#Pots planter boxes

[hariththarangblog]

Buy Indoor Outdoor Plants Garden Nursery Chennai – hariththarang

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

hheheheheh, i went on a thrilling little trip today to the garden centre and bought some flower seeds (cornflowers and a packet of some mixed flower seeds), some herbs (thyme, rosemary, chives and a mint, but one that had a funky name), a new very pretty pot for the plant on my desk that desperately needs a new home, a new pretty plant so that my desk one isn't so lonely (it's so pretty, the leaves are both green and white. sorry, i don't know the name of it), as well as the thrilling purchase of some more dirt. a garden girlie is always in need of more dirt.

[dawnleaf37]

add more plants to object shows

[deathofapig]

Rooftop Philadelphia Ideas for a remodel of a medium-sized industrial rooftop deck without a cover

[enoshimakuro]

Pathway Landscape

An example of a mid-sized contemporary drought-tolerant and partial sun backyard stone garden path.

[salainen]

Rooftop Philadelphia

Ideas for a remodel of a medium-sized industrial rooftop deck without a cover

[yourcutelittlegayfriend]

Chapter 1 : Dear Mother, Goodbye

Warning : Bad English (So fckn bad), death?, saying bye bye to mommy, short chapt.

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As the darkness consumes me, I let the bitting cold spread through out my body, closing my eyes and settle to the back of my mind where the thoughts and whispers of quiet voices echo before drowing me down to it's depths.

I remember

I remember how everything was simple, so nice, so kind and.....

warm.

Oh so warm, she was warm, her voice, her smell, her touch and her love? it was the warmest thing I have ever felt and yet it's the thing I can never have, not anymore-

As I opened my eyes to greet death instead a blinding light made be flinch before blinking and see a light down the tunnel of the abyss flickering then grew size and engulfed me.

Gasping I woke and see myself back to where everything I ever wanted be again, looking down I see my small chubby fingers as I curl it around my palms over before looking up and catch a sight of my blurry younger self sitting on the floor infront of our old box TV.

Looking around I saw glimpse of my old home-

a broken window that was hit by a brick from one of the drunk neighbors as I remember her turning red as she almost ripped the lock off the window to pry it open and hear her curse like a true sailor before turning around and hear me laughing for some reason -her calling me a weird baby before blowing raspberries on my cheeks- then fixing it by using packing tapes.

a few planters on the corners from when she met a nice botanist lady and talk her into having greens around the house since it was to create a nice environment for a baby especially in gotham.

And a few wallpers with newspapers taped to cover rips, tears or holes but she won't use the ones where 'he's' in front page which was almost always but-

It was a busted down and dirty home that held the most beautiful and warmest memories that I'm slowly forgeting as I am losing myself more bit by bit.

"......"

A hum and a voice broke me out of my thoughts as I turn my head to see a figure working around the kitchen behind the couch.

My breath hitch as I take a deep breath as I push myself up and stood up on my shaking legs before taking a step and another till I reach the corner of the counter as I hear her humming closing in, peaking my head I stare at the back of her form as she continues to stir a pot of stew that I grew to forget.

"........ma?". I whisper and I rounded the corner of the counter, watching with baited breath as she stops by the cue of my tiny voice and raise her head.

I watch and move closely as she turns her head but with my younger and lower height the light shines from the window on her head obscuring her face to my view, her face? what does her face look like? why can't I remember her face? What does she looks like? Why do I keep forgetting?! WHY DID I FORGET?! THAT'S YOUR MOTHER! WHAT KIND OF-?!

".....? Oh! Sweetie Oh my God! Come here! Mama's here!". Her voice broke pass the voices as I feel her hand cupping the back of my head as her arms wrap around me and pull me in.

Eyes wide open I stare at the back of her again but with my head on the crook her neck and her fingers run through my hair and scalp lulling me and my thoughts to calm down.

"Mama...mama...mama". I tried to talk to her but only one words comes out making me frustrated and angry as I grip the back of her shirt while I feel her body rumble from her humming and soft hushing.

"It's okay baby, Mama's here you're okay, you're okay". She whispers and lay a kiss on the side of my head as she moves to carry up and sway to lull me to sleep.

'Mama.....I miss you....I miss everything about you....I miss your touch, your smell, your love.........I don't wanna forget you please......'

As her humming echo around the room hitting the corners and wall, so was the darkness creeping in and wrap around my head, each sway of her body stirs my eyes to close and each melody made my heartbeat match to the tone.

"It's okay my little love Mama's right here, I'll stay waiting till you're ready but for now rest". Her voice speaks to me as my eyes finally closed and drift me back to the abyss.

"I love you Ma, goodbye".

I say my last farewell one last time before opening up to the world and catch my eyes glaring at the rear-view mirror, two pools swirling around filled up by exhaustion and pain hiding underneath a never ending dark pits of anger and malice.

"Oh Dear Mother, we'll be together soon"

✧✦✧✦✧

✧✦✧✦✧

Oh my god, my shayla! my shayla!

had to rush this cuz it came to me after having a tense talk and crying session with my own ma after dinner, jesus that woman- love her but goddamn she makes me cry too much (in a loving way like telling me she's happy for me and stuff)

(And also a bit of credit to @acid-ixx new update the ch.5 specifically I hope it's fine I just read yours before this happened and kind of borrowed some inspo soooo heh-)

Taglist later cuz I'm stuffed with Mango Graham float and other Christmas food.

[reasonsforhope]

"For generations, the people of Erakor village in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu would pass their time swimming in the local lagoon. Ken Andrew, a local chief, remembers diving in its depths when he was a child, chasing the fish that spawned in its turquoise waters.

That was decades ago. Now 52, Andrew has noticed a more pernicious entity invading the lagoon: plastic.

“The plastic would form a small island inside the lagoon, it was so thick,” Andrew says. “We used fishing nets to pull some of the trash out, but we didn’t know how to get rid of it all. We couldn’t conquer it, there was just too much.”

While residents were struggling to empty Vanuatu’s waters of plastic, the country’s politicians were considering another solution. Could they stop the waste directly at the source?

Small island nations like Vanuatu face a series of unique challenges when it comes to plastic pollution. Many rely on imported goods to sustain their populations, and receive tonnes of plastic packaging every day as a result. Ocean currents pull plastic waste from around the world into Pacific waters, which eventually end up on the shores of its islands.

Few Pacific island governments have adequate recycling or waste management facilities on their narrow strips of land, so rubbish is often burned or left to wash up in rivers or lagoons like the one in Erakor. It is estimated that Pacific countries generate 1kg of waste per person a day, 40% higher than the global average.

In an attempt to drastically limit the amount of waste generated in Vanuatu, in 2018 the government became one of the first in the world to outlaw the sale and distribution of certain single-use plastics – including a world-first ban on plastic straws.

In the six years since, the results have been impressive. Thin, plastic shopping bags are hardly ever seen, with most shoppers carrying reusable bags at their local market or grocery store. At festivals and outdoor events, food is more often served wrapped in banana leaves instead of polystyrene takeaway boxes. Now-banned items used to make up 35% of Vanuatu’s waste, but now make up less than 2%.

Pictured: Pandanus leaves are now used instead of plastic bags at markets, but supply of the crop can be affected by storms and cyclones, vendors say.

The plastic islands that once choked Erakor lagoon are also shrinking.

“Since they started the ban, you can see the lagoon has become cleaner,” says Andrew.

It is a massive victory for a small island nation made up of just over 300,000 people across 83 islands...

In 2020, a second phase of the policy added seven more items to the list of forbidden plastics, which now covers cutlery, single-use plates and artificial flowers.

“It’s quite difficult to enforce because of the very low capacity of the department of environment,” Regenvanu says. “So we try to work with the municipal authorities and customs and other people as well.”

Compromises had to be made, though. Fishers are still allowed to use plastic to wrap and transport their produce. Plastic bottles are also permitted, even though they often litter coastlines and rivers.

Secondary industries have now developed to provide sustainable alternatives to the banned items. On the island of Pentecost, communities have started replacing plastic planter pots with biodegradable ones made from native pandanus leaves. Mama’s Laef, a social enterprise that began selling fabric sanitary napkins before the ban, has since expanded its range to reusable nappies and bags.

“We came up with these ideas to reduce the amount of plastic in Vanuatu,” says the owner Jack Kalsrap. “We’re a small island state, so we know that pollution can really overwhelm us more than in other, bigger countries.” ...

Willy Sylverio, a coordinator of the Erakor Bridge Youth Association, is trying to find ways to recycle the litter his team regularly dredges up from the lagoon.

“The majority of the plastic waste now comes from noodle packaging or rice packaging, or biscuit packets,” Sylverio says. He hopes the plastic ban will one day include all packaging that covers imported goods. “Banning all plastic is a great idea, because it blocks the main road through which our environment is polluted.”

The Vanuatu government plans to expand the plastic ban to include disposable nappies, and says it will also introduce a plastic bottle deposit scheme this year to help recycle the remaining plastic waste in the country."

-via The Guardian, June 20, 2024

[piratekane]

(a "lucy fills their home with things" kacy piece)

Lucy isn’t exaggerating. She travels light.

She brings a few bags of things—clothes, mostly; a few picture frames of faces that Kate recognizes; a sizable shoe collection that forces Kate to weed through her own and finally get rid of a few pairs she’s been holding onto for no reason.

What she doesn’t bring is trinkets.

There’s no novelty mugs, no knickknacks from Lucy’s college years, no potted plants, no paintings or little figurines that Kate was worrying wouldn’t fit on the shelves with her things.

She didn’t need to worry, though. Lucy makes four trips and then stands in the living room with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. She declares herself moved in and immediately goes to the drawer filled with take out menus; it’s a pho night.

Kate stares in wonderment for a moment. Four trips and that’s it? Her apartment is empty? Not that it would take Kate long to pack up her apartment, really, but it would certainly be more boxes. She’d have to pack the planters, the mugs, the baskets of blankets, the candles, the small collection of books, the stack of games she keeps for the possibility of a game night. It would take Kai and Jesse’s help, at least. But Lucy did it all by herself, up and down the elevator like she was going on a weekend trip, not moving an entire life from one apartment to another.

“I just don’t need a lot,” she tells Kate that night, a sheet pooled around her waist as she lays back on her pillow. “Work, gym, and you. I wasn’t kidding.”

Kate doesn’t need a lot either, but she does have small things. Jane bought her an orchid in a yellow pot that thrives in the living room. She has a few things from Northwestern on a shelf nearby. A stack of books on a side table. Three mugs with silly slogans she got as a gag gift in D.C. that she used to hide in the back of the cupboard before she didn’t care if Lucy saw them. A novelty, oversized fork that hangs by the stove. Just a couple of things that give her apartment a version of a personality without overwhelming things.

Kate ran a finger over the swell of Lucy’s hip and they hadn’t talked about it again.

-

Kate doesn’t notice it at first, rushing in the morning because Lucy rolled across her just before her alarm went off and they got caught up in each other. She needs to start putting her foot down because she’s been nearly late to work too many times since Lucy moved in. But every time she thinks about telling Lucy they can’t, they have no time, Lucy tosses those curls over her shoulder and bats her eyes and smiles that slow smile Kate always gives in to.

So she misses it, sitting on the kitchen counter. She doesn’t see it until later, peeling her silk shirt off with a groan as the fabric sticks to her skin. It was a hot day and she spent too much of it running around. Her texts say that Lucy is finishing up a few notes but she’ll be home soon—home, Kate thinks, smile unconscious—and can Kate please make fettuccine Alfredo if they have the right ingredients? Kate opens and closes the refrigerator and cabinets and they have the basics but she’ll have to go back out to get cream. She fires off a text to have Lucy stop and pick up a few things and finds a wine glass, pouring herself a drink.

When she puts it down on the counter she sees it: a small, golden set of letters, interlocked seamlessly so she can barely tell where one ends and one begins. A K&L so small that she could fit in the center of her palm. It’s tucked next to the coffee maker, inconspicuous. Kate frowns, picking it up and turning it over. She didn’t bring this home, and logically it could have only been Lucy who did, but when did she put it on the counter? Was it here yesterday? Just how unobservant has she been lately?

She holds it for another moment before placing it gently down on the counter where it was. A fingerprint shines on the golden surface but she doesn’t wipe it away. Something about erasing it makes her chest ache with an unknown feelings. She tucks it back a little, tighter to the coffee maker, and makes a note to ask Lucy about it.

Lucy barrels through the front door 10 minutes and half a glass of wine later, already laughing as she launches into whatever Jesse did to Kai today and Kate forgets to ask Lucy where the K&L came from, too caught up in her whirlwind and the bruising kiss she pulls Kate into to remember it.

They don’t have fettuccine Alfredo but Lucy, standing behind her at the kitchen counter as Kate lazily stirs peppers and onions and Lucy presses even lazier kisses to her shoulder, doesn’t seem to mind.

-

Things start appearing.

Kate thinks she might be going crazy, honestly. Every time she looks around, more things pop up. She finds a bonsai tree on the coffee table one night when she gets home from work and Lucy is stretched across the couch, snoring. A new candle is burning on the counter when she gets back from her Saturday morning surfing. A bobble head pops up on Lucy’s nightstand that looks suspiciously like Jesse. Kate blinks and the tissue box in the living room has a strange Dallas Cowboys cover on it that she didn’t realize you could still buy. Then there’s a caricature of the two of them Kate doesn’t remember sitting for tucked onto the wall with all of their degrees. An NCIS mug finds its way into the cupboard and behind it is one with “Aloha Hawai’i” on it.

Kate looks around their apartment and wonders how Lucy keeps sneaking things in without her noticing. Or why she’s sneaking them in the first place.

But she doesn’t mind them. She does thinks the bobble head is creepy and she makes Lucy turn it to face the wall whenever Lucy’s hand snakes across the sheets to Kate’s thigh. But the rest of them, things her mother would probably turn her nose up at, don’t bother her. They’re cute, if a little kitschy. They bring a little life into their home, pops of color that Kate wouldn’t have thought to bring in herself.

Lucy doesn’t say anything about them either. She just keeps adding things: a wooden sign for the bathroom with a giant palm tree on it that takes Kate a week until she decides that no one sees their bathroom because no one visits; a three-candle holder sprayed a deep teal color that Kate thinks looks like the ocean before a storm: a new coffee pod container with a subtle rainbow on it; a small hand-painted pineapple.

Kate just lets these things pile up in their apartment and silently brings Ernie the bobble head after its beady eyes follow her around her bedroom in her towel.

-

“Okay,” Kate finally declares when she comes home to find a small clown figurine on the counter next to the wooden, painted bowl Lucy bought to house their oranges. “We need to talk.”

Lucy looks up from peeling one of those oranges and her brow furrows. “That’s never good.”

Kate frowns before it clears. “Oh, not like that.” She follows her words with her hands curling around Lucy’s waist and pressing a kiss to the top of Lucy’s head. She points to the clown. “About this.”

“You don’t like clowns.”

“I do not like clowns,” she confirms. “But I meant, where are all these things coming from?”

Lucy looks confused. “Where is what coming from?”

Kate sweeps an arm across their apartment and things Lucy has been bringing home. “All of this. The knickknacks. The trinkets. The… clown statue.”

Lucy brightens. “Oh, do you like them? Not the clown, obviously. I will get rid of that. Ernie is strangely afraid of clowns, too.”

“I didn’t say I was afraid. They’re just unnatural,” Kate insists. She shakes her head, getting back on track. “But where are they coming from?”

Lucy shrugs. “Everywhere. Whenever I see something I think you might like, I pick it up. This place was a little… boring. It needed some personality.”

Kate frowns. “It wasn’t boring. I just... wasn’t here a lot.” She leans one hip against the counter. “So you were just going to fill our place with ‘personality’ until we suffocate under screen-printed blankets and dog statues?”

“Well, you never said anything about them.”

“Neither did you.”

Lucy shrugs again. “I figured you’d say something if you didn’t like them.”

Kate softens. She tucks some of Lucy’s hair behind her ear. “I like them. Most of them,” she amends. “The sign in the bathroom is not my favorite. But the rest of them, I like,” she rushes to add. “I just didn’t think you were someone who liked those things. I mean, you literally brought nothing but clothes and shoes when you moved in.”

Lucy abandons the orange, turning until her stance mirrors Kate’s. She looks thoughtful as her gaze slides towards the open balcony doors. “My house growing up was… spartan. Not that it was empty, but we were doing the minimalist thing before it was cool. And so I never had these things. The knickknacks, you know?” She meets Kate’s eyes. “I told myself that when I had a home, I’d do the opposite. I’d get all the weird little things I saw, that I liked. And I’d buy them and fill a whole place with them.”

Something softens even more in Kate’s chest. It melts, warm and slow, through her body. She smiles softly, hands reaching for Lucy’s waist and curling in her shirt. “So you bought them now.”

“I have a home now,” Lucy says simply. “I didn’t before.”

Kate tugs Lucy forward a few inches until their hips press together. Her forehead drops to Lucy’s. “I love them. Well, except—“

“The clown and the bathroom sign,” Lucy finishes. Her lips twitch in a smile. “Noted.” She presses up on her toes, their lips brushing. “What about a different bathroom sign?”

“How about no bathroom sign?” Kate counters. She presses their lips together with more purpose. “And a no bobble head rule.”

Lucy laughs softly. “I’ll cancel my order, then. It’s a shame. You would have been a cute bobble head.” She unwinds from Kate’s grip, picks up an orange slice, and crosses the apartment, grinning.

“That’s not funny, Lucy.” Kate frowns when Lucy only smiles wider. “That was Jesse,” she accuses. “I knew it! Lucy, that was so creepy!”

Lucy laughs and pops an orange slice into her mouth. “I was going to fill the apartment with the team until you said something,” she admits. “But I guess they can go in Ernie’s lair.”

Kate rolls her eyes as Lucy disappears into the bedroom. She looks around the apartment—at the K&L by the coffee maker, the Cowboys tissue box, the half-filled “Aloha Hawai’i” mug, the coffee pod container, the collection of candles growing at the unused end of the counter. All little things Lucy picked up, picked out for them.

Trinkets, knickknacks, souvenirs, baubles—it would take Lucy more than four trips to move out now. And Kate agrees, it makes it look like a home in her with all these things, these novelties handpicked by the woman she loves.

Lucy hums from the bedroom and Kate smiles to herself before she catches sight of the clown figurine. Her smile twists into disgust and she picks it up, opening the trash can and dropping it in. Some of these things she can live without.

Lucy, not so much.

[panterabsims]

🌱 planters 🌱

1 terracotta garden planter

2 rom planter / juice barrel planter & planter pot on legs / pallet planter

3 tired plants planter & cities in dust planter / 2-tile planter box / planters from ts3

4 magical stump / washtub planter / planter "my mother frame"

5 barrel planter & wicker planter pot / garden pot / fanciful tub planter

'🦝

[mordacitatis]

some other stuff i got yesterday! all repotted but: habenero plant, banana pepper and chamomile plants, purple sage and garden sage, a tomato (early girl), two red beets and a golden beet, and my sack o' potato. technically the potatoes have been here, but the bag is a new temp home while I make some canvas bags so each plant has its own space.

[id: six pictures of plants listed above in various containers. the banana pepper plant has a large pepper on it, the tomato plant has one green tomato]

we had an orange bell pepper and saved the seeds. soaked in water for two days (to soften the outer layer and allow for easier growth) and now I have them all set out. i hope at least one manages to grow into a plant! i have one stashed in the garage, one in the room i keep my houseplants, and one outside on the porch. in the spirit of experimentation of course.

[id 1: a zoomed in image of seeds in water in a glass jar with little growths popping out of them. the jar is sitting on a white cotton cloth]

[id 2: two fancy feast classic chicken pate boxes and one chewy shipping box. each has a honeycomb cardboard piece taking up one half of the box, a recycled jar and cut up toilet paper and paper towel rolls on the other half, all filled with dirt]

[kimyoonmiauthor]

How to save on groceries (since they are about to go up under the tariff system)

So you may not know this, but the majority of your groceries are imported, particularly meats and many vegetables. So if you were one of the people in the US that voted for the orange one, then you voted for higher grocery bills. Oh, yipee.

Given that, how do you protect yourself from the deregulation...

Make a List

No, seriously, make a list. Stick to the list. If you need an app, there are free apps for that.

2. Don't shop at big supermarket stores (or minimize) because...

There is a trick they pull where they re-shelve everything every few months so what you thought was down aisle one is now down aisle 5, and sometimes they shift shit on you, so if you think the honey is next to the tea, the baking aisle, it's suddenly next to the breads where you go WTF.

It drives me up the wall as an ND. But the rest of you non-NDs, who weren't observant enough for this... it's time to punish those grocery stores and stick to your list or minimize shopping there so you don't fall into the psychological torture game. And BTW, if you are one of those suckers in one of those studies, stick to your fucking list. Especially if you're in a game scenario and then note to the fucking researchers that a game scenario isn't very realistic compared to if one is spending their own money.

3. Participate in community gardens especially with communal areas.

But but I'm disabled and need mobility aids. The community gardens I've been to take that into account and you can help by doing the little shit that no one else wants to do, like making labels for the plants that no one bothers to label. (Who is doing that right now? I am.)

Or teach how to harvest. Or learn how to make greens in pots for yourself. Or help us unload all of the excess food we get at the end of the season. Or help us get rid of the blackberry vines by making baskets. You DO NOT have to kneel in the dirt. And who knows, if you own a house, maybe you'll find some people to help build you a disability friendly garden. You have no idea how much people love to share their knowledge.

But I have a black thumb. Come for that, then. You know what gardeners love, love to talk about for hours? How their garden is growing. And then diagnose why your garden is going wrong. They will talk your ear off about it. Gardeners will turn that black thumb yellow, then maybe green.

But I want eggs... You know that some community gardens have chickens? You know what chickens produce? Eggs. Feed the chickens. Get some eggs. Be great for people in wheelchairs also. I mean, fuck, what's cooler than feeding some chickens and maybe getting some eggs? Pet the chicken? Maybe.

4. Garden at home

But I live in an apartment

The most expensive thing is the lights. You have to look for high spectrum and high lumens. The LEDs with a hood are better and the high lumen light bulbs are better.

This will set you back about 50-70 dollars for a set of 6. The light bulbs are cheaper, but are more concentrated on area of spread. ~$16 for one 4060 Lumens. $10 for the fixture. 2600 Lumens light bulb is ~30 dollars for a set of 6

~22 for the fixtures, a set of 2. Take note that red lights are better for fruit. Yellow lights are better for leaf growth. White lights will help with stem growth.

However, 50-70 dollars +maybe a 30-50 dollar shelf shoved in a corner somewhere +cost of plants, etc is much cheaper than dealing with E. Coli in your effing spinach.

But I'm disabled

Hydroponic gardening might do well if you have allergies.

If not, allergies and mobility issues instead, you can get a box planter for about 30 bucks, plant some herbs. I'd consider also lettuce, spinach and leafy greens. They are easy to plant indoors.

If you want to plan for the apocalypse.... consider sweet potatoes.

The containers are movable and can be put at eye level.

I have mint, rosemary, sage, scallions, lettuce, basil, thyme.

Sometimes looking at something green will lift your mood.

Most leafy greens are dead easy to grow in apartments. And you know where I got the materials for all of them, save the lettuce? lol grocery store, and the community garden. I literally am growing basil and sweet potato from leftover stems from the community garden! But you could also do it from grocery store materials too. They sell like for 4 bucks, a rooted herb pack. Separate the roots and done.

I mean, when you don't even have to pay for the plants, you know you're doing well.

[gardening-guy]

so many violas.......

i got all of these from some friends who work at a big box gardening store for free!! yay!!! most of these will be going into planters & pots, as i'm trying to put windowbox planters all around my back deck railing, so it's all pretty for the cold seasons! but i might plant a few into the garden beds... i don't know for sure yet.

if you have any ideas for cold-hardly plants/flowers/seeds that can survive a zone 7b winter in pots, please please lmk!! it would help a lot to get some opinions from people!

[officialstrawhat]

Hello! This is my first One Piece Fanfiction, But I hope you like it! I'm currently about to start the Zou Arc so if I get something wrong sorry :P

Gif is not mine.

Trafalgar D. Law x Fem!Reader

Chapter List

Summary:

After King Riku is dethroned, Doflamingo takes you under his wing and asks you to follow only one strict rule, "do not leave the palace alone". However, your sense of adventure is too great.

Law had only one thing in mind... Revenge. And you seemed like the best way to do that.

Warnings: Dark themes, manipulation, death, murder, creepy doffy

Word Count: 1.2K

The Rose of Dressrosa

Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly on the kingdom of Dressrosa. In the Market Square, flamenco dancers and musicians entertained the crowd as children weaved and played between shoppers and vendors. There on the furthest corner suite was flower shop. It hadn't been there long and at first glance one could mistake it as one of the many flower boutiques on the island. But the word around town was that it sold the best bouquets on the island. 

“Would you happen to have any red carnations?” An old woman asked the owner of the shop. 

The florist smiled kindly, “Of course one moment ma'am”. She moved to the doorway pushing away a satin curtain that covered the entryway to see a young girl no older than ten sitting on the counter reading a book. Tales of Grand Adventures the title read. Next to her rests a long trough planter full of rich soil. 

“Y/N” the woman called, causing the girl to look up from the pages of her book.

“Yes Mama?” you say politely.

“A nice lady wants some of those pretty red flowers you like. Can you make me a bouquet sweet girl?”

“Yes mama” you nod excitedly, knowing exactly what to do. You raise your arms up, placing them in front of your chest palms facing outward. “Grow,” You say, eyes closed.

In the pot something began to grow. In a matter of no time red carnations in full bloom sprouted in the container.

“Good work my love,” Your Mother says proudly as she begins to snip the stems out of the soil and prepares it for the customer.

When your mother is done she makes her way back to the front and you naturally follow. 

“Thank you, we’re all so lucky to have you,” the old lady says, “You do such good work, your flowers are always the freshest in town.”

“You're welcome,” your mother says, taking the berry being held out for her.

“Come again,” You say as the customer leaves the shop.

You watch your mother place the money into the box underneath the store counter. 

“We’re just a few months away from getting our own home.” she smiled and grabbed your hands, “All thanks to you my sweet girl.”

You smile at the amazing woman in front of you. Things got hard after your father left, not that you remember, but your mother went hungry most nights to make sure you were fed. And there were some nights when you both did… 

So hungry in fact that when you found a strange-looking fruit you couldn't help but eat it. It was the miracle you both needed. It had granted you the power to grow any type of plant you wanted. As long as there was soil you could grow anything. Your mother dragged herself out of the mud and started to sell the pretty flowers that would sprout around you. Once she had enough berry she managed to buy passage to the prosperous island of Dressrosa. Here she rented a corner store with a tiny one-bedroom apartment upstairs.

“A home with a garden?” You ask excitedly. 

Smiling, your mother embraced you, “A home with whatever you want.”

In her arms you hugged her back tightly. It was a hug you would later wish had lasted much longer.

---

Night fell and you slept soundly in your mother's arms until screams in the streets could be heard outside. 

“Mama,” you shook the woman awake.

“What's wrong?” she said groggily, but her question was answered when a sudden crashing sound could be heard. “Wait here my darling.” 

Quickly she put her slippers and robe on and rushed to the staircase

“But-” you tried to follow.

“Please darling, it’ll be okay, mama just has to see what's wrong.”And with that, she left you…

The screams however did not stop, in fact, they seemed to be growing louder. After what seemed like forever you had had enough. You found your slippers and robe and ventured downstairs to go outside. From the shop windows what you saw was much worse than anything you could have possibly imagined. 

Fire, there was an actual fire that danced on rooftops, people who you recognize were laying in the street unmoving in puddles that were the color of your favorite flowers. Men in uniform wielding dangerous weapons caused chaos and struck down anyone in their path mercilessly. 

“NO! PLEASE! I have a child!” you heard, causing your head to spin to the left.

The Royal Guard's face looked torn but that didn't stop his blade from swinging down on the poor defenseless woman. 

It happened in slow motion for you. Her scream seemed so far away. The way she fell… it wasnt real it couldn't be real. 

"MAMA!" You shriek, tears fill your eyes, and blur your surroundings.   

“Get out of the way girl or you’ll be next,” she heard the slayer warn frantically. 

At his words anger to the likes of which you never felt before filled your body, your vision turned red. The guard swung his sword but the blade never made it to you, in fact, everyone within a thousand feet dropped to the ground unconscious. Allowing you to run to your mother's body to sob into her bloodied robe. 

Up on the rooftop of the flower shop Donquixote Doflamingo watched you, this little speck of a thing, had managed to knock out at least thirty of his puppets. This girl's Haki was strong. Just his luck to come across someone in this stupid kingdom who with some training actually had the potential to be of use. 

He smiled and jumped off the roof in front of you and the corpse of your mother. 

As if it was a reflex you place your palms away from your chest and create a shield of thick spiked plants to barricade yourself and your mother from the unknown threat. The Young Master’s smile widened, you were a devil fruit user as well. And not just any fruit, this was the Grow-Grow Fruit. Now this was definitely a rarity. And in theory, if brought to its full potential…

The thought made him smirk.

“I saw what happened, child. No need to fear me,” he said in a soothing voice. 

Upon hearing this you debated on dropping the barricade but before you could decide the voice spoke again, “Please let me help you and your mother.” 

At this you let a few branches of cacti deteriorate making slits in your barrier allowing you to see the man who spoke. He looked strange, you had never seen anyone like him before. He was large, with spiky blond hair, and donned a pink feather coat.

“You poor girl, allow me to take you and your mother to a safe place.” he could see the distrust in your eyes, then added, “Before more of the king's guard shows up.”

This made your heart clench. He was right, chaos still reigned around them. Your eyes flitted over to the storefront to see the stucco from your former home catching fire. Looking back at the strange man your mind was made up. The prickly plants browned and decayed around you until they were flat on the ground. 

Doflamingo was proud of himself for being able to conceal his smirk, as he bent down to carry the pathetic dead woman in his arms. “Follow me girl, I’ll take you to a safe place where we can lay your mother to rest. 

You wiped away a few tears and did as you were told. Walking away from everything you once knew.

Next Chapter

[bigmammallama5]

It took me a couple hours but I finally sat down and made myself finish the final sanding for my pots from march. I still have maybe two mushrooms that need some work as well as my two lamps, and then to decide how much I want to do on my box of Sad Pots that are going to be turned into planter drainage pieces lol. I’ll scrub everything tomorrow and get it all packed for photos. Hopefully I can finish the lamps on Monday!

[hbyrde36]

No Vacancy

Chapter 2: Housekeeping

WC: 4783 | R: Explicit | CH: 2/12 | AO3 | Now Complete!

Ch 1

*STEVE*

Steve and Robin were kneeling side-by-side, wrist deep in dirt, pulling weeds and planting new annuals in the red brick planter box that surrounded the motel's sign.

It was his first full day off since he’d arrived in town, and even in the midst of manual labor in the sweltering heat, he was enjoying having a little time in the sun without having to keep an eye on tourists who didn’t understand how dangerous an undertow could be. He didn’t mind being put to work, in fact he’d asked for this, knowing it was the only way he was going to get to spend some quality time with his best friend, as busy as she was. 

He dipped his head, blinking away the sweat that trickled into his eyes while they worked. It was late morning, and though the day had started out at a comfortable seventy five degrees or so, it was now nearing the mid nineties and rising. 

“You know you don’t have to help out around here. You are a paying guest.” Robin said, not for the first time since they had started this little project. 

“Yes, but only because I forced you to take my money.” 

She rolled her eyes. “I still maintain that I owe you enough in gas money from all the rides you’ve given me over the years, that you should have your own room here free of charge forever.” 

“No. This place is your livelihood—I don’t mind paying!”

“Oh I'm taking the money, because god knows we could use it, but don’t be surprised when I find a way to slip it back to you one day.”

Steve smiled to himself, shaking his head. He had no doubt she would do just that. 

As nice as it was, hanging out with Robin wasn’t his only motivation for seeking out tasks around the motel in his downtime. He’d become so used to being up and out by dawn every morning, that he hadn’t known what to do with himself when he woke up that day. 

Like clockwork his eyes had snapped open around six a.m., his body’s natural alarm waking him up at the time it was used to—except he had nowhere to go, no place he had to be, and the thought of hanging around while Eddie was asleep, or worse, being there when Eddie woke up made him want to vomit. 

Although, Steve had taken a few minutes to lay quietly in the dim light of their room and gaze at the man resting in the other bed, something he hadn’t allowed himself to do before then. 

He’d admired the dark spill of Eddie’s curls across the stark white of the pillow case, and the fullness of his lips as they curved into the hint of a smile, reacting no doubt to whatever pleasant dreams he was having. Steve itched to comb his fingers through all that hair, and feel those lips against his own, but he knew now he was more likely to get struck by lightning than to ever be allowed to touch Eddie Munson like that.

Steve was unwelcome in their shared space, that much was obvious, and no matter how desperately he wanted to show Eddie that he wasn’t the same asshole from high school, it was impossible to do that when they never saw each other. That hurdle was what had given him the idea to start leaving coffee behind for the other man. It was a small gesture really, one that didn’t cost him any extra time or money, but he hoped Eddie recognized it for the olive branch that it was. 

Maybe coffee wasn’t enough though. How did the old saying go? The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Steve wondered what sort of breakfast pastry said, I like you and I want to be friends.

Bagels?

Muffins?

He could probably ask Chrissy for advice on Eddie’s favorite foods, but he wasn’t sure how to manage that without revealing his unfortunate crush. 

After a little more internal struggle he’d rolled out of bed, dressed quickly in his last pair of clean cut off shorts that were entirely too tight, and gone for a walk around the neighborhood to clear his head until he could bother Robin, though not before setting the coffee pot to brew like always.

Robin cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present with an unsubtle indicator that she was about to say something he wouldn’t like. 

Steve braced himself. 

“I meant to tell you,” she began, trying too hard to sound casual as she poked at the dirt with her small shovel. “A guest staying in a room near yours called in a noise complaint the other night. Apparently there was a bit of banging on the wall, and some loud moans.” 

She paused, giving significant eye contact before batting her lashes at him. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

Steve dropped her gaze, opening and closing his mouth several times before responding.

“Yeah. Sorry… about that. Eddie, he um, brought someone home from the bar? I would offer to talk to him about it for you, but I'm pretty sure he hates my guts, so maybe it would be better if you or Chrissy said something to him about it.”

“What?!” Robin shrieked, mouth left hanging open.

Steve squirmed, feeling her eyes on him as he stared down into the small hole he was mindlessly digging. “It’s not a big deal. He brought someone home, so I went down to the pool area and slept on one of the chairs for a while to give them some privacy. It was fine.”

When he finally glanced up, Robin was rubbing at her temples, the dirt from her hands flaking off into her hair. 

“Jesus, Steve. I-I’m sorry. I thought–”

“You thought, what?”

“I thought you two had finally gotten your shit together!” She rushed out. “I should have known something was wrong when you came to me all mopey this morning asking for busy work on your only day off.”

Steve swallowed hard, his heart hammering in his chest. Was he that obvious? Did she know—had she known, all this time? He thought he’d been hiding his feelings pretty well up till now. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said eventually, like a liar, knowing full well it would never fly.

“No?” She hummed, tapping her chin “Tell me then, which part are you confused about? The one where you’ve had a massive crush on Eddie since high school, or the part where Eddie also has a huge crush on you that he hides by pretending he hates you?”

“Neither of those things is true,” he said, doubling down on his lie while pointing his trowel at her threateningly. “And I'm not mopey.” 

Robin gave him a sarcastic, yet somehow still sympathetic, smile before patting him on the head like a dog.

He frowned. 

“Stevie, honey, platonic love of my life, you are so full of shit. I’ve watched for years as you hung on every word Chrissy said about Eddie, and I've seen the little hearts drawn in your old yearbook. Did you really think I didn’t know?”

“Fiiine,” Steve groaned. “If I admit that I like him will you please drop this?”

She didn’t even hesitate.

“Nope.”

He raked a hand over his face, smearing dirt along his nose and forehead in the process no doubt. 

“Tell me more about this dude he brought home,” Robin said, pressing on.

Steve threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t know—It was like three in the morning! I was still half asleep when I walked past the guy!”

Robin’s eyes went wide. “Wait, wait, wait. Did Eddie wake you up, in the middle of the fucking night, and make you leave your own room so he could get it on with some other guy?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Yes, obviously, and please—for the love of god—don’t ever say ‘get it on’ to me again.”

She stood, wiping her hands off on her pants as she rose and started to march off in the direction of his and Eddie’s room. “I’m gonna kill him.”

Steve jumped up in a panic, knowing she would only make things worse when they were tense enough as it was, and grabbed onto her wrist to hold her back. “Stop! It’s fine. We kinda… talked about it ahead of time, okay? I knew this was a possibility.”

“Why on earth would you agree to that?!” She hollered.

“What was I supposed to say, Robs?!” Steve shouted back. “Oh, sorry Eddie. I know you hate me and all because I was such a dick back in the day, but I've been pining over you from afar for the better part of a decade, and it’s gonna kill me to see you hook up with other people?!!”

Steve sucked in a breath, suddenly remembering that they were out in public where anyone could overhear, including Eddie. He looked frantically around the courtyard but luckily the coast seemed to be clear. 

“I’m sorry.” Robin said, voice gone soft. She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. 

He sagged against her, taking the comfort she offered for a minute before pulling away. “It’s okay. I knew what I was putting myself through when I agreed to share the room.”

“Can’t you at least tell him he has to take his hook-ups somewhere else?” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “It’s not an unreasonable request for a roommate. Maybe you could talk to him the next time you guys hang out.”

“What part of, he hates me, do you not understand? We don’t hang out.”

“Trust me, he doesn’t hate you, Steve.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll believe that, when you believe that you have a shot with Chrissy “

“That is completely different!”

“How?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well for one thing, we’re actually friends,” she fired back, “and I don't want to mess that up.”

“Okay, ouch.”

“Sorry.” Robin winced. “I don’t know, maybe I could have told her before we bought this place, but now we’re in business together. If I told her how I felt and she didn’t feel the same way it could ruin everything!.”

Steve didn’t think there was a chance in hell that Chrissy wasn’t just as crazy about Robin as Robin was about her, but he understood the hesitation.

“I guess we’ll both just have to keep suffering in silence then.” He sighed.

She clinked her small shovel against his as if they were toasting with wine glasses. “At least we’ll be in our misery together.”

It wasn’t long before they were done with the flowers and Steve had no more excuse to put off going back to his room. He badly needed to do some laundry anyway since he was completely out of clean swim trunks, and Robin needed to get back behind the front desk. He could only hope that Eddie was awake now at least. 

Steve paused to admire their handiwork before walking away, and couldn’t help noticing something off about the motel’s sign.  

“Hey,“ he said, waving Robin around to his side. “Why’s the ‘no’ on your ‘no vacancy’ sign out? I thought you were booked up?”

“Oh–uh–yea!” Robin sputtered. “I mean, we do have free rooms here and there for some individual nights, but you’re right! I think there’s a bulb out or a loose wire or something. I-I already have a call into our maintenance guy about it, I bet he just hasn’t had the chance to get out here yet.”

Steve perked up, ready to jump at another chance to keep himself busy. “Do you want me to have a look at it for you? I’m pretty handy these days.”

“No!” Robin said quickly. “Thanks, but it’s under control. I remember now, Andreas said he was coming tomorrow, actually. I don't want him to think we’re cheating on him with another maintenance man.”

Steve eyed her curiously. Something definitely felt… off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. He was probably just being paranoid. She was probably worried he would break something.

He shrugged it off. “Whatever you say.”

Steve took several deep calming breaths as he climbed the short staircase up to the second floor, attempting to settle his nerves before seeing Eddie face to face again. He unlocked the door with nervous fingers, almost immediately sagging in relief when he realized the room was empty. 

It was a little early for Eddie to be at the bar, he thought, but maybe they’d needed him to come in ahead of his shift for some reason. Either way, Steve was grateful for the moment alone with his thoughts, even as a small part of him was irrationally disappointed. 

After plopping down on the end of his bed, Steve dropped his head in his hands. 

He shouldn’t be this hung up on a guy he barely knew, let alone one that couldn’t stand to be around him. It wasn’t healthy—and It was ridiculous, honestly, considering they hadn’t actually spent that much time together, or any time really. He had precious few memories of watching Eddie from the shadows of his own popularity back in school, and most of what he knew about the guy now had come third party through Chrissy and Robin. 

Maybe he just needed to get out more.

Steve had been a bit of a serial dater in his teens, but by his senior year thought he’d found ‘the one’, in a girl named Nancy wheeler. After a soul-crushing breakup in the bathroom of a Halloween party that neither of them had even wanted to go to, Steve swore off the whole institution, at least for a while. 

He found Robin soon after, his actual one true love, when they both worked the same after school job at a nautical themed ice cream shop, and she became the best friend he’d always wanted.  

Their friendship had been everything to him for a while. He even went to the community college so he could stay in town while she finished her own senior year and they spent every moment together that they could—until Robin graduated and went off to her fancy school a whole state away, and Steve’s grades hadn’t been good enough to follow her. 

They still saw each other as often as they could. He would drive up on Friday nights and sleep over in her dorm room for the whole weekend, but things changed yet again when Robin met Chrissy. 

Hometown acquaintances who just happened to go to the same college. Suddenly the former band geek and the former cheerleading captain became the closest of friends, with the potential for more to anyone with eyes, and Steve worried that he would soon become a perpetual third wheel.

So, he started to put himself out there again. 

He went on a few dates with women, and even more with men, once he’d finally accepted his bisexuality and rediscovered the beauty of callused hands and strong jawlines with a bit of stubble. In the back of his mind, Steve had always known he was attracted to men, but for better or worse, made the choice to ignore that part of himself for years because it was easier, and safer, to just be straight. 

In the end, all it took was one drunken weekend hook up at a frat party on Robin and Chrissy’s campus to open his eyes to everything he’d been denying himself. 

It’d made him look back and remember things he'd tried hard to forget about. 

Like his all consuming crush on an old classmate that he’d thought was long over with, but came rushing back with a vengeance when he realized that the Eddie from Chrissy’s stories about her own male best friend, was the same wild-haired metalhead that Steve used to daydream about in English class. Suddenly he was listening with rapt attention to each detail she shared, and was more than happy to see every picture and post card the man sent her, even if his handwriting was illegible. 

When Steve first arrived and Robin asked him to bunk with Eddie after realizing their mistake, he’d been over the moon, thinking that maybe he’d finally have a chance with the guy he’d been infatuated with for so long. Those hopes were swiftly shattered beyond recognition when he saw the look on Eddie’s face after he entered the lobby. 

But, there was no use sulking about it now. 

He just had to make it through the summer. Twelve weeks.

He could do that. 

Ducking into the bathroom, Steve washed his hands and splashed some water over his face to get the worst of the dirt off, though only a shower would do the job properly—and gathered up his laundry before heading back out into the heat.

The place Robin had told him to go was less than a mile from the motel, so Steve decided to make his way there on foot. With his full bag of dirty clothes hoisted over his shoulder, he took his time, admiring the old Victorian houses with their lavish gardens as he passed by. He hadn’t really understood why Robin and Chrissy wanted to move here after college until he’d seen the place for himself. 

He got it now. 

The place was beautiful. it felt like life moved slower here, or maybe it just seemed that way because almost everyone you met was on vacation. 

After a pleasant walk, Steve finally reached his destination—and felt his heart sink into his shoes as he spotted a familiar head of dark curls sitting inside by the big front windows. 

He froze with his hand on the door, seriously considering running away and finding another place to do his wash. There had to be other laundromats in town, right? He would drive if he had to, anything to not be stuck in there waiting for his clothes to finish, while Eddie either ignored him or glared at him. 

Unfortunately, the decision was taken out of his hands entirely when he realized the other man had already turned, noticed him, and was now staring daggers at him through the glass. Steve probably looked like an idiot standing out there like a deer in headlights, not moving, so of course he overcompensated, swinging the door open too hard and throwing himself through it.

Eddie, for his part, looked a little stunned at Steve’s sudden appearance as well, which made him feel the tiniest bit better about the whole thing. Steve tried to save some face by smiling and giving the other man a little nod in greeting as he moved past on his way to the machines, but judging by the way Eddie continued to stare, he must have missed the mark of coming off cool and casual by a mile. 

He busied himself with separating his laundry into two of the washers, one for lights, one for darks, and tried to ignore the way he could still feel Eddie’s heavy gaze on him. His whole body flushed with heat under the attention, and his heart was beating so loudly he thought for sure anyone standing nearby would be able to hear it. 

When all that was done, he had no other choice but to make his way to the only seating in the establishment, the small grouping of chairs where Eddie currently was. He willed himself to chill the fuck out, and was pleased to find that by the time he turned around Eddie was no longer looking his way, and was instead nose deep in a months old edition of Rolling Stone.

Steve took a seat, skipping one chair to keep a polite distance between them, and wished he’d had the foresight to bring along a book or his walkman. He settled for a two year old Life Magazine that someone had left on a side table, not reading it so much as staring at it to avoid looking anywhere else. 

There was about five full minutes of tense silence before Steve felt eyes on him again.

“I thought you were working today.” Eddie blurted out.

Steve flinched a little at the sudden sound of his voice, but managed to play it off like he was flicking the hair out of his face. 

“No, I… uh, I finally got a day off.” He stuttered through his response, wondering how he’d ever been considered a smooth talker or a ladies man. 

Couldn’t prove it by him now.

Eddie cleared his throat. “Right. Yeah, same here.”

There was another long beat of quiet and Steve thought maybe he should say something else, try and strike up a conversation or something. He could do that, that was a normal thing for two guys who were essentially roommates, right? He was trying out a few different lines in his head when Eddie spoke again. 

“It's just that, you were gone when I woke up, so I thought—”

“I was helping Robin with some planting in the courtyard, flowers and stuff.” Steve explained, thrilled at getting out something resembling a complete human sentence this time. 

“Oh. That was… nice of you.” Eddie said with a furrowed brow.

Steve gave a small shrug and tried desperately to think of something to say next. Eddie had asked him a question, sort of. Well, he’d given him an opening to talk about his day at least. He should do something similar, he figured, but it was like his mind went blank every time he looked into Eddie's eyes. 

“How are things with your—friend, from the other night?” Steve asked, and immediately wanted to throw himself through the window.

Oh god, why.

Why had he picked that to say? What possessed him to bring up something so unbelievably awkward when this whole exchange had been, thus far, borderline unbearable. 

Eddie blinked a few times like he was taken aback, cheeks flushing pink as he answered. “Oh, that was just a one time thing, y’know? I don’t even know the guy’s name.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

Cool. 

Something Steve had never been, clearly.

“Is it?” Eddie’s face hardened. “Or is King Steve, of all people, about to slut shame me for a one night stand?”

“I-I didn’t mean…”

“Sure you didn’t. You were single-handedly responsible for taking the virginity of who knows how many of the girls back in Hawkins, and you’re gonna sit here and judge me for sleeping with one guy?”

“No!” Steve dropped his magazine, holding his hands up as if surrendering. “I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t trying to judge you, or shame you, or anything—you just…” 

“I. Just. What?” Eddie asked through a clenched jaw.

Steve wrapped his arms around himself, sank down in his seat, and sighed. “You just make me really nervous, Eddie.”

At least it was honest.

Of all the things Steve had said, that seemed to be the one that most threw the other man for a loop. Eddie sat there looking at Steve in stunned silence for several long seconds and then began howling with laughter.

Steve was almost offended. He’d told the truth, been vulnerable even. What was so fucking funny about the idea of him being nervous?

“I make you nervous?” Eddie managed to say between fits. “That’s a good one, big boy.”

Big boy.

Steve sat up straight, doing his best to pretend like that nickname hadn’t short-circuited his brain. He tried to frown but it was hard to do when Eddie’s eyes sparkled like that and he was actually smiling with his dimples on full display. 

Eddie took pity on him and eventually got himself under control. “Okay Steve, I believe you didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Good. That’s good, man. Thanks”

“How long have you got on your washers?” Eddie asked, glancing up at a big clock that hung above the door.

“About 30 minutes I think, why?”

Eddie rose from his seat and inclined his head towards the door. “Come on.” 

Was this a trick?

“Where are we going?” Steve asked.

“There's a little cafe down on the corner, unless you’re not hungry?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean, I could eat.” Steve babbled.

Eddie laughed again, shaking his head. “ Let’s go then, my treat.”

“Why?”

Eddie paused at the door, an unreadable expression coloring his features when he looked back.

“Because I’m starting to think maybe I've been a little too hard on you, but I can't be sure. I figure, before I continue to be an asshole I should probably try and get to know you to make sure you deserve it first.”

Lunch with Eddie was great—amazing, actually. 

Not the food, although that was good too, but it was nothing compared to the company. 

Steve found that Eddie was surprisingly easy to talk to once he got started, and he finally got the chance to explain that in reality, he was nothing like his former high school persona. That it had been a combination of the fear of disappointing his parents, and good old fashioned peer pressure that led him to accept his role as King of Hawkins High. 

He told Eddie all about how going along with the popular crowd and being friends with people like Tommy and Carol were among the biggest regrets of his life so far, and there was a lot he’d change if he could go back.

“Unfortunately I didn’t have my big epiphany until halfway through senior year, right around the time Nancy dumped me and I met Robin. At that point it didn’t seem worth it to try and fix what I'd done, so I just let people keep thinking I was the same asshole I always had been, and tried to keep my head down until graduation.”

“And yet you wound up right back where you started.” Eddie said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re a gym teacher back in Hawkins now, aren’t you?”

Steve couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. “How did you know that?”

Eddie pressed his lips together, tilting his head back and forth. “Robin talks about you a lot, sometimes I even listen.”

Still smiling like an idiot, Steve dipped his chin in a nod. “Go ahead, laugh it up. I know you want to. Failed former jock becomes middle school gym teacher. I’m a walking cliché.”

“Not all cliché’s are bad.” Eddie shrugged. “Do you like it?”

“Yes, and no.” Steve answered honestly. “The kids are great, but... I never meant to stay in Hawkins.”

“Now that, Harrington, I understand completely.”

“I bet. How many different cities have you lived in now?”

Eddie raised an eyebrow.

“Chrissy,” Steve answered simply. “I listen too, and I’ve seen all the photos and postcards.”

“Even the art prints from San Francisco?” Eddie covered his face like he was embarrassed but Steve could see him peeking through his fingers. 

It was painfully adorable.

Steve nodded, fighting to keep his expression serious. “I found them very tasteful.”

Eddie laughed again, loud and boisterous, and it was quickly becoming Steve's favorite sound in the world. 

“Alright, Stevie, alright. Even I can admit when I'm wrong. Maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all.”

They sat in the cafe talking until long after their food was gone and the plates had been cleared, eventually moving their conversation back to the laundromat when Steve remembered he still had to put his things in the dryer.

At one point Eddie even shared a little of his own background, how he’d come to live with his uncle at the beginning of fifth grade—that Wayne had been a better parent to him than either of his actual parents had been.

He told Steve that he’d fled Hawkins because the people there looked down on him, didn't understand him. They thought he was a freak, trailer trash, and would amount to nothing more than a lowlife drug dealer. He vowed to never move back, and he meant it, but wished he visited his uncle more.

Something shifted for good between the two of them that afternoon, Steve could feel it. 

The animosity Eddie held for him was gone like it never existed. He was friendly, flirty even, and Steve was on cloud nine, though he did feel like he was going to pass out every time Eddie smiled at him or casually bumped his shoulder. 

He wasn’t naive enough to think the other meant anything by it though, he knew his crush was one-sided no matter what Robin said, but at least now he felt like there was a real chance that they could actually be friends.

Chapter 3

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