#WE MET WE LAUGHED WE HELD ON FAST AND THEN WE SAID GOODBYE WE MET WE LAUGHED WE HELD ON FAST AND THEN WE SAID GOODBYE

[retrace-104]

ALONE FOR A WHILE IVE BEEN SEARCHING THROUGH THE DARK FOR TRACES OF THE LOVE YOU LEFT INSIDE MY LONELY HEART TO WEAVE BY PICKING UP THE PIECES THAT REMAIN MELODIES OF LIFE LOVES LOST REFRAIN OUR PATHS THEY DID CROSS THOUGH I CANNOT SAY JUST WHY WE MET WE LAUGHED WE HELD ON FAST AND THEN WE SAID GOODBYE FFUUUUUUUUUUUUQUUQUAUAHWHWBQHWHEYYWGBENEHAHUSYZGABWBAHWYYYBABQBQBWGAYYAYWGEBAHAHHEYYSGAGEGABHWHE

[pixiesfz]

blessing in disguise j.r

plot: Jill tore her acl but she's just glad she gets to spend more time with the new physio

warnings: none atm

It was your first week as a new physio when Jill tore her ACL, your eyes widened when you heard "How many ACLs have happened this year?" you ask your co-worker Ally as you walked to the room, she was seeing Chloe Kelly as you were to see Jill "too many".

You were laughing at a joke when you opened the door. Jill was already sitting down, still tired from her surgery but her eyes widened when she saw you.

Your smile was beautiful and your hair flowed behind you, you held a coffee and files from Jill's hospital surgeon. You had on a man city jumper and your own jeans which Jill is embarrassed to say fit you quite nicely.

"Hi I'm Y/n and I'll be your personal physio during these 9 months" You introduced yourself with a handshake which Jill accepted "are you new I've never seen you before," she asked and you nodded your head "I just started last week" you smiled and Jill smirked "Sorry for interrupting your slow start"

You laughed as you set up your set "honestly it's fine but I am sorry about your ACL" you frowned as both your eyes fell to her knee which was covered by a nude bandage.

"I would say it's okay but it's really not" Jill said with a shrug and you nodded "It's not ideal but with lot's of therapy and check ups I plan to have you out on the field as soon as I can" you smiled.

"So before I poke at your delicate knee how about we learn about each other a nice ice breaker" you suggested, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Jill who nodded.

"Do you have any pets?" she asked and you shook your head "Not yet but I plan to" you said "Do you like it here in Manchester?" you asked and she nodded "It's really nice and different from Germany".

You grew comfortable with Jill quite quickly as she did with you and as you passed her the crutches and helped her up she looked back at you "I thought of one more question" she announced "shoot"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

You couldn't help the slight blush that spread across your cheek "No, especially no boyfriend but as of now I'm single" You smiled before you both bid goodbye.

You met with Ally after your shift as you ate fast food at a random beach near the City head quarters.

"Chloe just kept on talking about her wedding plans it was funny" she laughed and looked at you for information "Jill asked me if I had a boyfriend" you laughed and Ally slapped your leg and you winced "what was that for?" you asked, rubbing your leg.

"She was so hitting on you!"

You rolled your eyes "no she wasn't she was probably just intrigued" you told her and Ally gave you a pointed look before mummbling "intrigued to get in your pants"

This time you hit her.

"Ow!"

Jill was sitting and watching training when Chloe sat next to her "So did you meet the new physio, what she like?" she asked and Jill blushed.

hot. she thought.

"She's really nice, I just apologized that her first job was an ACL she didn't really mind though" Jill told the blonde who nodded "Is she pretty?" Kelly asked and Jill looked at her "Why would that matter?"

"Because you are lonely and it's sad to watch"

Jill raised her eyebrows at her friend's confession before Mary and Kerstin came over and agreed with her.

"Okay well to answer your question, yes she is very pretty" Jill shared with blushed cheeks "but she is also my physio and not my girlfriend"

"That's how all love stories start!" Mary smiled with joy and her national teammate just patted her non injured knee.

"ga er gewoon voor, als je het verprutst, zijn er andere fysio's" Kerstin shrugged and Jill covered her mouth in shock of her words "I am not dating the new physio!" she said in shock.

(just go for it, if you fuck it up just go to another physio)

“I don’t know what you just said” Mary frowned at her friend before they all walked off with smiles.

For Jill’s next appointments with you her little crush had turned into a big crush and you can’t say that you didn’t feel the same.

The blonde Dutch girl was beautiful and you constantly left the room with a smile and red cheeks.

When Jill’s next appointment with you arrived she couldn’t help but blush at the sight of you, you were still in your uniform but your hair was brushed up into a pony tail that showed off your cheek bones.

“How does it feel?” You asked and Jill just nodded “it’s alright to walk now” she said and you smiled “that’s amazing Jill” you told her and she smiled.

“I wanna see you walk, just incase I see a bend or something that I can help you with” you said as you held your clipboards.

“Right now?” Jill asked and you nodded “we can walk up to a coffee shop nearby, I haven’t had my coffee yet and it will be beneficial” you smiled and Jill laughed at your excuse to get a coffee.

“Do you need to see me walk or are you using me to get coffee?” she smirked and you breathed in

“Would it be bad if I said both?”

You and Jill were laughing together as she started walking and you filmed for her tik tok she wanted to make.

“I’m really proud of you Jill this is great” you told her and she blushed but thankfully it was cold so she could blame it on the weather.

You both got your coffee and sat down together, to anybody nearby it would look like a date.

“How bout some more fun facts about each other?” Jill suggested and you nodded your head. “I have two dogs, both cocker spaniels” you smiled “what are their names?” Jill asked you smiled “well one’s name is Rocky and the other one is named Shaggy”

“Shaggy!?”

“My sister named him not me!” You defended yourself as you both laughed.

“Okay what about you?” You asked the blonde who thought for a second “I’m kind of happy to at I’m injured”

You were shocked and cocked your head “why, you can’t play the sport you love?”

“Yeah but you get to try new things and meet new people” she explained and you smiled “I guess you would have never met me”

“Exactly” she responded and you blushed.

For the next couple of months not either of you had made a move which was weird to all of your friends.

“She definitely likes you back Jill”

“Y/n I swear to god if you do not ask her out I will injure you”

Ally was a bit more forward than the city girls.

It wasn’t until your sessions with Jill were coming to an end she realised that she really had to make a move on you but she really didn’t know how to.

After all maybe you were just really nice to her because you had to.

It was your job.

But when they did end and she made her way back onto the field it was always you she looked for in the crowd or next to the bench with your take away coffee in hand.

“I think I rolled my ankle” Jill told you as she saw you walking in the head quarters, your brows rose “well where does it hurt, do you want me to bandage it?” You asked and the girl nodded as you took her to your room.

“This is your third rolled ankle in two weeks Jill I’m not sure you can play” you tutted as you went away at your computer, writing down about her visits.

Jill rolled her head back.

Couldn’t you just get the hint.

“Is it a certain drill that you keep doing that-“

“I didn’t roll my ankle y/n” Jill interrupted you and you furrowed your brows “I was about to write you off for the game Jill!” You told her “why on earth would you lie about that?”

Jill felt small as you looked at her with mostly concern but you also had anger as she had lied to you but know she was forced to tell the truth.

“Well I like hanging out with you”

Your face softened and the dutches words “You don’t have to be injured to talk to me” you told her and she shrugged “I guess I was too scared”

“You? You scoff “scared?”

Jill laughed “oh cmon when you ask your crush out it’s hard”

Your cheeks blushed “so I’m a crush?”

Jill’s eyes popped and her cheeks reddened “I didn’t mean to say it out loud” she panicked

You just smiled and placed the tape that you were going to place on her down “I get it, asking your crush out is hard, that’s why I haven’t asked you out yet”

Jill turned to you with a smirk “So I’m a crush?”

“Shut up” you laughed and wiped your hands on your pants “y/n?” Jill asked and you looked up “yes Jill?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?”

You smiled “I would love to”

[chaotic-mystery]

Baby Doll |

༅ Pairing: Dbf! Joel Miller x f!reader

༅ Summary: You got a new tattoo, and Joel doesn’t know how to feel about it at first. 

༅ Word Count: 1.6K

༅ CW: SMUT 18+ unprotected p in v (Pls no babies wrap it), fingering, lots of nicknames, spitting, choking, roughness in general, talking you through orgasm, heavily implied age gap but not specified!

My masterlist

The one thing Joel loved calling you was baby doll. He wasn’t sure where it came from, it just came out one day and you loved it. You loved the way it spilled from his mouth when he moaned, how it sounded when he was giving you a quick goodbye kiss so your dad didn’t see. How it sounded when he was half asleep and wondering if you were still laying there half awake. So when you were out with Joel one night, your fingers intertwined as you walked downtown, the neon lights from a tattoo shop flashed ahead of you and your eyes lit up instantly.

“Should we?” You nodded towards the building, trying to coax the man inside. He laughed, not taking you seriously at all.

“What would you even get?”

You thought about it as you looked down at your hand in his, and met his eyes once more.

“Baby Doll” flew out from your lips so confidently, he didn’t know what to say.

“There’s no fuckin way you’d get that darlin. You’re too chicken shit to do somethin’ like that, you know your dad wouldn’t like it one bit.”

You felt as if he was challenging you, and something inside you burned, you needed to prove him wrong. Joel had no idea what you were capable of doing.

“We’ll see about that, Miller” you cooed as you walked away from the tattoo parlor, after you slyly typed their phone number from the window into your phone. 

That’s how you ended up here in this moment, panicking when your dad asks why you won’t get into the pool.

“I just got this pool put together, honey. You really don’t wanna swim?” your dad asks, looking confused at you.

Your face got hot, maybe because of the slowly setting sun or because you knew he’d have questions about the ink on your lower back and you don’t have the guts to tell him it’s a nickname his best friend calls you from time to time when you’re intimate. 

“No, I'm good right now dad, thank you though!” you hollered back, trying to seem a little too ‘okay’.

Joel sat next to you on the swing, you looked at him over your shoulder and told him you're going to get another beer from inside. “Alright baby, don’t get lost in there” he joked sarcastically which earned him a well deserved middle finger from you.

The fridge was empty and it left you to be the one to refill it. As you bent over to restock the shelf, a hand gripped your ass cheek, causing you to gasp and drop the beer bottles in your hands. You turned fast to look behind you and there was Joel, standing there with his shirt half buttoned, covering his mouth to keep from laughing.

“I’m sorry darlin’ I didn’t mean to scare you” You gave him a mock of his laughing and dryly said, “ Yeah I’m sure”

Bending down to start cleaning the broken glass, Joel held the fridge door open for you so it didn’t keep hitting your backside when he let out a slight gasp, saying,

“Sweet girl, what’s that on your back?” 

Your eyes looked straight ahead like there was a camera there to catch your reaction, and you knew you were fucked. He wasn’t supposed to see it, not yet anyway. Just as you rose to your feet, your dad walked in, asking if everything was okay.

“I heard some stuff breakin, just wanted to make sure you’re alright honey.”

You gave your dad a quick smile, reassuring you were fine. Joel however didn’t look fine. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. You couldn’t help but feel like you had the upper hand on him. Your shoulder brushed against his as you made your way back outside to your seat from earlier. You told him you’d do it, and he didn't believe you. 

The night came to an end and you drove to Joels after leaving your dad, your bag to spend the night in the backseat of your car. He waited in his truck for you to arrive, walking in the house together. He hardly spoke to you since he saw the barbed wire heart tattoo on your backside with the words ‘Baby Doll’ inside of it in a really pretty gothic font.

“Baby, I’m gonna go shower” you quietly told him, leaving a kiss against his scruffy cheek. The hot water beating down your back took your mind off everything from earlier. As you stood there with your arms crossed against your chest, you started wondering if it was a bad idea, doing that. You were pulled out of your thoughts when a hand had a fist full of your hair, pulling you towards a naked wet body. You whimpered out as you quickly found who’s chest you were flush against, his other hand over your mouth tightly.

“You are fuckin crazy baby doll, do you realize that? Gettin that tattooed knowin your daddy’s gonna wonder who calls you that, ‘cause he sure doesn't” His voice purred in your ear, your eyes rolling back as you wiggled your ass against his growing cock.

“Filthy fuckin’ girl. You got yourself branded with a name only I call you.” He tutted at you, his hand traveling from your mouth to your aching cunt. Your hand reached up behind you and into his dripping wet hair, moaning his name softly. 

He was almost to your clit when he nibbled your earlobe, telling you, “Show me the tattoo for real this time. You wanna be a big girl and get it, can’t be afraid to show me.”

He was right even if you didn’t want to admit it. You scooted forward, letting him run his finger over it. He was quiet, which meant he either loved it or he thought it looked bad. A groan came from him when he grabbed you and pinned you against the shower wall.

“It’s a pretty tattoo, sugar, real pretty. You amaze me more and more everyday.”

He abruptly connected his lips onto yours, his fingers latching onto your clit. You moaned in his mouth as you turned your face from him, wrapping your arms around his neck tighter as your needy clit was finally being paid attention to. 

Joel dipped his head to put a nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue over it before biting gently. You could’ve cum all over his hand right then and there had he kept that up. He knew how sensitive your nipples were and how it makes you want to go crazy. Joel let go of your nipple after teasing and sucking on it, seeing he had you right where he needed you. He grabbed your face roughly, his forehead meeting yours.

“You’re truly all mine, you get that? You won’t ever forget with that on your body, crazy girl. Fuck me, you’re so wet. Open your mouth.”

His hand never moved as you opened wide, not knowing what he was doing. He did something new, he spit in your mouth and moaned as he put his cock inside you. The water pooling at your feet lightly, the droplets beating over his shoulder.

“You’re such a good girl,  I knew you’d like that” he praised as he sloppily kissed your jaw, trailing up and down your neck.

He pumped into you, whimpering your name. “Fuck baby doll, how am I ‘sposed to last when you’re so fuckin tight for me? You don’t know how bad I wanted to fuck you right there at that fridge. Crazy girl got my nickname for her tattooed right above her ass, so I can see it every time I fuck this pretty hole.”

Joel knew what exactly to say to get you undone and become a horny slut for him. Your moans mixed deliciously, a deadly combination sometimes.

“Joel I’m close baby keep going-fuck, don’t stop.” You rolled your hips opposite of him and played with your nipples, giving a pinch as Joel went deeper and was hitting that one spot that ends you every time. Your legs started to move closer together, your body on the brink of bliss. Joel grunted, feeling your walls squeeze around him.

“Yeah come for me like a good girl, sweetheart. Play with that pretty pussy, don't stop until you come” he grunted as he put your hand on your clit, thrusting harder. 

You couldn’t focus, it was all too much and you released all over him, screaming his name as your free hand found his hair and pulled with each wave of orgasm. Your mouth on his and he drank your moans, giving his to you. “Fuck I-I’m gonna come, darlin”

Joel tossed his head back with a few more thrusts, he shoots his load into you, your name mixed with curses. You got down on your knees, sucking all your mixed juices off him. He leaned against the wall, groaning louder with each head bob you did.

“You nasty little girl, tryna milk me dry. I’m fuckin empty, I left every last drop of cum inside your pretty little pussy that belongs to me, sweet heart.”

He watched intently as you slapped his half hard tip on your tongue and chuckled before he helped you up. You finished your shower before Joel and told him to hurry up. Dried off and clothed, you sat at the kitchen table as you waited for him. He came down shortly afterwards, dressed and looking slutted out.

“Ready for round two?” you playfully asked, and all he managed was, “Shut up, baby doll.”

[littlest-w01f]

Sunlight

Helion x Priestess!OC

HELION MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

Summary: Helion is low on staff for his libraries, Rhysand casually mentions to him he knows of someone who wishes to try to go out of the House of Winds' library

Cw:None

part one - part two - part three

Alora stood in front of the inner circle of the Night Court in the House of Winds, in her robes, her teal invoking stone sitting between her brows. Rhysand had told her that he had offered her a job at the Day Court as staff there. Everyone was quiet, waiting for her to speak, standing surrounded by the bags she had packed, 3 hours behind as Rhysand had kept messing up her packing.

"So, do we hug goodbye?" Alora asked jokingly, but Rhysand wasn't joking as he instantly held her tightly. Alora wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back.

Rhysand's arms tightened further around her. "We can tell Helion that I wasn't serious, please stay here."

"Rhys..." Alora chuckles, her head in his chest, "I am ready." She smiled looking up at him as he released her from the hug. "I want this."

Alora squealed as Cassian hugged her from behind, the giant twirled her around as she laughed, "Ok, put me down, put my down." The females of the inner circle watched on with smiles of their own as the two hugged.

"We'll miss you, Al." Azriel walked forward, hugging her next, his hands firm around her making her melt in the shadowsinger's hold.

Alora was one of the oldest priestesses working in the library in the House of Winds. She had been saved by Rhysand himself, in a lot more ways than one. So when she looked at Rhysand her throat clogged up. "Thank you for saving me, and for everything else after."

Rhysand was fighting tears, looking at the female he had basically raised, "Why did you have to grow up so fast? It seems you were 17 just yesterday."

"Well, I'm 300 now..." Alora smiled, teary-eyed herself, "I'm glad I met you, Rhysand." Even though she had not met him in the best of ways, and she had thought he would hurt her, use her. "I... I don't know where I would be without you."

"I want to see the world. I am ready for it." She nodded to herself, holding the hand that Rhysand reached out to her. "Helion is a friend to you, I think I'll be ok."

Rhysand squeezed her hand as if they were the only people in the room, "I will write to you every month, and if you for a second, feel uncomfortable, you let me know and I'll come get you."

Alora chuckled, "I'll write back too, I promise."

"My little bird," Rhysand pulled her in a second hug, "The world will be yours, at your own pace. Helion will not hold it against you if you aren't able to stay around him or others, he will treat you well."

"I know, and if not, I'll always have you to bring me back." She pulled away from the hug, she then looked at Feyre and smiled at her High Lady, "Goodbye, Fey." She gave a wide smile to Feyre, holding her elbows in her hands, the female cradling the heir of Night in her arms. "Take care of the little bat."

"I mean Rhysand, by the way." She called out with a smile in his direction, making the High Lord flip her off.

One by one the rest said their farewell to Alora, she approached Nesta and hugged her, taking the female by surprise, "Thank you for trying to help the others, it means a lot to me." Nesta hugged her back, "They... They needed a push to get better, and you were that push, I am quite grateful for it."

Nesta smiled, holding the priestess in her arms, "You are so much stronger than you might think, leaving here will be so much better at healing you fully. I'm sure of it."

Alora turned back, Rhysand had picked up her bags quite easily, thrown over his shoulders, holding his hand out to her, "Shall we, little bird?"

"Yes, yeah." She nodded, walking forward and holding the hand he had reached out, she gave a single look back to the rest of them before darkness surrounded her, winnowing out of the Night Court, out of the life she had grown used to.

Alora gasped softly, seeing the brightness of the Day Court palace, even at night, it was bright and beautiful, and the guards looked surprised to see Rhysand still bowed to the High Lord. Alora's eyes were wide with excitement and a little fear as she noted everything, the walls were white and with gold accents, and she smiled at everything.

"Ah, you're here late," Came a deep voice, Alora spun around to see the High Lord of Day, he was the most gorgeous male to ever exist, his dark brown skin had a glow to it with his powers, his russet eyes set on Rhysand. Helion was in some comfortable white silks as if he was preparing to sleep.

Alora couldn't look away from the male, any praises she had heard of the male couldn't live up to how he looked to the eye. He was a sight for sore eyes, simply put. A blush formed on her cheeks when she realised she had zoned out during the conversation between Helion and Rhysand, "This is Alora, the priestess I told you about."

Alora bowed to Helion in an instant and the male chuckled, that sound seemed to imprint itself on her, it was wrong, she thought, to feel this way about a male she knew nothing of, or to feel any attraction at all. Flashes of some scenes from Nesta's smut books fill her mind.

"Get up, please, Alora," Helion smiled, waving his hand at her, "No need to be so proper around friends."

Helion's breathing hitched when she looked up, making eye contact, he felt his cheeks heat from his power. Her eyes took most of his attention, her eyes were jewels, soft doe-shaped, one emerald, the other sapphire. He was sure she could get any male or female she wanted with just a simple look from those heterochromatic eyes, and could make people do anything. She was all in all, gorgeous. He looked away the second it hit him why she had been with Rhysand, he shouldn't be looking at her in the way he did more people easy on the eye.

"Friends?" Alora asked, looking between the High Lords. Rhysand smiled, wrapping his free hand around her shoulders.

"Of course, sunshine." Helion nodded, Alora blushed slightly at the nickname, "Any friend of Rhysand is a friend of mine."

Helion approached Rhysand, patting the male on his back, "After all, it's not always you see the High Lord of the Night Court talking of someone in such a peternal manner."

Rhysand rolled his eyes, "Don't make me take her back."

Helion raised his hands in surrender, and Alora smiled at the High Lords' playful banter as they walked to Helion's study. Alora tried noting everything, staying back to look at every single detail on the furniture.

"Little bird," Rhysand called out, "It's time for me to go, alright?"

Alora's eyes softened looking at him, a small smile forming on her lips, "Alright, goodbye, Rhysie."

Rhysand held her in a hug a final time as Helion watched the two, a smile on his face, he had her bags already winnowed to her new room. Alora pulled away as Rhysand pressed a kiss to her forehead, with another "bye" he winnowed away.

Helion smiled at Alora, keeping his distance after Rhysand had left, he nodded to her, "Come, sunshine, let me show you to your new room," He held his hand out to her, "If I may?"

She looked at his hand, then back up at his painfully gorgeous face, "You may," She smiled, reaching her hand out to hold his.

{general taglist: @nox-ceur}

[xuchiya]

"Ice Ice ___" || song mingi || one-shot

| genre: non!idol ateez. fluff. slice of life | mentions: teasing. fainting. jewelry gift. | This is literally my high school delusions. My old school is literally an 'old school' school like no phones and computers, being in a relationship is not allowed, and big ass windows as our source of fans--- i mean we do have electric fans and ceiling fans but with the weather and a very old, close to dying, e-fans? We really have to depend on the wind from our windows. Anyways, this list is basically a true experience. My personal favorite? Song Mingi's.

The end of the school year was approaching fast, and the tension that had once gripped everyone was giving way to a more relaxed atmosphere. You were one of the few students who had managed to finish all your class requirements on time, avoiding the dreaded summer classes. With the promise of vacation ahead, a huge weight had been lifted from your shoulders, and you couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“You wanna come with us? We’re gonna buy snacks at the cafeteria,” a classmate called from the door, wallet in hand. You held up your sandwich and banana milk in response. They nodded. “We’ll probably stay there. Let us know if Ms. Naduranta comes back.”

Swallowing a bite, you gave them a thumbs-up. “I will.” They waved goodbye before closing the door behind them.

Your friends have been a big part of making this year easier. Song Mingi, along with the rest of the crew, had always been there for you. Though they were in Section 1-4 while you were in 2-4, that didn’t stop you from growing close. You’d known Mingi the longest, along with Yunho.

You three met at a small playground years ago—Mingi on the swings, Yunho on the slide, and you in the sandbox building sandcastles. You remembered how Mingi had launched himself off the swing, crashing into your sandcastle. You had just looked at him, then at your ruined masterpiece, and picked up a princess doll from your toy set, handing it to him.

“You… princess,” you had said.

Mingi, blushing, took the doll and nodded. “I am Princess Mingki.”

You had snorted with laughter just as Yunho came sliding down, landing in a small hill of sand, giggling. You pointed at Yunho. “He… prince charming.”

Yunho dusted himself off and sat beside you. “What about you?”

You thought for a moment before grabbing another toy. “Me… horse.”

Mingi stood up, making you look up at him– his hand was out for you to take it. You were clueless but still took his hand and he pulled you up and ran away. He looks back at you, giggling, “Let’s run away!”

“Y-Yah!” You could hear Yunho running after both of you.

That bond had only strengthened over the years, with the rest of the group fitting in like perfect puzzle pieces. Now, the classroom was nearly deserted, with only four other students sprawled on the floor, napping after a long day. You sat at your desk, doodling in your notebook, when the classroom door slid open. Looking up, you saw Yunho and Wooyoung peeking inside, their bright, mischievous smiles giving them away.

You raised an eyebrow as they motioned for you to follow them, saying nothing but grinning like they had something planned. With a chuckle, you closed your notebook and stood up, curiosity piqued. Whatever they were up to, it was bound to be fun.

When you pushed open the door to their classroom, chaos was the perfect word to describe it. The room looked like a tornado had torn through it—chairs and desks were scattered haphazardly, and even the teacher’s desk had somehow been flipped over. It was a disaster zone.

“Seriously, guys?” You tried to hold back a laugh. Mingi, Seonghwa, San, and the rest of the boys were there, their white uniforms abandoned in a pile in the corner, leaving them in their shirtsleeves. Mingi was the first to speak, his deep voice brimming with excitement. “We’re gonna play ‘Ice Ice Water.’ Come on, you’re joining, right?”

You blinked, glancing around at the mess. “Here? In this?”

Wooyoung grinned, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah, it’s perfect! It adds to the adrenaline. Imagine weaving through all this chaos while trying not to get tagged!”

You hesitated for a moment, but Yunho’s reassuring smile pushed your doubts aside. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this. It’ll be fun.”

With a deep breath, you agreed. After all, what else were you going to do? And who could resist that infectious excitement? “Alright, I’m in.”

The game began, and soon, all your worries vanished. The room filled with laughter, squeals, and the sound of shuffling feet as everyone dodged desks, chairs, and each other. The chaos was exhilarating. Your heart raced as you tried to evade the players who were “it,” the thrill of the game taking over.

Wooyoung, Jongho, and Yeosang were the "it" team. You found yourself pushing a desk toward Jongho to block his path before sprinting away. Mingi’s booming laughter echoed through the room as he narrowly escaped Wooyoung, who dramatically dove into a pile of chairs, sending them toppling over. Yunho moved swiftly, dodging obstacles with a playful grin. Even Seonghwa, usually calm and composed, couldn’t stop laughing as he weaved around the overturned teacher’s desk.

At one point, Mingi was frozen, and you dashed over to tap him back into the game, reigniting the chaos. Yunho grabbed your arm as you both giggled, watching Seonghwa get cornered by Jongho and Wooyoung, who pretended to be zombies as they playfully bit Seonghwa’s arms. Seonghwa dramatically slid down the wall in mock defeat.

“Yah, yah, yah!” Yunho’s panicked stuttering made you laugh in confusion as he let go of your arm and ran off, leaving you unaware of Yeosang sneaking up behind you. Before you knew it, he had tackled you into a back hug, laughing as he playfully bit your shoulder.

“Gotcha bitch—!” He teased with a mischievous grin. A yelp mixed with a laugh as you were taken back by Yeosang’s sudden attack. You tried to wiggle free, but Yeosang’s evil laugh—though totally fake—made you laugh along with him. “Yah, Yunho, you traitor!” you called out, only to see him doubled over with laughter.

“It’s not my fault! I didn’t know either!” Yunho laughed, holding his stomach.

Frozen by the rules of the game, you were about to lose when the door suddenly opened. Everyone froze, turning to see who had entered. Relief washed over you when you saw San and Hongjoong.

San’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Can I join, please?” He didn’t wait for an answer, already running toward you, only for Yeosang to tackle him mid-stride. “Join the dark side, brother!” Yeosang declared dramatically, making everyone burst into laughter.

Hongjoong chose the water side, and the game resumed. You couldn’t stop giggling as Wooyoung and San chased Yunho, who was effortlessly dodging them, while Hongjoong sneakily tried to unfreeze Seonghwa, only to be caught by Jongho.

“Nice try, hyung,” Jongho chuckled to which Hongjoong jutted his lips in annoyance and Jongho flashing his gummy smile. Yeosang was also trying to catch Yunho when he noticed you gesturing for Mingi to come closer and unfreeze you. Mingi nodded, but as he sprinted toward you, Yeosang caught up, figuring both of your plans out, tagging him just as Mingi reached you. Freezing both of you at the same time. The momentum carried Mingi forward, and before you knew it, he was hugging you close to his chest with one arm as both of you stumbled backward against the wall, using the other arm to catch both of you. 

Everyone cooed at the sight, teasing you both. Your heart pounded in your chest, your cheeks burning as Mingi chuckled softly, his own heart racing.

“Let’s continue the game without them!” Wooyoung teased, hollering at you both as you buried your face in Mingi’s chest. Mingi chuckled, looking over his shoulder. “Yah, unfreeze us already!”

Yeosang leaned against the wall, smirking. “How about… no?”

You chuckle, your forehead pressing on his chest as it rumbles in a fit of giggle looking down on you, “You okay?”

Nodding, looking up at him, “Yeah .. is your arm okay?” Pertaining on the arm holding you both, frozen by the rules of the game. He nodded, “Don’t worry about it as long as you’re not hurt, I’ll be stronger for the both of us.”

His words made you blush beet red making you dive back on his chest, your warmth was making him fuzzy inside. Pulling you closer to him as he watches over his shoulders as Yunho keeps sending him teasing looks as he manoeuvre towards your direction and unfreeze you both. 

Mingi grabbed your hand in his and ran off when Yeosang saw you both unfroze. Mingi giggling while you stuck your tongue out. 

“Let’s run away!”

Despite the small space and the mess, the game brought you all closer. It wasn’t just about playing—it was about making memories together. By the time the game ended, you were all breathless, lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling with wide smiles. The room was even messier than before, but none of you cared. This was exactly how you wanted to remember the end of the school year—full of laughter, friendship, and moments that would last a lifetime.

As you lay there, catching your breath, Mingi turned his head toward you, a soft smile on his lips. “This was fun. We need to do more of this during the summer.”

You smiled back, nodding. “Definitely. But maybe next time, let’s find a bigger space.”

The laughter that followed was the perfect way to end the day.

[episodes-ff]

Strong Man

Happy Veterans Day, y'all! As a daughter and niece of veterans, I wanted to give you all a little treat. Especially after remembering Jacob was in fact in a military movie and Aaron plays a former military man. Also Reggie and Terry are Marine Corps men so why not have him join the fold. Enjoy!!!!

P.S. This is just a one-off where Armando always knew his father and joined the Marine Corps with his friends Terry and Reggie instead of leading the cartel...

Armando

Finishing the final strides to my barracks, I came back one last time to say goodbye to my family. "Ohhhh! He's growing so fast!" My uncle Marcus wailed sniffling into his tissue as my dad and I shook our heads. "Will you quit your nonsense, Marcus?" "I can't help it, Mike. He was just a little baby on your hip, now he's going to the Marines." He cried more and more as he suffocated me into a hug. "Don't you have your own family to say goodbye to?" I asked pointing out his daughter and wife as they hugged her boyfriend, Reggie." "Damn, Reggie! You're my nephew, man. I'm gonna miss you."

Chuckling, I hugged him before turning my attention over to my dad. "C'mere, man." He smiled on the verge of tears as he pulled me into a warm hug. "You're not turning soft on me are you, old man?" "I see you got jokes, son. This old man can still whoop yo lil Mexican ass." He chimed as we laughed together. Patting my back, he held my forehead to his and smiled. "I'm proud of you, son." "Thank you, papa. That means the world to me." Giving out all the last hugs and kisses I could afford, I dapped up Reggie before we grabbed our duffle bags and headed inside to start our new lives.

**MONTHS LATER**

Dapping up my boys, Terry and Reggie, I strapped on my gear as we chattered about our plans for the night on the way to our dorms. "So run it by me again, man? What's the plans?" "We hitting the bar on McIntosh in downtown. You in, Reggie?" "Nahhh, not tonight guys. I'm taking a visit to my lady." Reggie said holding his hands up in defense as we groaned. "Ohhhh, baby girl got you pussy whipped, huh?" Terry jibed while he nodded. "Aye, that's my wife you talking about. And yea, I like spending time with my baby." "Awwww, your babyyyy. Answer me this? When you gone make an honest woman outta Megan? It’s been long enough, bro." I said recounting when they met. "If she'll take me, hell tonight." He smirked flashing us the bright ring he had stored in his duffle. "Ohhhh shit! Now that’s what the fuck I’m talking about." Tee hooted as I smiled. "Tryna tell you young bucks, you gotta find the woman for you and her an honest one." "Young buck? Bro, we're the same age." "Hey, I'm just saying." "Whatever, man. Tell us how it goes." "Gotcha gotcha."

Throwing on my shirt, I threw on my watch and chain before hitting myself a couple times with cologne and grabbing my phone and wallet. Headed up to Terry's dorm, I sent a few raps to the door before waiting for his arrival. Watching him come out, I frowned my brows before laughing. "Bro, what the fuck do you have on?" I questioned analyzing his choice of attire. "Hey, what can I say? The ladies love coming to the gun show." He boasted pumping his swollen biceps as I shook my head. "Whatever, dickhead, let's go."

Pulling up to the club, we parked valet before heading in and taking our place at the bar. Ordering a couple beers, we waltzed over to the pool tables as we each scoped the scenery around us. Bumping my head to the music, I stopped squinting my eyes as they landed on this beautiful woman sitting at a booth with her friend. "Aye, I'll be right back." I said leaving Terry as I headed over. "I see ya, boy!" He hooted surrounded by thirsty women. Walking over, I stopped just behind her as friend looked up and smiled. "Well, hi there!" "How are you ladies tonight?" I said putting on the charm as she turned to fully face me. Gorgeous was an understatement with this one. "My name is Armando, and you are?" "My name is Laila and this is my girl, Diamonté." "Diamonté, huh? That's a very unique name." "Why thank you. I can say the same for you, Armando." "Oh can you?" I smirked eyeing her lustfully as I smoothly brought her hand up to my lips.

Terry

Watching my boy work his magic, I cheesed before bringing my attention back to the ladies surrounding me. "You said you're in the Navy, right?" "Marines, little mama." I flirted tapping her chin as she flushed red. "So is that how you got such big arms?" "Nah, I been working out long before I joined. Want me to demonstrate, baby?" Nodding nervously, I smiled a devilish grin before whisking her up into my arms and hitting some bicep curls as she giggled with her friends. Setting her down, I cheesed as they all flirtatiously offered their numbers.

Heading out of the bar with Armando in tow, we drove back up to base and signed in before heading up to our rooms for curfew. Whipping off my sweaty and smelly clothes, I tossed em in the laundry basket before taking another shower. Coming out, I let the steam wrap me in a warm embrace as I looked down at my phone to see if I had any missed notifications. Seeing none from the one girl I actually wanted to talk to, I clenched my jaw as I logged into Facebook. Smiling at the memories of old friends and family as they updated on their current lives, I tapped the search bar and smoothly typed her name. Watching her page come up at the top of the search as it always did, I tapped her profile breathing a ragged breath as an image of her with another man shadowed my view. Clearing my throat, I shook my head quickly logging out before tossing my phone to the side and laying down on my pillow. I can talk to all the girls in the world, it'll never compare to her.

Y'all the outpouring of love I've been receiving is truly heartwarming. I had truly given up on writing after the mishaps with my other stories and you guys are giving me the push to continue 🥹🥹🥹🥹

Tags (Based on interactions, if you’d like to be added or removed let me know): @violetmuses @believeinthefireflies95 @brisunique @kaylaahisthebestest- @madxlov3   @casualsludgeshoetoad @mauvecherie-writes @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @theereina @kumkaniudaku @geneziesm @megamindsecretlair @simpledopeme @goldenjasssy @vivaalenaa @playgurlxoxo @ghettogirly @luuvprincess @perfectlyimperfectme @tbmotw @comfortzonequeen @melanin-honeyy @strawberrymoon45 @luckygirlszn @kindofaintrovert @secretlifeoofmarpessa @cmbmjbfan @summwerella @qdancer22 @ihateyallniggas @rebelrel0987 @x-moonchild-xxxx @1love-rere-spread-the-peace @tamyanicoleeeee @markspliers @armandosbabymama

[sanjisboyfie]

๑ keep safe : navarone - g8 (31)

one piece x male reader

『 prev 』

in their speedy getaway, conis and her father were acting as their guides to the proper exit from the sky islands.

“everyone! we can see it now! if you look forward that is cloud end!”

a bunch of the crew members ran forward to the head of the ship, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the gate that was approaching. it looked like a grand castle, a rainbow right behind it and a very obvious sign saying that it was in fact cloud end.

“i wanna come back here again,” [name] announced, his chest puffed out, “it’ll be so fun to take the trip up!”

“that’s to say if we even can,” nami gave him a swift reality check, shrugging her shoulders, “it was hard enough to find the current, who know-”

“no negativity!” [name] cried out, putting his hand in the air to silence her, “who knows? maybe that old man with the monkeys will lend us a hand again,”

“who knows is right, i guess,” nami said, smiling softly when she looked to the side and saw conis, pagaya, and suu running alongside a fluffy clouded lane to keep up with merry. “at least we’ll get to see them again if we do end up coming back!”

“ah, that’s right!” [name] ran to the side of the railing and rapidly waved his arms, “suu! next time i visit, you better introduce me to more sky foxes! i wish i could take you with me!”

conis laughed at his childish remarks that reminded her of the first time they met. suu jumped into her arms, using his long nose to create sounds of excitement to reach [name]’s ears.

“well then, everyone, i’m sorry! we’ll say goodbye here!” pagaya shouted as he ran along.

“take care, everyone!” conis added.

“thanks for seeing us off!”

“take care of yourself, conis-chan!!”

“remember our promise, suu!”

very quickly, the crew scattered across deck to prepare for their departure. unfurling the sails and standing on alert, they were all prepared for their ride down.

“it’s like a rollercoaster!!” [name] shouted as he held onto the railing of the fast cloudy lane they were riding, “it’s a shame that it ends-”

he cut himself off and rubbed his eyes. he blinked a couple of times and squinted to really focus. and then when he realized his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, it was already too late.

the cloudy road that they were gliding on was just to set them off to prepare for their journey downward. because in a second’s notice, the cloudy road disappeared beneath merry and they began free falling.

“you gotta be shitting me!!” [name] shouted, his eyes practically popping out of his socket at the sudden drop. the rest of the crew was in the same conditions they were shocked at the sudden free fall.

but just as quick as it started, everything was seemingly back to normal. after face planting back onto the wooden floor boards of merry, the crew was able to see that an inflated octopus had caught them. and as they were gliding through the air, the familiar ringing of the golden bell could be heard throughout the skies.

hearing it from so far away made [name] somber up and realize that they really had left sky island for good, this time. he smiled softly, looking up at the white sky and relishing in the chimes of the bell.

as the sun began to set, [name] slumped on the railing of the ship, using zoro as his pillow as he got a fulfilling sleep for himself. zoro was napping first, so he didn’t notice that [name] was using him for such reasons, so [name] dodged an earful of a lecture with that.

and just as he happily sleeping, there seemed to be a ruckus happening on board. when he blinked open his eyes from their previous sleepy state, he heard sanji yelling and the rest of the crew looking over the side of the railing.

“what’s going on?” he asked in a groggy tone, making zoro slap him on the head and force him to stand upright by his collar.

“what’s going on is that we’re going to die,” zoro growled in an annoyed tone, shoving [name] forward and making him see what they were witnessing.

“huh, guys the octopus is smaller,” he said, pointing to their method of transport, “you guys didn’t think of doing anything about it?”

usopp quickly moved to hug nami’s waist and arms to prevent her from attacking the tall man.

“shut the hell up, you absent-minded idiot! we’re seriously going to die if we don’t do something about it soon!”

“don’t worry, i’ll save merry!” usopp bravely shouted, equipping himself with some sort of suction shoes with his rope belt (the usopp aah-aahhh-ah) and jumping off the side of the ship.

sanji and luffy crashed back onto the deck and everyone was watching to see what usopp had in store. at this point, merry was falling faster and faster with each passing second.

for a moment, their rapid descent was paused. usopp had done something that saved the ship, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds. because soon after, the octopus shrunk down to its original size and they were falling at an even faster rate than they were before.

“shit, there’s nothing we can do now,” [name] grunted, looking at the blue sea that they were getting steadily closer to, “everyone, grab onto something, and hold on tight!”

instinctively, chopper, usopp, and nami threw themselves onto [name] and held onto his torso. he chuckled, wrapping his arms around them and holding onto them as tight as possible. bracing for impact, he was able to keep them as safe as possible and steady on deck. their crash onto the sea floor was harsh, but he was prepared and unbothered when they did hit the waves.

“at least we made it down here without dying,” luffy said with pure relief and happiness on his face. he thanked the miniature octopus that landed on top of his face with a smile and the rest of the crew couldn’t help but agree.

at least none of them were dead.

but their relief was shortlived since blaring lights were turned towards merry, from all directions. [name] shielded his eyes at the feeling of all the lights blaring down at them and tried getting his vision to adjust as fast as possible.

bells starting going off too, sounding like an emergency signal, and [name] was now standing upright with his shoulders square and stiff. then he finally saw it, the emblem of blue that was flying from a flag not too far away.

“shit,” he cursed, grabbing his sword that had landed a couple of feet away and ripping up some floorboards, and throwing it under and hastily putting the wood back on top, “of all places,”

“what? what’s happening?” nami asked, swiping her wet hair to the side and shielding her face from the bright lights with her hand, “why are you freaking out so much?”

“because, we landed right in the middle of-”

“resistance is futile! we have you completely surrounded!!”

the crew all stilled and looked out to see a bunch of soldiers standing all around them. they seemed to be in the position of holding rifles in their arms, prepared to shoot at the given command. and that’s when it finally clicked what [name] was referring to.

“in the middle of a fucking marine base.” he finished, slouching as he realized that resistance could truly be futile.

“come on, guys, let’s go,” he said, nudging their shoulders and forcing them to pay attention, “i’ll create a diversion and then we can escape,”

“and leave merry here! in the hands of these marines?!” usopp cried out, immediately going to say no.

“we aren’t going to leave her here, we just need to run off for now-”

“running away? i never thought your style was to run with your tail in between your legs when times got rough, [name],” zoro teased, a smirk on his face as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“it’s not idiot marimo, i just know when to use my head!” [name] whisper yelled, “you wanna go and fight all those trigger happy marines, don’t be my fucking guest because i won’t let you, idiot!”

[name] ran inside, got some bandages from chopper’s medical bay and hastily wrapped them around his face.

“i’ll create a diversion, everyone split up and run. they won’t do anything to merry, she’s just a ship with no one on it. if anything, they’ll just keep her right where she landed. but we — wanted pirates, have to beat it,”

“hey, [name], why do we have to run?”

“i’m not answering anymore questions!”

“he’s unfortunately right, escaping and splitting up is the best option for survival,” sanji added in, “also the smartest choice…”

“thanks, sanji!” [name] grinned, glad to hear someone finally agree with him. “i’ll create a diversion, everyone jump ship and we can swim to shore from here,”

“what if you can’t swim?!” chopper asked, wildly waving his hand in the air.

“pair up with someone that can or i’ll throw you,” [name] easily answered. “now, there’s no time to waste,”

without waiting another second, [name] clenched his fists and ran to the side of the ship. the others immediately jumped off, thinking that he was kicking them off, but in reality he was just trying to get closer to the water.

“fucking marines,” [name] scowled under his breath, clenching his fist and watching as the waters became even more rough. he grinned devilishly, licking his lips as he felt sweat drip down his forehead. “i hope you all drown,”

with a swift tug of his arm, the water beneath merry kicked up and formed a tremendous wave. the marines all looked at the sudden formation of water with shock and fear, especially those that were stationed rather close to the ship. and they all panicked and ran away when they saw that it was sweeping towards them. even those that were on high ground weren’t safe as the wave grew to be at a tsunami level height.

the commanded wave chased the perimeter of the shore line and as far as it could go up, reaching any and all marines that it could before dying down.

and when the marines were finally able to focus back in on the ship, they saw that it was completely deserted and there was no one on board.

the strawhats all split up from jumping off board.

nami, luffy, sanji, chopper, zoro, and [name] were all stranded on their own whilst robin and usopp stuck together. they were all scattered on different areas of the shoreline, some further inside of the marine base than others, but ultimately: on their own.

pirates stranded in a marine base.

[name] could almost laugh. he took off the sopping wet bandages off from his face, wringing them out along with his shirt. he sat down on the rock, stretching and spreading his legs out as he was deep in thought.

he ran a finger over his wet hair, wincing at the uncomfortable feeling.

“i can’t go in there all wet,” he sighed in annoyance, laying his shirt and bandages out onto some nearby rocks to dry. “best to wait it out until i’m all dry then,” he said in a sing song voice, happy to take another nap.

he laid down onto the stone path with his hands resting behind his head and ankles crossed over the other. he bathed in the moonlight, thinking of his plan of action. well, obviously, he had to murder every single marine he came across.

just kidding! not unless they find out who he is, then maybe he might have to.

he woke up from his nap at the break of dawn and became keenly aware of where he was. he put his shirt back on then went to wrap his face with the now dried bandages that were laid out the night before.

“i wonder where everyone else is,” he hummed in thought, easily infiltrating one of the nearby doors, “what role should i play? maybe i could be a pathetic little buss boy? or should i instead be an asshole vice admiral visiting from another base? hehe, i like the sound of that one the most. that way i’d get my fill in bullying these assholes,”

just as he finished speaking, a singular marine had walked around the corner and into his chest. they were several inches shorter than him, making him crane his neck down to peer down at them.

“hah?”

“AGH!! a ghost!!”

before the marine could run away from fear, [name] went and caught him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back. holding him like a stray puppy, he smirked at the look of fear on the marine’s face.

“i can tell, you’re nothing but a newbie,” he taunted, “you got that scared look on your face, your knees are practically shaking. aw, you poor thing~”

“ghost!!!” the marine cried out once more, making [name] grin in happiness.

“yes, that’s right, i’m a ghost. i’m here to haunt you for all your wrongdoings!” [name] continued on, playing on the “joke” the same joke that was scaring the poor marine shitless, “now take me to the kitchen — i’m hungry!”

the marine blinked a couple of times before nodding. good thing that this marine was a scared piece of shit since [name] was able to scare him so easily. he smirked at the way his legs were shaking and he was practically trying to collapse in himself. all that just by a couple of words and the bandages wrapped around his face.

“are we on the grand line?” [name] asked, squeezing the marine’s shoulder to knock him out of his daydream.

“y-yes…”

“what’s your name?” [name] asked, curiously leaning down and closely inspecting his features. he was a young kid, probably only a little bit older than luffy, and had freckles decorating his face. his hair was light brown and a bit on the shorter side, or at least that’s what it looked like underneath the cap he was wearing.

“i-i’m rengen, but everyone on, or all of my comrades call me ren…”

“like a nickname?” [name] asked, loosening the grip he had on the man’s shoulder and letting him walk freely.

“i guess…?”

“that’s cute, i like it,” [name] said, “i also like your freckles, they remind me of someone,”

“oh, that’s nice…” rengen said with an unsure look on his face, unsure whether or not to be flattered or not from the comment. not to mention, the fact that it’s coming from someone so scary looking.

maybe underneath the man’s bandages, he was more friendly looking. at least that’s what rengen would tell himself to ease his own fear. with the bandages on, he sure looks scary…

“what happened to your face?” rengen asked suddenly before turning completely red, “i’m sorry if that sounded rude, b-but it’s just very…”

“scary?” [name] teased, purposely getting close to the man’s face to scare him even further. and it worked seeing as he backed away with sweat streaming down his forehead.

“that’s not what i meant!!”

“i got burned,” [name] lied, looking ahead and backing off from the marine. “you know, if you plan on being a marine, you gotta grow some balls in facing things that are scary,”

“i know,” rengen sighed, looking ashamed in himself. and [name] wondered if it were normal for people to be so affected by a stranger’s words.

“i was just joking, i’m sure you have balls of steel, man,” [name] said, clapping his hand roughly on the marine’s back to “comfort” him. it did anything, but, and only made the marine more anxious.

“i’m sorry, sir, but what exactly is your ranking? you’re not wearing a uniform…” internally the marine was sweating bullets due to how scared he was. the person he was talking to could possibly be one of the strawhats, the crew led by the deadly captain straw hat luffy.

or worse, it could be the crewmate worth even more than the captain: the cursed orphan [name]. the idea sent shivers down his spine. stories of that pirate had been whispered across many different naval stations and he had only heard horror stories of the marines that have fought [name] and survived — which were very rare.

encountering someone with a bounty that high made rengen almost pass out in fear.

“i’m actually apart of a secret unit, ren,” [name] said casually, crossing his arms over his chest, “the commander is supposed to announce my presence tonight, but i thought that i’d scope out the base myself to see how everything is holding up. let’s just say, i report under vice admiral garp himself and have been sent here to question your commander,”

“question commander jonathan? what did he do that required investigation?” [name] supposes the name drop of the marine hero garp was enough to clear any suspicion.

“that’s classified information, ren,” [name] said, putting his finger to ren’s lips and pressing softly against them, “now, no more questions — show me the kitchen,”

”right away, sir,”

“i like how obedient you are, you’re definitely gonna make a great do- soldier, a great soldier,” [name] cut himself off before he naturally insulted the man, smiling sheepishly underneath his bandages at his slip up.

“thank you, sir, i appreciate your input and will remember it moving forward,” rengen echoed like a machine, but the shy and bashful look on his face showed just how sentimental he felt.

[name] genuinely smiled underneath his disguise, finding the look on rengen’s face endearing and adorable. it reminded him of chopper, a little bit. whenever he complimented the doctor, he would immediately blush and then spout some insult. but instead for rengen, it wasn’t insults and just an automated, flustered response.

and rengen was good company for now. the marine was so new to his position and was an easy push over. he would definitely be good to get some information out of.

as far as [name] was concerned, all he had to do was fake it till he made it. if he acted with authority and with a brash attitude, then there was no way that the soldiers would defy him. he hummed in thought, thinking back on some memories to remind himself on how to accurately act.

“you got a cigarette?”

“uh, no, why?”

“i just thought it’d be funny to smoke now is all,” [name] grinned, shrugging his shoulders in thought, “wouldn’t it make me look cooler anyway? unless, i of course, clumsily got half of my clothes set on fire,”

“uh-”

“forget it,” [name] pouted, waving his hand in the air.

“sir, this is the kitchen,” rengen announced, pointing towards a door before hastily stopping [name] from entering, “the thing is, jessica-san doesn’t let anyone enter the kitchen unless it is a specific feeding time. the batches go in a hundred at a time and no one is allowed inside in between that time…so you have to wait, sir,”

[name] put his hand under his chin in thought, humming at the new information. it’d be smarter to wait until mass amounts of soldiers entered the dining hall so that he wouldn’t seem suspicious, but he really was hungry…

“ren!! didn’t you hear?! there’s going to be a cooking competition!! come on, if we go inside now we may be the lucky ones fed!”

“a cooking competition?!” [name] repeated, stars in his eyes. “let’s go, men!”

“hold on-!”

[name] didn’t let rengen finish his sentence as he tugged him along with ease and barged into the kitchen with no remorse.

“sir-”

“food!!!” [name] cheered, but his words were drowned out with a bunch of other people shouting for food as well. he could perfectly blend in here! “man, i miss sanji’s cooking…” he pouted, pushing his way to the front so he got a front row “seat” to the mass amounts of food that was being prepped and served.

”jessica-san’s cooking is just the best, though!” a soldier beside him moaned, hearts in his eyes that made [name] think of the lovesick cook.

“i know someone’s cooking who is definitely better,” [name] smirked, but his expression was hidden underneath the bandages.

“no way!! if you were a true marine of the G8 base, you’d appreciate jessica-san’s cooking the most!”

“like hell i do, sanji’s cooking is the best!!”

“order for 100 soldiers done and ready to be eaten!!”

[name] turned to the table that had a multitude of plates with steaks and vegetables on top of them, free for them to eat and take. [name] swiftly unraveled the lower part of his bandages, allowing his salivating mouth to break free and eat to his heart’s content.

“yummy!!” he cried out into the air, eager to see what the other chef was cooking. he finished about 20 plates, making some of the marines curse him under their breath, but he could care less.

he was just eagerly looking around to see who was behind the stove and cooking their next meal. unfortunately, even with his height as an advantage, he wasn’t able to see exactly who. they were wearing a chef’s hat, but their back was turned to him.

to not focus too much on his still empty and hungry stomach, he just looked at the table and waited for the plates to magically appear before him. finally, after what felt like hours (it was a couple of minutes), plates full of meatballs and vegetables were placed in front of him and the rest of the marines eagerly awaiting.

the moment the food hit his tongue, he looked up in glee. a fond smile was on his face as he locked eyes with sanji, who’s eyes widened in surprise to see [name] hunched over the table and eating almost all the servings of the food he prepared. the rich flavored and meticulous crafted food was only possible by the hands of sanji. that’s how [name] knew he was the one who made the food.

“i knew it was your cooking,” was all [name] said before smiling so wide that his eyes turned into crescent moons. and he finished thirty plates, making the marines almost throw their cutlery at him in fury. then he turned to the marine he was bickering with earlier, smirking down at them, “see, i told you i knew someone who was the best chef in the entrire world!”

“eat shit! you finished all the food before i could even try, asshole!”

“blehhh!” [name] said, sticking his tongue out at the individual and turning away. when he turned back around to give compliments to the chef, who he was going to pretend he didn’t recognize, his face was met with the sight of a mug being shoved in front of him. “huh?”

“a cup of coffee, to quench your thirst,” sanji said, smoothly blowing out smoke and nonchalantly looking away. he was pretending as if it wasn’t a big deal, to not alert anyone of suspicious activity.

“i love chefs who know just exactly what’s missing in my meals,” [name] said, boasting his role perfectly to their small audience, “i should bring you back to my headquarters base where i’d make use of your full potential,”

sanji rolled his eyes at [name]’s grandiose words, not impressed at all. he only shoved the mug into his hands and walked away, back to jessica to hear her observations of his cooking methods. as he stood before her, his eye trailed back over to [name], before blinking at the sight of an empty spot where he once stood.

‘that idiot is gonna get himself caught,’ sanji thought to himself, shaking his head at [name]’s behavior, ‘and honestly, what a shit disguise,’

a grinning and pleased [name] ran out of the kitchen with his face re-bandaged, “now that my stomachs full, time to get things done around here!”

“s-sir!! where are you going?!”

skidding to a halt, [name] whipped his whole body around and his face contorted into shock to see rengen was following him. running after him, even.

“oi, newbie, don’t come following me — i’ve got important business to attend to,” important business, meaning finding the rest of his crew and merry and then escaping.

rengen took a deep breath before bowing deeply, “it would be an honor to see such a high ranking individual such as yourself in your element of expertise, sir! please allow me to shadow you until you meet with commander jonathan!!”

[name] blinked at the request, wondering if this was any bit normal. marines never acted this way, from his memory. all the bases and headquarters he has been in — they’ve only ever acted in their dirty, scheming ways. like all marine dogs did.

rengen was so new to this lifestyle he hadn’t yet developed that behavior. it made [name] grin in pleasure, “have you ever thought of becoming a pirate?”

rengen flinched at the question before his face turned red, “no way! i hate pirates, they’re the scum of the earth and the marines have a responsibility to purge them off the face of the world!!”

“i share the same sentiment!” [name] lied with a laugh, finding his resolve and strong hatred interesting. he nodded in “agreement,” and added on, “good, that was a test to make sure you’ve got what it takes to shadow me,”

rengen breathed a sigh of relief, running a hand over his face in stress, “sir, please don’t test me so suddenly, you scared me,”

“there we go again with you getting scared,” [name] teased, turning around and walking back in the direction he was originally going in.

“you’re right, sir! i’ll be more mindful!” rengen said, taking mental notes as he ran along [name]’s side.

“and also remember this — in the world we work in, fish is the best source of protein to exist!”

“yes, sir!!” rengen echoed, an unreasonably determined look on his face as he shouted in agreement.

“and that it’s only possible to work when you have a full stomach, working on an empty stomach is out of the question. how do you think you’ll be able to purge the pirate scum off the face of the earth? on an empty stomach?!”

“no, sir!”

“good, ren, you’re a fast learner!”

“i’m happy my notes are to your liking, sir!”

“and quit calling me sir!!”

“but…i don’t know your name-”

”who said you had the right to know a high ranking commander’s name?!” [name] was really enjoying this role, it felt like just a big joke. too bad rengen thought it was all very serious and almost buckled in the knees at the feeling of being yelled at by his superior.

“i’m sorry, sir!”

“no sir!”

“then, your name?”

“no name!!”

“understood!”

“good!!!”

[name] dragged rengen around the base, eagerly turning every corner in hopes of finding at least one of his other crewmates. through his journey he kept feeding rengen completely wrong information, for fun, and also just to see if rengen was taking him seriously.

his search was cut short when there was a sudden alarm sounding off throughout the entire base. rengen flinched at the loud sound and hid behind [name]’s figure and nervously looked around.

“that means all the soldiers have to be with their units! that must mean they finally caught the strawhats!” rengen shouted, looking at [name] with newfound hope, “please look out for my performance in unit 88, i plan to capture those pirates and make commander proud!”

[name] almost wanted to coo at how naive the poor marine was. if only he knew he was conversing with a strawhat the entire time. instead, he just gave him a thumbs up and a confident, “you can do it, rennie! i believe in you, capture those pirates and make fools of them! maybe i can bring a good word to admiral sengoku and he will promote you!”

rengen blsuhed, waving his hand shyly in the air, “if that were to ever happen, i’d be very happy to serve under you! that’d be an amazing promotion — i’d get to learn from you directly when you work on the field,”

[name] smiled softly, nodding his head, “definitely!”

poor rengen…truly if only he knew.

“now make me proud and catch that cursed orphan piece of shit! i know you have it in you, ren!”

“i will try my best!” he shouted, with low confidence but nothing but determination painted on his face.

and the two parted ways, making [name] eager to find the rest of his crew and get the hell out of there. he began humming in thought, wondering where his crew might be running to. logically, they’d be going to merry, so he would just do his best in getting to the docks in time.

he could only hope someone was watching over luffy and zoro. the dumbass gets distracted too easily and zoro was shit at directions. he ran through the halls of the base, skidding to a stop when he passed by a grand room full of books.

“oh, i bet robin would love those!” [name] grinned, going inside and looking around, “should i steal some for her?”

“what do you think you’re doing?! state your name and purpose?!”

a hoard of marines, who were probably answering the emergency call, came from around the corner and were pointing their weapons at him.

“[name], stealing some books,” he answered easily, tilting his head to the side as he stared at their guns. “think fast,” he ordered, giving them about three seconds to react.

they just blinked dumbly at him before simply raising their rifles up in the air to shoot.

”please, think faster than that.” he said with a deadpan expression. but before they could fire, he simply moved his arm in a horizontal manner and the entire unit was sent flying to the direction he moved his hand.

they were slammed against the metal walls and all passed out at the brute force.

“what a barbarian you are, [name],” a familiar voice called out, making him turn his head around in relief.

”robin! you already found the library! i was gonna surprise you with some more books,” [name] childishly pouted, his shoulders slouching inward at the realization his surprise was ruined. she chuckled at his expression and disappointment, walking forward and ruffling his hair. he was leaning down a tiny bit, giving her easier access.

“then, to the docks, right? i assume the others are already there,” [name] nodded in agreement with her plan, laughing in glee with the way their path to merry was so clear. he guessed that all the other marines were too occupied with actually catching the others, none of them were on watch in the hallways like before.

“we better hurry or we might miss them!” he called out to her, grabbing her hand and running at full speed. she was able to keep up with ease, laughing behind her hand at his eagerness to escape.

“that’d be terrible — we’d be at the marine’s mercy wouldn’t we?”

“as if i’d let them do anything to us,” he laughed, as if it were a funny joke.

despite the high stress situation, he was still able to so freely laugh. robin liked that about [name], such an innocent trait to have coming from such a supposed terrifying figure.

“come this way, [name], i know a way to make it to the ship quickly,” robin advised, tugging [name] in the direction she was referring to with their still conjoined hands.

“aye, aye!!”

after they made it to the edge of one of the doors, they were able to spot merry sailing on ahead.

“assholes, they were really going to leave without us,”

“well, only one way to stick it to them,” robin chuckled, sprouting a long “vine” of hands to swing them towards merry. he grabbed ahold of her, hugging her figure with all of his strength so he wouldn’t fall.

“robin-chan!!!” the familiar calling from sanji was the first thing they heard, followed by, “shit for brains?! get your filthy hands off of robin-chan, now!!!”

they landed with ease, luffy crashing into [name]’s torso with a carefree smile as nami hugged robin when the older one revealed a map of the fortress that she stole.

just as their escape was going to be near perfect, nami soon realized one thing. they were missing all the gold that they had stolen.

“[name] turn the ship around and get us back into that base, now!!”

“oi,” he slapped the air with a deadpan look on his face, “that’s such a long journey, i can’t do that. if you want me to sink a couple navy ships, sure, but turning merry around and travelling all the way back with waves alone — impossible.”

“how does that make any sense?!”

“it’s something called: limitations to one’s own strength, nami. god, if only you were more considerate of my health,” he sighed in disdain.

“the gold is on the line, idiot! i don’t give a shit about your health right about now!”

“oh, but when i get into a life threatening situation again, then what will you feel?”

“i’m about to put you in a life threatening situation if you don’t listen to me, idiot,” nami threatened, with a calm look on her face as she waved her fist in the air. [name] understood what she was insinuation, zipping his mouth shut to not get her really beating his ass.

the travel back to the marine base all relied on nami’s navigation skills and the current underneath their ship. [name] helped when he could, but he’d have to take frequent breaks to save himself from passing out in fatigue.

finally, the crew was able to come up with a plan that seemed plausible in working. merry was anchored in an unused deck, idea creditted to robin, and trying to come up with a plan for after they got their gold. it was decided that they really weren’t going to leave without it.

“we’ve got to have 80% of the gold go towards my stash though,” nami said, breaking up the discussion of what they were going to spend the gold on. obviously, everyone immediately rejected the idea. so she calmed them down by telling them the truth of what they were really going to use the 80% for.

“repairs for merry?” luffy echoed, eyes wide and blank like a deer caught in headlights.

“yeah, after all, we’ve made so many memories with merry. it’s only right that we fix her up so that she can continue sailing with us!”

[name] grinned, liking the idea. he could tell from the looks on their faces, they were recounting all the good memories they made with and on merry. and he hadn’t been on merry for a super long time, in comparison with the others, but he felt himself smiling as he thought of how important she was to the crew.

a ship that could sail into the sky and come back down wasn’t any ordinary ship. merry was perfect for the strawhats and all their crazy adventures. repairing her only sounded right.

“the going merry’s great repair! i like it!” usopp said, happily throwing his arm around [name]’s shoulder and rocking the two of them back and forth. [name] smiled, cheering to the idea in agreement.

“anything to get her to be brand new, i’m sure she was even more beautiful when you guys first got her,” [name] grinned, “as everyone says — money can indeed fix everything,”

“[name]’s absolutely right,” nami chimed in, beris in her eyes as she thought of what she could spend her portion of the gold on when the time comes.

“here, eat up. they took all of our food, but not the stuff that was in the fridge,” sanji interjected, placing a large plate full of the crew’s personal favorites in front of them. at the sight of a small section of the plate dedicated for [name], he lit up immediately and dug in. suddenly, as he was chewing his food, he felt sanji put a heavy hand on the top of his head. “sorry to tell you this, shit for brains, but they stole all of our coffee beans,”

[name] frowned, cursing the marines in his head and adding that action onto the list of reasons as to why he hated them. but, seeing as what’s done is done, all he could do was sit there and grumble. he also forced sanji to take a seat next to him after he was done catering to the crew. he easily yanked the cigarette that was resting in his mouth out and stomping it out. then he pressed his share of the food against the chef’s lips.

“eat,” he simply commanded, rolling his eyes at the familiar stubborn look on sanji’s face. “eat.” and he didn’t pull away the food until sanji took a hesitant bite, smiling at the sight of the chef eating.

after settling on what they were going to spend their gold on, they had to figure out how they would get the gold back and where it would be hidden. with a simple observation from robin, they were able to deduce where the gold would be (a multi-lock vault that was deep within the fortress) whilst usopp got prepared on how to prevent merry from being stolen again.

he called for the crew’s help in giving merry a makeover, which lasted until the late night. they worked tirelessly, [name] and luffy sometimes goofing around with the buckets of paint. but, at the end of their hard work, it turned out to be a solid plan since she was almost unrecognizable. she now was masked by a bunch of wood and paper to look like a marine warship. but the illusion only lasted from afar.

chopper, who’s fur was covered with some splotches of paint — courtesy of [name] and him playing around, looked amazed at the transformation and eagerly asked when they would set their plan into motion.

usopp broke down the plan of action with ease, but unfortunately did not include either [name] or chopper in it. there were going to be two teams: the gold retrieval team and the waver retrieval team. zoro, usopp, robin, and zoro were in the former whilst nami and sanji were in the latter.

“chopper — someone needs to watch the ship and be on stand by for whichever group comes back first. [name] — you’re too well known amongst the navy, if they really catch sight of you, they might just be too focused on capturing you.” usopp explained, but it only made chopper more disappointed hearing the reason.

“aw, you care about me that much?” [name] teased, batting his lashes at usopp.

“eh, no, it’s more like, if they’re focused on capturing you, they’re focused on capturing us which could turn this whole mission into unsuccessful really fast. at least if you’re not there, they won’t be in a particular rush in killing us on the spot!”

“oi.”

“usopp is partially right, too much attention focused on you could ruin the whole sneaky part of the plan. once we get that gold, we’re gonna be under the spotlight, but until then we need to remain overt,”

“oh, so you’re bringing luffy for an overt mission,” [name] reiterated with an unimpressed look on his face.

“his abilities of being an idiot, and rubber, could prove useful in escaping,” nami said with a wave of her hand.

without arguing more about it for the sake of time, everyone split up and left chopper and [name] on merry on their own.

“i should make some more medicine!” chopper announced, trying to find something to fill his time. “at least i’m not here alone like last time, i’m glad that you’re with me, [name]!”

“i’m glad i’m with you too, chopper,” [name] grinned, “also could you imagine if they ambush us — they’re gonna have to deal with the two of us as the protectors of merry! they’re gonna be so screwed!”

“so screwed!” chopper repeated, an uncanny evil laugh escaping his lips as he proudly stood atop the deck with his hooves on his hips.

“they’ll be put to death on the spot!”

“put to death!” chopper mimicked, holding his arms up in a karate motion as he chopped the air threateningly.

“man, i’m bored already…” [name] sighed, the liveliness of his voice going away almost immediately.

“me too…” chopper joined in, slouching onto [name]’s lap with a dejected look on his face. [name] pet his fur gently, smiling at the youngest strawhat with a fond look in his eyes.

“it’ll be alright, time will pass by faster than you think,” [name] comforted, “until then, how about we play a game?”

“a game? what kind of game?”

“have you ever heard of…chopsticks?!”

when nami and sanji were the first to return, they saw chopper and [name] sitting face to face with one another with a pissed off look on both of their faces.

“i have hooves, how on earth am i supposed to win at this game?!”

“you’re the smart one, you should have come up with a strategy, chopper!!”

“there’s no strategy that would make me win when i’m at a clear disadvantage!”

“well, that’s not my fault then, that’s nature’s fault! don’t blame me!”

“you bastard!”

“raccoon dog!!”

“oi!! what the hell are you two fighting about so loudly?!” nami shouted from her waver, “have the others not come back yet?!”

“no, they haven’t, you two are the first,” [name] replied, walking over to the edge of the ship, throwing a glare over his shoulder at chopper, “and to answer your question from before: chopper is being a sore loser in this game we were playing, can you believe it?”

“hey!!”

“i actually could care less,” nami sighed, waving her hand, “sanji stay with these two, i have a plan in mind, but i need you to stay here.”

“oh, but—”

“no buts, stay here and wait for the others while i do what i need to do!”

“okay, nami-san!!”

sanji jumped on board with nami riding her waver far, far aaway. [name] came running over to him with a devilish look on his face, “wanna play chopsticks?”

when the gold retrieval group came back to merry, usopp quickly informed them of the new plan. nami and luffy went to find the gold themselves, since the vault that they went to investigate came out to be empty. the others of the group were sent back to merry to prepare it for their escape.

upon nami’s request, they were told to set it out to sea and wait for their arrival with the gold. they seemed confident in its location this time, which made the rest of the crew breathe a sigh of relief that their struggles at the marine base might finally be over.

“it was fun to pretend for a while,” [name] sighed, kicking his feeet up against the railing as he laid on his back on deck.

“what do you mean, [name]?” robin asked, “were you perhaps in disguise too?”

a flash of anger could be seen on usopp’s face as he remembered the events that played out between him and robin inside the base.

“a little bit, i tricked a newbie marine into giving me all the information i needed by saying i was some high ranking commander. he was definitely new to the whole thing because he didn’t even question me that much, just answered all my questions like a good little boy,” [name] said, fondly rememvering the nervous wreck that was named renegen. “who knows, maybe i’ll stick it to him one more time before we go,”

“do you just enjoy tormenting innocent people?” robin asked, finding the giddiness of [name]’s behavior interesting.

“no marine is an innocent person,” [name] shrugged, “besides, me and him are bestest of friends, he just doesn’t know it,”

“imagine his shock when he finds out you’re the wanted cursed orphan, though,”

“he probably screamed in anger since he seemed to hate pirates so much,” [name] laughed, imagining the man’s face, “i wish i’d been there to see it,”

“oh, hold on guys! i see them! they’re coming towards us … and they have the gold!!” usopp announced from his bird’s eyes view.

“perfect, let’s get sailing away and merry fixed up then!” [name] said, jumping onto his feet and ready to follow nami’s orders.

the two made it onto merry with little to no problems, safely storing away the gold and the waver before joining the others on deck. nami wasted no time in commanding them to escape, enjoying the way their escape route was plainly laid out for them.

[name] was about to rejoice before he felt that something was terribly wrong. he held onto his stomach, running over to the side of the ship and puking his guts out. chopper, the overly concerned doctor, thought that there was something wrong with the way [name] healed from skypiea, but in reality it was just his body reacting to the water around them.

“nami, there’s something wrong!” he wheezed, holding onto his stomach as he felt like he was going to be sick again, “the currents up ahead…it’s like they’re-” he cut hismelf off with another bout of puking.

nami took his warning seriously, thankfully, and ran ahead to the front of the ship. seeing that the below waters were completely out of control, she looked up in fear.

“we’re about to be stuck in a couple of seconds, goddamit!!” she clutched her hair in worry, “the water is sinking back because it’s about to be low tide too, the bottom of merry is going to encounter some really jagged rocks!”

“what?! what?! what do you mean?!” usopp parroted, looking extremely worried when it came to merry’s condition.

“it means that there are rocks at the bottom of this lake and they’re all about to be exposed since the water is treading back,” [name] replied, standing upright and standing at the front of the ship with nami, “this is really bad. everyone, brace for impact!!!”

they did as told and then merry was sent into an impromptu rollercoaster ride. she shook back and forth, making the crew move with her until she came to an abrupt stop. inspecting the bottom of the ship immediately, they saw hat she was in terrible shape.

“ha, how much gold is it gonna take to fix all that?” [name] said, kicking the broken wooden pieces aside with a sad look on his face, “poor merry, don’t worry girl, we’re gonna get you back to being brand new soon!”

“well, now that we’re stuck here in the enemies perfect line of sight for blowing up, what should be our next plan of action?” usopp, the ever optimistic individual, asked in exasperation.

“i could bring back the tide, but i doubt that’d be helpful with how many holes are the bottom of merry. we’d just sink.” [name] suggested with a frown. nami went over and pinched his earlobe, bringing him down to her height.

“why didn’t you bring back the tide when it was receeding, idiot?”

“do you know how much effort it is to command sea water — nevermind commanding seawater against its natural current of sea water-”

“is that not what you do when you-”

“there’s no point arguing now, let’s just think about how to escape,” robin said, breaking up the two like the responsible individual she is, “especially with all of them watching now. our escape has to be quick and sure or else we’ll really die,”

as robin said that, the lines from the mountain range surrounding them all turned on and pointed at merry. it was obvious all soldiers were on standby for a quick command to blow the ship up, but for some reason the commander was withholding said command.

he announced to the crew that he wouldn’t have any qualms with allowing the rest of the crew to walk away scot-free, save for [name], luffy, and zoro, who had active bounties on their heads.

but, obviously, surrender wasn’t even an option. luffy wouldn’t allow it, zoro would definitely fight against it, and [name] laughed in the face of it.

so the crew retreated inside and began theorizing plans. with the help of usopp’s impact dial, it was possible that they could have an chance of escaping. but when they realized that there was no point in setting it off if they were just going to crash straight back down.

“if only we had that octopus,” they all moaned in disappointment.

“oh, luffy, you told me you hid it in your pants, do you still have it?” [name] asked, looking to his right and at the grinning captain.

“i have it!”

“oh, he says he has it.”

“he has it then.”

“he damn has it.”

“so, he has it.”

“perfect, he has it!”

“he has it?”

“yeah, i have it!”

cue everyone looking at luffy as if he were crazy, but they were quick in realizing that, for as weird as it was for luffy to hold onto it (in his pants of all places-), it was a situation to be thankful for.

“and if we mix the breath dial with the flame dial, we will be able to inflate him and make him fly!”

“so you do have a working brain,” zoro teased, pressing his finger into [name]’s forehead, where it was very swiftly swatted away.

“so, the plan is we use the impact dial to set us up in the air, robin uses her powers to stretch it out to be across the ship and down the underside, then we use the dials to inflate it…the question is, who is going to shoot the impact dial?” usopp asked, looking around with a scared look on his face.

scared since he saw all the looks everyone else was giving him. grins and stars in their eyes as they knew they were going to be unscathed from handling the dial and that usopp was definitely going to be the one pressing it.

“how about you, [name]? wouldn’t you help your poor crewmate out?”

“usopp, have more faith, you can do it!”

with that weak cheer encouraging him, usopp accepted his fate and everyone got in position to prepare their escape. luffy, zoro, sanji, [name], and usopp were all down at the bottom of the ship with the impact dial. nami and robin were on standby with the still deflated octopus. chopper was in the crow’s nest acting as lookout.

and now all that was left was to execute.

with a quick countdown, to prevent usopp from chickening out last second, they pressed the impact dial down onto the bottom of the lake and shot the merry upwards.

[name] took the brunt of everyone’s weight falling onto him, but didn’t think it as anything hard to handle as he easily shoved everyone off of him.

“did it work?!”

”hold on!” nami called back, before she was ordering robin to spread the octopus out with her devil fruit. after that was done, they were able to blow the air and flame dial upward into the octopus as if he were a hot air balloon.

“c’mon, usopp, one more,” [name] grinned, “i know you got it in you!”

“i really don’t!” usopp groaned, clutching his hand in pain.

“we’ll be here to support you, usopp-sama!” zoro egged on, carrying the man’s frail body to the same slot they were positioned at before and preparing for the impact dial to be set off.

“you’ll feast like a king after this, usopp-sama,” sanji added on, smirking as he got ready and braced for impact.

[name] hugged the sniper’s waist, grinning as he rested his chin on his shoulder, “on the count of 3?”

“3 . . . 2 . . . 1 ! impact!!”

and merry was sent soaring once more, the four being sent flying backwards at the impact. they quickly scrambled up onto the deck to see if it worked, cheering in glee when they saw the view of the ocean beneath them.

their plan worked, the gold was back on board and all of the crew came out of the marine base relatively unharmed.

“perfect,” [name] breathed out, looking back at the base with a grin, “suck it, shit marines. i win again!”

“quit your babbling, idiot,” zoro sighed, covering his ear with one hand.

“oh, zoro, did you miss me while we were seperated,” [name] teased, latching himself onto zoro with a pout on his face. “it’s okay to be honest to what your heart is telling you,”

“my heart is telling me to kill you, so fuck off,”

“zoro, you’re playing so hard to get. keep up this attitude and i’ll lose interest~”

“lose interest faster so i can finally get you off of my back, you fucker,”

“what a way with words, zoro, i could just eat you up!”

“oi.”

inside the g8 marine base, a certain recruit clutched a certain wanted poster in his hands with his head hanging low. rengen looked at the face of the poster once more before hiding his blushing red face behind his hand.

“idiot,” he murmured to himself, crumpling the wanted poster up and throwing it to the random corner in his room, “idiot, idiot!”

he threw himself onto his pillow, but it didn’t do much in hiding his crimson red ears that clearly showed that he was still blushing. he himself didn’t know if he was calling himself an idiot or if he was accusing the man on the wanted poster for being an idiot.

either way, [name] — the cursed orphan with a bounty on his head of two-hundred fifty million beri a, new recruit of the strawhat pirates — was the reason he was a blushing, cursing mess.

fortunately, the man himself didn’t know that so his ego didn’t get boosted up even further.

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[feelingf1]

reunited - charles leclerc

pairing: charles leclerc x female reader

summary: charles was the boy next door for a lot of your childhood, that was until he left one day without saying goodbye. you decide to go to the Monaco gp, but will he recognize you?

authors note: this sounded way better in my head, but i wanted to post something since I haven’t in a while.

enjoy!

—————

17 Years Ago:

You rushed down the stairs as fast as your little feet could carry you, grabbing your coat off the hook as you reached the bottom. You had spent all day watching out of your window, waiting for Charles, your next door neighbor and best friend, to come home from his week-long trip to Spain.

“Mama, Charles is home! Can I go see him?” You called out to your mother, who was tidying the kitchen. She smiled softly at you. “I don’t know love, they’ve had a long day full of traveling, they’re probably tired.”

You weren’t going to give up that easily. “But Mama, Charles said I could go see him as soon as he came home. Please? I haven’t seen him in like years.” Your mother shook her head, laughing. “Okay, you can go. But if Pascale is not in the mood to have you over, come right back. Okay?”

You ran over to your mother and hugged her leg tight. “Yes, thanks Mama.” and you practically sprinted out the door, not stopping until you rang Charles’ doorbell.

Pascale opened the door and called up the stairs for Charles to come down. “Y/N, I missed you.” he screamed and hugged you tightly. You returned the hug, grinning from ear to ear. “I missed you too. Where did you go?”

“I went to a karting race in Spain, and I nearly won.” The pride was extremely visible across his face as he held out the photos that his older brother, Lorenzo, took whilst he was driving.

“I got a silver medal, come and see.” The two of you joined hands, sprinting up the steps into Charles’ bedroom. He held out the medal and you took it into your hands.

“Charlie, this is so cool! You’re going to be the best driver ever when you’re older.” He smiled, “I hope so. I really want to driver for Ferrari when I’m older.”

You felt your heart drop a bit after hearing this. You thought that the two of you would live on the Monaco coast forever, like you had promised.

“But Charlie, Ferrari is in Italy, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“But then we wouldn’t live together here.”

“I can live here too, or you can move to Italy with me. Don’t worry Y/N, I will never leave you.”

You looked up at him, “Promise?” He nodded, “Promise.” “Okay good.” you said, “You can’t break a promise.”

“I won’t. Now come here and look at the photos of the beach.” He said as he grabbed your hand and jumped onto the bed with you, photos flying everywhere.

a few months later

As the bus dropped you off at your gate, you sprinted towards the door, rushing to ask your mother for permission to go and see Charles. He hadn’t been in school all week, but it was wintertime, and you’d just assumed he was sick.

You rushed into the kitchen. “Mama, can I-”

You met your mother sitting at the kitchen table, with a sad smile on her face. “Y/N, come sit, we have to talk.”

You threw your bag on the floor and sat into the chair, your mother looked very upset, which worried you as she was normally an extremely happy and bright person.

“Pascale called me this morning Y/N. She had to move back to her home in Italy, her parents are very sick and she needs to help them out.”

You felt upset, Pascale was practically your second mother, but you were happy that you still had Charles.

“That’s sad, but at least Charlie is still here.”

Your mother reached out and grabbed your hand, stroking it softly. “No, Y/N. Pascale took Charles, Arthur and Lorenzo with her. They all moved to Italy.”

You burst into tears. You couldn’t believe that you had lost your best friend, and he didn’t even get to say goodbye.

“But Mama.” You cried, through sobs. “Why didn’t he say goodbye?”

A tear rolled down her cheek, she hated seeing you so upset. “It was so sudden Y/N. She didn’t tell Charles or Arthur because she didn’t want to make you all sad. But don’t worry, Pascale said that he’ll write letters to you and maybe come visit you, okay?”

You crawled into your mother’s lap, still sobbing into her soft jumper. “I didn’t want him to go. He promised he’d never leave me Mama.”

“I know pet, but this was something nobody can control.” She said, stroking your hair. “Come on, let’s watch a movie to make you feel better.”

She wrapped you up in your arms and carried you to the living room.

“I can’t wait to get his letters Mama. They’ll be so exciting.”

You waited day after day, but the letters never came.

17 Years Later:

You grabbed the white blazer that was hanging in your wardrobe and put it on with a green top underneath. Today you were going to the Monaco GP with your two best friends, who had managed to get their hands on paddock passes.

As you curled your hair and did your makeup, you couldn’t help but think about Charles. He wasn’t just your home hero, but your childhood best friend, who you still sorely missed many years later.

You tried everything to reach out to him, sending him messages, letters, posting tweets, absolutely everything, but he probably just thought you were another crazy fan, which broke your heart.

Your friends entered your room. “Ready to go?”

You nodded, grabbing your bag from your table.

The atmosphere at the race was incredible as always. This was the first year though that you weren’t watching from a balcony at your friends house, you were actually in the paddock, and it was incredible.

“So, are you gonna try and speak to Charles?” One of your friends asked, knowing the history between you two.

“No, no. He won’t remember me, and he’ll probably think I’m just some lunatic or something.” It hurt you to say it, but you knew it was true. Charles was driving for Ferrari, there’s no way that his childhood best friend was still on his mind.

You headed to the bar and got a couple of drinks, before heading to the paddock to see all of the garages of the drivers. It felt so surreal, seeing all of this in real life.

As you walked down the paddock with your friends, you managed to grab pictures with a few of the drivers, until you headed down to the Ferrari garage and saw him, you saw Charles.

Your friends nudged you, encouraging you to even just say hi. You felt nerves and panic rise in your chest, but pushed them down and did it anyways.

You smiled broadly and waved. “Hi Charles!” You called out to him. He looked at you, returning a thin-lipped smile and a wave and continued on his way, stopping for photos and autographs, but not stopping to turn back around for you.

That was it. He had forgotten you. You knew it was a high possibility he wouldn’t remember you, but that didn’t stop you from hoping for a fairytale story, where he’d remember you, swoop you into his arms, and apologize for everything. Instead you were hit with the reality, and that caused tears to stream down your cheeks.

Your friends grabbed your arms and led you out of the paddock and towards your seats. You still cheered Charles on, after all, he was your home hero, even after what just happened. At the end of the race, Charles finished P2, and the whole crowd, including you, erupted in cheers, even if you were tired and heartbroken.

Your friends turned to you. “So, are you coming to watch the music acts?” You were a sucker for concerts, but the thought of wrapping yourself up in your bedsheets feeling heartbroken was much more appealing.

“No, but please, you guys go. I’ll be fine.” You hugged them goodbye and headed home to your apartment overlooking the coast. You threw off your clothes, climbing into a hoodie and joggers, not even having the energy to take your makeup off. You curled into bed, staring at the photos on your wall, when your eyes landed on one in particular.

It was a photo of your 8th birthday. You were wearing a pink princess dress, and Charles was stood beside you, wrapping his arms around you. There was chocolate cake smeared across both of your faces and you were laughing. You felt the tears starting again, wishing you could go back to those moments, wishing that Charles had kept his promise.

You were moments away from falling to sleep, when you heard your doorbell ring. You were originally going to ignore it, but the repeated ringing declared that this person wasn’t going away until you opened the door.

You headed to the door and your mouth fell open when you saw who was standing there.

“Charles?” You asked.

He stepped in without saying nothing and engulfed you into a hug, which you immediately returned. You started to sob into his jumper.

“I’ve missed you so much.” You managed to croak out. He held you out so he could look at your face.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry for everything, for not recognizing you straight away, for leaving you all those years ago, for breaking our promise. I’m so sorry.”

You held your hand up to his face, cupping it gently. “It’s okay. You had to go. We couldn’t do anything to stop that. How did you find me?”

“I thought you looked really familiar when you waved at me earlier, it was playing on my mind all day. I seen your friends again and I asked them and they said that it was you. They told me you came hoping I would recognize you, and when I didn’t, it broke your heart, so I came right over.” Tears fell from his eyes too, which he tried to wipe away quickly.

You hugged him tight again. “I thought I’d never see you again. I’m so proud of you Charles, for achieving your dreams. I’ve followed you every step of the way, I want you to know that.” You whispered softly into his ear.

“Move in with me.” He said, out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

“Y/N, I mean it. I’ve found you now and I never want to let you go again. I don’t want to break our promise again either. Move in with me. Or I can move in with you here in Monaco, we can-”

You cut off his rambling. “Yes, yes I’ll move in with you Charlie. We’ll never lose each other again.”

You grinned at each other from ear to ear. This was it, your fairytale ending, and it was better than ever.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Cake- Wriothesley x wife!oc & daughter!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: May 3rd, 2024

Description: Hello I just got an idea, what if Wriothesley had a wife and daughter living in the court of Fontaine, the reader being his daughter, and they'd occasionally visit him and they met the traveler and Paimon during their most recent visit and they decided to ask Wriothesley about them.

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions.

Word count: 617

Back to directory

“Excuse me,” a small voice asks from behind Lumine and Paimon. They turn around to find a young girl staring up in awe at Paimon; a woman stands behind her, one hand on her shoulder and the other holding a bag. “Are you a fairy?”

“Who, Paimon?” The little girl nods excitedly, eyes twinkling. “No, Paimon’s Paimon!”

In all honesty, the floating guide isn’t sure how to answer that question. So she diverts the kids' attention.

“What are you doing here?”

The little girl looks back at, presumably, her mother who offers an encouraging nod.

“I’m here to see my daddy!”

“And who’s your daddy?” Lumine asks, crouching down to be eye level with the child.

Something about the little girl looks familiar, but what really catches her eye is the silver locket hanging around her neck. There’s an incredibly familiar wolf emblem raised on the metal with an opal eye set in, the animal and the color invoking a certain prison warden.

“Well, well, well,” Wriothesley’s voice sung. “And what crimes have we committed this time?”

The little girl spun around so fast everyone was worried she would knock herself off balance. A wide grin broke across her face and a high pitched squeal bubbled up from the back of her throat.

“Daddy!” She yelled, sprinting towards the Duke and lunging at him.

“There’s my little princess,” he laughed, catching her under the arms and spinning her up in the air.

She laughed as he peppered her face in kisses, resting her on his hip as the woman approached them. She kissed him, earning a retching sound from the kid, and Wriothesley wrapped his other arm around her waist to tuck her into his side.

“Traveler, Paimon!” He greeted the two. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We were just getting ready to head off to Natlan,” Paimon explained as they walked over. “We were saying goodbye to all our friends.

“Daddy has friends?!” The child gasped.

In response, Wriothesely knocked his head against hers and earned himself a whine. He stared into her eyes for a long moment until she broke down into a fit of giggles and buried her face in his neck.

“Yes, I do,” he laughed, leaning his head against hers. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, huh?”

He kissed her cheek as she turned to look at Lumine and Paimon.

“My name is Y/n.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/n,” Lumine smiled. “My name is Lumine.”

“And Paimon’s Paimon!” Paimon turned to Wriothesely as the little girl tucked herself back into her father’s shoulder. “We didn’t know you had a family.”

“We live in the court,” the woman, presumably his wife, said. She extended her hand and introduced herself. “Unfortunatelyyy someeeoneee,” she dragged out the end of her words, “was sentenced to visiting her daddy by the chief justice himself.”

“Since when does Neuvillette concern himself with your visits?”

“Since you’ve been so busy that you couldn’t come see us,” she kissed his cheek before turning back to Lumine and Paimon. “He’s been so busy since the flood, Monsieur Neuvillette passed on Mademoiselle Sigewinne’s concerns that our beloved Duke was working too hard. Trying to make time for us.”

“So Sigewinne told on me,” Wriothesley huffed.

“Oh, daddy! I lost a tooth!”

“You did? Let me see.”

As Y/n pulled back her upper lip to show off the hole where her tooth used to be, letting Wriothesley exam the space, her mother addressed the traveling duo again.

“Would you like to join us for tea before you set back off? I brought cake.”

She held up the bag she’d been carrying.

“Cake? Lumine can we?”

“Sure, why not.”

[oldiesstationlover11607]

every bone in my body needs a part 2 of “for you”

maybe when the reader lands and they are going to meet up with tyler they both lock eyes and the reader drops her luggage and runs and jumps into tyler’s arms and they are both crying and stuff. and josh is standing there awkwardly. then they go back to tyler’s and they get to know josh and maybe start on working on what they want to do for tour???

it’s taken me awhile to request this because i forgot about tumblr for a hot minute 😅

but no rush please take your time and i can’t wait!!!

For You Part 2- Tyler Joseph x Reader

PART 1

Warnings: none hehe

Word count: 1714

A/N: Honestly the For You story is literally my favourite out of all the ones I've done 😭 so glad I got the opportunity to write a part 2 😘

Summer 2012

My plane touched down with a gentle jolt, the kind that always brought me back to reality as the adrenaline of going fast down the runway hit me. My stomach flipped as I leaned to peer out the window, the familiar sight of Columbus’ skyline coming into view. I hadn’t been home in years. And I hadn’t seen him in even longer. Tyler.

The idea of seeing him again had been exhilarating on the plane, but now, I felt sick to my stomach. Would he even recognize me after all this time? What if we didn’t click the way we used to? My hands fumbled with the strap of my carry-on bag as I tried to steady myself.

“Calm down,” I told myself, exhaling slowly. “It’s just Tyler.”

But that wasn’t true. It wasn’t just Tyler. It was the boy who had held me on summer nights, whose laugh could light up the darkest of days, and whose voice—deeper now, richer—still managed to make my heart race through a phone speaker.

Gripping my bag, I made my way through the terminal, scanning the crowd for him. And then, I saw him.

Tyler stood by the baggage claim, wearing a black hoodie and baseball cap. His arms were crossed, but when his eyes locked on mine, his whole posture changed. His face broke into a grin—no, the grin, the one that made me feel like nothing bad could ever happen in the world.

I froze for a moment, taking him in. He looked older, sure, but it was still Tyler. His presence was magnetic and clearly not just for me because people were quickly starting to walk up and talk to him. A rush of emotions hit me all at once: nostalgia, excitement, and nerves. I stood there watching him as he took a few pictures with some girls before quickly waving goodbye. 

Once I was sure we’d have our time, I ran toward him, the sound of my footsteps drowned out by the pounding of my heart. Tyler was already moving too, his long strides eating up the distance between us. When we met, his arms wrapped around me with a force that knocked the air out of my lungs.

“Tyler!” I gasped, clutching him like I never wanted to let go.

“Y/N,” he said, his voice breaking just slightly. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, holding me tighter. I felt his shoulders tremble, and that was all it took for my own tears to start falling.

“I missed you so much,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“I missed you more,” he murmured, his breath warm against my skin.

We stood there for what felt like forever, the rest of the airport fading into the background. Eventually, I pulled back, just enough to look at him. His face was damp with tears, but he was smiling, and God, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“You’re here,” he said, almost like he didn’t believe it.

“I’m here,” I replied, laughing softly as I wiped my face.

That’s when I noticed him.

A guy stood a few feet away, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. He had frizzy hair and a kind, open face, but his expression was somewhere between amused and uncomfortable, like he wasn’t sure if he should be watching this moment unfold.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” I said, pulling away from Tyler but still keeping one hand locked in his. “You must be Josh.”

The guy smiled, a little awkward but genuine. “Yep, that’s me. And you’re Y/N, right? Tyler’s told me a lot about you.”

“All good things, I hope?” I teased, my cheeks warming.

Josh chuckled. “Mostly.”

“Josh,” Tyler warned, shooting him a glare.

“What? I was just saying–” Josh held up his hands in mock surrender, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

The ride back to Tyler’s house was a mix of nostalgia and laughter. Tyler drove, his hand occasionally tapping the steering wheel in time with the music playing softly in the background. Josh sat in the passenger seat, chiming in every so often with a story about the band or a sarcastic remark that had me giggling. It felt good. Natural.

“So, how long have you two been working together?” I asked, leaning forward from the back seat.

“About three years,” Josh said. “Met through a mutual friend, started jamming together, and somehow ended up here.”

“Somehow,” Tyler echoed with a grin.

“And you’re the drummer, right?” I asked.

Josh nodded. “Yep. And the voice of reason most of the time.”

“That’s debatable,” Tyler quipped, earning a laugh from both of us.

When we pulled up to Tyler’s house, my heart skipped a beat. It was modest but charming, with a front porch that looked like it belonged in a movie. As I stepped inside, the familiarity of Tyler’s world washed over me—the warmth, the chaos, the creativity.

“Okay,” Tyler said, clapping his hands together. “Welcome to HQ.”

“HQ?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s what he calls it,” Josh said, rolling his eyes. “I just call it his house.”

“Whatever,” Tyler said, brushing him off. “Come on, I’ll show you where the magic happens.”

He led me to the living room, where a whiteboard leaned against the wall, covered in scribbles of song titles, setlist ideas, and doodles. There was also a laptop, some recording equipment, and an acoustic guitar propped against the couch.

“This is where we’re planning for tour,” Tyler explained, his eyes lighting up.

Josh plopped onto the couch and grabbed a bag of chips from the coffee table. “He’s been obsessing over it for weeks.”

“Because it has to be perfect,” Tyler shot back, then turned to me. “And that’s where you come in. Normally Mark would be helping us but because it’s a bigger production we need a bit more help.”

I looked at him, then at the whiteboard. “You want me to help bring it all to life?”

“Exactly.”

“Where’s Mark?” I asked, looking around the room. 

“He’s in Cincinnati working a festival but he’ll be back on Monday. He lives here with us,” Tyler smiled. 

For the next few hours, we brainstormed ideas, throwing out concepts for visuals, transitions, and how to make the performances feel like a full experience. Josh offered input every now and then, but it was clear that Tyler and I were in our element.

At one point, Tyler leaned back and looked at me with a soft smile. “I forgot how good we are together.”

I smiled back. “Me too.”

Later that night, after Josh had gone to bed and the house was quiet, Tyler and I sat on the porch, a couple of sodas between us. The air was cool, and the stars above seemed brighter than I remembered.

“Thanks for coming back,” Tyler said, his voice low.

“Of course,” I replied, turning to look at him. 

He smiled, but there was something else in his expression—something deeper. “I’ve thought about you a lot, Y/N. More than I should, probably.”

My breath caught, but I managed to keep my voice steady. “I’ve thought about you too.”

For a moment, we just sat there, the weight of everything unsaid hanging between us.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Me too,” I replied, and for the first time in years, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. His confession felt heavy but warm, like wrapping yourself in a favorite old blanket. The stars above seemed brighter, almost as if they were cheering for us.

I turned to him, his features soft in the dim light spilling from the porch. His eyes searched mine, hesitant but hopeful, like he wasn’t sure if he should take the leap.

“Tyler…” I whispered, my voice trailing off.

His hand shifted closer to mine on the porch step, brushing against it lightly before his fingers intertwined with mine. The familiar touch sent a wave of warmth coursing through me. For all the years and distance between us, this felt as natural as breathing.

“Say it,” he urged softly, his voice cracking just a little.

I smiled, my heart thundering in my chest. “I don’t know how to say it.”

He laughed softly, shaking his head. “You’ve never been at a loss for words before.”

“Guess you have that effect on me,” I replied, my voice light but my gaze steady on his.

His smile faded just slightly, replaced by a tenderness that made me forget everything else. Slowly, carefully, Tyler leaned in. I could feel the heat of his breath, see the way his lashes brushed against his cheek as his eyes fluttered shut.

And then, his lips met mine.

It was soft at first, tentative, like he was testing the waters. But as I leaned into him, pressing closer, the kiss deepened. It wasn’t just a kiss; it was an apology for the years apart, a promise for whatever came next, and everything in between.

His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing gently against my skin as if he wanted to memorize every detail. My own hands moved instinctively, one resting against his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my palm.

When we finally pulled apart, both of us were breathless. Tyler rested his forehead against mine, his eyes still closed, a small, almost disbelieving smile playing on his lips.

“Worth the wait,” he murmured, his voice husky.

I laughed softly, my hands still resting against him. “You always were a smooth talker.”

He opened his eyes then, his gaze locking onto mine. “No, I mean it. I’ve waited for this, for you. And now that you’re here, I’m not letting you go again.”

I didn’t have the words to respond, so instead, I pulled him into another kiss, this one filled with all the things I couldn’t say.

In that moment, under the stars and surrounded by the quiet hum of the Ohio night, it didn’t matter what the future held. All that mattered was him, us, this.

We had found our way back to each other, and for the first time in years, everything felt right.

//

REQUESTS OPEN

[noonaishere]

Music of the Heart [J.YH] - seventy-four | the great (less confined) indoors

You walked into the dance studio, where the girls of the team were dancing a routine. Mingi turned upon hearing the door open and smiled and waved you over. You walked over to where he stood at the stereo console and he gave you a big hug.

“What are they practicing for? They seem super serious.”

“Online competition.”

“Oh…” you nodded. “They look good.”

“Yeah, I think they’ll win.” He smiled at you.

You crossed your fingers and held them up for him to see. “Here’s hoping.”

You turned back to the group and they ended in their ending pose. Mingi stopped the song and clicked around as he looked for the next song.

Just as they had, the door opened and Yunho walked in. Your eyebrows ticked up in surprise, but you adjusted, and pretended like you hadn’t noticed.

He clapped for the girls and most of them ran over and said hi to him, giggling like schoolgirls.

“There’s our other guest of honor!” Mingi said after laughing at Yunho being mobbed by the girls.

Yunho said goodbye to them and walked over, seemingly surprised that you were also there.

“T/n… I didn’t know you were coming to the dance studio.”

“Mingi invited me.”

“T/n is my pet project. She needs to have someone make her leave her apartment or she never will.” Mingi volunteered.

You shot him a look of fake displeasure.

Yunho chuckled. “Hard at work?”

“Generally.” You answered. “Music doesn’t make itself.”

He smiled. “You always were a hard worker.”

Your eyes widened. You never told Mingi you and Yunho knew each other. Did Yunho tell him? You looked at Mingi, who looked from one of you to the other, confused.

“I mean--” Yunho backtracked “--Jongho told me that Hongjoong and Maddox said you are. And you make so many mashups, like you said.”

You nodded slowly. “I mean… there isn’t much else to do.”

This seemed to satisfy Mingi’s suspicions and he went back to the computer.

You nodded. 

“Umm… You could text me if you want. You know, if you’re bored. We could get to know each other better.”

You knew he was saying that for Mingi, to further create the illusion that the two of you had only met recently, but it had an added effect in your mind: you both had changed so much that you supposed it really was like you were just getting to know one another, all over again. A fresh start.

You nodded. “I do have your number now.”

He nodded, but was almost thrown by one of the dancers jumping on him. Confused, he turned, “Uzin! Hey man, what’s going on?”

They hugged.

“Long time no fucking see, man! Are you here to dance?”

“I am, actually.”

“Uh oh,” Mingi said. “Do you want your old song?”

Yunho thought for a second and his gaze settled on you for a few moments. He looked back over to Mingi with a smile, “Yeah, sure.”

Yunho put his stuff down near the mirror and stood in the center of the room, practicing a couple little moves as Mingi pulled up the song.

“‘Old song’?” You asked Mingi.

“Mhm. The song he’d always perform at busks. He’d make a ton of money.”

You chuckled. “Is it sexy?”

Mingi laughed and pressed play.

It wasn’t sexy.

Unless you were the type of person to find extremely clean and technical moves sexy. Well, you supposed there was a certain type of sexiness in someone being really good at what they do… like, really good. The way he moved was incredible: his waves were so smooth, his isolations made him look like a robot and not a human, he wasn’t offbeat for a singular second, and his feet were so fast he almost looked like he was floating. No wonder he helped to found a dance team; he was a dancer’s dancer.

He was so powerful and still so precise with his movements… It wasn’t really that he was moving to the music, it was more like the music was moving him. It was like his body was just innately responding to what it was hearing. It was kind of cool to see.

You had only seen him dance a little bit before the falling out. He had been in every school musical as an ensemble dancer, but your parents didn’t allow you to go to any. Instead, you saw him practice if you had managed to catch him during the school day, and you remembered him being good. But his lead role in a musical came after you had stopped being friends. You remember looking at the poster in the hallway, still mad at him but wondering how he was going to sound on stage; you’d only ever heard him singing in his room, after all. You couldn’t even remember what musical it was, just that his name was on the poster and that, at that point, you couldn’t even see it if you wanted to.

You supposed that the dance crew was what he did after, since he didn’t have you as a friend anymore. You couldn’t figure out if you were sad about that or not.

When the song stopped he stopped, and the dancers applauded as he bowed. He came back over to you and Mingi.

“Very nice.” Mingi nodded with a smile.

Yunho smiled. He looked at you. “Did you like it?”

“Yeah--”

“Do you guys want to sit at the mirror?” Mingi interrupted. “We have more practicing to do.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” You said, and you and Yunho sat on the floor with the mirror at your backs.

“You were telling me how great I was?” He said jokingly.

You chuckled. “Is that what I was doing?”

He smiled.

“You were really cool. I had no idea you could dance like that.”

He nodded. “It’s something I got into more when I moved out here… if you want to hear about it.”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, Mingi’s actually from our town and he even went to the same school as us.”

“Oh, really?”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t remember him at all.”

“When you stopped talking to me, he came over and sat with me at lunch since his own friends abandoned him for eating too slow and I was alone.”

You nodded.

“He was in a small dance team, and they normally were part of the ensemble dance cast-- that’s how they all met.”

You nodded again.

“So we got to talking during lunch in senior year and we both wanted to move to Seoul, so I joined the dance crew and we came out here and started going to outdoor dance events. People just get together and play music and dance, do dance battles, that kind of stuff.”

“Mhm.”

“We befriended a lot of the dancers-- we were actually working at a convenience store most of them would go to, and… we decided to ask a bunch of them if they wanted to form a new group in Seoul and they did.” He smiled and shrugged.

You nodded again. “Mhm. Dei and Mingi told me about the, uh… bloodless coup? When To The Beat became Wonderland’s permanent dancers.”

He laughed. “That was a little after I had left to pursue acting more seriously.”

“Why didn’t you just stay a dancer?”

He shrugged. “I like acting more, I guess. You know I loved being in plays in school… I want to be on people’s screens.”

You nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to be the lead in the musicals more when we were in school, instead of just dancing.”

“What, singing?”

“Yeah. You were in one after-- in senior year, right?”

He perked up. “Did you see it?”

“You know I wasn’t allowed to go to any,” you laughed awkwardly.

“Oh.” He nodded.

“Also, uh,” you lowered your voice, “we weren’t friends anymore by then.”

He nodded again. 

You nodded back and the two of you sat in silence for a few moments as you watch Mingi and everyone else dance.

“I, um…” he started. 

You looked at him.

“I didn’t really want to be the lead in that musical.”

“No? Why? You were always a good singer. You’re a real live triple threat.”

He chuckled awkwardly. 

“Why didn’t you want to be in it?”

“Um… I never really liked singing in front of others…”

You laughed blithely. “You sang in front of me tons of times.”

“...Yeah.”

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

Send an ask or leave a comment if you want to be added to the tag list! 🎵

@luvvvx • @iamthehotdemon • @hrts4hanniehae • @rachs-words • @stayatinykatsy •

[psidontknow]

 We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye     And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?

Commission for @jubilantscribbler

[monfixity]

Rush - Chae Hyungwon

Summary: As a surprise, Hyungwon didn’t tell you about his new job offer, but as he woke up the next day only to realise that he forgot to turn on the alarm he was in a rush. Now he was scared to be late. Thankfully, he had you.  

Hyungwon finally managed to get a modelling job at Vogue Korea. He will be on the cover for the new months of Vogue Korea. In addition, he will have an interview talking about the future of Monsta X, military enlistment, and private life.

He looked forward to this and hasn’t told you anything because he wanted to surprise you with photos. But now that he woke up in an empty bed and it was already 9 am and he had the meeting at 10:30 he realised he should have told you. You could have woken him up making sure he wasn’t going to be late.

Hyungwon got up fast and ran towards the bathroom to take a shower. He put on the navy blue suit pants and grey wool pullover. He put some cream on his face and ran out of the bedroom and was met by you holding up a bag and a bottle.

“I heard you rushing to the bathroom and swearing so I assumed you were late. This is coffee and, in the bag, I put some sandwiches,” you said smiling.

Hyungwon walked over and took the bag and bottle and kissed you. “I don’t deserve you.” he smiled.

“You do. And now hurry up or you’ll be late for whatever appointment.” you pushed him towards the door.

“I will be back for dinner, around 9.” he put on his jacket.

“Alright. Have fun.” you grinned and waved him goodbye.

 Hours later, Hyungwon arrived home and saw you lying on the couch. He smiled and put the envelope with the photos on the counter to take off his jacket and shoes. After he did that he took the envelope and crawled onto the couch next to you. You smiled at him and kissed him as he leaned in. “Were you still on time?”

“Yes, thanks to my great wife.” Hyungwon sat down and held the envelope to you. “This is the appointment I had today.

You sat up a little and took the envelope and took out the inside and saw modelling photos and the writing of Vogue. Your eyes widened and you looked happily towards Hyungwon who grinned. “You finally have a contract with Vogue?” you beamed.

“Yes! After today’s session, they decided to employ me as a model for future events as well.” Hyungwon happily announced.

“I am so happy for you! You really wanted to work for Vogue for a long time.” you started. “And they would have missed a good model if they had let you go,” you added, looking through the photos. “Can’t believe this attractive man is my husband.”

Hyungwon chuckled. “You have the ring on your finger as a reminder, and you also carry my name, Mrs Chae,” he smirked, and you chuckled.

“Oh, and what are these writings?” you held them up.

“This is the interview they will release. You can read through them while I make myself something to eat.” he started to get up.

“Your dinner is in the oven; dessert is in the fridge.” you looked up over the papers you were holding.

“I can’t believe this amazing woman is my wife.” he smiled.

“You have the ring on your finger as a reminder, and I also carry your name Mr Chae.” you chuckled as he laughed and shook his head.

He walked over and took the dinner and dessert sat down at the table and started eating. From time to time, he watched you read through the interview.

You were amazed by the answers, and how well he answered them, sometimes you even beamed because you had no idea, he was feeling this way.

 MC: Hyungwon have you ever thought about having children with your wife?

Hyungwon: Totally. I always say I want to have two children, but the last decision will my wife make. It’s her body after all and I won’t decide for her. But I thought about it. Just haven’t talked about it with her. Maybe I should do it after this interview before the release.

MC: Yes, because we totally will release every word you say.

Hyungwon: I wouldn’t want it any other way.

 MC: How is your marriage so far? Any regrets?

Hyungwon: None, marrying her was the best decision I’ve ever made. She blesses me every single day. Just this morning, I slept in and forgot my alarm. I was almost late, but she made me breakfast and coffee while I was getting ready. So, I was still on time.

MC: That sounds like an amazing woman.

Hyungwon: Oh, the best. I love her very much and the world can know that.

MC: Oh, we can see it the way you talk about her and your eyes shine.

 You looked up and met his eyes. “Which part did you read?” Hyungwon asked.

“I just finished them all,” you responded. “And the Children and the marriage one.” you started. You got up and walked over to him, hugging him from behind. “I want to have children with you. And two really don’t sound that bad.” you kissed his cheek, as he leaned into your embrace. “Don’t feel pressured, you really don’t have to have children with me.”

You walked to the front, and he made space so you could sit down on his lap. “But I want to have them with you. I thought about it as well but never admitted it to you. You can ask Kihyun, he knows about it.” you admitted.

“You told Kihyun about it?” he stroked your cheek.

“Yes, he is my best friend after all. And he told me I should tell you but somehow never found the time,” you admitted.

“Now we have. And we agree on that one.” Hyungwon smiled.

“Yes, that we do.” you stroked the hair on the back of his head. “And the marriage one. I love you so much. And I also never regret marrying you. I am so glad that I never listened to the people who warned me because, after all this time, I still love you as I did on day one. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I still don’t regret anything as everyone predicted the contrary.” you smiled.

“I am glad to hear this because I plan to get old next to you. I won’t ever let you go, no matter what others say.” Hyungwon put his arms around you and pulled you towards him.

“Good, because my plan is the same,” you whispered, looking into Hyungwon’s eyes, still stroking the hair on the back of his head.

Hyungwon picked you up bridal style as he got up. “What are you doing?” he carried you towards the bedroom.

“Trying for the family,” Hyungwon said as he laid you down carefully.

Monsta X Masterlist | @kbookshelf​

[dxmoness]

𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 | 𝐄.𝐕.

𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊 ➜ yes, you read the title. Name is finally going to have short lived freedom. double update this week? maybe?? other parts in masterlist one.

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 ➜ none!

Her eyes flung open as she looked around. A worried expression came to her face as she looked around. Her body felt fragile and she felt as if she could topple over any time soon. Bodies spread around the cold dark area. It seemed that she was in the middle of nowhere.

A fake cough was heard as she turned to reveal the Cardinal, his crimson eyes shimmering with excitement at the sight of her. Due to this she recalled the conversation beforehand and remembered that he had wanted to make her a dead corpse and fast.

"You..." She started only to notice his tight grip at his sword handle. One small strike and she'd die on the spot. But he was a cardinal was he not? He wouldn't dare kill an innocent life? Ah, there was when she realized innocent meant his people. He knew her as a monstrous emperor's youngest child. Of course he'd assume her bad.

Perion stared at her intensely, sword in hand. Upon realizing that the female was now very afraid of him. He let the sword go and gave a sheepish expression. "My apologies, my lady. You must've thought I was about to kill you." He walked towards her. Every step ringing in her ears as her eyes met with his own. Her body suddenly gave a kick of energy as she tried standing up quickly, only to stumble once more. The poison's effects were still strong so it seemed. Her body could not cooperate with what her mind and heart desired. "Are you alright?" He inquired as he knelt to check her for injuries.

In a sudden movement, he swept her off the ground as he carried her bridal style. Her weak body held enclosed in his arms, head against his warmth. It felt warmer now much to her embarrassment.

"Where are we going?" Her soft fragile voice stunned the male as he just stood there processing her words. "Perion...?" He looked at her blankly then realized his actions and flushed.

"Somewhere quiet and safe for you, Your Highness." Oh. So he wanted to take her somewhere she could not be in danger then? Her mind thought this sweet and caring but...a part of her told her to continue to be as cautious. A person's true intentions can never be determined at first glance thus she needed to be on guard for any...distasteful instances made by the male or anyone relating to him. He had led them to a horse that he which mounted; him on the back while she sat in front of him. Though it was still he who controlled the reins of course.

The night lingered on as they rode through the woods. Her eyes drooping once more as she felt consciousness slipping. Fast asleep in his arms, Perion gave a small laugh. For someone who had been unconscious for say twenty hours, she was still in the need of losing consciousness once more. A smile curled on his lips as he continued onwards.

Arriving at long last to a cottage in the middle of the woods which was incredibly hidden and difficult to find. It was on his account the best place to keep a hunted down princess. He placed her down gently on the soft mattress of a large bed. A silent goodbye was given as he ran off into the night. He had to make it back before suspicions would be made of where he had been all this time. He took a moment of course to write a small note to where he'd gone and when he'd be back. Also instructions on where to get food and things as the such.

He hoped it wouldn't be that hard. Since there was a village nearby if he did not arrive sooner than he said in the note, he told her in it to get money from the drawer and just buy from there. Thus he also left a horse for her in the stable behind the cottage. One quiet enough to not gain any attention towards this peculiar spot.

After all this he fled towards the empire's area, where a certain male was going half mad with fury.

"Perion. About time you grace us with your presence." Eros practically spat, voice ever so filled with venom as his eyes were ablaze in anger.

"I apologize for being quite late everyone. As you know someone did make me go all the way to the other side of the empire." His red eyes met with those grey ones as his mouth gave a smile. "Well then. Why is everyone in such a panicked state?"

"The princess has been lost." Eros' eyes flicked at him, annoyed at his carelessness. "You wouldn't have anything to do with it, do you?" His suspicious attitude gave fuel to the other's amusement.

"Now why would you assume such a thing? I was on the other side of the empire, how could I possibly do such a thing?" The prince only gave a scoff at this and turned away to attend to other suspects. Perion, on the other hand, laughed inside as he did have something to do with it, but not what Eros would except.

In the cottage a female awoke refreshed as she felt the unfamiliar feeling of peace. Her body felt...at peace once more. Something she lost the moment she entered this empire.

Something she thanked Perion for giving her.

⟢ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ‹𝟹

→ @d10nsaint , @that-one-pretty-bitch , @roselynmin / @roseadleyn , @rouecentric , @nxccolo , @chxrrylxdy

[dailyunstableeve]

Under The Spell

Chapter (3/9)

Miguel O'Hara x My Oc (Eve)

°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .

"Miguel, did you find someone new?" Peter B sat on Miguel's desk, "or you fall in love with someone?"

"What? What makes you think that?" Miguel raised his eyebrows, unable to believe Peter B asked him that question.

"You are laughing more often, especially at inappropriate moments, everyone is more scared of you than before, but I would never be scared of you," the pink fur coat laughed.

"Is that obvious?"

"Mhm."

Miguel looked at Peter B, he just sighed and walked away. Miguel couldn't believe that he actually had that behavior when he was working.

He just misses Eve very much.

He misses her voice. Her laugh. Her touch.

"That small waist," Miguel whispered out, he immediately facepalm, to as well, cover that reddened face.

Miguel has to get off work fast, so he could see Eve soon.

"Miguel, you gotta see this," Lyla pops up out of nowhere, showing Miguel the head news of his universe.

The news played several dead bodies found in an apartment, the apartment is rusty and dirty, it must've been a mafia hideout. To be honest, this kind of news isn't really important because to keep the citizens from worrying about their safety, news won't report news like the Mafia. The news continued, mafia gangs are slowly decreasing from the surface, and bad activities lessened.

"Is this our hero, Spiderman doing, or someone we never know about? Keep in touch, we will report to you as soon as we get the news."

Lyla looked at Miguel, concerned. She knows it isn't Miguel, or the other Spider man, because they are hardly allowed to be out of the building.

And Spider Man doesn't kill.

"Check the civilian camera, see whether you can track the person who did it, whoever that is, could be our enemy or allies, find it out before things went wrong."

"On it."

Miguel shakes the nervous thoughts he had for the news and continues his way to meet up with Eve.

★・・・・・・★

“Here?”

“Yeah, it looks perfect,” Eve leaned forward and gave Miguel a kiss.

“The bed isn't here yet Mi Amor,” he let out a soft chuckle.

“We don’t need a bed, Miguel,” Eve kissed Miguel again.

Another two months passed, it’s been seven months since they first met. Strangers to friends, then now they are lovers. After their first kiss and confessing each other's feelings to each other, they decided to move in together, somewhere near the HQ.

Just because of the news about many mafia gangs are found dead.

Miguel wanted Eve to be safe, so he suggested Eve move in with him.

“Ah, the infamous girlfriend!” A head peeks out from the doorframe.

“What are you doing here?” Miguel sighed, as he tried to massage his head from the headache he’s having right now, with Peter B showing up.

“I heard you were moving, I just thought of coming to see your new house!” Peter B has a big smile on his face, there’s a small human on his head, a baby.

“Who’s this cutie?” Eve reaches out her hand to see if the baby wants hugs.

“This is Mayday, my daughter.”

Mayday didn’t hesitate a second and just went into Eve’s arms.

“Nice to meet you Mayday,” Eve smiled.

“This is Peter,” Miguel introduced.

“Miguel and I are work buddies!” Peter B immediately stood next to Miguel and hit his back.

Miguel just stares at Peter B with annoyance.

Spider Man isn't really allow to leave the building.

“Jess is asking for your present, you gotta show up man, I know girlfriend is important but you got work to do,” Peter B said.

“I am literally your boss,” Miguel sighed, “you done with your visit, now go.”

“Alright boss, alright say goodbye Mayday.”

Mayday held up her arm and started shaking it as she get back into Peter B’s arms.

“Bye bye Mayday,” Eve waved her hand and watched the father and daughter walk away, “okay, I am now very tempted to go to see your workplace.”

“Mi Amor.”

“Please,” Eve used her doll eyes and begged Miguel.

“I,” Miguel is trying his best to deny those doll eyes, “give me some time to sort it out first,” but he couldn’t resist it.

Finally Miguel prepared to finish his speech for Eve about the HQ, he wanted to explain everything to Eve first before she just sees it and gets shocked about it.

An urgent call disturbed his plan.

Somehow, three anomalies appeared in the same universe at the same time. Spider society has never experienced it before. Jess, Peter B, Ben, Miguel and many more are called to that mission.

There were no signs shown during the days they went for the mission. Only on the fifth day, everyone came back wounded. Jess and her baby are fine but she will be needing some treatment. Peter B’s spider man suit has some torn parts which he would probably ask MJ to help him fix.

“You’re back!” Eve hugged Miguel the moment he showed up at the door, it’s already night so Eve wasn’t really able to see Miguel's face but she knew it’s him.

“Wait Eve,” Miguel started to cough up badly, as the light finally shines on Miguel, his spider suit starts to seem visible.

“Miguel, are you okay? What are you wearing?” Eve started to panic, she has never seen Miguel like this, it totally freaked her out.

“Once everything is done, the first thing I want is to see your beautiful face,” Miguel looked at Eve, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

He’s very tired.

“Come on, I’ll help you clean up,” Eve slowly carried Miguel. Her weight is kinda crashing onto Eve’s, she’s not used to carrying that much weight on her shoulder but she just bears through it.

Eve gently places Miguel on the couch, asking him how to take off the suit. Then she gently wiped on the wounds with clean water. Miguel wasn’t able to keep his eyes open, the last moment he remembers is the worries on Eve’s face as she gently cleaned him up.

He felt bad to make Eve feel this way.

He hates it.

He wants to fix it immediately.

But he knows that Eve would ask him to stay put and let her clean his wounds.

So he did, and fell asleep.

°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .

Prev~

Next~

[bexleyfix]

Wild Child

(an Eddie Munson One Shot)

WARNINGS AND TRIGGERS: 18+ ONLY (NO MINORS) NSFW: Mature sexual content, Smut [oral sex, OFC losing virginity, unprotected sex (wrap it up, fools!)], teen mom, pining, angst, lots of super duper cutesy feel-good fluff, swearing, smoking, drinking, mentions of substance abuse, controlling parents

RELATIONSHIPS: Dad!Eddie Munson x Mom!OFC ♡ unknowing dad Eddie, previous relationship; old flames; rekindled romance; brief appearances by Dustin and Wayne; mentions of Robin

SUMMARY: [AU: no Vecna] Julie Duncan's controlling parents despised her boyfriend. Forcing her to leave Hawkins in the summer of 1984, Julie returns four years later intending to reconcile with her long-lost love, Eddie, and a life-changing secret.

*Reposting with credit to me is permitted, but copying, translating, or posting my work as your own is expressly forbidden. I do not give my consent*

🤘

"Come on, Eddie, just accept that when it comes to Pacman, I'm better than you."

"'Scuse me."

"No way, Henderson. Best two outta three. Let's go."

"'Scuse me."

"You're such a sore loser. Ya know that?"

"'Scuse me. M-Mistew Metalhead?"

Eddie felt a tug on his jacket. "Henderson, what are you---?" He did a double take, spotting a tearful little boy yanking on his vest. The kid couldn't have been more than three or four years old. Giving Dustin a bewildered look, Eddie knelt, eminently concerned. "Um, hey there, little man. What's wrong?"

"I-I can't find my Mommy. And you'we a metalhead. Mommy said, if I evew get lost, find a scawy metalhead, and dey'll help me."

Eddie and Dustin both chuckled. "Alright, I don't know if I should be offended or flattered. What's your name, little man?"

"M-my name's Gage."

"Well, Gage, my name's Eddie," Eddie held out his hand and the little boy shook it, "and this is my friend, Dustin." Dustin gave the boy a toothy smile and waved.

"Nice to meet you."

Eddie laughed. The kid was so fucking cute. "Same here, little man." He looked up at Dustin and then back to Gage. "Um... let's go find your Mommy." He stood up and took the boy's hand. "Two outta three, Henderson. I'll be back."

Gage waved goodbye to Dustin before following Eddie around the arcade.

"So, what's your mommy look like?"

"Um, she's pwetty. She has long bwown haiw, and she's dis tall." Gage brought his hand to Eddie's shoulder to demonstrate. "She's weawing a jacket, l-like you and me."

Eddie noticed the boy's little battle vest. "Hmm, let's see what we got here." He knelt again to check out all the buttons and patches. "You listen to all this stuff?"

"Oh yeah! Mommy and I do."

"Really? Which one's your favorite?" Gage turned around and pointed to his back patch. "W.A.S.P.? Your Mommy lets you listen to W.A.S.P.?"

"Yeah, yeah! Well, some songs she covews my eaws duwing pawts, but I like da fast guitaws, and the bwood and guts. It's soooo cool. Mommy calls me hew little wild child. Dat's my favowite song, 'Wild Child'. Mommy also says my daddy looks like Bwackie, and he pways guitaw. Hey! You like 'em too!" Gage pointed excitedly to the W.A.S.P. pin on Eddie's vest.

Eddie looked down and chuckled. "That I do, little man. I also play fast guitars."

"You do?! Wow! Can you teach me?"

Eddie couldn't control his laughter. "Well, um... why doesn't your Daddy teach you?"

"I nevew met my Daddy. It's just me and Mommy."

Ok? Definitely more to this story than meets the eye. "Ah, well, we'll see, little man. Let's find your Mommy first, ok? If she's dressed like us, she shouldn't be hard to spot." As they circled the arcade, Eddie glanced around looking for any clash of character in the proverbial sea of conformity.

"Thewe she is. Mommy!"

Gage let go of Eddie's hand and ran to the waiting arms of the distressed woman crouched down on the floor. The kid wasn't exaggerating. His mom is pretty. She had long, flowing, dark hair, and she was wearing skin-tight, black, ripped jeans and a black tank top, with combat boots, and a jean battle jacket. Eddie smiled, letting out a sigh of relief as she scooped up the boy and trapped him in a huge hug. But then... recognition set in, and his smile faded into a look of disbelief.

"Oh my God, Gage! I was so worried. Are you alright? Jesus, I was looking all over for you. You scared me half to death. What did I tell you about running off? You could've been kidnapped." I looked him over worriedly, making sure he was in one piece.

"I'm sowwy, Mommy. I didn't mean to scawe you. I saw da Twon game and wanted to pway."

"It's-it's ok, baby, just... say something next time, ok? Don't run off by yourself... ever!" I squeezed him again.

"Ok, Mommy. But I did what you said. I found a scawy metalhead, and he helped me."

"Oh, you did, huh? At least you retained something I've told you. Where is this scary metalhead, so I can..." When I spotted the 'scary metalhead' my heart practically stopped. "Eddie..."

"Hi, Pippin. It's been a long time." God, you looked more beautiful than ever.

I felt the sudden urge to cry as Eddie and I stared at each other in complete shock. Pippin... I hadn't heard that name in years. That's been his nickname for me since sophomore year art class. Eddie would tell me I reminded him of Pippin from Lord of the Rings 'cause I was constantly eating, loved mushrooms, and I'm short. I nodded, trying to control the beating of my racing heart as I was immediately transported back to the spring of '84. A momentary flash of our naked, sweaty bodies in the heat of passion. "Um, yeah... yeah, it has."

"Mommy, you know Eddie?"

"Uh, yeah... yeah, baby, I do. We're uh... we're old friends." I still couldn't believe he was standing in front of me.

"Cool! Mommy, Eddie likes W.A.S.P. He's gonna teach me how to pway fast guitaws."

"Oh, is that so?" I smirked at Eddie. He shrugged and smiled softly.

"Yeah, yeah! Pwease, Mommy, pweeaase!"

"Um, we'll see, Gage." I stared at Eddie. I wanted to run to him, trap him in my arms, kiss his perfect, pouty lips, bury my head in his neck, inhale his musky scent, and never let him go... but I was frozen in place. "Uh... thank you... Eddie. So, uh, w-what're you... what're you doing here? I thought you'd be in California."

"Naw, that didn't work out."

"I'm... I'm sorry. I know that was important to you."

"Yeah, well... some things are more important."

I nodded, feeling sheepish, knowing full well what he meant.

"It, um... it was for the best though. I got a job at the plant, and Wayne and I, we bought the old body shop, and business is good, so..."

"Well, that's... that's great, Eddie. Really great."

"So... a kid, huh?"

His expression hardened, and seeing it felt like a punch to the gut. I knew what he was thinking. "Um... yeah. This is Gage."

Eddie nodded. "Yeah, we've uh... we've met." He stared at the ground, poking at the carpet with the toe of his sneaker. "So, um... what're you doing here? Last I heard your family moved to Massachusetts."

"Um, yeah, well, my parents are still there. I uh... I just moved back a couple of months ago. Cheaper, ya know? And surprisingly, I, um... I kinda missed the place. Small-town life it's... it's not so hectic."

"Yeah, I get it." There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence. "Well, you should come by the shop later. We can catch up. I know Wayne would love to see you. Bring little man here. He can give Wayne the run-around."

"Um, yeah... yeah, maybe I will."

"Good. Well, uh, bye, little man." Eddie knelt and looked at Gage. "It was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again soon."

"Yeah, yeah! Me too, Eddie!"

Eddie held up his hand. Right on cue, the little guy slapped him a high-five. Eddie shook it off, playfully feigning pain. "OUCH! That was a good one." He stood up and faced you. "I'll, um... I'll see you around?"

"Yeah... see ya around."

Eddie nodded and strolled away, struggling to breathe. His heart felt like it would jump out of his chest. Julie Duncan... the love of his life. The one who got away. No other girl ever compared to you... and no girl ever will. Ever since the day you left, he's been restless. Yearning for a chance to see you again... but here you were, and he desperately hoped this wouldn't be the last.

°°°°°°°°°°

Eddie? Eddie Munson? In the flesh. I couldn't control my tears as I drove home.

"Mommy, what's Wong? Why you sad?"

I tried to hide my emotions, but Gage was too perceptive. "Um, it's... it's nothing, baby. I'm just... happy, is all." I sniffed and forced a smile. "Tears of joy, wild child."

"Because of Eddie?"

"Um... yeah, baby. Mommy hasn't seen him in a long time, and... well, we uh, we were really good friends."

"Well, I like him. He's cool. Can we see him latew? Pwease, Mommy?"

God, those eyes. Just like his dad, Gage has those vast, chocolate brown eyes that were impossible to deny. "Um, yeah... yeah, sure. Let's uh... let's go home and have lunch. You take your nap, and... and we'll go."

"Yay!!!"

°°°°°°°°°°

I carried a sleeping Gage to his bed. His little face, every time I looked at it I saw Eddie. I brushed Gage's curly locks from his cheek, kissed him, and walked downstairs to my shop.

Sitting in a fog, I was consumed by anxiety, unable to concentrate on work. I knew Eddie wasn't in California, and I knew about the body shop, but I also knew he took our breakup hard and was in no state for a reunion... not until recently, anyway. What if I tell Eddie the truth about everything, and he hates me? What if... what if he never wants to speak to me again? I knew that wasn't likely, but I feared his reaction. Either way, I owed Eddie an explanation, owed him the truth... him and Gage. I had so many things running through my mind I was mentally exhausted. Resting my head on my desk, I allowed myself a daydream...

~~~~~

(March, 1984)

"Here we are, Pip!"

Eddie opened the back of his van and lifted me inside effortlessly. Taking a seat next to me, he retrieved a six-pack, handed me a beer, and then pulled my head to his shoulder. We sat in a comfortable silence staring at the mirky, yet peaceful, waters of Lover's Lake.

"Mmm, this is nice. I missed you, Munson."

"Yeah, me too." He kissed you sweetly. "I wish your parents didn't hate me. This sneakin' around shit sucks."

"I know. But it doesn't matter what I say, they won't listen to me. They think you're a bad influence. It's fucking frustrating."

"Hmm... maybe they're right."

"Well, of course they are. You're the big, bad, Satanic hooligan who's gonna corrupt their sweet little girl," I joked. "Really, though. You know I don't believe that. My parents are so overbearing. They've always hated my music, and any bad habits I hide from them are definitely no fault of yours."

Eddie chuckled, then became somber. "Where do they think you are today?"

"At Robin's. She's got my back."

"I really am sorry. I know you hate lying to them."

"Don't be sorry, Eddie. They're not giving me a choice. I mean, yes, I hate it. I wish I could just... snuff out my conscience 'cause I'm constantly paranoid they're gonna find out about us... but you're worth the risk."

"Hmm... you're too good to me, Pippin. Gimme those lips. Mhhhhh. So I guess we just stick to the plan then?"

"Yeah. We just need to hang in there a little longer. I mean, we're about to graduate. Well, I am, at least," I joked, nudging him playfully. "We can save up, and when you graduate, we can go to California, and we won't have to sneak around anymore."

"I know. I just miss you so much, but I'll do anything for you, even suffer in silence, and I'll always wait for you." He pulled you in front of him and wrapped his arms around your shoulders as you stared into the oncoming darkness. "I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

Our eyes met. He was smiling brightly. I turned to face him, my legs at his sides, and I inched closer, resting my hands on his chest. He stared at me longingly, leaned in, and gently kissed my lips, but the kiss became hungry and eager, and it was warranted. His hands began to roam, and he pulled off my shirt. When I went to remove Eddie's his head got stuck in the collar, and we both started laughing. He grabbed my face and ravaged my lips, reaching his hands behind my back to unclasp my bra. "Mmm, Eddie... Eddie, wait."

He broke away, breathing heavily. "What? What is it?"

"Will, um... will you be my first?"

He paused, released a breathy laugh, and stared at me in astonishment. Nodding he crashed his lips to mine and gently eased me onto my back, hovering over me as he searched my face. I smiled bashfully, starting to shake.

"Hey, hey, hey... are you sure you want this? I mean, I'm down... but we don't need to rush if you're not ready."

"No, I um... I'm ready, just nervous." I stared into Eddie's deep brown eyes. "I love you, Eddie. I want this with you."

"Ohhh..." He whined, leaning down to claim your lips. "Mhhh, Jesus... mhhh. I love you too, Pip. Since the moment I saw you walk into art class, I've been mad for you."

He cupped my cheek. I closed my eyes the instant his lips met my neck. He removed my bra, running his tongue between my tits as he cupped them in his talented, ringed hands. He trailed wet kisses down my belly, flicking my skin lightly with his tongue. Sitting back on his heels, he carefully undid the button of my jeans, pulled them off, and ran his palms up my pale, quivering thighs, studying my body with every touch.

"Oh, fuck... you're so wet for me."

His hand glided gently over my soaked panties and I whined.

"Pippin... can... can I taste you?"

I gave him a shy nod. He let out a breathy laugh and hovered over me again, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

"Don't be nervous. It's just me. It's your Eddie. I'm gonna make you feel good, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Um... let me know if anything bothers you. I'll stop."

I nodded. "I trust you, Munson."

He smiled blissfully. "Ok. Just relax. I've got you."

I watched on as Eddie trailed his lips down my body, stopping to take my hard nipples gently into his mouth, and teasing them with his tongue. My breathing hitched, and my back arched.

"Ooo... you're so sensitive."

He continued to tease me, trailing his tongue down my stomach until he reached my soaked panties. Easing my legs from them, he cupped his hands under my knees, and spread my legs, gently rubbing my inner thighs.

Eddie was transfixed. Staring at your glistening slit, he settled between your legs and ran two fingers through your wet heat. "Jesus, you're so fucking beautiful. Mhhh, God, you smell so good." He whimpered once more and gave in to desire, running the flat of his tongue from your ass to your sensitive clit. "Mggghh, fuck, that's so good. Mmmm..." He dove right back in, lapping and teasing until you were squirming. "Mhhh, you like that, Pip?" You smiled and nodded. "Good. I'm gonna stick my fingers inside you and stretch you out, ok? Get you nice and ready for me."

I sucked in a breath as I felt his fingers enter me.

"Awww, fuck... you're so tight." He returned his mouth to your aching clit, sucking gently as he fucked you with his fingers.

I bucked my hips and whined at the pleasure from his every touch. Grabbing my tits, I teased my nipples as he worked his magic. "Mmm, hmm... Eddie. Feels so... hhhhhh... so fucking good."

"That's my good girl. Jesus, you're-you're so fucking hot. Mhhh... I-I want you to cum for me. Cum on my tongue. Hhhhhmmm."

The moment he curled his fingers, my back arched, and my body tensed.

"Hmmmm... oh... oh fuck... MMM! That's it. Cum for me, baby girl. Cum for me."

The instant his lips resumed contact with my clit, I lost it. "Ohhhhhfffffffuck... hmmmyGOD!... Eddie! EDDIE! Oh... yeeeeeeeees!"

"Mmgggg! That's my girl. Mhh, mhhFuck! You taste so goddamn good. Hhhmm."

He took one last taste and wiped his face with his shirt. We stared at each other, smiling as he undid his belt and removed his jeans. Once they were off, he leaned down and stared into my eyes.

"You're on the pill, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, good. I'm gonna ease into you, ok? You'll feel some pain, but I need you to push through it. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes."

"Good girl... wrap your arms around my shoulders. Yeah, just like that. Eyes on me, ok? I'm just gonna get between you... ok, you feel me pressing against you?" You nodded. "Alright. I'm just gonna... ease the tip in... OhhhhhFUCK!"

I hissed sharply at the searing pain and clung to him.

"I know, I know, baby girl. Just... just relax, ok? Relax. Fuck! You're squeezing me so tight. You've-mrrrr... you've gotta relax, Julie. Focus on my face. I've got you. Eddie's got you. I'm gonna push some more, ok? Just breathe."

He pushed further inside me, smoothing my hair back as I tried to concentrate on breathing. I shut my eyes tight.

"No, no, no. Look at me... focus on me. I'm-I'm almost in." You nodded fervently. "That's my girl. Just gonna... ohhhhhhhhhhh... god... DAMMIT! uhhhhhhhahahahahaha! That's it, Pip. I'm inside you. Oh, fuck! I'm actually inside you. Shit! You feel so good."

My breathing started to even out, and I began to relax.

"Ok, I'm... I'm gonna start moving. I'll go slow, ok? Let you... mmm... let you get used to me. Here we go. Holy shit! We're really doing this."

We both laughed bashfully. Eddie wrapped his arms around my back and started moving in and out of me slowly and gently. His whimpers were music to my ears.

"Oh, oh Jesus. I-I love you so much, Julie. I've wanted this for so... so long. Don't ever leave me, please. Please ... stay with me forever. I'm begging you. Hmmm..."

"Eddie, I won't. I promise I won't. I love you too much."

He leaned down and kissed you passionately as his pace started to quicken. "That's my good girl. Just... just feel me. Hmgghh... goddammit, this... this is heaven. You're my angel, Pip. Oh, come 'ere."

He pulled me upright as he sat back on his heels.

"There we go. Wrap your legs around me, and hold tight, ok? This is gonna hurt, but I need you to trust me. I'm gonna grab onto your ass, and thrust into you, yeah?"

I nodded. The moment I felt him thrust into me, I saw stars. "Ow, ow, Eddie... Eddie, it hurts!"

"Ok, ok... sh, sh, sh, sh, shhhhh, it's ok. Look."

I looked down and started freaking out. "Oh my god, there's so much blood!" He immediately pulled me to him, holding me tight.

"It's ok. It's ok. That-that's normal. I popped your cherry, doll. I had to get that outta the way. It's all downhill from here, ok? It won't hurt as much now." He pulled back and grabbed your face. "Hey... that was the hard part, but you did it. You gave yourself to me. We belong to each other now. I'm gonna make you feel good, yeah? Just be with me now, Pip. Be with me."

He returned his hands to my ass and started his slow thrusts, and the pain began to subside.

"That's my girl. Feels... mhhhh, feels so good."

I released my grip on his shoulders and grabbed his face, leaning my forehead on his. I started to meet his thrusts, getting used to the feel of him. "Oh, God... hhhhhh, Eddie... this, this feels amazing."

"Yeah?"

He smiled happily, and our lips locked.

"Mmm... you-you wanna try being on top?" You nodded happily. "Ok, let me just... get my legs... there we go. I'm gonna lie back. You-you just... move your hips. Do what feels good, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"O-ok... just... ooooooooooFUG!"

"Is-is that good?"

He nodded, half dazed, and breathing heavily. "M-mm-mh... uhhhhhhhhhhh... fuck, that feels so fucking good. Ohhh, you're perfect... ha!" He let out a breathy laugh and grabbed your hips, coaxing you to grind harder. "Mmmfuckfuckfuckyess... MMMM!" He ran his palm over your tits, down to your swollen clit, and started rubbing circles with his thumb.

I spread my knees wider, trying to increase the friction. My mouth was hanging open as I ground myself onto him. His dick felt so fucking good, so full inside me, and I could feel the tingling sensation start to increase. "O-oh fuck... Eddie! I-I think I'm gonna cum."

"Yes! Cum for me, baby girl. I want your beautiful pussy to make a mess all over my cock."

He started rubbing my clit faster, and I about cried. "Oh, God! Oh, God, Eddie... Fuck! Uhhhhhh!" High-pitched squeals escaped my lips as my walls clenched around him.

"OhhhhhhfuckYES! Hmmm, hmm... That's my girl! Mhhh! Come 'ere, come to me."

He pulled me down to his chest, wrapped his arms tightly around my back, and started pumping into me at a rigorous pace.

"Ohhhhhhfuckfuckfuck... I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum... I'm gonna... fucking cum inside you. Oh, my beautiful giiiiiirlFUCK! YES! OHHHHH... ohhhhhhhhhhJESUS! Hmmhmmhmmmm."

I could feel his movements start to cease, his glorious laughter reverberating through his chest. I lifted my head and looked at him.

"You ok? You feel good?"

I nodded and we beamed at each other. My face hurt from smiling so hard, and then I started to cry.

"Awww, noooo... don't cry." He grabbed your face and kissed you tenderly. "Hey? This is a happy moment."

I nodded again as he wiped the tears from my face. "I-I know. And I am... so fucking happy." I leaned down and hugged him so tight I was practically crushing him. He continued to laugh as he stroked my hair. "I love you so much, Eddie. My God, I love you so much."

"Hey, I'm here, Pippin, I'm here. And I'm never letting you go."

~~~~~

"Mommy?"

"Huh? What?" I was roused from my thoughts by Gage's sweet, little voice. "What is it, baby? Can't sleep?"

"No. And I peed."

I laughed. "Um, did you at least try and make it to the potty?"

"Yeah, but I didn't make it."

"Well, that's ok, wild child, as long as you tried. Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Then can we go see Eddie?"

I tried to hide my oncoming tears by forcing a smile. "Um, a bit later, baby. Mommy needs to finish this order, and um... then we'll go."

"Ok."

He looked so disappointed. "Hey, um... after we get you cleaned up, why don't you grab your crayons and sit with me while I work? You can draw Eddie a picture."

"Yeah! I'll dwaw him a guitaw."

"That's perfect, baby. You know, he has a Warlock."

"Ooo! Like Bwackie?"

"Yeah, like Blackie, but Eddie's is a red animal print, not black."

"Wooooow, cooool! I hope I get to pway it."

"I do too, baby. I do too."

°°°°°°°°°°

We sat in the parking lot for what felt like an eternity. I was so fucking nervous. Things ended so badly between me and Eddie, I'm surprised he wanted to see me at all.

"Mommy, awe we going in?"

"Yeah, we are, baby. Come on."

I turned off the car and ushered Gage across the parking lot. The building's huge sign read 'WAYNE'S AUTO BODY'. When I reached the door, I stopped, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. At the sound of the door's bell, the man behind the counter lifted his head and stared at me as if he'd seen a ghost. I gave him a shy wave. "Hi, Wayne."

"Heh, heh, heyyyy! Julie!"

Wayne rounded the counter and strolled over to us, wrapping me in a huge hug. It was so good to see him again. He pulled back and looked me over.

"Good Lord, girl, it's good to see ya. Eddie said he ran into you. I almost didn't believe him. How've you been, kiddo?"

"I've, I've been good. Much better now. Um... I wanted to thank you, Wayne... for always being supportive. You've been my lifeline."

"Yeah, well... you're welcome, kiddo. You kids were dealt a bad hand, but you're both in a better place now." He leaned toward you and whispered, "I gotta warn ya though, he's still in a lotta pain, but seeing you... with the boy... it made things a bit worse. I'm sure he's thinkin' that..."

"That Gage is someone else's kid? That I lied about my feelings for him... moved on immediately without any regard for his feelings?" Wayne nodded solemnly. "Yeah... I kinda got that impression too."

"Julie, this ain't gonna be easy. When he finds out what we did he's gonna be angry, he's also gonna feel guilty as hell, but I promise ya... he will understand. Just go easy on 'im. Everything'll be alright. Just stay strong, kiddo."

He clapped his hand on my shoulder, and I smiled.

"And this must be Gage." He bent down to get a better look at the little boy. "Good Lord, would ya look at that? He's a spitting image." Wayne looked at you and smiled.

"Yeah, I... I know." I started to cry. Wayne hugged me again and kissed my cheek. I wiped my tears away and turned my attention to Gage. "Um, Gage, this is Wayne. He's Eddie's uncle."

"Hi, Wayne." Gage held out his hand, and Wayne laughed as he shook it.

"Well, aren't you a proper little gentleman? Nice ta meetcha, kiddo."

"Whewe's Eddie? I made dis fo him." Gage held up his drawing to Wayne.

"Well, would ya look at that? You drew this yourself?" Gage nodded proudly. "Well, lemme tell ya somethin', Gage." Wayne knelt. "This looks just like Eddie's guitar. He's gonna love this picture. Why don't you hang onto that, and I'll go get him."

"Ok!"

Wayne ruffled Gage's little curls, and I looked on as he disappeared into the garage. I felt nauseous, and I almost died when I saw Eddie walk in. He was wearing coveralls with rolled-up sleeves, his favorite bandana, a cigarette hung from his lips, and he was covered in grease. He beamed when he saw us.

"Hey, you came."

Almost... holy shit, does he look fuckable!

"Eddie!" Gage ran to Eddie and hugged his leg.

"No, Gage, he's... covered in grease." I trailed off.

"Aww, a little dirt won't hurt him, huh, little man? Gimme five." Gage slapped Eddie's hand.

"Hewe!"

"What's this?" Eddie grabbed the drawing and started laughing. "Did you draw this?"

Gage nodded happily. "Yeah! I made it fo you! Mommy said you have a guitaw like Bwackie."

Eddie chuckled and knelt. "Aww. This is rad. It looks just like my sweetheart. I love it! Thanks, little man." Gage reached up and hugged Eddie. Eddie chuckled, wrapped his arms around Gage, and smiled at me.

"Ha! Um... you guys hungry? I was gonna order a pizza."

"Ooo, yeah, yeah. I wuv pizza!"

"Great, um... come on upstairs."

We followed Eddie up a flight of stairs into a two-bedroom apartment.

"Um, sorry about the mess. Make yourselves at home. I'm gonna take a quick shower."

"Ok."

"Hey, little man. You like He-man?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Have you seen 'Masters of the Universe'?" Gage nodded excitedly. "Well, I'm gonna pop this on for you, and I'll be back in a few, yeah?"

"Yeah!" He gave Eddie another high five, and Eddie popped the movie into the VCR.

"I'll be back."

When he squeezed my shoulder and smiled, I felt like I would pass out. I haven't felt his touch in four years. About fifteen minutes later, Eddie walked into the living room wearing the old Corroded Coffin t-shirt I made for him and his black jeans. His shirt was so tattered and wet from his hair, and it did nothing to hide his dark happy trail. Eddie noticed me staring and winked. That always drove me crazy. I looked away, exhaling heavily.

"You want a beer?"

"Uh. Yeah, sure."

"And for Gage?"

"Um, he has his sippy cup."

"Alright. The pizza should be here soon. You still like mushrooms, Pip?"

"That I do."

"Good." Eddie shut the fridge, walked over, and handed you a beer.

"Thanks." He smiled at me, sat down on the couch next to Gage, and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Look at him. Not even a blink." Gage's attention was fixed on the TV.

"Yeah. This movie's one of his favorites."

The doorbell rang. "Oh, there's the pizza." He hopped up and returned within a minute setting the pizza on the coffee table. "All right, guys. Eat up."

I was so nervous, I barely managed to force down a piece, but as anxious as I was, I did my best to be patient, blissfully watching as Eddie and Gage interacted during the movie. They've already been robbed of so much time together. I wasn't gonna deny them this.

When the movie ended, Gage was almost out cold. He kept nodding in and out, so he climbed onto Eddie's lap, settled against his chest, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and closed his eyes. Eddie looked stunned. Not knowing what to do, he carefully put his arm around Gage and patted his back.

"He, um... he's taken a liking to you."

"Yeah, no shit. He could give Dustin a run for his money."

"Who's Dustin?"

"That's a long story."

I noticed him staring at his smokes, then back at Gage.

"You need a cigarette?"

"Yes, please. Is-is it ok if I smoke near him?"

I nodded pulling two smokes from his pack. I lit them and handed one to Eddie.

"Thanks, Pip."

With one arm still draped around Gage, Eddie took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled, his eyes never leaving my face.

"So... you look good. A lot different from the shy, sheltered girl I knew. It suits you."

"Thanks. You uh... you look exactly the same." I smiled bashfully and averted my gaze.

"So... where you stayin'."

"I um... I bought the little building on the corner of Main and 7th and turned it into my shop. I'm like... a glorified seamstress. I do screen printing, embroidery, make and repair clothing and costumes, and shit. The building's a lot like this place. Gage and I... we live upstairs."

"You always were great at all that. I still have all my shirts."

"Including this one, I see."

He chuckled. "Yeah. It's always been my favorite." He dipped his chin to his chest and picked at the shirt. "Things got so many holes in it, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it. It um... it reminds me of you."

Jesus, you could cut the tension with a knife, but I nodded and smiled.

Eddie puffed out a breath. "So um... enough with the small talk. Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?"

My heart jumped into my throat.

"Don't take this the wrong way. I really am glad to see you... but what the hell are you doing here?"

"What? Like here, here... or in Hawkins?"

"Both. Four years, Julie. I mean... I understand why you had to leave, but what I don't understand... is why you never tried to contact me. Not a phone call or-or a letter. Nothing. I never understood how you could just... discard me like that."

My resolve was fading. The pain in his eyes was too much to bear, and I could feel the onset of tears.

"I loved you, Julie. I would've done anything for you. We-we shared something... so special, and you just... well, you ripped my fucking heart out." Eddie looked down at Gage, and tears started welling in his eyes. "I guess, now I know why. I mean, he's gotta be what, three?"

I nodded, picking nervously at my fingers.

"That's... that's quick work, Julie."

"Eddie..."

"No... you promised me, Julie. You promised... that you wouldn't give up on us."

"Eddie... I know you're angry, but..."

"Angry? I'm fucking furious, Julie..."

With his ability to express his anger hindered by the precious cargo on his chest, Eddie clenched his fist, and spit those words at me through gritted teeth. A fire burned in his eyes, the likes of which I've never witnessed, and I cowered, not for fear of retaliation, but from the crippling guilt. I knew Eddie would never lay a hand on me.

"And I hate to say it... I do, but I'm... I'm jealous. The fucking jealousy, Julie. It's consuming me. I mean, I know it's not Gage's fault. He's a cute kid, and I feel this... strange connection to him. M-maybe it's because he's yours... but that's what's killing me. He's yours. Yours... and not ours. After everything you promised me... how could you?"

That one stung, and I became defensive. "Eddie, I know you're hurting, but I am too... so don't you dare fucking do that to me." With our stubbornness at odds, we stared daggers at each other, but Eddie broke first, exhaling heavily.

"Why, Julie?"

"Eddie, I know you feel betrayed, and you have every right to feel that way... but not for the reason that you think."

Eddie's anger morphed into a mask of confusion. "W-what does that mean?"

"Eddie, I never gave up on us. I loved you... so much, and I never wanted to leave you... but the night I got home from Lover's Lake, my dad was beyond pissed. Not only was I out past curfew, but he knew I lied about who I was with. Jesus, I'd never seen him so angry. After that, I was practically under house arrest, only allowed to go to school. That was the only opportunity I had to see you. I wasn't even allowed to see Robin unless she came to see me. I was miserable, physically ill, and when I found out we were moving..." I choked back tears, "I wanted to run to you right then and there, but it would've been pointless. M-my car was in my dad's name. If I even tried to go anywhere other than school, my dad would've been on my ass in a heartbeat. I couldn't do that to you and Wayne. And to make things worse, when we got to Massachusetts, I found out..." I trailed off, having trouble finding my words, "I found out that I was... pregnant."

Had Eddie looked away he would've missed it, the split second glance you shot him before your eyes fell to Gage, still sleeping peacefully on his chest, and you started balling. No, no, he couldn't be... could he? Eddie smoothed back Gage's curls, studying every feature on his little face, and started choking back tears. When he met your sad gaze he just... stared. "Julie... is... is he..."

I nodded, unable to look him in the eyes. "Eddie... you wanna know why I'm here?" Mouth agape, he nodded slowly. "I'm here for you... for Gage... for us." I swallowed hard, clearing my throat. "Gage Flynn Munson... that's his full name. He IS ours, Eddie. You're his father." My words were barely a whisper.

Eddie was speechless, unable to control his tears, and utterly ashamed of himself for doubting you. "He um... he's mine?"

I nodded and buried my face in my hands.

"L-Lovers Lake?"

"Yes."

"How... how is that even possible?"

"I, um... I had that... terrible sinus infection right before spring break, and um..." I laughed nervously, "Well, I didn't know that taking antibiotics negates the effectiveness of birth control, so, uh..." I pursed my lips, motioning to Gage, my leg bobbing up and down nervously.

Eddie looked down again, tightening his grip around Gage. "Does, um... does he know about me?"

"Um, yeah... yeah, he does. I mean... I only have that one picture of you. The blurry one Gareth took where you're kissing my head. He hasn't put two and two together, 'cause um... well, when I show Gage the picture, I... I don't say that's Eddie, I say... that's Daddy."

"Daddy looks like Blackie," Eddie mumbled to himself.

"What? H-how did you..."

"Gage said that to me... at the arcade. We were talking about W.A.S.P., and he said... 'Mommy says my daddy looks like Blackie'. You... you always used to tell me that, but it didn't even register."

I managed to crack a small smile.

Eddie rested his head upon Gage's, hugged him tight, and started rocking him back and forth, and then... he burst into full-on tears. "Jesus, Julie... why the hell didn't you tell me? Look at him. He... he's beautiful. Christ, he looks just like me."

"I know. Believe me... I know. Every time he looks at me with those chocolate brown eyes, I see you... staring back at me, and each time... I die a little inside. I just... I love him so much, but his little face... it's a permanent reminder of that horrible day."

Eddie remembers that day like it was yesterday.

~~~~~

Immediately after your graduation ceremony, Eddie found himself standing on your doorstep, finally having mustered the courage to come to your house in the hopes of reasoning with your dad. His heart was palpitating as he reached up to knock on the door. When it flew open, he became tense. "Um, Hi... Mr. Duncan. I... I was hoping we could... talk."

"You got some balls showing your face here."

"Sir, Please... I'm just asking for a chance. Your daughter and I love each other."

"Oh, you do, huh?"

Eddie nodded, looking nervously at the ground. "Yes, Sir, we do."

"Ok, you love each other. What now? Are you gonna get married? Have a couple of kids? Have a happy, white picket fence life together?"

Eddie was struggling to choke back tears.

"And how do you plan on doing that, huh? Look at you. You're useless. Trailer trash. You smell like the Marlboro man. You've been in and out of County for dealing drugs. You can't even graduate high school, for Christ's sake! Oh, but I forgot, that doesn't matter, 'cause you're gonna be a big rock star. Gonna make all kinds of money. Is that it?"

"Sir... please. Please listen."

"No, you listen! You're never gonna amount to anything. You can barely take care of yourself, let alone my daughter. She doesn't love you. You just filled her head with a bunch of bullshit so you could sleaze your way into her pants. You took advantage of her, corrupted her, defiled her! You're goddamn lucky I don't beat your ass within an inch of your life, you good-for-nothing piece of shit! And there is no way in hell I'll let you and your devil-worshipping ways ruin my daughter's life."

You were right. This was pointless. Your old man sees what he wants, and he's not gonna change his mind. But he did have a point. Unless Eddie got his head out of his ass and turned his life around, he would never be good enough for you.

"Sir, please. I do love her. I would do anything for her. I'll do whatever I must to ensure she has everything she needs."

"You have no idea what my daughter needs. I know your kind. You've got one thing on your mind, and you'll say or do anything to get it, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let that happen."

Eddie knew he shouldn't, but he wouldn't let your dad treat him like this or disrespect you. "You're wrong!"

"What?"

"You're wrong, Mr. Duncan. And I look forward to proving that to you. I won't give up on her. She's an intelligent girl, and she can make her own decisions."

Your dad looked like he wanted to hit me. "Get the hell outta here. Get in that busted piece of crap and never come back. And if I EVER... see you again, I'll have you thrown in jail for harassment and trespassing."

Eddie nodded in defeat, tears streaming down his face. He turned to walk away, and that's when he heard your pained cry for him.

"Eddie!"

He turned and saw you standing in the doorway, crying.

"Get your ass in the house, NOW!"

Your dad grabbed your arm, but you wrenched free and ran to me. I trapped you in my arms and kissed you with all my love.

"It's ok, Julie. We'll be ok. I promise. I promise!" Eddie reached for you as you were yanked from his arms.

"Eddie, please. I love you."

"INSIDE!"

"I love you too, Pippin. We'll find a way. I won't give up! Please don't give up on me!"

Eddie watched you shake your head in agreement as you were forced into your house. Feeling helpless, hollow, and broken, he stood there, unable to find the strength to move his legs, even when your dad came barreling down the sidewalk and shoved him.

"Get off my property. GO! And don't you EVER try to pull this kinda shit again!"

~~~~~

"After my parents hauled me off to Massachusetts, they forbid me to speak to anyone from Hawkins, especially you. I was ten weeks pregnant when we moved. I thought it was all the stress making me ill... but it was morning sickness. I wanted to tell you the moment I found out, wanted to run away and come back to Hawkins. But then I thought about how it would affect us. Teen parents, no jobs. You were still in school, and you and Wayne had enough on your plates without having to take me in."

"That wasn't for you to decide on your own. Jesus Christ, Julie, I would've done anything for you. Yeah, it would've been hard, but we would've been ok... and we would've been together."

"Eddie, I know that now. And I kick myself daily for all the time I've robbed us of. But back then... I was afraid, and I wanted Gage to have the best life, so I had to be smart. After I had Gage I started trade school. It was the first opportunity I had to contact anyone, and as much as wanted to call you, something told me that I should call Robin first. I didn't tell her about Gage, 'cause no matter how much I love her, she's got a big mouth, but she told me that you'd hit rock bottom, that you were failing school again, so the next day when I knew you were at school, I called Wayne between my classes. He told me what a mess you were. That you blamed yourself for everything that happened. That you were drowning your sorrows in drugs and alcohol. I was devastated. Wayne was trying so hard to help you get past everything, so um... I-I told him about Gage... hoping it might give you an extra push, but he said telling you anything would only make things worse. That if you knew anything you'd come after us... and in your condition that would have been explosive. He made me swear not to contact you until he could set you straight, so... we made a plan. I would finish school and get my associate's degree. I saved up all my cash from my seamstress jobs, and did any odd job I could think of to save as much money as I could, and in the meantime, he would make sure you got your shit together. I checked in with them periodically to check on your progress. They told me you finally graduated and got a job at the plant. Robin even told me that you went through with your plan, and flipped off principal Higgins when you got your diploma." That coaxed a smile from him. "I was so proud of you, and it meant I was that much closer to being able to come home, and that couldn't happen soon enough. I hated the way my parents treated Gage. They weren't mean to him... but they resented him, which somehow seemed worse. They also saw you when they looked at him, and they hated that, so when I spoke with Wayne on my last day of school, I couldn't have been more ecstatic. He told me you guys bought the body shop, that you were back to your old self, and to let him know when he would see us. I didn't waste a single second, packed up all of our shit, withdrew my nest egg from the bank, reveled in the moment I told my parents I was leaving... and I never looked back."

"So... Wayne told you not to contact me?"

"Eddie, please don't be angry with Wayne. You know damn well it was for the best. It couldn't have been done any other way. And I made Wayne promise not to tell you we were coming back to Hawkins. You deserved to hear everything from me."

"No, I know. I mean, it hurts like a son of a bitch, but I get why you guys did it. I was a mess, inconsolable, and there would've been no getting through to me, especially if I knew. Jesus, Julie... I'm-I'm so fuckin' sorry."

"Eddie, don't."

"No, I should've tried harder, turned my life around sooner. Instead, I plunged into a self-induced downward spiral of booze and drugs, and... and girls. I was so... empty without you. I did anything... anything to try and find comfort... to escape the pain of losing you, but nothing worked. Then one night, when I was spending the night in the drunk tank, Wayne came to talk to me. He helped me remember what was important. That if I really loved you, wanted to be deserving of you, and wanted to get you back, I needed to clean up my act. He basically told me to man the fuck up, stop feeling sorry for myself, and get my shit together. It was a slow process. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, but I told you I'd wait for you, and I wanted to keep my promise. Then I saw you this morning... with a kid, and... well, all my insecurities came flooding back, and the little green monster materialized. I turned into a hypocritical, jealous fuck. I thought, m-maybe your dad finally got through to you, and you moved on, but I never, never should've doubted you. I was the weak one, not you. Please, please forgive me."

"Eddie, we all have our way of dealing, and I don't blame you for anything. I'm just glad you didn't succumb. I wasn't a saint, either. In order to get my parents off my case and lull them into a false reality, I had to play the good daughter and pretend to give in to their wishes, so I dated a couple of guys to appease them, and I was so lonely I gave in to temptation a few times, but it did absolutely nothing to fill the void. I knew it never would, 'cause my heart belonged to you. It still belongs to you."

Eddie nodded and looked at me through tear-soaked eyes. Still holding on to Gage, he held out an arm and motioned for me to come to him. Without hesitation, I accepted, and we cried like babies as we held each other in a vice grip. Eddie clumsily found my lips and shoved his tongue down my throat. I tangled my fingers in his hair and basked in the moment—his taste, his scent... his touch.

"Mmm, Pip... I missed you, craved you... so fucking much, but no matter what I did... I loved you, I've always loved you, will always... love you... with every ounce of my being."

I leaned in and kissed him with all the love in the world. "Mmm, Eddie, don't beat yourself up. We were both in a bad place... and sure, our time apart was agony, but it made us stronger, and smarter, and I'm sorry I didn't contact you as soon as I got here, but I chickened out. I've been so worried and scared about your reaction, but when I saw you this morning... my God, for the first time in four years, I felt hope, felt complete. Of all the people Gage could've found... he found you. It was like... a twist of fate, bringing us all back together. Eddie... I love you... I never stopped loving you. And Gage, he's only known you for a few hours... but he already loves you. He deserves to know his father, and you... you deserve to know your son. We all deserve a chance, and if you'll have us... have me... we never need to be apart again."

He scoffed. "If... what kind of shit is that? I told you, I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you, and that's never gonna change. Come 'ere."

I leaned in and he kissed me so tenderly. When he opened his eyes he flashed me the most genuine smile and looked down at Gage.

"I can't believe it. We have a son. A son, Julie."

Eddie's expression was priceless.

"Ha! He's perfect... so perfect." Eddie hugged Gage close, tears still falling. "Hmmm... Jesus, I don't wanna let him go."

"You don't have to. But at some point, we will need to put him to bed."

He nodded. "Yeah, ok, um... I'll-I'll put him in my room." Eddie stood up carefully, cradling Gage to his chest, and walked him to the bedroom. He laid him down, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and stared at him.

I walked up behind Eddie and wrapped my arms around his chest. He clasped a hand around mine and nodded, letting out a huge sigh. Then he turned and wrapped his arms around me, and backed me into the wall. Reaching up to gently cup my face, he brushed his thumbs across my cheeks and crashed his lips to mine. Our kisses were wet and sloppy. We fumbled our way out of his room toward the couch, leaving a trail of clothing in our wake. Embracing, we devoured each other feverishly. He clumsily undid his jeans, wasting no time undoing mine, and plopping me onto the couch. He tore them off in one swift motion and stopped dead.

"Wha-what are those? Are those... Corroded Coffin panties?"

I nodded slowly, biting my bottom lip. He growled and lifted me up, pivoting his body to sit with me straddling his lap. We couldn't keep our lips off each other. He palmed my ass and squeezed as I latched my lips to his neck and savored his salty skin. Reaching up to remove my bra, he pressed his palms firmly against my back and took my tits into his waiting mouth.

"Mmm... fuck, I missed your tits. Mhhhh. So fucking perfect... hhhhhhmmm. I missed you so fucking much."

With me still in his lap, he lifted himself just enough to push his jeans past his hips allowing his thick cock to spring free. Without breaking the kiss he hooked a ringed finger inside my panties, pulled them to the side, and lined himself up with my entrance. I slid my soaked pussy down the length of his shaft and started riding him slowly.

"Ohhhhfuck, uhhhhhh, hnghh. You-You're still so... so fucking tight. Oh, Jesus, you-you belong with me. I love you so fucking much, Mgghh! Are-are you still on the pill?"

"Mhhh, no. Hhhhhh, but please don't stop fucking me."

"Mggghhhh, Jesus, you... you don't have to ask me twice."

He grabbed my waist and started meeting my gyrations, his pained, broken moans egging me on. I put my hands on his shoulders and arched back, using him as leverage so he could penetrate me deeper.

"OhhhJesusFUCK! Wha-what the hell are you doing to me? H-holy SHIT, you-you're gonna make me bust. Huh, mhh, mhh... oh, shit. SHIT! G-gonna cum. I'm gonna cum. FUCK!" He pulled you close and cupped your face so you were mere inches apart. "Can I cum inside you? For the love of Christ, please let me cum inside you."

"Hyou-you damn well better, Munson. Don't... don't you dare fucking stop until you empty every last drop inside me."

"Mmm, MmgghhYES! That's my girl. I wanna knock you up again. Let's-let's give Gage a little brother or sister, yeah?" Your quick nod and ear-to-ear grin were all the confirmation he needed, and you sealed the deal with a kiss. "Mmm, cum with me, baby girl. Cum with me. Oh, fuck, I need you. I need you, I fucking need you! Take my fucking cum! Hohhh... take it. Take my cumFUCK!"

"E-Eddie, oh... oh... GOD!" I started to whimper as the tingling sensation, and Eddie's seed, spread through my body.

We pressed our foreheads together and locked lips passionately as we whined into each other's mouths, trying to stifle our moans as we shared in our united release.

"Mhhh, mhhh, mhhhhhhhahahahahaha!"

He was laughing blissfully as he smoothed back my hair. Neither one of us could stop smiling, hugging each other so tight, breathing heavily as the years of pain and anguish melted away.

"Mmmm... this... this is so surreal. Ha! Am-am I dreaming? Ha! Pinch me."

I pinched him hard.

"Oww! Hahahaha. I-I love you so much, Pip. I'm so happy we found each other."

"Ugg, I missed hearing you call me that. I love you too, Eddie, so very much."

"Hahaha! Oh, Pip. You mean the world to me."

We kissed passionately.

"Hmmmm... w-we can clean up in a bit, but you're not going anywhere. I-I have clothes you can borrow, but right now, I just... just wanna hold you, feel you. Then I wanna hold you in bed and stare at my boy."

I nodded happily and started crying again.

°°°°°°°°°°

"This is so unbelievable. Not having to worry ever again about being caught... I never thought I'd see the day. It's a weight off fucking my shoulders."

Eddie's arms tightened around me as we spooned, and stared at Gage. "I know, but all that bullshit was worth it just to be here at this moment. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Eddie smiled and kissed your neck. "So... Gage Flynn, huh? Pet Sematary and Tron?"

"Of course."

He chuckled. "Those always were your favorites. It's cute, but I can't believe you gave him my last name. That means so much to me."

"Yeah... my parents were furious, but I insisted. I made sure I filled out that fucking certificate myself. He's yours, and I'm proud of that. And no one is ever gonna take that away from you... or Gage. I'd die first."

"Julie, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you two... that you had to go through all that without me."

"Eddie, it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that we're together. And tomorrow we can resume our lives... together."

"Well... then I guess there's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?"

"Give you my name."

I looked up at him and was met with that adorable smile. He hopped up, walked over to a wooden box on his dresser, and removed a small item.

"I've been holding on to this for four years. I was gonna give it to you after graduation, but I never got the chance. So... I held onto it, in the hopes that one day... I'd find you again. And now that you're here... it belongs in its rightful place."

I sat up and stared at him. He got down on one knee and held up a ring. When I looked at it, my eyes went wide. It was a black, skull, diamond engagement ring.

"Julie Duncan, you're the love of my life... the mother of my child, and I never wanna be without you... either of you. Will you marry me?"

I was in tears. I looked up to the heavens and exhaled heavily before returning my eyes to Eddie's, nodding happily. "You bet your sweet ass I will."

He smiled and crashed his lips to mine, trapping me in a bear hug.

"Mmm, Jesus, this is the best fucking day of my life."

We made out passionately for several minutes, lost in the moment. "Mmm... we um... we better stop before we wake Gage."

"Um, ok... one more?" When you nodded, he cupped your cheek and gave you one more sweet kiss. "Let's um... let's get some sleep."

We climbed into bed, and Eddie carefully pulled Gage between us. He was in awe, unable to take his eyes off of him as he played with Gage's little curls.

"He's so incredible. You're incredible. Good job, Mommy."

Eddie's smile was so bright he could put the sun to shame.

"Jesus, I can't stop staring at him. I love you so much, little man."

Eddie leaned down, gently kissed Gage's cheek, and brushed it with his fingers before lacing them with mine just above Gage's head. "Did um... did you mean it? About knocking me up again... or were you just in the moment?"

His smile was wicked. "No, I meant it. We're gonna fuck so much we'll have a litter."

We both gushed at each other, laughing happily.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Daddy. I love you."

°°°°°°°°°°

When I woke the following day, I opened my eyes to the most gorgeous sight in the world. A shirtless Eddie was lying on his back, his wild hair cascading over his shoulders, with Gage resting on his chest. They were both out cold, sleeping peacefully. Gage with his little thumb in his mouth and Eddie's ringed hands resting on Gage's back. I crossed my legs and took in the sight, committing it to memory. When Gage turned his head, Eddie stirred. Momentarily startled, he looked down and smiled, wrapped both arms around Gage, and looked over at me. "Morning, Pip."

"Morning, you sexy bitch."

Eddie started laughing. The vibrations causing Gage to stir. "Oops."

Gage lifted his sleepy, little head, pushed himself up on Eddie's chest, and looked over at me. "Morning, wild child."

Gage was so dazed. He crawled off Eddie, over to my lap, and sat down rubbing his sleepy eyes. He looked around the room.

"Dis isn't my woom."

"No, baby. We're still at Eddie's."

When he looked over, his face lit up. "Eddie!"

Eddie sat up. "Come 'ere, little man." Gage crawled over to Eddie's outstretched arms, climbed into his lap, and was engulfed by his father's loving embrace.

"Um... Gage? Mommy and Eddie need to talk to you."

"Ok."

"So... you know how I said that one day, we would go to Mommy's hometown, and you'd finally be able to meet Daddy?" He nodded. "Well, Eddie isn't just Mommy's friend. Eddie's just his nickname. His real name is Edward Munson."

"Hey, dat's my name!"

"That's right, baby. You're Gage Munson. Here." I pulled from my purse the picture of me and Eddie and handed it to Gage.

"That's Daddy."

"That's right, baby. Look." I took the picture, crawled next to Eddie, and held the photo before us. Eddie leaned over and kissed the top of my head, just like in the picture. It took a moment for Gage to make a connection.

"Eddie looks like Daddy."

Eddie and I both laughed at his innocence.

"Alright. Listen up, little man." Eddie reached for the photo, and with Gage in his lap, he showed him again. "This is your Mommy, and that guy right there... that's me."

"You'we... you'we my Daddy?"

Eddie chuckled, about to burst into tears when he saw the elation on his son's face. "Yeah, little man. I'm your Daddy."

Gage looked at the picture and then put his hand on Eddie's face, and I thought Eddie and I would die. Getting onto his knees, Gage reached up and hugged Eddie. Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around Gage, and we both started crying.

"You love me, and Mommy. She said so."

"She's right, little man. I love you both... so much." He pulled Gage back so he could look at him. "Um, I'm sorry I haven't been around. I wanted so badly to be with you and your Mommy... but we had to be apart for a little while. The good thing is, that's all over now. We can all be together, and we don't ever have to be apart again, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"High five, little man." They clapped hands and smiled brightly.

"Mommy, how come you'we name's, not Munson?"

"It will be, wild child. Very soon. Mommy's gonna marry Daddy."

"That's right. Mommy's gonna be my wife, you're our little man, and we'll all be Munsons. And with any luck, you'll have some brothers and sisters."

"Really?! Wooooow!"

I leaned over, grabbed Eddie's face, and planted one on him.

"Ooooo, Mommy kissed Daddy."

Eddie and I laughed. He mussed Gage's hair, and I kissed him on the cheek. Still sleepy, Gage leaned into Eddie's chest.

"This has gotta be the best feeling in the fucking world. Oh! Sorry." Eddie screwed up his face and covered Gage's ears.

I chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Eddie. He's my kid. He's heard worse."

Eddie laughed and cradled Gage to his chest, kissing his head. "Daddy loves you, little man."

"I wuv you too, Daddy." He noticed Eddie's necklace and started playing with the guitar pick.

"Can we pway guitaw now?" Eddie laughed heartily.

"You bet, wild child. And I'll teach you all about the fantastic world of Dungeons and Dragons too."

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