#janderson

[cat-in-a-contra-line]

wip from last night. i am NOT putting this in the main tags but its them!

[joerooty]

Dad and son night out in New Zealand <3

[katyobsesses]

I need to hear more about Jesse/cooper <3

also katy it's very iconic of us to ship Jesse with basically everyone.

(I'm literally spreading my st. evansberry agenda)

I feel like their characters are actually really fucking similar

egotistical. naive. narcissistic.

But also kinda sweet, with a lot of love in their hearts. they just want the people they love to be happy and sucessful (Jesse with Rachel, Cooper with Blaine) but neither really know how to do that without making it about themselves.

but together they'd both hype each other up in the same way, in a way they both understand, so weirdly there wouldn't be that much missunderstandings in their relationship.

"This is my boyfriend, he's an actor - I'm an actor, too, actually. neither of us had to go to college for it, we're just naturally amazing..."

^ Either of them talking about the other.

Jesse would ramble on and wax poetic about Cooper before somehow making it about himself at which point Cooper would but in and ramble on and wax poetic about Jesse before somehow making it about himself at which point Jesse would butt in and ramble on and wax poetic about Cooper before somehow making it about himself at which point Jesse would--- (you get the idea, the interviewer/friend/family member would be stuck in this infinite compliment/self compliment loop)

Cooper would tease Jesse about Broadway, Jesse would tease Cooper about Film/TV/Commercials. But they'd never be in competition, so they'd both also heavily support the other in their careers.

Cooper would be Jesse's date to the Tony's. Jesse would be Cooper's date to the Oscars. There'd be interviews where they'd ask one of them if they'd ever thought of acting on stage/screen and they'd say that Jesse/Cooper was the broadway star/movie star in the relationship.

(also Jesse does somehow work with everyone doesn't he? but i think i really like this dynamic i just made up!)

(also st. evansberry? hmmmmmm)

[rawmeanderson]

like the way.

ft. josh anderson warnings: this is literally all smut ok, and there’s drunkenness? word count: 3.5k i have nothing to say for myself, but is anyone actually surprised that i’m posting a fic about bye week three weeks after the fact??

You still felt a little bad for crashing Josh’s bye week trip, but the guys had all assured you that they didn’t mind having you there. Several friends from college lived in the LA area now and had been telling you to visit for ages. Josh had no problem asking the guys if you could tag along, just to mostly fly with them and share the house they’d booked. You did your own thing during the day for the most part, and it was nice to come back to a plush bed and your boyfriend after a day of catching up with old friends.

The plan had been to meet Josh and his teammates for dinner, but after spending the majority of the day at the Getty museums, you’d somehow ended up with a headache. When you’d called Josh to tell him you were just going to back to the house, being the sweetheart that he was, he offered to skip dinner to be with you. You’d promised that you’d be fine, that you’d take some painkillers and lay down when you got back. That’s exactly what you did too, after stopping to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner, knowing that being hungry wouldn’t help your headache.

Hours later, you wake up to the sound of the bedroom door opening as light from the hallway floods into the room. Squeezing your eyes shut, you grumble sleepily, turning your head to press your face into the pillow. You hear Josh curse and close the door quickly, and you relax into the mattress again, grateful for the darkness.

Josh stumbles as he moves further into the room, and you doze for a while until you feel the movement of him climbing into bed with you. You hum in sleepy appreciation as he settles behind you, arm looping around your waist. Leaning into his familiar frame, you reflexively turn your head back toward him for a kiss. You’re so used to coming in late after a game, and in your sleepy state you forget for a moment that you’re not at home.

He tastes like wine and chocolate, and you smile sleepily at him in the dark before nuzzling into the pillow. “How was dinner?” you ask softly, taking a deep breath as you try to stifle a yawn.

“It was really good. Jonesy picked this really good wine,” he tells you, making you exhale a quiet laugh. “How’s your head?” As he speaks, he brings a hand up to smooth your hair back and you can’t help but lean into his touch.

“Headache’s gone, thank god,” you respond, your eyes falling closed again as you talk. He had changed into a pair of sweats when you’d been dozing, you realize, and you’re grateful that the warm weather has him sleeping shirtless again. He’s warm pressed against your back, such a comforting feeling that has you nearly falling asleep again. “I grabbed a burger earlier and obviously got some sleep, so I think I was just exhausted.”

You’re surprised to hear Josh laugh softly then, and you’re about to say something before you feel his arm around you move to run his hand over your waist slowly. “Yeah, I’m exhausted too, since you kept me up until almost 2 this morning,” he mutters as his fingers pull your hair away from your neck so he can kiss your skin. “I’m glad there’s no more headache.” His lips are still against you as he speaks, moving up to your hairline.

The contact makes goosebumps rise along your skin in an instant and your body arches back against him. “How much of that wine did you have?” you ask, giggling as his hand squeezes your hip lightly.

“A bottle and a half,” he answers and you can feel him shrug. A scoff leaves you and you’re grinning as his hand slips under your shirt. “I haven’t seen you all day.” His hand is warm as it moves up your waist until his knuckles brush over the curve of your breast.

The contact makes your thighs squeeze together and you realize how wet you are already. Your core is starting to ache for him, hips instinctively pressing back toward him. You’d realized a while ago that it doesn’t take much to get you going when he climbs into bed late like this, because you’re so used to him coming home late from games and being in need of post-game sex. It was damn near Pavlovian, but when his hand moves under your shirt to brush his thumb over your nipple, your mind immediately goes blank as you gasp.

His cock is starting to harden in his sweats, you can feel it pressing against your ass and you say his name quietly. You can feel him grinning against the skin of your neck, then his lips ghost over your pulse-point to make you whine. Your clit is already throbbing, and when his thumb drags over the hardened peak of your nipple again, he has you practically panting for him already.

“Fuck, I love you,” he tells you, the words muffled into your skin. All you can do is nod in response, knowing that if you opened your mouth to speak, you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from groaning loudly. You can hear faint music and the chatting of his teammates coming from the living room, and you bite your lip as he hums against your skin.

Your hips grind back against him again, and his cock is already straining against the fabric of his sweatpants. He makes a pleased sound, his fingers rub idly over your nipple before his hand moves away from your breast. You can hear your heart racing as as his hand moves down your body again until it’s slipping beneath the band of your leggings and into your panties.

His name leaves your mouth as a breathy moan and acting on muscle memory, your thighs parted for him. By then, you’re half dizzy, pelvis rocking toward his hand just slightly as you seek out friction. He knows what you want but doesn’t give it to you, his palm just resting against your mound. Of course, he’s still kissing your neck, doing everything in the world do make you squirm against him.

“Please, Josh,” you whimper, your hand moving then to grip his wrist in an attempt to move his hand lower. He lets out a breath of laughter against your neck, tilting his head enough to kiss along your jaw as his hand finally moves.

The pad of his middle finger drags over your clit lightly before moving through your folds. He decides to stop wasting time, immediately sinking that same finger into you slowly. When your pussy clenches around the digit, he groans into your neck. A shiver shoots down your spine as a second finger joins the first, a soft gasp slipping past your lips.

“You’re already so wet for me, baby, mm,” he murmurs into your skin, his nose pressing into your hairline. You nod, biting your tongue to keep quiet when he starts to curve his fingers inside you slowly. When his fingers start to rock into you, you moan despite your best efforts and your eyes squeeze shut. Your hand comes up, reaching behind you to curl your fingers in his hair, just needing some part of him to hold onto.

He feels so good and he knows exactly what he’s doing, dragging his fingertips over your g-spot as works on leaving a mark at the spot on your neck that always drives you crazy. If it didn’t feel so good, you’d tell him not to leave a mark, but you’ll just wear your hair down for a while. You curse, the sound high and whiny before you tense back against him when you hear someone―you think it’s PL―laugh in the living room.

Josh exhales a quiet chuckle and his mouth leaves your neck to press his face into your hair. “What, you worried someone’s gonna know we’re fooling around? Worried they’re all gonna know how much of a slut you are for me?” he questions, his tone so gentle in contrast to his words. You can’t even think clearly enough to respond beyond your hips jerking against his hand greedily.

You know your skin is flushed, and eager for some skin to skin contact, your hand moves to start working the shirt you’re wearing up your body. He realizes what you’re doing and much to your irritation, he pulls his fingers from you, lifting his fingers to your mouth. Immediately, your lips around around his fingers, sucking your wetness of his digits.

He’s moving quickly, his fingers leaving your mouth quickly to start helping you get your shirt off. Once you were pulling it off over your head, he turned his attention to your leggings, tugging them down down your hips and thighs along with your panties. He’s speaking to you softly, but you can’t quite hear him as you shift to get your bottoms off completely.

When you lean back into him, his bare chest pressing into your back, the contact makes you practically melt against his body. “Josh, fuck me, please,” you whine, biting your lip as you feel him shifting behind you enough to get his sweats and underwear down.

“I know, baby,” he assures you as he shifts down the mattress a couple inches. His hand slides over your waist then down between your thighs to guide your legs open for him.

The head of his cock slides over your entrance and you inhale sharply, hips trying to wriggle against him for whatever friction you can get. He squeezes your thigh where he’s holding you and nips at your shoulder blade lightly to make you arch toward him. You feel his mouth curve up into a smile where it’s pressed against your skin, and it makes your heart swell in your chest.

His hips press toward yours again a second later, letting the head of his cock rub through your folds. An unstoppable whine rips through you, and in that same moment, you hear footsteps in the hall. It has to be Boone, considering his room is the only other one on this side of the house. Again you tense, but Josh doesn’t stop moving, aligning himself at your entrance before pressing into you in a single, slow motion.

The sound that leaves you is filthy, a throaty moan that you’re desperately trying to keep quiet. You can still hear footprints in the hall, closer to your door, and Josh still has you whimpering. It’s hard to even keep your eyes open, so you don’t even bother, just letting your head loll forward. His mouth moves to your neck immediately, dragging the blunt edge of his teeth over your skin, and you press your hips back toward his greedily.

You can feel his cock practically throbbing inside you, leaving you so satisfyingly full that you’re quickly growing impatient. Whining his name, you shift your hips in an attempt to find whatever friction you can get at that point. He hums into the skin of your throat a second later as his hand settles between your thighs again, rubbing firm circles against your clit.

“Show me how bad you want it, sweetheart, fuck yourself on my cock,” he tells you, the words half muffled against your throat in a tone dark enough that it makes you shiver. You make a pouty sound, still so sleepy as you press back towards him again.

This time, the head of his cock drags over your g-spot, making you inhale sharply as he continues to toy with your clit. It feels so good that all you can do is repeat the motion, rocking against him as best as you can. He makes an appreciative sound as he nips at your shoulder blade, making your cunt tighten around him.

You’re already panting, struggling to catch your breath as you settle into a lazy rhythm. He rolls your clit between two fingers, making you gasp at the change in contact. His mouth moves over your shoulder, up your neck, leaving a trail of hot, open mouthed kisses against your skin.

“Fuck, Josh,” you groan, feeling yourself throb around his length as your ass presses back into his hips eagerly. A string of low curses leaves you as he takes the chance to grind against you, exhaling a moan of his own into your neck that does nothing to stop your orgasm from building.

With your back pressed against his chest, you can feel that he’s tense, likely from the effort of holding himself back from pounding into you. His fingers are still toying with your clit, earning low whimpers out of you as he sucks at the spot on your neck that always turns you into a mess for him. You’re absolutely soaked, you can feel the wetness on your thighs as he touches you, making the slide of his cock pressing into you just that much better.

“Wanna know something?” he asks, humming softly into your skin. Josh waits for you to nod, the motion coming with a low whimper as you bring a hand up to your breast to thumb over your nipple lightly. “Boone heard you last night.” Of course, he pauses to hear the whiny sound you let out before continuing, still toying with your clit as you fuck yourself on his length. “You kept him up, baby girl, and I’m sure he’ll hear you tonight too, when I’m fucking you into the mattress.”

A chill shoots down your spine, making your body jerk, and your hand moves from your breast back to tangle your fingers in his hair. When you tug at the dark strands with a whine, his hips rock forward into yours before he can stop himself, and it’s almost enough to throw you over the edge. The low growl that sounds in the back of his throat tells you that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep still.

“Shit, Josh, holy―” is all you can get out before he fucks into you again, despite his previous efforts. Your jaw tenses as you try to hold back the moan that the motions forces out of you, turning your head enough to press your face into the pillow in an effort to keep quiet. With your orgasm right there, you’re all but shaking against him, hips still pressing back toward his as roughly as you can.

“You’re right there, beautiful, c’mon,” he murmurs into your hairline, rubbing quick, rough circles against your clit as you lean into him for more contact. “Cum for me, baby, let me hear you. Let Boone hear you.”

Part of you really hates that those words are what pushes you head first into your orgasm, but it all feels too good to care. With your eyes squeezed shut, you pull hard at Josh’s hair again, moaning desperately for him. He groans into your neck at the contact, fucking into you just enough to drag your orgasm out as you squirm against the mattress. You’re not even fully aware of the filthy sounds that are leaving you, and you can’t even be bothered to care as he sucks a mark into the back of your neck.

When you finally start to come down, you’re panting as your cunt flutters around him still, and you’re glad he’s giving you a moment to recover. His hand leaves your clit, trailing his wet fingers up your body slowly as he holds you back against him.

“Such a good girl,” he slurs into your neck, and you can tell that he’s grinning. He’s grinding into you still, just the right amount of friction to make you needy for another orgasm, and you make an impatient sound as he starts to untangle himself from you. “I’m not going anywhere, relax.” His words come with an easy chuckle as he pats your hip, motioning for you to turn over for him.

When you move, his cock slips from you, making both of groan as you shift, propping yourself up on your knees. His hand moves over the small of your back lightly as he settles on his knees behind you, making you shiver while you nudge a pillow out of the way. Normally, you know he’d be a tease, making you work for it, but the wine has obviously made him eager.

You can hear him stroking himself as he watches you, and you’re about to say something to hurry him along when his hand settles on your hip before guiding his cock into you. The stretch at this angle is different, making you lightheaded and dizzy nonetheless as he fills you again, his hips pressing flush against the swell of your ass.

Josh doesn’t even wait long enough to make you whine for him, his hand squeezing your hip as he pounds into you. He’s keyed up after being so still for so long, leaving you gripping the sheets as his hips slam into you again. It’s obvious that he’s pulling out all of the stops, trying to get you to be as loud as possible for him, and you decide that there’s no point in trying to hold back.

“Baby, fuck,” you whine out, trying to push back toward him as his hand rubs over your back slowly. The head of his cock is dragging over your g-spot, making it damn near impossible to keep your eyes open.

His rhythm is rough and uneven, and you decide it’s probably got something to do with how much wine he had at dinner. Still, you’re gripping the sheets, letting needy sounds fall freely from your mouth as he fucks you into the mattress, just like he’d said he would. Josh is grunting behind you here and there, saying your name every so often as his rhythm gets even sloppier.

Josh curses loudly as his hand slides around your hip to settle between your thighs, finding your clit with ease. “C’mon, sweetheart, I want you to cum with me, wanna feel you again,” he tells you, and you respond with breathless groan as you nod.

“Harder, please, goddammit, Josh,” you whine out, knees feel weak as you slump against the mattress a little more. He keeps you upright, hips snapping into yours as he rubs tight circles against your clit.

You feel your pussy tightening around him, and you tug hard at the sheets just to have something to hold onto. Panting, you push back toward him as roughly as you can, starting to get needy for another orgasm already.

When Josh nudges your thighs open a bit more, the angle of his thrusts changes and there’s nothing you can do to stop the throaty moan of his name that leaves you. He makes an appreciative sound and doubles down, pounding into you hard enough that your body is rocking forward with each movement. His name leaves you again, mixed in with a low string of curses as his hand on your clit continues to rub firm circles against you.

“Shit, c’mon, y/n,” he groans, his hips slamming hard into yours. You doubt he’s going to last much longer, not with the way he’s panting and cursing behind you. “Fuck, I wanna hear you, baby, want everyone to hear you.”

Even if you’d wanted to be quiet, by that point, you knew it was impossible. Josh finishes a short moment later, hips slamming hard into yours as he spills into you. It seldom fails that his orgasm brings on yours and now is no exception, a loud shout leaving you as your body arches.

Your second orgasm hits you hard, leaving you pressing back toward him as roughly as you can in search of more friction. Nothing feels better than fucking yourself on his length like this after he’s cum inside you, loving just how soaked and messy you were for him by then. He slows but doesn’t stop, meeting your weak thrusts to fuck you through your orgasm. Your hips are aching and a series of low whines leaving you as you start to come down.

Behind you, Josh is still breathing heavily, and his hand on your clit had moved to rub your back softly. If you had to guess, you’d say he was grinning as he leans over you to kiss your shoulder blade softly. You’re dazed and weak, still propped up for him until he pulls out and coaxes you onto your back.

Trying to catch your breath, you grin up at him as he settles against you, his arm already looping around your waist. You pull him down to you enough that you can kiss him lazily, your fingers threading through his hair.

“No more wine for you on this trip,” you murmur with a teasing giggle, and you catch a glimpse of his grin before you kiss him again.

[thevezinamonologues-blog]

Ooooo bby I would love a ship! Thats how we became friends in the first place! bringing it back around! lmao <3 I feel like you probably know me by now. I would be interested to see who you give me now :* love ya!

I ship you with Josh Anderson!

How You Met: He was buying protein powder at a health store and you were giving a talk about holistic healing and he stayed for the whole thing.

[zettersberg]

Rough sex with Josh Anderson after a bad loss and he’s taking it out on you

Okay so like it doesn’t come out of nowhere like it’s happened before and y’all have talked about it, so after a bad loss, you just know Josh needs to find some control so you let it be over you. If he losses a stupid hockey game, he knows he can pile up some Ws in another area

The car ride home is mostly filled with silence and his hand rests on your thigh, but as soon as he gets you through the door, he has you up against a wall with your legs wrapped around his waist and he’s sucking along your neck and cleavage

Then he’s carrying you to the bedroom and once you’re both naked, he has you on the bed on all fours and he’s fucking into you from behind. It’s quite possible he’ll leave bruises on your hips from how hard he’s digging into them

Don’t worry tho once he’s gotten it all out of his system he’ll pull you close to his chest and stroke your hair. “Sorry I lost I’ll try not to do it much” “It’s okay. Losses suck, but I definitely don’t hate em”

Thirst Night

[fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan]

Dreams of the Future- Josh Anderson

Hi can I ask for a Josh Anderson where someone makes a comment about what good parents you are not knowing it's your niece/nephew and he starts thinking about kids with you??

I hiked my niece onto my hip, making sure she was secure as we started into the crowd of people entering the arena. Josh was walking in front of us, trying to make a path as we tried to move around the crowded arena to get food before the show started. “Josh, hold on a second. I have a wiggling 4 year old who is trying to escape my arms.” Josh nods, stepping off the side and I was able follow him so we were standing against the wall.

“Do you want to split up so we get to our seats faster?” I think about it and nod, tightening my grip on Amelia. “I can go get the food?”

“No, I’ll go get the food.”

“I can take Amelia then.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, we are just going to go to our seats. I’ve got her.” I nodded and let Josh take my niece, getting her settled on his back and making sure her arms were firmly around his neck. “I’ll see you in a few, just get me whatever you are getting to eat.”

“Okay, love you.” I kiss him quickly before watching them move smoothly through the crowd toward the section we were in before going off to find food for the three of us. 20 minutes later I made my way into the seats with my arms filled with food. Josh stood as soon as he saw me, moving to take some of the food from my arms before letting me into the aisle. I handed Amelia her hot dog before noticing something already filling her small hands. “What do you have?”

“Olaf!” She holds up the plush snowman to me, causing me to lift my eyes to Josh.

“What? How do you say no to a snowman that likes warm hugs?” I roll my eyes at him, causing him to stick his tongue out at me.

“You can explain that to my sister when we drop Amelia off.” He smiles and I have to draw my eyes away from him to looks at my niece. “I know Olaf likes warm hugs but I don’t think he likes hot dogs, so how about he sits in my purse while we eat and then he can come watch with you?” She seems to me thinking over what I say before nodding and handing me the snowman, reaching for her hot dog. The three of us eat quickly, getting excited for the ice show to start. A month ago when I had mentioned to Josh that I was looking for something to do with my niece for the next time I watched her, he had suggested Disney on Ice.

“I’ll take the trash.” Josh takes all of our trash after I wipe the ketchup off of Amelia’s hands and face, kissing her forehead as she hugged Olaf to her chest. When he sat back in his seat we tried to get a picture of the three of us and as Josh was holding out his phone a woman in the row in front of us offered to take on for us.

“You three are such a cute family! Your daughter is precious!”

Josh’s pov

When the woman in front of us took are picture and assumed we were a family it got my mind spinning about that in my mind. Dating Jess for close to 2 years now, I had met here right after joining the Blue Jackets, I had just always assumed we were headed in that direction. Marriage, house with the white picket fence, a child or two that were the perfect combination of us. However, looking over at Jess she had a tight smile on her face as she showed me the picture, the usual glow in her eyes gone when she looked at me.

Her niece Amelia didn’t seem to notice any of the tension that felt like a brick wall between us. Jess handed me a water bottle from her purse before also pulling out some cotton candy, feeding Amelia small piece as her eyes followed the figure skaters that had just taken the ice.

I kept trying to sneak glances over at Jess during the show but she wouldn’t meet my eyes, even once the show ended and there was a sleeping 4 year old between us. “I can carry her out to the car, I know you said you back was hurting.” She finally met my eyes, giving me a smile of thanks as I picked up Amelia who had a death grip on the snowman I had bought her. When we had passed the stand on our way to our seats she squeezed my neck tighter as she saw the stuffed snowman and I was happy to buy it for her.

Coming back to the present I followed Jess out to her sister’s car, we had left Jess’s car at their house figuring it was easier to take their car than to switch out the car seat. “I can hook her in.” Nodding I gently place her in the car seat, before climbing into the passenger seat. Once Jess was in the driver's seat and we were slowly making our way out of the parking lot, as we slowly inched

forward in the traffic I felt her reach for my hand. I took comfort in that small gesture as my mind pictured a little girl who was the mirror image of her wearing a jersey that had my number and daddy on the back. As I got lost in my day dream I must have missed something Jess said because she squeezed my hand and looked over at me.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I’m sorry for what that lady said to us, I hope it didn’t freak you out too much.”

“Freak me out?”

“Most guys run at the mention of commitment, let alone having kids. I love you, and I don’t want ruin what we have.”

“Why would you think I would run at the mention of commitment? We’ve been dating for almost 2 years now, I would say we are pretty committed.”

“Dating and having a child together are two very different things.”

“In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m in this for the long run and you are kind of it for me.” She gave me a huge smile, letting me lean over to kiss her as we finally got out of the parking lot and were now in traffic to get on the highway.

“Are you ready for kids?”

“Right now? No. But in a year or two, after we are married and both steady in our careers I could see us having a kid or two.”

“Married?”

“I told you, you are it for me. I don’t have an actual plan right now. I figured I would at least wait until you finish grad school, I don’t want to be a distraction.”

“I don’t know if I can just forget about this for now.”

“Then think of it this way, I am going to marry you and then when we are both ready we are going to have the cutest children the world has ever seen.” That gets a laugh out of both of us, stopping quickly so we didn’t wake up Amelia. “All you need to know right now is that I love you and you are the one for me.”

“I love you too, and I can’t wait to see how cute our future children are.”

I take request! Just send me a player and a scenario!

[rawmeanderson]

for my best friend, @stupidpuckboys (as soon as i hit that @ sign your url popped in so yeah, there’s that) i love u

word count: 1.4k of absurd softness warnings: idk is there swearing? mentions of alcohol/drinking???? extreme softness?????????? if you really want to feel the full effect of the softness, feel free to go listen to Sure as Hell by This Providence and I Only Wanna Talk to You by The Maine

You’re in a mood, and you’re not sure why. The day had sucked for no real reason, and Josh having a game that night didn’t particularly help. Really, you should’ve gone to the game, but instead, you stayed home to sulk off the bad mood. You watched the game from the couch with a glass of wine and in one of his jerseys. The fact that he’d had a good game and you hadn’t been there made you feel guilty though, only adding to the churning in your stomach.

When the game was over, you relocated to the bathroom instead of bed. Running a bath, you sift through the cabinets, knowing you’ve got a few bath bombs tucked away for times like this. You’re sure Josh will be home before you’re out of the tub. Part of you feels bad that you wouldn’t be able to greet him immediately, but soaking out your emotions in a hot bath was more important.

The water was a little too hot when you settled into the water a few minutes later, the dissolving bath bomb still bobbing around. You’re able to relax as your body adjusts the the water, and you exhale a sigh through your nose as you lean back against the wall of the tub. Now was definitely a time that you appreciated the fact that Josh had a bathtub that was so large that it verged on comical.

Sinking down into the water a little more until it was at your chin, you heard the front door open followed by the sound of Josh’s footsteps. He’s moving around in the bedroom, likely changing out of his suit like he usually does. Normally, you’d be sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him as you talk about the game, and a pang of guilt hits you in the stomach.

When he knocks gently at the bathroom door, the sound makes you jump. “Baby, are you okay?” he asks, voice raised enough so you can hear him through the door.

You try to make yourself smaller in the tub somehow, hating that your head was such a mess that you weren’t quite sure how to answer. “I’m just taking a bath,” you respond, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that you were trying to avoid answering his question.

There’s a pause on the other side of the door, and your jaw goes tense. “Can I come in?” he asks, a bit of hesitation in his voice. You wonder what he’s thinking, if he’s put together that you’re not feeling like yourself.

Your stomach jumps at his question, though you’re really not sure why. You knew that Josh wasn’t one to tiptoe around when you weren’t feeling great, so you don’t know why you’d gotten it in your head that he wouldn’t want to come in and see you.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” you say eventually, voice rather small as you sink deeper into the rose colored water.

When he opens the door a moment later, your eyes lift to him and immediately, your heart hurts. He’s shirtless, ready for bed in a pair of sweats, and he’s got a gentle smile on his face as he walks toward the tub.

“You look warm,” he comments, sitting on the edge of the tub. When you nod and smile up at him, the expression is a little forced. Immediately, his hand comes out to smooth your hair back, thumb brushing over your forehead gently. You lean into his touch and sigh softly, eyes closing as you relax against the wall of the bathtub.

Josh pulls back a second later, and your eyes open, thinking he’s about to leave. Instead, he moves to sit on the floor next to the tub so he’s at eye level with you. He leans forward, resting his elbow on the edge of the tub, chin resting on the heel of his hand as he watches you.

“Are you okay?” he asks after a moment, his eyes moving over your face slowly enough that it makes you self conscious.

Shifting, the sound of water rippling fills your ears as you shrug in response to his question, barely able to meet his eye. His brow creases in concern and you look down at the water as if that’d somehow silence the nagging in the back of your mind that you weren’t good enough for any of this.

He brings a hand up to your face again, brushing his thumb over your cheekbone. “What’s going on in your head, hm?” he asks, his voice as soft and gentle as the way he’s touching your face.

His words make you let out a heavy sigh as you try to piece together a response that would make sense. Really, you’d love to just shrug again and not dig into your anxieties right now, but that really wouldn’t do much good. You’re quiet for a moment, shifting in the tub again, and Josh’s hand moves to your hair, smoothing it back again just like he had earlier.

Then, you let it go. You talk, not getting to deep into things right now, and Josh listens quietly, watching you the whole time. He makes sure he touches you all the while, either your face, your hair, your shoulder, and honestly, it helps. You know you’ve got his full attention, that he’s listening to you, and the way he’s looking at you makes your eyes fill with tears.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come to the game tonight,” you tell him, sniffling as you meet his eye. Josh gives you a crooked smile that makes your heart flip over and he shakes his head.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart, I knew you were watching,” he says quietly, shifting to sit on his knees so he can lean forward to kiss your forehead. Your eyes close as you enjoy the contact, raising your hand out of the water to try and keep him close. “I want that head to stay here with me though, okay? I know it’s not that easy, but just...let me take care of you tonight, yeah? I don’t want you to have to feel like this.”

Again, tears were stinging in your eyes but you nod quickly, chewing on your bottom lip as he nods back at you once. He gives you a soft smile, murmuring that he loves you as he shifts to sit on the edge of the tub again. You return the sentiment with a weak smile as you lean forward to rest your head against his thigh, just needing a bit of physical contact. Almost immediately, his hand rests on the back of your head briefly before moving down to your back. His hand is heavy and warm again your skin, a silent reassurance the he was there.

You both sit there in an easy silence for a long moment and you’re finally starting to come down a bit for the first time all day. When you finally pull back, you’re quick to tilt your head up to look at him as your hands come up to pull him down to you for a kiss.

“You ready to climb into bed?” he asks, keeping close to you so he can press another light kiss to your mouth. When you nod, he gives you an easy smile before he stands. “I’ll go grab you some clothes, yeah?” This time when you smile it’s genuine and affectionate as you lean to drain the tub. Josh sticks around long enough to hand you the towel you’d set out, pressing another soft kiss to your mouth.

You take your time drying off, before securing the towel around your body and tying your hair up. When you come out to the bedroom, he’s unpacking his bag, and there’s a pair of your favorite leggings and one of his old Monsters shirts waiting for you on the bed. After getting dressed, you take the couple of steps toward him and put your arms around him, pressing your face into the back of his shoulder. He tosses the shirt that’s in his hands into the hamper before turning toward you to put his arms around you securely, pressing a long kiss to the side of your head.

His embrace is safe and warm, making you sigh into his neck softly. He’s rubbing a hand over your back as you lean into him, your hand grasping the fabric of his shirt.

“C’mon,” he murmurs, nosing at your hair lightly. “Time for bed, baby.”