just us now
pairingsᯓ✦∘˙ jj maybank x sweetheart!reader
summaryᯓ✦∘˙ things go wrong fast after the pogues’ plan spirals, and tensions between you and jj reach a breaking point before everything finally settles in the quiet aftermath.
word countᯓ✦∘˙ ~3.8k
warningsᯓ✦∘˙ based on outer banks season 1 events, heavily jj-focused, comfort ending.
you were shaking in the back of john b’s twinkie.
it wasn’t entirely new— being around them never really was, but being this close to it, to the kind of chaos that could flip in an instant, was what scared you most. like you were always one breath away from everything going quiet in the worst possible way.
everything had been going well up until it wasn’t.
one second there was noise and motion and stupid, hopeful confidence filling the car like maybe this time it would actually work.
and then—
before any of you even had time to understand it.
you were all being dragged out of the van by a masked man holding a shot gun steady against your bodies.
“get out. now.”
the plan had seemed too good to be true from the start. pawning the gold, walking away clean, like the pogues ever got clean endings.
you don’t remember much of it after that. just impact, dirt against your palms, the world suddenly too loud and too sharp all at once.
you were on the ground before you even fully processed it, stomach pressed flat against the earth, with pope to your left and jj to your right.
tears were already slipping down your face without sound, like your body had decided it didn’t need permission anymore.
you turned your head toward jj on instinct.
he was close enough that you could see his breathing was off, chest rising too fast, jaw tight in a way that didn’t feel like panic. it felt like something sharper, more controlled than everything around him.
for a second, your eyes just found him like it was automatic.
like if anything made sense right now, it would be him.
his gaze snapped to yours immediately.
and something in his expression shifted. just a fraction, just enough to break through the chaos for a second.
“hey,” he said low, quick, like he didn’t want anyone else hearing it. his eyes flicked over your face. “don’t cry, angel.”
it wasn’t teasing the way he usually did.
it was softer than that.
almost careful.
your throat tightened, and you couldn’t even tell if you nodded or just tried to.
his jaw flexed like he didn’t like seeing you like that.
“you’re okay,” he added, quieter this time, like he was trying to convince you more than himself.
you weren’t sure you believed him.
but you were looking at him anyway— like you didn’t have another choice.
and for a second, it almost felt like he might stay there.
but then his eyes shifted.
something in him snapped back into place.
focused. sharp. gone from soft in a heartbeat.
“jj—what are you doing?!” pope shouted.
jj didn’t answer.
he was already moving.
up in an instant, running straight toward john b…who was suddenly in the masked man’s car?
you run behind jj, breath caught in your throat, just trying to keep up with how fast everything is moving.
he has the guy out of the car in seconds, yanking him like it’s instinct rather than thought. at the same time, pope breaks off toward the gold, john b half-climbing out of the back like he’s trying to catch up to his own plan, and suddenly it’s just all of you thrown into the same chaos at once: sarah and kiara stepping in beside you without a word.
“get him!” kiara shouts, already moving into place.
everything happens too fast after that.
jj hits first. sharp, controlled, but it’s enough to make the masked man turn, just slightly, just enough for his attention to shift your way.
and that’s all it takes.
you don’t think. you just step in and punch him as hard as you can.
the impact stings immediately, but you don’t stop—don’t even register it because he stumbles right into kiara’s strike.
“go!” kiara snaps as she knocks him down clean.
sarah follows without hesitation, slamming him back with the driver door.
“stay down!” she says under her breath.
jj is suddenly there beside you, quick glance flicking to your hand.
“you good?” he asks fast, already checking before you even answer.
you nod, still breathing too hard to speak.
but then he looks up.
and sees the masked man on the ground.
something in jj’s face changes instantly.
he rips the mask off.
“i know this piece of shit!” he spits. “he’s a basehead!”
sarah frowns. “probably knows my brother.”
“he sells coke to my dad,” jj adds, voice tight, like it explains everything and nothing at once.
the man tries to talk again.
jj doesn’t let him.
he hits him a few more times before anyone can fully react, anger spilling out faster than anyone can stop it.
“jj!” kiara snaps immediately.
“dude, chill, man!” pope calls out, rushing in.
john b is already moving back in, urgency cutting through it all. “alright, come on—everyone, we gotta go!”
but jj barely hears him.
he’s crouched down, already grabbing the wallet, flipping it open like something in his head just locked into place.
“jj, we need to leave!” pope says again, more desperate now.
“john b’s right!” kiara adds. “we’re done here!”
jj doesn’t look up.
he just pulls the card out, staring at it for a beat too long.
then he straightens.
keys in hand.
and says, calm but certain, "we got one last stop. we gon' see where this son ofa' bitch lives."
you were still shaking when jj took off.
jj didn’t hesitate, he just bolted for the twinkie like it was the only thing that made sense anymore.
“jj—wait!” you called after him, running to keep up. “is that even a good idea?”
he didn’t slow down.
“don't you trust me?” he snapped over his shoulder. “just keep up!”
that made you falter for half a second.
not because he yelled, but because it was you.
you pushed through it anyway, chasing him.
behind you, voices carried across the distance, rough and furious.
“i'm gon' remember this!” the guy shouted.
“i know exactly who you guys are!” the same voice barked.
behind you and jj, john b was still by the guy. he didn’t hesitate, but he bent down, grabbed his keys, and threw them hard into the trees.
jj yanked open the twinkie door.
you caught up just as he climbed in.
“jj, what are you doing?” you asked quickly.
he glanced at you, jaw tight. “just stay with me.”
short. clipped. no room for anything else.
and then he was gone into the car.
the twinkie rolled to a stop in front of barry’s place, the air already feeling wrong the second you saw it.
sarah leaned forward, looking out the window like she couldn’t believe it. “welcome to crackhead wasteland.”
“i don’t know about this, man,” pope muttered under his breath, shifting in his seat.
you stayed quiet, fingers still tense in your lap, eyes flicking between everyone.
“dude, why are we at barry’s?” john b asked, already sounding like he regretted asking.
jj was already halfway out of the car before anyone finished talking.
“this’ll only take a second,” he said, like that was supposed to make it better.
“jj—wait,” john b started.
“yo soy justicia,” jj tossed back over his shoulder, disappearing toward the house.
there was a beat of silence.
then—
“i don’t know about this, man,” pope said again, quieter this time.
your eyes stayed on jj as he went. then you looked at john b. “go with him.”
“what? why me?”
“just go, please” you said firmly.
john b sighed. “fine.”
he got out and followed after jj.
the door shut behind them, leaving the rest of you sitting in the twinkie.
the air felt tighter without them.
“so…” pope said awkwardly, glancing at you. “you okay?”
kie turned in her seat too, softer now. “yeah, you’re kinda quiet. you good?”
you nodded a little, even if it didn’t feel fully true. “yeah. just… processing.”
“yeah, same,” pope muttered. “this whole day is insane.”
kiara huffed a small breath. “it’s always insane with them.”
a beat passed.
outside, a dog barked somewhere near barry’s house.
you kept your eyes on the door jj disappeared through without meaning to.
and then—
movement.
jj came back out first, walking fast.
john b was right behind him.
jj looked the same as always. too confident, too certain, but there was something sharper in his energy now, like he’d locked in on something everyone else hadn’t caught up to yet.
he didn’t even look at the car at first.
just kept moving.
like whatever he just did had already decided what came next.
everyone stepped out of the twinkie, gravel crunching underfoot as the air between you all tightened instantly.
jj stood in front of you like he already had the whole thing figured out.
“all right,” he said, breathing still a little heavy, “we’re looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit.”
a beat.
he rubbed a hand over his mouth, like he was only half-aware of how it sounded. “sorry about that, y’all.”
“so that’s what we’re doing now?” kiara shot back immediately. “we’re robbing drug dealers?”
“this barry guy’s gonna find out,” sarah said, arms crossed tight. “and he’s gonna come after us.”
“yeah, he will,” pope added flatly. “this is not the time to start wildin’ out.”
you stood slightly behind them, quieter than everyone else, the adrenaline still buzzing but fading into something heavier.
you weren’t even fully listening anymore.
just watching jj.
like you always did.
until your voice came out anyway— soft, almost too calm for everything going on.
“jj… this is not okay.”
it wasn’t loud.
it didn’t need to be.
but it cut through him anyway.
he looked at you immediately.
“what?” he said, sharper than before.
you hesitated. “you can’t just— decide this is what’s best for everyone.”
“i’m not deciding anything,” he snapped back. “i’m fixing what just happened.”
“jj, you even pulled a gun on someone,” you said quietly, shaking a little now, but still steady enough to look at him.
that made something in his expression shift.
not guilt exactly.
pressure.
“oh my god,” he muttered, shaking his head. “don’t do that right now.”
“do what?” your voice wavered, but you didn’t stop.
“act like i’m the bad guy,” he said, stepping closer, voice rising now. “we literally just got ambushed and you’re standing here lecturing me?”
“i’m not lecturing you…i’m trying to understand you,” you said, softer again, like you always were with him even when it hurt.
that was the breaking point.
“no, you’re not,” jj snapped. “you’re just standing there making it worse.”
silence hit for half a second.
you blinked like that actually hurt more than it should’ve.
before anyone could say anything else—
“don’t talk to her like that,” john b cut in immediately and he stepped forward, grabbing the duffle from jj’s hands. “we’ve gotta go get the gold, okay? just give me that shit.”
jj shoved him hard.
john b slammed back into the twinkie as jj’s grasp against his shirt tightened.
“jj—stop!” you shouted, louder than you meant to.
your voice cracked slightly at the end, but it was enough.
john b wiped his mouth, glaring. “do you feel like a tough guy, huh? what are you gonna do when he comes for us?”
“we punch him in the throat,” jj shot back immediately.
john b let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “yeah, good fucking idea, jj.”
jj didn’t even blink.
“i’m not putting it back,” he said, already turning toward the twinkie. “you guys getting in or what?”
“what?” pope said, stunned.
“we’re sick of your shit,” john b snapped.
“oh, my shit?” jj turned back instantly, heat rising again. “yeah? my pulling guns on people shit? my saving your ass shit?”
“you acting like a maniac—” pope started.
“okay, pope, i took the fall for you, man!” jj cut him off, voice breaking at the edges now. “don’t start with me.”
you barely registered the rest after that.
everything started blurring.
voices overlapping. tension snapping tighter and tighter until it felt like there was nowhere left for it to go.
and then jj was moving like he’d already decided none of this mattered anymore.
your stomach dropped.
“jj—wait,” you called, but it came out small.
he didn’t turn at first, just kept walking like he could outrun whatever was happening behind him.
you took a step after him anyway, like your body didn’t really give you a choice.
“jj, please—” you called out, your voice already shaking before you could finish.
that was when he finally snapped back toward you, not fully stopping, just turning enough to look at you for a second, his expression sharp and exhausted and overloaded in a way you weren’t used to seeing aimed at you. “just go back,” he said, louder now, cutting through whatever you were trying to say.
that was what stopped you.
not the volume, not even the edge in his voice, but the fact that it was you he was saying it to.
you froze for a moment, like your body didn’t know how to keep moving without him pulling you along anymore. “jj…” you tried again, but your voice came out smaller this time, barely holding together.
he was already turning away again, jaw tight like he was forcing himself not to say anything else, and you were left standing there as the noise behind you felt suddenly far away and muffled, like it didn’t belong to you anymore. you didn’t even notice kiara reaching for you until she said your name softly, trying to pull you back into the group, but you shook your head and slipped past her anyway, forcing out a quiet “no, it’s fine,” even though it didn’t look like it at all.
you followed him.
at first it was quick, almost desperate, like you could still fix whatever just shifted, and you called out again, “jj, stop— cam you just talk to me,” your voice stronger this time, breaking through the space between you. he stopped abruptly, like he’d hit a wall he didn’t see coming, and when he turned fully this time, it was worse than before. there wasn’t softness there anymore, just frustration and pressure and something that looked like he was seconds away from exploding.
“what?” he snapped immediately, his voice cutting straight through you. “what do you want from me right now?”
you flinched a little but didn’t stop, trying to steady yourself even as your chest tightened. “i just want you to—”
“no,” he cut you off again, sharper this time, stepping closer like he couldn’t decide whether to push you away or keep you from getting any closer. “no, you don’t get to do this right now.”
your breath caught in your throat at that, and for a second you just stared at him like you were trying to understand where this version of him had come from. “jj…”
he let out a frustrated breath, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe this was happening on top of everything else. “you think this is about you? you think i’ve got time right now to sit here and explain myself to you?”
that landed harder than anything else he’d said.
your eyes went glossy immediately, but you still tried to hold on to it. “i’m not asking you to—”
“yes, you are,” he shot back, voice rising again, more raw now than angry. “you’re standing here like i’m supposed to just stop everything and make you feel better when we’re literally in the middle of—”
he cut himself off, jaw clenching like he realized how far he was going, but it didn’t soften anything. if anything, it made it heavier.
there was a beat of silence where neither of you moved, and when you finally spoke again, it came out smaller than before. “i just don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
that was when something flickered across his face—frustration, something hurt underneath it, and then it was gone just as fast.
“yeah,” he said quietly, almost bitter, like he hated that question more than anything else right now. “no shit.”
your throat tightened instantly.
“jj…” you tried again, but your voice was already breaking.
he shook his head once more, stepping back like he needed space more than anything else. “go back,” he said again, lower this time but colder in a way that felt final. “you don’t need to be here for this.”
that was it.
your breath caught and didn’t really come back right after that, tears spilling before you could stop them even though you weren’t making a sound. you just stood there for a second, trying to breathe through it, trying not to completely fall apart in front of him.
but jj had already turned away again like it was done, like the moment didn’t stretch the same way for him that it did for you.
and that was what broke it.
you stayed where you were, shaking, not moving, until you felt footsteps behind you and john b’s hand gently take your arm.
he didn’t say anything at first, just steadied you for a second before speaking softly. “hey, come on. let’s go.”
you didn’t resist when he guided you back, because your voice still didn’t feel like it belonged to you anymore.
and behind you, jj didn’t look back.
night had fully settled over the chateau, the kind of pitch dark that made everything outside feel far away and unreal. inside, it was quiet in a way that almost felt wrong after the chaos of the day. moonlight slipped through the wooden slats in thin lines across the floor and couch, turning everything soft and silver.
you were curled at the far end of the couch, arms wrapped around yourself, staring at nothing. john b was gone with sarah, pope and kiara had disappeared earlier, and all that was left was the hum of silence and your own thoughts refusing to settle. all you wanted was to know jj was okay, even if you were still too hurt to say it out loud properly.
the door creaked open.
jj stepped inside like he wasn’t sure what version of you he was walking into. he paused when he saw you, then quietly shut the door behind him and walked over without saying anything.
the couch dipped when he sat beside you, close but not touching at first.
you didn’t look at him.
not even when he sighed your name under his breath.
“hey,” he said finally, softer than earlier, like he was testing the space between you.
you still didn’t move.
a beat passed.
then his hand came up gently, fingers sliding under your chin, turning your face toward him with care rather than force.
“c’mere,” he said quietly.
and after a second, you did.
you shifted into his lap carefully, like you weren’t sure if you were allowed to, but he immediately wrapped his arms around you like you belonged there anyway. your hands hesitated at first before sliding around the back of his neck, holding on.
jj notices.
he doesn’t say anything at first, just keeps his arms around you a little tighter like he’s afraid you’ll disappear if he doesn’t.
“hey,” he says quietly after a while, his voice rougher now, less certain than before. “you still mad at me?”
you hesitate. not answering right away feels like an answer anyway.
“i don’t know,” you admit softly.
that makes him look down at you, jaw tightening, but not defensively this time…more like he’s taking it in.
“yeah,” he breathes out. “fair.”
you reply small, but sharp around the edges.
“you told me to leave you alone.”
jj’s jaw tightened slightly. “i know.”
“no,” you shook your head a little, pulling back just enough to look at him. “you snapped at me. like i was just… in the way.”
his eyes flicked down for a second before meeting yours again. “you weren’t in the way,” he said quickly. “i was just—i was all over the place. i shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
you swallowed, still holding onto him. “i was trying to help you.”
“i know,” he said again, quieter this time. “i know you were.”
a pause stretched between you.
your voice softened, but it didn’t lose how much it mattered. “and then you just left. like it didn’t even matter that i was standing there.”
his grip tightened slightly at that, like it hit him harder than he wanted to admit.
“i didn’t mean it like that,” he said, and there was less defense in it now. more honesty. “i just—i thought if i pushed you out of it you’d be safer.”
your brows pulled together slightly. “that doesn’t make it feel better.”
“yeah,” he let out a quiet breath. “i know.”
you hesitated, then added, voice lower now, “and then you stole the money.”
that made him glance away for a second, jaw flexing like he was bracing for it.
“yeah,” he admitted.
you didn’t let go of him, but your voice wavered a little. “i didn’t even know what was happening. one second everything was already bad and the next you just decided we were doing something worse.”
he looked back at you then, more steady. “i wasn’t trying to make it worse.”
“it felt like it,” you said honestly.
that landed.
he nodded once, slow. “i know.”
silence again, but softer this time. less like distance, more like space to breathe.
his hand moved gently at your back, grounding you.
“i just…” he started, then stopped, like he was choosing his words carefully for once. “when that guy pulled a gun on you, i couldn’t think straight. and then everything after that was just—noise.”
you stayed quiet, watching him.
he looked at you then, really looked.
“and you were right there,” he added quietly. “and i still managed to mess it up with you.”
your expression softened slightly despite yourself.
“you always do that,” you muttered, but there wasn’t real anger in it anymore.
a faint breath of a laugh slipped out of him. “yeah. i’m working on it.”
you studied him for a second longer, then shifted a little closer again, forehead almost against his chest.
“don’t do that again,” you said quietly.
his arms tightened immediately. “i won’t.”
you weren’t sure you fully believed it.
but you wanted to.
after a moment, your grip around his neck loosened just slightly as you exhaled, the tension finally starting to drain out of you in pieces.
jj tilted his head down a little, resting his chin near your hair.
“hey,” he said softly.
you hummed in response.
and without pushing it, without turning it into anything bigger than it needed to be, he pressed a small, quiet kiss to the top of your head.
you didn’t move away.
instead, your arms tightened around him again, holding on a little longer this time.