the one where your foul mood is brought by the fact that you were jealous of kate, and tyler won't seem to stop interrogating you until you burst out to admit it.
pairing: tyler owens x fem!reader
word count: 1.7k
rating: NC-17
content: fluff, friends to lovers au
warning/s: swearing, suggestive sexual themes; this fic isn’t that marinated yet for editing so there might be some mistakes here and there.
opening note. finally got to watch twisters and now all the suppressed glen powell love is being unleashed on tyler owens lol. as someone who sometimes like clichés, i really had fun writing this!
“What the hell is going on?”
It was Tyler who said that, suddenly appearing beside you while you got ready to take out the other dishes you prepared for the whole team. You were informed prior that they were going to arrive at your house today for an overnight stay, and as an always generous and willing host, you didn’t hesitate in granting them hearty meals and a warm place to rest in after what you could only assume was another episode of adrenaline-filled ‘tornado wrangling’.
“Huh?” You gave him a confused glance, busy heating up the Macaroni casserole.
“Come on, give me a little credit. From how long I’ve known you, I’m practically wired now to sense every mood change you make.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You have to be more convincing than that to sway me, ____.”
“Just go back to the table, Tyler. I got this.”
“Oh, it’s Tyler now, huh?”
You rolled your eyes, a gesture that he didn’t miss on seeing.
“Keep up the attitude and I’ll keep on pressing you to be honest with me,” he added. “The choice is yours.”
A sigh escaped you next.
It annoyed you how you were so predictable to this man, how he took note of your expressions and knew what each one of it meant; his confidence in claiming that when it came to him, he could always read you like an open book. It was one of the many things that Tyler Owens was good at—and one of the inevitable things to occur when you’ve already spent most of your life with someone and considered them to be your closest friend in the world.
As you finally faced him, you took a step back almost immediately at the realization that he was standing too close to you inside the kitchen. All of the other guys were still in the other room, busy chattering and discussing about the tornado they got to film earlier, oblivious with the fact that the both of you weren’t with them and were instead caught up in your own little bubble
“Seriously,” Tyler leaned a hand on the kitchen sink; he looked genuinely worried, “what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“You haven’t been saying anything throughout dinner. That doesn’t appear like nothing to me.”
“I’m just tired.”
“That’s not it.”
“It really is.”
“You’re avoiding me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He took a step towards you, revoking the precautionary step back you took seconds ago. “You can’t even look me in the eyes. Do you know that you only do that when you’re pissed at me?”
You could have laughed, you really could’ve, because he was right. You were pissed at him. It was taking every bit of your power not to lash out at him at this very moment. You wanted to scream at his face, you wanted to shove his chest, you wanted to ridicule him for repeatedly claiming that he has you memorized and demand that if that were truly the case, then why the hell couldn’t he notice that you were hopelessly in love with him?
Your gaze flickered from his features to the new girl at the table, Kate Carter as she was introduced. She was beautiful and from what you gathered from the rest of the team, brilliant and was as passionate as Tyler was in storm chasing. She ticked all the boxes in what you deemed as the ideal girl for your closest friend; she understood the fervor of the endeavor that you never could. It made you jealous and insecure.
But as you were a master in hiding your true emotions at this point, you kept the one under the hood pretty well—that was until you saw her and Tyler sharing a moment together, laughing in a hushed manner as they sat side by side in front of you at the dining table, their heads bent towards the other that displayed how close they’ve gotten in such a short amount of time.
It made you sick, causing you to excuse yourself to prepare the casserole and for Tyler to follow you here, depriving you of the peace of mind you were wishing to have in detaching yourself away from the scene.
“Do you like her?” you finally asked, this newfound sense of courage surprising yet you couldn’t care less at this point. You just wanted this conversation to be done and dealt with. To hell with it if this ended up sabotaging your two-decade long friendship with Tyler.
“Who? Kate?”
“Who else?”
“What the hell are you asking me this for?”
“You wanted to know what’s wrong, didn’t you? Here you have it then. I’m pissed at how obvious you like her.”
“Woah, woah, woah, wait a second now,” he raised his hands up in defense, flabbergasted and outraged, “I like Kate now?”
“Please, you mean to tell me you don’t? After whispering to her ear all night and laughing about God knows what?”
“You have the wrong idea, ____.”
“I have eyes, Ty, and common sense. It’s a no brainer—I get it, I truly do. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, and you two get along with each other so well. It’s a match made in heaven. You guys are meant to be together.”
The oven chimed and you mechanically wore your wittens, grabbing the tray inside and placing it on the counter.
“I don’t like her.”
“Good luck trying to convince anyone that.”
“____—” he abruptly grabbed your forearms just as you were swerving away from him, about to get the tray again and return to the table, “listen to me for fuck’s sake. I don’t like her.”
You found yourself finally looking at his eyes. They were intense… and sincere, like his life depended on making you believe that he truly didn’t.
“I don’t like her, damn it. Now, you’re pissing me off.”
Your hips touched the counter. Tyler led you back up against it without realizing that he did, his hands that were on your forearms dropping to the edge and keeping you caged. You couldn’t breathe; your heart was pounding so hard that you could feel them in your ears. You did a cautious glance to the dining area and was relieved when you saw that no one seemed to be witnessing what was happening at this second.
“Tyler, can you… give me space?”
He didn’t budge. “You’ve been acting like a damn kid because you were jealous?”
You tilted your chin up to stare at him at the accusation. Of course, he wasn’t wrong; it didn’t mean you liked hearing it out loud. “I wasn’t acting like a kid.”
“So, just jealous, huh?”
“Shut up.”
“Holy shit. It’s written all over your face now. That’s really why you’re pissed at me?”
“I was trying very hard to be civil, may I inform you.”
“Do you even know what we were laughing about?”
“I don’t want nor need to.” You huffed.
“She was making fun of me, calling me a pussy because I was a grown man who couldn’t tell his longtime friend that he wanted to take their friendship to the next level. And before you make another stupid assumption—I’m pertaining to you, ____.”
Heat rushed to your neck and to your face. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“I did, but you’re not making any sense. Is that supposed to be a goddamn confession? Are you—telling me you like me?”
“Yes.” He finally gave you a bit of space, crossing his arms and maintaining a safe distance between your bodies. That still didn’t help in making you breathe easier. “Apparently, Kate doesn’t only have a good eye for storms, but emotionally constipated men as well. She was able to guess that I liked you from the moment we got here.”
You let out a snort at that one. “She’s right about that.”
“I’m not proud of it. I’ve prolonged not telling you how I really feel long enough.”
“And what is it that you feel?” You were craving a clear confession, for him to admit something that you’ve been wishing to hear every single night once you were done being in denial of what you too felt for him.
“That I’d very much like to pursue a relationship with you. A romantic one.”
Your knees felt like jelly. You were grateful that you had the counter to remain leaning on. “God, Ty,” you exhaled, “I hate how easy I’m going to make this for you.”
You attempted not to smile, but Tyler could see right through you, causing him to do the same. “Even if you drag this out, you know I’ll still chase you until you’re mine, right?”
“Really?”
“Of course, darlin’. I have a lifetime to make it up to you for not having the balls to pursue you sooner.”
With a step towards you again, he closed the gap between your lips, sealing the promise he just made. It took a second before you loosened up and reciprocated, overwhelmed by the sensation of kissing your best friend when all these years, you for sure wasn’t doing any of that. You were glad that you had the chance to do it right now though, and from the way your arms settle around his neck to pull him for a deeper kiss, it seemed like you wouldn’t have a hard time adjusting to the new change.
“Excuse me, lovebirds.”
The both of you broke apart. It was Lily, unbothered and nonchalant, wearing a mitten to get the forgotten casserole.
You were about to open your mouth to explain, but she shook her head, snickering in an all knowing manner. “Hey, it’s about time. No need to say anything. We don’t judge,” she said before leaving the kitchen and marching to the dining area where much to your horror, the whole crew was watching.
Dexter turned to Dani. “Pay up.”
Dani grumbled and began rummaging through her pockets.
“Oh my God,” you whispered, twisting away from their view while Tyler laughed, signaling for them to stop howling and cheering at what commenced after years of also talking among themselves how you and Tyler were bound to end up together.
“Let’s continue to talk about this later?” Tyler asked you, amused that your confidence dropped and was replaced by shyness, an occurrence that was rather rare.
“Yeah, okay.”
“You okay?”
You flashed him a glare. He wasn’t hiding the fact that he was enjoying this. “Yep.”
He smirked, giving you one last kiss. “I’m sleeping in your room tonight, alright?” he said then, not giving you the opportunity to react as he dashed back to his seat.
You blinked multiple times, dazed.
That certainly wasn’t in your 2024 bingo card.
gentle reminder: this author is a sucker for validation so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts about this! ♡
loved this so cuteeee 10/10!!! 🤍🤍
