okay so the concept for the fan fic is like the character being opie’s younger sister (im imagining the difference being like 10 or so years) and opie having essentially raised her because both of their parents are respectively unavailable emotionally and physically. and she is just the root of all his fatherly instincts and he just loves her to death???? i have so many head cannons for this it’s not okay but this is the first chapter kinda like a preface to the fic and establishing their relationship
Closing the back door behind her with such gentle caution, a spark of excitement ignited in her eyes as she walked silently to the back gate. It was a teetering balance between the excitement of peaking something other than her mother’s cold indifference by running towards what her mother had so struggled to pull her away from or the excitement of feeling like a whole person again at the sight of what she always considered her other half. The only person that had taken a second to understand her, the only person that showed anything other than indifference towards him, the only constant in her life. However, as she walked through the gate and caught a glimpse of the worn pick-up truck it was clear once again the real reason she counted down the days to this night. Running towards the dark figure leaning against the truck with blind faith, Laney threw her body at the figure wrapping her hands firmly around him with theirs following in suit.
“Goddamn I missed you, squirt” the deep voice rumbled in a chuckle as Opie effortlessly picked the petite figure off the ground to seemingly crush her against his chest.
“I missed you too, Ops, but I also miss breathing” his younger sister squeaked as she as she squirmed against the man’s chest that was culminating in a familiar smell of cigarette smoke and childhood safety that he couldn’t shake no matter how old they got. It was a few moment of breathlessness until the much larger man spared Laney and placed her back on the ground with an unceremonious ruffle of her hair. “Come on, hop in, short stuff” Opie noted, opening the car door and reaching his hand out to prop the girl up and into the bench seat. Not long after settling into her seat and began to bring the seat belt over her chest, Opie settled into the ca seeming to shift the balance in the truck. Leaning over, he pressed a tender kiss on the blonde’s forehead before starting the car engine.
“You know, we’re going to have to get you on a bike one day. Do you know how much easier this would be if you would let me ride down here?” the rugged man started with his pointless proposition once again, as if the cyclical argument was a fixture in their secretive rendezvous as he placed his arm around his younger sister’s shoulder. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen so you can keep dreaming. Take it up with dad, not me” Laney noted, putting her hands up as if to demonstrate her innocence in the situation. “Dad and JT get plastered once and you gotta ruin it for everyone else” he groaned with a small smirk as he could almost recite his sister’s response. “I was fucking five and they put me on a bike. I broke both bones in my arm” the blonde exclaimed “so you’re just wasting your time, bro. If I won’t even get on to one with you, there isn’t much hope for me left”.
This started only one of the many familiar conversations that filled the air between the two of you, words flying across the dinner table; from questions about how her grades were looking to threats of skinning her if she was to use her years of experience sneaking out to see anyone but him. They came from Laney’s side too; questions about her father, about the new family he was beginning and fruitless prods into the life he lived in the club. However, the formalities of dinner were something happily exchanged for the ride down the familiar back road to the spot they had yet to find one to beat. The night sky was in its full innocence, untouched by the light of the city and absent of any sounds other than that of the crickets congregating and their rustling as they prepared the back of the truck. Blankets Opie had once haphazardly thrown into the back of the pickup were spread out to cover the cold metal of the bed and Laney carefully adorned the pillows at the end of the cab, turning expectantly at her brother. Taking up most of the room, Opie laid on his back allowing Laney to curl herself into the small space allowed to her with her head resting on his outstretched arm.
Silence between the two wasn’t disconcerting, however, as they gazed into the starry night sky they both knew that this time was vastly different. After what seemed like forever waiting for the other to breach the silence, Laney finally started in a small voice without moving her eyes from the constellation she was attempting to form. “Five years” the smaller of the two murmured in some way hoping that repeating it again would change the answer she knew was definite. “Lawyer said just a year or two of good behavior and we can start looking at parole, Jax said he’d make the trip down to check on you once a month. You’re going to be fine, Lane” her older brother noted, clear in his attempts to keep his voice steadied as the reality of the situation ahead of him began to settle in his mind.
“I’m worried about you” she corrected, even with nearly ten years, a foot and a world of difference separating the two, Laney still could not help but worry about her older brother no matter how opposed to it he was. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her dainty palm up to his lips to kiss the back of it before offering her a small smile she could make out by moonlight. “I’ll find a way, squirt. I always do. You’ll see me back in no time, okay? Just remember I’m going to be here for you, no matter what” Opie attempted to assure in an intoxicatingly calm voice that almost tricked him into a false sense of security. “We’ll be fine”
