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the_water_clockAuthor: Clio
Title: All Around You Now
Pairing: The Voice RPF Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire friendship, with Blake/Miranda Lambert
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Blake is about to get married to an amazing woman. Now is not the time to have all these feelings for everyone else he interacts with. Looks like the singers aren't the only ones who'll need some advice from Reba.
Length: 2050 words
Notes: THANK YOU to my betajehane_writes, and my cheerleaders sistermagpie and honestys_easy, and to Hulu for putting up that rewind of last season/preview of next season so I could once again partake of Blake's "lumbering charm." Title from the Reba McEntire song "When Love Gets A Hold Of You."
The weird lust thing, as Blake came to refer to it, started with the first meeting of the coaches as a group. Blake had a sense of how these things worked; he'd been a judge on one of these things before, but he was still nervous. Sure, they were all successful, and sure, he'd met Christina, Adam and Cee Lo at awards shows and similar industry gatherings, but they traveled in completely different circles. He wasn't entirely sure they'd gel, and he was looking forward to when Reba got there to give him some Oklahoma backup.
But once the four of them got to talking, Blake could feel the electricity in the air. The producers had been talking about chemistry, and damn if they didn't have it. He was relieved to find that while Christina was a diva and Adam a brat and Cee Lo a weirdo, they were a brand of diva, brat and weirdo that he could deal with, and they could deal with his being a dumbass (on occasion). More than that, he found that they were all, well, flirting was the only word for it. Christina would probably flirt with a hat if you put it in front of her, but he was surprised at how easily he fell into suggestive banter with Adam and Cee Lo, and how fun it was. It shouldn't have felt so natural, so easy, so quickly, and yet, it did.
Maybe he wouldn't need to cling to Reba quite so much. Or at all, actually.
When he got home—actually the house they'd rented in Santa Monica, though as far as Blake was concerned home was wherever Miranda was—he found his soon-to-be bride firing up the grill on the patio out by the pool. She looked damn good in her little sundress, hair up in a ponytail. Something about Miranda being domestic always got to him and that electric hum he'd been feeling since the coach meeting went straight to his dick. When she turned around to kiss him he put his hands on her waist and picked her up.
Her legs wrapped around his hips and she wriggled against him, reacting to his hardness with a slow grin. "So it's like that, is it?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's like that." He thought about carrying her to the bedroom because damn, he did not want to let her go, but hey there was a convenient wall. It was far from the first time they'd done it like this, and as soon as he pushed her up against the wall she was getting into his pants and damn her ass felt good in his hands. He loved feeling big and strong around her, filling her up, and her so soft and wet around him, so it didn't take long for either of them.
"Damn, baby," she said, after they'd collapsed into a heap on the floor. "Wanna swim?"
Before he could answer—before he could even sit up—she was already naked and jumping into the pool. No questions about what had got him all fired up in the first place, and for that he was grateful because he wasn't entirely sure. Might have made him decide to marry the girl, if he wasn't already doing that anyway.
After that first day Blake was able to mostly keep himself in check, and keep the flirting and its consequences to a respectable level. Of course it didn't help that Christina's breasts were always on display, or that Cee Lo's speaking voice was a sultry rasp, or that Adam's brattiness got right under Blake's skin, but he was a grown man and could keep himself under control. He'd always been kind of emotional, and was used to keeping it from leaking out all over the place and causing a mess.
Not that the auditions weren't an emotionally charged process to begin with, between the singers putting so much out on the line and the coaches trying to get the best team. He wouldn't have predicted that he'd fight so hard for anything that wasn't personal to him until he heard Xenia and Dia and knew that he had to have them, that they were his, damnit, and Cee Lo needed to understand that. Kinda like seeing that perfect girl in a bar and edging out all the other fellas, only without the sex part because that would be creepy.
But the other judges fought hard for their singers, too, so Blake figured if they were all feeling emotional, then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
And then Reba arrived.
Now, Blake had had a crush on Reba since before he heard about the birds and the bees. He loved her voice and her spirit and her laugh and her red hair. He didn't care if that meant he watched a TV show that the other fellas said was for girls; he never missed an episode and he had all of her records. And when he met her, she did not disappoint in any way, except that she didn't immediately fall for him. Instead she flirted back with good humor, seemed flattered to have the attention of such a young man but didn't take him entirely seriously. He couldn't blame her; he hadn't been much worth taking that seriously when they first met, anyhow. So they became friends—or better than that, pals.
Reba was the only person on his list for an advisor, so it was a good thing she had the time and the inclination to come out to LA and listen to a bunch of young singers. But having her there next to him, funny and knowledgeable and full of warmth for everyone—well, let's say he was just glad to be standing behind a piano, and made a note to himself to wear looser jeans for the next day's shooting, when Reba would be sitting right next to him on the couch.
He got home late to an empty house—Miranda was playing a show on the east coast, and while they'd texted earlier in the day, she'd be sleeping by now. He got into the shower to get rid of the chubby he'd had off and on all day, but his thoughts were muddled. The images in his mind flickered from Miranda to Reba to Christina and even Adam and Cee Lo, so fast he couldn't really say what put him over the edge.
"I am so fucked," he said aloud, his voice echoing against the tiles as he slid down to sit on the shower floor. He was getting married in less than a week, and here he was, lust radiating out of him in every direction possible. He was not going to make the same mistake twice. Miranda deserved better. Hell, he deserved better—he wanted to grow old with her.
Loose jeans and clean thoughts would get him through, even if Reba was sitting on a couch next to him. They'd have to.
They didn't. At least, not exactly.
They broke for lunch, having talked to three of the eight singers on Team Blake. While it helped to have these kids and their problems to focus on, he couldn't help thinking about how Reba was eight inches away from him and it would be so easy to just reach out and—
"All right, you," Reba said, barging into his trailer. "What's going on?"
Blake widened his eyes, hoping to look innocent. "Nothing, not a thing," he said. "What makes you say that?"
"Never seen you this jumpy," Reba replied, sitting down next to him. "Nervous, but not like this. Is it the wedding? Because I think you two will be just fine."
"No," Blake said. "Or, not like that."
Reba cocked her head. "Like what, then?"
He ran a hand through his hair, annoyed that there wasn't really room to get up and pace. "Look, I love Miranda."
"Of course you do."
"But lately … lately I've been thinking about other people. Finding myself attracted to other people."
"You're just getting married, Blake. Look but don't touch, and you'll be fine."
"I'm not fine!" Blake said. "Not when I'm sitting on the couch and I have trouble not thinking about how you're right next to me, and I could—well, more than just touch, let me put it that way."
Reba sat back, but showed no surprise other than a raised eyebrow. "Me and who else?"
"Christina, and sometimes Adam and Cee Lo, and even Dia and Xenia which is downright disturbing." He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She was so going to give it to him.
Even worse, she laughed. "Damn, I know you like to call yourself a dumbass, but sometimes you really are one."
"Don't you think I know that?" he said. "I'm gonna fuck this one up, too, and I was trying so hard."
He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Come on now, look at me," she said.
Blake turned to her and opened his eyes, because no matter what, he was man enough to sit and take his medicine, get lectured by a friend who was surely pretty disappointed in him.
But she was smiling. "You're far from fucking anything up," she said.
"How do you figure that?"
"When you fall in love—and I mean real love, the for-real forever kind—it's like your heart learns all over again how to love. And that love starts flowing out all over everyone you care about—people you just met and people you've known for ages. That's all this is, Blake."
"But this—I don't feel just love, Reba."
She patted his knee, like she was his momma or an indulgent school teacher. "That's just the caveman part of your brain, turning it all into lustful thoughts. I know you've stopped thinking with your dick—now's the time to stop feeling with it." She smiled and leaned in closer. "Maybe then you won't have to hide your situation behind a piano."
His eyes flew wide. "You noticed that?" he asked.
She laughed again, merry and open. "Just a bit," she said. "Don't worry about it so much. If you open up and let all that emotion come spilling out, it'll stop giving you so much trouble. There's plenty of love to go around. Trust me." She stood up briskly. "Now come on, we gotta get work done so we can get you to Texas to marry that girl."
He looked up at her and something in his chest loosened. "Okay," he said. "Let's do that."
When they got back on set he thought about what Reba had said, and just let it go. Between takes, he wrapped his arm around Reba's shoulders, and realized yeah, that was all he really wanted, just to touch her, to express his affection. When he wanted to hug someone—which was often—he did. And it didn't just help him—Xenia calmed right down when he touched her, let her know he really was there for her. He gave Dia his strength and she soaked it up like a sponge.
"See?" Reba said, when their day was done. "Told ya."
And damn if he didn't feel a whole lot better.
Once the live shows started Miranda was around quite a lot. She had her own tour dates, like Blake, but they'd coordinated to try to be in LA together as much as they could. And when the idea came up to have the finalists sing a duet with an established singer on the finale, there was only one name in Blake's mind.
He sat in that big chair watching Dia and Miranda sing together with tears in his eyes, so overwhelmed by that sense of family that he had to say it, out loud, even if he was on live television, because it was the truth.
During the commercial break Reba, who was sitting just behind him, came up to his chair. "Well that was real nice," she said.
"Yep," Blake replied. "Um, thanks. You know, for everything."
She smiled. "Glad to help," she said, then leaned in closer. "Next time, just ask me sooner."
"I will,” he said, chuckling. "But I don't think I'll have to."
Title: All Around You Now
Pairing: The Voice RPF Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire friendship, with Blake/Miranda Lambert
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Blake is about to get married to an amazing woman. Now is not the time to have all these feelings for everyone else he interacts with. Looks like the singers aren't the only ones who'll need some advice from Reba.
Length: 2050 words
Notes: THANK YOU to my beta
jehane_writes, and my cheerleaders sistermagpie and honestys_easy, and to Hulu for putting up that rewind of last season/preview of next season so I could once again partake of Blake's "lumbering charm." Title from the Reba McEntire song "When Love Gets A Hold Of You."The weird lust thing, as Blake came to refer to it, started with the first meeting of the coaches as a group. Blake had a sense of how these things worked; he'd been a judge on one of these things before, but he was still nervous. Sure, they were all successful, and sure, he'd met Christina, Adam and Cee Lo at awards shows and similar industry gatherings, but they traveled in completely different circles. He wasn't entirely sure they'd gel, and he was looking forward to when Reba got there to give him some Oklahoma backup.
But once the four of them got to talking, Blake could feel the electricity in the air. The producers had been talking about chemistry, and damn if they didn't have it. He was relieved to find that while Christina was a diva and Adam a brat and Cee Lo a weirdo, they were a brand of diva, brat and weirdo that he could deal with, and they could deal with his being a dumbass (on occasion). More than that, he found that they were all, well, flirting was the only word for it. Christina would probably flirt with a hat if you put it in front of her, but he was surprised at how easily he fell into suggestive banter with Adam and Cee Lo, and how fun it was. It shouldn't have felt so natural, so easy, so quickly, and yet, it did.
Maybe he wouldn't need to cling to Reba quite so much. Or at all, actually.
When he got home—actually the house they'd rented in Santa Monica, though as far as Blake was concerned home was wherever Miranda was—he found his soon-to-be bride firing up the grill on the patio out by the pool. She looked damn good in her little sundress, hair up in a ponytail. Something about Miranda being domestic always got to him and that electric hum he'd been feeling since the coach meeting went straight to his dick. When she turned around to kiss him he put his hands on her waist and picked her up.
Her legs wrapped around his hips and she wriggled against him, reacting to his hardness with a slow grin. "So it's like that, is it?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's like that." He thought about carrying her to the bedroom because damn, he did not want to let her go, but hey there was a convenient wall. It was far from the first time they'd done it like this, and as soon as he pushed her up against the wall she was getting into his pants and damn her ass felt good in his hands. He loved feeling big and strong around her, filling her up, and her so soft and wet around him, so it didn't take long for either of them.
"Damn, baby," she said, after they'd collapsed into a heap on the floor. "Wanna swim?"
Before he could answer—before he could even sit up—she was already naked and jumping into the pool. No questions about what had got him all fired up in the first place, and for that he was grateful because he wasn't entirely sure. Might have made him decide to marry the girl, if he wasn't already doing that anyway.
After that first day Blake was able to mostly keep himself in check, and keep the flirting and its consequences to a respectable level. Of course it didn't help that Christina's breasts were always on display, or that Cee Lo's speaking voice was a sultry rasp, or that Adam's brattiness got right under Blake's skin, but he was a grown man and could keep himself under control. He'd always been kind of emotional, and was used to keeping it from leaking out all over the place and causing a mess.
Not that the auditions weren't an emotionally charged process to begin with, between the singers putting so much out on the line and the coaches trying to get the best team. He wouldn't have predicted that he'd fight so hard for anything that wasn't personal to him until he heard Xenia and Dia and knew that he had to have them, that they were his, damnit, and Cee Lo needed to understand that. Kinda like seeing that perfect girl in a bar and edging out all the other fellas, only without the sex part because that would be creepy.
But the other judges fought hard for their singers, too, so Blake figured if they were all feeling emotional, then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
And then Reba arrived.
Now, Blake had had a crush on Reba since before he heard about the birds and the bees. He loved her voice and her spirit and her laugh and her red hair. He didn't care if that meant he watched a TV show that the other fellas said was for girls; he never missed an episode and he had all of her records. And when he met her, she did not disappoint in any way, except that she didn't immediately fall for him. Instead she flirted back with good humor, seemed flattered to have the attention of such a young man but didn't take him entirely seriously. He couldn't blame her; he hadn't been much worth taking that seriously when they first met, anyhow. So they became friends—or better than that, pals.
Reba was the only person on his list for an advisor, so it was a good thing she had the time and the inclination to come out to LA and listen to a bunch of young singers. But having her there next to him, funny and knowledgeable and full of warmth for everyone—well, let's say he was just glad to be standing behind a piano, and made a note to himself to wear looser jeans for the next day's shooting, when Reba would be sitting right next to him on the couch.
He got home late to an empty house—Miranda was playing a show on the east coast, and while they'd texted earlier in the day, she'd be sleeping by now. He got into the shower to get rid of the chubby he'd had off and on all day, but his thoughts were muddled. The images in his mind flickered from Miranda to Reba to Christina and even Adam and Cee Lo, so fast he couldn't really say what put him over the edge.
"I am so fucked," he said aloud, his voice echoing against the tiles as he slid down to sit on the shower floor. He was getting married in less than a week, and here he was, lust radiating out of him in every direction possible. He was not going to make the same mistake twice. Miranda deserved better. Hell, he deserved better—he wanted to grow old with her.
Loose jeans and clean thoughts would get him through, even if Reba was sitting on a couch next to him. They'd have to.
They didn't. At least, not exactly.
They broke for lunch, having talked to three of the eight singers on Team Blake. While it helped to have these kids and their problems to focus on, he couldn't help thinking about how Reba was eight inches away from him and it would be so easy to just reach out and—
"All right, you," Reba said, barging into his trailer. "What's going on?"
Blake widened his eyes, hoping to look innocent. "Nothing, not a thing," he said. "What makes you say that?"
"Never seen you this jumpy," Reba replied, sitting down next to him. "Nervous, but not like this. Is it the wedding? Because I think you two will be just fine."
"No," Blake said. "Or, not like that."
Reba cocked her head. "Like what, then?"
He ran a hand through his hair, annoyed that there wasn't really room to get up and pace. "Look, I love Miranda."
"Of course you do."
"But lately … lately I've been thinking about other people. Finding myself attracted to other people."
"You're just getting married, Blake. Look but don't touch, and you'll be fine."
"I'm not fine!" Blake said. "Not when I'm sitting on the couch and I have trouble not thinking about how you're right next to me, and I could—well, more than just touch, let me put it that way."
Reba sat back, but showed no surprise other than a raised eyebrow. "Me and who else?"
"Christina, and sometimes Adam and Cee Lo, and even Dia and Xenia which is downright disturbing." He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She was so going to give it to him.
Even worse, she laughed. "Damn, I know you like to call yourself a dumbass, but sometimes you really are one."
"Don't you think I know that?" he said. "I'm gonna fuck this one up, too, and I was trying so hard."
He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Come on now, look at me," she said.
Blake turned to her and opened his eyes, because no matter what, he was man enough to sit and take his medicine, get lectured by a friend who was surely pretty disappointed in him.
But she was smiling. "You're far from fucking anything up," she said.
"How do you figure that?"
"When you fall in love—and I mean real love, the for-real forever kind—it's like your heart learns all over again how to love. And that love starts flowing out all over everyone you care about—people you just met and people you've known for ages. That's all this is, Blake."
"But this—I don't feel just love, Reba."
She patted his knee, like she was his momma or an indulgent school teacher. "That's just the caveman part of your brain, turning it all into lustful thoughts. I know you've stopped thinking with your dick—now's the time to stop feeling with it." She smiled and leaned in closer. "Maybe then you won't have to hide your situation behind a piano."
His eyes flew wide. "You noticed that?" he asked.
She laughed again, merry and open. "Just a bit," she said. "Don't worry about it so much. If you open up and let all that emotion come spilling out, it'll stop giving you so much trouble. There's plenty of love to go around. Trust me." She stood up briskly. "Now come on, we gotta get work done so we can get you to Texas to marry that girl."
He looked up at her and something in his chest loosened. "Okay," he said. "Let's do that."
When they got back on set he thought about what Reba had said, and just let it go. Between takes, he wrapped his arm around Reba's shoulders, and realized yeah, that was all he really wanted, just to touch her, to express his affection. When he wanted to hug someone—which was often—he did. And it didn't just help him—Xenia calmed right down when he touched her, let her know he really was there for her. He gave Dia his strength and she soaked it up like a sponge.
"See?" Reba said, when their day was done. "Told ya."
And damn if he didn't feel a whole lot better.
Once the live shows started Miranda was around quite a lot. She had her own tour dates, like Blake, but they'd coordinated to try to be in LA together as much as they could. And when the idea came up to have the finalists sing a duet with an established singer on the finale, there was only one name in Blake's mind.
He sat in that big chair watching Dia and Miranda sing together with tears in his eyes, so overwhelmed by that sense of family that he had to say it, out loud, even if he was on live television, because it was the truth.
During the commercial break Reba, who was sitting just behind him, came up to his chair. "Well that was real nice," she said.
"Yep," Blake replied. "Um, thanks. You know, for everything."
She smiled. "Glad to help," she said, then leaned in closer. "Next time, just ask me sooner."
"I will,” he said, chuckling. "But I don't think I'll have to."
