#Post season 5

[hairmetal666]

It's Wayne that goes with him when he buys the truck. He offers to go with him. Uses one of his few days off to do it.

On the way there, it strikes Steve that his own father would never do this with him. The man hadn't even bought the Beemer himself, just sent an assistant to take care of it. And here Wayne is, driving them to a used car dealership, humming along to some old country-western song on the radio.

It takes three dealerships for them to find it, but Wayne is patient, stoic, takes careful note of the cars that catch Steve's interest. He asks the salesman if he can pop the hood, peers at the engine, kicks the tires. He asks questions Steve would never think of, about adjustments to the odometer, history of repairs, if it was in any accidents.

Steve never considered wanting a truck, doesn't think it's his style. But he's walking the lot at the third dealership, and he sees it. It's a Chevy, blue and white, a few years old. It's in good condition, but was obviously used for work.

He walks towards it.

"You like this one?" Wayne asks. If he's surprised, he doesn't show it.

"Yeah, it's--yeah," Steve nods.

Wayne does his checks, asks his questions, gives a nod of approval.

It's the first car he takes on a test drive.

He barely has it on the road before he knows it's the one. It surprises him. He always thought he was his true self in the BMW, but now--the engine has a throaty grumble to it, can feel it rumbling through his foot on the pedal, and it's--it's--perfect.

"This it?" Wayne asks as they pull back into the lot.

"Yeah, yes. It's. Yeah."

"Well, let's get to hagglin."

Wayne is, of course, an expert haggler. By the end of it, he's got a couple thousand dollars knocked off the asking price, Steve more than within budget.

They drive back to Wayne's little house on the outskirts of Hawkins, the one the government gave him, the sun just disappearing behind the horizon.

Eddie stands on the small porch, wide smile on his face.

"Wow, Wayne," he says. He wraps an arm around his uncle's shoulders. "You really did a number on him."

"It's a solid vehicle, Ed."

"Never took you for a truck man, Harrington," Eddie teases.

"Can't you see how gorgeous she is?"

Eddie raises an eyebrow, his smile not faltering. "Wow, it's true love then."

"Looks like it. Wanna come for a ride?"

There's only a second where Eddie hesitates, but then he's running inside to grab shoes, tripping on his way to the truck.

---

It happened like this:

Eddie Munson died in the Upside Down in 1986.

He's reanimated by Vecna for the final battle, a puppet to do his master's bidding.

When they win, when Vecna is dead in a pile of dessicated vines, they can't find Eddie. Scour the Upside Down for him and come up empty. They have to assume he's dead, like everything else there, kept alive only by Vecna's power. None of them want to leave without him, but the world is destabilized, they can't stay, El has to close the gates.

That night, Steve pulls the battle vest from under his bed, sobs into the blood-soaked denim, the grief from the loss just as fresh as March of '86.

He and the kids, they go visit Wayne. It becomes a regular thing.

Two weeks after the end of Vecna, Wayne calls him. He's panicked, near hysterical, nothing like the man Steve's come to know.

He goes, fast as he can, to Wayne's house. All the lights are off, the front door ajar, and he runs, clattering into the living room.

Wayne is in the recliner, face pale and strained, and on the couch--on the couch--

Eddie Munson.

His hair's lank, his skin sallow, the light in his eyes dim, but it's him. Unquestionably.

Steve does the only thing he can think of, calls Hopper. He shows up a little while later with El and Will.

"I called Owens," Hopper says.

"Why would you do that?" Steve is angry.

"Look, kid, I get it. But none of us are equipped to deal with this."

He's right, so they wait.

It doesn't take the doctor, El, and Will long to figure that Eddie is Eddie, even though his heart beats a little slow and his skin's always cold and his blood is slightly the wrong color. He's still at least 75% human, and that's enough.

Only those six people know. It's dangerous to tell anyone else when the world still thinks Eddie Munson is a serial murderer. Owens asks for time to clear his name, and they have no choice but to agree.

After two days, Steve thinks he should give Eddie and Wayne space, but as he rises to go, Eddie's hand grips his wrist. "Stay?" He asks. Steve doesn't leave.

It's hard, keeping the secret from the rest of the kids, Robin. He wants to tell her, more than anything. About how they share a bed most nights, how he's memorizing the shape of Eddie's body in a way he shouldn't, how the gentle desire turns to profound longing--but Eddie's safety is the most important thing, so Steve keeps it to himself.

---

They go out in Steve's truck almost every night, always on backroads. It's the only way Eddie can leave the house.

It's Steve's favorite thing, the only time Eddie seems truly happy. They roll the windows down, turn the music up, and whip around deserted farm roads. Sometimes, Eddie will stick his head out the window, shout out into the night.

Steve is in love with him.

He has no idea if Eddie feels the same, figures it doesn't matter. He'll harbor this flame for the rest of his life without complaint because Eddie is alive.

He thinks he's done a good job at hiding his feelings, thinks he's able to avert his gaze, hide his blush, when Eddie comes out of his room in only his boxers, thinks Eddie hasn't noticed how Steve's eyes linger when they share joints lying in the bed of the truck.

Except tonight--tonight--they're driving back home, and Eddie, he's been quiet, distant, fidgety, and now he reaches out to turn down the radio, which has Steve's stomach in a knot.

"You--Steve, you've been so great. To me and Wayne, and--you're family, you know? To us, you're--but--"

And Steve thinks this is it, that Eddie noticed, that he's being let down easy, and he wants to throw up, cry, but Eddie's still talking.

"You have a life to live, right? You're--you're 23 and you're not stuck here like me, and I know Robin is ready to go and the kids are--they're going to college soon, and you shouldn't stay here for me, I'm--"

"What?" Steve says.

"What?" Eddie echoes.

"I don't want to leave," Steve says.

"But--"

"Where you are is where I want to be."

"I'm in love with you," Eddie says. Cover his face with his hands.

Steve pulls the truck to the shoulder. His hands are shaking.

"You love me?"

"I'm sorry." His apology is muffled. "I didn't mean--I know this fucks up--"

"Eddie." He says, soft. "Look at me?"

One deep brown eye peers up at him. "Eddie, I--I'm hopelessly in love with you."

Both eyes now, mouth a bright curve. "You mean it, Harrington?"

"Fuck, can't get enough of you, Munson."

"You know, if I thought for a second anything like was possible, I would've--fuck, I would've made a move ages ago. I would've--"

"Shut-up," he whispers against Eddie's mouth. "Kiss me."

---

And later, Robin will ask if he has someone, and he'll say yes, and she'll ask, soft, "is it him?" and he'll nod, and they'll both cry.

Later, a news report, Eddie Munson's body was recovered from the bottom of Sattler Quarry, bearing the same wounds as Vecna's other victims.

Later, Chief Powell will hold a press conference, say they're looking for a man named Henry Creel, wanted on suspicion of killing his mother and sister and the aggravated assault of his father with an MO that matches the 1986 killing spree.

Later, Steve will shave Eddie's head, Eddie crying softly as the hair tumbles to the bathroom floor. Steve will kiss the tears away, one by one, say, "I know it's hard to let go. But we'll move away, to a place where people say 'you look like that guy, that Eddie Munson,' and you'll say, 'I get that a lot,' and your hair will grow back, if you want it to."

Later, they'll invite everyone to Wayne's , everyone except Dustin, busy in Boston with an internship, and Eddie will be there to welcome them.

Later, he and Eddie will take the truck, drive up to Boston. And Eddie, he'll spy Dustin first, walks up to him and says, "Pretty metal tattoos, little dude," and they'll all cry until Dustin stops to yell at them for keeping the secret.

Later, Steve and Eddie will leave MIT--Dustin screeching that they have to call him every night promptly at 8pm still ringing in their ears-- in search of their future.

[imfinereallyy]

“The demon is back.” Eddie pokes into Steve’s side to wake him up.

“Babe, please go back to sleep.” Steve shoves his face into the pillow, making his voice muffled.

“Steeeeve.” Eddie whines, “It’s really there I swear this time. And I locked the door so I know it’s the demon again. Nothing else can get inside.”

“Eddie.” Steve squishes his face even deeper into the mattress. “You do this at least once a week. I love you; I do. But I never look because there is no demon. And every morning, you wake up fine. So please, go back to sleep.”

“What if I promise never to mention it again if it’s not really there? Will you look then?” This time Eddie’s voice wavers, his actual terror showing.

Steve sighs and shifts his head to look at Eddie, “This is really freaking you out, huh?” He says it kindly. Steve can tell this is serious to Eddie. So even if he doesn’t believe it, Eddie does. And what’s important to Eddie is important to Steve.

Eddie nods back furiously.

“Okay, I’ll look.” Steve shifts his head towards the other side, where the chair by the window sits. There, sitting in that corner is a dark shadowy figure. “Oh.”

“See! I told you! Demon! Oh god, it’s gonna get us.” Eddie throws his hands up. Even though he’s terrified, he’s accepted defeat.

“No.” Steve says calmly. “It’s just El.”

Eddie pauses his rant, “What?”

“It’s just El. In the corner. She does that sometimes, watches people she cares about until she falls asleep. To make sure they’re safe.” Steve looks at Eddie.

“The door was locked! How are you so calm about one of the kids just watching us at night?”

“Honey, she has mind powers. I don’t think a flimsy lock from Home Depot is going to stop her.” Steve deadpans before shrugging, “And it’s El. She could ask me to kill a man, and I probably wouldn’t even ask questions.”

“What if she asked you to kill me?”

“I’d be conflicted.”

“I want to be mad, but honestly I think I’d hand you the knife.” Eddie sighs, looking down at Steve.

Steve scoffs, “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t stab you. I’d obviously sneak some kind of poison into your honeycombs. Way less messy.”

Eddie goes back to nearly shouting, “Why have you thought about this?!”

“Honestly, I have a lot of intrusive thoughts. I just don’t speak them out loud.”

Despite the fact they are actively talking about his murder, Eddie can’t help but get all gooey with Steve in their bed. “Is this why you don’t get mad when I think aloud? Another reason why you just get me. Adding that tally to the ‘why we are great together’ column.”

“Yes, we’re pretty amazing. Can we go back to sleep now?” Steve smiles.

“Yes—wait, no.” Eddie corrects himself, getting himself back on track. He loves this man, but he is a sneaky little minx. “Why did El never say anything? I mean, this is not the first time I accused her of being a demon. Hell, we’ve been talking for literally five minutes, and she still hasn’t said anything. Also, what if she walked in on us doing, ya know, adult stuff?” Eddie blushes at the end. He’s acting like he hasn’t been whispering way worse things in Steve’s ear every night.

“First off, she won’t walk in on that. Apparently Max taught her about happy screams a long time ago.”

“Gross.”

“Yeaaa. Second, I’m pretty sure she’s asleep right now.”

Huh, now that Eddie thinks about it, he does hear soft little snores. Which is weird since neither he nor Steve snores, and they are both, ya know, awake.

“And I don’t think El speaking in a dark corner would have helped your fears. Like imagine just hear her soft “Hello” at 2 a.m.” Steve raises an eyebrow.

“I—okay I got nothing.”

“Fantastic can we go back to sleep now?”

Eddie gives one last shout, “You’re not going to stop her?”

“Are you going to tell her no? And make her worry?”

Eddie slinks down into the covers, “...no.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Eddie curves his body into Steve’s, seeking him out. Steve wraps his arms around Eddie, securing him to his chest. “Thank you for indulging me.”

Steve hums. “Anything for you baby. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Eddie kisses Steve lightly.

“I love you both as well.” El’s voice suddenly speaks into the silent room.

“Jesus Christ!” Eddie screams.

Steve can’t help the giggles that come out of him. He tries to smother them into Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie can’t find it in himself to be mad.

———

some people seemed interested in more el + Steve sibling energy. And they are a sibling-like duo I love. So here’s a little something but more steddie involved. I think all three of their relationship would be very sweet. Both Eddie and Steve would protect el. I hope you enjoyed :)

[belbobiggins]

What if Steven's mental decline started earlier, maybe a few months or so after the end of Season 5. Touch avoidant Steven my beloved

No projecting here noooo and definitely no headcanoning for sure

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Rain-Soaked Kisses

Ship: Steve Harrington x fem!Mayfield!reader

Summary: Steve hates storms but loves the rain—just another oxymoron of his life, like the secret the kids are trying so very hard to dig up.

Word Count: 6,582 words

Warnings: fluff!!!, sappy & romantic Steve, scheming Dustin & Max, healthy Mayfield sibling relationship, Billy mention, lumax sprinkles, secret relationship, friends to lovers, byler sprinkles, jancy sprinkles

Note: Told in part from the perspective of the kids! Written because it's storming where I am, and I love this weather so much.

☟ Continue below the fold ☟

"Who could he possibly be dating? There's not a girl in Hawkins that wants to go out with him!"

"Well, clearly one of them does!"

Dustin sighed, taking in Max's exclamation. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Steve had stopped complaining about bad dates and girls who left quickly; Robin reported he'd completely stopped talking about Leah and Heidi and Helen and the five other girls he'd been on-and-off again with; he walked around with a dopey, happy smile on his face all the time; and he was less and less reliable for rides, instead going on dates with a girl who's name he always pretended to forget.

As impossible as the idea seemed, Dustin had to admit it was a logical conclusion.

But who?

"Robin?" Max suggested.

Dustin shook his head. "Impossible. Steve steadfastedly refuses to date her. It's not Nancy again, is it?"

"Nope—saw her with Jonathan yesterday." Max huffed a sigh. "Maybe we have to...think outside the box more?"

"Who's outside the box? Who hasn't he already tried to date and failed miserably at dating?" Dustin demanded.

Max was silent for a moment too long. Then she said, "Alright, I don't know. I can't think of anyone who would actually go out with him."

"Exactly, neither can I," Dustin said. "We've got to watch him. We need to know who this is."

~❊~

But tracking Steve and his mystery girl down was much, much harder than either Dustin or Max had anticipated.

Without Steve driving them around, getting around town took twice as long as it needed, either in the attempts to find someone to drive them or in walking themselves everywhere. Nancy was either busy or with Jonathan most of the time, which ruled out Jonathan as well, and Robin still didn't have her license.

During yet another slow afternoon of trying and failing to put together the pieces of where Steve was going and with who, the phone rang. Dustin and Max both looked up quickly, scrambling over furniture and Dustin's new cat to beat each other to the phone.

Dustin got to it first. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dustin? It's Robin."

"Yeah, I know it's you, Robin, I can recognize your voice."

"Now's your chance."

"What?"

"Steve just left work—he said he's going on a date. Now's your chance to go find out who he's going out with!"

"Oh, shit!" Dustin turned to Max. "Steve's going on a—"

"I heard," she said. "Does she know where he's going?"

"Where's he going, Robin, did he say?"

"A restaurant, and he changed into a really nice outfit before he left here. And by nice, I mean really nice. Like fanciest restaurant in town kind of nice. Whoever this girl is, he really wants to impress her. And he's obsessed with her, too, he's been smiling all day from excitement."

Dustin scoffed. "And you didn't call us before he left?! Now we have to find out where he's going and how to get there!"

"Well, it's not like I could call you talk about him in front of him! Besides, we do know where he's going. What's the fanciest restaurant in town?"

"Enzo's," Dustin realized. "That's where he's taking her."

"I can guarantee it. If you go to Enzo's, he's going to be there. I'd go myself, but Steve and I'll both get fired if at least one of us isn't at the store right now."

"Thanks, Robin!"

"Good luck, guys!"

Dustin turned around to give Max the details, but she cut him off. "I heard. Enzo's."

"All we have to do is catch them in the middle of their date, and we know exactly who Steve's dating," Dustin said with a grin. "Easy!"

"Yeah, easy," Max snarked. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Dustin paused before he sighed. "Start calling everyone we know with a car, I guess."

Max rolled her eyes. "Like that'll ever work. Nobody's been willing to drive us around so far!"

"Can't hurt to try," Dustin insisted.

"No, Dustin, we'll be wasting time! We should just start walking now!"

But Dustin was already dialing the number to the Wheelers' house. It was answered by Mrs. Wheeler.

"Hello, Karen Wheeler speaking!"

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler, could I talk to—"

"MIKE!" Dustin flinched at the volume from the other end. Max cringed, hearing the shout from where she stood. "Dustin's on the phone!"

A few seconds later, Dustin heard Mike's voice. "Yeah?"

"Is Nancy there?"

Dustin could see Mike's frown. "What do you want Nancy for?"

"Mike, I don't have time for this—"

"What. For? If this is Keith trying to get a date with her again, I swear that I'll—"

"Oh my God, Mike, no! Steve's going on a date and we need to catch him to figure out who he's going out with! We need Nancy to drive us there."

"Dustin, do you realize how idiotic that sounds? Nancy's not gonna drive you to go spy on her ex and his new girlfriend!" Mike hung up without another word.

Groaning, Dustin tried to call again, but he was met only with the dial tone.

Max rolled her eyes. "I told you it wouldn't work."

"I'm calling the Byers," Dustin grumbled. He dialed the number, but when Joyce picked up, she was talking to someone else in the house and by the time Dustin had gotten out "Is Jonathan there?" he heard the click of the receiver being put back.

"Try my sister," Max said.

Dustin dialed the number to Max's trailer, but no one answered. He shook his head.

"She's probably out running," Max sighed.

"Another run? Isn't that all she does now?" Dustin asked with a frown.

Max shrugged. "She says it helps her...deal with things."

Dustin sensed a can of worms—the kind that most people would avoid, the kind that Max clearly wanted to talk about anyway. So he asked it, when most people wouldn't. "Things?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah. You know...the Upside Down, Eddie..." She hesitated. "Billy."

Dustin glanced down at his feet. There was blood associated with all of those memories. He knew they plagued all of them, those who'd survived Vecna and his creatures, and he knew that they all had different ways of coping. Dustin's was research, Max's was music, yours was running.

"She's more like him than she wants to admit," Max said. "At least, she is with the running. Billy, he...he used to exercise to distract himself. She runs."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dustin asked.

"No, it's just... She needs someone in her corner is all. And I don't...I don't think that person is me anymore."

Dustin's heart squeezed in his chest. "Max..."

She shook off his concern. "Come on—we'd better start walking, or we're never going to make it to Enzo's on time!"

~❊~

It started to rain halfway through their walk to Enzo's.

The storm didn't start gently. There was no warning before it started to pour, no flash of lightning or boom of thunder. Just a steady downpour, hard and fast and painful against the skin.

Dustin and Max hid from the weather as much as they could, ducking under store awnings and hiding under outdoor umbrellas as they came across them.

After getting turned around at least twice, they spotted the restaurant's glowing sign. They ran toward it, stopping at the bay windows peering in. They scanned the tables inside. From the parking lot behind them, there was laughter and the slamming of car doors.

"Do you see them?" Dustin hissed. He looked at every face he saw, overanalyzing the back of every head that looked like it might be Steve.

"Are we sure they're still there?" Max said. "It's been, what, almost an hour and a half? Who eats for that long?"

Dustin shrugged. "Enzo's is a fancy place, they've got designated courses and shit. They could still be there."

A car engine revved. "Are you sure?" Max took Dustin by the shoulders and spun him around. "Is it just me, or does that look like—"

"Steve's car!" Dustin hissed. "Shit!"

They raced after it in the rain, Dustin catching sight of Steve through the driver's side window, his hair perfect and a huge grin on his face.

"Is he wearing a suit jacket?" Max asked.

"Did you see who was in the passenger's seat?" Dustin demanded.

Max didn't answer, still staring after the car, her face fixed into confusion.

"Max?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I...I couldn't tell who it was."

Dustin groaned. "Shit! That was our one chance!"

"We'll get another one," Max snapped. "He's been going on dates a lot, right? Robin said so, and he's always gone because he's been on a date. He'll go on another one with her soon."

Dustin sighed. "Good point. Now we just have to wait. Come on—we should call Robin."

~❊~

Max walked home in the rain by herself, hearing her mother fuss that she would get a cold if she kept walking around in the rain without a jacket, but not caring. Louder than her mother's voice was El's: friends don't lie.

Should Max have told Dustin what—who—she saw in Steve's car? Or the fact that she'd seen them going into Steve's burgundy BMW in the parking lot while he'd been focused on the store?

No.

Yes?

It was too late now. Besides, was she absolutely sure of who she'd seen?

Well, yes, she knew you better than anyone. You'd been by her side her entire life. There were pictures hanging in the trailer of Mom in the hospital bed after she'd given birth to Max, but it was you who was holding her, sitting in the plastic chair next to the bed.

The lights of the trailer were on when Max reached it, but only your car was in the driveway.

She pushed the door open. "Hey, I'm home!"

You poked your head out of the door to your bedroom. Your hair was just as drenched and stringy as her own. "Max! There you are, I was worried— Why are you soaking wet?"

"I walked home," she said, shrugging.

You hurried out of your room. "Come on, we need to get you out of those clothes. Mom will kill us both if she finds out we've both been out in the rain in the wrong kind of clothes."

"Where were you?" Max asked as you brought her into the bathroom.

You glanced up at her but didn't meet her eyes. "You couldn't get a ride home?" You left her in the bathroom, running into her room to grab her some dry clothes.

"No—Steve's the only one who will drive us anywhere, and he's unavailable most of the time."

Guilt flashed over your face. Max narrowed her eyes, watching you closely. You didn't seem to notice. "We'll tell Mom we took showers if she gets back before our hair dries." You paused. "You could have called me, you know."

"I did," she said. "You didn't answer."

Your face fell. "Max, I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Are you dating Steve?"

The question stopped you in your tracks. "Max, I..."

"Are you?"

You sighed, wiping a a hand over your face. You sighed. "Yeah."

Max sighed. "Hand me a towel, please." You did so silently, taking one of your own to towel-dry your hair. "Why didn't you tell me?"

You shrugged. "At first, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I mean... I knew I liked Steve, but his track record with girls hasn't been good lately, and I..." You sighed. "I wanted reassurance he wouldn't be gone after a week."

"And after that?"

You groaned, putting your head in your hands. "This is...gonna sound stupid, but... Steve has been everything for you guys. For you, for Dustin, for El, everybody. He's saved you countless times, I watched him stand up to our brother to protect us, even though Billy beat him bloody for it. I didn't...I didn't want to feel like I was taking him away from you all, but I also...kind of wanted him to myself sometimes. And he seemed to want time alone for the two of us, too, so..." You looked up at Max. "And I didn't...want you to feel like I was taking away from you. After Billy..." Your voice caught in your throat.

There it was again. The silence that surrounded death.

"Died," Max whispered. "After he died."

You nodded. "After he died, I know Steve kind of...stepped up for you. I didn't want you to feel like he cared less about you just because I was in the picture now." You laughed shakily. "I know that kind of, uh, backfired. I'm sorry to keep him away from you guys for so long."

Max shook her head. "Stop apologizing for wanting someone that's yours." She breathed out a laugh. "I was just telling Dustin that you needed someone in your corner. I should have known it would be Steve. I mean, he's always been there for the rest of us, why wouldn't he be there for you?"

You looked over at Max. "Just how mad is Dustin that I'm dating Steve?"

"He doesn't know," Max said. "We've been trying to figure out who Steve's mystery girl is for months. He won't tell anybody, so Dustin wanted to try and see if we could figure it out ourselves." She glanced at you. "We saw you guys last night. At Enzo's. Or rather, I saw you. Dustin was too busy trying to peer inside the restaurant to even notice Steve's car."

You made a face. "How can you not notice Steve's car? It's a burgundy BMW for Christ's sake."

"I know!" Max giggled.

You laughed with her for a minute. The lightness in her voice—it had been a while since you'd heard her laugh like that.

After a moment, you said, "So...nobody else knows that it's me Steve is dating?"

Max shook her head. "Not even Robin."

You whistled. "I'm surprised Steve's capable of keeping a secret from her. It's gotta be killing him, I just know it." You giggled. "However...we could have some fun with this."

Max raised her eyebrows.

"If Dustin wants to know who's Steve's dating, he can keep digging as much as he wants." You grinned. "That's gotta be amusing, surely?"

~❊~

The storm that had swept in over a week ago had lasted the whole week, turning Hawkins into a mud patch and its roads into rivers. It let up briefly, leaving behind perfect spring days, only to return with a vengeance the next week—randomly on a Thursday afternoon.

Thursdays had become movie nights at Steve's house, and Dustin had concocted a plan to trick Steve into telling him who he was dating.

Max knew it wasn't gonna work. She had been present when you told Steve about Dustin's snooping and the both of you had decided to continue yanking Dustin's chain. Steve had seemed more excited about it than even you had.

While Steve set up his house for the group of rambunctious teenagers for movie night, Dustin explained his plan to Max in whispers.

"So, I'm going to try talking about Suzie for the first few hours," Dustin started, watching Steve like a hawk while he moved about in the kitchen, making popcorn for the group. "Get him thinking about his own relationship, you know? And then you know how he gets—" He cut himself off abruptly when Steve came into the living room with bowls of popcorn, setting them on the coffee table.

"Any idea when your sister's supposed to be here, Max?" Steve asked. "I thought she was driving you."

Max shook her head. "She said she'd come after she got out of work, but I don't remember when her shift ended."

Steve nodded. He disappeared up the stairs in the next moment.

"You know how he gets when it gets late into the movie and its dark and he's focused?" Dustin continued, picking up immediately.

Max frowned. "Like when he's so focused on something you can ask him a question and he'll either go 'huh?' and make you repeat it or he'll just answer without thinking?"

"Exactly like that," Dustin said. "That's when I'm—"

Steve returned with a stack of blankets. "How many of us are there, again? Twelve?"

"Thirteen," Dustin and Max both said.

Steve tossed the blankets onto the couch. "Go grab five more. Up the stairs, closet on the left."

They went up the stairs, Dustin whispering again before they'd even reached the landing. "I'm gonna ask him who he's going out with when he's like that."

Max rolled her eyes. "You don't know that'll work. He could say 'huh?' and make you repeat the question, like I just said."

Dustin shrugged. "Then I'll ask him something different, wait a little bit longer, and then ask again. He can't do that the whole night. Can he?"

"How should I know?" Max picked up the blankets and started back downstairs. Steve was whistling in the kitchen. "This whole plan is so stupid, Dustin. It's hardly a plan!"

"Do you have a better idea?" he hissed.

Max stayed silent. Of course she had better ideas, but those might make Steve actually tell Dustin.

"That's what I thought," Dustin said, clearly on the wrong path. "We'll stick with my plan." He glanced at Steve's back in the kitchen. "Unless your sister knows who he's dating? They're pretty much best friends now, right?"

Max nodded. "Blame Robin for that," she said, praying her poker face held. "I don't think she knows. I can't see Steve telling her if he hasn't told Robin."

"Fair point," Dustin decided. "Even more reason to rely on my plan."

She rolled her eyes. "Your plan is just going to annoy him until he kicks you out of his house."

"He likes me too much," Dustin said, with confidence Max wasn't sure he should possess—not about this, at least.

When they reached the first floor again, Steve was pacing around the living room, double checking he had everything set up. Max had to admit she liked the set up he had for movie night: the coffee table was set up with bowls of popcorn and a drink tray, there was a cooler next to filled with water bottles and soda cans, he had dragged every pillow in the house to the couch and floor, a fluffy winter comforter spread out on the carpet to make the floor more comfortable, and an egregious number of bagged snacks in a wicker basket.

"I think we're all set, guys," Steve said, surveying the room with his hands on his hips.

As if cued by Steve's motherly behavior, the rain outside grew louder, falling fast against the AC unit in the window. Steve winced.

"Looks like we're going to have to have the volume up high to hear the movie over the storm," he said.

"What are we watching?" Dustin asked.

Steve shrugged. "I dunno. We've got a couple choices in that cabinet over there, plus the stuff Robin's bringing. I think Nance had a movie she wanted to suggest, too, but I can't remember what it was..." His eye caught on the stack of blankets, leaning down to count them.

Dustin dug through the movie cabinet. "Come on, Steve, what are these movies? Why are they all romantic comedies?"

"Because they're my mom's favorite, dipshit," Steve said with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"There's nothing of value here!"

"Well, I'm not watching Star Wars again, so—"

"It was Star Trek last week!"

"Even worse." Steve looked up at Max and waved her over. She glanced at Dustin, but he was too busy judging Mrs. Harrington's taste in rom-coms to notice her get up.

"Would it be too obvious if I gave your sister my blanket? I miscounted and we're short one."

Max bit back a laugh. "I think Nancy might notice, Robin would definitely notice, but Dustin's still a little too oblivious for that."

Steve huffed a sigh. "Can't have one of them letting it slip. Alright, fine, I'll use mine and give her a different one." He glanced at his watch. "Her shift ended almost an hour ago, she should be here any minute."

Max frowned. "Why do you know her work schedule better than I do?"

He shrugged. "In case she needs a ride to or from work. Can't leave her stranded if her car breaks down again."

A knock sounded at the door. Steve grinned at Max, both of them knowing you had arrived. He rushed to the door, slowing down only when he was within Dustin's sightline again.

You were hugging your arms when he opened the door, your hair wet and stringy, your clothes soaked through. "What took you so long, Stevie?!" you demanded, hurrying through the door. Max pointed to Dustin before you could kiss Steve's cheek.

"Jesus, you're soaked," Steve said, taking in your more than damp appearance. "Did you walk here?"

"No," you said, pointing out the still-open door to your car. "It's just raining hard enough that I got drenched on the run from my car to your door."

Steve slammed the door shut before more water could get inside. "Uh, okay, come on, I think I've got something for you to change into."

You blinked at him, gaze flicking briefly to Dustin. "Oh, no, that's alright, I'll just—"

"I'm not letting you stay uncomfortable and catch a cold in these clothes," Steve insisted. You nodded, all too ready to curl up in one of Steve's sweaters. "Come on—you two, we'll only be a minute. Answer the door if anyone else comes while we're gone."

Steve ushered you upstairs. Max waited a few minutes before telling Dustin she'd be right back, using the bathroom as her excuse, wanting to keep an eye on the two of you and stop you from any funny business. She followed the damp footprints you'd left behind, slipping into the bathroom across from Steve's room and peering around the door. She smiled at what she saw.

You had ditched your wet pants and shirt and were pulling on a pair of Steve's jeans. Steve had his back turned as he dug through his dresser.

"Um...do you need a different bra? I'm pretty sure you left one here last time..." Steve glanced back at you and smiled. "God, you look cute."

You looked up at him, cheeks pink. "You're just saying that because I'm half-naked in your bedroom and the clothes I'm wearing are yours."

Steve shook his head, still smiling. "I'm sayin' it 'cause you're cute." He walked over to you, sweater in hand, and kissed your nose. "You are beautiful, Miss Mayfield." He brushed your wet hair out of your face. "Arms up, honey."

You lifted your arms for him and he tugged his sweater over your head. He pulled you to his chest as soon as it was on, holding you like it was the last time he ever would. Max watched your hand go into his hair, pulling a soft sigh from him.

"Kiss me, Stevie," you whispered, coaxing his head toward your own with your hand.

Eyes closed, Steve obeyed, kissing you softly, chastely. Max heard the movie-perfect sound of your lips parting before you tugged him back down for a second kiss, deeper than the first.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I love you," you said back. The two of you smiled at each other, sickeningly sweet, and Max wondered if the look on your face was the same one on hers whenever she was with Lucas.

Steve adjusted his sweater on your body one more time. "We should get back downstairs," he said. "Dustin might get suspicious."

You fell back into his arms for another hug. "Okay."

Steve took your hand and slowly lead you out of his bedroom, though he seemed just as reluctant as you to have to let go and pretend to just be friends. "Your sister thought it would be too much to give you my blanket during the movie, but I think I like having you in my clothes more."

You smiled. "If it's anything scary, I'll jump a lot and cling to you and we can blame it on the movie."

Steve grinned. "Let's hope Robin brings a good scary movie, and that Eddie wins the vote tonight, then."

Max shut the door before you could see it was open, making sure it closed quietly, quickly flushed the toilet, and turned on the sink and made a show of opening the door to see the two of you. She glanced pointedly at your hands.

"I thought we were still making Dustin guess," she said.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He brought your joined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of your hand before letting you go. "Alright, I'm done now."

The three of you headed back downstairs, Max at the lead and you just behind. Max knew Steve had let you go down the stairs first just so he could watch you prance around in his clothes and run his gaze over you again, but she'd give him a pass, just this once. You did look rather at home in his clothes.

Max watched you while you made yourself at home in your usual spot, in the middle cushion on the Harringtons' couch. In fact, she realized, you looked more like yourself, the happiest you'd been, since Billy had died—maybe even since you'd left California.

Credit where credit was due, Max would have to thank Steve somehow (without it seeming like she was thanking him for bringing you back).

"You want anything?" Steve asked you, tossing you one of the blankets. He set his down on the cushion next to you, then the blanket Robin had claimed on your other side.

"I'm all set," you promised. "Anyone else here yet, Dusty?"

Dustin rolled over onto his back from the place on the floor he'd claimed as his several months back, which he said was the best place to watch the movie from, but Max knew was his spot because it was still close enough to Steve, too. The middle, which was hers, was definitely a better view than Dustin's righthand side.

"Not yet," he said. "Hi."

You smiled. "Hi. Find a good movie?"

"No," Dustin said. "Steve's taste sucks."

Steve narrowed his eyes, picking up a piece of popcorn and throwing it at him. "For the last time, it's my mom's rom-com collection!"

~❊~

Max lay in her spot between Lucas and Dustin, Erica on the other side of Lucas, only half-paying attention to the movie while she braided El's hair, Will and Mike snuggling on the opposite side of Dustin. Max was sure Dustin felt singled out, being boarded by two couples, plus Nancy and Jonathan sharing a blanket and a lounge chair just behind him. Eddie had curled himself up on the chair on Steve's opposite side, covering himself in his blanket to protect himself from the blow of the AC unit.

Robin had managed to snag a new release that had just arrived at Family Video—Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, a movie that had only been out for a few months in the theaters. The kids on the floor had propped themselves up on their elbows, drinks and half-eaten bowls of popcorn in front of them.

Every so often, Max faked a yawn to duck her head back to glance at her sister and Steve. Robin was stretched out across both your laps, and the two of you had leaned together to share both of your blankets after Steve had muttered something about the AC being too cold, only for the others to shout for him not to touch it.

And judging from the way you and Steve occasionally exchanged a look, Max guessed you were holding hands beneath the blanket.

Max turned her attention back to the movie, lifting a small handful of popcorn to her mouth. Not so subtly, Lucas fake-stretched and laid his arm over her shoulders. Giggling quietly, Max snuggled into his side. She heard your amused hum behind from behind her, followed by a small chuckle of Steve's.

As it had the entire movie, thunder crashed outside. While the rain had lightened up enough not to be distracting, the flash of lightning visible through the curtains and the boom of thunder had been frequent and often made the room's occupants jump in fear.

Another boom of thunder announced the power flickering.

Dustin looked back at Steve. "Uh, Steve?"

"We've got a generator," Steve said, but he had sat up straighter and had pulled away from you, his face uneasy.

With the next flicker of lightning and crash of thunder, the power went out.

The group of thirteen sat in the pitch-black room in silence. Lightning illuminated faces briefly, showing Max that Robin had sat up, and that you, Steve, and Eddie were all on your feet.

"There are candles in the study," Steve said, breaking the silence. His voice was wavering, and Max remembered you saying something about cutting a date short due to the storm earlier that week. Was Steve...afraid of storms?

"I'll get them," you said.

"Matches in the drawer next to the sink and lanterns in the sunroom storage cabinet," he continued. "Eds, come on, let's go see if we can get the power back to the fridge and a few lights, yeah?"

"After you," Eddie said and followed Steve out the front door. The pattering rain grew louder as the door opened, revealing a world in grey scale, but still lighter than the inside of the house.

Dustin sat up. "Candles? Why not just use flashlights?"

"Steve only has two flashlights," Robin said. "Working ones, at least. But candles? The Harringtons have plenty of those."

Max followed you around the house, lighting the lanterns as you found them and helping you carry the candles back to the living room.

With the room now illuminated by flickering flame, it was easy to see the worry on people's faces.

"Do you think the whole town's out?" Mike asked.

"No, it can't be," Nancy said, but she didn't sound sure.

Will wriggled out from under his blanket. The look he exchanged with Jonathan was concerned.

"Everybody keep calm," you said, setting a lantern down on the floor at the center of the group. "Steve and Eddie will get the generator running in no time."

Silence fell, still and eerie. You sat beside Max and Lucas, and Max laid her head in your lap, trying to smile up at you. It only took a look for her to know you were lost in your head, in memories of the night Billy went AWOL and had been controlled by the Mind Flayer.

Max took your hand in hers. "It's okay," she promised.

"Mmm," you hummed, but your gaze was fixed on the door; you wouldn't relax until you saw Steve walk back in, unscathed.

The AC kicked back on. A few lights flickered to life and the low hum of the refrigerator filled the room.

Relief filled the room with the sound of an audible sigh. Moments later, the door opened and a waterlogged Steve and Eddie stepped back in.

"Did it work?" Steve asked. Then he heard the AC. "Alright, good." He looked around. "Turn the lights back off—the candles will do until power really comes back."

"Steve, you're drenched," Nancy said, "you're going to catch—"

"A cold, I know," he sighed, glancing over at you. You fought a smile. "Sorry about movie night, guys."

Dustin shrugged. "It was only a matter of time before we lost power. The size of the storm—"

"Oh, shut up, nerd," Erica said, rolling her eyes.

Dustin leaned around Lucas. "Do I need to remind you of the vents?" he hissed.

Erica narrowed her eyes at him.

"Children, children," Eddie admonished with a shit-eating grin that said he knew his chiding was only going to rile them up more.

"Eds," Steve warned, opening the curtains to look outside.

Eleven craned her neck to peer outside. In a small voice, she asked, "Can...can we dance in the rain?"

Nancy hesitated, then said, "I'm not sure that's the best idea, the weather isn't exactly kind at the moment."

Steve looked back outside again. "It's not raining too heavily right now."

El wrung her hands. "Joyce says it's...fun and romantic to dance in the rain."

Robin leaned forward, gasping. "You've never danced in the rain before?"

El shook her head. "Only biked in it."

"We have to go dance in the rain!" Robin insisted, jumping to her feet and pulling Eleven up with her. "It's a...a...a cognitive milestone!"

"I don't think that's the right phrase, Robin," you laughed, but you were also getting up. "Still, I think it's a good idea. Good way to pass the time until the power comes back."

"Come on, Nancy," Jonathan said softly. "Let her have fun. Mom's right. It's fun in the rain."

You took one of Robin's hands and one of Steve's and dragged them into the rain. Robin created a chain by grabbing El, who grabbed Max, who grabbed Lucas. The small group raced out into the street, running through puddles and spinning through the falling rain.

Dustin appeared at Max's side, his hair matted to his face. "It's like the time they were drugged by the Russians," he said, staring at Steve and Robin, the latter of whom was trying to taste the rain.

Max did a doubletake. "When they were what?"

"Don't ask," Erica suggested.

Laughter filled the air as the group danced around each other, twirling each other and splashing through the current of water at the side of the road. Steve tripped through puddles with Robin; Jonathan convinced Nancy to dance in the driveway; Will and Mike splashed each other in the puddles.

"May I have this dance?" Lucas asked, holding his hand out to Max and trying his best to look gentlemanly, which was ruined by the water running into his eyes and making him squint.

"You dork," Max laughed, but she took his hand anyway and let him pull her close, guiding her in a slow dance through the rain. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as you went over to Steve and Robin.

Steve stopped his fooling around, watching you approach with a dopey, lovesick smile. He held out his hands to you and you took them; he twirled you in the rain, catching you and pulling you close before you could fall in the wet road.

"Careful there," he laughed. Even with his hair plastered to his head, his clothes heavy and hanging off him, you were still looking at him like he was the most beautiful creature you'd ever seen.

Max watched the time slow around the pair of you. She knew you were both completely oblivious, cut off from the company around you, even from Robin's stare as she took in the way the two of you gazed at each other.

Steve swayed you, getting himself lost in your eyes. He cupped your face with one hand, running his thumb over your cheekbone.

Lost in your bubble, neither of you noticed that the others had all stopped to watch, unable to speak and break the spell—not even Dustin, whose mouth hung agape.

You were lost in Steve, Max could tell. Close enough to the pair of you now, she could see you drinking in every detail: the water droplets hanging off Steve's hair and eyelashes, the amazed curve of his open mouth, the gentle swipe of his thumb, the lovestruck look in his eyes, his rosy cheeks so stark against his otherwise pale, cold, and wet skin, the reassuring hold of his arm around your waist.

Max knew what Steve was going to do before it happened, before even you had caught up. He bent his head, slotting your lips together.

Like some magic, divine will, the rain fell a little faster, distant thunder boomed, and lightning splintered through the sky, lighting up the clouds above you and Steve, a dramatic backdrop to a kiss so similar to a first kiss.

Robin whooped first. You and Steve smiled into each other, but neither pulled away, and Max realized you had been aware of your audience the entire time; but keeping it a secret hadn't been worth skipping out on a spectacular rain-soaked kiss.

Mixed in with the cheering was Dustin's incredulous cries of "What?! Max, did you know?!" that she pointedly ignored.

Steve swayed you while the kiss continued, embarrassingly long but adorably sweet. When it finally broke, Steve pressed his forehead against yours.

"I love you," he said, loud enough to be heard over the storm. (Robin shrieked.)

"I love you, too," you giggled. (Robin shrieked louder.)

Steve pushed your wet hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead, then shoved his hand through his own hair to get it out of his face.

"Not what you were expecting, huh, Henderson?" he said with a cheeky grin.

Dustin looked flabbergasted. "How did you know I was— MAX!"

You and Steve burst into a fit of giggles. You snuggled into his chest.

"How is that comfortable? I'm soaked!" Steve asked you.

"Yeah, but it's you," you said. A soft, sweet smile pulled at his lips, barely distracting you from his quiet moan of relief. He squeezed you tight.

"You're going to need to borrow more of my clothes," he said.

You grinned up at him. "I'll happily live in your clothes, Stevie."

A few feet away, Mike sneezed violently.

"Alright, back inside," Steve decided. "That's enough rain for today. I don't need you all getting sick and still needing me to drive you everywhere."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Are you actually gonna drive us again?"

"If you give my girl the front seat and behave when she's in the car with us," Steve said. "Inside, come on. Go, shoo."

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, watching the others flee to the safety of his house, then following them in with you. You kissed his cheek as you walked. Max hung back with Lucas, wanting to know what you said about the sudden rain kiss.

"You are perfect, Steve Harrington," you whispered. His cheeks darkened.

"Says you," he said, nuzzling his nose into your hair. "Hey, um... You wanna stay the night?"

"Gotta take Max home," you said. "But...I can come back?"

"I...I'd like that," Steve said. Max wondered if he'd ever been this shy with a girl before.

"Me too," you whispered. Steve squeezed your hip.

Dustin rolled his eyes from the doorway. "Get a room," he groaned.

"Oh, shut up," Max teased. "You're just annoyed you couldn't figure it out!"

Dustin scowled. "You knew! You knew and you were hiding it from me!"

Max shrugged, fighting a giggle.

Steve passed out towels with a warning not to let them get close to an open flame. Halfway through his warning, the power flickered back on—and so did the movie.

The group cheered, but Max watched you and Steve sneak upstairs and come down a few minutes later in dry clothes, hand in hand. She smiled before shaking her head and turning back to the ending of the movie.

And if—no, when—Steve asked her for advice on how to propose to you, Max was going to tell him to do it in the rain.

☞ ❊ ☜

Stranger Things // Steve Harrington

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the S.H. taglist!} @ohatropa@nix-rose@live-the-fangirl-life

[lucagray813]

If you've ever wondered how I plan my fics, this is about the extent of it 😅 Actually, I don't normally write notes like this, I usually just have the initial idea and then start writing and see where it takes me. The fact I've not immediately done that tells me there's something else I'd rather be writing just now.

No idea if or when I'll get around to writing this but do what you will with the idea if you think it's of interest!

[celestialtitania]

for the want of figgy pudding

Merry Christmas @neumannhartwig!! I was your spouse house secret santa hehe!! Hope you enjoy!!

Pots and pans banging on the countertops, flour flying in the air, and the spice drawer is in complete disarray.

Adrien exchanges a look with Nathalie, hoping she has some answers, but she looks just as perplexed as Adrien feels. 

“Adrien!” Amelie beams. “Come, come, help us out!” 

Adrien very much does not want to go help her out. He’s heard the stories about Amelie’s cooking and he just knows things won’t go any better this time around. “Even Felix is helping, you must join us,” Amelie insists.

Sure enough, Felix is glowering there beside her, but the effect is dulled somewhat, considering the flowery apron he has on along with the big poofy chef’s hat. 

Adrien can’t help but snort looking at his cousin, having to bite his lip to keep from bursting out into laughter. It turns into more of a cough as he struggles to get himself under control. 

Felix’s glower intensifies, the promise of death clear. Adrien ignores him, pretending to look over at Amelie, who is beckoning him closer, to discreetly pull out his phone and snap a picture. 

He admits it’s late but he finally has Kagami’s Christmas present—one that should certainly have him winning major friendship points with her, he thinks privately. With that little piece of business taken care of, Adrien walks over to Amelie, who immediately wraps an arm around him. 

“Adrien! It’s so good of you to join us!” She twists her head to look at Nathalie, a playful smirk on her lips. “You too, sweetie. Get over here,” she commands. 

Nathalie hesitates, before shaking her head. “I’m really no use in the kitchen,” she replies smoothly. Adrien gapes at her, surely she isn’t planning on just leaving him in this chaos, is she? “It’d be best if I sit this one out,” she finishes. 

Outrage sparks in his chest. Adrien has never been more betrayed in his life.  

“I’d like you to stay,” he pipes up, refusing to let Nathalie slip out of there unscathed. 

Nathalie stares at him for a long time, before reaching up to shift her glasses. “Like I said—” Amelie interrupts her by grabbing her hand and pulling her along, crowding her into Adrien and Felix, until they are all clustered together around the island. 

“I’m no good either,” Amelie informs her cheerfully. She tilts her head to peek up at Nathalie. “Let’s be no good together, hmm?”

Nathalie blinks, mouth opening and falling closed without a single word escaping her lips. With a defeated sigh, she nods, acquiescing to Amelie’s wishes.

“What are we making?” she inquires instead. The countertop is full of ingredients: bananas, lemons, almonds, yogurt, and more. Adrien can see why she’s curious, if he didn’t already know, he’d be surprised by the strange collection of items as well.

“Cookies,” Amelie chirps. 

Huh? Confusion swirls in Adrien’s chest, the word cookies jamming into his brain like a puzzle piece being forced into the wrong puzzle. It just doesn’t fit. 

“Just about every kind you can imagine, really. Felix and I love baking together, and Christmas is the just occasion for us to let our sweet tooths run wild,” Amelie laughs. 

And that’s fine, it isn’t that he hates cookies or anything, but what about figgy pudding?

He doesn’t realize he’s said it out loud until Felix is laughing. “Come off it, nobody likes figgy pudding. We quit making that years ago.”

“Young man, I will have you know, figgy pudding is a delight!”

“Fine, maybe some figgy pudding out there is good. But none that we’ve ever made,” Felix teases his mother who laughs and nods. Watching them makes Adrien feel uncomfortable; he trains his gaze on Nathalie instead, trying to decipher what that look in her eyes means as she stares at Amelie.

“After the last few disasters, we called it quits,” Amelie explains, turning back to Nathalie and Adrien. “It’s just too difficult for us to make. So, we stick with cookies.” 

“Understandable,” Nathalie nods. There is a serenity on her face that Adrien hasn’t seen in a long time, certainly one that wasn’t there the last time they were both in this kitchen, eating the pancakes his father had made for them. “How can I help?”

His stomach twists at Nathalie’s easy acceptance of things, as if changing figgy pudding out for cookies is no big deal to her. As if a substitute will make up for what’s missing. At the very thought, an unpleasant taste settles in his mouth. 

Is this really happening? No further discussion, they were just going to move past this? Is he really going to have Christmas without figgy pudding? No, he can’t accept this.

“Maybe we could try making it anyway?” Adrien pushes. “We have all the ingredients right here.”

“Except the figs,” Felix points out dryly. 

Adrien’s face burns at that. He wants to tell Felix that he’d seen the oranges and almonds and had assumed they had all the ingredients for figgy pudding, but his throat has gone dry. An amused smirk appears on Felix’s face and Adrien wishes the ground would swallow him whole, so he wouldn’t have to look at it.   

“Or breadcrumbs,” Amelie adds in, looking apologetic. “Perhaps next time, honey.” She rubs his shoulders, making Adrien feel that much worse. It isn’t her fault they didn’t have all the items needed for figgy pudding.

And how he’s making her comfort him over something that doesn’t even matter. He wishes he’d never opened his mouth to ask about the stupid dessert.

“Of course,” he chokes out. He feels suffocated, the air no longer reaching his lungs. Worst of all, he can feel his eyes beginning to sting. Adrie needs to get out of here. Clearing his throat, he says, “I, um, forgot my phone! I’ll just go get it!”

Without waiting for a reply, he’s running out of the kitchen, ignoring the way Amelie calls his name or the gaze Felix has pinned on his back. 

“Who wants cookies when you can have cheese?” Plagg says dreamily. 

“I don’t want cookies,” Adrien replies, watching the Paris skyline from his window. “I wanted figgy pudding.” 

He’s feeling the familiar urge to transform into Chat Noir and leave everything he’s feeling behind in this room.

To be free in the night.

He would do it too, but unlike before, people come looking for him at the most unexpected of times. And the last thing he needs is a repeat of last year with everyone looking for him throughout the city.

He doesn’t want to ruin his aunt and cousin’s holiday too. 

“Want some Camembert?” Plagg holds out the slice to him, concern shining in his eyes. 

Adrien shakes his head, eyes softening as he looks at his kwami. “No, I’m okay. Thank you, Plagg.”

Plagg hesitates before pressing himself against Adrien’s cheek. The comforting gesture makes his heart twinge, a bittersweet sensation enveloping him for reasons he can’t explain.

They stand there for who knows how long, as Adrien tries to get himself under control.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Plagg darts into the pocket of his shirt, as Adrien turns to see who it is.

Felix.

He’s standing at the entrance to Adrien’s room looking painfully awkward, in a way Adrien hasn’t seen him look in a long time.

“Can I come in?” Felix forces a smile. Adrien silently gestures for him to enter, watching him silently as he does. For a moment, they’re both silent, unable to do anything other than stare at each other.

“I’m sorry,” Felix finally bursts out.

Adrien blinks in surprise. “Sorry? For what?”

Felix scowls at that, giving Adrien the most judgmental look he has ever seen. Adrien frowns, unable to comprehend Felix’s action. This is so odd he doesn’t— “No! Not like that…I just meant…why are you sorry? I’m the one who overreacted.”

“Shut up. No, you didn’t,” Felix says.

“I literally ran out of the kitchen because I couldn’t handle myself,” Adrien replies sardonically. 

“You don’t need to apologize for having emotions, Adrien,” Felix says matter of factly. 

The statement makes Adrien pause, inhaling sharply. He isn’t…he didn’t mean…

“If the figgy pudding is important to you, it’s important to you. I shouldn’t have been making fun of you for that.”

“You weren’t,” Adrien protests weakly, shutting up when Felix raises an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t make excuses for me, either.”

His shoulders slump. “I used to make figgy pudding with my mom. Even father would indulge in the sweet on Christmas,” he volunteers the information without meaning to, getting lost in the memories once he’s spoken them aloud.

Felix closes his eyes, a frustrated expression settling onto his face. “I am so sorry, Adrien.”

Adrien swallows, forcing his lips into a smile. He’s so sure it comes out just as bitter and twisted as he feels. “It’s okay,” he says softly. “Really,” he adds when Felix gives him another sharp look.

“It just is what it is,” he breathes out, gaze turning back towards the window.

He expects Felix to leave now that he’s said his piece but instead a determined voice cuts through the fog in Adrien’s mind.

“Then let’s change that.” Felix is looking at him with a self-assured confidence. “Come on, I have a surprise for you,” he insists, grabbing Adrien’s arm and pulling him out of the room. 

“Felix, I’m…” Adrien sighs. “I’m not really in the mood for anything right now, I’m sorry. I just want to be alone.”

“Just come down for a minute. And then if you still want to, I’ll let you be,” Felix promises. 

Adrien stares at Felix, who looks painfully sincere for once. Reluctantly, he bites his tongue and nods, allowing himself to be dragged down the stairs. They’re nearly in the foyer when he sees it, stopping dead, Felix’s broad grin in his peripheral vision. 

It’s figgy pudding on a platter. 

Even better, Marinette is holding the platter. 

“What?” he gasps out, practically floating the rest of the way down. “What are you doing here?” he demands. The last time they’d spoken, Marinette had told him that her grandparents were in town, so she couldn’t see him over the holiday.

“Grandpa and Papa got into a baking contest, so now Nonna and Mama are making them clean up. Thanks to that, they said I could have a few hours to myself…so I came to see you,” she beams at him.

“And…?” Adrien looks down at the figgy pudding she’s holding onto.

The look on Marinette’s face softens further. She lifts her chin to nod at Felix. “Someone sent me a text, letting me know it wouldn’t be Christmas without figgy pudding.”

Adrien stays silent, staring at the figgy pudding. Is it that he didn’t have a hand in making it? Is that what’s missing?

No, that didn’t make sense. There were plenty of times when his father would have him play the piano all night long, leaving him no time to help his mother out in the baking. It would only be at the end of the night, when they would all gather together, cutting into the dessert, enjoying it together—

Oh.

So, that’s what was missing. Adrien is such a fool. 

There’s a lump in his throat as he continues to stare at the dessert, Marinette had clearly gone to such lengths to make for him. Felix puts a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, making Adrien glance back at him. The concern is plain to see on his face.

It’s not the same at all. Everything should be wrong. Adrien has never felt more loved. He wraps an arm around both Marinette and Felix. “I love you both, so much,” he confessed, unable to keep his emotions inside of him.

“Same here, cousin,” Felix smiles at him, pulling away almost immediately, instead giving him a friendly bump on his shoulder. Adrien understands; Felix’s care is unconventional but Adrien wouldn’t change a thing about him.

Adrien turns away from him to look down at Marinette, who is looking up at him, eyes glowing with affection. “Love you too,” she promises. Adrien could have looked at her forever in that moment, but they’re interrupted when they hear someone clearing their throat.

Adrien looks behind Marinette to see Kagami giving him a deeply unimpressed look. “Nice of you to notice my existence, Adrien,” she remarks. 

A flush crawls over his ears and he chuckles to dispel the awkwardness. “Ahaha, nice to see you too, Kagami.”

She gives him a cool glance before exasperatedly rolling her eyes. “Let’s just get inside.”

Felix shrugs at him, moving over to Marinette to show her where she could put the figgy pudding down and put her coat.

Something sparks at his memory right then, and he glances back at Kagami who still looks mildly annoyed. “I have something that’ll make you forgive me,” he offers.

“I’m listening.”

His mouth twitches as he pulls out his phone.

It’s much later, when they’re sated from the feast Nathalie and Amelie had organized—half home cooked, half takeout— sitting around the table, sipping mugs of hot cocoa that they see the fruits of Adrien’s labour.  

“What’s that?” Felix asks sharply, pointing at Kagami’s phone.

The girl in question looks down at her phone and smiles innocently. “My phone,” she answers simply.

“No, no, I mean what’s that on your phone,” Felix clarifies, one eye twitching. 

“Oh, that!” Kagami smiles beatifically. “You mean my new screensaver?” She flashes the phone at all of them.

It’s the picture Adrien had taken for her, only it turned out even better than he’d thought, with the chef’s hat falling lopsided on Felix’s head, flour billowing around him. 

Marinette bursts into hysterical laughter the second she sees it and Adrien can’t help but crack a grin, carefully watching Felix’s face turn bright red. 

“H-h-how did…where did…” he sputters, arm reaching out to grab her phone. Kagami masterfully uses her quick reflexes to pull it out of the way, just in time. Felix clenches his fists looking increasingly frazzled, before realization dawns. He whirls around to point a finger at Adrien.

“You,” he snarls. He steps forwards to presumably rage at Adrien but Marinette barrels over him, demanding that Kagami send her the picture as well. 

“No!” Felix protests.

“Our entire class would pay good money to see this,” Marinette pleads. “As their former class rep I have a duty to serve!”

“No one ever needs to see this!” Felix shoots back.

There’s a chime. Marinette glances at her phone, her face lighting up. “Adrien, I love you!” she exclaims, already frantically typing on her phone, no doubt sending it off to all of their friends.

Felix’s mouth falls open. “Betraying me once wasn’t good enough for you?!” he screeches. 

Adrien only laughs, clear and loud. “Tis the season! Get in that Christmas spirit!”

Felix sits down miserably, “I hate you. Merry Christmas,” he grumbles. Kagami chooses that moment to hug him, a smitten look overtaking his face immediately. 

Adrien smiles, feeling content. It wasn’t the same, no, but seeing the people he loves around him is enough, more than. 

“Merry Christmas,” Marinette says softly in his ear, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He feels like he’s glowing when he looks at her, heart swelling with pure affection. “Merry Christmas.”

[i-promise-i-am-not-on-drugs]

Heavy Hopes - Chapter 1 - beansie - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

If you have ≈two hours, you should definitely read this.

It's absolutely amazingly written, Mike's trying to figure shit out (and he eventually does!!), Will is trying to get over his feelings (spoiler alert: he actually doesn't need to), and then they kiss and cuddle. 100/10, would recommend!!! :D

[fairygal11]

The newest Chapter of Reincarnated as a Demi-Human is now live! :3

[goldenavenger02]

just wanna lift you up and not let you go

But before Jay could speak, he was immediately thrown off balance by the near tackle of a hug that he had been pulled into and he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around Lloyd, wondering if the subtle heat radiating off of the boy's skin was just from sweating through yet another nightmare or something worse but he knew that he had to focus on the task at hand.

When everything had been said and done, Lloyd refused to sleep in his own room. 

It wasn’t like any of the others could blame him for not wanting to be left alone after everything that had happened, but they all knew that he found the most comfort in Kai and Nya and only went to the others when the Smith siblings were unavailable.

Which Jay was okay with and while a part of him wanted to be the one that others turned to, he also knew that between his periodic insomnia and his lack of motivation to clean his room after training and saving the literal city was not something that was inviting to anyone who had just been through half of what the youngest member of their team had gone through.

As the digital clock on his phone shone on his face in the pitch black of his room, telling him that it was two forty seven, the last thing he expected to hear was a sharp knock on his bedroom door.

At first, Jay contemplated ignoring it. His feet were finally warm after being under his covers for four hours, Mr. Cuddlywhomp was nestled under his arm and his eyes were just starting to close as he continued to watch yet another Vine compilation to try and battle the current bout of insomnia he was suffering from.

But the knock happened again, somehow sounding even more urgent than the last, so Jay moved Mr. Cuddlywhomp to the end of his bed, paused the YouTube video before setting his phone on the small end table and pushed his blankets off while hoping that there wasn’t an attack on New Ninjago City at that exact moment.

But when he opened his bedroom door, he was admittedly a little shocked to see Lloyd in front of him, tears still fresh on his face as he looked up at Jay even though there was maybe a two inch difference between them since Lloyd had grown another three inches in the last month.

But before Jay could speak, he was immediately thrown off balance by the near tackle of a hug that he had been pulled into and he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around Lloyd, wondering if the subtle heat radiating off of the boy’s skin was just from sweating through yet another nightmare or something worse but he knew that he had to focus on the task at hand.

“Lloyd, I’m right here,” Jay assured him while placing a hand on the back of his head and gently ran a hand over the blonde wisps of hair, “whatever happened in your dream wasn’t real. I’m safe, you’re safe.”

And with those words, Lloyd let go, his left hand around his right wrist and in the dim light, Jay nearly cursed at how flushed his cheeks were against his pale skin.

‘He’s sick. He’s feverish and probably needs some sort of healing tea-’

“C-can I stay here tonight?” Lloyd’s voice came out in a stutter, which made Jay stop in his racing thoughts about needing to get Misako, Wu or Kai to handle the situation that he knew was out of his element.

“Yeah, get in here.” Jay insisted against his best judgment and closed the door behind him before pulling back the covers so Lloyd could easily curl up under his comforter.

When Jay got in and pulled the blanket over both of their bodies, he was a little startled when Lloyd immediately curled up against him, his hot cheek against his chest, only muttering a breathy “thanks” before falling asleep with his arms wrapped around him in a way where he couldn’t grab his phone.

But at the same time, the light pressure that Lloyd’s now slack arms were applying made Jay’s body relax to a point where he was drifting off just as fast with a flicker of a thought of telling Kai in the morning before he was fully asleep.

…

When he awoke the next morning, the last thing he expected to hear was the sound of yelling; it wasn’t some sort of battle cry, it barely even sounded like an argument. If he had a guess as to what was currently happening in the dining room of The Bounty, it was probably Cole playfully taunting Kai louder than usual.

But after managing to maneuver out of bed in a way that wouldn’t wake Lloyd, Jay couldn’t hold back the quiet curse as he saw that Lloyd’s cheeks were just as, if not even more, flushed then the night before and now he could hear a subtle wheeze whenever he exhaled which only cause more panic to the master of lightning.

He knew that the boy’s sleep schedule was practically non-existent since they had gotten him back just the week before, but he also knew when to get help from the others and the current situation was out of his wheelhouse; As a result, he didn’t hesitate to go into the dining room where the rest of his team was gathered aside from Zane, who was more than likely working on breakfast in order to, at the very least, get an idea on what to do.

“Morning, sleepy-head,” Nya’s tone was light as she joked, making Jay’s heart flutter because he still wasn’t over the fact that he had lost her, “we already cleaned up breakfast but I’m sure that there’s some in the fridge for you.”

“The kid is in your room, right?” Kai piped up from where he was playing Uno with Cole and Nya, his voice laced with worry despite Cole putting down a draw two that would have made Kai’s hand steam in any other circumstance.

“Yeah, he’s still sleeping,” Jay swallowed nervously, the small lichtenberg figures that adorned his hands tingling like they did whenever he was nervous or stressed, “is Sensei here? Or Misako?”

“No, they made a tea run together,” Cole explained and Jay couldn’t help but mutter “shit” under his breath, which perked the attention of the Smith siblings as Cole abandoned his cards to put his ghostly, cold palm on Jay’s shoulder before asking, “what’s going on?”

“Lloyd’s sick. He’s been running a fever since last night and now he’s wheezing.”

“Damnit, Jay!,” Kai swore as he slammed his Uno cards face down on the table while getting up, flames dancing in his eyes while he approached, “why didn’t you tell us until now?!”

“Because he needed sleep!” Jay shouted back, knowing fully well that Kai wasn’t really that angry and more so stressed, which was evident when he deflated slightly in understanding of his thought process.

“Well, after that,” Nya spoke as she stood, her hand gravitating to her older brother’s shoulder, “he probably is awake now, so you two should go check on him,” Kai nodded and started walking toward Jay’s room, Jay following closely behind while hearing Nya say to Cole, “we should keep working on my elemental dragon.” before he was too far away to hear her speak.

Sure enough, when Kai opened the door to Jay’s bedroom and turned on the light, Lloyd was sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing at one of his eyes, asking “what time is it?” with a yawn.

But while to anyone else, the boy seemed normal aside from his skin being a shade too pale, Jay could still see the flush across his cheeks and the red, wateriness of his eyes that was a large indication of the boy’s sickness.

Sure enough, he wasn’t the only one who saw the obvious signs of sickness since Kai hadn’t spoken at all since entering and placed a hand on Lloyd’s forehead before making eye contact with him, “how long have you been sick? And don’t try to downplay it, I’ll know.”

Lloyd was slow to respond but when he did, Jay could tell that he was being truly honest and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was due to the fact it was Kai asking and not any of the others.

“Last night. I came in here because I…,” the boy didn’t even finish his sentence, the water in his eyes starting to inch down his cheeks while his shoulders shuddered, to which Jay couldn’t stop himself from pulling him into a hug before Kai could get to him.

“Hey, we just wanna help you feel better,” Jay insisted, watching Kai’s expression form into some sort of guilt from over Lloyd’s shoulder, “you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay?”

To his surprise, the boy nodded and squeezed onto him harder, seemingly using all of his natural strength to hold onto him, pressing his face harder against Jay’s shoulder.

“We’ve got you,” Jay insisted, rubbing Lloyd’s back to slowly coax him away from his shoulder so he could act, but it took at least five minutes for green eyes to meet his own, “I’m gonna go get a thermometer and talk to Zane, see what he thinks we should do until your mom and uncle get back.”

“C-can I stay here?” Lloyd stuttered followed by a deep, chesty cough as he no longer looked at Jay and looked at his palms instead.

“Of course,” Jay insisted, running a hand over Lloyd’s forehead to move his blonde wisps of hair out of his eyes and hiding his wince of sympathy when he felt the heat radiating from his body that he knew had to be uncomfortable for him, “do you need anything from your room?”

But before Lloyd could respond, Jay felt Kai’s warm palm on his shoulder as he butted in, “I’ve got that handled,” before his voice was redirected to Lloyd, “you rest,” and with that, Jay was all but pulled off of the bed and forced out of the room, Kai finally letting go once the door was firmly shut, “”you don’t have to talk about it?” You know that Lloyd bottles things up-”

“Of course I know that, you aren’t the only one who helped raise the runt! I’m not gonna pressure him to talk when he’s miserable!”

“That’s not what I’m saying to do, but you can’t just encourage him to keep it to himself either!”

“Oh FSM, you two!” Cole shouted from the hall, putting his hands on both of their chests to keep them from getting in each other’s faces, “Stop it! Lloyd’s sick, not deaf. He can hear both of you fighting,” Jay stepped away, taking a deep breath to try and regulate his racing heart as Cole continued to speak, “Kai, you should call Sensei and Misako, let them know what’s going on.”

“Fine.” Kai scowled as he walked away which had Jay trying to swallow his nerves away, but Cole’s quick turn from Kai to him forced his attention away from Kai’s anger.

“Look, I can’t really be in there, not with how jumpy he is around me when he isn’t sick,” the unspoken words “because I’m a ghost” didn’t have to be said, “I’ll do what I can to cool Kai down, but you’re kinda the head ninja on this, at least until Sensei gets back.”

“I know.” Jay nodded, trying to remember how exactly to take care of a sick person.

After all, he seemed to be the one who ended up sick the most, or would at least be the only one to admit to it, so he tended to be on the receiving end of the care from the others. 

“Alright, I’m gonna go find a thermometer, that’s gonna help with knowing how to lower his fever,” Jay started to explain to Cole, “and if it’s something viral, I’ll keep watching him since I’ve been exposed the most, but we still need a few ninja in commission between criminals and Nya’s training.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Cole agreed with a nod, “I’ll go see if Zane is starting on some chicken noodle soup and get Kai calmed down.”

And with that, Cole went towards the bridge, leaving Jay to start searching for the thermometer.

…

After getting Lloyd into the most peaceful sleep possible, now that Sensei and Misako were back and had gotten him to not only drink the tea but also had started to get his one hundred and three fever down, Jay knew he had to talk to Kai.

‘I can only use Lloyd as an excuse to avoid him for so long.’ Jay thought to himself as he started to search The Bounty in order to find the master of fire. He knew that he wasn’t in his room since the door was open and the lights were off, so he made his way to the deck while peeking his head into rooms the entire way.

Sure enough, Kai was above deck and sparring with Nya; Jay watched as their movements mirrored each other in awe. Nya was able to evaporate every blast of fire that Kai tried to throw at her, but he was an expert at dodging her attempts of hitting him with water.

But, as they continued to fight, Jay wasn’t surprised when Kai kicked Nya’s legs out from under him but also that the marks on his hands were starting to tingle when the Smith siblings turned to him.

Nya spoke first, her hands resting by her side and her brow dripping with sweat from the training as she asked, “how is he?”

“He’s sleeping, Sensei’s with him,” Jay explained, pushing back the thoughts of ending up with Nya that had plagued him after seeing the reflection in the First Spinjitzu Master’s tomb, “but last I heard, his fever is starting to go down.”

“Good,” Nya said with a sigh of relief while wiping her sweat on the sleeve of her red and cyan gi, but before she disappeared to more than likely clean up, she turned back to her brother with a grin as she spoke with a giggle laced within her voice, “I’m beating you next time.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Kai responded, but before he could go, Jay reached his hand out in front of his chest, stopping the fire ninja in his tracks as his tone switched from playful to anger, “what?”

“He’s going to be okay, but I don’t think you’re actually that mad at me,” Jay insisted, to which Kai turned around so his back was facing him, forcing Jay to take a breath in order to avoid blowing up before continuing, “I know you promised him that you’d look after him. I heard you say it.”

Kai whipped back around, but instead of anger, his face was contorted with guilt instead, “you got it. I said I’d look after him, and the same day, he got possessed,” he sat down on the deck with his defenses fully down, which allowed Jay to approach, “so much for a protector.”

“Kai, you can’t…you shouldn’t blame yourself,” Jay said, putting his hand on Kai’s tense shoulder, “yes, you made Lloyd a promise and yeah, we couldn’t protect him from Morro. But you know all that stuff Sensei says about not being able to change the past but affecting the future?” He waited for the nod before adding, “you’re going to feel guilty for a while about it and that’s something that I can’t get rid of for you, no matter how much I want to.”

“What exactly are you saying, Jay?” Kai demanded, his lack of patience for the resolution shining through.

“Until you’re able to forgive yourself, you should keep doing what you said you would do, what we all said we would do the moment we let him in, which is to protect him.”

Kai stayed silent, processing everything that had come out of Jay mouth, and while the master of lightning could have sworn he saw a single tear trickle down Kai’s face, it was masked by a soft laugh while he questioned, “even if he protests with his “I’m not a little kid any more” spiel?”

“Oh, especially if he does that!” Jay insisted while standing before offering his hand to Kai, who took it which allowed him to pull himself up, “even if it’s just because it’s funny to see the look on his face when we keep doing it!”

…

Three days later, Lloyd had already gotten through the worst of what had plagued him and while that was good for Jay now that he had his bed back, now they had a slightly bigger issue which was that the fever had been replaced with stubbornness.

“Lloyd, just go lay down,” Cole insisted as they started to suit up, having been called into New Ninjago City, “if you go before you’re better, you could get worse.”

“But I want to help!” Lloyd shot back, his arms crossed over his gi that he had all but ripped out of Zane’s hands when the alert had gone off while he was doing laundry.

“It’s just a couple of standard criminals, Lloyd,” Nya insisted, “I mean, I’m going and I just unlocked my true potential. That’s how low the threat is.”

“Then I can help!”

“Not that low risk, kid,” Kai insisted, “you’re staying here with Sensei. That’s just how it goes.”

Jay couldn’t help but feel bad for Lloyd who was practically pouting on the deck; after all, Lloyd had just gone through hell and then he had gotten sick and now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last mission Lloyd had been on aside from Stixx.

And in a moment of impulsivity, Jay knew what he had to do; pull out his fake cough and hope that it was bought by the others. 

“Why don’t you guys go ahead?” He suggested, coughing into his elbow, “I think I’m catching what Lloyd had.”

Despite Kai’s raised eyebrow, the others seemed content with believing Jay and agreed, flying off into the city with a few “feel better”s, leaving the two of them on the deck only for Jay to be greeted by Lloyd’s crossed arms.

“Why did you lie?”

“Because I didn’t want you to be lonely,” Jay shrugged, watching as Lloyd’s face morphed from questioning to a grateful smile, “now come on, I’m gonna teach you how Cole cheats at Uno.”

(If someone draws Lloyd hugging Jay, I will be so so happy)

[h-gf]

Miraculous AU where after Gabriel made a wish, Felix replaces Adrien as the protagonist.

Everyone lost their memories. They're all like NPCs. They don't remember anything, but they feel like they do. Things are new only if you remember they didn't happen.

The only one who remembers anything is actually Marinette.

Resurrecting both Emilie and Nathalie didn't directly kill anyone, but took a few years from everyone. All citizens are unaware they lost a part of their lives. Some people even died early.

And the new Monarch (surprisingly not Lila) wants to bring back the old world.

[0multifandomweirdo0]

The Past Never Dies

Summary; They got what they came for, so it's time to return to Katolis and prepare another plan. However, on the way, they stop at a campsite to see Amaya and Janai. After all, nothing can go wrong. Or yes? Little did Rayla know that her past would catch up with her and she would come face to face with an old enemy. And she didn't expect that her decisions in the past would endanger her loved ones.

Pairing; Rayla & Callum

Chapter; 1/3-4

Rating; Teens and up

AO3 Link; Chapter One

Sneak Peek;

"Callum," the elf breathed into the silence and opened her eyes, "you're staring." She added, turning to face him. To be honest, she doesn't mind at all. It embarrasses her a little, but it also flatters her. She held out her hand and two fingers to him. Callum's heart started racing. What will she do? What will her next move be? He felt himself blush at the thought of her touching him, even for a small moment. How could he stay mad at her for so long? He would love to kiss her so much, Rayla wouldn't mind, but he has to take it slow. He trusts her, but he doesn't want to end up completely ruined for two years again. He caught himself holding his breath. Rayla had definitely done something he hadn't imagined. She placed her fingers on his lids and closed his eyes.

Notice; English is not my first language, if you come across any mistake - let me know so I can fix it! Thank you

[theklancecollection]

Abandonment Issues - Takara_Phoenix

Word Count: 4, 828

Summary: Krolia is visiting the castle for the first time. Everyone welcomes her warmly.

Only Lance corners her and gives her a stern warning that she still had to prove she won't abandon Keith again.

Krolia is instantly impressed by the boy's protectiveness over her son, thinking he is the perfect mate for Keith.

Rating: T

[burningstarfishqueen]

a fallout fic, for the season five finale

He wasn’t alone. Adrien perched at the edge of the couch, Marinette lounging beside him. She’d finally relaxed. Graceful fingers played across her controller. Her chest rose and fell smoothly, a bit of her shirt wrinkling with each easy breath. 

Victory sounded. 

“Ha!” Her lipgloss shone in the sunlight. “Were you even trying?” 

He wanted to kiss her, but she’d been shy since their first. “Alas, your beauty overwhelms me effortlessly!” Hand clasped to his heart, he flopped into the pillows. 

“You’re such a dork.” 

“Your dork.” 

She leaned in. The bars on his window cast a shadow over her face. He reached out like it was a stain he could clean. His fingers brushed her skin and he could feel her shaking. His hand fell away. 

“Marinette-”

“When did it get so late? Time passes so quickly around you, Adrien. I have somewhere to be.” 

A glance at the clock showed it was patrol. He did need her to leave, but not like this. He caught her wrist in the gentlest hold. “Come by tomorrow?” 

“Of course.” She smiled brightly. “I love you, Adrien. Isn’t it great how everything worked out like this?” Lips pressed to his cheek in a lukewarm kiss. “Bye!” 

The way she ran brought back the first weeks of their relationship, when his touch triggered her and she fled from him. 

At least he had to meet Ladybug. Transforming, he escaped through the bars and vaulted to their meeting point. He sat down to wait for her. 

His father’s statue cut the sky like Chloé’s had, but Miraculous Ladybug wouldn’t whisk this one away. An eternal memory of the night his father died defeating Monarch. He’d thought he’d grieve more. Instead, the summer sun chilled him and a weight stayed in his stomach. He’d sobbed in Marinette’s arms the first day, but since then he couldn’t feel the right pain. 

Gabriel Agreste was a good man. He’d been right to call Chat an uncontrolled child. In his mind, he’d dared think his father was abusive. What sort of son thought that? He’d been ready to cataclysm him. 

His father was the kind of person who stood with Ladybug against Monarch, while Adrien, the superhero, crumbled alone in a white cell. 

Feet tapped on the rooftop behind him. He rearranged his features and turned to see her. Ladybug’s expression was unreadable, her face raised to the statue. 

“Hey, Bug.” 

A flinch. “Mon chatounet.” She offered her hand and he took it. 

They stood side by side, looking up. Chat’s lip twisted. 

“We should patrol,” she said. 

“There isn’t much to do anymore. Not after he saved us from Monarch.” 

“Are you mad at him?” 

Why had there been so much venom in his voice? His fingers clenched. “Why would you think that?” 

She laughed. “Nobody’s mad anymore. The world’s been great since I defeated Monarch. We, I mean. Gabriel Agreste and I!” 

“He helped you.” 

Her arms crossed over her chest as she twisted away. “That happened.” 

Frustration built in his throat. 

“Everything’s good again,” she said, “since he was so trustworthy.” 

He spat out the words: “I don’t believe you.” 

Slowly, Ladybug’s head tipped up. His father smiled down on her. 

“I’m right.” 

Her head shook, frantic. 

Chat put a hand on her shoulder and he was thrown on his back. Ladybug was above him, palms pressed to her ears. “Sorry!” 

Her lies, her new fears, even the way she stood added up to one thing. “He took your Miraculous.” 

She swallowed. “He made the Wish.” 

“For Maman. Père is Monarch.” His lungs didn’t have enough air. “Then how did he die?” 

Her breath hitched. He followed her eyes to the Black Cat ring. 

His body moved on its own, legs carrying him to the edge. 

“Chaton-”

He hardly heard her. 

Dropping into the square, he stood at his father’s feet, craning his neck to try to see his face. It was too far. 

“Cataclysm.” 

Rot ripped through the statue in moments. If only it could’ve killed the real thing so quickly. Magic ripped into the ground. It’d leave a scar. 

Ashes rained around Chat Noir, thick enough to blot out the sun. 

[celestialtitania]

What about number 67 for the kiss prompt ?👀

hello hello!! i think i cheated a little with this prompt because it's in adrien's pov but marinette is the one who's apologetic for reasons adrien is unaware of but im sure it's fine hehe. thank you for sending this one in!! i had a lot of fun with it <33 #67: Apology Kiss from this list by @kisspromptsforthelovesquare!!

“You said Ladybug gave these to you to give to me?” Adrien asked, staring at the wedding bands Marinette had placed on his palm. 

“That’s right,” Marinette nodded, a somber look on her face. She opened her mouth again as if she had more to say but fell silent, instead watching him.

For his part, all he could do was stare at the rings. He remembered how much his father had valued them, keeping his on at all times, even though his mother had been gone for a year now. He wouldn’t part with these rings for anything.

Having them now felt like the ultimate proof. His father really was gone. What was he supposed to do with them now?

“I guess I could give them to Aunt Amelie. I know she wanted them,” he felt himself saying. His body felt numb and the world felt fuzzy.

“No!” Marinette practically shouted, the reverberations sending a rush of vertigo through his skull. “I mean,” she cleared her throat. “Ladybug said you had to keep these rings on you at all times. And that you couldn’t give them to anyone else.”

What? What did Ladybug care about what Adrien did with his things? Adrien’s bewilderment must have shown on his face, because Marinette bit her lip looking nervous. 

“I think it was your father’s last wish,” she said softly.

His last wish. Even his last wish had him thrusting his own desires on Adrien, never mind what Adrien wanted to do with the rings, huh?

Well, he was gone now. Adrien didn’t exactly have to listen anymore; not when Gabriel had never listened to what Adrien wanted. And what Adrien wanted to do was throw these rings as far away as possible so he would never have to see them again.

Except.

Except one of these rings used to belong to his mother too. Except that Gabriel had gone out helping Ladybug against Monarch when Adrien hadn’t been in a position to do anything.

(He ignored the voice inside of him that said Gabriel was the reason Adrien hadn’t been able to be there.)

Except that Ladybug herself had asked Adrien to hold onto these rings. 

Marinette folded his hand, rings enclosed within his fist, her own hands covering his. Her warmth countered the cool metal.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s not your fault,” Adrien said automatically, but it was still true. He didn’t understand why Marinette had that look on her face, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. 

“I’ll keep the rings,” he said, hoping that would wipe the sadness off of Marinette’s face. It didn’t; she simply reached over, wrapping her arms around him and nestling her face in the nook of his neck. 

“It’ll make sense one day,” she said cryptically. Before he could ask what on earth that meant, she was speaking again. “Promise me you’ll never take them off?”

Promise? That felt a little drastic a measure for his parents’ wedding bands. And honestly? He didn’t really want to. 

Promising meant being held to another one of his father’s demands, yet another order that would exist for seemingly no reason. Another command he’d have to follow whilst remaining in the dark.

 “Please?” she added, her voice sounding desperate. She felt so tense in his arms, as if his promise meant the world to her and she’d shatter if he didn’t agree.

“I promise,” Adrien croaked, the words falling out unbidden. The idea of Marinette in any sort of pain was enough to make his rage dissipate. He would do anything to make her happy. 

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. She pressed a kiss to the side of his head, just holding onto him. He could feel the warmth of her breath in his hair and hear each inhale she took in. Even as she trembled, her arms tightened around him, making no move to let go.

Adrien didn’t know why Marinette cared so much about these rings, and there certainly was no reason for her to be so apologetic, but what he did know was that holding her was enough to diminish his own distress. With her, he could let go of his pain and start afresh. 

So instead of letting go and asking her more questions, he simply held her closer to him. They were just rings. What did it matter if he held onto them? As long as she was okay. As long as they were together.

Everything would end up just fine, he was sure of it.  

[erinsworld]

Saturday Snippets

This was originally started for this year's George Eads Appreciation Week, for the rubber ducky prompt.

It's still a WIP, but I actually managed to get some writing done on it today. Its still a little rough and I think Jack may have highjacked it, lol. I think it went off on a bit of a tanget.

“Please tell me they’re not real,” Riley asks, turning her attention back to Jack, one eyebrow raised as she pins him with a look.

“Now would I go and do a thing like that?”

He’s the picture of innocence as he looks back at her from the across the kitchen, and Riley huffs out a laugh and as she shakes her head in fond exasperation.

“You bought my daughter a horse, Jack. A hooves, and horseshoe’s, neighing real live horse, because she thought he was all soft and cute and she asked you to," Riley reminds her surrogate father. “So I think I’m validated in being a bit skeptical.”

“Now technically, sweetheart, Twinkle is a pony,” he says, like the height difference between the two animals takes away the point of her previous statement.  

“’Sides…” he continues as he makes a show of taking the pancakes off the griddle, each flapjack flipping high in the air before coming to rest on the plate that he’s holding in his other hand.

He gives her a wink as he shuts off the stove and moves the griddle aside. He picks up a small silver shaker and with a flourish and spin of his hand dusts the tops of each pancake with powered sugar to finish up his act.

Riley known Jack a long time, and knows one of his distraction techniques when she sees one, but still can’t help but be pulled in, impressed and entertained by the showmanship.

“It’s not like I brought him home or anything,” Jack defends.

“That’s only because, your no animals allowed in the GTO policy aside, he wouldn’t fit in the back seat,” she says.

“Mmm… Yeah. I didn’t really think that one all the way through,” Jack admits. “Good thing Thorpe runs that equine therapy ranch up in the hills and let’s us board him there. But… Jack Wyatt Dalton ain’t no push over, you know. I’ve gone toe to toe with the baddiest of the bad and not broken, no way a little girl will get through my steely defenses.”

“Is that, right?” Riley asks, amused. While there is no arguing with the first part of his sentence, from the very first moment that Jack finally met his granddaughter, she has had him wrapped around her tiny finger.

“That’s right,” Jack tells her. “Like… For instance… I didn’t buy her those penguins she begged me for.”

“Uh huh... Not for lack of trying.”

“Yeah… I think retirement has seriously messed with my mojo, that aquarium dude just wouldn’t give in.”

“It’s illegal for private parties to own penguins, Jack,” Riley tells him, not for the first time.

“I’m bettin’ Matty can pull it off. Bein’ away as long as I was, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her go full Hun on anyone. Ohh… Oh, I know,” Jack exclaims, eyes wide with excitement. “Taylor… He can pull it off. He would do it a second.”

“…Russ? I don’t even know why I’m asking this. Or even encouraging you with this path of conversation,” Riley says, “But… why Russ?”

“’Cuz money… He has more than he’ll ever use,” he drawls. “Big ole donation to the aquarium. Heck, we could have an entire wing named in our honor. Little princess can go play with those tuxedoed birds anytime she wants. And… oh, I’ll get Steve to come teach her to swim, and scuba. That way she can swim along side 'em. He may be a whiny water baby, but the guy’s like a fish himself in the water. And—”

“Woah… let’s rein it in, cowboy. No. Absolutely, no. None of that is going to happen," she informs him. "You know, I think I liked it better when you and Russ couldn’t stand each other.”