#jonah simms fluff

[152in]

On the Other Side

genre: jonah simms x f!late bloomer reader

summary: You have a hard time coming to terms that the cute coworker that you’ve been bottling your feelings for is actually into you.

notes: this is my first time writing on here and Jonah was living rent free in my head.

-

“Is that a Cloud 9 employee tampering with the merchandise?” Jonah sarcastically jokes from around the corner. Startled, you quickly pull back the bottle and in the process feel a bit of lotion on the tip of your nose. Guilt stricken, you sheepishly look up and lock onto an already smiling Jonah. His infectious smile and attractive smiling lines put you at ease. “I was—uh just smelling it,” You blurt out as you screw the cap close trying to act casual. “How can I sell the product if I don’t know what Vanilla Cashmere smells like.” You scoff as you know Jonah wouldn’t report it, he was just poking fun at you.

Jonah listens to your excuse and watched his lips pursed like he was holding back his smile. “Totally! That makes total sense.” He perched his arm on the shelf to leans closer and with a finger swiftly wipes the lotion you completely forgot was on your nose. Slightly taken aback from the close distance and sudden touch, you jerk yourself back to create distance. Jonah lets out a low chuckle as he finds your reaction amusing before bringing his finger to smell the lotion. Without breaking eye contact, his eyebrows furrow together to pretend to be in deep concentration on the smell. Closing his eyes briefly before peeking through one eye to make sure he is still holding your attention, he cleared his throat to reveal his review. In anticipation, you raise your eyebrows slightly, giggling at his goofiness. “Y’know, it's very vanilla. There’s something there that I have to say is on the tip of my tongue,” he jokingly states while inching closer to you.

He shortens the distance between each other and breathes out a sigh as he locks eyes with you. “Oh it’s cashmere,” he said in a low voice. This was a Jonah you haven’t seen up close before. In the short three months that you’ve been working at Cloud 9, you have caught glimpses of his handsome features. Dark brown hair, the shadow of a beard, smile lines, and soft puppy green eyes. And here he was in front of you and felt drawn to him in a way that you can hear the thumping of heart in your ears.

You bite your bottom lip and feel your cheeks heat up as your gazes locked and something felt different.

“You are so cute,” Jonah comments and you turn your chin to look away when you feel his hands reach out to you to pull you in for a kiss. Mouths meeting in the middle in a crush of lips, you let out a soft grunt in surprise. As a reflex you clench your hands and feel his thumbs caress your cheek to remind you to let go and be in this moment with him. For a split second, you can feel yourself wanting to stay in this heat and closeness but you open your eyes. You pull yourself away from him and push onto his chest. “Y/N?” You hear him try to gauge where you mentally are as your panicked eyes quickly look at his confused face and the aisles around both of you.

“I’m sorry, Jonah.” You shake your head as you let your gaze fall to the floor fidgeting with your vest. Jonah is quick to repeat your name and try to reach out to touch you which makes things worse. You take another step back. “I am just sorry,” you awkwardly apologize as you can feel your cheeks burning up. You bump with the inventory on the shelves and hear a loud thud around you as you turn around to leave. You can’t stand yourself and the embarrassment you have caused. You have to get out of here and out of his sight. You don’t even turn back to look at him and just rush to the employee bathroom.

As soon as you close the stall door behind you, you immediately breakdown. Panic short breathing starts to flow out of you with oversimulated tears. No control over the state of your body and with the freedom of an empty bathroom allows you to just let it out. That was until the guilt of your overreaction came crawling and made you want to crawl out of your skin to find refuge in a dark hole somewhere. You’ve only ever confessed to your childhood friends the truth that is your lack of experience in romance. Which includes that you’ve never been kissed.

In all your 20s, you’ve gone longer than social expectations to be intimate with someone. People have reciprocated some sort of attraction towards you over the years, but you have always found a way to rationalize it and push your feelings and desire down. You aren’t worthy enough to hold someone’s attention in that way.

That doesn’t equate to the fact that you don’t feel anything, especially when it comes to Jonah. He has been such a good co-worker that you genuinely feel is a friend. His positive outlook was refreshing and when you needed a pick me up throughout a shift, it was essential. In addition to that, the casual picking at each other’s brain and debates that came from it was fun banter between tasks. It was all in good spirits to make the time pass by at work. However, you are not blind. His bright smile paired with his kind heart woke something in you that had you aching for more than just filler conversation and instead for a deeper connection. Yet, you wouldn’t dare to initiate something. You thought he wouldn’t either because he was just being nice to his co-worker.

You feel the thumping in your ears slowly subside and the numbing in your fingers thaw out to reach to your lips. The same lips that touched Jonah. You broke into a small smile and that same guilt from earlier that never escaped comes creeping up again because how are you expected to move forward from this? Pretending that nothing happened or just confessing the truth and perhaps getting away with not being emotionally available.

Work is just work and you should not mix your feelings into it. Then you hear your friend’s advice from your monthly dinner catch ups when you filled them in on your school girl crush on Jonah. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear,” you mumbled to yourself. So, you straighten yourself out and step out of the bathroom to finish the next hour before ending your shift. Allowing yourself to use the time to think about your next steps and avoid any contact with Jonah in the meantime.

~

“We’ll still be able to make it to Trivia Night!” Cheyenne excitedly chimed to Mateo, who was putting on their coats and collecting their items a few lockers down from you.

Mateo noticed something in your demeanor was off but wasn’t extremely close enough to you to pry. Instead, he loudly asked Cheyenne, “Maybe Y/N would be up to joining us tonight?” He cheekily darted his eyes at Cheyenne, who followed his eyes to see you rushing to put your container of lunch away in your purse. Silently questioning Mateo’s motives, she goes over to you and extends the invitation. Your first instinct was to politely turn it down, but a distraction was needed, and some alcohol didn’t sound bad.

Cheyenne grabbed your phone to save her number in order to send you the address. As you wait for her, Jonah comes walking through the door. Without saying a word, he lowers his gaze to not look at you, he heads to his locker. The guilt of earlier forms bubbles in your stomach and makes you want to just blurt out the truth. But you weren’t alone and didn’t want to air it all out in front of your other co-workers.

“Okay!” Cheyenne excitedly squeaked out as she handed your phone back. “See you there at 10, which is like 30 minutes,” She adds, before waving an enthusiastic goodbye and joining Mateo at the entryway to leave. You muster a small smile and say goodbye.

Now, that leaves you alone with Jonah. You slowly turn around to see him closing shut his locker and ready to rush through the door. You were ready to tell him. He deserved to know. All this time, he’s been kind and respectful with you. He deserves to know, and as you watch him pass you by, you couldn’t even open your mouth to form the words to speak. So there he went, out the door.

You hurriedly chase after him and finally shout his name. He was in his car with his hand already on the door handle when he broke his silence. “Y/N,” he loudly called out to you an inflicting tone. “You know I would never,” he turned to look at you with pain in his eyes and looked around to see if there were other people close by before continuing to speak. “I thought you liked me and I would have never kissed you and have it be read as me forcing myself onto you.” You shut your eyes and relive the moment you push him off.

“Yes,” you cry out and realize the context. “I mean no….no, of course, I know that! Of course, I know that,” you let out the last part softly and reach out to touch his arm. His gaze follows your hand and Jonah pulls a step back. Furrowing his brows in reaction, you realize that you did hurt him. “It was a lot for me,” you add before blurting out softly, “That was just my first kiss.”

Your confession of the truth was out there. The silence of his reaction had you feeling bold enough to reach out to him. To your surprise, he holds it with his.

“I’ve never been kissed before, and I uh—I know it sounds dumb but I uh…I’m afraid of being bad at it.” Speaking out loud about your irrational thoughts felt like a weight coming off your shoulders. Although, your fingers slowly began to vibrate with a slight panic you said it aloud.

“I don’t have practice or prior experience despite my age—“ you were ready to just vomit the self deprecating reality that you find yourself to make light of it all when he interrupts you. “Stop it. You are fine,” he reassures you as he pulls onto your hand and lets you touch his cheek. Jonah leans into your warmth. He sees your vulnerability and notices how hard it must’ve been for you to open that door for him and he more than ready to enter.

His green eyes kindly meet yours, and he turned his head slightly to kiss your hand. “I’ve always liked you,” he confesses. “I also don’t mind taking things slow.” Jonah lightly admits as he shrugs and reliefs the slight worry you might still have. Chewing his lower lip, he boldly asks, “I would just like a redo or another chance to kiss you again?” Your lips twitched with excitement as you move your gaze to his lips before looking back at him.

“I would like that very much.” You are now the one leaning first to meet him and feel those same two hands up your face. He tasted tentatively with his tongue as he traced your bottom lips. You let out a soft repressed moan as you feel his thumb once again caress your cheek to remind you to relax. In the cold chilly autumn air, both of your breaths mingled together. Jonah slowly pulled back and the left side of his faint red lips turned upwards, creating a small smirk. Both of you study each other’s faces in the comforting silence. A whole new perspective for both of you.

“Do you maybe want to go to Trivia with me?” You were the first to break the silence and a low chuckle leaves from him. This new feeling that you don’t care to label it feels so nice, you think to yourself.

“Oh—I’m so down!” He puts a jokingly serious face before placing a kiss on your cheek and gets you out of your train of thought as he intertwines his fingers into yours.

[matt-murdockk]

Love (?) is in the air

pairing: jonah simms x fem!cloud9!reader words: 1.5k summary: Sandra clearly misreads a situation between (Y/n) and Jonah. Or does she? warnings: one single f-bomb a/n: superstore fic can I get a hell yeah

"You know, when I pictured what I'd be doing at this age, I always hoped it involved a forklift and a six-foot bear with dead eyes," (Y/N) said dryly, hoisting the last of the giant plush monstrosities onto the display shelf before she got down from the forklift.

Jonah adjusted the row of novelty mugs for the third time that hour. “You know,” he said, glancing sideways, “if these mugs were any more passive-aggressive, they’d be my mom.”

(Y/N) snorted, steadying the bear before it could tip over and crush a cardboard standee of Cupid. “This mug literally says, 'I guess you’ll do.' Romance is alive and well.”

The fluorescent lights above them flickered like they, too, were judging the display. Somewhere in the distance, a child shrieked bloody murder— likely over a dented box of candy hearts.

Jonah picked up one of the mugs and turned it in his hand, mock thoughtful. “‘I’m Yours. No Refunds.’ Honestly? Kind of hot.”

(Y/N) arched an eyebrow. “That’s your type?”

He shrugged. “I like a little emotional blackmail in my dishware.”

She nudged his side with her elbow, grinning. “That explains so much.”

He laughed and leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice like he was about to tell a secret. “I mean, if someone gave me this mug and a half-assed note, I’d probably propose on the spot.”

“Oh, so we’re setting the bar that low now?” she teased.

“I work retail, (Y/N). The bar’s in the stockroom buried under a broken price scanner and my will to live.”

She barked out a laugh. “That tracks.”

They were standing too close now— not that either of them minded. It was just the kind of comfortable proximity that happened when two people spent too much time in the same blue vests, in the same aisles, pretending they weren’t already halfway to a workplace romance.

Jonah reached over to fix one of the mugs she’d haphazardly placed. Their fingers brushed.

(Y/N) looked up at him. “Wow. Perfectionist and poetic. Dangerous combo.”

Jonah smiled, a little crooked. “Don’t forget modest.”

Before she could reply, a small gasp echoed from the end of the aisle.

They both turned their heads.

Sandra stood frozen like she’d been caught in the middle of an unspeakable act. Her eyes were wide, darting between Jonah and (Y/N), and she clutched her clipboard to her chest like it might shield her from whatever she thought she was witnessing.

She lifted one shaky finger and pointed at them. Then back to her clipboard. Then at them again.

Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.

Jonah blinked. “Uh… hey, Sandra.”

Sandra said nothing. Just kept pointing. Now with both hands, her clipboard forgotten on the ground with a mild thud. Her lip trembled slightly, as though on the verge of tears, or a nervous breakdown, or both.

(Y/N) took a slow step forward. “Are you okay?”

Sandra squeaked. Literally squeaked. Then turned on her heel and walked away at a brisk, flustered shuffle.

Jonah and (Y/N) stood in silence for a moment.

Finally, (Y/N) said, “So… that felt normal.”

Jonah nodded. “Textbook Cloud 9 interaction.”

“Well, at least that’s the weirdest today has gotten.”

And just as Jonah was about to make another joke about flower arrangements, someone in the toy aisle screamed, “IS THAT A RACCOON?!”

They both turned toward the sound. And sighed.

——————————————————————————————————

The breakroom smelled vaguely like burnt popcorn and cleaning fluid. Glenn stood at the front near the whiteboard, nervously holding a laminated emergency protocol chart with one corner already chewed off— presumably by the raccoon still unaccounted for in the store.

“So,” Glenn began, “in the event that you see the raccoon again, please don’t try to lure it with peanut butter. Or beef jerky. Or Cheyenne’s perfume.”

Cheyenne, from the couch, raised a hand. “Okay, but it really liked my perfume. Like, aggressively.”

Mateo scoffed. “I’m just saying, if it’s still in the building, I vote we name it and train it to do returns.”

“You’re all missing the point,” Glenn said, waving the chart like it held divine authority. “This is a serious—”

“Okay, everyone shut up,” Dina cut in, not even looking up from her protein bar. “Glenn’s talking. Which means you listen and pretend to care.”

The room quieted— well, as much as it ever did. Jonah sat near the vending machine, one foot bouncing lightly. (Y/N) was across the table from him, chin propped on her hand, looking both amused and half-asleep.

Glenn cleared his throat. “Now. In case of wild animal invasion, the protocol is to calmly evacuate the aisle and alert management—”

“Like that ever happens,” Amy muttered.

“And not to scream and throw a clearance Nerf gun at it,” Glenn added, giving Marcus a meaningful look.

Marcus just shrugged. “Instinct.”

The conversation derailed instantly, as usual. Someone brought up whether or not they should build a raccoon-proof panic room. Mateo started a pitch for his “Emergency Escape Fashion Capsule.” Cheyenne offered to draw raccoon warning signs for every aisle.

And then, without warning, Sandra stood up.

She’d been uncharacteristically quiet, sitting stiffly in the corner, eyes fixed on the floor like she was building up courage for something big. Which, in Sandra’s case, meant something dramatic and deeply misguided.

“I just think,” she said suddenly, “that we should take a moment to appreciate that love can blossom anywhere. Even in a hostile workplace environment.”

Silence.

Everyone turned.

Garrett, eyebrows raised, leaned back in his wheelchair. “Okay… continue.”

Sandra swallowed, visibly shaking. “I mean— Jonah and (Y/N). It’s just so beautiful to see two people finally realize what they’ve been denying for so long.”

More silence, but this time of the awkward and stunned kind.

(Y/N) blinked. “Wait, what?”

Jonah looked around like maybe someone else was being referenced. “I’m sorry, us?”

"Sandra, genuinely, what the fuck?"

Sandra clutched the edge of the table like she’d just made a profound announcement. “I saw you. This morning. In Seasonal.”

Jonah frowned. “With the… mugs?”

Sandra nodded solemnly, like this explained everything. “And the bear.”

Cheyenne gasped. “Wait, you guys?”

Garrett leaned forward, looking far too entertained. “Hold on. You’re saying Jonah and (Y/N) are a thing now?”

Jonah opened his mouth. “No, absolutely—”

“Thank you,” Mateo cut in, nodding solemnly. “Because finally, someone else noticed.”

Jonah threw his hands up. “There’s nothing to notice!”

“Oh please,” Cheyenne said. “You were standing like, this close.” She held two fingers about a breath apart. “And Jonah was doing his soft eyes thing.”

“I don’t do a soft eyes thing,” Jonah said.

“You one hundred percent do a soft eyes thing,” Garrett said. “You do it every time (Y/N) says something even remotely sarcastic.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jonah muttered.

(Y/N) looked around the table. “Can we get back to the part where there’s a raccoon loose in the store? Or is that less important than whatever hallucination Sandra had?”

Sandra, quietly, “It wasn’t a hallucination.”

Mateo sipped his drink. “She’s doubling down. Bold.”

Glenn clasped his hands. “I always hoped love would bloom here. Even in the presence of pest infestations and frequent cart theft.”

(Y/N) looked around the room, expression blank. “I am begging you all to get hobbies.”

“That’s what people say when they’re caught,” Mateo said.

“Caught doing what?” Jonah asked, voice rising slightly.

“Being all soft and couple-y,” Amy replied, like it was a felony, clearly enjoying this more than she should.

Glenn sniffled. “It’s just... nice, you know? Love in a hopeless place.”

Dina stood up, clearly done. “Alright. Break’s over. Glenn, your meeting has gone off the rails. You are spineless and a downright disgrace. As fun as this was, there is a raccoon loose in the store that we need to tend to. If I find that before you do, I’m keeping it.”

Everyone stood and filed out of the breakroom, still murmuring and exchanging knowing looks.

Jonah and (Y/N) stayed behind for a second. He gave her a look, somewhere between exasperated and amused.

“You think if we start actively being mean to each other, they’ll drop it?”

(Y/N) stood, grabbing her half-empty coffee. “Probably not. We’ll just end up on a different kind of list.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, next time I’ll just high-five you from across the aisle to avoid scandal.”

(Y/N) smirked. “I feel like that it will actively make it worse.”

Jonah opened his mouth, stopped, sighed. “Cool. Awesome.”

She paused at the door. “For the record? You do do the soft eyes thing.”

Jonah blinked. “What’s the—?”

She gave him a deadpan look as she leaned against the doorframe, then rolled her eyes and walked away, smiling. Jonah instinctively felt his entire demeanour change, soften, in fact.

Oh.