managed to close the distance between you so quickly. The rain drummed relentlessly on the alleyâs pavement, but his eyes, those sharp, dark eyes, never wavered from you.
âCanât say Iâm impressed by your little game,â he murmured, fingers brushing against your cheek in a movement so deliberate it made your breath catch. âYou follow me for weeks, but never thought of what might happen when you get too close.â
âWere you hoping to catch me doing something interesting?" he asked, his breath a warm tickle on your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. There was a calmness in his voice, like he was in complete command, and the way his body molded against yours told you he was used to people being in positions like this.
âIâŚâ You swallowed, struggling to free your voice. âI wanted to see if youâd⌠notice me.â You hadnât thought this far ahead. Why had you been following him? What had you hoped to find? You were just a silly girl who wanted the attention of a man who wanted nothing to do with you.
Simonâs laugh was low, almost quiet, but it carried a weight to it that you didnât expect. It was rich with amusement, deep and rough, and it rumbled against the tension hanging between you both. The sudden sound caught you off guard, your breath catching in your throat as you tried to make sense of it.
For a moment, you were frozen, not sure whether to be annoyed or confused. Had you just made a fool of yourself in front of him? Why was he laughing?
You swallowed hard, trying to steady your nerves, but it didnât work. His laughter still echoed in your head, and your voice came out shaky. "W-whatâs so funny?"
He didnât immediately answer. Instead, you could feel him shift slightly, his hand easing off your wrist but still close enough to make you aware of the power he held. Simon took a breath, the rain still pouring around you both, but his presence was like a shield, solid and immovable.
"You," he finally said, his voice quieter now, but the amusement was still there, like a shadow in his tone. "You think I didnât notice you? Youâve been practically waving a flag." His fingers brushed lightly over your wrist, tracing the spot where heâd gripped you, his touch soft now, almost teasing.
"I wasnât⌠I wasnât obvious," you managed to protest, though it came out weaker than youâd like. You could feel your cheeks heating, your frustration mixing with something else you werenât ready to admit.
"All this time, and you still think I didnât know?" He shook his head, though you couldn't see his face behind that damn mask. âSweetheart, youâve been following me around like a lost puppy, and I was just waiting to see when you'd finally stop pretending.â
For a moment, you stood there, silence pressing in between you both, broken only by the sound of the rain pelting the alley around you. Simonâs words lingered, his laugh still echoing in your mind. You werenât sure if you were frustrated or flustered or both, but you knew one thing for sureâhe had misunderstood what you asked.
Finally, you spoke, your voice clear despite the uncertainty brewing inside you. âThatâs not what I meant,â you muttered, taking a step back, shaking your head. You werenât sure why, but you needed to ask, needed to get to the bottom of it. âDo you have a girlfriend?â you asked bluntly, your eyes never leaving his face.
Simonâs expression didnât change much, his gaze still sharp but unbothered. âNo,â he replied simply.
That answer made something inside you tighten, though you couldnât quite pinpoint why. But you werenât done. You shifted your weight, suddenly daring to ask the next question, the one you knew would make him uncomfortable. âDo you find me attractive?â
His eyes flickered for a split second, the usual guarded look breaking, but he nodded, his voice low. âYes.â
The answer hung in the air like a challenge. Your heart was racing, your mind spinning, trying to connect the dots between what he said and what he did. âSo why,â you demanded, âdonât you ever look at me? In the shop, I mean. Why donât you notice me like the other guys do? They stare, flirt, and⌠well, *pay attention*.â
For the first time since youâd started this strange back-and-forth, Simon looked genuinely confused. He stepped back slightly, brows furrowing as he regarded you. âI donât understand,â he said slowly. âI do pay attention.â
You blinked, taken aback by his response. âWhat do you mean?â
Simonâs gaze softened just a fraction as he tilted his head. âDuring lunch... I cut your deli the way you like itâslices thin enough you can stack âem. And when Iâm working, I stay in your section. Always have.â He paused, his expression almost apologetic. âFlirting with my bossâs daughter at work isnât exactly the best move. ButâŚâ
You stared at him, your mind trying to make sense of his words.
He stepped closer, his presence filling the space between you both, his voice lowering to a near whisper. âBut workâs over now, lass. And here we are.â
You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, the real meaning of his words sinking in, and suddenly, the whole night felt like it had shifted, like the game you were playing had just changed.
You opened your mouth, about to say somethingâanythingâto break the silence, to clarify what had just happened, but before you could speak, Simon moved with startling speed.
One moment, you were standing there, staring up at him, and the next, he had lifted you effortlessly into his arms. Your breath caught in your throat as his strong hands gripped you, pulling you flush against his chest, his heat seeping into your bones despite the chill of the rain.
You, the butchers daughter, end up stalking your father's new hire.
The first time you see him, heâs hauling a side of beef off the truck like it weighs nothing, muscles taut beneath his apron. His broad shoulders stretch the fabric, veins running thick down his forearms as he grips the meat hook. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, revealing strong arms marred with faded scarsâsome thin and clean, others jagged, stories youâll never hear. His hands, wrapped in black gloves, are steady as he works, but you wonder what theyâd feel like bare.
Then thereâs the mask. Black, snug, covering everything from the bridge of his nose down, leaving only his sharp, calculating eyes visible. Dark and unreadable, they barely glance your way. Youâve tried to catch him slipping, maybe when he wipes sweat from his forehead or adjusts the apron strings that crisscross his powerful back, but heâs carefulânever lets you see too much.
The tattoos peek out beneath his sleeves and creep along his collarbones where his shirt dips. Flames coil around his wrists, swallowing skulls with hollow eyes. A soldier, masked like him, grips a rifle among the chaos. A bomb mid-fall, grinning shark teeth, dog tags suspended in inkâeach piece a fragment of something unspoken. Youâve glimpsed ink curling over the tendons of his neck, bold lines, and intricate designs that hint at a past you arenât meant to know. Itâs all war, death, and destruction, an unspoken story carved into his flesh. When he moves, the shadows shift over the ink, making it seem alive. You want to ask, to pry, but heâs as unreadable as the art on his skin
He doesnât talk much, just nods when your father gives orders. The others joke around, laugh, make noiseâbut heâs silent, methodical, unsettling in the way he moves like heâs done this before. Like butchering meat is nothing new to him.
But what frustrates you the most? He never looks at you for more than a second. Never lingers, never smirks, never acknowledges the way you watch him. As if youâre invisible. And that, more than anything, makes you want to figure him out.
At first, it was just curiosity. No man had ever outright ignored you beforeânot when you batted your lashes, not when you "accidentally" brushed too close, not when you lingered just a little too long in his space.
But him? He barely acknowledged you. A nod if you were lucky. A grunt if you spoke directly to him. Most of the time, he just kept working, muscles flexing under his apron, strong hands wielding a cleaver with practiced ease.
The othersâyour fatherâs old hands, the regulars who came in for their weekly cutsâwouldâve tripped over their feet to get your attention. They always had. You were used to the lingering stares, the awkward compliments, the way men fumbled through conversations just to keep you talking. So why didn't he?
It was maddening.
So, you did what any sane young woman would do.
You prodded. You poked. You tested.
You stood too close, pretending to inspect the marbled meat he was slicing, only for him to shift away without a word. You asked him pointless questions, just to hear his voiceâlow, rough, with an accent you couldnât quite placeâonly for him to answer in as few words as possible before returning to work.
It became a game. You knocked things over in his path just to see if heâd catch them (he always did). You âforgotâ something near his station just to have a reason to come back. You even tried teasing, playfully calling him mystery man under your breath.
Nothing.
Not a flinch, not a smirk, not even a flicker of amusement.
That should have been the end of it.
But then you started watching. Not just at workâno, you started watching him.
The way he left every night at the same time. The way he took the same route, never straying, never rushing. The way his head tilted slightly whenever he passed certain corners, as if he was listening.
It fascinated you. And when fascination turns to obsession, wellâŚ
Thatâs when you started following him.
You followed himânever too far, never too closeâalways careful, watching him move through the streets with an air of confidence that seemed to thrive in the quiet of the night. For weeks, this had become a routine, one that started innocently enough. Just a few blocks at first, just enough to ensure that he was who you thought he was. But over time, the habit deepened. Each night, you followed him further, until it became something you couldnât help but do.
Yet, despite your best efforts, he never made any stops, never took any detours. He just kept walking, heading toward some destination that only he knew. And every time you reached the point where you would turn around, you still didnât have any answersâno clue what he was up to or where he was going. Just that he moved through the night like someone who belonged there. Unfazed, untouchable.
Then one night, the weather turned.
The rain hit hard, cold droplets splattering against your skin, soaking through your jacket in seconds. Youâd stopped for a split secondâjust long enough to get the damn zipper up, to pull the hood over your headâbut in that moment, he'd vanished.
Your heart thudded in your chest as you cursed under your breath, glancing quickly down the wet street, searching for the familiar outline of his tall frame. But there was nothing. No sign of him.
âWhat the hell?â you muttered to yourself, your voice drowned out by the downpour. You couldnât let him slip away. Not now, not after all this time.
You started to jog, your boots splashing in the puddles as your eyes darted left and right, scanning the alleyways and storefronts. Your breath came faster as you pushed yourself harder, frustration building. You werenât going to lose him now.
Then, suddenly, your body was jerked backward, your breath caught in your throat as a strong hand pressed over your mouth. The air around you was thick with the scent of rain-soaked pavement and something darker, something more familiar.
Before you could even react, you were shoved hard against the cold brick of an alleyway wall, your back colliding with the rough surface, your head snapping back slightly from the impact. Your pulse spiked in your ears as panic started to claw at your chest, but the firm grip on your mouth held you silent, still.
For a second, everything went still. The rain beat against your jacket, heavy and relentless, but there was no sound, no movementâjust the suffocating pressure of his hand over your mouth and the close proximity of his body.
You felt the heat radiating off him, the sheer strength of his presence as if the space between you was no longer your own. The tension in his arm, holding you against the wall, was undeniable. He was in control.
Your heart raced, but it wasnât from fear. It was from the frustration, the adrenaline coursing through your veins, the urge to finally break the silence between you. You had followed him, hunted him, and now here he wasâthis close. The tension was suffocating, and you couldnât decide if you were going to scream or say something sharp.
But before you could gather your thoughts, his voice broke through the storm. Low, smooth, with an edge of something dark. âThought youâd lost me, didnât you?â His words came muffled through the mask, but the tone was unmistakable.
He didnât seem in a rush, like he knew you were trapped in the moment. You didnât even know how long heâd been standing there, or how heâd managed to close the distance between you so quickly. The rain drummed relentlessly on the alleyâs pavement, but his eyes, those sharp, dark eyes, never wavered from you.
âCanât say Iâm impressed by your little game,â he murmured, fingers brushing against your cheek in a movement so deliberate it made your breath catch. âYou follow me for weeks, but never thought of what might happen when you get too close.â
âWere you hoping to catch me doing something interesting?" he asked, his breath a warm tickle on your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. There was a calmness in his voice, like he was in complete command, and the way his body molded against yours told you he was used to people being in positions like this.
âIâŚâ You swallowed, struggling to free your voice. âI wanted to see if youâd⌠notice me.â You hadnât thought this far ahead. Why had you been following him? What had you hoped to find? You were just a silly girl who wanted the attention of a man who wanted nothing to do with you.
Simonâs laugh was low, almost quiet, but it carried a weight to it that you didnât expect. It was rich with amusement, deep and rough, and it rumbled against the tension hanging between you both. The sudden sound caught you off guard, your breath catching in your throat as you tried to make sense of it.
For a moment, you were frozen, not sure whether to be annoyed or confused. Had you just made a fool of yourself in front of him? Why was he laughing?
You swallowed hard, trying to steady your nerves, but it didnât work. His laughter still echoed in your head, and your voice came out shaky. "W-whatâs so funny?"
He didnât immediately answer. Instead, you could feel him shift slightly, his hand easing off your wrist but still close enough to make you aware of the power he held. Simon took a breath, the rain still pouring around you both, but his presence was like a shield, solid and immovable.
"You," he finally said, his voice quieter now, but the amusement was still there, like a shadow in his tone. "You think I didnât notice you? Youâve been practically waving a flag." His fingers brushed lightly over your wrist, tracing the spot where heâd gripped you, his touch soft now, almost teasing.
"I wasnât⌠I wasnât obvious," you managed to protest, though it came out weaker than youâd like. You could feel your cheeks heating, your frustration mixing with something else you werenât ready to admit.
"All this time, and you still think I didnât know?" He shook his head, though you couldn't see his face behind that damn mask. âSweetheart, youâve been following me around like a lost puppy, and I was just waiting to see when you'd finally stop pretending.â
For a moment, you stood there, silence pressing in between you both, broken only by the sound of the rain pelting the alley around you. Simonâs words lingered, his laugh still echoing in your mind. You werenât sure if you were frustrated or flustered or both, but you knew one thing for sureâhe had misunderstood what you asked.
Finally, you spoke, your voice clear despite the uncertainty brewing inside you. âThatâs not what I meant,â you muttered, taking a step back, shaking your head. You werenât sure why, but you needed to ask, needed to get to the bottom of it. âDo you have a girlfriend?â you asked bluntly, your eyes never leaving his face.
Simonâs expression didnât change much, his gaze still sharp but unbothered. âNo,â he replied simply.
That answer made something inside you tighten, though you couldnât quite pinpoint why. But you werenât done. You shifted your weight, suddenly daring to ask the next question, the one you knew would make him uncomfortable. âDo you find me attractive?â
His eyes flickered for a split second, the usual guarded look breaking, but he nodded, his voice low. âYes.â
The answer hung in the air like a challenge. Your heart was racing, your mind spinning, trying to connect the dots between what he said and what he did. âSo why,â you demanded, âdonât you ever look at me? In the shop, I mean. Why donât you notice me like the other guys do? They stare, flirt, and⌠well, *pay attention*.â
For the first time since youâd started this strange back-and-forth, Simon looked genuinely confused. He stepped back slightly, brows furrowing as he regarded you. âI donât understand,â he said slowly. âI do pay attention.â
You blinked, taken aback by his response. âWhat do you mean?â
Simonâs gaze softened just a fraction as he tilted his head. âDuring lunch... I cut your deli the way you like itâslices thin enough you can stack âem. And when Iâm working, I stay in your section. Always have.â He paused, his expression almost apologetic. âFlirting with my bossâs daughter at work isnât exactly the best move. ButâŚâ
You stared at him, your mind trying to make sense of his words.
He stepped closer, his presence filling the space between you both, his voice lowering to a near whisper. âBut workâs over now, lass. And here we are.â
You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, the real meaning of his words sinking in, and suddenly, the whole night felt like it had shifted, like the game you were playing had just changed.
You opened your mouth, about to say somethingâanythingâto break the silence, to clarify what had just happened, but before you could speak, Simon moved with startling speed.
One moment, you were standing there, staring up at him, and the next, he had lifted you effortlessly into his arms. Your breath caught in your throat as his strong hands gripped you, pulling you flush against his chest, his heat seeping into your bones despite the chill of the rain.
Soap is the last person anyone would expect to want a wife as desperately as he does but oh. Does that boy think about marriage more than anything else.
He thinks about his wedding and the full highland regalia he's going to wear and how hard he's definitely going to cry when his bride walks down the aisle. He DEFINITELY has a specific wedding night fantasy he goes to for wank material.
He thinks about his wife casually mentioning a shelf set she's interested in and surprising her by building it for her. He thinks about watching his wife reading or cooking or gardening when she thinks he's not looking. the craft room she's going to want in their house and how he's going to nearly electrocute himself wiring up better lighting so she's not straining to see at night when she can't sleep, so she gets up to make something.
He thinks about baths together (more wank material). Sunbathing together in the summer. Evenings together after work, curling up with her on the couch, turning on the telly to watch a movie or a show or whatever rugby match is on. Weekends cleaning house together where she's in her rattiest clothes and she's never looked more beautiful. Date nights where she gets all dolled up and he falls in love all over again.
Sometimes he thinks about his and her laundry mixing, stealing a pair of her dirty panties when he can't get the real thing (she's at work/out of town) so he can smell her as he jerks off. Thinks about all the videos he's going to make just for her, just for them, no one elseâtheir secret little world together.
A soft warm body in his bed to wrap himself around every night. Someone he gets so close to, sometimes all it takes is making eye contact to have an entire conversation. Inside jokes. Holding her when she cries. Resting his head in her lap when everything is too much, and her hand stroking his hair being all the comfort he needs.
best friend!simon âghostâ riley x single mom!reader
NSFW 18+ MDNI
You knew Ghost would be upset with you once you returned home. Not just because you had tricked him into coming, but because you had tricked him forced him into babysitting. Your best friend that has always insisted he hates children, babysitting your 1 year old.
However, he decided and stay to help you out. After all, you were his best friend. He would do anything for you. Even if that meant spending time with the thing he hated the most.
Once you were home you quickly made your way to the nursery, expecting an angry grumpy ghost to deal with. Instead you were met with the big man sitting in your rocking chair, holding your little one in his strong arms.
You were shocked to say the least. Not just because of his usual dislike for children, but because you had never seen him so domestic. The look in his eyes was soft, just as his voice while he whispered to your child. âIâve got ya, sweet thingâ
For a moment you stood frozen in the doorway. Not necessarily out of shock, but taking in the moment. It looked and felt so right. It was unexplainable, but Simon Ghost looked like a natural.
Though the second he noticed you his demeanor shifted, back to his usual bluntness. He was quick to get up, gently putting your baby back down in their crib. âYâre late. Donât ya dare ask thiâ of me again. You said yaâd be home by midnightâ
He would never admit what this awakened in him. Not even to himself. But he could never avoid where his thoughts wandered off to as he fisted his cock, wishing he could fill you up with his cum and get you pregnant again. He wouldnât just pack up and leave, heâd be there for the entire ride. He wouldnât mind seeing you sick and swollen (the latter might turn him on) with his child. The thought made him finish instantly, cum spurting all over his stomach and hand.
âmy fuckinâ pussyâ simon says as heâs pounding you in a mating press. your heel-clad feet are hung over his burly shoulders, flopping with every thrust.
âmmmn, yer fuckinâ pussyâ you slurred back.
âoh my, weâve gotta talker, doing a little repeat after me? fuckinâ simon says, huh?â
synopsis: When a midnight craving strikes, John Price doesnât hesitate to throw on a sweater and slippers to make sure his wife gets exactly what she wants.
warnings: Pure fluff, pregnancy cravings, devoted husband Price, excessive tenderness, and a very serious approach to fast-food missions.
word count: 833
The clock on the bedside table glowed with unforgiving numbersâ2:37 a.m. John Price groaned softly, shifting beneath the covers, barely clinging to sleep when he felt a gentle nudge at his shoulder.
âJohn.â
Your voice was a soft whisper in the dark, hesitant but insistent. His instincts kicked in before his brain fully caught upâhis warm, calloused hand immediately found your thigh beneath the blankets, rubbing slow, comforting circles.
âWhatâs wrong, love?â His voice was thick with sleep, but concern edged through.
You hesitated, fingers fidgeting against your growing belly. âI⌠I think I need a McChicken. With extra bacon.â
For a moment, silence settled over the room. Then, a soft chuckle rumbled from Johnâs chest, deep and affectionate.
âNow?â he asked, voice still heavy with sleep, but his feet were already shifting, instinctively preparing to move.
âNow,â you confirmed, looking a little sheepish, but your resolve was firm. âI just⌠I canât stop thinking about it. I swear I can taste it.â
John groaned dramatically but was already throwing off the covers, running a hand over his face before swinging his legs out of bed.
âYouâre lucky Iâd do anything for you,â he muttered, reaching for his sweater.
You watched him, grinning as he pulled it over his head. His mussed-up hair stuck out in places, and the sight of your rugged, battle-hardened husband looking slightly disoriented in sleepwear and dedication made your heart swell.
âYouâre amazing,â you said as you slipped into one of his oversized hoodies.
John huffed, grabbing the car keys from the dresser. âYeah, yeah. Letâs get you fed before you start listing my other good qualities.â
You smirked, following him out into the cold night. Little did he knowâyou had a whole list.
The car ride was peaceful, save for the soft hum of the heater and the occasional quiet laugh. You rested your head against the window, watching the empty streets roll past.
Johnâs hand rested comfortably on your thigh, his thumb idly stroking along your knee as he drove.
âYou look like a bear,â you teased, eyeing his comfy sweater and slippers combo.
He shot you a sidelong glance, smirking. âA bear whoâs about to hunt down a McChicken for his missus.â
You giggled, shifting closer to him. âMy hero.â
He squeezed your thigh. âDamn right.â
At the drive-thru, John placed the order with military precision.
âMcChicken with extra bacon,â he said firmly, as if coordinating an extraction.
The teenager at the speaker sounded amused. âAnd anything else?â
John turned to you, brows raised. âFries? Milkshake?â
You nodded eagerly. âFries and a chocolate milkshake, please.â
He relayed the request without hesitation, his voice calm and confidentâas if this was the most important mission heâd ever undertaken.
When the bag was handed over, he gave a satisfied grunt, inspecting the contents like a seasoned professional. âThere we go. Operation McChicken is a success.â
Parked beneath the glow of the McDonaldâs sign, you curled up in the passenger seat, unwrapping your treasure. The first bite had you sighing in satisfaction.
John watched you, amused but utterly enamored, the warm glow of the dashboard lights flickering across his face.
âThis,â you said between bites, your voice full of bliss, âis exactly what I needed.â
John leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, a soft smile playing at his lips.
âAnything for you, love.â He reached over, placing a warm hand over yours on your belly. âAnd for the little one.â
Your breath caught slightly, overwhelmed by how easily he melted you with just a few words.
You turned your hand in his, squeezing gently. âYouâre going to be such a good dad, you know that?â
His smile faltered just a fraction, his thumb brushing across your knuckles.
âHope so,â he murmured. âI mean to be.â
The depth of emotion in his voice made your chest ache. You leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his stubbled jaw.
âYou will be,â you whispered against his skin. âThe best.â
John let out a slow breath, his grip tightening on you, grounding himself in your touch.
For a moment, the world outside faded away. It was just the two of you, a bag of midnight fast food, a shared secret of anticipation, and the warmth of knowing that no matter what came nextâyouâd never have to face it alone.
As he started the car, he smirked. âThink weâll be doing more of these midnight runs?â
You licked some sauce off your thumb, grinning. âOh, definitely. Next time? Hot fudge sundae.â
John chuckled, shaking his head as he backed out of the lot.
âChrist, Iâve created a monster.â
You rested a hand on his arm, tracing absent patterns over his sleeve. âYeah, but sheâs your monster.â
John huffed a laugh, bringing your hand to his lips for a slow, lingering kiss.
âAnd I love her for it,â he murmured.
As you drove home together, his fingers laced through yours, you knew one thing for certainâthis wouldnât be the last time.
John Price wasnât a man prone to sentiment. But lately, heâd caught his son watching him with that quiet, studious expression that five year olds wore when they were trying to understand something big.
It started small. A look, a tilt of the head when John helped you ease onto the couch, one hand steady at your back, the other adjusting the pillows just right. Then came the little imitationsâa small hand pressed to your knee when you sighed, a too-big glass of water pushed into your hands before you even asked for it.
Yeah. The boy was watching.
John saw it in the way his son trailed after him, his steps careful and deliberate, like he was trying to map out the rhythm of care he has always provided for you.
He didnât just follow orders; he anticipated. When John pulled out a chair for you, the boy did the same at breakfast the next morning, brows drawn in concentration as he dragged the heavy thing across the floor. When John pressed a hand to your lower back in passing, the kid reached up later, tiny palm resting there for half a second before scampering off, satisfied with a smile that he made his mother feel comfortable.
And when you winced one evening, shifting uncomfortably, it was your son who slipped off the couch without a word, returning a minute later with one of your small heating pads from the bathroom. He set it down beside you, nudging it toward your hand before looking up expectantly.
John, sitting across from you, just huffed a quiet laugh.
Smart boy.
He didnât tell him to do any of this. Didnât have to.
The kid was simply learning straight from him. Picking up on the way his father moved around his mother, how he noticed things before you had to say them, how care wasnât in grand gestures but in the easy, natural rhythm of love.
John caught his sonâs eye, tilting his head just slightly. The boy straightened a little, waiting.
Good lad, he thought, with a small nod of approval.
Price is literally so gross. silver fox seeking a pretty young thing after a divorce to the MAX. his ex wife comes over to drop off their son but you open the door instead, cotton-plated in one of his shirts and hair damp from your recent shower. Price takes over and you can hear his wifeâs voice from the foyerââhow old is she? she barely looks an undergraduate, Johnâ and he acts sheepish but Lord knows he doesnât care. Ou.