Hi hello finally posting a little hot tub ficlet! It’s not much but it made me write so. Yay 🫶 (sponsored by my espresso martini obsession)
“See, espresso martinis are so much better than that protein soda shit.”
“Hey, you were into the idea, if memory serves.”
“I’ll try anything once. Doesn’t mean I’ll like it.”
“Will you now?” Eddie quirks an eyebrow suggestively, which earns him a splash of water to the face from Buck.
“Perv.”
It’s a lovely mid-November evening, the kind of which not putting Buck’s hot tub to good use would be criminal- especially after the draining shift they’d just come off of. Honestly when Buck posed the suggestion, he’d expected Eddie to politely decline, something that’d been happening more often than not lately. So when Eddie said, “Sure, but only if you make me one of those martini things you’ve been talking about,” Buck almost forgot how he was supposed to act.
But he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As if reading Buck’s mind, Eddie clears his throat and says, “Hey so, I know things have been kind of.… off. And I’m sorry for that.”
Buck stills, feeling the water sway gently back and forth around him. He tries not to stare at the droplets on Eddie’s arms, Eddie’s chest that are honest to god glistening in the moonlight as he says, “It’s been a weird few months.”
“Still.” Eddie sighs. “I just. I’ve missed….” He gestures to the scene in front of them. “This.”
Buck softens immediately. “So have I. You have no idea how much,” he adds, almost to himself. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.”
Eddie peers up at him, gently nudging his shoulder. “We’re good?”
Buck presses his shoulder against Eddie’s in return. “We’re always good, Eddie.”
“Good.” Eddie’s smile is soft and full and Buck feels faint and did someone turn up the water temperature? They’re silent for a beat, then two, and Buck tries to focus on the steady hum of the filter, but beautiful brown eyes are staring at him in a way he doesn’t know what to do with and he needs air.
He needs to break the spell.
So he pushes off his seat and starts to move to the other side of the hot tub for even just a little bit of space, but he’s not quick enough for Eddie, who reaches out a hand to grasp him by the arm and force him to a halt. The one stubborn piece of hair is sticking to his wet forehead, and Buck forces himself to keep from pushing it back.
“Why do you do that?”
Buck furrows his brow. “What?”
“Pull away, right when-“ Eddie falters, at a loss.
“I- I needed to move. Water’s hot,” Buck blurts.
“Yeah, hot tubs tend to be.”
“Right.”
“Buck.” Eddie’s thumb is absentmindedly circling along one of Buck’s tattoos, making him shiver despite the warmth.
“I needed to move,” Buck repeats, realizing he’s not just talking about tonight anymore. “Before… before I did something stupid.”
“Like?”
The heat and the alcohol have made Buck delirious, he’s sure of it, because instead of shooting off some bullshit quip, he actually finds himself confessing, voice rough, “Like kiss you.”
Eddie tightens his grip on Buck’s arm and oh, when did he get so close?
“And that’d be stupid.. why?”
“W-what do you mean?”
Eddie shrugs. “Maybe it wouldn’t be stupid. What would you do then?”
Buck blinks. He’s obviously hallucinating. “H-how many of those martinis did you have?” He tries to joke, but his voice wavers, betraying him.
“Just the one,” Eddie answers roughly, Buck watching as his eyes go darker.
“Eddie.”
“Buck.”
Their eyes are locked on each other, and neither of them make a move, but they don’t move away either. Eddie’s daring him, and they both know it. They also both know Buck’s going to give in. He never denies Eddie. He never wants to.
So he moves his hands to Eddie’s chest to guide him back into the seat until he’s able to lift his legs on either side and straddle him. Eddie grabs onto Buck’s hips, steadying him until they’re flush with his own. Buck can feel Eddie against him, and it makes his breath stutter. Is this actually happening? Does Eddie want this as much as he does? Want him?
Buck slides one hand around Eddie’s waist and the other up to his cheek, cups his jaw. The lean in is slow, enough time to give Eddie an out if he wants it. But Eddie? Eddie’s tired of waiting.
“Fuck,” he breathes, pulling Buck impossibly closer and sinking into Buck’s lips and oh. How have they not been doing this the entire time?
Eddie’s kissing Buck like a man starved, and Buck is dizzy with it. Every one of his senses is overwhelmed with EddieEddieEddie and it’s too much and it’s not enough. He licks into Eddie’s mouth and Eddie’s tugging on his curls, getting his hair damp. He can’t help the gasp the tugging elicits from him, which only spurs Eddie on. He sucks at Buck’s bottom lip for a moment before breaking away, and Buck whines at the loss of contact. It’s not for long, though, because Eddie has moved on to his neck, peppering soft kisses along Buck’s throat.
“God. Eddie,” he sighs. “What’s happening right now?”
“Well. Right now I’m trying to mark you up.” Eddie nips at his neck in confirmation. “You gonna let me?”
Buck doesn’t roll his hips on purpose, he swears. It’s just that he’s consumed by desire and his body is on autopilot. Eddie grunts at the contact, and Buck is not going to make it.
“Shit. Yeah. Yeah, Eddie, always. But we should probably- fuck.” Eddie’s taken it upon himself to roll his own hips.
“Go inside?” He breathes against Buck’s shoulder. All Buck can do is nod.
Eddie’s smile is devastating and uh oh, downright wicked as he says, “Race you?” And then he’s already up and halfway out of the hot tub, grabbing his towel as he runs.
“Eddie wait, I’m all wet!”
“You’re about to be wetter!” Eddie sings from the doorway.
“Oh my god,” Buck laughs as he moves to follow his best friend, because that’s the way their story will always go.
I left a piece of myself in your hands—
Not a whisper of flesh,
But the softest part of me.
The part that still believed.
The part that didn’t flinch when love called.
I handed it over
Wrapped in silent hope,
Thinking you’d cradle it,
Not crush it
Between your indecision and somebody else’s body.
You didn’t say a word,
But I felt the shift—
Felt my softness hit the floor
When you let…
“Of course it matters! You don’t want the oils from your forehead to transfer to your cheeks—” Keith hisses when Lance's aggressive rubbing accidentally brushes against his still tender scar. He murmurs a soft apology and relaxes his fingers to gently cover it with the creamy, honey-smelling goo. The defensive shoulders that reached all the way up to Keith’s ears slowly droop as he leans into Lance’s comforting warmth. “Still think this is a bad idea?” Lance teasingly raises an eyebrow.
“Shut your quiznack,” Keith bares his teeth, one eye popping open to look at the boy in front of him critically. He didn’t even notice that his eyes fluttered shut until then. He doesn’t look at all menacing, not even with his glowing yellow sclera or sharp fangs or his confirmed Galran heritage. After all, it’s just Keith. (“Keith. Keithers. Keithy boy.” “Lance, that’s not my name!!”) Keith, who will never hurt him.
Also, there’s the added bonus that his long bangs are tied up on his head, making him look like a pineapple. (“Why can’t I use a headband, I look ridiculous.” “Because I’m the one using it.” “Can’t you let me borrow it for a day? It was your idea anyway! You need to cater to your guests.” “Ah-buh-buh-buh!! Can’t handle looking like the piss baby you are for just thirty min—” “Lance...” “Besides! My bangs are too short to tie up, genius.”)
“I don’t think you’re using that word correctly!” Lance sticks out his tongue, throwing Keith’s own words back at him. He continues to apply the rest of the facial, bottom up.
Logan had his hands in his hair and was tugging at it restlessly as he paced the room. His heart was pounding ruthlessly, and he felt like it would tear through his chest. The logical side held his hands close to his chest to try and get them to stop shaking as he continued to pace, steps faltering as his breath began to quicken and rasp through his throat.
Logan flinched when someone knocked on the door. He slid to the floor against one of the walls, trying to breathe. There wasn’t enough air, no air. Feelings were flooding through him and he didn’t like it. He was supposed to be a robot. Emotionless.
The door opened and Logan couldn’t tell who it was, but the bright light made his panic worse. He scrambled away from whoever it was, managing to spit out a “st-st-stay away!”
The other side sat slowly in front of Logan, taking his trembling hands in their own. Logan yanked his hands away, freaking out at being so weak in front of someone else. “D-D-Don’t t-touch me! P-p-please!” He choked out, holding a hand to his chest in an attempt to calm his rapid heartbeat.
“Lolo,” the other side whispered calmly. “You need to breathe with me, please.”
Logan looked up at the other side with a broken and terrified expression. The panic was overwhelming. Everything was too much. The other side was too loud. The light was too bright. Things felt too intense. He managed a small shake of his head, stuttering out a small “c-can’t-”
“Yes you can, Logan. I believe in you.”
Logan looked at the other side, finally noticing that it was Patton. He felt scared tears well in his eyes as Patton took Logan’s hand, rubbing small circles on the back of it with a soft thumb. “In for four seconds,” Patton prompted gently, eyes never leaving Logan’s.
The logical side followed Patton’s movements, disappointing himself when the breath rushed out again. Patton smiled gently and Logan felt entranced by the soft gesture. He tried again and again but he couldn’t seem to hold his fucking breath.
“Logan you’re doing great. Try again, don’t give up.” Patton’s voice broke into Logan’s thought train, interrupting the self deprecating thoughts. The logical side felt frustrated tears well in his eyes, though he didn’t understand why he was so annoyed. It was completely illogical. This panic was illogical.
Finally, Logan was able to get a hold on his breathing. Once he was able to breathe properly, he rested his head against Patton’s chest. He felt absolutely exhausted, and finally understood why Virgil always slept after having a panic attack. Patton rubbed cautious circles on Logan’s back, gentle enough to not send Logan into another panic attack.
“Th-thank you,” Logan rasped quietly. Patton hugged Logan close, letting him go with an encouraging smile.
Patton stood and offered a hand to Logan. The exhausted side took it and let himself be helped up, and Patton led the logical side out to the commons where the other two were waiting. Logan tensed up again, but Patton was there to murmur comforting words that they weren’t there to talk about anything, they just wanted to watch movies.
Logan fell asleep surrounded by his lovely boyfriends, calm and feeling slightly at peace.
63 & 41, pretty please? Tyler x Me. Uh I mean reader ;) I can’t sleep so I’m just reading and looking forward to this! (But no pressure if you don’t get to it!)
everybody knows/mistaken for couple & first kiss
(also i’m just watching random book reviews & avoiding going to bed myself! hopefully you can fall asleep soon!)
Your head is in Tyler’s lap as you look up at your phone, mindlessly scrolling through social media as you wait for the crew to finish packing up the rest of the tour bus. Tyler has one arm slung carelessly across your stomach, tapping your hip idly as he scrolls through his own phone.
One of the crew members walks onto the bus, muttering something to himself about leaving something on the table. His eyes go wide as he turns to the two of you seemingly cuddled up on the couch.
“I’m so sorry,” he says quickly, looking anywhere but at the two of you. “I didn’t mean to interrupt!”
You begin to ask him what he thought he was interrupting, but he’s back off the bus before you can even get the first syllable out. When you turn to Tyler, he simply shrugs and goes back to looking at his phone.
“Do we come across as a couple?” You try to phrase it as innocently as you can muster, refusing to let your own feelings come through in your tone.
Tyler shrugs again, but looks a little more unsettled this time. “We’re pretty comfortable with one another. I think people just don’t expect that between a guy and a girl, there’s always supposed to be some romantic aspect involved.”
“And if there was some romantic aspect involved… how would that change things?”
His mouth curled up into a smile, “I think I would have to kiss you then.”
You looked up into Tyler’s eyes, which was a bit awkward with the position that you were laying in on his lap. One of his eyebrows was slightly raised, waiting for some response from you.
“I wouldn’t mind.”
There was a bit of awkward shuffling and hasty movement - a combination of the thrill of admitted feelings and fear of someone walking in at any moment - as you moved to a better position for, well, kissing Tyler. He wasted no time in pulling you to him, pressing his lips to yours in an eager kiss.
You see her from a distance. She is always walking farther and farther away, and you can never catch up.
It’s hard, to watch the one you love become nothing more than a memory, a far off dream.
She is a faded photograph, left to gather dust in an album abandoned upon a shelf.
You can’t reach that far, not when you are so so young.
She used to be beautiful, brighter than the sun.
Perhaps they have all forgotten her, unlike you.
You certainly haven’t -
You still remember the halcyon days where everything was good and she shined.
You remember when she used to smile
and worry about nothing.
She didn’t have to look over her shoulder,
trying to see who would hurt her next.
It was a beautiful time, full of grandeur and flowers in full bloom.
Where did it all go, you wonder, and who’s fault was it?
It certainly wasn’t yours.
Right?
You remember when she used to sing,
Fireworks and Love Story
and all the other stupid pop songs her little heart of gold knew.
You sang with her.
Her heart used to be so big, big enough for everyone and their mother.
Maybe when you met her it had shrunk a bit, the world slowly dimming that light
It tried to
but she continued to love, and love, and love until one day, she didn’t.
But before that, she laughed.
There was a spark in her eye that made you want to abandon your responsibilities
You wanted to live wild and free like her.
To run like the wind and follow your dreams,
To live each day by her side and never let go.
And you do.
You’re no fool and know better than to let someone as bright as her slip through your hands like sand in an hourglass.
Summers take shape in the form of leaving your house before the sun rises so you’re with her when it does.
Golden afternoons spent chasing each other through forests of trees, laying in the sun, and tea with too much sugar.
Warm nights in the comfort of your room, the sound of your laughter drifting through the window as you talk late into the morning.
Cold days are when she wraps her arms around your shivering body, always just as warm as her heart.
Winters take shape in the form of too many blankets on a couch, the two of you buried under layers of fleece and cotton with cups of hot chocolate that are too hot to drink.
She is everything to you.
Your sun, your light, the very heart beating within your chest.
She is love, in all the ways you never knew.
Slowly but still to the march of time, you grow up. You both do.
She grows older beside you, taller with every month. She out-grows you, at first only by an inch and then ten more.
Her face loses its fat, her father’s defined jaw shining through and you think that she is easily one of the most beautiful, kindest people you are ever going to meet in your infinitesimal mortal lifetime.
Everyone says the same of you, but you are short and you may have a pretty face, but your mother tells you that a pretty face will get you nothing in life.
You think that she will say the same, and that she does not need you anymore now that you are both older.
But she is still the same girl who taught you love, and she still loves you.
Aging, as fast as it seems, is sedate, crawling along with every year that passes.
It’s a long process, but she never loses that brilliant, glittering bit of hope that warms you like a fire on a cold winter’s night.
She never changes, keeping tempo to the hurricane of your life.
Since the day you met, you believed that nothing could separate you, not after long nights on the phone and short summer days spent in each others beds.
You two have lived by each other’s sides for so long that without the other, you’d be lost.
She would be lost.
Wouldn’t she?
And then, when the golden hour shined,
You found her gone
Plunging you into darkness.
You never thought that there would be a day where you would watch her leave your side.
Everyone around you stepped over the threshold and into a new life, towards a brighter future.
The gates opened and the floods began, growth and change affecting all of you.
You embraced their warmth, moving with the flow of time.
She stayed beyond the gates, forever apart from you.
As you sailed on to the future you reached out.
She didn’t take your hand.
From then on, she was different.
She stopped singing, like something (or someone) had stolen her voice, leaving her mute.
She stopped talking to you.
She stopped smiling, and laughing, and stopped everything else that made her different from the people around her.
Slowly and then all at once, she vanished.
No more late nights on the phone.
No more walks in the park.
No more secrets or smiles in the dark.
The light of your life was extinguished before your very eyes.
Your best friend was gone, dust scattered to the wind.
She became someone else, someone that was a stranger to you.
They looked, even sounded the same.
They tried to be her, and they were almost perfect.
But it only reminded you that she was never coming back.
Given time, you realize that maybe it wasn’t her choice.
He stands behind her, a hand on her shoulder.
You think he’s the one who stole her away
who silenced her quiet, lovely voice.
Yes, when you think about it, everything began when he arrived with the fall.
She disappeared, and all you had was them.
They were a poor substitute, lacking in all the places she hadn’t
and it was his fault.
He was the one who stole her away and made her into someone else.
That was fine, you realize with time.
As long as they looked like her, sounded like her,
You could pretend that it was her.
But one can only survive on an imitation for so long
It was slow;
You found yourself without her more often than with
You found yourself cautiously treading waters that used to be safe
You found yourself freezing because you could no longer see the reflection of her sun in their cold, cold moon.
They say that they’re the same, that nothing has ever changed.
But you can see through their lie, see the innocent blood staining their skin.
He comes to you once, to tell you that they aren’t yours anymore, and that they never were.
They don’t come around anymore.
It’s not fair.
She gave herself to him and he ruined her
When she gave you nothing and you gave her the world.
