the moon needs the stars — giancarlo stanton
a/n: made giancarlo 25 in this fic and reader is 23. this is a little niche... also not proofread so i apologize for mistakes!
synopsis: you and giancarlo barely got to spend time together due to your hectic work schedules. one night when you both finally go on a date, he tries to take you home. but you refuse and he doesn’t know why...
c/w: slight angst, some sexual teasing, but mainly fluff <3
pairing: marlins giancarlo stanton x popstar!f!reader
“if you don’t want a strike you have to shorten your swing,” giancarlo chuckled, rising from his seat opposite you in the batting cage.
it was now 12:17 am and you were surrounded by missed baseballs and discolored walls. you and giancarlo had spent the last hour in the batting cage as a cute, off-the-grid date. with giancarlo’s busy baseball schedule and your scattered concert dates the two of you never got time together. you’d been dating for around a month and were in the honeymoon phase of your relationship, but the forced time apart meant that you would both take extra measures to spend time with each other.
like him teaching you how to swing the way he does while in a batting cage in the team’s training facilities.
if you weren’t as anxious and avoidant as you were, the alone time would be something that you craved. not that you don’t want to spend time with him, but your fear of what could come next was overpowering you.
the word itself rang through your head at least 30 times a day like a mantra. it wasn’t that you were a virgin, but your last and only experiences with sex had completely altered your perception or desire to partake in it again. shit, you hadn’t even dated in the last three years because of it. you haven’t met anyone worthy of your time or capable of fulfilling your standards.
every man that you’d let in had only wanted to be with you for the weight of your name. like sleeping with you was some grand prize that would make their lives worth living. and you hated it. you’d never experienced what it was like to be loved just for the sake of it. and you were scared shitless at that fact.
because now, at midnight on a random thursday in miami, you’d made time out of your packed schedule to see the one man who was actually capable of treating you the way you wanted to be treated.
the man who called and texted you during an away series just to hear your voice. the man who could tell how you were feeling by a quick sigh or deflated tone, both on text and on the phone. the man who remembered your exact order at your favorite restaurant, having it delivered to your home after a long day of rehearsals without you even having to ask.
your feelings for giancarlo were growing more and more each day, like a cherry seed that grew into its full form. you wouldn't admit to yourself that you loved him yet, simply because you feared the inevitable ending that you'd experienced with everyone else: him leaving after finally getting you to bed. you hated that your reserved ways still managed to peek through from time to time.
“g, i’m telling you i’m not as strong as you,” you laughed, winding up your arms to try swinging again. but you missed, again, which evoked a laugh from giancarlo. he made his way to stand behind you, back now pressed against yours as he wrapped his arms around your frame to grasp the bat.
“you have to hold it like this, babe,” he affirmed quietly into your ear, his muscular arms now wrapped around your own. he was clad in a marlins tank top and long shorts, his exposed arms warming you over your purple maxi dress. his hands now enveloped your own and you felt so small and protected under him. “just move your arms quickly, like a piñata is flying at you or something.”
you laughed confused by his logic but not wanting to fight him. he went through two more demonstrations with you before he backed away from you to press the ‘ball ejection’ button. the light flashed red and before you knew it, you swung as hard as you could, managing to hit the ball and knock it against the wall ahead of you.
but before you could shout about your baseball-ridden success, you were literally swept off your feet as giancarlo wrapped his arms around the backs of your thighs. he started jumping slowly in a small circle while shouting your praises. but you didn’t feel overwhelmed by the movement of it all. you felt safe.
you giggled as he slowed down, now silence enveloped the room as he stared down at you with a small smile. “that was so good, babe,” he complimented, pressing a small kiss to your forehead. you hated how the smallest of acts made your cheeks redden. and he always noticed.
he lowered you back to your two feet, but instead of pulling away, you brought your hands to his cheeks, bringing him down to your lips for a quick kiss. “i know, it’s like i’m a pro or something,” you sarcastically replied against his lips. he chuckled against your own, now taking advantage of your open lips to slip his tongue between your mouth.
through reconnected lips, you moaned against his mouth, your hands now fisting the bottom of his tank top. his hands maneuvered their way to your waist, resting dangerously close to your ass. but before you could tug his neck down lower to you, he pulled back slightly, leaving your lips swollen and lonely.
“how about we go back to my place?” he suggested before kissing your forehead, his eyes still hooded from the missing contact with your lips.
before you could control it, you froze against him like a deer caught in headlights. your eyes widened and your posture stiffened under his hold. going back to his place was exactly what you wanted not to do, at least not yet. you pulled back away from him further, now holding direct eye contact with a stupefied giancarlo.
“what if we went for a walk in the park instead?” you suggested, hoping that he wouldn’t detect the waver in your voice at your crazy suggestion. your eyes were wide with a faux excitement that you hoped distracted from the way your left leg began anxiously bouncing.
“i mean, i did get dressed up all nice. i’d hate to just spend this time with you in a batting cage,” you charmingly suggested, fingers now playing with his large hands that still sat on your waist. “and i’d feel so safe under the protection of the big, strong man at my side.”
and at that his cheeks got red, his gaze dropping to the ground as his hands moved to squeeze your waist with a type of restraint. like he had to fight to give into the way your big lashes fluttered at him like he was the only man in the world. like he was holding himself back from completely ripping your dress off of you.
but he was a respectful man wanting to respect your wish, so he obliged.
“y-yeah, whatever you want.”
mosquitos must never get sleep. because it was now closer to 1am and aside from the midnight surfers on the beach and drunk club goers, mosquitos accompanied you and giancarlo. it was humid, of course because it was mid summer, and the purple dress you wore clung tightly to your skin like a wet swimsuit. giancarlo had changed into a black compression shirt and sweats. and of course he looked as sexy as ever.
you both managed to sneak into the now empty park by the beach, strolling hand in hand as you conversed about his siblings and your inability to live in one location for longer than three years.
"you're telling me that you lived in singapore for a year and a half and then randomly moved to michigan because you'd always wanted to try the coney-dog?" he chuckled in bewilderment, leaning against you softly as you both trailed along the path.
"i fear it's true," you giggled in response, your pink manicured nails lightly running over giancarlo's forearm. "you'd do it too if you tried it, it's so good!"
"right right," he quietly replied, now leading you both to an empty bench that was placed directly in front of a fake coi pond. you both sat down, legs bumping against one another as his left arm slung over the seat behind you and wrapped around your shoulders.
you glanced at him with a small smile, quick and slightly avoidant, feeling shy under his muscular body. again. you felt him lean forward against you, this time bringing his lips to the side of your cheek, leaving a soft kiss.
"you look so beautiful tonight," he murmured, lips still close to your ear as his arm that was once splayed out on the bench manuevered its way to the small of your back. instead of verbally thanking him, you turned your cheek swiftly, capturing his lips before he could sit back against the bench. you brought your left hand to his chin, drawing him closer to your own as you felt the make out growing more intense.
the kisses were soft and profound like the humidity and sweat-ridden skin weren't a factor in the way he wanted you right then and there. and you felt it quite literally against your arm that you didn't realize was placed too close to his crotch.
he brought his right hand to your thigh, resting there comfortably like he was waiting for you to make the next move. you tried to readjust yourself under his embrace, but you accidentally rubbing against his dick more. he groaned at this, making your eyes widen.
you'd gotten so wrapped in the moment that your brain forgot what it was meant to do: torture you with your apprehensive thoughts. but it always found a way to slither its way back to you, like right now.
you pulled away with such an unpredictable speed that left giancarlo confused again, like a ghost had appeared behind the two of you that only you could see. your eyes were wide: both at the thought of giancarlo's horniness being pressed against your lower arm and the strength with which you retreated from him.
he felt so comfortable and warm. like despite the miami humidity, you wanted nothing more than to be embraced by him like a sauna after a good workout. yet, you couldn't get yourself beyond that barrier.
because even though you wanted him (clearly) just as much as he wanted to, you had a strong desire to protect your body from being used. more importantly, protecting yourself from the heartbreak that would ensue if he left you like the rest. like a bird being left behind by its flock.
you'd gotten so deep into your own head that you didn't notice giancarlo staring at you, eyes wide and perplexed.
"..uh, you ok?" he started, one hand rubbing up and down your waist while the other hand lightly tapped under your chin to snap you out of it.
"we should get ice cream!" you changed the subject, cheeks heating at the fact that you didn't know how to respond to his question. you jolted up both from your seat and his grasp as you held out your hand to him, hoping he'd forget the way your breathing just picked up. "i'd kill for a strawberry scoop right now."
"i-uh.. yeah sure," he murmured this time, but you'd already dragged him from his seat before he could even argue (if he wanted to).
"i know we're not supposed to judge mint chocolate chip lovers, but what the hell g?" you laughed. you sucked on the remaining ice cream that was on your spoon, now looking at giancarlo with a satirical look in your eyes.
"you hate us cause you ain't us, babe," he deflected, now looking at you with a soft smile on his face as he waited for a sarcastic response from you. instead you guffawed, loudly, like he'd hurled a comedy central level joke at you.
your third deflection from giancarlo's 'let's-go-to-my-place' offer brought you both to a small ice cream shop on the beach. it was now 1:37 a.m., you'd both found a concrete bench that overlooked the atlantic ocean. the boardwalk had cleared miraculously, leaving the two of you alone with the loud crashing waves and windblown sand under your shoes.
you both sat next to each other, but this time with more space between the two of you. he was sat in a slouch with his back on the lower part of the bench, his legs open in what seemed to be a comfortable man spread. typical man. typical good looking, sexy man.
on the contrary, you were inches away from him sat like you were in a contest to see who had the best posture. you'd finished your ice cream minutes before, hands now politely wrapped around the empty cup to distract yourself from earlier. you really needed to find a better way to tell him you weren't ready to be with him in that way.
"whatever," you fake grimaced, now leaning against the back of your seat as you looked ahead at the waves. you let out a soft hum, feeling comforted by the light touch of his leg against yours as well as the cooler temperature by the ocean. "maybe if i tried some i'd form a better opinion," you'd continued, secretly plotting to have some of his ice cream since you'd finished yours.
"wait... you mean to tell me you've never had mint chocolate chip ice cream?" he interrogated, sitting up fully from his previous position, now a mere few inches away from you. his eyes were frantically wide like you'd just informed him that you killed someone. "…and you're judging me?" he chuckled, now getting another scoop of the melting ice cream onto his spoon. he scooted closer to you, his arms now rubbing against yours.
"well, now you have to try," he remarked, softly like he was making a life changing vow. now bringing the spoon closer to your lips, without a word, you opened your mouth as he placed the spoon in your mouth. his eyes went between your eyes and your lips as he pushed the spoon deeper into your mouth. the eye contact you'd held with him was enough to make him melt more than the ice cream in his cup.
you'd focused more on his brown eyes looking back at you than the substance in your mouth, distracted by his handsome features. the way his brows were furrowed like he was focusing on a life-altering task. the way his mouth was slightly opened, the way his arms were flexing under the boardwalk street lamp. his baseball cap was now flipped backwards, showing more of his forehead that was slick with sweat. his eyes were wide, almost like he'd been on drugs. but you being with him, like this, was the drug for him.
he was beautiful, and you were scared to let yourself discover more of his allure.
you'd gotten too wrapped in the moment, in the intimacy of his heavy eyes locked on your own. you needed to escape.
you brought your hand over his, taking the spoon from his hands and slowly pulling it out of your mouth as you licked the remnants off the spoon. you kept eye contact as you placed the spoon back in his cup, directly into his half-melted scoop, which happened to be placed right on his lap. you saw him take a deep breath, as if not to let himself get distracted by how close your hand was to his crotch.
"that was good," you softly commented, bringing your hand from his cup to his knee. he still hadn't broken eye contact with you as he scooped more ice cream onto his spoon. this time, he brought the spoon to his own mouth, placing some of it on his tongue with some of it coating the corners of his lips.
"i think you should try again, you know just in case you missed some the first time," he offered with a smirk on his lips. in any other instance, he would've looked like a dork to you. but for some reason, with the waves crashing onto the sand in front of you and the way he was looking at you like you had the universe in your palm, you gave in.
“mhm..totally missed some,” you suggestively replied, removing the spoon from his hand and closing the distance between the two of you. you brought your hands to his cheeks, rubbing your thumbs over his slightly rough skin. the taste of mint chocolate on his lips coupled with the intensity of his kiss was enough to make you faint.
his hands now gripped your waist tightly as he groaned against you, the rumble from his chest being felt against yours. the kiss deepened like a telepathic conversation that only the two of you were privy to.
he lightly slapped your ass, evoking a light moan from you. he took the chance to slip his tongue into your open mouth, pulling you impossibly closer before he practically drew you to straddle his lap.
the two of you always ended up like this. one minute you were conversing over something silly, the next his hands are pulling at your bunched up dress. you knew what would happen next. what you knew he wanted to happen next.
because the way his hands slowly lowered to the dip of you ass told you all you needed to know. that and the way you felt him rock hard against your wrist that, once again, was unintentionally placed too close to his crotch.
he began to massage your ass in his palm, his other hand cupping your cheek in a reaffirming gesture. almost as a slight reminder of the size difference between the two of you. and you loved it.
actually, you hated that you loved it. because you were falling into the same cycle that you'd fallen into the first time. and the next time. and every time you'd let a man in who treated you like an object and left. you had to stop this. now.
"g we're in public," you quipped, attempting to pull away but failing due to his strong arm caging you in.
"babe, there's no one here," he chuckled, pulling away from your lips to scatter kisses down your neck.
"you know.. the s-seagulls and stuff," you disputed, mentally face-palming at how lame of an excuse you had come up with. this made giancarlo freeze, and before he could look you in the eyes, you were already pulling away while scrunching your face in embarrassment.
before you could remove yourself entirely from him, giancarlo grabbed your hand and locked your fingers, tugging you lightly to look at him from where you sat.
"babe, what's going?" he started, now searching your eyes for the answer to your constant rejections from the night. "you've been avoiding me all night."
"what do you mean? i mean... i'm here aren't i?" you heartlessly laughed, hoping to come off as nonchalant and unconcerned.
you were met with a deadpan expression, giancarlo staring at you with a humorless glare.
“every time i offer to bring you to my place or we start you know… making out, you always stop,” he pointed out, now fully sat up with his body turned towards you.
“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you lied through your teeth, fear eating you alive as you didn’t tell him the real reason why you were being avoidant.
a few seconds ensued of the two of you silently staring at each other, and you could tell he was losing patience with you. he let go of your hands before he broke the silence.
"look, if you want some spa-"
"no!" you blurted, abruptly cutting him off. "i-i want this, i want you," you reasoned, hands now searching for his on his lap.
you didn't know where you were going with this. hell, how did one go about voicing their biggest fears to the one person who was capable of bringing them to fruition?
but you owed it to him, because he was looking at you like you just told him his grandmother had 24 hours left to live.
"look i.. i'm just," you stammered, watching as his face contorted into both confused and scared for your sanity. "i like you a lot, i'm just nervous about moving too fast."
you waited a beat before speaking again.
"i'm used to having sex and having the man leave the next day. sometimes even a few minutes later. i just don't want that to happen with us.. with you. because honestly, i like you too much to lose what we have that quickly."
you let out a deep breath, one that you knew you'd held in in fear of messing up your small speech. you looked away from his gaze now, too intimidated by the possibility of him leaving you on the bench with your inhibitions.
instead, you felt the squeeze of his fingers with your own. but you still didn't look at him, both in fear that you might cry and that he'd see you vulnerable for the first time.
"you really think that i'd let us lose what we have because of sex?" he questioned. you nodded but didn't look at him still.
"i want you for more than sex," he started. "i want you for your full body laugh, for your empathetic heart, for your peculiar but interesting food tastes," he continued, drawing a giggle from you as your eyes were still trained on the floor.
"i want to be with you for you, not for some superficial shit," he stated, like he was making a vow to you. "hey, look at me."
he brought his hand to your chin, moving your head ever so softly to reconnect your eyes with his. you were met with his soft smile, the kind that could satiate any fears that you'd ever held.
"i'm not like the other guys," he began. "let me prove to you that i can be the man that you deserve," he concluded with certainty, his eyes set on yours. you felt your heart rate pick up, not just at his admission but at the way he held you. firm but gentle, like a promise that he would never hurt you.
"ok," you gently replied, a smile taking over your face.
a/n: i'm like SOOOOO bad at writing conclusions LOL MY B
