Work Text:
It was another hot day of Billy and Daisy writing at Teddy’s house. The heat was almost 90 degrees, and the sun shines through all of Teddy’s windows so there was no way of escaping the heat. Much to Billy’s dislike, Daisy was wearing a tank top and shorts again, which were ridiculously distracting for him because of how obvious it was that she was not wearing a bra. They were trying to write, but the heat clouded their creative flow, as if they didn't already feel warmth anytime they were near each other. The heat made the environment feel like a sauna, it was simply too hot for them to concentrate.
So of course, Daisy decided to go for a swim, Teddy’s pool had become a sanctuary for her in a way, always helping her cool down when she got so heated up with Billy around her. The instant she saw his smile, his hair, his arms, his fingers against the guitar, she started heating up, whenever he looked at her a little longer than necessary, her cheeks blushed without her control, the pool helped dim those feelings, though not completely get rid of them because just having Billy near her, made her feel like she had less oxygen in her lungs and her temperature rose up. Even when she wasn’t near him, Billy made her body react that way just by thinking of him. Daisy had never felt so reactive to someone with just the thought of them, but with Billy it was as if she had no control over her body.
Billy rolled his eyes when Daisy said she was going on a swim, she was already taking her shorts off, as soon as she left the house to go into the pool area, and was inside the water just as Billy sat on one of the few spots outside that had shade. After about 10 minutes of swimming, Billy leaves his guitar perched on a tree and goes towards one of the edges of the pool.
“Don’t you think we should try to be productive?” Billy asked Daisy when she came up from the water
“Don’t you think you should relax and have a little fun, Billy?” Daisy asked back
“Last time that I tried to relax and have fun instead of doing music, it didn’t end very well”
“What are you so afraid of that can go wrong now? It’s not like what I’m implying by “fun” is drinking or drugs just so you know” Daisy replied back
“I know that’s not what you meant”
“Then what do you think could go wrong if you tried to have a different type of fun now, BIlly?”
“I don’t know” Billy lied
“You know what, okay fine, I’ll do what you say. Just how about you come help me get out of the pool so we can not have fun” Daisy complained while moving closer to the edge and stretching an arm up as a sign for him to help her get out of the pool.
But when Daisy knew that she had Billy’s grip, she forced him towards her, pushing him into the water. Daisy could not stop laughing and Billy quickly came up for air, definitely surprised at her actions, but the water seems to have the same effect on him as it did for her, so he started laughing at the situation and instead of getting mad at how Daisy just threw him into the pool while he had his boots, jeans, and shirt on, he pretended to fight her with water and suddenly they both started a war of shooting water at each other. Their laughter echoed around the trees surrounding them and the air seemed to blow a little stronger.
“I am so getting you back for that Daisy” Billy claimed but with zero anger in his voice
“Well then come and get me” Daisy replied to him,
And oh how badly Billy wanted to go and get her, he imagined taking her in his arms and kissing her entire body, making sure he nipped at every freckle that adorned her arms and face.
But instead, “This isn’t a fair fight you know, you threw me in this damn pool while I had boots and jeans on”
“It’s not my fault you’re Mr. Denim even when it's 90 degrees out.” Daisy replied still laughing, and a few seconds after she added, “So take your clothes off” and there’s a faint want in her voice when she says so, with a challenge in it too, she wanted to see how far he would go, how far he would allow himself to enjoy his time with daisy, with literally no layers.
“But when you’re back get ready to lose, cowboy” Daisy quickly added before Billy dwelled too long on the hidden meanings of her words
Billy could feel Daisy’s gaze on him as he took every item off, boots, socks, jeans, t-shirt, until he was left only in his boxers that had boat prints on them. But instead of meeting her gaze with the same intensity, he funnily remarked,
“If you tell anyone about the boats on my boxers, I shall deny it forever”
Which translates to how their dynamics are private, almost like a secret they’re both keeping together. And by Daisy agreeing that her lips were sealed, they both knew she was not talking about the boats on his boxers.
As if to try to lessen the sexual tension, he cannonballs into the pool, splashing Daisy while doing so. Once he came up, he searched for Daisy and started chasing her. They swim for about 5 minutes, going from one side of the pool to the other. Both cannot remember the last time they felt so free and joyful, for Daisy and Billy it always seemed as if the world faded when they were together, but often at times their connection was painful, their shared similar wounds brought their dynamic to be very emotionally draining at times, both getting reminded that they have not yet healed from their past, but right now, in this pool, with their laughter echoing against the trees and summer breeze, all their troubles seemed to melt away, and their connection felt like something beautiful and weightless, something coming natural to them in a joyful way, similar to how it felt when they danced with each other a few days ago.
At one point during their intense race of Billy trying to catch Daisy, she swims a little too close to the wall of the pool and before she can move again, Billy is right in front of her.
“Gotcha” Billy says while grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing them both under the water. They both quickly go up again, trying to catch their breath.
“Okay okay you win” Daisy says breathlessly.
And Billy believes that if he gets to meet this side of Daisy, he gets to joke around her, have excuses to touch her and get so close to her, actually be able to chase her , with her in a tight tank top, breathing so heavily against him, but mainly while she flashes her big beautiful smile to him which makes the sun pale in comparison then yes, he has indeed won.
As their breath settles down, they both realize how close they are to each other. When their eyes met there was a new and renewed sense of heat between them even amidst the cold water. He felt it pooling low in his abdomen and coiling there restlessly. Billy had put one of his arms around Daisy’s waist and the other next to Daisy’s face, resting on the wall of the pool that Daisy was against and their labored breaths made their chest rise up and down rapidly in front of each other, in sync and almost touching , exactly how Billy and Daisy constantly found themselves when they’re around one another.
Billy slowly -as if afraid she would leave if he moved fast- brought his hand that was next to her head towards her hair and softly grabbed the hair sticking in front of Daisy’s face and tucked it behind her ears and he did the same to the bangs that were brushing against her eyes. Daisy’s breath hitched and he stopped moving her hair and instead rested his hand where her jaw meets her cheek, lightly brushing her chin with his thumb. Suddenly, Billy was leaning closer to Daisy, making her be fully pressed against the wall, his hand on her waist gripped a little stronger and their lips brushed against each other. Daisy put her hands on his shoulder in order to float at the same height as him, but the action felt a little too similar to when Camila put her arms around him when kissing him goodbye this morning, though with his wife it did not feel this electrifying. The comparison however reminded him of the reality, the world that actually exists outside the bubble he loves creating when he’s with Daisy, and he instead leaned his forehead against her.
“I’m sorry, Daisy” He’s not sure what he’s apologizing for, but he felt sorry.
Daisy let out a frustrated sigh, she believes like the “almost” is the only feeling she will get when it comes to Billy and the thought makes her want to cry.
“We can’t” He says in response of her sigh
“But why not? We both want to, Billy and you know it” Daisy tries to say angrily but instead it comes out frustrated and almost mournful.
She tries to lean a little forward, and their lips graze again in that sense Daisy was aware of having almost felt them before Billy pulls back once again, but this time he removes his grip from her waist and his eyes are so kind when he finally look up at her, they look apologetic and sad, making it noticeable that this affects him as well, that he does want this too.
“Daisy, it’s more complicated than that, I…”
Billy trails off and looks away from her, seeming lost in thought, like he is trying to find the right words, but he feels like there aren’t no words to describe the situation.
“You what, Billy? I don’t understand you, at times it feels like you want this too but then you stop and pull away and try to deny what’s happening between us and turn into an asshole and I’m so tired of this, just tell me, what do you want?” She says desperately, her voice slightly cracked, making it seem like she was going to cry and when Billy looks up at her again, he sees tears starting to form in her eyelids.
“Ironically for a songwriter I don’t seem to be very good with words, huh?” Billy tries to joke but seeing Daisy fighting harder to not let her tears fall, he adds
“I don’t know how to explain it Daisy, I-”
Billy takes her hand underwater, hoping it offers some comfort because he hates seeing her sad, hates being the one making her sad. Billy has always felt guilty when he inflicts pain and sadness on people, but with Daisy it feels like his heart has been taken out and crushed right in front of him, the thought of him being the one in charge of making her feel anything other than happiness makes him feel like all the breath has left his lungs and his brain desperately tries to find ways to make her smile again. Unlike when he’s made her sad, Billy feels immense pride when he makes her smile, and her smile makes him feel like the sun is in her face and it feels rewarding to be the cause of such a beautiful thing. But when he tries to make her feel happy, they find themselves in situations like these which are counterproductive in the way that they end up in suffering again.
Trying to find a solution, Billy says “Let me write you a song”
And Daisy just shakes her head lightly with confusion in her gaze
“Let me write you a song about whatever this is, to make up for being an asshole, let me write to you about how I want-” you, us .
But he wasn’t ready to admit this so truthfully now when there were still inches between them and he had no way to justify this was “about the music”.
Instead he finished the thought with, “Just…let me write a song, okay? It’s what I do best I guess.”
This conversation reminded him faintly of when he promised his wife all those years ago that he would write her a song, and though Camila put all her trust in him, he still had not written her a song, but here he was swearing to Daisy that he would, and the issue was that this was a promise he intended to complete as soon as he could, because he would be doing something that he genuinely wants to do, it comes to him naturally. While he had spent time trying to write a song for Cami, no ideas came to mind, not because he didn’t have any words to describe his love for her, but he was overanalyzing each word, trying to make it perfect for her, fearing her judgment. With Daisy however, he did not feel like she would judge what he feels for her, she would not care if it was complicated and wasn’t all happy. So Billy’s mind freely thought about phrases to include on the song, including how he had gotten a taste from Daisy but he wants at least a bite instead, representing how he tries to convince himself that if just gave into his temptations once, he would be able to move on, but he doesn’t because he knows they would not be able to stop once they started.
Daisy replied with a simple, “Okay” and with that Billy got up and went to get his guitar, making sure he kept his promise for Daisy.
When he got to his guitar and notebook, he sat on the chairs facing the pool.
“Get out of the pool, I want to see you” Billy told Daisy without looking away from his notebook.
“Okay…But why do you need to see me?”
“I said I want to see you, not need to” Because truthfully he did not need to see her to remember how she makes him feel, how it feels like she gets under his skin and can’t get her out even when he tried to scrub himself hard after hugging her, he closes his eye and can see her clearly, from her long legs, to her wild hair, and crooked smile, he could see her as if he had spent years studying her, as if he was trying to capture her essence in order to paint her.
“Sorry boss, why do you want to see me then?”
Billy did not know how to answer, he always wanted to see her, be near her, touch her, kiss her, feel how she would tremble under his touch, wants to see her throw her head back in response to his touches, wants to know how her face looks like when she’s about to reach her peak.
Instead he comes up with something that is not so far to the truth but is more appropriate for this particular circumstance.
“I guess to help with the creative flow”
“So, as your muse basically”
“In way, sure, if you’re willing”
And no one, had ever asked in any way if she was okay being the muse. With Billy she made sure from the start to prove to him that she was the somebody, but right now, when he was being slightly more honest with his feelings, and he asked her so needy yet so gently, for the first time she felt powerful being the muse.
So with that very satisfying response, Daisy got out of the pool slowly, she walked out of the pool, but sat along the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in the water while she leaned back on her hands against the floor behind her. She met his gaze finally and even though they were a few feet apart, his gaze was almost burning, she felt as if he was looking at her but beyond her, as if his thoughts were about her but he was daydreaming another reality, and she questioned if he was thinking about kissing her and touching her just like she dreams about at night.
Billy, in all honesty was trying very hard to not forget about the song and simply kiss her breathless, he could once again see her nipples through her damp shirt and he also wondered if her underwear was wet with something other than the water from the pool. But what made his breath shorten the most was her gaze and her posture, she had a challenge behind her eyes, almost trying to see if he would be able to control himself and not walk up to her, he unfortunately seemed to still have some self-control, something he practiced too much in these past months, but he felt like she was the only drug that he was truly having a hard time not feeling tempted by, the only substance that he felt he could not live without, the only temptation he wanted to taste and kept almost getting close to giving in.
Billy kept glancing at her as much as he could while still being able to write down in his notebook, with her standing in front of him so breathtaking and willing, it sparked something into Billy. Daisy kept her gaze on him the entire time, her eyes went from looking curiously at his scribbling, as if trying to decipher what he was writing down, and then lowering her view to noticing how tight his boxers kept getting as the time passed. Billy was able to write a song the quickest he had ever written before. Billy believes that Daisy is right, if he simply tries to be truthful about his wants, he would actually create something wonderful, and that’s what he felt when he finished writing the song for Daisy in under an hour.
Before even discussing the song with her, he simply got up, took his guitar and notebook and told him to get dressed so they could go to the studio. Daisy seemed to be almost under a spell from him and simply complied instead of asking any questions, eager to hear what she had willingly inspired.
After Daisy put her shorts back on, she was almost completely dry and they got into Billy’s car. Neither of them turned on the radio and after a few minutes of silence, Billy finally spoke.
“I’m really excited for you to listen to the song, I just thought it would be more fun for you to hear it in the studio”
“I think this is the first time I hear you say the word ‘fun’ without being sarcastic, Billy Dunne” Daisy replied with a laugh, trying to loosen the tension
“Ha Ha” He sarcastically remarked while playfully nudging her thigh with his fist
However, instead of pulling his hand away, he placed his hand on her thigh, looked at her and said
“I really can’t wait for you to finally hear it”
And he actually meant how he wanted her to finally see how much he wanted her, the know of the effect she has on him, the control she holds over him.
She simply blushed and move her eyes back to the road, not moving her thigh as if she was afraid he would pull back if she did, and though her thigh was burning from his touch, she would rather burn than not have Billy’s touch on her, she believes the later is way worse punishment which she has experienced too strongly in these past weeks.
Billy kept moving his hand higher and higher up her thigh and she thought it could just be because of the movement from the road but when he did it for the second time her breath hitched and she looked at him sideways and noticed the slight smirk on his face, he knew what he was doing and how affected she was by it and instead of pulling away, he moved his hand more towards the inside of her thigh and tightened his grip on her, making Daisy feel electric rushes that moved all the way from her thigh to between her legs where his fingers were only inches away.
Finally, after what felt like an eternal drive, they arrived at the studio and he went in quickly, looking eager. He talked to the band and they started getting set up to go through a rehearsal, none of them questioning why they both had damp hair and why Daisy was unusually not talking.
The band never questioned what Billy and Daisy did outside of the studio, all the hours they spent together and came back either giggly or not being able to stand near each other because of sexual tension, or when they kept touching each other with every opportunity they had. As long as they kept writing and making great songs, no one asked questions and they pretended not to notice their behavior.
After very few rehearsals -while Daisy simply sat on a stool with her legs tightly crossed so as to relieve all the tension she already had and felt even harder once she listened to the lyrics- they decided to record.
Daisy stood from the other side of the glass while they recorded and Billy sang and played the guitar while never breaking eye contact with Daisy, he even winked at her in certain lines and would keep averting his gaze from her legs, to her chest, lips, eyes, and hair, his eyes were absolutely everywhere on her and nowhere else, it was as if they were still at Teddy’s house and were the only people in the space. Daisy met his gaze every single time and did not glance at anyone else either, she was in a trance under him, she was feeling too many things at once, confident, sexy, confused, frustrated, but mainly, she felt great want for Billy and also felt how badly he also wanted her.
Daisy hated all the lyrics he claimed to write for Camila about a fake life, but here was Billy, not only writing about a complicated truth but also about her, Daisy was the inspiration for his raw truthfulness, she was all his inappropriate yet uncontrollable wants and temptations and fantasies, she was his muse, and she loved everything about it, she had never felt as confident and prideful as he was making her feel at this moment.
They recorded the song in simply two takes, the second one being purely to have an extra record “just in case”, and just like that, a song about Billy admitting to his deepest desires for Daisy was added to the album, and it gave both of them a thrill, a new added layer of desire for one another in which they knew that even if nothing else were to occur between them, they would always have this song and these feelings, written honestly about their darkest fantasies, and Daisy especially felt happy knowing that this was a song he could never deny that it was about her.