Teeth and Tides. . .‧˚꒰🌊꒱༘‧
pairing: Owen Grady x f!reader genre: coworkers to lovers • tensions • adventure • forced proximity notes: You are finally living your dream as a Mosasaur handler at Jurassic World. While, technically, only wanting to pursue your career of studying aquatic giants, your coworker Owen has taking quite the liking to you... After your house got invested by the local insect population he extends his invitation for you to stay with him in his bungalow and... things start getting tense between the two of you from there. MINORS DNI!! masterlist join my taglist ─── ꒰ 💚 ꒱ ───
part 1 – Bugs and a couch offer
The afternoon sun hung high over Isla Nublar. Humid air rolled across the island while distant dinosaur calls echoed through the park, blending with the crash of waves of the lagoons.
Owen wiped sweat from the back of his neck as he crossed the pathways near the raptor paddock. The earlier training session had already come and gone, leaving dirt and dust on his boots and the lingering smell of raw meat and sweat on his clothes.
Days around this time of year on the island were always hotter.
The concrete pathways radiated heat beneath his feet while tourists crowded the main sections of the park farther off in the distance.
Owen barely paid attention.
He preferred the quieter areas.
He couldn’t be asked with the many tourists.
That was what eventually led him toward the Mosasaurus lagoons, hands resting loosely at his sides.
He liked it there this time of day.
The endless stretch of blue water. It almost made the island feel natural again.
Also, he got news that the lab popped out a new Mosasaurus, which greatly interested him.
Maybe not only because of the dinosaur, but also because of the… handler.
As he approached the smaller holding pool near the main tank, movement caught his attention.
…You.
You sat balanced on a paddleboard in the water, dark swimsuit clinging to your skin as the young Mosasaurus circled lazily beneath you.
“Young” was a generous term. The creature was still big, even as a juvenile, easily as large as a grown Freshwater Crocodile.
And yet you looked completely at ease beside it.
Owen slowed near the fence, resting his forearms against the railing as he watched.
The baby Mosasaurus surfaced beside your board with a splash.
“Hold,” you instructed firmly, using a clicker to make the training clicking sound.
The creature froze almost immediately.
Owen’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
You reached down, placing a hand carefully above its snout.
“Hold…”
Another click.
Then you tapped the front of its jaw.
The Mosasaurus opened its mouth instantly, and you tossed a piece of raw chicken inside. Its jaws snapped shut with enough force to echo across the pool before it disappeared beneath the surface again.
“Good girl,” you praised warmly.
Owen found himself staring a little longer than he probably should have.
Most people around the dinosaurs were nervous and hesitant.
You weren’t.
You were careful, obviously, but you handled the animal with confidence, like you understood it.
The Mosasaurus circled back around your board, nudging it from beneath.
“Ah-ah,” you laughed softly. “I see you. No sneaking up.”
The sound made something tug at the corner of Owen’s mouth.
You paddled back toward the edge of the pool before climbing out, water dripping from your legs onto the concrete. The young Mosasaurus surfaced again immediately, resting its snout against the side expectantly.
“Someone’s hungry today, hm?” you hummed.
You clicked again.
“Open.”
The animal didn’t move.
“No, I said open.”
This time the jaws slowly fell open.
“Better.”
You let the creature wait a moment before tossing the final reward, a large chunk of fish, into its mouth. It vanished underwater instantly, thrashing excitedly beneath the surface.
“Good girl…”
You sighed afterward, pushing wet hair back from your face as you reached for a towel nearby.
That was when Owen finally pushed himself off the railing.
He walked over with that familiar confidence to his stride, boots heavy against the concrete. Hands settled briefly on his hips before one arm hooked casually over the fence beside you.
“You’re pretty good with the young one,” he said, a crooked smirk pulling at his mouth.
You and Owen already knew each other.
Well… sort of.
Jurassic World was massive, and most departments stayed within their own corners of the island. Owen spent most of his days out at the raptor paddock miles away from the lagoon facilities, while you practically lived around the Mosasaurus tanks.
Still, staff meetings happened.
Shared coffee lines. Passing greetings in hallways. The occasional sarcastic comment exchanged during safety briefings.
Enough to know each other’s names.
Enough to recognize each other when passing by.
But not much more than that.
You smiled slightly at his comment, rubbing the towel over your face before glancing back toward the pool.
“Thank you,” you said softly. “She’s still… manageable. And smaller.”
Your eyes drifted toward the deeper lagoon beyond the facility walls, toward where a fully grown Mosasaurus could swallow boats whole without effort.
“Give her a few years and I probably won’t be climbing into the water anymore.”
Owen huffed out a quiet laugh at that.
You looked back toward him again, still drying water from your hair.
“Didn’t realize you were standing there watching.” you said with a smile tugged faintly at your lips.
Owen’s gaze lingered on you for half a second too long.
The dark swimsuit clung to your still-damp skin, water glistening along your shoulders under the afternoon sunlight.
He cleared his throat subtly, dragging his attention back upward before you noticed.
“How’re things with the raptors?” you asked.
“The raptors?” he repeated with that crooked smirk of his. “They’re stubborn as hell. Same as always...”
His gaze shifted toward the water.
“But they’re doing good.”
You nodded thoughtfully before glancing back toward the young Mosasaurus circling beneath the surface.
“Do you want to come inside and see her up close?” you offered.
Owen looked back at you, mildly surprised.
There was no chance he was turning that offer down.
“Sure,” he said easily, pushing himself off the railing. “Why not?”
You walked toward the security gate beside the enclosure, keycard already in hand. The heavy lock buzzed before the gate slid open just enough for him to step through.
Once he was inside, you closed it securely behind him.
You sat down on the bench near the edge of the enclosure, towel draped around your shoulders as you continued drying your hair.
“She’s been making really good progress,” you explained. “Honestly, it’s mostly just like training a prehistoric crocodile.”
Owen let out a low chuckle as he sat beside you.
“A prehistoric crocodile,” he repeated. “Yeah… she definitely has teeth like one.”
The young Mosasaurus glided through the water below, its massive body moving beneath the sunlight. Even at this age, there was something intimidating about her.
Beautiful and dangerous.
Owen watched her swim for a moment before his eyes flicked back toward you.
“You’re really good with her,” he admitted. “You make it look easy.”
You laughed softly at that, rolling your eyes.
“Says the raptor guy.”
Owen grinned immediately.
“You’re literally the alpha of a raptor pack,” you continued with a smile. “My oversized swimming pool puppy isn’t nearly as impressive as that.”
That got a real laugh out of him.
“Alright, … fair point.”
He shook his head, smirk widening.
“Yeah, those raptors are quite a handful…”
He sighed, “Especially Echo. She’s been giving me hell lately.”
You patted your hair dry slowly as you listened, genuinely curious.
“Really?” you asked, turning slightly toward him. “What’ve they been doing now?”
Owen sighed heavily, dragging a hand back through his hair.
“Well,” he started, “Echo’s been challenging me lately. She keeps breaking formation during training, ignoring commands whenever she feels like it.”
He let out a tired exhale.
“It’s like dealing with a pack of rebellious teenagers,” he muttered. “Except teenagers don’t usually come with six-inch razorsharp teeth.”
“I guess the raptors don’t slam their bedroom doors and listen to emo music,” you teased between giggles.
Owen shook his head, laughing, “Honestly? I’d take the emo music at this point.”
Your smile lingered as you looked back toward the pool, watching Navy glide beneath the water.
“Well… Navy’s still learning,” you said softly. “Not yet teenage-diva age…”
The young Mosasaurus circled lazily near the edge of the enclosure, occasionally surfacing before disappearing beneath the water again.
“We wanted to introduce her to the adult Mosasaurus eventually,” you explained, “but there’s a pretty high chance she’d just get eaten instead of adopted.”
Owen grimaced slightly.
“Yeah. That tracks.”
You sighed before finally standing from the bench, stretching your arms over your head as you reached for your bag and folded clothes nearby.
“Sorry, Owen, but I kinda have to close up here,” you said apologetically. “Got a situation to deal with.”
You rubbed at your forehead with visible annoyance.
“Bug infestation at my bungalow.”
Your expression twisted immediately into mild disgust.
Owen stood as well, one eyebrow lifting.
“Bugs?” he repeated. “Sounds fun.”
“Yeah, apparently they’re ‘temporarily relocating me,’” you said, adding exaggerated air quotes around the words. “So maintenance can fumigate the place.”
You grabbed your paddleboard, slipping your shoes back on near the gate.
“And guess where they’re putting me.”
Owen already had a bad feeling, “The guest resort?”
You rolled your eyes dramatically.
Owen immediately laughed under his breath.
“Oh, wow. Luxury.” he said sarcastically.
You groaned softly.
The guest resort was … endless noise, screaming kids running through hallways, exhausted parents barely hanging on by a thread, music playing at all hours.
For you?
Absolute hell.
“Kind of the worst thing that’s happened to me in a while,” you muttered, adjusting the strap of your bag over your shoulder.
“Well,” he said with a crooked smirk, “look on the bright side.”
You narrowed your eyes immediately.
“That’s never a good start.”
“At least now you get to spend twenty-four hours a day surrounded by crying children and parents on the edge of a mental breakdown.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets casually, “Sounds relaxing, eh?”
You deadpanned immediately, “Ha. Ha.”
Owen grinned shamelessly.
You shook your head as you unlocked the security gate, motioning for him to follow you out of the enclosure.
“Come on, raptor boy.”
You waited for Owen to step through the security gate before pulling it shut behind him with a heavy metallic clang.
“Bye, Navy!” you called back toward the pool automatically.
The young Mosasaurus surfaced briefly at the sound of your voice, dark shape cutting through the water before disappearing beneath the surface again.
Owen glanced back over his shoulder and chuckled quietly.
“You say goodbye to her every day?”
“Obviously,” you replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “She gets offended otherwise…” you joked.
“Right,” Owen said seriously. “Wouldn’t wanna upset the giant aquatic murder submarine.”
You grinned despite yourself as the two of you started down the pathway together.
Owen walked beside you easily, hands shoved into his pockets.
Every now and then his eyes drifted toward you again without meaning to.
Your wet hair still clung slightly to your shoulders, the dark swimsuit disappearing beneath the oversized towel wrapped loosely around you. Sunlight caught against the droplets of water still lingering on your skin.
He forced himself to look ahead again.
“So,” he said casually, “when do you have to move into the magnificent guest resort?”
The mock excitement in his voice made you sigh again.
“Like… right now.”
Owen laughed under his breath.
“Oh, wow. Immediate relocation. They’re really rolling out the red carpet for you.”
You groaned quietly at just the thought of moving there.
“I’m going to lose my mind listening to screaming children through paper-thin hotel walls.”
“I give you two days before you lose it.”
“Bold of you to assume I’ll last two days.”
Owen smirked to himself as he glanced at you again.
Then, before his brain could fully catch up with his mouth, he spoke.
“You could always stay at my place instead.”
Owen blinked, seemingly surprised as well, by his own words.
You looked over at him immediately, clearly surprised.
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, suddenly very aware of how impulsive that sounded.
“I mean…” he cleared his throat, “I’ve got a couch. Plenty of space. It’s quiet out there.”
─── ꒰ 💚 ꒱ ───
a/n: yes I love jurassic world so sue me! also I just make up dinosaur training because I can! this is my blog and I post what I want... also Owen Grady is kinda... biting my lip
so yes this is a thing now, probably will have a few parts so... stay tuned for that!
also if you are interested in being tagged in the tag list let me know :3