How Can I? - Fluff
Request: Juice tries to comfort you at Opie’s funeral, but it doesn’t go as planned. You apologize to him later.
Requested By: @thegoodthebadandtheempty
Song Inspiration: How Can I by Charli XCX
Word Count: 1252
None of these gifs/pictures belong to me. All credit goes to the original owners.
Everything ached. Your face was swollen, your eyes red from sobbing, your throat raw from screaming. Opie was gone and today was his funeral. You felt like you were on autopilot, just going through the motions. You weren’t even sure how you’d done anything since hearing the news. It must’ve been Juice, your Old Man, the love of your life.
You and Juice had met through Opie, a childhood friend. Well, not only a childhood friend. Your best friend. Your protector. Your pseudo-brother. You were instantly drawn to Juice’s goofy personality and bright smile. You felt as though he could make you laugh and smile for hours on end. After talking to Ope about it, he had decided to set the two of you up. There were two conditions; Juice had to treat you like a queen, lest Opie would kill him. You were like a sister to him and he would kill someone before you could be hurt. Opie’s second stipulation was that if anything happened to him, Juice had to promise to take care of you. Juice obviously intended to make good on this promise.
The funeral was emotional to say the least. Opie was a son, a father, a friend, and a brother. Everyone loved him. He didn’t deserve his fate. You were pissed. Opie deserved so much better than the hand he had been dealt. You weren’t sure how to communicate what you were feeling, but you knew that you needed to escape for a little bit. You excused yourself and began walking to the clubhouse when you heard footsteps behind you.
“(Y/n)! Baby, wait up. Where are you going?” It was Juice. You didn’t bother to stop walking. “I’m going to rest for a bit. I need to be alone.” Juice was now at your side. You were honestly a little annoyed with the constant attention at this point. “I think it’s best if you stay with me for right now. I don’t want you to be alone.” This made you stop dead in your tracks. Your anger had finally boiled over.
“You think it’s best for me? Since when do you make these decisions for me?” Juice stopped to look at you. “(Y/n), you know that’s not what I meant. Ope asked me to take care of you if anything happened, so I’m just trying-“ you cut him off. “I’m a big girl, Juice.” “I know, I just-“ you cut him off again. “You just nothing, Juice. You don’t know how I feel. You don’t know anything about me right now.” You could see it on his face. That one cut deep. You couldn’t even believe that those words had come out of your mouth.
Juice was visibly hurt and your heart was breaking even more. “You’re right, (y/n). I don’t know who you are right now.” Tears were streaming down your face at a faster rate now. It was a mix of grief over Opie’s death and guilt over what you had just said to Juice. “Go get some rest, (y/n). I’ll come get you when it’s time to go home.” Juice had no emotion on his face, but you knew that he was hurting. “Juice, wait!” But he didn’t. He just kept walking and you kept crying.
Xxx
The ride home from the funeral was beyond uncomfortable. You knew that you had hurt Juice, and you felt terrible, but you needed him to give you space. You didn’t feel like it was too much to ask for, but your delivery could’ve been better. Juice stormed into the house and you followed closely behind. He grabbed a beer and tossed himself on the couch. You knew that he needed some space, so you decided on a relaxing shower.
The shower was beyond cathartic for you. You cried for Opie. You cried for Lyla. You cried for everyone’s children. But most importantly, you cried for Juice. He had lost a brother and a friend. You were being beyond selfish in your grief. You stepped out of the shower and dried off before slipping into some shorts and one of Juice’s T-shirts. You tossed your hair up into a messy bun and made your way to living room, ready to apologize to your old man.
You took a deep breath before walking in and curling up in his lap. “I’m trying to watch this movie, (y/n).” You just snuggled deeper into him. “Juice, I’m sorry.” He didn’t respond. You continued. “I don’t know why I said that to you. I wasn’t thinking-“ “Obviously.” You took a deep breath. “I was being selfish about it. I know that you miss him just as much as I do. It wasn’t fair to say any of that to you. We’re all grieving. I’m just sorry, okay?”
The silence was deafening. You assumed it was a lost cause and began to pull away from your old man, but he pulled you closer to him. Tears were pouring down your face and you looked up to see them falling from Juice’s eyes too. “He was my brother.” You swallowed a lump in your throat and waited for him to continue. “You were like his sister. He just wanted me to take care of you.” You pulled back a little bit and looked into his eyes. “Juice, you’ve taken care of me since the day we met.” “I know, (y/n), but Opie would kill me if he knew I let you walk away.” You sighed. “Juice, Baby, I need space sometimes.” “I know, (y/n). And I’m sorry that I didn’t give it to you.” “It’s okay.”
There was a second of silence before you wiped your eyes and let out a little chuckle. “Wait, how did this turn into you apologizing to me? I was the one being a bitch.” Juice sniffled and laughed a bit with you. “Yeah, you’re right. You were being a bitch.” You rolled your eyes at your old man. “But you’re my bitch. And I love you with every part of my being.” You started to tear up again. “I love you too, Juice. I can’t express how sorry I am for what I said. I needed to grieve privately.” Juice nodded. “I can see that now, but I don’t want to do it alone. I can’t do it alone.” You wiped your eyes and threw your arms around Juice’s neck. “You won’t. I’m going to be here with you every step of the way. Your brothers will be with you every step of the way too. There is absolutely no way that you will be alone for this.”
Juice nodded as a few more tears fell down his face. You grabbed his cheek and pulled him into you, kissing him deeply, radiating love. He kissed you back and tangled a hand in your messy bun. You loved him with all of your being, and he felt the same. You still felt absolutely terrible about what had happened, but you knew that the two of you were both hurt by Opie’s passing. You knew it would be a tough road to go down, but you also knew that you would never be alone and that Juice would never leave your side. You and your Old Man pulled and looked into eachother’s eyes. “(Y/n), I love you more than anything. I accept your apology. And I hope that you accept mine. We’ll get to the other side of this. I promise.”











