#Hi hi! Sorry for missing last Sunday's update

[sarcasticratsims]

He does have the nosey trait... After coming home from the record store and deciding not to mention the odd confrontation to Sam, Roy does some investigating on Simstagram.

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[fangirl-dot-com]

Chapter 27 - Block Out the Haters

Hello beautiful people! How I've missed writing and uploading! I'm so sorry for the delay but this chapter and Across Every Universe part 2 had been in creation for a while. But expect a few updates this weekend!

I love you all and thank you for being so appreciating and patient!

Your body felt as though it was on autopilot as you walked through the paddock on Sunday morning. The weekend was kind to you. You completely dominated all the free practices and you’d be starting the race today on pole. 

However, it wasn’t the weekend that was unkind. 

It was them.

And it was all because of him. 

Checo had decided to show up to the paddock at his former home race on Thursday. And like all “good” journalists do, they ask questions that bate people to speak words that can be turned into something they’re not. 

Yet, the Mexican had spoken out with his chest puffed out and words full of confidence. 

“I see my replacement has done well in the car. Too bad that she’ll be replaced soon enough. Like she did to me, someone will take her seat and brag about how great they are, leaving the old driver in the dust. It’s only a matter of time.” 

Ah yes, only a matter of time until Red Bull drops you. The team that you had complete confidence in was not a ticking time bomb in your mind. 

What if you didn’t convert pole into a win? 

What if you accidentally took Max and yourself out of the race like Charles did to Checo in 2023? 

What if the team can finally see how replaceable you were? 

It had happened before…at Prema. 

Number 1 driver to ending a contract early. 

But this time, you were even further down the totem pole than you were at Prema. 

You were a rookie and the second driver. 

Replaceable and forgettable.

Your headphones were on and blasting music to cover up the nasty words thrown at you from the so-called fans. You had thankfully walked in with Max and Charles, who took the liberty to walk on either side of you. You were slouching as you walked, trying to make yourself smaller between the two men. 

At least you understood that Charles and Max knew how you were feeling. Charles, who had been booed at this very race last year. And Max, who seemed to carry boos wherever he walked. 

Your eyes widened at the sight of the large crown surrounding the opening to the garage. Checo was in the middle, smiling widely with sunglasses on his face. You froze, not walking any further. The navy and red clad drivers walked a bit before realizing that you weren’t between them anymore. 

Max’s eyes flitted toward the garage and then toward a signature blue. He put his hand on your shoulder and lightly pulled one of the headphone cushions away from your ear. 

His head jerked in the direction of the blue garage. “Why don’t you go hide in Williams for now. I’ll text you when it’s clear. Christian won’t let them get to you.” 

You silently nodded as Max put the headphones back in place before heading in the direction of the safe garage. 

Charles crossed his arms as he watched you walk away. 

“Merde, I wish Arthur was here this weekend.” 

The Monegasque sighed in relief once he saw Logan sling an arm around your shoulders and lead you away toward the back. Alex was following them, parading his limited edition Oscar Piastri paddle. 

Max was silent as he gazed at the amount of journalists in front of the garage. He was internally cringing, knowing that the journalist would attack him as well. 

Charles threw a smile in his direction as he bumped the sullen Dutchman. 

“Do you need to hide in my garage as well? Be babysat Mr. Verstappen?” 

The Ferrari driver wiggled his eyebrows as Max rolled his eyes. However, he shrugged and looked straight into Charles’s green eyes. 

“Lead the way Mr. Leclerc.” 

Charles’s eyes widened for only a moment before grabbing the backpack attached to Max. The brunette gently led the blond away, knowing that his childhood rival didn’t like crowds any more than you did. 

You had found yourself hidden away in Logan’s room, on a facetime with your boyfriend. Logan was sitting next to you, trying to reach a new high score on whatever game he was playing. Oscar had somehow also found himself in the American’s room and was currently looking at Alex’s paddle. 

The Aussie scoffed as he twirled the offending thing. He was silently listening to you borderline cry to Arthur. 

“And then they threw a water bottle at me. And it was one of the metal ones too!” you cried out, hand rubbing your face. 

Arthur offered you a sad frown. 

“What did you do?” 

You sucked in a breath. 

“I caught it and I kept it.” 

The three men suddenly laughed at your confession. You looked around confused. 

“What? It was a nice one!” 

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Nicer than the one I gave to my brother to give to you.” 

Your eyebrow cocked. “Um no, not Kevin.” 

Logan’s eyes glanced at you as he muttered, “You named your water bottle?” 

You shoved him, making him lose his spot. “You don’t?” 

Oscar suddenly piped up. “That’s a bit childish, don’t you think. And how cliche is it to fall in love with your teammate.” 

That earned him an eyeroll as you threw one of Logan’s pillows at him. He caught it easily. 

“Sorry Os-cah, at least I can act on it. We all can’t secretly be in love with our teammates.” 

A screech erupted from the Aussie’s side of the room. You and Logan giggled as Oscar’s face bloomed red with a deep blush. The pillow came back flying. 

“I am not in love with Lando. And plus, I have a girlfriend.” 

“Sure. Didn’t stop you from almost kissing Arthur that one time.” 

The brunet rolled his eyes. “Number 1, it was through glass. Number 2, he leaned in first.” 

“Excuse me?” you asked into your phone, looking at Arthur through the screen. Said boyfriend stuttered a bit as he tried to come up with an excuse. He only stopped as you spoke again. 

“It’s ok Osc, he has some nice lips.” 

A groan left Logan’s lips as he listened to this conversation. He leaned over and snatched the phone from your hands. 

“Hey!” 

“Sorry, poor connection. Call back later.” 

The American pressed the red X as you looked at him in disbelief. Logan quickly deposited your phone back to your lap before picking up his own phone. 

Your mouth was still wide open. 

You were about to reply when there was a knock on the door. Logan huffed as he stood from the couch and walked toward the door. When he opened it, he was met with Christian Horner and a very pouty Max Verstappen. You sheepishly grinned as Christian just silently pointed over his shoulder and turned around, walking away. 

Max stayed at the door, waiting for you as you packed your stuff. You quickly said goodbye to the best friends before following Max back to the Red Bull garage. You noticed his pout on the way. 

“What’s got you so pouty.” 

“I was about to beat Charles at FIFA and then Christian scared me, causing me to misplay and not score.” 

“So Charles won?” 

A huff from the Dutchman let you know that you were correct. 

Thankfully the crowd had died down when you returned. But, to your chagrin, Checo was still there, looking down into your car. Mitch seemed uncomfortable as she stood near, needing to get the last bit of data before talking to you about the strategy. 

You watched as she lightly nudged the Mexican, but was not met with any movement. Your anger rose as he blatantly didn’t move at all. You loudly cleared your throat, making most of the men turn their heads toward your direction, Checo included. 

“I think my strategist needs to be by my car. You wouldn’t mind moving far back to give her some space?” you questioned loudly. 

Perez seemed to get a bit of the message and took multiple steps back. Your jaw clenched as he smirked at you. At that moment, you knew he had done that on purpose. 

You only walked past him, going to your room to get changed. When you walked back out, there was a small interview going on, once again with Checo and now Max. 

The interviewer asked, “So Max, how does it feel to have your old teammate here to watch you win?” 

You could tell that Max wanted to wince at the question, but he let it be. 

Max replied, “Uh, it is nice to see Sergio back in the paddock. It is Mexico after all. But, Y/n is looking very strong and she won Monza from pole. So the team is just going to let us race and I’ll just try to keep up with her.” 

The laugh that the Dutchman let out was obviously forced, but you were thankful for the backing from Max. 

You watched as Checo obnoxiously laughed as he put his hands on Max’s shoulders, shaking the driver just a bit. Max’s shoulders tensed under the hard grip of the ex-driver’s hands. He was thankful that Perez wasn’t doing that to you, or you might have had a bit of PTSD because of it. 

The Mexican began to speak, “Ah Max, always so modest. I bet that he’ll overtake her on the first corner. She might pull a me from last year. Eat some Ferrari tyre and DNF on the first lap. And before you know it, the team is going to drop her. I bet Max would like that. Maybe Daniel will get his rightful seat back.” 

Max jerked away from the hands that gripped his shoulders before speaking, “Y/n happens to be a very safe driver. There might be a bit of fighting between us on the track but that’s just racing. And the seat was never Daniel’s to begin with. It was always her’s. Too bad you couldn’t keep up to keep the seat.” 

If you could see Max’s eyes, you knew that they would be stormy and cold. 

Your eyes wanted to water from the soft words that Max was speaking. He was really defending you to the best of his ability. Your eyes found Christian at the other side and your feet quickly took you toward the father-figure. Yet, you heard a closing statement from Perez that set your nerves ablaze. 

“She won’t get the win. She was lucky in Monza, but that’s all it was. Max DNF-ed, giving her the win. This race will truly show you how talented she truly is.” 

Your shoulders deflated as you tapped Christian’s shoulder, nodding over at the journalist. Christian’s eyes widened as he stalked toward the trio. He had anger in his eyes. 

“I told you, no more journalists or interviews in the garage. The race is about to start,” the Briton stated, voice ice cold. 

The journalist visibly gulped before packing up quickly and walking away. Max took this opportunity to also find his way back to your side. The two of you watched as Christian completely scolded the Mexican. You couldn’t hear it, but whatever your team principal said, it make Checo red with embarrassment. 

Max gave you a shit-eating grin before pulling you into a hug. 

“Thanks for being my best teammate kid. You’ve changed me for the better. Let’s go get you that second win.” 

You pulled away with tears in your eyes as you laughed a bit. 

“You’re just going to let me win? Thee Max Verstappen purposely losing a race to little old me?” 

The Dutchman shook his head. “No, I’m not going to let you win. You’re going to take it from me.” 

Well, Checo was right about only one thing. 

Max did overtake you on the first turn. 

But that was it. 

You didn’t eat Ferrari tyre. 

Your seat was yours to keep. 

And Max was right about everything. 

You made him work for the lead and overtook him on the second to last lap. Your cars fought for all they could give, drivers wanting another taste of victory. 

For Max, it seemed like it had been a while. 

For you, it was like Monza was yesterday. 

And that sweetness from the win. The nickname you earned there from the Italians (who were much nicer). 

Charles Leclerc, the Predestined. 

Max Verstappen, the Inevitable. 

Y/n L/n, the Long Awaited. 

The victory was oh so sweet. Maybe you just really had to learn to block out the haters. It’s what you should have done at the beginning of the weekend. 

But you showed everyone who you were as you stook on the nose of you trusted Red Bull. Fists near your body as you yelled, hunched over. 

Max was right behind you, followed by the familiar Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. The two rivals watched as you pointed at the now booing crowd. They laughed as your motioned that you couldn’t hear them, cupping your hand by your helmet where your ear would have been and shaking your head. You shrugged and jumped off. 

Your hand clasped Max’s hand and then Charles’s. You walked (more like skipped) by your team, being pulled in by the mechanics. 

You took your helmet off quickly and got in line to be interviewed. Thankfully, for once, it was a woman. 

She was smiling widely as she spoke into the microphone. 

“Y/n that was splendid driving you did out there. And congratulations on your second win. I know this win is a little different than Monza, so tell me a bit about your race and how you’re feeling.” 

You smiled as you spoke into the mic that you held. 

“Ah well, this is very different from Monza. It was fun to race against my teammate. Normally, I’m behind him getting a nice tow, but the team really wanted to see us just go at it. Obviously, at the end of the day, Red Bull is what matters, but I had fun with Max. And this win just feel more special because I can tell that not a lot of people wanted me to win.” 

You were huffing by the end of your statement, but the lady was grinning at your answer.

“Well, I will let you go celebrate, but mighty well done!” 

You skipped a bit to the cool down room before heading to the podium. You wanted to follow Charles and Max, but someone led you down to the little lift where your car was waiting. 

You knew that Charles and Max had already walked out when the lift slowly started to rise. On your head was the biggest sombrero you had ever seen. You climbed up on the nose of your car and sat cross-legged as you slowly rose. Once it stopped, you took your place at the top step and put your hands behind your back. 

Jokingly, you took the hat off and placed it on Max’s head. He only rolled his eyes (but kept it on for your amusement). 

People tried to yell and boo during your anthem, but you honestly couldn’t hear them over your own heartbeat. It was nice to see a certain disgruntled Mexican down below, arms crossed as he looked everywhere but up. 

You smirked as you showered champagne onto Max and Charles, with you getting sprayed in return. 

Fuck them haters – honestly. 

redbullracing has posted

redbullracing rookie got a second win and max got a hat! time for a siesta!

due to strong storms and flooding, the Sao Palo Grand Prix is canceled and will not be rescheduled

liked by y/n.nation, formulala_delulu, arthur_leclerc, and 534,209 others

rookie_freshmanyear OH YEAH - THAT'S MY DRIVER

max&co max got the hat back

y/n&max4ever she truly is the best teammate max has ever had

y/n_on_top true, what checo said was horribly wrong

maxverstappen1 ok you're done - no more wins

y/n.89 booooo charles_leclerc certified every other racer hater landonorris tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes oscarpiastri you all can speak for yourselves :(

y/n.nation sad for Brazil but they will be in our thoughts

formulafan still can't believe that the next race is FREAKING VEGAS BABY

rookieroo I know right! what if - hear me out - y/n wins again as a homecoming formulala_delulu ok let's get you back to bed

mericanf1_fan YEAH VEGAS 'MERICAAAAA

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[the-fluff-piece]

Catching Smoke

A long Smoker romance fanfic where he gets to be the strong, grumpy, hot marine we know and love, falling for his capable sexy secretary(you!) that keeps him functional and saves his ass about as many times as he saves yours.

It's a secret enemies to lovers slowburn longfic that I will try to update every Sunday. Comment below to be tagged with every update!

Part 1 - where you land in the marine base g-5 and meet Smoker for the first time!

The last thing you saw was a giant paw, then you flew in this strange way for three days - and things went black.

When you woke up again, you were in some kind of hospital, but all the other beds were empty. Your head was aching and spinning, but you had to get up, get back to your friends, help them against the marines. You needed to get back to sabaody.

You limbed to the only door you could see and opened it, daylight blinded your sensitive eyes and sent a bolt of pain through your head. Blinking, you tried to get some orientation - and saw marines, lots of them. They ignored you for the most part, only a few especially ragged looking specimen wandered towards you with lopsided grins.

"Sleeping beauty woke up! Hey dove, wanna have a good time with me?" A mean looking soldier said in the grimiest voice imaginable. He had long, brown hair and wore his uniform a bit more lose than the others. He would have been handsome if not for the disgusting expression on his face.

"Fuck off!" Was your only comment as you moved, painfully slowly, in the opposite direction, down a corridor. Even you could handle a few of those conscripted losers. You were half sure. Were was your weapon?

"What was that?" the soldier grunted behind you.

"Kitten has claws" commented another one.

"We will show you what it means to-" the first one added, but was cut short by a female voice.

"Ah, there you are miss! Sorry, may I pass?" A woman with a sword approached. Her black hair was cut short. She squinted and studied your face - you didn't know her. You hoped she didn't recognize you - you may not have a wanted poster, yet, but after being involved in that kind of shit show? You couldn't be sure anymore. She was holding up a stack of papers and seemed to check your face against a picture- fuck!

Panicking, you tried to make out a way to escape before she would throw you into the hellhole named imple down. Would your friends save you? Were they even alive?

"You're an applicant for the position of secretary?" She finally asked, holding up the paper so you could see the picture. It looked nothing like you.

"Uh, sure" you answered.

"Excellent! I am captain Tashigi. Please follow me!" She turned and briskly walked away.

It looked like she was your ticket out of this situation, so you trotted off behind her - shooting the asshole soldiers a deadly glare. You hoped she would lead you around the base and that her obvious bad eyesight would give you plenty of opportunities to escape.

The base was enormous. A labyrinth of hallways, doors and stairways.

Tashigi, you knew that name from your crew mates. She was always partnered with the white hunter, Smoker. Fuck. That one was mean. A logia user that was set on capturing the strawhats. You had to get away before he saw you, he was a not called a hunter for nothing. There was no chance you could escape him.

You tried to assess your position - you were in a marine base, the blind swordswoman thought you were applying for a secretary position. Who ever you would be talking to - they would get you out somehow after the interview was over. Maybe you would have to be shipped to a civilian harbour, from where you could plot your return to sabaody. Your head was killing you, but you didn't have to give them a good performance. Surely this was just with some captain or low ranking service personnel.

Tashigi stopped at a door and knocked. A deep, growling voice answered: "come in".

Tashigi opened the door and you followed - and it took all your willpower not to curse loudly.

In a chair behind a huge wooden desk sat a man with white hair and two cigars in the corner of his mouth - Smoker. His jackett was open and he didn't wear anything underneath, his hands were in dark gloves and folded on top of the desk. He looked annoyed and angry. And, in a scary kind of way, really handsome. His broad build and white hair were unusual, but interesting. Next to him, your crewmates looked like scrawny boys.

You froze and swallowed.

"Commander Smoker, this is another applicant for the position of your secretary!" she informed him, saluting.

"Ah, I thought we saw every one of them! Of course, please, sit!" His demeanor changed somewhat, he now seemed nervous. His eyes widened and he bend a bit, like he wanted to make his enormous body a bit smaller.

You sat down on a ragged chair in front of the desk. Smoker sat down opposite you and Tashigi next to you. Trapped. Fuck.

Gathering all your strenght and acting ability, you managed to plaster a broad smile onto your face and said with the softest, most professional voice you could manage "pleased to meet you, sir!"

He nodded.

"Welcome miss...?" his voice trailed off as he was shifting through the pile of papers on his desk.

"Y/n" you answered. You were now sure that he didn't know your face. It was unlikely he knew your name. He nodded again. The angry expression returned to his face, like it was the default state his face took, whenever there was no other emotion to transport.

He continued digging around the absolute chaos covering his desk, eventually giving up with a sigh.

"I don't have time to coddle you, Miss, so I'll cut to the chase. Can you help me and captain Tashigi with this" he gestured towards the mess of paper on his desk like it was an unsolvable problem, "so that we can do our jobs?"

You were so perplexed - you nodded out of habit. And fear. All your head was filled with were the stories of your crewmates parading through your head. He beat them, all.of them. He beat Luffy. He was smoke. Couldn't be touched.

"Great. You're hired. That's all." He hit the top of the desk with his hands and almost broke it in the process, ripping you out of your panicked thoughts.

"WHAT?" you screeched, shocked.

"Miss?" he seemed confused.

You coughed and tried to calm yourself, you needed to come up with something.

"Oh I am not sure. I'll think about it and call you in a week or so. When is the next ship away from here...?"

Smoker and Tashigi looked at each other.

"Next ship off this base for civilians is in three days. Please Miss..." he seemed a bit overwhelmed, going with his fingers through his white hair "just try it out, Miss. I promise this will be a great opportunity." He seemed to try hard to sound calm and nice. Tashigi added, much to Smoker's annoyance: "all the other candidates ran off. We're really desperate!"

"Tashigi shut up!" He barked at her and she froze.

"Give us three days, Miss. You won't get back sooner anyway. Let me show you around." He stood up. You were still dizzy - and hungry. Your stomach growled. His eyes wandered towards your midsection.

"I'll show you the mess hall. Lunch is on me." Smoker said and already stomped out of the room. You and Tashigi followed, half Jogging, to keep up with his long strides. You were always a little jealous that all the others had bounties and wanted posters except for you - now it came in handy. Big time.

The mess hall was huge, filled with marine soldiers gulping down typical army rations. Not very appetizing, especially after being pampered by one of the best cooks in the world, but food was food.

Every soldier who saw the three of you saluted and greeted Smoker, he seemed well respected among marines. He nodded in response. No one dared to even look at you inappropriatly.

"If you want to, we can go to the captain's mess, food is a bit better there." Smoker said, looking a little puzzled.

"No, here's fine" you answered. Best not to overplay your hand. The food line was moving remarkably quickly and when it was your turn your realized why: there was one meal handed out. Some kind of brownish stew with potatoes. Well.

Smoker, Tashigi and you sat down on a bench at the long tables, right in the middle of the soldiers, it felt quite odd not to be shot at and attacked by those uniform wearing bastards.

Smoker and Tashigi started planning the rest of their day: training, stretegic meetings. Or rather, Smoker was barking at her while she nodded and made the occasional comment.

You tried the food - fortunately, it was quite tasteless. This was no fun, but it filled your stomach. The portion was so huge, you couldn't finish it. Looking around, you started to realise what being a marine really meant - and how massive the organisation really was. All those people, supply chains, organisation. All that material.

"If you don't like the food, we can find a solution!" Smoker said as he saw you laying down your cutlery. Both Smoker and Tashigi seemed concerned.

"No, it's fine" you answered, hearing a sigh of relief from both of them. They were desperate.

"So tell me commander" you tried to sound as business as you possibly could, "you seem to have run out of options for the position, why is that?" You asked, getting interested in the inner workings of the marine.

"Well uhm...we need someone for the paperwork, but this particular base is not so popular." Smoker poked at his food with the fork. "They're good men, but they lack manners. All the office personnel capable of doing administrative jobs has quit." He scowled. "But I assure you that you are under my personal protection, and the rules for soldiers of course don't apply to you. Headquarters is willing to pay a good salary and you will not have to participate in drills or such things." He explained.

You felt a little sorry for those two, they seemed like okay people at least. And you had to get along with them for three days.

"I'll have a look" you said, earning a smile from both.

"And I won't wear a uniform!" you told them, getting a little bold.

"Of course not!" Smoker reinforced his promise not to treat you like a soldier.

The three of you returned to what was clearly Smoker's office again. There was no one to explain the system to you, not even Smoker or Tashigi. They pretty much left you to get an overview by yourself while they trained and drilled their soldiers.

You started to look through the mess of papers, forms and memos. It was quite informative. Since he was commander of the base, the paperwork on his desk included lots of classified information and an excellent insight into the organisation of the marine as a whole. There were memos about the whereabouts of high ranking officers, troop movements, supply shipments, secret news - a whol cornucopia of secrets you could use against them.

This was a gold mine of information. Information that could be useful in the future for a pirate. You sorted and stacked the papers by type and date and just a few hours later, the office looked a lot tidier. You were putting away some uninteresting files in what seemed the proper place when Smoker returned, his jacket flung over his shoulder. He was glistening with sweat and showing off his muscular chest without seeming to notice how appealing he looked. For a short moment, your face must have been a grimace of shock mixed with a sleazy smile. You jumped up, trying not to look at the hot marine soldier in front of you and pushed around some more papers while greeting him nervously "wel-welcome back commander!"

He nodded absent-mindedly and threw himself in a big comfortable leather chair in the corner of his office. He let his arms hang down the sides, sighind deeply. Like he was posing for you, presenting his broad chest with deeps breaths.

He looked around, one of his cigars almost fell out of his mouth as he probably saw the surfaces of the tables for the first time ever.

"I see you already got to work!" He nodded in admiration. "I didn't expect to see order so soon!" Relieved, he leaned back with his arms behind his head, showcasing his chest even more.

"If you continue like this, we will get along excellently. And I will finally be able to do my real job." he leaned back, relaxed and self-content.

Even though he provoked lewd thoughts about licking his torso from the gutter of your mind, it bugged you that he treated you like this thing was already settled.

"You will have to keep order as well, commander. It is your office." you sternly stated, immediately causing his brows to crease again.

"That is not how you talk to me Lad-" he berated you - or tried.

"You have responsibilities here. Act like it." you shut him up, crossing your arms in front of your chest. You knew that you had to win a few powerplays with him to get his respect - and not get trampled under his demands.

He ground his teeth, almost biting one of his cigars in half.

"I am going to let that slide - for now." he begrudgingly said.

"I have put all the communication marked with "urgent" on your desk. That is, all that are still relevant. Some are months old" you pointed to his desk.

He got up and moved to inspect your work, visibly reigning his anger in.

He sat down and started to look at the papers, angrily puffing out clouds of smoke.

"I don't need to know all that crap" he said- and froze. There was a memo about Luffy's involvement at Sabaody - it surely interested him.

It sure as hell was interesting to you. He, and the rest of the crew, were missing. You prayed that they landed on friendly islands and not marine bases. The more meat-headed of your comrades would be in real trouble, otherwise.

You watched as his face derailed into an expression of utter shock.

"STRAW HATS! DEFEATED???" he barked at the paper in his hands.

"FIREFIST ACE - CAPTURED???" He grunted as he got to the Next page.

"AND THE EXECUTION IS IN 2 DAYS?" He sunk back into his chair, exhausted by the news.

"And your attendance is required" you informed him, smugly.

He answered with a puff of smoke and a defeated grunt.

"Well, we still have enough time to get there. I'll leave tomorrow morning"

"If you don't keep order and read the news from headquarters, you'll miss such things" you rubbed his shortcoming into his face. Powerplay - won!

"Dismissed." Smokers brown eyes glared at you as he barked the order.

He knew he had lost, you were sure of it.

You trotted out with a spring in your step, getting greeted by Tashigi, that proceeded to show you to your room.

Smoker

Smoker slumped into his chair after he ordered his new secretary out. Compared to him, she was small. No doubt she had never been in a real fight. But she stood before him and didn't flinch. She had spunk. It was hard to admit it, but as he excelled as a soldier and a hunter for pirate bounties, he was lost amidst all this bureaucracy, rules and politics.

And it was time to admit that if he wanted to stay on top of things, he needed help.

He needed her, and she had shown that to him today. His hand glided nervously through his hair. For some reason, he felt giddy, nervous. Excited. Their little exchange had been something new. Tashigi rarely stood up to him, and never like that. He looked forward to what she would present him with in the future.

He needed to think about how to make her stay. It was not his forté.

-----

This one has been in my wips for a year...I planned to post it once it was finished, but I don't think this will happen anytime soon if I don't give myself a weekly deadline....

I recently saw that a smoker was cast for season 2 of life action. Smoking hot.

See you next Sunday for more smokey

[heyidkyay]

And I'm petrified of being alone, now |

Part Twelve

Matty Healy x reader

Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.

What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way? 

Authors Note: This part took way too long to write. Had a bit of writers block ngl, but I managed to get it done last night when I couldn't sleep. Be prepared for a load of fluff but also some surprises. It's a good chapter, I enjoyed writing it once I finally got into it! But I'm also sorry for long wait! Hopefully the next will be along soon.

> Just a reminder! We left off on the red carpet with Mouse and Matty:) You can look back here if you'd like!

Masterlist

Mouse Updates! @/MOAMupdates 22m ago GFC Charity Event! The gals are currently live and interviewing The 1975! So far we’ve had Jamie Bell, Peter Capaldi, Dylan and Jordan Banjo! 2TIME @/user1 WHAT was that? 102 @/user2  chemistrychemistrychemistry Ugh! @/user3 SHE COOKED FOR HIM?? Soloveme? @/user4 What’s going on at this event?? It’s all over my feed😭 MILK @/user5 Screaming this is honestly all so mental Parisin75 @/user6 Wait so they’re friends now? Or is something else happening?? > Too_shy @/user7 Last time I checked but he seemed so happy on the carpet, and he wouldn’t look into the lens at all. His eyes were always focused just above it, either on Adi or Mouse! >> Drumonmepls @/user8 Couldn’t have been Adi!! She was to the left of Ross on and off screen!

***

It was days after the event that things seemed to finally settle again. For Matty, at least. Me? I was still getting the odd DM and tweet here and there, but I couldn’t complain, not with how it had been at the very start. Hordes upon hordes of people had come to make their opinions known on the stance of Matty and I’s ‘sudden’ friendship; fans had taken to both Twitter and Instagram, they’d called into the show, and a few had even turned up outside of the studio.

Matty had been helpful throughout it all though, mainly just finding ways to take my mind off of it and sending security down to the building just to ‘be on the safe side’. It’d been a nice gesture, sweet even. But had also meant that his management team had cracked down on him and the band, cooping the lot of them up in a recording studio and pressing them to finish up the album they were currently working on.

That in itself hadn’t affected me much, the whole Matty being distracted by work thing, because it had happened around about the same time that prep work for the Christmas period had kicked in. Which was basically a time where Adi and I focused on pre recording a few shows so that we could sail smoothly into the new year.

This year it had been hectic, to say the very least, but Finn had been a Godsend. Offering to pick up Teddy from nursery on the days when we were filming late and even keeping him occupied on the one weekend that we’d lost the previous day's audio- which had been a fucking nightmare.

Today though, was finally a day where I got some time to myself. Well, myself and Teddy, seeing as I’d completely and utterly missed him even with only having been gone a few extra hours in the day than usual. Still, the kid was my little ball of light and without him I’d be utterly lost.

“Alright there, Teds, what’re you drawing?”

It was a Sunday, the 17th to be precise, and so we only had a week and a bit left in the lead up to Christmas. I’d spent the morning wrapping most of Teddy’s presents before he’d woken and demanded sustenance- which, fair enough. But he was always a little moody whenever he first woke up. Bit like me, I suppose. And so, whilst I’d started cooking him his breakfast, I’d settled him down at the table with some paper and pens to keep him distracted, an old album by The Cranberries playing.

“Plane.” The toddler retorted easily enough, tongue poking out one side of his mouth in utmost concentration.

Grinning at the small action, I settled a cup of juice before him and then stroked a hand through his unruly hair. “Is that for mémé then?”

Teddy hummed, nodding his head at the odd angle it was resting at. I chuckled, always enamoured by his every little thing.

“That’s brilliant, bubs! I’m sure she’ll love it.” I assured him softly, trailing my fingers through his hair one last time before withdrawing to finish up with cooking.

“How many days?” Teddy asked once I’d plated everything up and taken my seat beside him at the table, immediately I knew what he was on about- seeing as he’d only asked the same question a dozen times a day since the last time we’d phoned my mum.

I pretended to think about it long and hard. “Um… about this many days.” I said, holding up six fingers.

Teddy’s brow instantly furrowed as he set about leaning as close as he could get over the tabletop to point towards each of my fingers. “One, two, three…”

“Six!”

I beamed once he’d finally got it, clapping along with him. “So good, you clever boy! Six- six days til mémé gets here!”

Teddy repeated the words in a breathy murmur, grinning gummily back at me as he wiggled in his chair. Then it was just “six” over and over again for a short while.

I tittered faintly to myself, shaking my head before we went about the rest of our breakfast in much the same manner.

It was almost ten to eleven when the doorbell went and I frowned at the thought of who it could possibly be.

“Mum, door.” Teddy informed me, still so invested in his colouring. I hummed softly in turn, wiping my hands before getting up to go answer it.

“Remember to put the lids back on.” I reminded him about the pens, tucking his hair behind his ear as I rounded his seat, “I’ll just be a sec, okay?”

“‘Kay.”

I smiled softly at his monosyllabic reply, listening to him mumble to himself as I padded my way into the hallway. From here I could just make out the darkened shadow standing on the other side of the door’s paned glass and flicked through a mental list of who it could possibly be, wondering if I'd forgotten anything that was supposed to be happening today. But I reckoned it could just as easily have been Finn dropping by for an impromptu visit, or Adi even.

Flicking the latch and pressing down on the handle, I opened it up only to blink at the figure that stood before me. They gifted me an impish grin as they pushed away from the door’s stoop and onto steady feet.

“Figured I’d just pop by, say hello.” Matty mentioned by way of hello, fiddling with an unlit cigarette he held between his fingers whilst I continued to stare back in surprise, “Studio’s been booked for the day, so I managed an easy escape.” He added when I made no move to reply, “Thought we could grab a coffee or something- if you ain't busy, that is.”

He tacked that last bit on in a rush, as though he was beginning to understand why I was so silent. He’d really, really caught me off guard here.

“Er, I mean it’s a bit out of the blue and that. Should've really texted, I know. But I figured I'd try my luck.” He blundered again, shifting awkwardly on my front step now, looking enough out of place for it to finally blink me out of my stupor.

“I-” I went to say but was ultimately interrupted by another voice from further inside the flat, one that was approaching on toddling feet all too fast for me to react to its sudden presence.

Matty’s eyes bulged a tad at the little face that poked its way out from behind my knees, and mine followed when it finally hit me what was actually happening. 

“God, sorry! You just- it’s- I just wasn’t expecting you.” I fumbled, arms reaching down on impulse to pick up the toddler by my feet. I forced out a heavy breath before plastering on a big smile for Teddy, who only seemed to have eyes for the curly haired man staring back at him. “Um, you wanting to come in then? I can do tea, I think. Coffee, even.”

I didn’t really give Matty much of a choice in the matter though, in truth, because I was sailing away to escape the sudden scenario that had started on my doorstep, simply so that I could wrap my head around it all. It was just as I made it back into the kitchen that I heard the door rattle close behind us though and then, as I'd perched Teddy back in his seat, I glanced up to find that Matty had in fact accepted the offer of a warm brew.

It was strange to watch it all fall into place for him, his eyes straying over toys that littered the livingroom floor, the tiny bike which sat in the corner, the star-chart that hung on the cupboard above the fridge, all of Teddy’s artwork and clothes that had been thrown about haphazardly over the last day or two.

I swallowed around my anxiety then, not really sure how I felt now that I knew that Matty finally knew. Because see, I had never really been sure. Teddy wasn’t much of a well kept secret amongst my longtime listeners but I didn’t go flaunting pictures around or mentioning him at every turn. For safety reasons and privacy’s sake. So I hadn't been too certain on whether Matty knew of him or not, having noticed that he’d failed to ever mention him in our texts or calls.

“Um, sorry for the mess. Work’s been a nightmare, and this is my first proper day off in weeks, you know? So." I shrugged a little helplessly, looking out at all of the chaos, then decided to pull on my big girl trousers and trek through this mess like I did everything else in life. “Tea, then? Or coffee?”

The small cough that escaped Matty’s throat echoed around the room once he’d found purchase in the kitchen’s entryway and his voice was tinged with a slight rasp when he finally spoke, “Yeah, uh yeah, please. Coffee.”

I smiled mostly to myself as I turned away to refill the kettle, my mind still whirling but finding relief in Matty’s obvious shock too. Whilst it began to boil though I had nothing much to occupy my mind with, so I decided to putter back on over to the table where Teds had started back up with his drawing and attempted to relax my shoulders. 

“Go on, sit down,” I said to Matty, pointing to a chair as I tried to steer us back into easier waters, “Feel lucky you just missed breakfast, this one tends to get it everywhere.” I chuckled lightly in hopes to fill the quiet I was met with.

Teddy glanced up at me then with a prominent pout, obviously not too pleased about my comment.  “No.” He argued and I heard Matty snort as he finally took a seat opposite, leaving Teddy to act as the buffer between us both.

“Uh, yes.” I fired back at the toddler, but little good it did me when Teddy only seemed to maintain his avid disagreement. 

“Uhuh. I eat it all today.” He reminded me, lips pushed out as his brows climbed higher up his forehead, leaning against the table’s edge again on his elbows. “See?” He added on, pointing a finger over towards where a sink full of soapy dishes now laid.

I smiled, unable to do anything but, though it was Matty who actually replied to him, which both surprised me and put me on immediate edge. “I mean, the little guys got a point. If you ate it all then there can’t be any mess, right?” He directed that last bit towards the little rugrat attempting to evade all guilt and I paused in wait to see how Teddy would respond.

Teddy appeared wary for a moment, blinking over at Matty in a startle, probably having not expected to be roped into a conversation, before his lips settled into something more like a grin. “Right!” He mimicked with a short nod of his head, his ‘r’ sounding more like a ‘w’.

Matty all but beamed at the sudden attention he’d drawn and continued to do so once Teddy started prattling away to him at a hundred miles an hour. I just left them to it, listening in as I padded back over to finish making the drinks. 

It was only after Matty had just about knocked back most of his coffee that Teddy grew tired of talking and asked if we could do something fun, eyes drifting over towards where we often kept his wellies. I knew just what fun he was looking to find.

I conceded easily enough, seeing as it was both his day as well as mine, and smiled with a gesture of my chin, “Go on then, but brush your teeth and find some proper clothes, then we can head on over. Alright?”

Teddy’s head shook up and down in rapid succession, already bolting up out of his seat to make a run for his bedroom. Matty wore an inquisitive look once it was just him and I, both of us sat on opposite sides of the table.

“The park.” I informed the singer, fiddling with the handle of my now empty mug whilst my eyes kept sliding back and forth from the counter to Matty himself.

The man simply hummed and leaned back in his seat, I was forced to watch on as he cast his eyes about the rest of my kitchen, taking his fill now that he had a moment to finally do so. I swallowed and struggled with the unforeseen worries of what he might see, what he might think of it all.

I wasn't well off, by any means. But I had a decent income, enough to provide for Teddy and I, as well as live comfortably. Though if the radio show suddenly dipped and we lost most of our viewing, then there’d be a whole different story to be told.

Even so, it was a much different life to the one Matty lived. That much I knew. So it wasn't too strange of me to wonder whether or not it met any of his standards. And how it alone made me feel.

“How old then?”

The question startled me somewhat, enough that I blinked and looked up at him without thought. My brows furrowed a tad and so he continued, “Teddy- was that it?” And at my nod of confirmation, he smiled at me for another answer, “How old is he?”

Caught off guard still, I gaped for a second and then forced myself to reply, “Um, four, he’ll be five soon enough.”

“Wow.” Was what Matty replied with in a soft murmur, his head moving in an ever so slight nod, “A good age though.” At my questioning look, he chuckled, “Or so I’ve been told.”

I hummed, mostly amused, then fiddled with one of the many pens Teddy had left behind at the table.

“They’ve all been good so far- the ages.” I said to him, rather stupidly, and grimaced around a low laugh at myself, “Just, I mean he’s a good kid, is all.”

Matty was smiling at me when I glanced back up, his eyes squinting with the strength of it. He knocked his fist on the table lightly, “Seems it. Just wish you’dve mentioned him sooner.”

I frowned at that, lips pursing as my nose wrinkled. I didn’t much like the way he’d phrased that last bit, because it’s not that I wasn’t proud of Teddy, I was always showing him off, constantly even. But I also didn’t feel as though everyone had the right to see to that. “Yeah, well he’s not a secret I’ve kept hidden. It’s just safer mostly.”

It was Matty’s turn to frown then, seemingly offended by the offhand remark. “What and that includes me, does it? You think that I’d be a danger to him?”

I stared back at him, brow dipped a tad, eyes squinted. Because I hadn’t meant to hurt him, far from, though could he really blame me for being cautious, for having wanted to keep Teddy away for as long as I had? 

“No,” I answered him, and it was an honest one, “But only now, after having known you as long as I have. I mean, you can’t really be surprised by the fact that I didn’t mention him in the beginning, Matty. I hardly knew you! I’d only ever had the picture that’d been painted of you in my head, I didn’t want that around him.”

He scoffed quietly at that and I heard the way his boot kicked out under the table as he shuffled further back in his chair to run a hand through his hair. “Yeah and what about now then?”

He had me there, I supposed. I sighed and raised a hand to rub at my tired eyes, this wasn't a conversation I had planned for yet, let alone on a morning like this.

“It’s hard, okay? It’s hard to know when to introduce him to new people, he’s only ever really known those closest to me, and after that it’s just been his nursery teacher and the handful of kids in his class.” I explained, watching Matty and hoping he heard the truth in my words, “And you’re this fucking celebrity people love, you’ve got places to be, fans to meet! I never once thought that you’d stick around, not for as long as you have at least. Or that you’d eventually pull me into your life.”

He looked up then, expression so carefully made. “And that’s a bad thing?”

I folded in on myself a little at his question. Unsure.

Matty rolled his lips together and dipped his chin in a slow nod, “Right.”

“Matty, it’s not like that.” I tried.

He was quick with his reply though, all but leaning into the table’s edge now, “Then what’s it like, Mouse?”

He hardly ever called me Mouse, from the day we’d met it had always been Squeaks.

I dragged a hand over my face and then into my hair, perhaps in hopes to bide my time, but mainly because I felt cornered. How was I supposed to tell Matty how much I valued him? His chaotic presence in my life, his texts and calls, his friendship. It was something I hadn’t known I’d needed, but he’d come along and surprised me. He had stuck around, even when I thought he wouldn’t, and he wasn’t asking for anything more than just my company. He didn’t have an ulterior motive, some trick up his sleeve. Or at least that’s what I believed.

“Does this change things, knowing I have a son?” I heard myself ask him, it was a genuine curiosity but I also had to know. I didn’t want to be strung along or let Matty into Teddy’s life like I had Finn and Adi, only for him to then up and leave when he finally grew bored of the normality of it all.

Matty simply stared back at me, those brown eyes of his narrowed as they flittered back and forth between my own, his lips parted slightly as he thought the question over.

“Do you want it to?”

And that hadn’t been the answer I was expecting.

Instantly I shook my head, dropping the pen so that my hands could fall limply into my lap. “Of course not, I like having you around, Matty. Me keeping Teddy from you has nothing to do with that.”

He continued to watch me.

Then finally he conceded with a prompt nod and I felt myself breathe in. “So, the park. Is there a spare invitation going?”

I let the air go in a stilted chuckle, smiling at the common ground he’d gifted us but also at the image of Matty messing about in a playground of all places. “Yes, yeah, ‘course.” I assured him, “Just, be prepared for any puddles, alright? He will soak you if you're within five feet of the splashzone.”

Matty finally laughed too, this soft thing I hadn’t really ever heard from him before, not in this way at least, and then grinned, whirling around in his seat when a stomping toddler came darting back into the room.

“Wellies ta!”

My eyes fell closed as I released another heavy sigh, “Please! Teds. Remember? Please, not ta.”

Teddy merely blinked back up at me and so I decided it would have to be a battle picked for yet another day. 

“Fine, go get them then.”

Matty snorted unhelpfully, which brought him to Teddy’s attention once more. “Need help with ‘em, little man?” He asked, raising a brow at me in hopes that it’d be okay.

I swallowed but ultimately nodded, I couldn’t not when Teddy’s curls started bouncing wildly with the nodding of his head at the question.

And so, I watched them go, Matty taking Teddy’s extended hand, praying that I hadn’t made a massive mistake here. Hoping that somehow Matty would prove me wrong and stay, for a little while.

–

The days after Matty’s impromptu visit came with little to no fuss, it was only when the man wasn’t in the studio that was on the phone to me- and by extension, Teddy as well, who’d taken quite the shine to him. Who could’ve known, hey?

Still, it was a massive change of pace. For me at least, I hadn’t managed to get a read on how Matty felt about it all, but I had yet to worry over it. Mostly because of the Christmas period and how stressed I’d been.

“Finn, I swear he’s driving me out of my mind!” I complained down the phone to my best mate, the thing was currently perched between my shoulder and ear whilst I attempted to throw my hair up into a half-arsed bun, if only to keep it out of my face. “The mess! I mean, it’s like a tornado’s gone and ripped its way through my flat!”

“He’s four, babe.” Came Finn’s unhelpful response. I huffed.

“Exactly! Four, how can someone so small create such a massive mess?” I stressed, trying to clear away as much of the clutter my living room was presently made up of as quickly as I could. “Mam’s gonna be here in,” I glanced hurriedly over at the clock on the far wall and felt my anxiety spike, “Just over an hour! I can’t let her walk into a bombsite!”

Finn laughed at that and so I scowled in retort, even if he couldn’t see me through the phone.

“Finn!” I admonished.

“Alright, sorry! It’s just, she’s your mum, babe. She won’t care what the flat looks like.” He tried to soothe me as he moved about on the other side, doing whatever it was that he was doing. “Why’s he made such a mess anyway?”

I gritted my teeth as I stepped on yet another rogue piece of Lego and just dropped down to start rounding everything and anything I could possibly see into a great big tub. 

“He’s excited, wanted to look nice for when mam shows up but also wanted to showcase to her all of his drawings and sculptures.” I told him, grimacing at the penstained action figure I picked up before tossing it amongst the heap too. “I’ve been in the kitchen mostly, cooking for when she arrives, so I didn’t really bear witness to the fact that he’d taken my permission and flipping run with it! You should see my front room, Finn.” I shook my head for the umpteenth time since I’d walked in and blinked at the chaos I’d been met with, “It’s a proper tip.”

I was given a resounding chuckle once more and simply decided to slump there on the floor, glad to note that most of everything had now been packed into the box. Out of sight, out of mind and all that.

“Finn, I don’t even want to go and see what his bedroom looks like as of right now. I can just picture how his wardrobe’s been overturned and all of his clothes have been tossed about the room.” 

I forced myself up onto my feet then, halfheartedly listening to Finn’s reply. I still needed to sort myself out before anything else and that thought alone stressed me out further.

And of course! Of course it would be in that exact moment that the doorbell went.

“Fuck.” I mumbled to myself, but found my feet already taking me towards the door. I paused only briefly by the mirror to catch sight of the mess my hair was in and tugged it free in hopes it’d help somewhat, “Listen babe, sorry for all my whinging but I’d best go. Door’s just gone and I’m guessing it’ll be that parcel I’ve been waiting on.”

“Cutting it pretty late there.” Finn said and I couldn’t agree more. It was the 23rd, Christmas was now only days away and still I’d yet to receive it- even after having ordered it well over three weeks ago!

“Fucking hell, tell me about it,” I groaned, opening the door up to be met with the sight of a big wrapped box blocking my vision. My forehead wrinkled in utter confusion, “Um, Finn? I really am going to have to call you back.”

“Why, what’s happened? Don’t leave me hanging! Who is it!”

The parcel dropped down an inch then to reveal a familiar grin and shining eyes. 

“Surprise?”

I hurriedly hung up the phone and shoved it into my back pocket, the feeling of bewilderment unable to override the instant worries that washed over me about what a state I must've looked. But I bullied those thoughts back down, ignoring the massive part of me that was currently screaming at the entire situation, for whatever reason I couldn’t even begin to really understand, cause it was just Matty, right? And instead propped myself up against the doorframe.

“What’s this then?” I asked, unable to help my smile when he was looking back at me seemingly so pleased with himself.

“Christmas, in’t it?” He replied all too easily, shaking the rather large present he held in his grasp to further the point.

“I can see that.” I chuckled, shaking my head a little at the picture he made, all bundled up on my front doorstep practically dwarfed by the box he’d brought along. “I just thought you were headed home today.”

He shrugged, an action that was made funnier by the large parcel, but continued smiling, “Meant to, just couldn’t leave without seeing you lot first.”

I blinked, startled by his words. But grinned when he merely widened both his eyes in exaggeration.

“It is fucking freezin’ out here, you know! Could invite a mate in.” Matty reminded me, so I hummed, mulling it over. But he wasn’t one to give up too easily and bribery appeared to be his best tactic here, “I’ve got presents. So open up or they’re going back.”

I narrowed my eyes in turn, “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, but darling I would.”

I found myself grinning at him again, something I tended to do whenever he was around it seemed. There was just something about him, I supposed. 

He went to take a step back then and I relented all too easily. “Alright.” I laughed, opening the door up wider to allow him in. Matty all but jumped over the threshold, bringing the cold in with him, and whilst he set about shaking off his coat I went to close the door behind him, only to be stopped by a bright red coat.

“Oh, thanks.” I said in surprise to the postie that managed to time his arrival so perfectly. “Thank you,” I repeated for good measure, shooting my head up from the packaged parcel he’d handed me, “Happy Holidays!” He grinned in return, already taking off back down the steps and parroting the same sentiment to me.

I finally managed to shut the door after that and was met with a ruddy-faced Matty, who was wrapped in a big jumper I was immediately jealous of.

“Last minute present?” He wondered with a smirk and I waved him off.

“Ordered it weeks ago, got here just in time.”

Matty hummed and turned back to glance down at the big box that now rested against my hallway radiator, level with my hip it seemed. “Where is the monster?” He asked me, using the name both he and Teddy had taken a liking to.

My brow furrowed slightly. “You really didn’t have to, Matty.” I said to him quietly, looking down at the present he’d gotten for my son. 

He was having none of it though, rolled his eyes in fact and hunched over to pick the box up again. “Shut up.”

I snorted and couldn’t help but bite back, “You shut up.”

“Real mature, sweetheart. Ain’t you parents meant to be all boring and nice?” Matty quipped as he wandered his way into my living room, I breathed in a sigh of relief when I followed behind and found that my efforts in cleaning hadn’t been in vain.

“Ha ha. Should’ve taken up comedy.” I retorted to him, fixing a few pillows that sat askew on the settee, something to which Matty also rolled his eyes at.

“Nah, band makes more money.” He answered easily, like he’d thought about it before, as he glanced about for the best place to put the box.

“By the tree if you want, or you can leave it next to the chair so he’ll see it when he barrels in.”

Matty laughed and went with the latter. “You been alright then?” He asked me, taking the time to glance at all the holiday cards that rested on the mantelpiece nearby.

“Yeah,” I sighed with a small smile, “Hectic but that’s expected, isn’t it?”

He shot me a warm grin, nodding. “Christmas, babe.” Was all he replied with, which was fair enough, then he went to reach out to pick up a picture frame of me and a very very tiny Teddy. “When was this?”

I stepped closer and smiled down at the photo, “I was still in hospital with him then, my midwife took it.”

Matty hummed, looking down at it with a soft smile. It was then that I heard a thump sound somewhere down the hall, so I released a weighted breath and forced myself to step away, “I’ve got to go check on Teddy, he wanted to dress himself this morning and he’s been way too quiet.”

With another laugh, Matty let me go, nosing through more of the photos and cards which sat along the shelf. Something I could understand, he’d only been here just twice before, but even still, he didn’t care for how blatant he was with his nosing. 

I took the parcel with me as I went, slipping into my bedroom to unwrap and grin down at it. It was Matty’s, which is why its arrival had been so perfect. I'd begun to think that I would have to give it to him the next time I saw him. But now was as good a time as ever.

In a rush, I pulled out a gift bag and some coloured tissue paper, having no time to actually wrap it, and plopped it in. Making my way into the next room to see where Teddy had gotten to.

When I pushed his door open further than it was, I was only slightly surprised by the state of it. The rugrat in question, though, was stood by his wardrobe door, pulling an array of funny faces in its mirror.

“Oi mister, what you been up to?”

Teddy startled slightly at my voice but was giggling when he spun around to spot me. “Got dressed myself.” He stated, pointing proudly at the t-shirt he’d managed to pull on.

“Hm, so you have!” Taking in the jeans and tee combo he’d picked, I then grinned over at him, “Looking good, boyo. Could be a little stylist when you’re older, you know!”

Teddy gave me one of his impish grins and then darted over towards me. “No!” He dragged out in reply, hands clutching at my legs now he was near, his sweet mischievous face staring up at me, “Gone be like you.”

I had to press my lips together then to keep the strength of my smile at bay, his words making my heart swell. “You little charmer.” I chuckled, running a hand through his unruly locks, “Come on though, you’ve got a visitor.”

His eyes widened as he jumped back to rock onto the balls of his feet. “Mémé?” He asked excitedly and I almost felt bad about it not being her, but I knew how much Teddy had also grown to like Matty in the recent days so I wasn't too fussed.

I shook my head, “Not yet, soon though. But somebody else came to see you.”

Teddy’s eyebrows rose as he thought about who it could be and so, knowing that we could possibly be here all day, I started to steer him out into the hallway.

“Finny?” He asked, then, “Santa?”

I snorted, then shook my head to both. “Nope and no. Why don’t we just go see, hey?”

And with that I pushed the door to the living room open wider and watched on as Teddy gasped at the sight of the curly haired frontman standing by our settee.

“Matty!” He all but squealed, practically catapulting himself across the room to make a dive for the man.

Matty laughed, though also seemed startled by the reaction he’d garnered. He swept Teddy up though, all the same, and jostled him around before settling the toddler on his hip, eyes bright with something when they glanced over at me. I smiled, a heavy feeling settling itself in my chest.

“Alright, mate? What you been up to?” Matty asked Teddy, falling back onto the cushions behind them and stationing the toddler next to him.

Teddy replied in earnest, excited to tell Matty all the tales he had stored away since the last time they’d spoken, which had been a few nights previous over a FaceTime call. 

I shook my head in amusement and trailed over towards the kitchen, silenting motioning to Matty to see if he wanted a drink. The answer, as always, was yes and so I set about brewing him his usual, along with my own, taking the time to clean myself up a bit too.

By the time I walked back in, Teddy had just about finished telling Matty all the details of his last day at nursery (they’d had a party), which I’m sure the man had already heard about, but who acted as though it was the most brilliant story he’d ever been told. 

“One coffee.” I said in greeting, placing the two mugs onto coasters before taking a perch on the armchair by them.

“Ta.” Matty replied, grinning madly when Teddy cackled gleefully and repeated the word over and over. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them and took a calming sip of tea, unaware of how much I’d been in dire need of it. Whoever claimed Sunday’s were a day of rest, were liars.

“He spotted it yet then?” I asked aloud, already knowing the answer seeing as how I didn’t currently have a bouncing Teddy on my hands.

The toddler’s face wrinkled in confusion and he shot his head over to see me, I grinned from behind my mug. “Huh?” He sounded.

Matty hid his next snort well but then hummed too, pushing forward in his seat to grab at his coffee. “Oh his present, you mean?”

That had Teddy’s head spinning. “Where!”

“Manners, bubs.” I reminded, and Teddy nodded so quickly I was honestly a little worried about the whiplash he might face before his eyes were back on Matty.

“Please, present?” Teddy asked, pouting up at the curly haired man with a sudden urgency, his words butchered by his missing bottom teeth.

Matty chuckled, glad for the fact that he’d put his coffee back down in the toddler's haste, and then gestured his head over to the right. “You mean that one?”

Teddy’s eyes, if even possible, widened further, eyebrows reaching the tips of his curls and mouth dropping open as he finally spotted it.

“For me?” He gasped in awe, shuffling down Matty’s leg to approach it, all of his movements now slow as if his shock was stopping him from reacting typically. 

I leaned forward to watch on and Matty did the same, obviously nervous for Teddy’s reaction.

“For you, mate. Was walking by this shop the other day and spotted it, thought of you.” Matty told him seriously, smiling too whilst he wrung his hands together, foot tapping anxiously away, though unaware of it.

Teddy looked back at him, chewing on his bottom lip carefully, taking two more steps before he was touching the wrapping. He oohed at it softly to himself but I caught the way Matty’s face brightened at the sound.

“‘pen now?” Teds asked, his eyes drifting away from the gift, towards me and Matty both.

Matty looked over at me then too, the same question echoed on his face. I nodded with a small smirk, “Go on.”

Teddy’s eyes lit up and he spun back around to marvel at it once more, “W’ats it?”

The snort that escaped me at his ask went unnoticed by the pair as Matty moved to join the toddler on the floor. “Gotta open it up and find out, I ‘spose.”

Teddy’s grin brightened and then he fell to his bum so that he could pull the present closer. “Help?”

Matty blinked at the request and I was witness to the way his throat bobbed before he nodded, “Yeah, sure mate. Here, pull this, alright?”

Teddy did as instructed, tugging on a small opening in the wrapping. 

I noted as he began to tear away at it, how oddly wrapped it really was, meaning that Matty had probably taken the time to wrap it himself. My chest tightened again at the thought.

“Box.” Teddy announced once all the wrapping paper had been discarded on the rug behind him, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from outright laughing at the befuddled expression he gave Matty.

The man had no qualms though, simply chuckled at the question and leaned in closer to force one side of the cardboard box up a little, “Gotta open up that too, monster.”

Teddy’s brows drew together in concentration as he followed Matty’s lead, forcing the lid open more before a loud gasp escaped him. Matty went back to wringing his hands, fiddling with the rings on his fingers whilst I moved over to the settee to get a look too.

My expression faltered at the sight of the beautiful gift Matty had given Teddy. Inside the box rested a guitar in an incredible shade of deep blue, it was small enough for Teddy to hold whilst also being big enough for him to grow with. Even with my obsessive love for music, not once had I ever really thought about buying Teddy such a thing, not one of this calibre at least. It must've cost a fortune.

“Matty.” I whispered, but the man didn’t even spare a look my way, eyes trained on my toddler, trying to garner his reaction.

“You know what it is, mate?” He asked after a moment and Teddy’s little head dipped in a slow nod. Because I knew he knew, he danced around constantly pretending to have one in his hands whenever we had the tele or radio on. Where there was music blaring, there would also be a Teddy playing air guitar.

“‘tar.” Teddy stated in a soft voice, both Matty and I smiled at the way he said it, but the former nodded, pulling the instrument out of the box so that Teddy could get a closer look.

“Cool right?”

Teddy nodded silently again, reaching out a hand to carefully touch the wooden neck, blinking and reeling back when a string strummed. Before he then giggled and reached out once more.

Matty seemed to slump in relief, evidently glad that Teddy liked it. But I’d go as far to even say he adored it, never had he ever been so gentle with anything.

“Have you got something to say to Matty, Teds?” I prompted, ignoring the way my throat caught at the emotion I felt. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it.

Teddy pulled his eyes away from the guitar to gaze up at Matty as though he was something other. I merely blinked at the reaction and before I knew it Teddy had thrown himself into Matty’s arms, startling the man a tad. Matty welcomed him after a second though, glancing over the toddler’s head to share a look with me.

“T’ank you.” I heard Teddy muffle into the collar of Matty’s jumper then, actually saying the words this time. It seemed Matty knew what that meant too, because he tightened his hold on Teddy’s waist a little.

“You’re welcome, mate.”

The rest of Matty’s visit was used to teach Teddy a bit about the basics of a guitar, managing to play an E minor and get started on an A chord. Teddy listened to Matty with rapt attention, barely sparing anything else a second glance, which was startling for a toddler, let alone Teddy who was constantly go, go, go.

Watching them was all too lovely as well. For someone with such a cool front, Matty seemed to melt around Teddy, succumbing to that of the boy’s charm and easy going nature. It was sweet to see, surprising but endlessly sweet. Had me losing track of time, in truth. Which is why I jumped and cursed the way I did when the door finally knocked. 

“Mémé!”

[ladykailitha]

Well Met By Moonlight Part 9

Hey guys! I'm back. Sorry I missed posting on Sunday, but I was supposed to have internet in the new place on Friday, but didn't get it until today. So to make up for it, I'll post on Saturday.

And yes, WIP Wednesday is back this week, too.

Holy shit guys, I am sooo sorry! The last time I updated this story was way back in November. I've been sitting on fresh chapters for at least half that! I thought I had updated it since then but I guess not!

I guess be sure to reread the earlier chapters to remember where this one left off?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

****

Steve wrote down his lie that he was going to tell Tommy and sealed it in an envelope. He handed it to Robin.

“Open that only when I tell to you,” he warned.

She nodded.

Steve had already called the Mayor to set up his first town hall meeting and encouraged Billy to do the same. He doubted Billy would do it. He liked that humans saw vampires as evil. He liked that the myths that surrounded vampire-kind was incorrect. He thought he could use it against humans.

Steve wasn’t so sure. It was like the cross he had been nailed to. Crosses were thought to have been talismans against vampires, not werewolves. And it wasn’t as though Steve was going to spill every secret about his pack.

He just wanted to clear up some misconceptions about werewolves.

When he showed up to the meeting he wasn’t surprised to see that Billy wasn’t there. But he was surprised to see Eddie and Wayne there. They could only answer questions about bitten vampires, but at least it was something.

“Thank you everyone for com–” Steve said.

Just then the double doors burst open and in walked two redheaded girls.

They couldn’t be more different from each other if they tried.

The oldest of the two girls, even though they stood at the same height wore preppy clothes. Her long curly, strawberry blonde hair was pulled back in an artfully messy ponytail. She looked every inch the cheerleader she was.

The younger of the girls had her bright red hair in braided pigtails. Her clothes were cute but eclectic. Her face was freckled and her smile was mischievous.

Beside him he heard Nancy let out a huff of laughter and Steve was tempted to do the same.

It appeared that Chrissy Cunningham and Max Mayfield either by the directive of their Dominus or not, had come to the meeting.

“My apologies, alpha Harrington,” Chrissy said. “I mixed up the time, I had hoped to arrive early rather than late.”

Max rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to talk so formally, it’s only Steve.”

There was a twittering of laughter from the crowd as the two girls made their way up the aisle to the stage. Steve reached out a hand to Chrissy and helped her to onto the stage. Max batted Steve’s hand when he offered it to her next.

She eyed it a moment and then leapt up to land on it as soft as a cat on her feet.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Show off.”

Max stuck out her tongue as there was a flurry of activity behind Steve to setup to more chairs for the vampire born.

Nancy and the two born stretched out on the left side of the stage while Steve and the two bitten vampires stretched out on the right side of the stage accidentally dividing it men and women.

Once everyone was situated Steve spoke again. “Welcome everyone. Thank you all for coming out to the first of what I hope to be many of these town hall meetings.”

The crowd stirred restlessly.

“Though they need no introduction,” Steve continued, “may I present, vampires Chrissy Cunningham, Max Mayfield, Wayne Munson, Eddie Munson, and my female alpha, Nancy Wheeler.”

There was some muttering in the crowd, something dark. Steve shared a glance with Wayne, having both caught on to the undertow of anger.

But who were they angry at?

“Let’s get this started,” Steve said. “I had people write the question they wanted answered the most and Mayor Roberts has graciously offered to moderate for us tonight.”

Mayor Roberts handed him a stack of notecards with questions on them.

“Right, first question why does it say that a wooden stake to the heart would kill a vampire? Doesn’t that do that for everyone?”

Wayne and Chrissy shared a glance, and the she waved her hand at him for him to answer.

He broke off a piece of wood from a nearby structure and unbuttoned his shirt. He stared the audience square in the eye as he buried the makeshift stake into his chest.

The people in front of him gasped, while those behind him winced. He pulled the stake out and slowly the wound closed in upon itself without even so much as a drop of blood spilt.

Wayne tossed the makeshift stake at Chrissy and she slammed it on her arm, causing the wood to splinter everywhere as it shattered against her skin.

“Myth denied,” Max said with a grin.

Suddenly there was an uproar from the audience as they surged to their feet. Steve and Nancy chuckled into their hands, heads pressed together.

“What about other weapons?!” someone cried from the crowd, barely loud enough to be heard over the shouting of the crowd.

“You want to try it?” Wayne growled.

The person sat down hard and the room went silent.

“Silver weakens us, but doesn’t hurt us,” Wayne said. “Makes more like super humans instead of supernatural beings. Might prevent us from changing into our other forms. Yes, we have more than one. There was a wood long ago that could kill us if you stabbed us in the heart, but it has long since gone extinct.”

Chrissy smiled. “Like the Roman contraceptive of old, you mortals drove it to extinction because you used it in everything, thinking if it could kill us, then building houses, wagons, crosses, and yes even stakes out of it would protect you from us.”

Eddie was grateful that mortals couldn’t see him roll his eyes from that distance. Because no, the wood was not extinct, but he knew why Chrissy and his uncle were telling them that. No need to give them ammunition. Yew. The answer was yew. Planted in cemeteries and graveyards for over a millennia, it was a guard against the rising of the undead and nearly used to extinction.

It still is a rare tree and the ones that are left are closely protected. And if a couple of the keepers were vampires, who’s to say it isn’t for conservation reasons?

Steve looked over at him and winked. Eddie huffed out a laugh. Yeah, it seemed like Steve knew that too.

Wayne and Chrissy sat down and Steve stood back up.

“That one was a fun one,” Steve said with a grin. The audience stared up at him in disbelief. “Let’s get on to the next question. What is the purpose of a female alpha?”

Steve’s grin grew. “Sounds like a question for our Nancy Wheeler.” He handed the mic to her.

“Female alphas act as ‘mother’ to the pack,” she explained. “There are family units in each pack but just as the alpha male makes decisions for the whole pack as leader, he will come to the alpha female for advice to make sure he’s taking in all aspects of the situation. She’s co-leader. Often times the alpha female and male are bonded, but not necessarily. I’m not bonded to Steve for example.”

Someone raised their hand and Nancy called on them.

“Then how is female alpha chosen if they aren’t mates?” they asked.

“This is a question for our alpha male.” Nancy smiled and handed the mic back to Steve.

Steve laughed. “Most older alphas will pick their mate because it’s easier to counsel with someone you’re bonded to. Plus there is always the chance that your mate will be jealous if the alpha female isn’t her.”

There was some murmuring, but is sounded more like understanding then the anger when they first started.

“But in cases where the alpha isn’t bonded he will either pick someone who they are looking to bond with or the strongest female in the pack. In my case I picked the strongest female I could trust. And that was Nancy. She’s a capable leader and a good friend.”

Nancy blushed.

“And what happens when you do bond?” someone shouted from the crowd.

“That is something that would be discussed before hand,” Steve said. “If my mate even wants to be alpha female, then she would discuss it with Nancy. There is no rite of combat like there is with an alpha male.”

The real answer was that Nancy would be forced to step down and his mate would step up. But he wasn’t going to tell this group that. Also, it was a given that once Steve found someone else, anyone else Nancy would step down. She didn’t like being Steve’s alpha female. But she also knew the power vacuum that would have occurred if she hadn’t.

Because keeping Joyce as alpha female would have caused a rift between the alpha male and female that could have torn the pack asunder.

“Next question...” Steve said and continued to answer questions.

Yes, they couldn’t be one hundred percent truthful. Because they didn’t want to hand over the information about their weaknesses to their enemies, but good god, it felt good to dispel rumors like crosses and consecrated ground did nothing to vampires or werewolves. That werewolves weren’t limited to shape changing once a month, but that the forced change of the full moon was taxing on their bodies hence the need for schools and employers to give them moon days off.

Moon days were the day after the full moon where the very tired human form of the werewolf need to rest from the activities the night before.

The meeting had gone over so well, that the mayor, the president of the Hawkins Middle School PTA and the president of the teachers' union had all come up to him to ask him to do a more kid friendly version for the middle schoolers.

A fact that had him wanting to cheer and run to Robin to tell her how well it worked.

Before he left to do just that Chrissy came up to him and pressed an envelope into his hand.

"The Dominus sends his regards.”

Steve looked down at the envelope and tried hard not to snarl. It wasn’t Chrissy’s fault. She was just the messenger and very likely didn’t even know what was in the envelope. But Steve did.

He saw her and Max off before turning to look at the Munsons. He nodded their direction and Wayne nodded back. Steve had informed them of his and Robin’s plan before he enacted it.

Nancy looked between them with a frown creasing her forehead. Steve hadn’t told her what was going on yet and he felt the heat of her ire at being kept out of a loop she felt she shouldn’t have been kept out of.

Steve just shook his head at her. He would tell her when he was ready.

****

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi @bookbinderbitch @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @just-a-tiny-void @potato-of-the-lord @goosesister @tinyplanet95 @anaibis @she-collects-smut @irregular-child

[mc-i-r]

Disposable Heroes

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four Ao3

A/N: Guys, I’m so sorry for the late update! Life has been crazy for me the past couple weeks but I hope that I can get back to writing more regularly. This chapter is the well-awaited Eddie pov, as well as a ton of backstory for him that I didn’t really plan on but it just kinda came out. This chapter is kinda rushed, I’m gonna be honest, but I wanted to get it out to you guys as soon as possible since its been awhile. There are gonna be some major warnings here so I’ll post them below. Take care of yourselves and stay safe, now enjoy!

Tw: homophobia, homophobic language, child abuse, domestic violence, referenced drug use, Eddie being incredibly gay

———

It’s a muggy Sunday morning, the summer sun burning through the last vestiges of chilled night air and frosted dewdrops as it rises from its slumber. Like the sun, Eddie rises as well. However, it’s with much less fanfare and grace due to the obnoxious pounding at his front door.

He groans dramatically, shoving his face in his pillow and willing whoever the fuck decided to bother him at—he glances at his alarm clock on the other side of the room, squinting to read the numbers—nine in the morning to go away. His wish must have pissed off some universal god because the knocking only gets louder, making the window above his desk rattle with every shake of the door.

With a sigh big enough to rival the windy intro of “Holy Diver”, he pulls himself to the door in a zombie-like state. Movements sluggish from his interrupted sleep, he misses the doorknob twice before finally turning it, throwing it open with newfound strength to find one Robin Buckley in all her glory. Her fist is raised and ready to knock again, her face the epitome of righteous fury as she glares at him.

“Uh, hey Buck. Whatcha doi—“ he begins, only to be interrupted by Robin shoving past him and barging into the trailer. He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face and pulling on his hair slightly before shutting the door.

Kids and their manners nowadays.

“Yeah, sure, come on in. Totally fine. I wasn’t sleeping or anything, noooo,” he says to himself before turning to face his intruder. Whatever Buckley is upset about seems serious, and from the icy look she’s giving him it also seems like it’s his fault. Her hands are on her hips like she’s in a Steve Harrington impersonation contest and plans on taking home a first place prize. Something in him squirms at the thought.

But, he is nothing if not a performer. So, of course, he puts on a show.

“Lady Buckley,” he declares in a posh British accent, bowing deeply with a flourish on his arm. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine morning?”

He’s expecting a fond eye roll, or a laugh, or huff, or something. He gets silence.

“Cut the bullshit, Eddie. We need to talk about Steve,” she demands.

Steve… Now isn’t that an interesting subject?

Now, Eddie has always been different. He was loud, and jumpy, and fidgety, and the other kids never wanted to be friends with him because they were scared. He was always covered in dirt, always barefoot because he either forgot to put on shoes or the ones he had were too small for his ever-changing feet. He would talk to himself, mutter little reminders under his breath or work through the questions plaguing his mind aloud because he just functioned better that way.

Then, at eleven, he found out just how different he really was. He was outside during recess when he fell off the monkey bars and scraped his hands and knees. He huddled on the ground, tears falling down his small cheeks because it hurt and his wounds felt like they were throbbing. Then a boy, James, ran up to him and asked him if he was okay. James had stark blond hair, a face full of freckles, and bright green eyes. He looked so concerned for Eddie, and was gentle when he picked up one of his hands to inspect the cuts littered there. It was that gentle touch that elicited a flutter of butterflies in his stomach, and ever since then Eddie knew.

When he had gotten home to the trailer that day, he felt confused. Other people in his class were constantly talking about who they “liked”; boys liking girls and girls liking boys. About how they would get all nervous around their crushes, and Eddie realized he had never felt that before. All of the girls in his class were just… girls to him. They never gave him that fluttery feeling James had. But… no one ever talked about boys liking boys. No one ever said if it was okay, so Eddie thought it must not be. That boys liking boys wasn’t okay. That he wasn’t okay.

It took awhile, but he finally confessed to Wayne that he liked boys, that he got all the little butterflies that boys were supposed to get about girls. Wayne shook his head and told him that he could feel butterflies for anyone he pleased, as long as they made him happy. They both cried that night, and ended up in a hug so tight they nearly fused together.

Since then, Eddie’s come to accept the fact that he’s gay. Has added it to his whole anti-conformist persona, even. So when high school hit he let himself finally be free. He joined Hellfire club, made friends with the upperclassmen who ran it, and learned all the intricacies of D&D that he never imagined he would. After two years, he met Gareth and Jeff who joined Hellfire much in the way he did. Then, Grant joined halfway through Eddie’s junior year and he quickly recruited him as well. He found his friends, his people, and he finally let himself be himself around them.

He told them he was gay after a long session of lazily practicing in Gareth’s garage and smoking, the weed having loosened both his limbs and his lips. They were all extremely chill with it, even after the weed had worn off. That, however, didn’t exempt them from making fun of him though.

Eddie was loitering in the hallway after school, waiting on Gareth to finish up a quiz he missed the week prior, when none other than Steve Harrington walked out of the pool room in nothing but those little speedos that leave zero to the imagination. Seriously, all those girls were right, holy shit. After he picked his jaw up off the floor, he noticed Steve was looking at him with that adorable little confused puppy look before a god damned smirk fell across his face. Eddie’s face, he knew, had to rival that of a Victorian nobleman fawning over a sliver of pale skin shown by a lady across the room with her face hidden by an elaborate fan because he was literally drooling for the man in front of him.

It got considerably worse when Steve leaned down to drink from a nearby water fountain, making Eddie’s mouth go completely dry with this blatant offering of ass right in his face. In hindsight, it might not have been an offering, per say, but it was definitely there and Eddie was definitely staring. So it really wasn’t a surprise that he jumped when Gareth tapped his shoulder, Eddie having not heard him come up behind him, and he turned on his heel so fast he’s surprised he didn’t get whiplash.

“Dude, you good?” Gareth asked. Eddie opened his mouth, squeaked out, “I’m fine” and immediately felt his face go up in flames. Gareth glanced over Eddie’s shoulder and he could see in slow motion the series of thoughts that crossed his mind. Gareth went from concerned to confused to understanding to smug so fast it was almost comical. When their eyes met, Eddie’s went wide.

“Don’t you dare say a word,” he hissed, and the smug look only intensified.

Once they got to his van, Gareth immediately rounded on him.

“Seriously? Steve Harrington?” Gareth teased. “Of all people, it had to be that douche?”

Eddie groaned and clenched his eyes shut. “I know, Garebear, now shut up before I push you out of the van.”

Of course, news about his little crush spread around his friend group like wildfire, and soon enough he was being teased by them relentlessly. Eddie knew his crush wouldn’t get very far, Steve was very clearly straight and in a happy relationship with Nancy Wheeler of all people. Still, Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about that smirk.

Just as his crush began to fade away, Steve showed up to school with a busted face and eye bags deep enough to rival shitty vampire Halloween make-up from a toddlers costume contest. Feelings came rushing back, the intense need to protect, to find out what happened and get justice for that pretty face.

Then it kept happening, and Steve showed up to school with a beat up face yet again. However, judging by his stumbling and droopy eyes, it came with a concussion this time. Just when Eddie was trying to figure out who did it, Billy Hargrove came stalking through the empty halls and all attention was focused on his scabbed knuckles. On the hungry glare he sent Steve’s way. On the way Steve shrank back a little on instinct.

And Eddie… Eddie just couldn’t leave well enough alone, now could he?

He walked up to Steve, brows furrowed. “Harrington?”

Harrington didn’t turn, eyes still focused on the spot where Billy had been before. Eddie tapped his shoulder. “Steve?”

He jumped that time, like Eddie had actually hit him, and spun to face him. Up close, his face looked a hell of a lot worse and Eddie had to suppress a wince just looking at him. Steve looked at him confused, though it was hard to tell between the swelling and assortment of bandages on his face.

“…Munson?” Steve began. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come up.”

He said it flippantly, with a wave of his hand towards his left ear like that explained everything. It didn’t, but Eddie felt like it wasn’t his place to push.

“You good, man? You look like you got in a fight with a dump truck and lost,” Eddie said. “Badly.”

He expected Steve to scoff and roll his eyes, push past him and hit his shoulder too hard to be an accident. He expected him to spit some barb and walk away, to leave Eddie there in the hallway alone. None of that happened, though.

Instead, Steve smiled. A little self-deprecating, but a smile nonetheless. He huffed a laugh.

“Make it a supercharged dump truck and you’ve got it right,” Steve joked at his own expense. It resulted in a shocked laugh bursting from Eddie’s lips, which he immediately stopped by smacking a hand over his mouth.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, pulling his hand away. “That’s not funny. I mean… your joke was, just not,”—he gestured to Steve’s… everything—“this.”

“It’s okay man, I know what you meant,” Steve said sincerely and Eddie doubted why he was ever called King Steve. The person who stood in front of him was the furthest thing from what those jocks supposedly worshiped that Eddie had to hide another bubble of laughter.

“Seriously, dude, did you even go to a doctor?” Eddie asked, and at Steve’s wince he knew the answer. He rolled his eyes and slung an arm around his shoulders, careful not to land too hard in case he was bruised there too, and led him down the hallway towards the nurse’s station.

“Uh,” Steve began. “Where are we going?”

“The nurse,” he explained. “Figured a look wouldn’t hurt, right?”

Steve’s shoulders relaxed a little under his arm, and Eddie decided to focus on him during their walk down the empty hallway. He noticed the way his hair bounced a little with every step, how a couple strands were threatening to fall from their perfectly coiffed positions. He noticed his moles and freckles, how he had a smattering of faint ones all over his face from time in the sun. He noticed how his nose was a little crooked now, with a bump on the bridge that wasn’t there before the weekend. He noticed how pretty his eyes were, with at least three different shades of brown all swirled together like melted chocolate with flecks of forest green nestled in the folds.

He noticed that Steve was looking at him.

They had come to a stop in front of the nurse, yet Eddie’s arm was still over his shoulders. He quickly retracted it, but Steve didn’t move away and neither did he.

“Well, this is your stop,” Eddie nearly whispered out. Steve smiled, just a small quirk of his lips, and his eyes flitted across Eddie’s face.

“Thanks, Eddie,” he started. Steve took a step backwards toward the station and did a little wave with his fingers that had no right being as endearing as it was. “See you around.”

With that, he disappeared behind the thick mahogany door and Eddie was left there alone, face full of flames and smiling like he was in fucking love with the guy.

Fuck, maybe he was a little bit in love with the guy.

That feeling didn’t waver, not even after seeing him in a skimpy sailor uniform as he scooped overpriced ice cream for toddlers in the Mall. Or, when he was pinning him to the rickety wall of the boathouse he was hiding in after seeing Chrissy murdered in front of him by some freaky wizard from an alternate dimension with a broken bottle to his beautifully freckled throat.

That feeling greatly intensified when he saw Steve take an honest to god bite out of a demonic bat and spit the flesh and blood out on the dried lakebed in the previously mentioned alternate dimension.

And, really, you can’t blame him for falling all the way when he found out exactly who dragged his half-dead body out of hell and saved his life.

So yeah, Steve was a very interesting subject indeed.

“Is… Is he okay?” Eddie questions as he straightens from his hunched position, head tilting to the side and making his bangs fall in his eyes. Robin throws her hands up with a mighty huff and a frustrated groan.

“Obviously not!” She exclaims. She starts pacing around his living room, back and forth in front of the coffee table. “He’s obviously not okay because you’ve been avoiding him and making him feel like shit for months and I’m actually really worried about him ‘cause he’s been doing stupid shit that can get him killed and I don’t know how much longer he can go on like this before it completely ruins him.”

As Robin rambles, her face turns a bright shade of pink. She finishes her speech, sucking in a deep breath as if she ran out of air. Eddie’s brows furrow.

“I haven’t been avoiding Steve,” he defends weakly. He hasn’t, not really. He just… he doesn’t want to get hurt.

Okay yes, Eddie is practically in love with the guy, but that doesn’t mean Steve feels the same about him. They’re friends, that’s it. Steve is going to find some beautiful girl and get married and have the houseful of kids he’s always wanted and Eddie will be here, still pining from afar. He knows it would be easier to just forget about him, and forget about the feelings clutching his heart like a starved hawk with its first fulfilling catch in months. That’s why he’s been slowly letting go over the past few weeks, trying—and failing—to get that stupid pretty boy out of his head. Of course, it’s not working, and every day he spends not talking to Steve feels like hell.

So no, he’s not avoiding Steve. He just doesn’t think he could survive it if he confesses and Steve rejects him completely. Staying away means he won’t accidentally reveal his feelings for the man, and judging by how much he’s feeling, it wouldn’t be very hard for that scraggly cat to come clawing and screeching out of the proverbial bag.

Robin, however, thinks the opposite because according to the look she’s giving him, she says he absolutely fucking has.

Eddie sighs. “Okay, maybe I have just a little bit but it’s not—“

Eddie freezes, stomach plummeting as Robin's rambling words take purchase in his mind. She said Steve was doing something stupid, something that could kill him. Flashes of a night now a distant memory play in his mind, one filled with panicked breaths, stilted tears, and a bloody bat with nails.

“Robin… What do you mean by ‘stupid shit’?” Eddie asks tentatively. Part of him wants to know the answer, while part of him fears the idea of ever finding out. Robin only gives him a confused look and crosses her arms.

“Eddie, that’s totally not the point of this conversation and you know it—“ Eddie cuts her off by waving his hands.

“Robin! Just…” he trails off. Should he tell her about Steve? He promised he wouldn’t but…

“Okay, I have to tell you something about Steve but please please don’t tell him I told you because I promised him I wouldn’t but if you also know something about him then I think you should know about this too,” he rushes out, words tumbling fast out of his mouth as his lungs scream for air. Robin’s icy glare has melted a bit, turning into one of anxiety and caution.

He sighs and flops down on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees as he looks down at his hands. He feels more than sees Robin sit next to him and he knows he has her attention.

“What happened, Eddie?” She prompts, and he takes it as a sign to continue.

“I had a visit from Steve awhile back, around four or five days ago,” he begins. “It was early in the morning and I couldn’t sleep so I was writing notes for a new campaign idea in the living room. I could feel that something was… off, so I looked out the window and there he was.”

He ran a hand over his face, pushing his bangs back and pulling on the ends. He glances over at Robin to find her looking at him. He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment before looking back at her.

“He wasn’t all there, Robin. Like… like he was trapped in his mind or something. I thought,” he huffs a deprecating laugh, “for a moment there, I thought he was cursed.”

He doesn’t mention that the image found its way in his head and can’t seem to find its way out, like a stubborn housefly who keeps banging against the glass hoping to be freed. The thought of Steve floating—eyes rolled back in his head while his lids flutter and his limbs shudder and break one by one—has kept him awake on more nights than he can count. The thought of him being subjected to his worst nightmares given life, all the lies that he tells himself turned to truth. The thought of Eddie being completely helpless, watching him die in agony in front of him.

He doesn’t mention that every night since then, he’s called Steve. He needed to hear his voice, to know he was okay. To know he was alive. He never got a call back.

“I got him to come inside but he didn’t stay long. Something spooked him, I think, I just… I don’t know, it was really weird. Like…” he trails off, unable to find the words.

“Like he was in fight or flight mode?” Robin suggests, and he nods.

“Pure instinct.”

Robin groans. “Shit, this is worse than I thought.”

“Wait, did he tell you?” He asks. Steve was so insistent on Eddie not telling her—made him promise, in fact—so why…?

“Well… after a very long, very emotional, and very vulnerable conversation, yes. He told me on his own terms though, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she supplies. “He… He didn’t tell me a ton of details, though. Not… Not like that.”

There’s a pause as Robin clenches her eyes closed and looks away from him.

“I didn’t know it was that bad,” her voice comes out just barely above a whisper, something he wouldn’t have heard if he wasn’t right next to her. Eddie stays silent, unwilling to break the solemn mood. Robin, however, misses that message entirely as she smacks his arm.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me, doofus?!” She accuses, giving him a half-hearted glare that is no less threatening. Eddie holds his hands up in surrender, unable to hide the exasperated look on his face.

“He made me promise!!” Eddie defends. “Plus he gave me those damn puppy dog eyes and I couldn’t say no.”

“He is really good at that, especially when he wants something. He says he has no clue but I bet you he does,” Robin whispers, almost conspiratory as if they’re sharing a terrible secret. Eddie can’t help but smile and shake his head. Screw Harrington and his stupid pretty eyes.

“Did he say anything else while he was here?” Robin asks after a moment of silence.

“No, that was the only thing he said really, other than an absent ‘I’m fine’ before he bolted out the door. It was a very uh… one-sided conversation,” Eddie explains. “He mostly gave only one or two word answers before he panicked and ran.”

“I’m gonna assume he didn’t tell you why he left?” She asks, and at the shake of his head she curses. “Fuck.”

“Fuck indeed.”

Robin shifts beside him, raising her hand to mindlessly chew on her thumbnail. He thinks the conversation is over. Or, rather, wishes it were over.

That universal god must really hate Eddie today because Robin roughly shakes her head and waves her hands around, letting out a huff.

“Okay, one problem at a time. That was totally not the point of this little talk and you know it, Munson,” she admonishes. “Why. Are. You. Avoiding. Steve?”

She punctuates each word with a, quite literal, punch to the arm. Eddie reels back, dramatically clutching his bruised arm and gives her a fake glare.

“Ow!!” He rubs his arm. For her incredibly bony arms, she really can pack a punch. He’s only half joking that it hurts.

“Answer the question!”

“Fine fine…” he takes a deep breath, knee bouncing with building anxiety before he stands up, unable to quell the urge to move. He paces twice in front of the coffee table before he has the nerve to look at her waiting gaze.

“So, as you know, I am a raging homosexual,” he states, and at his pause, she nods. “And I miiiiiight have a teeny weeny, itsy bitsy, enormous crush on him.”

The end of his sentence is rushed out, words jumbled together as he screws his eyes closed and waits for… whatever Robin’s response is going to be. He waits for five seconds. Then ten. Then twenty-five because yes he’s counting. If he knows one thing about Robin Buckley it’s that she doesn’t know when to stop talking so silence is a very rare occurrence for her and now its been a whole minute and something must be wrong so he opens his eyes to find her—

The only word that even remotely comes close to encompassing the expression on her face is seething.

He instinctively takes a step back.

“Edward Lee Munson you better explain yourself right fucking now or I swear to every god out there that I will rip out your spleen and feed it to the neighborhood dogs before you take a step out that door,” Robin all but growls out, eyes icy and cold as they stare through him. He’s quick to explain because he really quite values his spleen, thank you very much.

“Okay, okay, geez I get it! Fine,” he huffs. “I’ve been avoiding Steve because it’s hard to be around him.”

Robin only raises an eyebrow. Eddie groans. He really wishes he didn’t have to explain his big, fat, gay love this early in the morning.

“It’s hard because he’s so…. So Steve all the time. He’s so kind and caring and hot— god, Birdie, he’s so fucking hot—“

“Okay, yeah, I didn’t need to know that,” Robin interrupts.

“Sorry,” he says, a bit sheepish. “Every little smile he gives me feels like a swarm of butterflies are fighting horde-style to get out of my stomach. I just…

“I think I’m in love with him,” Eddie confesses. The way her eyes blow wide is comical, and he’s half expecting them to pop and burst like they do in cartoons.

“But I know better,” he gives her a sad smile. “I know that I’m not special, he doesn’t mean it like that. Like I want it to. And…. And I know he never will.

“I thought that distancing myself would make the feelings go away, make it… I don’t know, hurt less? But not seeing Steve at all… fuck, it hurts worse than dying and I know what that feels like. Now I don’t even have him as a friend,” he scoffs at himself, shakes his head a little and focuses on a framed picture of him, Steve, Robin, and Dustin from graduation on the wall. Focuses on how Steve’s arm is wrapped around his shoulders, hand gripping his upper arm as he smiles shyly at the camera. How Eddie himself is leaning into his side, tucked under his arm as if he belongs there. As if he’ll ever belong there. He looks back at Robin.

“But this is what’s best. I can’t have my stupid heart feeling things my brain knows it shouldn’t,” Eddie ends his little speech by flopping back down on the couch. Part of him regrets telling her, but another small, itty bitty part is almost grateful.

Eddie’s always had a way of caring too much, even from a young age. Wayne could tell you better than anyone that Eddie has always had a soft side. He could tell you that Eddie refused to let him kill any of the bugs that got into the trailer when the weather turned cold and insisted that they be put outside under the trailer where it was at least a little warmer. He could tell you that every time Eddie would see another person cry, he would too.

He’s just always been like that, so carrying this around with him everyday? It was becoming too much to bear, having to put on a face around everyone so no one could tell. So no one could see how it was breaking him inside. Wearing him down to the bone. Slowly, slowly killing him.

Robin sighs beside him and he had almost forgotten she was there. Her voice is quiet and strangely gentle as she speaks.

“Why do you think that, Eddie?”

What?

“What?” He asks incredulously and knows his face is in a similar state to his voice.

“Why do you think Steve wouldn’t like you like that? Has he said anything to make you think he wouldn’t?” She clarifies, which really doesn’t clarify anything at all for him because what?

“Um… are we talking about the same Steve? You know, Steve Harrington, Hawkins’ resident ladies man? Why the fuck would you think I’d have a shot?” He explains. “He’s so painfully straight and I am so painfully not, Robin.”

Robin just looks at him like she’s trying to read his mind. Or, rather, push a thought into his mind. Waiting for something to click. It doesn’t. Eddie rolls his eyes.

“Besides, Steve never tried to talk to me about the whole distance thing, so I just—“

“You know what happens when people assume things, Eddie,” Robin interrupts.

“—figured that he didn’t mind,” Eddie finishes with a glare. Robin closes her eyes and takes a breath as if calming herself. She pinches her nose, right between her eyes like Steve always does when he’s frustrated or tired, and turns to him. She takes his hands in hers, and her face is only a mere mask of calm, the tumbling waves of anger rolling just under the surface.

“Eddie,” she begins. “Have you ever thought of the possibility that Steve doesn’t talk about his feelings? That he would keep it all bottled up inside like he does with literally everything else?”

Well, when she puts it like that…

“Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Robin agrees. “I only found out about this whole… thing two days ago and that was only because I just so happened to catch him falling asleep at work. He wouldn’t have told me if I didn’t ask him, I know that for sure. He… Eddie, he honestly believes that this is all his fault. That he’s the one that fucked everything up between you and he kids.”

Eddie’s brain screeches to a halt. “Wait, what do the kids have to do with this?”

“You haven’t told them anything?” Robin asks, eyes going a little wide.

“Have I told a bunch of teenagers—whose opinions I regretfully respect—that I have a crush on their babysitter? No, I have not.”

“Okay, yeah that was a stupid question, sorry,” she amends. “Just… the kids are avoiding Steve and I can’t think of a reason why.”

“They’re what!? Wait, why haven’t I heard of this until now?” Eddie exclaims. Robin gives him a look that makes him deflate a little. “Let me guess, you only found out two days ago?”

“Bingo, we have a winner!” Robin fake cheers, raising her arms in a mock-celebratory fashion. She drops them with a huff. “They haven’t talked to him in weeks, Eddie, and I think it’s because you have been avoiding him.”

Her tone isn’t accusatory, but it still makes him feel like shit.

“They must have picked up the sense that something was going on between you two and assumed they should be avoiding him too,” she suggests. Eddie leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I don’t get how they could think that, though. I mean, Steve has been nothing but good to them for years now.”

“I know,” Robin agrees. “But they’re kids. Stupid, dumb, ungrateful kids, but they’re still kids.”

Eddie drops his head in his hands, pressing hard on his eyes until spots form behind his eyelids.

“I really fucked this up, didn’t I?” He asks it rhetorically, but Robin gives a noise of agreement anyway. “How do I fix this, Birdie?”

“You could start by talking to him,” Robin suggests.

Now isn’t that a terrifying thought?

Because knowing you have feelings for someone is one thing, but telling them? That’s something so far out of the realm of possibility for him that he’s never even thought about considering it.

“Have you lost your fucking mind, Buckley?” Eddie exclaims, looking over at her with wide eyes. “I’d like to keep all my teeth if you don’t mind. I mean, I know I’m not your type and everything but some poor schmuck would probably like to look at this face one more time before it's beat all black and blue.”

Robin only rolls her eyes at his rambling—which is rather hypocritical of her if you ask him, since she seems to treat rambling as an Olympic sport she plans on winning every time she opens her mouth. She grabs his face between her hands and honest to god shakes him.

“I can’t tell you everything, but I’m telling you to trust me and talk to him,” she practically demands, giving him a pointed look much like the one from before. Except he still doesn’t know what it means, as that final piece has yet to click into place.

He nods in her hold, partially afraid of her now, and she releases him.

“We need to fix this. Now,” Eddie insists. He looks over at her. “We need to talk to the kids.”

Eddie stands up, running to his room and groaning at the mess he left. Tossing his sheets and blankets back on the bed, he reaches under his bed for the walkie he knows he last saw under there three days ago. Except, it’s not there. He stands up, scrunches his eyebrows, and thinks.

Let’s see… it was next to the keychain that was on top of the VHS sitting on the books on the corner of the desk, then he moved it when he had to answer one of Lucas’ questions which he did while he walked around the trailer and he laid it down when he finished to get some cheese from the fridge, meaning—

Eddie runs back to the kitchen, finding the walkie on top of the fridge, right where he thought it would be.

“Got ya!” He grabs it and runs back to the living room where Robin is waiting very impatiently.

“Where even was that?” She asks but he ignores her, electing to set the frequency so he can talk to the kids all at once instead of answering her. He presses the button.

“This is Eddie the Banished calling an emergency Hellfire meeting pronto,” he orders into the speaker. “I repeat, emergency Hellfire meeting.”

He waits for a response. One minute. Two minutes. Three—

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Eddie mumbles, pressing the button again. “Over.”

Immediately, Dustin responds. “Hear you loud and clear, Eddie. Is this a code red situation? Over.”

“Nope, not a code red. More of a uh…” he glances over at Robin who shrugs. “Code yellow? I think. Over.”

“What the hell is ‘code yellow’? We don’t even have one of those,” comes Erica’s, as always, sarcastic remark. Eddie can faintly hear Lucas yelling in the background.

“Munson, you better not be shitting with us.”

“I promise you, Red, I wouldn’t. Not about this.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, people! You’re supposed to say ‘over’ when you’re done talking! Over.”

“Shove it, Dustybuns, the adults are talking.”

Eddie has to hold the walkie away from him at Dustin’s responding shriek. He presses a hand over his eyes. These kids are going to kill him one day.

“Guys, this is serious. Just get your asses over to my trailer as soon as possible. Robin’s already here, does someone have Little Byers and Supergirl?”

“I’ve got them. Over and out,” Mike responds.

“Erica and I are on our way. Over and out,” Lucas says.

“Be there in fifteen. Over and out,” Dustin declares. Eddie glances at Robin, sharing equally nervous and worried looks. This is not going to be fun.

Thirty minutes later, all of the kids are cramped in Eddie’s living room. Lucas, Max, El, and Mike are scrunched together on the couch, while Will and Dustin sit on the floor in front of them. Erica claimed Wayne’s recliner as soon as her and Lucas got there, refusing to move for the older teens.

Robin is standing next to him, hands on her hips again—really driving home the whole “Steve is my platonic soulmate” bit—as he stands there with his arms crossed. The two of them remind Eddie of disappointed parents about to tell off their kids, which, in reality, isn't too far off.

“Okay, what the hell?” Dustin asks, still breathless from the trek there. “I literally just got home an hour ago. Why did you call us and make us bike all the way here in the heat?”

“Because you deserve it for being shitheads,” Eddie defends and rolls his eyes. He’s met with a cacophony of dweeby teen voices as they retaliate.

“What did we do this time?”

“What?! We didn’t do anything!”

“What did Dustin do, now?”

“Me? Why am I the one being blamed? I wasn’t even here!”

“Because you’re too damn nosey, dude.”

“Ouch, Lucas. Ouch.”

“Hey!” Eddie yells, clapping his hands to get their attention. It startles them all enough to quit talking over each other and look back up at him. “Okay, I’m just going to get to the point. Why are you all avoiding Steve?”

Mike gives him a confused look and crosses his arms, his expression the epitome of teenage angst.

“We thought you hated Steve, dude. You would always leave the room whenever he was around with some shitty excuse so we just decided to do the same,” Mike answers. Dustin nods from his spot on the floor.

“Yeah, we all thought he did something or said something to you since every time we brought him up, you’d shut the conversation down somehow. It just… naturally progressed from not talking about him to not talking to him either,” Dustin explains.

“Steve stopped showing up to things, too. He used to help me practice but he’s not shown up in weeks,” Lucas adds.

“Mom’s gotten really worried about him. He’s not shown up to dinner in a while, either,” Dustin chimes in. He shrugs. “We just thought the feeling was mutual.”

Eddie clenches his eyes closed and throws his head back. Fuck, this is worse than he thought. He hears Robin shift beside him, and knows firsthand the look she’s giving them right now.

“Have any of you even considered asking Steve about this?” Robin asks accusatively. “Or even talking to him about anything other than rides or movie nights?”

Silence falls over the room, so thick and suffocating that Eddie briefly prefers the air of the Upside Down to this. He pulls his hair, scrunching down on the floor and balancing on the pads of his feet.

“This is all my fault,” he groans, twisting strands of hair frustratedly.

“It is,” Robin agrees and ignores the glare Eddie sends her way for that. “But we can still fix this.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Mike asks.

“Why does Eddie look three seconds away from strangling himself with his hair?” Max hesitates, sounding the most cautious he’s ever heard her. Eddie groans and avoids eye contact with the group.

“The reason I’m avoiding Steve isn’t because I hate him. It’s uh… quite the opposite, actually,” he explains, nervously fidgeting with his rings and pulling a thick strand of hair to hide his face. He glances at Robin, who gives him an overly enthusiastic thumbs up, and he rolls his eyes.

Max and Erica give him equally smug smirks while Will looks at him with wide, understanding eyes. The rest of the group, however, look confused.

“Wait, then why are you avoiding him?” Dustin asks.

“Dude, that makes zero sense,” Mike counteracts. El just looks lost, almost like she’s trying to read his mind. Which… he really wouldn’t be surprised if she could at this point. Eddie sighs.

“That’s not the point,” Eddie redirects. “The point is that an issue with me and Steve shouldn’t affect you guys’ relationship with him.”

“Yeah,” Robin agrees, and he deftly ignores the pointed look she sends his way. “Steve has been there for all of you for years.

“Dustin, wasn’t it Steve who helped you catch D’art when he escaped from your cellar? He bought pounds of meat for you to lure a demodog away with, then fought a pack of them by himself to keep you safe. Steve put himself in the line of fire again against said demodogs in the tunnels after he was beaten unconscious by Billy, then sacrificed himself to Russians just so you and Erica could make it out alive a year later.”

Dustin clamps his mouth shut from its gaping position—likely from him wanting to defend himself from the truth—and has the decency to look sheepish. Eddie turns his gaze to Lucas.

“Lucas, wasn’t it Steve who helped you train for basketball when you started to show an interest in it? He practiced with you every week, even after a long shift at work or when he felt like shit, just because you asked. Steve protected you against Billy because it was the right thing to do, and took a beating so you wouldn’t. Not many people can say they’d do that for someone else, especially not against anyone as vicious as Hargrove,” Eddie adds. Lucas drops his head in his hands, knee bouncing from his place on the couch.

“Max,” Robin begins. “Steve checked up on you every day after Billy died. He would bring you food or ice cream or a distraction, but he was always there. He would drive you to the arcade just to cheer you up, let you beat him at Dig Doug and Pinball just to see you smile. Steve was terrified to let you be the bait for Vecna, he… he kept telling me that he wished it was him instead. That he should be the sacrifice, not you.”

Robin wipes her eyes where they begin to tear up, and Eddie uses the pause to look at Mike. He still has his arms crossed, but the smartass look on his face has dwindled a little.

“Mike, I know you don’t like Steve because of him and Nancy, but you can’t hold onto that grudge forever. What happened between them had nothing to do with you, so there's no need to be mad at him for it,” Eddie states. Mike isn’t looking at him now, and something tells Eddie that the kid just needs a reality check. Hopefully, this will work. “Steve has been protecting you from the beginning, even when you were more than hostile to him. You’ve at least got to give him credit for that.”

Eddie looks around, sees the morose expressions on the kids’ faces.

“Steve has picked you all up countless times from Hellfire, waiting the entire session out in the parking lot while wasting away in his car. He was there rain or shine, snow or sleet, and he never missed a day. Not once,” he states.

Eddie first found Steve’s presence after Hellfire to be confusing, an anomaly. He didn’t know that the Steve the kids talked about was the same Steve he had a debilitating crush on in high school, not until he saw him waiting outside after the first session the kids attended, leaning against his maroon BMW like a Calvin Klein model. A ball of anxiety formed in his stomach at the sight, because one thing about Steve Harrington was that he’s unpredictable. Eddie just didn’t know if it was good or bad yet.

“You know, usually when people graduate they tend to stay away from high school, not willingly come back,” Eddie teased.

His words seemed to spark some life into Steve, as he jolted from his relaxed position against the hood to stand firmly beside his car. Steve ran a hand through his hair, and looked Eddie up and down.

“You’d probably know more about that if you managed to actually graduate, Munson,” Steve quipped, but it wasn’t mean. He had a smile on his face, and the air around him was friendly. Some of the anxiety churning in Eddie’s gut eased at the sight.

“Besides, who says I’m here willingly?” Steve asked rhetorically, as Dustin made his appearance by running up to him and immediately began talking his ears off about the new campaign. Steve turned his full attention on the boy, nodding along to certain comments even when Eddie knew for sure Steve didn’t know what the hell Henderson was talking about. The other kids soon crowded around the former jock, all talking so incredibly fast that Eddie was surprised the sound barrier survived their cracking voices.

Eddie watched as Steve glanced at him over the kids’ heads, giving him a loose smile and a shrug as if saying, ‘what can ya do?’

Soon, all the gremlins piled into Steve’s fancy car, still talking and gesturing wildly with their hands. Eddie had a passing thought that he should get Steve some earplugs or something to at least help drown out the noise. He immediately shook his head at the thought and jumped in his old, beat up van, driving home to an empty trailer and trying desperately to forget Steve Harrington existed.

“He always waits until the excitement starts to wear off before he takes you all home, letting you talk to each other for nearly an hour after each session despite the fact he never has a clue what you’re talking about. He always listens to you guys, no matter what,” Eddie supplies. “Did you guys know he has mixtapes for each of you?”

At the question, they all look at him with varying degrees of confusion and an all-too-late realization. Eddie huffs, while Robin mutters something under her breath that sounds a lot like, ‘of course they didn’t.’

“There’s one for each of you, filled with songs you like or mentioned liking at some point despite some of them not being his own taste. He listens to you, all of you, and it fucking hurts to know you don’t see that,” he exposes, and part of him regrets letting a bit of his anger out. Though, the kids need to know this is serious, that you can’t go through life assuming the worst in people, so if being angry is what it takes then so be it.

The kids have various emotions on their faces, ashamed and regretful being the two most prominent. Dustin clears his throat and looks up at Eddie, flicks his eyes to Robin, and returns them to his lap.

“I… I didn’t realize he did so much for us,” Dustin quietly admits, and a small part of Eddie cheers at finally teaching the kid a thing or two about humility.

“We’ve been taking advantage of him for… for so long,” Lucas breathes out. Max nods morosely beside him, and Will raises a shaky hand to cover his mouth.

Mike rolls his eyes, still petulantly crossing his arms. “Why should we even care about him? All he’s probably doing is wallowing in his fancy house or something.”

He says it with a layer of snark so thick, all the kids turn to him with varying levels of bitchy glares. Eddie, however, can tell his attitude is a mask, a way for him to hide how he’s truly feeling to prevent from being too vulnerable. From being too open. Eddie knows a lot about that.

It started when Eddie was four and he scraped his knee on the harsh gravel outside his parents’ run-down home in Kentucky. Tears rolled down his chubby cheeks as he ran inside to tell his mom, who he knew would take care of him. She told him to play outside, and not come in until she told him so, but his knee really hurt and he was scared they would have to cut it off if it bled too much. At least, that’s what Charlie—a kid who lived two streets over—said they would do.

When he stepped over the threshold, something felt off. The house was quiet, more so than normal, and it set him on edge. The TV was filled with static that grated on his little ears, and he covered them with his hands as he made his way over to turn it off. He picked up the antenna off the floor, wondering how it got knocked off the top of the TV in the first place. He looked around the living room, finding it in a similar state of disarray. He followed the trail of broken things before him; the overturned coffee table, a spilled ashtray, a stray pillow, and the chair his dad always sat on, pushed far out of its normal place. He questioned who could have messed up his house like this, leaving a big mess behind.

He found his answer when he ventured into the kitchen, just a few short steps from the living room, and found his mother laying on the floor. She was on her stomach, arms splayed out as if she tried to catch her fall and head turned to look at the doorway where little Eddie stood. Her eyes were closed but she was still breathing, the floral pattern of her dress moving with each breath. Shards of ceramic were spread out around her, littered with droplets of dark blood that spilled from a cut on her forehead. It dripped down the side of her face, along the curve of her cheek and onto the floor where it formed a small puddle. Her skin was pale in the artificial light of the house, the soft yellows doing nothing to soften the tones of her ashen face.

“Mama!” He ran up to her, falling to his knees beside her still body. He shook her, trying to get her eyes to open, but all it rewarded him was a pained grunt. His eyes welled with tears again, this time for his Mama, but nothing he was doing was working.

A shadow fell over the floor and he looked up to find his father blocking the light from the gold-colored light fixture above the kitchen table. His face was stern and dirty looking, his stubble well past the point of a five o’clock shadow and leaning more towards a sleazy strip club owner. There was a smear of blood on his face from his hand, which he noticed was bruised around the knuckles. However, the sight of what was in his other hand made him freeze, entire body going stock still.

In his father’s left hand were the remnants of the broken plate on the floor, the jagged edges cutting into his skin where he gripped it tightly. Matching blood littered the edge, and a splatter of the dark liquid traveled up his hairy arm and disappeared into his rolled up flannel sleeve.

He looked up at the figure before him, and the tears spilled over against his will.

“What happened to Mama?” He asked. “Why won’t she wake up?”

“‘Cause she’s sorry, son,” his dad answered, throwing down the ceramic and causing it to shatter against the floor. Eddie flinched, and his father caught the motion. He hadn’t been able to quell it, hadn’t learned how to hide his fear yet. The man scowled at him, lip curling as he grabbed Eddie’s arm and hauled him off the floor in one solid motion.

“She’s weak, Edward,” he began. This close, Eddie could see the redness of his eyes, and the deep purple bags that hang underneath. “Just like all women. Do you wanna be weak, boy?”

Eddie shook his head, and his father gripped his arm tighter. “Answer me!”

“N-No sir,” Eddie muttered, voice small and weak in the face of his father.

“Then stop that fucking crying, don’t be a sissy. I ain’t raising a fucking faggot, Edward.”

With that, his dad dropped his arm and stumbled into his bedroom down the hall. As soon as his figure was gone, Eddie turned back to his mom, crouching next to her. Sometime when his dad was talking, her eyes had opened and her breathing grew stronger. Eddie felt like it was nothing short of a small miracle.

“Mama, are you okay?”

“‘M okay, baby,” she replied, pushing herself off the floor with a grunt. She sat up with Eddie’s help, and frowned when she saw the reddened mark on his arm. “I shouldn’t have let him do that to you.”

“You were hurt, Mama. ‘S not your fault,” Eddie reasoned, pulling his arm out of her grasp to wipe at some of the blood on her face. “You’re bleeding, too.”

“Oh,” she began, reaching up to touch the wound as if she hadn’t realized it was there. “It’s nothing, Eddie, just a little scratch. Mama will be okay, promise.”

She didn’t look okay, this close, with her sunken-in face and slowly forming black eye Eddie hadn’t been able to see before. But his Mama was always right. Always.

“Pinky promise?” Eddie asked, holding out his little pinky. His Mama smiled, and raised a shaky hand to lace her pinky with his.

“Pinky promise.”

A year later, he was riding in the car with his Mama, backpack at his feet. She was dressed nicer than he ever remembered her being; a baby blue, short-sleeved dress hugged her slender frame, paired with white heels, white bug-eyed sunglasses, and a sheer white scarf she had tied around her hair. Her suitcase was in the trunk, but his father was nowhere to be found.

“Mama?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Where’s Dad?” He asked. His Mama cleared her throat before she answered, voice shaky.

“He’s not coming with us, Eddie,” she said. “We’re going somewhere far away from him. Somewhere new.”

“Where?”

“Have a look for yourself, honey,” she said, pointing to the window. Eddie crawled up on his knees to look out, seeing a sign welcoming them to a place called Hawkins. He sat back down in his seat, looking back at his mother.

“What’s here?” He asked. His mother smiled.

“Your Uncle Wayne. He’s my brother,” she supplied. “We’re just going to pay him a little visit, okay?”

A few short minutes later, they were parked in front of a small trailer, a gruff looking man waiting for them on the newly-built porch. They got out of the car and Eddie grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders before his Mama led him up the steps.

“Eddie, this is Uncle Wayne,” his Mama informed. He looked up at her and she nudged his arm, urging him to say something.

“H-Hello, sir,” Eddie greeted, sticking out his small hand for the man to shake. Wayne huffed a laugh and crouched down, causing Eddie to take a step back on instinct, before he took his hand and shook it.

“Nice to meet ya, Eddie,” Wayne began. He let go of his hand but stayed crouched. “You can call me Wayne, or Uncle Wayne, or Uncle, or—hell, Todd for all I care. Just none of that ��sir’ business, you got me?”

Eddie smiled and nodded. “Sorry, si—uh, Uncle Wayne.”

“That’s better, boy,” Wayne said, smiling as he clapped his shoulder softly. Wayne had kind eyes, blue and soft around the edges. They weren’t mean like his fathers. Instead, they looked exactly like his Mama’s—save for a few extra wrinkles around the edges. “Why don’t you go on inside while your Mama and I talk?”

Eddie did as he was told, walking in the trailer and taking in his surroundings. It was small, smaller than his house, but cozy. A couple mugs were hung up on the wall, paired with three trucker hats and a framed picture he was too far away to see. An old, floral patterned couch sat on the long wall of the living room, a coffee table in front littered with an opened can of Coke and a half-eaten bag of chips. The windows were open to let light in, making the space feel much bigger than it actually was.

He stepped into the kitchen, just a pace away from the living room, and took in the red-toned wooden cabinets and cream countertops stained with coffee rings yet to be wiped away. There was a hallway to his left where he found a single bedroom and a bathroom. The bathroom was small, just big enough for a stand-up shower, toilet, and sink. A single toothbrush sat in the cup on the side of the sink along with a bar of soap and an almost empty tube of toothpaste. On the other side of the sink though, Eddie noticed an unopened toothbrush. It was blue and had sparkles throughout its plastic. At the bottom, there was a small dog sticker and it made him smile a little.

His attention soon wandered to the bedroom, where he found a little twin-sized bed and tons of boxes. The bed was bare, save for a folded up quilt near the bottom with a pillow on top. The boxes were filled with various things; clothes, books, a cassette player, shoes, and tons of other small trinkets. He sat on the ground, pulling a box closer to look through it. There were thin books near the top labeled ‘Hawkins High’, and he flipped through it to find pictures upon pictures of people. He read the names, sounding them out to see if he could get them right. Some of them were weird, though, and he quickly put the book down to look at something else.

There was a box of cassette tapes to his left and Eddie scooted over to look through it. There were tons of names he didn’t recognize as he rifled through the plastic cases, though one stood out to him.

He picked up the Fleetwood Mac tape along with the cassette player from a box near the closet, plugging it into the wall and putting the tape in. He eyed the front door, seeing it still firmly closed. Just then, the tape clicked, causing him to jump, and he pressed play.

The familiar voice filled his ears, and he smiled. He and his Mama used to listen to Fleetwood Mac back home in the kitchen while they made supper, singing along with the tape or the radio to fill the house with music. The sound of it brought a smile to his face, and he closed his eyes as he listened to the words.

Engrossed in the music, he barely registered that the front door had both opened and closed until a soft hand was laid on his shoulder.

“Eddie, baby, I have to go,” his Mama said, and he jumped to his feet. He kinda felt bad about going through Uncle Wayne’s things without him being there, but if they were leaving then he didn’t think he would get too mad.

“Where are we going now, Mama?” Eddie wondered. His mother’s face turned pinched, and she lifted her glasses to look at him directly. She wore make-up, much more than she usually did, and as she crouched down Eddie could see it was barely disguising a bruise along the top of her right cheekbone.

“Eddie, only I’m leaving,” his Mama corrected. “You’re staying here with Wayne.”

At that, his whole world fell apart.

His mother, his Mama, was leaving him. It didn’t seem fair that he couldn’t go with her, that he couldn’t stay with his Mama like he wanted to. Wayne seemed nice from their brief interaction, but he didn’t know him. Not like he knew his Mama.

His stomach sank to his feet, and it felt as if someone poured ice-cold water over him. His eyes grew wide as tears welled, spilling over his cheeks.

“Why, Mama?” Eddie sobbed, wiping at his face because he wasn’t supposed to cry. “Why can’t I go with you?”

“You just can’t, Eddie, I’m sorry,” she stated. It felt hollow, her explanation. Like she was hiding something.

“But why?”

“Because you just can’t, Eddie!” She snapped, and Eddie’s breath caught. She sounded mad, but Eddie had never heard her get mad, not at him at least. He didn’t know what he did, only that she wouldn’t let him go with her.

She took a breath and cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“But- But you can’t leave me!” Eddie wailed. “Mama, please!”

She opened her arms and he fell into them, clinging hard enough to deem separating impossible. She hugged him back just as tight, and Eddie saw evidence of tear tracks streaking through her caked-on foundation.

“I know, baby, I don’t want to leave you either,” his Mama soothed. “But Wayne is going to take care of you, okay?”

Eddie looked over her shoulder to see Wayne leaning against one of the kitchen countertops, smiling sadly at him. Eddie screwed his eyes shut and buried his face in his mothers neck.

“You’re gonna come back, right?” Eddie mumbled before he moved to look at her. “Pinky promise you’re gonna come back for me.”

His Mama cried and wiped at her cheeks, smearing the make-up and making the bruises appear fresh on her pale skin. She held out a pinky, and Eddie laced his with hers.

“I promise, Eddie,” she said, leaning forward to kiss his forehead before getting to her feet. Her and Wayne shared a hug on her way out, and Eddie caught Wayne wiping his eyes too. He and his uncle stood on the porch as his mom drove away, waving until her taillights disappeared around the curve of the road.

That was the last time he saw his mother.

Unfortunately, it was not the last he saw his father.

He stayed with Wayne for two months until his father found him. They had grown accustomed to each other in that time, Eddie having warmed up to another parental figure and Wayne having gotten the basics down for caring for another being. Wayne insisted he start school in the fall, and he was two weeks in when all hell broke loose.

His father rolled up to the trailer in a fancy-looking sports car Eddie knew his dad didn’t have the money for. He stumbled out on the gravel, banging on the door until Wayne pulled it open.

“The hell are you doin’ here?” Wayne asked, standing firm in the doorway.

“I’m here to get my son,” his father demanded. He pushed past him and stormed the place until he found Eddie in the only bedroom—Wayne having set up a cot in the living room.

Eddie hadn’t expected to see his father again, mostly because he didn’t think the man really cared for him. That was prominent when he snatched Eddie off the bed and hauled him out of his room.

“Dad?” Eddie questioned. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you away from here,” his father responded, glaring at Wayne who stood blocking the doorway.

“You’re not takin’ him anywhere, Al,” Wayne countered. He crossed his arms, looking far more intimidating than Eddie ever imagined. “He’s happy here.”

“He’ll be even more happy with me,” his dad insisted. “With his real family.”

“Son of a bitch, Al, I am his real family!” Wayne yelled. “You ain’t got the means for takin’ care of that boy, and you know it.”

His father stood toe to toe with his uncle, glaring at him. He whispered something Eddie was too far away to hear, but it made Wayne deflate completely.

Eddie didn’t want to leave. He found that these past two months with Wayne were filled with more happy memories than he ever remembered having back home. Wayne was nice, a little rough around the edges but he was a big softy inside. He cared about people, that much was evident in the way he was constantly helping people out around the park. He was a good person, so leaving him felt like his Mama all over again.

“Come on, son,” his father demanded, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the trailer. Eddie looked back at Wayne, eyes stinging. He waved, and Wayne waved back. He watched the trailer from the backseat until he couldn’t tell which one was theirs, only facing the front when his dad snapped at him.

They rode for hours, far past the Indiana state line, until they ended up in a strange city filled with tall buildings and blinding lights that made Eddie’s eyes sting. They went through the city, stopping on the outskirts in a run-down neighborhood even more decrepit than his old house in Kentucky.

He spent two years with his dad in a city he came to know at St. Louis, but it never felt like home. Not like the trailer with Wayne, or anywhere his mother was. He learned how to hotwire cars and how to drive like a bat out of hell whenever his dad told him to. He learned that he was too much to take care of; his father constantly complained about feeding him, keeping him clothed, taking care of him like a father should. He learned that showing emotions would only get you hurt, that he had to hide them to survive. He learned what all the different white powders did to someone, how they would affect your mind and your body. How they made his father violent, or remorseful, or depressed, but never happy.

His father was on a bad trip when a rush of red and blue lights invaded their windows, sirens blaring and making Eddie’s ears ring. Their front door was kicked open, the old wood splintering easily under the force of a steel-toed boot. Police flooded the house, and Eddie was grabbed and dragged out before he had time to comprehend everything that was happening.

He was sitting in the back of a cop car with the door open, body completely still as police went in and out of their house. He couldn’t let them know he was scared out of his mind, that he was afraid of what they would do to him. He knew the best way to get through it was to show nothing at all. To be indifferent. Emotionless. It was the only thing his father taught him that he deemed useful.

His father was dragged out of the house by two policemen, kicking and screaming at them but Eddie couldn’t hear what he was saying, ears having gone deaf to anything other than the ringing in his head. Next thing he knew, his father had broken free and punched one of the officers, causing several to tackle him to the ground and handcuff him before practically throwing him into a car and hauling him away. All Eddie could do was watch, knowing there was nothing he could do to help him.

“You got somewhere to go, kid?” One of the cops that took him out of the house asked, leaning against the open door and blocking the flashing lights. Eddie nodded, and the cop took him back to the station where he called Wayne.

“Eddie, son, where are you? Are you okay? If that bastard hurt you, I swear to god—“

“Wayne,” Eddie began, his voice rough from not using it. “Can you come get me?”

A pause. “Sure, kid, where are you?”

“St. Louis,” Eddie supplied. There was cursing on the other end, muffled so Eddie couldn’t tell what was said but he knew Wayne well enough. Even after only two months, the man had become more like a father to him than his own dad ever was.

“I’m coming right now to get ya, just hold on tight, okay? I’ll be there ‘fore the morning.”

True to his word, Wayne showed up right before dawn in his beat up truck. He stormed the station like a madman, looking for him. He was rumpled, like he threw on just enough clothes to be decent before booking it all the way here. If he knew Wayne, that’s probably exactly what he did.

“Eddie? Eds, where are ya?”

“Sir,” the lady at the front desk interrupted. “I’m going to have to ask you to lower your voice—“

“Wayne!” Eddie perked up from the desk chair he was sitting at in the station, running around desks before jumping straight in his uncle's arms. Wayne held onto him just as tight, and he could’ve sworn he heard a sniffle or two come from the man.

“I was so worried, Eds,” Wayne whispered. “I tried lookin’ for ya, I swear I did, just—If I’d known he’d taken ya to another state I wouldn’t’ve stopped ‘til I searched the whole damn country.”

“I know, Wayne,” Eddie muttered. “I missed you too.”

As much as Eddie tried, he couldn’t put up that mask of indifference around his uncle. He could try, sure, but it never worked longer than five seconds before he saw right through it and it crumbled at Eddie’s feet.

“Let’s get you home, son,” Wayne insisted and before he knew it, Eddie was asleep in the passenger seat of the truck as they took the highway home.

Since then, Eddie and Wayne had become inseparable. There were no secrets between them, no masks. They weren’t needed, not when Wayne was more than good to him. They weren’t wanted, either, since Wayne made sure to remind him that showing emotions wasn’t a bad thing. That it was good, healthy.

It wasn’t until much later in middle school when he learned that having a mask was necessary sometimes. Especially when people started calling him a freak and a weirdo because he wasn’t identical to everyone else. Because he lived in a trailer with someone that wasn’t his biological parent and wore hand-me-down clothes that were baggy on him since his growth spurt hadn’t hit yet. He donned the air of indifference he had left behind long ago, letting the names and rumors bounce off his skin like water off an umbrella.

That need intensified when high school hit and the rumor mill grew exponentially. Suddenly, he was bombarded with accusations of Satanism, prison time, drug dealing—though that one was true—pet raccoons, and, at one point, an army of undead babies he sucked the life out of that he could command at will. Really, the shit people came up with was astounding, and Eddie learned to shove it all away. None of it was true—save for a couple things he would never, in a million years, tell another soul at Hawkins High—so he made sure to act like it was true. Let people believe what they want to believe. In the meantime, Eddie used it to his advantage to prevent anyone from getting too close. From looking past the barrier he put up between himself and everyone else.

So yeah, Eddie knows a little bit about where Mike’s coming from.

“Actually…” Robin starts. “Steve’s not doing so great—“

“What?!” Dustin squawks out, cutting Robin off and all but jumping up from his seated position. “Why the hell did you not start this whole damn thing with that?!”

“We were getting there, Henderson!” Eddie clarifies. “Now sit your ass down.”

Dustin—for once—does as he’s told. Eddie looks to Robin and gives her a nod, letting her have the floor.

“Steve’s got it in his head that he’s the only one allowed to sacrifice himself for us, that he’s only needed or wanted when he can put himself in the line of fire. So, like the caring dumbass he is, he’s been wandering around Hawkins at night because he’s worried that something will happen.”

“But I closed all of the gates,” El starts, head cocked and eyebrows scrunched like a confused puppy. “We are in no more danger.”

“I think part of him knows that, Supergirl,” Eddie explains. “But he needs to know for certain, to make sure you guys are absolutely safe.”

She nods, and sadness finds its way to her eyes. Eddie feels a pang of sympathy for her, knowing that learning how to live all over again is never easy.

“He’s not been sleeping much,” Robin continues. “It’s like he’s barely there anymore. Like he’s just… a shell.

“He thinks you all hate him. He thinks he deserves this for all the shit he did in the past, even though we all know he’s more than made up for it by becoming a decent fucking human being,” she spits out. There’s anger in her eyes now as she glares at a stain on the carpet, unwilling to look at the kids but needing to get her point across. “He broke down in my arms because this is the fifth fucking time the people he’s loved has left him and I think… I think this time broke him.”

She raises her head and looks over the kids, tears balanced on her lower eyelashes and threatening to spill over.

“You’re his family, the family he got to choose, and you still… you left. Just like everyone else has.”

The room fills with silence as the words sink in.

“How… How do we fix it?” Will asks, his quiet voice now loud. Eddie sighs and rakes a hand through his hair—a motion that keeps reminding him of Steve—before shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I know part of it is my fault, I admit that. I shouldn’t have just stopped talking to him all of the sudden, I should’ve… well, there’s a lot of things I should have done but I didn’t, so I plan on fixing that,” Eddie admits. He looks around the room, makes as much eye contact as he can to drive his point home. “You should too. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t going to cut it, not this time. Not for this.”

The kids all nod, and Eddie gestures to the door to dismiss them. They all look like kicked puppies with slouching posture and ducked heads, walking out of the trailer with their tails between their legs. Dustin and Mike are the first to hop on their bikes, ready to either apologize and get it over with or get as far away from his and Robin’s disappointed glares as possible. Before they can push off, Eddie calls out to them.

“Hey! Give it a couple days,” Eddie orders. “Steve… He’s going to need some time. Go to him when he’s ready, okay?”

He’s met with various nods and ‘will do’s as some of them take off, their knobbly knees hitting the handlebars of their too-small bikes. Then, he notices a particular brunette has yet to leave, her bike with little white training wheels still standing in the grass. Her big brown eyes lock with his and, even though there's a porch between them, he can feel the seriousness in her gaze.

“I miss him. He was always very nice to me,” El confesses. “He always gave me piggyback rides.”

Her face falls a little. “I did not know we were being mean to him.”

Eddie finds himself softening a little at her words.

“I know, Supergirl,” he winks at her. “That’s why you’re my favorite.” 

She giggles in response and hops on her bike, meeting up with Max who stopped to wait for her a few yards away. 

Eddie closes the door, falling against it with a thud. He groans, the sound bouncing off the thin door and out in the empty trailer. He turns to go to his room, preferably to wallow, before nearly jumping clean out of his skin. 

Well, he thought the trailer was empty, except there now stands one Robin Buckley who has resumed her unimpressed, hands-on-her-hips, "you're a fucking dumbass" position from earlier. 

"Jesus H. Christ!" He exclaims. A hand comes up to grab at his heart which is actively trying to beat out of his chest as his lungs grapple for air. "Birdie, I forgot you were there."

"Yeah," she deadpans. "Clearly." 

Eddie straightens up, and quirks an eyebrow at her rather over dramatically. Robin rolls her eyes.

"Well?"

"It's a deep subject," Eddie sarcastically responds. Robin, unfortunately, doesn't find that funny. "'Well' what?"

"Go apologize!" She yells. 

“Okay, okay, geez!”

Eddie pats himself down, looking for the keys to his van before Robin clears her throat. He looks over at her to see an unamused quirk of her eyebrow before she points to the hook by the door where his keys hang. 

“Thanks, Buck!” he exclaims, pressing his hands together in prayer to the saint she is. Grabbing them, he throws the door open and clears the steps in one jump, stumbling a bit on the landing but really, he’s quite proud of this rare athletic appearance. 

Jumping in his van, he slams a random tape in the deck, grinning a little at the song that plays first. Despite his obvious avoidance of the second track, the Master of Puppets album still holds a very special place in his heart. So it's really not a surprise that the song that just so happens to play first reminds him of the very man he’s going to see, sacrificial tendencies and all. 

He slams on the gas, tires squealing as he peels out of Forest Hills trailer park faster than he ever has before. 

He’s not running away this time; not running from a small cheerleader’s body trapped on his ceiling, not running from angry town hicks with their fiery pitchforks, and not running from a creepy interdimensional demon who enjoys sucking the life out of depressed teenagers. 

No, this time, he’s running to something. Running to Steve. 

He just hopes Steve will let him.

———

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[fuctacles]

| extra1 | extra2 | spicy time skip

!! updated ver !!

Eddie was lowkey disgusted by how his uncle would talk about one of his neighbors. No, he doesn't think it's bad for old people to fall in love or have crushes. But it's weird to know these things about his own uncle. 

And it's also sad to watch, because it's been months of Stephanie this, Stephanie that, and nothing came of it, so he felt safe to assume the infatuation was one-sided. So when he tells his uncle he can't go feed her cats that week, he figures it's for the best. And not only because of Wayne's twisted ankle. To his surprise though, he doesn't seem fazed; he just waves his hand and says:

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No climbing the stairs with this thing." He pokes the cast with his crutch. "I've already volunteered you anyway."

Eddie raises his eyebrows because he surely misheard that.

"You did what now?"

"Told Stephanie I'll send you to feed her cats," Wayne says, confirming his fears.

"Why?! She has so many other neighbors!" Eddie points out, gesturing vigorously around the room, implying but meaning the flats surrounding them. 

Wayne clicks his tongue at him.

"Would you let in just any of your neighbors into your home? She already trusts me, and I'm vouching for you."

Eddie gapes at him, hating that he's making a valid point. Damned be his old man and his reasonable thinking. He crosses his arms because while it makes sense, it doesn't mean Eddie can't be angry about it. 

"When?"

"She's visiting her friend this weekend so she asked for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. And stay with them for a while if possible, so they don't go crazy. Ah, and the plant in the kitchen needs watering."

"Great," Eddie grits through his teeth. He's so delighted at the prospect of spending time with some old lady's cats. The whole place probably stinks of cat piss and he'll definitely kill the plant as soon as he touches it. (It was his only superpower, which is not what he aimed for when his five-year-old had been praying, thanks for nothing, Jesus.) He just hopes he won't have to meet her. Hearing some old hag complain about his clothes, hair, and general adolescence was the last thing he wanted on his weekend off. But, alas...

"She asked you to come over tomorrow so she can show you where everything is."

Eddie groans. 

It's a Friday afternoon, he's at his uncle's taking a break from college and work. He should be sharing a beer with the old man, complaining about the coursework, the professors, and other students, not picking him up from the hospital, and running errands while his foot is in a cast. And certainly not meeting up with old stinky spinsters. 

To add insult to injury, Miss Stephanie, (which, by the way, is such a typical old hag name) lives two floors higher and the elevator is perpetually broken. Not too high, but high enough for Eddie's anemic lungs to start collapsing. 

He stops around the corner to steady his breath, because regardless of his overall attitude, he didn't want to worsen the first impression. He already refused to 'dress like a decent man' and didn't want to wheeze into the lady's face on top of it. 

Once his lungs are functioning properly again, he walks into the hallway, looking for number 54 as Wayne instructed. He knocks on the door, hoping he didn't mess it up and is at the right place. What if it was 45?

It must have been because he was told Stephanie Harrington lives alone. 

"Uh, sorry, I must have—"

"Are you Eddie?" The woman who opened the door takes him in. At her feet, a tabby cat peers curiously at the new human.

"Uh, yeah? I'm looking for Miss Stephanie?" he offers awkwardly. Maybe that's the friend? Or a sister?

But the woman extends her hand and smiles brightly.

"That would be me, but please call me Steph. I wish I could drill that into Wayne's thick skull." She rolls her eyes fondly.

Her big, gorgeous eyes, framed by thick lashes. She's not an old hag, she could be in her forties at best. She's tall and curvy and her hair looks straight out of a shampoo commercial. She's gorgeous. Eddie shakes her hand in a daze.

"Hi," he croaks as he's ushered inside. 

"Come in, come in! I've heard so much about you, it's great to finally see you in person. I must say," she turns around and gives him a quick once-over. "Wayne's stories didn't do you justice."

Did she just check him out?

Eddie clears his throat, suddenly dry like his elbows during winter.

"Uh, same to you."

"Yeah?" She puts her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. "What does he say about me?"

"Good things only," Eddie assures her. 

"So you're saying I'm a bitch." She squints at him.

"No!" His eyes widen. "What?!" 

"Well, if he's saying only good things about me, and you say they don't describe me right..." 

Eddie gets the point she's making and quickly shakes his head.

"No, he just made you sound like a crazy old cat lady, and you're..." He waves his hand uselessly. "Not that."

She sighs softly, shoulders sagging a little. It would be easy to miss but Eddie's senses are heightened after his fuck up.

"I kinda am, though," she says with a shrug. 

Eddie feels the need to reassure her somehow.

"Well, you're not eighty and your place doesn't smell like cat litter, I think you're fine."

She barks a laugh, it's low and surprised and Eddie's cheeks are red because he's just digging further into the hole he's in, isn't he?

"Good to know the bar is so low."

Eddie groans, tired of doing damage control that's not controlling anything.

"I'm gonna shut up now."

"Please don't." Steph smiles wide and teasingly. "You're a funny one. Just like your uncle told me."

Eddie scoffs. He's going to have a word or two with the old man once he's back.

"Great, this is exactly the impression I was hoping to make."

At his words, the woman eyes him up and down again, and he can feel his cheeks heating up.

"Yeah? Not as the local punk satanist?" she teases, making Eddie bristle.

"Metalhead," he corrects instinctively and immediately winces.

"Ah, my bad. I'm not good at the subcultures thing." She smiles apologetically but it doesn't read well with how clearly amused she is. "Anyway, here's the plant I want you to water tomorrow evening. Just like, half a glass."

Right. Plants. Cats. He came here on a mission.

"Come on, I'll show you my cats."

[whorekneecentral]

december 6th - missed flights // j.b22

Jenson Button x Fem!Reader 

Warnings: age gap (reader is over 20!), sexual tension from the start, dad’s best friend, slight power imbalance, oral (f! and m!receiving), penetrative sex, kitchen sex!, slight manhandling, mutual orgasm, slight cum play. 

Word Count: 2,537

Author’s Note: timelines don’t full add up but don’t focus on that lmao 

Holiday Advent Calendar

--- 

snow lined the streets of the city, cold and stuck; you had nowhere else to go. you turned to the one person you were sure was home. 

“Are you sure there’s nothing available? I really need to get home.” You tell the woman at the counter who looked like she was on her very last nerve. 

“Ma’am, I understand that you need to get home but so does everybody else in this line. Flights are cancelled due to the weather and I'm not sure when another flight will be available. You're welcome to sign up online and wait for updates.” She tells you, trying her best to keep her calm. 

“Do you have any idea when it’s expected to clear?” 

“According to the news, Sunday.” 

Your eyes widen, trying not to scream in the middle of the airport. “Sunday?! That’s after Christmas.” 

“I’m sorry, there's nothing I can do.” The lady tells you, peeking behind you. “Next!” She shouts, telling you it's time to move on. 

Sighing, you pull your luggage behind you and find a vacant corner to sit in until you figure something out. It was currently Thursday night, you were supposed to go home on Wednesday but got stuck in the city because of work and had to push your flight. Now you couldn't go home due to the snowstorm. 

So you're going to miss Christmas indefinitely.

You didn’t even live there, you were just visiting for work. Now you were stranded and surely with all the cancellations, the hotels are packed. There’s no way you’re spending the next 3 days in that disgustingly full airport. 

There’s one idea in your head but it’s insane. 

You haven’t seen him in years, would he even remember you? Would he let you in? Are you going to end up stranded in the streets all alone in a snow storm? 

Can't know if you don’t try. 

Buttoning your coat back up, you rush outside to hail the first available taxi you find. The taxi takes you to 3 streets before where you need to go; the roads are jammed with traffic and snow plows trying to clear the way. It’s a madhouse once you get out of the taxi; people trying to get home, the roads still busy as ever even with all the snow. 

Making all but 50 feet before the wheel on your suitcase gives out. You bend down to try and fix it but your coat gets caught on the fence behind you and when you tug to get it loose, you’re 99% sure it just ripped. 

Okay, you’re a big girl, buck up. You can make it. 

Hopefully he still lives there. 

Picking up the suitcase, you trudged through the snow until you reached the brownstone you’re looking for. Carefully making your way up the steps, you stamp off your snowy boots and shake the snow out of your hair before knocking. 

Lights are on, someone is home. 

The door opens and the person you’re looking for appears in front of you. Jenson looks at you for a moment before it clicks who was on his doorstep. 

“Y/n? What’re you doing here?” He asks. 

To be fair, it was the right question to ask considering you haven’t seen the man in nearly ten years. You were 14 the last time you saw him, now you were 23. Jenson and your father were good friends, he worked for Brawn while Jenson raced for them.  

They saw each other at least once a year but you’re always busy or you don’t care to go but now you were standing on his front step really hoping he’ll let you in. 

“Well,” you chuckle. “That’s actually a funny story. I was in the city for work, got delayed by work because I was supposed to leave yesterday and I had to push my flight but big shocker, I’m not on it cause well...” you gesture to the snow. “Anywho, the wheel on my suitcase is broken, I’m pretty sure there’s a hole in my coat from when I bent down to fix the wheel, I’m freezing, my phone is almost dead and I have nowhere else to go, so here I am.” 

He steps to the side, leaving the doorway open. “Come in,” he says, letting you step in and he helps you lug the suitcase in. “Jesus, what do you have in here?” 

“Not Jesus, that’s for sure.” You answer on first instinct and Jenson laughs as he shuts the door. “Still have your father’s humour I see.” 

“Some things don’t change.” You tell him, shrugging off your coat. “I hope I'm not imposing, I'll look for a hotel tomorrow. It's so hectic out there right now.” 

Jenson takes the coat and hangs it up by the door. “No need to fuss about that, you can stay as long as you like.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your plans.” You say, nodding towards the half decorated tree. He shakes his head, ushering you towards the living room. “No plans, I’ve been slacking on the Christmas spirit this year.” 

“Well since I’m here, I can help you if you’d like. I don’t know if you know, but I happen to be an expert in Christmas cheer.” 

Jenson laughs, “I do remember. The moment Thanksgiving was over, you were pulling out the boxes.” 

“Still the same,” you tell him, looking through the ornaments he had. “Now are you more of a multicolour guy or do you have a theme?” 

Jenson sits on the coffee table, shrugging. “I was going to put all of those on and hope for the best.” He tells you plainly and you laugh, thinking he’s joking but the lack of smile tells you he was serious. 

“Oh- you actually.. okay.” You press your lips together to hold back a smile. “I’m thinking,” you reach into the box to pull out a blue and a gold. “These?” 

“Perfect,” he says, eyes on you; he wasn’t talking about the ornaments. Your baby blue sweater fit you perfectly, the black jeans snug to every curve and your hair was pulled back, the few strands out of place showed your hassle to get there. 

Jenson wondered if he was extra good this year for you to show up at his door steps all these years later. 

He sat there for a few moments, watching as you carefully hung the ornaments on the tree. Clearly there was a method to the chaos. “Hungry ?” He asks, reaching for his phone. 

“I could eat,” your back turned to him, fluffing the branches. “What do you have?” 

“I’ll order from the Chinese takeout down the road.” 

“Are they going to be open? Better yet, how are they gonna get here?” 

“It's a 2 minute walk, sweetheart.” He says, the word causing a fluttering in your stomach. “I’ll see if they’re delivering.” Jenson steps out of the living room to make the call and you glance over your shoulder to look at him. 

His grey shirt clung to his shoulders and it seemed like the first time you were noticing how handsome he is. I mean, it was no secret that Jenson was attractive, even when you were a teenager, you knew he was good looking just based on the way women were obsessed with him. 

You can hear bits and pieces of the conversation, he orders what sounds like the entire place before he peeks back into the living room. “I’m gonna take a shower, unless you need my help with the tree?” 

You had already rearranged all of the ornaments he put up. “Um, no I'm good. Almost done anyways.” You smiled and watched as he headed upstairs. 

It had been 20 minutes since Jenson had gone upstairs and the doorbell rang; the delivery. 

You thanked the guy, paid for the food and tipped him before you sent him on his way. You were setting the bags on the coffee table when he came back down. “The food came,” he says, stating the obvious. 

Turning, you find Jenson shirtless behind you, the shirt tossed over his shoulder. “Did you find my wallet ?” He asks and your brows pull together. 

“What?” 

“How’d you pay?” 

“I paid.” 

“My wallet was by the door, you could have grabbed the cash out of it.” 

“It’s fine,” you tell him, sitting on the couch. “You’re letting me stay here, it's the least I could do.” 

You and Jenson sit in comfortable silence, splitting the million and one things he ordered. You caught him up on what your parents had been up to and he told you about his latest ventures post racing. You won't lie, you knew he was reporting for Sky Sports; more often than not you turned it on just to see a familiar face when you traveled for work, though you’d never admit that to him. 

Afterwards you two clear up the trash and the leftovers, taking them into the kitchen. You decide to wash the few dishes left over from dinner and Jenson offers to make tea. 

The man reached over your head to grab a mug out of the cupboard, his chest pressed against your back. You can feel something pushed up against your ass, he was wearing sweatpants so it couldn't have been a belt. 

“Jenson,” you turn to face the man and he looks down at you. 

Any thought of getting a mug or tea was long gone. 

The man pins you against the counter, his lips find yours as his hand cups your jaw. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, Jenson’s hands wandering across your body, tugging on the sweater you had on. 

Pulling and pushing, little by little the clothes end up on the floor. 

He lifts you onto the counter, your legs on either side of him as he steps between them. Rubbing up your thigh with one hand, the other pulls you by your chin to look at him. Your eyes find his, watching as he sinks to his knees in front of you. 

Your hands are flat on the counter as you feel his tongue against you. Jenson’s arms hook around your thighs, pulling you closer to him. Your hips jut forward when you feel his tongue against your clit, your hand gripping on his blonde hair. 

Jenson glances up at you and you’re like an angel on earth to him right now; head tossed back, skin glistening under the white light of the kitchen, his head buried between your legs. 

The hand on your thigh shifts to between your legs, two fingers slowly pushing into you. You feel him curl his fingers slowly. “Jense- fuck, there.” You pull on his hair, getting him to do what he did again. 

Despite this being the first time you two hooked up, Jenson couldn't bring himself to say no to you. You had him wrapped around your finger. 

Jenson mimicked his actions again until he can feel your legs shake, your grip on his hair tighter than before, his name strung along with the explicits leaving your mouth. 

He gives you a minute to catch your breath as he kisses his way back up to your face. 

Your cheeks go red when you see his face glistening, nose to chin. Jenson’s tongue slides across his lips, a satisfied smile on his face. He smiles, kissing you and you're even more read than you were before. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” you whisper to him, eyes fixed on his hand that was wandering across your chest at the moment. 

Jenson’s lips follow his fingers, kissing and leaving little marks as he goes along his way. His tongue brushes over your nipple, your back arches involuntarily; your body betrays you. 

“We can stop,” he says, a hand slipping between your legs.

“No, I don’t-” you stop talking and pull him closer, kissing him once more; your way of telling him yes. 

Jenson’s hand rubbing along your thigh before pulling you toward the edge of the counter a little more before he pushes into you. One ankle is over his shoulder and the other hooked around his hip. 

He fucks you the way he knows you’d like it; rough.

And once again, you were a sight to see; back arched off the counter, eyes closed and your head tilted back, his name tumbling from your lips for what felt like the millionth time.

Jenson has never seen a prettiest sight.

He feels you clench around him, the hand on his shoulder digs in, your nails leaving behind their own set of marks. His hand reaches between the two of you, his fingers finding your clit once again. “Oh my god,” your hips bucked, Jenson’s fingers matching the pace of his hips, your body rocking back and forth to get the most out of him.  

“C’mon sweetheart, want you to cum for me.” Jenson says, knowing it won't be long more. 

He watches as your eyes flutter shut and he reaches you with his other hand, holding your jaw and pulling you up a little, your elbows holding up the weight of your body. 

“Look at me when you cum.”

You’re forcing yourself to keep your eyes open, focusing on Jenson. A few more  sloppy thrusts and between that and his fingers, you’re over the edge. 

He kisses you, muffling the noise you were making. 

Without warning, Jenson pulls out of you and pulls you off the counter. You were confused as to what was happening, still in a post orgasm daze. 

The man has you on your knees, looking up at him. 

The dots connect the moment his cock’s pressed to your tongue and he watches as you circle your tongue around the tip. 

“Fuck,” he leans back against the counter,  pushing your head down to take all of him in your mouth. His eyes are fixed on you, hand tangled in your hair as you take all of him in your mouth. 

The sight alone was enough to get him to cum and it did. 

You look up at him through your lashes as swallow. 

Jenson’s hand finds your chin, leaning down to kiss you. “Good girl,” he mumbles against your lips. 

He helps you up, giving you his shirt to wear as he puts his pants back on. You yawn as you lean on the counter, redressed this time. “Tired?” He asks, and you hum, nodding. 

“Do you still want some tea or wanna go to bed?” 

“Bed,” you tell him, your hand reaching out for his. Jenson’s fingers interlock with yours before you let him lead the way upstairs to his bedroom. 

“This doesn’t look like a guest room,” you say, sitting on the bed. Jenson smiles when he joins you on the bed, “guest room? Who said anything about that.” He says, leaning over to kiss you. 

You two get comfortable, settling in beside each other and under the sheets. “Have you got plans for the holidays ?” You ask him and he shrugs. 

“I didn’t but since you’re stuck here, I'm sure we can come up with something.” He says, leaning down to kiss you once more. 

----

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** tagged everyone exactly how they put it on the taglist! let me know if something needs to be changed with your user :) 

[j2spntranscripts]

☆ 2008 LAcon Jensen Solo

Official name: Creation Entertainment's SALUTE TO SUPERNATURAL (Jensen Ackles on stage) Location: Marriott Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, Cal Time: Sunday March 30, 2008, 12:00 PM-12:30 PM (GMT-7) Panelists: Jensen Ackles Last episode: 3x12 "Jus in Bello"- 2/21/2008 Next episode: 3x13 "Ghostfacers"- 4/24/2008

Question Index: 1- fav episode; 1x01, 2x20 2a- Future Projects; side gigs; Guitarist, Singer🔮 2b- Craziest accomplishment 3- Future Projects; plays and acting aspirations 4a- 10 Inch Hero distribution 4b- Future Projects; Summer projects 5- Non-acting interests; guitar, golf 6a- 3x11; story location; Broward County, Florida 6b- most missed s3 character/actor; Jeffery Dean Morgan; Sterling Brown, Malik Whitfield 7a- Fan Request; Blue Steel impression 7b- 2x15; ACT ONE, INT. CRAWFORD HALL – NIGHT, (SAM POV); Caramels 8- 3x11; fav Dean death; worst Dean death 9- Character aspirations 🔮 10a- Dark Angel 2x11; Alec playing Chopin’s Etude in E; Jensen playing 10b- Future Dean singing 11- Phobias; 2x02, 2x11 12- Thoughts on DOOL FR1- Thoughts on Dean FR2- Closing

(video playlist/links and transcript below the cut)

(*if you notice any mistakes in the video transcripts or found more video or audio coverage of the con please point them out, thank you*👍)

Fan reports: [insomnia_geek] • [bardicvoice] • [sarah_p] (*warning: Fan reports as a source can't be fully verified unless video or audio of the con can confirm it. Be mindful not to take Fan Reports as the unquestionable and unbiased truth.*)

◘Jensen in LA: favorite episode by BabyBlueSteel◘ (0:33-3:15)

◘Jensen's entrance in LA Supernatural Con Q&A by IY◘ (0:28-1:50)

•(0:33 BBS, 0:28 IY) – Introduction

Jared leaves behind the curtains. Jensen puts down the photos, looks towards the curtains, then holds up his hand to the audience.

Jensen: Alright, he’s gone. It’s cool. (waves hand) (audience laughs) (sits down) You guys can (Jared makes a fart noise into his mic) all rel- (freezes)

Jared: (from behind the stage) Sorry, sorry, sorry. (audience laughs)

Jensen: (to audience straining) I’m sorry. (flaps his shirt) It’s an early morning. (?Breakfast sandwich?). (audience giggles)

How you doing? (audience cheers and screams) Alright, see you later. (mimics leaving) (audience laughs)

Audience member: Come back!

Jensen: I always do that.

◘Jensen by clockstopper◘

Umm, (looks up at the hanging vinyl posters to his left and points) wow we got, uh, Ugly (Jared’s). And, uh.. evil (Fredric’s). And, (turns to the other side) um, Chad (Chad’s). And, (creation assistant hands Jensen a water bottle) uhh, (nods) and there he is (Jensen’s). (audience laughs) Yeaah. Right on. (audience laughs)

◘Jensen LA SPN convention-17 Jensen Panel 01-04 by DW&DW◘

(tries to lay down his water bottle) Ohh, (but his chair is too high and has to stretch) Ughhh. Ahh. (finally succeeds then sits back up and laughs) I’m sorry this is.. really unprofessional.

Hi, how’s everybody doing? (chuckles) Uh, I know I just put my arm around (gestures) basically everyone in this room. (audience cheers and claps)

Soo, uh, yeah. Let’s, uh- let’s talk. I- I see- (points to his left) Is this the line up? (points to his right) We got, uh- Ooo. (gestures to himself) Do I get to choose? (audience laughs)

Adam: Be my guest.

Jensen: Alright, um…

Audience member: Not that hard. (laughs)

Jensen: (to audience member) It’s always the simple things that get me.

(points to his left) Alright, we’ll start here. How are you?

•(1:53 BBS, 0:45 DW)- LA08JA;Q1- fav episode; 1x01, 2x20

Fan: Um, hi. How are you?

Jensen: Good.

Fan: My name’s Michelle. (Jensen: Hi, Michelle.) I just wanted to know what has been your favorite episode of all time and why?

Jensen: Hm, uh, ha-hmm. What’s a good episode. I mean, we’ve done, like what? Over fifty. Um, soo, best episode. Best episode. I don’t know. You know e- ther-there’s always a- there’s always an affinity towards the, uh, the “Pilot” simply because it- it gave us the characters. Umm, a-and it kind of created this whole.. mess.

Uum.. (audience chuckles) And, uh.. beyond that I-I probably have to go with, uh, the one Kr- er, Eric Kripke directed last season, uh, “Things That Are and Things That Should Never Be.” (audience cheers and claps) Um.. I’d say simply for the fact that it just completely took me out of my element. So, I was like, you know, (snaps fingers) uhh, felt like I was a fish out of water. ‘Cause it stripped away all the things, all the crutches I use to- to play Dean, um, because he was thrust into this- this- this altered state of reality.

And it was challenging and I-I think that I kind of.. I like challenging things, because if-if-if- (waves hand) You know I said this earlier to somebody, um, if you’re not challenging yourself, you’re not evolving. And I think that as a- as a character and as an actor you- you- you kind of want to continue to evolve, um, all the time, so… That was a good episode.

Fan: Thank you.

Jensen: Thank you.

◘Jensen in LA: will he pursue a music career? by BabyBlueSteel◘

(turns to his right) Hi.

•(2:07 DW, 0:02 BBS)- LA08JA;Q2a- Future Projects; side gigs; Guitarist; Singer🔮

Fan: Hi, Jensen. I’m Candy.

Jensen: Hi, Candy. (?Candy?).

Fan: Hi. Okay, so, um, I heard that you play guitar and then I think you sing, correct?

Jensen: Uhh, I-I-I do both.. moderately. (audience chuckles)

Fan: ‘Cause I just wondered if you’re gonna-

Jensen: Not well.

Fan: Okay. (laughs) I just wondered if you are gonna pursue that in any way or as just more of a hobby?

Jensen: Uh, no. I-I-I don’t think so. Um, you know, uhb, (nods) the gig I got right now keeps me pretty busy. (audience giggles) Um, and, uh, you know it’s- it’s- it’s funny because I.. ii-I have some- some really very talented friends, uh, here, who are musicians who I think.. uh, have played recently.

Did you guys s-see Steve last night? (audience claps and cheers) And, uh, I think Jason played the night before. Um, and also those are two very good friends of mine, (nods) very close friends of mine. And-and-and so, to have kind of those talents around me.. really puts me in my place. (audience chuckles) (laughs) As far as the musical aspect of it goes. (Fan: yes.) So, uh, I have no problem playing second fiddle to those guys. And-and I’m very content with where I’m- where I’m at and what I’m doing now.

•(3:10 DW, 1:04 BBS)- LA08JA;Q2b- Craziest accomplishment

Fan: Okay. One other question. (Jensen: Yes.) What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Jensen: The craziest thing I’ve ever done? (Fan: mhm.) (gestures to the audience) This. (?) (audience laughs) This is nuts. If you would have told me when I was like, fifteen years old, “Hey, by the way, you’re gonna be on stage by yourself, talking to a room full of adoring.. people.” (audience laughs) I would have been like, “That’s nuts.” (audience laughs) “That’s crazy.” (shakes head) I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Fan: (laughs) Okay, thank you so much. (Jensen nods. Audience cheers and claps.)

Jensen: (turns to his left) Hi.

•(3:39 DW)- LA08JA;Q3- Future Projects; plays and acting aspirations

Fan: I just wanna know, uh, do you ever have anyone come up and ask you to do plays? And what future acting projects would you like to (?be involved?)?

Jensen: Mm, uh, well I heard Jared (thumbs back) touched on, um, Western, which (shakes head) he totally stole from me. (audience laughs) Um, but, uh- uh, No. No plans to be on stage any time soon, as-aside from the one I’m on right now. (audience giggles)

Um.. aaaand, as far as, uh, future projects, I- you know.. iii-I think, I- I want to play- I just like the characters- (to audience) You know, what I think is great- is a great character is, uh-um, John McClane. Uum, (audience woos) you know, and.. and I think there’s a little bit of that in Dean as well. Because, he’s kind of this, you know, tortured.. hero that’s kind of grew- you know, he- he.. (shakes head) he’s just constantly getting.. beat to hell. And- but he gets back up for more and he keeps going and he preservers. And it’s like, it’s the average joe that-that turns into a hero. (to fan) I-I really like that. I really like those kinds of characters. Um, and I think that they, uh, you know, they speak volumes to-to a lot of people as oppose to like, you know, some giant superhero with superpowers. I mean, this is, uh, an average guy, but in an incredible situation and he rises to the occasion. So, I-I like those stories (nods).

Fan: Well, I wish you continued success.

Jensen: Thank you very much. (Fan: Thank you.) Yeah. (audience claps)

(turns to his right)

•(4:54 DW)- LA08JA;Q4a- “10 Inch Hero” distribution

Fan: Hi, Jensen. (Jensen: Hi.) I’m Sue.

Jensen: Hi, Sue.

Fan: What happened to “10 Inch Hero”? (audience woos)

Jensen: That’s a great question. Um, I- I don’t know. You guys probably more- know more than me. Uh, I- I’m kind of in a locked box in Canada most of the year. Um, I don’t know. I-I-I know that they’re still, um, trying to get distribution and-and things like that. But, you know, it’s a- it’s a tough (?roader?).

◘Jensen in LA: the status of Ten Inch Hero by BabyBlueSteel◘

There’s a lot- a lot of movies out there that- (shakes head) that never see the light of day for whatever reason, because it’s a crazy industry, so. Um, you know, you just- you just do your work and you put it out there and you hope that somebody, you know, responds to it. (shrugs) And that’s.. y’know, that’s all you can do.

•(5:31 DW, 0:26 BBS)- LA08JA;Q4b- Future Projects; Summer projects

Fan: And are you gonna be doing anything in- in the summer?

Jensen: Um, there’s a few things that- that arrre possibilities, but, you know, I don’t want to jinx myself. And-and call ‘em out, so. Um, but yeah, it’s- it’s a possibility. (nods)

Fan: Okay, thank you.

Jensen: Yeah, thank you.

(turns to his right) Hi.

•(5:48 DW, 0:44 BBS)- LA08JA;Q5- Non-acting interests; guitar, golf

Fan: Hi. Um, what are your other interests other than acting?

◘Jensen LA SPN convention-18 Jensen Panel 02-04 (Golf BlueSte by DW&DW◘

Jensen: (smacks lips) My other interests. Um, well, like I said earlier, you know, fiddling on the guitar is-is- is kind of fun. Um, I like to play golf. That’s, uh, I-I- I got into that a few years back.

And- and it’s, you know, it’s funny, because, you know, there’s the old- there’s the old joke, the guy’s at the driving range with his little daughter. And he’s-he’s out there and he’s hitting the ball and he’s like, (jerking his head around) “Dammit! God! Sonna of-!” (audience laughs) He hits another one and he’s like, (throws his hand up) “That’s it! Come one!” (audience laughs) And he hits another one and he’s like, (shrinks into himself and grips his hand tight) “Guruuhhh!” (audience laughs) And the daughters like, “Dad, why do you play golf?” And he’s like, (turns his head) “It relaxes me!” (audience laughs and claps) (to fan) I’m that guy. (audience laughs, claps, and cheers) (nods)

I tried to do that without cussing and it’s very difficult. (audience laughs)

(turns to his right) Hi.

•(0:53 DW)- LA08JA;Q6a- 3x11; story location; Broward County, Florida

Fan: Yes. Hi. got two questions. Um, I asked Eric this yesterday and he didn’t know, but maybe you did?

Jensen: That’s impossible. He knows everything. (audience laughs)

 ◘Jensen on Mystery Spot location by IY◘

Fan: Um, I was actually born in Broward County and I was wondering if you had any idea why “Mystery Spot” was set in that particular location?

Jensen: Are you kidding me? The writer didn’t know, you think I’m gonna know? (audience laughs) (laughs)

Fan: Literally Caver knew the answer and he didn’t, but maybe they told you on set or something.

Jensen: (shakes head) Absolutely not. We are- we are strictly voices for the writers is, uh, yeah. (Fan: Okay, um-) Ah, yeah, if he didn’t know (shakes head) and then he just- like I- he does know everything. That guy’s a genesis.

•(1:27 DW, 0:27 IY)- LA08JA;Q6b- most missed s3 character/actor; Jeffery Dean Morgan, Sterling Brown

Fan: And the second thing is, of the characters that have, uh, died recently which one, um, are you gonna miss the most? Whether it’s the character or the actor that’s playing them.

Jensen: (looks up) Hmm.. Well, I think that’s- I mean, for me it’s an easy one and it’s Jeff. Um- (audience claps)

◘Jensen in LA: favorite dead guest star? by BabyBlueSteel◘

Fan: Well, he dies last season. (Jensen: Who?) What about this season?

Jensen: Oh, you mean recent- (Fan: Yeah.) You mean this season?

Fan: Like, I mean.. I know we- a lot of us are gonna miss Henriksen and Gordon. They were both great characters.

Jensen: (nods) Yeah, Gordon. Sterling, uh, is, uuh, I think that he’s, err, destined for great things. Um.. I know he was leaving (smacks lips) our set while we were filming.. to go and shoot a scene with Al Pacino (nods) and Robert De Niro (looks at fan with eyebrows raised) simultaneously. (audience woahs) So, uh, you- you will definitely be seeing more of him.

Um, and, uhhh, yeah Malik, Henriksen, (shakes head and looks at fan) also great charact- I mean, there’s so many great chara- That’s the great thing about the show. (nods) It’s also, uhh, you know, (smiles then chuckles) it’s kind of the tough thing about the show is that we have all of these great guest stars come on, you know, week to week, and (swipes hand) put in these great performances.

Um, unfortunately we don’t get to see them the next week or the week after. So, it’s, uh.. you know, me (points to Jared’s hanging vinyl poster to his left) and Goofy (audience laughs) all day long.

Fan: Thank you.

(smiles) Thank you. (points to the fan’s mic on his right) I think this mic might be down.

(turns to his left) Hi.

◘Jensen in LA: (baby) BLUE STEEL!! & caramels in Tall Tales by BabyBlueSteel◘

•(2:46 DW)- LA08JA;Q7a- Fan Request; Blue Steel impression

Fan: Hi, Jensen.

Jensen: How are you?

Fan: Good. You?

Jensen: (nods) I like the hat. (audience chuckles)

Fan: (giggles) Thanks. Okay, I have- actually I have two questions. (Jensen: Alright.) Okay, my favorite ep-

Jensen: Let’s go with number two.

Fan: Okay, can for all- for all of us can you do the Blue Steel.. impression? (audience laughs and cheers)

Jensen: (smiles to himself and then scratches his cheek) (audience woos and claps) (holds hand out) I mean, honestly is it that- (looks around the audience) (audience yes’ and catcalls)

◘Jensen LA SPN convention-19 Jensen Panel 03-04 (fave death) by DW&DW◘

Fan: It’s cute, right?

◘Jensen does Blue Steel by IY◘

Jensen: (looks back and forth) It’s just an impersonation of another movie. I mean…

Audience memberA: Do it for us, come on.

Audience memberB: Come on!

Audience memberC: We love you!

Audience memberD: Do it!

Fan: (to audience) How many of y’all want to see him do it? (audience cheers, raises their hands, and claps)

Jensen: (rolls eyes and shakes head) Alright, I’m gonna do it for one second. (audience laughs) (raises his head and smirks) (laughs) God, cameras are (?amazing?), like this.

Jensen mimics the fans with their cameras. He slowly raises his hands holding an imaginary camera and opens his mouth exaggeratedly and then pretends to shake hair out of his face. The audience laughs. Jensen lowers his hands and looks down. Then he looks up and sucks in his cheeks and purses his lips. Camera flashes go off. The audience laughs, screams, and claps.

Jensen: Yep. (squints and holds out a hand) It’s not even good, like- (shakes head) Not even- (Christopher Walken accent) It’s not even good. I don’t know why I’m talking like Christopher Walken. (audience laughs)

(to fan) Uhh, (Fan: Okay.) And-and the first question?

•(3:54 DW, 1:09 BBS, 0:50 DW)- LA08JA;Q7b- 2x15; ACT ONE, INT. CRAWFORD HALL – NIGHT, (SAM POV); Caramels

Fan: The first question? Okay, on season two-

Jensen: Or the second one, (shrugs) ‘cause I don’t know which one you had. (audience giggles)

Fan: On season 2, um, “Tall Tales,” (Jensen: mhm.) there’s always this one part that’s always bugging me, what are you eating?! (Audience member: Caramels or something.) Are you eating caramels in that?

Jensen: (nods) Um, caramels. (Fan: Okay.) (to audience) They were real. (audience chuckles) They were not sugar-free, (audience laughs) or fat-free, or any of that. And, (full body shiver/cringe) (audience laughs) I can never eat one of those again. (audience laughs) I think at any given time- and we did it probably seven takes. (audience ohs) I think- I think at any given time there was anywhere from twelve to fifteen in my mouth. (audience aughs) Um, (looks up and nods) that’s a lot of sugar. (audience giggles) (gestures to his mouth) So much to where my mouth was starting to, like, go numb. And I- I-I just- I- I was an idiot (?after nine times?). So, yeah.

Fan: Thanks, Jensen.

Jensen: You’re welcome.

(turns to his right) Step right up. Is that mic workin’?

•(1:46 DW)- LA08JA;Q8- 3x11; fav Dean death; worst Dean death

Fan: Hello?

Jensen: Nice. (audience chuckles)

Fan: Okay, question for Mystery Spot. What was your favorite Dean death? (audience laughs and claps)

◘Jensen in LA: favorite Mystery Spot death by BabyBlueSteel◘

Jensen: (laughs) Um.. I’ll tell you what my- my- First off I’ll tell you th-the, uh, my most unfavorite.. I guess, is- was the, uhm, (smacks lips)- Uh, (sits up) well, I guess it wasn’t death. It was just a scene where I was gargling the- (audience laughs) ‘Cause they actually gave me real Scope. Well, when you do that twelve times (audiences aughs) (shrugs) again you can’t feel your mouth. (numb tongue accent) And then I’m talking to Jared like this. (audience laughs)

Um, but my favorite death, um, (sucks on teeth then laughs) I like when the (swipes down) piece of furniture fell on me. (audience cheers and laughs) ‘Cause he’s just cruising along and (swipes hand) no more. (audience laughs)

Um, the (nods) car hit was pretty cool. (a few audience woos) Um..

Audience member: Tacos!

Jensen: Tacos? Yeah, but you didn’t actually see it. You just- you know, it was just like, (rubs fingers) “Do these taste funny to you?” (gestures) and then boom he wakes up.

Audience members: Shower!

Jensen: (nods) Shower. (to fan) The electrical shaver, him shaving then (mimics electrocution) “Bzzzzt”. (audience laughs) I don’t know there’s- there’s a lot. I enjoyed it.

Fan: Thank you.

Jensen: Yeah. I had a lot of fun doing that (?shit? or ?shift?).

(turns to his left) Hi.

•(3:04 DW)- LA08JA;Q9- Character aspirations🔮

Fan: Hi. I’m Tiffany. (Jensen: Hi.) Um, I just wanted to know what you’d like to see for your character in the next couple of seasons, what you’re hoping for?

Jensen: Umm…

Audience members: Not die.

Jensen: Life on earth? (holds up hand) (audience laughs) I mean, it’s obvious. Um.. You know, I-I- I like to, uh- I like to see the guys thrown into some really, really sticky situations, um, like they always are. But, uhh, I like, you know, I like it when they kind of get taken out their element, (smacks lips) um, like I touched on with, um, (smacks lips) with the show from the second season. Uh, I kind of like it, you know, where.. you can- you can take these characters, but still functioning as those characters, and put them in a situation that they’re just completely not used to.

Um, so, I, you know, mor-more of that is-is kind of what’s-what’s excites me. So, we’ll see what the whi-writers come up with, I don’t know.

I do love the fact that I see- I did see recently in a magazine that, uh, Sera Gamble, she was quoted as saying, um, “You know, sometimes I write lines and they just seem so vanilla to me, but instead of sitting there and thinking about them all the time, I’m just like, (waves hand) ‘Jensen will make that work’.” (audience laughs) (tilts head back and forth with a squinting smirk)

Fan: And did you?

Jensen: And I- Well, and I thought about it and I was like, “Well, thanks a lot Sara.” (audience laughs) “Makin’ my job twice as hard.” (tilts head with a smile) No, she writes me great. So, I’m very, very fortunate to have her.

◘Jensen LA SPN convention-20 Jensen Panel 04-04 (Paino in DA, by DW&DW◘

Fan: Thank you for coming.

Jensen: (nods) Thank you.

(turns to his right)

•(4:26 DW, 0:09 DW)- LA08JA;Q10a- Dark Angel 2x11; Alec playing Chopin’s Etude in E; Jensen playing

Fan: Hi, Jensen. (Jensen: Hi.) Um, I’m a musician so I appreciate that you’re like a musical- (Jensen: [bull horns hand sign] Rock and roll!) (audience laughs) And uh, I just wanted to, uh, ask two things.

One was in Dark Angel you played Chopin and I-I understand that was really you? Is that true?

Jensen: Yes.

Fan: Can you do (?that next breakfast?) (audience woos, claps, and cheers)

Jensen: It was two weeks of piano lessons, I don’t remember (swipes hand) a lick. (audience laughs) Yeah.

◘Jensen in LA: more singing for Dean? by BabyBlueSteel◘

•(0:35 DW, 0:09 BBS)- LA08JA;Q10b- Future Dean singing

Fan: And the second question is, uh, are we gonna get to see Dean sing again? Because, I think we’re looking for some new ringtones. (audience laughs, cheers, and claps)

Jensen: (looks up) Um… (looks at fan and shakes head) No.

Fan: There’s nothing to see (?in the room?) right now probably.

Jensen: I don’t know. There’s nothing in the script. (shrugs) So, yeah, that’s- that’s not up to me. (fan sighs) That would be- (Fan: Adlib.) that would be at Eric.

Fan: Adlib.

Jensen: Adlib? (audience laughs) Sure, (shrugs) I’d just bust into, like, some Albert Opera or something like that? (audience laughs) (Fan:?that’d be something?.) Right.

Fan: Thank you. (Jensen laughs shaking his head then turns to his left)

•(1:07 DW)- LA08JA;Q11- Phobias; 2x02, 2x11

Fan: Hi. (Jensen: Hi.) I’m Hedi. Um, we know that Sam and I are both afraid of clowns and Dean’s afraid of flying. What are you afraid of?

◘Jensen in LA: what Jensen is scared of by BabyBlueSteel◘

Jensen: What am I afraid of? I actually share you’re- you’re fear of clowns. (audience giggles) Um-

Fan: They are freaky.

Jensen: They- Well, there was- it was the stupid (gestures) Steven King movie the “It”. (audience oos, cheers, and claps) (shakes his head then shrugs) And it just- it ruined me. It just ruined me. And it-it- and to this day, you know, clowns in the gutters. (audience laughs) I just don’t like them.

Fan: Thank you.

Jensen: So it was funny because in that- in that episode, you know, Sam was the one being affect, but I don’t think Jared is actually afraid of clowns. He might be, I don’t know. Um- but, uh, I was the one going, (tenses) “Man, I’m freaking out.” (audience laughs)

(points) That and, uh, “Playthings.” The episode with all the dolls with no eyes. (audience aughs) (shakes head) I didn’t like that at all.

(turns to his right then back to his left) Thanks. (back to the next fan) Hi.

◘Jensen in LA: on Days Of Our Lives by BabyBlueSteel◘

•(1:55 DW, 0:00 BBS)- LA08JA;Q12- Thoughts on DOOL

Fan: Hi, Jensen. I’m Ronda.

Jensen: Hi, Ronda.

Fan: Hi. Um, how did you like working-

Jensen: (to audience) I could have busted out (nods) into song right there. (audience laughs) I with- I withheld.

Fan: (laughs) How did you like working on Days of Our Lives?

Jensen: Um.. I-I loved it. It was, (Fan: Good.) uh, yeah. I mean, it was, uh, kind of really my first.. um… llike.. time I really got to, like, dive into a character and like really kind of get my feet wet.. in the- in the industry.

Um, it taught me a lot of stuff. You know, the- the- especially the technical part of acting, you know: finding your camera, finding your light, not blocking the, you know, knowing your lines, not blocking cameras for other people. Just being spatially aware of, uh, the-the set. And I-I think that kind of training is, uhm- is hard to come by, just, like, in acting class.

Um, you know, I mean, acting class and theatre class you kind of.. break down scripts, break down characters, and really try to feel that character out. So, it helps performance. Um, but doing that performance while also keeping in mind (points to head then down) you have to hit your mark, and (points to his left) find your light, and make sure (points forward) that camera can see you, and (points to himself) know your lines, and (waves hand) you gotta do all this other stuff. It’s- It’s really difficult.

You know, um, there’s- we have some actresses and there- or actors and actresses and they come onto the show and they’re-they’re fantastic.. performers.. but a lot of times they just can’t- they can’t find their mark. They’re not comfortable, like, standing at, you know, they-they have to do- They were taught to do what’s natural. Or- Well, (shrugs) doing what’s natural may not.. include hitting your mark (hand chop), or finding your light (hand chop), or, you know, (waves hand) doing all that.

So, to- to have that kind of (pine cone gesture) training ingrained in you is, uh- was valuable. And I got a lot of that from them, so. (Fan: Yeah.) Yeah.

Fan: Well, love yah in both. (giggles) (?who said? Or ?just in?) that.

Jensen: (nods) Thanks. (Fan: Thanks)

(turns to his left) Hi.

(missing coverage *fan reports could be incomplete and/or erroneous)

•(insomnia_geek •19 bardicvoice para. 41)- LA08JA;FR1- thoughts on Dean

“How does he reconcile the contradictions in Dean's character? Life in general is a contradiction. Dean can play both sides, as he's complex and layered. He's real, and the writers write him very well. He just hopes he plays it off as well.” – IG

“Asked what aspect of Dean he finds most challenging and most fun to play, he said that what he really likes is that Dean plays both sides – that he gets very angry, and he lives with a lot of grief and sorrow, but while he isn’t really a happy guy, there are also things that bring him great joy. He said that he loves that slice of life mixture and that it makes Dean a real character. He said that what he most wants is to capture that and do him justice, to play Dean well.” – B

•(insomnia_geek para. 2, bardicvoice para. 42, sarah_p para. 30-31)- LA08JA;FR2- Closing

“That's when Jared came back onstage. Apparently he'd been mainlining Skittles backstage, didn't bring any out for Jensen. They talked quietly to each other for a moment out of mike pickup and joked a bit. Jensen said that they speak in code.” – IG

“Jared reappeared in that moment, bragging “But not as good as Jared plays Sam!”” – B

“Somewhere around this, Jared came back out, and he was EATING SKITTLES (which totally made me think of him offering to buy Papa Ackles Skittles at the AFGM intermission ;)), and didn't bring any for Jensen. I was ALREADY IN LOVE WITH THEM. AGAIN.

He and Jensen were talking really quietly to each other for a minute (Basketball scores, maybe? Can someone who was sitting closer confirm this?), and then they finished, and Jensen laughed and told us that they speak in code. Which, really, I would NOT doubt--they are just SO attuned to each other, it's fantastic.” – S

J2 panel starts.

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 04/14/2024

Nerdie, you’re kinda late tonight.

Yeah, it was all taxes this weekend. 😭 Ugh. But it’s done. Let’s not talk about it anymore.

OK…So what’s new?

Back to work after time off. Adjusting and writing. I did watch the Ryan Gosling SNL episode. I laughed so hard.

I did get a manicure and pedicure - 💜 purple hehe!

I did read some fics this week:

1. Something Old by @fhatbhabie (Javi G x plus size female)

2. Sexting by @reallyrallyauthor (Steven Grant x Marc Spector x Jake Lockley x You)

3. Enchanted to Meet You by @beskarandblasters (Din Djarin x f reader)

4. Fires at Midnight by @inept-the-magnificent (Lucian Flores x f reader)

5. A Midnight Plea by @soft-persephone (Marc Spector x fem reader)

6. A Galaxy Far Far Away part 6: Halloween at Juniper Cottage - Pick your own pumpkin by @grogusmum (Din Djarin x earthling f reader)

7. I’ll Give You The Moon by @soft-persephone (Marc Spector x fem reader)

8. Mi Santa by @fhatbhabie (Frankie Morales x reader)

I did write some this week 👀 I’m sorry I’m advance. Things ended up dark. 😭 Those are marked with the red.

Back & Nose, Hair and Hat - (Only Parts of you Mr. Morales Series)

Her smile was worth it - for the iamasaddie writing challenge 2.0 (Pero Tovar modern AU DARK FIC)

Interlude Two - Tell me about her and Part Seven Merging the Star Clusters - (The Lake between us Series)

Scarlet Stains and their Echoes (DARK FIC) - Post Apocalyptic Fluff and Stuff

Chapter 3: Can we talk for a minute? - This is the Neighborhood Din Series.

This week there were a few things, like the writing challenge 2.0 @iamasaddie put together. We sent in asks, pick a color (I did it to myself, I asked for mob enforcer- where else was the fic to go but dark?) Despite being kinda freaked out at what I wrote (I’ll need to process that later) I like it. I usually don’t do dark fics but given recent themes in my writing it’s there. 👀 So I’ll write it if it pops up in the brain.

And this past weekend (I totally missed but sweethearts @perotovar and @honeyedmiller tagged me in) was the @swiftiscruff friendship exchange. From what I saw, people are writing fics for each other, making gif and moodboards and proving much needed friendship and fun. 😎

I’m sure there are other things. But I dunno what they are. 🤣 I hope everyone enjoys what they’re working on. And if you need to rest, drink some water, dance around, nap, all the things.

This week there will another chapter of Din’s neighborhood, I FINALLY have more Din fluff. Well in the neighborhood and Star Ocean Series. I should have another chapter of Benny and actual fluff post apocalypse. It escaped last week. So we’re bringing it back.

No more Ezra and his gumbo or tanktop 🥺 Part 8 will be up next Sunday. His prose will be no more for now. 🙃

My Frankie miniseries will be almost done. This Friday and the next Friday of my math is right. lol

Special thanks:

@mysterious-moonstruck-musings for finding an excellent pic of Frankie’s back and giving me notes on smut that I chose not to use for now

@connectioneverywhere for letting me talk their thumbs off and putting them to sleep. 🤣

@soft-persephone I see you 👀 Two words: Dem noses. 👃 You know. 😄

@megamindsecretlair You need to write about some curls! Telling me and Softie to write about them. You know which curls. 🤭

@soft-girl-musings Songbird, Cabbie and loud ass Marcello on drums. Why did I half expect him to be playing drums on SNL? 😂 He was wearing a very loud shirt so half credit.

@tinytinymenace it’s always fun seeing your namesake laying and just relaxing. 😎 With a dope poof.

@604to647 I really appreciated your ask and messages this week. 💜

Have a great week everyone! 🥰

Love Nerdie ❤️❤️❤️

[thegeminisage]

ok, i'm getting behind on ym star trek updates. last sunday we watched ds9's "sanctuary" and tng's "parallels," monday we watched ds9's "rivals" and tng's "the pegasus" (out of order!!! 💔) and last night we watched ds9's "the alternate" and tng's "homeward." we were supposed to do "rivals" and "the alternate" monday, and then the "pegasus" and "homeward" last night and i really wish we had bc i was not in the correct headspace to really enjoy the alternate but that's what i get for forgetting to check my spreadsheet!! ANYWAY.

sanctuary (ds9):

i love sisko in this episode. he has the same vibe w his subordinates as he does with jake, that he will back them up even if they're breaking rules but also when kira didn't do her homework he does have to lay down the law a little bit. lovingly, but he does. and since he never does it w/o a reason and w/o compassion nobody really minds

i'm sorry but the reverse sexism was really funny. thank you 90s tv for being brave. especially with her having multiple husbands. get it girl

kira and haneek should have explored each others bodies also

quark picking up the nephew like yeah hes gonna do it again. poor odo

literally it was such a good little conundrum bc all the logical reasons they gave for bajor not being able to support more people were like correct or whatever BUT THEY WERE FARMERS. you get the idea they really could have helped and that kid didn't have to die but inherent, knee-jerk suspicion of new/foreign people just got in the way in both cases. like you had the solution right there!! unfortunately, as we know, people

why is it ALWAYS kira's episodes that go this hard also. it's always like "here's a thing about the complex and ugly truth of the human(oid) nature and how we just have to live with ourselves" and every time it pops off

parallels (tng):

we were just saying "there's no ways tng would have the pussy to do something like this" when tng came on and also was really good

first of all, my worf e deanna DREAMS are coming true. sorry to the actors ik they hated it but i know in my heart worf e riker e deanna is real..............

i read the episode summary for this one but it said AMNESIA not WORF SWITCHING REALITIES. so i had fun going wait the cake WAS chocolate earlier and being gaslit along with worf

his little surprise party hat. please.

i didnt notice data's eyes being blue at the time but going back and looking at the pics is WILD

my baby boy wesley crusher was there also........i missed him sm

the universe worf left was crazy. picard dead, geordi dead, deanna forever without her husband...jesus christ

but my FAVORITE part (aside from the romance) was the bit there the zillion enterprises showed up and the crazy borg-hunted riker was like NO NO WE'LL NEVER GO BACK girl i was like oh but i wanna see inside those other enterprises! actually no i didn't

worf finding out deanna began having the potential to develop feelings for him after the ritual suicide thing and then IMMEDIATELY turning around to seduce her when he got back to his universe...so true. i would have done the same thing. i know he's gonna get w dax later and deanna will eventually marry riker so he's GONNA fumble it but don't fumble it!!!

rivals (ds9):

have only seen princess bridge 1 time when i was a teenager so i was not able to enjoy the biggest appeal of this episode rip

actually i thought the a plot of this episode kind of sucked ass. i didn't find the conman particularly funny or charming but i also didn't hate him enough to get invested in his downfall. also, it was so stupid that he took that machine when the guy explained that it had literally killed him............like, girl, are you stupid? obviously ds9 can save it with endearing characters and like, Acting, but i wasn't having much fun with it

i DID love the obrien bashir racketball matches though. first of all the fact that luck decided who won and not actual skill and no we'll never know...but secondly, bashir like Oh No I'm Going To Kill Him With Tennis. like, my guy, you could have just showed off less out of the gate. it went against his twink instincts though

keiko's go-get-em-tiger was really good. he would have won anyway i just know it

quark trying to DRUG A DOCTOR. his audacity truly knows no bounds. i hope those orphans got their blankets

i do like also that when they figured out the matches had been rigged they weren't even mad about it, they were both just curious and trying to experiment. i love when obrien and bashir hang out it's really great

the pegasus (tng):

TNG HAD PUSSY TWO EPISODES IN A ROW EVEN

picard day really good. yes. be miserable. i love riker getting to dunk on him

i really really REALLY enjoyed riker's energy when his old captain came aboard. jonathan frakes isn't the most technically accomplished actor on that cast, but he does such a fantastic job with that shift - riker is normally such an easygoing, funny, down to clown guy that whenever he gets :| you notice RIGHT away. episodes where he gets to be serious and angry wouldn't work if he got them all the time (though my lament for tng is that we don't get character stuff more often...), but BECAUSE they're rare, even a little too rare, you take notice all the more

i wish we had gotten to see riker sparring with worf <3

argument between riker and picard was FUNNNN i don't like picard but i DO like it when sir patrick stewart acts and i think him being on his game and jonathan frakes also being on his game was wonderful. first of all, i love it when they say the m-word, and secondly, riker grinding his teeth because he WANTS to tell and all his instincts are screaming at him to tell and he CAN'T because his loyalties are divided or whatever...delicious.

beaming aboard the ship frozen in rock with the perfectly preserved bodies. mwah. dead bodies won't even age. i know it was a budget thing and space probably wouldn't really keep them from decomposing THAT well but it quite literally took riker back to the scene of the crime and he was like yeah no i'm not having it. GOOD for him.

bonus when riker gets locked into the brig <3

the alternate (ds9):

ODO...................................

i recognized the scientist by his hair!!! he mentioned before he copied it from him

dr mora die challenge. it's not exactly that he "abused" odo in the traditional sense but he did put him in a cage, and he dehumanized him with his experiments, and every single word out of his mouth was either dehumanizing or patronizing. i love how quick they both were to correct the assumption about this guy being odo's dad - like yeah maybe an adoptive dad in a way but odo wasn't a "child" he was just so different from humanoids he had to figure out communication from scratch

like, this mf commenting on odo not having gotten the ears, or like wow you can tell what emotions people are displaying just by looking! say that again to my face i'll kill you.

dax was so weird in this episode. i kept wondering if she was possessed or something because she showed up out of nowhere and offered to buy drinks with bashir and said something about the pillar being moved. a red herring which was perhaps unintentional but unsettling nonetheless. her personality is still fluctuating a lot - at times she's prissy and at other times she's just one of the guys! but at least now she has one, from time to time. not in this episode though

i felt. SO BAD for that little life form they kidnapped. you suffocated it to death :(

i also felt terrible for odo. firstly, he deserves to kill that guy. secondly, how humiliating for him to be seen in goop form by half the station...he doesn't like being seen like that :(

i still blame dr mora though for basically triggering that last transformation...i was so mad at the end when odo was like yeah we can reconcile :) like i get loving the people who "raised" you even when they "abused" you but this wasn't quite that. i wish we had got more of a sense of them having, at any point, actually ever liked working together to solve the mysteries of shape shifters. i looked him up on imdb though and he DOES come back so maybe better luck next time

homeward (tng):

i fucking hated this episode.

firstly, who brought worf to his parents? i thought it was their adult son who was in starfleet, but was it worf's dad who brought him home? cuz this guy is worf's age and was not officially in starfleet...

secondly, there should be a clause in the prime directive about "if everybody is about to die save them with the least interference possible." i get that that runs the risk of like, being written down in their bible as jesus and altering their culture, but the idea that the culture is better off totally annihilated than altered is a little bit missing the forest for the trees. like, putting those machines on the planet in the first place would have been WAY less inference than having worf and his brother lead them to safety.

ALSO, I CANNOT BELIEVE WORF'S BROTHER KNOCKED THAT WOMAN UP. like, this kid is not gonna pop out of the womb with his surgical alterations!!

also, that guy who killed himself didn't get his special document delivered back to his people...worf KEPT IT as a souvenir? one of the only surviving documents from their old culture??

furthermore, his brother did not "won up to responsibility" by staying with those people. he's further contaminating their culture with his outside influence including the HALF HUMAN BABY and since he's marooned there he will never see his parents or brother ever again. because he got the awooga eyes. like, yes, he saved them when starfleet (picard in particular) were being horrible, but also, he didn't save their culture even a little bit, and he's lying to himself if he thinks he did. and WE COULD HAVE SAVED THEIR CULTURE WITH THE MACHINES. that was so much lower risk...................

redeeming factor of this episode was that worf is HANDSOME under all that klingon makeup. like i knew he was attractive because i've seen like headshots online but i like never saw him moving his face and acting without it. he's actually really expressive..........why do you hire a man this beautiful and then put him under all of that. like he's absolutely stunning i was so shocked

TONIGHT: ds9's "armageddon game" and tng's "sub rosa," which i have seen celebrated online for some reason? something about sexy ghosts??

[throneofsapphics]

Oi, tudo bem, queria fazer um pedido, o leitor he does uma tatuagem escondida, mas os pais de Lysaedion descobrem

snitch

Summary: Reader (Lysandra and Aedion's child) have a secret tattoo.

Warnings: a bit of violence

A/N: sorry this went a bit off script, but it was fun to write thank you for sending it, I love your requests!

You invite your younger brother to go out with you and your friends. Well, he invites himself and pesters you until you agree. 

“When are you getting your next one?” your says, nearly yelling over the noise. 

“Next what?” I shout back. 

“Tattoo.” She rolls her eyes. 

You don’t know that your younger brother overhears the entire conversation, and walks away with a mischievous look in his eyes. 

You find a quieter booth, and slide in, she passes a drink across the table. 

“I’m not sure what it would be.” You shrug, thinking of the small rose tattooed on your upper rib cage, one you got a few months back. Another of your friends did it, his seventh tattoo. The lines are a bit shaky, but overall it turned out nice. 

“Maybe another flower? It could easily blend into the other.”

You hum, “I’ll consider it.” 

-

A few days later, you drag yourself to the mandatory family dinner. Every Sunday, without fail. You love your parents and siblings, but sometimes they can be a bit overbearing. Your mother told you, but you forgot there’s company. Rowan, Aelin, and Fenrys. All of whom get offended when you call them aunt or uncle. 

Food is laid out on the table, and your younger sister is happily updating you on what she learned in school last week. You wish Evangeline is here, but she’s off doing something political - something for Lord Darrow. Instead, you smile and nod at all of the correct times. 

Your brother is sitting directly across from you, and catches your eye, and based on his expression you know whatever he’s going to say next is either going to start a fight, or piss you off. Maybe both. 

“So, Y/n,” he drawls, “when are you getting your next tattoo?” 

You see red as the entire room goes still. 

“You have a tattoo?” Your younger sister squeals excitedly, “Can I see?”

You ignore her, debating throwing a fork directly at your brother's face. Instead, you go for the steak knife, and it narrowly misses his ear - intentionally of course, lodging itself in the wall behind. His eyes widen in shock, before narrowing and reaching for his own. Before he can retaliate, arms are tugging you into separate rooms. 

“Gods.” You hear your mother groan, “can we have a peaceful dinner?” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Aelin’s voice sounds, but someone - Fenrys actually, is ushering you away, ignoring the profanities your brother is currently spitting out, only throwing a vulgar gesture over your shoulder. 

“Did you really have to throw a knife at him?” Fenrys asks you, but his voice is laced with amusement. 

“He’s being an asshole.” You grumble. “He’s lucky I have good aim.” 

“Or bad.” You hear your father’s voice from the doorway.  

“I wasn’t going to kill him.” You protest, whirling around to look at him. He’s equal parts amused and pissed off. 

“She’s certainly got your temper,” Fenrys drawls, and you shoot him a nasty look.

Next, your mother breezes into the room - elegant as always. One look from her and Fenrys excuses himself. 

“A tattoo?” She says, one eyebrow raised. You sigh, but turn and lift your shirt up just enough that she can see it. 

“It’s pretty,” she comments, but with a slightly distant look on her face, her thumb brushing her wrist once, before she drops both arms. 

Your father squeezes her shoulder lightly, “It looks like you let a ten year old scribble on you.” 

“Aedion,” your mother warns him, as your jaw drops. 

“The real issue is throwing a gods-damned knife at your brother. Again.” His voice grows louder with each word, but you square your shoulders, crossing your arms. 

“He’s being an asshole. I wouldn’t have hit him. You taught me better than that. And, last time he threw first.” 

He exhales sharply through his nose, and I can see his patience waning. “You’re getting another tattoo?” He asks instead. 

“I’m thinking about it.” You shrug. 

“Hopefully by someone else.”

You roll your eyes, and push past him, back into the dining area. Aelin is sitting at the table, listening to your sister, who isn’t phased at all, go on about her last week. Aelin turns as you enter, 

“You know, I threw a knife at your mother once.” 

The woman in question snorts behind you. “The circumstances were a bit different.” 

“Maybe it’s the Ashryver blood,” Aelin shrugs, but sends you an approving grin. 

[laurie-stark]

Chapter V: The Room Where It Happens

A/N:

apologies for the late update. enjoy and dont expect new chapters anytime soon for we are coming upon the month of november where no university student is safe

Word count: 2.3k

Cherry Bomb Masterlist

I ran faster than my legs could carry me. Lungs burning and palms sweating, I pummeled my way through the living quarters back down to the main floor. It was a Sunday, so most of the full-time employees were off enjoying golf games and mimosas with brunch. Or whatever grown adults did on Sundays. 

As I approached the grand staircase connecting the upper floors to the lobby, my feet went flying over the top steps. A leap that big should have sent me catapulting into a bone-breaking landing. Instead, I landed with grace on the tips of my toes, only to jump and skip another six steps. For a moment I was weightless, drifting down to earth with the speed of a leaf in autumn. With every bound I felt the surge of energy expanding. The compound was the one place on this planet I felt comfortable enough to use my powers unconsciously. 

I came to a screeching hault at the bottom of the staircase. The momentum from my fall sent me run-tripping directly into the chest of a very fragile looking man. He had brown hair and silly glasses, and he dropped the briefcase he was holding when we collided. I mentally reached out to stop it from spinning out too far away on the floor. 

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” I bent down to pick up the briefcase and thrust it into its owner’s very discombobulated arms. The man brushed imaginary dust off his crisp white shirt and took the briefcase from me with a flat smile. 

I took a step back to gather my bearings. The man was clearly an assistant of some sort to the other stranger in the room. He was taller than my father, who stood to his left, with a mop of white hair and a matching moustache. The subtle sheen of his pitch black suit and the golden cufflinks told me that he must be the Secretary of State. 

“Oh kid, I never taught you how to make a grand entrance, did I?”

I grimaced. My father was never one to hide disappointment. But I knew that his words held no depth as he opened his arms and enveloped me in a quick ‘hello’ embrace. He ruffled my hair a bit and positioned me to face his colleagues. 

“Gentlemen, you know my daughter, Laurie.” This wasn’t the first time I had been introduced to government officials, and it would not be the last. The public might be in the dark about Tony Stark’s lineage, but the US government has been in on the bit for years. 

“Secretary Ross,” the greying man held his hand out. I shook it firmly, matching the strength of his grip to mine. That was an old trick Dad taught me so I could “assert my dominance in front of big-headed men.” It felt appropriate. 

“Pleasure to meet you, sir.” I took a step backwards and found my father’s hands on my shoulders. 

“Laur, why don’t you go get your things together. Mr. Ross and I are going to have a short meeting with the rest of the team, and then we can head home,” Dad said, flashing pearly whites my way. I felt my chest tighten at the idea of the team having a private meeting, especially one where a U.S. official was present. 

“Well I am sure the team wouldn’t mind me sitting in.” I spoke with a sickeningly sweet tone and turned my attention to Ross. “Especially if the Secretary of State will be in attendance. I’ve always had a dream to go into politics.”

“Is that so?” Ross raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the fake glean in my eyes.

“This is the first time I’m hearing about this.” Dad chimed in.

“Ah, but with all your business trips, how would you have known?” I said, knowing I must have been pushing my luck.

“Laurel.”

“Unfortunately, this meeting is strictly Avengers-only.” Ross stepped closer, ruffling a hand over the hair atop my head as if I were a dog. “ Nothing you need to worry that little head of yours about, Miss Stark.”

“Oh, I completely understand, sir. I’ll let you gentlemen be.”

Ross turned his back to me as I grumbled off towards the staircase once more. Putting my pride aside, I spun on my heels to stick my tongue out at Dad when I heard the words, “Teenagers, so much drama,” come out of his mouth. 

The designated meeting room was in my clear trajectory on the way back to my room. It was easy to look through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and see that Sam, Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and Rhodey were already sitting around the oval table. When had Rhodey gotten here, I wondered. 

There was no doubt that this meeting had something to do with the mission gone wrong in Lagos. Saving people always came with a cost, I had seen that truth unfold time after time. But we had never received special visits from government officials before, not unless we were being awarded medals of honour. Something was not right. I needed to be in that room, I would give anything to be in that room. Unfortunately, I had to settle for the next best thing.

I shut my bedroom door behind me and leaped into my desk chair. The wheels slid with the impact and I almost comedically crashed into the window. The monitors that spread across the width of the desk lit up, and my fingers were frantic as I typed in the password. 

“A.P.R.I.L., pull up the security footage from the meeting room,” I spoke loud and clear. Video picture of a meeting room appeared on the screen directly in front of me. I sighed. “No, ‘bolts-for-brains’, the main meeting room.” 

“Access to those cameras has been restricted.” A.P.R.I.L.’s voice came on over the loudspeakers. 

“Then run ‘Locksmith�� protocol, dude! This is time sensitive!”

“I had already tried to execute both ‘Locksmith’ and ‘Don’t F-ing Worry About It.’ Neither program was able to slip past S.H.I.E.L.D.’s defences.”

“I have to do everything myself, don’t I?” A.P.R.I.L. played a sad violin sound in retaliation. 

I cracked my knuckles and opened the control panel on my computer. Accessing the wall would be easy, getting through it was the challenging bit. Or at least, it was the challenging part if you weren’t me. All it took was a bit of outside the box thinking for me to implement a code that took down the compound’s restrictions. It was never about going through the wall when I could go above, below, or sideways. 

With one last satisfying click of the Enter button, the security footage for the main meeting room took over my screen. I turned the volume button up and watched intently. Man, I wish I had popcorn. 

Everyone at the table watched intently as Ross spoke. He was very charismatic in his arm motions and hand gestures. By the time I got the audio working, he was wrapping up a story about a heart attack. 

“The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt.” Ross paraded back and forth at the head of the table. His arms were folded neatly behind his back, his shoulders firm and upright. He must have had military experience, I thought. “ You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives . . . but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some . . . who would prefer the word "vigilantes".”

“Vigilantes?” I murmured. “What the hell does he think of that Spider-kid then?”

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha’s back was to the security camera, but I could recognize her voice among any crowd. I noticed then that my father wasn’t sitting at the table. He was separated, huddling back in the corner of the room. A shadow overlooking the group.

“How about "dangerous"?” Ross nearly spat. “What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

Ross leaned over and picked up a small remote from the tableside. He pointed it at the projector, which lit up in a flash. Images from the Avenger’s past flooded the screen. Ross pointed out each location as they passed.

“New York, Washington DC, Sokovia, Lagos.”

He halted on the last one, letting images of buildings on fire burn into my team’s eyes. There was footage of crowds running in the opposite directions. Paramedics moved in on a body just as another explosion went off. A dead girl.

I scanned the table, trying to read pixelated body language as best I could. Dad’s hand was by his chin; a classic defence mechanism for when he wanted to look deep in thought but really he was dreadfully uncomfortable. Wanda had sunk as low as she could possibly go without slipping to the floor. 

“Okay. That's enough,” Steve said to Ross, but his gaze was on Wanda. Ross made no indication that he caught, or even cared about, Wanda’s stature. 

“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.”

I felt my heart rise into my throat. Ross made a lazy snapping motion at his assistant with the glasses, who was sitting in a chair by the window. He had shrunk down. I hadn’t even noticed him until then. The man pulled something out of his briefcase and handed it to Ross, who promptly set it on the table with a thwack. I craned my neck to get a better view, but the camera quality was too poor for me to make out what it could be. 

“The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries . . . it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary,” Ross explained. The team took turns examining the document before passing it along to their neighbour. 

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that,” Steve said when the Accords landed in front of him. 

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Ross stared hard at Steve down the bridge of his nose. When Steve gave no response, Ross continued. “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes . . . you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies.” Rhodey flexed the thick document out in front of him. Ross nodded. 

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords,” Ross said. He glanced back at my dad in the corner. “Talk it over.”

“And if we come to a decision you don't like?” Natasha asked. She was still sitting, but her presence made her appear several feet taller than the secretary. 

“Then you retire.”

Natasha didn’t even try to hide the sarcastic smile and eye roll. No one had anything to say after that. Not even a witty remark from Tony. Although from the way he was still slumped in his corner, practically cowering, I had a theory that he knew this was a long time coming. 

Secretary Ross bid his farewells and left without another word. His poor assistant trailed after him like a kicked puppy. I expected the team to erupt into some sort of fit. Certainly, my father would at least be peeved at this. He’d never done well under someone else’s rule. 

To my disbelief, he was the calmest in the room. Sam and Rhodey looked like they were speaking in hushed tones, and Steve was motioning toward Wanda, likely offering some sort of condolence. The mics weren’t able to pick up on any of the specifics, though. 

My eyes glued to the white pixels on the table, the document currently causing so much grief. Between being just barely filled in on what happened in Lagos and having to eavesdrop on the meeting through a janky video system, I felt entirely confused at what the big deal was. 

“What do you think it is, A.P.R.I.L.?” I asked my dearest companion. “Some sort of damage control? They sign it to agree to like, I don’t know, say they’ll pay for any destruction or whatever?”

“I’m not sure, boss.” A.P.R.I.L.’s voice had a slight hint of hesitation. Not that she had any real tone, she was made up, but I could always tell the difference. “Best to just go ask.”

“When have you ever known me to get what I want by asking?” I scoffed. No, if I asked the adults they wouldn’t tell me the truth, and I was done being kept in the dark. Everyone thought that I was still just a kid, but never treated me like one when I actually was. And to start acting like that now? It majorly pissed me off. 

I hovered at my desk for a moment longer, waiting to see what the team would do. They continued to talk in low voices, some weren’t engaging in conversation at all. Rubbing circles along the inside of my palms, I was nearly doubled over with nerves. 

My breath caught in my throat when Dad stood up. He said something that sounded like “Let’s take this somewhere with better seating, my ass hurts,” and gestured to the door. The team all got up in unison and followed Dad’s lead out the door. In their haste, the Accords document was left sitting on the oval table. There’s my chance, was the last thing I thought before I dashed out of my bedroom, leaving the desk chair spinning in my wake. 

[j-nipper-95]

Fic Rec (plus late Six Sentence Sunday) Monday!

Ok, so I’m late posting this, but oh well. It’s being posted!

I’m not sure if my tumblr notifications are working properly at the moment (I know I missed at least one tag last week, so if I’ve missed your tags the last couple of weeks I’m sorry, I’m not ignoring you, tumblr is acting up!) but I’m still alive. I’m back, and I have words to share!

July’s Camp NaNoWriMo has been amazing for getting words down for COTTA, and I am finally back on track with following the El Dorado plot line again! I managed to double the word count goal I had by 1am this morning, so all in all, a very productive month. So without further ado, here’s six(teen) sentences from that! Thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy @theearlgreymage and @hushed-chorus (and anyone else if I’ve missed your posts!!)

Baz POV

“Get in the back,” he grunts, nodding at the truck. “I’ll cover you.”

“With what, Snow?”

“Just do it.”

No. I won’t leave him.

“They’ll shoot you on sight,” I say (I plead, I almost beg. Don’t make me face the thought of losing you, Simon). “I can’t get over there without your help,” I add. If there’s one thing I can count on right now, it’ll be Simon’s inner heroism.

“Bet you can,” he says, without thinking.

“Two shillings say I can’t.”

The challenge in my voice is enough to make him turn to glare at me. And knowing how much it irritates him, I cock an eyebrow and tilt my chin up to look down my nose at him.

Snow opens his mouth to argue but snaps it shut when we hear the Now Next almost at the corner we’ve just run around.

“You’re on.”

And then Jas also tagged me in a fic rec post, so here’s a few I’ve been enjoying recently!

Someone Wicked by @artsyunderstudy ([E, 53.9k, Carry On, complete]

I had the chance to beta read this fic with @cutestkilla and oh my God it was a rollercoaster of emotions and tender smut and I loved every single second of it!

Normal AU, complicated family relationships, religious guilt, chronic pain rep, escort Simon, this fic had me hooked from the second Ashton pitched it to me! It’s angsty and soft and emotional in all of the ways we’ve come to expect from her fics, and it ticks all of the boxes.

Ashton managed to tackle some really tough emotions and relationship dynamics in this one, and I don’t really want to say any more and risk spoiling any of it.

Check it out if you haven’t yet, but just remember it is explicit with plenty of on page smut/sex scenes!

More Than Friends by @fatalfangirl [E, 19.9k, Carry On, incomplete]

This fic updated today. It was a good day!

Simon and Baz are roommates, and having survived lockdown together their feelings are becoming much more than platonic. Both of them like the other, but neither is willing to compromise their friendship.

Another Normal AU, this time ‘friends with benefits’, featuring lots of unhealthy coping mechanisms, a sexually promiscuous Simon (which I for one am loving!), Baz as a writer, and some new tags that were added today (trigger warnings for mentions of past ab*se and panic attacks).

This fic is updating currently, and I cannot wait to see what Stacy has in store for the boys! (Again, it’s explicit, so minors begone!)

What Remains After the Storm by @hushed-chorus [M, 86.3k, Carry On, complete]

When I tell you this fic had (and still has) me in a fricken chokehold, that’s an understatement! I still think about this fic on a daily basis, and Demi’s writing is simply stunning.

A fantasy/historical fiction(ish) AU, with fae, curses, much pining, and plenty of cute goats.

Simon is a goatherd on the edge of a fishing town, and while he’s not entirely trusted by the townsfolk, he’s not outright despised either. He works the land, and always pays his tithe to the fae. Until he pulls something from the ocean. Or rather, someone. When Baz flees his fae captors and returns home, he and Simon have to work together to help him remember his humanity.

This fic. Oh. My. GOD! Every update had me on the edge of my seat. Do yourself a favour, and go and read this fic. Especially as Demi is considering writing more in the same AU!

Strictly Professional by @palimpsessed [E, 38.5k, Carry On, complete]

This fic completed a couple of days ago, and I didn’t have time to finish reading it until this morning, and my god was it worth the wait!

Simon is a new recruit at Baz’s firm, and he’s joined the company just in time for the professional conference. But not in time to get his own hotel room. Cue only one bed forced proximity fast burn get together!

This fic pays off so quickly in the best way possible! The emotions Pal has managed to get into such a short space of time for the boys is incredible, and had me so invested in this relationship! Baz trying to remain professional, Simon’s unabashed flirting, neither of them managing to keep their hands off each other. Again, every single box ticked!

The Selkie and his Boy by @hushed-chorus [T, 21.8k, Carry On, complete]

It’s very rare that I pick up a T or G rated SnowBaz fic. I usually go for M and above, but once again, Demi had me hook line and sinker with this one.

Every year, Baz and his family holiday in Cornwall (can I just say how much I love Demi’s writing about Cornwall? It’s so nice to see the South West represented in fic!! As a Dorset girl who holidayed a lot in Cornwall as a kid, I love this so much!). Everything goes to plan … most of the time. One year, he meets a boy with bronze hair and blue eyes that utterly captivates him, and who he expects to spend the whole summer getting to know.

But the boy never shows up the next day. Or the next. Or indeed for the next several years.

Flash forward seven years, and an embittered Baz finally meets Simon again, and finds out why Simon never came back all those years ago.

An AU where Simon is a selkie, Baz is still a vampire, and Mordelia is unabashedly sassy!

Tagging (for both SSS and fic recs): @artsyunderstudy @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @aristocratic-otter @palimpsessed @larkral @orange-peony @dragoneggos @prettylightsbigcity @stardustasincocaine @fatalfangirl @cutestkilla @ileadacharmedlife @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @ebbpettier @martsonmars @erzbethluna @hushed-chorus

[theaceofdragons]

Have a weird little Royai modern fantasy AU excerpt

(I'm feeling really bad about myself as a writer and I want to share something I actually like. If you like it too, please let me know because I could seriously use the dopamine boost)

Thank you to @goneadrift and @dairogo for useful comments!

Good morning, this is Oakenwald University Radio and I'm Kain Fuery. As most of you already know, a body was found last night on the edge of campus, between April and Cadwallis Streets. We have an update from the Resembool County Police, who suspect the death wasn't accidental. They'll be releasing the victim's name once the family has been notified, and there was no comment on whether this could be related to the library break-in. We'll keep you updated as we learn more, and students and faculty are encouraged to keep an eye on your phones and email and listen to this station for updates, and to travel in groups and follow instructions from campus security. If you have any information that might be useful to the investigation, please call ###-###-####. Evening classes will be online for at least the next week, so check your email for details. We'll have an interview with Julie Adler from campus security at one this afternoon, and we'll be discussing how you can stay safe on campus and in town.

Resembool County Courier, May 5th, 20XX

Body Found on Oakenwald Campus Identified

Police have identified the man found dead on the Oakenwald campus on Sunday.

63-year-old Berthold Hawkeye's identity  was released this afternoon after police were unable to locate his next of kin. Police also confirmed that Dr. Hawkeye's death was not a result of natural causes, and that they had reason to believe it was also not a "random event." Detectives are continuing to investigate, and say there is currently no suspect information. Anyone with pertinent information, or who saw or heard anything suspicious Sunday night, should call ###-###-####.

Correction (1:32PM): An earlier version of this article referred to Dr. Hawkeye as Mr. Hawkeye.

ROY MUSTANG, 2:08 PM

Do you remember when I told you about Riza?

MAES HUGHES, 2:08 PM

I don't think so

Wait is that the girl who went missing

ROY MUSTANG, 2:08 PM

Yeah.

The dead man they found was her father.

MAES HUGHES, 2:09 PM

Didn't see that coming

Did you look for her this year

ROY MUSTANG, 2:11 PM

I did my annual social media sweep

The police couldn't find her either.

MAES HUGHES, 2:12 PM

I'm sorry, Roy

Do you want to talk?

ROY MUSTANG, 2:15 PM

I have to finish this paper.

MAES HUGHES, 2:15PM

Call me any time.

Resemblool County Medical Examiner's Office - Autopsy Report

AUTOPSY REPORT PERFORMED BY: Sarah Rockbell, MD

…cause of death appears to be a single stab wound at the midline, the force of the blow fractured the sternum. Further examination revealed roots embedded into the subject’s heart, which has been sent for DNA testing to confirm it is that of the decedent. Further assessment is on hold pending preliminary results…

CAUSE OF DEATH: Terminal damage to organs

Death Notices

Berthold Hawkeye, 63, passed away May 4th in Fieldstone, where he had previously spent five years as an assistant professor of physics at Oakenwald University. He is remembered by colleagues as a unique and brilliant man. Dr. Hawkeye is preceded in death by his wife, Nicola, with whom he has one daughter, Riza.

A memorial will be held Wednesday, March 7, at Oakenwald University’s Paracelsus Garden.

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 7:21 PM

This is Riza Hawkeye. I'm at the bus depot off E-23 and I need help. I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't an emergency. Can you help me?

ROY MUSTANG, 7:21 PM

This isn't funny and you have extremely bad timing

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 7:23 PM

When you were thirteen you wanted to ask a boy out and I told you the line you had planned sounded more like a marriage proposal. You got annoyed at me because you would never marry someone who couldn't even [INSERT SCIENCE THING] and gave me a serious talk about how important a commitment marriage is.

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 7:28 PM

I'm almost out of data on this prepaid. Will you help me?

ROY MUSTANG, 7:28  PM

I'm on my way

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Meet The Addams Family | Rhett Abbott x Addams!OC Imagine

Takes place before the events of ‘Wednesday’ and after OR S1

Link to my Rhett Abbott (plus Addams!OC) Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Rhett Abbott x Persephone Addams!OC (Romantic), The Addams Family (Wednesday version)

Content Warnings: profanity, fluff, light angst, blood, mentions of torture and attempted assault, implied smut. | Female OC (she/her) | wc. 5.2k (unedited so I’m sorry for some grammar/spelling mistakes)

Premise: Months after Rhett Abbott’s first date with Persephone Addams, the time to finally meet her family has arrived. And the Addams family sure know how to throw a dinner party.

Note: Sorry for the late update on this crossover series I have. I’ve had so many ideas for TGM that I’ve focused on those, also I was catching up on S5 of Yellowstone to inspire me for my Lana Dutton!OC x Rhett Abbott series.

Rhett adjusted his shirt for the fourth time in a single minute. His expression was one of unease, causing Persephone to run a hand up his arm, “You appear in distress, my darling. What’s got you worried?”

How could he possibly tell her? The last thing Rhett wanted to do was let his girlfriend down by saying he was close to shitting his pants at the thought he was about to meet her parents for the first time.

Morticia and Gomez Addams. An odd but loving couple to the naked eye, they were hopelessly devoted to one another and their children. First meeting as teenagers at Nevermore Academy, the two traveled the world before settling down to have three children. Then they went on family adventures, moving all over the US and finally settling in the small ranch town of Wabang, Wyoming. Using their wealth they pretty much grew the town by bringing jobs in with the many businesses they created and invested in.

Rhett had never spoken a single word to the Addams, only ever seeing them from afar. Now he’s about to come face to face with their entire family. Marking their sixth month of officially seeing each other, Persephone invited Rhett for Sunday family dinner. The cowboy was hesitant, but he was serious about his feelings for Percy and had dragged the meeting long enough.

He just feared he’d make a bad impression. Percy meant a lot to Rhett. The two were already half a year into their relationship since their first coffee and dinner date. They’d traveled together to Montana, Colorado to see the Stanley hotel, and have plans to go to Vermont in the upcoming year. Love was something he never thought he’d have, but with Percy he felt it second he was breathing. He was head over heels for Percy and Rhett knew how important family was to her. They still had yet to introduce the eldest Addams to his parents…..which would likely happen in a few more weeks so he needed to prepare that. Of course his folks were aware of the relationship, they just had never met the woman.

The other day while visiting Percy in the shop, Rhett kept babbling about what to wear, what to bring, etc. “This ain’t just a regular dinner, baby,” he took the box she handed to him, placing it by the empty bookshelf she was about to fill, “This is dinner with your folks—and your siblings! Who I ain’t ever spoken to ‘fore. I wanna make a good impression, s’all.”

Percy just looked up at him with a loving look, “honey you are worrying too much. Don’t give me that look,” she pointed a finger at said look, “You could walk in wearing your chaps and beat up flannel and my parents would not pay any mind. They’ve been looking forward to meeting you for months. Just be yourself and they’ll love you—it’s how I fell in love with you.” She didn’t miss how his cheeks blushed at her words. Kissing his jaw, Percy looked him in the eyes, “My family is providing dinner and expect no welcome gift—so don’t feel pressured to bring one. Just bring your good looks and attitude—you’ll be great.”

Rhett chuckled, shaking his head before leaning down to kiss her. “I can’t with you sometimes.”

Although she told him not to bring a gift, Rhett did buy a nice bottle of red wine. He didn’t have much when it came to nice clothes, but he pulled out his button down reserved for special occasions and a good pair of slacks.

“Just nerves, darlin’,” he told her, interlacing their fingers. The radio was playing old classical music, which surprisingly helped calm his nerves a tad. “Don’t wanna disappoint ya, s’all.”

Percy leaned over to kiss his cheek, “You could never disappoint me, cowboy.” For the remainder of the drive her head laid on his shoulder, the clear surroundings of the valley disappearing as they cut through the tree line.

Deep in the woods just outside of town stood the Addams family mansion. An eerie yet beautiful sight, the home stood as high as the tallest tree with an iron gate surrounding its perimeter and personal cemetery off to the side. What made it more spooky was the home seemed to have its own personal fog despite no ocean nearby pushing it onto the land.

The iron gate opened automatically allowing Lurch to proceed into the long driveway before coming to a stop in front of the stairs. When the car door opened, Rhett exited first then extended a hand to help Percy out. His nerves were still swirling as Percy led him up the stairs. They were met with the door opening when they hit the second to last step, and Percy’s parents greeting them with excited expressions.

“Hello, hello!” Gomez extended his arms out before moving to embrace Percy. “Welcome back, my little spider.” Percy said hello before moving to her mother, meanwhile Gomez turned his attention to Rhett. “And you must be the man who’s taken my daughters heart hostage,” Gomez held a hand out, Rhett immediately accepting it with his own. Gomez’s handshake was firm but warm and friendly. “Gracias, I haven't seen my little pomegranate this happy since she mentally tortured an old professor who harassed her.”

Unsure of how to really respond, while noting to ask Percy of said story, Rhett simply smiled, “It’s a pleasure to know I’ve held her attention this long and hasn’t gotten tired of me yet.” It must've been the right answer because Gomez looked like a kid in a candy store. Rhett then added, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Addams,” he turned to Morticia who was now staring at him, “And you as well, Mrs. Addams. Percy has told me lot ‘bout you two.”

“And yet you stayed,” Morticia smirked to her daughter. “I’ve taught you well.”

“I learn from the best, mother,” Percy moves closer to Rhett, placing a hand on his arm. “Rhett, darling, this is my mother, Morticia Addams, and my father, Gomez Addams. Mother, father, this is my boyfriend, Rhett Abbott.”

“Welcome to our home, Rhett,” Morticia’s teeth were blinding white as she smiled, “We’ve been looking forward to this day since our daughter told us the news. Please, come in.” Together they follow Percy’s parents inside the grand estate with Lurch closing the doors behind them. The butler, however, returns to the car before driving off back towards town. “Our apologies, but dinner will be later than planned. Wednesday is at fencing practice and should be home within the hour. Pugsley is doing homework.”

“Oh that’s no problem, Mrs. Addams. I ain’t in no rush this evenin’. You have a beautiful home,” Rhett compliments, taking in the gorgeous staircase with a crystal chandelier draping frown from the high ceilings. The outside looked like a castle, and the inside was just as grand. “Oh and this is for you,” he hands over the bag containing the wine.

“Why thank you, Rhett,” she pulls out the bottle and grins. “This is one of my favorites. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” he shrugs with a smile. Truth be told he didn’t have a fucking clue when it came to wine. He just remembered Percy say their family only ever drinks red wine the color of blood and went with it. Then he asked his ma about the good brands and she pointed him in the right direction. In the store he literally bought the first one his eyes landed on.

It sure was a lucky guess.

Percy looked into the living room to find the playpen was empty. “Where's Mona?”

“Down for her afternoon nap, darling. I wasn’t sure if you wanted her at the table with us, but made sure she had her nap so she wouldn’t be fussy.”

Percy gave a look of thanks, “I appreciate that, mother. Thank you. I’ll go check on her,” she tugs Rhett to follow her, “and may as well give you a tour of the house, mi amor.”

“Well see you back here for dinner,” Morticia tells him, Gomez waving a hand. Rhett smiles, letting his girlfriend lead him away. She shows him the main living room, the kitchen, the exit to the backyard which in turn leads to the family cemetery.

They move up the grand staircase to the second floor. “Over here is Pusgley’s room, Wednesday's is on the other end with a bathroom in between. On the third floor is Lurch’s room as well as a room reserved for my Uncle Fester when he visits.” Traveling to the opposite side of the second floor, Percy stops in front of an onyx black colored door. “This is where I reside,” pushing it open, the room is revealed to Rhett.

Everything about it screamed Persephone. Her vintage gothic aesthetic, her artwork, her love of literary tragedies and Edgar Allen Poe. It was a huge room—twice the size of Rhetts. Ravens painted the ceiling, black sheer curtains over the canopy bed and arch window. Black bookshelves filled to the brim took up a corner of the room connecting to a long wooden desk. An easel stood in another corner where sketches had been taped on the wall beside it. The bedspread appeared to be silk sheets, no doubt of expensive taste. Rhett spotted an open door that looked to be a walk-in closet, another leading into a personal bathroom.

“Wow,” he muttered, following Percy he let his eyes take it all in. Dropping her purse on the desk, Percy headed for another door located on the right side of the bedroom. Rhett nearly missed it, head tilting in confusion as he watched Percy slowly open it to peak in.

Then her lips broke into a grin, “Look who’s up!” A baby-like giggle was the response, making Rhett form his own smile. As they entered the connecting nursery, Desdemona had pulled herself up in her crib, and waited for her mother to take her out. Now one-year-old, little Mona was becoming an explorer.

“Someone must’ve heard us come in,” Percy lifts her daughter into her arms, placing a kiss to her chubby cheek. “And could not wait to greet us.” Upon seeing Rhett, Mona wiggles with excitement in Percy’s hold.

“Hey, munchkin,” Rhett immediately takes her from Percy, lifting her high before kissing her cheek to the sound of her baby laughter. Stroking Mona’s hair, Percy leans into Rhett’s side, “I’ll never not adore how you are with her, Rhett.”

“It’s what she deserves,” He turns to her, “what you both deserve, darlin’.” Kissing Percy’s forehead, the couple move back into the room with Rhett taking claim to one side of the bed. Percy lays on the other side with Mona climbing onto Rhett’s chest.

“How are you, mi amore? I know my parents can be….something. Well all us Addams are something, but you understand what I mean.”

Rhett places Mona in the space between them for tummy time, turning to lay on his side, “I’m doin’ great, Percy. I was a little worried, but your parents are very welcomin’. I’m glad I finally got to meet ‘em.”

“Well the night isn’t over just yet,” she teases. “You still have to meet my siblings…..and survive a dinner with us.”

About an hour goes by of the two just lying in bed with Mona, tickling and playing with the babygirl while exchanging kisses and talking before they’re called down to the dining room. As they come down the stairs, Mona in Percy’s arms, Pugsley races around the corner. “Hey, sis.”

“Hello, Pugsley. How was your day?”

“Boring. My teacher gave me extra homework because in our mock trial of Macbeth I said the verdict was bullshit and my classmates would never make it as lawyers.”

“Was it bullshit?” Percy questioned with curiosity.

“The prosecution forgot to present the evidence and the jury found him guilty.”

Percy tsked, shaking her head, “I do believe that your words were true then, brother.” Motioning to her boyfriend, she introduces the two, “Pugsley, I’d like you to meet Rhett Abbott. Rhett, this is my brother, Pugsley.”

Rhett tips his hat before extending his hand, “Nice to meet you, Pugsley. I’m Rhett.”

The boy shakes his hand, nodding to his Stetson, “Are you a real cowboy? That’s so cool—can you teach me to ride a bull? I wanna see how much air I can get when I fly off—.”

“Pugsley,” Percy gently cuts him off with a chuckle. “Let us eat first and then you can ask Rhett all the questions you have.” He pouts but nods nonetheless. They follow behind him into the dining room where the rest of the family is waiting for them.

Wednesday is the only one standing, staring Rhett down as he enters. Her face is blank, hands clasped in front of her, and she’s dressed in her usually black dress and Doc Marten shoes. There’s no telling what she’s thinking, but her stare alone is enough to send chills down the cowboy’s spine.

Percy places Mona in her high chair, “How was fencing, sister?”

“Like everyday,” her voice is monotone. “The other students have trouble accepting they lack skill and talent no matter how many times I have to tell them. Pouting and throwing tantrums each time I ruin their ego. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

“Glad to hear it’s going so well,” Percy smiles, motioning for Rhett. He adjusts his collar, feeling the nerves resurface as he comes face to face with the infamous Wednesday Addams. “Wednesday, this is—.”

“Rhett Abbott, son of ranchers Royal and Cecelia Abbott. Brother to Perry Abbott and uncle to Amy Abbott, and bull riding champion,” Wednesday interrupts, causing Rhett to still. The fact she already knew who he was and who his parents were worried him. Wednesday’s expression remained emotionless, “I know who you are. When I gathered all the names of those involved in humiliating my sister ten years ago, you were the only one who didn’t repost the video nor was a part in the act itself. You’re the only one who’s not on my list of revenge because Persephone never spoke ill of you. Considering you two are in a relationship, it must mean you are all she voiced you to be, and I would never harm someone my sister cares for. Unless, of course, you hurt her,” Wednesday tilts her head, as though to challenge Rhett, “Then I will seek what is needed to get even, Rhett Abbott.”

Before Rhett could respond, Wednesday turned around to take her seat. Giving his girlfriend a look, the cowboy made a face that read, ‘She scares me,’ to which Percy only patted his shoulder with a nod. “Come on then, lover, let us eat.” As they approached their own reserved chairs, Percy leaned over, “You'll get used to it. Eventually.”

The food was bought out and served to everyone’s plate. Percy fed Mona in between her own bites while Rhett made small talk with Gomez and Morticia. “Our daughter tells us you are quite the act at the local rodeo,” Morticia cuts into a piece of meat, “What is it you do?”

“Oh uh,” Rhett wipes his mouth with a napkin before replying, “I ride bulls, ma’am. I do the circuit—tournament when it comes ‘round.”

“Fascinating,” Gomez awes, “Have you ever been trampled, dear boy?”

“Father,” Percy warns.

“Oh my apologies,” the man places a hand to his chest, “I’m just curious after all the stories we’ve heard. Not to mention we saw Mr. Patterson’s son in a wheelchair not too long ago—said he was thrown off a bull. Marvelous animals those creatures are.”

“It’s alright,” Rhett assures, bidding Percy a glance. “But yes sir, I have a. In fact, it’s how I got this scar on my shoulder,” he pats a hand over the material of his shirt where said scar laid. “Wasn’t the first time and sure won’t be the last.”

“Why you do it then?” Pugley questioned with a mouth full of food, earning a look of disapproval from Percy.

“Cause it’s one hell of an adrenaline rush—‘scuse my language. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, darling,” Percy smiles, eyes full of mischief, “This table has heard worse than a few foul words.” Refilling her wine, she directed her attention to Wednesday. “Rhett’s niece, Amy, recently read The Prince by Machiavelli, sister. She had many questions I unfortunately could not answer, but I told her you were more suited in that area of expertise. She asked if you would be interested in having a discussion on it someday.”

“I am impressed to find there is someone else in this town with exquisite taste when it comes to classical literature,” Wednesday replies in her usual monotone voice. “I would be interested, however I am quite busy these days. Possibly once the school term ends I would be open to hearing her thoughts.”

Percy nods, glancing at Rhett who looks flabbergasted. “We’ll make sure she gets the message. Right, darling?” He just nods, mouth still agape and Percy pats his cheek lovingly. “How is your plan coming along, Wednesday? Any recent developments?”

The lips of the teenager curl up, giving her an almost sinister appearance. “Tex Garrison was arrested this morning after I emailed the evidence of his text messages with an underaged girl to the sheriff. Macy and Oliver Kilt were seen at the local divorce lawyer—Friday he received my folder compiled with all her bank statements from her hidden checking account and photographs with Brian Quinn—Brian’s wife also received a folder, but I have no update on them yet. I’m working on the main group as we speak. I’m hoping for it to be set in motion once they are all in town again.”

All those names were known to Rhett. Classmates from when he and Percy were in school. All of whom were involved in video recording the incident and posting it online for everyone to see.

Wednesday wasn’t joking when she said she had a list of everyone who played a part. And it wasn’t hard to piece together who the ‘main group’ was….with Maria as the mastermind.

‘Well shit,’ he thought, taking a large gulp of wine. It was going to be interesting what Wednesday had in store for them. Even with those who simply recorded and distributed the video, she not only fucking ruined their lives but exposed some sinister traits they were hiding. The news of Tex was surely going to spread like wildfire. Rhett made a disgusted face as he remembered the things Tex would say in class to his friends. It shouldn’t surprise him he was a piece of shit.

“Do let me know when the time comes,” Percy’s voice snapped him from his thoughts. Turning, Rhett recognized the look in her eyes. It was one of bloodlust.

He’d only seen it once, but it sure sent chills down his body whenever he thought of the memory. Two months prior they were at the rodeo and Percy was waiting for Rhett just off to the side where he would exit so they could head home for the night. Buckle bunnies would try to flirt but Rhett paid them no mind as he made his way to Percy. From where he was he could see her, dressed in denim and leather and giving him a look he knew all too well. When they made eye contact she winked, causing Rhett to quicken his pace, but before he could reach her a buddy of his cut in front to have a quick chat.

Neither saw the man approach Percy from behind with a predatory gaze. Something sharp was in his hand, a wicked grin on his face when Percy didn’t even flinch when his free hand came up to cover her mouth with the knife against her throat.

“Make a sound and I’ll cut you right here,” he whispered in her ear, unaware she was rolling her eyes. Thinking he had the upper hand he adds, “Now you’re gonna walk backward with me and turn around when I say—OW FUCK!!” Simultaneously Percy bit his hand and stomped his foot while her hand came up beneath the blade to pull his arm away. The sound alerted Rhett, his buddy, and another rider—all three snapping their gaze to witness Percy throw her head back against the man and flip him onto his back, taking his own knife in her hands to hold against his neck.

“Not so lucky now, huh?” She hissed, eyes blaring with fury that had the man nearly shit his pants. This was not the outcome he was expecting when he set his eyes on the pretty lady standing alone.

“Percy!” Rhett shouted, racing to his girlfriend who was seconds away from committing murder. He could see the knife in her hands and how close it was to the drifter's skin. One move and she would surely send him to meet his maker.

Others followed after him, one lady who was a barrel racer on the phone with 9-1-1, but Percy spoke for only the man to hear, “You were hoping to spill some blood tonight?” The question was rhetoric. It wasn’t her first rodeo dealing with scum. And this man was on a mission. If it hadn’t been her, it would’ve been another poor girl.

The drifter paled, pleading with her to take the knife away. How ironic……“I’m s-sorry! I-I—!”

“Blood will spill,” she smiled menacingly, onyx eyes staring into his soul. It was like looking the devil in the eyes, “But it’s going to be yours.” Then without hesitation, Percy brought the knife to his cheek and sliced it. Red liquid poured from the wound causing him to howl in pain. “Sleep with one eye open tonight.”

Rhett ran up to grab her while the other guys pinned the drifter down. “Baby,” he checked her for wounds, out of breath from running so fast. When he cupped her face to look at him, Rhett felt chills up his spine.

Her eyes were so dark he could hardly make out the pupils, and her face was void of emotion. Nothing but bloodlust was present.

It almost scared him to see her like that. Percy was normally warm in nature when it came to him. He’d never seen her so cold. How she appeared was likely how she was when she took revenge on Maria. It was a chilling scene.

But Rhett was more infuriated with the man getting handcuffed by the on duty officer at the rodeo who was waiting for backup. A nasty cut, courtesy of Percy, was on his face. It was so deep he was going to need stitches.

“You fuckin’ piece of shit,” Rhett went to approach but was held back by a few riders. “Think you can just threaten my woman like that? Ya lucky it’s only ya face that got sliced,” he pointed a finger at the bastard, “Knowing what you probably had planned I should’ve just let her finish you off. Lord knows she can and would have.” Rhett paused to spit on the drifter, “Bet you didn’t fuckin’ expect that, huh? Serves you right for tryin’ to do harm to a lady.”

The drifter was hauled into the back of a police car, Rhett going to Percy to take her in his arms. She wasn’t shaking or anything which concerned Rhett. Surely after being attacked she would be shaken to her core.

“I’m fine, darling,” It was like she could read his mind. “I’m right here. Nothing happened to me.”

His lips pressed against her head, “But somethin’ could’ve happened. That drifter tried to hurt you, Percy. I don’t care if it’s over with, that still scared the fuck outta me. I was right there and didn’t see the bastard walkin’ up to you.”

“I have good reflexes, Rhett Abbott,” she lightly teased, “I knew he was behind me. His smell was too overpowering.”

Tilting her jaw up, Rhett took a sharp breath. Though her smirk was teasing, her eyes told a different story. Glancing to the officer walking up to them, probably needing to take Percy’s statement, Rhett leaned in to whisper, “What’re you thinking right now?”

Percy remained collected, “Do you know what plausible deniability is?”

“I know it means to be willfully ignorant because you don’t know the actual details of something which can keep you from gettin’ in trouble.” Catching the shift in her expression Rhett adds, “Why?”

“Do you trust me?”

The officer was about fifteen steps away, but Percy kept her eyes on him, waiting for his answer. Rhett moved his lips to kiss the top of her cheekbone, “with my life.”

He didn’t know what she was cooking up for that drifter, but Rhett wanted nothing but for him to experience hell for what he tried to do. Percy smiled, though nothing about it was warm, “I’ve got it handled, darling. Don’t you worry.”

The next morning while Rhett was fixing to head to the barn he was stopped by Sheriff Joy, who looked at him with slight suspicion. “That drifter who attacked Persephone Addams last night was rushed to the hospital this morning.”

“What for?” He asked nonchalantly, shrugging his jacket on.

Joy leaned against the side of her vehicle. “Torture wounds. Pieces of his skin were flayed off, cigarette burns to his face, and it looked like he was bit by several venomous spiders. Black widows to be exact.” Rhett remained stoic, though part of him wished he could smirk.

Persephone Addams strikes again.

“I hear you and Addams are rather close.”

Rhett raised a brow, “yeah. And?” The whole damn town knew they were together.

“Would you mind telling me where you two went after last night’s incident?” Joy looked around to see if she could spot the Addams family car. “You two were seen leaving together.”

“What’s this gotta to do with what happened to that drifter, Sheriff?” Rhett saw her faultetr at his bluntness, but he wasn’t gonna let her come accusing them of something she had no proof of.

And he knew she didn’t have proof. Percy made sure of that.

Joy hesitated then said, “our security system was hacked into around three in the morning. None of our officers' key cards were used to get into the cell the drifter was held in and our night shift guard was rendered unconscious with chloroform. The system got back up at five just before the shift change. The guy claims he didn’t see who was torturing him—they blindfolded, bound, and gagged him before he could even react. Know anything—or someone who is capable of doing something like that?”

“Obviously not, sheriff,” Rhett scoffed, looking dead in her eyes. “Don’t really associate myself with those types of people. You know?”

“Look, Rhett,” Joy raised a hand, “I’m not trying to accuse you two of anything—.”

“Well it sure sounds like it.”

She made a face at the interruption, “but this drifter pulled a knife on your girl—who proceeded to give him a nasty cut when she shockingly managed to overpower him—.”

“She’s overpowered me plenty of times,” Rhett commented, biting back a smirk. “My baby knows a thing or two about self defense. Maybe she can teach your deputies a thing or two—.”

“My point,” she snaps with a glare, “is I know Persephone Addams has a thing for black widows and there’s rumors she’s done plenty to people who’ve wronged her. The drifter needed stitches with how deep she cut into him and I know all about what happened with Maria Olivares ten years ago.”

“Those charges were dropped, Joy,” Rhett interrupts, tone rising with anger. “It ain’t fair for you to be using that against Percy when you damn well know what Maria and the others did. And why the fuck are you faulting her for cuttin’ that drifter when he was fixin’ to kidnap her! If she hadn’t fought back who knows what the fuck could’ve happened or what if he chose some other poor girl as his target. A blind man could see what he was plannin’ to do,” Rhett shakes his head, “You’d be dealin’ with a whole different situation, Joy.”

That had her speechless, the officer bringing a hand up to caress her jaw. Rhett had a point and she knew it. But still, as much as she agreed with him and didn’t blame Percy for cutting the man last night, she was still an officer of the law. The drifter was tortured under their custody and they have no idea who did it. She had a job to do. “Rhett, I promise you nothing will come to Percy in regards to what happened at the rodeo. She was in the right and it was self defense, and the bastard is going to prison. But I just need to know where you two were after you left so I can clear you both.”

Rhett took a deep breath remaining silent. Then before she could ask what the fuck he was thinking Rhett removed his hat, jacket and began untucking his shirt. “Wha-what are you doing?”

“Showin’ you what we were up to last night when we got back,” the shirt was removed and Rhett turn to display the array of scratch marks on his back. The ones his lady were responsible for after they spent hours in bed. There were also some on his chest from when she was on top at times.

“Jesus Christ,” Joy looked away after getting a good look. “Why are you showing me that?”

Rhett shrugged, pulling the shirt back on. “Thought it was better than to say, ‘I fucked her on every surface until the sun rose and her voice was gone from how much she screamed,’. Or would that have been better for you, Sheriff?”

At that moment Joy received a text from her deputy saying Percy’s cell phone pinged at the tower closest to the Abbott ranch all night and there were no fingerprints left behind at the station that matched hers.

The deputy also relayed that when he stopped by the antique store for her alibi, that Percy showed him the various love bites courtesy of Rhett and that her voice was in fact hoarse that she could barely say words.

Yeah Joy didn’t have much to go with after that. She took her leave very quickly, but there was something about the whole situation that still left an odd feeling in her stomach. But unfortunately for her, there was no physical or even circumstantial evidence besides suspicion that would help her case.

One point, Persephone Addams.

Rhett hoped he’d never see that look of bloodlust in Percy’s eyes again, but knew if he did it was because the person her mind was set on deserved it. Seeing it at the dinner table of her family home proved that. Wednesday was planning something for Maria and the ones who played a key role in humiliating Persephone, something they sure would not be ready for.

Just like that drifter was not ready for what laid in store for him when he targeted the oldest Addams.

A coin is flipped when one meets a member of the Addams family. All they can do is pray it lands on the right side.

……………

Addams!OC taglist: @endofdays56