SHE WILL BE LOVED || Bob Reynolds x female! reader ft. Joaquin Torres || PART FIVE
summary: Y/N decides to talk with Bob about what they have, but just when she was about to do it, he asks her if she wants to be his plus one for the office party at his work place. So she leaves aside all the insecurities that was beginning to form inside her to enjoy the evening with him.
But what she thought would be a night to remember, its soon turned into one that she wants to forget.
pairing: Bob Reynolds x female! reader. Joaquin Torres x female! reader.
tags: ANGST, Bob is a douchebag, cheating, Joaquin comes to the rescue fluff, reader being heartbroken, the moment you all been waiting for: the TRUTH of reader's and Bob's relationship; fighting, crying, heartbreak.
author's note: I know you've been waiting for this moment, and I can assure you that it'll break your hearts. But this is not the end, there's more to come 👀✨️
Its been days, and Y/N can't seem to be normal about the situation between her and Bob.
She feels frustrated. It's been eating her up inside, as a considerable distance seems to have grown between them. The same distance that arose when Bob started seeing Linda. The brunette also seemed to realize it, but he let it go, as if it didn't matter to him at all, and it hurt her that there was even the possibility that it could be like that.
The days that had passed had been key to Y/N of making the decision to talk to him about it, and finally understanding what they were and what they had between them. She didn't want to seem upset or pushy about it, but she wanted to be clear about things before starting a relationship with someone.
So one afternoon when they were at home, she was busy making some tea while Bob was texting with someone, a slight smile plastered on his face.
What was the reason that he was smiling like that?
Or rather, who?
Y/N needed to know.
The girl sit beside Bob, who turned off his cell phone instantly, leaving it aside and receiving the cup of tea that Y/N offered him with a small smile, although inside a ball of doubts and nerves accumulated in her chest. She approaches him and watches him sip the cup, in a silence that the girl wants to break right away.
"Its good. Thank you." Bob decides to talk, feeling the weight of the silence too. Or the tension that was beginning to form between them.
She gives him a smile in return, not reaching her eyes. The girl doesn't want to make this situation any more awkward than it already is, so she decides to open her mouth to speak, but Bob beats her to it. As if he knew what she was about to say.
"Bob..."
"Y/N, I need to tell you something."
That makes the girl's heart skip a beat, causing her to sit down more comfortably on the couch. Her head gets dizzy as she thinks about what he might want to talk about.
"Oh, uh, what is it?" she asks.
Bob turns his body to look directly at her, draping an arm around the back of the chair.
"I know we've been a bit distant these days," he begins, in a gentle tone. Y/N is grateful that he's also noticed the issue. "But work has been taking up my time and stressing me out. I haven't stopped working so that I could get that promotion I told you about."
She nods, remembering that Bob had told them months ago that he was working on a project to qualify for a better position at the office. They supported him from the start, with Y/N being the one who asked him how things were going every day and if he needed help, even though she had no idea what he was doing.
"Finally, I got it. I got promoted," the brunette confesses with a smile.
Y/N smiles and leans toward him, careful not to knock over the cup of tea he's still holding. Bob hugs her back, while carefully placing the cup on the coffee table, so he can envelop her with his arms.
"My God, Bob. Congratulations! I knew you'd make it!" the girl exclaims against his neck. Suddenly, the thought of talking to him vanishes as she feels proud of him.
"Thank you."
They separate from each other.
"And I wanted to asked you something."
Y/N looks at him, still with a genuine smile hanging from her lips, to let him continue.
"I want you to be my date for the party they'll have at the office, where they'll celebrate my promotion."
Her smile widens as she hears the question.
"As a date?"
Bob's expression falls for a moment, swallowing and shaking his head gently, as if the act itself had exposed him.
"Yeah, yeah."
Y/N hugs him again and when she is about to kiss him on the lips, Bob pretends hold her against his arms again to prevent their lips from connecting. The girl is still excited and proud of the news, so she doesn't notice the gesture. Nor does she notice Joaquin and Yelena entering the room; the pair had gone to do some shopping at the supermarket a while ago.
"Hey. So what's the situation here?" Yelena asks as she leaves the bags on the table.
"Bob got promoted!"
"What? That's awesome, dude!" Joaquin exclaims.
Both Yelena and Joaquin are excited and go to congratulate him with a hug and a pat on the back. They knew how hard he had worked for it, so his achievement made them happy.
"I say we should celebrate," the blonde points out, to which Y/N nods her head to agree. "Shall we get Chinese food to celebrate?"
"Yeah!"
Y/N responds immediately, and a laugh escapes Joaquin's lips at the sight of such happiness in her.
"Ok," Yelena claps her hands "I'm gonna go to buy the food while you set the table."
"Got it, boss." Joaquin says.
"I'll go with you." Y/N offers.
Before the girls leave the apartment, Y/N goes to kiss Bob's cheeks, while Joaquin just watches from afar.
The pair of friends fall silent after the door closes. The truth is, nothing has been the same between them since Y/N and Bob started getting closer. However, that didn't mean Joaquin had to completely ignore the brunette. He was his friend, after all.
"Hey," the dark-haired man offers his hand to shake Bob's, as a gesture of congratulations again. "Congratulations, man."
He smiles and nods, accepting his hand.
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
Joaquin smiles and moves to the kitchen table to continue with the shop bags, with a heaviness in his heart. While he's doing so, Bob receives a call, causing Joaquin to raise an eyebrow at how quickly Bob heads into the room. Unsure of what he'll do, Joaquin quietly follows him and places his ear near the door to listen to the conversation.
For days, he'd been curious to know who this person was who kept calling him so much and keeping him glued to his cell phone. With a smile plastered on his face. He thought it could be Y/N—because if it were him and she happened to call, he wouldn't let go of his phone either, and the smile wouldn't leave his lips throughout the entire conversation, even minutes after he called her. However, he was surprised when it wasn't her who was making those calls, and that was confirmed the night of the fair.
"Yeah, I got it."
Joaquin listens to Bob saying that.
"I"m really proud of you, I knew you could do it, Bobby!"
Bobby?
It sounded like a female voice.
"Thank you."
Joaquin watches through the half-open space of the door and catches a glimpse of Bob's shy smile as he looks at his cell phone.
"Listen I, uh, I wanted to talked to you, about us"
"What the hell?" Joaquin whispers to himself.
But before he can hear more, he feels his phone vibrates from his pants. With a last glance at the door, he goes to the living room to answer to Y/N's call.
While Bob keeps talking to a certain someone.
"Oh, yeah? What, uh, what is it?" Bob asks unsure, and starts pacing around the room.
"I miss you. And I want to try again, Bobby."
Bob feels his heart jump in his chest and a smile reaches his eyes. Even with the guilt consuming him, he can't help but feel the joy of hearing the woman on the other line say those words.
"Me too, Linda. I, uh, kinda never stopped loving you."
Yelena was helping Y/N style her hair so she'd be ready for the party. Nerves and excitement about the event had her getting ready early to accompany Bob. She'd picked out the perfect dress and matching heels that made her feel sophisticated yet casual for the celebration.
"Hair done," Yelena announces, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders.
When she looks in the mirror, she can't help but smile slightly at how beautiful she looks.
"You look gorgeous, darling." the blonde adds, looking her through the mirror reflection.
"Thank you. I do feel beautiful."
Y/N then stands up from her seat in front of the mirror to smooth the hem of her dress and let out a sigh before leaving the room with Yelena following her. As she reaches the living room, she notices Joaquin staring disinterestedly at the TV, while Bob is clumsily fixing his tie. As soon as the pair hear the girl's footsteps in high heels, they raise their gaze to look at her. Bob gives her a brief smile before continuing to fix his tie, while Joaquin stands frozen in place at how wonderful his friend and girl of his dreams looks. It's as if time has stopped for him—and while he always thought she looked beautiful in any outfit, tonight Y/N looked stunning.
He gulps as he gets up from the couch and approaches her, bumping into the armchair in the process.
"Shit," he curses in a whisper and then smiles at the girl, noticing how Yelena smirks faintly at the state of the boy "Damn, you look beautiful, angel. C'mon, let me aprecciate you better, uh?"
He gently takes her hand and twirls her around in place to show off her dress more, earning a shy laugh from her.
"Gorgeous." Yelena exclaims by their side.
"Damn right. You'll steal everyone's attention, sweetie." Joaquin adds, still holding the girl's hand "You look perfect."
"Thank you, Joaquin."
Then Bob approaches them, his tie still messed up.
"You look good, Y/N," he says sincerely, although without letting the compliments continue. "But we should go now."
Y/N nods and offers a smile to Yelena and Joaquin, who squint at Bob. The truth is, they noticed he was more nervous than usual tonight, and even though they loved him with all their hearts, they couldn't help but distrust him at the moment. It didn't seemed like Bob was nervous about the celebration itself, but something else.
"You got everything in your purse, sweetie?" Yelena asks the girl, who nods as a response "Lip gloss, mints, your phone?"
"Everything is here. Don't worry."
"If you need to call us or anything, we'll take the call inmediately, okay?" Joaquin lets her know, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you do. But I'll be with Bob, so don't worry about me to much." she says softly while following the brunnette to the door.
"Ok, then. Have a good time, guys," Yelena says with a crooked smile. Joaquin nods at her side, still staring at Y/N, as if he were a puppy watching its owner leave.
"Thanks," they both say.
And with that, they leave the apartment to head to Bob's car.
When the fresh New York air surrounds them, Y/N wraps her arms around him to stay somewhat warm, even though her arms are exposed. She waits for the brunette to open the door for her—a gentlemanly gesture she thinks all couples do before getting in the car. And although she knows she can open it herself, she can't help but want Bob to do it for her.
"You good? Or did you forget something?" he asks gently while opening the driver's door and seeing the girl suddenly stops in front of the car.
She shakes her head and laughs shortly.
"No, no. Everything good."
Bob smiles and gets inside the car.
Y/N can't help but feel dissapointed, but she tries to shake off the feeling by getting into the car on her own.
The drive is short to the place where Bob's work party was being held, and when they arrived Y/N opens the door watching Bob wait patiently for her to get out, not offering his hand as they walk inside. Her hands cling to her purse as they move past the people scattered around the dance floor, chatting and dancing with each other. A person bumps into her, causing her to almost tripped on her feet and grab onto Bob's arm, who gives her a brief glance before continuing to walk to his coworkers.
"Bob! The man of the night!"
One of his coworkers exclaims.
"Hey, guys." Bob waves at them.
Y/N stays glued to his side, with a shy smile on her face.
"Congratulations, man! You totally deserves this promotion."
A blonde guy hugs him.
After the gesture, the man raises an eyebrow at Y/N.
"Oh, and who's this pretty girl?"
Bob looks at her for a moment and his smile faltered briefly.
"Uh, John, this is, uh—"
The girl notices him struggle so she introduces herself, offering her hand to shake it with John. The man raises an eyebrow and throws a glance at Bob, who moves his head at him in return.
"Y/N," John repeats her name, clearing his throat "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, John."
After the brief introduction, the pair decides to go to order something to drink. Y/N seems proud of Bob —the spark in his eyes was something that the girl wanted to keep watching, specially the smile that lingers in Bob's face.
The doubts and growing insecurity that she was feeling these couple of days, was starting to fade when she get to spend this special moment for Bob as his partner. Now it didn't seemed necessary that they make official their relationship, because the girl felt special enough whenever Bob introduce her to his coworkers.
Although, she wasn't introduce as his girlfriend, but as a special someone that he couldn't imagine any other persone sharing the moment with.
Bob seemed nervous, even after giving his acceptance speech for his promotion. The girl wanted to think it was because they were so close while dancing, but she couldn't feel his heart beating fast against his chest as she leaned against it. Y/N lifts her chin to look at him and notices how his gaze wanders around the place —as if he was looking for something in particular.
She lifts her hand to caress his cheek, with a care that make the brunette startle from the soft touch.
"Bob, are okay?"
He nods his head frantically.
"Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
A nervous laugh escapes from his lips.
"Well, uh, you seem kinda... nervous?"
He sighs.
"I'm fine. It's just that I, uh, can't process all of this yet," he laughs nervously "It's like I've managed to achieve everything I set out to do, when I thought it would be impossible to even achieve, but still couldn't take it. As if... I don't deserve it. Crazy, right?"
Y/N understands him completely. There were moments in her life that make her feel like that too. And if it wasn't because she had him, Yelena and Joaquin by her side, she wouldn't be able to realize and accept those acomplishements as she should do.
"Don't doubt yourself, or your abilities," she tells him, still gently caressing his cheek. The touch now burns his skin "We'll always be proud of you— I will be proud of you. And we'll help realize how great and how you deserve only good things happening in your life."
He gulps at that.
And suddenly remembers his plan from the beginning of all this. Especially when his blue eyes catches the blonde hair of the girl who smiles at him and calls him with a seductive move of her finger.
Bob moves his hands away from the girl's waist, leaving her confused.
"I have to... go talk to someone important," he excuses himself, pointing behind him with his thumb. "But don't move, I'll be back soon."
"Okay..."
And the man disappears among the bodies of the other guests.
It's been 30 minutes since Bob left her by herself in the middle of the dance floor.
She didn't want to intrude the moment and conversation that Bob was supposedly having with 'important people' as he mentioned it, a while ago now.
With a sigh escaping from her lips, she decides to go and look for Bob —the girl even asks John if he saw him around, but the answer is negative. So she ends up walking through the halls that leads to other rooms of the place where it was being held the party. While doing that, Y/N dials Bob's contact to hear from him, but realizes that his phone is off.
Her steps takes her to the end of the hallway, where she soon hears whispers around the corner.
"I'm really proud of you, Bobby"
A female voice says.
Y/N frowns at the mention of Bob's name, who had not returned for a while, and moves her ear closer to the wall to listen to the conversation better. A following nervous laugh, similar to Bob's one, is heard by her.
"Thanks. I can't really thank you enough for always being supportive of me, even when we, you know, decided to break up." he says in a soft voice.
Y/N bites her lip, still with a frown.
"Well, that we can change."
Silence.
But it's soon broken by the sound of lips moving against each other.
The girl decides to watch the scene in front of her and can't help but let out a gasp, that causes both of them to separate from each other and look towards Y/N. The brunette opens his eyes just like a dear being caught, and inmediately moves to approach her, but Y/N is already escaping to the nearest exit.
She feels stupid, humiliated, dumb and...
Why would that happened?
How could Bob be capable of doing something like that and play with her feelings?
Her heart, now shattered in pieces.
She doesn't allow the tears to roll down her cheeks, yet. Once the girl is outside of the place, she pulls out her phone and dials Yelena, who answers in a second.
"Cutie pie, how are...?"
"Can you please come and pick me up?"
"Yeah, yeah. But, what happened? Are you okay?" Yelena asks from the other line.
Y/N closes her eyes for a moment, and can hear the voice of Joaquin asking what's wrong.
"I just... I need to go."
"Ok. What— Wait, Joaquin. Are you...?" the blonde girl sighs, at the same time that the door closing can be heard on the background "Listen, Joaquin will be there in a minute, ok?"
Y/N nods, although Yelena can't see her.
"Whatever it happened, will be alright. Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, darling. Joaquin will arrive soon. Text me or call me if you need to. I'll answer in a second."
"Thanks. Bye."
Tears run down the girl's cheeks.
And it happens for a while until she sees Joaquin getting out of the car. He runs to her as he watches Y/N's state, and inmediately envelops her in a hug. She can't help the sobs that escape from her lips.
Joaquin clenches his jaw and lays a hand on Y/N's nape to let her know he's there and not gonna move until she's ready to explain what happened. His mind thought of Bob, and where could he possibly be right now —and if he's the cause of her tears.
"It's okay, angel. I got you."
She keeps crying and Joaquin's heart breaks a little as he hears the girl. She never broke down like that, and he hoped that she never would, because seeing her like that now, was something that he hated with his gut.
And once he found out the reason of her in that state...
"Y/N."
Bob finally approaches them.
Y/N clings to Joaquin's body and buries her face in his chest, subtly shaking her head. The dark-haired man instantly understands the girl's silent pleas and glares at Bob, who looks guilty.
"Joaquin, I... I can explain. It's just..."
Joaquin shakes his head and closes his eyes for a brief moment to contain the urge to punch his dumb friend on the face.
"No, not right now."
Bob lets out a nervous sigh.
"Please, just..."
"Shut the fuck up, Bob!"
Bob goes quiet and gulps the guilt that slowly consumes him.
"Please," Y/N whimpers and Joaquin lowers his gaze to connect his eyes with hers that are filled with tear "I wanna go home, Joaquin. I can't be here anymore."
He nods and still keeps her in his arms.
"We'll go home, angel."
Joaquin leads her towards his car ignoring the pleas of Bob. The black haired man makes sure that once the girl is inside the car, he turns to see the brunette.
"I didn't wanted to believe it at first."
"Joaquin, it just —It got out of hands..."
Bob tries to explain but Joaquin interrupts him.
"Don't fucking make excuses, Robert!" he bursts against his so called friend.
Bob's lips tremble.
"You broke her fucking heart. Maybe she will forgive you, because, fuck, she's a goddamm angel."
Joaquin says with a firm voice.
"I know we're friends and I love you," he continues "But right now, be sure, Robert Reynolds, that I'll never forgive you for this."
And after that, Joaquin goes inside the car and drives away from the view of Bob, who can't help but feel as a horrible human being.
I know I've been absent and haven't publish in a while —specially for the "she will be loved" serie, but I haven't got enough time due to university and work. Although, I promise I'm finishing writing the chapter 5, and once it's done I'll publish it inmediately <33
Tell me in the comments if you wanna be on the tag list, to let you know when the chapter is ready 💌
It’s nearly 12am where I am but I saw you posted part 4 and I just had do read it! And AAAAAARGH my insides are twisting and curdling >-<
I have been team bob from the start but c’mon!!!!! WHAT THE HELL MAN. He can’t get away with this… I hope he doesn’t get back with Linda AND realises how much of a jerk he’s been. A COMPLETE FOOL AND JERKY JERK WHO is gonna HURT THE READER who deserveS BETTER T~T
Omg!! Thank you so much!! And yeah, he's a fool for doing that, but there's more to come and maybe he can realize that before it's too late....
she will be loved || bob reynolds x fem! reader ft. platonic! joaquien torres || PART 4
summary: Bob seems to be getting closer to Y/N, who feels shy and like a girl with a high school crush around him again. When everythings seems to good to be true, the reality does it's thing again.
pairing: bob reynolds x female! reader, joaquin torres x female! reader.
tags: angsttt, fake relationship trope?, pinning, still one sided love, jealous! Joaquin, pb&jj finally in the same universe, Peter making an entrance, reader being oblivious, fluff.
author's note: This is chapter 4 and we're moving on fast!! Honestly, I still can't believe your love for this serie and I would never stop saying how grateful I'm for it. On the other side, I know Bob is kinda of an asshole in this one, but there's more to come. So I hope you enjoy it and comment what you think <3
New York's weather was dropping steadily, and the leaves on the trees were turning orange. Central Park was adorned with trees of those leaves, causing the sunlight to make the landscape almost like a work of art, one you had to stop and appreciate for a moment.
Y/N walked slowly with Bob at her side, who had offered to go for a walk after work. On Fridays, she, Bob, and Joaquin usually left work early. In Yelena's case, she used to help her father Alexei at the bar, under the pretext that they gave good tips—which was true, but deep down, the blonde longed to spend quality father-daughter time with him.
Back with the pair of lovebirds, they wandered through the streets on their way home. Bob had told her to take the long way home, passing by the city's public library. Y/N was confused as to why he was so caught up in the idea of stopping by there, but she didn't give it any more thought as soon as the brunette bought her an ice cream in return.
"Let me try your ice cream," Bob asks, starting to move his spoon toward hers. Y/N gestures to move it away in amusement, to which he opens his mouth indignantly with a slight smirk creeping on his face. "Oh, c'mon! Don't be selfish."
"I would never be selfish, but I told you to get this flavor. It's the best one in the shop." she shrugs.
"Come on, just one taste and that's it."
They both stop, and Bob stares at her. Y/N rolls her eyes in amusement and hands him some of her ice cream, which he scoops out with his small spoon and tastes the chocolate chip flavor.
He nods.
"Yeah, I should've listen to you."
She smiles and takes another bite of her ice cream.
"You wanna try mine?" he asks, to which she nods inmediately.
Bob hands her a spoon with a small scoop of ice cream, and she accepts it.
"Not as good as mine, but it's delicious."
They both laugh, falling into that familiar feeling spread through their chests.
They'd been hanging out frequently as friends for a while now, but some of Bob's actions confused Y/N. They used to eat at the same restaurant, frequented the same places every time—like now, outside the public library. Of course, those weren't the actions that confused them, but rather when Bob intertwined their fingers as they crossed the street, or when he brushed the strands of hair behind her ear, or when he hugged her around the waist.
Before the whole Linda and him thing happened, he wasn't that physically affectionate with her. Sometimes it was just a sideways hug, or a gentle pat on her back, or holding her arm, but nothing more. Certain affectionate actions that screamed that they were just friends. But she felt differently. And her heart was starting to remember the feeling she'd had for him from the beginning. And she didn't want to get her hopes up.
But it was impossible when Bob brought his thumb to the corner of Y/N's lips to remove an ice cream stain that she didn't even know she had. Her heart stops for a second and then beat more strongly. Scarlet heat spread across her cheeks, and the feeling that was envolving her prevented the girl from seeing that Bob looked up for a moment to look across the street, where Linda was staring back at him with a frown, the whole scene.
Bob smirks slightly and then returns his gaze to the girl in front of him, who was suddenly feeling shy under his eyes.
"I always make a mess eating ice cream," she laughs nervously, looking down.
Bob lifts her chin with one hand and places his fingers on her cheek.
"I think you still have a little ice cream left," he frowns slightly, pretending to notice a small detail, and fixes his gaze on her lips.
"Really, where?"
"Here."
And what he does isn't expected.
Neither is for she, nor is for Linda. Who continues to watch the scene intently.
Their lips connect in a soft kiss, leaving Y/N shocked, but after a few seconds, she lets herself be carried away by the act. Bob takes the girl's waist, careful not to stain his jacket with the remaining ice cream, while Y/N doesn't know where to put her hands, because of the ice cream and because it had caught her off guard.
Once they separate, both he and Y/N are surprised by the kiss. However, the girl was still somewhat bewildered and unaware of the sudden action, but she couldn't deny that she felt dizzy and a shy smile appeared on her lips, letting illusion and hope invade her once again. In Bob's place, he did know what he was doing, and although he felt horrible for doing what he was doing to her, he couldn't deny the satisfaction he felt when he saw Linda's jealous face, who had vanished from the place.
The brunette was sure that Linda and would get back together. Because he knew that when two people were meant to be, fate would pull the strings to make it happen. Only Bob was also helping to speed up the process.
"What was that, Bob?"
A process that would hurt in the end. For both of them.
Bob swallows to remove the horrible feeling of guilt that spreads through his chest, and to completely dispel it, he focuses on his thumb that caresses the girl's cheek adorned with a reddish color. In his head, he tries to find the right words to give a clear and precise explanation, while she looks at him dearly.
"I don't know. But I just needed to do it," he lied. The man maintains his touch, but this time it feels as if he's burning the girl's skin with the lie that spills from his lips. However, that doesn't stop him from extending that "I've been wanting to do this lately. Is it wrong?"
Y/N frowns slightly and shakes her head slowly. "It's just... weird."
And it was true.
Even though her heart had rejoiced in her chest at the kiss she'd been waiting for so long, she didn't fully feel the butterflies in her stomach. But she decides to bury that feeling and smiles delightedly.
"But I liked it."
Bob mimics the gesture and lets out a small laugh.
"Me too."
Another lie that will condemn him for life.
Because although it was a nice kiss, his stomach still hurt more and more for lying to her like that.
"I don't wanna rush things. Hell, I don't even know what's getting up to me," he lets out a laugh "But I know I wanna discover whatever this is with you."
Y/N bites her lip to prevent another smile escaping, but it can be stopped. Deep in her heart, a doubt suddenly invades her, and it has to do with a certain third person he was meeting. Although some time has passed, she can't help but wonder if that chapter has been completely over, but when Bob's eyes look at her like that, those thoughts vanish.
"I would like that too."
Suddenly the ice cream is long forgotten in their hands, without realizing that it's totally melted. The only thing relevant right now it' the feeling of their fingers interwined. And the girl's excitement, at finally starting to feel what it's like to be in a relationship with him, was consumimg her slowly. Well, if they've even started one with Bob. Because this was only a kiss, right?
And even though she'd insisted on forgetting what she'd felt for him at the time, the girl couldn't deny how excited she felt. She'd definitely have to talk to Yelena and Joaquin about it.
Oh, Joaquin.
The same one who had been such an unconditional support when the girl had been through a rough time—she wondered if he was disappointed in her, and the thought gnawed at her the entire walk home.
Joaquin frowned as he tried to turn the tool over and over.
He couldn't concentrate after the news that took him by surprise that day, especially after seeing Y/N arrive hand in hand with Bob. While he had seen the pair of friends before the whole thing happened, now it looked different. It felt different. And when they said they were trying to start something between them, something still couldn't quite work in Joaquin's head about it. After everything that had happened, everything they'd said, something was off.
When they had announced it to Yelena and Joaquin, the second one noticed Y/N's gaze, and a sparkle reappeared in her eyes, one that he was getting used to seeing lately, and it was no longer for him, but for Bob. He hadn't reacted at all. He only deigned to smile slightly and nod his head, and it was an attitude that Y/N instantly noticed.
Back in the work, Sam was the first to notice Joaquin's change in attitude the next day after that at the mechanic shop. It was noon, and the dark-haired man still hadn't thrown a joke or bothered him or Bucky. He hadn't even wanted to continue the conversation with Peter about yesterday's game. Bucky had noticed it too, but he preferred Joaquin to be the one to approach them and talk about it; he didn't want to make him feel pressured at all. On the other hand, Peter decided to intervene.
The boy, close to his age, knew he was eager to spill what was happening to him, but he preferred to avoid it. So without further ado, he approached him, wiping his hands with a rag soiled by car grease.
"Joaquin, we know you're not fine" Peter says refering him, Sam and Bucky "I know you're not completely fine."
The aforementioned man stops his actions and frowns as he shrugs, then shakes his head.
"I'm fine. Why do you say that?"
"Because you've turned the same tool more than twenty times without really doing anything," he points out, and the dark-haired man lowers his gaze, putting the tool aside.
Joaquin sighs heavily and sits with his back to the hood of the car.
"I'm sorry. I'm just tired." he lies, but Peter can see through him right away.
"That's a lie, and you and I both know it."
The black-haired boy rolls his eyes and looks at his brown-haired friend, who raises his eyebrows waiting for him to tell him what his real issue is.
"Is this because of the Bob and Y/N thing?" he ventures to ask.
"How do you...? Did Johnny tell you?"
"Hey, don't blame for that. I thought you were gonna tell me first and not Johnny" the boy lifts his hand and shakes his head.
Joaquin bites his lip and finally nods his head.
"Yeah. It's about them," he admits with a sigh and touches his neck trying to release some of the tension that was beginning to form in that area "I just can't... process that yet. It feels so... weird. I know he's my friend and I love him like a brother, but from one day to another he's head over heels for her? Or at least that's what it looks like."
Peter shrugs and puts his lips in a line, while crossing his arms.
"What did you say to them?"
Joaquin lifts his gaze from the floor to the boy.
"I didn't. And I feel bad because of it, because even thought I can hardly believe it, I still wanna let her be happy. But then I think: wait a minute, wasn't he the one who hurt her by starting to date another girl? So why he suddenly....?" Joaquin runs his hands over his face, trying to organize his thoughts and find a logical explanation for the situation "God, I can't even explain myself."
"Then don't." Peter states and sits besides him "Look, I'm sure they're going to explain whatever it's going on between them at some point, but it's been two days since they barely announced it. If there's anything at all."
"Two days and I'm loosing my freaking mind here" Joaquin spats standing up and shaking his head "I should've listen to Johnny when he said I should fight for her love."
This is like a deja vu for Joaquin. The conversation he had with Johnny last time in the park, and how he was going to fight for her love, seemed to be in vain now. Now, in just a couple of days, his friends seemed to have already made a move and start something without even giving Joaquin a chance to win his friend's heart.
"But you shouln't fight for love. Just feel it and let it be." Peter says.
The black-haired man thinks about how absurd that moment in his life sounds at that very moment—it's as if he's in a movie where he's the second main love interest and the friend who supports his friend unconditionally, even though it hurts inside. He doesn't want to feel that way, and he won't, he thinks to himself.
He may be selfish and all, but he's sure of one thing.
"She's worth fighting for. Even if that makes me sound like a stupid."
Peter smiles slightly at his friend.
The conversation couldn't go further because Bucky arrived with a faint smile on his face in the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but someone came to see you, Joaquin."
Sam appears behind Bucky, eating a chocolate chip cookie. Joaquin's brow furrows slightly, and his heart skips a beat as he recognizes such a sweet treat, now devoured by the man.
"And she brought lunch for us." Sam adds with a smirk.
Suddenly, he notices the girl slowly appearing next to Sam. A shy smile appears on her lips, and she raises a hand to wave at them. Peter returns the gesture and notices how Bucky's head nod towards their direction to leave the pair alone, he instantly catches the hint and moves his head.
"Right..., I need to work on something... on the office with Bucky...," Peter babbles and moves to leave the place, not without gently patting Joaquin on the back to encourage him.
"See you, guys!"
The pair are left alone, the only sound they can hear is the ticking of the clock on the wall. The girl approaches him with a small bag in her hand. Y/N senses Joaquin wants to say something, but doesn't, so decides to intervene.
"I brought cookies," she announces, trying to break the silence.
Y/N sits down next to Joaquin, asking with her eyes if she can do it, to which he nods, stepping aside to give her space. She hates the feeling of distance having formed between them, and seems to have an idea why that might be. Joaquin knew how she'd been silently suffering when Bob had started with Linda, and he'd insisted on helping her turn the page, so the girl felt guilty and ashamed that she'd fallen again that easily.
On the other hand, Joaquin hated the tension that was starting to grow —especially because it shouln't have to exist in the first place. He was her rommate and friend, and he should support her no matter what. So with a small sigh leaving his lips, he decides to speak, at the same time she does too.
"So..."
"I'm...."
They both look at each other directly in their eyes and share a laugh.
"Go on, darling. I'll listen."
Always a gentleman, she thought to herself, and couldn't help but smile.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry."
Joaquin frowns and turns his body towards the girl to hear and see her better.
"Why are you sorry for, angel?"
"I know I must look like a fool now that I'm, uh," she stops and moves her head trying to find the right word to describe the situationship with Bob "Kinda being with Bob?"
Joaquin stays silent to let her continue.
"It's just that I, well, you helped me trying to move on from this silly crush and suddenly I fall all over again, so..."
She shakes her head and blushes embarassed.
"The thing is that I, uh, feel like I dissapoint you, and Yelena and I'm— And I'm sorry."
Y/N lowers her head and and fixes her on the bag of cookies in her lap.
"Hey, hey. No, baby." Joaquin cups his hands on her cheeks, making her look back into his eyes.
His thumb gently brushes her cheek, giving her a light caress.
"You could never let us down," he declares firmly. Then, he brushes a strand of hair that fell across her forehead behind her ear.
"Love works in strange ways, and it's never the same as we imagine it, really. And if you started feeling things for him again," Joaquin swallows, feeling a weight on his chest as soon as he says it, but he masks it with a small smile. "You don't have to feel ashamed or stupid about it. Don't think that just because I helped you get over it and you suddenly fell again, you'd have to apologize to me. Not at all. I'll always support you in whatever you need."
She smiles tenderly at him and moves her hand to his wrist to thank him with soft caresses, causing the boy melt inside.
"But if you decide to rob a bank or anything like that, don't count me in, uh?"
That earns a laugh from the girl and Joaquin looks at her delighted. Then, their hands start playing with each other's one.
"Thank you."
Joaquin shakes his head and puts his arm around her to let her head rest in his shoulder.
"Don't need to thank me. But I'll take a cookie for it."
She laughs and gives him one. Suddenly, they fall into their usual dynamic while eating the cookies she bake herself.
And just peeking through the small gap between the door, Bucky, Sam, and Peter are witnessing the moment.
"I'm telling you, they're going to end up together," Sam declares with confidence in his tone.
"I believe it. He's already completely crazy about her, she just need to realize it. And I hope it's soon." Bucky continues.
"She will," Peter confirms.
Y/N couldn't have felt happier.
She'd had more moments with Bob so far, and that filled her heart, allowing herself to fall for him again. They had gone to the theater together, to coffee shops, and even to the public library a couple of times, and it had become a pretty frequent spot for both of them. She liked it when they went out and walked hand in hand, as if showing the world they were together. Although Bob hadn't officially asked her to be his girlfriend yet, and they almost never spent time together at home.
It was as if they, more like him, didn't feel the need to be together at home—Bob especially tended to pass up plans Y/N suggested, like watching a movie or cooking together. The brunette excused himself by saying it was late and that he was tired and had to get up early.
Now was one of those times.
Y/N had been making spaghetti since it had been her and Bob's favorite from the start, and although it hadn't turned out that extravagant, it still tasted good. Joaquin was still at the his work place and would be there for a while. Meanwhile, Yelena was locked in the room with Kate, doing who knows what, but they were in their own world. Finally, Y/N was in the living room setting the table, she heard the sound of keys ringing, and her heart leaped in her chest. The girl lifted her head as she saw Bob walk in.
"Hey, Bobby," Y/N called from the kitchen, and he barely mumbled a greeting.
He left his things by the door before closing it and then walking over to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water. She approached him, hoping he would greet her with a kiss, but as she realized that wasn't gonna happen, the girl decided to do it. Bob frooze in his place, feeling weird about it.
She knew he wasn't very good at showing affection like that, but she believed that if she show it to him, he would start doing it eventually. Although, the girl crave that touch and didn't wanna have to ask him.
"I made spaghetti and was thinking we could have a movie marathon," she said, playing with the fingers of Bob's hand.
The boy felt a guilty tingle in the area, so he pulled away instantly, leaving the girl confused.
"That's a very nice gesture, but I'm not hungry. I'm kind of tired." He came up with that excuse again.
Y/N just smiled and let it go. But couldn't help but feel dissapoint it.
The next time was when they went to the fair a few blocks down the street. Yelena was with Kate, and Joaquin was with Johnny, who happen to be in that place at the moment and decided to stick with them. And Y/N was with Bob. The latter pair seemed more distant than the rest.
Y/N walked around looking at the stalls while slightly swinging her arms, hoping Bob would intertwine their fingers, but nothing. He kept walking with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. And when she finally decide to put her hand in his forearm, it only last a couple of seconds before he pretended to cough in his arm.
"Sorry. Allergies."
She laughs shortly and lowers her gaze to the floor, feeling embarassed by the action of the man beside her.
The group keep walking towards one of the stalls to play a game. It's one where they have to knock down soda cans with a small ball to get a prize. Y/N scans with her eyes the various plush toys and stops at one of a monkey holding flowers. It strikes her as funny and cute at the same time, and she wants to have it. Then, tugs at Bob's sleeve to tell him how cute the toy is.
"Look, that one is cute."
Bob looks at the toy and smiles, shaking his head.
"Yeah. It looks fun," he agrees.
"Step aside, newbies," Johnny says, stepping in front of them with a confident gesture. "I'll show you how it's done."
The rest of them stare at him expectantly as he gets ready. Joaquin stands next to Y/N with his hands in his pockets, and Y/N smiles at him when she senses his presence.
"I bet he only knocks down three," Joaquin says.
She looks at him and shakes her head in amusement.
The blond boy pretends to shrug his shoulders and snap his fingers to get ready. Then he looks over his shoulder at the others, winking.
"This one's for the ladies."
"Oh, boy," Yelena murmurs with amusement in her tone, while Kate smiles.
When he throws the ball, Johnny misses.
"I had more faith in him," Joaquin murmurs.
The rest of them continues playing, and so far, Yelena has won two stuffed animals for Kate, Johnny has bribed the stallholder to give him one —which for their surprise worked out. And Y/N has tried twice to win the monkey, but she couldn't.
Dejected, she turns to see Bob, who seems to be busy on a phone call. The girl waves to him to see if he wants to try, but he shakes his head and says he'll follow them in a moment. To say that she wasn't dissapointed was a complete lie —Y/N was hoping that the brunette would win a prize for her, just like the couples do when it comes to go to this fairs. With a last look at the stuffed animal, she walks over to Bob when she notices that he ended the call.
"Guys! Are you coming? We're going to get some popcorns." Kate yells at the distance, hand to hand with Yelena, who carries the two big stuffed bears in her arms.
"Yeah! We're coming." Y/N answers, then turns to see Bob to interwined their hands together. She offers her hand and he lowers his gaze "We better hurry if we want to catch them and not lost them in the crowd."
Bob nods and lets out a nervous laugh, without taking her hand yet. He feels Joaquin gaze on him, and finally accepts her hand to not look that suspicious.
"Joaquin, let's go."
The black haired man nods.
"Yeah, i'll catch you guys later. I'm going to do something before."
"Okay." she says, smiling at him.
The group gathers around eating popcorn.
Y/N feels a chill run down her spine as a breeze accompanies them. She looks up and notices Yelena hugging Kate, and Johnny straightens his scarf while continuing to munch on his popcorns. Y/N instinctively gets closer to Bob, expecting him to wrap his arms around her, like he used to when he saw her trembling. But this time, he doesn't react and keep eating his candy.
She's confused by how Bob has been behaving lately and it doesn't feel like they are something at all, or at least trying to be—after the kiss, she'd thought it would be different, like holding hands without prompting, hugs that filled her, or sweet words to each other, but she never received anything in return from Bob. It was just her doing all that. And trying.
"Hey." she starts saying to Bob, who inmediately looks at her "Are you okay?"
He frowns while shaking his head to confirm that nothing's wrong with him.
"Of course I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"I just, uh, I feel like..." the word hangs from her lips, because Bob's cellphone rings.
He stands up to take the call as soon as he sees the name of the contact on the screen.
"I'm sorry. I just need to take this, but we can talk later. I promise."
Y/N lets him do it, feeling a small feeling of disappointment spread through her chest. Yelena immediately notices her friend's change of attitude and asks with her eyes if she's okay. The girl nods, faking a smile so as not to worry her, but the blonde knows her very well and is confident that she won't let the conversation end there.
After a while, Joaquin suddenly arrives, hands behind his back, and sits next to Y/N.
"Where have you been?" Johnny asks.
The black-haired man shrugs with a small smile.
"Over there. Trying to win this little friend here," he replies, showing the monkey plush Y/N had been eyeing for a while in the game booth.
Her eyes light up instantly, and Joaquin couldn't be more delighted to see them like that.
"Oww, is that for me?" Johnny jokes, reaching for the plush, but grimaces as soon as the other takes it away from him.
"You already have yours," Joaquin explains, then looks at Y/N and hands it to her. "But I see someone here came up empty-handed and kept staring at this stuffed animal while we were playing."
"Aww, it's so cute!" Kate explains with a sweet voice.
Y/N takes the stuffed monkey in her hands and beams at Joaquin, who can't erase the smile on his face.
"You win it for me?"
He nods and hums.
"You seemed to like it, so I just have to get it to you. Hope you like it, hermosa."
"Thank you."
She holds the monkey with care and doesn't seem to want to let it go. A sweet emotion spreads through her chest and her heart leaps. Joaquin then lifts his gaze and tries to find his other friend.
"Where's Bob?"
"He had to take a call" Y/N tells him.
"Lately he's been taking a lot of calls." he mumbles.
The black haired man finds his friend with his gaze and notices how he can't contain the big smile plastered on his face. Lately, he's been seeing how he beams whenever he receives a call, but doesn't know from whom, nor why.
But he's noticed how he sometimes leaves Y/N aside to answer his phone. And how he doesn't reciprocate her hugs or soft touches—which is something that he craves to receive from Y/N.
And something inside Joaquin tells him that the reason might be something that he doesn't want to even think about it could be. And that reason has name. A female name that just a while ago was hanging with them at the play that night.
she will be loved || (rommates au! bob reynolds x reader ft. joaquin torres) | PART 3
summary: Y/N has slowly managed to put herself back together realizing the harsh truth: Bob's not into her. But just when she thought she was making progress, Bob decides to act strangely affectionate toward her.
pairing: bob reynolds x reader, joaquin torres x platonic! reader.
tags: fluff, angstyyy (sorry), long chapter, Johnny Storm making an entrance in this one, Bob finally coming to his senses?, reader being hopeless, slightly flirty Joaquin, linda's kinda of a b*ch, pb&jj being more closer that you think, jealous! Joaquin, little plot twist that could wreck your hearts, tiny mentions of Sam and Bucky.
author's note: hello there! honestly, you guys are awesome and it's so nice to see the support and love you give to this story <333 as a way to say thank you for that i decided to write a long chapter with a lot twists and fluff moments; enjoy!!!!
It's been difficult, but Y/N has been able to bear the thought that Bob was dating someone.
In the days since, she's cleared her mind and kept her distance from Bob—now the pair didn't talk much about the things they used to, but they still talked throughout the day. They no longer stayed up late at night having movie marathons and eating candy, a habit they always promised to improve because of how unhealthy it was, but they always put it off, as it had become a tradition for them. The spot that was always reserved for Bob on the table while they eat dinner or have lunch or just be together, the four of them, was now taken by Joaquin.
The charming and wonderful man who was helping her move on. Besides Yelena, who always gave her a shoulder to cry on if she needed it and a few words of encouragement, or simply a friend to listen to her, the black-haired boy had taken it upon himself to help her sort and collect the pieces of her heart one by one. Y/N was still in the process of doing so, but he was sure she would achieve it sooner rather than later.
"Good morning, angel"
The voice of Joaquin makes her gasp at his sudden appearance in the kitchen.
"Don't do that again" she warns playfully at the man. Who lets out a small laugh at the girl's reaction and his steps move until he gets closer to her "I'm making pancakes, you want some?"
Their shoulders brush as he rests his palms on the counter, giving the girl a look as if to say are you kidding me.
"C'mon, cariño. You're killing me with that" he pouts and nudges her shoulder playfully, to which the girl simply nudges him back with a small smile on her face "You know me well enough to know that the answer will always be yes to your pancakes"
As soon as she hears that, the girl feels pride swell in her chest, and she takes charge of flipping the last pancakes she had left to make.
"Coffee with milk and two sugars, angel?"
She nods and answers with a simple yes, please, her gaze still fixed on the pan in front of her. And she can't resist to think of how observant he is for remember her usual. Joaquin, meanwhile, takes charge of taking cups from the cupboard above Y/N's head, moving closer to the girl, causing him to place a hand on her lower back for balance. Or something like that. The girl feels a warmth spread through the area that Joaquin touched with a gentle gesture, which then spreads to her cheeks.
Y/N felt a slight tingling in her stomach at what had happened, but she thought it was just because she was hungry that morning. Joaquin, on the other hand, suppressed a smile when he saw her blushing like a tomato at the gesture he dared to make. He'd had those innocent, without second intentions touches with Y/N before, even with Yelena, and he always made sure they felt comfortable enough with it. A friendly gesture, nothing more. And Joaquin was a clingy and touch starved person, who couldn't resist to express their affection in that way. And when it come in terms of loving someone, he was an expert in that aspect. It was his way of expressing his love and care for that person. Kinda his love language.
But this touch felt different. And both of them feel it that way.
But, then again, they were just friends with Y/N.
Once the pancakes are done and the coffee is boiling from their cups, they both sit at the table, waiting while they eat for their other two friends to get out of bed at some point.
"So, how's everything going on with Jessie?" Y/N asks while she puts honey on her pancakes.
Joaquin shrugs and drinks a sip of his coffe.
"It's definitely not going on, at all."
She frowns and lifts his gaze from her plate.
"What do you mean?"
Joaquin sighs and shakes his head.
"Things just didn't work out. She's cute, yes, but I just couldn't find that connection," he replies, playing with the handle of his mug.
The dark-haired man's gaze falls for a moment, shaking his head in a dejected gesture. Y/N pouts and places her hand on his, causing him to immediately raise his head to look into her eyes.
"I'm sure you're closer to finding that connection with that special someone," she replies, giving him an encouraging smile "And maybe what i'm about to tell you can sound cliche and annoying, but i'll come when you least expect it."
Joaquin swallows and feels a tingle in his hand as he feels the softness of Y/N's hand against his. He smiles and interwined his hands with hers.
"You always amaze me with how comforting your words and you are," he replies, causing a tender smile appear in the girl's lips. He always find a way to make her smile and feel appreciated "Besides, i think i have feelings for someone else."
This makes her open her eyes wider than usual and curious about this person Joaquin is talking about. As far as she knows, there's no one at his work place who's he been talking about with her and the rest of their friends. It was just Sam and Bucky, who works with him in the mechanical workshop.
Then again, no woman around the place. And she dismisses the idea that he might like a boy, because Joaquin himself has declare that he finds some guys handsome, but that he wouldn't date them.
"Really?" she scoots closer to him, not realizing that both of their hands are still interwined "May i know who is this special person? You never told us anything."
He lets out a laugh.
"Let's just keep it a secret, in that way the mystery remains," Joaquin plays with the rim of his cup with his free hand, debating how to say the next thing, because he can't risk being so specific with the answer. "Let's just say she's wonderful, inside and out, and as long as she's with me —if things work out, of course, she will be loved."
Y/N grimaces and lets it go for now, and when the time comes, he'll tell her who it is.
"Good morning."
Bob enters the room, breaking the moment they had. The gaze of the brunette falls at both of their hands interwined, making him wonder why they're suddenly so close. As far as he can tell—and from what he remembers of their history as friends, he's never seen that kind of approach between her and Joaquin. Y/N seems to notice the linger gaze in their hands, so she pulls her hand away from Joaquin's, pretending to fix her hair, suddenly missing the touch. Joaquin can only smile slightly, because he doesn't blame her —he understands it's still difficult for her to move on, although it's been a progress for the girl.
"Morning, man." Joaquin says.
"Good morning, Bob."
It was no longer Bobby.
The brunette sits next to Y/N and sees the pancakes on the table, knowing she made them. He takes some out and starts eating.
"Your pancakes always turn out so good, Y/N," he says with a smile.
"Thank you," she replies, frowning at him.
Especially after feeling the brunette's hand brush a strand of hair that fell across her forehead. Even Joaquin stops his actions to figure it out what's gotten into him this morning. It had been weeks since they'd spoken much, and Bob had been spending most of his time with Linda since, but today it seemed as if he was acting as if it had never happened. And as if he was trying too hard.
But for what?
"You feeling okay, man?" Joaquin asks, ignoring the annoyance he feels when he sees the boy's gesture.
Bob grimaces and nods.
"I'm fine." he responds and then eats another pancake "Oh, right, i almost forget it; Y/N, there's a new..."
"Hello my beautiful assholes, and Y/N cutie," Yelena appears in the room, earning a smile from Y/N at her nickname, and rolling eyes from Joaquin and Bob "Uhh, pancakes. Love them. Scoot, scoot."
Joaquin moves away, causing Yelena to be between him and Y/N, losing the opportunity to stay close to Y/N. The blonde starts eating the pancakes, moaning at hiw good they were.
"Best pancakes ever. Don't say that to Kate, though."
The table laughs at that, except for Bob who wants to keep talking to Y/N. It seems that the guy has something in his mind.
"So, Y/N as i was saying," Bob continues talkin to the girl, who looks at him now "There's a new restaurant and i was wondering if you wanted to come with me."
The entire table freezes, with Yelena stopping chewing and Joaquin nearly spitting out his coffee. For her part, Y/N feels her heart skip a beat in her chest, returning to that feeling of hope she thought she'd buried.
What was going on?
She said yes.
After a long conversation with Yelena and herself, she'd decided to accompany Bob. She'd told herself it would be so they could catch up and rekindle that closeness they'd had before Linda came into the picture. But deep down, she still felt those butterflies caused by the man, and the girl hated herself for how naive she felt.
A few days had passed where Bob was always trying to be around Y/N and making sure she was okay, preparing her tea when the temperature dropped and making sure to ask her how her day had been. The girl thought it was kinda weird to see how Bob was acting towards her. Although, she felt grateful to have her friend back.
Joaquin and Yelena, on the other part —despite loving and appreciating Bob, thoght it was all very strange so suddenly. His change made them wonder what has gotten to him, still. But they let it pass, because it was good to feel like everything never changed.
The night arrived and Y/N was choosing what to wear for her date with Bob.
As friends. Just friends.
She'd dressed up enough to feel seen and good about herself. As they were about to leave, both Yelena and Joaquin told her how beautiful she looked, and even Bob, this time, was able to say it too. Because that's what the man truly thought.
When they arrived at the restaurant, she noticed how elegant it looked, and the dimly lit room gave the impression of a comfortable and quiet place to spend the evening. Bob and she headed to a table, and when the brunette said it had to be that table in specific, using the excuse that they had a good view of the street through the window, she just accept it, because it was a nice view after all.
Bob starts the conversation while his eyes keeps wander around. He seemed nervous, and Y/N noticed that.
"Are you okay?" she tenderly asks.
He frowns a little and then nods and gives her a small smile.
"I'm fine. I just feel like I have so much to say and I don't know how to say it to you at the same time," he begins, taking Y/N's hand, causing her to blush. "I guess I have to start with an apology."
She frowns.
"I'm sorry i just dumped you the moment I started dating Linda. You and the guys. And I feel bad about that because you guys were always there, and I knew you'd been waiting for that premiere for so long." he says with a sincere tone.
She shakes her head.
"Hey, it's okay. It's in the past now."
Bob smiles when he feels Y/N soft touches on his hand.
"What matters now is that we are still friends, right?"
Bob nods and for a moment his eyes are filled with sparkles.
"Yeah. Friends, as we always were, right?"
This time she moves her head.
After that brief apology, they begin to dive into a conversation, avoiding the topic of Linda at all costs. Truth be told, Bob missed spending time with the girl in front of him, who laughed and talked about things they both liked. He always found it easy to talk to her, even though she tended to be reserved and preferred to listen to others.
They ate together and laughed at every opportunity, bringing up topics from the past, work, and life in general.
It was as if nothing had ever changed.
Plus, Bob seemed to be much more affectionate toward her, giving her some of his dessert, brushing the strands of hair that had fallen across her face, and playing with her fingers, causing her feelings to resurface. At the time, she didn't realize it, but the girl was feeling drawn to the boy again, who remained oblivious, even now, to those feelings. What made her fall into the well, just like Alice did, of infatuation with Bob again was the touch Bob placed on her cheek, making her freeze in place and noticing that sparkle in Bob's eyes.
The same sparkle that he had a couple of minutes ago.
But that sparkle wasn't meant for her, not at all.
It was for the girl a few tables away from them.
That girl who had spent time with Bob and had left him for a reason he still didn't understand and the blonde hadn't explained, but apparently that reason involved a man who laughed with her.
Linda was with another man.
Weeks have past since Linda decided to end things with Bob, saying that he was boring her. So one day all of a sudden, she break up with him. They were together for six months before all of that happen, and Bob thought they were doing great.
He wanted her back.
And he will get her back.
Because he was in love with her. Bob thought she was his ther half.
And he knew he needed to do the impossible to win her back, and if that meant doing the most questionable thing for that to happen, he'll do it.
That's what you do for people you love, right?
You fight for them.
Even if that means, using his best friend in order to cause Linda jealousy.
Bob hated himself —and will hated himself for that. Joaquin and Yelena will too. But he was sure they'll forgive him once he explains himself. That's what friends do, right?
Joaquin couldn't concentrate on work, and now playing basketball with Johnny, he couldn't either.
Johnny and Joaquin met by accident while their coffe orders mixed and both exchanged cups of coffee with each other's real order from the beginning. Then, they met again in Central Park, where they had always played basketball, and it became a routine for them, play for hours till they exhausted themselves, to which lead them to become really good friends at the same time.
While the blond man rubbed his triumph in his face, Joaquin couldn't stop thinking about Y/N and how she was getting closer to Bob again. Obviously, he wanted to see her happy, and if that meant she started having feelings for the brunette again, Joaquin would support her. Always.
But his selfish side was latent, forcing him to make her see reason and not let that happen. Especially after spending more time together and starting to fall more in love with her every day.
Johnny seems to realize it because he inmediatly approaches the dark haired man, with the basketball ball in his hands.
"Okay, Torres. You need to tell me what's the matter with you. Because although i enjoy the fact that i'm winning and beating your ass, i hate to see you all lost and defeated over there "the blond states, to which Joaquin looks at him and puts his hands on his hips, debating on confessing what's going through his head lately "Tell me, pretty boy, what's going on?"
Johnny takes a bottle of water and offers one to Joaquin, who accepts it and drinks a long sip before finally answer to the blond.
"Remember the girl i told you about?"
Johnny makes a face and frowns a little bit.
"Jessica?"
"No, her name was Jessie" he corrects but shakes his head. Johnny just pouts and thinks again "C'mon, man. You know who it is. I talked about her all the time we hang around."
Johnny pretend he doesn't know who it is, because in fact, he knows exactly who it is he's refering him to. He just likes to mess with him and seeing him all flustered.
"Y/N."
"Oh, right! The good looking girl that you have as a wallpaper in your phone. Got it!"
Joaquin frowns and shakes his head, feeling under the spotlight. Even though the man is confident when it comes in terms of women, he turns into a mess when Y/N's the topic of the conversation, or when she's around. He tries to play it cool, but sometimes he just simply can't.
"She's not my wallpaper. We're all in the same picture," Joaquin pulls ot his phone from his bag and unlocks it to show Johnny the wallpaper.
"Tell that to your phone" he says.
"Look. See? We're all in it."
Johnny looks at the phone and then to his friend, because it's obvious. Y/N it's in the center of the group while hugging Joaquin from the shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah."
Joaquin sighs and saves his phone on the bag again.
"It seems to me that it has to do with her, uh?" Johnny says with a smirk on his face "Did you finally confess your feelings?"
Blush spreads all over Joaquin's cheeks.
"You know i can't."
The frown on Johnny's face disappears. Suddenly, his playful demeanor turns into a serious one, ready to listen to his friend.
"Why?"
He swallows and scratches the back of his neck, sitting on the bench with Johnny follow in him.
"She's starting to like Bob again."
"She told you that?"
He shakes his head.
"No. But i can see it in her eyes."
The blond remains silent for a while, understand it his situation. Although he wants to tell him that he has a chance to win her over, Johnny prefers to keep it quiet. He knows that he knows it. It's not the first time they talked about Y/N, and Joaquin's undeniable love for her.
"So..., what are you planning to do?"
It was a simple question.
But Joaquin didn't have the answer, or at least he wasn't so sure.
"I'm gonna let her..."
"No" Johnny cuts him off.
"No?"
The blond then stands up to position himself in front of Joaquin, who frowns at his sudden reaction.
"Absolutely freaking no. You're not gonna let her go" he states firmly while shaking his head "I'm tired of seeing you like this, pretending that you're fine with it, but you're not. It kills you not to be with Y/N."
"Johnny, i can't...."
He makes a humming sound, silencing him.
"I don't want to hear it," the blond says, emphasizing with his hand. "Maybe now isn't the time for you to be with her, but that's because you're not doing anything about it. And yes, maybe she likes Bob again, but she hasn't told you directly. Besides, if it turns out to be true, you should do everything you can to let her know that you love her. Because you do, right?"
Joaquin nods.
"Yeah. But i can't interfere if something happens between them. He's still my friend, and she is too."
"Then try to stop it. I know it sounds like the wrong thing to do, but you can't waste your opportunity again."
Joaquin has been seeing how Bob and Y/N are getting closer again, more and more with the passing days. It hurts him, but he has pretending to act cool about, even Yelena asked him how he was doing.
"If you really love her, you're not gonna let her go."
Joaquin lifts his chin up to look at the blond again.
"You're gonna love her. As she deserves, because you love her."
The black haired man nods slowly, processing his words.
"Repeat it."
"I'm gonna love her," he repeats "I'm gonna make her feel loved, truly loved."
Johnny nods and feels proud of it.
"I love her."
"You're gonna get her, tiger. And when that happens, you'll owe me a big one."
Joaquin laughs at that.
He just hopes it's not too late, and the destiny it's by his side.
hi! i read your bob story and saw that you mentioned you might make a while you were sleeping au and i absolutely love that idea and was wondering if you were still thinking of writing it?
hey!!! i totally forgot about this </3 but if i have free time, maybe i'll start writing 👀✨️
i love “she will be loved”! bob should come to his senses BUT i wouldn’t mind a joaquin pairing up if she ended up really liking him for him and not just as a second option
she will be loved || rommates au! bob reynolds x fem! reader ft. joaquin torres || PART TWO
summary: after finding out about bob's new girl-friend, Y/N tries to play it cool, but it's difficult when her feelings and not so subtle awkwardness around the situation speak louder than words.
pairing: bob reynolds x fem! reader; platonic joaquin torres x fem! reader. yelena belova x kate bishop.
tags: angst!!!, rommates to friends to strangers to what then?, joaquin being a sweetheart, bob being oblivious, pinning, one sided love, fluff, unrequited love, realistic turn of events, hurt, comfort, reader cries and joaquin's there for her.
author's note: hello everyone! here's part 2 of this type of serie i'm writing and i know it's short but the next would be more long; ngl this story will be realistic and angsty as hell, because there's barely one shots and stories and fanfic with that genre here </3 but i promise it'll be worth it ✨️🤌🏻 @0eye0 @hearts4barnes @peaches-roses-sins @ambrasser
read part 1 here!
Y/N couldn't feel more third wheeling.
More like seventh wheeling.
Even though she accompanied and head to head with Yelena and Kate, and Joaquin was a few steps away from her, she still felt alone. Without a date partner. Especially when Y/N thought that tonight she would finally be able to experience something close to what a date with Bob would be like.
Oh, she was so wrong.
The girl spend the entire evening listening to Bob and Linda's whispers as the play unfolded in front of them, and watching with a slight frown as their hands playfully and flirtatiously brushed against each other. Which lead to her barely enjoying the play —the one she had been looking forward to seeing was now just a bitter memory that haunted her even after they had left the theater.
She was now walking alongside Yelena and Kate, who were occasionally glancing at her to check if she was okay. Or rather, steady. Joaquin and his date were walking a considerable distance away, but the guy kept his gaze fixed on Y/N, who was rubbing her arms, trying to find warmth in the process.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as Bob held Linda's hand, while they were both immersed in their own bubble, oblivious to everything else. Oblivious to the growing unease that was beginning to form in the girl's throat, as she saw everything from afar.
"So.... " Kate begins saying, cutting the silence between all of them but camouflaging the noise of the city with her next words "It was a good play, wasn't it?"
Yelena nudges her with her arm, although she knew her girlfriend meant well and just wanted to break the ice of the moment. The brunette mouths her a quick sorry and shrugs her shoulders.
"I hope you had a great time"
Y/N mumbles with a small smile plastered on her face. One that doesn't reach her eyes as it usually does. But the girl didn't want to make this more awkward than it already was. Her friends —and rommates didn't deserved that. They deserved a night off to enjoyed, and she didn't want to have to ruin the moment just because of her stupid feelings.
The blonde girl snorts trying to avoid the big elephant in the room, because she noticed that her friend wanted to do that too. Just until they get home.
"We had a really great time! And it was thanks to you, babe. The play was fun!" Yelena admits envolving the girl in a hug by her shoulders.
Y/N smiles sadly but it's inmediately replace by pride.
"I knew you would"
"Honestly, Y/N, "Joaquin intervines aproaching her, while his date it's on the phone a couple steps beside them "you make me kinda want to go see another one. When can we do that?"
She laughs and looks at him this time.
"You barely understood the plot"
Joaquin shrugs his shoulders.
"But I made you laugh, did I?"
Y/N stares at him with a slight smile, to show him that she was fine on the outside, but inside her heart was beginning to crack with every step she took.
"Are we still going to eat?" Bob asks, causing Y/N to instinctively turn to look at him.
She couldn't deny that he looked good that night, but then again she always thought that about the boy. Even though the company of Bob at his side made her realize the reality of the situation, she couldn't ignore him. He was still her friend.
Her friend and rommate. Just that.
Especially since it wasn't his fault how Y/N felt.
Y/N smiled slightly in response.
"Yeah. I thought we could go to the pizza place on the corner of our street." she shrugs and hears Kate's small squeals of excitement next to her. "The usual, right?"
Everyone seemed to agree with the decision, even Joaquin's date, who seemed increasingly disinterested. But Bob's slight frown seemed to not completely agree with the plan.
"Oh, that's great" he says and turns to look at Linda who smiles at him in return "I was just thinking that I, uh, could probably skip that plan"
The cracks in Y/N's heart begin to widen even further after hearing his answer. All she wants to do now is go home and lock herself in her room to let the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes fall in the middle of the New York streets.
Bob continues to let that happen with what he says next.
"Linda and I wanted to go to that new restaurant on 36th Avenue to eat, if that's okay with you, guys"
After that, Y/N can't hear the next thing clearly.
The night breeze envelops her more and more, and she can't think about how incredible it is how nights change so quickly. Like the excitement that enveloped her more than a week ago—along with her foolish expectations that Bob might feel the same and that tonight she could take the step to tell him how she feels about him. She would have to choose the safe option of burying her feelings deep inside, and accepting the harsh and cold reality.
Just like that evening.
If it weren't for Joaquin's intoxicating cologne wafting from his jacket, which he draped over the girl's shoulders, she wouldn't have realized that Bob had already crossed the street holding his date's hand.
And with that, the girl's excitement erased completely.
——————
The following days weren't that easy either.
Bob spent his days talking about how wonderful Linda was and how he was even more attracted to the blonde. As if she were the reason for his existence. Y/N couldn't help but listen because he was still her friend, and whenever she gushed about something, he listened. Always. So now it was her turn to do it, even though it hurt inside. She'd promised herself she wouldn't be one of those people who cut him off or discouraged him easily, so she kept encouraging him to tell her every detail.
She thought she could do it, until the day of Bob and Linda's fifth date arrived.
The brunnette was pacing around the place, like it was the first time that he was meeting anyone. It look like he was nervous about something that was gonna happen, or rather something that he was gonna make happen.
Joaquin was sitting on the couch watching TV next to Y/N, whose eyes kept wandering to his frantic friend. She'd already forgotten what show or movie they were watching, but she assume it was a comedy one because of the laugh of Joaquin that rings in Y/N's ears.
"Do I look okay?" Bob suddenly asks them.
You always look good, the girl wanted to answer. But she was a coward, so she opted for the safest and simple answer with a smile hanging from her lips.
"Yeah."
"You have better days" Joaquin says and the girl playfully slaps his arm, to which he lets out a laugh seeing his friend worried look plantered on his face "You know i'm kidding, man. You look like you're gonna steal a couple of hearts"
"Yeah," Bob touches his neck in a nervous manner "That's the plan, actually."
Suddenly the room feels suffocating for Y/N, who moves uncomfortable in her place —an action that doesn't go unnoticed by Joaquin. The black haired man decides to let her know that he's there for her, placing his hand gently on her thigh, causing the girl to look up at him and notice his sympathetic gaze. She smiles in a tight line, hoping that Bob would leave soon —the tears sting in her eyes but she obligates herself to not break that easily. Yelena was not home for her to console her friend, and although Joaquin was her friend and was constantly asking her if she was okay, or if she was eating enough, or if she was cold and stuff like that, she couldn't allowed herself to keep bothering him like that. Y/N thought that she would start be seeing like a burden and a girl with a silly crush.
Who was not requited.
"Well, I'm leaving. I promise Linda that I would pick her up to go to dinner" the man puts on his jacket and combs his hair once more. "See you guys, don't wait up for me."
Then he leaves them alone.
"So.... I guess that leave the dynamic duo alone, right?" Joaquin jokes and nudges her shoulder playfully. He wants to break the tension that starts to grow in the room as soon as possible "I was thinking we could order chinese and some ice cream for dessert, what do you say, angel?"
The girl barely smiles and presses her lips together to prevent the sob that wants to escape.
But she can't.
Y/N guides her hands to her eyes to avoid Joaquin from seeing her cry. But he inmediatly envolves her in a comforting hug, feeling his heart break at the sight of her breaking slowly.
"Hey, hey, no. Angel, come here"
She sobs and lets her be comforted by Joaquin.
"I'm sorry, but it's just so.... hard" she says in another sob. Joaquin gently caresses her back, trying to let her know he's there for her. As always, "I must look like an idiot and weak for letting that get to me."
"Cariño, you're not weak and definitely not an idiot" he affirms and rocks her gently in his arms, feeling the vibration of her body with every whimper she lets out. He knows he must let out all that pain building up inside him. "You just happen to be in love. It's not your fault."
She lifts up her face from his chest and the bare sight of her with puffy and red eyes caused by the tears that keep running down her cheeks, makes Joaquin tense his jaw slightly and makes him want to erase that expression from her beautiful face, to never seeing her hurt like that again.
"Why can't he loved me?" she cringes at the question that she finds herself asking, but can't help but wonder out loud.
Joaquin brushes a strand of hair from her face and brushes a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
He shrugs. "I don't know, angel."
But he knows.
He knows that Bob it's his friend too, but he was a fool. He was an oblivious fool who can't see the incredible girl in front of him, who is willing to do anything for him, and love him with all her being.
The dark-haired man has noticed this since he arrived at the apartment, with the small actions Y/N did that made the place feel warm and like a home for them. When she bought Yelena the chocolates she liked every time she went to the supermarket, or the times she always left toasts and a cup of hot, freshly brewed coffee for Bob, every morning without fail, because the brunette was in a hurry to work and had to have breakfast. It was mandatory. Or all the times Y/N had learned the names of the players on Joaquin's favorite soccer team —even though she failed most of the time, but it was just so she could chat with him and hear and share the man's excitement.
She was perfect.
And if Bob couldn't see that, Joaquin would do.
"But, hey, listen to me," Joaquin holds her by her cheeks "I know he's our friend, but if he can't see how incredible you are it's his loss. You're beautiful, hot, and enough, alright?"
She lowers her head and lets out a small laugh at the second quality he mentions, but he lifts her chin up with his thumb, connecting their gazes again.
"Angel, repeat that for me?"
She sorbs he nose and sighs.
"I'm beautiful, hot and enough."
Joaquin smiles and kisses her forehead in a sweet gesture.
"And now we're gonna eat till we can't anymore and watch that show you like, uh?"
She frowns and shifts, causing Joaquin's hands to drop to her waist.
"But you don't like Sex and the city"
"But you do, so we'll watch it. Besides, it's an opportunity to see how hot Samantha is"
She slaps her arm in a playful manner.
"You know I'm joking. I like Charlotte better."
"Really? Why?"
Because she reminds of you, he thought.
"Cause it's your favorite." he gets up to call the restaurant to order their food "I'll order the food, you put the show."
She smiles and inmediately do it, thanking him in the process with a sincere tone of voice —realizing how lucky she is to have him as his friend alongside Yelena and even Bob. After a while, they both eat and watch the show until the girl felt asleep in his arms, so Joaquin then carried her to her room and places her on the soft mattress, covering Y/N with the blanket up to her neck, looking at her peaceful state, although her eyes were still puffy, Joaquin couldn't help but think that she still looked beautiful.
Just as he's about to turn off the light, she stops him by holding his wrist.
"Please don't leave me."
Joaquin smiles faintly.
"I would never do that."
He turns off the light and takes off his slippers to lie down next to her and hug her, feeling her settle against his chest. A smile appears on the man's face at that.
"Good night, Joaquin."
"Night, angel. I'll be right here." he whispers.
He just hopes she doesn't feel his heart racing at the bare distance between them.
she will be loved || rommates au! bob reynolds x fem! reader ft. joaquin torres || PART 1
pairing: bob reynolds x fem! reader, platonic joaquin torres x fem! reader, yelena belova x kate bishop.
summary: Y/N had a good life. An affordable apartment in New York, a simple but enjoyable job, the best roommates she could imagine—who happened to be her best friends. But one in particular made her sigh every time he was with her: Bob Reynolds.
Or, Y/N's trying to hide her feelings for Bob. Being complicated in the process of it.
tags: fluff, angst, reader being shy and kinda of a hopeless romantic, bob being kinda of an idiot (not towards reader, but to his true feelings), pining, one sided crush, bob being more confident about himself kn thid one, yelena and kate are a couple!!!, mentions of make out, joaquin being a flirt, sweet and charming guy, realistic ending, rommates to friends to strangers trope, rommates to friends to possible lovers.
author's note: I'm back!!!! And this time with a long fanfic with bob reynolds and joaquin torres —he's cute and handsome, and he deserved to make a special appearance with yelena.
This is based on a dream that I had with these guys, so I hope you like it. And i'm thinking of doing more parts, if i got the inspiration.
It was a friday night.
And New York city was shining with the thousands of lights from the screens, streets, and shops that invited anyone to come in. From afar, Y/N appreciated the view of some buildings from the rooftop, alongside her roommates—who had become her safe place since she arrived in the city.
Yelena chatted amusingly with Joaquin, who was debating with her who was going to win the football season. Meanwhile, Bob was sipping from his can of soda, rolling his eyes in amusement at their bickering. For her part, Y/N looked at him with a slight smile on her lips. Their shoulders brushed against each other as if it were an intentional act, filled with secrets about their feelings.
Or so she liked to believe—especially when Bob let her lean on his shoulder, or made her breakfast, or simply when he waited for her as they were about to leave the apartment and her shoelaces came undone. Those small actions were the ones that made her fall more and more in love with the boy at her side, who had stopped looking at the pair in front of them and instead looked at her. With a glimmer in his eyes that made her wonder if she was the one causing it.
Because she always wondered that. Did Bob have feelings for her? She had never seen him go out with a girl since he moved into their small Manhattan apartment—she hadn't even heard him speak of anyone with passion and adoration in his voice. So the excitement of the possibility that he had feelings for her kept her hopeful that one day he would propose.
When he was ready.
Y/N only hoped she was right.
Bob sees her shivering slightly in the light breeze surrounding them, so he wraps his arm around her body to pull her closer, without needing to ask. Y/N rests her head on him and watches her friends continue their discussion.
"Remind me not to bring up soccer again," Bob says to her.
Y/N laughs lightly and nods, a small movement, because it still makes her nervous that Bob is so close to her. She just hopes he doesn't feel her heart pounding.
"Noted."
A moment of silence envelopes them both, only hearing the voices of Yelena and Joaquin, who seem to change the subject, because now they're laughing, forgetting the hectic chatter about the sport they were talking about.
The brunette clears his throat and nervously plays with the can of soda, as Y/N can tell.
"Is everything okay, Bobby?"
Bobby.
That nickname he hated ever since his father called him that every time he did something wrong or made a mistake. Or when his classmates teased him for getting nervous every time he had to speak in front of the class. However, the way Y/N said it made him understand that she didn't do it with sarcasm or ulterior motives, but rather because she cared for him.
And when a person loves someone, they usually gave each other nicknames to make them feel special and to make them understand that they had a trust reserved only for them.
And that was their case.
Because they were friends.
"Everything's fine." he says. But something about his tone and words tells her that he's dying to say something else.
She manages to get up, just the enough to be able to look at him through her lashes.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Yelena and Joaquin stops talking with each other, suddenly. Now their attention was on the pair who remained in a sort of embrace. The black-haired man was the first to move a little closer to pay attention to them, but it was the blonde who decided to encourage him to talk.
"It's like a secret thing between the two of you, or we can all hear it?"
Y/N glances at the blonde, only for her to raise an eyebrow and shrug, taking a sip of her beer. Of course Yelena knew about her friend's crush, but not because she directly told her —she found out thanks to the actions and looks that Y/N always considered to be subtle from her point of view.
Bob laughs nervously and removes his arm from Y/N's shoulders, suddenly feeling a little cold due to the loss of his touch.
"Well, it has to do with the play that we're going to see this weekend...." Bob begins to say.
"You can't go?"
Y/N settles into her spot and looks at him with a certain expression of disappointment on her face, which doesn't go unnoticed by Yelena and Joaquin. They all pretty much knew how excited she was to go to see the play with them, even when they seem to be reluctant to the idea. Y/N offered to be like a group friend to be more interesting, and the others seemed to accept this term.
So they say yes, inmediatly. And because they wanted to see her happy.
Joaquin texted a fling that he was seeing but nothing serious given his own words —he was still trying to be sure about her that he wasn't putting a label to their situationship. Yet. And both seemed fine with it, apparently. Meanwhile, Yelena was dating a cute and lovely girl named Kate, who was most of the time with them in the apartment —starting to be part of the friend group. The brunnette girl said yes inmediatly, she loved going anywhere that meant to be with the group and her girlfriend. So that left Y/N and Bob to be a date for the occasion. Given the fact that they were the only single people in the apartment.
Y/N was happy to think that they were gonna be together for a date kinda thing. Even if it meant something friendly and without that intention.
But it was something.
And she would enjoy it.
"No, no, no." he rushes to say, which allows Y/N to breath again "Of course I can go. You asked me and I can't let you down like that."
"So what is it?" Yelena questions him, raising an eyebrow.
Joaquin seems nervous about his friend. He starts to play with the bottle between his fingers, avoiding the gaze of the girl beside Bob. Y/N seems to notice this and frowns slightly.
"Bob, you can tell me anything." she gently takes his hand, feeling the warmth spread across her skin at the touch "I'm sure we can help you with what you're struggling, if that's the case, or..."
"No, it's nothing like that" he mumbles.
"Then what?"
Silence reigns for a few seconds, before Bob opens his mouth to talk.
"I just..." Bob looks at Joaquin who returns his gaze with a serious look in his face. The brunette tenses his jaw and fakes a smile "I want us to have a good time, that's all."
Yelena snorts at his reasoning, but she knows deep down it's a lie. She knows how to read people, and she knows her dear friend Bob is hiding something.
Just like Y/N.
But she lets it go.
They'll still go to the play together.
Right?
————————
The day of the play finally came.
What Y/N thought would be a fun and exciting night because of the play they were going to see, took a completely different turn when Bob announced something unexpected just as they were about to leave the apartment.
The girl was smoothing the skirt of her white dress, which gave it a touch of sweetness and freshness due to the hot days of New York. A few days ago it was cool, but today had been a scorching hot day. Sometimes the weather changed; if it wasn't the heat that practically melted them, it was the rain that caught them off guard on the streets. Y/N was fixing her hair for the tenth time, as she wanted to look and feel pretty for her date with Bob. Well, the group date between her, Bob, and the others. The fact that they were going together relaxed her a little in case she needed help at some point.
Yelena enters the room, almost rushing her out so they can leave a few minutes early to arrive on time.
"Darling, as much as I adore you, I need you to... Wow." She pauses for a moment and makes a noise when she sees her friend. "You look beautiful. I'm sure you'll steal more than a few hearts today."
Y/N blushes and shakes her head.
"It's okay, right?" she asks, running her hands over the fabric of the dress again. "Because I can change, if..."
Yelena takes her by the shoulders and leads her out of the room.
"No freaking way. You look perfect the way you are."
When they reach the living room, Joaquin and Bob are talking to each other, next to a brunette girl holding the black-haired man's arm. Y/N assumes she's Joaquin's date, seeing how close they are. Kate is also there, smiling sweetly in the middle of their conversation. They turn their heads when they hear Yelena and Y/N enter the room.
"Look who it is" Joaquin says with a smile plastered on his face once he sees Y/N step in to the living room "You look good, angel"
That was a nickname reserved for her from the man. The day they met was when Joaquin had shown up at the apartment for the ad she and Yelena had posted looking for roommates. Joaquin had a rather memorable entrance when he slipped on the stairs leading up to the apartment entrance due to the rain that was hitting the city. Y/N immediately helped him when she saw he'd hurt his knee with a scrape. She cleaned it and bandaged it, then helped him stand and showed him the apartment. It was a total coincidence that she'd been wearing a white sweater that day, too.
And that's why Joaquin had given her that nickname.
"Oh my god! Y/N, you look lovely today!" Kate exclaims giving the girl a hug to properly greet her —as she always does with them.
"Thank you" she says feeling under the spotlight, kinda liking the compliments. But she was hoping that Bob would say something too.
The brunnette man only smiled at her, making her kinda dissapointed on her choice of an oufit. Did he not think she looked good?
She knows she looks great, after spending pretty much the whole afternoon finding the perfect outfit for the occasion, one that was making her feel beautiful, by the way, and Yelena helped her choose.
"So guys, this is Jessie. A good friend of mine" Joaquin introduces the girl beside him and she waves at them.
"Nice to meet you, guys" she says.
After the brief introduction, they're leaving the apartment to get to the play on time. Joaquin stops Y/N when he sees she's forgotten her jacket—even though the days are warm, a cold breeze blows at night from time to time, and he knows his friend is cold-blooded even when it's a light breeze.
"Are you not wearing a jacket?" he asks, as his date goes ahead with the others.
Y/N glances briefly at the garment Bob is carrying, wondering if she hints that she's cold, he'll give her his jacket. She's seen it in movies and read it in the tips Google had given her when she typed: how to know if a guy is interested in you and not fail in the attempt?
"No, I'm fine. I don't think it'll be cold when we go out." She smiles slightly, then nods her head, pointing to the door. "Shall we?"
He mimics her smile and nods, letting her go first and quickly grabbing a jacket from him just in case, even though he knew he wouldn't need it.
On a slow but pleasant walk, with Y/N spending the entire time next to Bob, accidentally brushing their shoulders, they reach the theater. The girl can't contain her excitement and pats Bob's arm a couple of times.
"I'm sorry, but I've been looking forward to this premiere," she says, like a child about to see Santa Claus. "Thanks for joining me. Well, you and the others, of course. But since we're the only ones without a partner, it's nice to be able to share this moment with you."
The brunette smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes and he looks a little nervous. Y/N notices this, and her smile fades a little.
"Is everything okay?"
Bob grimaces and looks down for a second, then back at her, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
"You see... remember we agreed to come together because we didn't have anyone to go with at first?"
She frowns slightly and nods, hugging herself, suddenly feeling cold in her arms, and they haven't even entered the play yet.
"Uh... yeah."
"Well, the thing is that I..."
"Guys, we should go in, the play starts in a few minutes," Yelena announces, arriving with Kate holding hands. Joaquin also appears with his date by his side, who doesn't look as thrilled with the group date spot. "Is everything okay?"
Before they can answer, a high-pitched voice calls out to the brunette.
"Bobby! Sorry I took so long, traffic was terrible."
A blonde-haired girl appears at Bob's side, clinging to his arm and kissing his cheek in greeting. Y/N swallows and feels her heart twist at the scene before her eyes.
"Oh, hi! I didn't see you there, are they your friends, Bobby?"
That nickname was something only she thought she used with the boy who looked at her with guilt in his eyes. The rest just witnessed the scene, not knowing what to say: Yelena clenches her jaw, watching Y/N's mood change; Kate frowns slightly, knowing how the girl felt thanks to Yelena practically telling her. Joaquin doesn't react, but inside, he feels disappointed in Bob. He knew he was seeing someone, but he never thought he would bring her to the one occasion Y/N looked forward to sharing with her group of friends.
"Guys... I want you to meet Linda"
Bob introduces her.
"My date for tonight"
And that's enough to make Y/N's excitment dissapear.
