Dani (Twisters) x fem!reader
You meet the Tornado Wranglers during storm season around your town. Dani immediately falls for you, but makes the fatal mistake of thinking you're straight. It's not until an amateur chaser starts flirting with you, and she hears you reject him with the excuse that you're gay, that she realises she might actually have a chance.
The first thing Dani noticed about you was your laugh.
Not your face.
Not your body.
Not even the fact you were standing in the middle of a tornado warning wearing muddy boots and glaring at the sky like you personally had beef with Mother Nature.
Your laugh.
Bright. Sharp. Real.
The kind that burst out of you unexpectedly when Boone nearly slipped in a gas station puddle and had to catch himself on the hood of the truck with a loud, offended, “Jesus Christ.”
You’d laughed so hard you snorted.
Dani had been doomed immediately.
Which was unfortunate.
Because she also immediately assumed you were straight.
Mostly because:
Statistically, most women were.
You’d mentioned an ex-boyfriend exactly once.
The universe hated Dani personally.
So instead of flirting like a normal person, Dani spent the next two weeks suffering quietly.
Which for Dani looked like:
staring at you too long when you weren’t looking
immediately volunteering to ride in whatever truck you were in
becoming weirdly protective over you during chases
and pretending her heart wasn’t doing deeply embarrassing things every time you smiled at her.
“You got it bad,” Boone told her one night.
Dani nearly choked on her drink.
“I do not.”
“You looked ready to kill Jeb earlier for handin’ her a jacket.”
“It was cold.”
“She had her own jacket.”
“She looked colder emotionally.”
Boone blinked slowly.
“…What does that even mean?”
Dani groaned and shoved his shoulder while he laughed.
The worst part was that you genuinely liked her.
Dani knew that much.
You gravitated toward her naturally now. Sitting beside her during briefings. Stealing her fries. Falling asleep against her shoulder during long drives back from chases.
Every tiny thing fed Dani’s crush until it became genuinely unmanageable.
But she never pushed.
Never crossed the line.
Because every time she started thinking maybe—
You’d mention some random guy from your past.
Or smile politely at a man flirting with you at diners.
Or exist as a very beautiful woman in a world that had not often worked out in Dani’s favor romantically.
So Dani did what she always did.
Buried it beneath humor.
The night everything changed started in the world’s sketchiest storm chaser bar.
It wasn’t technically a storm chaser bar.
But during tornado season, every amateur chaser, meteorology student, and adrenaline junkie within fifty miles ended up there eventually.
The place smelled like beer, rain, and poor decision-making.
You were currently beating Tyler at pool while Dani pretended not to stare at you.
Again.
“You’re sulking,” Lily informed her.
“I’m observing.”
“You’re in love.”
“I’m literally asking you to shut up.”
Lily grinned into her drink.
Across the room, you leaned over the pool table lining up your shot, tongue poking slightly against the inside of your cheek in concentration.
Dani’s brain fully stopped functioning.
“Oh, she’s down catastrophic,” Boone muttered to Lily.
“Violently,” Lily agreed.
“I hate both of you.”
“You wrote her name in the fog on the truck window yesterday,” Boone added.
Dani pointed at him immediately. “That was one time.”
“You put a heart next to it.”
“I was checking marker quality.”
Lily burst into laughter.
Before Dani could defend herself further, movement near the pool tables caught her attention.
A guy had approached you.
Tall. Baseball cap. Amateur chaser badge clipped to his jacket.
And flirting.
Obviously flirting.
Dani felt immediate irrational hatred.
“Oh no,” Boone said softly beside her.
“What?”
“You got murder eyes.”
“I do not.”
“You absolutely do.”
Across the room, the guy leaned casually against the table saying something that made you laugh politely.
Politely.
Dani noticed the difference immediately.
Not your real laugh.
Still.
Jealousy curled hot and ugly in her stomach.
The guy said something else.
Then—
He touched your arm.
Dani stood up instantly.
“Easy there, tiger,” Lily warned through laughter.
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“You don’t even know his name.”
“I’ll learn it for the obituary.”
Boone looked delighted by this entire situation.
Unfortunately for Dani, she was too busy spiraling to care.
Because the guy was still talking.
Still smiling.
And you—
You looked uncomfortable now.
Subtle.
But Dani knew you.
You were edging backward slightly. Smiling tighter. Looking around the room briefly.
Without thinking, Dani started moving.
Then she stopped.
Because she heard you.
“Sorry,” you were saying gently, “but I’m gay.”
Silence.
The guy blinked.
“Oh.”
Dani blinked too.
Wait.
Wait.
The amateur chaser laughed awkwardly. “Seriously?”
“Pretty seriously.”
“You don’t look gay.”
You stared at him flatly. “What does that even mean?”
Boone made a strangled choking sound behind Dani trying not to laugh.
The guy at least looked embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry. I just—yeah. Okay.”
He retreated quickly afterward.
You sighed heavily and picked up your drink again.
Meanwhile, Dani’s soul left her body.
Boone looked over slowly.
“Oh my God.”
Lily slapped both hands over her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Dani stood frozen in the middle of the bar staring at you like you’d personally descended from heaven to ruin her life.
“You’re telling me,” Boone whispered loudly, “this whole time—”
“I KNOW.”
Dani looked seconds away from either passing out or proposing marriage immediately.
Lily was crying laughing now.
“You are SO stupid.”
“I thought she was straight!”
“She literally owns three carabiners!”
“That means nothing!”
“She listens to Chappell Roan religiously!”
“That also means nothing!”
Boone was wheezing.
Across the room, you finally noticed all three of them staring at you like lunatics.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Dani panicked instantly.
“No reason!”
Too loud.
Too fast.
You narrowed your eyes suspiciously.
Then slowly looked between Boone, Lily, and Dani’s visibly horrified face.
Understanding dawned immediately.
Your eyebrows lifted.
“Oh my God.”
Dani wanted the floor to open and consume her.
“You heard that?”
“All of it.”
Boone physically walked away laughing.
Coward.
You looked back at Dani carefully.
And then—
To Dani’s absolute shock—
You smiled.
Not politely.
Not awkwardly.
Warm.
Interested.
Dangerous.
“You thought I was straight?” you asked.
Dani rubbed a hand over her face. “In my defense, I’m an idiot.”
“That’s true,” Lily yelled from across the room.
“Shut up!”
You laughed softly.
Real laugh.
Dani’s favorite one.
And suddenly the air between you felt different.
Charged.
“You know,” you said casually, stepping closer, “I was actually starting to think you weren’t interested.”
Dani stared at you.
“…What?”
You shrugged, trying and failing to look unaffected.
“You flirt with everyone except me.”
“I absolutely do not flirt with everyone.”
“Dani, you winked at a waitress yesterday.”
“She brought mozzarella sticks.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is to me.”
You burst into laughter again.
Dani thought she might die from relief.
“You’re serious?” she asked quietly after a second.
Your expression softened instantly.
“Yeah.”
Something in Dani’s chest completely unraveled.
Because she’d spent weeks convincing herself this wasn’t possible.
That she’d imagined the lingering glances. The tension. The way you always drifted toward her in crowded spaces.
But now you were standing close enough for Dani to smell rainwater and citrus on your skin looking at her like maybe you wanted this too.
Boone reappeared suddenly beside Lily.
“You gonna kiss her or keep staring like a confused puppy?”
“BOONE.”
You laughed helplessly.
Dani pointed at him furiously without taking her eyes off you.
“He’s ruining my moment.”
“He’s helping, actually.”
“Traitor.”
Then you stepped even closer.
And quieter now:
“You gonna ask me out or what?”
Dani’s brain fully short-circuited.
“…Right now?”
“If you want.”
“I—yeah. Yeah, I want.”
Your smile turned softer around the edges then.
Fond already.
Jesus Christ.
Dani was gone for you.
Completely.
“Okay,” you said gently.
Then, before she could overthink another second, Dani reached for your hand.
Your fingers laced together immediately.
Easy.
Natural.
Like they’d been trying to do that for weeks.
Behind you, Boone started clapping obnoxiously.
Lily joined him.
“Finally!” Boone yelled.
Dani flipped him off without even looking.
You laughed again, squeezing her hand once.
And Dani realized something important right then:
Maybe getting adopted by the Tornado Wranglers wasn’t actually the wildest thing that happened to you that storm season.
Maybe it was falling in love with one of them instead.
