//NOTE: wow first of all thank you guys again SO much for all the love on the first part it truly means the most <3 i know conceal was not present at the NYC show but in this series he is, also jonah intro this chapter sorry i couldn't wait. love you guys forever and always <3
you stood in the balcony of the Terminal 5 in NYC, drink in hand as you looked down into the crowd below, hundreds of groups standing around all waiting to watch the boys perform as more people filled in after them until the room was filled to a brim.
“i could not imagine being down there” ryan stated walking up behind you, you leaning on the balcony railing looking down at them before looking back at you, his beautiful eyes staring right into yours as his lips curled into a smile while he took a sip of his drink. Dressed in his usual black skinny jeans and layers of jean jackets, and his signature gloves , with a beanie to lay onto his fresh buzz cut, boy did you miss his beautiful brown locs sometimes though.
You nodded in agreement, the thought of being packed like a sardine in a hot little box sounded miserable, especially with the only little amount of water they were handing out that you also basically had to fight for.
“oh absolutely, it looks miserable they’re all like back to chest with each other.. and look see he’s still trying to shove his way up to the front, like there is no room for you buddy” you replied pointing down at one of the boys below who was shoving through girls to get to the front, honestly this really had to be some sort of safety hazard now that you were looking at it from above.
Ryan looked down and laughed at the sight you were pointing at, “they all need to see the glorious white tiger in ALL of his glory” he replied, taking out his small box of camel cigarettes handing you one before lighting his own. Passing you the lighter after, the time read ‘ 7:55 pm ‘ which means they had about five-minutes before roman even went on. you took a drag before blowing the smoke out over the balcony.
“are you excited?” ryan asked, also taking a drag before leaning his back fully on the railing looking right up at you , you nodded, i mean it was the same show you had seen plenty times before , at this point you’ve come up with a game at this point ‘how many songs in till his shirt comes off', and you'd keep score in your head. Last stop it only took 3 songs for hollis , and romans shirt was off right after no me importa.
“always am, you can tell theyre performance is getting better with each stop” you pointed out, “but i love when they go out to see the fans after the show that’s always so heart warming to watch” you explained, ryan nodded in agreement
“yeah that’s kinda the best part, like realizing that they wanted to see me too was crazy. but i swear let one of them ask when my ep is dropping one more time i might actually loose it” he stated with a laugh, you laughed along with him coughing slightly at the smoke that filled your throat.
“the girls yearn for that ryan d ep okay, they need it” you repsonded taking a long drag of your cig before blowing it out, ryan laughed and shook his head turning to look over the railing at the stage.
it wasn’t long before the lights dimmed, and the crowd roared, the lights flashed red and white as the beginning beats of romans song started to play as he ran out onto the stage. You watched as the crowd moved in waves, up and down, left to right sometimes side to side. Romans crowd was intense because his music was intense, no me importa was like a raging teenage boys wet dream and then followed up with even more intense unreleased songs like mira right after, you think tell they’d tire themselves out eventually but it was like romans energy was bouncing off of the walls onto them. it was like every other moment someone was getting pulled over the barricade.
however whenever they were pulled out they were sent up where you were, and you honestly found it adorable to watch them jump and sing along the sight would be such nostalgic one to see, and honestly sometimes it made you miss home. like you loved how you lived now, but most of the time you missed being that same girl dancing along with your friends, no online hate, just you your best friends and music. you’d catch yourself staring at them before quickly turning your gaze back to Roman’s set, but as fast as it started it also ended and there was a short intermission before nates set. You and ryan clapped as roman left the stage, saying his i love you to the crowd and even blew a little kiss at one of the barricade girls, you could see her jumping up and down to get his attention from up there and you remembered that same feeling so well.
“hey guys” a soft voice called from behind you and ryan, you looked over your shoulder to see none other than jonah the man himself. dressed in his black baggy tee that had a cool neon skull design on it, some light silver and gold chains laid neatly across his neck and the same black baggy jeans he wore often. He had some cute eye makeup on, some black shadow light tapped on the corner and a tight lined water line that had a kinda smudged look, just looking the cutest ever as always. You gasped turning fully to face him “jonah!” you said as he smiled shyly at your excited tone.
“i didn’t know you were coming man what are you doing here?” ryan asked almost just as excited was you were, jonah smiled rubbing the back of his neck,
“i have my ways” he said leaning in to return your hug, jonah was also apart of their group. but not one you saw as often as the others, jonah being a producer was alwayysss working on music for someone the most recent being roman and ryan for their new releases. Jonah was the kindest most gentle man you’d ever met, he looks kinda intimidating from afar but he’s really a sweetheart so soft spoken and kind and always being there to support anyone close to him, you’d always enjoyed talking with him considering you didn’t see him as often, hearing about his projects and what he had been up too.
“you guys coming to the after party?” he asked softly standing between you and the other man, you nodded taking a sip of your drink however ryan shook his head turning to face you and jonah, taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from the two.
“nah man i got a flight back to LA in the morning, im just here because i had a shoot here anyway” ryan explained as he turned back to the stage, jonah nodded before turning to you.
“i missed you, how have you been?” he asked gently leaning in so you could hear him better, the small gesture making your heart thump a bit in your chest.
you smiled scrunching your nose a bit flushed “I've been good i missed you more i thought i wouldn't see you until the end of tour! and you know as of right now its just party party party” you joked shrugging as you took in your surroundings. jonah laughed and nodded,
“yeah well that’s how it is around hollis, that dude never stops” he replied, before you could respond the lights dimmed yet again, you watched as the crowd shoved forward as the lights flash, and the beginning of ‘tonight’ started to blare through the speakers. Nates set was longer obviously, but his sound was wayyy different very poppy kinda justin berber vibes, total dance songs. you could tell because the crowd would get less intense during his set compared to romans, less shoving and pushing more jumping and dance pits. Nate always brought the energy though. Nate was not new to this but very true to this, and always put on a great performance, his voice was like honey and the kind that would give you goosebumps at each high note he hit.
After 30 minutes or so nates set ended and he said his goodbyes to the crowd, before walking off. This was the longer intermission before hollis came on. You clapped for him as he walked off before turning your attention back to jonah,
"no but seriously how did you get here? i thought you were staying back home to work on your project?" you asked him, tapping out your now worn down cig before putting it out on the trash can next to you.
jonah shrugged, "i thought id stop by, plus new york is so fun anyway" he explained. "also hollis had called me the other day, and he was talking about throwing an after party here anyway, and a bunch of our mutual friends were going so that further pushed my impulsive decision to come along" he explained further,
you nodded along as he explained his reasons for coming, i mean flying from LA to new york is insane and probably expensive too.
"well its always good to see you jonah" you said softly, jonah smiled letting out a small laugh and shaking his head, he didn't respond but the look on his face told you everything- jonah always had this soft look to him whenever it came to you, like he always had a kinda intimidating face to hi but with you his eyes were softer, his small gestures like rubbing the top of your hand with his thumb, or moving your hair if it was in your way, or even holding it back while you threw up in his bathroom.
Shortly after, hollis set started. Honestly, the best part of the whole show, not like you were biased because you loved all of them so equally but watching hollis perform was always something to put you in a trance. He was so passionate about his craft and his music, his fans and performing at his best all the time was so important to him and he delivered every time. The light show, the tiger on the stage, the lasers that blare around, it was all perfect. Hollis was a performer, and his happiest on stage connecting so deeply with thousands of people who were there because they loved him and what he created. As tour went on he would always state how grateful he was for this, late at night in the hotel room you two would talk and he would just go on and on, on how he couldn't believe this was his life now, and people were finally recognizing him for what he is as an artist, and honestly hollis had deserved it, even in this short time of truly knowing him he was probably the most hard working person you had ever met, always making sure each song he teased or put out was produced the best he could, and if it wasn't enough, scrapped to never be seen again. He cared so so deeply about his art and his fans and you admired him so much for that.
The show went on perfect, you ryan and jonah cheered along for him the entire time, dancing along with each song he played it was always a good time. You swore ryan cheered the loudest for him at one point though but if anyone was proud of hollis it was most definitely ryan that was his biggest supporter in and out. Eventually though, the show ended and you jonah and ryan made your ways down the balcony with security to head backstage before the boys went to go greet the fans outside.
The three of you hurried down the halls into dressing room 2, where all three of them sat. Upon opening the door ryan cheered for them as you all entered the room.
"that was amazing you guys" you said leaning into hug roman and then nate, as ryan and jonah went to congratulate hollis for another successful show.
"another great night everyone," hollis said as he finally closed in your hug, "but its not over yet, did you guys see the flyers online?"the asked keeping his arm around you.
jonah nodded, "why else would you think im here you can never turn down a hollis after party" he said nudging hollis in the side, as the rest started to get ready to greet the fans outside.
as much as you loved seeing them interact with the fans, the big smiles, the constant "i love you"'s the gifts they'd sometimes receive from them, you tried not to make yourself seen too much. you had tried not too bring yourself out in the public eye too much, as much as you tried to ignore the public hate you'd receive that doesn't mean it still didn't hurt. You'd watch quietly from the tour bus window, peaking from behind the curtains as they ran up to the fans, grabbing hands, giving hugs everything you yourself once experienced. but you knew if they saw you, it would be hell not only on you but on them too. That's why the thought of this after party not only excited you, but scared you too.
☁︎ a spontaneous meet up in the photolab with your ‘ex’ but secretly you can’t get enough of eachother.
☁︎ vanilla smut, Jonah’s a munch, p in v, unprotected, at work, swearing, no use of y/n, pet names ??
☁︎ I’m back in my superstore phase and there’s little to NO Jonah fics !! Everyone go get educated !!
Borders: @batsydividers
“I think him and Kelly are cute,” you tell Amy who keeps smothering you in questions. “Why are you so hung up on this, boss.” Her nose wrinkles and walks off towards the registers.
Though you did think Jonah and Kelly were cute together, you can’t get over you two just broke up barely three months ago. She started a month ago. We both just weren’t ready for it and both became very absent minded of each other and mutually broke it off. It’s really not that deep.
“Can I please have our star sheet stocker to customer service please, pretty please in a good attitude.”
Garrett sometimes needs to be off the damn microphone. You sigh packing the rest of the sheet packages into the shelf even though none of them really fit. I’ll deal with it later.
The desk stands Dina, Garrett, Amy and Jonah all huddled together speaking much softer than usual.
“What’s up?” You say crossing your arms. All their faces switch to a nicer softer look as if they pity you, including Jonah. “Are we deadass?”
“Listen I don’t want a stressful wok environment, work it out.” Dina states pointing to me and Jonah then her eyes. You raise your arms in disbelief.
“We get along just fine! What’s she talking about?” Jonah says to Amy peaking glances between you and her. You nod glaring her an annoyed smile. “I’m going back to electronics please and thank you.”
“What the hell was that?!” You whisper yell at Amy still with Garrett at the desk.
“I feel a tension! I just want you two to like eachother!”
“Amy we are fine!” I say glaring now to Garrett who can’t stop smiling like an idiot at our conversation. “And what do youuu have to say about it?”
“Absolutely nothing.” His voice blanks not breaking the smile. You roll your eyes heading back towards the nightmare that was that mess of bedsheets.
••~••~••
Your shift lasted the latest of everyone. Cheyenne didn’t feel good as she’s closing in on her due date so you stayed over to cover for her close. The break room for once was empty and dark while you grabbed your stuff. It felt nice to be alone until you’re interrupted from footsteps walking in the hall.
“Hey” your head snaps seeing Jonah standing in the doorway. His black coat holding against his lap and one of his arms leaning him over the doorframe.
“Hey Jonah. Why are you still here? Weren’t you off at like—” you peak down to no watch on your wrist “hours ago.” He chuckles softly now walking towards you.
“I was but I figured I’d wait for you.”
“You act like you wouldn’t see me back at home.” The thought creeps a smile across your lips reflecting to him doing the same.
“Well there’s no one here now.” He offers now leaning up against the lockers looking down at you. “Unless that seems a little bit too unprofessional I could totally get that.”
“You know there’s cameras in this break room right?”
“Hmmmm the photolab doesn’t”
“Deal.”
Within a second of your response his lips lean down towards yours planting them harder with every gasp for air you both needed. His coat falls from his arms and wrap around your thighs and hips, hoisting you against his waist never breaking your needy lips. He carries you like you’re weightless, his pants slightly poking under your jeans from his pulsing erection making him speed up his walk to the lab.
Your back pushes against the door opening into the dark room. He kicks the door closed still holding you along his hip. Your kisses becoming more messy and sloppy as he places you under him across the table.
“Thank god Mateo cleaned this room.” You heave between kisses.
“Yes he’s gonna need to clean it again.” He responds. His lips trail from your lips across your jaw into the sweet spot of your neck nibbling enough to not leave a hickey but enough to soak you through your core.
He pulls away standing staring at you laying across the lab table.
“Jeans.” He demands panting unbuckling his belt. You wiggle off the table following his demand sliding off your jeans and lifting off your shirt leaving you in your black bra and matching panties. You walk towards him assisting in his millions of buttons that close his shirt.
“God there’s so many fucking buttons!” You grumble fiddling with the buttons.
“Fuck so many buttons.” His fingers roughly ripping them off and undoing them at the same time. “We can fix those later.” His shirt flies off and leans over you again on the table.
“You’re so beautiful.” His words softened with warmth rather than lust, too bad it lasted for five seconds. “Beautifully delicious too.”
His lips kiss and slide down your torso and onto your hip bones. The tips of his fingers tapping along your lacy waistband shooting shocks between your legs. His grip tightens he could’ve easily left bruises for a reminder tomorrow. His kisses felt hungrier the deeper he went down your body, his teeth barely grazing your inner thighs. Softly sucking the sensitive thin skin around your bikini line.
His kisses peck softly over your clothed clit muttering a moan just barely audible. One of his hands moves to swipe his finger slowly over your panties feeli by the soaked mess he’s left you in. Your eyes gaze down your body making eye contact with his, his top teeth biting the hell out of his lower lip as if you were a gourmet meal sat for him. In a way, you practically were. He moves your leftover cloth exposing your core to the cold air and his starving body. He moans as he crashes into your lips, him starting out with his tongue figure eighting around your whole core.
“Baby please,” you moan. You feel his moaning vibrations between your thighs. His response is his teeth lightly nibbling directly on your clit shooting your back into an arch. Fuck already? “I’m gonna—”
He fully stops interrupting you. His eyes glare up your body staring to your needy expression, almost darkening his lust. The tighteness in your stomach stinging in the same place, both from him blue balling you and you holding it in for him.
“This isn’t pro woman of you Jonah.” You groan squirming your body as he crawls above you.
“Condom?”
“No it’s in my arm.”
“Love the use of your reproductive rights.”
“Christ Jonah, shut up and fuck me!” You yelp scratching his back down to his hips.
He doesn’t hesitate to slip his dick in as far as he can, your hips aligning together. A warm sensation burning through your whole torso. Your moans get louder as he gathers a rhythm, his moaning harmonizing with yours. The beads of sweat roll down his forehead along his flushed cheeks, some would drop onto yours. Him seeing his own sweat would almost make him moan more, like a piece of him was just on you and he could see it.
“Fuck—”
“Jonah, please,”
His moans escalate louder, hips rocking faster.
“Baby my god..” you yell squeezing your orgasm around him.
“I need to pull—”
“No.” You groan loudly still squeezed around him. You feel his cock harden and pulse inside you, his eyes nearly roll back with his head. The pulsing slowing down but still sitting inside your warmth.
“That was not very feminist of me.” He jokes out of breath resting his forehead on yours. His sweat dripping along your cheeks and nose more.
“As if Tate can’t give me a pill tomorrow.” You laugh back. He slides out of you fully dripping from his cock, his cum sloshing both in and out of you as gravity pulls it between your lips.
You both help each other get redressed and look at little more put together if for some reason Dina gets bored and looks through the night footage tomorrow morning.
“So does no one know you and Kelly broke up still?” You ask buttoning up your jeans.
“They will tomorrow, Kelly’s back from vacation tomorrow.”
“Ha oh shit.” You laugh at the thought. “Weren’t you supposed to be moved in by now?”
“Correct.”
“I’ll make sure to not call in tomorrow. Just to watch the Kelly and Jonah show.” You smile. “My favorite romcom.”
“Yeah yeah, let me walk to your car.”
Jonah has you grab onto his bicep as he leads you out of the store double checking the doors lock and no one is lingering in the parking lot.
“Goodnight lover.” You whisper to him kissing him again but with a cozy warmth behind it.
Warning: Mature themes/language. Age gap. Sexual content.
Part One
Part Two: Hard Lines
“She’s 21!” Jonah exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah, I heard you the first time!” Garrett cried.
Garrett shook his head as Jonah scoffed as he just sat there, beside himself.
“I’ve dated a few years younger, but this is too much,” Jonah remarked. “I mean… Eleven years? 21? That’s a huge age difference.”
“Yeah, well,” Garrett shrugged, not really sure what else there was to say.
“I mean, if I would’ve known that, I never would’ve flirted with her!”
“Then don’t,” Garrett said flatly.
“But… I don’t know, she’s an adult!” Jonah thought, genuinely conflicted.
Garrett just looked at him, mouth flat, knowing there wasn’t much he could say.
“What do you think?” Jonah asked desperately. “I definitely should keep my distance, right?”
“I don’t know, dude,” Garrett confessed. “It’s a big age gap. It’s weird. But there’s not necessarily a manual for these kinds of things.”
“Right,” Jonah murmured, trying to reconcile.
“It’s definitely weird, but you’re both adults. You met at a place where you both work, and she’s old enough to do anything you can. So I guess you just kinda gotta figure it out for yourself.”
“But is 32 and 21 an unacceptable age gap?” Jonah asked, barely listening.
“I have no idea,” Garrett tried to remain neutral. “It’s not crazy, but it’s definitely the kinda thing that gets in the way easily.”
“Yeah,” Jonah murmured to himself, unable to let it go.
*****
Jonah was sitting in the cafe, silently eating his early dinner. He saw Riana sit at a table by him as he looked up.
“Hey!” he blurted out, before he could stop himself.
She gave him a look. Jonah couldn’t help it. All he could think about right now is the fact that he had offered this 21 year-old a ride in his car. He felt very odd to say the least. He cleared his throat, trying to save the interaction somehow.
“You wanna come sit over here?”
“Sure.”
Riana nodded, getting up as she sat with her food across from him. Jonah studied her, with her perfect curls, and her long, fluffy fake lashes. He didn’t realize she’d catch him staring.
“What?” her brows furrowed as she chewed.
Jonah cleared his throat. “Uh, I just… Sorry. You just look nice,” he noted. “That’s all. Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” she grinned.
That was a very good question.
“I just… I don’t know,” he laughed nervously, not sure what to say anymore. “Forget I said anything.”
Riana nodded. There was a long silence between them as she ate her food before she said anything.
“Dina wrote me up.”
Jonah balked. “On your second day?! For what?”
“Visible tattoos,” she frowned.
Jonah’s eyes went right down to her arms. She was covered in them, attractive Chicano tattoos that elevated her self-expression.
“Dina wrote me up, but kinda respecting me, but then Glenn just kinda bullshitted me out of it,” she explained.
“You’re lucky,” Jonah told her, “Dina doesn’t usually respect anybody. Those are really cool tattoos, by the way,” he admired them.
“Thanks,” Riana smiled.
“Which one’s your favorite?” Jonah asked.
“Hmm,” she took a moment to think, twisting her arm so that she could see.
He watched patiently as she scanned her body trying to choose, trying not to get too carried away as he thought to himself. His eyes widened when she stood, lifting up her shirt to reveal dangerously low-waisted jeans. His eyes were immediately drawn to the tattoo he knew she meant, a striking image of a three-headed Doberman, each of its necks bound with spiky collars. It was objectively a great design, with bold, hard lines.
“I think this one,” she showed him.
Jonah’s mouth nearly went dry as he nodded. “Y-Yeah, I could see why,” he stammered. “It’s really well done. Badass…”
He couldn’t stop himself from staring.
“Do you have any?” she wondered.
“No,” Jonah smiled wistfully, “I’m too much of a chicken. Plus, I wouldn’t know what I’d want.”
“Fair enough,” she agreed.
“You have a lot, though,” he paid attention to her. “Did they hurt a lot?”
“Some of them, yeah,” she replied. “My ribs and my back hurt the worst.”
“Ouch,” he winced, “Yeah, those are sensitive areas. That sounds brutal. You’re way braver than I am. I think you’ve just proven to me that I could never actually get a tattoo.”
“I think you could. On your arm of something,” Riana provided. “I’d go with you if you really wanted.”
Jonah smiled softly as he leaned in. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you hold my hand?” he asked in a needy tone.
“I would,” she smirked.
Jonah knew he was in big trouble. He’d definitely crossed a few lines already.
He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll consider it, then.”
“You should,” Riana agreed, her eyes not leaving his.
Jonah knew this was a tremendously bad idea, but he couldn’t even bring himself to break the intimate eye contact with her.
“Maybe I should even try to get it in the same spot as yours,” he teased, “The hipbone?”
She shrugged. “If you can handle it.”
Jonah felt himself burning up as she spoke. Never before had he been intimidated by a woman so young.
“I don’t know,” he thought, “Maybe we’ll have to see.”
There was a calm silence as she nodded, sipping her drink. He couldn’t help but notice the way her long lashes fluttered whenever she moves. He’d never really dated any girls who wore long lashes like that, but he’d certainly never been averse to it. It was a bold, striking look, that especially suited her.
“You have a ride home tonight?” Jonah asked nervously.
Rianna looked up at him. “No, actually. My sister’s borrowing the car.”
Jonah’s eyes lit up. “Well, I could take you if you wanted.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” he nodded quickly, “Dutchtown’s no problem.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he said eagerly.
He knew this was a horrible idea.
*****
Later that evening, Jonah walked out with Riana, pointing to his car.
“It’s that one.”
“Oh, shit, I’ll be right back, I forgot my phone,” she realized.
“Oh, no worries,” Jonah nodded, watching as she ran back in.
He stood alone outside, feeling a little stupid just as Mateo came out, done with his shift. He seemed to notice Riana, giving Jonah a look.
“What?” Jonah asked defensively.
“Nothing,” Mateo said innocently, shrugging his shoulders. “I just didn’t think you could handle a girl like that.”
Jonah made a curious face, before stopping him as he continued to the parking lot.
“Wait,” Jonah stopped him. “If you know… What do you think about the age gap.”
Mateo raised an eyebrow. Obviously, they weren’t that close.
“I don’t know,” Mateo shrugged. “You’re both adults and nobody’s dying. Leave me out of your middle-aged white guy dilemmas.”
Jonah was too distracted to point out that they were about the same age.
“Huh,” he murmured, watching as Mateo walked away, “Nobody’s dying.”
I know it has been far too long and I'm very sorry about that, but I suddenly had some inspiration and this imagine came out of nowhere. This is finally a new Jonah Hauer-King imagine for you all and I hope you will like it.
Summary: It's time for (Y/n) and Jonah to have their second baby together, but things progress a lot faster than they expected.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A deep, rumbling breath pushed past (Y/n)'s lips as she leaned her weight off the wall and tried to straighten up again. Turning on her heels, (Y/n) slowly twisted to face the bathroom again.
Her nails scratched into the doorframe to stabalise herself as she peered around the door. The burning feeling igniting in her abdomen died down a little when her eyes locked with Amelia. The toddler was sat in the bath, a wide grin on her face and about four small, plastic cups floating around in the bubbles with her.
When the contraction got more intense, (Y/n) had moved to the doorway so she was still within sight of the three year old, but Amelia wouldn't be able to see her broken expression or notice the pain on her features.
"Are you finally finished?" She tried to force herself to smile but the constant twinges rolling through her stomach made it hard to pretend.
Amelia looked like she wanted to protest, but the water was finally going cold and she knew that her mum wouldn't refill the bath again. So she nodded and dropped the plastic cups so they floated in the water, drifting around the bath like little boats in the ocean.
For almost three hours now, (Y/n) had been feeling labour pains and she felt horrid pacing the house and trying to continue so Amelia wouldn't panic. She had taken to pacing up and down the house while Jonah called his parents to see if they could watch Amelia for them. It wouldn't be ideal to take her to the hospital with them.
They both knew it would be time to leave soon. (Y/n)'s water had already broken and the contractions were finally getting closer together. They would have to go and drop Amelia off soon so they could make it to the hospital.
(Y/n) knew she had a good chance of this labour going a bit swifter since it was their second one. And now the contractions were lining up, it was finally time to get a move on. They had been in labour for two days with Amelia before things finally started to speed up and (Y/n) had been praying it would go quicker this time.
"Okay," She tried to keep herself smiling as she grabbed a towel from the rack and leaned over the bath. Usually (Y/n) would have knelt down beside the bath to play for a while but she couldn't sit still in this much pain without worrying Amelia. She had been pacing the room and leaning over the bath to try and play rather than sitting down beside her.
She knew Amelia had been a bit upset that her mum wasn't playing or interacting with her as much right now.
A quiet 'oh' left her lips when Amelia wrangled her arms around her neck and started to giggle. She curved the towel around the toddler's middle and bit down on her lip, trying to brace her back and steady herself so she could lift her out the bath.
"Just what are you two ladies up to?" Jonah's voice rang out in the bathroom and made (Y/n)'s stomach flutter, despite the pains tearing her apart from the inside out.
She set Amelia down on the bath mat just as she felt Jonah's hands on her hips and his lips on her shoulder.
She was grateful when he weaved around her and moved to crouch down in front of their three year old. Effectively taking (Y/n)'s place so she didn't have to kneel down and try to get her dried and dressed.
A cheeky grin lit up Amelia's face and when Jonah leaned in to brush his nose against hers, she tilted her head forward, rubbing some of the bubbles off her hair and onto his curls instead. The motion caused his eyes to scrunch up tight and he grinned, feeling the dampness soaking into his hair and sticking to his forehead.
"Thanks, baby." He murmured through a laugh and pulled the towel tighter around her so he could start to get her dried.
They hadn't told her that (Y/n) was in labour yet, mainly because Amelia was only three and she wasn't going to understand what was going on. And they didn't want her to worry or get confused. All she knew was that soon, she would be spending the day with her grandparents and having a sleepover.
Once she was there, they would explain that when she went back home, her baby brother or sister would be there too.
(Y/n) kissed the top of Amelia's head and squeezed Jonah's shoulder before she slowly waddled out of the room, using the wall as leverage to stay upright.
Her lips curved into a tense smile when she glanced around her bedroom. Jonah had found the hospital bag and got it out ready and by the looks of it, he had been rummaging through the bag to make sure it held everything they needed. She had a feeling that the car seat from the nursery was now strapped in the car too.
He was prepared. And excited.
She moved towards the bed and leaned forward to press her forearms down into the mattress. Her lower back arched out and her knees bent down a little as she tried to relieve the tension rattling through her body in waves. (Y/n) tried to slow down her breaths and take deep intakes but it only made her head go fuzzy and her knees started to shake. Tilting her head down, (Y/n) kept her forehead against her arms on the bed and tucked her chin into her chest. Groaning deeply when a particular pain tore through her stomach.
"Not long now," She whispered quietly to herself, repeating the words over and over like a mantra to stop herself from crying out or feel like she was going insane.
Her body jumped when she felt a hand on the small of her back and with her head tilted down onto her arms, a shiver bolted down her spine when Jonah kissed her exposed neck. His hands moved to cup her hips and his lips stayed against her neck as he curved around her like a comforting blanket.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?" His words made her neck tingle and his voice was oddly quiet yet still melodic. Almost anything Jonah said to her was like a melody to (Y/n)'s ears; maybe that was because of all the times she had heard him sing.
"I'm-" Closing her eyes, (Y/n) bit down on her lip and smothered a scream into the mattress.
Jonah's arms moved to curve round her stomach and he kissed the spot just behind her ear, keeping tight hold of her just in case her knees gave way. He didn't want her dropping down on her knees and hurting herself or not being able to get back up.
"I forgot h-how much this hurts," (Y/n) almost laughed as she bent her knees forward and switched her weight from foot to foot to distract herself.
It had only been three years ago since they had Amelia and while the memory of that day was burned into the back of (Y/n)'s mind, the pain had long since been forgotten. The last two hours of Amelia's birth, (Y/n) couldn't remember being in pain. All she could remember was the blood, the way she blacked out and the overwhelming relief she felt when it was finally over.
"Come here," Jonah's voice tickled the shell of (Y/n)'s ear and he gently reeled (Y/n) up off the bed and turned her until she was leaning into his chest. He pressed his lips to the top of her head while her hands scrunched up in his shirt, almost tearing through the thin cotton.
Leaning his head back, Jonah tightened his hands on (Y/n)'s waist when she slid down against his chest a little. He felt the way she meshed her face into his chest while she tried to arch her back out in a vain attempt to make the pain more bearable.
"I think it's time to go." He murmured softly against the top of her head. The pains were clearly getting worse and that meant they needed to get a move on.
Turning around, Jonah carefully walked (Y/n) back until she was sat down on the bed. His lips pressed against her temple for a few moments before he unravelled from her and leaned down to be level with her.
"I'll go get madam in the car, then I'll come back for you." There was a teasing tone to his voice but (Y/n) nodded in agreement.
Her hand moved to cup the side of his face and she pulled him close for a kiss before she let him go and watched him jog out the bedroom.
Amelia was right where he left her, sat in front of her bed with one of her toys on her lap and her matching curls askew on her head, still damp. But Jonah didn't have the time to dry her hair and try to put it into ringlets or bobbles or make a style like he usually did.
"Are we ready to go to nanas?" He crouched down and held her sides as she nodded and jumped up into his arms. "And you know I'll be back to get you in the morning, yeah?"
He had already told her but he didn't want Amelia to worry or ask where he and (Y/n) were if she forgot when they were coming back to pick her up. And it depended on how long labour took and how well (Y/n) and the baby were to whether Jonah would be picking her up tomorrow morning or in the afternoon. His parents didn't mind either way.
"Yeah," Amelia nodded and giggled when Jonah reached out and found her back pack he had packed for her a while ago. He looped the Little Mermaid bag on her shoulders and pecked her temple.
He scanned his eyes around the bedroom until he found the chunky purple headphones on the chest of drawers. He hooked them over his wrist before he took Amelia's hand and guided her out of the room.
Jonah didn't like the thought of (Y/n) being in pain and trying to bite back a cry or a groan as not to worry Amelia. If their daughter had her headphones on it would distract her and give (Y/n) a bit of leeway.
Once they were downstairs, Amelia held onto Jonah's trouser leg and lifted one foot up so he could put her shoes on her feet.
"Come here," He cooed, scooping her up into his arms before he opened the door. She had a tendency to rush out the door ahead of him and he didn't want her running off.
She burst into a fit of giggles as Jonah held her against his chest with one arm bound around her waist. And she began to squirm and squeal when he leaned down and blew raspberry kisses into her damp hair before he opened the car. He grabbed the car seat, yanking it across so it was behind the passenger seat so the toddler wouldn't be able to see (Y/n) in any pain.
"There we go, gorgeous."
Once she was buckled in, Jonah set the headphones on her ears and switched them on before he headed back inside.
He took a deep breath, raising one brow as he glared when he looked up the stairs and found (Y/n) sitting at the top of the stairs. One hand bound around the bannister and the other pressed against her stomach. She had her head on the bannister and tears welling up in her eyes.
"I told you to wait for me." He scolded softly while he ascended up the stairs until he was crouched in front of her. He said he would come back and help her, she should of just waited for him.
(Y/n) mumbled an apology before Jonah held her hands and reeled her up off the bannister so he could loop her arms around his neck instead and let her lean on him. His hands found her hips and he squeezed tightly before he moved to stand up, carefully easing her up with him.
It felt strange for Jonah to walk down the stairs backwards, but he wanted to keep hold of (Y/n) and make sure she was okay.
His smile was enough to calm her down and she leaned her temple on his shoulder, letting him take some of her weight as he eased her down the stairs. It felt like she was sliding down the stairs rather than walking, but it worked.
"Alright, bag, car seat, wallet, keys, you and Lia. What am I forgetting?"
Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, Jonah slid (Y/n)'s slide-on shoes in front of her as they would be the easiest pair to get on.
While (Y/n) squeezed his shoulders and managed to get into her shoes, Jonah moved one hand to pat down his pockets and look around the hallway.
He had his wallet and keys in his pockets, their bag and Amelia's bag were in the car. The baby seat was there, Amelia was strapped in and (Y/n) was right here in his arms. He felt like he was forgetting something, or more like there had to be something he was forgetting because he had gotten this far with everything going on track.
"Phone?" (Y/n) muttered while she tilted her head back and looked up at him through hazy eyes when another contraction split through her muscles and had her coiling over.
"Phone." Jonah repeated but when he patted his other pocket, he nodded. He had it on him and he had enough charge to get him through the day. "Okay, off we go sweetheart."
***
(Y/n) closed her eyes and tilted her head back while one hand curled into a fist and pressed out against the dashboard. Her stomach tensed and her back straightened out like she was a piece of wood that wouldn't bend.
She could feel her teeth scraping against her lower lip that had already split and had the first few layers of skin ripped off so she didn't scream.
A deep groan rumbled past her lips and she reached her free hand down, moving her trembling fingersdown the side of the chair until she found the lever to tilt the chair back. She wanted to feel like she was laying down to see if it would ease the tension in her back. Her knees were already pressing out into the dashboard and her body had succumb to trembling during the last ten minutes or so.
Reaching across, Jonah laid his hand down on (Y/n)'s thigh and tried to give a tight squeeze. There wasn't much he could do in the way of comfort or to soothe (Y/n) when he was driving, but he was trying.
His eyes cast up to the rear-view mirror and he looked in the back. His smile melted into something sweet and his eyes creased at the corners when he looked at Amelia. The toddler was rocking her head back and forth to the music coming through her headphones. It was a Disney playlist and every now and then she would blast out a few lyrics as if she thought her parents could hear the music too.
Her arms were bound around her teddy, pinning it to her chest while she looked out the window.
"Babe, p-please hurry up." (Y/n) desperately tried to stop her voice from coming out in a horrid whine but she couldn't help the way her voice broke and her tone came out with a razor sharp edge.
She didn't know how much longer she could last in the car. It was supposed to take half an hour to get to Jonah's parent's house.
They had been driving for well over an hour now and (Y/n) was starting to get worried. The contractions were almost every other minute now and she was growing discontent and wallowing in agony. They had to hurry up or they weren't going to make it to check in to the maternity ward in time.
"I'm trying, love, I swear. There's roadworks everywhere."
Jonah gave her thigh another squeeze before he reached out for his phone clipped into the holder beside the steering wheel.
There were work men all down the motorway and they were getting stuck in traffic no matter what road he turned onto. Right now they were moving about ten miles an hour in a seventy mile zone. Jonah couldn't speed up the traffic or make them pull over to let him past.
Even though he wanted to ring the emergency line and get them to make a difference here on the road and help him speed down the motorway.
He got onto the app on his phone for maps and put in his parent's address. Of course, he knew the way off by heart but the app on his phone would have updates for road works and accidents. It could find them a quicker route and avoid all this traffic.
"Is she okay?" (Y/n) huffed through each word and did her best to open her eyes, but she couldn't dare crane her head to try and look behind her. She didn't want Amelia to see the agony written across her face.
She focused on gaging Jonah's reaction instead. The way his smile widened when he looked in the mirror again to catch sight of Amelia. She watched his eyes crease at the sides and that sparkle ignite in his pupils and how his blushing pink lips rolled together like he was trying to dampen down his smile that was hidden behind the beginning of stubble.
"She's fine, in her own world."
"Good." It wasn't ideal to have their daughter in the car with them, but at least she wasn't paying any attention to what was happening.
She was relieved Jonah had packed their maternity bag over a month ago in his haste and excitement for their second baby to arrive. It meant they didn't have to rush around today or at any point this week to get ready.
"The route planner says to keep going this way and get off at the next junction, I don't know how long that will be. We should be there soon."
His fingers began to strum against the steering wheel and he knew if he didn't have his feet on the pedals, his shoes would be tapping out a melody too. He had been humming to the radio every now and then and he wanted to start singing to calm himself down, but he didn't. He ended up turning the radio off when it became too distracting.
Jonah was used to looking in the back seat and singing along with Amelia, she never got the words right but she had the starting of a melodic voice. And he loved when she would belt out tunes with him and try to harmonise. It always made Jonah blush and melt when Amelia begged him to sing because she absolutely loved the sound of his voice.
They moved at a snails pace which felt like they were curb-crawling and Jonah groaned, tilting his head back as his legs started to cramp up from excessive driving at such a slow pace. He was constantly switching from second gear down to first when they barely moved at all.
But his head twisted to the left when (Y/n) groaned and started to shimmy from side to side. She looked desperately uncomfortable when he snook a glance across at her, but it was the panic on her face that made Jonah's heart stutter in his chest.
"Ohh,"
"What, what's wrong?"
"I wanna push," (Y/n) lolled her head to the right and looked up at Jonah through watering eyes that were blurring and going dizzy from agony.
"What?" Jonah's eyes widened and he snapped his head to look over at her. They weren't at that stage yet. They couldn't be. (Y/n) just had to try and stay calm and settled and he would get her to the maternity ward as soon as they dropped Amelia off at his parent's house. He would run their daughter in and run back out again to be as quick as possible.
She could push once they were in hospital when a midwife told her to, not here in the car.
"No, no sweetheart don't do that. Come on, deep breaths," Jonah reached his hand out, brushing the back of his knuckles against her cheek and down the side of her neck that was flushed with a sheen of sweat and burning hot to the touch.
He moved his hand up until he cupped the back of her neck, lacing his fingers into her hair to try and keep her calm and do something to help because he felt useless right now. But he didn't like the way she choked out a moan and tensed next to him. She pushed up on the edge of the seat and dug her hands into the chair, unsure what to do with herself.
Her teeth chattered together and a very forced breath spat past her lips but the way she twisted her body and tensed her stomach made Jonah flinch.
"It's okay-"
"Jonah, it's happening." The way she said his name had his nerves igniting like they had been set on fire and he visibly shivered in his seat.
He hated the look of agony plastered across her face and how she writhed and slammed back down in her chair. He was expecting his wife to contort into a strange shape like a circus act at any given moment.
She wasn't going to make it to his parent's house and hold off until they got to the hospital. Her body was telling her to push and from their past experience, (Y/n) knew that meant she was ready whether they wanted to do this now or not. She didn't know how to tell her body to wait and hold off. She couldn't squeeze her legs together and hope for the best, it wasn't going to work.
"Christ… okay, change of plans."
Reaching across, Jonah clicked on his phone and changed the location before he clicked on the indicator and veered off into the inside lane.
"Babe?" The unease in (Y/n)'s voice was clear and she turned to look at him while she slid down a little in her seat.
"Hospital it is." He twisted to look behind him, checking the lane before he took a chance and sped into the next lane, revving the engine before he switched into a higher gear. If (Y/n) felt like they were close, he would change their destination and aim for the hospital and he wasn't going to get there waiting in this traffic.
He would take the next junction coming up and hope that his phone would find them the fastest route and get them there in time.
He carded his fingers through his hair, toussling the curls and pushing them back on his head while he turned off the junction and got back onto a single road. But he was dismayed to find there was still traffic here too. At least they were moving faster, and now going in another direction.
He would have to call his parents and ask them to meet them at the hospital. Amelia was going to have to come with them and wait until his parents could come and collect her.
"How are you doing?" The tension in his voice was audible and he snook a glance across at her.
"I need to push." He could barely hear her words when she smothered her palm over her mouth to muffle a cry. She was beginning to feel desperate, there was nothing else she could do but try to push. Her body was aching with a desperate need to have the baby now.
Leaning to the right, (Y/n) twisted round and flapped her hand around behind their seats. She knew she caught their daughter's eye and the toddler leaned forward to see what her mum was trying to grab from the floor.
(Y/n) shakily pointed towards the blanket on the back seat and Amelia grabbed the fluffy blue fleece blanket, handing it over with a loud "Here mummy," because the music was loud in her ears.
The toddler went straight back to looking out the window and continued to sway and rock her head in time with her music.
Once she had the blanket, (Y/n) leaned back in her seat and thrashed around to try and lay the blanket over her legs and abdomen. She could feel Jonah's eyes on her and when she looked up, he was barely glancing at the road, fully focused on watching what she was up to.
"Eyes on the road." She murmured, reaching her hand out to brush her thumb along his cheek so she could push his head back in the direction of the windscreen. They didn't need a crash or a near-accident happening with Jonah being distracted. He had to get them to hospital.
(Y/n) pressed her feet down into the footwell and lifted her hips up enough so she could shimmy out of her shorts and underwear. This wasn't dignified and she didn't want to be doing this at all, but she didn't have any other choice. Her body wanted to have the baby now.
She heard Jonah mumbling "Oh God," under his breath and the tapping on the wheel became erratic when he snook glances at her.
He could see the chair was tilted back as far as it would go without leaning on Amelia who was utterly oblivious, much to their relief. His eyes dragged over (Y/n)'s frame, noting the way her shirt was sliding down one arm, her head was pressing back into the chair and her eyes were screwed shut.
The agony was evident on her face and the way she was arching her thighs off the chair, bracing her weight between her shoulders and her feet.
The cry she let out shocked Jonah and made him jerk in his seat because so far (Y/n) had been reduced to whimpers and groans. A sudden cry was a shock to his system.
He tried to reach his hand out and grip her thigh, desperate to provide some sort of comfort but he could feel how tightly her muscles were tensing up and how she was tremoring back and forth.
"How- how much longer?" The tepid sound of her voice made Jonah wince and his heartstrings pulled in agony.
He didn't really want to tell her. He didn't want to say that it would be fifteen minutes or more to the hospital, depending on the traffic and if they hit any red lights.
He settled on "Not long," but they both knew that was code for longer than they would of liked.
Jonah began to scratch his hand along his chin, rubbing the light beard he was starting to grow out. He didn't like this. Even if they had left earlier, they would still of been stuck in traffic. This seemed to be inevitable and labour was unpredictable as it was, they couldn't tell exactly how long this would take or when (Y/n) would be ready. This was just their type of luck.
"Ooh, p-please," (Y/n) wasn't quite sure what she was asking for, but when Jonah's hand suddenly appeared in front of her, something sparked within her. He sensed what she needed and he had a moment to hold her hand.
She interlaced their fingers and gripped tight, holding his hand against her chest while her other hand gripped the door handle and she pushed. Her chin tucked down and her eyes closed as she groaned, trembling and panting.
Her knees bent out at the sides, pressing into the dash near the gear box and her other knees bashed into the door harsh enough to leave a mark, but it helped pin her body in place and let her push with more effort.
Words and rambles past her lips and when Jonah reluctantly let go of her hand to change gear, she cried.
"It's okay, you're doing great sweetheart."
"Jonah, babe it- it's-" Another cry blundered past her lips as she leaned forward just a little and slid her shaking hands beneath the blanket she draped over herself for modesty. She was more relieved than ever that Jonah had put a towel down on the seat before she got in the car.
Her shoulders trembled and she felt like she was going to vibrate and tremble until she started to fall apart. But gasping breaths fluttered against her lips and she snapped her blurring eyes open to look up at Jonah.
"T-the head's out." She could barely find the ability to speak, but voicing those words felt like she was speaking a foreign language.
This was not how either of them expected to have their second child, here, alone in the car with their toddler in the backseat. (Y/n) didn't expect to be the one delivering her own baby. In the worst case scenario she thought maybe Jonah might have to deliver their baby, but that was a far fetched worry she thought about. Having this baby in a car wasn't ideal and she had no one helping or coaching her through this.
"Oh God." Jonah looked over at her and he wasn't sure why he was surprised that he couldn't see the head. He knew there was a blanket draped around her, but he still seemed shocked that he couldn't see it happening.
Maybe his mind was trying to contradict him. He couldn't see their second child so maybe it wasn't happening and (Y/n) was wrong. He doubted it, but he still couldn't believe it.
"Sweetheart, w- what do you want me to do? Pull over or keep driving?"
It was her choice, Jonah would do whatever she told him. If (Y/n) wanted him to pull over and try help deliver the baby then he would gladly do that. But if she wanted him to keep driving to get them to the hospital quicker, he would do that and try to coax her through this situation.
"Drive." She spat the word out against her better judgement. (Y/n) wanted Jonah's help, she wanted his hand in hers and his voice and his attention helping to deliver their baby. But she didn't want to stop, they had to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
"Okay." He shifted up a gear after turning off onto a new road and reached over to rest his hand on (Y/n)'s thigh.
When Jonah tore his eyes off the road to look at his wife, she had once again slouched back in the seat. Her arms were hidden beneath the blanket but he could see every part of her was vibrating and shaking. And she was switching between panting and crying with each pain that tore through her.
"You're doing so good, sweetheart. Almost there,"
(Y/n) briefly leaned her cheek on Jonah's arm before he went back to holding the steering wheel. She could hear Amelia singing the wrong words to a disney song but after a few seconds, static and a horrid ringing noise overtook her hearing.
A choked groan left her lips and she opened her eyes, leaning her head down as she started to gasp. Her hands trembled worse when she felt the baby slither between her thighs and she tried to hold them, but she didn't really know what to do. (Y/n) didn't want to grip too tight and hurt them but if she had a loose grip and they slid through her hands, she would hurt them.
"They're h-here."
She was sure she heard Jonah praise "Good girl," through a laugh, but his voice was distant over the constant bells ringing in her ears.
She tossed her head back into the seat and reeled her shaking arms up, using her elbows to nudge the blanket out the way so she could lift the newborn up. Fear overtook (Y/n) at the thought of not knowing what to do if their baby didn't start to breathe or if they choked or didn't move at all.
But all those worries washed away when she watched the newborn's lips part and little breaths mewled past their lips.
"A boy," She gasped happily before she carefully eased him down onto her chest, feeling utterly drained.
His head tucked beneath her neck and she felt tears begin to soak down her face when little gasps turned to mewling cries against her chest. And she could feel his arms batting against her chest while his legs curled into her abdomen.
It took all the effort she had to drag the blanket up higher so it was around their boy and she began patting her shaking hand on his back softly to coax him to keep crying. Thank God he was breathing, (Y/n) wouldn't of had the strength to clear his airways and try to get him breathing on her own.
"You've done it. You've done amazing, sweetheart, oh God."
It was the hardest thing for Jonah to keep his eyes on the road for their turn-off when all he wanted to do was look over at his wife who looked like a Goddess in his eyes.
She had done that. She had given birth in the car. She did that on her own and he hadn't been able to help or do very much for her at all. But clearly (Y/n) hadn't needed his help, she had amazed him.
"Are you okay?" There was a sense of urgency in Jonah's voice and he managed to tear his eyes across to (Y/n) and for a brief moment, he brushed his fingers across her cheek. He could feel the heat radiating off of her and how she was panting like she had run a marathon, but she looked relatively okay in his humble opinion.
(Y/n) didn't trust her voice so she settled on humming and she tilted her head down to kiss the top of their boy's head while her arms cocooned around him, holding him tighter to reassure herself that he was okay.
Tilting his head back, Jonah snook a glance in the mirror to look at their daughter. Amelia was now trying to peer into the front, but it was clear by her placid expression that she had no idea about the miracle that just happened.
(Y/n) felt like going to sleep for a week and she closed her eyes, trying to focus on the sound of their son's breathing and the little cries he let out into her chest. She breathed harshly against the top of his head and let her body relax, allowing her legs to slump down rather than being tensed and straight like planks of wood.
And when she felt the car slowing down after a minute or two, she opened her eyes and looked out the window. They were arriving at the hospital. Better late than never.
Jonah pulled up in the nearest space he could get to the maternity ward and once the engine was turned off, he felt like a fish out of water. His legs were trembling, his knees and lower legs were aching from constantly changing gear and pedals. And his hands started to shake as he whipped off his belt and twisted in his seat to look over at (Y/n).
He could finally look at her, really look, and take her in without the risk of crashing the car.
He leaned over the console until one trembling hand slid behind her neck, cupping her skin with his thumb tangling in her hair. He merged his wet lips with her burning temple, kissing her skin like his life depended on it while he couldn't refrain from smiling into her skin.
And his free hand reached down to rest over the top of her hand that was cradling their little boy. His thumb stroked up and down her hand and he looked down at the new life starting to settle down and yawn into (Y/n)'s chest.
"My stunning wife." He murmured against her skin and took a moment to close his eyes.
But his eyes swiftly opened and looked behind him when he felt a small pair of hands gripping his arm. He found Amelia had wriggled out of her belt and was leaning on the edge of her car seat, headphones now discarded on the seat next to her when she realised she was missing out on some love and attention.
"Daddy…" Her voice was quiet and melodic like she was singing his name and she wrapped her hands around his bicep so she could lean into him and stare up at him with those little round eyes.
One look around them ensured she had no idea where they were or what they were doing now. This wasn't her nana's home.
A grin spread across Jonah's lips and he took the time to kiss Amelia's cheek which made her giggle and lean into him further.
An interaction with a rude customer leaves you a little rattled.
Warnings: harassment
Working at the bar would not be half as bad if it were not for the small percentage of horrible customers. The majority was alright, some were even memorably polite, but at the end of the day, you always remembered the outright rude ones, making every pleasant customer interaction sink to the back of your mind.
You could still picture the face of the woman who had sneered at you, telling you that the Vodka Martini you had served her was made with cheap Martini — as if you had any control over the beverages your employer chose to supply his establishment with.
You remembered the man who had rolled his eyes at you, clicking his tongue before telling you that you were horriblyorganized because you told him the licorice was out of stock — as if it was your job to walk to the store and get it.
When being served, people often forgot the basic structure of the establishment they were sitting in.
It was normally not the bartender who was responsible for the limited option of drinks at the bar — it was their employer. It was not the waiter’s fault if the portion of the food was insufficient, they were not the ones in the kitchen preparing it.
It was not you who made the prices, but the boss who occasionally helped himself to the tips of his staff. It was not your fault if you were out of every type of whiskey if your boss refused to buy new ones because their prices had skyrocketed.
The only problem was that it was you, interacting with the customers. It was your face they saw. It was you representing the establishment, so naturally, it was you they blamed for every little inconvenience they could think of.
Still, it was alright.
You had learned quickly not to take these things to heart, and it was not an unusual occurrence for you to return home late from one of your shifts, find Jonah still awake, and spill your guts about the trashy customer you had had to deal with that day. He always listened attentively, laughing alongside you at these people’s weird sense of entitlement, and offering commentary on the situation. Together, you often came up with the most hilarious replies to people’s snide comments that had you howling with laughter.
If rude customers were rare in the majority of people you interacted with daily, there was another fraction who was rarer still: the people who made you genuinely uncomfortable.
Every once in a while, maybe every two months or so, a person would fall into that category. Sometimes, they tried flirting with you. Sometimes, they made inappropriate comments. Sometimes, they reached over the counter and gave you a confused look when you sprung back.
Most of the time these people were drunk, having indulged in a little too much alcohol. They tried fighting your decision to stop serving it to them, and only begrudgingly walked out of the bar after you remained stubborn.
Rarer still were the times when someone completely sober was sitting on the stool before you, watching you like a hawk as they tried chatting you up.
“You have a pretty face,” he said, keeping his gaze on you as you prepared his Espresso Martini. He wore a tailored suit with a striped tie and must have bathed in cologne. You could smell its deep scent from the other side of the counter from how exceedingly he had applied it. “You should smile more. You’re too serious.”
You glanced at him. He gave you a smirk. The air of entitlement was strong with this one.
“What is there to smile about when I am pouring vodka into a cocktail shaker?” you retorted, keeping your face carefully blank.
“Maybe it’s the fact that you’re doing it for me, love. Come on, give me a smile.”
Your colleague had just left for a smoke break, so you were alone behind the counter with his increasingly uncomfortable presence before you.
Those gray eyes did not stop boring into you, and your hands began to shake as he continued smiling at you.
“Smile, come on.”
“Sir, I need you to back off,” you said, moving away from him in a faux search for the sugar syrup.
“It’s behind you, darling,” he said, giving you a dazzling smile. “I’ve seen you here a few times. How come you still don’t know where everything is? Am I making you nervous, or are you just that much prettier than you are intelligent?” He chuckled, expecting you to do the same.
You only stared at him, clenching your jaw. Who the fuck did this baster think he was talking to? You opened your mouth to reply, the words dying on your tongue as you caught sight of his watch. It was engraved, the name William Kennedyglaring at you in pretty cursive. How had you not recognized the son of your employer?
You swallowed thickly.
“Cat got your tongue, sugar?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Now come on, finish my drink.”
You reached for the sugar syrup, not dignifying him with a response as you did what you were told. What could you do? You needed this job, and although you were sure you could find another one in no time with your experience and qualifications, it was still an inconvenience you would much rather avoid. Telling the son of your boss to fuck off would get you fired, right? You were pretty sure it would, so you bit your tongue.
“You know,” he continued, and you had never wanted anyone to shut up as badly, “now you are just the type of person I would take home. You’re sweeter when you keep your mouth shut, the only thing missing is a smile.” He pulled out his wallet, waving a ten-pound note in front of your face. “Smile if you want a tip,” he said.
You stood frozen, the cocktail shaker in your hands forgotten as you blinked at the scum before you. “I’m in a relationship,” you said tensely, your eyes narrowing in a glare.
“So am I,” he replied, adding five pounds. “Smile.”
“Listen,” you began, losing your patience. Son of your boss or not, this was getting ridiculous. You set aside the cocktail shaker, meeting his gaze coldly. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here. I’d advise you to stop, or I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“You listen, actually,” he said, placing his elbows on the counter and leaning forward until he was face to face with you, “maybe you don’t know who I am, and I can excuse ignorance. This whole place is going to be mine someday, got that? I could get you fired with a phone call. So how about you give me a pretty smile and serve me that drink I ordered.”
“Sir, I need you to leave this establishment.”
He chuckled, making a show of checking his watch. “I’m going to give you sixty seconds until I—”
Whatever he was about to say got caught in his throat as you opened the cocktail shaker, throwing the contents of his would-be Espresso Martini onto his white dress shirt, staining it irreparably.
He cursed profusely, springing to his feet and staring down the front of his ruined shirt. You had gotten some on his suit jacket as well.
The two women at the table in the far corner snickered loudly, and even the elderly man who liked to read his newspaper with a glass of red wine looked up, raising an eyebrow at the cursing mess before you.
“I’m going to give you sixty seconds to leave before I call the police on you for harassment,” you said, staring him down. “Sir.”
He shot a deathly glare your way, picking up his wallet off the counter. “Just you wait,” he spat, storming out of the bar and leaving a wet trail of footsteps you now needed to clean up.
The added work was worth it though. You wondered what your boss would think when he watched the CCTV. Perhaps he had gotten the angry call already, demanding to fire you immediately.
Your blood was boiling, and you found yourself not caring about his opinion at all. Nobody treated you like this, least of all your boss’ entitled son. Still, his words rang in your ears, and you wondered if his petty scheme of revenge extended beyond an angry phone call to his father. Who knew the connections he had? Who knew how much you had truly pissed him off.
At the end of your shift, you found yourself dreading the thought of walking home alone.
“Hey babe, what’s up?” Jonah’s cheery voice on the other end of the line was an immediate ray of sunshine on this bleak night. “You’re done early.”
“Hi, uh,” you stammered, feeling a little embarrassed. Your anxieties were probably just paranoia anyway. There was no need to inconvenience Jonah with any of this.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, the tone of concern slicing through your heart like a knife. You had not meant to make him worry. “Babe?”
“Nothing’s wrong, just,” you began, shifting your weight and looking around the empty bar. “Today was weird and— and if you’re not busy, could you come get me? I’d rather not make my way home alone.”
“Sure. Where are you?” he asked. You heard the creak of his gaming chair and the shuffling of clothes. “Still at the bar?”
“Yeah,” you replied, glancing at the cocktail shaker.
“Stay there. I’ll be there in approximately fifteen minutes, alright? I’ll smother you in a hug and you’ll tell me all about your day. Sounds good?”
You chuckled, picking up your bag and turning off the lights behind the counter. “I can start walking and we’ll meet halfway.”
“Babe, you don’t need to if you don’t feel like it,” he said. You heard the front door shut. “I’m on my way. If you’d rather we walk together, then that’s fine. There is no need to rush, and honestly, if you tell me today has been weird, I’d rather you wait for me inside.”
“I’m probably overreacting.”
“On the one-in-a-million chance you’re not, I’d rather not test it,” Jonah said, hurriedly making his way down the street. “Do you need me to stay on the line?”
“Nah, I’m fine,” you said, peering through the shut blinds into the darkness outside. “I’ll wait for you.”
Jonah x Listener (Featuring Elias being the best wing man)
Okay listen. Hell week is coming up VERY quickly and I've been stressed, of course I have to listen to all the Jonah audios while doing chem homework...which then turned into writing this instead of studying. I just love Jonah sm 🥹🥹
"Okay, just give me one minute, I'll be right back." Your attention was taken away from your book as Jonah emerged from his cave streaming room. His smile widened when he saw you, sprawled out on the couch in your most elegant pajamas.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were awake already. I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"Oh no, of course not," you bookmarked the page you were on to give Jonah your full attention. "I mean, it is after 2 pm. All the late night shifts in the world can't knock me down for a whole day."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "If you say so. I'm gonna make some tea, you want some?"
"Oooh, that would be nice. Do we have any biscuits?"
"I think so, let me check." He stepped closer, pressing a kiss to your forehead before turning away.
You whined in protest, grabbing his jacket sleeve and pulling him towards you. He gasped in faux shock, clearly expecting you to ask for more.
"My my, aren't you feeling insatiable today?"
"Shush and kiss me."
"And bossy!" He laughed as he kissed your forehead again.
"No, not there!"
"Alright, your Highness."
He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. You held him close, feeling the stubble on his cheek with your thumb. You wished he could stay with you, but you knew he had to get back to his stream eventually.
"Was that enough for you?"
You tapped your chin in pretend thought. "Well, that's enough for now. But I expect a few more later!"
Jonah rolled his eyes as he laughed. "Pinky promise I will, babe, now let me put the kettle on."
You watched as he slipped away into the kitchen. Theoretically you could join him but...
Eyeing the door to his streaming room, you had a better idea.
Quietly, you tipped toed over to the door, opening it slowly to cover the sound of the squeaky hinges. The PC was the brightest thing in the room, some of the decorations and string light you had set up for him were drowned out by the lights coming from the monitors on the desk. You crept over and sat in his surprisingly very comfortable chair.
One monitor had a game paused, the other one had a few different programs open. The chat was on one half of the screen, a few users talking amongst themselves as they waited. You realized the window open next to it showed what the chat was looking at, which currently showed a paused screen.
Trying to decipher through the different commands listed, you tried a few before the monitor changed back to its normal view. The game was on the main screen, and you could see the back of your head in the camera as you leaned over to see the second monitor.
xXIsmoke420Xx: he's back
LIAS_E: wait... no the hair colors all wrong
Blade_Main: yoooooo is that Y/N ???
CenterAtkMid: did they hijack again? XD
You giggled to yourself reading through the chat, realizing you were successfully able to get the screen back to normal.
"Hey guys, what are y'all up to?"
You watched chat, leaning back into Jonah's chair.
PickleMick: Y/N playing LOL would be hilarious
LIAS_E: oh hes gonna be pissed lmao
CenterAtkMid: @picklemick LMAO they'd be so lost XD
"Oh is he playing League today, that's what LOL is, right?" You asked out loud, looking back to the first monitor. "What is this squirrel thing? Is Jonah a squirrel in this game?"
You moved the mouse around a bit, trying to get a better look at the character on screen.
You could see chat going by a mile a minute out of the corner of your eye, not able to see each individual message anymore.
Behind you, you heard the door creak open, followed by a loud, dramatic gasp.
"You! What are you doing in here, you gremlin!"
Jonah walked in, shutting the door with his foot and setting two cups of tea down on his desk.
You let out a maniacal giggle, spinning around in his chair to face him. "I'm the streamer now!"
He shook his head. "You're unbelievable! I make you some tea and you pay me back by taking over like a dictator?"
He leaned over the chair, trying to read the chat.
"A squirrel? Why did Elias say I'm playing a squirrel?"
You broke down into giggles again, pointing at the screen.
"Look, you're playing as a squirrel!"
"What, that's Yuumi! Yuumi's a cat, can't you see!" He shook the computer chair from behind you, grabbing the mouse and zooming in on the character.
"Hey, it's not my fault the designers made it look like a squirrel!"
Jonah let out a dramatic sigh behind you, taking a sip from his mug and shaking his head at you.
You went back to the chat, not willing to get in a debate with him about game design (again).
LIAS_E: jonah is now a dedicated squirrel main
Blade_Main: I cant even image Y/N trying to play lol
"Is league of legends hard? The chat said I'd be bad at it, "
"It's not hard but it's... " Jonah hummed to himself in thought. "Its not the gameplay I'm so worried about, it's the people who play the game. I wouldn't want you to hear what some of the players say in game."
He nudged your mug closer to you. "Hey now, don't let this get cold."
"Oh yeah," You took a quick sip, savoring the perfect mix of sugar and milk Jonah always managed to pull off. "Amazing as always, love."
You didn't hear Jonah respond, and you almost turned to check whe you caught your name in chat again.
LIAS_E: how was work, Y/N?
"How was work? It was... Ughhh." You groaned, resting your head on your hand. "Arsenal lost pretty bad last night and the crowd got a little hectic. Luckily, my boss got a few of them to leave and the rest calmed down after that. The train was absolutely full of them too, I almost thought about just getting an Uber instead."
PickleMick: :monkaS:
CenterAtkMid: did anyone else see that??
xXIsmoke420Xx: someone clip this
"What the heck are they talking about?"
"Hm, what are they saying?" Jonah asked. You noticed his voice sounded further away, like he was by the door again. Checking the camera, you realized Jonah was directly behind you anymore, but stood a foot or so away, with one arm hiding behind his back.
You turned away from the monitor and towards your boyfriend. He looked nervous for some reason, his cheeks red and a wide grin across his face.
"Are you up to something right now?"
"Babe," He smiled as he took one of your hands, the other one still hiding behind his back. "this isn't how I planned this but... this just feels like the right time."
"What do you mean?"
Jonah's other hand came back to the front, holding a little velvet box between his shakey fingers.
"Open it,"
You could feel your heart beat a million miles an hour as you opened the box, a ring sitting perfectly on the velvet inside.
"Jonah?"
He laughed nervously, slowly sinking down to his knee.
"You have no idea how happy you make me, and how much you truly mean to me. I love you so much. Will you marry me?"
"Jonah!" You pulled him back up to his feet, holding him close to you.
"Oh my god, are you crying? Don't cry, please!"
"No, they're happy tears!" You let him go then, giving him free access to wipe away the tears. He ran his thumbs over your cheeks, his own eyes wet as well.
"You still haven't answered, babe," He teased.
"Of course I'll marry you Jonah! Do you even have to ask?" You giggled at him, standing on your tip toes to press kisses all over his face.
Clip by LIAS_E
April XX, 20XX
Jonah leaned from behind the computer chair, pushing the mug closer to you. "Hey now, don't let this get cold."
Making sure you were distracted for just a minute, he quickly pulled his phone out and shot a quick text to Elias, asking if he could keep you occupied for just a minute.
He checked you weren't watching and quietly slipped out of the room for a minute.
You took another sip of tea before noticing a question in chat directed to you. "How was work? It was... Ughhh"
Jonah came back into the office, making sure the hinges didn't creak too loudly. Luckily you didn't notice and he knew he'd be able to pull off his risky plan.
Silently, he came up behind the computer chair, holding up a small box close enough for the camera to see, but making sure to keep it out of your field of view. With a shaky hand, he opened it, flashing the ring to the camera for just a moment.
