POV: you’re a leopard shark cruising through the kelp🤿
[Image ID: two gifs of a leopard shark swimming underwater. The camera is behind the shark as it swims through a forest of kelp. Dappled sunlight sparkles on the shark's spotted body.]
✶ synopsis: some mornings are slow, soft and filled with dappled sunlight. ellie, unfortunately, is far too distracted to notice anything except you. based off an ask I got but can’t find for the life of me.
✶ content warnings: fluff, kissing, established relationship, housewife!reader, lovesick ellie williams, suggestive content, modern au, domestic intimacy, soft ellie.
The morning light spilled through the kitchen windows, soft and golden, casting everything it touched in a warm glow. You were perched on the stool at the counter, apron tied around your waist, hands deep in a mixing bowl and flour dusting your forearms like snow. Ellie had just wandered in just a few minutes ago, a sock on only one foot, hair messy in that wild way that made her look impossibly alive, and a grin that could outshine the sun itself.
“Mm, what’s cooking, chef?” she asked, leaning against the doorway, one arm propped lazily by her head.
You smirked, flicking a dab of batter in her direction. “Breakfast. You hungry?”
“Always,” she said, dodging too late and glancing down at the smear on her shirt. “Hey— assault. First thing in the morning.”
“You walked into my kitchen. You knew the risks.”
Ellie huffed a quiet laugh, pushing off the doorway and stepping closer, slow and deliberate, like she had nowhere else to be. The floor creaked faintly under her weight. Outside, a breeze shifted the curtains just enough to let another stripe of sunlight spill across the counter. Her presence settled beside you before she even touched you, warmth seeping in, mixing with the smell of coffee and the faint sweetness of batter.
“Ellie,” you warn, mock stern, though your voice softened at the edges, “don’t hover.”
Her lips quirked, mischievous. “I’m not hovering. I’m… appreciating.” She tilted her head, studying you like she was committing something to memory. Her fingers slid along your forearm, unhurried, her thumb brushing slow circles through the dusting of flour leaving pale streaks where she touched. “Could watch you forever. Don’t think I’d get bored.”
“You’d be in the way,” you murmured, though even saying it felt pointless with her right there.
“Yeah,” she admitted easily, grin widening. “But you’d notice if I wasn’t here, right? You’d miss me.”
You couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at your lips. “I probably would,” you say, though your heart tugs at the thought of her gone. Then adding teasingly,
“Forever is a long time,”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, leaning in a fraction closer, “Still not long enough. Not for me.”
The words settled between you like honey drizzled over toast, sinking quietly into the moment. The room seemed to hush around you, the only sounds the faint hum of the fridge and the soft shift of fabric when she moved closer. insistent without needing words. You could feel it in the way your heart skipped, in the little swell of love that came from years of knowing her so completely… and still wanting her like it was the very first day.
Before you could respond, she lifted your wrist gently and pressed a soft kiss there, lingering just long enough that the warmth of it stayed even after she pulled back, her thumb still tracing idle patterns against your skin.
“I mean it,” she murmured, glancing up at you. “You look… I don’t know. Soft. Like this is where you’re supposed to be.” She huffed a quiet breath, almost shy. “Makes me wanna stay right here and not do anything else all morning.”
You smirked, brushing a stray bit of flour off her arm, curtesy of her not being able to keep her hands off of you. “Hmm… have I ever told you how very special you are?”
Ellie froze for half a beat, then blinked at you, trying to mask her amusement. “Special?”
“You know...” there was a teasing lilt to your voice, and you caught the faintest smile tugging at her lips.
Her eyes darted down around your face. “Hey… I can be normal,” she said, mock-offended.
You shook your head, leaning in slightly, voice low. “Hah… yeah, I don’t know about that.” There was warmth in your chest just looking at her like this, the way she always got caught between trying to act serious and failing entirely.
She puffed out a breath, trying to look indignant, but her hand lingered near yours. “Excuse me?”
“You walked in with one sock,” you pointed out simply, but with that tiny note of fondness that Ellie always picked up on.
She glanced down at her mismatched feet, then back up, grin wide. “Yeah… that was a style choice.”
“Mhm,” you murmured, doing your best to hold in your laughter. “Very fashionable.”
Her hands slid to your waist, tugging you just a little closer, clearly wanting to continue the previous conversation. “Hey don’t laugh, I’m serious. I wake up and you’re already in here, and I just… I don’t know. Makes my chest feel weird.” She scrunched her nose. “In a good way. Not like— heart attack weird.”
“That’s reassuring my love.”
“Shut up,” she retorts, bumping her forehead against yours.
You softened, brushing your thumb over the back of her hand. “I love you too, you know.”
Her expression flickered, something tender and light, before it melted back into that familiar confidence. Her hands crept up your sides, just under the apron strings, insistant, not letting go.
“You’re killing me, don’t say that” she groaned, voice dropping low. “You have no idea how distracting you are right now baby.”
“You’re the one distracting me,” your words threaded with a grin. “I’m literally just trying to make pancakes.”
She leaned closer, nose bumping yours. “We can multitask,” she breathes, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
“Ellie—”
Her lips found yours before you could finish, gentle at first coaxing a reaction, then deeper, more demanding. Her fingers wove into your hair with a deliberate, familiar pull, claiming you without hesitation. She tasted of mint toothpaste and lingering sleep, of something entirely, unmistakably hers, and heat pooled low in your belly as your knees threatened to buckle under the press of her body against yours. She held you to the counter, letting every press, every stolen breath speak volumes.
When she finally pulled back, it was just enough to let the world in again, though the sweetness lingered, a tether between you. Her smile curled like sunlight sneaking through curtains, like she’d just claimed a victory you didn’t mind losing.
“I love you,” she said again “like a stupid amount.”
You beamed, letting your fingers thread through the soft chaos of her hair, tracing the curve of her cheek with the pad of your thumb. “I love you more.”
Her eyes crinkled with something familiar “Mhh that’s debatable.”
You snorted, tilting your head and letting your fingers trace the line of her jaw, memorizing the familiar warmth of her skin. “Yeah? We’ll see about that.”
Before she could answer, you leaned in, letting your lips press to hers again. Her breath caught, and you felt her fingers flex at your waist, steadying herself against the counter. Golden light pooled across the counters, dust motes drifting like lazy fireflies, and for a heartbeat, the world outside the kitchen didn’t exist.
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a/n: peep the new design I’m loving it. This is kinda rushed so i apologize for any mistakes, or if it’s just shit in general, but I really hope you guys like it, and maybe you didn’t notice any issues until I just pointed it out yay. ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 ♡
