A collection of short stories for my Tyler Owens fic, "Sun To Me"! The story may be over, but I can still write the southern sweethearts ;) The short stories range from characters, to plot, to angst or fluff. However, I do NOT write smut or anythin...
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(These two deserve a book for themselves tbh ☹️🩷 I regret not writing them in "Sun To Me" boone_baby_boone maybe eventually)
The last rays of the Oklahoma sun had long since faded, leaving the bedroom bathed in the soft glow of Lou's bedside lamp. Lou sat propped up against a mountain of pillows, her dark hair pulled back in a messy bun, completely engrossed in her latest novel. The house was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the old farmhouse settling and the distant hum of crickets outside.
The bedroom door creaked open, and Boone shuffled in, looking every bit as worn out as he felt. His usually animated face was drawn with exhaustion, his bright brown eyes heavy-lidded.
"Long day?" Lou asked, not looking up from her book but allowing a small smile to play at the corners of her mouth.
Boone grunted in response, kicking off his boots and shucking his jeans. "You could say that," he mumbled, his voice gravelly with fatigue. "Fencin' all day in this heat ain't no joke."
Lou hummed sympathetically, finally tearing her eyes away from the page to look at her boyfriend. "You should've called for help. Jake would've come over."
Boone waved a hand dismissively as he pulled on a soft, worn t-shirt. "Nah, Jake's got enough on his plate with the new baby. Besides, I can handle a little manual labor."
Lou raised an eyebrow. "A little? Eddy, you left before sunrise and you're just now getting in. That's more than a little."
Boone shrugged, a ghost of his usual cheeky grin flitting across his face. "Well, when you put it that way... maybe I overdid it a smidge."
He crawled into bed, immediately gravitating towards Lou's warmth. Without a word, he laid his head on her shoulder, nuzzling into the crook of her neck with a contented sigh.
"What're you readin'?" he asked, his voice already thick with impending sleep.
Lou tilted the book slightly so he could see the cover. "It's called 'The Night Circus'. It's about two magicians pitted against each other in a magical competition, but they fall in love."
Boone hummed, his eyes skimming the page Lou was on. "Sounds interestin'. Read me a bit?"
Lou chuckled softly. "You sure? You look like you're about two seconds away from passing out."
"M'awake," Boone mumbled unconvincingly. "Just resting my eyes a bit."
"Alright, if you want," Lou said, her voice tinged with affectionate amusement. She cleared her throat and began to read aloud, her soft voice filling the quiet room.
"'The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.'"
Boone made a small noise of interest, his eyes still closed. "Mysterious," he murmured.
Lou continued reading, her voice a soothing cadence in the stillness of the night. As she read, she felt Boone's breathing grow deeper and more even, his body relaxing more heavily against hers.
After a few pages, Lou paused, glancing down at her boyfriend. Boone's face was slack with sleep, his mouth slightly open, a faint snore escaping with each breath.
Lou smiled softly, carefully marking her place in the book and setting it aside. With gentle movements, trying not to disturb Boone, she shifted to lay him down properly on the bed.
Boone stirred slightly. "Lou?" he mumbled, his eyes cracking open just a sliver.
"Shh, go back to sleep," Lou whispered, running her fingers through his hair. "You're exhausted."
"Love you too, baby," Lou replied softly, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.
She pulled the covers up over him, tucking him in with a tenderness that belied her usually reserved nature. Boone immediately curled into the warmth, burying his face in the pillow with a contented sigh.
Lou watched him for a moment, her heart swelling with affection for this man who could go from larger-than-life to adorably vulnerable in the span of a day. It was these quiet moments, she thought, that made their life together so special.
With one last fond look at her sleeping boyfriend, Lou reached over and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness. She settled down beside Boone, who instinctively reached for her even in his sleep, draping an arm over her waist and pulling her close.
As Lou drifted off to sleep herself, lulled by the steady rhythm of Boone's breathing, she reflected on the day. It hadn't been particularly eventful - just another day in their life together. But it was threads of days like these, filled with hard work and quiet evenings, that made up the fabric of their shared life. And Lou wouldn't have it any other way.
In the morning, Boone would probably wake up full of energy again, ready to tackle the next project or adventure. He'd bounce ideas off Lou over breakfast, his enthusiasm infectious even as Lou playfully rolled her eyes at his more outlandish suggestions. They'd go about their day - Lou to her office job in town, Boone to whatever task needed doing on the ranch - and come evening, they'd find their way back to each other.
It was a simple life, but a good one. As sleep finally claimed her, Lou's last conscious thought was one of gratitude - for this life, for this man, for this love that had found them both when they least expected it.
