High Tide (Jacob x Reader)
Pairing: Jacob Black (with long hair) x (gender neutral) Reader (who lives on the Quileute reservation)
Summary: After insisting that the reader’s childhood friend (and crush!), Jacob Black, could never charm her, Jacob proves he can sweep them off their feet. In doing so, he reveals his mutual feelings for his forever friend.
Content Warnings: a couple swear words, fluff, reader wearing a dress
Note: The reader is written to be Indigenous, a member of the Quileute community. Please keep that in mind!
The beach waves tickled your feet in chilly, bubble-filled water as you watched the sun set in the distance. The tide was coming in at La Push Beach, and though the wind had been blowing heavily all day, you enjoyed the way that the frigid water felt on your skin.
You spent almost the entire day out at the beach, sitting by yourself and just enjoying the crash of the waves, the smell of the water, the way the cloudy sun bathed everything in a soft, comforting warmth. Being so naturally warm, the slight frigidness of the water and wind was calming for you in a way that almost no one else on the reservation seemed to enjoy. Why would you choose to be cold, your parents remarked, when our community is alive with warmth? When we’ve protected ourselves against the Cold Ones for so long? To nearly everyone else, one overcast day was completely backwards.
Hair still damp and filled with sand already, you lie on your back as the water rolled up and around your body. The bubbles tickled your ears as the waves crept further up the beach. Soon you would have to depart; the tide was coming in, and your mother had made it abundantly clear that you needed to be ready by the time Billy and Jacob Black arrived for dinner. You had decided that sunset gave you a perfect amount of time to run back to your house, shower, and change clothes. You didn’t want to miss a moment with your closest friend.
You closed your eyes, smiled as your thoughts wandered towards Jacob. Long hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a smile to die for, Jacob Black had been the object of your affection since you were kids. Ever since you could remember, he was there: playing in the dirt, racing through the woods, roasting marshmallows, hearing the history of the reservation, passing notes in class. Jacob had been your friend since you could walk, the person you turned to when you scraped your knee or when your parents spent the night arguing. He was always there, a warm hand to hold, a carefully placed joke, and eyes that just seemed to get you.
Almost as long as you could remember being friends with Jacob, you had also been completely head over heels for him. Though his bear hugs, his warm smile and flirty, simmering comebacks been so clearly platonic, you still imagined his actions being rooted in something else. Something that was more delicate, and much deeper.
“Better get out before you get swallowed up!”
You looked left, right, seeing only beach, water, and trees a little ways away. A laugh already building in your throat, you propped yourself up on your elbows and looked directly behind you. As expected, Jacob was walking towards you with a similar grin. Coming to stop right behind you, he lightly nudged your arm. “I’d still love to have dinner with my best friend,” he stated, crouching down so his face hovered directly above yours, “but I can’t do that if you were swept out to sea.” This close to him, you felt his body heat warm your wind-blown skin. His eyes were light and playful with a hint of something else. Something sizzling.
Rolling your eyes, you pulled your knees into your body, preparing to stand. “I guess you bring up a good point.” You took your time swiping your arms and legs, getting some of the built up sand off your body, before pushing yourself up on your feet. Stretching your arms above your head, you let out a little yawn. “At least the ocean could sweep me off my feet.”
Hair blowing and curling in the wind, Jacob smirked handsomely as you prepared to walk towards your house. “You think I can’t sweep you off your feet, babe?” he joked, matching his step with yours.
You shrugged, exaggerating your doubtful expression. Your insides fluttered as he used the nickname you jokingly called each other, a secret joke that just stuck after one night of bashing cringey pet names. Though you initially hated the idea of calling someone “babe,” you quickly warmed up to it as Jacob began to use it when he tried his best to annoy you. Now, it only gave you butterflies and wishes that he’d feel the same. “I’m just saying you’ve never done it before, babe.”
The line of residential houses coming into sight, Jacob glanced at you, smiled, then started nodding, accepting his new challenge. “All right,” he said, acting out stretching his arms, warming up his muscles. “I promise, tonight I’m gonna blow you away,” he vowed, eyes staring right at you. There was an excitement there, one that released another round of fluttery feelings in your stomach. He stared at you with so much intensity that you felt a blush warming your cheeks already.
Walking you to your door, Jacob took your hand and squeezed for a moment. Stopping in front of you, his passionate gaze felt too intimate for the outside air. He ran his thumb over the back of your hand, and he moved your connected fingers to his chest, thin t-shirt tightly stretching over what you knew to be a sculpted body. “I’ll see you in a bit, babe,” he said sincerely, running his thumb over the back of your hand.
You were almost convinced that he was honest, almost. A little smile playing at the corner of his lips suggested his competitive strategy. Still, while you just wore a similar t-shirt-and-shorts outfit, you could have been wearing the most elegant gown with the way he stared at you. Or nothing at all, you thought darkly.
Getting more flustered by the second, you playfully punched his chest. “Yeah, whatever, babe,” you retorted, trying hard to diffuse the sudden emotional tension between you. Hiding your quickly warming face, you let go of his hand and quickly made towards your front door. Leaving no time for Jacob to reply, you shut the door behind you and made a beeline to the bathroom.
As you walked inside, Jacob chuckled after you. Why were you so damn cute? Your soft eyes in his mind, he mussed his free-flying hair, determined to make you realize how he felt for you. How he desperately wanted to sweep you off your feet, make you blush, make you laugh, make you want him. He wanted to prove to you that he wasn’t just the boy that launched spit balls at your bullies, but that he was the boy that covered your eyes during the scariest scenes of Monster House, the boy that invited you to stay with him when your parents went out of town for two weeks, the boy that slept on your floor when you had called him, sobbing incoherently. The boy that also stayed home when you were sick, kissed your forehead, wiped cold towels over your cheeks and arms until your fever broke in the middle of the night. He was there, and he wanted to stay.
Rinsing conditioner from your hair, you thought deeply about Jacob’s sudden change in energy. It all happened so quickly: one moment he was all smiles, the next simmering with all kinds of tension. You couldn’t understand how easily it was for him to shift his mood, and how easily he could gain a reaction from you.
I am so pathetic, you thought, combing the last bits of sand from your hair. Jacob had done things like this before, proving that he could be just another boy that you could crush on instead of his lifelong friend. You fell for it every time. You were just glad to be graced with a sly tongue and a quick mind that could play it off... most of the time.
Turning off the water, you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel. What could he possibly try tonight? Especially when parents were around? Jacob would no doubt let Billy in on the plan, asking him to insist that “the kids have their kid time,” allowing you both to retreat to the backyard or your room or really any setting in which you were alone. This would give Jacob the freedom to truly try anything he could to reduce you to an anxious, romantically confused mess.
Yes, tonight was going to be interesting for sure
Unsure about how this evening was going to go, you lingered in your room for a while until your mother impatiently knocked on your door, informing you that Billy and Jacob had arrived. “Come on, honey,” she said, “come greet them! I know Jacob’s excited to see you.”
Frowning one last time in your mirror, you trudged out of your room and into the dining room, where your parents, Jacob, and Billy greeted you warmly. Jacob especially smiled, tilting his head a bit and eyeing the dress you chose to wear, the only piece of clothing which you felt could charm the pants off Jacob back. Stepping towards you, away from the adults’ discussion, he sighed, biting his upturned lip. “You look beautiful,” he beamed, shoving his hands shyly in the pockets of his Nice Jeans, one of his three button downs fitting across his shoulders nicely. Very nicely.
His hair was braided back, just a little more formal than the event called for, but you weren’t complaining. For some reason, a part of this meeting felt like some sort of date: the dressy clothes, the awkward compliments, the steady eye contact. “So do you,” you replied, rubbing the back of your neck, unsure of what to do.
Just as you expected, Billy insisted that the kids “have their kid time,” making you take paper plates loaded with food out to the backyard. You rolled your eyes as your mom raised her eyebrows at you, wanting to comment on Jacob’s change in attire. Somehow, she knew about Jacob’s crush on you and got overexcited whenever he did anything even remotely kind. You just shook your head at her and followed Jacob out to the back porch.
Having missed Harry Clearwater’s homemade fish fry, the first minutes of your alone time was spent in the usual comfortable silence. Sitting shoulder to shoulder, you and Jacob ate heartily, practically shoveling bites of food into your mouths while you sat on the porch steps, plates balanced on your laps. Having grown up eating with Jacob, it seemed unnatural to even think about being any type of polite. However weird this situation was at the moment, you were still sitting next to your best friend. “This food is so fucking good.”
Soon, your eating slowed and the unfamiliar tension came back between you. Taking your plate and his, Jacob placed your dishes off to the side. As he turned back to focus on you, he let out a long, content sigh. “So, tell me about your day.”
The taste of the amazing fried fish still on your tongue, you looked up at the darkening sky. “Honestly? I spent the whole day at the beach,” you replied honestly, curling your toes as you remembered the cool sand on your feet and the saltwater in the air. “The entire day.”
Jacob listened intently, that deep, polite smile on his lips. “Any reason why?” He leaned back on his hands, one arm resting behind your torso, the first step towards an arm around your shoulder. The fish swam around in your gut. “What were you thinking about?”
A sudden burst of confidence, you met his intense gaze fearlessly. “The wind felt so freeing.” You shrugged, your fingers playing with the hem of your dress as you thought. “I don’t know, it all feels connected out by the water, more real. I...” you thought about how to verbalize your day, “I think my memories feel like they make sense out by the sea.” You broke eye contact, chuckling nervously at your sincerity. “It’s kind of silly,” you retreated, already embarrassed to share something so deep.
Jacob shook his head, expression hanging onto each word. He leaned into you, your shoulder touching his side. As always, he knew exactly where your mind was. “No, I totally get it.” He looked out at the sky. “I kind of feel that way when I’m walking through the woods. Like everything that I am is finally a part of something greater, but that it truly always has been.” He sighed, eyes proving that he was out among the trees, shadows of the canopy’s leaves playing over his face, mulling over the Quileute tradition as he thought about his own journey. “It always seems complicated, but in those moments it all makes sense.”
You nodded, remembering your own collection of days thinking the same thing, resting your head on Jacob’s shoulder. Naturally, he wrapped his arm around you, thrilled to hold you close and smell your freshly conditioned hair. You sighed. “I just don’t want to forget how important this is to me,” you said softly, thinking about how many of your friends, people that you looked up to as a child, had moved away, choosing better jobs or better homes rather than staying within the reservation. Most of your current friends wanted to leave as soon as possible, go to college far away and find some well-paying arrangement. Jacob was one of the few people your age that truly wanted to stay on the reservation forever. Whenever you thought about it, your eyes stung with the possibility of tears. All those memories that you shared growing up could never compare to an expensive life outside of your home.
You both continued to think, almost in each others’ minds as you subconsciously leaned closer together. Jacob ran a hand over your arm, his warmth electrifying, making your skin feel radiant, awakening somehow. You responded by placing a hand softly on his knee, squeezing lightly, feeling the years-old connection between the two of you. Stars began to shine in the sky, the inky blue settling into the night.
This felt so much more intimate than you had ever dreamed.
“What are you thinking about now?” Jacob asked huskily, breath fanning across your face. You looked up at him, almost startled at his smoldering gaze. He was in love with you. Your heartbeat roared in your ears, a flood of white noise blocking out everything but him. The way he traced circles into your side, his lips held slightly open, eyes half in memory and half caught in you, the realization that your forever friend was looking at you in this way filled you with relief as well as anxiety. When did this happen? you questioned yourself, And how long did I ignore it?
Silently telling yourself to kick up some courage, you carefully practiced your answer in your head once before responding with the honest truth. If you stuttered or tripped on your words, the perfect moment might slip away “I’m thinking about kissing you right now,” you said clearly, answering his question and asking your own.
As you nervously waited for his reply, Jacob smiled with an incalculable emotion you had never seen so clearly before. “Me, too.” Taking one last breath together, you both seemed to lean in at once, mutually inviting each other’s kiss.
Waves of emotion crashed around you, and settled in your mutual embrace. The little ball of anxiety that followed you whenever Jacob was around finally released. Filled with all that you had dreamed of and more, Jacob’s lips felt like pure fire meeting yours. Unimaginably soft, his lips moved slowly with yours, your actions mirroring each other’s and almost anticipating the other’s moves and flowing together.
Fully embracing you, Jacob held you close, resting a hand on your jaw, his thumb lightly grazing your cheek carefully. Your own hands were on his chest, one at the base of his neck, the other curled over his fast-beating heart. You were sure your own heart was running a mile, so distracted by the feeling of his lips on yours, his hands on you, that you were forgetting to breathe. In your distracted state, a small part of you noticed that Jacob had forgotten to breathe, too.
Just as your lips moved together, you both pulled away in the same moment. Holding each others’ faces in your hands, a tenderness that rarely graced your friendship was showing its full force, bubbling up between both of you. Though the sky was dark, you could swear only a pink and orange sky and puffy clouds surrounded you both. Still riding the high tide that your longest crush felt the same, you couldn’t wrap words around what you were feeling.
Luckily Jacob found his footing first. Exhaling heavily, a smile radiant with pure love, he said, “I think you swept me off my feet.” He laughed to himself, giddy under your touch and your gaze.
You smiled in kind, kissed his cheek tenderly. “And you swept me off mine.”
