#Guess guess guess who caught Sinclair’s eye

[rmelster]

—𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒.

CHAPTER ONE: PAST THOSE DARKSOME GATES.

Clarence Sinclair appeared to posses the unusual gift to bore all who listened.

It had been long since Lawrance had ceased to pay attention to his words.

If its facade was gloomy, its interior was even more gloomy. Onstyles, that vast castle that had stood in front of them like a clear between sharp, bare-armed trees, presented itself before the eyes of the young man as a miserable and depressing place, similar to a nursing home for the elderly or a secluded monastery in the mountains, where one goes when there is no more hope in life than to die or be forgotten. The few students who wandered through the corridors, clad in a rigid black uniform, did so with that sad abandonment of the souls in pain; none seemed pleased to be in that place. A chill climbed up to his spine and a feeling of certain unease took siege of his form. Ignoring the display of knowledge of Sinclair, who talked about how certain king of the House of York had founded that institution during his brief reign, the youth rested the weight of his body against a nearby wall. Washington soon joined him; he seemed as weary as he was. Squandering stealth, Lawrance unsheathed the flask from his coat pocket and, unscrewing the horn cap, took a long swallow. His brother looked at him disheartened, but did not dare to make a gesture to stop him; both knew it was a useless venture.

"You shouldn't drink so much," he whispered, defeated. Lawrance shrugged, pretending to be indolent. He wasn’t, and he had never been.

"It's not that much.”

"You said the same thing that time."

"Of something I must die, brother," he said, harshly, before taking another drink. That last comment did not seem to sit well in Washington, whose strong form did not correspond to his sensitive nature, and his eyes were filled with anguish when he spoke again, fervently.

"Don't say that, Lawrance! Never said that again!”

"Is there something wrong, gentlemen?"

Sinclair had an affable disposition, even if it bordered petulance. He believed to see the shadow of concern upon his eyes when looking at the brothers; but Lawrance was not one to grant confidences to those who looked kindly at him.

“Everything’s alright” Lawrance said slowly, glancing at Washington.

“Everything’s alright” he forcefully agreed.

“Alright” Sinclair’s smile was now forced. He resumed walking “… As I was telling you, this halls are said to be haven of ghosts: Mysterious tales surround this school, as it happens with many old buildings of our beautiful country. But this one is… Particularly special. The firsts of them came from the very village that rests close here, Herefordshire, and narrated the fate that three young boys who vanished from our institution in the 17th century, during their first year, faced. However, those stories are…”

Suddenly, he ceased to speak. A group of three young men, clad in the austere black uniform of the students, passed by in silence, and the eye of the once affable Sinclair seemed to follow them closely, greedily, wrathfully. Lawrance saw him stretch his neck, and the movement of a vein under his fair skin reminded him of a gruesome occasion, almost two years from that day, when he had accompanied his father to a hunt party on behalf of his older brother, who was ailing; after hours of searching, fruitlessly, for a true prey, Pincher, a ferocious hunting dog that belonged to his father, had suddenly stretched his neck in the very same way Sinclair had done, and its eyes had been tinged with a visceral anger. A doe, careless, had showed itself behind the trees. The moments after had been bloody: Along with the other dogs, he had thrown at an helpless deer and, after a violent and quick scuffle, he had destroyed its legs with quick, brutal bites. Lawrance could not be considered as one of those frail children in which the vision of violence made them burst into tears, but that day, when he returned home with his hands soaked in blood and his soul gripped by horror, he was sure that he had witnessed the most primitive horror that existed in nature.

Hatred.

“I told you about the legends that say that ghosts haunt this halls” he repeated, and a weird movement tensed his chapped lips, “Those are all lies, as you may have guessed; but sometimes, there are ghost, of flesh and bone… And those are the ones we must truly hold fear for...”

… And he knew better than to think that that wasn’t what he had seen gleam in the eyes of Sinclair.

Second part of chapter one is here, sorry for it being too long, we are one part more to the end! As always, my Ladyship @lordbettany / @aneurinallday / @ricardian-werewolf / @nealsneen

[munson-blurbs]

Eddie Munson x Shy!Reader

Summary: Max and Lucas are tired of their friends silently pining over each other but never making a move, so when the Winter Formal rolls around, they take matters into their own hands.

Warnings: mutual pining, idiots in love, fluffy fluff

WC: 1.8k

A/N: Happy anniversary to the love of my life, @corroded-hellfire 💚 one year ago today, we met in person for the first time, and my life has been infinitely better ever since. Thank you for being my best friend. I love you more than Dustin loves his Weird Al shirt. Red, this fic is for you.

Divider credit to @saradika

“Kill me now.”

Three words uttered by none other than Max Mayfield, sliding her lunch tray onto the table and sitting down with an irritated sigh. 

You look at her with an amused grin. “What is it this time? Bombed a pop quiz? Got detention for flipping off a teacher—again?” Her brazen, flippant attitude provided many entertaining moments, so long as you weren’t on the receiving end of it. 

Max shakes her head, spearing a limp macaroni noodle with her plastic fork. “I wish.” She holds up two tickets to the Winter Formal. “Lucas is dragging me to this bullshit. ‘All the other basketball guys’ girlfriends are going,’” she mocks him in an octave much lower than his actual voice, “so I guess that means I have to follow suit.”

Bringing a hand to your heart, you jut out your lower lip in mock-pity. “Oh, no; your boyfriend wants to show you off at a school dance! How will you ever survive?” 

Max doesn’t miss a beat. “You could go, too,” she says, blue eyes pleading. “Keep me company when the guys inevitably bail to get wasted in the woods.”

“I don’t—”

“You don’t need a date,” she insists, reading your mind before the words can leave your mouth. “I’m telling you, Lucas is gonna ditch me as soon as Jason and Patrick show up.” She takes your hand between both of hers. “Please? I’ll even tell Ms. Kelly the lengths you went to for your poor, troubled freshie.”

You exhale, knowing that she doesn’t need to go to all of that trouble. You’d started off the school year as her peer mentor, but just a few months later, you two have become close friends. “Fine, I’ll go,” you acquiesce, laughing when she pumps her fists victoriously. “But I’m not gonna be happy about it.”

You return to your own lunch, completely missing the mischievous look that graces her freckled face. 

Unbeknownst to you, a similar discussion is had at Hellfire Club later that same afternoon. 

“Absolutely not,” Eddie scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. “Nice try, Sinclair, but I wouldn’t be caught dead at some lame dance.”

“Seriously,” Jeff smirks from his position across the table. “He’s never been to a single one in his ten years of high school.”

Eddie flips him off casually. “It’s only six, asshole. But that doesn’t matter, because I’m not dressing up in some penguin suit to drink unspiked punch with a bunch of shitty people.”

“C’mon, dude,” Lucas says, his tone bordering on a whine. “If you don’t go, I’m gonna be stuck with the jocks all night, and they just wanna suck face with their girlfriends.”

“And you don’t?” Gareth quips. 

Lucas rolls his eyes. “Not in front of everyone. And I don’t need a front-row seat to their performances, either.” He turns his attention back to the Dungeon Master. “Look, I’m desperate. Mike’ll be visiting his grandma and Dustin’s grounded because of his D-plus in Spanish.”

Eddie narrows his eyes. “What about Huey, Dewey, and Louie over here?” he asks, gesturing to the three remaining club members. 

Their collective responses are jumbled excuses; Eddie swears one of them says he’s going kayaking—in mid-December in Indiana—but he doesn’t bother to sift through their lies. “You owe me, Sinclair,” he declares, pointing his forefinger at the underclassman. “Big time.”

The next few weeks leading up to the Winter Formal are spent meticulously making plans. For someone who seemed so disinterested in this dance, Max is paying careful attention to each detail. 

You walk out of the dressing room in a velvet emerald green dress that hits just above the knee. Max is beaming as she adjusts the off-the-shoulder sleeves and smooths down any creases. 

“You look really nice,” she says, nodding her head. She’s trying to temper her enthusiasm, but you can sense her excitement. “I can’t wait to tell Lucas.”

You wrinkle your nose. “Lucas? Why would he care?” He’s a nice kid—more in tune with emotions than the average fourteen-year-old boy—but that doesn’t constitute an interest in your fashion choices. 

Max’s cheeks burn as red as her hair. “Uh, well, seeing you happy makes me happy, and seeing me happy makes him happy, so…everyone’s happy?” she finishes lamely. She clears her throat as if expelling the awkwardness from the conversation. “Anyway, let’s buy this dress so we can look for shoes.”

“Yeah, okay.” You’re not fully convinced, but you brush it off and steel your nerves to ask a question. “Is anyone else gonna be there that we know?” You really want to know whether Eddie Munson is going to be there, but you can’t say the quiet part aloud. 

“Probably,” she shrugs, a bit too quickly, but she’s pushing you back behind the curtain to change before you can inquire more. 

“Why does this stupid tie need to be green?” Eddie asks, sifting through the store’s selection with Lucas by his side. 

“Uh, Christmas colors,” Lucas stammers, fumbling for a decent explanation other than the contents of his secret phone call with Max earlier today. “And, y’know, red is way overdone, so…” he trails off lamely, going back to the display table and hoping Eddie drops the matter. 

They find exactly what they’re looking for—not without Eddie complaining about putting in too much effort just to be a third wheel—and make their way over to the food court. Eddie makes a beeline for the Pizza Hut when he stops dead in his tracks. “Shit, Sinclair; we gotta go,” he says urgently, clapping a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder and steering him away from the fast food. 

“What the hell? I’m hungry!”

Eddie shakes his head, curls brushing against his shoulders. “Look, man.” He discreetly points to his left, where you and Max are giggling at the Orange Julius. “We can’t let them see us.”

“Dude, she’s like the nicest person ever,” Lucas rebuts. “Even Max likes her, and Max pretty much hates everyone.”

“That’s not the problem.” Eddie rakes his ringed fingers through his hair, wincing when he snags one on a knot. “The problem is that she’s gonna be all, ‘hi, Eddie; what’re you doing at the mall?’ And I’m gonna be all, ‘just picking out a tie for the Winter Formal.” And then she’ll go, ‘oh, who’s your date?” And then I’ll have to say, ‘I don’t have one; I’m just playing babysitter to some freshmen like a goddamn loser!” He hops back and forth to indicate each character change.

“First of all, ouch,” Lucas quips, “second, go hide in the bathroom if you want, but I’m getting something to eat.”

Eddie exhales an exasperated sigh, giving in and schlepping over to Pizza Hut, one of the few times in his life that he’s trying to be inconspicuous. 

You pull into the school parking lot on the night of the Winter Formal and shift into park before killing the engine. Max is bouncing her leg up and down in the passenger seat, lower lip tucked between her teeth.

“What’s on your mind?” you ask, mistaking her excitement for anxiety. “You know that Lucas would think you look beautiful even if you showed up in a potato sack.” You furrow your brow. “Where is he, anyway? Why didn’t he come with us?”

She mumbles something about not wanting her mom to ask any questions about the relationship, and you take them at face value. Her eyes light up when she spots her boyfriend walking into the school alongside…Eddie Munson?

“Eddie’s here?” you ask in a hushed whisper, feeling sweat prickling under your arms. You’ve been nursing a massive crush on him for ages–one that Max is very much aware of. And now he’s here, dressed in a black suit with his hair pulled back into a low bun at the nape of his neck. “Max, why didn’t you tell me? Who’s he going with?” The idea of him slow dancing with someone else has your stomach turning.

Max just shrugs. “I don’t think he had a date.” Too casual, too blasé–she knows something. “C’mon, let’s go in.” She swings the car door open enthusiastically, leaving you shell-shocked in your seat.

“Maxine Mayfield!” you hiss, using her full government name to drive home your bewilderment, but she just skips ahead. Damn your heeled shoes, slowing you down before you can catch up to her. When you finally do, she just grabs your hand and tugs you towards the guys.

She poorly feigns surprise, jaw dropping as she exclaims, “Eddie? What are you doing here? Oh, my gosh, this is such a coincidence!” She pulls you closer, smiling far too wide. “Lucas and I both brought our upperclassmen friends! What are the odds?”

“Yeah, so weird,” Lucas says, not as loud as Max but just as transparent. He looks at Max before regarding you and Eddie. “Okay, well, we’re gonna go dance–bye!” The two of them scamper off, leaving you alone with Eddie. If their stilted dialogue wasn’t evidence enough, the way Eddie’s tie perfectly matches your dress certainly clears up their intentions.

Eddie speaks first, shoving his hands in his pants pockets and nervously swiveling his body. “I, uh, think we’ve been set up,” he says with a small, awkward chuckle. “I swear, it wasn’t my idea. Not–not that it’s a bad thing, I just meant, like, if you’re uncomfortable with this, I don’t wanna be held responsible.” His cheeks burn red. “Shit, I need to stop talking.”

“It’s okay,” you reassure him with your own kind laugh, “we might as well make the most of it. Get some punch and make fools of ourselves out there?” You gesture towards the gym’s makeshift dance floor; the band has just started playing Journey’s “Faithfully.” Eddie’s nods, following you to an empty space, and you timidly drape your arms over his shoulders. Taking care to avoid an inappropriate touch, he rests his palms on the small of your back. 

His voice is low when he murmurs in your ear, “you look really beautiful tonight.” He clears his throat and speaks again. “You always look really beautiful, though.”

The two of you sway to the music, swapping shy smiles and fleeting but longing glances. As the song ends, you look over your shoulder. “We’re being spied on,” you report, noting the way the two younger kids are watching you from across the room. You consider your next words before eventually deciding to go for it: “Did you talk to Lucas about me as much as I talked to Max about you?”

“Probably more,” Eddie laughs, bringing you a bit closer. “But I’m interested in comparing notes.”

You nod, staving off any lingering nerves. “Maybe after the dance, we can split a burger from Benny’s and discuss?”

Eddie presses a soft kiss to your forehead. “Yeah,” he says; you can feel his lips move against your skin, “I’d like that.”

--

[shushmal]

merman steve pt 2

a continuation of this for @spectrum-spectre, now with some pre-steddie~!

Henderson is skulking around in the cereal aisle when Eddie spots him.

The kid has been a bit of enigma to Eddie since he met him at the beginning of last fall semester. Dustin had a tight group of friends, but often times, he caught the gang of them sans Henderson and the fact seemed to annoy the hell out of them.

"He just goes off on on his own sometimes," Baby Beyers would say.

"He won't tell anyone where or why or with who," Mini Wheeler would snarl.

"And it's definitely not to talk to his girlfriend, because we hear ALL about that," Big Sinclair would sigh, rolling his eyes.

So catching kid creeping around the grocery store minus the rest of his party, after hearing many complains of his mysterious disappearances? Color Eddie intrigued.

"Hendersooon," Eddie sang, wrapping an arm around Dustin's neck to keep him from escaping. "Whatcha doing?"

"Eddie!" he said brightly, grinning at him. "Just buying some snacks. Hey, which cereal do you think a fish can eat?"

Eddie stares at him for a moment, blinking. "Uh..."

Henderson's face scrunches up. "I guess he's not really a fish though, so I'll try whatever." He grabs a box of Honey Combs from the shelf.

"Dude, are you keeping a sea turtle at your house again? You know that's illegal."

"No!" Henderson snaps, flushing. "And I was going to take Dart back after show and tell, I had already promised Steve!"

"Steve?" That was a new name. Eddie hadn't heard Henderson talk about a Steve before, and the guy was kind of a motormouth and a terrible liar. The only time Eddie had seen him actually avoid a topic was when his little disappearing acts were brought up. "Who's Steve?"

Henderson's eyes go comically wide. "No-one! I don't know any Steves!"

Eddie knew at least three Steves, and two were in Henderson's grade. "Uh-huh."

"Anyways," Dustin says, clutching the box of Honey Combs to his chest as he backs down the aisle. "I gotta go man, nice seeing you, bye!"

Bemused, Eddie watches him go. He's planning to give Henderson a five minute head start before he goes to tail him, but apparently, he needn't to have planned a stake out after all. Henderson finds him again, two aisles over, panting and red-faced.

"Actually, can you give me a ride?"

🧜‍♂️

"Eddie," Henderson says, voice even more serious and deadly than the time the party took on Vecna last month during their campaign. "I need you to swear that you will never, ever tell anyone about what I'm going to show you."

Eddie cocks a brow at him. "Is this a drugs thing? Dude, you—"

"No!" Henderson snaps. "This is not a drug thing! This is a very serious life and death thing, and I need you to swear on you life you won't tell anyone about it."

"Dude," Eddie says, a little in awe. He stares out his windshield for a moment where they're still parked just outside of town. He can hear sounds of the ocean just past the ridge, waves crashing on the cliffs. It's a remote little area, opposite of the tourist favored beaches. Eddie, in fact, deals just a few miles down the shoreline from here. "Did you bring me out here to kill me? Are you the world's dorkiest serial killer?"

"Eddie." Eddie turns to look at him. His face is grave, brows furrowed with real worry. "I'm serious."

"Okay... Okay, then."

"You have to swear."

"I swear."

And just like that, Henderson's face breaks into a bright smile. "I knew I could trust you!" he crows, grabbing up his bag from the store and kicking open his door.

Eddie stumbles out of his van after him, listening intently as they pick their way over the rocks.

"He's so cool, Eddie, you're going to love him. He totally saved my life when I was like ten and I got pulled out on a rip tide. Like, I really almost died dude and then he just swims up out of no where and helps me catch my breath. Helps me float there while I'm freaking out too until the life guard finally came out to get me. It was crazy! I come out here all the time to visit him, I think he gets a little lonely. So it's good you're here, I've been trying to think of someone else to introduce him to, but it's hard to figure out who's going to freak out and try to sell him to Sea World, or something."

They crest over the hill to a tiny little cove bitten out of the rocky shore, and carefully begin to make their way back down to the water's edge. Eddie's still not entirely sure Henderson hasn't brought him here to die. Maybe Steve is the serial killer and he uses Henderson as bait.

"Okay, okay," Dustin says, once they reach the water. It's calmer here, the cliffs cutting this spot off from the larger waves. "Are you ready to see the coolest thing EVER?"

"Uh, sure, kid—"

Eddie doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence when he starts yelling.

"STEVE THIS IS EDDIE I BROUGHT HIM TO MEET YOU I PROMISE IT'S SAFE!"

"Jesus Christ," Eddie hisses, covering his ears. The lungs on this kid! "What the fuck dude— WHAT THE FUCK!!"

Because when he looks down, there is a face in the water. Eddie falls back on his ass, uncaring of the water soaking his jeans, and screams when the face in the water rises up out the ocean.

It looks pissed.

"Dustin," it says, glaring at Eddie. Eddie screams again, because it—the guy—the mermaid lifts himself fully onto the rocks, and he doesn't have any legs. Because he has a fucking tail.

A fucking fish tail.

"Steve!" Dustin cheers. "You came out."

"You sure?" the goddamn mermaid asks, finally taking his piercing, alien eyes off of Eddie to look at him. "Sure it safe?"

"Absolutely," Dustin says hastily, crouching beside Eddie to put his hands on his shoulders. "Eddie just screams a lot, I promise you, he's totally safe."

"R-Right," Eddie says, because he does not want to be eaten. Maybe Dustin's been dragging unsuspecting victims here to feed his pet goddamn mermaid instead of a serial killer. "Totally safe, that's me."

Steve, the goddamn fucking mermaid, looks him up and down doubtfully, and it's terrifying having those eyes on him, unnaturally yellow surrounded by black. His face is distressingly human, nose and mouth and ears with a mop of dark hair on his head. He has these bright shimmering scales across his cheekbones that dot down his jaw and neck, iridescent and glimmering in the afternoon sun. Eddie can't bring himself to look down further, scared and enraptured all at once.

Steve is terrifying and beautiful to look at.

"Fine," says Steve and pushes himself gracefully back into the water, disappearing into the dark depths.

"What the fuck," Eddie breathes. He looks up at Dustin with wide eyes. "Dude, what the fuck."

Dustin just grins down at him. "Isn't he the coolest?!"

[soupbabe]

Hey! So recently I was thinking back to the cannibal! reader with stu, and I was wondering if you can do that with the Sinclair siblings (separate ofc) with an s/o that’s a cannibal

The Sinclair Brothers with a Cannibal! S/o

Tbh cannibal reader is one of my fav kinds of reader to write <3 Honestly, these aren't the most romantic headcanons around, they're silly at most 😅

Warning: mentions and talk of blood and guts I guess lmao, the title is enough warning

Bo Sinclair

- Okay yeah Bo isn't known for his moral compass but I know that you were able to freak him out

- Today was rough, he's been chasing and going after a victim that he was sure slipped through his fingertips So to make him feel better you made him some chilli, not quite telling him what was in it yet

- He'd air out his grievances with his failure and you reassure him that you caught them for him...just to tell him that you're eating them right now.

- His eyes go wide as he spits out his food, he's more mad that you didn't tell him what's in his food than the actual act

- After Bo's initial shock calms down, he'll pull you close and kiss your forehead, telling you that you did a good job hunting and am even better job at cooking <3

- though if we're being honest it still traumatized him just a lil bit. From now on, everytime you serve him something with meat, he's side eyeing it and poking it around to make sure it wasn't someone he thought Vincent nabbed first

Vincent Sinclair

- I do think that you and Vincent would argue time to time just because of how protective he can be around the bodies

- He can't afford a body part to go missing for his sculptures, his brothers can't count on their hands the amount of times Vincent has nagged them for damaging the victims so severely

- Ignore that he has canonically decapitated a guy with no issue shh

- So there's a new rule for the two of you: first come first serve. Whoever captures and kills first gets to keep it.

- Honestly it's like a fun little game between you two, something to bond over

- Though I'd imagine there are moments where Vincent is sweet on you and tries to harvest some meat for you, sew his victims back up, and use them like they're good as new <3

Lester Sinclair

- I think he surprises himself with how calm he is when he sees you eating out of the not-100%-roadkill pile when you first meet. He knows what you're eating isn't deer or squirrel

- Sure, it's not something he'd ever think he'd ever see, he's keeping a knife close as he gets closer and takes you in

- I can't explain it but it's not that Lester is accepting and no judgemental of your diet, it's more that he's learned over the years to just not question things and to roll with the punches

- He likes to keep his s/o satisfied, he wants to make sure you at least eat your food safely and healthily

- So he hatches a plan to lurk outside Ambrose, wait for those who get to escape the twins, only for them to get "accidentally" ran over.

- Lester is such a sweetheart and is willing to wait all night for escapes and maybe a hitchhiker if he's desperate. He's always making sure that you're gonna be fed and stocked up for the next week <3

[hairmetal666]

3 Times Eddie has a Secret + 1 Time Steve Does

I.

Erica Sinclair wants to throw a Valentine's Day party, and woe betide anyone coming between Erica and an idea. Eddie's happy to show up, spend some time with the kids, Robin, and Steve (though he's with the latter pair all the time), and mostly doesn't think much about it. That is until, two weeks out, Max shows up at his trailer with that look on her face, and he knows he's in for it, though he's not sure why.

He gives her a little bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Max?"

"You're going to Erica's party, Munson." Her hands go to her hips and her brow pinches. It's such a Steve Harrington pose it knocks something loose in Eddie's chest. "And you aren't going to say one word about conformists and sheep."

He rolls his eyes, sighs hard. "I'm surprised at you, Mayfield. Didn't have you pegged as a candy hearts type of gal."

"It's for Erica." The tip of her sneaker scuffs at the earth. "And Lucas likes it."

Eddie bites his lip to stifle his smile. They're so fucking cute.

"I suppose I can put in an appearance."

"And be on your best behavior?"

"Scout's Honor."

"You weren't a scout," she grumbles.

"Nope. But still. I'll do it for Little Sinclair."

It shouldn't bother him, the assumption that he'd be a shit about Valentine's Day. He's worked really hard to cultivate an image and it doesn't exactly scream "Be Mine." And yes, yeah, sure, the Munson Doctrine doesn't go in for the holiday, and his cynical heart blah-blah-blah. It's just that. Well, he sort of enjoys the love part.

And later that night, in the safety of his dark bedroom, he acknowledges that he wouldn't mind having a date on Valentine's Day. It would be--well, it would be nice to have someone buy him flowers or chocolates, or even--ugh--a gross, sappy, sentimental card. He wants to have reservations at Enzo's, wants to go see a terrible romcom after, wants to go home and fall into bed with the person he loves. And it isn't metal, or even very cool, but he wants to be showered with affection, celebrated, fucking loved.

He wants so much his entire body aches with it.

II.

Eddie's at Family Video, rifling through the candy that he knows Steve just reorganized.

"What are you looking for, Munson?" Robin asks. She's half-engrossed in the paperwork in front of her.

Eddie's half listening, watching Steve re-shelve New Releases. He's focused on the VHSs in his arms, so Eddie has ample opportunity to admire the bunch and stretch of his shoulder muscles as he reaches to the top of the wall.

"I don't know," he nibbles on his lip. "Something that's not so," he wiggles his hand through the air.

"Romantic?" She guesses.

"No," he shakes his head. "I mean--"

"You mean?" She's focused on him now, must have caught him watching Steve, and he hopes she doesn't make it a big deal.

"Something," he says. "Um. Just something different."

And what he means is a movie for a guy like him where love doesn't have to be a distant dream. Where he can have feelings for someone and it isn't potentially dangerous.

So, he smiles and shrugs. Grabs the tape closest to his hand. "Guess I'll just take this."

"Well, this is definitely different, Eddie," she says. She narrows her eyes at him, like he's a new language she's learning, but he scampers out before she can say anything.

The movie he grabbed without looking is Cocoon and he can't even pretend interest, so he's not exactly disappointed when someone knocks at his door a few hours later. He's expecting Max, maybe Steve, but startles a little at Robin. She pushes past him and into the trailer.

"Good to see you too, Buckley."

She ignores him. "I have something to tell you. You and Steve are the only people who know."

"Okay?" His eyes are so wide it kind of hurts.

She takes a deep breath. "I'm gay."

"What?" He shrieks, doesn't know why. He's always kind of known.

Robin responds by swatting at him, and they bat at one another with the tips of their fingers.

"Nancy?" He asks once they calm down.

"Shut-up," Robin flushes a dark red.

"It's the guns right?"

It's her turn to shriek, and she gets a solid punch in on his shoulder. They wrestle around, until Eddie pulls away, pushing his hair off his sweaty forehead.

"I'm--" he's never said the words to another person. Uncle Wayne just sort of knew and you don't really have to talk at any of the bars he goes to in Indy. "I'm gay too," he tells Robin.

She beams at him. "Cool."

"Cool." He fiddles with his rings. "Harrington knows about you?"

"He was the first person I told."

"You aren't going to tell him about me?"

She leans her head on his shoulder. "Of course not. But he'd be okay, if you wanted to tell him."

He can't help but scoff. "It's different for lesbians, Buckley. Straight guys can be into that."

She scoffs right back. "Steve isn't like that and you know it."

She's right. He does. But the fear runs deep. Especially especially because it's Steve. And Eddie couldn't handle any of things that might happen if Robin is wrong.

"Thanks, Bucks," he says. He leans his head against hers, hugs her close.

III.

Erica's party is happening at Steve's and Eddie shows up at the appointed time, with the appointed cupcakes (baked from a box, frosted from a can).

The kids are shouting in the living room, but his eyes automatically find Steve in the kitchen. He has a a towel draped over his shoulder, hair disheveled, and is mixing Tropical Punch and Sprite into a serving bowl.

"How'd you end up hosting?" Eddie asks.

Steve smiles, a bashful little thing. "Erica called me this morning and yelled until I agreed."

"Pushover," Eddie teases.

"Oh, and you just made those cupcakes for fun, Munson?"

"Shut-up, Harrington." Eddie knocks their shoulders together. "They're ugly as shit. Didn't know there was an art to frosting cupcakes."

"I think I can help. You mind?"

Steve grabs some plastic spatula looking thing, gets to work with a focused determination that has him biting at his lip. Heat kicks in Eddie's blood, makes it so he can't watch. Instead, he slides a finger into the icing.

"Hey! What--? Munson!" Steve yells, as Eddie brushes the pink frosting onto Steve's cheekbone.

"Got ya!" He dances out of reach.

They bob and weave and dodge through the kitchen, laughing and yelling, until Steve has Eddie pressed against the cabinets, no escape. They're close, breathing hard and pink-faced. He can't help glancing down at the plush softness of Steve's mouth, can't help noticing Steve's eyes track the movement. Time pauses, stutters, and the distance between them closes.

"Steve!" Dustin shouts. "What's taking so long?"

The tension breaks and Eddie escapes into the living room, desperate to convince himself it wasn't a moment, that Steve isn't interested. Wishes his heart was a little more cynical, after all.

The party is fun. There are games and snacks and crafts. He gets roped into playing Mystery Date and tries and fails to not notice Steve bent over, playing Twister, left hand on red, right hand on green.

When they start doing crafts, Steve is hard at work on a Valentine.

"What you making, Stevie?" Eddie asks. He cranes his neck to see.

"Back off, Munson."

"Got someone you've been admiring, big boy?"

Steve goes pink and Eddie can't tell if it's the nickname or his question.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

And since Eddie really, really would, he jumps towards Steve, trying to sneak a peek. Steve laughs, hard and kind of surprised, before hunching over the card.

"None of your business, Eddie." But Steve is flushed and smiling.

Eddie pouts. "You know how much I love knowing things."

Steve looks at him. Like, looks at him, and Eddie goes warm all over.

"Maybe if you're a good boy today, you'll get to know later, yeah?"

Good boy does things. It makes Eddie's heart stop, his breathing slow, re-routes all the blood in his body south. He can only gasp and nod, sure his eyes are weirdly glazed.

Good boy. He's not sure if he hears another word spoken to him for the rest of the day.

IV.

The party draws to a close. For once in their lives, the actual parents are driving their kids around and Robin hitches a ride with the Hopper-Byers, leaving Eddie and Steve on clean-up.

"Wanna stick around, Munson? Watch a movie? Think I have a joint leftover from last week."

"Course, Stevie, how could I say no to such a generous offer."

"I think you're making fun of me, but I don't understand why."

Eddie laughs. "Totally genuine, sweetheart. Cross my heart." Steve smiles at that, his eyes turning the color of honey.

Eddie is so, so fucked.

They get situated on the couch and Steve says, "Have you been good today?"

"Huh?" Eddie can't breathe.

"I said you could see what I was making if you were good today. Were you?"

Eddie can't speak, can't think, can't move. His brain is throbbing. This has to be a dream. No way Steve is actually asking that.

But Steve is looking at him and somehow he has the presence of mind to fucking nod, and then Steve is handing him a red construction paper heart and a rose with petals so purple they're almost black.

He's hallucinating. That's what this is. He got some laced weed and now his wildest fantasy is playing out in his head.

The Valentine has a white lace doily thing glued to it and it says, in glitter:

"Roses are red,

Violets are Blue;

Eddie Munson,

I really like you"

His eyes fall on Steve. He perceives him, the way a pink flush sits high on his cheekbones, the shine in his eyes, the tremble in his hands.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Eddie isn't hallucinating. He's not dreaming. He's--

"Steve," he sounds a wreck.

"It's--Eddie, it's okay if you don't like me back. I just--I've liked you for a while and Robin thought I should tell you, and--"

"Steve," he says again, stands this time. "Can I kiss you?" It's a miracle he gets the words out.

"God, yes, please," Steve nearly whines.

Eddie pulls him in close, slotting their mouths together. Steve tastes like Tropical Punch and frosting and he makes a little noise as Eddie nips at his lip.

And that's it, that's all it takes. Eddie is gone, ruined, Valentine's celebrator until the end of time, lost forever to Steve-goddamn-Harrington.

[kisskiss-slashslash]

Slashers when you say “I love you” for the first time

Jason Voorhees

He freezes up and disappears for a while. But don’t interpret that as rejection, please. He is just utterly overwhelmed by the idea that anyone not blood-related to him could ever actually *love* him.

You, of course, are left confused and maybe a little heartbroken by that reaction. Did you do phrase it wrong? Was it too soon? Does he just not feel the same?

He returns a little while later, once he had a moment to process it, and immediately sweeps you up into a backbreaking hug. Good luck getting anything done for the rest of the day, because he won’t let go. Are you hallucinating or is there water dripping from under his mask?

Vincent Sinclair

Vincent knows just enough about love and romance by watching people getting caught in Bo’s charming web, so he sees the signs in the way you are acting around him. Still, when you finally gather all of your courage and confess your feelings to him, he pauses, surprised by how open you are about it.

When you want to start listing all the things you love about him, he takes your hand to stop you, and you see the expressionless mask shift as the mouth underneath curls into a gentle smile.

“So does that mean you feel the same?”, you ask softly.

In lieu of an answer, he gets out a sketchbook that has obviously been recently used, and hands it to you.

You flip through it and find it almost entirely filled with sketches of you, each sketch coming with little notes meant to draw attention to all the little things he loves about you; and there is a lot, from the way your eyes light up when you smile, to the shape of each of your facial features, to decidedly more intimate details.

“Aw man, that makes my confession look kinda lackluster in comparison”, you quip sheepishly and hand the sketchbook back to him.

Freddy Krueger

Be prepared for him to turn it into a joke. “Of course you love me. Look at me. I’m amazing.”

You roll your eyes. “I’m serious!”

“Hi Serious, I’m Freddy.”

“Really? A dad joke?”

“So why are you coming out with this now of all times?”

You open your mouth and close it again a few times. “I don’t know? I just felt like it was about time one of us say something like that?”

“Eh, talk is cheap. The fact that we’re putting up with each other is already enough of a love confession, don’t you think? And that’s way better than all that corny stuff about eternal love or whatever.”

You chuckle, despite being still sort of frustrated at him blowing you off like that. “If you say so.”

Bubba Sawyer

Bubba drops his chainsaw as soon as the words leave your mouth. He looks at you, nervously licking his lips, then clumsily tries to pick the saw up again. The sudden confession has his hands so jittery that he is really struggling though, so you eventually crouch down and pick it up for him.

“Sorry for just saying that out of the blue.” You hand his weapon back to him. “I guess I just… want you to know.”

Now *you* are the one dropping the chainsaw, mostly because you find yourself a foot or so in the air, held up by the vice-like grip of Bubba, who is pressing you against his chest and happily blubbering what you generously interpret as a reciprocation of the confession into your shoulder. Sometimes you really wished you could understand Bubba as well as Drayton did. But then again.. a loving gesture like this doesn’t really need words.

Brahms Heelshire

Self-absorbed as he is, he naturally assumes that you love him, so he doesn’t act too surprised when you tell him as much. Instead, he pulls you into a hug and replies:“And I love you.”

However, the fact that he expected it doesn’t mean that he takes it for granted. In his mind, the love confession is what actually begins a relationship. That’s how it works in stories, after all, and stories were the only real window to the outside world he has had since he was eight. Meaning that now, he views you officially as his significant other, rather than just a caretaker he just so happened to kiss and have the occasional fling with. Which also means that he at least tries to do a bit more for you instead of only ever taking.

The first results of his attempts at being helpful are disastrous, but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

[drewsbuzzcut]

I Can See It In Your Eyes

Drew Starkey x Evangeline Sinclair (OC)

Warnings: none that I can think of (this is also lightly edited so sorry for any mistakes)

“Evangeline!”

“Ms. Sinclair over here!”

“Look this way!”

The young starlet walks down the red carpet, the train of her gown in her hand as she makes her way to an interviewer. The buzzing crowd does nothing for her nerves, but she focuses on the pride she feels as everyone calls out for her.

“We’re here with Evangeline Sinclair. She walked the red carpet for the first time just yesterday for her premiere of her brand new horror movie. Everyone seemed to love it and the reviews are to die for. How do you feel?” The interviewer dives in straight away.

Evangeline only has a millisecond to catch her breath.

“So excited. This movie is special to me and I want people to really feel that. I hope that transcribes well through all the hard work that was put into that project,” she breathes out, hands clutched over her heart to show that her words are heartfelt.

“Today you’re here as well to support your fellow Loewe crew and Luca who you’ve previously worked with.”

“Yes, I am. Luca is a fantastic director and he’s perfect at having a vision and making it come to life. I’m honored to be here to celebrate and support such an amazing film and an amazing cast and crew”

“If you don’t mind shifting gears, rumor has it that Drew Starkey is your newest costar for another horror movie coming out sometime next year,” the woman says excitedly.

“Well I guess it isn’t a rumor anymore. Yes, he’s my costar and we’re actually in the middle of filming. Our lovely cast and crew were gracious enough to allow us to be here supporting our other projects,” Evangeline grins, a little flutter growing in her heart at the thought of Drew.

“Well the chemistry must be strong between you two. I can just feel the electricity buzzing when you walk by one another,” the interviewer points out, making a blush form on the actress’s cheeks.

“He’s amazing to work with. What can I say? Our chemistry is unmatched and that’s why we’re starring in a major movie together,” she muses through a big grin.

“I think I heard my name,” Drew chimes in, popping up behind Evangeline.

His hand finds the small of her back and he places a chaste kiss to her cheek, furthermore making her face blaze.

“Drew! How kind of you to join us. What’s it like working with this generation’s scream queen?”

Both Drew and Eva share a quick glance, their eyes quickly flitting away from each other. The girl is highly aware of his large hand still present on her back.

“Ah man. She’s- yeah she’s perfect. Someone that everyone wants to work with, and I just so happen to be the lucky one to do so. She’s super talented and she really knows how to put dedication into the craft,” Drew compliments, directing his gaze back to her.

They all look at each other just about speechless. Evangeline wasn’t expecting for him to say that and it clearly caught the interviewer off guard.

“He’s such a flatterer. I should be saying that I’m the lucky one, being able to work with him,” she shakes off her surprise.

“And soon everyone will be the lucky ones when they’re able to see your film in theaters.”

Evangeline turns her body into Drew’s, her hand landing on his chest in an affectionate manner. Although their touches seem to be mostly platonic, everyone will still be able to see the tension bouncing between their eyes.

“We can’t wait for everyone to see it,” Drew gleams and squeezes the actress into his side.

“Thank you, Drew and Evangeline. It was nice talking to you both,” the interviewer concludes her interview and the duo bid their goodbyes.

“You should pose with me for pictures,” Drew leans down to whisper in her ear.

The girl blushed furiously this time, heart practically beating out of her chest. Whenever she’s around Drew, her senses go haywire.

“No way. You’re the star of the night,” she huffs out.

“And you’re always a star.” Can he be any more perfect?

“One picture. Only one, Drew,” she gives in.

After a few pictures- after the paparazzi couldn’t get enough of them -the duo make their way inside, away from any prying eyes or lenses.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you that you look beautiful,” Drew sighs as if it's been weighing on his chest.

“Thank you. You look handsome as well.”

His hands find their way back onto her back, slowly tugging her into him for a long overdue hug. Evangeline doesn’t dare stop herself from looping her arms around his neck. His hair tickles her fingers in a pleasant way, reminding her of all the times she’s played with his hair on set.

If someone were to see them, they’d think they’re a couple. Hell, sometimes her mind even tricks her into thinking they’re a couple. Truth is, their bond has become so strong, a catalyst from co-starring in a movie together. Their characters are each other’s love interest, and they’ve had their fair share of onscreen kisses that have pushed their relationship to toe the line between fiction and reality.

Snapping the girl out of her thoughts, Drew slides a hand down her arm and interlocks their fingers.

“Shit. I need to get going and meet up with Luca and Daniel and everyone else,” he mutters, lowering his head in slight annoyance.

“Nervous, Starkey?” There’s a tease hidden in her words and Drew catches it right away.

He fights off a bubbling laugh and just presses a hard kiss to her cheek.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous,” she adds after he fails to respond.

“I’m fine. I know you’ll be in there, seated right behind me,” he says and gathers her in his arms once again. Even in heels, Eva still has to be on her tiptoes to press her forehead to his.

“Mmm right. I almost forgot that I’m your non-date,” she laughs. Drew had asked her to accompany him during his film's premiere day, knowing that her presence will keep him calm. He also can’t deny that he adores seeing her dolled up and by his side.

“Date,” he corrects her. She stays silent, just peering into his baby blues.

“I’m proud of you,” she whispers and finally returns his cheek kiss.

“I have to get going.”

“Go superstar,” she playfully pushes at his chest.

He squeezes at her hips, reluctantly pulling away to catch one last, longing gaze at her before meeting the cast and crew for Queer.

a/n: I haven’t written for Drew in a while, so I hope y’all truly enjoy it

Let me know if there’s anything specific you want to see with Drew and Evangeline!

[fandom-imagines]

Bad idea, right?

Fandom: House of Wax

Pairing: Ex!Bo Sinclair x Reader

Warnings: Exes-to-Lovers, implied nsfw, mainly dialogue, reader doesn't know about Ambrose, not proofread.

Inspired by bad idea right by Olivia Rodrigo!

Seeing the name ‘Bo Sinclair’ pop up in her phone a couple of months after they had officially ended things was not something that Y/N expected during her night-in with her friends.

As the four of them were seated around her best friend’s coffee table, the loud text-tone of Y/N’s phone broke the conversation that they were having and at first, she seriously debated ignoring it.

“It can’t be anybody important,” she said to the group. “It’s probably just my boss asking me to work a shift tomorrow!”

The three girlfriends giggled, each raising their eyebrow in a questioning manner.

“Just answer it!” One said, tossing the woman’s phone to her, one which she caught with expert accuracy.

“Fine.” She huffed, a sound which was cut short when she read the texters name.

Thankfully, nobody noticed the way her eyes widened in both shock and confusion, the emotions intensifying the moment her phone began ringing.

Bo Sinclair is calling.

Answer.        Decline.

It was at that moment Y/N realised that she had never changed his contact image. It was still a photo she took of him whilst they were drunk in Ambrose.

“Sorry,” she muttered to the group, leaving the room to answer the call.

It was as though her body was on autopilot as she answered the phone, his name falling from her lips just as easily as it had when they were a couple.

“Bo? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of months, is everything okay?” Y/N asked, assuming it must be bad for him to call her. After all, he was the one who broke up with her after they had an argument about him keeping secrets from her.

The line was silent for a moment, and she wondered if he had changed his mind, realised his mistake, and hung up. That was, until he spoke.

It wasn’t anything huge, just her name, but it was enough to have her heart racing, past feelings resurfacing at the sound.

“That’s me,” came her response, a forced chuckle shortly following.

“You should come over.” He said.

“What…?”

“You heard me.”

The door to the room she was previously in opened, startling Y/N. She knew then that she had been caught, cheeks flushed and hands shaking; she simply prayed they wouldn’t judge her too much.

“Y/N?” Her best friend asked, smirking as she took in the appearance of the woman on the phone.

“Think about it, Darling. I’ve texted you my new address.” Were Bo’s final words as he hung up the phone, the device suddenly feeling one-hundred times heavier than before.

“Is everything okay?” Rachel, her best and closest friend, asked with concern. “Who was that?”

With a harsh swallow, Y/N spoke. “That was Bo.”

“Bo? As in your ex? What did he want?”

“He wants me to go over, just moved or something.”

“At this time? You can’t seriously be considering it, Y/N! He’s your ex-boyfriend, for crying out loud!” Rachel exclaimed in shock, remembering how heartbroken her friend was when Bo broke up with her.

“Yes, I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect?” Y/N asked. “I only see him as a friend!” The biggest lie I ever said, being her immediate thought after she finished speaking.

“You can’t be serious?” Rachel was clearly unimpressed with Y/N’s choices but knew she was in no spot to say anything; everyone makes bad choices. “It’s a bad idea, right, but I can’t stop you.”

With a smile, Y/N spoke. “Fuck it, it’s fine.”

With a smile on her own face, Rachel repeated her words. “Fuck it, it’s fine.”

*

As she reached Bo’s new house in Ambrose, she hadn’t expected him to be stood at the door with a small smirk, giving her reason to believe to he had been waiting for her to pull up.

“What did you tell your friends?” He asked, widening the door for her to enter the house.

“That I was going home to sleep,”

“Well, you never said where or that you were in my sheets. I guess you could say you just tripped and fell into it.” He joked, still smirking.

“Seeing you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right?” Y/N spoke aloud, watching the way Bo’s smirk widened at her internal debate. “I should probably not.”

“Fuck it, it’s fine.” He said, as though he had heard the previous conversation with Rachel.

Watching Y/N stood in front of him once again had Bo’s chest feeling a way that he wasn’t used to feeling. He didn’t miss her, no, no way! He only saw her as a friend, somebody to hook up with! The biggest lie he ever said.

Y/N watched as he stared at her, seemingly too deep in thought to even notice her moving towards him. Judging by the way he flinched as her hands landed on his shoulders, she knew he hadn’t been paying attention at all.

Bo, who was now well-aware of her touch, leant in to connect their lips, his arm wrapping around her waist in an instant. The feeling of her lips against his after months apart had both parties reacting in ways that they didn’t know were humanly possible.

One of Y/N’s hands moved from his shoulder to the nape of his neck, fingers interlocking with his hair, tugging sharply as Bo bit on her lower, drawing a moan from her. Bo’s free hand reached to toy with the fabric of her shirt, tugging it over her head.

“Should we go upstairs?”

*

Neither of them knew how to react.

Bo, who wasn’t exactly the best at expressing his emotions, watched as the woman he still loved prepared to leave. He didn’t want her to but didn’t know how to express that without seeming ‘weak’.

“You don’t need to go,” Bo muttered, almost too quiet for Y/N to hear.

“What do you mean?”

With a sigh, Bo knew he had to tell her the truth, no matter how much he didn’t want to. “I don’t want you to leave. Not again.” He admitted, cheeks warming at the confession.

“You… don’t?” She asked him, genuine curiosity and confusion in her orbs. “Why?”

“Because… Fuck are you really going to make me say it?”

“Say what, Bo?”

“Because I still love you, okay!?” He yelled, and he was grateful that Vincent was visiting Lester that night. “I mean, fuck, I’m- I’m sorry, all right? I shouldn’t have lied to you, but I was scared what you would say if you knew the truth.”

“The truth about what?”

“Everything! The town, Vincent, Lester, me…. If you knew the truth, you’d never look at me the same.”

As Y/N stared at him, concern evident, Bo winced slightly. He wasn’t exactly used to expressing his emotions, especially not these types of emotions, but as she moved to sit beside him, he couldn’t stop the words leaving his lips.

“Please don’t leave again, Y/N…”

“I won’t, Bo, but only if you tell me the truth.”

[saintgoths]

ʟᴇᴡᴅ ᴍɪꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴜꜱᴛꜰᴜʟ ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇꜱ

LEVI ACKERMAN X READER - LEWD MISSIONS AND LUSTFUL DESIRES [AOT AU]

[PART THREE TO THE REALM'S DIAMOND SERIES].

WORD COUNT - 3,433.

RATING - 18+. [slight SA not from love interests, kissing, fingering and F/M sex oh and levi being slightly submissive].

[she also has other pairings thus the hashtags but its mainly levi x reader]. comments, liking, following and reblogging would be appreciated!

SUMMARY - y/n has a mission to court the man she desires and she is wilful to complete it.

If someone from the future had told you that there would be a moment you’d drop into a mound of depression, you’d laugh at them and tell them that they are a liar. You were the happiest girl in the world, why? You had belonged to the wealthiest family in the du Aurous country, veritably, you’d be exaggerating if you had told them that you were the happiest girl, but, there had never been moments when you had felt the dreary slate of emotions you had felt currently.

Currently, you had been pampered and readied by your ladies, you already knew you were treated like a doll by them, usually by your marionette and model looks and your pin-up body and your curly and fluffy-hair, yet, this time, you had felt like you were a rag-doll.

Today you were going out for a walk, you were meeting up with an individual from the Sinclair family, their family were coming over for dinner and were a very admirable lot. They lived over at an island called the Sinclair Port, a good trading area and was also known for its fort.

During the First Great War, the Sinclair Port had given soldiers from Oscaar and du Aurous a place to camp and rest. Thus, today you’d be given the pleasure to be around Lady Jane Sinclair, you shared the same age and you had thought her to be very kind and beautiful.

One of your ladies, Mary, had placed a worried hand against your shoulder, it had shaken you to look into the mirror you stood in front and lock eyes with your lady Mary through the reflection. “Are you okay?” Mary curiously inquired and stiffly you had smiled at her.

“I’m fine,” you kindly responded, aware that your ladies were finished preparing you for the day, thus, it had caused your women to guide you out of your room and take you outside to meet with the Sinclair lady.

She had stood on the bricked floor territory outside of the van Richesse manor, an umbrella in her hand to shield her from the sun that had blazed hellishly today. Thankful of your ladies who had dressed you in light coloured clothing for this walk, you had bid your ladies a goodbye ere you had made your way to Lady Jane.

“The Realm’s Diamond,” Lady Jane greeted and drastically you had fanned your hand against your face, Jane giggled in response and gently curtsied in front of you, with humour.

“Lady Jane,” you softly curtsied before you helped yourself get under her umbrella, the two of you had then shared a comfortable conversation, Lady Jane had shared her wish of how she had wanted to be in this year’s Annual Ball due to the amount of gossip she had heard from supplementary guests who had been at the event.

Awkwardly, you had felt a ball form in your throat, but you had attempted so hard to avoid yourself from stuttering. “It must feel good having almost every man at your feet.”

Unmoved, you had raised the both of your eyes, “some of them are disgusting,” you muttered and Jane had laughed at your forward comment. She saw the way you had tilted your head, as if you had wanted to say something else, so gently, she had nudged you and encouraged you to say what you had wanted.

“But?” Jane curiously pronounced.

Caught red-handed, you had sighed and clasped your hands together. “But, there’s one suitor who isn’t a suitor, or doesn’t want to be.”

“Levi Ackerman?” Jane guessed her face mischievous to hear your stumbled response.

Muzzled, you had blushed at Jane’s successful attempt to guess. “How did you know?” You asked and dramatically, Jane rolled her eyes.

“Many people spoke about the dance you shared with him,” Jane replied and faux-surprised, you had raised your eyebrows, you had then linked hand around the upper right arm of Lady Jane and continued to walk down the town.

By the moment you had arrived to dinner you had briskly observed the majority of your guests were your suitors, you hadn’t been shocked that your mother had something like this up her sleeve, thus, instead you had amiably greeted all of them.

You had sat down on a seat close to Lady Jane who had sat opposite you but two chairs away, the dinner had gone well, and you had felt your depression be successfully lifted off your shoulders.

“Sorry we’re late,” a cool tone appeared, the two doors that displayed the dining room had opened and there strolled in Levi Ackerman with his uncle Kenny, the voice had seemed different, so you were aware that it hadn’t come from the shorter man.

“It’s okay,” your father smiled, as he ushered the two of them to sit close to him, their seats were not far away from yours, they were close enough, suitably two arms reach. Truthfully, you had felt a twist of excitement when you saw Levi come in, chiefly when the two of you shared short looks, but you were a Lady, so you had to keep in your excitement.

Though, it had seemed a guest from the table had noticed the brief look you had shared with the Ackerman, the moment you heard a short giggle from Jane you quickly turned to look her way. “The pressure you must be feeling for being the Realm’s Diamond,” Kenny brought up and smally you had smiled at what he had said, you had been in the middle of cutting into your food and you hadn’t realised how fast you had used your cutlery.

“Yes, I’m not going to say it’s a coincidence that all men here are my suitors,” you briefly joked and you could hear the mumble of laughter leave some of the men’s mouth.

Kenny raised his eyebrows, slightly amused. “Yes, aside from your father and I, and Levi.”

“Hm?” You hummed as you could feel the laughter in the room drop. “Well, how comes you two are here anyways?”

“We have business with your father,” Levi answered and you had watched him awkwardly sit up on the seat he was on and if you were blind, you wouldn’t have noticed the familiar glances Jane and Levi shared with one another, yet, you had dismissed it just as another person burst through the doors, their wild entrance had startled everyone yet their stunned reaction had died down once they realised it was Sir. Argent.

He had breathed heavily the second he had arrived to the destination of the dinning room as he babbled unintelligent sentences as he made his way to his seat. Humoured, you had shared a look with Lady Jane who had tried her best to keep in her laughter.

“Welcome, Sir. Argent,” your mother kindly welcomed, and truthfully, you would want to have a talk with your mother to not allow late guests but that would mean you wouldn’t see Levi anymore, unless he began to come to places on time. Sir. Argent and Mrs. van Richesse commenced a small gentle conversation ere your mother had encouraged you to speak to the unprepared man, the moment she had offered your time with him, you quickly pulled a face.

“Thank you for coming Sir, Argent,” you blinked, furthermore, watchful, Levi studied the afflictive and thorny expression you had on the moment you had to speak to the man, dully, you had smiled and curved your vision to your unfinished food.

The dinner had continued and everyone had spoken to each other except you, you didn’t want your depressive wave to return but to see the man who had threatened you strictly yesterday had stomped on the rainbow of content you had previously.

In fact, your mind hadn’t been concentrated with what had been going on. Yu had moved, shortly spoke and listened, but your mind wasn’t there. Currently, you had been tasked to show the manor to your suitors and right now you had been with Sir. Argent, he talked your ear off, while you had pretended to listen to what he had to say.

Your hands were clasped behind your back and your nose slightly pointed upwards, you had walked by Levi and Kenny who had then benevolently greeted you and Sir. Argent who had brushed his arm against yours once he saw the attractive men come into view. The second you were away from the Ackermans you could feel Sir. Argent’s fingers brush against your knuckles.

“Do you remember the deal I had told you yesterday?” Sir. Argent inquired and stiffly you had nodded your head.

You had faked your smile and curved your head into his direction. “How can I forget? You’re being generous with the time you’re giving me.”

“Ah,” Sir Argent happily nodded his head.

“I’ll speak to my mother and father about your marriage proposal,” you informed him and quickly, the man placed his hand below your back, surprised your shoulders had tensed to how low his hand slid down your body and silently you had wished for someone to intrude your conversation, and it was like your Guardian Angel had finally listened to you.

Sir. Erwin Smith had smoothly walked towards the two of you, his figure tall and expression kind, he had held his hand against his chest when he silently greeted the both of you. “May I take Lady van Richesse from you?” Erwin gently questioned and with the look behind his eyes, it had seemed like the Smith man truthfully didn’t require Sir. Argent’s permission anyhow. Moreover, he had showed it when he had taken your hand and guided you away from the insolent man.

“Thank you for saving me from the piteous man,” you thankfully mumbled and softly the blond man laughed at your relief.

He had then winked at you, “I’m here to be your Guardian Angel, and suitor.”

Thankful, you had placed your hand against his arm before you returned both of your paws into a clasped state. “Do you know he’s here for you?” Sir. Erwin knowingly questioned and confound, you had looked up at the tall man, your eyes wide with perplex as they had silently encouraged him to tell you who he had meant. “Levi.”

Confused you turned your sight to the floor. “I thought he was here because of the business he has with my father, like yesterday,” you replied, yet, it wasn’t like you were upset, you had verily liked the idea of him making up lies to see you.

“His uncle Kenny, has business with your father,” Erwin corrected, “just as he did yesterday, Levi just comes along to see you.”

Satisfied, you hid your smile, you clasped your hand together, as you hoped Levi’s somewhat romantic feelings towards you could push him to become one of your suitors. “How do you feel about it? Sir Smith?” You curiously questioned as you looked up at him, a commodity had glinted in his eyes as if he had known you liked the news, he had brought you.

“I’m not threatened, since Levi is not a suitor, if he were then, that’s when there would’ve been a problem,” Erwin joked and thus you laughed along with him before the two of you drowned into a sea-depth conversation.

Currently, you had spoken with Jean, he had actually gifted you some wine his family had created, the Kirstein man had informed you that his family are in attempt to make more businesses for themselves, and honestly, you had liked the liquid they had assembled, grateful that the Kirstein family had actually gifted you more than one.

“It’s refreshing to see your face,” you kindly spoke ere you pressed the curved tip of the cup against your lips, the wine surely had some impact, though, you were still aware of everything, the alcohol had just made you amused at everything.

“Being with you makes my entire day,” Jean gently responded, you had observed the wine had affected him as well, his eyes had seemed sleepy, but his sleepiness had appeared more lustful.

“Having wine without me?” Jane chirped and kindly you had offered your cup to her which she had happily took, “thank you.”

Gently, you smiled at the Sinclair woman before you had turned to face Jean. “Sir. Kirstein, meet Lady Jane, Lady Jane meet Sir. Kirstein,” you briefly introduced and kindly Jane had curtsied in front of Jean who had amiably beckoned his head at the introduction, truthfully, Jean hadn’t seem too interested in the conversation but the alcohol would make him speak to the Sinclair heir, you had used the introduction to seek out Levi who seemed to be walking on his own, his uncle Kenny must’ve been with your father.

“I’ll be coming right back,” you happily quavered before you had glided towards the dark-haired man who appeared to be patrolling the van Richesse manor. Surprised, Levi looked your way but hastily he had returned to his calmness. “I haven’t gotten the chance to speak to you,” you truthfully sounded out and with the raise of both of his eyebrows, Levi had agreed.

“The two of us can go to a more private place,” you blandly offered and with the smug look on the Ackerman’s face you had grabbed onto his right wrist and mildly dragged him along.

“You’re eager to take me to a private place,” Levi dryly mocked and when you twisted your neck to look at him, you gave him a look that sent him into a quick and gentle chuckle.

Just as you made it near your quarters, you had pulled your arms behind your back, your hand wrapped around your wrist while you carefully examined the man in front of you. “You seemed interested in the conversation you had with Sir. Argent,” Levi mentioned and immediately you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Don’t play with me,” you curtly muttered and amused, Levi held back a smile. “I was not interested with what he had to say to me, because it was all about marriage.”

“Well, you’re the Realm’s Diamond,” the Ackerman reminded and with a limited annoyance, you had nodded your head at the reminder, sometimes you wished you weren’t such a prized trophy, maybe that would’ve made Sir. Argent leave you alone. “The entire realm wants to be my suitor, aside from you.”

Humoured, Levi arched his right eyebrow. “Are you dying for me to be your suitor?” Levi wittingly questioned and once more, you had sent him vicious eye darts.

As much as he was the stoic man, he couldn’t help himself but laugh at the expression she had on her face. “Well,” you had then clasped your hands, “it’s not like you came to the dinner to see me. You have business with my father but it seems like your uncle Kenny is the one actually having the meetings.”

Caught red-handed, Levi quickly glanced at you, and with the upper-hand, you had walked towards him, your body pressed against his. “I know that you’ve been coming over to see me, using meetings with my father as an excuse to come here, I wonder how many times you had pestered Kenny to have a meeting with my father so you can take a good look at me,” you sublimely whispered and gently, you had raised your fingers against his collars, using your gentle strength to pull him in closer.

“You caught me,” Levi muttered, “so what are you going to do about it?” He ideally challenged and as a response, you had pulled him into a kiss, vehement, Levi had kissed you back, his lustful embrace fierce and stormy.

Slowly, you had led him into your room, blindly aware of your surroundings that you hadn’t had to pull away from him to be knowledgeable of where you were, but the moment you had entered the room, you had pulled back from him, your hands tight around his clothing.

“Become my suitor,” you whispered and kissed him once more, thoughtful about the entire situation, Levi had led you to your bed, his hands had worked to pull down your undergarment, eager to touch the pearl between your legs.

Apprised that you were damp and drenched, the man used his two right fingers to swirl his digits around your clit and shakingly you had moaned against his lips, his body had hovered above yours, your back comfortably against your cot as Levi had passionately worked his fingers against your pussy.

“Fuck,” he whined at your warmth, his fingers having a mind of its own as it desperately slipped inside of you, quickly, you had gasped at the wild entrance, your hips had rolled in sync with his fingers that had moved inside you.

Your eyes tight shut as you held onto his coat jacket which you had then helped peel off his body. You had whimpered against his lips as you had felt your body tingle against his touch, unconsciously you had begun to hungrily hump for your climax, your movements animal-like; the kiss you had shared with Levi transformed into a moment of heaviness as you had felt his body press against yours, your body had twitched during the moment of its climatic intoxication and there it was, the orgasm you had wildly chased against his fingers.

Eventually, you had shuddered and leaned back as you had watched Levi gravely pull down his trousers which had then revealed his thick and girthy cock that had heaved out, the tip of his cock red and keen to your warmth, as a consequence, Levi had hovered over you again, his kisses against your lips hungrier and intense as he had pushed his shaft into your body.

Intoxicated, you had moaned at his meatiness, your legs wrapped around his waist as he began his strokes slowly, you had felt yourself stretch, surprised that his size was indefinitely abundant. Lewd, you had bit down on your bottom lips as you had felt the man pick up the pace, his face in the crook of your neck as he began to thrust his hips forward, the sac of his cock which had loudly slapped against your buttocks had been swollen, desperate to unleash its load.

Stubborn, you had rolled on top of him, his cock still big inside you, adamant to ride him, you had your hand pressed against his chest, your eyes lustful as you had begun to slowly bounce against him, your hips had rolled forwards in pleasure as you had taken it upon yourself to continue to ridge against the man as if you were a lioness in heat.

Vulgar you had pulled your face down to him while the largeness of his hand had slid up to your buttocks, without shame he had given them a pleasant squeeze as he allowed you to fuck his cock like the beast you were, he had observed how you had pulled off the rest of your garments to expose the plumpness of your breast and the view of the rest of your body had caused the man to shakingly moan.

The way his eyes became small in submission to your lustful ambition, he had then wrapped his muscled arms around your waist and took it upon himself to hump his hips upwards. “[Y/N!” Levi had moaned out, his eyes closed as the two of you had actively fucked each other, promptly, you had wrapped your hands around your breast and massaged them to stimulate yourself more.

“Right there Levi!” You cravingly cried out, your voice high as you had felt the tip of his cock continuously hit the good area of your cunt, ardently, your pussy had squeezed around him, longing to climax around him but dogged, you had kept it away from unleashing.

Gently you had shuddered as Levi had obsessively fucked his cock into your pussy, his girth wet in your folds and his emotions determined and wilful. “Be my suitor!” You cried out, you had lightly licked his ear, inflexible on your choice, “I can always be yours if you allow yourself to be mine,” you lustfully whimpered and drunken with crave, Levi whimpered at your warmth and wetness, your heat over-whelming for him he had resisted the urge to cry out.

“I’ll be yours! All yours!” He breathed out just as he unleashed his hot and thick semen inside you, and relieved you had eventually allowed yourself to climax around him, sapped, you had eventually fell against him, content with your successful assignment.

i actually really liked writing this chapter comments, liking, following and reblogging would be appreciated!

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[igotanidea]

Attention: Wednesday Addams x f!reader x Tyler Galpin

request: Hi could you do Tyler galpin x reader x Wednesday Addams. Where Tyler and Wednesday both have a crush on the reader so they basically fighting over the readers love.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long, hope whoever asked wil enjoy it. Oh, and there;s also a bit of plot twist at the end.

„ENID!” I spotted my blonde friend in the middle of the quad and came rushing into her direction

“Y/N? What is happening? You look like you’ve seen a ghost and in this school that would be perfectly normal”

“Quick! Hide me!”

“What?”

“Just do it!” I squealed and duck behind her in the poorest attempt of becoming invisible

“What is going on…..?” Enid started but I forced her to turn around and shield me behind her back “oh, oh….” Her eyes grew wide upon seeing small, dark figure appearing on the other side of the quad “what did you do to make Wednesday chase you?”

“Nothing! I swear!”

“Enid. Y/n.” Addams approached and greeted us with a low, dark voice, acting so in-style “you both realize that your poor attempt to avoid me is futile, right?”

“I’m starting to comprehend that now” I hissed stepping from behind. I was only embarrassing myself after all. For a moment we were just standing in front of each other, Wednesday’s eyes fixed on mine, as I was desperately looking everywhere but on her. At the same time, Enid was just turning her head left and right, assessing the situation, wide smile slowly creeping on her face.

“Girls? Is there something going on? Should I know about something?”

“Like what?” Wednesday narrowed her eyes at the she –wolf

“Dunno” Enid shrugged casually, her hair bouncing “just suggesting there may be something going on.”

“NOTHING is going on” I insisted, now shaking a little bit.

“Precisely. I have no idea why you would think otherwise.”

“Very well then” Enid jumped a bit “I got places to be, so I guess I’ll leave you two alone for the time being. See you later, girls.”

“Don’t you dare……” I started but she already turned on her heel and disappeared in her little rainbow cloud, probably off to meet with Ajax. Holy shit!

***

Word of explanation. 

When Wednesday Addams first step a foot into the Nevermore walls she got the attention of the whole school. Most of the students listened to those crazy rumors, ranging from her being an alien (like, really?) to her releasing piranhas on the boys who dared to hurt her brother. No matter if you believed them (I didn’t) you had to participate and have an opinion. Well, the subject of those information couldn’t care less about anything or anyone. Constantly in her own world, her own mind. A lone wolf. Except for Enid, who was chosen to be her roommate in the Ophelia Hall.  Sinclair was just being herself, cute, wonderful, emotional ray of sunshine, giving Wednesday a tour around the school, acknowledging her with the rules and cliques. And, much to my bad lack I happened to cross the quad the very moment they were walking down the stairs. No one was watching, so yeah, you guessed it. The crash, a bruise and a bit of blood. And what’s better way to bond with a person who apparently eats human flesh than share some blood. We both ended up in a hospital wing, just eyeing each other in silence, both curious of the other. However, what I didn’t know that this very moment I miraculously happened to catch the attention of the dark-haired girl. It only grew when she learned I was a descendant of one of the most renounced killer of the times. Great-great-great-great granddaughter, so really, not much of a connection, but enough for her. She believed it was something admirable (although she called it “worth exploring”, not that is sounded ominous at all) and more often than less I caught her, observing me during classes or lunch, just feeling her eyes on me. That was a bit creepy, but also…. weirdly flattering. As much as I hated that family tree, I was also a psychic, so sometimes, rarely¸ my ancestor spoke through me (talk about a channeler tendencies) causing a lot of trouble. Like one time when she asked me, what kind of torture would I choose to use as an act of revenge.

“Torture? Wednesday, that is ridiculous… I don’t…. Play pop music for the whole day.” Yeah, I guess my great-great-great-great-grandfather had a sense of humor. And in some crazy way it attracted Addams to me.

At first, she was just watching from the distance, like I was a riddle to figure out, but now she got far more direct. I suppose the hyde problem only accelerated it. In a few week time she had no problem in making me join her in her crazy adventures and ideas. Ok, I admit her moodboards, the one that creeped Enid was actually nicely prepared and well-though. Damn my blood, but slowly I started to get interested in Addams as well. We were sharing, for god’s sake.

But. 

There was one problem,

And his name was Tyler Galpin.

Normally, Nevermore students weren’t allowed to go to Jericho and interact with normies. I guess there’s always an exception to the rule. I suppose I forgot to mention how and why I ended up in Nevermore.  It definitely wasn’t because my parents wanted me to explore my inner self and grow up (like Enid’s mother wished for her), but also not because I was an obstacle and a liability (like Xavier’s father apparently thought). Nope. It was because I was going crazy with all the voices in my head, getting tired of being a medium and my family murderous attempt to make me a legacy to the hurting spree tradition. I never wanted that. So, one day I just simply run away. Having done my research I learned about Nevermore and the way It worked, knowing exactly where to go, but on my way I took one wrong turn and instead of ending up on the school ground I found myself in Jericho, exhausted, dirty and looking like a complete freak after three-day journey. On. My. Feet.  How surprising that my family never looked for me, simply writing me off (having said that – maybe my situation wasa bit similar to Xavier’s). Anyway.  Due to all the adventures I nearly passed out in front of Weathervane. And that’s when Tyler stepped in, almost forcing me to come inside, getting me a snack and a drink, just smiling and sitting there watching me closely, making sure I was getting better. Good thing it was late and every decent habitant of Jericho was in home, getting ready for a night’s sleep. Tyler’s nice attitude somehow made me tell him everything. About me being  a freak, searching for Nevermore and all the sad, sob, story. He never judged, never really freaked out.  Quite the opposite, he pointed me in the right direction, making sure I got to my destination safely. And then, principal Weems took good care of me. Having in mind, all my history and the mental problems my family caused, she made sure I got professional help, embodied in dr Kinbott.  And that was when I reunited with Tyler. In same way as with Wednesday.

“My head…. I got to stop meeting people this way” I hissed getting up from the floor

“It was entirely my fault, Y/N” strong arm reached towards me and lifted me up ”Hi, again.” he smiled again, and damn, those dimples…..”How about I make it up to you with a coffee?

So, I hope now you get the problem. I got two people interested in me.  And neither Wednesday nor Tyler liked the competition.

And that’s how we end up back in the quad with Wednesday’s eyes fixed on my face.

***

“I swear if she keeps looking at me like that I’m going to turn into ashes” I thought to myself feeling the blush showing on my cheeks

“Wednesday.” Shit, be smart, be smart “is there something I can help you with?”

“I don’t need your help. Nor anyone else’s. Though I was wondering whether you were going to attend the fair?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” I shrugged, but couldn’t help a little bit of blush. Damn it was hard to understand if she was trying to flirt in her specific way or trying to find out if I was going to be an obstacle in whatever crazy plan she had in mind.

“Not quite the answer” she retorted

“Yes, Wednesday, I am going. Why are you asking?”

“No reason. But you might be a bit useful for me. I have a plan and your skills can be complementary to mine.”

“Complementary, huh?”

“Yes. I’ll see you at the fair than.”

Did you hear me say, that everyone was going to be there? That included Tyler as well.

*** “Y/N.” Tyler smiled in the happiest way possible when he saw me walking around the fair. “Addams.” Just a nod in her direction.

“Galpin.” She responded with her coldest, most focused tone, eyeing him like she was trying to get inside his head. Well, maybe she was…..

“Are you having fun?” the boy asked

“I….”

“We are way above such mundane attraction as this. Only came because we were forced to. And fun, as you put it is overrated” yeah, Wednesday did not hold back.

“I see. No surprise Y/N is a bit bored. It’s always about the right company.”

“Maybe you should leave then?”

“Guys…..”

“Oh, I only just came. And I am going to enjoy the evening .”

“So are we. Nevertheless, we have something different planned….”

“We?” Tyler raised an eyebrow “it seems like you have a plan and you are just dragging Y/N along. Did you even ask her if she wants so?” he turned towards my direction

“I…..” I tried again, but didn’t manage a word

“I am far from forcing people to do anything. I believe in free will.”

“Oh, I bet you do. But you have outstanding tendency to get people involved in your matter.”

“Maybe.” Wednesday smirked at Tyler’s annoyed expression and since for a second silence fell between them I saw that as my chance to chime in.

“Um, Tyler, Wednesday, can’t we just…..?

“Would you like to have some ice cream Y/N?” Tyler smiled taking a step closer to me and Wednesday tensed a bit

“I…..”

“Ice cream are so primitive. How about we go investigate?” she suggested looking me straight in the eye.

“Oh, for god’s sake” I hissed and turned on my feet

“Investigate? You are trying to get her in trouble, aren’t you?”

“Just creating some good memories. I guess that’s a thing in your world. And being useful, unlike you…..”

“You know Addams, taking care of people’s emotional needs is useful. Not that you would understand that, right?”

“come on, Y/N, we don’t have to …..” my creepy female friend shifted slightly to me, only now realizing I just walked away, joining Enid and Ajax and watching them from a distance while actually enjoying some ice cream.

“See what you did?” Tyler muttered

“I did?”

“Yeah, if you just stepped out of this and…..”

Ok, now Wednesday was walking towards me and I got a déjà vu from the situation at the quad. Clearly she was done dealing with Tyler’s bullshit.

“Wednesday” oh, thank you Enid for stepping in “you decided to join us?”

“I did!” Tyler gasped outrunning the girl.

“Since when are you hanging with the freaks?” Xavier hissed. “If he’s here than I’m out” he stood up abruptly, bumping into Ajax by accident and causing his ice cream to end up at the front of my T-shirt leaving a nasty stain.

“Dude!” Ajax whined

“Shit…” I muttered, reaching for a tissue to at least try to clean it, but instead of the paper touching something soft and warm. Tyler’s hand. He was reaching for the same tissue.

“Let me help you” he searched for my eyes, caressing my palm gently and my eyes grew wide and cheeks went red in an instant. Again, before I could even say a word, Wednesday was by my side handing me another piece of material for cleaning, glaring at the boy. I felt like screaming at this point.

“Xavier?” I smiled turning to him with a smile, but my eyes were literally screaming for help and hoping he got my message. “Are you heading out? Can I join you?” please, please, get me out of this love battle. Thorpe looked at me, a bit taken aback but nodded slowly, not even realizing how much relief that brought me. If I even suggested going back to school by myself, Tyler and Wednesday would start that whole it’s dangerous etc. Xavier was my best shot, since if I joined him neither of my wooer would want to be near him.

“What is going on with you and Addams and Galpin?” he asked when we were out of the earshot

“Oh, fuck, don’t even get me started on that” I rolled my eyes, looking behind. Tyler and Wednesday was sitting in front of each other, in silence, eyeing each other like it was some sick stare battle, Enid and Ajax on the side looking absolutely helpless, but still trying to talk the silence away. “I’m sick of them acting like children. This was nice at first, you know, being noticed, but now….”

“Now, what?”

“It’s like I’m a prize in a competition between them.”

“Are you even interested in any of them?”

“I don’t know now! I’m confused to say the least. And tired. And a bit worried what may come from this.”

“Have you ever considered choosing someone else to be with?” he stopped and I almost bumped into him

“I…. Wait, what?”

“I’m just saying.” He shrugged and it came out a bit awkward “stepping outside that triangle might be beneficial for you.”

“Xavier?”

“I’m just saying.” He repeated and smirked at me with gleaming eyes, before resuming his walk.  

Oh shit…….

@pinksirensong

@somest1

[fablesrose]

Ch 2 - The First David Job

Masterlist

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Ford!Reader

Words: 2273

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I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t one to jump at a party, but one every once in a while was nice. And one as beautiful as this? Sometimes you just can’t let the opportunity slip by. The air was warm and the drinks were cold. The decor sparkled in the dim light. 

I kept my arm linked with Maggie’s or at least close by for most of the night. This was a high end place, and while I was technically perfectly welcome as a plus one, I still did not want to be caught alone when I knew no one else. Personally at least. I had met the host, Ian Blackpoole, a couple of times in passing as he was Nate’s previous boss, but that hardly counts. In fact, it was a little strange to be there without Nate. I wondered how he was doing.

One of my hands smoothed my dress down my body as I noticed the two of us occasionally caught some eyes. The dress was easily one of the most beautiful articles of clothing I owned now, thanks to Maggie helping me pick it out yesterday when we went dress shopping. I wasn’t totally used to getting even this much attention from strangers. 

Eventually, as I noticed Maggie’s and my drinks were running dry, a handsome man with glasses and long hair pulled back came with three flutes of champagne. 

“Beautiful ladies such as yourselves shouldn’t have to grab your own drinks,” he had a slight southern charm about him as he smiled and offered the glasses to us. Something about his voice tickled the back of my brain as if I had heard it before, but I had no idea where that could have been, so I didn’t think about it too much. 

I quickly grabbed Maggie’s empty glass and handed hers and my own to a passing waiter before taking the glass from the man with a slight smile. My fingers brushed against his in the process and I noticed how warm his hands were. 

“My name’s Adam, Adam Sinclair. May I ask who you lovely ladies are? I assume you came together, friends?”

Maggie laughed, “That is flattering. I’m Maggie, this is my niece y/n.”

I smiled softly as she introduced me as her niece, and giggled a little when I noticed Adam’s slightly shocked face. 

“Niece? I never would have guessed.”

We chatted for a while, mostly about our jobs and what brought us to the party. I was impressed as I noticed he gave almost equal attention to the both of us. Maggie may have been fifteen years my senior, but definitely didn’t look it, plus she was gorgeous. I knew she would never leave me hanging, but I would not have blamed any man here for vying for her attention over mine. 

Adam paused and turned away from us for a second, it looked like he was checking the time and muttered to himself before turning back to us. 

“Actually ladies, I have to go meet someone… Would you like to accompany me?”

After we agreed he escorted us across the party to a couple of people. One of them was Blackpoole, and there was someone else raising his voice to him.

“I’m drunk, I’m broke, I’m livin’ out of my car! I-I just want the paycheck, and at this point I don’t care where it comes from.”

“Nate?” Maggie spoke first, as I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

He turned around and his eyes widened and flipped from Maggie to me and back, “Maggie? Y/n?”

“You guys know each other?” Adam looked between the three of us nervously.

“Of course,” Blackpoole interjected, “Maggie is Nate’s ex-wife, y/n is his niece.”

“Ohh…”

I was the first to move as I went up and hugged Nate. I didn’t say anything as I could smell the alcohol on him. He hesitantly hugged back before pulling me away so he could look at me better. He had a tight expression as he quickly snapped to Adam and introduced himself.

Adam stumbled a bit as he shook his hand saying his own name, “That’s a mighty fine grip you have there Mr. Ford.”

There was a woman who stood next to Blackpoole. I only noticed her when she stepped forward interrupting the awkward moment between Nate and Adam.

“Signoras Ford-”

Maggie stopped her “Collins, I use my maiden name. Y/n here is the only Ms. Ford.”

I noticed Nate staring at Maggie as she said so. I watched the Italian woman pry Adam’s and Nate’s hands apart.

“Scusi, you mind if I borrow Professor Sinclair for a moment. Yes, we must talk to Mr. Blackpoole.”

“Of course,” Maggie replied. 

The three of them, Blackpoole, Adam, and the Italian lady walked away briskly leaving the three of us, Nate, Maggie, and I alone. 

“Maggie, y/n, what are you doing here?” He looked at Maggie directly, “Why are you working for him?”

“I’m not, I’m under contract with this museum. I’m just helping him set up this exhibit. I thought y/n might be interested, so I invited her.”

Nate looked bothered all the same at her answer. 

“Nate,” Maggie brought his attention back to herself, “I heard what you were saying before. I had no idea things were so awful for you.”

I finally spoke up, “What happened to that job you were working? The consulting agency? I thought you were really enjoying it…”

“Oh no no no,” He looked at me for a second, “uh… It’s been hard… business declined more than expected…”

“Oh Nate, I’m sorry.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. 

Maggie added, “You should have called me, I would have given you money.”

“I don’t need money!” Nate did that strange pause again, “I need money. I mean, I just need this deal.”

I watched as Maggie contemplated for a moment, “Well then let's go get it.” She turned towards where the others went and quickly strode over. 

Nate sputtered next to me as I called, “Maggie? What are you doing?” I nervously chased after her, letting go of Nate's hand in the process.

“What’s Nate here for?” Maggie instantly interjected herself into the conversation.

“It’s an art sale, but it’s private,” Blackpoole responded.

“I’ll verify the art.”

I tugged at her arm and whispered, “Maggie…” I admired her boldness at times, but the tension of this situation counteracted it.

The Italian woman smiled tightly with a laugh, “Scusi, no, we agreed, uh, no outside people.”

“No no no, uh, no, that’s alright.” Blackwell interrupted, “I’ve been a little hesitant… No offense, but I don’t know you that well,” he said to Adam who stood next to him. 

“But you know me, you know my reputation.”

I took a step back, clearly she knew what she wanted. I glanced at Nate who stood next to me, he had a slightly frustrated yet anxious look.

“If my presence will help you close the deal, then I’m in,” Maggie continued. 

“Agreed,” Blackpoole responded. “My one condition, Maggie examines the sculpture or I walk.”

Nate nodded after a moment, “Agreed, I’ll get some drinks and we’ll celebrate.”

“I’ll help you Signor Ford.” 

The two of them walked away. I contemplated going with them or stepping up into the circle with Maggie, Adam, and Blackpoole. I decided on a third option of heading to the bathroom to escape the anxious atmosphere around me. The craziness of seeing Nate doing so poorly and the tension between him and Maggie just became a bit too much. I quickly whispered into her ear where I was going and took my leave. 

On the way to the bathroom I took a glass of water with me. I entered the bathroom and sighed in relief when I saw it was empty. I sipped the water as I made sure to take deep breaths. I wanted to rub my hands across my face and through my hair, but I worked hard on my hair and makeup. I didn’t want to mess it up. I resorted to rubbing and scratching my temples and around my hairline. I don’t know how long I was in there, but once I finished my water and felt that I was relaxed enough to go out there again I ventured back to the party. 

I finally found Maggie who was exchanging her number with Adam saying, “I’ll let you know when we can discuss the piece.” I let my eyes wander before I reached her, seeing that Nate was a little ways away. 

“Are you sure you are going to be okay Nate?” I asked when I approached him. 

He looked at me and I could see him biting the inside of his lip, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Once this deal is done…” he lowered his head as if in shame.

“Uh, speaking of which, would it… would it be okay if I tagged along? I was going to fly back to Boston tomorrow, but I can move it, stick around for a bit?”

Nate raised his eyebrow, “why-why would you want to do that?”

I rolled my eyes, “Because I care about you? I was actually gonna call you when I got here, but my calls wouldn’t go through to see if we could meet up. And, I like seeing you guys work, it's different from what I do, I’m on my computer all day. Booorrriinngg!”

That got Nate to smile for the first time I had seen tonight, “I know someone who would disagree with you on computers being boring, but uh, yeah, you can come along, you sound like a kid when you say that.”

“Well, they must do more exciting things than me. It can be like bring your kid to work day all over again. It’ll be fun.”

“Sure.”

Adam slipped into our conversation quickly, “It was nice to meet you Mr. Ford, I look forward to working with you.” He shook Nate’s hand before turning to me, “Y/n, Ms. Ford, excuse me… It's been a pleasure.” 

He took the fingers of my hand and raised it a little, bowing his head before turning and leaving the party. My eyes followed him for a second before turning back to Nate who had a scowl, also watching him. 

“Need I remind you that I am like, twenty seven?”

He turned his head towards me, “Doesn’t matter.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, “I better get going, I’ll- I’ll see you later.”

I smiled and nodded before turning back towards where Maggie stood, watching us for a moment. 

“How’d it go?” she asked when I reached her.

“Well, I think. I must say, while I don’t entirely approve of your methods, I want to see this deal through too, so it looks like I’ll be staying a bit longer.”

She smiled and hooked her arm with mine, “Perfect.”

—--

“What was that?!” Nate yelled at Eliot once they got back to the office.

“Look, I’m sorry your ex wife gave me her number, its just to coordinate-”

“And my niece?”

“I didn’t even know you had a niece until tonight! I was just trying to be polite!”

“Yeah, well, I raised her, pretty much. I didn’t want her involved.”

Sophie commented, “Well she’s involved now, don’t think we didn’t hear that you are letting her come.”

Nate rubbed his hand over his face, “I’ll work it out…”

—

Maggie and I pulled up to the airport where the deal was going to take place. 

“Are you ready?”

I looked at her, “Of course.”

We exited the vehicle as Blackpoole arrived and greeted us. We walked in to see Nate and Adam already there. Greetings were brief before Nate was called up to the receptionist who told us to head on through. Adam smiled at me, letting me pass in front as he took the rear of the group.

When we approached the door of the hanger, the presumed seller exited a small plane that pulled up. I placed myself in an observing position, watching Maggie and Adam study the small statue as the seller and Blackpoole spoke to each other. 

“It’s a dead ringer for the first David you own. Caste off the same mold.” Maggie told Blackpoole. She looked at Nate and then me before turning back to the business man. “It’s real.”

I smiled and nudged Nate with my shoulder as everyone seemed to celebrate just a little bit. 

I let Maggie talk to Nate on the way out, discussing the good old days it sounded like. Adam walked me out behind them.

“You seem to really know your stuff Professor.”

“Please, no need for titles Ms. Ford.”

I smiled at him, “Then call me y/n.”

We reached the foyer of the airport when Adam turned to face me, “It was a pleasure to see you again, y/n.”

“The pleasure was mine.”

He gave me a grin before exiting the building.

I walked up to Nate, “I found a client here in LA, so I think I will stick around for a bit, maybe until after the exhibit opens. Let me know if you want to meet up, or need help getting your ducks in a row again.”

He nodded to himself, “You staying with Maggie then?”

“Probably, unless she kicks me out,” I laughed. 

“I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks Nate,” I patted his arm before heading to Maggie’s car and left. 

I turned around in my seat just in time to see Nate punch Blackpoole in the face.

Classic.

Tags: @isoldeahlstrom

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

She Has No Idea (That I'm Even Here) - Chapter One

Pairings: Steve Harrington x reader, one-sided Billy Hargrove x reader, side Nancy Wheeler x Robin Buckley

Work Summary:

Steve Harrington x reader Summer Camp AU with a side order of Billy Hargrove being a dick.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4103

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Notes:

I adore upsidedownwithsteve's summer camp Steve fic She Drives Me Crazy (seriously, if you haven't read it, please check it out, it's seriously so good) so I figured I'd write my own summer camp AU. This fic is in no way based on SDMC, but SDMC did make me fall in love with the idea of a summer camp setting.

Reader is somewhat implied to be plus sized. You can read it as her being plus sized or not, depending on your preference.

I'm currently aiming for this to have 4 chapters.

Warnings for Billy being a dick, bullying, risk of drowning

---

Rain had put a damper on the day’s activities. You had been assisting with the scavenger hunt, but it had to be called off early. Mike Wheeler had slipped in the mud and sprained his ankle, and although he insisted that he was fine, you still had to take him to the nurse’s office. He complained the whole way there.

You had known Mike for a long time. You went to high school with his older sister, Nancy, so you were familiar with him and his ragtag group of friends, who had been coming to camp for as long as you had.

While the nurse checked Mike over, you filled in the necessary paperwork. It wasn’t your favourite part of the job, but you knew that you’d be in trouble if you didn’t, and it was a welcome breather from the physical part of being a camp counsellor.

When the nurse had dismissed Mike, giving him an ice pack and telling him to keep his ankle elevated, you escorted him to the cafeteria, where an early dinner was being served.

The place was packed. Normally, meals were staggered, but evidently, in the interests of getting the kids fed and back to their cabins before the storm really set in, rules were being bent. The queue for food stretched all the way around the inside of the building. You were starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

Across the cafeteria, you saw Hopper standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the clear fire code violation that was happening in front of him. He was grimacing.

“Mike!” Lucas Sinclair called out, getting your attention. He wildly beckoned Mike over to him.

“I haven’t got my food yet!” Mike called back.

“You go sit with your friends and put your foot up,” you said. “I’ll get your food for you.”

He gave you his food choice, and you made your way up to the front of the queue. That was one of the privileges of being a counsellor: you were allowed to cut in line. The lady serving food didn’t blink at your request for two meals, but you felt the need to explain yourself anyway.

As you turned to head back to Mike, one tray in each hand, you almost ran right into Billy Hargrove. He grinned at you in a way that made your stomach turn, the stench of his cologne invading your nostrils.

“Two meals, huh?” he said, looking down at your trays. “I guess I’m not surprised. You should save some for the rest of us.”

You opened your mouth, to defend yourself, or to tell him to fuck off, but no words came out. Your eyes stung treacherously as you walked past him to the other end of the cafeteria to give Mike his tray. He didn’t even thank you before you walked away again.

There was a table in the corner where a handful of counsellors who weren’t currently on duty were eating. Robin was there, as well as Nancy and Eddie, and with a jolt, you realised that Steve Harrington was sitting with them.

You felt a little sick, almost tempted to discard your tray and go back to your cabin, but Robin caught your eye.

“Hey!” she called out to you, waving. “Come sit with us.”

Trapped, you could only do as she said. Steve was sitting next to Nancy, which gave you another uncomfortable twist in your gut, although you knew they were no longer together. You took the free seat beside Robin and opposite Steve.

Robin was talking a mile a minute, not slowing down until she caught your eye, and realised how shiny your eyes were.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked, far too loudly.

You winced. “N-nothing.” You glanced at Steve, and found him looking at you, which made your cheeks heat up. You hated the idea of him seeing you cry.

“I saw Billy talking to you,” Robin continued. “Did he say something to you?”

“He was just being a dick.”

“Uh-huh.” She waited expectantly for you to say something else, but you were less than forthcoming.

“Is he bothering you?” Steve’s voice made you look up in surprise. “He can be a real asshole. I know I’m supposed to be a grown-up and tell you to ignore him, but I could push him off the pier for you if you want.” He smiled at you. Your stomach tingled hotly. You giggled, embarrassingly girlishly.

“No, thanks.”

“Well, offer’s on the table.”

Steve went back to talking with Robin, and you went back to picking at your food. Steve had hardly ever spoken to you before. You had been at high school together, but you moved in such different social circles that you were sure he didn’t even notice you.

After dinner, when plates were empty and trays were bussed, it was a mad dash back to your cabin in the rain. Robin was still talking to Steve, and Nancy had gone ahead, so you were alone. You almost slipped in the mud a couple of times, but you made it back relatively unscathed.

Nancy was sitting on a chair in the corner when you arrived. She looked damp and bedraggled, and was sitting rather primly to avoid getting things wet. Over the heavy pounding of the rain, you could hear the shower going.

“Chrissy called dibs on the first shower,” she said. “I’m next though, so don’t even try it.” She smiled at you, and you knew she was just kidding around.

“That’s fine. I’m gonna wait to shower until just before bed.” You enjoyed the peace of a late-night shower. You hated feeling rushed.

You grabbed some clean, comfy clothes and went behind the privacy screen at the side of the room. As you stripped off your wet clothes, you heard the door slam open again, and the telltale sounds of Robin stumbling into the cabin.

“What happened to you?” asked Nancy, barely stifling a laugh.

“I slipped,” came Robin’s reply.

“I can see that. Chrissy’s in the shower but you can take the next one. You clearly need it.”

“You’re the best.”

You pulled on your hoody over your head. Nancy was condemning herself to, at best, a lukewarm shower, and that was if Robin was quick about it. The hot water in the cabins was very limited. You were pretty sure that the water would be hot again by bedtime, thankfully, but Nancy looked like a drowned rat and clearly had no intentions of doing anything until she had showered.

“Where’s Y/N?” asked Robin.

“Changing.”

“Oh.”

Your stomach twisted, feeling as though you’d been caught eavesdropping. You neatened up your clothes and stepped out from behind the screen.

“Holy shit,” you said when you caught sight of Robin. She was covered in mud from her feet to her chest, and from her hands all the way up to her elbows. “What the fuck?” Nancy giggled, and Robin flipped you off.

Chrissy, far more tactful than either you or Nancy, said nothing when she came out of the bathroom in her pale pink dressing gown, but you watched her eyes widen as she looked at Robin.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. If you guys aren’t careful, I may just take a little lie down on your beds before I shower.”

Normally, you probably would’ve thrown a pillow at her, but you didn’t want to get it muddy. As Robin disappeared into the bathroom, you sat down on another chair. The cabin came with a little dining table, although you weren’t really supposed to eat in your cabins. Nancy had set her book down on her nightstand, reading it carefully to avoid getting it wet.

You were thankful for Robin. Nancy and Chrissy were both nice enough, but they both intimidated you in their own way. Chrissy was cheerleader beautiful, with her big eyes and pretty smile, blonde hair and long legs. She turned everyone’s heads. Before you got to know her, you were sure she would be just like the other bitchy cheerleaders at school who made fun of you. You were relieved to discover that that wasn’t true.

Nancy, on the other hand, had a ferocity and competitive spirit that was frankly terrifying. She may have been tiny, but you were sure that she could’ve taken you in a fight. She was beautiful too, in a way that made your heart twinge. Petite, with delicate features, she had stolen Steve Harrington’s heart. You knew that he would never look twice at a girl like you.

Robin, though, was something else entirely. She was gorgeous too, of course, but clumsy and awkward. She put you at ease with yourself the way no one else did. With her help, talking to Nancy and Chrissy had gotten easier too.

Chrissy sat down by the mirror and began brushing her hair. Her eyes met yours in the mirror.

“I hear Billy was giving you a hard time earlier,” she said. “Want me to kick his ass?”

The idea of sweet, sensitive Chrissy Cunningham kicking anyone’s ass drew a giggle from you. You shook your head.

“It’s okay. Nothing I haven’t heard before.”

Nancy closed her book. “Guys are assholes. I’m sorry that guys treat you that way.”

You shrugged, but your cheeks were burning. She meant well, but you heard the meaning under her words. You were the kind of girl that boys didn’t like. You were the kind of girl they picked on.

“It’s whatever,” you said, trying to change the subject. “Speaking of guys, how is it going with Jason, Chris?”

Chrissy’s smile faltered. She tried to mask it by looking down at her hairbrush, pulling small clumps of hair from it, but you had noticed.

“Oh, you know. It’s fine.”

Nancy turned to face Chrissy. “Doesn’t sound fine.”

“Well, you know, all relationships have their ups and downs.” She shrugged. “What about you, Nance? Anything going on in your love life?”

Nancy looked taken aback to have the line of questioning turned around on her. “Nothing, actually. I’m happily single.”

“You broke up with Jonathan like six months ago. You’re not looking for a relationship again?”

“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’.

“What about Steve?” you asked, and then internally cringed as she turned to look at you.

“What about Steve?”

“Well, you guys used to date.”

Nancy regarded you with a shrewd expression. “Me and Steve are just friends now. You know…” Her tone was faux-casual. “I wouldn’t have a problem with it at all if Steve was to date someone else. I want him to be happy. He deserves it.”

Your heart stuttered in your chest. She knew. You tried to formulate a response, tripping over your words, but were thankfully saved by Robin emerging from the bathroom. She was wearing plaid pyjamas, and her hair was wrapped in a towel.

“What are you guys talking about?” she asked, sprawling out on her bed.

“Boys,” said Chrissy. Robin’s lips twitched slightly.

“Uh-huh,” she said. “I don’t have much to contribute to that conversation, honestly. Nothing going on in my love life.”

As Nancy disappeared into the bathroom, Robin picked up a magazine and began flipping through it. It was clear that the conversation was over.

*

The rain had barely eased up by the next morning. You and the other girls sprinted from your cabin to the staff room, holding your coats over your heads. Robin very nearly took another spill, but Nancy caught her by the elbow before she could go over.

A few people were already waiting inside, including Jason Carver, Chrissy’s boyfriend. She tried to sit down in the seat next to him, but he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his lap.

“Jason,” she squeaked, flushing bright red. “Stop.” She tried to wiggle away from him, but he held her tighter.

“Carver!” Hopper barked suddenly, making you jump. Reluctantly, Jason released Chrissy and she slid down into the seat next to him. Her cheeks were bright red, and she kept her eyes fixed on the ground.

“What an asshole,” Steve muttered over your shoulder. You turned, not realising that he’d come in.

“Hey Steve,” you said, sounding uncomfortably breathless. You hoped he didn’t notice.

“Hey.” He smiled at you, a sort of lopsided smile that made your heart pound. “Shall we grab a seat?”

You glanced around. Nancy and Robin were sitting themselves down at two seats near the front. You were sure that was Nancy’s influence. Robin hated being at the front.

Eddie was sitting at the back, in the seat closest to the wall. Steve sat down next to him, but there was an open seat on Steve’s other side. You considered sitting somewhere else, but what if he took that as an insult? He clearly seemed to be expecting you to sit next to him. Heart in your throat, you sat down.

Robin glanced over her shoulder at you, and smiled. She gave you a subtle thumbs up.

Hopper cleared his throat loudly, and the room quietened. “As I’m sure you guys have guessed, outdoor activities are cancelled for today. We’re going to have to shuffle the schedules-”

The door to the office slammed open, and Billy Hargrove walked in. He was dripping wet, trailing puddles behind him as he did so.

“You’re late, Hargrove,” said Hopper, sounding more tired than angry.

“Sorry, boss.” Billy grabbed a chair, dragging it across the floor with a scraping sound. He set it down in front of you, Eddie and Steve, and sat on it sideways. Out of the corner of your eye, you could feel him look at you, Cheshire cat grin on his face. You felt a little sick.

“As I was saying. We’re going to have to shuffle the schedules around. Bring up some of the indoor activities.”

As Hopper spoke, dividing up the indoor activities available, Billy caught your eye.

“Bet you’re glad it’s raining,” he murmured, just about loud enough for you to hear. “You hate all that running around outside, right?”

You tensed. He was making fun of you. As much as you tried, his thinly veiled insults were puncturing your skin. You opened your mouth to say something, but Steve beat you to it.

“Shut the hell up, Hargrove,” he growled.

Billy’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t know you cared, Harrington. Have you got a crush?”

“HARGROVE!” Hopper was suddenly much closer than you expected. When you looked up, he was standing directly behind Billy. “Is there a problem?”

Slowly, Billy turned to face him. “No problem. No problem at all.”

Hop grimaced as he turned to you. “Y/N, you’re going to be running art classes today. Harrington, I’ve got a few options-”

“I can help with the art classes,” said Steve. He glanced at you. “If you want, I mean.”

“That’d be great,” you said, trying to remember how to breathe normally.

“Alright, you’ll be taking the first group after breakfast, so you better go get ready.”

*

You had known Steve Harrington since elementary school. In fact, you’d known most of your fellow camp counsellors since then. The first time you spoke to him had been during a soccer game.

Steve had been the captain of his team. You were not athletic, you were usually picked last. But as the numbers dwindled and the other kids began to snicker at you, Steve called your name. That had shut them up.

You’d been harbouring a little bit of a crush on him ever since.

Okay.

Maybe more than a little bit.

Your feelings had changed during high school, when he was no longer a sweet little boy, but almost a man, with long legs and broad shoulders and perfectly styled hair. He hung around with the popular kids and was even more unattainable than he’d ever been.

So you pushed your stupid little crush down. You kept your head down and focused on finishing high school.

But according to Robin, he’d changed a lot since high school. You knew they worked together at a video store. He had matured and grown into himself, no longer feeling the need to step on others to make himself feel good.

It was hard to watch him help a little girl put glitter on her artwork without feeling a surge of longing. He was so gentle, his big hands steadying her tiny ones, and when she squealed with delight at the way her work shimmered, he high-fived her.

“You’re staring.”

You spun around to see Erica Sinclair. She was smirking at you.

“I- What- No-”

“Relax,” she said, going back to her drawing. “I’m not gonna tell him.”

Your cheeks heated up. “There’s nothing to tell.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

You were very glad when lunchtime finally rolled around.

*

The day had been a trial for you. You had a different group of kids after lunch, but Steve was still there with you, helping the little ones finger paint and cracking jokes with the older ones.

Robin was right. He was different now. You hadn’t been in close proximity to him since high school, but the change was obvious.

You had to admit you were a bit of a pushover when it came to the kids. If they didn’t tidy up all the way, you usually were happy to let them off, but not Steve. He barred the door as Dustin, Lucas and Mike tried to walk off without washing their paintbrushes. The bond he had with Dustin was kind of adorable. They snarked at each other constantly.

When the kids were gone, and it was just you and Steve left, cleaning up the last of the equipment, you felt like you had to say something, or else you’d be stuck in an awkward silence forever.

You cleared your throat. “You’re really good with the kids,” you said. “You have such a way with them.”

Steve chuckled, his head tipping forward so that he was looking at the ground.

“I have a lot of experience with babysitting, I guess,” he said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I always seem to be chaperoning somebody or other to the arcade, or the mall, or the movie theatre.”

“Well, you’ve got more patience than me.”

He met your eyes then. “No way. I see the way you handle those kids. You’re a pro.”

Warmth flooded you. For a moment, you couldn’t find the words.

You swallowed. “If you say so.”

“We done with the cleaning?”

“I still need to sweep.” You picked up the broom from where it had been leaning against the wall, and when you turned back, Steve was a foot away from you, reaching for it as well. Startled, you dropped it, but he caught it easily before it could hit the ground.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you,” he said. You let out a breathy, anxious laugh. “How about we make a deal? I’ll do the sweeping, and you can go ahead and save me a seat in the cafeteria.”

Your mouth fell open. It was a tempting offer. Your feet were hurting, and you hated sweeping.

“Come on,” he said, nudging your shoulder lightly. “You did all the hard work today. All I did was fingerpainting.”

You knew that that wasn’t true, but you couldn’t help but be charmed.

“They’re serving the good pasta in the cafeteria tonight,” you said. “The creamy kind. So you better hurry.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” He gave you a mock-salute as you walked out of the art classroom.

The rain had mostly stopped by now, and you were thankful for that. There was a light drizzle, but it was more refreshing than anything.

The path back to the cafeteria was hazardously muddy, so you walked carefully, watching every step.

“You’re such a fucking asshole!” came a shrieking voice, making you jump out of your skin. It was coming from down by the river, just beyond the little clump of trees.

“You little brat,” came a growl, and you recognised the voice of Billy Hargrove. “How come you never show me any fucking respect, Maxine?”

So Billy was arguing with his younger stepsister, Max. That was par for the course. You should keep walking. It was none of your business.

“Because you don’t deserve my respect, shit-for-brains.”

“Get away from those rocks, idiot. You’re gonna get yourself hurt, and you know who will be blamed for it.”

“I don’t care, Billy. Get lost.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you come back here.”

They bickered back and forth at each other. You dithered. You should go to the cafeteria. It was stupid, but you’d promised to save Steve a seat. Chances were that Robin would’ve already done so, but still.

But you didn’t trust Billy. You wanted to make sure Max was okay, because Billy sure as shit didn’t know how to handle her. You had just resolved to go and investigate what was going on when you heard a splash.

“MAX!” Billy’s voice was panicked.

Fuck. That sounded bad.

You sprinted into the trees, throwing caution to the wind. As you ran, trying not to slip or trip and break your ankle, you heard another splash.

You skidded onto the riverbank and almost tripped over Billy’s leather jacket, which was lying haphazardly on the ground. The river was rushing much faster than usual, spurred on by the rain, and there, clinging to a tree branch, were Max and Billy.

“Holy shit,” you said, but you were already taking off your jacket and kicking off your shoes.

They both turned their heads towards you, but Max was hardly keeping her head above water. Billy was holding on the branch with one arm and her with the other.

For a moment, you wondered about running to get help, but then the branch they were holding onto creaked, and you knew there was no time.

You waded into the water. It was bitingly cold, but you barely felt it. The rocks were rough on your feet, as you struggled over to them.

There was a slight bank, where the water was moving slower. The water was about waist deep there, but you were still a good ten feet from Max and Billy.

You met Billy’s eyes. He was watching you, wide-eyed. You didn’t think you’d ever seen him express an emotion that wasn’t anger or cockiness before. He was clearly petrified.

You waded deeper, until the water was up to your armpits. You were closer to them now. You reached out for them, and Billy pushed Max in your direction.

With Billy’s help, you managed to catch hold of her hands, dragging her into your arms.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” you said, trying to soothe her. She was breathing shallowly. “Let’s get back to the shore.”

Wading out was harder than wading in. You managed to get Max’s feet on the ground again, pulling her back into the shallows. As soon as you were sure she wasn’t about to get swept away, you let go of her.

“Are you hurt?” you asked her, and she shook her head. “I need you to run and get Hopper, okay?” She nodded, stumbling out of the water.

You turned back to Billy. He was still clinging to the branch for dear life. You saw that he had managed to drag himself further up the branch, closer to the shallows, but the branch itself still looked very precarious.

His eyes were on you. Watching. Waiting to see what you would do. You wondered if he thought you were going to leave him there. He might think you’d do that, but you never would. He might’ve been an asshole who made fun of you all the time, but you weren’t going to let him drown.

You waded back in, dragging yourself over to the near-end of branch he was clinging to. He was close now, maybe five feet away.

You set your feet apart and held your hand out to him. For a moment, he looked at you, uncertain.

Then he put his hand out. You grasped at it, just out of reach. You were deeper now than you’d wanted to be, but you had his hand now. It was big and cold, covering yours entirely.

“Y/N? Y/N?” From somewhere behind you, you heard Steve calling you. Maybe Max had run into him on her way to find Hopper. You couldn’t risk turning to look at him.

“It’s okay,” you said to Billy. “I’ve got you.”

Then the branch snapped, and the current dragged you both into the deeper water.

Next Chapter

[theladybarnes]

DON’T YOU WANT ME, BABY? : CHAPTER SEVEN

“I always thought stuff like this happened in movies and comic books.”

▸ summary: the waiting game begins, but just what are you waiting for? ▸ characters: steve harrington, dustin henderson, lucas sinclair, and max mayfield  ▸ word count: 4.5k     ▸ warnings: semi-fluff, angst, canon violence (ish) ▸ series masterlist

Thankfully, for a short while. There’s no real talking involved as the five of you set up to barricade the bus. 

It’s the most amount of physical work you’ve done in years. And while you wanted to join in with the kids when it came to whining about being tired, you bit down on your tongue. Not wanting to risk being caught under Steve’s stern glare.  

It was almost comedic with how much he acted like such a parental figure. Rushing over to help Max adjust her grip on a heavy sheet. Calling out to Dustin and Lucas to be careful about touching anything sharp and even going as far as to rush over to you and take heavy objects for you despite having another task he was supposed to do.

“You know you stare at him a lot.” 

You nearly dropped the hammer from your hands as you jumped at the sound of Max’s sudden voice. The red head was down at the ground, watching you with an amused smile while you stood on the ladder. 

“Can you not sneak up on me, please?” you groaned, readjusting your grip before you finished hammering in the nail you had been working on. The metal was hard to pierce through and you were already getting more nervous the darker it got. “And who are you talking about?”

The younger girl crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the bus for a second before she nodded over towards the boys. The three of them were sorting through the piles to find more flat sheets to press against the walls inside. “I’m talking about that guy, Steve. Every time I look at you two you’re always looking at each other.”

“What?” you chuckled, giving her your back to hide your face. “I do not stare at him.” After a few seconds of silence, you glanced back down to find her giving you a look of doubt. “Besides, I doubt he’s looking at me. We’re all busy fixing this place up.”

“Yes, we’re all busy. But for some reason, that’s not stopping you two from having googly eyes with each other.” 

A small heat spread over your face. Because while you definitely know you weren’t having googly eyes for Steve. You were sort of fascinated watching him now and then. But that’s just your natural curiosity. It’s not your fault you’ve become an observer since moving here.

“He’s just..different today.” 

“Different today? What, is he an asshole or something?”

Reaching for another nail, you waited until you had another one hammered into the bus wall before answering her. “No. He’s..he’s complicated!” you sighed, climbing down from the ladder. “Before all this mess with the monsters..he was a cocky jerk and totally betrayed my trust.” 

The two of you watched as he gave both boys a pat on the back as they found more barrels to line up around the bus. Giving them each a small smile as he pointed back over to the stack. Max frowned over at them, tilting her head before she turned back to you. “Okay, so he’s a jerk until today?”

“Well, no. He’s been..well, I guess he’s sort of been changing for a while now.” 

“You’re losing me here.” she huffed loudly.

“He’s been trying to be my friend since last Christmas. And I completely ignored him until a couple of days ago at a Halloween party when he took me home because I was too buzzed. And yeah, last night we kinda talked things out a bit. Maybe a little bit too much. But today he’s nice to you guys and totally confusing to me. Therefore, he’s complicated.”

Max chuckled, giving you an amused look while she pushed a red lock behind her ear. “Oh man, you got it bad.”

“I don’t have anything bad, okay?” you frowned. “I’m perfect.”

“Nope. BAD.” She giggled, nudging you with her hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”

Rolling your eyes, you move past Max to grab another sheet from the pile near you, pushing it over towards the next panel you needed to cover. There was definitely no way that you were coming off in any sort of way interested in Steve. Honestly, if anything, you were only feeling a little bit nervous about tonight.

Max moved quickly to join you back at your side, handing you the last few nails you had with a small smirk. “It’s okay if you do like him, you know.” she said softly.

Sighing softly, you placed the sheet against the bus before giving her your attention again. “It’s not. He’s..interested in someone else.”

“Well maybe he’s become uninterested?”

You wish you could dive into telling her just how down in love Steve was with Nancy. The way he was absolutely heart broken the other night on the drive home. But even if you did have time, you weren’t sure you could stomach the story.

“Besides,” she shrugged, looking over at Steve again. He caught notice of you two staring at him and raised a brow before he waved over to Max to come join them.  The young girl waved back, rolling her eyes a bit before she turned to you with a friendly smile. “He seems pretty cool. And..he’s better than Billy.”

The mention of her step brother has you frowning down at your hands. It’s been a few hours where you were blissfully Billy free and the reminder of him is almost enough to ruin your mood. “Yeah, well anyone is better than Billy.”

“True.” she sighed, stepping back to let you go back to work. “But this guy has pretty cool hair..”

  Darkness fell over the junkyard in record timing. Surprisingly, the group was able to get a lot of coverage on the bus. But not enough to your liking. Without proper supplies, there wasn’t much you could do with the nails you guys managed to find. The inside of the bus was worse. It was mostly placing objects in a certain way against the windows and open areas to try and cover up. The sheets outside could only cover so much. 

It had been hours since Dustin’s last attempt to reach the others and you guys were still met with radio silence. Meaning, when Dart finally makes his appearance. It would only be just the five of you taking him on. Which lead to even more worries.

What if Dart had grown even more since Dustin last saw him? What if it’s really like a lizard and lays eggs to multiply? How were two teens and three kids supposed to defend themselves? 

Feeling the panic, you began rummage through the objects the other dragged inside the bus. Looking for any type of weapon you could hold in your hand to help fight off anything that might come inside. But after a few good minutes of sorting through things, the best you found was a old rusty metal crowbar. 

“Hey, you okay?”

Steve's hand gently reached out for yours. Causing you to stop your search and snap your head up to look up at him making you snap your head up from the corner you had been looking in. The look of concern was heavy on his face as his eyes wandered down to where your shaking hands were. 

Over his shoulder you could see that the other kids were all getting in their places. Moving to climb the ladder and take a seat on the few rows of bus seats that were left. He took the privacy as a chance to lean in closer towards you.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What if..what if this isn’t enough?” you asked softly, forgoing the act of confidence now that it was just the two of you talking. “They’re kids, Steve. What if something really bad comes?”

“Then we take care of it like last time.”

“Like last time?! Steve, the four of us could hardly get that thing down. I stabbed it and it barely broke through the skin! Nancy had a gun!”

“Lower your voice!” he hissed, shushing you momentarily. The kids thankfully didn’t seem to notice your tiny outburst.

Scratching the back of his neck quickly, he waved for you to get up from the floor. Moving to the bus doors, he showed you a view of all the work you guys had done today. “Look, the plan is foolproof. Okay? These guys..won’t even have to leave the bus.” He whispered as he leaned in close.

You looked back at him, not even noticing how close he was to you before you nodded your head. Through the dim lighting of the moon seeping into the bus, you were barely able to see the usual warmth in Steve’s brown eyes. Something you didn’t even think you needed to see at this moment. But despite some of the logic screaming at you that it won’t work, you nod your head anyway. Hoping that Steve’s confidence is enough to pacify you. For now. 

“I’m sorry..I’m just nervous since it’s just us.”

He nodded his head a bit, before he cocked his head to the side, giving you a sly, smile. “C’mon, trouble. With my bat and your–” he reached down to pick up the rusty crow bar before shaking his head. “With my bat, we have nothing to worry about.”

It doesn’t go unnoticed that he’s failed to mention how there is one more worry. If your weak weapon isn’t something to rely on, that would leave Steve by himself to defend the group. And the thought of that had your chest tightening even more. 

“What about if your bat isn’t enough? You could get hurt.”

“Oh,” he breathed. Something flickered across his face and he suddenly turned his face away from your gaze when he moved to lean against the bus wall. “Don’t worry about me. Nothing’s gotten me yet.” 

Something in tone sounded almost bashful. Like he wasn’t expecting to hear that. But you knew you couldn’t point that out. And since it can’t help either of you if you continued to drag out this, you nod your head quickly. Giving him a gentle pat to his shoulder.

“I hope you’re right.”

  Eventually you’re all seated and slowly counting the time while waiting for Dart to come down the trail. For a good few minutes you thought the scent of the meat wouldn’t be strong enough, or worse, bring something else from the woods. 

But you guys could only wish to be so lucky to fight off bear tonight.

Max, who was currently beside you, had grown just as impatient as you expected her to. Only believing Lucas’ story so much. You couldn’t blame her for finding all this peculiar and unbelievable. It felt the same way last year. 

“So you guys really fought one of these things before?”

Picking your head up from the seat, you glanced over at Steve to see if he’d take the lead on this. He paused flickering his lighter to give you a similar look before he answered Max with a simple head nod. 

“And you’re, like, totally 100% sure it wasn’t a bear?”

You’re about to speak up and tell her you’re pretty sure you didn’t attempt to stab a hairless bear when Dustin rudely cut in.

“Shit. Don’t be an idiot. Okay? It wasn’t a bear. Why are you even here if you don’t believe us?..Just go home.”

Nothing can stop your jaw from hitting the floor at his reaction. Was this really how he wanted to treat the girl he likes? Did he think a snarky attitude and insults were the way to go about his crush? 

Before you can attempt to cool down the situation, Max got up from her seat. Face in full disbelief as she made her way to the ladder that led to the roof of the bus. “Geesh. Someone’s cranky. Past your bedtime?”

There was a slightly hurt tone in her voice, despite the harshness in her words. You’ve heard it before whenever she’d defend herself in front of Billy. And now, she was unfortunately doing it here with Dustin. 

The light sound of Steve’s lighter clicking was not helping with the tension building up.

Dustin, who ignored the jab, continued his pacing in the small space. Keeping his face low and hidden underneath the shade the brim of his hat gave. Even in the dark lighting you can tell he’s more than just annoyed by it. He’s upset. And for some reason, instead of apologizing to Max, he’s allowed her to leave to join Lucas.

Steve on the other hand is somewhat amused by the interaction, glancing over at Dustin to give him praise. “That’s good. Just show her you don’t care.”

“I don’t.”

He winked over at him, thinking he’s actually still playing along to his advice. The small headache over their conversation from before was beginning to make it’s turn. But this time, you might not hold back.

“Why are you winking, Steve? Stop.” 

“You both are seriously idiots.” you butt in pinching the bridge of your nose. The boys grow silent before you peeked your eyes over to where Steve was. Pointing a finger at him. “How you’ve gotten any date is beyond me.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve scoffed, continuing to flick the lighter. Each annoying click practically taunted you. Making you squint your eyes at him before you stood up from your seat finally. Rushing over towards him, you reached a hand out to pluck it out of his hands. But he’s quick to pull it away, giving you a playful smirk.

“The kid did great.”

“Really?” you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. “Calling Max an idiot and making her feel bad. That’s great to you?”

“They’re kids. They’re used to jabbing. The girl’s tough. She’ll probably get over it by the time she comes back down.” he volleyed, frowning up at you.

“And what if she’s not? Your shitty advice could have led her away.”

Steve stole a glance over at Dustin, who at this time, stopped pacing to watch you two. He opened his mouth up to speak. Most likely to chime in on Steve’s defense. But one glare from you had him keeping his mouth shut. 

“Look, my methods have worked before. So I don’t know what you’re freaking out about.” Steve said simply, leaning back in his seat. “Just let the dude work it out for himself and see what happens.”

“I’m seriously considering sending your past girlfriends in for a CAT scan.” You huffed as you kneeled down on the seat beside him. Moving over towards the window, you peered out to observe the area. Almost wishing for Dart to stop taking his sweet ass time.  

“Tell me, Trouble. What do you suggest then?” 

“What do you mean?” you said, still ignoring his gaze beside you.

“You think you have this all figured out. How would you have told him to do it.”

Giving in, you turn your head down to look at Steve. He’s still in the same spot, unfazed by your closeness, giving you an expectant look. Sighing, you adjusted yourself to sit against him. Feeling your arm brushing against his while you leaned back against the cushion. 

“Simple. I’d suggest he’d go about this the normal way.”

“Which is?”

Your attention focused on the way Steve toyed with the lighter in his hands. He ceased the clicking, but you couldn’t help but be distracted with how he moved the small object with his hands. It was oddly distracting.

“Girls just want it simple. They want someone who’s honest, loyal, and nice. They‘re not gonna want a guy who’s gonna play mind games with them.” 

“Girls constantly play mind games. You guys perfected it.”

“Maybe the immature ones. But really, Most girls are like Max who expect people to be real. And if your past girlfriends aren’t like that, then you’re in the wrong dating pool.”

The reply stunned him a bit. While he muddled over your words, he slowly flicked his tongue over his lip, tugging the bottom one for a moment before another question came to him. “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you a like Max? Looking for honesty?”

A flush of heat came over your face. This definitely wasn’t the time for anyone to try and pick inside your head and figure out what kind of person you wanted. Not even you had figured that out yet.

“I’m not looking for any guy at the moment..” 

His brows furrowed together and he leaned a bit, eyes narrowing at your reply. “But what if you were? What kind of guy?”

There’s two different emotions coming at you. One, telling you to shut down this conversation and pull away from Steve. There wasn’t going to be any good from this anyway. But the second one, who’s practically screaming at you. Is telling you to be honest with Steve again. At least just a little bit.

“..I just want someone who actually likes me for once.”  

His brows raise up, and he opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the roaring sound of Dart ripped through the junkyard. All of you scramble up to peer out of the window, squeezing close to squint through the small space to try and see if you could spot the monster through all the fog. 

“You guys see him?”

“No.”

You can’t help but let out a shaky breath. It’s been so long since you’ve heard that type of noise from the creature. This was really happening again. And you were honestly scared you weren’t going to be so lucky this time. 

A sudden warmth engulfed over your hand, making you tear your eyes away from the window to look down. Steve, who was looking at you, had placed his hand over yours. Giving you a small nod that helped relax you a little.

“Lucas, what’s going on?!” Dustin called out.

“Hold on!”

The beat of your heart was loud in your ear. You twisted your hand around to lace with Steve’s not caring so much of what that might look like in order to help ground yourself with him. 

A squeeze back let you know that he might have needed it too.

“I’ve got eyes! Ten o’clock!” he stuttered. “Ten o’clock!”

Steve was quick to find out where that was exactly as he pointed over towards the right entrance of the yard. “Over there.” he whispered. Dustin reached out to grip onto the seat as he looked for the creature. 

“What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know.”

Leaning in again, you squint over towards where Dart stood. He was almost like a statue, only giving away that he was alive by turning his head around to look over the area. Oddly, nothing seemed to show that he was interested in being fed like the rest of you assumed. Had you three left too much on the trail there?

“He’s not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?” Steve asked, sounding like his thoughts were following yours.

“It’s like he’s waiting for something..” you grumbled.

“Maybe he’s not hungry?” Dustin offered. Sounding slightly worried.

“Maybe he’s sick of cow.” 

You can’t help but frown at Steve’s words. “Sick of cow?” you scoffed, turning to remind him how the only option on the menu was meat. But the look on his face quickly shut you up.  He looked wide eyed out the window before he gave your hand a quick squeeze before he let go.

“Steve?” you whispered.

With very small shudder from his breath, he backed away slowly, reaching down to grab his bat. The two of you stared over at him, mouths slightly slacked before you realized to speak up.

“Steve, what are you doing?” Dustin asked, looking at you confused.

Turning around, he held up the lighter towards Dustin. “Just get ready.” he said, glancing at you only for a moment before tossing the lighter to your cousin. Turning on his heel, he opened up the bus door. You leaped from your seat, almost reaching out to stop him before he closed the door behind. Leaving you speechless.

The idea of Steve facing Dart alone has your heart beating against your chest. Why would he go against the plan? Why wouldn’t he stick around and see what happened next? He’s only supposed to step in if Dart managed to get on the bus before you guys were ready. Why does he have to act like the goddamn hero?! 

“What’s he doing?” asked Max as she joined you and Dustin back below.

“Expanding the menu.” 

Blinking hard, you managed to get out of your frozen state to join the two over at the windows now. Steve’s approached the trap now, calling out and whistling for Dart like a dog as he kept his swinging arm ready. You bite down on your lip, feeling instant regret for not stopping him sooner. The looming threat of what Dart might do was still in the air.

It wasn’t sitting right with you to let him fight on his own. Despite the difficulty of taking down the demogorgon last year, it wouldn’t have been nearly possible if you guys didn’t work as a team. Especially when Steve turned around to help instead of leaving.

“He’s insane.” Max gaped.

“He’s awesome.” Dustin grinned, leaning in closer.

“He’s an idiot.” you sighed, pushing away from the window. The two watched quietly as you reached over the ridiculous rusty crowbar that Steve tossed before. “But he’s not alone. You guys sit tight.” 

Pushing open the door, you barely took a step down onto the grass when you felt the chill go up your spine. There was a feeling of being watched but nothing to prove otherwise. Pushing through, you slowly inched closer towards where Steve was. 

“Guys! Watch out!”

Snapping your head around, you’re expecting almost for Lucas to be hanging off the side of the bus with how urgent he sounded. But he’s only waving his arms at you and pointing to your right. 

“A little busy here!” Steve hollered back.

“Three o’clock, three o’clock!” 

You turn to the right, noticing now another demodog has suddenly appeared. The glistening lizard like skin still shined through the dim moonlight as it crawled over slowly. Just as quickly as that one joined in, the sounds of branches breaking on your left, point out it’s other pack members.

Dart wasn’t taking his time before. He was setting up for an ambush.

Steve’s eyes found yours and widened. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” he shouted, turning back to keep his face focused on the demodog before him.

“I’ve got your back, just get your ass back over to the bus!” you shouted, keeping your focus instead on the ones that tried to creep up on Steve. Dustin opened up the bus doors again, calling out for the two of you.

“Guys! Abort! Abort!”

Steve barely has time to react as one of the demodogs suddenly leaped over at him. Sending him running back and jumping over the hood of the car. Another demodog, blared it’s face open, snarling towards where Steve. Before it had the chance to lung for him, you gripped onto the curved end of the crowbar, dashed over and jabbed the sharpened end into the face of the dog.  

It let out a yelp as it rolled back from your blunt hint. You used the chance to back away, keeping your eyes locked as you caught the attention of another pair approaching. A hand gripped onto your arm and it’s a second before you realize it’s Steve dragging you towards the bus.

“Are you out of your mind?” he growled, pushing you to go forward while he swung at the ones behind you two.

“I couldn’t just leave you alone!”

“Guys, argue when you get on the goddamn bus!” Dustin yelled, waving for you to come in. The two of you dashed the rest of the way.

Quickly climbing inside, you watch as Steve barely made it in past the door before the demodogs began to attack the bus. “They’re gonna break through!” you yelled. 

Steve turned around and pulled out one of the panelling from the window to press against the door. There’s a crashing sound against the side of the bus and suddenly the vehicle dipped to the side. Causing you to lose your footing and fall forward towards the door.

A claw scratched its way through the metal, slicing at the side of your arm quickly. You let out scream as you fall back against the floor. Holding the remaining piece of the metal up with your legs as you used your other arm to hold down the wound. 

You stared down at your jacket, watching as it began to pool up with a hot red liquid. “Shit!” you hissed, feeling the pain come in.

Steve reached back for his bat, swinging continuously down on the arm until he was able to break it off the beast. It’s messy and gross and you’re barely able to look away as more demodogs are given the same treatment when they tried to enter after.

Dustin, moved behind Steve to help pull you up from the floor. His eyes went wide when he looked down at the amount of red that was beginning to stain your jacket before he left you at the driver’s seat to go towards his radio.

It’s complete chaos. 

“Is anyone there? Mike? Will? God? ANYONE? We’re at the old junkyard and we’re going to die!” Dustin yelled into his radio. Steve’s struggling to finish off the rest of the demodogs at the door when suddenly Max began to scream.

Using another sheet, you pushed it against the door, ignoring the pain in your arm as  you nodded towards the kids. “Go help them! I’m fine!”  There was a hesitance on his face, but he went over anyway. Climbing up and dashing over before he began to poke up the ladder with the bat. 

“Out of the way! Out of the way! You want some? Come get this!”

The creature screeched down at him before suddenly cutting off.  There’s a second of silence before it let out one solid roar. All around the bus, the creatures, including the attacker on the roof began to disperse, leaving the area quietly as they seemingly followed their pack leader. 

Confused, the group slowly made it’s way back over towards the door. Dustin reached out to help you up from the seat. Steve gingerly took the first step outside, worried about another form of attack as he made his way back outside. 

“What happened?” Lucas said slowly following after him. Max was next, sticking her head out the door.

“I don’t know..” she replied. Dustin let go of you momentarily to step after her.

“Steve scared ‘em off?”

Finally it was your turn to step down, peeking out over their heads. The yard was completely empty now. Making no signs of the attack that just happened. How could the creatures just stop mid hunt? What was the bigger alpha that could call them out and change their direction? 

Finally you caught sight of Steve. He stood straighter, holding the bat against his shoulder as he slowly turned back to face the group. A definite answer on his mind.

“No. No way. They’re going somewhere.”

 But where was the next question.

a/n: this was a bit rushed, but i’ve had such a busy week and wanted to get something out for you guys.

tagged request: @hollandweather​

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter 9: Code Red, Part II

Season One | Season Two | Season Three

[Raining Hellfire Season 3]

Word Count: 1087 words

Warnings: swearing, visions, getting chased, getting caught

[A/N: most action packed chapter ever yet the shortest ever wow]

Code Red, Part II

“Steve?!”

The name leaves your lips on surprise, still holding the clipboard over your head as if you were frozen in motion.

“Y/n?!” His head spun at the sound of your voice, confusion lacing his eyes as he cradled his hand.

“Y/n? You’re…” Dustin’s voice called out from behind you and you turned to face him, lowering the clip board. He stared at you, eyes wide. “… you’re a Russian spy?!”

You blinked, dropping the board to let it clatter onto the ground.

“Why the hell is that your first guess?!” You say, exasperated.

“You’re full of surprises.” He shrugged as Erica looked up at him with an unimpressed look.

“Really?” She said and your eyes widened.

You turn back to Steve who was shaking off the pain in his hand, slowly standing up.

“What the hell is Erica Sinclair doing here?” You ask and he stares at you, shaking his head.

“Erica? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Looking for you!” You yell and Erica clears her throat.

“I was actually kidnapped-”

“Stop saying that!” Both Steve and Dustin shout.

“Guys.” Robin calls out, descending some stairs you had failed to notice the first time you were here. “There’s something up there.”

She notices you stood next to Steve, looking you up and down. “Nice coat.”

“Thanks, I was going for mad scientist couture.” Your voice was shaky and you didn’t know why.

She gave you a brief smile, still looking panicked. “Nice of you to join us. How the hell did you get in?”

“Yeah, I-” Suddenly a chill shot down your spine and you stumble backwards.

A strange siren started blasting in your mind and you groaned in pain, clutching your head.

“Woah, woah, hey. What’s going on?” Steve grabbed your shoulder but the siren was getting louder and louder.

“I can’t-” You squeeze your eyes shut, collapsing to the floor.

“What’s happening to her?” Robin asked, her voice raising.

“Y/N!” Steve tried but you kept shaking your head.

Your mind burned with images of some sort of tear, a giant red streak splitting open something... beating.

It finally faded away and you panted for breath, Steve still holding your shoulders with a deep set frown of worry.

“The gate.” You say, looking up at him and he glanced to Dustin. “It’s here.”

You suddenly stood, running up the stairs Robin had come down from and entering the room, the others following. You immediately stop at the giant windows, staring out at the display.

“Holy shit.” Dustin muttered.

In front of you was another lab. There were so many people in hazmat suits walking around, carrying vials of green liquid.

But that wasn’t the scary part.

A blue beam of light was shooting from a giant laser in the middle of the room, pointed towards a wall of red flesh. It was tearing a hole in it, slowly but surely and your heart dropped.

They were opening another gate.

“We need to get out of here.” You say, your breaths becoming shallower.

If another gate was opening, then that meant the Mind Flayer was going to be more powerful than ever. It meant that Billy and Heather and whoever else it got would be more powerful than ever. It meant your friends were in danger.

You burst out through the door, hearing the others behind you as they left quickly.

“I don’t understand. You’ve seen this before?” Robin asked.

“Not exactly.” Steve replied.

“Then what, exactly?”

“All you need to know is it’s bad.” Dustin said, panic in his voice.

“It’s really bad.” Steve confirmed, catching up to you.

“Like, ‘end of the human race as we know it’ kind of bad.” Dustin shivered as Steve wore a look of sheer terror.

“And you know about this how?” Robin shook her head and everyone came to a slow stop. You notice this, turning around.

“We really don’t have time for this, I need to get back!” You raise your voice and everyone looks to you.

“Um, Steve?” Erica’s voice broke through the silence, “Where’s your Russian friend?”

Steve looked down at the floor where the guard had passed out. He was no where to be seen.

“Shit.” You say just as alarms start blaring.

You run to the door, opening it to see a bunch of guards heading your way.

“They don’t look happy!” You share, shutting the door.

“Go, go, go go!” Steve yelled, ushering everyone down a hallway.

You all ran through the next door, panic flooded your body. Your chest started to tighten and you yell in frustration.

“Not now!” You cry, Steve looking to you with furrowed brows.

“What not now?” He asked before he noticed how quick your breaths were. “Oh shit.”

“Keep going!” You insist, pushing everyone through the next set of doors.

You ended up in a room of lab coats and you all sprint passed them and down a staircase, towards the laser. The beam cut you all off and everyone was screaming. It was way too chaotic for you to have a panic attack right now.

“This way!” Steve yelled, pushing a man out of the way as he led you down another staircase

“Come on, quick!” Robin yelled as she opened a door and you all stumbled inside, slamming it shut behind you.

“Hold the door!” Steve yelled and everyone used their bodies as a barrier against the door. Soon, the Russian guards were pushing against the other side with more force than you had.

While the others did their best, you looked for an exit, terrified. You then noticed a vent and pointed to it.

“There! Go!” You ran back over and pushed Erica and Dustin over to it. “Guys, go!”

They ran over, breaking it open and looking back.

“Come on!” Dustin yelled at you three but you shook your head.

“Just go! Dustin, please!” He stayed put and you almost cried. “Take Erica and get the hell out of here!”

“I’m not leaving you!” He yelled after Erica climbed through the vent.

“Get help!” You scream, “Go!”

Dustin finally lowered himself in, “I won’t forget you!”

“GO!” You all screamed at him and he finally went.

Just in time for the Russian guards to finally burst through the doors, sending you hurtling towards the ground. They all crowded in, aiming their guns at you and you all held your hands up in surrender, praying it would be enough to keep you alive.

You really should have stayed on the surface.

Chapter 10: The Interrogation ->

taglist: @gnnnne / @beepisbeep / @paintballkid711/ @eddiesbirdie/ @livasaurasrex/ @darktimelegends / @jackierose902109 / @mvrylee / @chervbs/ @eternallyvenus / @nervouscatsuit / @f1nn-wolfhard / @hereiamhereigo / @ladybug0095 / @fangirling-4-ever

[atmilliways]

Dreams In Which I'm Dying (3)

part 3 of 16 | 856 words | Teen +

Donnie Darko AU | parts 1 & 2 | parts 4 & 5 | parts 6 & 7 | part 8 | part 9 | parts 10 & 11 | parts 12 & 13 | part 14 | parts 15 & 16 (complete) | read on Ao3

Summary:

Eddie Munson is tired. On his way back to the trailer park last night some alarm on his watch had gone off—BEEEEP! . . . BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—and scared the crap out of him. It had been hard to fall asleep after that.

3 - Tired

Eddie Munson is tired. On his way back to the trailer park last night some alarm on his watch had gone off—BEEEEP! . . . BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—and scared the crap out of him. It had been hard to fall asleep after that.

Whatever nightmares he drags himself out of on Saturday morning are fucking awful. Maybe it's for the best that he’s forgotten them already.

By the time he emerges from his bedroom Wayne is long gone to work, and something about the empty trailer gives him the creeps. His head aches too much from lack of rest to blast music, so instead he hops in his van and just . . . drives, aimless, the radio cranked down to what most would call normal volume until he gets caught in a traffic snarl out near the old Benny’s Burgers.

Hawkins doesn’t have traffic, usually. Disconcerted, he u-turns and heads into town, snags more cigarettes at the gas station before pulling up in front of the arcade.

He doesn’t have enough pocket change left to make the arcade worth it. Maybe enough to rent a movie though, he thinks as he eyes the Family Video next door. Something to drown out the oppressive silence back at the trailer. . . . That should work. 

The bell over the door chimes as he makes his way inside, no time to take in his surroundings before—

“Munson?”

Eddie jumps about a foot in the air with a yelp, flailing around to glare at Steve fucking Harrington in a green Family Video vest. It somehow matches his eyes. (Eddie had always thought were brown, but upon inspection that he never expected to get close enough to make, they're hazel.) “Jesus H. Christ, you have got to stop doing that!”

Great. A stupid attraction was so much easier to ignore when the subject stayed in a completely different orbit. But now, thanks to Satellite Dustin sweeping in and swinging shit out of alignment, this is happening. These are his first direct words to an attractive, athletic guy with a great smile and a greater ass, who Eddie has definitely rubbed one out to before. (He hasn’t kept count, he’s not an animal.)

Steve blinks at him, having the gall to look like he has no idea what Eddie’s talking about. “Riiight, I’ll get right on that. Anyway—” he claps his hands with the abrupt subject change, rubbing them together for good measure “—can I talk to you about something, man?”

“Uh.” This is a pretty benign conversation starter for someone who always seemed more likely to trip him in the school hallways and laugh. Eddie glances around Steve, still trying to decide between Fantasy and the Science Fiction. (Horror is a no go in his current post-nightmare mood.) “If you must.”

“It’s about Sinclair.”

His attention snaps back to Steve like a snapped rubber band. “If this is about luring a child into the dastardly clutches of a fantasy game cult, Harrington, you’re better off leaving that to the PTA moms. Besides, Erica can hold her own against the assembled forces of Satan.”

The wry smirk he gets in response is not what Eddie was expecting. “Yeah, I know,” Steve says, hands falling onto his own hips—and the thing is, it sounds like he does know. “I meant Lucas, actually. Dustin filled me in on the schedule conflict last night.”

Eddie doesn’t have the patience for this. He shoulders past Steve to head into the shelves. “Let me guess. Something something, championship game that was only announced the night before is more important than a final campaign session scheduled weeks in advance?”

“It’s not about scheduling,” Steve says, following. “You know that Lucas came off the bench and made the winning shot, right?”

“Don’t know how I could, considering I wasn’t there,” Eddie replies flatly as he pretends to browse. Pretends that proximity to Steve Harrington isn’t making him sweat.

“Yeah, well. All I’m saying is, next time could you maybe not make the shitheads choose between their favorite pastime and their best friend? It would’ve meant a lot to Lucas if they could’ve seen him do that.”

It’s so earnest, the way he says it, that Eddie almost forgets it’s not that simple. Between Jeff’s family dinners, Gareth’s insistence on actually studying, Grant’s curfew, Dustin’s frequent orthodontist appointments, and Mike’s Spring Break flight to California, it had been like herding cats to get dates and times that worked for everybody all semester.

“And all I’m saying,” Eddie shoots back, remarkably level, “is that Lucas didn’t even bother to tell me about his sudden schedule conflict in person, he made his best friends do it. Sorry man, he got what he got.”

This would be the perfect time to select his tape, shoulder past Steve, and saunter cooly up to the desk to check out.

It would be. Instead, the front door bursts open and startles Eddie into fumbling the tape he’s pulling from the shelf.

“Steve, Robin, we have a code red!” shrieks Dustin Henderson, sweeping in like a hurricane and trailing some red-headed girl Eddie didn’t know in his wake. “I repeat, code red!”

[pavvo20]

The Spark - Chapter 15: Down They Go - Poe Dameron/OC

Summary: When her childhood best friend recruits her during an undercover mission for the Resistance, Captain Kara Embers embraces her family legacy and joins the fight against the First Order. As the secrets of her past come to light, Kara never expects to be training with her mom’s best friend, flying her father’s ship, and falling in love with the Yavin-4 boy who always said he’d be the galaxy’s best pilot.

A/N: Work, writer's block, migraines, family non-sense...here we are with yet another twist in our evolving story. I actually have a few chapters in the bank here but I'm working getting it all to be cohesive and back to some of my better prose. We'll see where that ends up.

Warnings: violence, language, sarcasm, moodiness, whump, fluff, kissing, ya know.. all that stuff. and well, ghosts.

Links: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10| Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13

Masterlist on my blog!

Word Count - 5.2K (going shorter this run.. but the long one's will be back!)

"Embers! Dameron!" Connix sounded frightened from the other side of the durasteel door to their quarters. "General Organa needs you in the command center now!"

Poe was still half asleep when he felt Kara roll herself out of bed. They'd just passed out, especially after their overwhelmingly productive night in the hanger. If he had a guess, he'd been asleep for barely an hour.

Nightwatch must have found something on the radar. Something big.

He caught the glow of her data pad in her tired eyes, there weren't any notifications. At least not from Leia.

"Must be Luke." He groaned, easing his tired body from the thin mattress to get dressed. "But this isn't what I thought he meant when he said early."

"It's not." Kara huffed, as she pulled a hooded duster over her tank top. "Something's wrong."

She handed him his belt and blaster as she unwrapped her lightsaber and clipped it to her hip. Poe could feel her concern before he noticed it on her face. She was feeling something that he wasn't...something that made her wildly uncomfortable.

He caught her bicep as she turned to the door, "Hey...what is it? You are never this anxious."

Kara sighed, "I'll tell you after this ok?"

Poe simply nodded, biting back the desire to press her for more information as she led them both out the door and down the hall. His gut twisted as he noticed Kara didn't tie her hair back in it's usual 'all business' braid and she let the hood of her duster remain on her head. It broke every military rule that was ever engrained in her being... especially given the urgency of Leia's call.

When they entered the command center, he felt Kara's heart stop beating as three high-ranking New Republic officials turned to follow Leia's gaze. All but one were relatively unfamiliar to Poe, as he knew Senior Admiral Sinclair, the current leader of the second largest military in the galaxy.

"Admirals, for what do we owe the pleasure?" Poe shook each of their hands, noticing the battered and beaten appearance of their uniforms and surface injuries. They'd been attacked on their way to them...likely narrowly escaping with the only ship they could manage to get out of First Order airspace without being spotted.

"The New Republic is no more..." The Senior Admiral lamented, his eyes darting to Kara's hooded form as his words weighed heavily on the room. "The First Order has infiltrated and taken over from the inside."

"We had several moles who orchestrated the attack in concert with Kylo Ren's arrival on Coruscant." The younger of the two vice admirals said, locking eyes with Poe and glancing quickly at Leia. "If there's anyone who is choosing to fight against them, they likely are already dead."

"How did you all avoid capture?" Poe inquired, "I am shocked we aren't getting a galaxy wide holo reporting your deaths."

"We were off-planet for a conference with several senators." The older of the vice admirals spoke this time, looking at his comrades before making eye contact with anyone in a Resistance uniform. "Sinclair and West were brought in for strategic support and I am glad they were."

"If Vice Admiral Jenkins hadn't called us in, I fear we would have been killed." Sinclair looked to Leia, "Publically. By Kylo Ren."

There was an obvious pang of guilt in Leia's chest as she glanced at Kara and Poe. Ren went looking for them, hoping they'd be there negotiating supplies, only to come up short. It wouldn't take too long for him to realize his mistake... and take it out on anyone who got in the way of his continued search.

She saw Kara blink as her hand brushed the hood of her duster back off her head, revealing herself more formally to the room. The New Republic brass recognized her immediately, especially one Vice Admiral West.

The younger man leaned against the holotable, a smirk playing on his lips as Kara's piercing green eyes met his gaze. "You faked your death for this?"

"I didn't fake my death for anyone." She quipped, "In fact, I defected in complete adherence to New Republic code."

Poe immediately put the pieces together. Kara's anxiety wasn't tied to the fact that Kylo Ren had taken over the New Republic or even that this had warranted waking them both from a dead sleep. She was used to the chaos that the war tended to bring to her life, hell she created a lot of it. But running into her ex-fiance in the middle of the night, on the Resistance's secret new base, with a lightsaber on her hip... well, this was uncharted territory.

"And to be clear, Vice Admiral West, you have defected from your own military due to a hostile takeover of your very own command. I think the last thing we want to get into right now is the details of my choice to leave the New Republic."

Leia let a smile tug at her lips as Kara cocked an eyebrow at her ex. He immediately blushed.

"Fair enough...Cap-" He stumbled over her former rank.

"Commander." She said cooly, sensing his discomfort. "Commander Embers of Black Squadron."

All eyes immediately fell to Poe, who was known galaxy-wide as the one and only infamous leader of the Resistance's Black Squadron. They figured it would have been a warm day on Hoth before he'd ever share the role with someone else.

Poe smiled, "You guys lost a good one."

"Well, we hope you'll be willing to give us a place to organize our next steps, General." Sinclair said, "And maybe lend us our former strategy officer for a few hours while we figure out how to get out from underneath this mess?"

Leia could feel the tension in the room subsiding a little bit but not too much, "We will happily give you the protection you need. It's Commander Embers' call on her time."

Kara's eyes flickered to Leia before catching a micro-expression of shock cross the faces of New Republic leadership. Leia could have ordered Kara to help them...and they were surprised that she didn't. Sure, Kara was a trusted officer but that rarely meant she called any of her own shots...especially when one considered the fact that she was sharing a squadron with a pilot like Dameron.

"I should have some time I can share with you, Admiral." She said, sounding as close to her old military self as she could. "That's barring any major Resistance needs of course. My duty is to my own people first. I would assume you understand that."

"Of course, Commander. That's no problem."

The room fell silent for a moment as Leia motioned for Connix to warn the medical staff of their new arrivals and send for keys to 3 vacant rooms. The general then turned back to the group, a more serious look gracing her kind features. "Now, a few ground rules gentlemen."

She popped up a map of their base on the holotable, pointing out their new living quarters, the mess, the hanger, and anywhere that would require an escort or someone with a security clearance. She also pointed out the medical bay, supply hangers, and communications tower, just in case they became relevant.

"I hope I make myself clear when I say that while we respect your military service, your ranks do not hold any weight here. You are basically civilians in our care unless otherwise noted. It's to ensure that our people do not get confused...but also, for our own protection."

"We are far from war criminals, General." Jenkins interrupted, sounding a bit irritated.

"I know that, Vice Admiral...but given you were infiltrated by your own people, I have to do what's best for the Resistance. Ren wants the galaxy to himself...and I have some of the best fighters this revolution has ever seen. I cannot afford to lose them because I chose to blindly trust an old friend."

They smiled at each other, Jenkins hiding the pink that seemed to dust his cheeks, "You haven't changed at all, General Organa...My sincerest apologies for my tone. I understand completely."

"Also, consider everything that you see on this base to be classified. Anyone's identity, physical appearance, rank, skillset... all of it. Not a peep to the outside world or we will prosecute you under our own code."

Sinclair, West and Jenkins looked to each other before glancing back at Leia and her contingency, noticing her receiving their new keys from a passing Connix as she rested a hand on both Kara and Poe's shoulders. General Organa ran a tight operation, one that seemed to defy all the odds considering it was still afloat. All three considered themselves lucky that they had found them at all. Stealing a supply ship whose computer was never security wiped was one thing. They just went to wherever the autopilot had taken them...and at that second, they were overwhelmingly thankful it was Leia.

They stood a chance at giving the New Republic the hope it so desperately needed with Leia on their side... so, they could play by her rules until they recovered from this blow. At least that was the initial plan.

She handed each of them a card to their respective rooms, "Go ahead and get some rest, we can reconvene on a few other matters in the morning."

The two older admirals nodded appreciatively and headed out. Vice Admiral West turned to the door and hesitated. Poe glanced at Kara, silently directing her attention to the other man with a look. A second later, West locked eyes with her. "Can we.."

She nodded, and followed him briefly to the hallway. Leia could see the apprehension rippling across the girl's features. Kara wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, curled up tight with the man whose family ring hung from her neck, but this was a good test for her. West wanted closure... and deep down, so did she.

Vice Admiral West stepped just beyond the door to the command center, giving them a little more light in the dimly lit durasteel hall as his ex-fiance turned to face him. Kara looked tired but that wasn't unusual for her. West couldn't remember the last time he had seen her hair down, let alone the freckles that dusted her nose. She was also thinner than he remembered her being, clearly still skilled enough to take him to his knees but the war had worn her down a bit.

"You could have at least told me that you were thinking of defecting." He started, "I mean, we were only a few weeks from getting married."

"And listen to you order me to stay and guilt me into marrying you sooner?" Kara was firm and emotionless. "Hayden, don't do this."

The man sighed, an exasperated hand running through his sweaty blonde locks. "Kara...what happened to us?"

"I'm not answering that question." He swore her tone had gotten colder. Her eyes showed him the pain she was doing her damndest to hide. "And I didn't fake my death. I got on Dameron's ship the night I ditched Matt and he reported me dead on his own accord. I can't prove it but I'm certain that he thought he would have gotten a promotion."

"I'm sure he'll tell you one day that the days of interrogations were not worth it."

"You court-martialed him?"

"Of course I did. He was the so-called lone witness to the death of the love of my life and insisted he saw nothing?" Hayden snapped, getting rather defensive at Kara's surprise. "It was bantha shit and I knew it but it wasn't like I could just call you and prove it."

Kara bit her lip, remembering just how quickly she dumped all her trackers and comms devices before jumping on the freighter with Poe. She had fallen off everyone's radar for a month before Leia had arranged for her to formally defect.

It didn't matter. She didn't regret her choice. "If you are expecting an apology from me... it's not coming."

Hayden cocked an eyebrow, inspecting the woman in front of him as if she had slapped him in the face. She had always been stubborn, but this was a bit beyond her usual bullheadedness. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, reevaluating what he thought he knew about her. This wasn't the same woman he'd fallen for after she saved his life.

She could feel his mind raking her over, looking for a sign of the woman he'd proposed to. Hayden West was an admiral, his parents were high-ranking Galactic officials, with generational wealth and power. He had graduated with the same high honors that she had. There were women all over the galaxy, let alone the New Republic ranks, falling all over him – and yet he had picked her.

Kara remembered allowing herself to fall for him...only to realize a few years later that he was just as jaded as the rest of the high-ranking officers of the New Republic. He passed on writing her a letter of recommendation for promotion, claiming conflict of interest, but proceeded to control each and every mission she'd get after that. He was the reason they'd commissioned her air operations to someone else – just to make sure she was available to be present for all his formal political lunches.

He wanted her to be a traditional admiral's wife – and when he'd taken liberty to have her shifted out of special forces, he woke up to find her engagement ring on his desk and any trace of her in their shared apartment wiped clean.

It was only a few hours after that, Matt had found her on Tatooine and drawn her back in. He had given her back her phone, commlink, and insisted she help him find their mark and come home to Coracuant. They'd gotten close until Dameron had sat down next to her at the bar...

"You could at least apologize for not saying goodbye."

Kara rolled her eyes. "How about I'm sorry for bruising your fragile ego?"

She could sense him trying to reign in a snarl. He was hoping she was going to be a little happier to see him. Especially after hearing about what happened to the New Republic as a whole. The last thing he had anticipated was her indifference.

"I left you for a number of reasons, Hayden. You know what most of them are." She said, her arms crossing over her chest. "I left the New Republic because I believe in a peaceful, fair, and diplomatic galaxy... Leia was the reason I pursued the Academy in the first place, it made too much sense for me to serve under her, especially when the republic started to play more and more into the hands of imperial lobbyists."

He balked. Kara waved a hand to stop him from interrupting.

"What I could have done politically would have never made me happy Hayden... and you know that better than anyone. I was far from the stoic and silent admiral's wife you wanted me to be."

"So, you went back to the front lines?" He murmured, "You are better than this, Kara."

"No one person is better than the next. Not in life, and especially not in war. You are only as good as your weakest man."

"And you understand your weakest man is a farmer from Ferrik?" Hayden quipped, seeing her emotions flare in her eyes. "You guys can barely keep your squadrons in the air."

"Yet, we took out a dreadnought."

"What happened to you?" He questioned again, taking a step into her space. Kara stiffened a second, letting her right hand drift to her hip. Hayden liked to intimidate...and he'd more likely yell at her before he'd ever lay a hand on her but she wasn't taking any chances. Especially with his emotions running as wild as they were.

His voice softened as he reached a hand up and brushed stray hair away from her face. "You were always a fighter, Kara but this is insanity and you know it."

"Not nearly as insane as the entirety of the New Republic falling to the First Order from the inside."

He chuckled as a bit of embarrassment flushed his cheeks, causing the arrogance to fade from his features. It was the first time he had seen a smile he recognized from her as the warmth returned to her gaze. She was right. As per usual.

"You need to rest." She whispered as she let her hand drift down his arm, her fingers recognizing the singed fabric of dodged blaster fire. "Get a few hours before the nightmares start."

Hayden could hear the sincerity in her tone. "I take it you have some experience with this."

"You could say that." Kara sighed, "Loss is a pretty regular thing around here."

Hayden nodded as he closed his eyes apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kara. For everything."

Kara felt her heart ache as those five words hit her ears, the man had finally cauterized her bleeding heart. Even if he had no idea he had. It would take an interrogation droid to get him to admit to the pain he'd caused her, but she didn't need that. All she ever wanted to hear from him was I'm sorry.

The door to the command center slid open and Hayden instinctively stepped back, his muscles going rigid until he realized that it was only Poe Dameron, heading back to his own bed for the night.

"General suggested heading to bed, as we've all got a lot on our plates for tomorrow." He said, trying his best to sound more like a thoughtful commander than a simply nosey friend. He wanted to know what the man had said to Kara to shift her aura back to normal... especially after the tension he'd felt within her before. "I'll show you your quarters, Admiral."

"Yea - Thanks Commander." Hayden said, trying his best to appear polite. "Goodnight Commander Embers."

"Goodnight Admiral." Kara said, feeling Poe's protective hand press against her back as he passed her. She'd bring him up to speed when they got back to their room.

************************************************************************

The men had walked to the other side of the base in silence until Hayden simply couldn't take it anymore. "So, how long have you both known each other?"

Poe cocked an eyebrow at the other man, it was an innocent question. One he knew that the admiral had the answer to.... "Our parents were friends and we were born a few weeks apart... so, pretty sure that counts as our entire lives."

"Your parents helped raise her then?"

"Kinda. We both lost our moms when we were 8...and Kara lost her dad a few years later so Leia and Han took her in after that. It was only a couple years though, then she left for the Academy."

Hayden could see a flicker of curiosity in the pilot's eyes, "and that night on Tatooine was the first time you'd had contact with her since then?"

"Something like that... but I'd stopped keeping track." He unlocked the man's door, handing him the key as he stepped away from the frame. "She was looking for a way out, Admiral. I simply presented her with an opportunity."

Poe watched West nod, "She's changed a lot since then."

"We all have." The pilot leaned against the wall, glancing down at his datapad once before looking back to the man in the doorway in front of him. "There aren't too many people that have endured as much as she has and come out exactly the same as they once were."

"I guess that's fair."

"You'll see more of the girl you knew as you get settled in." Poe said, giving the man a reassuring smile. "It's hard for anyone to be themselves when you're startled out of a good night's sleep."

As Poe headed back to his room, he could feel another headache brewing behind his eyes. He was exhausted, and knowing that it would take him easily several more hours now to fall asleep was not helping his cause.

He sensed Luke in the common area before he saw him, "My mom mentioned that you could help with these migraines."

The older Jedi let a smile play on his lips, "I can...but you aren't going to like how I have to do it."

Poe gritted his teeth as his mind assaulted him again. "Pretty sure I don't care anymore."

Luke chuckled a bit, putting his hand on the man's shoulder as he felt him wrestle with the pain. It was definitely a trauma induced migraine, one that had been encouraged out of hiding by their latest batch of visitors. "Sit."

Poe compiled, almost too willingly as the man seemed to study each of his grimaces.Luke could see him hesitating already, "I am going to need you to be completely vulnerable with me, Poe. Any kind of resistance is going to only make it worse."

"Shit." The young man growled, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to convince himself he could do this. He had built up so many walls against the Jedi, it was going to take more than just asking him to let go to get him to give in.

"Take your time. Deep breaths." Luke soothed, seeing the frustration beading in the sweat forming on Poe's forehead. "Contrary to popular belief, you can trust me."

"He's not wrong Sparkplug, in and out." His mother's voice echoed in his ears, "You can do this..."

He found a rhythm in his breathing as he pushed himself to relax, trying to remember the trees and breeze on Yavin or the feeling of his mother's arms wrapped around his shoulders again. It wasn't a foolproof strategy, but it was starting to cause him to nod off.

"There ya go... don't be afraid to let yourself fall asleep." Luke coached, seeing the tension leaving the pilot's face. "All you have to do is let me in, Poe."

It only took a few more minutes - and the peaceful reminder of only a few hours before where he had Kara pressed against his chest as a rare cool Ajan Kloss breeze rolled past them in the hanger - when he barely felt Luke slip into his mind.

The Jedi's presence was overwhelmingly different from when Ren forced himself in, and even lighter than the times when he didn't have the strength to fight to keep the Supreme Leader out. His inherently good aura didn't burn as it wound itself in between his memories, looking for the ones that had become a bit too dark.

Luke was surprised to see just how many times Poe had warded off the temptation to give in to the dark side of the Force. It was a surprise to see just how many times the man had been beaten within inches of his life or robbed of those he loved. The memory of his brutal interrogation at the hands of Kylo Ren remained at the front of Poe's mind, pulsing as the fears the Dark Jedi had projected into his head seemed to hint at coming to life before his eyes. What scared Skywalker was just how deep the tendrils of the dark thought had spread into Dameron's otherwise spirited soul.

It was hard to believe that something so sinister had been executed by his own nephew, who was once soft, empathetic and understanding like his mother. The power he used to push Shara's boy to break or die resisting his intrusion was ancient, angry, and aggressive. Poe's torture scarred his mind in ways that Luke wasn't sure he could mend... but he had to try.

"Poe, I need you to think about Kara." He instructed, feeling Poe instinctively start to build up his defenses. "Just let her wander into your thoughts..."

It didn't take long for Dameron's memories to shift, his defenses falling away as love took over. The dark memory of Ren's interrogation faded from view, only to be replaced with the sight of the two of them sitting on the front porch of his fathers ranch, the Yavin stars shining brighter than they had in decades.

Luke had truly underestimated their bond, sensing Kara's own mind quieting down as she picked up on her partner's relaxation. They were intimately familiar with each other's ticks, even having memorized the changes in each other's heartbeats when they couldn't find the words to express what they were feeling. The Force pulsed through them in ways the master Jedi had only read about, giving them the ability to transfer power, protection, and even - if necessary - life.

That's when it hit him... he couldn't heal Poe's scars. He didn't have the connection necessary, but Kara could.

He gradually brought himself out of the younger man's head, seeing him wince in pain once the connection was severed. Poe blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit area, seeing the almost father-like concern and curiosity in the blue eyes directly in front of him. Luke tried to pretend like he wasn't already feeling Poe's pain subside, even if it was temporary.

"Believe it or not..." The master Jedi started, "I don't have a connection powerful enough to heal the damage that Ren has done to you."

Poe wanted to be frustrated with the man, he really did, but couldn't find the strength to be angry. He sighed heavily, letting himself sink even further into the chair.

"But Kara does."

The pilot, drained from their exploration of his thoughts, simply smiled. "Of course she does."

"I know what I said when I got here, kid... but I haven't seen power like hers in my lifetime." Luke reflected, "And I have never seen a bond as strong as yours."

"I imagine that just puts a bigger target on our backs." Poe murmured, gazing weakly at Skywalker as his body wrestled with the idea of going back to sleep. Maker, all he wanted to do was rest.

"It could... but we can deal with that tomorrow." Luke helped Poe to his feet, wrapping his almost limp arm around his shoulders, "For now, you should definitely get back to bed."

Kara greeted them at the door to their quarters, looking exhausted herself as she took her barely conscious best friend against her own frame. "Thanks..."

"Don't worry about training in the morning...I'll page you both later in the day." Luke winked, seeing the relief cross Kara's features. "You've both had a long night."

She smiled once more at the older Skywalker as her door slid shut and she eased Poe's body into their bunk. He didn't even stir, his system succumbing to the exhaustion of their eventful night and general lack of recovery time as she tugged off his boots and slipped his blaster off his hip. He'd most likely wake suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon, after his mind realized that he was probably late for something.

Kara pulled a light blanket over them as she settled down beside him , listening to her pilot's calm heart knock softly in his chest. She had felt Luke probe him to try and ease some of his pain. It had worked temporarily... and she had only ever heard Luke talk about how he may be able to help repair some of the damage Ren had inflicted as Poe battled to keep him out.

She let herself focus on Poe's steady breaths, counting them as she allowed herself to finally unwind. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she played back the day. It was hard to imagine that she had started her evening with navigation repairs and dancing with Jess and Kare to a song they hadn't heard since they were kids to being face to face with the very past that she'd run away from. The war was cruel before this point... but she wasn't sure how many more times her emotions could be tossed around like they were nothing.

"What a throwback!" Jess cheered as she passed by the X-wing Kara had been working on. The stereo was blaring a sugary pop track with a few dance moves they used to bust out when they were just pre-teens. "Kara, you remember this right?"

Jess twirled around at the bottom of the ship's ladder when Kara popped down for a new targeting chip. She smiled hard as her squad mate seemed to effortlessly remember the moves, tugging the sleeve of her shirt in hopes she'd join in. "Come on! You know it!"

Kara set down her tools and joined Jess for a brief second, stepping left and right before spinning in a circle. She could hear Poe and Snap laughing from the next ship bay over, obviously recognizing the song but enjoying the sight of their two more serious female friends letting loose for once.

Poe jogged over to them, bumping Kara's arm as they repeated the movements, trying to follow along with their pace. He had that infectiously dopey smile on his face, the one that made it hard to feel anything but sheer joy in its presence. "Like this right?"

He mirrored their movements, laughing along as Kara caught him singing the words to himself in order to keep up. She couldn't remember the last time they'd all had a second to just be kids again... even if it was in the middle of a warzone.

Kara's heart ached as she yearned for another moment like that. A night surrounded by the people that meant the most to her, finding the joy in what they had, and reminiscing about a simpler time. They were all barely out of their 20s, a time in their lives where they should have all been exploring the galaxy...finding themselves...or starting families. Instead, they were all engaged in the same seemingly endless fight. The one that she supposedly had the power to finally end.

She felt Poe's arm slip over her torso, briefly snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts.

"There you are..." He mumbled, his nose pressingly lightly into her hair as he turned to gather her closer to his frame. "My beautiful Stargirl..."

Kara giggled, feeling his drowsy lips grazing her neck. "Hello my sleepy Flyboy."

She would never say it out loud, but Poe, all half asleep, dopey, and affectionate was one of her favorite variations of his personality. It complimented his intensity in a way that made him almost too human at times, exposing the compassionate, empathic, and romantic soul underneath the battle-born leader he chose to show everyone else.

"Ya know..." He lulled, "You are the only one allowed to call me that."

She snorted, letting her hands run down the muscles in his back. "Oh, I know...though I think Sparkplug should have caught on."

His laugh rumbled in his chest, a sound as comforting to Kara as the man's heartbeat, "No...it's much better that it didn't."

"Too embarrassing?" She teased, catching the playful spark returning to his gaze. "What would your mother say?"

"I'm certain she'd agree." Poe said, "And then she'd make a compelling argument for why everyone should be allowed to call me 'Flyboy' - which is not happening."

Kara smirked, "They already do it behind your back..."

"And it should stay that way." He quipped playfully, tickling her a bit to bring her close enough to steal a kiss. "That's an order."

She hummed as their lips met, "An order? When exactly did someone make you a general?"

"Alright, alright..." Poe surrendered, "A highly favorable suggestion then."

Kara cocked an eyebrow at him just as she shifted to settle against his chest again, "You know what else is a highly favorable suggestion?."

Poe played coy.

"Sleep."

The pilot kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes with a smile. Their room fell silent again as they allowed themselves to doze off, the sound of a light jungle rain tapping on their window.

"I love you." Poe whispered, feeling the surge of contentment in her aura.

"I love you too."