stay right here - Jeremy Gilbert
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- Jeremy Gilbert x reader
- Warnings: none, slightly suggestive
Synopsis; "Despite your best efforts to keep up with the constant pressure of helping your friends, the exhaustion is finally catching up to you. Late in the evening, when you finally make it home, Jeremy is already there—waiting to ease your mind. And he has no intention of letting you keep running yourself into the ground."
The front door gave that familiar creak as you pushed it open, the hinges dragging like they, too, were just as exhausted. The air inside the house was cooler than expected, dim with the last of the afternoon light filtering through the curtains. You didn’t bother flipping the switch, instead just dropping your keys into the bowl by the door and leaning against it for what felt like an eternity as your eyes gave up on fighting to stay open.
Your bag, which by now was filled with notes of whatever other task you will have to take care of tomorrow, slid off your shoulder and dropped to the floor with a small thud. Despite knowing you should, every muscle in your body refused to move and follow through with picking it up.
The day had been long, filled with text and calls, last minute errands and tasks which needed attention at the earliest time possible. You had pieces to hold together, locations to scout and many other things to do while the rest of your friends took on some other crisis that disturbed the small amount of peace that you'd get after the one before it. And you didn't mind. You wanted to help. They're your friends. Your family now. The choice to help was yours after being pulled into the supernatural world, with it's dark corners and all.
But the days are getting longer, your body starting to go against your determination to not let those you love have to deal with everything on their own. Your eyelids felt heavier, your knees hurt, and you haven't eaten since morning. Haven't sat down since noon. When you woke up, the first thing you thought of was how much time you could save in the morning so that you'd get to do more things. Before bed, the last thing you see is the many papers and notes which remind you that there are things that need to be taken care of tomorrow. Not the day after, because that would just make it all last.
With a small sigh, you let your eyes open again and take in your surroundings once again as you began stepping further within your home. And then, as you came to a stop right at the entrance of your living room, you'd realised that he is here.
Stretched comfortably across your couch, Jeremy seemed as though he belonged here. Legs kicked out and crossed at the ankle, some book he was most definitely not reading half open on his chest. Hearing your approaching steps, he only shifted lightly in his position and tiled his head back to look at you upside down. His eyes scanned you over, looking at you as though he saw more than you'd think that you let be seen.
"Breaking into my house, Gilbert?" You asked, raising an eyebrow in mock exasperation as you sat on the edge of the couch.
"You gave me a key." Is his reply, shrugging as he began to sit up beside you. And it was true. You had given him a key. You just didn't expect him to use it today of all days.
The soft smile playing on his lips didn’t match the intensity behind his gaze. He looked at you the way he always did when he was about to say something that would undo you, so you turned away first—kicked off your shoes and padded to the kitchen in your socks.
The door of the fridge opened, revealing many options. Options which would take time and effort to cook, time which you were not sure that you had and effort which you could not put in. Not today, anyway. Instead, you took the leftovers of the food you actually did cook the other night, settling for that as you closed the fridge back up. Setting the container on the counter, you casually got yourself a cup and began filling it with water, Jeremy's footsteps slow and unbothered as he followed you into the kitchen.
Without having to look, you knew he was just leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed while he watched you with an annoyingly gentle expression on his face.
"You planning to continue running on coffee, leftovers and stress forever?" His voice was low, teasing at the edges as though to lighten the mood a little but with a clear layer of concern underneath. And you didn't respond right away to him, leaning against the counter and sipping on your water slowly as if that would make your thoughts slow down, too.
Jeremy stepped closer, and you felt him before seeing him, his warmth reaching your side as he stood close to you. "You look exhausted." He quietly remarked. You didn't respond, but maybe that was your answer.
He reached out, thumb brushing the corner of your mouth like he was wiping away sleep—or maybe guilt. And you didn't realise you'd been frowning until it softened under his touch. Then his hand slid down, deliberate and slow, tracing along your jaw and curling around the back of your neck. His touch was warm, firm. Anchoring. You leaned in just a little, the brief smell of whatever cologne he always wore which has slowly faded into him reaching you. He smelled familiar. Safe. It was the kind of scent that would linger on your pillows after leaving the bed in the morning.
His lips grazed your temple, then your cheek, softly working on easing your worries. You turned your face slightly, and that was all it took. His mouth found yours—not rushed, not greedy. Just there. Like a question he already knew the answer to.
The kiss deepened, slow and grounding, his hands sliding down on your waist and pulling your body closer to his until it fit like a puzzle piece which you both have been missing all day. His grip tightened lightly, fingers pressing into your skin.
The phone on the counter lit up.
You stilled, your body growing stiff.
Jeremy pulled away far enough to see the way your eyes moved towards the screen, his gaze following your own. Elena. You were hesitant. It had become a reflex at this point. Answer, say yes. Say 'I'll be right there'. Your fingers twitched, already intending to reach for it. But Jeremy already beat you to it.
He didn't say anything as he picked the phone up. Just answered. "She's not available right now." he said, voice quick and unbothered. Then he hung up, dropping the phone back on the counter without even looking at it.
Your mouth opened—part habit, part panic—but he was already closing the distance. Again. His arms slid around your waist like he never wanted to let go. That usual softness in his eyes was still there, but it had sharpened just slightly, something darker edging in—something that made your breath catch.
Jeremy dipped his head close, lips brushing the shell of your ear as he spoke, voice low and smug. “There. Now no one else can steal you away.”
"You didn't have to hung up on her." Your pulse fluttered as you spoke, part of you worried that you may have been needed for something important. Something that could not wait. “I did,” he said easily. “Because if I let you answer one more call tonight, you were going to disappear again. And I’m not in the mood to share.”
He pulled back just enough to look at you, one brow raised, lips barely holding back a smirk. “You were about to say yes, weren’t you?” You didn't answer. You didn't have to, because he knew exactly what your answer would be. His smile deepened like he knew exactly how to read your silence. One of his hands slid slowly up your spine, making your whole body react like he’d flipped a switch you didn’t even know was there.
“That’s what I thought,” he murmured. “You keep running around fixing everyone’s mess, and meanwhile I haven’t had five uninterrupted minutes with you in a week.” He leaned in again, slower this time, giving you a chance to stop him. You didn’t.
The kiss was soft at first—more of a promise than a claim—but it shifted quickly. His grip on your waist tightened, pulling you closer until your back hit the edge of the counter and you felt him press against you, not rushed, just intentional. A reminder that he was here. That you were here.
“You’re not going anywhere tonight,” he said between kisses, words lazy and warm against your mouth. “Not unless I’m coming with you.”
Your laugh came out breathy, caught somewhere between flustered and fond. “Is this you being overprotective?”
“This is me,” he said, mouth trailing slow down your jaw, “not letting you leave this house until you’ve eaten, slept, and remembered that you’re still allowed to be human.”
“And if I say I have things to do?”
He pulled back just enough to give you that look—mischievous, challenging, eyes full of trouble. “Then I’ll just have to distract you.” He lifted you easily onto the counter like it was nothing, stepping between your knees, hands settling on your thighs with just enough pressure to make your heart thrum against your ribs.
“You’re mine tonight,” he said, quiet but final, like a line drawn in the sand. “No calls. No saving the world. Just me. And you. Right here.”
Your legs instinctively tightened around his waist as he stepped in closer, and the grin he gave you was far too satisfied. The kind that said 'yeah, I noticed'. The kind that made your stomach do that slow flip and your skin buzz with anticipation.
Jeremy’s hands didn’t rush. They smoothed slowly up the outsides of your thighs, fingers spreading, thumbs pressing lightly into your skin like he was taking his time memorizing you. His gaze flicked between your eyes and your lips, and then lower—blatant.
“You’ve been running around all week for everyone else,” he murmured, voice low and a little rough now. “When’s the last time someone took care of you?”
Your breath hitched. One of his hands slid under the hem of your shirt, fingers brushing bare skin, featherlight. Not enough to do anything, just enough to tease. Just enough to make you want to lean in, to chase more. “I’m serious,” he added, eyes locked to yours. “You’re so busy being strong for everyone else, I don’t think you’ve stopped to feel anything that wasn’t exhaustion.”
Your reply caught in your throat when his hand slipped further up your spine, dragging your shirt with it. Warm fingers, bare skin, heat blooming in the pit of your stomach. It wasn’t even what he was doing, it was how. The control. The focus. Like nothing else existed right now but you.
“You’re not just staying in tonight,” he said, voice a little darker now. “You’re going to sit still and let me undress that stress. All of it.”
He leaned in, brushing a kiss against your collarbone, then another just below your ear. “No distractions. No excuses.” Your head tilted almost automatically, baring more skin for him without even thinking. He chuckled under his breath, like he’d caught you giving in, and was more than ready to take advantage of it.
“You like when I talk like that, don’t you?” His lips brushed the shell of your ear again. “When I take charge.”
You didn’t answer. Couldn't. But your body gave you away. Your fingers curled in his shirt, dragging him even closer, and he rewarded you with a deeper kiss, one that bordered on filthy—tongue sliding against yours, slow and claiming, like he was tasting your surrender.
“You’ve got no idea,” he murmured, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead against yours, breath mingling with yours, “how long I’ve wanted you like this. All soft. Finally taking a moment away from pushing yourself to exhaustion.”
Your hands slid under his shirt this time, tracing over hard muscle, earning a quiet groan from deep in his chest.
“I’m not letting you go anywhere tonight,” he said again, firmer now. “You’re mine. And I’m going to make damn sure you feel it.”
A/N: To be honest, I am actually quite proud of this. It is currently 05:03 AM so I am running on lack of sleep and water, but it seems to me like I did a decent job. I've been meaning to write this for a bit because I've been thinking about this scenario and could not find anything even remotely similar, so this is simply the work of random thinking and a lot of love for Jeremy.
- I do NOT give permission for any of my work to be republished on any other sites, or even here. Not Ao3, not Wattpad, nowhere. This is simply for entertainment purposes and I would appreciate respecting this.
