Warnings: 18+ readers only, swearing, Ransom being mean, Ransom being subby, Reader meaning business, confessions, crying, Linda being a bitch, Walt and Richard being dicks, Ransom feeling worthless
The days that followed your fight with Ransom were confusing. Your emotions were all over the place. You were angry and upset with Ransom, but it wasn't like you were in a relationship with him so he was technically free to do as he pleased. Ransom was never good at dealing with not getting his own way and usually retaliated in a childish way.
You were thankful for Steve being a good friend. When it looked like you were struggling, Steve (and Bucky) spent time with you. He made sure you were looking after yourself, and that you were eating and sleeping when you should. He even made sure you had clean clothes, especially when the two of you had to fly out to Italy for a business trip.
You weren't really that bothered about going, but Steve said it was just what you needed and gave you no room to argue with him. And you were glad he made you go to Italy. Working and enjoying yourself without the stress of your family or Ransom and his, was just what you needed. But reality came crashing back the moment you arrived home and there was an invitation on your answering machine from Harlan, inviting you to a party for the launch of his new book and he wanted you there.
It was a good thing really that Steve had convinced you to buy that dress you saw in a boutique window whilst you were in Italy.
(look at this pretty dress ^)
"You didn't have to come, Steve, you know that, right?" You smiled up at him thankful as the pair of you stood at Harlan's front door.
Steve smiled as he reached up and knocked on the door. "I know, but I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let you get fed to the lions, would I?" He chuckled.
Over the past couple of weeks, you had shared a lot with Steve about your family and Ransom's (not that he hadn't heard about them already), and he'd shared a lot with you. Your friendship had turned into something far more than just work colleagues and you were glad to have a good friend in Steve. It also meant you had a good friend in Bucky too, they sort of came as a pair.
The door opened and Fran smiled at you, "Hello, Y/N, I'm so glad you're here." She stepped aside and let you. "You've been avoiding us." She teased.
You shook your head, "No, Fran, of course I haven't been avoiding you."
"It sure seems like you have." A familiar voice said behind you.
You turned to face Harlan with a small sigh. "Hey, Harlan." You gulped. "Hmm, thank you for inviting... Us." You offered him a shy smile.
He nodded, "You know you're always welcome here." He offered you a soft smile. "What's going on, Y/N?" He frowned and looked behind you. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" He asked as he looked Steve up and down curiously.
You smiled with a soft laugh. "You don't need to size him up, Harlan. He's just my friend."
"And gay." Steve held his hand out to Harlan with a smile. "Steve Rogers, sir. Pleasure to meet you."
Harlan nodded and took his hand. "Harlan Thornby. Any friend of, Y/N's, is a friend of mine." He smiled politely. "Maybe you could tell me why my grandson and, Y/N, have been avoiding each other like the plague." He asked.
Steve chuckled, "Sorry, Mr Thornby, but I'm staying outta that."
Harlan nodded, "In that case, I'll cut straight to the point... What's, Ransom, done?"
You let out a heavy sigh, "Why do you assume it's, Ransom?" You frowned.
"Because I know it is. I haven't seen him for two weeks and then he showed up last night for dinner already pissed." Harlan huffed. "What a joy that was. And of course, Walt and Richard, couldn't help themselves passing comment."
You frowned, "Yeah, well maybe instead of blaming, Ransom, you should ask your son and son-in-law what they're up to." You folded your arms over your chest in irritation.
Harlan frowned. "Meaning?"
You huffed. "They're the ones showing up at, Ransom's, demanding he ends things because and I quote, Richard, 'We're set to make a lot of money if, Y/N, marries that boy, Ransom.'" You mimicked Richard's voice making Steve snicker, "And I think, Walt, said something about, 'Blood Like Wine' was the one set to make a lot of money, which meant he was."
Harlan looked over your shoulder. "Did he now?" He cleared his throat as he looked back at you. "Thank you for clearing things up, Y/N."
You nodded. "Don't be so hard on, Ransom, please. We are going through something at the moment but, we'll figure it out... I hope." You gave him a reassuring smile.
Harlan nodded. "Okay, if you're sure." He smiled. "Come on, let's go through to the party."
You were glad Marta was in attendance at the party because as soon as you entered the main room where Harlan's party guests were, his family mad ejt very clear they weren't happy with your presence.
"What happened last night?" You asked Marta as you and Steve stood with her in a corner talking.
"Ransom, was late to dinner and when he did finally showed up, he was hammered." She began. "Walt, started on him, calling him all the usual names. But then, Richard, laughed and said something about you."
"Me?" You frowned.
Marta nodded, "Something about seeing sense." She shrugged. "Whatever he meant, Ransom, got angry and started shouting and throwing things like he does."
"Jeez, you know how to pick 'em." Steve joked receiving an elbow in the stomach from you.
"Trust me, the rest of the, Thornby-Drysdale, family are assholes and deserve it." You said.
He nodded. "Sure. I can see that."
The sound of the door slamming, echoed around the house. Even over the sound of the music that was playing and the chatter of the guests, you heard it from the room you were in.
You closed your eyes and took in a deep breath. You knew who it was without seeing him. And sure enough, Ransom walked round the corner of the doorway. Your breath caught in your throat as his gaze met yours. You quickly looked away as Ransom took a step into the room but before he could get far his mother was dragging him away.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
You nodded, clearing your throat. "I'm fine." You smiled. "Shall we get another drink?"
It seemed it wasn't only you whom was on edge. Marta kept looking at you nervously as you and Steve spoke to Harlan about your recent trip to Italy. When he wasn't asking you questions, Steve was asking him every question he could think of.
"Wait, wait, wait, you mean, Y/N was your inspiration for this book?" Steve asked looking at you excitedly.
Your brows furrowed as you shook your head. "What? No, he doesn't mean that."
"I do." Harlan smiled at you. "You're return home was what inspired the main character, although, I'll let you in on a secret..." He leaned forwards, "You're the thief." He winked at you playfully.
Your eyes widened, "I'm not the murderer though, right?"
Harlan tapped his nose with a chuckle, "You'll have to read the book."
Steve nodded, "Definitely! I just finished reading your last book for like the third time, whilst we were in Italy." He smiled at you.
"Did you pretend to be married to him as well?"
You closed your eyes and let out a heavy sigh before you turned to face Ransom as he stood behind you, glaring. "And how are you, Ransom?" You sassed, glaring back at him.
He scoffed, "If you'd have taken my calls, you'd know."
You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, well, you know the reason why I've been avoiding you."
Ransom nodded and looked at Steve. "Yeah, looks like you've found someone else to keep your cunt warm at night." He turned his glare back to you. Ransom paled as he saw the hurt fill your eyes. He was a prick. He opened his mouth to speak but he wasn't expecting you to slap him.
"You shut your fucking mouth, Hugh." You snapped at him.
Ransom gulped and nodded as he lowered his head. "I-I'm sorry."
You looked at him a little stunned. You'd never heard him apologize in front of his family before, it showed weakness.
"What on earth are you apologising to her for? You did nothing wrong, Ransom." Linda shrieked at him, attracting more attention than was necessary.
"Oh, shut the fuck up, Linda." You snapped at her, surprising everyone. "This doesn't concern you." You glared at her.
Ransom began smirking as he watched his mother retreat back to where she came from with her tail between her legs.
You rolled your eyes at him. "Stop smirking, Ransom." You warned him.
"You told, Linda, to shut the fuck up." He chuckled.
You took a deep breath, your cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "Yes, I'm well aware." The corner of your mouth twitched, "What do you want, Ransom?"
"To talk." He offered you a soft smile. "Please."
You frowned at him, "Are you going to behave like an adult?"
He nodded, "I promise."
You nodded. "Okay then, we can talk but not here. We're not ruining this for, Harlan." You turned to face Steve and Harlan. "M'sorry, Harlan."
He shook his head as he offered you a kind smile. "Go talk. Maybe he'll stop being so moody." He rolled his eyes and shook his head making you laugh.
Steve sent you a wink, agreeing with Harlan and encouraged you to go talk with Ransom. Before Ransom could follow you out of the room, Steve grabbed him. "Just so you know, Hugh," Steve smirked at the disgruntled look Ransom gave him. "I'm gay."
Ransom's eyes widened in surprise. "You are?"
Steve nodded. "So, can I have your friends number?" Steve asked.
Ransom's mouth opened and closed before he decided to ignore Steve's question and followed after you.
It didn't take long for him to find you in Harlan's office upstairs, away from the party. Silence sat heavily in the room as the pair of you stood at opposite sides of the room. You were stood by the window looking out, your arms folded across your chest as Ransom stood by the door, looking at you. He wanted to say so much to you, but now here he was and he'd forgotten how to speak.
The corner of his lips curved into a smile as he watched you. "You look beautiful."
You looked over your shoulder at him and smiled softly. "Thank you..." You blushed a little and slowly turned to face him, "I'm sorry for slapping you."
Ransom smiled at you, taking a couple of small steps towards you. "I deserved it."
You nodded, slowly walking towards him, "You did." You smiled back at him as he chuckled.
The silence filled the room as you stood in front of each other. All the anger and frustration you'd felt over the past few weeks seemed to disappear as you looked up at Ransom.
Ransom reached out and brushed a piece of your hair off your cheek, "I really want to kiss you, beautiful." He admitted.
You felt yourself blush as Ransom cupped your cheek. "Is that you asking?" You asked him as a soft smile tugged at your lips.
Ransom's lips curled into smile as he stepped closer to you, resting his forehead against yours. "I can't just kiss you and fix this, remember?" He repeated your words from weeks ago.
You closed your eyes and let out a deep breath. "Right... Me and my big mouth." You huffed.
He lifted his head and pressed his lips against your forehead gently. "I don't think I can fix this." He whispered.
You frowned as you looked up at him. "Why would you say that?"
He shook his head as he sighed. "Because I let you down, Y/N. I did everything, I said I didn't want to do, to you, and... I'm scared."
"You're scared?" You frowned at him. "Scared of what, Ransom?"
"Me." He whispered. He looked up to meet your gaze with teary eyes. "What if, all I'm meant to do with my life is, fuck up? I don't want to hurt you again. I'd rather kill myself--"
You cut him off by pulling on his coat until you could crash your mouth against his in a passionate kiss. Ransom's arms wrapped around your waist as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. You wrapped your arms around his neck, threading your fingers through his hair as you kissed him.
You pulled back taking a deep breath. "Don't ever say shit like that again." You warned him. "I wish you were able to see what a wonderful person you are, Ransom. You're more than a fuck up."
Ransom shook his head, "No I'm not. I'm a horrible person, Y/N."
"No," You shook your head as you cupped his face. "Ransom, you're not."
He nodded, "I hurt you and that was the last thing I wanted.
You smiled to yourself. "The fact that you're admitting that, proves you're a good person. Do you think, Walt or your father, feels guilty when they make someone feel like shit? Do you think, Linda, gives a fuck when she yells at a waiter or you for that matter? No, they don't, because they are horrible people, Ransom. You, are not. Sure, you're rude and sometimes selfish but so is everyone. But you, you are so much more. And all that stuff put together is the reason I love you." You took a deep breath once you'd finished your speech.
Ransom's lips began to curl. "You love me? Even after what I did?"
You nodded with a smile. "Apart from doing something stupid, you didn't actually do anything wrong, did you?"
Ransom huffed. "It still made me feel worthless."
You hummed, "I shouldn't have run like I did."
"Why did you run?" Ransom asked.
You lowered your gaze to where you were toying with a loose thread on his sweat. "I guess, I was scared too. And confused." You shrugged. "All these years I've pretended we're just friends because I was scared to lose you... Then, we found ourselves falling easily into whatever we were in as soon as we see each other again after all these years like, I'd never left and, you asked me to marry you before telling me you loved me, right out of the blue, I guess... I thought, if it turned out to be some sort of cruel joke then I didn't want to be there when you laughed at me." You admitted.
Ransom let out a heavy sigh as he pulled you into his chest, resting his head on top of yours. "My timing could have been better, couldn't it?"
You chuckled, "A little."
Ransom smiled and pressed a soft kiss to you the top of your head. "Did you get the flowers?" He asked.
You pulled back from him with a soft smile. "They were from you?"
Ransom nodded as his cheeks began blushing. "I stopped by last night to talk, to apologize really, but I saw you and your friend going inside your apartment so, I left them."
"They're beautiful," You smiled as you wrapped your arms around his waist as you rested your head on his chest.
Ransom pressed a kiss to the top of your head again. "You're beautiful."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What the fuck was that?" Linda spat at Ransom as the two of you stepped off the bottom of the staircase some time later.
Ransom rolled his eyes, "None of your business, mother."
"Oh, don't give me that, Ransom." She glared at you. "I'm assuming it's because of you, he's been an asshole these past few weeks."
Your brow furrowed before you looked up at Ransom ignoring Linda. "I'm gonna grab, Steve, and then we can leave."
Ransom nodded, "I'll find, Harlan." He sent you a wink before turning and brushing past his mother. "Grandad," Ransom called out to him as he walked up to where he was. "We're leaving."
Before Harlan could answer Joni opened her mouth. "He hasn't done his speech yet."
Ransom ignored her. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Make sure you bring, Y/N, with you." Harlan smiled.
"Y/N?" Walt started. "I thought she dumped your ass?" He smirked proudly.
Ransom glared at him. "I thought I told you to eat shit."
"Ransom." Linda hissed at him.
Ransom rolled his eyes and looked back at Harlan. "I'm sure, Y/N, will be happy to join us."
"I don't want that little madam around my son." Donna patted Jacob on the shoulder who was none the wiser to what was going on.
Ransom rolled his eyes. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He snapped at her.
"Watch your mouth, you little shit!" Walt snapped at him.
"Ransom," You called out from behind him. "Let's go."
"She's telling you what to do, now?" Richard raised his eyebrow at his son.
You glared at him. "Isn't that what you and the warthog were trying to do?"
Ransom smirked, "And the difference is when, Y/N, tells me what to do and I'm a good boy, I get to cum." He turned around and walked up to you and Steve. "Let's go." He winked at you as he took your hand and began to pull you towards the door. "Harlan, asked if you'd like to come for brunch tomorrow?" Ransom asked with a smirk making you groan.