wanderingelvis Answer:
this is a LONG one, buckle up guys!!
🧚 Masterlist 🧚
Word count: 4,568
Pairings: Early 60s!Elvis x Innocent!F!Reader
You were nervous to meet Elvis Presley. You were a friend of Jerry’s little sister, so when she invited you to meet the King of Rock n’ Roll himself, you couldn’t quite believe what you were hearing.
“Oh he’s real sweet Y/N, so kind, you’re gonna just love him, I know it.” Ruth said as you drove up to Graceland in a car that Jerry, and by default, Elvis had sent for the two of you. “But he’s a very busy man see, he won’t hang around for long.” She informed you and you nodded, taking in what she was saying.
Ruth was a much bigger character than you, socially she would command attention and that’s what she liked about having you as a friend, you were a little wallflower who was more than happy to be in her shadow.
You turned to the more confident girl in the opposite seat. “Are you sure he don’t mind us stayin’ the night? I mean, I know he loves you but I’m just a stranger.” You asked tentatively.
“Oh be serious Y/N! ‘Course he won’t mind! Besides, he’s probably not gon’ even notice you I bet! Might think ya one of the staff!” Ruth giggled playfully, sometimes you felt that her words might be laced with malice but you’d brush it off, silently telling yourself that Ruth surely couldn’t be like that. Surely.
When the driver parked up outside of Graceland, Jerry and Sonny came to greet the two of you as you gazed at the surroundings. Now, you’d never exactly struggled for money growing up but you’d certainly never, ever seen wealth like this.
You’d met Jerry a few times but never Sonny, however they were both lovely, with Sonny insisting on taking your bag for you as they took you into the mansion and passed the bags on to the maids in the house who presumably took them to the rooms you’d be staying in.
“Elvis! We’re here!” Ruth hollered, running up to the figure that emerged from the kitchen as you lingered behind.
You gasped a little, catching the mans attention in the process, as you realised that you were in the presence of one of the greatest performers of all time. Your sweet excitement made Elvis smirk - he’d always enjoyed the effect he had on women although, if he had to admit it, he preferred women that were more reserved and shy. There was no shortage of women throwing themselves at Elvis and he missed the excitement of trying to win a girl over and he knew instantly when a girl was shy, and he knew instantly that shyness consumed you.
"Hey there, honey,“ Elvis said in that low Southern voice, walking up to you and closing the space between the two of you.
"H-Hi.” You stuttered, instantly embarrassed that you couldn’t get even one word out without letting your nerves get the better of you.
Naturally you wouldn’t admit this to Elvis, in fact, you hadn’t even told Ruth, but you’d been practising in the mirror for the past week what you were you were going to say if you did in fact meet Elvis.
“Oh Mr Presley, you have such a lovely home, thank you for inviting me. My names Y/N, pleased to meet you.”
“Ruth’s told me so many kind things about you Mr Presley.”
“I’m very grateful that you’re letting me stay, it’s very kind of you Mister.”
But all of those practises seemed to vanish from your mind as the King of Rock n Roll himself towered over you and you mentally kicked yourself for only managing to muster up a measly 'Hi’ and you couldn’t even get that right.
“You gotta name honey?” Elvis smirked slightly.
“Oh um, yes, yes I do!” You smiled, getting all sweet and flustered in front of the big man who raised his eyebrow after you stopped speaking. “Oh!” You gasped, realising you hadn’t even told him what your name was. “My names Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N."
Elvis nodded, he was already fond of you. He’d known Ruth for years and whilst he wouldn’t ever say it out loud, he found her a tad annoying, so when she’d asked Jerry to ask Elvis if her best friend to come to Graceland with her, Elvis was expecting someone with a similar personality, he was not expecting what was standing shyly in front of him.
"Why don’t we give you girls a tour, huh? You can see where yous are sleepin’ and where everythin’ is?” Elvis suggested and you were a little surprised at how welcoming he was and in all honesty, you felt bad for even thinking he would be too busy make an effort with the two of you.
Ruth let out a little giggle, batting Elvis’ arm, “I know my way round Elvis! It’s like ma second home, silly!” She laughed, but you noticed Elvis didn’t exactly seem to reciprocate, just offering Ruth a small smile of acknowledgement.
“Well, your lil’ friend ain’t been here before,” Elvis said shortly before turning his gaze to you, making you blush and try to look anywhere but at the most famous man in the world. All of a sudden, your battered sneakers were starting to seem real interesting to look at. “Wouldn’t want her to feel forgotten now, would we?” Elvis said lowly staring right at you, making you gulp nervously at the intensity that shrouded him, before he gestured for everyone to follow him, presumably to start the tour.
Now, you knew that Graceland was going to be big, but you didn’t imagine it would be this big. As Elvis and Jerry escorted you and Ruth around, you couldn’t help but become a little overwhelmed at how many rooms there were.
It was a lot to take in, leading to you staying as quiet as a mouse, admiring lots of the furnishings and pretty decorations whilst Ruth talked Elvis’ ear off, telling him all about how she’d recently seen Roy Orbison perform and how his show was nothing compared to Elvis’s. You were too preoccupied by gazing around the hallways and lavish rooms of Graceland to notice that as Elvis placated Ruth with curt hums and nods, he kept looking back and watching you.
He thought you were an odd little thing, you appeared to be incredibly curious and wide-eyed whilst simultaneously jumping out of your skin any time anyone would make a noise that was even the slightest bit louder than a normal speaking volume.
You weren’t even sure how many rooms you’d been shown before you all finally landed on the room that was to be the one that you’d be staying in. Elvis opened the door for you, placing his large hand on the small of your back, making you jump a little at the touch - something only Elvis noticed as you looked up at him with big eyes, offering him a sweet smile and blushing slightly with embarrassment at flinching at his touch before you turned to look at your room.
It was gorgeous, oh Lord, if only your Mommy could see this room, you thought to yourself. It had everything and overlooked the stables. Your eyes scanned the room with awe before they grew wider, setting on your all too familiar stuffed bunny, Hopper, placed on the bed by the pillows, on full display for everyone to see - presumably placed there by one of the maids.
“Is that… a stuffed bunny?” Ruth said, covering her mouth as she snickered at you, delighting in the embarrassment and the flustered panic you were experiencing.
You scampered over as the group of Elvis, Jerry and Ruth watched you scramble to grab your bunny and throw it under the bedding to hide it. Elvis smirked a little, watching your pathetic albeit adorable attempt at making everyone believe that the little stuffed bunny on the bed wasn’t yours.
“No, no I don’t know w-what that is!” You stuttered, your back facing the others that were stood in the doorway.
It wasn’t that you were ashamed of having your bunny, you just worried that Ruth might make it a bigger deal than it really was.
“Sure, Y/N…” Ruth giggled. “It’s cute that you need a teddy!” Ruth said, despite no truth being laced in her voice.
“Ruth, that’s enough.” Jerry said quietly, realising that Ruth was delighting in belittling you.
“I’m sorry!” Ruth chuckled, throwing her hands in the air in mock defence. “I was just sayin’, it’s cute s'all, classic Y/N.”
Your cheeks turned a violent shade of pink as you stood there, now facing Elvis, Jerry and Ruth, your soft pink lips parting to try and say something that would help the sticky situation you were in, but no words were coming out.
Fortunately, a thick Southern voice started talking instead, your eyes fluttering up to be met with Elvis’. “I think we should show you girls the stables and see them horses, how’s about it hm?” Elvis said, mainly to you, clearly saving you from having to say anything more.
You nodded tentatively, your chest rising and falling with anxiety. Elvis gestured with his big ring-covered hand for you to follow as Jerry and Ruth made a head start. You walked towards him in the doorway as he held the door open for you like a gentleman, letting you go past him and sending you a wink to ease your nerves.
Elvis continued his tour of Graceland by showing you the stables and all of the beautiful horses that filled them. The embarrassment you’d felt from the bedroom incident meant that you stayed lingering behind everyone else, quietly taking it all in and only speaking when spoken to.
You just felt so silly. You didn’t want Elvis to feel like he’d invited some silly little kid into his home, you just wanted the ground to swallow you up.
Once the tour was over, you, Elvis, Ruth and Jerry all joined a few other members for dinner with Sonny instructing you to sit at the right hand of side of Elvis.
“That can’t be right Sonny! You know what Elvis is like, he gets real funny about who sits next to him, he wouldn’t pick Y/N, he don’t even know her!” Ruth retorted in front of everyone except Elvis who had yet to appear for dinner.
“Actually hon, EP requested it directly.” Sonny said bluntly, nodding at you to sit down in the chair. Both you and Ruth had a very confused expression on your faces, there had been times when Ruth was little where Elvis had let her sit in that seat but usually it was reserved for whichever girlfriend he had at the time or his right-hand man, Jerry.
You complied and sat down, keeping your gaze focused on the silverware as you felt multiple people staring at you from around the table and daggers being shot your way by Ruth, all until Elvis finally arrived, alleviating the tension.
Dinner proceeded with Sonny and Billy telling Elvis all about Nancy Sinatra’s show that they’d just seen as well as Jerry chatting about the new RV he’d acquired for their next trip down to Las Vegas. You listened politely, fascinated by the world that currently surrounded you, all this excitement and oppulence. You couldn’t wait to go home and tell your Mommy all about everything that was happening to you.
You were snapped out of your thoughts by a voice at your side.
“Say, tell me darlin’, what are ya studyin’?” Elvis asked as he sat at the head of the table, with you by his side.
“Oh,” You said, your eyes widening at the attention from all around the table suddenly turning to you. “I um, well, truth be told, I was studyin’ History and even though it really is interestin’ and all, I dropped out to take art classes instead, I like doin’ art a lot more.” You said fidgeting with your hands as you spoke, making Elvis realise that there was no way that your nerves were going to go away, not any time soon at least.
“Y/N does her own drawings and stuff.” Ruth chimed in, interrupting you and making Elvis’ attention turn to her.
“Oh?” Elvis said, partially to you, partially to Ruth.
“She does these lil’ cartoons and doodles, don’t ya Y/N? They’re great for little kids I think, they’re that kinda level, like a starter drawing that you could teach a kid!” Ruth said and you furrowed your brow a little. Sure, you didn’t think that you were the best artist in the world but your work wasn’t just 'doodles’, you’d spent a lot of time on learning how to draw well.
“Well, I’ll have t'get you t'draw a picture of me sometime soon in that case.” Elvis proposed to you with a smile.
You opened your lips to reply, before Ruth got there first. “Oh Y/N wouldn’t be able to do that just yet, unless ya want a goofy lookin’ picture I suppose!” She giggled, her words cutting through you. “But maybe you’ll get there Y/N! It’s good that you’re takin’ classes and all ain’t it? Maybe one day someone might think you’re an actual artist!” Ruth said to you from across the table making you furrow your brow at the backhanded compliment. “I’ve been tellin’ Y/N that she should come to Boston with me for my studies, said it would be good for her to get outta Memphis but she refuses to go on a plane! Says it gives her the spooks!” Ruth laughed, embarrassing you further as you knew that the man to your right owned his own plane. “But I’m still goin’, got big plans see, I’ve got three different classes I’m gonna take…” Ruth said, chatting away about all her studies and her big plans, dominating the conversation.
As Ruth rattled on about all sorts, you felt your appetite become lost as you stared at the plate in front of you, trying not to let Ruth’s words get to you.
It was then that a large hand rested unexpectedly on your exposed thigh, causing a soft, quiet gasp to leave your lips, too quiet for anyone but Elvis to notice. You glanced up at the man who sent you a comforting wink and squeezed your thigh with his big hands, the numerous large, cold rings, nipping at your flesh.
You shot the man a slight smile, appreciating the comfort. You’d always felt invisible when you were stood by Ruth. Everyone adored her and loved that her brother worked for Elvis and you, well, you were just you. Normally, you didn’t really mind feeling invisible, you really didn’t, but for some reason, Ruth had seemed to make it her mission to make you feel even more invisible than usual whist also exposing all of your biggest insecurities. But as you held eye contact with Elvis, you didn’t feel as invisible, not in this moment at least.
Elvis offered you a reassuring nod, before turning his attention to Ruth to appear to seem engaged in whatever she was harping on about, all the while, keeping his hand firmly placed on your though, his thumb rubbing the smooth skin up and down slowly, his silent and secret attempt to comfort you.
The rest of dinner went by quickly, followed by games in the Jungle room that you insisted on just watching, knowing you weren’t very good at playing pool and wanting to avoid making a fool of yourself.
But once you began to yawn every thirty seconds, you knew it was your bedtime, excusing yourself and bidding everyone goodnight, waving at them as you left, smiling at Elvis in particular who you’d decided was the nicest of all of the men.
By the time you were in your bed, you were exhausted from the events of the day, emotionally drained and ready for some sleep, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Now, you’d never been very good with the dark, it scared you enough that your mother let you have a night light permanently, even if the bulbs for it were expensive. However, there were no night lights to be found in your room, making you clutch Hopper, your bunny as tightly as possible as you began to feel the nerves bubble up inside your small body. And just to add to your stress, the storm that had begun outside was becoming unbearably loud, with the wind and rain making you jump and begin to cry. The final straw, after hours of trying to be brave and try and possibly remain calm, despite failing miserably, was the wind rattling the stable doors, causing them to bang repeatedly. Even though it was just that, the stable doors, poor little you didn’t realise and the banging noises made you jump out of bed in tears, desperate for your Mommy.
Grabbing onto Hopper and trying to routinely wipe away the tears and the snot that was coming from you, you decided to find the telephone you’d seen Jerry use earlier to call your mother, desperate for her familiar warmth and reassurance that she’d given you before in situations like these.
You softly padded out of your room, trembling as you tried to work out which way to go, the long, dark hallway confusing and scaring you. As you wandered about the house, you felt yourself getting all worked up all over again as you realised you’d gotten lost in the big, dark mansion. You let out soft cries and sniffles as you tried to find any room that you recognised until you finally came to a staircase where you could see some light coming from below it.
As you walked towards it, trying to muffle and stop your tears, you realised it was Elvis, reading through various papers on a huge couch in front of a burning fireplace.
Relief washed over you as you realised you’d finally found someone who could help you as your sniffles caught Elvis’ attention who turned to you as you reached the bottom of the staircase, your figure now standing in front of him, dressed in nothing but your little, cotton night dress and your bunny in your hands.
“I g-got lost and um, I just, I just wanna call my M-Mommy.” You whispered, trying not to let your voice crack after you’d already let a few tears fall down your flushed, pink cheeks.
Elvis was taken aback at the state of you, he knew you were a quiet, shy, nervous little thing but at this moment you’d seemed to regress a little in your behaviour, clutching the bunny that earlier, you’d been so desperate to hide.
Elvis walked over to you with concern in his face, crouching in front of you as you stood in front of him, rubbing away tears with a balled up fist and holding your bunny, Hopper to your chest with your other hand.
“Oh darlin’, did somethin’ happen? What’s wrong hm? We can give yer Mommy a call, it’s okay, it’s gon’ be okay, little one.” Elvis soothed in a calming tone as you nodded with a couple of adorable hiccups escaping your small body.
“It was all rainin’ and windy and loud and everythin’ was dark and I’m scared of the dark and then I kept hearin’ banging noises from outside my window and I got scared and I tried to find a telephone but I got lost and didn’t know where to go and, and-” You began hyperventilating, reliving the scary night to Elvis who hushed you as he took your small hand in his large one and led you, in your little nightgown, to the couch in front of the burning fireplace. “M'sorry, I feel so stupid.”
Elvis sat down beside you before he easily picked you up and brought you into his lap, rubbing soothing circles into your back, relaxing you for the first time since you’d arrived at Graceland and the drowsy sensation that was being caused, leading you to completely forget that you were sitting in the lap of the most famous man in the world. You couldn’t help but start to space out a little, the exhaustion of the night catching up to you as well as the wave of relief that consumed you now that you felt safe with Elvis. Elvis watched as you began to blink absent-mindedly, the drowsiness catching up to you and your eyelids growing heavy and sleepy at Elvis’ persistent touches.
Whilst in this very moment, Elvis felt a lot of genuine care and concern for you, he’d been thinking about you ever since you’d gone to bed in fact, he couldn’t help but enjoy the effect he was having on you. He watched you as you practically melted into his touch, being too overwhelmed and sleepy to even try and resist letting your body rest on his.
Your fingers were softly stroking through your bunny’s fur in an attempt at self soothing as you lazily blinked your long, pretty eyelashes, feeling your mind go all fuzzy and mushy at Elvis’ comforting you.
“Oh no darlin’, you’re not stupid, not stupid at all, I know that.” Elvis hushed. “I know it does get awful dark here at night because we ain’t near anythin’ else. Must’ve been real scary honey, m'sorry.” Elvis cooed quietly, his voice barely above a whisper as he began run his fingers through your hair to relax and calm you, making you feel even more dozy.
The combination of Elvis’ gentle touches and quiet, soothing, low voice and the warmth radiating from his body was all becoming a bit much for you as you involuntarily felt your body leaning into his as you rested in his hold. Your back rested against Elvis’ torso as you let your head lull by his collarbone, meaning you couldn’t see the smirk that was across Elvis’ face.
“Real scary.” You murmured in agreement with Elvis as you felt the fear begin to disappear.
“Awh baby, I know.” Elvis pacified. “You were a brave girl comin’ t'me like you did, you’re safe now honey, I got you.” He assured you, making you feel all warm and tingly inside.
You’d never sat in a mans lap before, you’d never been held like this in such a way before but truthfully, you weren’t able to process any thoughts properly, not as long as Elvis continued to let his fingers roam your body, relaxing and calming you.
It was as if he’d put some sort of spell on you.
But he was right, you were safe now, you certainly felt that way with him - you didn’t even feel embarrassed at having Hopper with you.
And as if he could read your mind, the man gestured to the toy i your clutches. “Looks like yer little friend helped though, hm?” Elvis said, making you realise that it had always been obvious that Hopper was your toy.
“M'sorry for lyin’ earlier, I didn’t wanna lie, I don’t know why I did, but um, but he’s my bunny, his name is Hopper. I had him since I was a little girl, and um, my Mommy gave him to me and she saved up all her money one Christmas to get him for me, because um, we didn’t really always have that much see, and um, so Hopper is real special t'me.” You whispered sweetly, looking down at your lap where Hopper rested.
Elvis kept his eyes trained on you, studying your sleepy expressions and the unconfident stutters in your voice that all appeared so endearing and adorable to him - and despite how annoying he found Ruth, he couldn’t help but be silently grateful to her for bringing you to him.
“Dontchu worry darlin’, I ain’t gon’ judge, I think it’s very sweet.” Elvis told you, causing you to lift your head up and smile up at Elvis. “Now, how about I try give your Momma a call?” Elvis suggested and you nodded.
After a couple of attempts but to no avail, you knew she was probably asleep, you didn’t really want to disturb her anymore, you were actually feeling a little bit better in Elvis’ company. You didn’t feel as nervous around him, he was a lot gentler than you’d imagine him being.
After a while of relaxing in Elvis’s hold, you found yourself quietly drifting off to sleep, the fireplace in front of the two of you dimming and the lack of heat causing you to instinctively snuggle closer into Elvis’ chest. Following a period of silence, Elvis realised you were falling asleep and realised it was probably time to get the sweet little thing in his lap to bed and he was secretly hoping it would be his.
“Honey?” Elvis whispered, causing you to whine at the disturbance. “Oh little one, you can’t fall asleep here, you wanna be in a big comfy bed, dontchu?” Elvis cooed.
“Nuh-uh!” You whined, your eyes still half closed as you wriggled about in Elvis’ arms. “Wanna stay with you, don’t wanna go back to the dark room.” You mumbled, barely coherently.
Elvis knew it was as a result of your overwhelming day, he knew that, but it didn’t stop the satisfaction build up within him at you admitting to wanting to stay sleeping in his arms. He also knew that you were just too innocent and too sweet to really understand what you were really saying and what it could lead to but he didn’t care.
“Awh, is my baby too scared to go back to her room?” Elvis murmured adoringly at you, he knew he was being forward with the pet names but he also knew you were in a situation where you were obviously feeling clingy and needy.
You nodded as your head rested on his chest, silently hoping that Elvis would let you stay, even just a little longer, on the couch with him.
“Well, would you like to sleep in my room with me tonight, sweetheart?” Elvis propositioned quietly.
You nodded again, making Elvis smirk once more before hiding it as you pushed your body up from him to face him directly.
“I-I-” You stammered shyly.
“What is it honey?” Elvis asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing that the sudden shyness was back.
“It’s just, I don’t wanna do any of that kinda stuff, y'know? If that’s um, if that’s okay, it’s just I’ve never done anythin’ like that before and I don’t know, I just don’t think m'ready, if that’s okay?” You said, looking at Elvis with anticipation as you watched his expression soften.
“Oh baby, don’t you worry your pretty lil’ head, okay? We’re just gon’ sleep okay? I just wanna look after you little one, make sure you ain’t gonna get scared anymore.” Elvis assured you, making a weight lift off your shoulders as you reached forward and wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a cuddle.
“Now then honey, it’s far too late for a little girl like you to be awake, let’s get you to bed.” Elvis chuckled after your sweet gesture of a cuddle, as he helped you off the couch and began to lead you to his bedroom.
“Elvis?” You murmured softly, stopping the two of you from walking any further down the hallway. Elvis hummed in response. “You’re not gonna tell Ruth about this are you? I just think she might make fun of me for it or somethin’, think I’m bein’ a baby about the dark or somethin’.” You said anxiously, looking up at Elvis.
“Well, in that case, it’ll be our little secret.” Elvis assured you as he took your little hand in his big one, leading you all the way to his bedroom.
