in between , malachi barton imagines

cardigan

"you drew stars around my scars, but now i'm bleeding."
resolving argument w/ malachi
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there's been tension rising between you and malachi all day. between the stress of the tour and you still balancing school and your career, little things have annoyed you both all day.

"mal, you've been mean to me all day, i haven't even done anything to you!" you throw your hands up in frustration, trying to stop your lip from quivering. he sighs, rubbing his face with his hands, "you've been snappy towards me all day. don't act like you're the only one having a shitty day, y/n."

that was earlier that day, before going over choreography. you both knew that you weren't really mad at eachother, your stubbornness getting the best of you. you and malachi still did the choreography perfectly, neither one of you missing a beat.

you still watched him with lovesick eyes, upset from your argument but not letting it show. when you weren't paying attention, he watched you the same way. he noticed how you talked and laughed with freya, but how your smile didn't reach your eyes.

he noticed all the little things that you thought you were hiding.

you two still hadn't barely talked all day, only giving reassuring touches here and there. later that night after rehearsal, malachi walks you to your trailer. regardless if you've fought or the day you've had, he still doesn't let you walk alone.

you still want to be close to him, regardless of the argument. your hand brushes his arm, holding onto his bicep as you walk together.

you stop at your trailer infront of the door. he turns towards you, wrapping his arms around you and kissing your forehead and then your lips like he always does, "i love you. sleep good."

you cling to him a little longer, resting your cheek against his shoulder, "can i sleep in your trailer?"

"baby..." he sighs, a part of him still mad from the earlier argument. but, he couldn't say no when he saw the look on your face, your big eyes pleading for him to say yes.

"okay, c'mon." he ushers you in, closing the door behind him. you change out of your costume, put his t-shirt on, and lay down in his bed. laying on your side, you stare up at him as he changes, your eyes following his biceps that flex with every movement. he throws on pajama pants, leaving himself shirtless.

"i'm gonna play the game for a little, okay?" he leans down and kisses your forehead, turning off the lamp on your side of the bed. you frown slightly, still feeling the slight tension from earlier.

"are you mad at me?" you look up at him, trying to mask your sad expression. he looks down at you, seeing right through you. he sits down on the edge of the bed, brushing your hair out of your face.

"no baby, i'm not mad, okay? just go to sleep and i'll be right here soon." he strokes your hair, leaning down and kissing your pouty lips. you sigh and mumble a quick "okay" before grabbing your phone, opening tiktok and scrolling through your foryou page.

eventually, almost an hour has passed and malachi is still playing his game. you shift restlessly, finally giving up on going to sleep. standing up, you walk over to his chair and put your hand on his shoulder.

"are you almost done? i can't sleep, i need you." you rub your eyes, clearly starting to get tired and irritated. he smiles softly at your sleepy expression, walking over to the bed.

you stand there for a second, confused.

"you left your game-" you start, before being interrupted by him wrapping a blanket around you and picking you up, sitting back down in his chair with you in his lap. he kisses your cheek as your head naturally falls down onto his shoulder.

"do you promise we're okay?" you whisper, feeling him wrap his arms tighter around you. "i promise. we both just had a rough day and were too stubborn to get over it. i love you, i'm not mad anymore, we're good. don't worry your pretty little head about it anymore, okay?" he says, gently rubbing your arm with his thumb.

you smile and nod your head, getting more comfortable in his lap.

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did y'all see how charlie kirk got shot like hello his poor family